duffster

All of the former dancers with the company(myself included) were invited to see this performance yesterday, as well as watching company class before the PBS taping. I have been told that it will be airing on May 2,2014. The night before we had a gala dinner honoring Barbara Weisberger(the company founder) who at 87 yrs is still as engaging and sharp as ever. The company is dancing at a very high level. On the program( which was a gift to the city) the Diamond section of Jewels,After the Rain and a pas de deux from Under the Sun were performed.I especially enjoyed Julie Diana in the Diamonds,- beautiful clean lines,nothing forced- and maintained warmth without that severe quality that some ballerinas adapt when doing this piece.Her partner Zachary Hench was wonderful as well.When watching company class(in the theatre) I kept watching a dancer who stood out for his elegance,we were sitting back, it was a bit dark and later found out it was he. I also enjoyed After the Rain(the complete piece)with the excellent Lauren Fadeley and James Ihde. During the pas de deux ( I hope they will edit it for the broadcast) a cell phone went off and a baby started crying- enough to ruin the atmosphere of the piece.Kudos to the dancers for maintaining concentration throughout. The pas from Sappington's Under the Sun has some tricky partnering but was done well - I prefer seeing the entire piece, many years ago it was in the company rep. I remember being impressed by the scenery( Calders mobiles) Before the performance, Merrill Ashley was backstage and we former dancers had some pictures taken with her and told her how we appreciated her dancing and the work she is doing now.She was very surprised and gracious to us. At the end of the performance,all former company members, came out on stage to take a bow. I hadn't seen the Academy of Music from that side of the stage for many years. It was a wonderful celebration for all of us with much emotion and joy.

Thank you all for the lovely tribute. I loved his classes- especially his barre combinations that were tricky- you really had to think. He had beautiful feet and a high extension. Would demonstrate just about every combination- he made it look easy. His one-liners were hilarious. One time in class, I was at the bottom of a grande plié( in first position) walked right next to me and said " Well how ya dooooin. I think he was trying to stop me from being so serious and intense. He was one of a kind.

Souvenirs by Todd Bolender had some very funny characters.

Having been a former dancer, I was amused to find out that one of my ancestors last name was Lightfoot.

I thought it interesting that ( if I am correct in saying) that all of the ballerinas who will be performing Olga except Kaptsova and Amatriain were from the Marinsky school.

How very fortunate to have worked with him at the National Ballet of Washington. He was always supportive and kind- very generous with his coaching and always willing to help if you were struggling with any role. I particularly remember a rehearsal (only the two of us ) for a variation in Pas de Dix. He concentrated mostly on the style and certain position of the arms. He once asked me to fill in for a corps dancer whose approach to Les Sylphides he could not tolerate. Since I was a soloist (and not cast in the ballet) I gladly agreed and after a few performances thanked me with his usual charm. I'm glad to have known him. RIP dear Freddie.

And her chaine turns as well !

When I was dancing, to make the pointe shoes work best on my feet, I had to do alot of preparation. I first would cut the satin tips off of the tops, sew double elastics for around the ankle( to secure the shoe so that it would not slip off during the performance)next I would sew elastics on to the ribbons as to have more give when you plie- as to prevent tendonitis. I had a very high instep so I think sewing them this way saved my career. Next I would scrape the bottoms , wet the shoes around the instep and secure the tie in the front . I went through a phase of darning them, but it got to be too much. You were always preparing your shoes- almost like doing your homework every day.

Thank you for posting this, I was feeling glum since I am to work the late shift tonight- until 12 am, this made my day.

One of my fondest memories as a young ballet student was taking a master class taught by Kriza . Even though some of us were just learning and trying to master the basics, he was so warm and encouraging we did not want his class to end. He approached us as though we were fully fledged professional dancers. What a wonderful man.

One performance of the Royal Ballet still remains with me to this day. It was Symphonic Variations, not about the dancing(brilliant as it was) but the complete stillness each artist was able to achieve holding the opening position as the curtain rose and also many times during the different sections of the piece. To hold a position on stage for some time is very difficult . The cast that I saw was Dowell, Sibley,Penney, Jenner,Coleman and I think but not sure David Wall. It was extraordinary.

Luckily I had an unexpected day off and I was able to watch this broadcast live. I enjoyed most of it but I agree there were too many character dances, however they were well done. I also did not care for the palm trees. Osipova was outstanding- this was my first time seeing her in this role, if she was holding back I would not have known. I thought that Vasiliev was a bit overshadowed by her. I expected more fire from him- not in the dancing but in the mime scenes.His shape looked a bit more bulky than before- especially in the black tights which should have a thinning effect. Even so there is no one else like him and I enjoyed his astonishing elevation and turns.The company looked very good- the corps and soloists danced at a very high standard. The character roles especially wlell done. One of the stars of the show was not only the donkey but the horse who stood like a statue- not at all flustered by anything around him - just amazing!

