California

Nijinsky for sure. Such a legendary figure, yet there is no film of him at all. At least Pavlova had Hollywood friends who got some of her movement recorded for posterity and we can get a slight sense of her movement quality. Nijinsky was in his prime when film technology existed and it's such a terrible loss that he was never filmed. I've always wondered if that was a decision of Diaghilev. I saw a claim somewhere that Nijinsky prohibited film, but do we know that was his decision? We know that Diaghilev did not want Ballet Russes filmed, as he thought people would stay away from the theater. As far as I know, only one bit of film of Diaghilev's company does exist. Such a loss to later generations!

I am old enough that I saw Kirkland numerous times from October 1975 (when I saw her do Giselle with Baryshnikov at the Kennedy Center) until about 1985, when I left the east coast. This was the height of the ballet "boom" and many of us in that era trooped all over DC and New York and points in between to see as much of them as possible. One thing so special about both of them (together or separately) was that you were constantly surprised with something you couldn't believe humans could do -- technique, interpretation, expression. I also felt, especially with Kirkland, that if she had a bag over her head, I'd immediately recognize her distinctive style anyway. There are quite a few tapes of her (often without sound) at the NYPL Dance Collection that are worth seeing, including her work in Baryshnikov's Don Q when it premiered at the Kennedy Center in 1978, her Giselle with Baryshnikov, etc. Her academy's web site has some nice clips, too. But I agree that it's enormously frustrating that so little of her remains on tape (certainly compared to the historic record of Royal Ballet, Russians, etc.)

I so enjoyed those little clips last year of Aran Bell rehearsing, after seeing him years ago when he was young. I think ABT has a winner and I just hope they nurture him well, with good coaching and roles. He's somebody I'd buy a ticket to see in a good role, unlike many of their current principals. I suspect I'm not alone in this.

Her book was published in 1986. She left ABT (for the last time, as a dancer) in 1983. She was able to dance with Royal after the book, but that was short-lived, due to a serious injury, as I remember. So she was already nearing the end of her dancing career by the time the book was published.

I follow a lot of them on social media. After the initial flurry of on-line support, it's been eerily quiet. We don't know why. He is still scheduled to premiere a new work in March at Washington Ballet, so perhaps we'll see some Instagram, etc., assuming he will be in DC for the premiere. https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2017-2018-season/three-world-premieres

A new DWI for Martins on December 29, 2017: http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/08/peter-martins-ex-nyc-ballet-leader-dwi-charge-ardsley/1012669001/

Balanchine himself ordered the black fabric for those tutus. When asked why, he just said "there were black swans, too." I've never found any more of an explanation. In several versions of the ballet (including the Ratmansky reconstruction), there are 4-8 black swans in the last act. I've never been sure what that's about - mourning? sadness? but they all show that through the movement. So, I don't know.

I actually had May 18 on my personal calendar for this from as soon as the season was announced, so I don't think that's a change.

Apologies for the mistake! I think only administrators can edit topic headers, if one could fix this.

Point Magazine is streaming MacMillan's The Fairy's Kiss January 2-15, for free. How nice! http://www.pointemagazine.com/streaming-scottish-ballet-fairys-kiss-2519195305.html?utm_campaign=RebelMouse&socialux=facebook&share_id=3095133&utm_medium=social&utm_content=Pointe&utm_source=facebook

If you like McRae, try following him on Instagram -- he often posts brief videos with various partners, including Salenko. And he is always super-gracious in lavishing his praise on all of them.

I don't know if this is just a coincidence or whether McCrae looks at this site, but he posted yesterday that the final PdD in Manon was what inspired him to become a professional dancer!

But Pennsylvania Ballet changed "slave" to "servant" in their staging of Corsaire last year and I don't think it really made any difference - or was even noticed by most people. I asked about this at the pre-performance talk and the marketing director said he was the one who wanted the change.

