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Rather sad that SJB has been dropped. Does this mean that SJB will not be performing in London and Moscow with Osipova and Vasiliev?

Masha appears in a Russian TV segment on the recent Yekaterinburg Nutcracker (don't ask me why) performance. Alessio Carbone from POB also appears. Credits go to Ms. K for finding this one on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbrBwpLggbI'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbrBwpLggbI

Yes, and those countries never displayed the great fear of 'parlimentary democracy' that the Russian power elite generally has. It is interesting that there was a USSR proposal to join NATO (though not with the best intentions as per the West), and this led to the Warsaw Pact treaty. The endless game of political chess continues.

It is certainly true that just about any word can have its meanings changed all about as needed - history is written by both the victors, and the survivors. I think the Russian policymakers probably have this George Orwell statement in mind: http://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/As_I_Please/english/efasc But there never was a Nazi-ism creed to my knowledge - that was the abbreviated name of the political party and not an ideology. Mussolini and Hitler were avowed fascists. I'm not surprised that there is disagreement over the definition of Fascism - ideologies can be too broad to pin down well. But we do have this - And there's lot's more from Mr. M on the subject, some of it quoted here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp

“We have a law on the responsibility for justification of fascism, but I do not know a single person in the country - apart from a few dopes and adolescents - who would say fascism’s great. It means that the title is one thing, and the aim is another. Huh??? Sure, the law says one thing, but it's not worth worrying about that because "the aim is another" (thing). That approach hardly ever goes wrong. Interesting how the great enemy of Russia, Fascism, becomes the motivator for the new, "civilized" Russia.* * In general, it is proposed to develop the cultural policy based on “civilization” principle, which the authors believe to be the opposite of the “liberal pro-Western” approach which supposedly idealizes Western path of development. http://queerussia.info/2014/04/07/4877/

Sounds like you want a different kind of interview, but it is what it is. The questions are specifically about Farrell and her experiences, and she responds well and appropriately, imo, to some pretty obvious questions (and some vague, poorly worded questions too: "Did you do what you started out to do, or did it just happen? Was dance what you wanted?". It's not a long interview but she gets some good details in anyway, covering various subjects. I'm not sure where you're getting this from - it doesn't come from her words, and as you noted, her autobiography goes into more detail (naturally) than this interview can hope to. I've never heard her say anything that seemed to deny the experience of others. And I'll just say that the corporate executives I've been around never sound like Suzanne Farrell. ;) I presume you've watched the Kennedy Center Honors programs before, and it's the same kind of thing: a quick overview of someone's life experiences but only time for a few details. Imagine if the Jerome Robbins Honors program had actually gone into the details. Yikes!

I never did find out much about this event "for Ulyana Lopatkina", but we now have these images:

Young dancers may find her remarks and reflections especially inspiring. But she's a smart woman and has gathered a lot of insight into life in general. She made something of herself - and that process is worth sharing with the world.

My apologies if this has been linked to before... Academy of Achievement - "Ballerina of the Century" Five page Suzanne Farrell interview with audio/video interview clips: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/far0int-1

OK, not sure what to make of this Twitter from M. K.: "Just confirmed: Dancing Rubies @ Stanislavsky Theater this Tuesday night at Uliana Lopatkina's gala! Very excited to dance home again!" Rubies? Did she dance this before, back in 2009 maybe? I have to wonder who her partner is...

Sounds like a great opportunity for Thatcher. Congratulations indeed.

The Inquisition: Tan Yuanyuan, ballet dancer (South China Morning Post - Hong Kong) The principal dancer talks about her post-ballet ambitions and how she’s looking forward to doing normal things http://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1511247/inquisition-tan-yuanyuan-ballet-dancer

American Masters — Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun premieres nationally Friday, June 20, 10-11:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings, New York metro area at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN). Yeah!

