pherank
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Posts posted by pherank
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Thanks so much for the excerpt, and for the link. Balanchine is grappling with questions that have engaged many philosophers talking about dance -- it's a treat to read him working through the issues.
Grigorovitch states his position rather well I thought, and like Balanchine, I see no need to argue against it (as Grigorovitch no doubt expected would happen). But like Balanchine, I enjoy the introduction of new viewpoints and shifted focus to see "what happens".
The interesting thing is that the interviewers argue from a defensive position - that Balanchine's explorations might be harmful to what they love: a union of dancing, music and stagecraft. I happen to think that fear is missplaced, and foolish, but that's my opnion. The key line for me, is, "It is possible to stage a ballet without scenery or costumes by dressing dancers merely in practice clothes, but why limit yourself?" Grigorovitch remains hung up on the lack of stagings and doesn't see the increase in attention to choreography and 'the dance'. And doesn't seem to see how that might be a worthy exploration in itself. The concept of 'pure dance' means nothing to him, as if that is something you argue about at university, in class, but no one should be so foolish as to waste time concentrating on dance alone.
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http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1984/mar/15/beliefs-of-a-master/?pagination=false
I don't know how many forum members have read this essay, but it is quite interesting reading, and happens to include a portion(?) of a Balanchine interview that appeared in Nedelia, the weekly “cultural” supplement of the newspaper Izvestia. The interview exchange is very thought provoking in itself, but Kirstein's surrounding essay is worth wading through.
GRIGOROVICH: Since we are speaking of some kind of affirmation, I affirm the art of representation in its most spectacular brilliance of which theater is capable. I don’t know to what point, personally, I am successful, but I affirm ballet as a great theatrical art, with a complex and active dramatic content, expressed in dance by the accompaniment of painting helping to express this by scenery, with especially commissioned music, and of course with the pantomime of actor-dancers. It is possible to stage a ballet without scenery or costumes by dressing dancers merely in practice clothes, but why limit yourself? It is bad, naturally, if all these theatrical components do not help in expressing the idea which inspires you. But if they do, is it not splendid?
BALANCHINE: What do I affirm or reject? I reject nothing. Why should I? I am not affirming anything either.
“NEDELIA”: But you do express yourself?
BALANCHINE: I am not doing anything in particular. I simply dance. Why must everything be defined by words? When you place flowers on a table, are you affirming or denying or disproving anything? You like flowers because they are beautiful. Well, I like flowers, too. I plant them without considering them articulately. I don’t have a “logical” mind, just three-dimensional plasticity. I am no physicist, no mathematician, no botanist. I know nothing about anything. I just see and hear.
GRIGOROVICH: A flower is beautiful. But it is Nature, not Art. A flower affirms nothing, but the man who plants it affirms both the flower and its beauty. And how about Japanese flower arrangement? Is this not Art?
BALANCHINE: Of course I have a logic. But it is the logic of movement. Something is joined together, something else discarded. I am not trying to prove anything. That is, trying to prove something quite other than the fact of dancing. I only wish to prove the dance by dancing. I want to say: “If you should happen to like it, here they are: dancers dancing. They dance for the pleasure of it, because they wish to.” Don’t other people dance? All of Georgia [his ancestral home] dances! And these people dance for delight without hoping or wishing to prove anything.
GRIGOROVICH: But there is a difference between “just dancing” and ballet. Folk and social dancing are primarily for oneself. Ballet is dancing for an audience. Dancing just for fun is an emotion, whereas ballet is an art which transforms emotion into thought and unites them.
BALANCHINE: I believe in the dance as an independent category, as something that really exists in itself and by itself. However, this may be an unreal or inaccurate metaphysical category, something immaterial, perhaps indefinable.
“NEDELIA”: But you said yourself [at the start of the interview] that your ballets were not “abstractions,” that live people performed them….
BALANCHINE: Yes. They convey the sense of the dance to the spectator, but the dance also exists without spectators!
GRIGOROVICH: Pray, in what form?
BALANCHINE: In the form in which it comes to me; in the form in which I set it out. -
"La Danse, c'est une question morale."
