puppytreats

So I have taken Drew's advice and skipped the Joyce. What about PNB at City Center, presenting a program of "Concerto Barocco", "Agon", and "Apollo" as well as Maillot's "R&J"? The only $35 seats remaining are in the back of the orchestra, to the side. I have sat in the second row of CC, on the side, and been disatisfied with curtailed views.

I finally finished watching the Acosta version of "Spartacus." I preferred the Vasiliev version. The repetition was excessive in the Acosta version.

Kaptsova is very lovely, but see seemed to be acting the emotional aspects, rather than convincingly portraying that she was feeling them. I thought maybe she was too young to understand what she was put on stage to express. I still like to watch her, think she moves beautifully, and have enjoyed her in other ballets. Maria Allash was more dramatically convincing in a less sympathetic part, although she seemed to tire during certain scenes. The men were exhausted by the end, and rightfully so.

Can anyone translate what the Emporer's army's staff said?

I didn't go b/c I could not imagine sitting in a movie theatre for more than five hours. What was it like? How many intermissions are there?

Is it possible to get great seats for ABT at KC without becoming a member, since member tickets go on sale first?

For myself, I would certainly trade in a lot of what's on offer at the Joyce to catch at least two of the programs.

What about the Graham program?

Is seeing the Trocks worth the time and money, or if one has watched the DVD/Youtube program, does that suffice?

Undone?

Death would seem to be the final result of evil. I do not understand how redemption follows.

The traditional ending of Swan Lake relies on the romantic 19th-century belief that true happiness would be found in an afterlife - the reason the Soviets had to have their happy ending in this life, now, as they rejected the idea of a religiously-based afterlife.

Christian theology has been explained to me to emphasize a lack of focus on the present world and the availability of reward in an afterlife, but that does produce a pro-death stance (to the contrary, mant are "pro-life"), or justify or "undo" evil, even if sins are claimed to be forgiven.

This is a bad habit.

Puppytreats --

If you're counterfeiting benjamins in the basement to feed that ballet monkey on your back, you might want to run off a few more .

I keep waiting for a certain tall, dark, handsome, rich danseur to appear. Then I think about Prince Siegfried.

I'm going to have to dredge up that essay!

Link please.

But whereas SL is fundamentally "tragic" -- evil can only be undone through death

Undone?

Death would seem to be the final result of evil. I do not understand how redemption follows.

Bart,

With due respect, where to do you get

"Rojo does seem to feel that women relate more emotionally than do men"

from this quotation:

"I get on well with men. I tend to know where I stand. I have more male friends than female friends, and I know that's unpopular. I'm not willing to share emotion and that's something that makes female friendships. I share emotional problems with two women, no more."

Her alleged statement does not lead to your conclusion.

In general, why would it be a matter of more or less, a quantitative ranking? It could be a general or specific difference in the nature of the relationship between individuals, based on individual character, personality, or experience, or the level of trust, but does she say women are more emotional, or even more emotionally expressive? All I derive from her statement is that she shares her emotions with two specific individuals, and that other women she has encountered want to share emotions as a basis of friendship (which she, prudently or not, decides not to share), not that they are more emotional.

In any event, no matter what she says in an interview, she can be misquoted. And no matter what she truly believes, says, or does, for many reasons, including personal agendas, critics will criticize her and supporters will herald her, based on bits and pieces of supposed or actual quotations that suit their purposes. Some people merely like to engage in debate for its own, noisy purpose, as well.

Whether she has talent, personality, character, or ability to lead a troupe cannot be determined from an alleged quotation about her trusting her personal emotions and vulnerability with only two women who apparently have earned her trust and are otherwise valued by her for other reasons. Maybe she does not find that others have proven themselves to be worth her time, or that they bore her, or are untrustworthy, gossip, backstab, engage in activities that she has no time or money for or interest in, or lack or exceed her level of intellect. Maybe she is someone who likes to read, exercise, or do other activities that may require time spent alone or in small groups. Maybe she is shy or introverted. Maybe she does not like large groups. Her reasons for having two close friends does not produce any conclusion about women being more emotional, or her ability to deal with dancers.

Her comments, friendship decisions, and beliefs say nothing about her ability to chat up potential donors or instruct students in a class or direct rehearsals on stage.

Finally, would you trust or debate about a male leader who said that he had only two people with whom he shared his true feelings and vulnerabilities? I would worry if the president spent hours on the phone with ten girlfriends discussing how his wife hurt his feelings by calling him fat.

Thanks for the advice. I just bought tickets for all of the programs on 1/19 (Serenade, Mozartiana,Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, Swan Lake, Allegro Brillante, Sleeping Beauty Garland Dance, Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3), in addition to the Balanchine demonstrations (including Symphony in C and Western Symphony) and lecture. I was not able to get $29 tickets, but I got a matinee 4th level seat for $56 and an evening orchestra seat for $56, which is not terrible. It will be a long day.

What about NYCB's Sleeping Beauty? Is it required viewing?

