Ari

Thanks, Thalictum, for identifying the pas de trois dancers at Sunday's performance. As I mentioned, the girls were the same as on Thursday, but the boy was different. If anyone knows who danced the pas de trois on Thursday, I'd like to know.

I caught today's matinee, and liked Pavlenko very much indeed. She had oodles of technique, making it look like this was something she did for relaxation, and her stage presence has warmed up since I saw her last. I was also very grateful that she did not bend her knee in arabesque as many Russian women do. Only her hyperextensions marred the performance. The girls in the first act pas de trois were the same as on Thursday (would someone who knows tell us who they are?) but the boy was different. It was a better performance than Thursday's, too. I think the first and third acts (excepting that dratted jester) are stronger than my first impression of them, but I still find the swan acts unlovely and unpoetic.

Barbara Newman compiled a series of interviews with dancers in a book called Striking a Balance, published in 1982. The interviews were pretty interesting, as I recall. Newman concentrated more on the dancers' work than on their personal lives. About half of those interviewed were with the Royal Ballet (Newman lives in London, but I believe she's American). She also collaborated with Antoinette Sibley on her memoirs and has written for Ballet Review. The SAB blurb says of the book, "Through personal anecdotes, it chronicles how the art of ballet is passed on through teachers, stagers, and coaches." Suki Schorer, Violette Verdy, Jean-Pierre Frolich, and Francia Russell are among those interviewed. Sounds very interesting.

My gold standard for Swan Lake has always been the old Royal Ballet version, with traditional choreography adapted to RB style by Ashton, and additional choreography by Ashton and de Valois. That production had just the right balance of dancing and mime, and careful attention to everything that happened onstage. You never saw courtiers just wandering on and offstage in the ballroom scene, for instance; if someone entered of left there was a reason for it, and you could see the reason. The national dances had the flavor of the countries they represented. There were opportunities for dancers from all levels of the company to shine onstage and grow into new roles. It also had the bonus of not one but two fourth acts (never given at the same time!). There was the traditional Ivanov-channelled-by-Aston one, and the all-Ashton one. Both gorgeous. If I were the Royal, I'd revive this production pronto and alternate fourth acts every year.

About the Vinogradov Swan Lake, I really don't remember much about it except some swans in deep burgundy velvet tutus in the fourth act (they looked black unless you were up close). I just remember having thought it was an acceptable production, which I would not say of the Sergeyev version. Marc, I thought the swan corps was deployed in awkward and unpleasing ways. There were a lot more straight lines than I recall from other productions, and when the corps was arranged in small groups, the overall picture from above (I was in the second tier) was assymetrical and unharmonious. At one point, for instance, there were three girls downstage right, four girls downstage left, four girls upstage right and three upstage left. The right and left groups, both front and back, were arrayed in different formations, and it made for a confusing stage picture. I also didn't like the fact that the big swans were four in number, matching the number of cygnets, and the way these two groups were used as almost supernumerary to the 24 "main" swans, who did most of the big dances. Of course, the beautiful and harmonious dancing of the Kirov corps went a good ways towards easing my pain!

I attended last night's performance, with Natalya Sologub and Leonid Sarafanov. Sologub is a vivacious dancer who takes naturally to Odile, and she charged right into the role. She seemed so happy that she risked dramatic credibility -- surely even a dim bulb like Siegfried should have grasped that this was not the gentle girl he'd fallen in love with -- but her delight in performing had its own charm. Odette is too tame for her temperament, and her second act was dull. She's allowed to be more animated in the fourth, which closed her performance on a more satisfactory note. Her technique was perfectly acceptable without being exciting. She does have beautiful feet. (Her hair, incidentally, is still definitely red but was subdued, perhaps by some dark netting.) Sarafanov would seem to be ideally cast as Siegfried right now because he is so young and boyish, but he worked hard not to look that way. His technique is pure and he has the makings of a virtuoso, but is as yet too green to be able to carry off the pyrotechnics as he would like. The audience wanted to like him, but seemed a bit puzzled that he didn't deliver all that he promised. His partnering was often clumsy. I'm not a fan of this production, which dispenses with the mime, includes a jester (although, to be fair, he doesn't take over the proceedings as much as he does in other productions), and uses unattractive arrangements of swans in the white acts. And then there's the happy ending. Why this Soviet-era version has survived into the new century is a puzzle. The company had a decent version by Vinogradov that they performed in New York in 1992, but I suppose it was a victim of the new regime. If the rumors of a change in direction are true, perhaps we'll see a new production before long.

Hi Petite Arabesque, It has been stated elsewhere that McBrearty retired from NYCB after the first week of this season. Mention of Deanna McBrearty

Another thing with "sponsoring" dancers is that sometimes I wonder whether these dancers would be in the company were it not for their "sponsors." Of course, I wouldn't think that about stars who have already proven their worth (unless they were past their prime), but when it comes to "sponsoring" corps members, questions can arise. Most likely all these patrons want to do is show their appreciation of a particular dancer, but if the company hasn't singled them out for recognition yet, why should it allow someone else to do so?

I attended two performances, Tuesday's and tonight's. There isn't much I have to say about the production. The enduring appeal of The Nutcracker — pace Jennifer Fisher — can be summed up in one word: Tchaikovsky. People love the music, and they go to the ballet hoping to see a visual equivalent, or at least something that coexists happily with the score. When a choreographer/stager decides to leave Tchaikovsky behind and go his own way, as Mikhail Chemiakin did here, he creates a schism between the aural and visual experience that is the opposite of what ballet should be. I don't see the point of this, but given the number of "dark" Nutcrackers around these days, I guess this is a minority view. <br> <br> This version needed two pages to summarize all the goings-on, but some of them I failed, in two viewings, to see onstage. For instance, the program says that in the second act candy scene, "doctors [stand] ready to pull rotten teeth or cure a sick stomach." They may have been there, but if so weren't given any mime to tell us what they were. <br> <br> Nonetheless, this ballet is stuffed with incident, so many that sometimes two or more things are going on onstage simultaneously, and you're not sure what to watch. Even when the narrative is clear, the point of it all remains a mystery. Why are the Stahlbaums and their guests so odious? Why are the snowflakes murderous? If this were a Soviet-era production you could guess that Chemiakin was lampooning the bourgeousie. Maybe he is. Maybe this is his commentary on the New Russia. :yawn: <br> <br> With all this going on, choreographer Kirill Simonov doesn't have much to do, but what he does do is undistinguished. His choreography relies a lot on big Bolshoi-style split jetés and rolling around on the floor (the snowflakes lie on their backs and kick their legs in the air, like children having a temper tantrum), plus some sweeping arm movements in the Waltz of the Flowers. Many of the second act divertissements are danced in triplicate, which gets monotonous. The otherwise classical second act pas de deux (the one usually danced by Sugar Plum) is vulgarly interrupted by some naturalistic kissing, and ends with a saucy Masha taking her Prince's hand and giving him a look that clearly says, "Cm'on, let's do it!" and the two of them running off together. <br> <br> Except for the Princes, it's impossible to take the measure of dancers given this kind of material. Both Princes I saw, Andrei Merkuriev on Tuesday and Leonid Sarafanov tonight, were elegant and precise. Natalya Sologub did all she was asked to do as Masha (but what is the story with her violently red hair — is this a wig, or has she dyed it?), and Daria Pavlenko (on Tuesday) and Tatiana Tkachenko (tonight) glowered malevolently as the Queen of the Snowflakes. Incidentally, no announcement of any kind was made of Diana Vishneva's replacement by Sologub at this evening's performance (Vishneva is apparently a no-show for this engagement). The Kirov may be used to treating its audience with contempt, but the Kennedy Center is not, and it knew of the replacement on Tuesday. The only reason I'm sure that Sarafanov actually danced tonight is because I checked out his photos on Marc Haegeman's site (thanks, Marc!). <br> <br> Well, on to Swan Lake. At least I know what to expect there.

