55 replies to this topic

[cubanmiamiboy]

AlbanyGirl, on 10 February 2013 - 06:47 AM, said:

ok, I voted but had to fudge the first category by selecting a ballet (see post above), although I haven't actually seen any ballets in cat 1 live.  I chose Giselle because I WILL see it live this summer...

Aawww..your first Giselle..!   ("If I could turn back time..." Cher)

BTW...happy to report that Giselle, Swan Lake and Nutcracker have been thightly even in votes for a while now.  Sleeping Beauty always falls one vote less than the rest.

[sandik]

AlbanyGirl, on 10 February 2013 - 09:40 AM, said:

Oh, how I agree.  Privately, I still call it the better name!  IMO, a truly cultured philanthropist would have insisted on no name change.

I know this is a tangent, so I'll be brief.  We've discussed the use of power by philanthropists in other threads, but I just wanted to raise a hand here -- I understand the desire for recognition, and don't really mind it when new projects are named for the donors that fund them, but it is hard when a well-known title is discarded after years of use for a new name that reflects a substantial gift.  Here in Seattle we've had an ironical experience in the last few years.  Our opera house, which was opened using public money in the first half of the 20th c as the Civic Auditorium, and was translated into the Opera House in the 1960s, was remodeled extensively in the 90s and renamed in honor of the main donors' mother (it is officially Marion Oliver McCaw Hall -- I was lobbying for the familiar name to be Mom Hall, but it's McCaw Hall in all our listings).  At around the same time a group of local donors helped to fund a new project for the local art museum -- an outdoor sculpture park.  They insisted that it be named after the mountain range you see from the part, so it is the Olympic Sculpture Park.  One of the donors, who was the most insistent on not using donor names, died recently -- Mary Shirley was a major participant in the local art world, gave money thoughtfully and generously, and whenever I see the park mentioned in the press, I'm always grateful for the relative anonymity of the gift.

Not so brief after all, and I apologize, but I wanted to say something about her in public and this seemed like the appropriate place.

[sandik]

cubanmiamiboy, on 09 February 2013 - 09:45 PM, said:

Perhaps I wrongly assumed that "Giselle" was the secure choice for everybody.

At one point in our history I think this would have been a safe bet, but repertories have shifted and the Romantic works (both originals and their descendents) are performed far less often than in the past.  Although my local company did add Giselle to their rep a couple years ago (they've done Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty for several years now) it has been ages since I've seen Les Sylphides performed by a fully-professional company, either in a home season or on tour.  I think there are a multitude of reasons for this, not the least of them the development of neoclassical ballet.  You may want this to spin out to a separate thread, but I'll ask here since I'm already here -- is the distinction between classical and romantic ballet a viable one today (not just as a divider between chunks of the historical rep)?  Do people think of Giselle differently than they do the Petipa classics (never mind that most of the material we know of Giselle was restaged and revamped by Petipa...) or do they just think of it all as generically old?

[bart]

Quote

At one point in our history I think this would have been a safe bet, but repertories have shifted and the Romantic works (both originals and their descendents) are performed far less often than in the past.  Although my local company did add Giselle to their rep a couple years ago (they've done Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty for several years now) it has been ages since I've seen Les Sylphides performed by a fully-professional company, either in a home season or on tour.  I think there are a multitude of reasons for this, not the least of them the development of neoclassical ballet.  You may want this to spin out to a separate thread, but I'll ask here since I'm already here -- is the distinction between classical and romantic ballet a viable one today (not just as a divider between chunks of the historical rep)?  Do people think of Giselle differently than they do the Petipa classics (never mind that most of the material we know of Giselle was restaged and revamped by Petipa...) or do they just think of it all as generically old?

An interesting question, which definitely deserves its own thread.  I'll start one , in the AESTHETIC ISSUES forum, unless others would prefer to it to be in Everything Else Ballet.

