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Thank you, Jayne. Fascinating if appalling article from the New Yorker. "People with less than pristine histories" would be the very most polite way of describing Volochkova--has there ever been a more vulgar, cheesy, egomaniacal, whorish, brazenly opportunistic 'ballerina?' Rarely does one see any public figure so blatantly out for the main chance at all times and in every way. I am sure you are correct about the Grigorevich years--but solo's list of former Bolshoi luminaries is a good argument for the quality achieved at that time vs. this. It is not hard for me to believe that Volochkova tells the truth about the 'escorting,' sex-for-roles, rich patrons' interference, etc (according to most stories about her not generated by herself, she ought to know about sugar daddies and the exchange of favors, not to mention shameless self-promotion) but it is almost impossible to believe that a woman who does 'kiss my tutu' ads and poses for soft-porn photos thinks she is fooling anyone with her protestations of her own virtue and high aesthetic standards!

I was also taught sissonnes--or sissonnes en arabesque en avant for this particular case--perhaps with ferme to failli as well

but I would say arabesques voyagees are what we see Myrtha do in Giselle or the ballerina do backwards in Tchaik Pas?

Amen, California. I have always regretted that Reynolds didn't wait a few more years and include ALL of Balanchine's life, sigh. I'm afraid such a magnum opus, with such godawful legal complications now

and so many remarkable and rare photos, would *never* be reprinted, revised, etc. You would need a dance historian of Reynolds' caliber with exhaustive knowledge of NYCB, for starters.

Such a book was rare then; given what publishing now is, it is beyond impossible.

This is one of the four or five essential ballet books--brilliant start to finish, with photos alone worth the price.

The recent mixed rep at Houston Ballet included two world premieres (Edwaard Liang's Murmuration and Stanton Welch's Rite of Spring) as well as the Houston premiere of Pacific.

Having missed Pacific somehow at both PNB and SFB, I was delighted to see it. This was cast from strength, with most of the company's best dancers in it.

Jessica Collado was excellent in the pas de deux. The interesting Lou Harrison score (two movements of his piano trio) was unfortunately so butchered by the pianist

that it was quite difficult to concentrate on the dancing during the sadly extended piano cadenza in the first movement which was used.

Murmuration suffered from a dreadful and mindless 'minimalist' score (a violin concerto by Ezio Bosso) but had such fascinating and intriguing choreography that it almost did not matter.

The title refers to the synchronized flights of starling flocks--the dancers lived up to the poetic allusion, and Christopher Coomer, one of the company's most brilliant and underused and undervalued dancers,

was magnificent in the central role. It was a great pleasure to see the handsome, sterling Coomer in a large leading role for a change, and to see the flexibility and attack he brought to Liang's work.

This was the best work on the program, which featured bare chests on all the male dancers throughout the evening, lol.

Alas, Welch made Rite of Spring boring--the one thing one might think this score could never be. There were beautiful backdrop/paintings by the Australian aboriginal artist Rosella Namok, there was excellent lighting which was rather fancy--and Welch responded by designing ugly, busy, chaotic costumes which fought with every other element of the mise-en-scene. The presence of the wonderful Nozoki Iijima as one of the 'victims' (it was impossible to discern even how many 'victims' there were intended to be) and the company's golden boy Joseph Walsh as another did not avail the ballet, nor did the casting of four excellent soloists/principal females in dull and undistinguished demi-solo parts. Of course, due to union/technical/logistical concerns (Rite requires an orchestra twice the normal ballet size, not to mention how long the makeup and those costumes must have taken) this was the finale--and what an anticlimax that was.

Terribly sad. One of the last great singers who was still with us.

What a goddess.

abatt, unfortunately Martins is hell-bent on denying NYCB dancers the coaching which could and probably would make them great. (It is a miracle that anything like Bouder, Peck, and Reichlen emerged under his regime--every dog has his day, I suppose.) He has not only fired the best (Farrell, Verdy, Ashley--I could go on and on) from his staff, he completely refuses to have any of the ballerinas still living (or in Villella's case, danseurs) coach the roles MADE on them. MCB, PNB, SFB, and every other B in America worth its salt begs Ashley, Verdy, Farrell, McBride, Tallchief, etc. to come and coach the ballets they created; Martins is clearly bent on eradicating anything or anyone who might demonstrate the appalling truth of Gottlieb 's criticisms (for example--Arlene Croce was even more vituperative and even more absolutely right) of him. You will notice, in looking at his current masthead, that he has NO true star ballerinas from the past (Sorry, but von Aroldingen doesn't come close to that category) nor any of the strongest men (Cook, who also mysteriously disappeared from NYCB's staff, for example...); Hendl was a great dancer who never made it to principal, somewhat unfairly, and the rest were corps or titular soloists. This is no accident, nor is the fact that this masthead used to be dripping with the names of great dancers from the past who now are great coaches. Calegari, anyone? Nichols? Saland? heavens no. We wouldn't want anyone to appear more intelligent and artistic than Martins, now would we???

Martha Graham:

My dancers fall that they may rise.

Indeed, Dale.....a little Kylian goes a loooooooooooooooooooooong way doesn't it? lol. Bella Figura is an 'in' ballet right now--several big companies have done it recently.

BB has only done the complete Jewels once or perhaps twice, I believe?

The Ashton Cinderella has only one large flaw to my mind--Cinderella's solos are rather 'tepidly Fonteynish' to quote A. Croce. I'd much prefer Cinderella to match the Prince in virtuosity.

Yes. The Muses are good in this. The Apollo is quite another matter. UGH.

Have sent you a private message with a bit more detail, Jayne...

Those are terrific--love the one of her sitting on the chair in Western costume.

That photo (and yes it does look like Beaton doesn't it? among other things, everyone looks great at the same time--a RARITY, lol)

appears in the excellent Chujoy book The New York City Ballet (Knopf, 1953) which also has lots of other great photos

not appearing most other places and some very interesting commentary by various people involved in NYCB...

Thank you, pherank--this last photo is even more magical.

I think the costumes in the astounding NYCB photo you showed earlier are:

Hayden in DIvertimento no. 15 (Caracole at that time)

Kaye in Lilac Garden

Tallchief in Swan Lake

Le Clercq in La Valse, of course

and I think Adams in some Tudor ballet he did for her.

can't identify Reed's....

Thank you. Imler and Imler. I think it's a concept.

Adams also did the first ballerina role, though not with LeClercq. The clip of the two of them on the Balanchine documentary thing is almost indescribable. the unison and the intent.

Jayne, the casting is about as strong as possible for the first three Tharp performances, and that may well help.

I find it VERY depressing that the marvelous (in every way) Imler is apparently not going to be given the principal Barocco role.

Obviously Boal subscribes to the long/lean/Farrell-archetype view of casting this part, which is a pity because

Marie-Jeanne, who of course created the ballerina role, was not tall. She also had astounding feet, a huge jump, and tremendous strength.

The part was also far, far jazzier and more interesting then, according to virtually every account of the ballet through the years.

Not tall, great feet, great jump, jazzy, and incredibly strong sounds more like Imler than just about any other dancer in PNB or out of it.

sandik, I'm scandalized at such remarks--and here I was innocently enjoying the bright red socks and pointe shoes.

True. The sets and costumes almost make up for the 'choreography' and the 'let's get this sucker over with' hand-on-the stopwatch approach to a ballet intended to be a resplendent theatrical universe.

You didn't miss a thing, abatt. If that were the only thing I'd ever seen Rojo do I'd never watch her again.

everything said above--strained, effortful, sloppy technique and lowered leg in the attitude balances

(more than one of which she fell out of), no warmth, no grace, no assurance.

The last balance was as if she were trying to do a circus trick to make up for the previous ones.

It's hard to believe she was that bad in something public. Aurora is NOT her role.

Yes, the Martins fulllengths are pretty hideous, aren't they, AlbanyGirl? ugliest Swan Lake I've ever seen in terms of decor and costumes. (Not that the choreography is good.)

