19 replies to this topic

[abatt]

See NY Times Link

http://artsbeat.blog...allet/?ref=arts

He has been "de facto" retired for years. It seemed unfair that for so many years he remained on the NYCB payroll as a principal but never danced there, while at the same time he was out earning fees as a choreographer at other companies and on other projects.

[liebs]

I think the response to this is - who cares

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Per the linked article, one of Millepied's current projects is the choreography for a new musical entitled "Hands on a Hardbody."  I confess that several thoughts inappropriate to a wholesome board like this one flashed through my mind when I first read that title.  But, per Playbill, here's what the musical is really about:

Quote

According to a La Jolla casting/audition notice, "Hands On a Hardbody  is a musical based on the documentary film of the same name, about a  truck competition in rural East Texas. In the contest, hardscrabble  contestants are invited to a local car dealership, to place their hands  on a new Nissan truck. The contestant who can stand the longest without  removing his or her hand from the vehicle gets to drive it off the lot.  What initially seems like a frivolous, even kitschy stunt becomes a true  test of wills."

I'm having a hard time imagining how one might choreograph a story in which the key plot driver is who can stand in one place longest without moving, but that's presumably why they pay Millepied the big bucks.

[Natalia]

Kathleen O, on 26 October 2011 - 09:26 AM, said:

...one of Millepied's current projects is the choreography for a new musical entitled "Hands on a Hardbody." ....

Good grief.  

[Cygnet]

Natalie Portman should make sure she gets a bullet proof pre-nup; that is if they decide to make it official.
And, even if they "don't" she still needs legal protection. C'est tout.

[bart]

Kathleen O, on 26 October 2011 - 09:26 AM, said:

drive it off the lot.  What initially seems like a frivolous, even kitschy stunt becomes a true  test of wills."

I'm having a hard time imagining how one might choreograph a story in which the key plot driver is who can stand in one place longest without moving,

Is Millepied  especially adept at choreographing adagio?  

[melange]

Quote

Is Millepied  especially adept at choreographing adagio?  

Very droll, Bart!

It was irritating to see Philip Neal and Chuck Askegard leave, while Millepied stayed.  He was the last of the deadwood in the principal ranks, in my view.  I wonder who, if anyone, will be elevated in the near future?

[ksk04]

I hope it's to free up more time to spend with his new son, rather than to increase his ability to share his choreographic....uh, gifts with the rest of us. I'd hate for him to miss baby's first steps due to a contractual obligation!!  

[abatt]

melange, on 26 October 2011 - 12:36 PM, said:

I wonder who, if anyone, will be elevated in the near future?

Chase Finlay seems to be the golden boy right now among the soloists.   I used to think Scheller might be promoted at some point, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that a promotion is in her future.

[miliosr]

Now he can devote all of his time to his career as a male model:

http://www.yslbeauty...default,sc.html

Too bad he couldn't have retired prior to the Massacre of 2009 . . .

[Drew]

Everyone sounds pretty irritated with Millepied and dismissive of the recent turns his career has taken.  I agree that it was long past time for pretending he was a principal dancer at NYCB, but since he is retiring as a dancer, I'm up for some nice memories, too -- including the first time I saw him dance which was at an SAB workshop performance. He was dancing in a new Robbins work and made an excellent impression: one instantly saw that he was very talented and I felt nothing but giggling delight at the appropriateness of his name for a ballet dancer--a point that I vaguely remember Clive Barnes was not too high-minded to make.

It seemed to me at the "height" of his dance career, he had the potential to become a go-to leading man for NYCB--especially as Woetzel's career was winding down. That is, he showed himself to be someone with presence who could impress technically and pair effectively with ballerinas. In recent years, I had given up thinking he would realize that potential or even return to his career as a dancer, but when he was dancing with NYCB I was pretty happy to see his name on a program. I certainly have never held his good looks against him.

His choreography? I have not had the chance to see any of his ballets--and read mixed reports about them to say the least--but if he can find creative things to do with a musical about competitive standing-in-place that will be a triumph of sorts.

[dirac]

Quote

Now he can devote all of his time to his career as a male model:

Other dancers have done some modeling, yes? Nothing wrong with it, surely. Nice money if you have the looks and many dancers are naturally good camera subjects.

[ViolinConcerto]

abatt, on 26 October 2011 - 09:11 AM, said:

See NY Times Link

http://artsbeat.blog...allet/?ref=arts

He has been "de facto" retired for years. It seemed unfair that for so many years he remained on the NYCB payroll as a principal but never danced there, while at the same time he was out earning fees as a choreographer at other companies and on other projects.

I wrote those exact words to a friend earlier today!  (Great minds think alike!)

That concept of the hands on the truck is possibly the worst concept for a dance I have ever heard.  What was he thinking when he said "yes?"  Or rather what was he drinking?

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Drew, on 26 October 2011 - 05:14 PM, said:

Everyone sounds pretty irritated with Millepied and dismissive of the recent turns his career has taken.  I agree that it was long past time for pretending he was a principal dancer at NYCB, but since he is retiring as a dancer, I'm up for some nice memories, too -- including the first time I saw him dance which was at an SAB workshop performance. He was dancing in a new Robbins work and made an excellent impression: one instantly saw that he was very talented and I felt nothing but giggling delight at the appropriateness of his name for a ballet dancer--a point that I vaguely remember Clive Barnes was not too high-minded to make.

It seemed to me at the "height" of his dance career, he had the potential to become a go-to leading man for NYCB--especially as Woetzel's career was winding down. That is, he showed himself to be someone with presence who could impress technically and pair effectively with ballerinas. In recent years, I had given up thinking he would realize that potential or even return to his career as a dancer, but when he was dancing with NYCB I was pretty happy to see his name on a program. I certainly have never held his good looks against him.

His choreography? I have not had the chance to see any of his ballets--and read mixed reports about them to say the least--but if he can find creative things to do with a musical about competitive standing-in-place that will be a triumph of sorts.

Drew, I too have good memories of Millepied as a dancer. I still remember one of his performances of "La Baiser de la Fée" -- he wasn't as pyrotechnically thrilling as De Luz in the work's long, taxing male solo, but he better captured its poetry. He was always good in Robbins. At 34 he still had some years of good dancing in him, and I'm sorry he decided to take another path.

[miliosr]

dirac, on 26 October 2011 - 05:53 PM, said:

Quote

Now he can devote all of his time to his career as a male model:

Other dancers have done some modeling, yes? Nothing wrong with it, surely. Nice money if you have the looks and many dancers are naturally good camera subjects.

That wasn't what I was getting at.