catlady

Well, I find it really obnoxious that they had room to print a story in the Style section about a millionaire who was married to two women at the same time but couldn't find room to write even a small appreciation of Gregory Hines. The man contributed alot to not only film and tv but to dance too. I know countless boys who took up tap after seeing Gregory Hines in "White Nights" as well as the film "Tap." I'm willing to bet that if Alan Kreigsman wasn't retired from the Post there would have been an appreciation. Sorry if I sound a bit hot under the collar, but for some reason it really got to me. It just seems like such a snub.

I am curious and rather dismayed that there has been no appreciation for Gregory Hines in the Washington Post. I had to search the obits page to find anything about his passing and my husband who is admittedly not a dance fan but who liked Gregory Hines alot said he wouldn't have even known he had died if I hadn't told him. The man contributed an awful lot and I really think that he rates more than just an obituary notice.

My choice would be Teresa Reichlen. Fabulously tall with the requisite extensions and icy demeanor to boot. I would love to see her in that role.

Question, I easily recognized several names in the cast for Contact as former ABT dancers, but I can't remember where I know Colleen Dunn from. Did she dance with ABT also?

Dissapointing to say the least. Terrific dancing but it all looked the same. I enjoyed the tiny snippet by the french choreographer whose name I won't attempt to spell, I wanted to see more of that. All the other pieces looked mostly like rehashed Balanchine wannabe. Personally I got nothing out of the Wheeldon piece other than Jennifer Ringers lovely performance. Not a terribly interesting use of the stage or patterns for the corps. Mostly move real fast, pose turned in and then battement your leg as high as it will go. Boring.

What a tremendous loss for the dance world. I had the privledge of studying with him for a short while and found him to be everything I was looking for in a teacher. He will be missed.

I think it is really hard to seperate yourself and be objective from a performance where you know and are friends with many of the performers. Having been exposed to alot of the Arpino rep and being quite well aware of how technically and physically challenging it is, I'd like to see ABT or NYCB dancers try it. I am pretty sure a fair amount of them would not be able to get through it. Particularly the looong pas from Kettentanz. While I don't particularly care for Suzanne Lopez's interpretation of it, I had to recognize how taxing and tricky it was and all the more appreciate how she made it look effortless. A particular gift of most of the Joffrey ladies. Being able to make the most ardouos ballets seem like a piece of cake.

Ari, must resectfully disagree with you regarding Joffrey being a group of raw "kids." I know many of the company members on a personal level and a good many of them have been with the company for well over ten years. Many are well into their 30's and beyond. One thing you can say about Arpino, he is loyal to his dancers and keeps them as long as they want to stay and are up to the task. Beatriz Rodriguez danced with the company until she was nearly 50. I agree that the men were a bit out of their depth in Kettentanz, but I have never seen the group as a whole look stronger. The women were terrific and what a pleasure to still see Deborah Dawn dancing. (speaking of a seasoned dancer who has been with Joffrey for as long as I can remember.) I was a bit dissapointed in Rodeo, but that is because I grew up seeing Beatriz Rodriguez as the cowgirl with the phenomonal Luis Fuente as the Champion Roper. Unforgettable. I think it a commendable that the seasoned dancers of the Joffrey still have that certain something that would make people think that they are younger and hungrier. They have always had a zest and a passion for the dancing they get to do no matter what it is, and I say kudos to them all.

Doh! Thank you! I don't know how I ended up on the other thread but you are correct, this is where I intended to be.

Note from Moderator: Catlady's post is about the Winter Olympics pairs competiiton. I have just copied it to the appropriate thread. (Thanks for the post, Catlady!) - Jeannie Just wanted to add my two cents to the whole "controversy" surrounding the pairs. I watched the entire competition and was absolutely floored by the Canadians. I thought the program was splendid, very well crafted, had theme and content that carried through and developed and was performed both technically and artistically in a magnificent fashion. I was left unmoved by the russians. I have never been a big fan of the "If I look pained I am really being artistic" style of performing and I thought their program was lacking completely in any sort of theme or content. Swirling around the ice and looking longingly at each other to swelling over-orchestrated music in a program filled with not much more than arm waving and some lifts does not constitute a fulfilling artistic acheievement to me. I thought their short program was better but it too left me cold. I stood up and cheered after the Canadians because they involved me and I had never seen such an inspired, flawless program in competition before. The russians were nowhere near as clean or passionate and there is no doubt in my mind who really won. I personally felt the the Canadian couple were quite diplomatic in the aftermath and it appeared to me that they were both aware that any criticism on their part against the judges would be held against them in future. It isn't their fault the media has jumped on this and made them out to be the wronged ones. How would anyone else resond asked the same question over and over again? Do you feel you won? Of course they do! The whole competition is a joke, the judging of Ina and Zimmerman is a bigger scandal then the Canadians. They were fabulous and they still got placed far below the other russian pair who were dreadful. Time to find a new way to judge this sport. [ February 14, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

How about some of Nureyevs contributions when he was in his Paris Opera days? His Nutcracker was quite "something" as I recall.