Jayne

honestly I do not know the history or business plan for the Bejart Company. But if they came to Seattle next year, I would definitely buy tickets and ask my friends to come as well. One reason that Americans often do not know about other dance aesthetics is because most companies simply don't tour the entire USA. The country is so vast that the travel costs are prohibitive and dancers do not want to be away from their families for such a large swath of time. The distance between Seattle and Boston is the same as the distance between Lisbon and Kiev. I know many British rock bands fail to conquer America because the grind of touring 50 states is vastly different than touring the British Isles. The US is simply not as densely packed as Europe. While about 12 million people live in the greater New York City area, the remaining 296 million Americans do not, and rarely get to see the wealth of dance companies that visit the Big Apple. I hope new ventures with Ballet in Cinema change this for the better, because PBS would prefer to show more reruns of Jackie Evancho, and Bravo only shows Real Housewives instead of artistic endeavors. Sorry, this is going a little off topic, hopefully the mods don't get too upset.

I've been pretty busy the past few weeks, so very few posts. But I happened to read this article at lunch the other day and my eyebrows definitely went up. Artists are not always diplomats, but they are often opinionated, and even ornery about others' work. There is a reason we have the phrase "artistic temperment". I don't agree with Morris about the Stowells, but I did feel their final few years they brought in a few duds for mixed programs. I saw Stowell's Cinderella about 10 days ago and I thought it was one of Stowell's lesser efforts. But I look forward to Nutcracker and Swan Lake. These were both staged around the same time period. Cinderella and Carmina Burana were both choreographed later in his career and I like them less (but I don't think they are trash by any means). I do understand the negative reaction to Seattle boosterism - a sure sign of cringing provincialism. When you really are the best you don't have to shout it out that you're "World Class". On the other hand it is important to set high performance goals. In that respect I think PNB is very beloved in Seattle, and for the right reasons. Maybe Stowell and Russell are not everyone's cup of tea, but I do think they produced a jewel of a company that gave many dancers wonderful performance careers, staged Balanchine beautifully, and supported the growth and viability of many other choreographers (which Helene generously listed). I would also add that the wonderful designers Martin Pakledinaz and Maurice Sendak also found fertile ground in Seattle and gave us feasts for the eyes to enjoy for years to come. There are a lot of companies that wish Stowell and Francia had brought their considerable talents to build a well respected creative dance company to their cities. Pity the cities that lack viable ballet companies.

I've read elsewhere that after Pamela's original season, she was invited to other DWTS type shows all over the world, to dance in one shot "exhibition appearances". She made about $200k / show. So even though she was eliminated first, now she can *say* she was on the All Star show, and make a new worldwide appearance tour with Tristan (assume he gets paid slightly less). I hadn't really thought about this money making "angle", but she is very popular worldwide, and gives international shows a ratings boost when she appears. Anyway, it seems like a more respectable gig than appearance fees for partying at Casino clubs or posing yet again for Playboy. I give credit to the costume designers, that gold dress was amazing! Many of the performers spoke about technique, could someone critique the first week performances based on the technical side?

actually I think online viewership has the potential to be even more important than Nielsen ratings. Due to tracking software (for which I have privacy concerns), the networks can determine *exactly* who is watching, what their other interests are, and how old they are, and whether they watch the commercials (rather than switching channels). Nielsen tracking is not nearly as precise. Families have a device that tracks the TV and what is watched, but it is more difficult to determine which family member is watching. Also it's based on a small subset of the US representing all viewers. Whereas the hulu website viewer is much more precisely defined.

I have heard the joke "what's the biggest city in Cuba? Miami." But I've also heard the joke "The South stops in Jacksonville. Everything beyond that line is New York's colony"

I have a question about this article / review. Can someone please explain the comparison? I wasn't clear what the terms "precious air" or "so professional, right to the final bell" were referring to?

ooooh, what I would give to see Gillot as Le Courtesane in Le Fils Prodigue!

Forward to 0:38 to see an excerpt of the PNB version of Rubies:

I would love to see a "Nutty" Nutcracker with complete gender reversals at PNB - male corps doing snowflakes and the flower waltz, and the women playing the various male solos.

I think the weight issue is a big deal for all athletes - artists or not - once they stop their daily 6+ hours of exercise. Their metabolism changes and it's hard to find the right balance.

