25 replies to this topic

[Giannina]

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

Giannina

[Irina]

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).]

[atm711]

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.

[atm711]

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.

[atm711]

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.

[Giannina]

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

[cargill]

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

[cargill]

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

[cargill]

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

[cargill]

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

[Alexandra]

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.