Treefrog

This is the text of an email I received this afternoon:

All these sterling reviews, plus the few snippets I watched on TiVo yesterday (I didn't even know/remember it was there!) make me really, really sad that I passed this up in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.

Since you brought up Shakespeare, I will retell for anyone who didn't hear it the first 23 times the story of my date in the late '70s. On screen: Zefirelli's Romeo and Juliet. As the credits roll, my date says thoughtfully, "Wow ... I never imagined it would end like that!"

Once when my teenage dancer was younger and in the children's cast for the Joffrey's Nuts, I was cleaning out her dance bag and came across what looked like random tiny bits of paper. Just in time she screamed, "Don't throw those out! They're the SNOW!" She and the other kids had collected it from the stage after the curtain fell on Act I. Bart, I thought of cockroaches too, but in another vein: maybe the boric acid helps control the population?

Maia Wilkins of the Joffrey stood out recently at one of the company's yearly subscriber events. She was thoughtful, articulate, and analytic in a way that seldom happens at those events. Insted of just describing the action or the plot of a ballet, she was able to delve into more substance and emotion and motivation. Afterwards, when I asked her privately about differences between the 1994 film of Billboards shown recently on Ovation and current performances of Sometimes it Snows in April, she elucidated at some length the differences between dancing and the dancers, then and now. That said ...she showed an entirely different kind of articulateness when she stood to give an impromptu demonstration as her frequent partner (and assistant ballet master) Willy Shives described Caroline's opening breath and arm movement in Jardin aux Lilas.

You're welcome. Bart, I know just how you feel. I suppose the contemporary stuff sells, but I certainly prefer what you call 'the sublime'. For that, you have to catch the company's winter program here in Chicago. In the upcoming season, it will be a Tudor centennial celebration with Jardin aux Lilas, Dark Elegies,and Offenbach in the Underworld. The company has settled into a predictable routine: a full-length story ballet in the fall (coming up, Giselle), Nutcracker in November/December, revivals in winter, and comtemporary in spring (pieces by Tharp, Taylor, and Mehmet Sanders). They seem to drag that spring program on tour a lot, and also reprise it here at Ravinia and in free programs at Millenium Park.

This isn't exactly what you want, but the Joffrey has some video clips on their website, including a few scenes from The Green Table.

:clapping: Yippee!!!! What a lovely name for what must be a lovely baby!

Yes, congratulations! Do let us know more when there is more to be known. I am happy for you! P.S. It occurs to me that you were getting married the summer I last visited France. Would you like me to let you know the next time I plan a trip, so you can get ready for the next Life Event, whatever that might be?

Just want to say thanks. I will be in Paris in a few weeks, and may have a chance to see La Fille Mal Gardee. Online tickets are only offered in the top price category, and as the only performance is on our day of arrival (after an overnight flight) I don't want to risk spending lots of money and then being too sleepy to enjoy the ballet. Thanks to these tips, I know what to expect. What a great resource you all are!

Sounds like a good case of "one man's meat is another one's poison". I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I am particularly interested to hear how you were moved by Untitled. Not only was I not moved in the least, I couldn't even get a particularly good handle on what the whole thing was about. Perhaps I am a bit dense. My attention was drawn solely by the trickery and balance/counterbalance aspects. (For those who don't know this piece, as I didn't before seeing it: it's Pilobolus choreography in which two women are supported by men hidden under their long Victorian garden dresses. The women shrink and grow as they interact with each other and two suitors. There's a fair bit of comedic aspect to it.) This is now raising an interesting question in my mind: when does gimmickry/gadgetry enhance choreography or enable a dance to transcend ordinary bounds; when does it thrill in its own right; and when is it simply distracting? I agree with you entirely that Valentine goes on too long, but agree also that if we are to lose Julianne Kepley it was nice to have such a long farewell glimpse of her. She and Calmels did play off nicely against each other. Caught is one of those pieces that I think works beautifully the first time you see it, and not so much after that. This was my second viewing, and I was really looking forward to it. I felt disappointed. I didn't think the timing worked as well this time as the first time I saw it (with Taryn Kaschock). At times the poses looked random, rather than the seamless stop-action they are meant to be. It is wonderful to see the former apprentices grow up into the company, isn't it? I very much like the verve of Erica Lynette Edwards too, and it's nice to see her getting increasing important roles (she performed the solo Dance for Yal on Sunday). Speaking of Dance for Yal, what an impressive show of upper body strength! This dance has the woman hanging by one arm from a trapeze for a good 30-40 seconds, all the while dancing with the rest of her body.

