Natalia

Yikes - $4,199 for one week in the dead of winter? Hmmm.... I'm sure that it will be lovely tour....but..... [And I realize that you are simply passing on the info, Alexandra, and not endorsing this particular tour group.] Anybody who wishes to stay at one of the new B&B-type places near the Mariinsky Theater -- all of which have access to theater-ticket services -- may wish to get in contact with me. The Youth Hostel is no longer the only cheap option. For $50/night you can stay at a beautiful B&B within walking distance of the Mariinsky...and that's a full breakfast included. They handle visa support too. So... Hotel w/ bkfast at $50/night x 10 nights = $500 (half the price for you if you have roomate sharing cost of room) Aeroflot round-trip fare = $550 (from DC to St P; less from NYC) Ballet tix...budget about $25 for a balcony ticket obtained on the street (will cost more through any hotel agent); during regular season it is possible to obtain much-much less expensive tix (about 300 rubles for a great location, or $10) in a kiosk, but this is a festival. Unlike the old days, there are now several fast-food/less-expensive-food options in Moscow & St Petes. You do the math...I know, there's nothing like the convenience of having an expert tour guide do it all for you if you can afford it. No question about it. I just hate to see folks on-a-budget throw money away, that's all. - Jeannie

Thanks for the insights, Sylvia! Not a banneryear at Euros, it seems. I heard from a friend that even the top-three Russian women (who swept medals here) all had errors in their long programs. Slutskaya actually won that segment but finished 2nd overall to Butyrskaya because of the results in the short programe, where Slutskaya fell and was 3rd, while Butyrskaya was 1st. Salt Lake City will be interesting - no one huge favorite for ANY of the skating gold medals...although I am sure that NBC TV (in the USA) will go on and on and on hyping *only* Michele Kwan and the other US skaters. I wish that I could avoid the US networks and see the skating sans-commercials, on Eurosport! Alas, we don't have Eurosport on any of the cable providers in downtown Washington, DC,(where I live); it's available only in the far-away suburbs. [ January 21, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Euros are now over. Once again, Russian skaters dominate, even with the absence of their top single-men's competitor (Pluschenko) and top pair (Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze)! The event was held in Lausanne, Switzerland and is to be shown on US television, ABC, next Sunday afternoon (check local schedules for exact times). Here are top-three winners in all categories...and pay attention to the Russian domination in each category...plus a very strong showing for France. LADIES - Total Russian sweep of the ladies singles medals: Gold - Maria Butyrskaya of RUSSIA (the world champ in 1999 against Michele Kwan of USA, had two tough years but now she's baaaack!) Silver - Irina Slutskaya of RUSSIA (still the fave for Olympic gold, as she's beaten Kwan three times this past year...but surprise loss to Maria here) Bronze - Vika Volchkova of RUSSIA (the rising star of Russian skating) Check-out their podium photo: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20020119...002135836a.html MEN - Gold - Alexei Yagudin of RUSSIA (World champ for two years running, before Pluschenko beat him last season) Silver - Alexander Abt of RUSSIA Bronze - Brian Joubert of FRANCE Pairs - Gold - Totmiamina/Marinin of RUSSIA (young pair...big surprise) Silver - Abitbol/Bernadis of FRANCE Bronze - Petrova/Tikhonov of RUSSIA (disappointment for them...they were world champs two years ago) Ice Dance - "the rivalry" Gold - Marina Annissina (of MOSCOW, RUSSIA but skates for France now) & Gwendal Peizarat - FRANCE Silver - Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio of ITALY (current world champs...bitter rivalry with the French) Bronze - Marina Lobacheva/Ilya Averbuch of RUSSIA Where would European skating be without Russia & France? Leave it to Italy to be the lone-ranger that wins the only medal that's not for Russia or France. Comments from our Euro-based members who may have seen this competition on Eurosport this week?

Thanks, Kevin! Well, I'm lickin' my chops now....

Thanks for all the comments re. ice dancing. Not surprising! Colleen - re. Plushy's no-show at Euros - the same thought crossed my mind! I vividly recall the old Soviet Era when the CCCP's skating powers chose to keep their top skaters under wraps until Olympics, sometimes to keep programs secret, sometimes to not risk someone lowering his/her #1 rank before the big event. Maybe Plushy's coach -- Alexei Mishin, a.k.a. 'Mishin Impossible' -- has nostalgia for the old days? Well, like you, I'll think not & think positively!

