puppytreats

He is in the documentary and is wonderful in it.

I'm not sure what the benefit of Sarafanov would be when they already have Simkin on the roster. They remind me quite a bit of each other, and if people have issues with Simkin's younger looks for a lot of danseur roles than Sarafanov runs into the same issue. Plus, Sarafanov is not a great partner dealing with the extremely willowy ladies of the Mariinsky so Id be a little nervous to see what he might make of the slightly less willowy ladies of ABT (this is not a slight to the bodies of women of ABT at all, I like that they look healthy) and he's not a great actor. He reminds me of Scott Hamilton with a bad wig.

"Their movement becomes 'very water-like, shaky, unusual and serpentine'." This is exactly what I was thinking when I watched Sylvie onstage last night. Every detail was articulated. Her movement was fluid like water, even in the tiny passages between different positions. With her strength, concentration, and mastery, this lasted throughout the piece. I have never seen that in a Forsythe piece. The contrast with her facility in this form and her partner's served to emphasize her remarkable abilities (although I have seen his work on tape in "Giselle" and other story ballets and admired it.)

Either management starts promoting from within or they make some of the guest principals full-time principals. With Carreno gone, Corella and Steifel leaving, Beloserkovsky hardly dancing, and Cornejo oft-injured and/or dancing with Barcelona Ballet, they can't keep asking Gomes, Hallberg and Stearns to shoulder the entire workload. I saw Maxim tonight, with Irina, at Sylvie Guillem's show, and they were so very, very glamorous. Irina looked like a supermodel. She was even prettier in person than in photographs. I kept turning around to look at them. Fan girl alert: I then saw Misha talking to them, and became startled, and could not catch my breath. I acted like a 12 year old starstruck tourist in the "big city", impressed by the beautiful gowns and famous people. I also saw Chuck Asgard, whose tuxedo was too big on him, and felt bad that the stress may be causing him to lose weight. Then I stared at Michele Wiles, trying to figure out if she had a hairigami in her hair. I caught sight of Daniil Simkin, who is so tiny, I can't believe he can partner any woman. He was with Isabella Boylston, who looked very chic. Other dancers were there, too, but I do not know their names. And Wendy Perron glared at me (although maybe it was because I was staring at her, too.) BTW, Sylvie is astonishing. I have never seen anyone move like she does.

Did you believe that he would stay or were you just hoping for it? After all the public statements and the history of casting and the new company, I considered him gone, and thought the announcement was just being delayed.

Was it Balanchine who brought his company to dance at an installation at the World's Fair in NYC?

How many times should one permit herself to see "Giselle" in a single year before her mental and emotional health suffers? I do so much want to see Aurelie....

From my experience with opera tickets everywhere it seems like most performing arts companies nowadays have a record of your ticket purchase in the computer and I have lost tickets before and they were able to look up and re-print them for me before the performance. I imagine ABT has this ability, so it won't be the end of the world if your tickets don't come in time. At least I don't think. I had a similar thing happened to me last year. The box office was very helpful in this regard.

good good good

I did not expect to enjoy this ballet, but I really was impressed by it, especially the second act. In the first act, the stage was overly crowded, the costumes were unattractive, and the ensemble was disappointing. However, the second act, after the witch scene, was delightful. The dancing and choreography were really enjoyable. Aurelie Dupont performs beautifully. I can hardly believe Mathieu Ganio was only twenty years old in this DVD. He did not seem very tall, but partnered Aurelie with such great ease. (I observe this ability to partner tall dancers in most POB male dancers.) My only criticism of him involved his hyperextended knees when he moved on the diagonal in the second act; however, I do not know if this is something a dancer can modify. It is difficult to look at, though. I would like to see more performances by both of them.

The subject of this set of documentaries merits great interest. However, the documentary called "At Work", by Andre S. Labarthe, is pretentious. She deserves a better representation of her thoughts and work. The documentary by Wattis, called "Portrait", is interesting but only touches the surface. One hears often about her personality, and of her extensions. What struck me most, in watching this documentary, is her physical strength, particularly in the Mats Ek piece.

Who danced in the ballet portion of the "Manon" opera? Does the Met have a company or use pick up dancers?

Moderators, please move this to another forum if it is more appropriate. "In Europe, Where Art Is Life, Ax Falls on Public Financing" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/world/europe/the-euro-crisis-is-hurting-cultural-groups.html?ref=europe

Yes, I could be setting a record with how long I am taking to get through this book, and my questions may be answered later in the book, but I am a bit dumbfounded at times, and curious at others, so I am posing this question now, impatiently, instead of finishing the book first (which I may decide not to do...). Mere chapters after discussing the drama, excitement. and opportunity afforded to Noe in Maillot's "R&J", and her triumph, the author discussed Casey Herd, Lucien P., and Noe P. considering leaving PNB. One issue considered in leaving is having nothing left to stay for or no reason to stay. This is an incredible jump. The men received the promotions they desired. Noe seemed poised for stardom or golden status. Even with other, maybe favored principal dancers in the company, opportunities existed, did they not? I am not saying no reason to leave existed, and on balance, for many reasons, one may have chosen to leave, but but did they have no reason to stay? I think I am missing something.

She danced at the Joyce in NYC with BAZ last month. This board discussed or linked to the reviews. (Critics discussed rolling on the floor in underwear.)

lol would love to see this

Thanks for the advice.

What time do you get to the theater on Sunday? I was told by the Met the line is around the block by the 12:00 p.m. opening time. Are you changing your strategy this year?

Yeah, we break horses, and slaves, and "uppity" former slaves, and people who speak up and don't realize their place, and those who are not robots.... [sarcasm] I keep thinking about Oprah's character in the "Color Purple"... and "Full Metal Jacket", where the army seargent was shot by the soldier he was trying "to break down only to break him back up".... Maybe another issue is at play. More importantly, maybe another, better way exists to achieve the positive goals sought to be obtained through abusive practices. And just because something was done a certain way in the past, or in the "old country", or it was "good enough for me", does not mean abuse has to continue as the current or future method.

laughter, too

Did everyone get CC and no one Spring? Does anyone have the gala program? Also, I just received the NYCB brochure, offering "The Cage". Is this the same ballet that is a retelling of "Giselle" by Robbins (as per one L. Kirsten's books, I think)? I ask because the brochure only describes insects and gender battles.

I wrote off NYPL, nonspecialized branch libraries decades ago. I can never get there when open, and hardly anything valuable remains there. The law requires courts to have law libraries. One can obtain Westlaw and Lexis access there. However, many of the books, such as treatises, disappeared.

thought police now?

The Research Works Act is dead, and the sponsors and Elsevier have withdrawn support. Whew! http://www.slate.com...ss_threat_.html A great source for free legal materials: the Cornell University Legal Information Institute. The U.S. Supreme Court established a direct feed to them in the early 90s (pre-Web) and the site has been greatly expanded since then. http://www.law.cornell.edu/ For free access to legislation and legislative reports, use Thomas, run by the Library of Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php This constitutes only a tiny portion of the legal universe, and often, not the portion that is necessary....

Some abusers are just cruel, sadistic, vindictive, and mean. Some don't know any better, having grown up learning by example. Some don't have composure or self-control. Some need to be taught themselves. Yawning is not disobedient; it is involuntary. Do people get disciplined for having a cramp? I hope not.