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Tapfan

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Posts posted by Tapfan

  1. With all respect, that is my point - to say Ratmansky casts "despite" color assumes that his artistic judgment somehow "sees" the color of a dancer's skin. It also assumes that dancer/artists with darker skin are somehow "different" from dancer/artists with lighter skin color. Those are notions that, for me, do not reflect the actual artistic process that occurs in most cases.

    Of course they see the color of someone's skin. They'd be blind if they didn't.

    I'm of the opinion that a lack of racism doesn't mean pretending that everyone looks the same. It means knowing that people do indeed have different amounts of melanin in their skin, while not allowing that to matter.

    Who really wants everyone to look the same?

    I want ballet companies to be like a floral arrangement where part of its beauty is in the contrasting colors and types of flowers, as opposed to the more tradition arrangement where the flowers are all identical long-stemmed red roses.

  2. Th

    My point was not about Courtney's comment but regarding Tapfan's post:

    That Ratmansky, a man who comes from a country that is infamous for its cultural insularity and casual racism, has given more chances to black and brown dancers than some supposedly more enlightened Westerners, is beyond ironic.

    I think it is a leap in assumption to say that he has "given more chances to black and brown dancers..." as that implies that having a darker skin color influences Mr. Ratmansky's decision making.

    My point was that people who use color blind casting DON'T allow color to influence their casting choices. They cast despite color. Not because of it.

  3. all the while the talented beautiful chic beautifully trained perfectly proportioned and hardworking Courtney Lavine continues to grow as an artist and a dancer wthout making a big deal out of her skin color.

    Courtney posts at Brown Girls do Ballet, a website devoted to aspiring ballerinas of color. She may not be a high profile evangelist for diversifying the art form like Copeland, but she is not unconcerned about the lack of black and brown women in ballet.

    She recently expressed heartfelt gratitude towards Alexei Ratmansky for chosing her and Calvin Royal to dance a pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty. Why? Because in her opinion, not all choreographers are comfortable with colorblind casting.

    That Ratmansky, a man who comes from a country that is infamous for its cultural insularity and casual racism, has given more chances to black and brown dancers than some supposedly more enlightened Westerners, is beyond ironic.

  4. I think the fascination with Michaela can be either of those reasons or both.

    I have not compared her to Copeland. You have.

    De Prince's story is fascinating because her father was murdered, her mother died of starvation and she was dumped in an orphanage. The fascination does not have to do with the fact that she was adopted by white parents.

    I think the fascination with Michaela can be either of those reasons or both. Depends on who is doing the observing.

    As to Viriginia Johnson's remarks about Michaela leaving DTH, I think she may have felt that Michaela's leaving was an indication of her lack of gratitude at having been given employment when none of the companies she was interested in, seemed to want her.

    DTH seems to have always had a scrappy underdog, culture wherein it's management feels it has to prove things to the classical dance world at large. Outspoken former DTH dancer Nikkia Parish said that Arthur Mitchell would frequently keep rebellious dancers in line by reminding them that he'd taken a chance on them when other companies - meaning white companies - hadn't given them the time of day.

    Emotionally blackmailing people in to staying with a company even when you aren't artistically fulfilled out of some form of racial solidarity isn't fair. But I wouldn't be surprised if that didn't occur on some occasions at DTH.

    The irony of DePrince's situation is that in her case, and her case alone, she might have been better if she'd stayed with DTH, at least an extra year. Having seen her dancing after she graduated from JKO school, I can honestly say that she lacked polish and she may have been turned down by the big , white, companies she dreamed of, simply because she needed more seasoning. That being the case, she should have been grateful to DTH for giving her more time to grow. After all, one of their goals is to develop minority classical dancers. Perhaps she was grateful, but still wanted to move on at the first available chance.

    Also, DTH powers that be, are frankly, just sensitive to the assumption that because they aren't a big, classical company with a huge endowment, they are therefore, second-rate. Hearing that kind of talk does not make Virginia happy. So leaving for that very kind of company probably doesn't make her happy either.

    But then, Michaela isn't the only person as who's recently left for a white company. Gabrielle Savatto also left to go to Ballet West. But then, other black dancers whose careers have stalled at a white companies, like Alison Stroming, have filled the gaps at DTH.

    I want Michaela to succeed because she wants it so much and because I want to see diversity in ballet. But would she have all this attention without her unique history? Probably not.

  5. I thought he'd retired as a professional classical dancer and was focused on becoming an actor.

    If he's fallen out of love with ballet, how good can he continue to be?

    He has stage presence and loads of charisma. I was looking forward to seeing him try his hand at acting.

