Farrell Fan

Thanks, kfw. Actually, I was at those performances -- I just wanted to revisit them and was curious what Homans thought. It had seemed to me that a program of pas de deux would be a mistake, but in fact it was quite satisfying. And I was thrilled to see Farrell onstage again. She changed her narration slightly each time, but that wasn't surprising to those of us who'd seen her dance. Although I'm looking forward to Balanchine's Don Q in June of 2005, I wish there would be an SFB season this year.

What does Homans say about The Balanchine Couple?

kfw, you and I know that SFB means Suzanne Farrell Ballet, but I thought some others might be confused, so I'm taking the liberty of posting this clarification.

I bow to the pronouncement on pronunciation. Thanks, Alexandra. Apologies to Bobbi and whomever else I may have led astray. Boo hoo.

I certainly agree about Iannone -- to pronounce the demise of City Ballet after seeing two performances is ludicrous. I think that Gottlieb, whom I always find interesting, is a much more astute critic than Iannone, except that he quoted her at the end of his review. That was unworthy of him. At any rate, these are the kind of attacks on Martins that have been going on since roughly 1986 and put me on his side for a long time. I left there in 1993, but I still think the man deserves more respect.

Dale posted at the same time I did. And a beautiful post it is. Hope I didn't quote too much from Croce.

I think this has as much to do with Suzanne Farrell as with Balanchine. Arlene Croce wrote about it in a review called "Free and More Than Equal." (1975). "Suzanne Farrell dances a long, supported adagio the point of which is to let us see how little support she actually needs. There is no suggestion here of a partnership between equals..." Croce goes on to say that when Farrell first danced the role, "it seemed the iciest and emptiest of abstractions with, in the woman's part, an edge of brazen contempt." But when she resumed dancing "Diamonds" upon her return to NYCB from the Bejart, her artistry had deepened. "She is every bit as powerful as she was before, but now she takes responsibility for the discharge of power...and her mastery implies no rebuke."

I thought Diane Keaton looked interesting -- a cross between Annie Hall and Adolph Menjou.

I'll remember the contrasting Apollos of Peter Boal and Nikolaj Hubbe; the revival of Jewels, especially Ansanelli's Rubies; the vodka toast to Balanchine on his 100th birthday; Jenifer Ringer as Coppelia, Aurora, and in Donizetti Variations; Tara Sorine and Kyra Nichols in the first part of Double Feature and Tom Gold in the second; and all three of the Auroras I saw -- Weese, Ringer, and Bouder -- as well as Kowroski's Lilac Fairy. It was a good season, I thought, but it didn't rise to the heights that the first half of the Balanchine centennial should have attained.

The US Postal Service is issuing four stamps on May 1 of this year honoring American choreographers. They are Agnes deMille, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and George Balanchine. This was the end result of a years-long letter-writing campaign proposing a Balanchine stamp for his centennial.

I always made the same distinction as Watermill, but Mel Johnson sent me to the dictionary and there's no such distinction. In the American Heritage Dictionary, Theatre is just given as an alternate spelling of Theater. "Theatre" is said to be Middle English.

While eagerly awaiting word on the officially-sanctioned pronunciation of Bouder (hoping my hearing aid and I will be vindicated), I just want to say how much I agree with Carbro. I long ago stopped correcting people who mispronounce my last name, D'Angelo. The apostrophe is there instead of an i or an e, and has no sound of its own. Nevertheless, the great majority of Americans say "DeeAngelo." Often when I used to pronounce my name "Dangelo," I would be asked to spell it. When I did, the reply usually was, "Oh, you mean DeeAngelo."

We had this discussion about reviews two weeks ago, complete with polls.

The letters, cards, and petitions seem to be having some effect. We should keep them coming until a definitive announcement is made.

Okay, it's time for my taxi story. A few years ago in Saratoga I shared a taxi with a young dancer, someone not yet on the NYCB roster. I introduced myself and asked her name. "Ashley BOder," she said. So Leigh is correct -- it's like the bow in a ribbon, or Bo as in Derek.

Some posters detected booing at the curtain calls after Ashley Bouder's debut as Aurora in NYCB's Sleeping Beauty. I prefer to think, perhaps wishfully, that the sounds heard were similar to the admiring noises Yankee fans make when Mike Mussina is pitching, lovingly drawing out the first syllable of his last name. In this case they were singling out Ashley when she bowed with Damian Woetzel -- BOOOOUUUder. (I have no explanation for the boos one poster heard after the admittedly less-than-satisfactory Bluebird pas de deux, other than rudeness.) I have heard real, unmistakable boos at NYCB in the past, because I've been going a long time. Edward Villella was sometimes booed at the end of Robbins's "Watermill," presumably by people who'd come expecting to see him jump and turn. And Balanchine's "Don Quixote" was on more than one occasion met with booing at the final curtain. I can understand, though not condone, those boos. But it is inconceivable to me that members of an audience would boo a supremely talented, fearless young dancer who made a triumphant comeback after a long time on the sick list, and was making a glorious debut in a benchmark role. Is booing dancers ever justified?