Taken from Lincoln Kirstein's Beliefs of a Master:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1984/mar/15/beliefs-of-a-master/?pagination=true
Odd parents, a few very odd, commenced bringing children—mostly girls, too tall, short, or plump—to be auditioned by this young ballet master, who, not yet known to America, had already been interviewed by the dance critic of The New York Times. One woman asked him, after he’d inspected her daughter in practice class, “Will she dance?” What she meant was, “Do you think she is beautiful and talented, as a child, and will she be a star?” A middle-class American mother was seeking a prognosis, as from an allergist about her child’s rash. The putative ballerina clung to Mummy’s skirt, exhibiting filial attachment worthy of Shirley Temple. Balanchine was unassertive, slim, no longer boyish, and, with his grave, alert mannerliness, the more daunting in his authority, instinctive and absolute. He hesitated, perhaps to make sure he would be understood; she repeated her question, “Will my daughter dance?” A Delphic response was the reply she received, sounding more oracular couched in French, although the sound of its meaning was plain enough through its four transparent cognates: “La Danse, Madame, c’est une question morale.” -
I had to giggle at the critic's comment on the first SFB production, that perhaps other choreographers might "catch up" with the work!
Very sad that Tchaikovsky experienced none of this overwhelming popularity. So many companies rely upon their Nutcracker receipts to pay for much of their season - Who would of thought?
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Any rare Tanny photos are always welcome!
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Excerpt videos are not available for all the ballets in the repertoire. Here are a few more that I found:
Mozartiana (two new NYCB excerpt videos near top of page)
"The prayerful opening of Mozartiana will touch your spirit, while the upbeat theme and variations that follows is pure exhilarating elegance."
https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/m/mozartiana.aspx
Orpheus
"An iconic Balanchine work that was part of NYCB’s inaugural performance in 1948, this highly-stylized, narrative ballet depicts Orpheus’ journey to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld."
http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/o/orpheus.aspx
La Sonnambula
"Deceit, desire, and death shadow La Sonnambula's aristocratic masked ball, entertaining with its fanciful divertissements and haunting with the image of a somber sleepwalker and the tragedy following in her wake."
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Beautifully lit too!
Yes, they do a generally good job here, although the dancers on the sides still tend to disappear in the closeups. Looks like the NYCB is putting up more and more of these longer excerpt videos. Good for them! But I would still love to see this as part of a DVD series with dances like:
Kammermusik No. 2
"Requiring great energy, speed, and precision, the striking choreography for Kammermusik No. 2 echoes the intricacies of its modernist score with jagged lines and stylized gestures."
http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/k/kammermusik-no-2.aspx
Episodes
"Perhaps the most avant-garde of Balanchine's "black and white" ballets, this work uses Webern's edgy tones as the basis for a series of four arresting neoclassical interludes."
http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/e/episodes.aspx
Duo Concertant
"This lively dance for a couple, set to onstage piano and violin accompaniment, ends with a poignant play on light and shadow."
http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/d/duo-concertant.aspx
and Bugaku
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I'm reviving this thread to get some real content going...
Sunday Profile: Yuan Yuan Tan
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sunday-Profile-Yuan-Yuan-Tan-3217847.php"Yuan Yuan Tan likes getting her nails done, but forget about pedicures. The prima ballerina won't let anyone near her toes."
Prima Perfection: Yuan Yuan Tan
http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/december-10january-2011/prima-perfection
Giselles Stepping Out - interesting comparison of dance styles in this review
https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/giselles-stepping-out
Dispatches from Tan (while on the London tour):
http://www.sfballetblog.org/2012/09/dispatches-from-london-yuan-yuan-tan/
http://www.sfballetblog.org/2012/11/a-whirlwind-dispatches-from-d-c/
Nice photo collection
http://spenceralley.blogspot.com/2011/01/yuan-yuan-tan.html
Dancer Yuan Yuan Tan with SFB board member Carl Pascarella and his wife Yurie -
A New Aurora Who’s Been Around the Block
posted by Wendy Perron on Sunday, Jun 30, 2013http://www.dancemagazine.com/blogs/dance-glance/5245
The line-up for ABT’s Sleeping Beauty this week includes some of the company’s greatest stars…But New Yorkers don’t know much about San Francisco Ballet’s Maria Kochetkova, who replaces an injured Alina Cojocaru this Wednesday evening. Based on what I’ve seen of her, I’m pretty excited to witness her Aurora. -
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NYCB performing Monumentum Pro Gesualdo (excerpt)
https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/m/monumentum-pro-gesualdo.aspx
[video is near top of page]
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Strange, but funny, little animation: Stagehand VS Pit Musician (no doubt based on many real lilfe exchanges)
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The Constance (Connie) Clausen chapter of Mason's I Remember Balanchine talks about the Circus Polka. It's quite a fascinating read. Clausen was one of the "elephant girls" riding on the elephants. She wrote an autobiography of her experiences at Ringling Bros., which *may* include more information on the elephant ballet, but I haven't been able to get a copy myself to confirm that.
