KarenAG

I know this is a tangent, so I'll be brief. We've discussed the use of power by philanthropists in other threads, but I just wanted to raise a hand here -- I understand the desire for recognition, and don't really mind it when new projects are named for the donors that fund them, but it is hard when a well-known title is discarded after years of use for a new name that reflects a substantial gift. Here in Seattle we've had an ironical experience in the last few years. Our opera house, which was opened using public money in the first half of the 20th c as the Civic Auditorium, and was translated into the Opera House in the 1960s, was remodeled extensively in the 90s and renamed in honor of the main donors' mother (it is officially Marion Oliver McCaw Hall -- I was lobbying for the familiar name to be Mom Hall, but it's McCaw Hall in all our listings). At around the same time a group of local donors helped to fund a new project for the local art museum -- an outdoor sculpture park. They insisted that it be named after the mountain range you see from the part, so it is the Olympic Sculpture Park. One of the donors, who was the most insistent on not using donor names, died recently -- Mary Shirley was a major participant in the local art world, gave money thoughtfully and generously, and whenever I see the park mentioned in the press, I'm always grateful for the relative anonymity of the gift. Not so brief after all, and I apologize, but I wanted to say something about her in public and this seemed like the appropriate place. Sandik, thank you for your post and responding. I agree and and it infuriates me that this particular theater and the spirit in which it was built, had to be renamed.

Formerly known by a better name- oops another grumpy Sunday moment - Oh, how I agree. Privately, I still call it the better name! IMO, a truly cultured philanthropist would have insisted on no name change.

ok, I voted but had to fudge the first category by selecting a ballet (see post above), although I haven't actually seen any ballets in cat 1 live. I chose Giselle because I WILL see it live this summer, thankfully, at SPAC when Natl Ballet of Canada visits. Also, have seen Giselle on YouTube and DVD. All the others I voted I have seen them live. FYI, my Coppellia is Balanchine's. And, I'm happy to report, I'll see SB again next week at Koch Theatre!

I'm trying to cast my vote and because I can't vote for any ballets in category 1, I get an oops!something went wrong - but in category 1 there is no way to vote if you've not seen any of the ballets live. Please advise. Thank you.

I agree. It could be then that at this point i'm not interested in seeing women dancing "ballet sans pointes". Cristian, I feel that dancing en pointe is so much a part of the ballet experience, that when I see a ballet danced without pointe shoes or with just soft slippers, I feel a bit disappointed, as if I've only seen 1/2 a ballet. An anecdote: when Suzanne Farrell went to dance with Maurice Bejart's Ballet Fin de XX Siecle in Belgium (I think that's how it's name goes), apparently his dancers danced a lot without their pointes, and there was something about a very limited number of pairs of pointe shoes she'd be given, per the contract. However, Suzanne was adamant about dancing en pointe and having the requisite numbers of pairs that she needed and he conceded and she got all that she wanted. This anecdote comes from her autobiography 'Holding on to the Air'. In the book, I think Suzanne said she'd go through 12-15 pairs a week. My book is way upstairs and I'm wrapping by hubby's birthday presents right now, otherwise, I'd check for sure. Anyway, she LOVED dancing en pointe.

" Also, thanks for your feedback because I, too, sometimes feel like no one is listening or doesn't care to respond. Certainly not at all with this particular thread as it has been a pleasure today and very rewarding." I also know that we are all very busy, so this comment (in italics) is offered kindly.

The ballet line for me is something I feel I can see and understand but can't clearly articulate in words, so thanks for your comments, Angelica. Line can be described as proper alignment as defined by the particular school or syllabus, perhaps? You can definitely see it at the barre when a well-trained dancer is taking class, Yes, you're exactly right, AlbanyGirl. It is, indeed, a matter of alignment, not a matter of opinion. My point has been that I have never seen a satisfactory definition of ballet line. So even though you and I are getting close to the thing, and we definitely know it when we see it, I would love to find a satisfying definition that is not tautological. By that I mean something that goes beyond "ballet line is the particular alignment of the body that is characterized by ballet." Well, I'm going to be off this board for a week while I try not to break a leg skiing in Colorado. So I won't be hammering this point(e) (haha). But we're getting close, AlbanyGirl, and maybe sometime we can nail it. Thanks so much for responding. Sometimes one thinks one's posts are going into a black hole and it's so reassuring to know that they have clicked with someone out there. Well, have a great time, Angelica, please don't break a leg and enjoying your wonderful skiing. Also, thanks for your feedback because I, too, sometimes feel like no one is listening or doesn't care to respond. Certainly not at all with this particular thread as it has been a pleasure today and very rewarding.

oh, that's ok, Tom - I just wanted make it clear. Well, I guess I'd better sign off and get some Saturday work done!