Mr. Schiavone's website has been updated/improved in design and there are some great shots to be discovered: http://geneschiavone.com/portfolio/ For example: http://geneschiavone.com/portfolio-items/the-swans-of-the-mariinsky-theater/

I don't think so, Josette - that statement has been up there for a while (in Web time). And of course she does live in SF during the season. I like the fact that she participated in the farewell performance for Smith and Cintas, rather than jetting back to Paris as she could have done here at the end of the season. She seems to be in Hawaii (Maui) now, judging from her Instagram page.

Thus my confusion. ;) Thanks for clarifying, Volcanohunter.

This article seems to state that May 8th, 2014 was the farewell: http://www.culturekiosque.com/dance/features/agnes_letestu_adieu_pob874.html Just wondering...

It would be great to hear from anyone on the forum who was present...

30 performances?!!! You get the gold star for sure, Mathilde K. I hope SFB knows about your contribution to their bottom line! ;) I guess I've been lucky in that Messmer was cast in pretty much every program I've gone to; however, she 'disappeared' form the end of the season (seemingly giving Dores Andre a lot to do). The castings did not look like they were weighted towards any particular soloist to me. But as I said, Dores Andre was popping up a lot at the end. But you would be able to go through the different castings and tell us if things were unbalanced. Or if particular dancers were struggling with injuries. Perhaps, she had already made the decision to go back home in mid season. I don't know what her personality is like (it's been difficult to get any sense of that), but she may not have clicked well with the culture at SFB.

An update: San Diego Opera's crowdfunding campaign is off to a very good start: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-san-diego-opera-fundraising-goal-20140509-story.html And the orginal article regarding the crowdfunding effort: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-san-diego-opera-emergency-fundraising-campaign-20140429-story.html Will new fundraising techniques be the saviour of traditional stage arts? Stay tuned...

Yes! I wasn't aware of that fact, thanks Jack.

Masha with Bill Cunnigham (NY Times) ;)

What we do know from interviews: Messmer wanted specifically to be a principal, and Tomasson didn't have that position available (I would think especially with the hiring of Froustey), and if in the end-of-season interview he said that matters remained the same, she may have decided that she would try her luck back on the East Coast. The details will no doubt leak out at some point. Frosutey's situation is much more complicated: she has made friends in SF, I think she likes the company, but she's still (naturally) drawn to Paris and the POB. If she were able to dance part-time for POB too, then she might stay in SF during much of the regular season.

That IS disappointing, and it's impossible to know what prompted the decision to go/return. She may simply prefer to be in the North East. It wasn't for lack of opportunities - she was given as many roles as any of the other soloists. And let's face it, she got good press for her dancing. But maybe she has been lured back by an offer she couldn't refuse? If both Messmer and Froustey leave it will be a quite a bummer - it will weigh heavily on Tomasson, but I won't be suprised if the dancers' reasons for leaving have little to do with SFB company management.

Your point is well taken, Quiggin. I found the 2 performances/casts that I saw engrossing, but there were a significant number of "lost in translation" moments. When the opening male Pas de quatre is not well synced I find myself displeased and waiting to be won over. Sylve's and Tan's performances redeemed things for me (and for different reasons), and certain dancers like Hansuke Yamamoto and Molat had many good moments (again though for different reasons). I think I had less of a problem with the Corps and lower-rank dancers who, "just did the steps", than the principals who have a tendency to want to interpret, or add flavor: sometimes it would work for me (Tan comes to mind) but mostly the deviations would make the Balanchine choreography less distinct, less sharp, the constant state of tension, the precariousness, I expect from Agon was dropped a number of times. It's worth pointing out that it's all a matter of what we compare with - SFB can perform Agon, and the orchestra can play Agon, better than 95% of the companies out there, but is it performed in the manner that the masters intended it? (I've got to include Stravinsky given his close involvement with the project) That is another issue. Those of us who greatly admire Balanchine's work, long for a return to the original approach and aesthetic, but I concede it will never really come again. Note that Serenade will be in Program 1 in 2015 - and I eagerly await that time. ;)