148 replies to this topic

[LiLing]

I think the college vs career issue is undergoing a sea change.  Many dancers are thinking ahead about second careers, and working toward degrees while performing in companies.  Some companies are even encouraging and facilitating this.  At NYCB I know Jenifer Ringer has earned her degree, and Teresa Reichlen is enrolled in the general studies program at Columbia.

[perky]

puppytreats, on 10 July 2012 - 07:46 AM, said:

I don't get what Ronnie is so proud of.  He is not pleasing to look at or watch dance.  His personality is not attractive, either.  I did not find him particularly humorous.

Puppytreats,
I'm laughing at him, not with him. His complete lack of self-awareness as to his own ridiculousness is what I find amusing.

[Helene]

LiLing, on 10 July 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

I think the college vs career issue is undergoing a sea change.  Many dancers are thinking ahead about second careers, and working toward degrees while performing in companies.  Some companies are even encouraging and facilitating this.  At NYCB I know Jenifer Ringer has earned her degree, and Teresa Reichlen is enrolled in the general studies program at Columbia.

NYCB had a program with Fordham for many years -- I'm not sure that it still exists -- and dancers who took courses at Barnard for decades. PNB has a program called Second Stage, where dancers apply to receive funding to go to school or start their own businesses,and where a professor from Seattle University teaches a course around company hours each semester.  I'm sure other companies have similar programs.

The issue here, though, is whether someone can become a professional ballet dancer after training in college, not in or just in a pre-professional program in a company related school, like SAB or Houston Ballet School, or independent schools like CPYB or Harid.

[LiLing]

I don't think it is just a question of whether or not the training in college departments is rigorous enough to turn out professional dancers.  Age is also a factor.  How open are artistic directors of ballet companies to hiring a twenty-two year old with no professional experience?

[Helene]

There are a lot of companies where dancers don't make a living at it and/or subsidize their own professional dancing, as well as companies that don't offer full-time work, more than the 12-15 we think of as being the norm.  

There are performing opportunities at many college/university dance departments, often more than dancers in pre-professional programs that rely on big recitals.  Dancers in college have great opportunities to create small groups and work with choreographers, who create work on them, an experience that many in pre-professional programs don't.  They might also take classes from schools and studios in the area and/or during the summers.

I think it depends on the Artistic Director and how well the DVD is received and the audition, open or Company class, goes.  It's not going to happen in companies that rely upon their own schools, like NYCB, SFB, PNB, but companies looking for "position players" might be more amenable to it.  A touring company, for example, might be enriched by having some mature corps dancers, especially if a company is as socially hierarchical as Ballet West is portrayed.  Not every company is looking for a 17-year-old fresh slate.

[pherank]

lmspear, on 01 June 2012 - 07:44 AM, said:

...your comment gives me hope that the Balanchine Trust may have begun to find a way to work with others to allow the pubic to see more of the choreography.

The Balanchine Trust is always going to approach things in the same manner, as they follow copyright law to the letter. From their website:

"Can I post footage of my company, which was licensed the rights to perform a Balanchine ballet, on my company’s website or social media site?
The Trust is supportive of companies posting footage for promotional purposes of the Balanchine ballets they have performed.  Prior to posting, this footage must be sent to the Trust for approval and fall within the following parameters.  The entire video is to be no longer than 3 minutes, with no continuous footage of choreography beyond 30-40 seconds.  The video must contain the copyright credit which can be included where other credits are listed:

Name of Ballet (italicized)
Choreography by George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust"

Period. End of story. Presumably the TV show licensing is very similar to the above stipulations for footage - that's why Breaking Pointe shows us only tiny bits of Emeralds. The problem being that the laws being relied upon were poorly written and have become a big impediment to the sharing and enjoyment of creative works. Ironically, for much of the world, anything to do with Balanchine is just a pain in the neck to get a hold of. Who wants to pay $250 for a copy of the The Balanchine Celebration VHS tape (and that's just Vol.1) because it won't likely ever be made available on DVD? New Yorkers are spoiled in being able to see Mr. B programs, but the rest of us are lucky to see one Balanchine piece a season at a regional ballet show. Yada yada...

[puppytreats]

They negotiate the terms of a license, presumably, and pay a fee in exchange for usage.  The law itself is not the limitation.  The law offers protection to the owner of the copyright.

[pherank]

puppytreats, on 10 July 2012 - 12:49 PM, said:

The law offers protection to the owner of the copyright.

