Mme. Hermine

well basilio is a barber, isn't he?

alexandra, what a stroke of genius! but i would take it a step further, the "mostly moldy mozart" festival, not only musty music but many "MMM" souvenirs!

well there's my old favorites: "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance." - Alexander Pope "Toe dancing is a dandy attention-getter, second only to screaming." - Agnes de Mille

Q: What are we dancing tonight? A: Don Q. Q: Don't mention it, but what are we dancing tonight? A: Who Cares?

hi jeff! i listened to the whole broadcast, and it seemed as though their use of the word 'elitist' was in the context of the fact that their ballet performances sell much better than the mixed-bill, 'contemporary' performances, and that 'elitist' to them meant that the board was wanting to present dance away from the taste of the larger part of their audience.

i listened to the entire broadcast of the hearing along with another board regular. it was really astounding. from what i understand, it will be available on line for 30 days after the hearing date. i don't have the link handy but will post it later if no one else has by then. i am on my first cup of coffee, so i'd rather postpone my assessment for a few hours! [ 09-27-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

i know, steve, i know! but the opportunity to do it was just too good! (and i live on broadway!)

that of course is along with our dinner of braised red peppers, mashed potatoes and blue fish, which we will have in a restaurant on the avenue of the americas! dessert, of course, will be apple pie... [ 09-26-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

okay, jeannie! so the gala performance is set. now how about the order? i vote for: 1. Rodeo 2. Variations on America 3. Fancy Free 4. Western Symphony 5. Union Jack 6. Who Cares? 7. Stars and Stripes think we'll get out of the theater before 2 a.m.? [ 09-26-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

of course there's the inevitable program: Stars and Stripes Western Symphony Union Jack and Rodeo (even though it isn't Balanchine) a bit long but we can have a 'hooker' between the second and third ballets!!

do you one better! i'm willing to bet it is part of some large tv broadcast or another very soon. and why not?

leigh i sent you a mail and asked if you had thought about symphony space. i couldn't get onto their web site to check their schedule but i'll try again.

everybody, if you are still having phone problems and can get one of those phone cards that are sold everywhere, i couldn't get through to my mother in chicago, who thinks that everything that happens in new york happens to me, with the manhattan number on the card so i tried a brooklyn one and it worked, as well as the one listed in brooklyn in spanish. so try those. it also worked to get overseas with. a roommate of mine saw his office go down in smoke on television when the towers collapsed because he had decided to go in later today. gods bless us all and keep us whole and remember those who have gone.

not to mention the possibilities for low-calorie products like crystal light or diet coke or i can't believe it's not butter. and there's always the old 'maidenform bra' ballet....

no, i can pretty much unequivocally say IMHO that you can't judge anyone on that basis alone. it's of course unparalleled in the sense that we can see what people looked like that we have no chance of seeing live. but it is no substitute at all for a live performance, not for me anyway.

lu! don't feel like you have to go away just because some people don't agree with you!. you have every right to your opinion. i think that because people love fonteyn a great deal and because you asked, they want to tell you what they see and why they love her. i think she was really special, but i wouldn't be angry with you if you really didn't, as long as you weren't with me; i wouldn't put you down for your opinions, as long as they were considered, as i wouldn't expect to be put down for mine. stick around! this is a great place!

and glebb, if you are speaking of the vienna 1966 film, lu should know she was about 47 years old in it!

in jackson, in 1982 (again because that was the first one i was involved with), the classic works were defined as having been created before 1950, without, as in some of them, a list being provided from which to choose. therefore, the dancer i worked with did the mazurka solo from etudes, which the library informed me had been created in 1948 and therefore passed the criteria they had at the time, and for which permission was obtained from lise lander. [ 08-26-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ] [ 08-26-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

don't know if 'fair use' enters into this, because everyone who brings a piece to one of these competitions has to bring permission from the choreographer or his/her official representative, which has typically been why one didn't see balanchine at them as the foundation doesn't approve and wouldn't give permission. it remains for the competitor to work out with that choreographer/representative any arrangements for compensation, rehearsal, etc. however with regard to the quality of what sometimes is presented, i remember being at one competition (jackson 1986) when we were taking bets on how many pieces of choreography that evening would either start or end with the dancer(s) lying down on the ground!

