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From the Japan Times: Giving Cio-Cio San a better ending https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/08/03/stage/giving-cio-cio-san-better-ending/ I recommend reading the comments as well as the article. As one of the commentators puts it, "Madame Butterfly is a tragedy and with tragedies your[sic] not meant to like the ending!" The Balanchivadze name is Georgian, and, even though he grew up in St. Petersburg (and Finland in the summers) I think Balanchine was simply making the point that his father's people were from the 'Middle East', and the ethnic groups from those countries don't necessarily see themselves as being European or Slavic (sometimes regardless of what the DNA might say). It's about feelings and interests. "What does it say to contemporary audiences? How does it say it? Is that message problematic? So ... what do we do now?" Most ballet companies in the U.S. have not only program notes dealing with these questions, but also brief seminars with Q & A either before or after the performances to deal with just this kind of thing. It is of course up to the company to have someone knowledgeable on hand to run these sessions. It really helps further the art form to have these discussions.

I don't think anyone has mentioned stereotypes of women WITHIN Japanese (or Asian) culture. The stereotypes didn't just come out of thin air the day a European artist decided to work with an Asian-ish subject - the stereotypes often have a long, long history. The theme of the "abandoned courtesan" has got to be one of, if not the MOST, popular theme in Japanese and Chinese literature and drama (and that can be an abandoned wife or young woman too). It's like singing the blues I suppose: there are male writers writing about the woman they've wronged, and either feeling guilty or 'casting them off like wilted flowers'; men writing from the point of view of the women; female writers deploring their sad state of affairs (and sometimes contemplating suicide); stories of women who get even and are often portrayed as murderous witches; and women who get even with their ex-lover/husband in an honorable/righteous way, which means to say. they end up killing themselves. It's endlessly morbid. And, there's great beauty in much of the writing, which gives it a different feel from Afro-American Blues lyrics. The I Ching: "Great Righteousness is shown in that man and woman occupy their correct places; the relative positions of Heaven and Earth." Here's two poems I really like by the Chinese proto-feminist and revolutionary Qiu Jin (Chinese: 秋瑾). You'll see how they both fit into the tradition I mention above, while also being 'modern', and purely autobiographical laments. Don't tell me women are not the stuff of heroes, I alone rode over the East Sea's winds for ten thousand leagues. My poetic thoughts ever expand, like a sail between ocean and heaven. I dreamed of your three islands, all gems, all dazzling with moonlight. I grieve to think of the bronze camels, guardians of China, lost in thorns. Ashamed, I have done nothing; not one victory to my name. I simply make my war horse sweat. Grieving over my native land hurts my heart. So tell me; how can I spend these days here? A guest enjoying your spring winds? [She left her family in China for a period to study in Japan, which was something good Chinese wives just didn't do] Sun and moon have no light left, earth is dark; Our women's world is sunk so deep, who can help us? Jewelry sold to pay this trip across the seas, Cut off from my family I leave my native land. Unbinding my feet I clean out a thousand years of poison, With heated heart arouse all women's spirits. Alas, this delicate kerchief here Is half stained with blood, and half with tears.

My father still watches this program (here in the U.S.) each New Year's - in the evening. I think it's mainly because HIS parents loved waltz music (and opera). My father still supports opera, but I'm pretty sure he only really listens to these waltz classics at this one time of the year. The broadcast does indeed feel very kitschy and 'touristy'. But I'm sure if there was a way to compare the performance from, say, 1935 with 2017, we would notice quite a few differences in the presentation and interpretation of the music/dance. I think it's funny that Hugh Bonneville is now hosting this kind of show - as if he were a pillar of Old World values and tradition. ;)

This is nice: SFB posted this photo of James Sofranko and Jahna Frantziskonis to their Instagram page (photo by Erik Tomasson)

And look who is still around (taken at City Ballet of SF): https://www.instagram.com/p/BdivXilhc1I/?hl=en&taken-by=la_scheller

It feels right - congratulations to James. It wasn't likely that he was going to be made principal after all this time - too many talented up-in-coming dancers to vie with. But Sofranko has a head full of knowledge to pass on... EDIT: So what happens now at SFB? Is it time to move up another one of the young dancers? Or bring in promising talent from elsewhere? Is La Scala going to be the "farm team" for SFB? ;)