Hah! That's so easy. We've got to get ourselves some more laws then. ;)
Too bad that the reality is a legal morass that causes a great deal of stress for artists and arts administrators (who are not, of course, lawyers, so they need to come up with money they don't have to employ legal teams), and in the end, a great many things don't get done. And money is not made that could be...

This actually does relate to Breaking Pointe since licensing rules determine to a large degree what actual ballet content can be shown. Btw, a nice discussion of the Balanchine video troubles is available here:
http://balletalert.i...anchine-videos/

[cinnamonswirl]

LiLing, on 10 July 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

I think the college vs career issue is undergoing a sea change.  Many dancers are thinking ahead about second careers, and working toward degrees while performing in companies.  Some companies are even encouraging and facilitating this.  At NYCB I know Jenifer Ringer has earned her degree, and Teresa Reichlen is enrolled in the general studies program at Columbia.

Teresa Reichlen is actually at Barnard. Justin Peck is a GS student, as is Likolani Brown, and probably others as well. (Not that the distinction between Barnard and Columbia General Studies is that important in the context of this overall discussion.)

[puppytreats]

cinnamonswirl, on 11 July 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:

LiLing, on 10 July 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

I think the college vs career issue is undergoing a sea change.  Many dancers are thinking ahead about second careers, and working toward degrees while performing in companies.  Some companies are even encouraging and facilitating this.  At NYCB I know Jenifer Ringer has earned her degree, and Teresa Reichlen is enrolled in the general studies program at Columbia.

Teresa Reichlen is actually at Barnard. Justin Peck is a GS student, as is Likolani Brown, and probably others as well. (Not that the distinction between Barnard and Columbia General Studies is that important in the context of this overall discussion.)

It is.  Presumably, GS students are not full-time, traditional students, and are not in a dance program.  Therefore, they are not going to a college dance program and then seeking to obtain employment as a dancer in a company.  Since Barnard has a dance program, the obligations of a dancer in a company may be different, as well.

[cinnamonswirl]

Well, Reichlen is not a full-time student at Barnard, so in her case some of the distinction between Barnard and GS is lost. She takes 1 or 2 classes a semester, and I think it took something like 4 years for her to achieve sophomore standing. As far as I know she has not taken dance classes at Barnard. (I've always wanted to ask if she's going to take dance for her PE credit or do a "traditional" sport.)

Ringer, Reichlen, Peck and Brown all went to SAB and then joined NYCB. I'm not sure when Reichlen and Peck started college (i.e. the year after they graduated high school, or did they take time off in between like Ringer and Brown), but their college careers are tangential to their ballet training. They did not go through a college dance program and then join a company.

[Jayne]

back to Breaking Pointe - I grudgingly watched the show on the CW website.  Regarding the copywrite - would it apply to Paquita?  They appeared to use a Maly stager, so I assume they were not using the Balanchine variations choreo.  Is the music or russian choreo to Paquita copywrited, or has it long expired?  If the latter, then CW should have shown more dancing with the correct music under it.

[Helene]

I just looked at the Fall for Dance lineup, and Ballet West is bringing the Grand Pas from "Paquita" to New York's City Center for the Festival on October 2-3 at 8pm.  The Company shares Program 3 with TU Dance, Nan Jombang, and Moiseyev Dance Company.

http://www.nycitycen...anceNumber=6650

[Andre Yew]

There is an interesting interview with Allison about Breaking Pointe here:

Quote

Once we got down to business, Allison quickly addressed the ballet world's stern response towards the show. It was this exact type of feedback that made the dancers of Ballet West question letting cameras into the rehearsal studio. But the dancers considered the potential in reaching new audiences. She explained, "We didn't do the show for other dancers…we did the show for the general public who does not know ballet."

...

Allison insisted nothing on the show was staged. However, many moments seemed "insincere" because of the filming process. It took time to prepare shoots and, sometimes, restaurants or shops had to be closed in order to film without interruptions or complications. How to behave in front of the cameras, which were in her apartment some days from 7 am to 1 am, was a learning curve. Yet, there was no denying that some of the more dramatic aspects were played up for entertainment sake.

...

We certainly didn't see a lot of the dancing through the first season. Allison explained that the rehearsal and performance sequences were sliced and diced to the extreme because of rights issues—not just for choreography, but for the music as well. There were a lot of technicalities affecting the aired rehearsal and performance footage, which other professional dancers may not be aware of.

[dirac]

Nice article, Andre, thanks. It was certainly clear no one was used to having camera crews around all the time.