lmspear

Well, there's "A Bullet at the Ballet," if you're looking for inspiration!

There's also "Death in the Fifth Position."

Ballet Imperial - http://www.dailymoti...d-2001_creation

Square Dance - http://www.dailymoti...d-2011_creation

Theme and Variations - http://www.dailymoti...t-2011_creation

In the Night - http://www.dailymoti...t-2011_creation

Films that randomly pop into my head:

Tales of Hoffmann and The Story of Three Loves. Both feature Moira Shearer who starred in The Red Shoes.

Limelight which had Melissa Hayden and Andre Eglevsky as the lead dancers. Hayden is the dance double for Claire Bloom's ballerina character. This one is highly melodramatic.

In the Astair/Rogers version of Shall We Dance, Fred plays a ballet dancer who longs to work with musical comedy star Ginger.

Here's the Dance Magazine obituary, http://dancemagazine.com/issues/October-2011/Marnee-Morris-19462011

There are professional critics such as Deborah Jowitt who have have parted ways with their publishers and are now only available to us through their blogs.

I have different expectations when reading blog posts I usually find posts that express the writer's immediate reactions to whatever they are discussing. When I read something by a professional critic, I expect a thoughtful analysis and background information and a higher quality of writing all the way around.

Thanks, Jack. Of course you're on the right track. I asked the question thinking, "When will a major Kennedy Center sponsor -- or the Kennedy Center itself -- put its money where its mouth is and cough-up the cash to TRULY support a full-time resident ballet troupe?" They seem to have plenty of CA$H around for Mary Poppins and other KC-sponsored musical ventures, ad nauseum.

That TSFB has achieved what it has on such limited resources is a miracle in & of itself.

Just a quick word in defense of the Kennedy Center (not that I often feel protective of it). Mary Poppins, and the vast majority of musical theater that passes through building, rented(rents) the theater space and the Kennedy Center had no role as a producer; Disney and whoever were responsible. The Kennedy Center did produce the Follies revival that's currently playing on Broadway. I just wanted to point out that the Kennedy Center doesn't lay out the money for everything that is presented on it's stages.

When I go to the theater, I want to see good dancing, not "a truly American art form."

why are we setting these up as opposites? Balanchine valued good dancing, for sure, but he also seems to have set out to create an American form of ballet. That's how you get Rubies and Western and Symphony in Three Movements, and Maria Tallchief and Arthur Mitchell. All great, all something beyond Caucasian/European ballet.

I love those ballets and I wish I'd seen those dancers live, but Balanchine and Kirstein had an artistic and, presumably, a marketing agenda, not a political one. If a choreographer or AD today has that goal, more power to them, and lucky us. But it shouldn't be prescribed for them.

When I was in high school back in the mid-70s it was relatively easy to get friends who were not interested in dance to sample a performance of the Joffrey at City Center if Deuce Coupe or Trinity was part of the program. These friends then got to see the Ashton or Ballet Russes revival and some other Arpino work and often enjoyed these works to their surprise. The company also had Bette Midler doing radio ads which may have also helped to build interest. Ballet never became the first choice for an entertainment activity for these friends, but it became an acceptable option if plans were open to discussion. Robert Joffrey and whoever designed the marketing campaigns were brilliant.

This link is to an interview from Aesha Ash's blog that was posted yesterday:

Is There a Lack of Interest from the African-American Community for Ballet?: A Conversation with Dancer Ikolo Griffin

http://theblackswandiaries.blogspot.com/2011/10/is-there-lack-of-interest-from-african.html

Don't forget Angel Corella's dance through the alphabet.

Here's a take on the issue from the preachy pop culture tv series Fame circa 1982:

Oh, then you haven't seen the Dysneyworld-Orlando family audiences coming in masses from Atlanta lately Simon...! Just come and take a look ...!

Or watched the parade of little Ariels on Halloween of all races. (I'm not sure if you have that dress-up/candy begging tradition in the UK, Simon.)

