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How Did You Discover Ballet? (was Audiences)

Started by Alexandra , Dec 08 1998 10:17 AM

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#16 Giannina

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Posted 08 April 1999 - 07:46 PM

atm711....Tell us more, pleeeease!!

Giannina

#17 Irina

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Posted 08 April 1999 - 10:03 PM

Hi, I am Irina's daughter.  My first ballet teacher used to sing a song called There was a Pretty Princess every day at the end of class.  The song was about the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and my classmates and I got to dance the roles.  At 6 years old I thought it was very romantic and I dreamed of being able to do it on a big stage in a pretty costume.  I had no idea of how to get there.   I continued to take ballet classes basically because of this.  

I probably really started to fall in love with ballet when I was 11 and I met my first serious ballet teacher.  I remember watching her perform The Dying Swan from the wings with my friends and she was so beautiful.   The music seemed to be a part of her and  she brought so much of her soul into it that it made me emotional just watching her.  I cried for the dying swan.  At that moment I decided that I would put all my heart into trying to become the kind of ballerina that she was.  I worked with her nearly every day for the next 4 years and tried to learn everything that I could from her that would bring me closer to the kind of ballerina that I wanted to be, and she taught me so much.


[This message has been edited by Irina (edited April 09, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Irina (edited April 11, 1999).]

#18 Guest_Lugo_*

    I first heard about dance from my mother, who studied as a child with Vasilieff (sp?), Jacqueline Schumacher, Madame Alexandra Fedorova,and took class with Igor Youskevitch and the Ballet Theatre when they were the visiting company. She then married and had a family, rather than continue with ballet. She introduced me to it when i was very young.
    The first ballet i saw was Giselle with Carla Franke (sp?) when i was about 4-5. I remember very little, except i wanted to take ballet! (and the teacher said not until i was 8) *vsf*.  She took me to see Cynthia Gregory in Copellia the following year, and i absolutely loved everything about it! - Cynthia was my idol for many years thereafter.  She also took me to see Swan Lake with Natalia Makarova, but Cynthia Gregory did the performance. Everyone we went with seemed so upset that Makarova wasn't in the role that night, except my mom.  I was just plain in awe, she was the most beautiful dancer i ever saw do this role (maybe just because i was so young and impressionable, but no one has come close to her performance for me).  The teacher finally relented at 7 years old, and allowed me to take class.  I am still in love with Ballet, and am way too isolated here in the Islands.. Cant' wait to move back to the mainland" - *S*

    Aloha


    [This message has been edited by Lugo (edited April 09, 1999).]

#19 atm711

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Posted 09 April 1999 - 02:10 PM

Thanks Giannina.  My introduction to ballet was via the film company, Warner Bros.  They filmed two of Massine's ballets, "Gaite Parisienne" and "Capriccio Espanol".  I was mesmerized by the hypnotic stare of Massine in "Capriccio".  If you have never seen these two films (made in 1941) I would urge you to seek them out.  You can imagine my joy only a few years later when I "supered" at the old "Met" in a production of Petrouchka, with Massine-- and Eglevsky as the Blackamoor, and Lucia Chase as the Ballerina...Ballet Theatre was considered a very glamorous company then--lots of guest stars, but we longed to see our favorite "home growns" like Alonso and Nora Kaye and a dancer you don't hear too much about nowadays-  John Kriza.  I was not a fan of Alicia Markova, she and Dolin were well passed their prime, even then.  I am still an avid ballet-goer and generally seek out Nina Ananiashvilli and Wendy Whelan.

#20 atm711

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Posted 09 April 1999 - 02:10 PM

Thanks Giannina.  My introduction to ballet was via the film company, Warner Bros.  They filmed two of Massine's ballets, "Gaite Parisienne" and "Capriccio Espanol".  I was mesmerized by the hypnotic stare of Massine in "Capriccio".  If you have never seen these two films (made in 1941) I would urge you to seek them out.  You can imagine my joy only a few years later when I "supered" at the old "Met" in a production of Petrouchka, with Massine-- and Eglevsky as the Blackamoor, and Lucia Chase as the Ballerina...Ballet Theatre was considered a very glamorous company then--lots of guest stars, but we longed to see our favorite "home growns" like Alonso and Nora Kaye and a dancer you don't hear too much about nowadays-  John Kriza.  I was not a fan of Alicia Markova, she and Dolin were well passed their prime, even then.  I am still an avid ballet-goer and generally seek out Nina Ananiashvilli and Wendy Whelan.

#21 Giannina

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Posted 09 April 1999 - 03:07 PM

atm711, I remember John Kriza.  I was very young (pre- and/or early teens) when he was dancing with Ballet Theatre and they'd visit San Francisco.  My favorite ballet at the time was "Fancy Free" (I still love it) and it was a treat when he was in it.  He seemed more dashing than the others, especially Youskovich (spelling).  I still have some programs from those old Ballet Theatre productions, and it was fun to watch the kids from San Francisco Ballet school (where I studied...in vain) enter the corps of Ballet Theatre.  

Giannina

#22 Guest_kim & lexi_*

    Well, this is going to be a little B-O-R-I-N-G too.  We put Lexi in dance to help her overcome her shyness.  She has been in since Sept 98 and loves it.  She won't even play t-ball or soccer!!!!  I think it is a great way to help kids spread their wings.

    God Bless,
    kim

#23 Guest_Savoye_*

    Well, I don't know if anyone will see this, but my parents took me along to the ballet school when they signed my sister up for ballet.  the receptionist (who only very recently left the school) said that there was a boys' class and asked if I would like to dance, too.  I said yes, so my mom signed me up, too.  I enjoyed class, but I didn't become really serious until I was about 10.  That's when I could really understand the technique and the work that was involved in becoming a dancer.  However, I didn't really understand the art of ballet itself until I went to a summer program taught by Suzanne Farrell.  She taught me that it's not just technique; it's emotion and passion.  You have to put 100% of yourself into every performance, and that is what will not only captivate the audience, but provide a catharsis for you, the dancer, as well.  Now, I compare the emotion and passion of every dancer I see to Ms. Farrell, and I have yet to find one who actually puts all of her/himself into every single thing s/he does.  Several people come close, and many move so beautifully that it's hard to take my eyes off of them, but I don't think that anyone quite embodies this ideal of dedication that Ms. Farrell exemplifies.  (Well...Kyra Nichols and Alexandra Danilova come close Posted Image)

#24 Guest_Lauren_*

    I didn't even sign up for my first ballet class!  My friend was shy and her mom thought ballet would help.  She wouldn't go alone, so she signed me up, too.  I was on vacation!  I was only 4 at the time. I don't know if she is still dancing but because of that class I decided I wanted to be a ballet dancer and haven't changed my mind since.  Also, when I was about ten and a half my mom took me to see Royal Ballet's Sleeping Beauty and I loved it.  From then on I've always wanted to be Aurora.  (hence my e-mail address Aurora314).  I'm 15 now and I'm still dancing.

#25 cargill

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Posted 13 May 1999 - 03:22 PM

Lauren, did you know that supposedly Pavlova decided to become a ballet dancer when her mother took her to see the Sleeping Beauty?  As I recall, her mother asked her if she would like to be like one of the dancers in the group (the corps), and she said, no, she wanted to be like Aurora.  Who did you see do Aurora?  Mary

#26 Alexandra

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Posted 13 May 1999 - 04:04 PM

Thanks, Savoye and Lauren, for reviving this thread.  I enjoyed reading your stories!

Please reply to Mary's question, or add your own "How I discovered ballet stories" on a new thrad.  This one is getting too long, so it will be closed.
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