I do like the term 'athletic art', however, and I agree that sports like figure skating and gymnastics have an aim to express beauty in addition to being competitive.

The ballet line for me is something I feel I can see and understand but can't clearly articulate in words, so thanks for your comments, Angelica. Line can be described as proper alignment as defined by the particular school or syllabus, perhaps? You can definitely see it at the barre when a well-trained dancer is taking class,

I agree.

Thank you, Tom, I appreciate the points you made. Just to clarify Tom's statement above, I never said ballet is a sport, rather that is is NOT a sport. I think that ballet's only connection to sport is the athleticism. The distinction, for me, is that ballet's aim is artistic expression for its own sake, while a sport's primary aim is competition and winning - the game, the match, meet, etc, regardless how beautiful the sport is.

A couple of embellishments to my two posts: to the one in response to Tom about pointe shoes, let's not forget the OTHER distinctive symbol of ballet - the glorious Tutu!! Also, regarding my statement "some people have called ballet a sport because of its extreme athleticism and use of acrobatics, but it is not a sport, it's an art.", I'm not sure if acrobatics is a sport, either, unless one counts gymnastics, but I think my point is clear, anyway. To Cristian, I mean a splendid individual performance. To Tom, in response to your most recent post, if you don't know and perhaps you do, YouTube is indispensable for seeing lots of different ballets - many are complete and not just clips and in HD, which is just incredible. I learned so much about different ballet companies and historical performances from YouTube. Not as good as viewing a DVD, but I have a large monitor and the experience is pretty good, overall. Better than nothing! You'll find from the threads good opinions about particular DVD performances, too.

Me, too, Cristian - while I can discern a splendid performance, it is the whole artistic experience that often captivates and enthralls me, regardless that a dancer may not be technically perfect. ~ Karen

Welcome, Tom. Interesting thread! I'd like to respond to your post as a serious lover of ballet - please note that I am not a dancer. Ballet is distinguished from other forms of dance by its specific classical vocabulary, turnout of the feet and hips and the five basic positions which form the foundation and basis of the steps, and its strict training syllabus, which takes years. While people who study non-ballet styles (modern, jazz, etc.) are dancers, one cannot be a ballet dancer without the rigorous formal training and practice (along with the requisite artistic talent, I might add) it demands. I think of ballet as the use of the human body as a classical musical instrument and, just as a concert pianist or violinist must practice daily to remain proficient to be able to play complex music, so a professional ballet dancer must train daily, in addition to rehearsing, performing and learning new works. Ballet is also, as pointed out by many here, distinguished by the wearing of pointe shores and dancing en pointe, in most cases only the female ballet dancer but occasionally a male dancer when required to dance en pointe in a travesti or comic role. You may know of the all-male ballet company devoted to lovingly sending up the most cherished ballets who dance en pointe, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and they are a formidable group of ballet dancers, indeed! For me, one of the very beautiful aspects of ballet is that it developed from Italian Renaissance dance forms and was formally codified by the French in the 17th century - the steps danced today date from that time. How cool is that! Some people have called ballet a sport because of its extreme athleticism and use of acrobatics, but it is not a sport, it's an art. There are many good books on the history, development and the art of ballet and some of my favorites are: Robert Greskovic's Ballet 101 Jack Anderson's Ballet and Modern Dance Jennifer Homans' Apollo's Angels Franklin Stevens' Dance As Life and many others. I also refer to Gail Grant's Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet with the DVD Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet, which demonstrates the steps. This is a way for me as a non-dancer to learn the more technical aspects of the art of ballet. So, you mentioned you might be attending a ballet - what company? What ballet companies do you enjoy? I love ballet to distraction, but my very favorite company is New York City Ballet which I've had the privilege of seeing for many years at Saratoga Performing Arts in the summer (in NYC, too,!). I look forward to reading your posts. ~ Karen

Oh, one more thing - during the first intermission in the evening, a man sitting next to me advised his wife had left not feeling well and so offered me her seat, knowing I was way up int he 4th ring. Well, I was able to see Mozartiana and the TPC#2 in the first ring, second row! I was very blessed yesterday indeed. I would also like to remark that for TPC#2, Ana Sophia Scheller and Theresa Reichlin were terrific. For the matinee I was in the 2nd ring right and that was a good seat, too.

