Farrell Fan

No, that doesn't contradict what NYCB stands for. On the contrary, the company would be getting back to its origins. When I first started attending NYCB, the repertory included works by Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, John Cranko, Ruthanna Boris, Birgit Cullberg, Todd Bolender, John Taras, Lew Christenson, John Butler, and Merce Cunningham! (I saw only some of them.) Nobody thought their works imitative of Balanchine. Perhaps the major problem with the Diamond Project is that there aren't too many choreographers around as talented as Ashton, Tudor, Cranko or Boris. Or Balanchine.

Allegro, there was a lengthy discussion of the PBS Diamond Project telecast about two-and-a-half months ago. You'll find it in the New York City Ballet Forum, under the title "PBS tonight" -- another title that might have been confusing. Most posters agreed with you. There's also a poll on the Diamond Project in the NYCB forum, and a Tobi Tobias review.

For the record, the title of Allegra Kent's autobiography is "Once a Dancer..." It was published in 1997.

Yes, I found her autobiography quite fascinating, and agree that it would be of interest to general readers, not just ballet fans. It's a lovely, introspective book and a complete surprise coming after her first two books -- "Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book," and "The Dancer's Body Book."

Oh boy, Allegro, I know EXACTLY the moment you're talking about in Diamonds. As a matter of fact, I used to insist on showing the tape to captive audiences of friends and relatives and preface the moment with "This is where I always get chills." I don't think my comment was very helpful, but now I feel vindicated! And your description of the end of the pas, "She is above all men/mortals/earthly beings"could apply to everything she's ever done, and to the lady herself. I would just change your last phrase, "and I love it," to "and I love her." Pardon me if I seem to gush.

I'm sure my friend Morris Neighbor knows that in the Anne Belle film "Dancing for Mr.B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas," Allegra Kent does have a lily -- she holds it in her lap throughout her interview. She appears a bit spacey in that, but then she's silent for several seconds at the end, appparently recalling the dwindling of her career at NYCB, when she was no longer Mr. B's favorite, and finally says, "I liked the way I danced." It's a very touching moment. I agree about the bouquet. As a matter of fact, she deserves every flower there is. Let's not forget that her original given name was Iris.

Thanks for the great question! I recently finished "Beautiful Bodies," a novel by Laura Shaine Cunningham, which I enjoyed very much. It's about six women friends who get together for a sort of baby shower on a dark and stormy night. Not exactly an original concept, and not the sort of thing an old geezer like me is expected to read, but Laura Cunningham is a wonderful writer. For those who don't know, she is the author of two memoirs, "Sleeping Arrangements" and "A Place in the Country." I recommend "Sleeping Arrangements." It's about being brought up by a pair of bachelor uncles, and is one of the most unforgettable American books of recent years. Now I'm reading "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," by Laura Hillenbrand. This book is No. 1 on the New York Times Paperback Bestseller List, where it's been for 18 weeks. It restores one's faith in popular taste that such a good book is a bestseller. Oddly enough, I picked up a hardcover copy in Saratoga last month at the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore -- a new book at an antiquarian shop. But what better place to buy a book about horseracing than Saratoga? Anyhow, it's a remarkable story, and it's not just about horseracing. Set in the 1930s, it's really a portrait of an era. I have a friend who works for Penguin International who gives me advance copies of books she thinks I'll like. So next I'll be reading the proofs of "The Terra-Cotta Dog," by the Italian writer Andrea Camilleri (a man). This is the second Inspector Montalbano mystery to be published in this country. They are set in small-town Sicily, a milieu with which I'm ancestrally familiar. The first, "The Shape of Water," got a nice little notice in the Times Book Review a couple of months ago.

Thanks, Manhattnik. I thought I remembered such a photo of Suzanne, but couldn't recall where I'd seen it. Naturally enough, it was in Holding On to the Air. Balanchine is also in it, as well as an unidentified rider in a top hat. It's described as a publicity shot for Jewels, and I'm sure appeared in other places. There's another photograph I like very much, of Balanchine and Karin von Aroldingen attending the races at Saratoga. I bought a print of that years ago on the State Theater Promenade. And of course there was Robert Irving's horse, or was it horses? I also miss the way SPAC audiences used to be summoned to their seats -- with the call to the post. I wish I'd seen Native Dancers, rg.

Although I disagree with some of Manhattnik's judgments, I am filled with admiration and appreciation for this report. It is, pardon the expression, awesome. I don't consider the overlapping of ballet and racing seasons a horror. Degas would have had a ball.

I quote from a letter by Patricia G. Hambrecht, President of Harry Winston: "We are delighted that so many of you have expressed interest in the diamond and platinum brooch created by Harry Winston to mark the tenth anniversary of New York City Ballet's 'Diamond Project.' Designed by Ronald Winston, The Ballet Brooch evokes the spareness and grace that are the hallmarks of the NYCB. The brooch contains 41 brilliant, baguette, and oval diamonds, and sells for $9,500. Harry Winston will donate ten percent of every sale to New York City Ballet." Any takers?