Carbro, I absolutely agree. Being present at Bouder's first performance as Aurora is a memory to treasure.

Good question, BW. I used to feel an obligation to finish everything I started, but I don't anymore. For instance, when Ballet Alert chose "The Da Vinci Code" as its book of the month, I tried hard to get interested. But I gave up at around page 150, with about 300 pages left. I just couldn't stand the writing. I've never liked books that depend on plot rather than characters, and those that purport to expose worldwide conspiracies I particularly dislike. But my objection to this book had less to do with "The Da Vinci Con," as the New York Times Book Review headlined its article about the notorious hoax on which the plot is based, than with the pedestrian nature of the writing. For me this was a "thriller" with no thrills. Of course it's been on the Book Review's hardcover bestseller list for 47 weeks, so a lot of people apparently disagree. :shrug:

Bouder was absolutely thrilling and I felt privileged to be there. The fall off-pointe was of very little consequence. That was not booing Oberon heard. Who would have booed and why? Unlike him, I have heard booing at NYCB, for Edward Villella in "Watermill". The sound of booing is unmistakable. The sounds he heard last night (I heard them too) were like those baseball fans make when they signify approval for players named Lou or Moose. In this case they were for a dancer named BOUder.

Thanks for the update and the links, Manhattnik.So now we know the "unanimous" vote of the directors included "about half" of them. And it's true The Saratogian is acting very passively in this shameful affair. I sent them an anti-Chesbrough letter which they neither printed nor acknowledged. I hope Sen. Bruno uses his clout on Chesbrough's head.

As finales of TV series go, I thought this was a good one. There was a reasonbly happy ending for everyone except Alexander Petrovsky. Charlotte and Harry have a Chinese baby on the way; Miranda has welcomed her dotty mother-in-law into her spacious Brooklyn house and earned the affection of her housekeeper; Samantha has regained her libido; And Carrie's Big appeared like Prince Charming to rescue her from Paris and Petrovsky. In that case it was a bit of a fairy-tale stretch, but what went before with her wandering Paris alone and missing a party in her honor was poignant and believable. As Petrovsky, I thought Baryshnikov acquitted himself very well in this episode. And now it's time for Sarah Jessica Parker to get back to the stage.

Thanks, hockeyfan, I didn't remember the other Carabosses from 1991-94. Debbie Wingert and Teresa Reyes were two of my all-time favorites from the corps, but can you refresh my recollection about Richardson? What was her first name? The only corps Richardson I remember is David, who by then must have been ballet-mastering at ABT. (Where he would have made a fine Carabosse.) Your point about Merrill Ashley being originally mentioned as one of NYCB's Auroras clarifies what's bothering me. Her casting as Carabosse was because of all the injuries she'd had. So now when Kyra Nichols is cast as Carabosse, it seems to me the unspoken message is "she's a great ballerina but too old for the lead, so we're letting you see her in this part." But when it comes to Kowroski, I'm totally confused. She can and does dance the leading roles in Sleeping Beauty. Why cast her as Carabosse as well? Aren't there any contemporary equivalents of Wingert, Reyes, and Richardson? Lourdes Lopez is another story and I'm not sure what I think of that. :shrug:

Toward the twilight of her career, Merrill Ashley was cast as the evil fairy, and scored a triumph. She's done it again this season, and the audience loves her. But also appearing as Carabosse this time have been Kyra Nichols, whom I didn't see, and Maria Kowroski, whom I did, and maybe others. Why? What's the point? Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Is the new O'Neals' open yet? After closing O'Neals' Baloon (the odd spelling arose when the name "O'Neals' Saloon," original choice of the management, ran afoul of municipal bylaws and sensibilities), O'Neals' Restaurant moved to the Liberty Warehouse building, the one with the little Statue of Liberty on the roof. It stayed for quite a few years, partially occupying some of the space of the old Ginger Man, an earlier O'Neals' restaurant. There were two other restaurants on that site, one of which, fronting on Broadway, called itself "The Saloon." I suppose the irony was lost on anyone not as old as I am. O'Neals' Restaurant closed over a year ago, while the building was remodeled and the Statue sent to Brooklyn. In recent weeks I've seen a red canopy reading "O'Neals' Cafe," on 65th Street, but the last time I looked, the place was not yet open. I presume the mural will be on a wall there, although I can't imagine all this moving is good for it.

BW, I think Amy is referring to the cost of membership in Symphony Space at the Friends level. Members are supposed to receive priority seating.