California

I posted this on a different thread - keeping up with SFB veterans - if administrators want to combine.

Aaron Robison is returning to SFB after just one year at ENB! This was just announced in e-mail. I must say, this is great news for North America. And perhaps he'll be available for some guesting at ABT, like Maria Kochetkova. EDITED TO ADD: I'm not seeing any sort of announcement on the SFB page and I wonder if leaving "at the end of the current season" means 2019 or now. If he's not leaving until summer 2019, it seems early to make this announcement. Here's the e-mail: Aaron Robison leaves the Company EMBARGOED UNTIL 1PM – DO NOT SHARE UNTIL THEN Lead Principal Aaron Robison has decided to leave English National Ballet at the end of the current season. He returns to San Francisco Ballet where he danced as a Principal from 2016-17. We wish Aaron all the best for the future and look forward to welcoming him back as a Guest Artist in the future.

At the Friends Luncheon in June, one of the silent auction items was backstage passes to a Stones concert. I don't know what those sold for.

The understanding of rights at the time of the performance has complicated the release of several gems. The 1977 Live from Lincoln Center of Giselle with Makarova and Baryshnikov was eventually released on VHS, but it took years to go back and get permissions from all the relevant parties. In 1977 (almost) nobody had anticipated the market for these things so it wasn't provided for initially. The 1976 PBS televised performance of Baryshnikov at Wolf Trap was delayed even longer because Kirkland would not give permission; they finally resolved that with the statement included from her at the end. But notice that the opening movement of Push Comes to Shove didn't make it onto the VHS/DVD release, reportedly because Tharp was planning to release the entire ballet on VHS/DVD "Baryshnikov by Tharp." Alas, the Wolf Trap performance included the premiere cast of Tcherkassky and van Hamel, which has never been released commercially. Now, of course, people know the potential of release on DVD, so they can include that in their initial contract negotiations.

It's been decades since I saw it in the theater, but I don't remember having the impression that the ballerina did more than get through that doorway. There's enough of a set blocking the view to enable a double with a dummy do the steps. Ferri is pretty amazing, but even she has a slight steadying of her feet when they place him on her outstretched arms. But I do remember thinking: good thing they came up with a solution for Kirkland to just stand in the door with him and then disappear.

It's so sad we have no footage of her performances. I have just one memory of her in the theater in this ballet: At the very end, Ferri is able to carry the Poet several steps backwards before disappearing into that doorway. When Kirkland did the ballet, she stood in the doorway, the Poet was placed in her arms and she quickly disappeared, unable, apparently, to walk even a few steps.

Correction -- at least from the Merce Cunningham link (above) it was broadcast in 1987. Duets was made in 1980.

It's still there -- easy to find.

It was broadcast in 1980, with Baryshnikov as the Poet and Ferri as the Sleepwalker, in the "Great Performances" series on PBS. I don't believe it was ever released commercially, but it's likely you could see it at the NYPL Dance Collection. https://www.mercecunningham.org/film-media/media-detail/params/mediaID/84/ At least from this site, it was broadcast in 1987 and Cunningham's Duet (the other piece shown) was made in 1980.

Sad irony here, as T&V was choreographed for ABT by Balanchine. I'm also curious about why ABT did the reconstruction from notation of Symphonie Concertante, as it originated with SAB and Ballet Society. Was there a performing history at NYCB? Were they not interested in a reconstruction? https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/s/symphonie-concertante.aspx

And these examples are why these are such interesting and enduring questions! I can do you one better on the Reifenstahl legend: shortly after Shindler's List was released, Spielberg was asked in a published interview who his favorite filmmaker was: without missing a beat, Reifenstahl! But when he explained why, it was clear he looked only at formalist design aspects of her work and her pioneering film techniques, which Spielberg had no difficulty separating in his mind from the content of the work and the filmmaker. I can't retrieve that article with a little googling, but my memory is that it was in the LA Times shortly after the film was released in 1991.

Just a small point on Wagner: we have pretty good evidence that he himself was a virulent anti-Semite and it's not his fault that Hitler and the Nazis loved his work. But one additional factor is relevant to his work, namely, portrayals in some operas of Jews in the worst rat-like stereotypes. So, on that account, I can despise the artist and also despise aspects of his work. I only bring this up because Wagner is such a popular discussion example when assessing the ethics of persons and of works of art. In a more recent context, there is continuing discussion of ethical aspects of Jerome Robbins' work and life. We are sorely disappointed that he named names to the HUAC committee (although he was in a truly horrible no-win situation when that happened and he says he felt guilty for the rest of this life). But we are also now hearing ethical criticism of his work, especially the treatment of women in Fancy Free, which might have seemed normal in the late 40s but is now cringe-worthy. In the case of Marcelo, whatever ethical issues there might have been in his personal history (and I doubt we'll ever know the whole story), I can't think of a single thing we question ethically in his performances. Indeed, he was the one who always so graciously turned his back on the audience to thank the corps standing behind him and the one who was so gracious with his time in coaching others. Maybe there were ethical lapses as an artist, but I've never heard of any.

ABT did release a documentary by Ric Burns in 2015, but no complete ballets were included. Think of all the extraordinary performances relegated to memory and perhaps archival footage somewhere. If those had been performed at the Royal Ballet or La Scala or Russia, they'd be available for posterity on DVD. https://www.amazon.com/American-Masters-Ballet-Theatre-History/dp/B00XBL0KHI/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1530566221&sr=8-6&keywords=american+ballet+theatre+dvd

Every theater bans filming by audience members, but it appears some theaters are less rigorous in enforcing that (e.g., in Russia?). Why don't both ABT and NYCB record performances and sell somehow as the European and Russian companies do so routinely? I've never understood that. It sounds like the old Robbins bias: if they can see it on TV or the movies, they won't come to the theater to buy tickets. There are reports that he hated the way ballet looked in Live from Lincoln Center. But, of course, he assumes that most ballet lovers can afford to get to NYC and buy tickets, which I find incredibly shortsighted.

RE: stage make-up: It's startling near the end of The Turning Point to see close-ups of Baryshnikov's stage make-up for the Don Q PdD. I have no idea if men still use that much eye make-up.

Thanks for all these detailed reports on Lane and Cornejo! So sorry I couldn't see this one. I'm hoping they do Other Dances in October. And gee, maybe they'll get two Don Qs in 2019!

You can google till the cows come home (as they say) and you won't find an explanation of his abrupt resignation, other than "sexual misconduct" eight years ago. This appeared in the NY Times yesterday. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/arts/dance/marcelo-gomes-new-york-sarasota-ballet.html The Sarasota Ballet company director, Ian Webb, said more in that article than we've seen elsewhere: Asked whether he had discussed the allegation against Mr. Gomes, he replied: “We didn’t go into the details. Whatever’s gone on, it hasn’t been made public, and he didn’t need to tell me.” “I’m old school,” Mr. Webb continued. “I believe in due process.”

I'm so jealous! I looked at my schedule every which way, but can't make a trip to Berlin work this season. Please tell us all about it and let's hope they bring it back in 2019-20. I'd also love to see Simkin with his new company.

Thanks for all these clips! Great fun - almost as much fun as comparing clips of torch lifts! Let me ask a silly question about that leap: I attended a pre-performance talk about the full-length Don Q several years ago (I won't name the city, but it was not Denver or New York). The otherwise distinguished dance historian presenter pointed to that leap and called it the Kitri leap. I didn't want to be TOO obnoxious, so I waited through several questions and then asked: I thought that was called the Plisetskaya leap, after the dancer who made it famous. Oh, no, I was told - that was in the original Petipa choreography and is always called the Kitri leap. I can understand preferring to call it "the Kitri leap." Okay. But first, I don't think we really know what the original choreography was, do we? Wasn't that choreographed long before there was a plausible form of notation at the Mariinsky? Second, is there evidence that this leap was done pre-Plisetskaya, which might exist?

Thanks for the clips. I suppose I've had unrealistic expectations about both leg extension and backbend in the same jump.

I suppose there's disagreement about what counts as the "Plisteskaya" jump. She goes straight up in the air and does touch (or come close). That's impressive and I guess it counts. The more impressive one you don't see so much is seriously airborne, with right leg stabbing forward while bending back. But I don't want to get into an argument over this. My point was just that it's not always included and that doesn't seem to bother audiences.

It's not unusual to see people skip the Plisetskaya jump. The Cubans didn't do it last month (if they tried, it wasn't successful). The DVD of Cynthia Harvey with Baryshnikov from long ago doesn't include it. Funny to hear about Osipova using the alternate version from that 1967 clip I posted yesterday. I wonder if that's standard for the Russians when they can't do the fouettes for whatever reason.

Marcelo is joining Sarasota Ballet as a guest artist for the 2018-19 season! Two Pigeons, Diamonds, Apparitions. Between this and the Miami/Ratmansky Swan Lake, Florida is looking good! https://www.pointemagazine.com/whats-marcelo-gomes-doing-now-2582177375.html?

I don't see this mentioned elsewhere. The National Geographic series, "Genius: Picasso," includes some of his work for the ballet in Episode 8 and a short recreation of Parade from 1917. Here's a clip: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/u/kctSfmKWRb-agVhYxQkvoUQBsBX6atISJL-yUmkrtfp8obvw9LypDvX-cKuo/

A wonderful video clip including Tallchief discussing Leclerq and this ballet. Hard to tell who's taller, though: