Treefrog

For Joffrey, I'd still have to say Maia Wilkins (I said this last year, too). Incredible presence and presentation. On the male side, Willy Shives (again). (Having been away over the weekend, I didn't see that Sid Smith in the Chicago Tribune has the same opinion -- about Shives, anyway.)

I really enjoyed it too. I'll confess, though, that I was riveted by watching the "home team" on the big screen. I wonder how others will receive it? I was not so bothered by the dropped "plot lines". That's the way life is -- there isn't a plot. We're just used to stories being told in a linear fashion. This movie just jumps in and out of the life of the company, in an almost random fashion. You have to get over the feeling that everything foreshadows something to come. As for age-appropriateness -- I didn't think there was anything inappropriate for any child old enough to otherwise appreciate the movie. There is a fair amount of partial nudity -- locker room scenes include bare breasts -- and the words "penis" and "condom" flash by. No sex, explicit or otherwise; the closest hint is that Ry's new boyfriend is viewed (fully clothed) after he wakes up at her apartment. (I don't know about my daughter, but I will say that it made ME slightly uncomfortable to see my favorite dancers unclothed. I don't want to see THAT much of people I admire, especially ones I might encounter in an elevator or conducting a master class for my daughters. But this reaction is particular to my situation -- the nudity wouldn't bother me a bit if the dancers were completely unknown to me.) Gotta add -- I loved the way "White Widow" was filmed (it's the ballet on the trapeze). I HATED "Blue Snake". It was much more Cirque du Soleil than Joffrey.

We'll let you know in a few hours if 12 is too young We have tickets to a show later this afternoon.

We've seen the Joffrey's Nutcracker twice in the last week, with different casts. The Sugarplum/Cavalier choreography was different the second time around -- not hugely, but some lifts and jumps were omitted or modified. How common is it to modify choreography according to who is dancing? I assume this sort of thing might be influenced by a dancer's talents, health/injury status, partnerships, etc?

Hey, hint and you shall receive! My wonderful daughters arranged subscriptions to Ballet Alert! and Dance View for me for Christmas (though Dolphingirl assures me she did this even before I posted...) A big hug to them, and to you Alexandra for ... well, for everything you do. Thanks! Merry Christmas!!

Great input, as always! I knew I could count on you folks. Unfortunately, the choice might come down to which kid can get excused from classes and rehearsals most easily. But now I have ammunition with the teacher for making a particular request! (Of course, I could take each daughter on her "off" night and see it twice myself, now THERE'S a thought!) I'll let you know what the final decision is.

Is that a hint, Dolphingirl? I thought *I* had already placed the same hint! (oops, just noticed the forum. Delete if not appropriate.)

ABT will be touring in Chicago in March. That's the good news. The worse news is that they are only performing Swan Lake (why must it always be Swan Lake?) Nevertheless, we would like to pay homage to the Swamp Thing. What cast do you suggest? Herrera/Gomes Tuttle/Corella Herrera/Carreno Murphy/Stiefel Wiles/Hallberg (!) Dvorovenko/Beloserkovsky

Ah, BW, what an unwitting set-up! I have been wanting to post about The Patron Saint of Liars, which I have been reading off and on for the last month or so. I just haven't had time (either to post OR to read). It also is by Ann Patchett. It concerns the life of a young woman in the 1960's who finds herself pregnant. She's married, but rather aimlessly so, so she up and leaves one day, bound for a home for (mostly) unwed mothers on the far side of the country. The book follows the unfolding of her life during her pregnancy and after the baby is born. That's as far as I've gotten, so I can't tell you how it turns out! It's not as captivating as Bel Canto, which had an almost magical voice to it. It does share the theme of learning about oneself and finding one's true passion.

You mean the Crispy Critters music? :grinning:

At least this wasn't something I'd paid big bucks for, but in BOTH our school's performances of Nutcracker this weekend the friends/family of a particular student yelled out "You go, L_____!" at the same point in the show.

