96 replies to this topic

[ksk04]

sandik, on 23 January 2013 - 08:18 PM, said:

ksk04, on 23 January 2013 - 05:41 PM, said:

Helene, on 23 January 2013 - 10:18 AM, said:

Choosing Milepied might upset Hilaire and Legris equally and avoid chosing between them.

Yes, but it would also be an incredibly poor decision! I hope they do not do this; the POB deserves someone else who can help fix things

I seriously doubt that they would choose Millepied -- his pathway seems pretty clearly set in Los Angeles.

I don't want him here either!!!

[silvermash]

End of speculations : it will be Benjamin Millepied. he discussed how it happened in the New York TImes

[Mashinka]

They are also civil servants, with long-term contracts that run until their mandatory retirement, with pension, at 42. And with the notable exception of Ms. Lefèvre, directors tend to drop like flies at the Paris Opera. Even Rudolf Nureyev lasted only six stormy, if productive, years in the 1980s, while directors like John Taras and Violette Verdy managed just a few seasons.

Didn't Nureyev step down due to ill health?  And how many years was Lifar in charge?

35 seems young to be directing a company but I've noticed directors are getting younger and younger, perhaps before long they will simply recruit from the school.

[Natalia]

silvermash, on 24 January 2013 - 12:34 AM, said:

End of speculations : it will be Benjamin Millepied. he discussed how it happened in the New York TImes

Winner with two votes among us. (Not that that counts but...Holy Sh***!) Mme Millepied now doesn't have to travel to do her Miss Dior commercials!

[bart]

[MOD BEANIE ON:

I've just changed the thread title to reflect this  new- -- and astonishing -- news.  I'll leave it to others to decided whether we need a new thread.  In the meantime:  PLEASE CONTINUE TO POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE.

MOD BEANIE OFF]

My first response when I read the NY Times article:  Well, he DOES speak French!  Haven't been able to move beyond this for a while.  

[Amy Reusch]

Well, his surname finally makes sense...

[sandik]

Wow -- I'm just gobsmacked.

[abatt]

Wouldn't it be nice if NYCB congratulated Ben publicly on its Twitter and/or Facebook page?  This is a major coup for a NYCB Alum.

[ksk04]

This is truly bizarre.


"I want to develop a new identity, really challenge the dancers, make them dance ballets that are not just the classics.”

I guess he hasn't been paying much attention to Lefevre's tenure?

[Mashinka]

ksk04, on 24 January 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:

This is truly bizarre.


"I want to develop a new identity, really challenge the dancers, make them dance ballets that are not just the classics.”

I guess he hasn't been paying much attention to Lefevre's tenure?

Indeed:  that statement reveals a worrying ignorance of  bothe the company and the repertoire.

[elena]

I am not as knowledgeable as others here, but I also felt surprised by this. I hope he doesn't get too carried away with developing this "new identity" for the POB. (Besides, I always had the impression that the POB under Lefevre also did a fair bit of modern works as well - perhaps I am wrong? Anyone feel free to clarify I always enjoy to learn more). I see POB as I see Mariinsky or Bolshoi - it is not that they should be museums of dance, but they also have a tradition that needs to be preserved.

Having said that, I do wish him success in his endeavors and that he finds the balance needed, you never know what can happen.

[Cygnet]

I'm having a Charlie Brown moment.  à

[dirac]

All I can say is....wow. This is going to be interesting.

Mashinka, on 24 January 2013 - 09:58 AM, said:

ksk04, on 24 January 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:

This is truly bizarre.
"I want to develop a new identity, really challenge the dancers, make them dance ballets that are not just the classics.”
I guess he hasn't been paying much attention to Lefevre's tenure?

Indeed:  that statement reveals a worrying ignorance of  bothe the company and the repertoire.

This is the quote in full:

Quote

“I have great admiration for the way Brigitte has brought choreographers like Jérôme Bel and Pina Bausch into the repertory,” he said. “But my interest is in developing the art and the craft of ballet, which is so rich and interesting. This is a great classical company, and I want it to be an environment for the evolution and knowledge of the ballet idiom. I want to develop a new identity, really challenge the dancers, make them dance ballets that are not just the classics.”

That doesn't sound bad at all in theory. (And given some of the stuff I saw the troupe performing in the Wiseman documentary I see the point.) The article notes that he's not going to  "prioritize" his own choreography, a good thing, I gather.

[sandik]

dirac, on 24 January 2013 - 10:21 AM, said:

This is the quote in full:

Quote

“I have great admiration for the way Brigitte has brought choreographers like Jérôme Bel and Pina Bausch into the repertory,” he said. “But my interest is in developing the art and the craft of ballet, which is so rich and interesting. This is a great classical company, and I want it to be an environment for the evolution and knowledge of the ballet idiom. I want to develop a new identity, really challenge the dancers, make them dance ballets that are not just the classics.”

That doesn't sound bad at all in theory. (And given some of the stuff I saw the troupe performing in the Wiseman documentary I see the point.) The article notes that he's not going to  "prioritize" his own choreography, a good thing, I gather.

Agreed -- this sounds like he's hoping to move in a neo-classical direction.  I don't have a deep knowledge of the current repertory, so cannot really comment on the contemporary work they've done, but if Millepied brings in more work by artists like Wheeldon and Ratmansky, along with other rising choreographers like David Dawson, that could be very exciting.

I've only seen a couple examples of his own dances, which I liked, but I think that running an institution like the POB is a hard enough job without trying to focus on your own creative development.

(not to mention the family part)

I wonder about their choosing someone "from the outside," but you know that they've done that several times in the past.

But whatever the inner logic of the decision, this will certainly bring a heightened international focus on the company for a time.

[Quiggin]

By the route that Benjamin Millepied took, Sofiane Sylve could also have been in the running.

A great surprise, but interesting. Hopefully it won't be another generic international program of Wheedon, Ratmansky, Scarlet, but a very French idea of dance curatorship. LA Dance Project did do Cunningham's Winterbranch ("facts in dancing") which is a promising sign.

Some brief voiceover comments by Millepied in this video about his childhood in Senegal and what he looks for to construct a dance:

http://www.ladancepr...rtory/framework