Here is its: http://balletalert.i...al-distinction/

[AlbanyGirl]

sandik, on 10 February 2013 - 12:31 PM, said:

AlbanyGirl, on 10 February 2013 - 09:40 AM, said:

Oh, how I agree.  Privately, I still call it the better name!  IMO, a truly cultured philanthropist would have insisted on no name change.

I know this is a tangent, so I'll be brief.  We've discussed the use of power by philanthropists in other threads, but I just wanted to raise a hand here -- I understand the desire for recognition, and don't really mind it when new projects are named for the donors that fund them, but it is hard when a well-known title is discarded after years of use for a new name that reflects a substantial gift.  Here in Seattle we've had an ironical experience in the last few years.  Our opera house, which was opened using public money in the first half of the 20th c as the Civic Auditorium, and was translated into the Opera House in the 1960s, was remodeled extensively in the 90s and renamed in honor of the main donors' mother (it is officially Marion Oliver McCaw Hall -- I was lobbying for the familiar name to be Mom Hall, but it's McCaw Hall in all our listings).  At around the same time a group of local donors helped to fund a new project for the local art museum -- an outdoor sculpture park.  They insisted that it be named after the mountain range you see from the part, so it is the Olympic Sculpture Park.  One of the donors, who was the most insistent on not using donor names, died recently -- Mary Shirley was a major participant in the local art world, gave money thoughtfully and generously, and whenever I see the park mentioned in the press, I'm always grateful for the relative anonymity of the gift.

Not so brief after all, and I apologize, but I wanted to say something about her in public and this seemed like the appropriate place.

Sandik, thank you for your post and responding.  I agree and and it infuriates me that this particular theater and the spirit in which it was built, had to be renamed.

[Birdsall]

I was going to click on Grand pas de quatre, but Cristian told me Les Trockaderos does not count! LOL LOL

[cubanmiamiboy]

Birdsall, on 10 February 2013 - 08:29 PM, said:

I was going to click on Grand pas de quatre, but Cristian told me Les Trockaderos does not count! LOL LOL

Well, it is just that their choreo, even as a tribute to Dolin's, certainly ommits a great deal of it, so I don't know...it doesn't sound as a good fit-(although i could be wrong...)

[sandik]

Birdsall, on 10 February 2013 - 08:29 PM, said:

I was going to click on Grand pas de quatre, but Cristian told me Les Trockaderos does not count! LOL LOL

Sometimes the Trocks do a very straight performance of a landmark work, the humor coming strictly from the gender substitution, but I haven't seen their PdQ in a long time, so I'm not sure what they're up to right now.  They'll be in Seattle later this spring, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

[cubanmiamiboy]

A few words to thank you all for your contribution to this thread and your voting.  My intention was to evaluate the degree of familiarity of BT'rs, whom I believe are pretty much representative of the most knowledge side of the audience, to the cornerstones of the art form.  I had a few surprises, as which how few votes works like "Grand Pas de Quatre" or Nijinska's derivative of "Fille"  got.  Other works, like Bournonville's-(with the exception of "La Sylphide")-seem to be even less known for a majority-(me included...Sylphide is the only one I know, and the usual excerpts from Flower Festival), and some recreations, like "Ondine", "La Peri", "Le Talisman" or "La Source" seem to be even more tucked in in their urns.  Then, I know there is a vast number of ballet lovers whom, as bart once wrote, basically see ballet as what Balanchine made of it, which I have come to realize is a whole world of its own, with a vast repertoire and a specific pathos and language.

Still, I'm happy to report "Giselle" ended up hand in hand with "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake"-(38 votes each)-closely followed by "Sleeping Beauty"-(37)-, "Coppelia"-(33)-and "La Bayadere"-(32).

Again, thank you all and Happy Ballet Viewing, and here are the winners!

[Kerry1968]

Cristian what about Don Q?

[cubanmiamiboy]

Kerry1968, on 08 March 2013 - 02:46 AM, said:

Cristian what about Don Q?

Third place with 40 votes!