Thanks for the link & interesting news about the new Natl.BalletCanada-Prix de lausanne connection, Ottawamom! A number of top winners from the Prix de Lausanne have gone on to train at the NBC school, haven't they? The lyrical Yuriko Kajija (now with ABT Studio Company) comes to mind. She won the top-top prize at Lausanne just two years ago. Immediately after her advanced studies at NBC academy she received the offer to join the ABT Studio Company. - Jeannie

US Nationals are now over. Let's turn our attention to Europe. Euros are next week &, as always, are telecast magnificently and in-their-entirety on EuroSport without commercial interruption (lucky Europeans!). They will be telecast in the US on the week-end of the 26th/27th, on ABC. It will be interesting to get a report from one (or more) of our European readers regarding the 'Battle of the Russians' in mens & ladies singles...not to mention the fascinating world of Ice Dancing, in which the current world champions from Italy (Barbara Fusar-Poli/Maurizio Margaglio) -- of Milan, the home town of several readers of this forum...Suzy...Guido?!-- will continue their Battle-Royal against ex-World Champs from Lyon, France -- your home town Estelle!!!! -- Marina Anissina/Gwendel Peizarat. Will Marina & Gwendel defend the honor of La France? On a more general level, what do our readers think about ice dancing? This sport (which some macho-sportswriters claim is not really a sport but 'just an art') made its debut in the Olympics not so long ago -- 1976. Its roots are in championship-style ballroom dancing. The casual observer knows this aspect of figure skating from the plethora of recent judging controversies, e.g., many complaints by long-time Canadian champs (& medal faves for Salt lake City) Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kratz who feel that they were shut-out of the medals at the last Olympics by collusion among Ukraineans, Russian & other Eastern Blok judges. Will She-Lynn & Vic get the bum-rap again this year? Well -- surprise! surprise! -- they actually beat *both* the Italians & French at the recent Grand Prix finals. Talk about upsetting the apple cart. By the way, other faves in ice dancing at this year's Olympics include a brilliant Israeli couple (Chait & Sakhnovsky) and the mysterious Russian team of Lobacheva/Averbuch....I write 'mysterious' because they missed the entire autumn schedule of Grand prix events & their routines are being kept quite hush-hush until Euros. Evil tongues say that this is accidentally-on-purpose to not allow the Italians & French prior-knowledge of what the Russians will be doing. Interestingly, the Russians have a new free-dance (final program) to 'Tribute to the USA'! Glasnost on ice. Calling all ice dance fans..or non-fans with opinions! - Jeannie [ January 14, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

sneds - Thanks for enlightening us on Scott/Dulebohn. Although I still prefer the 3rd-placed couple to them, from an aesthetic point-of-view, I agree that S/D have a better opportunity to score well at Olys, as they represented the USA at last year's Worlds...and placed amazingly well (top 10) for a first-time pair at that championship! My hat's off to them and to the entire US Olympic Figure Skating Team. It's a very strong delegation of skaters. On to Salt Lake City & may the best blades win! [ January 14, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

That's a really great topic, Juliet. There are many reasons & some have been mentioned above...for westerners, especially those who have yet to land permanent positions with major companies, competitions are auditions of sorts. It was no secret that, at the 1998 Jackson IBC, Eddie Villella, Helgi Tomasson, Dennis Nahat & other artistic directors were scouting potential new members of their companies. And several contracts were offered -- not just to medalists but to others who just made semifinals. For Russians, other Eastern Europeans, and Chinese, there is 'pride in the Motherland and in the Theater'. Pride of Shanghai...pride of the Bolshoi, etc, etc. Most of these top competitiors (not all) are already primas-and-primos in their respectives troupes and the go only for the gold medals to add to the pride of the nation. In the junior category, it's a bit different - they're looking for perhaps a higher ranking within a company...a way out of the corps de ballet & into the next rank. There are other reason & I'll let others write to this effect. re.Who pays for it? For Russians/Chinese/Cubans/Bulgarians/former-Soviets & others in state-sponsored theaters...the theater. Hence, the pressure to 'bring back the gold' to the theater. The French, in part, fall into this category, I suspect....although the French dancers at Varna '00 with whom I spoke seemed to have foot the bill themselves! For Japanese, Americans, Western Europeans, Latinos (except Cubans)...anyone not affiliated with a major state-run theater...they pay a lot of it themselves. That's perhaps why most of these IBC contests seem to draw more competitiors from places where the dancers don't have to pay for everything themselves, e.g., the socialist or ex-socialist countries. That's the simplistic, quick answer and I'm throwing this open to more thoughts! - Jeannie