well she's pretty in a way. although she has very nice legs and is well proportioned, i found her to be weak and somewhat over-extended. she does have talent, but somewhere is the appearance at least of not enough attention being paid to development. [ 08-21-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

um, since i really love the new york public library as a resource, i'll tell you what they have of this ballet on video. one looks like it was a commercial tape. good luck finding one! ****** 1. (from tv) Eugene Onegin (1966, 35 min., b&w) / producers, Margaret Dale and Peter Wright ; director, Peter Wright ; choreography, John Cranko ; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Kurt-Heinz Stolze ; scenario, inspired by the poem by Aleksandr Pushkin ; design, Clifford Hatts ; lighting, Peter Wesson ; performed by Desmond Doyle (Eugene Onegin), Marcia Haydée (Tatyana Larina), Egon Madsen (Vladimir Lensky), Lynn Seymour (Olga Larina), John Chesworth (Prince Gremin), Freda Bamford (Madame Larina), Nora Ogonovsky (nurse), Peter Hawkins (narrator), and others. ****** 2. from 1986: Co-production of Primedia Productions Limited and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in association with RM Arts. Distributed as a videotape by Home Vision, a Films Incorporated Co., Chicago, Ill. Director: Norman Campbell. Producers: W. Paterson Ferns and Norman Campbell. Choreography: John Cranko, restaged by Reid Anderson and adapted for television by Norman Campbell and Reid Anderson. Based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin. Music: Peter Tchaikovsky, arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. Scenery/costumes: Jurgen Rose. Lighting: Sholem Dolgoy, adapted for television by Sholem Dolgoy and Ross Viner. Performed by the National Ballet of Canada. Cast: Sabina Allemann (Tatiana), Frank Augustyn (Eugene Onegin), Jeremy Ransom (Lensky), Cynthia Lucas (Olga), Serge Lavoie (Prince Gremin), Victoria Bertram (Mme. Larina), Lorna Geddes (Nurse), and others. National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, conducted by Ermanno Florio. ***** 3. 1976 (also from tv): Danced by the Ballett der Württembergische Staatstheater, Stuttgart [stuttgart Ballet]: Heinz Clauss (Eugene Onegin), Marcia Haydée (Tatiana), Joyce Cuoco (Olga), Egon Madsen (Lensky), Jan Stripling (Prince Gremin), and others. Music played by the Württembergische Staatstheaterorchester, conducted by Stewart Kershaw. Credits Scenery and costumes, Jürgen Rose. Note Recorded in the Sporthalle Böblingen, Germany.

the only parameters set by the library are in what can be viewed, rather than who can view. if material is marked 'closed', it cannot be seen by the public at all. it's been given to the library for safekeeping. if it's marked 'permission required', then whoever wants to see it has to have permission from whoever holds the rights to it (and the library can tell you that). however that person/organization has discretion in granting permission and you might not get it. otherwise, if it has no such markings you can look at it. however at the moment, as the library is preparing to move back to their original premises at lincoln center and open up around october 15, many things are becoming unavailable, being packed up, etc. i don't know about the films, but i wanted to look at a manuscript and was told that it was unavailable (this was a week ago). so it might pay to call ahead. [ 08-20-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

barbecued wings? (mmmmm)

i remember a performance of ruth page's 'nutcracker' in which at the beginning of the coda, the sugar plum cavalier fell down in the middle of the stage, apparently having hurt something, crawled off the stage, leaving the sugar plum to finish the coda alone. in the finale, in which she is partnered, the soloist dancing 'spanish' (who was her other partner) finished the performance with her. i recall a performance of 'etudes' at ballet theatre in which the ballerina fell on her back and one of the men fell on top of her, face to face (this happened on tour, not in new york). and not ballet but opera: a couple of years ago, in a performance of 'manon' at the met, there was evidently a dog on stage and at the moment when the diva began her aria the dog started to howl! [ 08-17-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]

mom, she said that she did not like people to see that performance as she was at that point over 50 years old and didn't feel she looked her best in it. i know there are others, if i can look around tonight at what i have i'll recommend one. [ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: Mme. Hermine ]