Birdsall

California, I'm glad you taught them that it depends on the situation! Some blacks have told me that they don't like the term "African American" in some instances, because it has a formal, distancing effect at times. It is a case where they feel someone who always uses "African-American" and never "black" is almost scared and trying to be ultra PC that it is a case of protesting too much (being overly cautious which in itself seems prejudiced)! I think it is fairly normal to use the more formal "African American" term when making a political speech or discussing literature at a conference, etc., but among friends the term is usually "black." I have been told by my black friends that they describe each other in shades like mocha, caramel, etc. I have asked a black friend of mine via email (friend for years but now we live in separate cities) about The Pharaoh's Daughter, and I will report back how he personally feels about the matter. I explained the whole discussion and what is seen in the ballet and asked how he would feel seeing that ballet. I told him that I know his feelings about the matter do not necessarily mean all blacks will feel the same way, but it might open our eyes. I explained that it was staged by a French choreographer in Russia, that it is on dvd, and it has been revived. I asked if he would be okay with Russia doing this, etc.

I hope no one is getting mad. I think this is a very good discussion, and it may need its own topic....maybe "race issues in Ballet" or something. I think many people make good points on both sides of this. I do think it is important to think of all sides of this issue. I will have to ask my black friends what they think of this issue, because I would like to hear from blacks and whether they would be highly offended if they saw the Pharaoh's Daughter. My aunt used to be an art director in Hollywood, and she said Whoopi Goldberg brought Aunt Jemima dolls to the set to show my aunt (who is white). My aunt had a fit and said, "Get those off my set!" because she felt they were symbols of a racist time. Whoopi explained to her that she collects them and they represent the first depictions of blacks, so she finds them to have historical value. I am sure another black person would not feel the way Whoopi does, but my point is that different people are going to feel differently about a hot button issue like this.

I agree pretty much with what you say, EXCEPT that black face paint is a controversial topic (probably only in the U.S. due to the way people used to use black face paint). It is not controversial in any other country probably, so it is probably not a problem in Europe. But it is a problem here, and so ABT or any other American company would probably not put a bunch of black face painted kids in a ballet. If we had not had a history of white performers making fun of blacks in black face paint there might not be a reaction like there is in the U.S. It is a unique reaction due to America's history. A culture's reaction is not always a logical reaction. Other stereotypes are still okay to put on the stage in the U.S., but not black ones. You can't change the way the general population of a culture thinks and feels just because you want them to think and feel the way you do. And vice versa. We can't expect Russians to think and feel the same way about black face paint as we think and feel about it.

Helene, I agree there are racial tensions (probably in every country), but I think people in black face paint is the main shock for Americans, and I think that is a specifically American issue. I could be wrong in this, but I think it is because there was a history of making fun of blacks by painting the face black here. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think that happened as much in Europe. I think this is the reason we find black face paint much more shocking here than they do in other countries. I didn't mean to say that Russians are insensitive to race issues. They have a different history than we do concerning black face paint. For us it immediately shocks because of our history of performers who used paint in the past. To us it triggers the thought, "Oh, my God! That is so racist!" But to a country that didn't have a history of performers putting on black face to belittle a race, it is thought to simply be dancers dressed as a certain race just as someone putting on a Russian outfit when he's not Russian.

I think the transmission will keep things as they are, since it is being sent out worldwide. I have my doubts they are going to change anything for one particular country. I think the main country that will have a problem with it will be the U.S., and that is due to our history which is actually pretty recent and racial tensions still exist. Performers in black face is a huge taboo because here in the U.S. it was used in a very negative way to make fun of blacks and make them less human. I actually don't think the Bolshoi's goal is to make fun of blacks, so when I have seen this ballet it did not bother me in the context of being a performance in Russia, especially since I know that Europe as a whole is not politically correct in the way that the U.S. is. But whites performing with blackface paint has a historical context here in the U.S. that can ignite very, very heated feelings. For Russia to stage it like that is not as big of a deal. If ABT staged it with dancers with black face paint here in the U.S. I think there would be a lot of negative media attention.

I see the controversial little black faced painted kids from Bayadere are back here also. My experience in Europe (although I haven't been in 20 years but did go regularly from the 80s to the early 90s) was that the race issue is approached very, very differently there. You will see candy bars with black Moor faces on them that make an American gasp. At least 20 years ago you still could see things like that. There is a lot more racial strife that has happened here in the U.S. so that I have a feeling if La Fille du Pharaon were staged at ABT there would be changes to the painted kids. I am pretty sure they would not be painted at ABT, and that is probably a good idea considering the history America has had. But my personal experience with Europe is that there is much less political correctness there. None of my European friends understood at all my shock at seeing stereotypical black faces on candy bars.

That is great that Lia Cirio wanted to give a young dancer a chance to sparkle. I have read what you say about Peter Stark, and I am glad that Tampa finally has a ballet company. I believe Judith Lisi (who also spearheaded Opera Tampa) has been trying to get a ballet company for a long time. Unfortunately, it happened after I moved away. LOL I will come down to see shows whenever I can. B. Birdsall

He is now in Tampa, Florida, and he is the Artistic Director of Next Generation Ballet. Tampa has been trying to start up a ballet or audience for dance and for various reasons it never happened. I think Peter Stark was teaching in Orlando for Orlando Ballet and had a reputation of young dancers moving to be taught by him and many followed him to Tampa, when he moved there. This ballet company which is a pre-professional ballet company has probably only been around for 3 years or less. He already has staged Nutcracker, Midsummer Night's Dream, Swan Lake. These are done to recordings (not live orchestra), and he hires professional dancers in lead roles but uses all his students in all of the other roles. Here is info from the website: About Next Generation Ballet Directed by Peter Stark Next Generation Ballet (NGB) is a stepping stone for great dance talent and is a part of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Under the direction of Peter Stark, NGB prepares dancers for professional employment through instruction, coaching and performance opportunities. The company is committed to the artistic, personal and professional development of outstanding young dancers. Performers in NGB have been awarded scholarship opportunities at the leading ballet schools worldwide including the Royal Ballet School of England and The School of American Ballet. Students have also received employment with ballet companies including Missouri Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, and have placed 1st in competitions including Youth America Grand Prix and the World Ballet Competition.

Thanks, Bingham! I did not know that.

Let's hear it for escaping into a world of beauty and romance! Sometimes it's all you can do, isn't it? And let's hear it for that too. It's surprising how quickly one can start to pick up things. I'm able already to return to recordings I first saw two weeks ago and get more pleasure out of them. Even just knowing which steps are more difficult and hence more impressive when executed with lightness and verve makes a difference. Yes, returning to the same ballet over and over and seeing different dancers dance the same ballet really teaches a lot. I was an opera lover for 20 years and never tired of seeing different singers interpret La Traviata or Norma or Rusalka, etc. Even movies are like this. You can re-watch the same movie over and over and see things you missed the first time. There's an interesting point to consider about watching a certain loved ballet over and over if at one point in our viewing history one feels like there was a definitive performer who gave all you wanted and expected. Usually it is at a live performance. The point being...what are we really looking after that...? Aren't we all internally comparing everything after-(or even before)-with that particular performance, usually thinking that it didn't come close to it...? atm711 made a remarkable comment on how she thought that she had seen the ultimate performance of the female leading of Diamonds by Farrell...until she came across Lopatkina's. Still, wasn't Lopatkina's being compared to THE performance..? And then...is it possible that a latter performance can surpass one that is deeply rooted down in memory lane due to many different reasons...?-(not only great technique, but many other sentimental things). There's a famous theory on drug addiction that makes an addict first hit as the very point of comparison for subsequent-(and never again achieved)-tries. I'm sorry if this is such a crude example, but the pathos is somehow related. In my case, I have ultimate performances-(probably some of them of in lesser levels of technique/artistry than subsequent ones)-that are so rooted that I',not afraid to confess they are almost impossible to surpass. I certainly enjoy ballet, and never get tired of watching, let's say, Giselle over and over and over, but that I reached a certain point extremely hard to be surpassed, that is also true. I think you are absolutely correct. For example, I love Bellini's Norma (opera), but nobody pleases me in the role. Many are "decent" in it. But when I watch it, I am looking for the dramatic intensity of Maria Callas, the excellent coloratura technique of Joan Sutherland, and Montserrat Caballe's pianissimi during Casta Diva. This is absolute madness to expect a soprano to have all of that plus other qualities that would make me feel like it is the Norma of a lifetime. But our viewing is not a rational thing. We want what we want in the roles that we love so much. So in some ways we are setting up new performers to fail in our minds. I know that my immediate thought when I hear some soprano is planning to take on the role of Norma is: "Who does she think she is????" or "Well, that is going to be a disaster!" instead of saying, "I hope she is good!" But I think this is human nature. For me I am less jaded and more excited about ballet and I will try to keep it that way. Occasionally, however, something surprises me. I have mentioned this before. I flew to SF to see SF's Ring Cycle in Summer 2011, and I experienced what I consider to be a Brünnhilde of a lifetime by Nina Stemme. I don't think I'll ever hear that role sung as well as she sang it. Brünnhildes do not grow on trees. It is a crying shame that the Met didn't hire her for its big flop of a Ring Cycle.

Let's hear it for escaping into a world of beauty and romance! Sometimes it's all you can do, isn't it? And let's hear it for that too. It's surprising how quickly one can start to pick up things. I'm able already to return to recordings I first saw two weeks ago and get more pleasure out of them. Even just knowing which steps are more difficult and hence more impressive when executed with lightness and verve makes a difference. Yes, returning to the same ballet over and over and seeing different dancers dance the same ballet really teaches a lot. I was an opera lover for 20 years and never tired of seeing different singers interpret La Traviata or Norma or Rusalka, etc. Even movies are like this. You can re-watch the same movie over and over and see things you missed the first time.

I think I read that during the Great Depression in the U.S. in the 1930s people also flocked to the movies. People need and crave beauty in their lives. If their lives are horrible, they need it even more. So they flock to the arts to escape their joblessness and misery.

I went to Next Generation Ballet's culminating dance show after its summer intensive. It was called Summer Fantasy and included both modern dance pieces and classical ballet. Peter Stark is the artistic director of this fairly new school and ballet company. Tonight's show featured approx. 150 advanced pre-professional students as well as Jeffrey Cirio of Boston Ballet and Dylan G-Bowley of Ballet Memphis. Lia Cirio of Boston Ballet was supposed to dance also, but Stark said she had a mild sprain. Hannah Beach, who is studying with the Royal Ballet and going into her graduate year substituted in the Don Quixote PDD for Lia Cirio. Using recordings it was a good mix of modern and classical ballet. The first half featured some student choreography that showed a lot of promise. Then, came a Raymonda suite in which solos traded off with corps pieces. Some of the Petipa choreography was changed b/c, for example, a duet was created based on one of Raymonda's friend's variation. It was fun to see various levels of students dancing in this Raymonda suite, although it seemed rather ambitious. I guess if you have 150 dancers at your disposal you might as well try to do excerpts from Raymonda! LOL Olivia Gusti did the clapping Hungarian variation and was rather amazing for a 13 year old! There were many fun moments watching the young dancers give their all even if there were minor mishaps (one girl fell off pointe, the 4 men in the Raymonda variation were not in synch most of the time, etc). Overall, the energy and promising talent made the evening for me. Jeffrey Cirio is the 21 year old principal dancer with Boston Ballet (his bio says he was recently promoted even though the Boston Ballet website lists him as a soloist), and his dancing tonight showed why he is already a principal. There is a polish to his dancing that many of these younger dancers might get in time. He was simply fabulous in both a very modern "Slide to Dance" piece (choreography by Dylan G. Bowley) and in the Don Quixote Pas de deux. He is obviously at home in both ultra modern and classical dance. I have seen him a couple of times before dancing at these types of events, and he is thrilling. Whether he was doing cabrioles, barrel turns, grand jetes, or using his arms to convey a Spanish man (he looks Asian, by the way) he is always fun to watch. He exudes confidence. His sister is normally excellent too, but she did not dance, although I saw her talking on her cell phone in very high shoes outside the theatre when I first arrived. I guess even with a sprain dancers used to being on pointe find high heels easy! LOL Hannah Beach was a great replacement for Lia Cirio. She is studying at the Royal Ballet and showed off some nice balances and hops on pointe. To my eyes she didn't look quite as smooth and polished as Jeffrey Cirio or even his sister (when I have seen her), but she is not far behind. She is going to be a great dancer. I was hesitant to go to this, b/c I am not that much into modern pieces and wasn't sure if I would like a night of mostly students, but it was quite enjoyable. Even the modern pieces were enjoyable, although I think modern choreography is relying too heavily on athletic moves instead of elegance and too many 6 o'clock legs! LOL The problem with a lot of modern choreography is that they will intentionally fall out of a pose or move for an effect, but since the choreography is new you aren't sure at first if it is a mistake or part of the choreography. Oh, well.....I guess modern dance is better than no dance, but give my Paquita or Raymonda anyday over modern dance.

