Farrell Fan

As of last summer, this was the composition of SPAC's Board of Directors: Charles E. Mather III, Chairman Wallace A. Graham, Vice Chairman Edward P. Swyer, Secretary-Treasurer Herbert A. Chesbrough, President George M. Cheston Philly Dake Charles Dutoit Martha F. Gerry Alan Goldberg Lewis Golub Wallace A. Graham Robert J. Higgins Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords, Jr. Peter Martins Charles E. Mather III Barnabas McHenry George M. Philip David H. Porter Sarah Jeffords Radcliffe Peter Rollins Stephen M. Serlin Sonya A. Stall Edward P. Swyer James W. Taylor Lewis H. Titterton Charles R. Wood News accounts refer to the board's "unanimous vote" to oust NYCB. I wonder how many members were present when the vote was taken.

Kowroski was still in the corps when I saw her do second movement Symphony in C, and I remember thinking, "She looks a lot like Suzanne." I suppose others felt the same way -- I believe I remember even critics mentioning it. But I agree that the comparison is no longer apt. And I certainly agree that she needs a choreographer to bring her to her full ballerina greatness. That's been the problem at NYCB for a long time -- the dancers are left to develop on their own. Some do and others, sadly, don't.

This is awful. I haven't felt like this since 1993, when NYCB dropped Suzanne Farrell from its coaching staff. I've been going to Saratoga during the NYCB season for as many years as I can remember and I came to love the town. I can't offer any sort of comment on the SPAC board's action, since to me it seems unbelievable, especially since ballet attendance was up last year and could have been expected to rise again this summer with the Balanchine Centennial. This is the sort of thing that sends me into my grumpy old man rant. Where's the loyalty? NYCB was an original constituent of SPAC. Does that count for nothing? And I didn't appreciate the disgustingly wimpy comments of the Museum of Dance Director at the end of the Saratogian article. Not to mention that board member. What a Valentine gift to Mr B!

He also did a nice job lifting Eleanor D'Antuono. :rolleyes:

The much-acclaimed Encores series at New York's City Center (where Broadway's "Chicago" and "Wonderful Town" originated) got off to a bang-up 2004 start on Thursday night with Cole Porter's "Can Can." The songs in this 1953 musical include "C'est Magnifique," "It's All Right With Me, "I Love Paris," and more than a dozen others, including the title song. There were two powerhouse leading ladies -- Patti Lupone, who periodically brought the house down, and Charlotte d'Amboise, who did the part which first brought Gwen Verdon to widespread attention. The leading men were the amusing Reg Rogers and Michael Nouri ("Victor/Victoria," "Forty Carats.") There was a sweet cameo appearance by Eli Wallach as a Parisian judge. The director was Lonny Price, who seems to make a habit of directing Patti Lupone. The terrific choreography was by Melinda Roy (remember her at NYCB?) who was nominated for a Tony in 2003 for the short-lived "Urban Cowboy," her Broadway choreographic debut. Also proving that there's life after NYCB was cast member Robert Wersinger, who's been in several shows and the movie "Centerstage." Charlotte d'Amboise was wonderful, as usual. And I particularly admired the last line in her Playbill bio: "Her proudest moment was performing for the Kennedy Center Honors recipient Jacques d'Amboise, her father."

Robert Tewsley looked very fine partnering the regal Rachel Rutherford in Emeralds. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed this performance of Jewels as much as I did the opening night cast, which I liked very much. Both Yvonne Borree in Rubies and Darci Kistler in Diamonds did well, in no small measure because of their caring and stalwart partners, Peter Boal and Charles Askegard respectively. We've gotten just glimpses, really, of Tewsley, because of his many injuries since he joined NYCB, but he is a very elegant dancer and I look forward to seeing him with the company many times in the future.

If I don't already have tickets for something that gets a rave review, chances are the review will make it more difficult to get them. So I'd be inclined to wait and see it the following season.

