Leigh Witchel

Ahem The Post doesn't come close in terms of coverage space or influence but I'm putting in a good word for our arts section. Rather than let Clive Barnes' position disappear through attrition, they added writers - and all the reviewers are people I'm proud to have as colleagues. Our word count is tight, but I think everyone there gets maximum efficiency from the space. And I believe we reach more people locally than The Times. So read us too!

I'm so sorry to hear this. I have a very happy memory of a summer workshop at Mme. Darvash's studio in the mid-80s. Her sister Jody was teaching us Valse-Fantasie and there was probably an uneven number of men and women, so Jana came up and I got to dance it with her. She was barely in her fifties. I'm sure a lot of people will miss her.

Inspired by this article, there is now a humble Facebook group dedicated to assisting our brethren in England, to ask, nay, . . . DEMAND that Natalie Portman be allowed to dance Swan Lake at Covent Garden. Lend your voices to the cause!

Also a large amount of cast changes this week, notably Chase Finlay's debut in Divert. on Thurs. night. From the company - Tuesday, February 1 at 7:30 pm Outlier: Bouder, Kowroski, T. Peck, Hyltin, Whelan, Ramasar, R. Fairchild, Alberda (replaces Garcia), De Luz, Tworzyanski, Hall Wednesday, February 2 at 7:30 pm The Four Temperaments: Wellington, *Catazaro, Hankes, *Applebaum, LeCrone, *Tworzyanski (replaces J. Peck), Marcovici, A. Stafford, J. Angle, Ramasar, *Lowery Thursday, February 3 at 8:00 pm Divertimento No. 15: Scheller, Hyltin, *Taylor, A. Stafford, Bouder, *Finlay (replaces J. Stafford), *Peiffer, *Applebaum Saturday, February 5 at 8:00 pm Cortege Hongrois: Scheller, Askegard (replaces J. Stafford), Laracey, Hankes, Lowery, *la Cour

Miriam was quite amazing. She was a docent for the company and would give short lectures on the fourth ring. She was handsome, short and vigorous, with an energy that seemed to spring from her interest in art and life. For any regular at NYCB, she was a beloved part of the family - she'll be sorely missed.

Slant - don't sweat it, every dog gets one bite Kosher sources are the official casting, any printed source from official media, and the official pages of a company or a dancer (i.e., if Diana Vishneva announces on her website she's doing a gala, it's official.) Word of mouth, even excellent word-of-mouth is not kosher. The rules live here - Welcome to Ballet Alert and keep posting

[ADMIN BEANIE ON] Official sources only, folks. [ADMIN BEANIE OFF]

Thank you Paul. I can't say how important process is to forming these sorts of attachments. It mattered hugely that NYCB made standing room affordable and didn't police people who took unused spaces in the fourth ring. It meant as a student I could afford to go three or four nights a week if I wanted to. I watched Balanchine's ballets, but I also watched dancers grow and develop in them. As much as I know people love videos - and it's a lot better than never seeing it at all; I need the experience of being in an audience together in the dark, seeing it happen live.

It's rather odd to see a decade old thread revived, but it's more ironic to re-visit what I defensively wrote just 9 years ago. (Another reason to wish that the Internet had a delete button.) In the ensuing years I think I've become a good deal less Balanchine-centric. The Ashton Festival had something to do with it. Having friends and family in England opened me naturally to more as well. So did working as a dance writer - I felt that my taste had to be more open, not just to other forms of ballet, but other dance as well. Some of the process was purposeful, other parts just happened. All of it is simply the evolution of a viewer.

When I was a dancer, and now, I look at Nutcracker, like Ms. Anspach, as a fact of life. After doing about 20 of them one year (small potatoes, I know) I heard the ouverture miniature playing in a restaurant and got them to turn it to something else. I do love it, but I'd love it more if it weren't an obligation.

Yeah, but instead of the publicity for the film being "thriller set in the world of ballet" it tends to imply that the film is an expose of ballet. And that I object to.

I completely understand having solipsistic criteria for watching dance - I have my own. But I think you're digging a hole that it's going to be very, very hard to climb out of. Yes, fitness and appearance matter. And it's a difficult subject to discuss without sounding like you're discussing cuts of meat. But do you really think Ringer somehow earned those comments by being a not-very-interesting performer?

