Farrell Fan

This was the 13th annual "Ballet Builders" program put on by an organization called New Choreographers on Point. I've gone for the last four or five years, and this year saw the Feb.22 performance at Florence Gould Hall. In the past, there'd been a sprinkling of NYCB corps members and SAB students among the dancers, and even choreographers (Ryan Kelly). This time, the connection was with Rochester City Ballet. The piece called "Push & Pull," by that company's assistant artistic director, Jamey Leverett, to music of Astor Piazzolla, brought the first half of the program to a rousing conclusion. It was danced by twelve members of Rochester City Ballet, of whom a little dynamo named Jim Kowakowski was the clear audience favorite. There were seven short ballets in all, and in the first and last of them, despite the name of the organization, the women did not wear pointe shoes. For me, the unseen presence of the evening was Paul Taylor. The first work, to Bach, was obviously modeled on Taylor's "pure dance" pieces. The choreographer was Andreas Bjorneboe. Another of the evening's choreographers, Ted Thomas, is a former Taylor dancer. He and Frances Ortiz choreographed a pas de deux to the song "Good Morning, Heartache," sung by Ella Fitzgerald. I am passionately devoted to Ella, but the definitive recording of "Good Morning, Heartache" is by Billie Holliday. And the song lyrics would seem to dictate a solo. But I suppose it's possible to see the male dancer as the "heartache." It was danced by Alicia Graf and William Isaac. They were terrific -- but so were all the dancers. The last item, "Coeur de Basque," for seven dancers, drew almost as many audience whoops and hollers as "Push & Pull." I don't mean to slight the other works, "Suite," "Chamber," and "Facet." They were thoroughly enjoyable and professional, and the dancers looked good in them. But I do think the new choreographers need a lot of help with titles.

Unfortunately, I have seen truncated versions of "Who Cares?" at the State Theater. Once was on an opening night, when the ranks of the begowned and tuxedoed presumably wouldn't have known the difference. But I'm pretty sure I've seen the demi-soloists eliminated on at least one other occasion as well. This cuts the heart out of he ballet, in my opinion, with no buildup to "The Man I Love." I'd much rather see a different, shorter ballet than a maimed masterpiece.

How fascinating to discover a thread that had its inception before the turn of the century! It would be redundant for me to name my favorite female dancer, but I would like to mention two others -- Christine Sarry and Sallie Wilson. They both had great moments onstage, and Wilson had arguably one of the greatest offstage ballerina moments of all time when she reacted to a Clive Barnes review by dumping a drink on his head.

The "smattering" in the corps includes Darius Crenshaw, Craig Hall, Jerome Johnson, Amar Ramasar, and Henry Seth. Granted, the company is still overwhelmingly white, especially among the women, but compared to the situation just a short time ago, I think this constitutes a trend.

One sees more ballet dancers of color than used to be the case, especially at NYCB.

I look forward to Aesha Ash's debut in "War and Discord." And I'm glad the opening night discord concerning Robert La Fosse didn't affect his guest appearances as Coppelius.

I suppose it was decided to use the concert hall because of its huge seating capacity. (I think it's even bigger than the opera house.) Too bad, because the Eisenhower Theater in the Kennedy Center is perfectly fine for dance. But its seating capacity is half that of the opera house.

I am reading it, and just finished "Book One," which is about half the novel. It gets off to a brilliant, if harrowing, start -- in the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. You think that it can't possibly maintain that level, but it comes very close, at least in Book One. It has enough ballet scenes to satisfy fans, but McCann's canvas is much wider -- it encompasses "love, art, fame, exile" -- as the jacket has it. I enthusiastically echo atm711's recommendation.

Just want to say that sneds is correct about Tewsley on Friday night. I mischaracterized his performance in Vienna Waltzes as "earthbound," when what really bothered me were his audible landings. Not the same thing. I hope he comes back soon from his injury.

I agree that the Robert Johnson review was reprehensible. That's why I was surprised to see his byline in the new (winter) issue of Ballet Review. It's attached to "A Conversation with Roxane Butterfly," a free-style tap dancer. Seems like the "career move" has already taken place.