Whew...that was a great Ladies finals, wasn't it? I saw it last night but didn't want to come & read your comments until I knew that most of you had the chance to see it on the ABC rerun this afternoon. Kwan - totally deserved her first place....and I don't always say this about her! (Worlds 2000 is case in point.) This time, she really put it together with great jumps and an ease of presentation. She certainly had the 'excitement factor.' Cohen - the true ballerina on the ice. Exquisite...but that final flop-over pose must have been improvised! Hughes - ummmm....I guess that I don't get it. I would have loved to have seen Nikodinov above her (had Nikodinov not doubled all those triples in the last third of the program). Hughes pumps her back up & down doing cross-overs which makes me think of (shhhh...not too loudly) Surya Bonaly a bit. I don't feel relaxed seeing her skate. *But, I agree with all of you, that she continues to improve. I am especially glad that she is no longer flashing her howdy-doody grin all the time, like she used to. It took away from the dignity of the slow sections in last year's DON Q. Nikodinov - like Dick Button said, 'liquid gold'! How very sad to see her drop her concentration after that one fall. It is a joy to see her skate. Kirk - yeah...she moved up a place to 5th! Her balletic training really showed throughout the program. McDonaugh - another wonderful skater! Pairs finals - Ina/Zimmerman - They really look like champions now, although this was far from their best program. After four years of training with Tamara Moskvina (who also coaches Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze of St. Petes, Russia), it is finally showing. Bronze medal in Salt Lake??? Well...I'd love to see it but 5th is probably more realistic. Scott/Dulebohn - well...nice lines; a bit of the all-legs-and-arms gawkiness of Sarah Hughes. I honestly would have placed them behind the younger, 3rd-place team, who (to me) were far more polished in technique, artistry & had the 'oomph factor.' Kalasevich/Parcem - I had them as clear silver medalists. So confident & polished. Although very young (I think that this is just their first year in the senior level?), they seemed more sophisticated that the more seasoned #2 team who will go to the Olympics.Ah, well... Sorry that TV didn't show the Ganabas (brother & sister of Iraqi or Iranian heritage). Year after year, they put on an amazing program & get ditched by the judges...and the crowd boos the judges like crazy. Maybe next year...they're still very young (mid teens). - Jeannie

Yes, Victoria - it was quite an evening of exceptional ladies short programs, wasn't it? I hope that tonight's finals (long programs) are equally brilliant. Sasha Cohen did not disappoint. And I adore the line & fluidity of Angela Nikodenov. Jenny Kirk, who trained seriously in Boston Ballet Academy during the ages of 9-to-14, also has exquisite line...and Ann-Patrice McDonough...and tiny Beatrisa Liang?? Well, Michele Kwan -- who was quite powerful & moving -- will be looking back tonight. My only small complaint among the top women skaters is the slight gawkiness in the highly-touted Sarah Hughes. Don't get me wrong - Sarah is a very accomplished skater with powerful jumps + long lines..but there is a certain gawky quality to her skating. Just look at some of the bizarre positions that she hits in her footwork sequence. Maybe that's where my years of watching ballet kicks in & I can tell the difference. I'm sure that most of you did, too. [sarah, by the way, actually beat the two women who are heavily-favored-for-gold at Olympics, when she defeated Irina Slutskaya & Michelle Kwan at Skate Canada, this past fall. So, obviously, Sarah is doing many things right. But her positions & general all-arms-and-all-legs gawkiness bother me.]

Even I am still trying to figure out the Russian Soul, Alexandra! At least in the more serious arts & less-than-commercial sports, in which 'special criminal elements' (not to use the "M-word") are not interested, the idea of 'fight hard and you will get ahead/be promoted' still holds true. It is a big-big deal for any performing artist to receive the invitation to go to the Kremlin & have Vladimir Putin stick a medal in his/her lapel. Such ceremonies are shown on TV quite often. What's the equivalent in the USA? Kennedy Center Honors once a year for five seasoned performers? Sadly, figure skating has recently become more 'high-level commercialized' in Russia, meaning that the "Big M" is rearing its ugly head in certain aspects of the art-sport. In fact, there have been murders of famous skaters and/or relatives in the past year (world champ Maria Butyrskaya's boyfriend beheaded & body found in a forest a month or two ago; Maria's car blown up last year before the Russian Nationals; 1984 Olympic bronze medalist Kira Ivanova -- of late a top coach at the Dynamo Club of Moscow -- stabbed to death a couple of weeks ago). But I rather keep this element out of our forum & not elaborate any further, OK? Just wanted to touch on it briefly, so that folks are aware that there is trouble even in Camelot. Sad. Hopefully ballet will never be seen by the "Big M" as very profitable...not that ballet is profitable anywhere on earth, uh? So it's better to keep awarding 'order of the motherland' medals at the Kremlin to underpaid dancers & making them feel proud with the 'laureate' headings on programmes, than to be on a box of Wheaties & having to deal with "Big M." [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