How many of those Ariels are joined by Mulans, Jasmines, Pochahontases, and Tianas? It seems that the ethnically diverse Disney Princesses are marketed and popular for a year or two when the movies are first released and disappear from the collective consciousness shortly thereafter. When gift shopping for Disney fanatic children in my life I've noticed that the princess gift sets tend to include Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel and the others are usually missing. It seems that a European style ball gown is necessary to the continuing popularity of the characters.

People often refer to Agon as his "Sputnick ballet" but I sometimes wonder if it is really his Brown v. Bd. of Education ballet. That 1954 decision desegregating the schools unleashed a virulent racist uproar in much of the country. It was a decade before the 1964 Civil Rights Act finally ended the ugly Jim Crow laws still rampant in so many states. Balanchine was not in ignorance of what was happening in the country when he cast that ballet. Imagine how provocative the choreography would have seemed in the 1950s in much of the country with an interracial couple.

I've never seen Balanchine discuss this angle to the ballet and wonder if others have seen any interviews along these lines.

Arthur Mitchell did dance in roles that some people may have forgotten he performed; Bourree Fantasque, Stars and Stripes, I've seen a photo of him in Divertimento No. 15, Western Symphony as he mentions here - the New York Public Library's site has a lot of interesting information on that, I did not see him dance, I wasn't living in New York or going to ballet then.

I just found this longer interview with Mitchell where he also discusses the Nutcracker broadcast with the reworking of the Grand PDD to include 4 cavaliers and Balanchine's desire to work with black female dancers.

Those familiar with the ballet history of Washington, DC will remember Sandra Fortune who danced with the Capitol Ballet company and entered both the Moscow and Varna competitions with Sylvester Campbell. She now directs the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet, where she trained.

http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/things-do-see/jones-haywood-school-ballet-african-american-heritage-trail

If memory serves, she's on the Dance in America recording.

Here's a the video that includes Austin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpGee1LSkvg&feature=related

Ballo is the first dance after the opening credits.

I didn't get to see Alicia Graf perform with Dance Theater of Harlem, but given the reviews I read I was shocked when she wasn't scooped up by another ballet company when DTH folded and she ended up dancing with the Ailey company. Does anybody have any thoughts or comments about her career in relation to the issues discussed in this thread?

Health considerations aside, the odor from the smoke lingers after the cigarette has gone. If you get on an elevator after someone who's come back inside from a smoke break sometimes you've got to cover your nose. If two or three smokers are returning after a joint smoke break at work (I realize the social and mental health benefits of the activity) I've learned to wait for the next elevator. It stinks.

Ulbricht and Cheprasova

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTczMDM2MTU2.html

Reading through the first part of this thread I started to think of Giselle as a slightly less saintly version of Beth from Little Women.

I remember children as part of the crowd scenes in Petrouchka and five little girls demonstrating the five positions at the beginning of Etudes.

According to Edward Villella, in a pre-performance talk, this will run on PBS stations in the fall.

Thanks, Bart.

Has this program been broadcast? I haven't heard or read anything about it in months and I've been looking forward to it

Thanks.

MCB Corps member Rebecca King has just posted the first part of an interview with Matthew Diamond. Mr. Diamond is director of Miami City Ballet's PBS special "Great Performances: Dance In America"

Questions include:

• While working with Miami City Ballet dancers, what moment sticks out most in your memory?
  
• How did you prepare for this filming? I would be interested to hear a bit about the notes that you brought to rehearsals that week in the studio?
  
• The choreographers created these ballets to be performed live on stage. How do you find innovative and exciting camera angles, while simultaneously preserving the integrity of the stage performance?
  

You can find the interview at Tendus Undar a Palm Tree

The Frederick Wiseman documentary on ABT features a sequence of de Mille rehearsing Amanda McKerrow.

I don't know where to post this so please move as needed. I received a discount offer from the Kennedy Center for the performances of Bright Stream next weekend. Is it "legal" to post that information here so that people can take advantage of it?

At last! Hopefully this may open the door for her to lead "Swan Lake" with her home company.

Or guesting with ABT I love the icons collection here!