GianninaM

golden_slave: in order to see the profiles you need to be a Member, which involves 10 posts from you (substansive posts, not things like "me too", or "Hi, there" etc.). To all: this is a forum for welcoming new members. Other topics should go in the appropriate forum, for example European Companies or Everything Else Ballet; there they will get more viewers and attention. Feel free to continue your interesting discussion on another forum of your choice, and we hope you enjoy your discussions. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Alert, golden_slave; we're very glad that you've found us. Thank you for your compliments and we hope you enjoy the board. We have a sister site for dance students that you might enjoy. It's Ballet Talk for Dancers which is accessable at the upper right hand corner of this page. There you will find many adult students like you, and there is a lot of information and encouragement for you. You will have to register again, and it would be nice if you used your same name so that we know you. Enjoy everything! Giannina

Mel, you danced Monotones II? Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Alert, Brent; it's nice to finally meet you. Loved your introduction, especially the reference to Monotones (I'm going to guess II); one of my favorite ballets. Thank you for your compliments, and we hope you'll feel free to babble away; many of us do! Giannina

Welllll ... I went tonight. If they think they are following the lead of "The Kings of the Dance" they haven't. I could wax poetic for pages on that topic alone. If you like modern-ish ballet with lots of flicking wrists and elbows, and contorting bodies, and angst, you'll love this. I don't and didn't. The women are beautiful and danced beautifully; this is not the vehicle in which I prefer to see them. It's a matter of taste. The program says the choreography was created to suit the various dancers. Osipova danced, and one of her strong points is leaps. She rarely left the floor. All 3 acts were performed. "Chanconne" was replaced by "Serenata". I'm anxious to hear what others are going to say. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Alert, Syrene Hvid; we're very happy to have you with us. It's wonderful that you've discovered ballet and we hope your love of the art continues to grow. You will find all kinds of information on the board; whatever interests you may have will be covered on the board. We hope you enjoy sharing in our discussions. Giannina

Canbelto, this is the best Topic ever! I can't wait for each installment. Everything is so well writen and SO interesting. Thank you very much for this lovely Christmas present. Giannina

I don't think Ashton was hard on Sibley but, instead, exacting; they'd worked together for a long time and knew each other's working process and as such I think she relished every moment. Sibley was a true Ashton ballerina; the last Ashton ballerina I saw was Sarah Wildor who was accomplished and lush; she was in a class of her own. Giannina

I find Tatiana's husband especially sympathic; they have a beautiful pas de deux which shows a committment and makes Tatiana's mature choice obvious. However in 2002 I saw Nathen Coppen (no, not Kobborg) as Onegin at RB and I would have been hard pressed to resist him. Jeez!! Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Bonnette; it's very nice to have you with us. We hope you'll enjoy sharing in our discussions; you have so much to offer what with your background as a dancer and your interest in ballet history. The site is a wonderful place for exchanging ideas and information. Giannina

This is simply amazing! Helene, I can't thank you enough for all the work you've put into this. I hate to admit that I didn't even know the Calendar was there; what a treasure trove. Giannina

I thought the LATimes review was right-on, espcially about the costumes. You just go and see Sleeping Beauty; period. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Richard; we're very happy to have you with us. You are fortunate to have ballet in London at your disposal; it is a wondeerful city for ballet. We wish you luck in your projects and we hope we can be of help to you here on Ballet Talk. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, GNichoills; it's very nice to have you with us. Please feel free to serach the site for any information you need. I'm not sure which is the best forum but where ever you post you will get answers. Giannina

Ohmygoodness; grim indeed. Each year gets worse. I keep telling myself I should cancel my subscriptions, but one of them is in the First Tier, row I and on the outside edge. Our seats are so great that sometimes we go just to enjoy THEM. Iczerman makes an excellent point: attendance is horrible. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, getmoreatp. We are very happy to have you with us, and we are even more happy about the fact that you've discovered ballet and love it! You are in a place where everyone shares your love of ballet, and we love discussing it. The board has oodles of information for you so feel free to ask questions; there are no "dumb" questions. Enjoy your ballet journey! Giannina

Ordered it from Amazon and it's on its way. Ballet Talk will get a percentage of the cost of the book, which was 1 cent! Better they should get a percentage of the postage, which was $3.99. Thanks, Richard53dog.

Going way back to the Beverly Sills' books: who is the author of "Beverly Sills"; is that Kerby? Giannina

I'm half-way through The Saint and the Sultan, by Paul Moses. Written in 2009 it tells the story of St. Francis of Assisi's visit with Malik al-Kamil, sultan of Egypt. History is my weak point so I'm getting a look into the time of the Crusades. Before that I read Men and Angels, the art of James C. Christensen. Fast, beautiful, and it weighs a ton. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Josh; it is very nice to have you with us. As a dance student you will find our sister site, Ballet Talk for Dancers, of more interest to you. It is designed specifically for dance students, and can be accessed at the upper right hand corner of this page ("Ballet Talk for Dancers"). This site is more for dance fans. Please enroll in Ballet Talk for Dancers; you will find tons of information there. When you enroll we'd appreciate it if you'd use your same screen name so that we know who you are. We wish you all the luck in the world with your dance studies and career. Giannina

Can't wait!! Thanks for the heads up. Giannina

Teriffic!! Giannina

What a difference 3 days make. Wed. it was Osipova and Vasiliev and I came home unhappy. Tonight it was Ryzkhina and Lobukhin; they were less frenzied and thus so was I. I realized that on Wed. I never did relax, probably because of the pyrotechnics on stage. Yes, it was spectacular but exhausting, as was all the whooping and clapping. Both Ryzkhina and Lobukhin almost "fall down go boom" at the end of their 3rd Act fouettes/pirouettes but after such an enjoyable evening I'll forgive them. Giannina

The LATimes mentioned a flubbed catch and an ensuing snit in the 3rd act. I saw a flub, not in a lift but in a move in which Vasliev balances Osipova on his hip using no hands (don't know the balletic name); he tottered a couple of steps before gaining control. I missed the snit altogether but then I was in the 3rd Tier with opera glasses. Dang; nothing like a snit! I'm going again Saturday night; 1st Tier this time. Casting is posted on the handout but it's iffy at best. Giannina

Oh, I'm so glad someone finally wrote a review of last night's DQ, and even happier than s/he echoed my feelings. With that ditzy crowd going bananas every time someone did something other than walk I thought I was the only one there who did not like it. I agree about Osipova. I saw her in Moscow a few years ago and thought she was wonderful. Couldn't wait to see her again. And though she jumps like nobody's business there's something about her feet and legs. The term "sickle" comes to mind but I've never heard of a sickled leg. Like ksk04 I like classical ballet and this was more of a circus act. Too bad since there was tons of talent there. Giannina