I Love You Honey, But the Season's Over
by Connie ClausenThere is a short Russian documentary on the subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zc9Zmol3Z8
[EDIT] I recalled that this polka was the reason behind one of Stravinsky and Balanchine's more famous exchanges -
"I wonder if you'd like to do a little ballet with me," Balanchine said, after Stravinsky answered the phone, "a polka, perhaps."
"For whom?"
"For some elephants," Balanchine said.
"How old?" asked Stravinsky cautiously.
"Very young," Balanchine assured him.
There was a pause. Then Stravinsky said gravely, "All right. If they are very young elephant, I will do it."
The score that Stravinsky subsequently delivered--Circus Polka, it is called--bears the dedication: "For a Young Elephant." -
This is great Sandik - thanks! I have a friend who used to be involved in film industry stage and prop work (he's since moved up a bit), I know he would love to see this...
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Yes, thank you for the link. As with you, it left me wanting to "know more" about the complete process. Audiences seem to be fascinated by the workings of the backstage -- to wit, the many audience members who sit through the complete, and lengthy back-stage intermission scenes at the Met HD/Live. So many just watch, without moving, without talking,
It's a fascinating subject, but seems little documented. For some reason your comment made me think of "Road Construction" videos which were all the rage among parents a few years back - for some reason children (especially boys) will sit transfixed and watch open-mouthed as earth movers, bulldozers and the like move earth about and build a road. I've seen this same effect myself with a number of friend's children. So why not have a "backstage at the Met" video? ;) We can all "just watch, without moving, without talking".
From the backstage comes 'deus ex machina', and we are rightly fascinated.
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Zagrebin was the Jester when I saw Swan Lake. He was good at all the jumps and spins, but it's hard to get a sense of a dancer's other abilities from that part.
Agreed. Thanks for the report, Swanilda.
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Her work is central to the development of dance cinema -- she experimented with techniques that are still being played on today -- thanks for the links!
I made certain to link to the original versions of the films - her "fans" like to add their own music soundtracks, which simply ruins things.
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It sounds to me like Doug Fitch tossed in everything, including the kitchen sink, and produced a confusion of visuals. So his actual 'direction' was the main thing to go wrong. It would be his job to create a cohesive whole.
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The films of Maya Deren often contain a number of aspects of 'dance' within them - in the editing style, in the camera movements, as well as actual depictions of human dance and ritualized movement. Her films are few, and generally short (often under 15 minutes apiece), as they were made on the smallest of budgets, but are held in high esteem by those who study filmmaking. Her first film, Meshes of the Afternoon, created with then-husband Alexander Hammid, a Hollywood cameraman, continues to be her most well-known work, followed by At Land, her second film. I recommend checking those out on YouTube. Below I'm including links to her most obviously dance-oriented works.
From the Wikipedia bio:
"Maya Deren (April 29, 1917 – October 13, 1961), born Eleanora Derenkowskaia (Russian: Элеоно́ра Деренко́вская), was one of the most important American experimental filmmakers and entrepreneurial promoters of the avant-garde in the 1940s and 1950s. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer and photographer.""In 1943, she moved to a bungalow on Kings Road in Hollywood and adopted the name Maya. Maya is the name of the mother of the historical Buddha as well as the dharmic concept of the illusory nature of reality. In Greek myth, Maia is the mother of Hermes and a goddess of mountains and fields. Also in 1943, Deren began making a film with Marcel Duchamp, The Witches' Cradle, which was never completed.
In 1944, back in New York City, her social circle included Duchamp, André Breton, John Cage, and Anaïs Nin."Online Essay about Deren's life and work:
http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/deren-2/
A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945)
danced by Talley Beatty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcBWt0tm6AI
Ritual in Transfigured Time
(Maya Deren is the first actor that you see)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctFPrLtSWg8Meditation on Violence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-cR2hJneFs
The Very Eye of Night(with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXFk67gU-X4
And if you've an interest in her other works...these feature less obvious dance references, but her editing of movement is still quite novel:
Meshes of the Afternoon(the film that inspired a thousand film students...music by Teiji Ito, Deren's 3rd husband who composed for stage and screen, and even Robbin's ballet Watermill)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S03Aw5HULU
At Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD088nkJlD4 -
...If I were to see the whole performance again, then perhaps I would be able to tease out more from the event as a totality and find things in both sections that I missed this go round. But I certainly don't regret having had the chance to see Mearns showcased by Armitage in such splendid fashion.
Thanks for the great write-up Drew.
Well I'm glad that at least the dancing was a success for you. Not having been there, I can't really know what it was like, so I appreciate your candor, and detailed description. I tend to err on the side of, "at least they are trying things" - there is creativity afoot (even if it isn't your cup of tea). I'm happy to hear that the Philharmonic is experimenting with new ideas for performance, rather than following the predictable and safe path with every performance. It sounds to me like this appoach needs work, but could be sculpted into something successful.
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This blog "essay" was so well written that I thought we should link to it here:
http://www.sfballetblog.org/2013/04/juliet-burnett/
“I had heard a lot about the company. Led by its long-time director Helgi Tomasson, with its exciting dancers and repertoire, it has forged a formidable international reputation. I wanted to discover more about the company, but also the American style of ballet, now that I had delved into the English and European styles on my travels. I have been trained in the Italian Cecchetti method, the English RAD method and the Russian Vaganova method, with each informing my classical ballet technique to varying degrees, but the American technique has long eluded me..."
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Thanks for those links Peggy, I liked this statement in particular (from McCullagh), "It’s also quite unique in that it breaks down the barriers that are often established within the ranks of SFB. I have loved getting to work so closely with some of the principal dancers of SFB that I have, in many instances, grown-up watching and admiring on the stage. Now I find myself working on group projects with them or helping them edit an essay!"
Helene's comment reminded me that I also took an Arts Management class (at San Francisco State U.) at about the same time - it was a "bleeding edge" class. No one had done it before, and the 2 gentlemen who ran the class were partly trying to figure out just what such a class should consist of. I'm pretty sure that none of the students knew what to expect, but we all found it fascinating. Partly because we had speakers from the arts come into the class to talk about their experiences. I remember the editors of an underground magazine coming for one class, as well as the woman curator who founded the art exhibitions at San Francisco International airport, which have since become a permanent fixture. Now days, it's possible to study non-profit management at many schools, so curriculum has been better thought out since the 1980s.
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Nice - and long! Quite long. I actually get some sense of the person from the backstage shots.
I've been wishing that SFB would alter their video style to incorporate longer sequences, and both rehearsal and performance footage.
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I was just looking at the Stanislavsky's schedule and I see that they performed The Little Mermaid, which impressed me - I didn't think any of the Russian companies had attempted this work, or much Neumeier in general.
Did Dmitry Zagrebin happen to dance in either of the productions that you saw?
time travel
in Everything Else Ballet
Posted
I would definitely want to see some ballets that are forever out of reach to me (but nice to imageine what they might have been like). So many choices, but I'll start with Mr. B:
Cotillion (1932), Ballet Russes with Tamara Toumanova, and George Balanchine in the supporting cast
Caracole (1952), cast: Diana Adams, Melissa Hayden, Tanaquil Le Clercq, Maria Tallchief, Patricia Wilde, Andre Eglevsky, Jerome Robbins, NIcholas Magallenes
Seven Deadly Sins (1958), Allegra Kent, with Lotte Lenya singing the role of Anna
La Valse (1951), cast: Diana Adams, Tanaquil Le Clercq, Yvonne Mounsey, Patricia Wilde, Herbert Bliss, Frank Hobi, NIcholas Magallenes, Francisco Mancion...
Ashton's Illuminations with Tanaquil LeClercq, Melissa Hayden, Jillana, Jacques d'Amboise and others
And then there's ballets like Figure in the Carpet and Card Game that hold a certain fascination for me.