I was fortunate to see this today in a small theatre just outside of Philadelphia( BRYN MAWR film institute). This was my first experience with the live transmisson- I enjoyed it- especially the backstage view before the performance started. Alexandrova was absolutely outstanding, she has a serene quality about her even when she is doing very difficult passages. Being a former dancer, I can appreciate the high quality of the dancing throughout this production. The handsome Skvortsov( after almost falling out of his first series of turns) did redeem himself as the ballet progressed. Nikulina and Shipulina were indeed Raymonda's girlfriends, their variations approached with their individual qualities but when dancing together were perfectly in sync( especially during some brutally quick tempi) . I also enjoyed Chinara Alizade and especially Anna Tikhomirova in their variations. ( Before the broadcast backstage, you can see Anna running through her variation about 5 times!). I thought that Abderakhman (Dmitrichenko) was convincing but I keep comparing him to Taranda. I thought that at times the stage looked too small for the amount of people in the national dances. The corps looked beautiful especially during the dream sequence. For some reason I was dissapointed with Stashkevich's variation in the last act. The ending of her solo looked to me unfinished- especially for the Bolshoi standard- ( too quick tempi?). This production is long and you may not like the costumes, scenery etc. etc., but it is well worth watching for the outstanding level of dancing.

From all I've heard of this Aussie SL, I would love to see the Trocks do it.

Yes I totally agree that the Bolshoi would be the better choice, as Mr Filin seems open to giving young dancers opportunities.

Christian, I do not know of Rosella Hightower's performing career however she did teach some of our company classes ( Harkness Ballet) in Monte-carlo, Monaco. She was living in Cannes at the time and had a ballet school there. Her classes were very difficult technically but made you stretch yourself to accomplish more . She demonstrated everything , making it look very easy . She had a great eye for your faults - In my case rolling in on my ankles. Once she gave you that correction , she always was watching you and kept after you until it was corrected I'm glad now that I had the opportunity to work with her..

Thanks Christian for the lovely clips. I had never seen a young Markova dance before - such nice clean technique with an elegant arabesque line. (reminds me of the great Margot). Many years ago I learned this pas de deux from Irene Fokine and then Andre Evglevsky and his wife ( I was guesting with their companies ). It is exactly the same version step by step performed here by Ms Valdes and her partner. It is interesting to me how this choreography has been passed down to different dancers with very little changes . Irene and Andre taught this without any notes and seemed (much like Freddie Franklin) to have an entire repetoire in their heads - everything from their memory. This is still my favorite version.

The music for Siegfrieds Act 1 variation ( I believe the Royal Ballet version) of Swan Lake I think is haunting, also the pas de deux in Macmillian's Manon and most of the score in his Mayerling. The tune I can't get rid of in my head is the melody right after the Black Swan pasde deux.

I absolutely hated to dance and to watch the Diamond fairy variation in the last act of Sleeping Beauty. Too many passe releves- maybe I just did not care for that particular piece of music.

Barbara Fallis and her husband Richard Thomas taught (as guests) at the Pennsylvania Ballet school many years ago. Her classes were very inspiring as she demonstrated quite alot. I especially remember the beautiful adagio combinations, she had a lovely serene quality executing the most difficult ones making it look very easy.I remember her being very kind to the youngest in the class, such as myself, at that time. I never realized that she had worked with Massine and Fokine. I may be mistaken but I thought that she and her husband danced for NYCB as well as ABT.

I agree totally Makarova Fan with you about Maximova and Vasiliev. As a very young ballet student my mother took me to see them both performing Don Q . It was a performance that today I can still remember. The highlight for me was the pas de deux and coda- Maximova with her charm and brillance and Vasiliev with his astounding elevation and stage presence. The audience was so impressed that the performance stopped for about 5 minutes, giving them a standing ovation after the coda. I don't believe we had ever seen dancing of that standard before. I think that day I made up my mind to become a professional dancer. I feel very fortunate to have seen them both perform live- to see them on video( and lucky for us to have them) does not compare with what I saw that day in the theatre.

This is very upsetting, Rudi was the very first choreographer I had the good fortune to work with on a ballet. On my second day in the company, he chose me to be the white girl in Monument for a dead boy, later his Moments and then in Washington DC, a piece called Jungle. His use of electronic music and his movement vocabulary were at first very difficult to understand. He could be demanding but in the end he loved his dancers. I last saw him many years ago in DC, saying goodbye to us, as he was leaving to go back to Holland. He considered us his children. Rudi, may you rest in peace.

The Christmas Carol with Alaistair Sim as Scrooge.

Having worked with Ben Stevenson myself, Bruce Greenwood did a great job in capturing his character, they even copied his practice wardrobe to perfection. I remember that Ben had a great sense of humor, he was a great mimic and could imitate anyone in the company- it was hilarious yet very humbling. I felt it was his way of correcting your approach to your dancing and also to put you down a peg if he felt your head was getting too big. From what I could see it always worked.