Treefrog

While watching the Joffrey today, I thought about why it is that I like seeing Willy Shives partner. I think part of it is that he is a genuinely nice guy. When he smiles at his partner, he means it. He is the kind of guy who just seems to like life. (Of course, I've only met him in passing, but these are the impressions I have of him.)

Which got me to thinking: can a man be an adequate -- not to mention great -- partner if his basic personality doesn't appreciate other people? Does a man need to have a generosity of spirit in order to present the woman well?

Or can a guy get by with great acting ability?

(Feel free to expand this conversation to women; I just happened to think about the men.)

If any of the material happens to pertain to dance in the Midwest (or maybe the Chicago area specifically) the Newberry Library has a dance collection.

The Joffrey's spring season opened this past Wednesday. On the very eclectic mixed bill: Balanchine's Square Dance, Tudor's Dark Elegies, and Robbins' NY Export: Opus Jazz. Has anyone been yet?

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One of the Monotones, not sure which though.

Ah, such a handy title -- I've reeled in Balanchine fans AND those spoiling for a fight!

Actually, I mean it literally: in your home town, do people care about the casting? Do they go to see Swan Lake, or do they buy tickets to see a particular dancer?

In Chicago, the Joffrey does not, as far as I know, even release cast lists. Certainly, I've never seen them published in the Tribune. I know that the Joffrey bills itself as "no stars, all stars", and perhaps that's why. But, it's also possible that Chicago ballet fans do not care enough to plan around the casting. (Although with a little savvy, it's possible to figure out which performances in a series will by danced by the "A" cast.)

I'm not asking what YOU do, but for your perception about those around you. Does your local company advertise who is dancing? Do people buy tickets accordingly? Or is one cast as good as another for most people?

My daughter and I chanced to visit Oberlin College last week. We were delighted to discover a very welcoming Theater and Dance Department. This program is not designed to turn out professional dancers. Rather, the program is really about learning about dance in the context of a liberal arts education.

We had no idea this type of program existed, but it seems to me that this is one venue for encouraging -- if not creating -- future audience members, arts educators, arts administrators and the like. It was very exciting to my daughter.

Do other such programs exist?

In my edition of today's New York Times, the Section 2 front page teaser for the excellent article about Miriam Pellman (see today's Links thread) reads:

The distinct advantages of squinting down at Ballanchine from way up in the cheap seats.

Anyone else see this, or is it just we in the provinces who get the poor copy-editing?

The Joffrey Ballet has announced that its 2005-06 season will be the first of two that will celebrate the company's 50th anniversary, which happens in 2006.

• Chicago Sun-Times
  
• Chicago Tribune
  

Here's what's in store (from the Sun-Times article):

*Oct. 19-30, 2005: A mixed bill called "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will include "The Dream," British choreographer Frederick Ashton's richly characterized hourlong version of Shakespeare's romantic comedy; "Return to a Strange Land," the Netherlands-based master Jiri Kylian's work, set to a solo piano piece by Leo Janacek (the Joffrey first introduced Kylian to American audiences in 1980 with this ballet, an homage to fellow choreographer John Cranko), and a "reworked" revival of Arpino's "Celebration," set to music by Shostakovich.

*Dec. 14-24, 2005: The annual production of Joffrey's "The Nutcracker."

*Feb. 15-26, 2006: A revival of Cranko's full-length Shakespeare ballet "Romeo and Juliet," set to the grand Prokofiev score. The work, originally created for Germany's Stuttgart Ballet, was a hit in its 2003 Joffrey revival.

*April 26-May 7: "Cool Vibrations," with three works set to pop music, including "Deuce Coupe," Twyla Tharp's 1973 sensation-stirring work in which ballet was set in counterpoint to the songs of the Beach Boys; a still-untitled world premiere, set to the Motown sound, by the African-American choreographer Donald Byrd (best known for his "Harlem Nutcracker"), and a revival of "Sometimes It Snows in April," the rock ballet created by Laura Dean as part of the Joffrey's 1993 anthology "Billboards," set, of course, to the music of Prince.

Any thoughts on the programming?

My husband happens to be in NY this week and went to last night's performance. I gave him the link to this thread, and here is his reply:

running to the meetings now, but yes yes yes.  It was a

wonderful evening, and I am pleased (amazed?) to find that

many of the thoughts I had about it were in Oberon's

post...maybe I'm not a total ballet dummy!

Shambards was my least "favorite" piece, but absolutely what

he said.  The pas de deux with Soto implied incredible

violence...

You just have to know the secret , Jack.

Actually, I found it on the ABT website. They have a calendar that lists the casting for each day. (Go to the Performances webpage and click on "Full Calendar")

I don't know that I have an overall preference for short or tall. I do know that I am awed by the VERY tall Fabrice Calmels, who is so very graceful despite his stature.

Full disclaimer: I have not had time to read Rockwell's article yet, but I have kept up with some of the comments.

If we are going to complain about him focusing on facial beauty, I don't think we ought to discuss it here.

Adagio1, I'm sorry to sound so curmudgeonly when you've just joined us. I'm really glad you are posting, and I hope to hear more from you.

Here are the casting changes due to Ananiashvili's withdrawal:

Saturday 4/23 matinee: Herrera, Gomes, tba

Saturday 4/23 evening: Reyes, Beloserkovsky, tba

sigh ....

Sorry, I didn't mean to drag the focus onto whether they were or weren't misleading. I was really asking if that meant she wouldn't be dancing in Chicago in April, as previously announced. It's not at the Met, but it is before 2006. The text ("...will withdraw from scheduled performances this Spring. Ananiashvili plans to return to the Company in early 2006.") implies one thing and the header ("ANANIASHVILI TO WITHDRAW FROM PERFORMANCES AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE") implies something a bit more limited.

So, will she not be dancing at all before 2006? Or is she just not dancing at the Met?

I gather from the text that the title is somewhat misleading, and that she is withdrawing from ALL obligations and not just those at the Met?

I found a book of his photos in our second-hand bookshop, and gave it to my daughter for her birthday. I thought it was really, really neat. She, alas, thought it was a beat-up old book. What do 14-year-olds know?

As a guess, I'd say it's because they have comparatively little distribution.

Right! The Joffrey Ballet has a male dancer who, at 6'4" or so, literally stands head and shoulders over the other dancers. But, man, can he dance!

Joe, I think it's difficult to give an ideal weight, as that will vary so much with height and other factors such as bone density. Besides, the ideal "look" varies a lot by company. Some companies do look for body "types" (I'm told; I'm not an expert on this by any means), but I think that has more to do with proportions, i.e. arms and legs in relation to torso. Other companies have a reputation for being more forgiving of body type.

Please do report back!

kfw, the Joffrey has danced Apollo twice in the last year, but not in the five years or so before that that I've been watching them. I don't know if that makes it new in their repertoire or not.

Welcome to Ballet Talk, supportivemom! I see you found your way here.

Folks, I invited supportivemom to post her question her because I felt sure some of you could help her out. She has been asking very good questions on Ballet Talk for Dancers about what kinds of performances contribute most to a dancer's education. What is the wisest allocation of limited funds? You can join that conversation here. (you will have to register at BT4D if you are not already a member there)

Meanwhile, don't forget to tell her what's coming up in DC!

Edited to add: I see that Carbro has gotten you started already while I was busy composing!

Thank you, Cliff!

Assuming a choice of only one performance, does anyone see a reason NOT to see Ananiashvilli and Beloserkovsky on Saturday night (which happens to be my birthday)?

And lastly, on encouraging zealous mothers with reluctant daughters, if the daughter is truly reluctant, she will probably go passive-aggressive and not accomplish very much, technically. 

Passive-aggressive! That's exactly what I was thinking about Fonteyn. "Picky eater" -- we're told more than once that Peggy will only eat baked beans on toast -- can also translate to "I'm not gonna eat a darn thing YOU give me." Yet ... she DID accomplish tremendous amounts. Is this in spite of her mother, or because of her?

I've been plowing through the Daneman biography of Margot Fonteyn (and I do find it rather hard going). So far I'm only through to age 15 or so, but its rather sparse information raises lots of questions for me. I'm particularly intrigued by the differences in training then and now, in Peggy's relationship to her mother (would she have even danced without mom's insistence?), and most important: was the hiring and ascendency of Fonteyn a fortunate accident of the times?

What sort of training did Fonteyn actually get in the pre-Vic-Wells years? It sounds very haphazard (classes in her friend's apartment????). Of what did such training consist? Where did other English dancers get their training? How did training then compare to today's training? I'm genuinely puzzled. Today's young dancers take class daily, and dance very, very intensively. Surely more than a large handful of them could run technical circles around Fonteyn at age 15? And yet ... they don't get hired, let alone become adored stars. Tell me more about the general state/status of ballet in those days, please! What would one see at a performance? How would it compare to what we see today?

Did Fonteyn have such an ineffable artistic quality that she would make the cut today?

As for Fonteyn's relationship to her mother: it seems as though the mother was calling all the shots. (This biography frustrated me immensely by referring constantly to Peggy's "obstinacy" without exploring a likely origin: rebellion at the overbearing control continually excercised by her ambitious mother.) Given another mother, would Fonteyn have ever set foot in a studio, let alone kept at it? How did Fonteyn feel about dancing herself? How did this middle-class mother become so enamored of ballet, anyway?

And -- I'm afraid to ask this one -- should I stop advising zealous moms on Ballet Talk for Dancers to lay off if their daughters don't seem eager to go to class? Am I innocently depriving the world of the next Fonteyn?

The one that features young dancers from around Chicago, the proceeds from which support the studios (including ours)!