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photoguy

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  1. Following on from Mel Johnson's post regarding CD life... This web page has some surprising information regarding CD's (and, I guess, DVDs): http://www.archives.state.co.us/cpa/articl...l/careofcds.htm
  2. And another - this one is listed as Near Fine http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchan...7545845-0424821
  3. Thanks Leigh, Alexandra. Yes, a sort of libretto is more like it and possibly the notebooks that Alexandra speaks about are the sort of thing. Not just a storyline but also a brief description of how the storyline is being told in movement. But from what you are both saying it seems that even if they exist within companies, it is extremely unlikely that they would be made available to the public. Ah well... Old reviews is good thinking... and there must be stuff on the web (like this bulletin board!) which has information about newer ballets. By the way, I've printed out the entire classicism archive and it makes good reading.
  4. Sorry, Alexandra, when I mentioned a "choreological description", I was actually meaning a notated script using either Laban or Benesh notation. I've had a look at both of these just out of interest - It's very detailed and would take a good year or two's study to master. Labanotation is a more general system of movement notation and is adaptable to all sorts of movement recording whereas Benesh is highly geared to classical ballet. I was actually after a level up from there. Something that talks in words about the dancer's movements but not in the detail that notation would give. That aside, the Ralov work sounds very interesting. Sort of a Rosetta Stone of the ballet world! I'll have to chase that one up. Regarding the way ballets are staged: Yes, I think when the Australian Ballet did Bella Figura Kylian actually came out here for a couple of days. But he'd already sent an assistant choreographer ahead to do the major staging work and his role was to give the production his imprimateur. I think there's a special name for that sort of assistant choreographer, but I've forgotten. I've seen the National Theatre Ballet here use videos - but I still can't help thinking that there must be a written script which is not at the notation level which they would use in working with the dancers. Maybe I'm wrong... I'm slowly building my collection of ballet DVDs just so that I can do as you say - watch 'em 'till I drop! But the non-mainstream ballets are just not on DVD as far as I can tell. Commercial reality stifles artistic desire yet again!
  5. In the program that you buy at the theatre there is a synopsis of the ballet you are about to see. This is a compressed, 300 word or so, description of the storyline. Mentions the major roles but nothing more detailed. At the other extreme, there could be a complete choreological description of the dance. Every scene broken down by role and movement. I'm not sure that these exist in many cases, but it represents the most granular of written descriptions if they do exist. Now, somewhere between these, not quite as granular as the choreological description and not including the choreology, but certainly much more detailed than the synopsis, I figure there must exist a description of the ballet. A scene by scene, role by role description of what the dancers are doing. Something that names the roles and groups of dancers (eg: "Big Swans", "Little Swans"). What's this called? Just so I can talk about it a little more, let me call it a "Ballet Script" and I'll use the right name when I know it. Are ballet scripts publicly available? The reason I'm asking: I'm a viewer of ballets. Someone who has not had ballet training but who has acquired what knowledge he has by osmosis from being around dance schools taking photos and seeing as many ballets as he can afford. For mainstream ballets, having seen several performances and read about them, I get to know the "What" of the ballets. The acts, the scenes, the roles but maybe not quite to the level of someone who is staging the ballet. For not so mainstream ballets (lets pick "The Leaves are Fading"), I might see one performance in a couple of years - I don't know the roles, the scenes and so on. After a few months I might remember snippets of the dance but couldn't describe the dance in detail. Short of taking a notepad into the performance and furiously jotting down some sort of shorthand of what I'm seeing, I have no way to create a "nudge" for my memory. If I want to write about a ballet that I've seen, it would be great to have a ballet script that I could refer to. Where I could think "Ah Yes! That's where that group of four came in from the left, pas de bourreed to centre..." And so on... So, does this thing I've called a ballet script exist? What is it really called? Is it possible to get hold of one for a particular dance? Are companies loathe to let such things become public knowledge for reasons of copyright, plagiarism and so on? What do small companies need to get hold of if they want to perform a particular ballet (Like "The Leaves are Fading")? etc... etc...
