Ari

So by the time we get to the Eifman, the vast majority of the audience will be inebriated, many of the husbands who were dragged will be snoring

This might be the best possible condition in which to watch the Eifman.

The half-price tickets are also available for tonight's, Friday's, performance. $35.35.

I have read that Fokine's original production had the Firebird preside

over the wedding on a high platform and Karsavina was afraid of

heights.

Do you remember where you read that, Balanchinomane? It doesn't sound right to me -- I've never thought of the Firebird as being benevolent. She's always seemed dangerous and alluring to me, rather like a wild Russian version of the Sylph, an otherworldy creature who tempts the hero away from his earthly fiance.

Half-price tickets for tonight's (Thursday's) performance of DTH are available at TICKETPlace, which has moved to 407 Seventh St. NW, between D and E Sts. (across the street from the Shakespeare Theater; metro Gallery Place Chinatown or Archives-Navy Memorial). The tickets are $32.25.

Rachel, it was the absence of any mention of the book on the company's website that prompted me to take further action. I e-mailed the publisher and got a reply from one Sarah Almond in the editorial department.

Re the title: yes, it strikes me as flat, too. But to me it suggests that the scope of the book is wide-ranging: not just a study of Balanchine's creations but a look at his whole impact on, and relation to, ballet. One of the most exciting things about Croce's writing, after all, has always been her broad intellectual range. And we knew that it wasn't going to be a biography.

I got the info from the publisher, Farrar Straus & Giroux.

Wonderful review, HF, thanks!

Andersen staged the full version of Apollo, which made me happy.  He said that he learned the role from Balanchine.  I really like this version so much better than the full-length one.  In the other full-lengths I saw, the dancers walk a bit until they do the starburst image; in this staging they are already there, so it made a bit more of an impression.

I'm confused here -- did BA do the complete Apollo or the later scaled-down version?

Croce's book, Ballet and Balanchine, is now scheduled to be published in October.

ABT has had La Sonnambula in its repertory in the past, and it was televised, with Alessandra Ferri in the title role, in the late 80s.

I don't think ABT should take any more Balanchine into its repertory. It has plenty already that it doesn't dance (Symphonie Concertante, Stravinsky Vioin Concerto), and I think the blurring of repertories between our two major companies is not a healthy thing. I'd like to see them have separate identities. It wouldn't bother me as much if ABT really performed their Balanchine rep on the road, that is, places where NYCB doesn't go. Then it would be worthwhile, to bring Bizet and Mozartiana and other jewels to audiences that otherwise wouldn't be able to see them. But they don't program them on tour, sticking w ith full-lengths like Giselle and Corsaire. I think they should stick to the Balanchine rep that NYCB doesn't do, like Symphonie Concertante (which they took the trouble of resurrecting) and Bouree Fantasque.

Carla Korbes.

I love the Tchaik pas, but it bothers me when dancers use it simply as a vehicle through which to display their virtuosity, in the way they often use the Don Q and Corsaire pas. This frequently leads to a knock-'em-dead performance style better suited to the Black Swan. The music of the Tchaik pas, and the choreography that Balanchine made for it, is gentle, relaxed, and intimate, a conversation between good friends. It should sparkle, not glare. I like to see it danced by couples who have performed together often and are comfortable with each other.

I'm not sure how long this has been out, but I saw the Spring 2004 issue of Ballet Review today. Contents:

Opening of Salon Urquiza in Berlin, Darrell Wilkins

Balanchine Symposium in Ann Arbor, Leigh Witchel

Cooking with Balanchine 3: In Waltz Time, Karin von Aroldingen

The Boys of SAB, Ina Sorens Clark

A conversation with Claire-Marie Osta, Daniel Jacobson

Sergei Diaghilev: Gesture and Destiny, Alexander Laskin

Photos of the Kirov, Fall 2003, Costas

Diaghelev's Last Letter, Vladislav Ivanov

A Conversation with Deborah Zall, Robert Tracy

Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze, Michael Boriskin

A Conversation with Benjamin Millepied, Michael Langlois

All in the Trimmings (National Ballet of Canada), James Neufeld

London Report, Clement Crisp

Music on Disc, George Dorris

I haven't had a chance to read anything yet, but Costas's photos of the Kirov are absolutely gorgeous!

Interesting review, Michael. I wish I could have seen this.

Either this was Odette’s departure rather than Ballet Imperial; an unconventional reading of the emotional content of this ballet; or whether the lesson of last night is that Ballet Imperial and Tschai Concerto #2 are two very different works, I cannot say.

Arlene Croce wrote an interesting essay about the overtones of Swan Lake in this ballet (and of The Sleeping Beauty in Theme & Variations). She was writing about Tchaik Concerto #2, but had also seen Ballet Imperial. The mournfulness of the adagio, with its suggestion of lovers parted by fate, certainly echoes Ivanov.

Tchaikovsky pas de deux was made for Violette Verdy, by the way, and she was far from aging at the time.

With the summer reading season upon us, I thought it might be fun to discuss our favorite novels set in days gone by.

The idea was suggested by the book I'm currently reading, the first in a trilogy of novels about the Empress Josephine by Sandra Gulland. It's not as rich in characters, ideas, or historical detail as I'd hoped, but it's an enjoyable trip to late 18th century France none the less.