He's also moonlighting as the choreographer of a satirical holiday show called "Roasting Chestnuts". Check out the Nov. 29 links for a short excerpt, or read this (very positive) review.

Here is what my hubby has to say: If requested, he can check with a friend who worked at the Walker at that time. He adds and who, he tells me, now works for White Oak.

Mel, I'll check with my husband. He worked at PBS when it was first broadcast, and might know more about it.

I like Saran-Ade! The costumes could be quite spectacular. Shades of that '70s book.

It just keeps getting better and better here in Chicago! Check this link to find out about dancers from the Joffrey dancing at halftime of a Bull's game.

Geez, doesn't anyone else want to play? These are courtesy of my husband: Le Corvair (extremely demanding choreography that is unsafe at any tempo) The Pontiac Firebird Rite-Aid of Spring Alfa Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Gillette (in which the heroine uses a four-bladed razor to slit her wrists)

The Nut Cracker Barrel I have GOT to pay more attention to work :rolleyes: :grinning:

Just a note of thanks here -- my mother-in-law is laid up after back surgery, and I passed this excellent list on to the Relative In Charge Of Collecting Reading Material.

Oh, I almost forgot -- The Lalique Garden!

Ooh, this is a tough one. Symphony in See's Candies? Boeing Aerospace presents Apollo? Swanson Lake? (or perhaps, Swanson Latke?) The Jolly Green Giant Table? The Rites of Handspring? Do we have to provide the plots as well?

Thank you for the invitation, Alexandra. I'm sorry I've left this hanging so long. As you have all hinted, learning to "watch" a ballet -- as opposed to just "absorbing" it -- takes a while. Over the last year I've been to maybe ten or twelve performances, including five major companies (Bolshoi, Joffrey, ABT, NYCB, Ballet Nacional de Cuba). I've learned something new every time. Overall, I'm more confident than I was. I know what I like and don't like, and I have ideas about why -- sometimes just glimmers, sometimes very firm, concrete ideas. Being someone who thrives on external motivation, it heartens me when people on Ballet Talk agree with me. It seems to validate my ideas, so I can spend less time worrying if I got it "right" and more time contemplating what it was I did or didn't like. (One example is loving Maria Alexandrova -- who was just one of a number of soloists the night I saw her, so I felt like I was picking her out of a crowd -- then coming back to the board and finding previous posts about her that mirrored my feelings. Now when I'm taken with a dancer or a performance, I trust the feeling more.) My continuing frustration is that I lack a vocabulary to encode what I've seen. As a consequence, I cannot form detailed memories, and I have trouble describing particular scenes or choreography. Where I described the overall feeling of "Les Noces", someone (Paul Parish, maybe?) mentioned an important part of the choreography that contributed to that feeling. I'd love to be able to get to the point where I can consistently remember details, large and small. By the way, I never did get to implement my Nutcracker plan. I did go to see it six times last year, but the luck of the draw handed me the same cast all but one time!

Meaning no disrespect, citibob, but retrospective diagnosis is risky. I attended a symposium just last week on autism and Asperger's syndrome, and the presenter -- an Ivy League professor who heads an autism clinic -- specifically addressed this issue. He named another celebrity that people often characterize as being on the spectrum, and said simply, "I've never met the man, I've never had a chance to examine him systematically. I cannot make a diagnosis."

Worried that your tyke will embarrass you at the holiday table? Miss Manners recommends a trip to The Nutcracker. If junior takes to the spectacle like a swan to water, s/he can be enrolled in Advanced Etiquette: Happy Holidays, all!

Paul, it's been almost 30 years since I was there, but my recollection is that the Spanish Riding School is about the size of a hockey rink. That is, the riding arena itself is rink-sized. There are no seats at ground level; the seating is all in galleries that ring the arena, like box seats at the opera (or ballet -- there we've brought this back on topic!). It is a MUCH more intimate venue than you described. On that occasion, I was not even lucky enough to see a rehearsal. But I did tour the stables, and was thrilled when a groom/rider handed me a lump of sugar, opened a stall door, and gestured me inside to give it to the horse.