  6. That's what I was after - some aspects to look for which would help with classifying dance as belonging to a particular genre. Thanks Leigh. I'll do some further reading - particularly around Martha Graham's back/pelvis movements. Anyone know of any dance analyses with an associated video or dvd? I just need someone to point and say "Look, see that movement? Well, it's firmly rooted in the classical vocabulary." ;)
  7. En-Pointe: Yes Classical: Yes Dancers comfortable: Definitely yes - one or two very minor awkward spots - maybe Graeme is still ironing out the wrinkles... Please excuse my lack of reviewer finesse - this is my first try. Would you mind explaining your use of the term "vocabulary" - I realise that it is a way of defining whether a piece is classical, contemporary etc... but I'm not yet able to talk knowledgeably about this aspect of dance. For instance, whilst I felt that the overall feel of the dance was classical, there were movements which reminded me more of the style of Jiri Kylian which, I think, is more "contemporary"? The pas de trois, for example, was an intertwining of bodies whilst still using classical arabesques, developees... If I've got this right...
  8. I've just returned from seeing a terrific new ballet from the Australian Ballet. Stunning sets, beautiful costumes, excellent choreography, wonderful music, superb performances. It's a ballet in four acts choreographed by Graeme Murphy: Act 1 opens with our young heroine (Simone Goldsmith) happily contemplating the prospect of her marriage to the prince (Steven Heathcote) the following day. She catches sight of him approaching and runs to hide behind the grey-black curtains. Lovely piece of dance work here as the prince dances with the impression of her body through the curtain... but wait! As she steps from behind the curtain we see it is not our heroine but the baroness (Margaret Illman)! Some passionate love making follows between the prince and the baroness and the scene is set for the heroine's downfall. -blackout- scene change to the wedding the following day... Lots of dancers as guests at the wedding. Clever cameo role for dotty young girl who is head over heels in love with another of the guests... Heroine appears in gorgeous wedding gown with extra long train which is used brilliantly in her pas de deux with the prince. Wrapping/unwrapping the pair as they dance together. Wedding over and the couple re-appear in their going away outfits: she in pretty apricot dress and he in blue serge suit. The baroness joins the party and it is immediately apparent that she has designs on the prince. Knowing glances give way to touches between the baroness and the prince with the heroine becoming more and more aware of the situation - culminating in a stunning pas de trois where the prince becomes increasingly unaware of the heroine and fully aware of the baroness. This is clever choreography as the three intertwine... the baroness making ever more passionate advances and our heroine less and less able to intervene. Eventually the young girl can take no more and decides to make the prince jealous by making advances to every other male at the party. This backfires as the baroness words up the queen (did I mention the queen? No? There's a queen.) about her behaviour. Eventually, everyone at the party is in a lather of disapproval towards our poor girl - including the prince. She begs him to reject the baroness and return her love but is cruelly rejected by this beast of a man. Steve plays this wonderfully - his cold, hard cruelty increasing more and more as our heroine becomes more desperate to regain his love. Hey Steve! That's our Simone! You leave her alone! The beast! The Cad! The Bounder! Oops... sorry... got carried away there... but it was a very good piece of dancing. Well, as you can imagine, being rejected and cruelly treated by her husband on her wedding day and shunned by everyone else at the wedding party, our poor heroine flips her wig. She runs from guest to guest pleading and generally carrying on in a real mad scene... (now this looks familiar... where have I seen this before?). But in the meanwhile, the queen has been in touch with the local sanatorium and they come and take the poor girl away... Which leaves the prince and the baroness to carry on themselves. Act 2: The sanatorium. A totally white set - apart from some steel pipes leading to a totally white bath and a large bay window with a view over a dark and sombre lake. Our heroine clad in a white bath robe sits hugging herself and rocking on a totally white bench beneath the bay window. The Sisters of Mercy in totally white habits arrive to force our young girl into the bath. Having bathed her, they slip her into a white smock to await the arrival of the prince who is paying her a visit. When the prince arrives she becomes frantic and he is unable to control her. He decides to leave. The girl looks out the large bay window and sees the prince and the baroness arm-in-arm leaving the sanatorium. This is too much for her and FLASH! The bay window disappears revealing the lake with a group of swans... the walls of the sanatorium disappear... The swans: Costume is a white bodice with a calf length “floaty” type of skirt, shorter at the front. When seated on the stage, this gives the impression of the swan’s body. Small cap-like headpiece with a “lacy/feathered” look. Our heroine joins the swans and appears at one point amidst them dancing dressed as they are. Lots of pretty ballet here including a piece for four cygnets which is very familiar – but wait! What happened then? Oh, clever! The cygnets have swapped places without letting go of their hands… and again! And that’s a new arrangement too – forming a square… hmmm quite nice really. The prince appears – this time as the loving husband he should