You just reminded me of something I read recently - I can't remember which Balanchine ballet it was, but during the late 1960s, an audience member complained about the use of practice clothes because it looked like a "hippie ballet". No one would make that connection now. ;)

I've been wondering about the legality of this same thing myself. The Balanchine Trust has allowed their individual répétiteurs to set the version of a ballet that they know and are comfortable with - it does not have to be the last version of the ballet (as if that is the final, etched in stone version). But in the case of Bugaku, there is only one version to use. I would think that if any company would be given leeway in this matter, it would be NYCB. Obviously the use of black and white 'practice' clothes is something with a long history at NYCB, and wouldn't be a bizarre approach. As far as Balanchine's costume ballets go, foreign companies often create their own versions of the original (usually Karinska) costumes, for example, the POB using Christian Lacroix-designed costumes for Jewels (based upon the originals though, not wholly different in look). Bugaku presents us with a special case in that the costumes and makeup/wigs are considered problematic and are getting in the way of people's appreciation of the work. That's a problem - as it was with the original Four Temperaments costumes.

Amen to that. Your posts are interesting, and welcome, l'histoire. And I mostly agree with your comments. ;) The term "borrow" (which I myself have used for lack of a better one) is a loaded one, and probably carries too many of the wrong connotations. It certainly doesn't explain to someone what it is like to compose a poem, devise and paint an abstract composition, design one-of-a-kind pottery pieces, whatever. I personally don't like to see any human's work reduced to an 'expression of his/her culture'. We are not carried by culture, we carry culture within us. It is simply a generalized, abstract term for social behavior and values that are very difficult to pin down precisely because individual humans do not share "attitudes, values, goals, and practices" in any sort of robotic, mechanized fashion. That does, however, imply that we individuals should be demonstrating more responsibility for our choices than we often do, imo. Was Balanchine ultimately responsible for his artistic choices? Yes. And I'm sure he wouldn't have had it any other way. I think it's fair to discuss the Bugaku ballet's relationship to Japanese Bugaku dance and Shunga erotic art. How does it compare? Does it fit into these genres in any way, or is it simply too 'alien', or too cartoonish (without the laughs)? This is one of many ballets that Balanchine didn't revisit and revise. We're left only with his first take on the subject. Do you mean to say that the motivations of individual artists in (any) Asian culture are somehow different from the motivations of artists in St. Petersburg, Russia? Scranton, Pennsylvania? Paris? What is the nature of this "inflection" that you mention? Naturally a ballet project such as Bugaku differs in many, many ways from a certain Japanese poet getting drunk on wine and taking yet another stab at his own 'version' of a favorite Li Bai poem - that could called be an "apples to oranges" comparison, though. Re: Bugaku without the original costumes - One of those things that Balanchine himself seem to figure out, is that if the choreography was strong enough, and truly central to the ballet, (yes, there are ballet's that don't seem to feature enough actual dancing), then costumes were essentially unnecessary, and even likely to be a distraction. But of course, since ballet costumes are designed normally by someone other than the choreographer, according to a different impulse. The best costume designs make an additional commentary on the music and choreography and characters (if they exist). But they can easily distract the mind in unintended ways. And to make things even more confusing, even the black and white practice clothes favored by the NYCB for Balanchine's "black and white" ballets carry with them certain associations - there is no truly generic clothing in this world (sorry GAP!). What to do?

Tomasson has done a good job choosing dancers that have the ability to GROW throughout their career. There really haven't been that many dancers that I can think of who got promoted and then fell totally flat. Helgi seems to know when a dancer is solid enough and dependable enough to be a soloist, but seems to lack a certain magnetism that we all like to see in a principal. I'm definitely not a POB hater, and don't mind their versions of Balanchine/Robbins ballets, even if they're not my absolute favorite interpretations. SFB has always had (at least) a couple of French-trained dancers in their principal/soloist ranks and I'm glad that's part of the DNA of the company.