One of my favorite small things is in Jerome Robbins' The Concert, when two young women enter and bang open their folding chairs. They have to make just the right amount of noise -- with not enough snap, it's not funny. In fact, it occurs to me that this ballet is full of small things, each of which must be perfectly timed and executed. The moment the young women cross their legs is another. So are the pianist's walk downstage to his instrument; the cigar-smoker's leaning a chair against his wife's leg; the cast's opening and closing of umbrellas; the trying on of hats; the moment the ballerina realizes she's sitting on thin air; and on and on. The Mistake Waltz always brings down the house, but these other moments can be either hilarious or ho-hum. In the case of the umbrellas, they can be funny and poignant at the same time.

I was brought up short by the reference to Baryshnikov as "the 54-year-old Kirov ballet star." I really didn't think much of this piece. At the end there was a list of previous articles, presumably of interest. One, from 29 August 1998, was "Balanchine shows class but lacks humanity." When I clicked on that, I was met with "Sorry, the page you have requested is not available." I was relieved.

The encyclopedic reach of Ballet Alert is truly amazing. The fact that "A Farewell to Music" is on BOTH Farrell programs and I was totally clueless about it was causing me consternation and some embarrassment. Now I feel in-the-know again. Thanks. Performing a contemporary work would seem to represent something of a departure for the Farrell company. I'm looking forward to seeing it and everything else on both programs.

I got the same response from Caroline Miller, and to make matters worse, my name was misspelled.

I got the same response from Caroline Miller, and to make matters worse, my name was misspelled.

Some of the ballets in the Suzanne Farrell Company's 2002 repertory -- Divertimento No. 15, Tzigane, Chaconne -- were excerpted in previous Dance in America broadcasts of NYCB, the latter two with Farrell and Martins. It might be instructive to see bits of those earlier shows along with the Farrell dancers' current versions.

Hear Hear! An evening devoted to the Suzanne Farrell company would be an excellent counterbalance to the Diamond Project program. I'd also like to hear her comments between the ballets.

This was a truly shocking decision. The ONLY reason I ever looked at New York was to read Tobi Tobias's dance reviews. I wrote and told them so and asked them to reconsider.

This was a truly shocking decision. The ONLY reason I ever looked at New York was to read Tobi Tobias's dance reviews. I wrote and told them so and asked them to reconsider.

The New York City Ballet program routinely states, "The choreographies presented on this program are copyrighted by the individual choreographers." I don't know how long it takes for music to fall into the public domain, but with respect to Prokofiev, the most recent ballet I saw to his music, Jerome Robbins' Opus 19/The Dreamer, carried the program note: "Music used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., Western Hemisphere agent for VAAP." An interesting example is provided by Vienna Waltzes. The music for the first four parts of the ballet, composed in 1868, 1885, and 1848 by Johan Strauss II and in 1905 by Franz Lehar, carries no copyright notices. The final section, composed in 1946 by Richard Strauss, says, "By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner." Ronny, I realize the foregoing may sound unreasonable vs. what you call "the freedom to perform." But as a longtime member of the Authors Guild, I am a big fan of copyrights. If not for them, the "creative types" would get screwed by the business types every day of the week.

Bravo, Manhattnik!

There have been bad ballet novels in the past, so this plot description leaves me more phlegmatic than melancholic. I'm sure that at this point, author and publisher are sanguinic about the novel's prospects, but it sounds like that kind of thing that would render most critics choleric. The author bears a distinguished dance surname. Any relation to Don McDonough?

Thanks for this final report on the 2002 SPAC season, rkoretzky. It was a great pleasure being there and meeting you. And even though you weren't watching the first ballet on Gala night, you hit on the perfect adjective for Bach Concerto V: innocuous. Vespro is the kind of ballet I ordinarily dismiss as "Eurotrash," but my ethnic pride must have been stirred by having an Italian doing a ballet for NYCB, to music by another Italian, so I like it. I like Hallelujah Junction, too. Wishing you a speedy recovery and looking forward to an early resumption of your posts. Enjoy the racing season. Lou

This is all very interesting, and certainly nobody would disagree about NYCB, ABT, and SFB (by which I mean Suzanne Farrell Ballet, of course). But seriously, why hasn't Dance Theatre of Harlem been mentioned? I don't really know the current state of that company -- I haven't seen them in a couple of years. Can they have fallen that far out of favor? Since its inception, I've considered DTH one of our premier companies.

Thanks, Mary. To tell the truth I've been having doubts about my failing memory ever since I posted the response. But thank you too, Bobbi, for your confidence.