I also just bought ABT's Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, in addition to Sylvia, DQ, Corsair, R&J, Onegin, the Ratmanksy premiere, and the mixed bill of Symphony in C, Month in the Country, and Drink to Me. I bought tickets to multiple performances of certain shows. (I am sure it is not hard to guess which.)

In addition, I bought tickets to both ABT and Wendy Whelan at Guggenheim.

I am still thinking about Kennedy Center and the Joyce....

This is a bad habit.

By the way, does anyone know where or how to obtain promo codes?

The only dud is Couture Ball. The first two weeks of the season are an embarrassment of riches. Go to all 3 programs, if possible.

Yes, but I want to see 11+ ABT Spring performances at the Met and KC, in addition to some Joyce theatre and Guggenheim performances, so I am relunctant to splurge on several NYCB Winter performances, unless you think it is "essential" viewing. I am not really interested in the "Sleeping Beauty" or "Swan Lake", but would consider them if highly recommended. I am embarrassed to sound so spoiled in this matter. I try to watch a lot of Youtube to be economically prudent, but I don't want to miss an important opportunity, either.

Which is preferable - to order multiple subscriptions for the Met season and then exchange individual tickets, or to wait for individual tickets to go on sale? The subscriptions do not offer all of the performances that I wish to see.

Does anyone have casting information for the ABT Works and Process show?

For the KC season, does one suffer any problems by waiting for tickets to go on sale after the sale period for members only?

Please recommend one program from the following options. I am leaning toward the first, but I am open to advice.

Jan 15, 16, 18, 19 Eve, 26 Mat

Serenade

Mozartiana

Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2

Jan 17, 19 Mat, 20, 22, 23

Swan Lake

Allegro Brillante

Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3

Jan 24, 25, 26 Eve, 27

Divertimento from “Le Baiser de la Fée”

Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux

Bal de Couture (New Martins/Tschaikovsky)

Diamonds

When I was a teenager, I bought a package containing allegedly a very tiny piece of James Dean's jeans. The novelty store sold boatloads of sealed plastic packages containing such keepsakes, and we endlessly debated whether we were victims of a scam, but we were mighty excited, impressed, and amused, nonetheless. It was a lot of fun.

Seems to me these attitudes are a holdover of the old Party days, when artists who played by the rules were awarded all sorts of prizes, lavish apartments, cars, chauffeurs, touring rights, travel permits, and whatever else they might have desired. The people who didn't play by the rules were harassed by the KGB, sent to regional companies, denied travel or touring permits, and generally treated miserably.

"the rules" of party days were ? and now?

Instead of standard operating procedure (such as badmouthing, as you say, and discrediting, or worse, someone addressing a legitimate concern), why not address a problem and make things better for all involved? This really hurts all involved, and causes unnecessary pain. A satisfied workforce would benefit all, including Gergiev. How can he not see this?

. The choreography is often similar, but in the original it's clear that the naids (or whatever they're meant to be ) are always getting in the way and keeping the Prince just out of reach of Aurora.

Makes you wonder why

I don't follow the ins and outs of the performance schedule at the Opera, and so don't have that perspective, but I would imagine that administrative experience (like Legris) would be an important factor in this decision. In the past, the organization was so insular that spending time working elsewhere might be considered a deficit, but I'm not sure that's the current point of view. I know that in Seattle, when the company was searching for a new director, Peter Boal's experience running his own, small ensemble, was an important point in his favor.

Was his experience useful or successful, or does he have the ability to learn from what he did or did not, or could not, accomplish there? Some people with "experience" should not transfer elsewhere, while others should be able to do so, based on certain conditions and qualifications.

Who are the dancers who perform the roles of Albrecht and Giselle in the 2002 video of "Red Giselle"? In an arduous ballet, prior to the peasant variation, the ballerina truly excelled. (The floating head was a bit creepy, though).

Are dancers typically promoted to principal before they have danced only a couple of principal roles? Usually, one reads complaints about dancing soloist and principal roles too long before promotions.

I don't have the patience to listen to the interview again. (By the way, it is now on sale at amazon.com for $19, making me laugh.) Did he say "sold out" for McCartney, or "all the time", in general, which of course, is not true.

Can anyone recommend a dvd or tape or other link of the complete ballet? I am considering seeing the Trocks, who are scheduled to dance parts of "Laurencia", so I would like to view the ballet first.

Who signed the MT letter today?

I watched the 1986 version and really wanted to like it. I found it did not have the expertise or unique style I expected. I was surprised by how much work was not done on pointe, and by how oversimplified and repetitive or predictable many of the steps seemed. The men's costumes were not pleasant. I expected greater beats and strength from Danish men, at least as good as those I saw from POB last summer in New York. At least the jumps were nice. I did not understand the motives of the sea king, beside the typical ballet tale of someone wanted to kidnap a pretty girl. (Didn't he have enough nymphs?) I am still trying to figure out how Teresina changed from her human to nymph costume and back while onstage.