Among the highlights are reviews of POB's Coppelia and the Kirov in New York, as well as a portfolio of photographs of New York City Ballet by Paul Kolnik called "Interior Lines." Writes Lloyd Fonvielle: "In these photographs, Paul Kolnik searches for those interior moments and structures within a ballet when the whole force of the dance seems concentrated, contracted into pure power, coiled inwards but radiating energy outwards, assailing the limits of the frame." Be that as it may, the photographs, of NYCB dancers past and present, are stunning.

I saw Ansanelli and Tewsley in Valse-Fantasie Tuesday night, the 11th, and they were charming together. Then on Friday, the 14th, he and Weese did Fruhlingssteimmen in Vienna Waltzes, and his performance -- in a role originated by Helgi Tomasson, no less -- seemed to me plodding and earthbound. It was one of those moments when I bemoan the current state of NYCB. But such moments don't last -- especially not when Kyra Nichols comes on to do the Rosenkavalier finale, abetted by the excellent Philip Neal. On that same Friday program, Yvonne Borree performed one of her best roles -- the doll in Steadfast Tin Soldier -- and Tom Gold was very appealing as the soldier. Before Valse-Fantasie on Tuesday came Peter Martins' Bach Concerto V. I'd seen this ballet twice before and considered it a trifle best forgotten. But on Tuesday, Jock Soto and Darci Kistler gave such a committed, lovely performance that they won me over. Don't other Ballet Alertniks ever have this experience? Darci's powers are much diminished, but she is still capable of thrilling performances. And her hair is glorious. Long may it wave.

In my opinion, Antique Epigraphs continues to be a beautiful ballet. I've seen it twice this season, and while some of the mystery imparted by the original cast may be lacking, it still casts a marvelous spell. Jennifer Ringer was stunning in her solo, Kowroski's legs never looked better, and Rachel Rutherford and Pascale van Kipnes were fine. The costumes are gorgeous. It may be a slightly different piece of ancient pottery that these women have stepped from, but it's the real thing, not a fake.

There's a letter in the Arts & Leisure section of the Feb. 16 New York Times that relates to this thread. "To the Editor: In September 1997 I spotted a New York City Ballet dancer on my downtown No.2 train. I thought he was Peter Frame but wasn't sure. The train stalled between stations and I began to speak with the dancer. He was quite friendly and told me of the company's plans. When I asked for his autograph, he graciously gave it; he was Kipling Houston. I am sorry to see that this graceful, jovial dancer is retiring from the City Ballet. Ellen Levitt Brooklyn" This is a pleasant anecdote, but it got me wondering about people (I'm sure there are many) who ask for autographs from "celebrities" of whose identity they're not sure.

Though Jerome Robbins choreographed "Antique Epigraphs" and "Afternoon of a Faun" decades apart, they were frequently paired at NYCB, presumably because of similarities in the Debussy music. This season, "Antique Epigraphs" has been uncoupled, and I, for one, think both ballets are better for it. On the other hand, though Peter Martins choreographed "Eight Easy Pieces" five years before "Eight More," they are definitely companion pieces, using the same Stravinsky music -- for piano duets and orchestra, respectively. It was great fun seeing these two ballets together this season. Then there's the case of Balanchine's "Monumentum Pro Gesualdo," from 1960, and "Movements for Piano and Orchestra," 1963. I can't remember when these two Stravinskys were first coupled, but "Monumentum/Movements" now seem inseparable. Often the same ballerina dances both, but not always. I like them better when it's the same ballerina. But both ballets got highly favorable reviews on their own at their premieres. Even John Martin liked "Monumentum." So could they have an independent life of their own now? They're very short, so they'd probably have to be paired with other things.

Whichever the case, he and Bouder were terrific.

Thanks for the amusing story. When my wife and I went to England in the 60s, she was fascinated by the various kinds of loo paper she encountered in London and elsewhere -- the different textures, thicknesses, and even colors. She amassed quite a collection and we brought it home. It's still here someplace. As for autographs, once, a long time ago, she and I were in a New York City subway train, and standing above us was a young man reading a book I'd written. He was showing a funny passage to his girlfriend. This was such an unlikely event (nothing like that ever happened to me again) that Alice said, indicating me, "this is the author, would you like him to sign your book?" They looked at us as though we were a pair of lunatics (my photo was not on the book jacket). He obviously wanted to decline the offer, but not wishing to arouse the crazy folks, he reluctantly agreed, but wouldn't give his name.

Perusing today's active threads, I noticed a question about attitude derriere. Isn't this what Jennifer Lopez has?

I agree with rkoretzy about the programming -- it could have been worse. Midsummer Night's Dream and Coppelia are wonderful ballets and look even better at SPAC. And it will be nice to have the place more filled than usual, as I'm sure it will be. I don't mind seeing either of those ballets more than once over the course of a few days. I draw the line at Peter Martins' Swan Lake, however, and, like rkoretzky, a veil of silence.

With all due respect, Xena, I don't think that whether ballet is a sport or an art is a matter of opinion. It's a matter of the dictionary. As for sports not evoking tears, fans of the New York Mets baseball team have been shedding tears for years. ;)

If you can think of a sport that's not competitive, then it's probably an art.

From Bernard Taper's biography of Balanchine: "When the New York State Theater was built at Lincoln Center, it was Balanchine's advice that was most heeded as to what the theatre should look like. 'I did the house with Balanchine in mind,' said the architect, Philip Johnson. 'I have always wanted to design a theatre for him.' And the New York City Ballet agreed to open the theatre formally on April 23, 1964, and to be the resident company." Not only was the inclusion of the New York City Opera an afterthought, in recent years that company has never missed an opportunity to badmouth the acoustics and every other feature of the New York State Theater. Their most devout wish seems to be to leave it. I am a long-time fan of NYCO and admire much of what they've done. Nevertheless, it's been my opinion since 1983 that the place should be renamed the George Balanchine Theater.

I enjoy NYCB in the summer at Saratoga more than at the NY State Theater, where I see them once or twice a week in the winter and spring. The Saratoga audience is much more receptive and enthusiastic, and if they sometimes applaud inappropriately, I prefer that to sitting on one's hands and rushing out of the theater the moment the curtain starts coming down. It's true though, that the audience at the SPAC annual gala is often rude and couldn't care less about the ballet. Last year, a large part of it left its seats at the first intermission and loitered around the grounds for the rest of the evening. Nevertheless, the gala is a grand occasion, fascinating for watching people as well as fireworks. I skipped it for a couple of years, but found I missed it. I've been going to Saratoga Springs since 1978, and never tire of the place, despite the increasingly noisy and daunting vehicular traffic on Broadway. I, too, stayed for years at the Holiday Inn, and agree that it's very pleasant and convenient. There's an ample parking area. Nowadays I stay at the Adelphi, the last remaining 19th century hotel in Saratoga. Travel & Leisure once described it as "a time capsule of Gilded Age decadence and Victorian clutter." The Adelphi bar is a favorite gathering place after performances. However, the Adelphi has no parking facilities. (The parking area at the Performing Arts Center is huge, like the theater itself.) Among its many attractions for me, Saratoga Springs has what Lincoln Kirstein once called "the best bookstore in the United States." the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore. It's on Phila (pronounced Fy-la) Street, a few steps off Broadway, and it's possible to get lost, both literally and figuratively, in its warren of rooms full of antiquarian books and prints. To top it off, last year I had the pleasure of meeting rkoretzky, yet another of Saratoga's incomparable attractions.

Now I have seen the February Playbill and, yes, almost all the photos are from the face book. The only ones which aren't are those of Hubbe, Kowroski, Martins, and Neal.

This is somewhat tangential, but as a lifelong admirer of Frank Sinatra's singing, I was always bothered by the fact that Twyla Tharp, in her various Sinatra ballets, invariably chose the corniest, least interesting of his recordings, the worst being the egregious "Strangers in the Night." Scooby doobie doo. :rolleyes: