glebb

I was recently working in the Boston Ballet studios with Boston Ballet dancers. I noticed and mentioned to the ballet master in chief, that the only time the company was quiet and totally focused on the business on the dance floor was when Larissa was dancing. Ms. Ponomarenko is lovely to work with and to watch.

Thanks Sonja. I know Faune very well. Would also love to see one of her in Giselle or Swan Lake, so please keep an eye out for me.

Do any BA posters have a link to a picture of Zenaida Yanowsky? I worked with her brother Yuri recently in Boston and am now curious about his sister who is with the Royal Ballet.

I saw Monica Mason as Odette/Odile when Royal Ballet visited Kennedy Center in 1974. I mostly remember that she did a series of changements, opening the legs almost to second position in the air, traveling upstage, where Makarova does hops traveling backwards in arabesque, in the coda of Black Swan Pas de Deux. [ 08-14-2001: Message edited by: glebb ]

Terace Jones danced with Bejart, Washington Ballet, PNB, Joffrey and now the touring company of Fosse.

All this discussion of Ashton reminds me of The Fred Step. I'm under the impression that most Ashton ballets, if not all of them contain a passage known as The Fred Step. It's a short series of steps. Basically The Fred Step contains the following steps: piqué arabesque, coupé, dévelopé à la seconde (low), pas de bourrée, précipitée. It sometimes has slight variations. I'm sure I've seen it in A Month in The Country. Natalia Petrovna and Rakitin (her admirer) do it with their backs to the audience. In La Fille Mal Gardee Lise and her friends do it early in the finale. Sir Fred and Margot performed The Fred Step together in her 60th Birthday pas. Do any of you know where The Fred Step comes in to other Ashton ballets? (Edited by Victoria, at Mark's request, to place the accent marks!) [ 07-10-2001: Message edited by: Victoria Leigh ]

Thank you Jane. That's it! It was a lot of fun. Sibley was sort of a Vivien Leigh in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone type, and Dowell was sort of Elvis. Joffrey also did Facade in the seventies. Fun ballet to dance. I think Tudor was the original Scottish Dancer and Markova did a double tour at the end of the Polka. [ 07-10-2001: Message edited by: glebb ]

There was a beautiful dancer named Elena Carter who danced with DTH before moving to Oregon and dancing with Oregon Ballet Theatre. She was RAD trained and very pretty. She told me that had she not become pregnant, she would have shared the role of Giselle with Virginia Johnson. She now teaches in the OBT school. Mel Tomlinson danced with DTH and later with NYCB. He had wonderful long legs and was very limber. I think he danced AGON pas with Heather Watts.

Edward Morgan danced with Joffrey in the 80s. Pierre Lockett joined Joffrey in the early 90s and is still with the company. Tanya Wideman danced with Joffrey Ballet for one season in 1999. Did I miss Virginia Johnson in this thread?

About Ashton's musicality, I think he is extremely musical. Not only that, his musicality is unique. I don't mean this as a put down because I worship Balanchine, but when watching his MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM I see steps and patterns that to my eyes are very similar to those in STARS AND STRIPES and other ballets. Ashton's corps of fairies do fairies in the forest patterns. Ashton's Titania, Oberon, Puck, Bottom and the lovers do steps that I see in no other Ashton ballet. Titania flits like a fairy in Ashton's, in Balanchine's Titania is very beautiful but still dances like a woman more than a fairy to me. Of course I have the greatest respect for both choreographers and their different musical styles.

About Ashton's musicality, I think he is extremely musical. Not only that, his musicality is unique. I don't mean this as a put down because I worship Balanchine, but when watching his MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM I see steps and patterns that to my eyes are very similar to those in STARS AND STRIPES and other ballets. Ashton's corps of fairies do fairies in the forest patterns. Ashton's Titania, Oberon, Puck, Bottom and the lovers do steps that I see in no other Ashton ballet. Titania flits like a fairy in Ashton's, in Balanchine's Titania is very beautiful but still dances like a woman more than a fairy to me. Of course I have the greatest respect for both choreographers and their different musical styles.

James, are you sure that there is no trust for Ashton works? The company I work for performed Ashton's Monotones I&II, two years ago. Though I don't work in the arm of the organization that licenses ballets, I know that we had very clear rules to follow. Lynn Wallis, who staged the ballet stayed longer (more rehearsal weeks/hours) than most other choreologists get. The ballet was given more stage/tech time than most others. It seems as though there is a trust or some kind of organization that has it together. As for favorite Ashton ballets, I adore THE DREAM, LA FILLE MAL GARDEE, MONOTONES I&II, JAZZ CALENDAR, ILLUMINATIONS, and A WEDDING BOUQUET. I was lucky to be involved in those ballets. There is another that I saw The Royal Ballet perform at the MET in the 80s. Antony Dowell and Antoinette Sibley performed the leads and sets were by David Hockney. I can't remember the name. Maybe someone at BA does.