"In the past I felt she would occasionally get stuck in a balance and relish it a bit too much" - I believe that would be the "POB" in Mathilde. ;) But she's fully musical when left to her own devices (and she's feeling comfortable with herself). She just happens to be one of those dancers who cannot easily hide how she is feeling physically and emotionally (with both good and bad results). Some dancers can just leave it all behind when they step on the stage, and they become a different version of themselves. I imagine that's useful if you're looking for consistency. The first time I really noticed Dores was in Scotch Symphony - but even then she was wearing a kilt, not a tutu. I realized for the first time what a little dynamo she was. But she keeps growing and keeps surprising.

A very good point, Amy Reusch. A choreographer A.D. has an extra tool in the bag to shape a company aesthetic (and create a native dance style/approach), while the 'curator' A.D. must show great instincts for assembling disparate pieces together in an exciting, eclectic fashion. NYCB and ABT are pretty good examples of the two different approaches.

Here's MF's remark on this: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc3N_S1nNqU/?taken-by=lapetitefrench_ I agree with many of your comments. It hadn't really occurred to me that I haven't seen Andre in a tutu much, but that's true. It does happen though. ;)

I guessed right on this one: Vanessa and Davit are expecting a baby - a girl. Congratulations to them both. https://www.instagram.com/p/BdYSNRMBPeY/?taken-by=vzahorian

It could be the makeup issue pales in comparison to the implied assault/rape depiction, and betrayal by a trusted pillar of society, yada yada. Or maybe it's just that in SF nothing is too surprising. It's worth mentioning that there are a good many Asian-American members of the SFB audience. I get the feeling that something, anything, that refers to the world of their ancestors or relatives is actually appreciated. The Asian-American audience for classical music in SF is surprisingly(?) big as well (though I suppose it depends upon the composer). Re: The Cage - I find trying to understand the psychological motivations of one Jerome Robbins a very difficult task. He was just full of surprises, and many not pleasant. Somehow the idea that women were stifling creativity doesn't quite fit for me - with Robbins that is. And that was the time when he still had his great muse about, Tanny Le Clercq. I would have loved to see her interpretation. Hey everybody, get your Cage pendant necklace! http://www.nycballetshop.com/cage-pendant-necklace.html

Thanks so much for the links, Terez. I've been stuck in the southland. I spent most of December with the flu. The flu that never really ends. Until one day you just notice it's gone. ;) I do wish I could have seen Greco and "La Scheller", but hopefully there will be many opportunities this 2018 season. I would also have liked to have seen Sheehan as the dancing doll.

I don't think Balanchine was ever interested in portraying reality. ;) Realities of the mind, yes, but those vary from individual to individual, and an artist can only hope that the audience will be delighted by something they are experiencing in the artwork. But oftentimes, not. Animal or insect worlds, but certainly there is a commentary on humans in there. SFB is going to be performing The Cage in their upcoming Robbins tribute (Tomasson having been 'discovered' by Robbins). I hope they don't shy away from describing the ballet as controversial but worth discussing with other balletgoers.

Quinten, if you haven't already read these…the Nureyev ballet threads deal with many of these same issues. It was a big deal that the ballet even saw the light of day in Russia. http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/43220-bolshois-controversial-nureyev-ballet-opens-–-to-ovations-and-bans/ http:// http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/42756-nureyev-premier-postponed-to-20182019/

I can't speak for Helene, but I thought she was referring to Balanchine's possible motivations for creating a ballet like Bugaku. Plainly, some (most? half?) of the New York audience are intelligent enough to decide for themselves about what is working or not working in a ballet. And have an opinion about racial and cultural stereotypes in the stage arts. But, and this is a big but, we live in a world in which many people want to perpetuate existing stereotypes and create still more. I'm afraid there are plenty of places in this world (including the country I live in) where many people are not the least bit interested in having "serious conversations" about sexism, racial stereotypes, imperialism/colonialism, etc. They want only to relive some 'golden age' of the past that never really existed.

I'm with you there. Karinska's costuming aside, I think Bugaku is almost entirely a movement study, and, as you say, was never intended to further "understanding of Japanese culture or Japanese women". That might be its failing, but then again, why should a ballet have to go there? Le Corsaire doesn't give me much insight into the culture of pirates, harems or anything else. But there are many people who are entertained by that ballet (just not me).