Almost all my ballet tickets -- to NYCB, ABT, and Suzanne Farrell Ballet, are bought well in advance of any reviews, so bad ones have no effect. If a visiting troupe gets bad reviews chances are I wouldn't have gone anyway.

I guess we really are in a new century when we're discussing the SETS for a Balanchine ballet! I loved them. For me they hark back to Peter Harvey's own 1967 original set. I'm glad to have seen the last of Robin Wagner's set for Jewels, which I always thought was more bargain basement than Van Cleef and Arpels. The audience responded enthusiastically to the new Rubies set in particular -- with gasps and cheers. What could be bad about that? But trust Anna Kisselgoff to opine that "The red slats recall Russian Suprematist paintings just as the flat acrobatic silhouette for the second ballerina in 'Rubies' comes from Balanchine's 1920's ballets.' And here I'd always thought of her as a 1940's pin-up girl. The Diamonds set was the least successful. I agree with Ballet Alerter Bobbi that it ought to have been more suggestive of a grand ballroom. But regardless of sets, Diamonds has always been a letdown since SF stopped dancing it. By the way, I was sitting in the second ring and had no problem seeing the jewels.

Apologies for veering off-topic, but I thoroughly agree with Herman. The fact is that, over twenty years after Balanchine's death, no such biography exists. One still hopes that Arlene Croce will be the one to write it, but as Stravinsky said to Balanchine after the latter's promise of a culinary feast, WHEN?

I start out remaining seated, but after a few seconds I tire of looking at the phalanx of backsides in the row in front of me and get curious about what's happening on stage. So I get up but don't necessarily applaud.

Perhaps Zelensky seemed older to TUF because he used to be a member of NYCB, and has been a guest with them in the past. As far as I'm concerned, he's always welcome.

Years ago, the orchestra players used to dash out the minute the final curtain came down. When Robert Irving or Hugo Fiorato took their curtain calls and acknowledged the players, they were usually gesturing toward an empty pit. It seems to me a memo must have gone out at one point, because in recent times the players actually hang around for this. In a few instances, they have even applauded the conductor. So I'm distressed to hear about their lack of involvement during the performance. I agree about the horns -- they sometimes make me cringe (not just with the NYCB orchestra.) But would anyone here prefer recorded music?

Thanks for posting that extraordinarily moving poem, Paul, and for your own heartfelt comments. I wish Mr. Gioia well in what must be, for the most part, a thankless job.

Thanks, Ari. Interesting viewpoint, despite the few specifics. He does assure us, though, that he is a trained musician, like Balanchine. I browsed through some of the rest of his blog and thought it ranged from ... never mind.

There's a February 1 link posted by Alexandra to a piece by Terry Teachout which for some reason I can't access. But the summary quotes him about the NYCB orchestra this season: "Sometimes it sounded horrible, sometimes passable." This is too serious a charge to go unremarked. I think the orchestra has been sounding fine. Does anyone know what Mr. Teachout is talking about?

As a curmudgeon who used to write advertising, I think the visual of the flexed, pointe-shoed foot about to kick a football is very clever. But I would have liked the copy better if it had just said "How to score on Valentine's Day." I think the unnecessary second sentence just reinforces the stereotype that ballet attendance is for ladies.

I am far from a defender of the administration's position, but I read in the New York Times this week, "The White House on Thursday called for an increase of $18 million in the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts this coming fiscal year." Of course, even with this increase, the NEA budget will be far lower than it was at its peak. And some members of Congress have expressed opposition to any increase. I also found it interesting that the announcement was made by Laura Bush, not her husband, who apparently has weightier things on his mind -- like steroids.

I've been going to NYCB regularly since the sixties, and I've seen my share of clinkers in that time, some, incredible as it may seem, by Balanchine. The Stroman piece (I hesitate to call it a ballet, since that might offend some posters' sensibilities) had some dull spots, but was, all-in-all, marvelously entertaining. The dancers were obviously enjoying themselves and so, with a few exceptions, was the audience. Tom Gold gave the performance of his life, SAB's Tara Sorine was amazing, and it was a pleasure to see the NYCB dancers as we've never seen them before. I think it was Michael who put things in perspective by comparing it to Peter Martins's "Thou Swell," which didn't work. This does. I gave it a thumbs up. But I still don't buy the idea that this is an appropriate way to honor the Balanchine Centennial.

Thanks to Clive Barnes, in his review of Stroman's "Double Feature," for reviving "(the) dancers...seem to be having the time of their lives." The fact is I thought so too.

The Canadian writer Carol Shields is in my triumvirate of favorite modern novelists, the others being John Updike and Anne Tyler. I've read several of her novels, including "The Stone Diaries," "Larry's Party," "The Republic of Love," "Swann," and a "Celibate Season." I liked them all, especially "Swann," "The Stone Diaries," and "The Republic of Love." There are several others I haven't gotten around to reading, but unfortunately there won't be any more. She died last July at the age of 68.

I enjoyed the evening, too -- very much -- and I'd gone expecting to hate it. I'd thought that to honor the Broadway Balanchine NYCB should have tried to reconstruct some of Balanchine's Broadway choreography. I still think so, but Stroman's "Double Feature" won me over. If anybody was rolling over in a grave last night it would have been Irving Berlin, who was more the grave roll-over type and would have been distressed at the uses to which some of his greatest songs were put. (I agree the orchestrations were great.) "The Blue Necklace," the melodramatic first part of "Double Feature" was overlong and if the evening had ended after it, I wouldn't have been as pleased as I eventually was. It's certainly true that Stroman's ballet vocabulary is limited and it showed in this much more than in the knock-about "Makin' Whoopee," the second feature, where it didn't matter as much. Bobbi has mentioned all the wonderful dancers. There were also two girls from SAB, Tara Sorine and Isabella Tobias, who as the young Florence (Megan Fairchild) and young Mabel (Ashley Bouder) were outstanding in "The Blue Necklace." "Makin' Whoopee," was absolutely hilarious and I loved every minute of it. Alexandra Ansanelli revealed a flair for comedy in addition to her other great attributes, and, at the risk of demonstrating irrational exhuberance, I'd say the Buster Keatonish performance of Tom Gold was among the funniest ever seen on the New York State Theater stage.

Apollo, danced by Peter Boal, in the version that begins with the birth of Apollo.

I really couldn't tell if there were any former dancers onstage. But I'm not good at spotting people in such situations. During the Balanchine Celebration of a few years back, I was anxiously looking for Suzanne among all the former dancers and never did see her, even though she was front and center.

Balanchine's birthday, January 22. For me the highlight of the evening was the post-performance appearance in front of the curtain of Barbara Horgan, Mr. B's longtime assistant and for the last 20 years administrator of the Balanchine Trust. She didn't make a speech, in fact she didn't say a word, although she did punctuate some remarks by Peter Martins with her own gestures. I found the Martins-Horgan appearance somewhat reminiscent of the appearances of Balanchine and Kirstein, although in this case nobody carried a vodka bottle. There were many hundreds of small vodka bottles however, distributed to the audience at the second intermission for use in the post-performance toast. Martins pointed out that some of the evening's dancers had not yet been born when Mr. B died, but that three of them -- Kyra Nichols, Peter Boal, and Darci Kistler had worked with him. When the curtain went up, it appeared that all the company's dancers were onstage. There was a huge cake, suitable for a Trump wedding. (On the way out, the audience was given little pastries. I suppose it would have been impossible to have pieces of the actual cake.) The blowup of the Cartier-Bresson photo of Balanchine that was used on opening night was again lowered and mylar confetti swirled. The orchestra played "Happy Birthday," and there was a balloon drop which was only partially successful. At least half the balloons never dropped. I'm leaving it to others to review the performance, but I feel compelled to complain about Darci's ineffective Siren. She didn't even succeed in covering herself with her cape in the prologue to the pas de deux, thus depriving Boal's excellent Prodigal of the opportunity to uncover her.