Well, yesterday couldn't have been a better day! I went to the matinee and enjoyed it enormously. Starting with Balanchine's beautifully distilled essence of Swan Lake, I loved the corps and Maria Kowroski was breathtaking. She had all the qualities Odette should have - expressive, delicate and brittle but also strong, tragic but queenly and with clean, 'quiet' dancing. She was so beautiful. I loved Tiler in Allegro Brillante and she did not disappoint - for me, she rarely does - I think a role like that is just meant for her - she is so strong ans sure of herself and can handle anything and with grace and aplomb. A very exciting ballet on its own, but more so with Tiler at the helm. I enjoyed Amar's dancing with her, also. This was my first viewing of Tschaikovsky Ste #3 and i enjoyed it very much but it kind of stumped me - movements 1-3 seem all of a piece and of course, being a stand-alone ballet originally, movement 4 T&V was, well, a stand-alone ballet that ends a 4-movement piece. It seemed odd. Read Nancy Goldner's essay awhile back but forget some of the details so I'll read it again. The demo was a lot of fun and quite a lot of dancing for 50 minutes or so. As I've been writing this, Drew's post came in and I have to agree that it would have been more comprehensive to include a demo from 4T's, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, etc. I decided to stay for the evening performance and I have to say Serenade was fantastic and I agree with Canbelto, having seen it twice two summers ago at SPAC - this was the best performance I've seen recently. I was in the 4th ring and so could not focus on any one dancer's work, being so far away, but what the distance gave me was a great perspective of the ballet as a whole - it's lovely architecture and the overall structure of the choreography became very clear. The corps was in great shape. I haven't seen Mozartiana in many years, so seeing it last night was great. I feel I understand Sterling better for it, as I've not warmed to this dancer much, but her performance did touch me in a way others of her performances have not. I agree - her bourrees are gorgeous. As for Tschaikovsky Piano C#2, this is the first time I've seen this ballet, too, and it was wonderful, with amazing choreography, but I can't help thinking, Drew, when I was watching it, that the costumes were lackluster and the backdrop did not fit the occasion, whatever it be called. I think the ballet should be called Ballet Imperial and and the costumes should be classic tutus with perhaps a set of some sort. A wonderful day! Can't wait until February for The Sleeping Beauty. ~ Karen

What a terrible act. My thoughts are with Mr. Filin and his family and I wish him a speedy and good recovery. How awful. ~ Karen

Please forgive the typos and misspellings - I just don't see them sometimes until it's posted and too late to correct!

Thanks for the summary, Birdsall. I'm very confused by all this live-streaming,ballet in cinema stuff (same as with the other thread about Cameron's 3D Swan Lake). As I understand it from the Emerging Pictures website, the gala will be shown at our Proctor's Theater in Schenectady, NY Mar 31 at 2 pm, yet when I go on to Proctor's website, it isn't listed. I am going to call the theater, but as I understand the posts above, if they don't raise enough money, it will not be shown? Very confusing but admittedly, I don't spend a lot of time researching this aspect of ballet performance and due to time constraints, I tend to scan through posts sometimes. Also, I noticed that Proctor's has far less ballet in cinema as in years past, if the website is accurate. I'll check it out with them. And to reply to Birdsall a few posts above, I think Daniel Ulbricht is a very fine dancer and lovely to watch. I've seen him quite a lot and I always enjoy him. He has a lot of satge personality. I find Macauley's criticim to be stingy on a lot of points, but what can you do?

Welcome, Ann. I'm a newbie, also (moving up through the ranks towards senior status! ) Enjoy the site, there's so much to enjoy, it's sometimes overwhelming. (I never have enough time...). ~ Karen

I didn't see this as I scanned through the thread and it's one of my favorites: “The most important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous.” ― Margot Fonteyn

So, being a commercial film, how does one find a movie theater showing it? Or is it being live-streamed and you have to see it on the computer? I checked Emerging Pictures and my two local theaters that show such events and nothing. I also googled it but no info as to a list of movie houses that will show it on Feb 14 (or will it have a loner run....?) Thanks for any addl info.

Thank you, Carbro, and SimonA, I'll PM you in a day or so.

Thanks, puppytreats. ( From your moniker, am I right in assuming you are a dog lover, as well as a ballet lover?) I have a Golden Retriever named Fergus - he's wonderful. Back to topic, would you like meet during one of the intermissions at the matinee on Saturday (I seem to remember you are going to both performances...)? If you don't, I understand. Being very new to BA, I know no one so I'm not sure if any of you get together or visit when you happen to be at the same performance. I'm not registered for the 1:40pm lecture and don't think I can make that one, but I do have a tkt to the demo 5-6pm. I've been dipping into Nancy Goldner's fun books, too, and depending on how I feel, I may indeed take in the eve performance....