Drikaballerina, Welcome! My local ballet company here in Gainesville, FL has several Brazilian dancers, and they are impressive, so please share anything you know about the Brazilian dance scene as topics arise! B. Birdsall

Yes, I liked the horse too! One of my main complaints is that most Ring Cycles do not ever put a real horse on stage and that opera is one where the horse is named and addressed more than a couple of times, so it is glaring when the horse is missing especially when Brünnhilde tells Grane they are going into the fire! LOL I can't believe they put a real horse in Don Quixote yet most companies won't put a horse in the Ring!

I read somewhere (I think it was about Gelsey Kirkland) that a foot break can be a career ending injury. Does anyone know about this? I assume it depends on which bone, and it could be that physical therapy and surgery has advanced since Kirkland's time, but that is scary if it is true.

I suspect you are right about that.

I do think our shapes are somewhat natural. We can do some things to change it a little (lose weight, work certain body parts more, etc), but I do think we have a tendency toward certain things. My lower body builds muscle very easily and I have to work the upper body much harder to even it out. I didn't like the palm trees the first few seconds, b/c I felt like it almost looked Egyptian (backdrop), but then I realized it is Don Quixote's idea of paradise, so then it worked for me. But I understand if someone doesn't like the palm trees. I also thought the Spanish dancing before the puppet show and windmill went on forever. I felt like it was too much character dancing and not enough ballet, but overall I can't complain. If I had been in St. Petersburg I would have gone to see it and would have been thrilled. I just love how technology allowed me to see this a world away!!!!

I got a can of Del Monte fruit salad (or the Italian equivalent) instead of fresh fruit salad in Venice, Italy!!! I was shocked. Maybe b/c I was a tourist, but I felt like tossing it in the canal!!!! Too scared there are laws about that and I would be arrested!

I took Pilates for years and actually have a studio reformer in my house that I only use occasionally b/c I love yoga so much more. It gives the legs and overall body a long lean look. It creates strength without the bulk, but the main difference is the legs and abs. I think they are saying his legs are way too bulky and maybe he's gained a tiny bit of weight. His legs did look huge, more than previously, but to me it looks like all muscle. I would not say he's heavy at all. If a man like that walked into a bar, heads would turn, so I think their main issue is how huge his legs are.

So what did everyone think? I did not watch it live, b/c I had to work, but I came home and to my delight it was still available for viewing on the website, so I just watched the whole thing. What a lovely production the Mikhailovsky has (sets), although the inn scene comes before the gypsy/puppet show/windmill scene. The dream scene has a very pretty tropical paradise backdrop. The chairs in the orchestra look like loose chairs. Has anyone been to the Mikhailovsky? Are those loose chairs that can be moved around? That's what they look like! I thought Osipova seemed tame for her during her entrance, but she got better and better and was simply lovely during Don Quixote's dream. It is a joy to see both Osipova and Vasiliev together, but I have seen Vasiliev dance Basilio with tiny little extra things thrown in like lifting Kitri and going into arabesque and also cambres that are inhuman. So he seemed a bit tamer in this version. His dancing looked smoother too, so maybe he is taking less risks now that he's a star, but I don't mean to say there weren't exciting things that he did today. There were! By the way, was that the cutest donkey ever or what????

Stop! You're making me hungry!!!! LOL

It does have tuna though. But some restaurants create a version with salmon also. Do you eat seafood? I was vegetarian for 3 years until my sister died, and I love vegetables. After she died all my priorities changed in life and I didn't care about the things I did before. Now I eat whatever, although 95% of my meals are probably vegetarian by sheer accident simply because I prefer eating that way. I love seafood but I can take or leave beef, poultry, and pork.

Welcome!!! I am a newbie too despite having seen many ballets through the years (I used to go just so I had seen Swan Lake or even Spartacus so I was ballet literate but had no idea whether what I was seeing was any good). It is only recently with the loss of my career that ballet has been a solace and I have become fanatical about it and so learning a lot in a short period. The last 20 years I was actually an opera lover and many operas have short ballets in them and so that caused me to force myself to go to actual ballets throughout the years, b/c I wanted to have some knowledge, but I never really learned about ballet the way I did about opera. Opera was my crazy meds when my sister died. Now ballet is my crazy meds for not having a career anymore! Anyway, I bring all that up so you know that many of us come to this art form with very different paths and I don't pretend to know anything but am having great fun learning a new art form that is so incredible. Welcome!

I watched the Swan Lake video with Nunez and thought she was the sexiest Odile ever. The woman is doing something right, when she makes a gay man doubt he's gay! LOL LOL LOL B. Birdsall