BryMar1995

I need information, please. I am seeking dance festivals in Europe similar to Jacob's Pillow or American Dance Festival, where classes with quality teachers happen daily, and there are performances or workshops by professional artists in the evenings or weekends. I am especially interested in contemporary ballet/dance. I want to attend as an educator for faculty development. Can anyone suggest something worthwhile and interesting? Thanks! Rick McCullough

I also really enjoyed Adrienne Sharp's "White Swan/Black Swan." Very engaging read and rang very true.

Duncan Noble, ballet master, mentor, friend, and beloved teacher at North Carolina School of the Arts, passed away early this morning at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. There were complications after a recent heart surgery from which he was unable to recover. We loved him so much. He was a great and inspirational teacher. He was an elegant and generous man. Always dignified, his classes gave us strength and his teaching gave us a love for classicism. At the moment I do not know about any arrangements for funeral or memorial services but I will post news as I receive it. We mourn his passing, but celebrate his life and the gift of dance he gave to his students. Rick

I think there's plenty of "technique" involved in a Fokine ballet (like Petrouchka, for example). It's just more subtle and less obvious than high legs, big jumps and multiple turns. Virtuoso techinique is only part of the palette a dance artist has to choose from in order to fulfill a role and move an audience. Rick

I think there's plenty of "technique" involved in a Fokine ballet (like Petrouchka, for example). It's just more subtle and less obvious than high legs, big jumps and multiple turns. Virtuoso techinique is only part of the palette a dance artist has to choose from in order to fulfill a role and move an audience. Rick

I always thought of Tudor as an American choreographer although his nationality was British. Perhaps it is because the core of his repertory was performed in the US, some of it made in the US using American themes, and performed by American dancers. I also feel that Balanchine's repertory was determined by the type of dancers he developed and choreographed upon. (Imagine if Balanchine had stayed in Paris after Ballet Russes, or South America!) When I danced in Holland at NDT I felt that Kylian's work was American because 50% of the company were Americans. Forsythe's work looks so right on American dancers. I guess what I'm saying is that American dancers and American vision determine American ballet. Anyway, to take that a step further, I feel that the old Joffrey Ballet of New York (1967- until the move to Chicago) personified for me American ballet. American dancers, American director, American repertory, American vision. Rick

I always thought of Tudor as an American choreographer although his nationality was British. Perhaps it is because the core of his repertory was performed in the US, some of it made in the US using American themes, and performed by American dancers. I also feel that Balanchine's repertory was determined by the type of dancers he developed and choreographed upon. (Imagine if Balanchine had stayed in Paris after Ballet Russes, or South America!) When I danced in Holland at NDT I felt that Kylian's work was American because 50% of the company were Americans. Forsythe's work looks so right on American dancers. I guess what I'm saying is that American dancers and American vision determine American ballet. Anyway, to take that a step further, I feel that the old Joffrey Ballet of New York (1967- until the move to Chicago) personified for me American ballet. American dancers, American director, American repertory, American vision. Rick

Kate, I meant that the dancers relish having new work created on them, especially for them. I know I did. The PBS special was a tough show to pull off, exhausting even, but I thought the company looked magnificent (with the exception of Wendy Whelan who, despite her strong dancing, looked thin to the point of being ill). A Diamond Project season would indeed be tiring, but perhaps no more that when Balanchine did his Ravel season, or any season when he was feeling prolific. I agree with Patricia and Leigh, that there are some choreographers whose style just may not fit well with NYCB. Eifman's theater dance and Preljocaj's modernism may not be what the company was trained for - too much of a departure from neoclassic formalism (although interesting challenges for both developing and mature artists in the company). Morris might be excellent as a formalist, except the ballet he documented on A&E for Royal Winnipeg seemed so darned flippant that I got the impression that he doesn't care about ballet at all, disdains it even. But he loves the paycheck ballet companies can deliver. Van Manen could probably do the company justice if he has inspiraton for a work. I love Forsythe's work on the company. Peter Martins combs the globe for choreographers to do this project. They are the best he can find. What does that leave us to suplement the Balanchine/Robbins repertory? Ashton or MacMillan at NYCB? Fokine's Chopanianna or Kirov productions of Swan Lake? Neurmeir or Cranko repertory in State Theater? Makes one think. Rick

Oh, let it live! The dancers seem to relish it, and there is a certain ballet public that wants to see what's new. Plus NYCB must continue to develop its repertory. What are the alternatives after all? NYCB is, in my opinion, a contemporary ballet company. While remaining firmly rooted in its superb technical base and exraordinary Balanchine repertory, it must still try to move forward. I thought Peter Martins explained that very convincingly on the Live from Lincoln Center broadcast. (What an exciting evening! And what a stupendous company!) The Diamond Project is a courageous and visionary endeavor. Even if you don't agree with everything you see, it still deserves our support. Rick

I remember seeing Gary Chryst as The Profiteer in The Green Table. At first I thought his feet were not flexible and his head too large. By the end of the performance I had forgotten all about his physique. His artistry was so powerful that I was compelled to see beyond the superficial issue of bodily proportions. He was such a master of his body, his focus, his musicality, his phrasing - all I remember was being so pulled into what he was doing and believing completely in his portrayal. It was his performance that night that taught me to look at dancers in a different way. The kind of instrument an artist has does matter, but it matters more if they know how to use it, even if it's not ideal. Rick

Yes, Leigh, it would be great to have some answers to those questions handy, because the art is under a lot of pressure, even under attack, as being anachronistic, stagnant and oppressive. Why do I have to constantly apologize for my art? It is what it is! We can also ask if those who work in classical ballet will be able to or even feel compelled to make ballet harmonius to the current paradigm (Politically Correct ballet, what would that be? Does anyone do it now?) Or is classic ballet unable to bend and flow with the times? What will the direction be for ballet in the 21st century? Evolution, revolution. or oblivion? Ballet has always had its reformers, Noverre, Fokine, Balanchine, Tudor, and DeMille. Can ballet be reformed to be more PC? Does it need to be? With the exception of Forsythe's radical revisionism, reform attempts always seems to lead to a hybid/fusion of ballet/modern. Some feel that these options are inadequate or usuitable. I wonder sometimes if ballet is and easy target for today's PC witch hunts. Does Opera, Theater, Music or the plastic and visual arts get the same knocking? Does it depend on what lens we are taught to look at art through? Having worked in a modern dance university environment, I know that a lot of misiformation about ballet is being spread as knowledge. It comes out mainly as Modern = good, Ballet = bad. Rick

Yes, Leigh, it would be great to have some answers to those questions handy, because the art is under a lot of pressure, even under attack, as being anachronistic, stagnant and oppressive. Why do I have to constantly apologize for my art? It is what it is! We can also ask if those who work in classical ballet will be able to or even feel compelled to make ballet harmonius to the current paradigm (Politically Correct ballet, what would that be? Does anyone do it now?) Or is classic ballet unable to bend and flow with the times? What will the direction be for ballet in the 21st century? Evolution, revolution. or oblivion? Ballet has always had its reformers, Noverre, Fokine, Balanchine, Tudor, and DeMille. Can ballet be reformed to be more PC? Does it need to be? With the exception of Forsythe's radical revisionism, reform attempts always seems to lead to a hybid/fusion of ballet/modern. Some feel that these options are inadequate or usuitable. I wonder sometimes if ballet is and easy target for today's PC witch hunts. Does Opera, Theater, Music or the plastic and visual arts get the same knocking? Does it depend on what lens we are taught to look at art through? Having worked in a modern dance university environment, I know that a lot of misiformation about ballet is being spread as knowledge. It comes out mainly as Modern = good, Ballet = bad. Rick

I adore the Balanchine and Robbins legacy, but I would hate NYCB to become simply a museum. The institution has too much vibrancy and talent and LIFE. The director of any company has a responsibility to the future as well as the past. Rick

I adore the Balanchine and Robbins legacy, but I would hate NYCB to become simply a museum. The institution has too much vibrancy and talent and LIFE. The director of any company has a responsibility to the future as well as the past. Rick

I thought that Homans overemphasized the Russian emigre influence in making NYCB what it was and is. If Balanchine was the heart of the company, then the dancers, nearly all American, were and are the blood, muscle and bones. To picture NYCB as a transplanted Russian company is a real stretch. I think it's important that the company try to find a new direction, and new repertory. That's as it should be. Life goes on. Martins seems intent on preserving and creating for the Balanchine dancer. But the Balanchine legacy is just too immense. The work is too great. I wonder if the Balanchine rep is treated with maybe too great a respect in restaging at home - that ithe original intent gets stifled in the desire to preserve it as perfectly as possible. Ballets become mechanical and do lose their heart when treated this way (re--staging of works of Tudor come to mind). I agree that I've seen Balanchine works performed with great artistry outside of State Theater, and maybe that's as it should be as well. I don't think the Balanchine rep will die if it resides with others outside of New York for awhile. And when Martins, Farrell and Hayden and Villella are gone, what then? Rick