The Joffrey has taken up a fairly predictable scheduling system. In the fall, we get a full-length story ballet. In the winter, we get revivals and historic works. In the spring, we get Joffrey Lite. Let's put it this way: the only buns -- and nearly the only pointe shoes -- in the whole program were in Light Rain. (Okay, there were some very attractive buns in Untitled, in which the two men wore only dance belts, but that's different.) We had: two solo dances on swings/trapeze, one boxing match between lovers, one strobe-lit stop-motion piece, an Alice-in-Wonderland wannabe with growing and shrinking women, and a shimmering ensemble piece to pulsating Indian-flavored jazz (my husband's description). We were treated to possibly the most egregious, inappropriate bit of applause I've ever had the misfortune to witness -- an enthusiastic bout of clapping for a particularly athletic move in the middle of the the haunting, lyrical White Widow that totally ruined the mood. I'm beginning to reevaluate the wisdom of attracting new audiences to the ballet, if this is the result. I enjoyed the dancing, but felt totally unsatisfied with the program.

This location strikes me as just the right place to be -- especially if, as the architect's drawing shows, there will be a prominent marquee. It will put the company unescapably in the public eye at this hugely trafficked corner surrounded by stores (Marshall Fie .....er, Macy's) and theaters (the Chicago, Palace, Oriental, and Goodman are all within eyeshot), two blocks from Millenium Park and on the footpath between a commuter train station and downtown work areas. With those gorgeous looking windows, perhaps we can even glimpse the dancers at the barre. My fantasy is that they will hold onto the current rehearsal space a couple of blocks down State St. and house the school there.

Perhaps artspatron is not so much seeking advice, but advancing the hypothesis that European and Asian dancers get hired in preference to American dancers because the quality of training in other countries is better than in the US. A) is the premise true, and B ) does this hypothesis have empiric support? Or if the premise is true, are there other hypotheses to explain it?

I woke up this morning (literally -- my clock radio alarm is set to NPR) to the announcement that Gerald Arpino is stepping down and will become Artistic Director Emeritus in July. Here's the press release.

I think you are right on track with the school idea, Bart. The company is doing a ton of outreach into the public schools and park district. It has some really cool programs to initiate new dancers to the art, and one program -- the Strobel Step-Up program -- to keep the most talented and committed of these kids involved. So far, though, no regular school. They are making the first foray with a two-week non-residential summer intensive this year, so many of us are hoping this will lead to something bigger and more permanent. Perhaps someone else knows why they have not started one before? I've always assumed there were contractual issues with the NYC school -- we get the company, they get the school -- but I guess I don't know for sure. Judging from the talk last night -- and most of the similar talks I've been to -- the company is still leaning heavily on its history. These talks are often heavily anecdotal, about "how Bob decided to do this" or "Mr. Arpino's inspiration for that." In this informal way, I still get the feeling they depend on the past for their identity. But ... these talks are pretty light and fluffy. Their main purpose seems to be to get the donors in, show 'em some ballet up close, and help them to feel connected by sharing stories. I still find the absence of Arpino/Joffrey choreography, and the introductions of new story ballets, to be the most compelling suggestion that changes might be afoot.

They can't have the name, at any rate. A choreographer named Paul Abrahamson astutely snapped up "Chicago Ballet" for his company, which was formerly named "Moose Project". Bart, your question is spot-on and pretty much what I was wondering when I posted. And if so ... what does that mean for the company and its focus? What will be seeing in coming years?

I asked Cameron Basden that exact question. She said that current plans are still current plans, but that as this is all still in flux nothing is for certain. I hope that Goldweber will still do Giselle, as I was looking forward to seeing his take on it.