SanderO - I wasn't meaning to question your understanding of ballet; it's even more relevant that the film doesn't get this. It uses all the stereotypes of ballet, but none of its resonance. It's also an uncomfortable mix, because Aronofsky's film style here is so claustrophobic - and ballet needs air and space to bloom, which he refuses to give it.

SanderO - a very interesting analysis. Ballet is very rule-based, but like the story of Stravinsky asking Balanchine if the pas de deux for Orpheus was two minutes, two and a half minutes or something in between, there are artists who function most freely within parameters. (Raises hand.) The place I'd like to expand on what you see is that at its best, even in abstract, ballet is a confluence where form and meaning are one - where the medium is the message. The greatest ballet blancs are like that, where the steps within a seemingly abstract dance distill the themes of the greater story around them (Giselle, or Balanchine's Midsummer though it is not technically a ballet blanc) In abstract dance, look at Concerto Barocco, The Four Temperaments or Symphonic Variations for good examples. Ballet's bigger than something that just expresses the beauty of human form.

Colleen, to answer a question about when a writer should mention weight, for me, the answer overlaps yours. I've gotten more concerned with reportage and less with opinion over the past two years, principally from working at The Post. So it's a question of reportage: "Does the reader need to know this?" Physical appearance is part of reportage, as is weight and fitness - in the same way it might be for an actor or athlete. You report on it - but when there's something to report - something that is affecting what we see. And that should also be the tone of what you say - how does this affect what we're looking at? Tell the reader why s/he needs to know this piece of information.

Ed Koch Theater! Would that it were

I've seen the film (and have a short companion piece to the film review in Friday's Post.) The saddest thing is that all the publicity, and the film itself, focuses on how screwed-up ballet is. Aronofsky is fascinated by ballet's freakish minutiae . . . and nothing else. He seems to have no idea why anyone would love or do it - except if they're nuts.

I think a critique of Bennetts as an AD might be better based on looking at five years of her work rather than five minutes of an interview done at a highly stressful time.

My letter: Dear Ms. Schauvliege: As the dance writer for the New York Post, I am writing to express my support for the Royal Ballet of Flanders. In the short years since Kathryn Bennetts assumed the leadership of the KBVV, she has raised the international profile of the company drastically to become a valuable cultural import. The company, representing Flanders as a region of culture both old and modern, has received notice and strong reviews in New York and other major international cities. Ms. Bennetts is directly responsible for the success of the KBVV. Because of her relationship to William Forsythe, she has access to his works that few other company directors have. These productions have put Flanders on the map in New York City, London and around the world. I have traveled to Flanders twice specifically to see the company dance. KBVV is not just a cultural import; it is a tourist attraction. It brings in not just prestige, but tourism revenue. The company has been doing this on a shoestring – it is an estimable cultural product and need your support, and its independence. Please reconsider your rash decisions regarding the company’s autonomy and future; give the company and Ms. Bennetts the budget and autonomy they need to continue their work. It is an excellent cultural and touristic investment and money wisely spent. Very truly yours, Leigh Witchel Dance Writer, New York Post.

This is not good at all. She's put the company on the map.

I have this incredible, guilty desire to watch this just to see if The Situation is a situation when he dances.

NYCB occasionally brings back the Scherzo as well. Western was filmed for Dance in America around 1990 as well, with Peter Boal doing the second movement - if memory serves, it was filmed in Copenhagen as a co-production with Danish TV. I'm trying to remember how they handled the end - it was different than onstage (am I crazy or at the end of the pirouettes did the men throw their hats in the air, and the camera froze on them and the credits rolled?)

From the Daily News, an article on Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette buying a house together in Dobbs Ferry.

There's such a thing as a correct choice for a list like this? Any top ten list is going to be a function of time and geography. I don't see much of Acosta except when I get to London; what I've seen wouldn't displace other dancers for me. I saw more of Kistler and saw her when - she's on my list. Like Jennings though, I would take Cojocaru over Guillem every time - almost. Not in Forsythe.

He's never done any work for the company, the company's never done any work of his, and they gave him a five year contract? Talk about an arranged marriage instead of a love match. I hope he and the dancers learn to get along, considering the barriers in language, culture and training.