Stage Right

I just want to say that the title of your post, Catgood, makes me happy every time I scan the topics on this forum. "Paquita in Paris" I read, and sigh happily, having a brief reverie in which I imagine myself there for that event. Enjoy......

What a treasure-trove that phone call must have been for Lisa Bolte.

There's now a Facebook page devoted to Louis Falco and his now-defunct company:

https://www.facebook.com/louisfalcodancecompany

Perfect example of how perishable dances are and how a repertory can disappear.

Louis Falco! Now there's a name I haven't heard for a long time! I took some classes with him at one time, and although I was a ballet dancer, I really loved the movement.

Also, does anyone know why Laura Dean no longer allows her work to be performed?

John Kriza, who died while swimming in Florida--in a "freak accident" some reports say. He was one of my teachers at Indiana University, and we all really liked his gentle humor.

It brought back so many wonderful memories---I saw them in 1949 when they arrived in New York like conquering heroes.

Wow, how wonderful to have experienced that!!

Thank you, Mme. Hermine!!

Does anyone know if "Dancing in the Blitz: WWII and the Making of British Ballet" is available on DVD?

Another thought: arts programs have been progressively cut in schools, from elementary through to university programs. They are virtually always the first programs to be cut when budgets are tight. Perhaps the lessened attendance at arts events is a logical consequence of this policy. People don't grow up having exposure to, and positive experiences of, various forms of art, hence, are not interested in attending arts events later.

I am sorry to hear this. I remember reading many articles by Doris herring in Dance Magazine when I was a teenager and young adult. her name became kind of synonymous with ballet for me. RIP.

I found that clip absolutely fascinating. Great to see Balanchine speaking his native tongue (and no, I haven't ever seen him speaking Russian either). I was struck, from the very beginning of the clip, by how natural Balanchine looks there; just being a person instead of "George Balanchine". Does anyone know a date for this?

I still think that Dance View is the best ballet publication ever! Especially the superb black-and-white photos. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful work! I'll miss it greatly.

Does this mean you have to live in one of the cities mentioned in order to see it, or can those of us in the hinterlands see it too?

If possible, kbarber, can you send out a reminder closer to this date? Thanks so much for posting this.

Another way in which the two differ is the relationship to gravity. Put briefly, in classical ballet there is a pulling up and away from gravity, at least aesthetically speaking. (In reality, ballet dancers also need to learn how to direct energy both up and also down into the floor, but the 'look' in classical (not always contemporary) ballet is one of lightness, lift, and escape from gravity). Many modern dance styles, especially the older ones beginning with Martha Graham, are founded upon groundedness, giving in to gravity, using gravity as a powerful force, an "earthiness"--hence more use of the floor in modern dance. Of course, many styles now blend the use of both, but those tendencies still remain, and is one reason that the experience of dancing these two different dance forms can be tricky to navigate.

Well, my mother took me to see The Sleeping Beauty when I was four, in 1955, and I've been attending ballet performances (and for a while, performing in them , ever since! (BTW, my mother was afraid I might be restless, but apparently I didn't move or take my eyes off the stage the whole time!)

Wow, thanks! What a treat to look forward to!

What a treasure trove! I'm really looking forward to these. Thanks so much!

I think it is really a tricky disease, and a bit unusual in one so young. Usually with hypothyroidism, the adrenal glands are stressed as well, which contributes to the fatigue issues. She may need to explore what's causing these issues, to fully resolve the problems. Could be heredity or something else.

I love first ring center, but since I no longer live in NYC, I'd just love to sit anywhere in a good theatre featuring a fine ballet company--what bliss!!

The above comments are interesting, because I saw ABT dance it well before the 1980s. I saw nothing remotely threatening about it--it seemed quite lighthearted and carefree, but perhaps the 10980s/NYCB version is "darker".

I see it as a flirtatious episode, in the context of its time. It certainly has never bothered me as a woman, although other things I've seen in entertainment certainly do. Definitely not threatening.

If there was to be such a reconstruction (which I think would be fascinating), what year would you propose it be from (approx.). And therefore, would you have the dancers stick to the technique available then, in terms of, say, number of pirouettes, height of jumps, height of extensions, arabesque and so forth???

I think it would have to very hard to run a company while regularly choreographing new work.

Well, Balanchine did it quite successfully!!!

Wow! I saw her dance several times in my youth, including in "Miss Julie" with Erik Bruhn. Wonderful dancer and actress. I'm glad to hear that she's having a long life.

For me, Ulyana Lopatkina exemplifies how to remain a Great Artist in the age when banality and vulgarity are invading every sphere of public space and discourse. In the latter I see, perhaps, the greatest danger for a classically trained dancer today: daily exposure and contact with banality and vulgarity that surround the modern man on every side. Many, by a combination of very hard work, an internal drive, and a steely will, are still able to acquire levels of technical and athletic skill that are comparable to those of the best dancers of the past. They rigorously cultivate their body often unaware that they have also serious obligations towards their "soul". If they aspire to be great artists, of course. They should care about their "soul" as they care about their body, cultivate it daily, develop, and protect it from harmful influences. Lopatkina has been consciously doing this since her school years, and we can see it when she is on stage.

Beautifully stated! And I am glad there are some great ballerinas who DO "cultivate their soul". Not so easy to do in today's world.