Victoria Leigh

Bruhn performs the Pas de Deux from Act II of La Sylphide on the DVD/video from the Bell Telephone Hour program. It's Nureyev and Bruhn, Their complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances, 1961-1967.

Silvy, Li was in Houston Ballet at that time, and it's very possible that he might have been making a guest appearance in Chile. If Ivan Nagy was the director of the company at that time, then it is very likey that Li was there.

Jon, go to American Ballet Theatre and click on Education and Training, then on Library, and you will see the Dictionary of Ballet. Go to "Jeté, grand" and I think you will see what you are looking for. B)

Ah yes, carbro, dancers who phone it in. I was doing Swan Lake, both big swan and Queen Mum, and one of our very famous and very beautiful guest artists (whose name I will not mention...for now ) came for several performances and all of a sudden I was feeling like a total non-entity up there. This STAR was a fine dancer, but he refused to deal with the pantomime at all. :angry:

Yes, I had a bit of problem with Nureyev too. Part of it was his inconsistency in partnering. Sometimes he was quite fine, and other times it was like he was not there for his partner. Some of that was in his own performances too. He could be amazing, and he could be quite sloppy.

Basically I have the biggest problem with dancers who do not have a good line, especially if they sickle their feet, or wing them in arabesque, or if their arabesque line is not correct (meaning usually way too far out to the side). However, when I see this problem I usually blame the teaching/coaching, or lack of coaching, more than the dancer. Musicality is another main issue. Also dancers who ignore the music and continue turning just because they can, and do 6 pirouettes when there is only time for 3 or 4, do not get my vote. :angry:

Amy, that is a bit strange, since a sauté, or a temps levé arabesque is a jump from one foot to one foot, and a sissonne is a jump from two feet to one foot.

vrs, in my early training with an older Legat teacher he used the term tire bouchon for a sort of overcrossed attitude devant. I never did totally understand that position or why it would be used, as it was most unattractive, however, he would put it in class every once in a great while. I have never had it since then, and that was a loooong time ago!

There are some inherent problems with the naming of the positions of the body in all of the methods. For instance, Mr. Cecchetti seems to have totally forgotten écarté derrière. The position épaulé ( in Cecchetti) and épaulé devant (French and Russian) are the same position of the body in space, but they just have different arms and upper body emphasis. I have a problem with a position which has the leg in arabesque being called a devant position. It's facing a front corner, but the leg is back. In écarté derrière the body is also facing a front corner, but the working leg is pointing to a back corner, so, it is a derrière position. Calling the effacé derrière or épaulé position épaulé devant doesn't really make any sense to me. And then of course there are positions facing upstage which are not even named except the one in the French and Russian school called épaulé derrière. Very confusing. I vote for a whole new system with the same names for all schools, which would include every possible direction of the body!

Michael, when we use the word "faces", it just means the direction in space where something is placed, such as the body "faces" DR. This would mean that the entire body is toward that direction, but it does not necessarily mean the face at all. In fact the head is not facing in the same direction of the body except in à la seconde and à la quatrieme devant and derrière. When the body is facing one's corner, the head will be turned, or turned and inclined towards the audience.

For instance, while the body is facing the corner in écarté positions, in écarté devant the head is turned and lifted towards the downstage arm, which is in 5th en haut. In écarté derrière the head is turned and inclined very slightly downward, but also toward the downstage arm, which is in à la seconde, usually a slightly lowered seconde.

Yes, Michael, développé is the action, and arabesque is the picture

Amy, Cecchetti use "épaulé" for the position that is like a second arabesque, or arabesque effacé with epaulement. However, he seriously goofed when he left out one of the positions of the body......there are 9! (He forgot écarté derrière!)

However, generally speaking, it is the Vaganova school which uses much more épaulement. Cecchetti and RAD are pretty "square" in terms of the positions.

Speaking of croisé, the "here it comes and there it was" is dead on, as that is the position where everyone will look better most of the time. The word is, "when in doubt, go to croisé"!

I learned it with the clap, and like it that way. I learned the version that Freddie Franklin staged for Grand Pas Glazunov in ABT. Have never seen it with an "air clap" and don't think I would like that very much, being used to seeing and hearing it.

I have a gold charm from every country where I danced, and at one time had a huge match book collection from every hotel in every city! Not quite sure where those are, probably packed in a box somewhere, but I do have the gold charms

Silvy, in addition to the qualities which have already been mentioned by carbro, I think Aurora needs to have a quality of youthful freshness and vulnerability, even though she is a Princess. And though serene, as befits a Princess, she is also joyful and young, and then in love and only slightly more mature in the Wedding Scene I don't think I have seen anyone who can touch Fonteyn in this role, although I'm sure there are some out there. It was her eyes. Just look at the photos from when she was younger!

Alexandra, I don't know about the House of Bernardo Alba, but she was still doing the step mother in Fall River Legend possibly up to the time you were seeing ABT. But Pillar, I don't think so! That work had not been done since Nora Kaye, until '64 or '65, not sure exactly, when Tudor staged it for Sallie Wilson, and Lucia was no longer the Elder Sister at that time......it was me

I saw that production too, glebb, but it must have been one of those trips to NY where I saw too many shows in too short a time, and that one, while I remember that I liked it, has really faded out of memory. Sorry.

I think most all companies negotiate their contracts with the dancers on an annual basis.

nysusan, no, I had left ABT by then. I did it in the sixties, before Bonnie. I think it was '64 or '65 when Tudor staged it again, and I did it until I left in late '66.

Liebs, I was the first one to do it after Lucia. The ballet had not been done for many years when Tudor finally restaged it in '66. I think Lucia still wanted to be doing it! Anyway, I had private rehearsals with Tudor, which were totally incredible. An education in themselves. However, Lucia also decided to rehearse me, and every time I had a rehearsal with her, and then went into one with Tudor, there was a huge problem. He would stop......think about it a moment, and then say, "You must have had a rehearsal with Lucia." And then he would roll his eyes and tell me what he wanted, or make me figure out what he wanted, which was more his way.

I agree, atm. As I remember it, when coached by Tudor, the younger sister was a flirt, and a bit of a brat, but not exactly a b----. (Although that can also depend on who is dancing it. One of the two during my time was Ellen Everett, and I felt that she captured her as intended by Tudor. The other I will not mention by name, as her own personality pervaded the character and changed it considerably, at least IMO. I was dancing the Eldest Sister at the time, with Sallie Wilson as Hagar. There were a few performances with Veronica Mlakar as Hagar, but it was mostly Sallie. I was the only cast in Eldest Sister during that period of time.)

Freddie Franklin still going strong! Not sure how old he is, but he even still performs, stages, teaches I think. Wonderful man!

Sounds right to me, BW. At least that is the way I would think of it. It's interesting, because the word "plastic" would not indicate that quality to me at all, however "plastique" does Put some things in French and they sound a lot different even if they mean the same thing!

I will be the "Burning Girl" from Herbert Ross' "Caprichios". The makeup is wonderful, very pale and gaunt, with deep, dark circles around the eyes. And, I like the white costume. B) Plus playing a martyr and getting to die is fun!

I saw both events, and I thought she was quite delightful! No one came close except Kwan, and she was clearly second last week. I liked Jenny Kirk too. She was lovely.

I believe Amanda McKerrow is very, very ready for this role. She has done it, and she will be good, very good, IMO.