For housekeeping reasons, I thought I'd just add to this existing thread instead of starting another. Major changes are afoot at the company. Adam Sklute is going to Ballet West, and taking Mark Goldweber with him as Ballet Master-in-Chief. (This was announced last night at an in-studio lecture/demonstration for contributors, so I hope that is public enough to be an official announcement.) Gerald Arpino is still Artistic Director, of course, but my impression from having attended contributor lectures and open rehearsals over the last couple of years is that his artistic staff was really in charge of the company's operations. (My impessions only, based on who did the presenting and how they spoke; others with more intimate knowledge of the company may have other, and more legitimate, takes.) Anyway: with Sklute's and Goldweber's departure, that leaves Cameron Basden as Associate Artistic Director and Charthel Arthur as Ballet Master, and Willie Shives as Assistant Ballet Master. Basden and Arthur have long associations with the company. Another curiosity: next year we will see no choreography by Joffrey or Arpino (except for Nutcracker). The season as slated includes Giselle; a Tudor Centennial celebration consisting of Jardin aux Lilas, Dark Elegies, and Offenbach in the Underworld; and an American Modern program consisting of choreography by Paul Taylor, Mehmet Sanders, and Twyla Tharp. I cannot remember a season in the last five or six that I've been attending that did not feature choreography by at least one of the two company founders; usually, in fact, we've had entire programs devoted to their work, often titled something like Accent Arpino. I am very curious to see how the situation evolves, in terms of staffing and artistic trajectory. Again my impression, but administratively the company feels very solid. There were probably 60-100 people at the presentation last night, most of whom looked considerably better heeled than I. It feels as though the company is doing the things it needs to do to gather and maintain strong community support and financing (including inviting people like, apparently, me, who it feels can be enticed to give at higher levels by dangling the prospect of more in-studio demonstrations).

Over on BT4D, there has been conversation about the fairness (or lack thereof) of casting students ahead of established company dancers. The argument is, essentially, that it is an affront to dancers who have worked hard to land a paying job to have a student hopscotch over them. Any comment here on that angle, from the watcher's perspective?

Speaking of the stage door -- I thought it was incredibly bad form for a certain male dancer in full makeup to smoke a cigarette just outside the stage door 20 minutes before curtain. The stage door is not hidden in some alley; it fronts onto the same street (Wacker Drive) as the main entrance, and many, many members of the audience pass it by on their way to the show.

My thoughts exactly! It was verging on boring Saturday night. The crowd scenes are an endless sea of brown, with occasional bursts of dancing. Okay, so this isn't a ballet with virtuoso turns and phrases -- you can still make it interesting. On balance, I prefer the Cranko choreography. Somehow, it manages to bring out the details so they don't get literally lost in the crowd. (For starters, there's less of a crowd to deal with.) Hallberg was tremendous as Romeo, Murphy was fine as Juliet. Not having ever seen Jesus Pastor, I honestly was not clear which of the sidekicks was Benvolio and which was Mercutio until Mercutio's final scene. That does not speak well for the acting. Nor did I find Benvolio and Mercutio particularly fun-loving, or diverting in the ball scene. I am used to boyish shenanigans, played by boyish dancers such as the Joffrey's Calvin Kitten (not boy-aged, I know, but still plays the type well) and John Gluckman. Overall, it was a tired, lackluster performance. The corps was not particularly together. The music was better once the dancing started; for a few moments during the overture I actually wondered if the strings and horns were working off the same score.

Can't tell the players without a scorecard! or even with one, apparently. So NOW we are getting Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg on Saturday night. That's a pairing I'm looking forward to -- assuming that's who actually dances ...

For the record, here's the quote we're discussing: On first reading, it does sound as if Reiter is slighting Goldweber. I think what she is saying is "I don't believe the credit should go to Goldweber, but whoever staged it initially, and so the program credit is inappropriate." This is either sloppy reporting ("it would seem"? -- why not check that out?), or rough writing. But it raises an interesting question: is there a standard for when the staging passes from one person to another, in the sense of not just repeating what they were taught but putting their own mark on it somehow? For what it's worth, an acquaintance who saw both casts in Chicago remarked on how Goldweber's coaching was very evident, in that the two very different Apollos (Fabrice Calmels and Calvin Kitten, who grace opposite ends of the height spectrum) showed very similar interpretations.

Amen to that! I specifically am trying to see principals OTHER than Paloma Herrera, who I seem to see a lot ... although last year, the cast changes worked in my favor and Murphy got substituted for Herrera. Also to the point: when I buy tickets to ABT, I expect to see ABT dancers -- not a sub from the Royal, however talented and delightful he might be. (Is he?)