Very glad to see this. And no indication (yet) of a cancellation of the film showing in January: https://www.facebook.com/MarceloGomesAnatomyOfAMaleBalletDancer/ I hope he'll be able to finish his career with dignity in Europe and Russia. And I wouldn't be surprised if his retirement performance is at the Mariinsky, hosted by Vishneva.

When Ratmansky and Ferri became naturalized US citizens in recent years, there was a fair amount of press announcing that. I just did some serious googling and couldn't get anything to come up about Gomes, although he might have kept this quiet for his own reasons. He has talked in interviews of wanting to retire in Brazil, but it appears that Brazil and the US do permit dual citizenship. Let's hope he thought that through!

Looks like we'll never know, but I'm reminded of the controversy around special investigators (whether Whitewater/Starr or Russia/Mueller): once they start investigating and following leads, what else might they find? Another factor nobody has mentioned and about which we'll never know: the union contract and whether it dictated anything at all about how this was handled by ABT.

Best: La Bayadere by Mariinsky at the Kennedy Center Sarah Lane in Giselle In the Countenance of Kings by Justin Peck for San Francisco Ballet Broadcast on PBS of New York City Ballet in Paris Vishneva-Gomes in Onegin in her retirement performance at ABT Swan Lake reconstruction by Ratmansky for La Scala Ballet Announced/planned departures from ABT: Kochetkova Worst: Aaron Robison leaving North America (SFB and Houston) for English National Ballet Swan Lake by SFB (especially the first act) Pas/Parts by Forsythe at SFB Announced/planned departures from ABT: Gomes, Simkin

Diana Vishneva just posted this on Twitter: Diana Vishneva‏ @dianavishneva 15m15 minutes ago More Let’s not be carried away by the current accusation frenzy but remain mindful and caring. Let’s not mix shameful cases that need to be exposed with those of dubious intentions. Let’s speak up when someone’s treated unfairly. Every voice matters when someone’s future is at stake. Diana Vishneva and marcelo gomes

Do take time to read all the comments on this and the following Instagram - several famous names on there, although I don't know for sure that they are all official, so I won't quote them here.

A very strong statement of support from Kent, who no doubt needs to defend her decision to local supporters: “I’ve known Marcelo since he was 15 years old, and he remains somebody that I love deeply and will always support,” said Kent, who danced with Gomes for many years during her career at ABT. “I can testify to his kindness and generosity and his loving character, and his gentleness as a person. He remains one of my dearest friends.”

Almost nothing new in this article beyond what we know from the ABT press release, except for this: "Mr. Gomes did not immediately respond to an email or a voice mail message seeking comment. But Lisa Linden, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gomes, said in an emailed statement: “This is a time of reflection for Marcelo. He is gratified and strengthened by the support he has received from family, friends and colleagues. We have no further comment at this time.”"

On Instagram recently, he dropped a hint that he would be performing Swan Lake with the Matthew Bourne company in London in 2018 and dates would be announced later. I wonder what pressure Julie Kent is under to cancel his choreography commission? According to his Instagram, he's already started working with Washington Ballet.

Yes, but unless and until there is a more expansive statement from ABT or Gomes, we don't know the circumstances. It's not hard to imagine someone in that situation being offended that his employer decided to investigate a situation which they themselves said had nothing to do with his employment. It's also not hard to imagine someone in that situation being worried that details would emerge in the investigation which would be more embarrassing than the resignation or that would uncover other things ABT didn't know about. Etc., etc. This story is showing up on Google-alerts, but all the on-line papers seem to be repeating the same information as the original release.

Yes, but as Abatt points out, our legal system has both criminal and civil remedies that the victim could have pursued, especially as this had nothing to do with his employment at ABT. I'm noticing that instagram accounts from friends like Abrera and Murphy are quiet today. They're probably stunned, too.

Also horrible for Murphy, who was scheduled to do Giselle and R&J with him, as well as Teuscher, who was down for two SLs.