Chopiniana was an odd hybrid thing. Balanchine and Danilova did it *together*--in 1972. The thing most criticized about it at the time were the brief little skirts and tunics

(almost like Apollo's costumes) which are not at all appropriate for a Romantic ballet such as Les Sylphides (the original title)....Karin von Aroldingen , one of the principals

in that production, spoke about it very amusingly--she said that there was not enough money for real costumes but that she tried out a prototype which Karinska made for her--

white, layered and tiered, at least below the knee. von A said it was lovely and she felt completely different wearing it. She also observed that --this is too funny--

"All those slooooooooooooooow landings--with nothing on--were VERY disturbing!!"

Yes. I saw Feijoo do Ballo in Boston. brilliant. I think Ashley didn't pick Valdes for that because it's a 'jumping' ballet and Valdes' obvious virtuoso talents are in turning and balancing.

(And, sometimes, footwork....but Ballo has all kinds of arcane HARD jump combinations and of course the Don Q kick-your-head jete. Not that Valdes can't jump--

but Ballo is very advanced in its jump demands.) The recent Ballo at Royal Ballet had Lauren Cuthbertson, ugggggh--what Ashley saw in her/picked her for is inconceivable

from the clips which came out, especially since her alternate (first cast I think) was the dazzling and flawless Marianela Nunez. talk about unflattering comparisons!!!!

I cannot even imagine a film of Alonso in Theme. That is something that must be seen and made available. (Youskevitch, who fought Balanchine every step of the way and wanted only to do

the same tired old steps and schtick he always did, I'm MUCH less interested in seeing--but to see the original virtuosa doing the great role? OMFG.

Yes, of course it's true they were the original cast (although it was originally to have been for Adams and D'Amboise--a fascinating tidbit,

as Balanchine never made a 'showpiece' pdd for Adams, sadly. Adams injured her foot/ankle, ergo it became Verdy's ballet.)

I think the costumes look familiar because they're fairly generic, LOL. The TPDD ballerina always wears something resembling that chiffon-y

flowing thing, but it still doesn't look right. Wasn't the flowers I was objecting to , as you said, rg, but the weird headpiece which REALLY

does not look like what Balanchine would have wanted in this ballet. (See Ashley's and Farrell's books for considerable discussion

of Balanchine's concern with ballerinas' headpieces.)The makeup is Sixties, yes (those eyes....!) but something about this is wrong for Tschaikovsky.

That doesn't look right for Tchaikovsky PDD either, though. and the TPDD ballerina usually doesn't wear a headpiece anything like that.

It's for sure not the divertissement PDD which I believe was always in a tutu.

pherank, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. lol. you are very kind to post these and they are fascinating.

You were correct that that was not Wheeldon. it's the head of Perm Ballet I think.

To me Bussell is far *too* sexy (almost vampish) in Agon. I was not fond of her at all in Balanchine--she 'acted' way too much.

Farrell was sometimes also criticized for sexing up Agon.

A highly educated and plausible guess.

Wow, Valdes did Terpsichore and Scotch and T&V and Tchaik and SYLVIA pdd?!?!?! I had no idea. Dayum. would LOVE to have seen her in Sylvia and T&V.

did you see any of these? wonder how she was as Terpsichore and in Scotch? (not her' type' of roles on the surface) Not sure what your last sentence was there.....??? lol

Thank you so much for the clips, pherank--rare for other companies to do Monumentum and unheard-of for them to do Kammermusik!

Alas, you posted Kent and Mitchell after Watts and Tomlinson--the comparison is appalling. Tomlinson is no Mitchell in any way,

and as for the egregious Watts, the less said the better.

Sadly, cubanmiamiboy, not at all an equitable trade IMO. I don't think MCB ballerinas have much interest at all in those kinds of roles and if they do they can probably guest in them.

Valdes, on the other hand, doesn't have the option of just popping in to one of the few companies which do real Balanchine, not to mention obscure Balanchine....

She is actually technically punctilious in many ways, which is why I suggested Balanchine, who is suited to very few dancers, particularly ballerinas of companies who do mainly full-lengths.