I found this press release on another (non-dance) site. The repertoire and dancers have been updated; Nikolaj Hubbe will be appearing. Principals and Soloists of the ROYAL DANISH BALLET Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Sunday, January 25, 2004 at 2:00 PM Special Guest Star Nikolaj Hübbe Formed in 1722, the Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest and most prestigious dance companies in the world today. In their first NYC appearance in more than a decade, the principals and soloists of this esteemed company offer a program highlighted by works from the 19th century master, August Bournonville. The Artistic director is Peter Bo Bendixen. The company features Silja Schandorff, Caroline Cavallo, Tina Højlund, Claire Henricksen, Amy Watson, Diana Cuni, Thomas Lund, Dawid Kupinscky, Morten Eggert, Kristoffer Sakurai, Nikolaj Hansen, Mads Blangstrup, Femke Molbach Slot, Byron Mildwater. Special guest for the performance will be Nikolaj Hübbe of the New York City Ballet. The new updated program will include Conservatory Pas de Trois (1849) Choreography: August Bournonville, Music: H.S. Hellsted -H.S. Pauli; Wilhelm Tell (1873) Choreography: August Bournonville, Music: H.S. Hellsted -H.S. Pauli; selections from La Sylphide (1842) Choreography: August Bournonville, Music: Herman Luwenskjold; Nomade (2001) Choreography: Tim Rushton, Music: Arvo Part; Triplex (1999) Choreography: Tim Rushton , Music: Johan Sebastian Bach; Flower Festival in Genzano (1858) Choreography: August Bournonville, Music: H.S. Hellsted - H.S. Paul; Pas de six and the Tarantella from NAPOLI 3rd ACT (1842) Choreography: August Bournonville; Music: H.S. Pauli. (all casting and program subject to change) Tickets for the Principals and Soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet are only $35. All Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts performances are at the Walt Whitman Theater located on the campus of Brooklyn College (one block from the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues). Tickets can be ordered by calling the Brooklyn Center box office at (718) 951-4500 or by faxing (718) 951-4437. Box-office hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 1-6 PM. For Group Sales, call (718) 951-4600 ext. 26. Tickets are also available through TicketMaster at (212) 307-7171 and ticketmaster.com.

The Kennedy Center has listed the casting for the engagement by the Kirov Ballet next week and the week after. Given recent experience, this may have nothing to do with what we eventually see on stage, but for what it's worth, here it is: The Nutcracker Dec. 23, Natalya Sologub and Andrey Merkuriev Dec. 25, Diana Vishneva and Leonid Sarafanov Dec. 26, Irina Golub and Andrey Merkuriev Dec. 27, (matinee) Nadezda Gonchar and Andrey Merkuriev; (evening) Diana Vishneva and Leonid Sarafanov Dec. 28, (matinee) Natalya Sologub and Leonid Sarafanov; (evening) Irina Golub and Andrey Merkuriev Swan Lake Dec. 30, Daria Pavlenko and Igor Zelensky Dec. 31, Sofya Gumerova and Danila Korsuntsev Jan. 1, Natalya Sologub and Leonid Sarafanov Jan. 2, Daria Pavlenko and Igor Zelensky Jan. 3, (matinee) Sofya Gumerova and Danila Korsuntsev; (evening) Natalya Sologub and Leonid Sarafanov Jan. 4, Daria Pavlenko and Igor Zelensky

Le Tombeau de Couperin is still in rep at NYCB. New Yorkers will be able to say when it was done most recently, although I don't believe it's scheduled for this year.

purelyballet, check out Sunday's Links thread for the review that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Sunday's Links

There's an excerpt from the review on Wednesday's Links: Grescovic on the Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Amazon is selling the book for $31.50, with free shipping. And if you click on the link on the top right of each BA page, BA gets a (tiny) bit from the sale!