  6. Resented by who? Why do you assume that Mearns, Peck, Bouder or anyone else resents Misty because she is "better known". What's the basis for that assertion?

    Why, the posts of some folks at this very forum.

    Surely you've seen that Misty is a lightening rod for controversy amongst some balletomanes.

  7. But exactly what is stopping Tiler Peck, Ashley Bouder or Sara Mearns from doing a better job at publicizing themselves AND their art form?

    These ladies don't need a PR machine to gain fame. Their dancing speaks for itself, and they engage in numerous projects outside of NYCB that they find artistically gratifying. Tiler Peck starred in a musical recently, and also recently starred in a televised NY Philharmonic production of Carousel. Bouder performs all over the world. She receives invitations from many top ranked ballet companies and international festivals. Mearns has numerous outside projects, and was recnetly dubbed by the lead critic of the NY Times as one of America's leading ballerinas (not an exact quote, but that was the gist. That's publicity enough.

    My point isn't that they need a massive PR system to be recognized as great artists.I know that they are held in high esteem within ballet circles.

    My point is that Misty is resented because she's better known than any of them.

    I also agree that fame isn't everything. But evidently some balletomanes don't know this because THEY are the ones who seem to be angriest about Copeland's high profile.

  8. From a recent interview with Michaela DePrince:

    What is the main difference between living in Europe and the US?

    Europe is great, especially for dance. It’s a lot more accepting than the US – there I struggled with the fact that I was black and there weren’t a lot of black dancers at the studio with me. Although in the US, at least I could look up to [other black ballerinas] Misty Copeland or Lauren Anderson.

    What bothers me about this statement is that she says she was uncomfortable with not having black role models around, yet she leaves DTH. I'm not of the opinion that SOME black dancers have that something that is predominately black is automatically inferior.

    She wanted to dance for a large classical company, but none in the U.S. wanted her.

  9. I know Misty Copeland irritates the hell out of some folks. But darn it if this woman isn't the best PR machine U. S. ballet has ever seen.

    I used to think she was a role model for black and brown girls only and that her ballet evangelism was reaching only non-whites. As Chris Rock would say, I thought she was just "back famous."

    But you see so many young white girls at her book signings and public appearances. Whether it's the underdog resonance of her story, her relentless selling of said story or some combination of the two, she's stirring up interest in the art.

    I can understand why her stratospheric profile would be annoying to those who feel other ballerinas are more deserving of all the attention.

    But exactly what is stopping Tiler Peck, Ashley Bouder or Sara Mearns from doing a better job at publicizing themselves AND their art form?

    If they aren't as famous as Misty, that's hardly Misty's fault.

  10. Here's a link to a discussion about the lack of racial diversity in ballet. Especially concerning the lack of black females in the field.

    It's titled, Black Swans: Solidarity beyond colored pointe shoes.

    The sound quality is bad in spots, they should have had Viriginia Johnson on the panel, they didn't allow enough time to cover the issue in depth and they allowed the dance critic/historian to drone on and take up too much speaking time.

    Still, they did discuss some matters that I and others have mentioned frequently on this forum.

    I also was surprised to find out that I know more about the black women in ballet companies across the county than some of the so-called experts.

    For instance, the panel had to be told about Courtney Lavine was at ABT and nobody even mentioned Olivia Boisson at City Ballet.

    But then, sisters do tend to get lost at City Ballet.

  11. I agree with Alonzo King who essentially said that ballet is a language and its poor usage shouldn't be blamed on the music or the language itself.

    It's up to the choreographer to make it work regardless of the music.

  12. That Take Me to Church video has almost 4 and a half million views. Does any other video featuring ballet dancing come close?

    I know that The Joffrey Ballet had a great success with choreography done to Prince music. And of course there was Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe done to Beach Boys music.

    But why aren't more ballets set to popular music? Are the gatekeepers of the art form afraid that it's not ballet if it's not done to classical music?

  13. One has far fewer (if any) tattoos however smile.png

    I knew about Polunin's tatoos, I just thought they were covered by a tight, red, shirt. Turns out it was Ball's tight, red, shirt.

    Btw, what's with those tight dancers shorts some of the guys wear? They make bootie shorts look demure.

    Not that I'm complaining.

    I see why male classical dancers frequently make good runway models. They are used to being on stage, are comfortable with their bodies and NOTHING they might be required to wear in a fashion show could possibly embarrass them. Not after they've worn skintight dancer's shorts or postage stamp-sized loincloths.

  14. Thanks meunier fan.

    Wow. Polunin and Ball look like they were separated at birth. Not only do they have striking facial similarities and the same floppy hair, but they have almost identical physical builds .

  15. Isn't that Sergei Polunin in the red top in this Royal ballet video from

    ?

    If it is him, what's he doing there after he'd quit the company and had briefly danced with others?

  16. That shot of the pained Richard Sherman was a priceless dig and I say that as someone who can't stand the Pats. That's cold Boston Ballet. Ice cold.

    But honestly, ballet companies have so many foreign-born members. it surprises me that they have as many American football fans as they do.

  17. Tapfan - Don't know about the Seattle dancers, but the majority of the Boston dancers are Boston team fans!

    But how can that be? They are Apollo's Angels! And football is such an "earthly" pursuit. Makes one believe that humans can truly be varied in their tastes and interests. Who'd have thunk it?

    Maybe Itzhak Perlman was being honest when he said he likes doo-wop music. ;)

    As to college football's elite roots, well, not in my lifetime. The quaint, rah-rah-sis-boom-bah and leather helmets of the old Harvard vs. Yale days is ancient history, as are the uniformly white teams.

    I live next to Texas and there's nothing that unites the classes, races and political factions like football. In fact, the ubiquity of football in Southern culture actually papers over differences that continue to plague us.

  18. I know it's the 75th anniversary of ABT but this documentary surprises me. Why bother? If there's one thing I've learned from NY dance writers, its that City Ballet is to the NYC dance scene, what The Yankees are to Major League Baseball. They are the only thing that matters. Ask anyone.

    NYCB -- actually Ballet Society -- started out as the Mets with ABT decidedly the Yankees: ABT performed the full-length ballets that people other than Balanchine cult members knew and had seen from the Royal Ballet and Russian company visits and had all of the big money defectors, with casting prominently displayed in half-to-full-page ads in the NYT, while Balanchine (begrudgingly) eventually allowed casting to be posted in the lobby the week of and the dancers to be ranked and not displayed in alphabetical order. They even had a mainstream Hollywood movie, "The Turning Point," which was targeted to adults, not kids, unlike "Center Stage," about a thinly disguised ABT.

    ABT, DTH and everyone else might as well be performing in Podunk.

    What an ironic comment: the main dance critic of the NY Times makes it a point to travel to Podunkland yearly and to write about his visits extensively.

    Yes, it's nice to see that he actually knows there are other companies outside NYC, but when he's in NYC, his primary concern seems to be City Ballet, City Ballet, City Ballet and for some spice......... City Ballet. Seems to be true for other writers as well.

    Like the Yankees, City Ballet seems to suck up most of the money and media attention.

    Sportswriters have for years, tried to convince baseball fans that their obsession with anything and everything Yankees is good for all of baseball. Even when the Yankees stink, the media is obsessed.

    And dance critics seem to feel the same way about City Ballet. It's as if ballet can't survive if we aren't constantly reminded of the relevance of NYC Ballet.

  19. Take heart, tapfan! There are plenty of Mets fans out there in this world. And while the Mets ship doesn't arrive in port as often as it does for the Yankees, when it does finally arrive, there's no better feeling in all the world.

    And I'll let Ballet Talkers puzzle out for themselves what I'm talking about! wink1.gif

    Exactly! It takes no character to root for the Yankees. But it takes real guts to be a Mets fan. Guts and a high tolerance for pain!

  20. I know it's the 75th anniversary of ABT but this documentary surprises me. Why bother? If there's one thing I've learned from NY dance writers, its that City Ballet is to the NYC dance scene, what The Yankees are to Major League Baseball. They are the only thing that matters. Ask anyone.

    ABT, DTH and everyone else might as well be performing in Podunk.

  21. Good for her. Will balletomanes object considering this isn't a a classical role that takes a role away from Stella and/or Sarah?

    And does Does Salstein have a chance at making principal? Or will his ambitions take him elsewhere? Or to another profession?

  22. To my eyes, Verdi's version is remarkably similar to Cojocaru's. They both seem to keep their torsos very very still.

    And Verdi is the rare dancer who radiates warmth both on and off stage.

  23. If it all boils down to what individuals like, then “great art” is a meaningless phrase because there are no grounds on which to claim one thing is great and another is bad. Also, Cojocaru may have “seen” the choreography that way, or as someone not trained in the Balanchine style, she may have only been able to dance it that way. There may be a variety of legitimate ways to perform something, and some may contradict the creator’s intentions, but serious artists care about what the creator thought, and understand what that was, even when they disregard it. They only break the rules after they learn, or try, to follow them.

    By that logic, only people who have direct knowledge of every artistic choice Shakespeare made are knowledgeable enough to stage his plays.

    Some of the most imaginative and some would say radical stagings of Shakespeare, happen in the land of his birth.

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