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Imaginary meeting


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I MET Makarova, my all time favorite dancer! I should have grovelled at her feet, thanked her for the hours of thrills her dancing had given me, sung songs of praise. What did I do? I stood there like a ninny and asked her for her autograph. Period. Jeez!

I'd probably do that with any other dancer I met.

Giannina

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I've actully met a lot of dancers, and I have talked to some of them for 30 mins plus! Some dancers really don't have much to say, but others REALLY do. I really enjoyed talking to them. I find that once you have met a dancer, the ones that were friendly to you stick in your mind for a long time, and you never really have anything bad to say about them.

gwschloss

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I've met lots and lots of dancers too - and I've spoken to them. The person I did meet but failed to do more than stammer a few idiotic words to was Massine. But if I have to pick just one, I think I'd like to meet Kshessinskaya. Second choice would be Karsavina. Tomorrow I might have other ideas. :)

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I once met a famous dancer, (or atleast i mean his famous?! )

I was only 5, just started dancing, and was with my father on work (hes a journalist)

He wrote a looong message/autograph to me in english, with a hand writing I still is working to understand.

Hes name was Pissarev or something like that, I have long tried to figure out who he is.. Anyone know? Anyways he was exellent, he danced with (his wife i think, dont remember surely) a girl in a pas de deux, the first one I ever saw!! I remember he looked so young, but my dad said he was quite old to be a dancer...

I think i said "you were wonderful out there" with my father to translate for me... Il go ask if he remebers something :P

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I'm lucky to have met all the dancers I've ever wanted to meet, at the Royal Ballet along with my ABT favourites Stiefel and Corella while they guested here. I'm much too shy though but I'm getting much better and after 8 months have progressed from "Can I have your autograph/get a photo?" to "I thought you were fantastic!" to asking whether they were happy with their performance and actually getting a response beyond thank-you! :P The friendliest ones I definitely remember the most, but it makes it an awful lot harder to be objective in posting reviews.

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Sylvia, I agree, especially with your last comment :P

One comment a friend taught me comes in handy if you happen to meet a dancer whose performance you did NOT like. A simple, "Thank you for tonight" can let you be polite without being hypocritical.

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Alexandra, yep I totally agree. It's the very least I'll say because even if I didn't enjoy a performance I'll always appreciate at the most basic level the talent and hardwork the dancers display.

Actually reading the other posts reminds me of a lot more dancers. Natalia Makarova came over to coach Bayadere in Feb and was absolutely mobbed by fans at the stage door, and it was nice how gracious she was because some would show up with whole packs of old photos to sign. And a few weeks ago after a Giselle matinee, to my complete surprise Anthony Dowell, Antoinette Sibley and Lesley Collier came out all at once and everyone was like wow - what a treat! So I guess after that I'm done! Except for Julio Bocca whom I missed after a particularly fiery display of tango with his company. Ahhhh...missed him!

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Holy smokes, Alexandra, now I'm worried. Almost every time I've seen the object of my fandom after one of her company's performances, I've told her "Thank you for tonight," or some variation thereof. I didn't realize I was telling her I didn't like it. Please advise.

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I'd love to meet Balanchine. I think we're on the same wavelength somehow. I'd also like to hear him defend himself against all of the criticisms of the politically-correct set. [note: I am a feminist. I am not being malicious. Do not take offense...:)]

Barring that, I'd like to meet anyone who danced with the Ballets Russes, before it's too late, if you get my drift.

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There are many people that I'd like to meet... but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do more than looking at my feet and mumbling things that they wouldn't understand.

About the "thank you": perhaps Alexandra meant that when you didn't like the performance, you can say just "thank you for tonight" to thank the dancers for their hard work and effort, but don't have to feel obligated to add "you were terrific tonight, it was a wonderful performance" if it's not what you think...

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The dancer I would most like to have met is Karsavina, though I can't imagine what I would say to her. It would be interesting to hear her opinions of Royal Ballet dancers, though I know she did say things like "The legend of Nijinsky lives on in Nureyev". She was very articulate and intelligent, so would be rewarding to talk to.

I knew a music critic (now dead) who did meet her, when doing some research on Stravinsky. This is when she was quite old. He went to her flat in London, which was up a flight of stairs. He thought manners demanded that she should go first up the stairs, after she came down to open the door, but she insisted that he went first. She said, "I don't want you to see the wreck of the Firebird." Such a poignant story.

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I agree with 'thank you' being a good way to address the performer even if I didn't like the performance.

But I often use a simple 'thank you' for a sublime performance, when words cannot describe the beauty I have just witnessed.

:)

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Originally posted by Estelle

About the "thank you": perhaps Alexandra meant that when you didn't like the performance, you can say just "thank you for tonight" to thank the dancers for their hard work and effort, but don't have to feel obligated to add "you were terrific tonight, it was a wonderful performance" if it's not what you think...

Thank you, Estelle. That's exactly what I meant :D

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