The second program given by the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at its home theater, the Kennedy Center, was one that had not been taken on tour. Called The Balanchine Couple, it featured duets from nine Balanchine ballets, introduced by Farrell. Except for the closing number, it was strictly chronological (although you couldn't tell this either from the program or from Farrell's onstage comments): Apollo (Jennifer Fournier and Peter Boal, last night), La Sonnambula (Chan Hon Goh and Alexander Ritter), Ivesiana ("The Unanswered Question" with Cheryl Sladkin, Ryan Kelly and four men); intermission; La Valse (Shannon Parsley and Ritter), Agon (Natalia Magnicaballi and Momchil Mladenov), Meditation (Goh and Boal); intermission; Don Quixote (the pas de deux Mauresque with Frances Katzen and Ritter), Chaconne (the opening duet with Goh and Boal), and Stars and Stripes (Bonnie Pickard, Jared Redick, and the finale with a reduced ensemble). For someone like me who knows the ballets it was pleasant to see a "greatest hits" selection, but I wonder what someone with less knowledge of the Balanchine canon would have gotten out of it. Would they find the decision to excerpt only duets numbing, or would they marvel at the many ways Balanchine found to bring two dancers together? I'm assuming that Farrell's idea was to show the latter, although her comments ranged over all aspects of Balanchine's thought and practice. Her most poignant and revealing remarks were about Meditation, when she closed her script book and spoke directly to the audience, her voice breaking with emotion. She recalled that after she had danced several performances, she said to Balanchine, "There's one step that I keep missing. I've worked on it and I try to do it, but it never comes out right. Do you want to change it?" He replied, "No, it doesn't matter if you fail. Sometimes it's more important to make the attempt than to succeed." (That's a bad paraphrase. Can someone remember it more exactly?) As fate would have it, that night she went out and for the first time danced the step the properly . . . but it just didn't feel right. It was a story that got to the heart of the bond between Balanchine and Farrell, but I wonder how many people in the audience understood what it meant. The dancing was much more uneven than on Thursday. Goh and Boal were beautiful in Chaconne (and it was a treat to see Boal in this; I don't think he's done it with NYCB), and Mladenov and, especially, Magnicaballi did a truly exciting Agon that made me want to see the whole ballet (heck, Chaconne too). And Meditation scored again. Still no mention of the violin soloist, an Asian man, but at least the conductor, Ron J. Matson, was credited in bold type in the program insert. The Unanswered Question didn't come off well: it seemed that the four men in black were manhandling the ballerina instead of manipulating her so unobtrusively that you are almost unconscious of their presence. And Sladkin is not supple enough for this role, which was made on the boneless-seeming Allegra Kent. Parsley was too robust for La Valse, although Ritter was very effective as the Svengali figure. The pas de deux Mauresque from Don Q lacked the exotic Eastern quality it calls for. And Pickard and Redick were not at all up to the demands of Stars & Stripes. I suppose Balanchine fans could quibble endlessly about the choice of duets -- why was Agon the only black & white ballet, for instance? For me, no Balanchine survey is complete without something from The Four Temperaments. But if they had been yoked together with commentary that made it clear why Farrell had chosen them and why she thought they were significant to an understanding of Balanchine's work, it would have been fine. As it was, it seemed like a gala program with only two or three stars.

I was there last night (Thursday) and thought it was an excellent performance all around, and the best I've seen from this company. All four works were fully realized, with a clear shape and sensitive musicality that is so seldom seen at NYCB these days. While the dancing wasn't NYCB-calibre, it was extremely good for a small company, especially one that doesn't perform year-round and is pretty much put together afresh each season. If this were a "regular" regional company, I'd say it was in the top league, along with the other SFB (San Francisco), Miami City, Pennsylvania, etc. Mozartiana perhaps came off the least well -- it wasn't seamless. The four little girls seemed to have no relation to the four big girls, and the solos, while individually well danced, appeared inserted from outside. I was impressed with Jared Redick, who seems to have come miles from his apparently shaky start on Tuesday (I wasn't there; I'm basing this opinion on reviews that appeared on BA). Alex Ritter's feet and legs were very quick, nimble, and articulate, but in the solo his upper body seemed to be following along after his nether parts. He was more pulled-together in the finale. The Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker was danced on a huge scale that would have delighted Mr. B. The audience exploded as soon as it ended. Meditation, replacing the Tchaikovsky pas, was fascinating to me as it was the first time I'd seen it without Farrell (and Jacques d'Amboise, for that matter). No one else has ever danced it at NYCB; it wasn't included in the 1993 Balanchine Festival, nor is it scheduled this year. Most critics have read this duet literally as Balanchine fantasizing about Farrell. Well, all of Balanchine's ballets can be seen as Balanchine fantasizing about something, often a ballerina. What makes this ballet so personal is that it was choreographed solely to display Farrell's unique gifts without making a substantial ballet in the process. (You could make the same argument about Diamonds, but because it's fleshed out with a corps and is part of Jewels, critics seldom do.) Chan Hon Goh danced beautifully, but she's not the Farrell type. What was really interesting to me was the sight of Peter Boal in the d'Amboise part: paired with the tiny Goh, he looked like a great big, strong, man. Not the way I'm used to seeing him at all, but utterly fascinating and delicious. And with these dancers, the duet seemed much more of a pairing of equals, rather than a ballet for a ballerina who needs the occasional assistance of a partner. One thing must be mentioned: the musical standards at this engagement are very high. And that makes it all the more baffling and unforgivable that the conductor was mentioned nowhere in the program! He did a wonderful, sensitive job, and the orchestral playing was excellent. Special kudos to the violin soloist in Meditation -- I've never heard this piece of music played more beautifully. The program does list the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. After all the criticism on this board of the taped music used by this company on its tours, I wonder if it would be possible for this orchestra to tape the scores used on the tours.