James, are you sure that there is no trust for Ashton works? The company I work for performed Ashton's Monotones I&II, two years ago. Though I don't work in the arm of the organization that licenses ballets, I know that we had very clear rules to follow. Lynn Wallis, who staged the ballet stayed longer (more rehearsal weeks/hours) than most other choreologists get. The ballet was given more stage/tech time than most others. It seems as though there is a trust or some kind of organization that has it together. As for favorite Ashton ballets, I adore THE DREAM, LA FILLE MAL GARDEE, MONOTONES I&II, JAZZ CALENDAR, ILLUMINATIONS, and A WEDDING BOUQUET. I was lucky to be involved in those ballets. There is another that I saw The Royal Ballet perform at the MET in the 80s. Antony Dowell and Antoinette Sibley performed the leads and sets were by David Hockney. I can't remember the name. Maybe someone at BA does.

Thanks Ballet Alert posters for your thoughts. I thought of a couple more. I always get goose bumps when the curtain goes up for Les Sylphides and reveals the mysterious cast of sylphs in a beautiful tableaux. I also got them when I saw, and get them when I think about the pas de deux in the production of Carousel with choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. Did anyone think of the freeze in Lilac Garden?

In the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner play: THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, Trudy the bag lady learns from her alien friends about the goose bump experience. To the aliens, the most amazing thing about humans is their capacity to experience goose bumps when in the midst of an awesome experience. The aliens had seen this in the audience. Trudy explains to the aliens that the show was soup, the audience art. The other day, I was watching a video of a Balanchine Tribute. It was truly an awesome experience. Darci Kistler in THEME AND VARIATIONS, Isabelle Guerin as Terpsichore in APOLLO. Then there were Helene Alexopoulos and Diana White leading gorgeous Russian maidens in Stravinsky's SCHERZO A LA RUSSE. Later Kyra Nichols floated and dazzled in WALPURGIS NIGHT. At the end of the excerpt from UNION JACK, the cast of gorgeous NYCB dancers standing in salute to the strains of Rule, Britannia and cannon fire found me experiencing goose bumps as had happened many times at State Theatre seeing that ballet live. I started thinking about other goose bump moments. The last movement of APOLLO and the love theme in LA FILLE MAL GARDEE. The last notes of Ashton's THE DREAM and the stage full of waltzing couples in VIENNA WALTZES. I thought of the soft music in the overture of Giselle and many more moments from other ballets. It made me wonder about the goose bump moments of other BA posters. Please add yours. [ 07-04-2001: Message edited by: glebb ]

I saw Seh-Yun Kim as both Aurora and Shim Chung last year when Univeral Ballet visited The Chicago Lyric Opera House. Amazed by her beauty, poise and smooth technique, I had the feeling she would become a world class Ballerina. From your report Alexandra, it seems to be coming true.

Just met her two weeks ago in St. Louis. She is the head of a dance department at a college. I admired her when I was a student of Mary Day's who attended National Ballet of Washington performances.

It's been a while, but I don't think Ashton was ever easy to dance. I know that I had great admiration for his ballets after seeing THE DREAM at age 17. My love for that ballet made me strive to work hard and aquire the level of technique needed for Ashton ballets. I loved dancing Puck, Boy in Blue and Alain the most.

I thank you for the reminder, but my calf muscles do not!

Fille was in the Joffrey Ballet's rep for many seasons. Les Patineurs, Monotones I & II, A Wedding Bouquet, Illuminations and The Dream were also in the Joffrey Ballet's rep. Having danced in all except Monotones, I can report that Ashton ballets, though not easy, are a lot of fun to dance. For The Joffrey Ballet, Stanley Holden reprised his role of Widow Simone, for most performances and I really enjoyed flying with my red umbrella.

Ok, all this GWTW talk made me get out the DVD and watch. In doing so I discovered that Nina Ananiashvili looks very much like Olivia DeHavilland.

Victoria, I like your idea of Lucia Chase being in this production. I got to see her as the Queen in SWAN LAKE at ABT in 70s. What do you think of our Mel playing Frank Kennedy? He has Civil War Whiskers.

I think Agnes is more the India Wilkes type, but Victoria knows her much better. Francesca Corkle would make a great Belle Watling, or should it be Nora Kaye dancing the role of Belle? Maybe they could alternate. Having had the good fortune to see Victoria dance on stage, sur la pointe, wearing a similar dress to Scarlett's green barbecue dress, I adore the idea of Victoria as Scarlett. [This message has been edited by glebb (edited October 13, 2000).]

I think Sally Wilson could pull off the role of Prissy.

I see Violette Verdy as Aunt Pitty Pat.