be and they dance a delightful pas de deux. No portable barre role for the prince here… this is two people dancing passionately together. I love the way Steve can lift her over his head without the slightest quiver in his arms – it appears so effortless and flowing. Thunderous applause – but the orchestra won’t wait for us… The baroness appears and the vision is destroyed. The stark white sanatorium returns and leaves the young girl staring out the window at the retreating figures of the prince and the baroness. Act 3: A party at the palace. The walls are black ripples or corrugations (there is a credit to M C Escher’s “Rippled Surface” in the program notes – maybe that’s referring to this set). Set high and angled towards us is a large, black, oval reflecting surface where we can see the dancers on the stage below reflected. Dancers clad mostly in black: Tuxedos for the men and beautiful dresses with a dark mustard colour for the women. The baroness is in grey and black. Trumpets herald each group of guests as they arrive. The dotty young duchess appears again making an ultra-fast flying entrance into the arms of the earl. Laughter from the audience. Lots of dancing as the party gets under way. Nice pas de deux from the prince and the baroness. Suddenly our heroine appears – unheralded. She is dressed all in white. The guests part in confusion to let her in. She is cool, calm, elegant and goes to each of them in turn to chat. Some are concerned and move away, others are glad to see her. The prince becomes more and more aware of her presence and the baroness more agitated. This culminates in a similar pas de trios as in the first act. However, this time it is the baroness who loses the prince's attention and our young girl who wins him over. Fickle sort of a cove, this prince. The baroness is incensed and there follows an altercation where our heroine is forced to flee from whence she came. The prince and the baroness perform a rejection pas de deux where all the attentions of the baroness are rebuffed by the prince who is now besotted with the departed young girl. All the guests have gone and now the prince departs to find his true love… The baroness now performs a delicious solo full of spite and vixen devilry and then runs off to follow the prince – obviously with some evil plan in mind. Act 4: The lake. All black. The swans have the same dress style as in act 2 except that they are now all black. Our heroine is with them similarly dressed. After some interesting swanning around, the prince arrives to be with his love and they dance happily. A little later the baroness turns up to break up the happy couple and try to re-claim the prince – but he’s not interested. The baroness keeps up her interference and our heroine eventually sees that there can be no future for her with the prince and casts herself into the lake. Poignant scene as she sinks beneath the water with the prince sadly looking on. (Now any decent prince would have dived in after her, but not this fellow). Scene ends with the prince staring despondently over the audience pining for his love. - THE END – Now, as I said at the beginning, Costumes, Sets, Choreography, Music are all wonderful. Story line could do with a bit of work. But overall I really enjoyed it. Just one quibble – I know Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music identifies with a particular ballet but the story line and the choreography are totally different – so why do we need to call it Swan Lake? Cast list: Odette: Simone Goldsmith Prince Siegfried: Steven Heathcote Baroness Von Rothbart: Margaret Illman The Queen: Andrea Toy Prince Consort: Robert Olup Princess Royal: Lynette Wills Princess Royal’s Husband: Adam Thurlow Duke: Joshua Consandine Young Duchess to be: Madeline Eastoe Earl: Timothy Harbour Earl’s Equerry: Mathew Donnelly Lord Admiral: Colin Peasley Marquis: Harry Haythorne Baroness’ Husband: Adrian Burnett Lead Hungarian Couple: Renee Moon, Joshua Horner Royal Physician: Timothy Farrar Guardian Swans: Rachel Read, Annabel Bronner Read Cygnets: Rachel Rawlins, Gaylene Cummerfield Leanne Stojmenov, Camilla Vergotis Guests, Hungarians, Swans, Servants, Nuns and Children Artists of the Australian Ballet and of the Australian Ballet Junior School
  9. I think the notion that "Classical Tutu = Ballet" is akin to the popular view that "Ballet = Swan Lake". The tutu is role specific and because the two best known ballets (Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty) have their stars clad in tutus, I believe this has lead to the notion that the tutu is a sort of ballerina's uniform. Young dancers aspire to wear a tutu. It's very pretty and it's probably the very first costume they saw as tiny tots going to their first Sleeping Beauty. Every child's ballet book shows ballerina's in tutus. When they do get to wear their first tutu in performance, it is not the wearing of the tutu that has been achieved. The achievement is the ability to perform the role which requires the tutu as costume. In my view the tutu is a costume like any other for dance. Along with setting, lighting, choreography and music, costume is an essential part of the choreographer's arsenal in creating mood and emotion in a performance. If the choreographer feels that a tutu is the most appropriate costume for the dance, then fine... A modern example is the tutus used in Divergence - I think they're superb! But I'm not going to miss tutus in new ballets if the choreographer doesn't want to use them. Just thinking about it... ballets I've seen in the last six months which don't feature classical tutus: Spartacus, The Sentimental Bloke, Black Cake, Giselle, Subtle Sequence of Revelation, Catalyst, The Leaves are Fading, Marguerite and Armand, Tryst... ... Sorry ronny, I can honestly say that I didn't miss tutus at all!
  10. Wow! www.balletcompanies.com is fantastic! I'll do some research and see what I can dig up about gender balance etc... Thanks!
  11. Sorry Alexandra, I didn't mean to come across as negative about the other site. In fact I have a great deal of affection for the other site and its members and I'm still active there. For various reasons, some of the deeper topics don't get discussed there but this doesn't mean it's not a nice place to be - far from it! It's just different.
  12. Hi Old Fashioned! That's where I got my HB data! But there weren't many replies on the other board and I wanted some more analytical responses - hence my move to this board... (psst... they have a lot of more mature and interesting discussions here... but don't tell anyone I said so...) ;) Thanks for the responses everyone. I guess it boils down to company culture and desired repertoire - as far as the male to female ratio goes. This strikes me as rather a chicken and egg scenario: We have these dancers so we can perform these ballets OR we want to perform these ballets so we need to have this set of dancers. So my original perception of companies historically tending to hire more women than men is flawed; even though Lucia Chase's comment suggests otherwise, this was her choice in her company. As Alexandra points out, Joffrey and Royal Danish bucked the trend. I'm still a little perplexed at the ratio of male to female principals. Calliope, your comment: Why would that result in 2 male principals for each female? (In the case of Houston and Australian Ballets). And the male principals in these companies are not an aging group with some staying on as mimes... (my daughter tells me they are quite "hot" - whatever that means... ;) ) I suppose it boils down to: What does it mean to be a principal? If it is based entirely on talent and experience, I would have thought that the larger numbers of women dancers vying for places in companies would mean that the cream of the crop make it into companies and therefore that principals would be those of very high talent indeed. Conversely, because of the shortage of male dancers, a much broader range of talent would be available and only a few would be able to make it to the top rank. So, why MORE male principals than female? -Roy
  13. If you're into history/biography/WWII, then I suggest: Leo Marks: Between Silk and Cyanide Leo was a WWII code maker/breaker. An aspect I find fascinating is some connections to fairly well known people and events where Leo was initimately involved - but we never knew. Example: His father owned the bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road I won't spoil it by revealing anything else. It is a wonderful read. One of those books where laughter and tears follow in quick succession. Leo's code making features with some fairly complete explanations - but not in a way which intrudes into the narrative. There is the opportunity to play with some of his coding exercises if you want to - or not, as you please. A book full of compassion for the people sent to fight covert war and tinged with bitterness towards some of those who sent them there. It certainly had a profound impact on me - I'd be interested to hear how it affects other readers.
  14. I was at the ballet the other night. A trilogy titled "United!" because it was a combined performance by both the Australian Ballet and the West Australian ballet. Anyway... idly browsing through the program... hmmm there's a lot of guys in the Oz ballet, thinks I... so I did a count: Of nine principals: 6 male, 3 female Overall: 35 male, 36 female Now, my perception to date was that companies tended to be weighted in favour of women (you gotta have a lot of swans!) and the Australian Ballet was a little unusual and was known for it's strength in men. But I was struck by the preponderance of men in the senior positions and the nearly equal numbers of both genders and wondered whether this was true of other companies. I asked "in another place" and found that Houston Ballet also had 9 principals with 6 male and 3 female. PNB had nearly equal numbers in all positions with slightly more men in the senior positions. So, has my perception of companies weighting their numbers in favour of more women been a total nonsense? Or, is this a recent trend to have equal numbers of both genders as modern ballets dictate balance rather than stages full of swans? Also, why the preponderance of men in senior positions in these companies? Is that true of other companies?
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