Well said. "To describe Asian cultures as less powerful and feminized (that's a bad thing??) is pretty offensive in an of itself, to an Asian." Thank you for this. ;) Returning to the original subject of this thread, "Are there ballets that should no longer be staged?" - I think in the case of Bugaku, there's enough in this ballet to merit continued viewing, but performing the ballet without its original costumes - that's worth exploring, imo.

Never underestimate Mr. B's abilities to gather information from disparate sources. ;) But if he wasn't already aware of Shunga art (popular among certain European art collectors), Lincoln Kirstein would certainly have been likely to put Balanchine on to Shunga. I wish I could remember the source, but recall Kirsten being the main instigator in the Bugaku project. But regardless of the conceptual source, Balanchine would always 'take it and run with it' in the end.

Thanks for that report! Did you post an online review, Terez? What's the URL?

The rules for aristocratic costume in the Heian era were very strict and specific, so I'm sure it took all of 2 minutes for Karinska and Balanchine to decide that there would be no re-creation of actual costume from that era. It is entirely possible to come up with costumes that are impossible to dance ballet in, such as layered kimonos, but Karinska went for a much 'lighter' look, shall we say, to facilitate the dancing (and the eroticism, if you want to see it that way). I'm very interested in knowing what Bugaku looks like danced as a "black and white" ballet. Had Balanchine lived another 15 years, perhaps that is what would have happened to Bugaku. Not to quibble endlessly, but in the case of the Japanese, "I can borrow from you, transform you to my liking, AND HAVE THE PLATFORM TO DO SO'- the reverse is not possible" is simply not true. Japanese culture has been picking and choosing subjects from European and American cultures to explore for a few hundred years (as they did from Chinese and Korean culture before that). And Japanese artists, writers, engineers, scientists, etc. made the choices for themselves. But, I totally acknowledge that there are cultures that are much more easily preyed upon and controlled by the 'dominant narrative' of another culture.

I think you may be over-simplifying things. Here are the problems I see with that: • it doesn't allow artists to reference other cultures, either thematically or visually • it doesn't allow artists to even have an opinion (if they even want to do that) on events in other cultures (Bugaku is so abstract I don't think it's formulating an obvious opinion on anything, but that's how I read it) • it sets up a situation in which artists have to be careful about "borrowing" visual influences from other cultures, which would be ridiculous given all the cross-pollination that goes on in the art world, and human culture generally, and I would argue is absolutely necessary for anything to get done in the art world. Nothing in art is truly unique to one group of people, and artists get ideas from everywhere they can find them. In the case of Bugaku, Lincoln Kirstein had invited the Japanese Imperial Household dancers to New York in 1959 and supposedly harbored the idea that Balanchine should do a Japanese-themed ballet at some point. I imagine Balanchine saw it as an artistic challenge and nothing more, since it wasn't likely his idea to begin with. If Agon can reference 17th-century French court dances under an ancient-Greek theme of competition, and dancers of non-Chinese ancestry dance the fake Chinese dance in The Nutcracker, or Russians/Europeans dance the part of the Indian Nikiya in La Bayadère, anyone should be able to choreograph a ballet that simply references Japanese traditional arts. Especially if it sticks to an exploration of movements that seem especially 'Japanese', because that's how we will all learn new things. I think very few Westerners have given any thought to the particulars of Japanese dance or ritual ceremonies, and Bugaku forces people to regard such things. If only for an hour. ;) Compared to a lot of actual Japanese classical literature (and modern era literature), Bugaku is quite bland and inoffensive, imo. But Balanchine kept things virtually plot-less and very abstract. I'm wondering if you think the most offensive element is actually just the face paint worn by the dancers? During the Heian period, the aristocratic women wore distinctive makeup and hairstyles (the aristocratic men too actually) so there's an obvious tendency to go with a similar look. I haven't seen the present day NYCB perform Bugaku though, so I wonder if the face paint is still being used. I also wonder if Japanese audience members find it at all offensive to look at. EDIT: here's two good interviews regarding Bugaku Allegra Kent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eMJcS59iIg Edward Villella and Allegra Kent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0eOy99QzdI And Edward Villella's Bugaku advertisement for a MCB program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdgIBbsGJGI