sandik

This British television series was mentioned on a Usenet newsgroup -- is anyone here familiar with it and willing to describe what goes on?

Better news indeed -- thanks for the heads-up!

In this bookish part of the world, it sold out days after it got into stores. I'm reading it after I finish my next deadline. I do think that part of the current difficulty lies in the way that many people write -- either in prescribed situations (reports, forms, anything with a house style or technical glossary) or in the casual form we see on the net. I do think, though, (and here's where the Pollyanna comes out) that this new emphasis on written communication is a positive thing, and that as more people write more often, some of these issues will be resolved. And in the meantime, the mistakes can be very amusing!

This was the best part: "Later, from his hospital bed..." I'm still giggling!

I'm glad to see the comments on the rest of the weekend -- I'd hoped to see the final matinee, but family commitments won out. I agree with Helene about the side seats -- last summer when the architectural firm was touring people through the renovation, they called them the armchair (like the arms on a nice lounge chair). Since the remodel brought the sides of the theater in slightly, they do have excellent sightlines for the price -- much better than the old side location. At the Friday night post-show session, Russell mentioned that they tried hard to rotate people through multiple roles, although the scheduling was very difficult. And someone in the audience said that Hippolyta's dogs (which are designed to look like Weimeraners) reminded him of the William Wegman photos!

"I can't help but wonder if Wheeldon hadn't called it Swan Lake if that might have made a difference to some? " This occured to me as well. I haven't seen very much of Wheeldon's work, and so I'm not sure how much of my reaction is to his aesthetic and how much is to this particular production, but I have very mixed feelings. By their nature, story ballets begin with a concept of sorts, so that if you shift some of those elements you change the whole. There are many different productions of SL around, some of which make substantial changes in the story, or the setting, or another aspect of the work. Some of these are very successful, but often it feels like changes are made just for the sake of changing -- dance is such a permeable artform that we have come to expect difference. But most of these versions still cleave to the core elements of SL, especially the magical aspects of the plot. By setting the work in a specific time and place (the Paris of Degas) rather than in a more ephemeral past, and especially by changing the major plot mechanism (the transformative powers of love and magic), Wheeldon has radically shifted the message of the ballet. He has substituted psychology for magic, making a kind of post-Freudean work. In its way, this is a more significant change than Matthew Bourne's work, which doesn't really pretend to be SL, but rather another dance using certain touchstones from the Petipa/Ivanov ballet. Judging it on its own, Wheeldon's ballet has many attractive elements -- he seems very confident in his manipulation of the corps in the "white" acts. I was sitting on the main floor, but heard from friends above that the geometry of those sections was quite nice. There is an abrupt kind of bouyancy in some of his partnering that reminds me of Ashton (thinking of The Dream, and Oberon's snatching lifts with Titania) but he's also channelling MacMillan's unfortunate tendency to sling women around. Still, there's a firm sense of musicality there -- his waltzes have true momentum without being soporific. And although I don't like the reconceptualized divertisments in act 3, he has a sure hand with vernacular dances. As Swan Lake, I think this is much less successful. The revisions make the story less important -- if it's all in Siegfried's head then the tragedy is just personal. We feel sorry for him, but we don't identify with him -- he doesn't represent anything universal for us. By taking away the metaphor, it makes the ballet weaker. Some miscellaneous thoughts: In a talk for the Dance Critics Association, Wheeldon said that he changed the diverts in act three because he wanted to get away from poorly performed national dances, which I can understand, but three of the new versions (Russian, Spanish and Mazurka/Can-Can) have a kind of low rent night-club act quality that doesn't seem like a good substitute. If he was going for a kind of debauchery, he didn't get far enough. (and the Can-Can dancers need ruffles on their pettipants!) I wasn't sure how "realistic" the acting was supposed to be. Sometimes it seemed fairly abstract -- indicating rather than experiencing, but then in the fourth act Odette's shoulders were shaking as she wept. It seemed almost too literal. The set (three walls of ballet studio) felt a bit claustrophobic, making what seems like a small stage even smaller, so that when dancers exited they had to literally go out a door, but in act three, when they brought in tables to make it into a cabaret setting, the swags and flowers on the set decorations linked the stage to the ornate decor of the theater very nicely -- it actually felt less hemmed-in.

Officially, the application period has officially closed (you can see the requirements on their website www.pnb.org) and the hiring committee hopes to make a decision sometime this autumn. There are dancers and staff people on the hiring committee as well as board members and other specialists -- Seattle is a very process-oriented town and this is a familiar arrangement.

I clicked over thinking it would be a joke, but it's actually very charming, and rhythmically interesting.

In 1993 I was at a dance and technology conference where someone demonstrated a CD-ROM with a selection from a Balanchine ballet (I think it was 4T's) that was designed to have the music score run across the bottom of the screen while the dance played on. The aim was to create a kind of tool for dance analysis and we discussed what else could be included in something like this. It was a long list, including a Labanotation score running along the side, and additional sound channels with various commentaries by stagers, performers, choreographers, etc. At the time it seemed like a stunning dream -- now, of course, it's the same set of features you get in any garden variety DVD!

Absolutely! Many thanks for the clarification.

"... this kind of comment -- expecting an article to be one thing when it's another -- comes up a lot in our discussions and I'm responding as an editor and a writer. If I'm doing a feature, I don't expect people to be disappointed or critical because it's not analytical, and vice versa. As an editor and a writer, I don't know how to get around this and so it's a concern." This comment of Alexandra's comes from a thread in the San Francisco ballet section, but I wanted to pull it out to ask a question. As someone who writes about dance I gnash my teeth when I have to make an article do too many things simultaneously -- comment on a current performance, put the dancer/choreographer/work/style/venue/season/presenter/etc into context, include multiple points of view, sound like the paper and sound like myself as well, all in 400 words. I'm not really complaining about my job (or at least not complaining much) -- I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to write, but ocassionally I have to roll my eyes. All of this is by way of asking -- what do you like to read? Reviews, features, analysis, profiles... We are all writing about dancing here, so on some level we are all grappling with these challenges -- what do you find yourself gravitating to here and elsewhere? And what do you find yourself wanting to write?

Tangentially to the thread (since I don't get to see the company can't really comment on their performing) this is one my many favorite moments from 4T's, and I laughed out loud at the comparison to a garden rake!

Well, I've answered at least part of my own question. From their website, under the entertainment division, this is a partial list of their venues. In their own language: "The following chart sets forth certain information with respect to the venues that CCE wholly or partially owns and/or operates, or exclusively programs." I've edited the whole list, which you can find at <http://www.clearchannel.com/Entertainment/ent_venue_list.aspx> and taken out almost everything that was listed as an amphitheater, since those seem to be devoted to large music events. I also edited out their internation holdings (though I was surprised to see the large number of legit theaters they are related to in Britain) Even with these edits, it's a long list, and you may not want to deal with it. I'd like to ask, though, if you could please, scroll through quickly and see if your community is listed -- and if it is, could you tell me if those venues are used by local groups, or are they generally used for touring performances. Unfortunately, the list isn't in alpha order, but appears to have something to do with the size of the community... sigh. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island: Beacon Theatre Ford Center for the Performing Arts Hammerstein Ballroom Irving Plaza Westbury Music Fair Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County: Wiltern Chicago-Gary-Kenosha: Ford Center Theater for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater Rosemont Theater Shubert Theater The Cadillac Palace Theater Washington DC: Warner Theater Baltimore: Mechanic Theater San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose: Fillmore Auditorium Warfield Theatre Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City: Merriam Theater of the Living Arts Tower Theater Boston-Worcester-Lawrence: Charles Playhouse (main stage) Colonial Theatre Orpheum Theatre Wilbur Theatre Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint: State Theater Atlanta: Tabernacle St. Louis: The American The Pageant Cincinnati: Taft Theater Kansas City: Memorial Hall Indianapolis: Murat Theatre Hartford: CT Now.com (Oakdale) Rochester: Harro East Theater West Palm Beach-Boca Raton: Royal Poinciana Playhouse Louisville: Palace Theatre Albany: Saratoga Performing Arts Center New Orleans: Seanger Theater

I appreciate the reference, but now, of course, I want even more information! I know in my community (Seattle), they purchased one of the biggest billboard/advertising companies, but that particular item is tucked away under Clear Channel Entertainment. I have a feeling that their ownership and/or management of performing arts venues is shown in a similar way. I will probably have to navigate the CC website (assuming they have one) or find some corporate paperwork to learn more, but in the meantime... is there anyone here who lives in a community where CC owns or runs a theater or other performance venue (including music clubs/arenas)?

The cast list for week one is on the company website http://www.pnb.org/season/msnd-casting.html For people who want to see final performances from retiring artists, (see end of promotions posting) Gibson and Skinner are both listed as dancing this week.

In the article from the Deseret Times about a possible new theater for Ballet West (links section, 5/26) it mentions that Clear Channel Entertainment has "offered" to run a newly rennovated Utah Theater. Since this is the same company that has been involved in a couple of other recent problems with dance programming (the Boston Ballet Nutcracker being replaced by the Rockettes and the hubbub surrounding NYCB's summer residency in Saratoga) I'm curious to know where else in the country Clear Channel is involved in running or programming a theater venue. Are there places where they are working successfully, or are these contoversial situations the only examples of their management?

Oh dear -- this is so different than current attitudes. I love the idea of the Platonic ballet!

I like the whole interview with Kronstam, but this comment really struck me today. It seems to imply a different attitude towards classic roles than many directors and performers take today, and a different attitude towards the permanence of the repertory -- it will still be there while you are changing. I have to mull this over.

I loved that photo of Karsavina in Vain Precautions when David Vaughan showed it at the critics conference, and I'm so glad to see it again here!

I need to check the calendar -- is it August already? still giggling about the Cheerful movement in 4-P's

Are you thinking of "The Beloved" by Lester Horton? There's a great deal of dragging and flinging in it, and then he throttles her at the end. The work (at least to me) does not feel like misogyny -- the major theme is religious fundamentalism and jealousy, but it is very raw and quite effective. There is some dragging around in Christopher Wheeldon's "There Where She Loved" (at Oregon Ballet Theater earlier this month). A colleague speculated that it was something that Wheeldon "learned" from the MacMillan repertory.

Reading this thread over, all the references to people and their colors reminded me of a game of Clue. Mr. Blue, in the pas de deux, with Ms. Yellow

A whip. They need a whip if they're really going to do an Eifman ballet. I'm actually very intrigued, in that way you are when you pass a traffic accident.

from the NYPL catalogue Might not be premiere cast, but close. http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/tDances+at+a...+gathering&3,,4 Filmed at the matinee performance on June 7, 1969 [May 8, 1969 erroneously given in credits], at the New York State Theater, New York. Danced by members of the New York City Ballet: Allegra Kent (in apricot), Sara Leland (in blue), Kay Mazzo (in mauve), Patricia McBride (in pink), Violette Verdy (in green), Anthony Blum (in mustard), Robert Weiss (in blue-green), Robert Maiorano (in plum), John Prinz (in olive), and Edward Villella (in brown). Pianist: Gordon Boelzner.

Well, he did make Theme and Variations for Ballet Theater in 1947 (for Alonso and Youskevitch).