One author whose books I've enjoyed is Judith Merkle Riley. Her novel A Vision of Light was absolutely riveting, despite my lack of interest in the Middle Ages. I also like the first two books in Diana Gabaldon's time-travel series, although I have no interest in reading the others (Scotland is not my thing ). I understand she has a new, non-series book set in the 18th century, which might be more my style.

A big favorite of mine is Georgette Heyer, who wrote high-spirited, historically meticulous comedies set mainly in the English Regency period. She is often labelled (libelled?) a "romance novelist" (horrors!), but her work is far superior to the stuff that's churned out today.

And then there's a cross-genre, the historical mystery. Two of my favorites there are Bruce Alexander (18th century London) and the late Kate Ross (Regency period). But "historical" can mean anything that's not the absolute present, so I'd include Stuart Kaminsky, who writes a series about Toby Peters, struggling Jewish gumshoe in 1940s Hollywood, who is regularly employed by local luminaries such as Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, the Marx Brothers, Clark Gable, Bette Davis, and even Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein.

Who are your favorite authors?

According to an article in today's New York Sun, the current issue of the magazine 2wice (so called because it's issued twice annually) includes photos of New York City Ballet's Peter Boal, Janie Taylor, Albert Evans, and Sebastien Marcovici, as well as Bart Cook and Maria Calegari. The next issue, coming out in the fall, will spotlight Tom Gold. The magazine costs $20 and is available at Barnes & Noble.

I remember an interview with Merrill Ashley in which she said that some of the most valuable feedback she ever got about her dancing came from a friend who saw her dancing, socially, in a club one night. This person told her, "You know, you have so many expressions when you dance like this, but when you're onstage you only have a couple of expressions, and neither is very interesting." Ashley said that that comment was worth more to her than any review she ever got, because it was a simple reaction about the impact of her dancing rather than an attempt to analyze her art or technique. Critics, of course, are capable of writing similar reactions, and sometimes do, but I wonder if Ashley or other dancers would be quite so willing to accept it coming from "the enemy."

I've moved the last few posts by Herman Stevens and Alexandra into the thread Do you think dancers should read reviews? in Anything Goes, since that was the subject of the posts and I'd like to keep that discussion going. But Herman has something to say about Bob Gottlieb in his May 30 post, so take a look.

I find I'm not able to reach the old Gottlieb reviews via the links Ari mentioned. I keep getting bumped to the May 29 piece on Raymonda. Am I missing something obvious? I would like to go back and read some of his work.

Sometimes periodicals use the same URL for the latest review or column and move others to a different address. If you go to the Observer's home page (New York Observer) and do a search for "Gottlieb," you'll come up with links to his reviews going back to 1999.

I'm surprised by the casting of Who Cares. When I saw Bouder's and Sylve's names down for the ballet, I assumed Bouder, with her big jump, would be doing the Marnee Morris role (My One and Only/Embraceable You) and Sylve, who is often cast in the Balanchine Amazon parts (Hippolyta, etc.), the von Aroldingen part (Stairway to Paradise/Who Cares). I think that would be more appropriate casting.

GeorgeB fan, you may be interested in some previous discussions of Gottlieb:

Gottlieb on ABT and NYCB (2001)

NYCB's Casting Crisis (2002)

Gottlieb on 'the French" (2003)

Should a company have a voice in the hiring and firing of critics? (2003)

Gottlieb on Sleeping Beauty (2004)

I'll always read anything on a particular subject that interests me. Beyond that -- and I don't mean this to be a cop out -- I like to read good writing. No two writers are alike, each has his or her own style, and I like to read those who write in the style that best suits them. I realize that this is more likely to be found, at least where dance is concerned, in periodicals that do not cater to the general audience.

In interviews, I like to read as much as possible about the subject in his or her own words.

Pet peeve: reviews that are not criticism but consumer guides. Sadly, the latter is becoming more and more common, especially in newspapers. There seems to be a general assumption that in order for something to be worthwhile (i.e., worth spending your money on), it has to be good. Not so. Of course I don't want to see something bad, but I've been happy to see many performances that might be described as "interesting." That is, they are not my idea of what I'd like to see, but they are stimulating in some way. This is probably the difference between art and entertainment.

One thing I dislike is analytical articles that aren't the product of an interesting mind. In writing analysis, you have to have something to say, and superficial or silly or misinformed writing grates on my nerves. I'm not talking about opinions I disagree with, but arguments that aren't thoughtful or well-informed.

The Warner Theater in Washington is used mostly by touring shows (musicals, etc.), but the Washington Ballet does its Nutcracker there (I guess the Rockettes don't have D.C. on their calendar yet). My guess is that commercial attractions get priority and nonprofit groups can take what's left.

Terry Teachout's book, All in the Dances, A Brief Life of George Balanchine, will be published by Harcourt in November.

Robbins later said he was joking about Giselle, although I don't remember where I read this.

In the book Jerome Robbins, That Broadway Man, That Ballet Man, Christine Conrad quotes him as saying:

I had the score for about a year and a half, two years . . . I kept playing it, and I thought, ' . . . I know there's a dramatic line in it somewhere or other.'  And then I read a story about the Amazons, and thought, 'Why don't I do it about the Amazons?'

So I started it.  And I got about halfway through the first movement and . . . I thought, 'This is terrible . . . I've got to do better than that.'  So I kept reading and then I stumbled on material about insects and their prey.  And I thought, 'Now that I think I can handle.  There's a little twist.  It's a little offbeat.'  So I started that way, and bang, it just went like a dream.'