The author is kind of vague in his terminology. He refers to Tinsley as a "solo ballerina," which implies that she's a principal, when in fact she's a soloist. So I wouldn't take his words literally.

Dance Books, in England, just notified those on its mailing list that it is selling the a two-CD recording by the Sofia National Opera under Nayden Todorov for £9.99, plus shipping. See their web site for details.

In the final scene, Natalya stands alone on the stage, buried in grief, while unbeknownst to her, Beliaev creeps up from behind, picks up the blue ribbons trailing from her peignoir, and kisses them. Croce's objection was that Natalya dons the peignoir only for that scene, which makes it look set up. The dramatics of the ballet were, she felt, artificial. Her overall assessment was that while the choreography was some of Ashton's best, it was really a dance suite disguised as a dance drama.

The Royal used to put principals onstage in what looked to me like ensemble parts. Not the top stars, but the regular principals. The parts were not second swan in the fifth row, but those ballets in which the ensemble was less stratified. It was a practice that always puzzled me, but I put it down to the few opportunities (compared with companies that do not share their home with an opera troupe) the dancers had to get onstage.

Here's the link: Star-Ledger article My money's on Jenifer Ringer to nab the endorsements.

Heidi Ryom of the RDB. When I first saw her, in New York, I found her personality irritating and resented the fact that she was given roles that I felt should have gone to Lis Jeppesen, my favorite RDB ballerina of the time. For those who aren't familiar with Jeppesen, she was not only a wonderful dancer but had that rarest of qualities, that comes along maybe once a generation if we're lucky: the ability to carry you into another world the second you look at her. She was magical. Then in 1992 I went to the Bournonville Festival in Copenhagen, and the very first ballet was Konservatoriet with Jeppesen, Nikolaj Hubbe, and Ryom. The choreography requires the two ballerinas to perform the same steps either side by side or on either side of the man, and Ryom was . . . oh, this was painful to have to admit! . . . better. Yes, better than my beloved Lis, who had already peaked and was on the down side of the slope by this time. Not that she was bad, far from it, but step for step Ryom was stronger, cleaner, and more accurate. As the week went on, I saw a lot more of Heidi, and my admiration for her dancing increased and irritation at her personality faded. She looked very different in the warm, close quarters of the Royal Theater -- more human, more approachable. What had seemed annoying and inappropriate at that big Broadway barn (otherwise known as the Met) fit right in in Copenhagen. This was the most striking example in my experience of learning to appreciate something (in this case a dancer, but it could have been a ballet, a choreographer, a style, too) only when I saw it in the proper mileu.

djb, Robbins's ballet is loosely organized around the conceit of dancers finding old costumes and props and saying, hey kids let put on a show! So they pantomime to the various fairy tales. Oberon's memory is like mine: the tale I remember most vividly was the Beauty and the Beast section, with Judith Fugate in what was probably her first solo. It was a charming ballet, not at all contrived (as I find many of Robbins's works to be). The costumes and props used came from the company's storage, and Arlene Croce (who liked the ballet) remarked that this was a wry comment on the company's habit of using hand-me-downs to dress their new works!

Here is an interview with Ash from last summer, in which she discusses her move to Bejart: Dancer Hangs Up Her NYCB Toe Shoes