Well, which "dead wood" would you peel away? Which dancers would you promote? Which pairings would you substitute?

Watching Usain Bolt throughout the 2nd week, he reminds me more and more of Mohammed Ali in his verbal shenanigans. He's showing off, insulting people for effect (Carl Lewis), and thoroughly enjoying himself. I watched parts of the closing ceremony, and then decided to wait until NBC lifts the embargo on BBC online, and will watch it in full (without commentary or interruptions for Animal TV shows) when I have more time. At this point I feel like I need to boycott NBC for all shows to protest their abysmal coverage of the Olympics. Just because they overpaid $1.4 billion to broadcast (compared to BBC's $60 million) does not absolve them of the need to actually *show* the games in full. The closing ceremonies were held at 1pm Pacific Coast time in the USA / 4pm Eastern time, if they had shown them live, the full broadcast would have been completed before children's bed times. All performances could have been included, and the NBC premier could have followed at 9pm. Humbug to NBC!

I watched the women's floor exercises this evening, have to say I preferred the Roumanian Ponar over the American Raisman.

I miss gymnastics when there was more "art" in it. Case in point:

I'd vote in Sabrina, she has some talent. I wished for other competitors, but Shawn Johnson earned her win with a highly technical, inventive performance and I am pleased to cheer her on this fall.

I think we're seeing the grind of 12+ years of daily swimming for 6 hours - Michael Phelps' body is not made of kryptonite. He is human and swimming is a particularly difficult sport for repetitive injuries. I think NBC has put him up on a pedestal that is difficult to come down from without falling. He will probably win 2 more gold, but I don't think he'll win more than that. I hardly call a silver medal winning performance "choking" for Ryan Lochte. If that's failure, I'd like to have a spoonful.

I wondered if Stella McCartney designed the uniforms as a throw back to glam rock (all the lame'). Regarding the US uniforms, plenty of criticism of the berets, that they are French, and therefore "unamerican". But the US Military has a long history of wearing the berets: US Army Special Forces have worn Green Berets since they saw the British wear Red ones in WWII. US Army and US Air Force have worn berets for at least 25 years. The US Army Rangers have worn Black berets for over 50 years. And 10 years ago, the US Army Command changed all US Military uniforms, to include the beret. So I think of berets as quite American!

Of course I'm watching 8 hours after this happened, because god forbid NBC shows it live (or streams it live) and then rebroadcasts it in prime time. I doubt they would lose much neilsen share if they did both. I really miss CBC as my alternative. Damned comcast for not carrying CTV! Matt Lauer is proving to all of us that he is the real problem with NBC's morning show - not Ann Curry. When he and Meredith Viera talked over the *entire* children's choir section, I wanted to reach into my TV and stuff my dirty socks in their mouths. I respect Bob Costas for taking a stand on a moment of silence for Israel's athletes lost in 1972. But he still fails as an opening ceremonies color commentator.

Here is what I've posted on FB so far: I really want to like this Olympic Opening Ceremony, but so far it's been all about sheep, working class blight, and socialized medicine - with QE2 jumping out of a plane. Please, more Shakespeare fantasy, less angsty Hamlet. Oh wait, here comes the children's lit section... The young ladies marching with sticks with country letters on top remind of Happy New Year's Hats. Their dresses look like unicef posters. This is the strangest opening ceremony since Albertville in 1992.... I'd rather have more royal pageantry, pipes tattoos, royal ballet, and/or british composers, and less lame texting love stories. At least I can still be shallow and judge the national uniforms. That never changes.

well if you divide 10,000 by 44 musicians = $225 / performance. Assume 3 hours for the performance, plus another 3-6 hours of rehearsal. So appx $25 / hour. Also does not include the time spent by musicians honing their technique, sectional practices, etc.

I think I would cry too. You should write a thank you letter to the chorale's director. I imagine it would be greatly appreciated.

I see your point, Natalia, but I think your point deserves its own thread. And maybe a PhD thesis.

and how was the Requiem?

ah, last names are not nearly exotic once translated. Giuseppe Verdi after all is Joe Green in English. ;)

I looked up my Coppelia program, and yep, there she is! one of the dancers I noted as a standout. Lucky PNB!