p.s. on the above: here's another thought: Why on earth have already-established and universaily-known stars of the Bolshoi (& other Russian) theaters chosen to compete in recent IBC-style competitions? I'm thinking about the Bolshoi's Anna Antonicheva & Dmitri Belogolovtsev at 1998 Jackson....or the Bolshoi's Nikolai Tsiskaridze at 1997 Moscow...or Nina Ananiashvili & Andris Liepa at 1986 Jackson (they already were well known then)? Not because they needed the exposure but because it was (is) a tremendous honor to person & to Mother Russia to win a top medal at an IBC. Those guys go to win - anything short of Gold or maybe Silver is a shame. Imagine, for example, Miranda Weese taking the risk to compete in an IBC, to bring glory & honor to the USA...risking a great reputation. What if she wins only a bronze medal against a couple of teens from Romania? That's what happened to the Bolshoi's young star, Ekaterina Schipulina, at last year's Moscow IBC - she took the risk & fell short (won only bronze). She hasn't received many premieres since. When Bolshoi or Kirov or Stanislavsky or Maly-Moussorgsky or Perm or Kiev stars decide to compete at IBCs then, doggone it, they better win the gold. But they take the risk because it is such a great prestige to come back home as a Gold Medalist & have that little 'laureate' line in the printed programme...at every performance, until the end of their careers...that 'laureate' recognition will be with them forever...and Rusian (& Eastern) audiences take their hats off to this sort of thing. They eat it up. (And there's some financial compensation for the 'laureate' dancers, too, of course.) [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

That's right to this day -- the part about the desire of lesser-known dancers to gain some exposure & 'get their names out.' It sure hasn't hurt -- say -- Renata Pavam, Xiomara Reyes, Alina Cojocaru & umpteen other very young dancers gain entry into the very best ballet companies of the west. However, I must disagree on the part about Soviet dancers using competitions *primarily* to gain Western-public exposure back in the 50s & 60s (although eventually a few names seeped out...Nureyev at that All-Soviet event...Makarova et. al. at Varna 64..it helped to have Robert Joffrey or Arnold Haskell as jurors in the early years - they brought back to the West news of fine 'unknown' dancers). But that's not the main reason why ballet competitions flourished in the East. You see, the entire culture of 'sporting competition' was -- in a way, still is -- one of the pillars of Eastern European society. On top of that, sport, in and of itself, is considered an art...so the lines that divide art and sport in western society aren't quite there in the east. For example, the martial arts are, indeed, considered an ART in Russia, as well as China & Japan, to this day (not karate but, say, judo & sambo or tai chi). In figure skating, there is an ARTS Union for professional teachers & performers of that art. So, you see, in the East there is no negativity associated with coupling ballet & sport...because sport can be art....and IS art, in many disciplines. This is especially true with any sport in which there is subjective judging. The art of diving, the art of judo, the art of fencing, the art of figure skating, etc, etc. And -- believe it or not -- even in this era of 'glasnost' the printed programmes at the Bolshoi, Kirov, or any other ballet theater in Russia specifically cite "winner of such-and-such competition" beside the name of a dancer. For example: KIROV BALLET SLEEPING BEAUTY Aurora - Diana Vishneva (laureate of 21st prix de lausanne) Desire - Andrian Fadeev (laureate of 3rd Vaganova Competition) Lilac Fairy - Janna Doe (Janna Doe never won a prize so - poor thing - she has no special citation next to her name!) You get the picture... It's an entirely different mind-set over there in the east. p.s. - Thanks, Alexandra, for the info on Taglioni & the first POB competitons. So it's even earlier. [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Hi Calliope! You could almost begin a new topic on your 2nd question -- that of people's feelings about whether or not competitions push young dancers too far or in the wrong direction. In fact...I now see that Alexandra has addressed this. I agree - we can discuss the 'Are competitions good or bad?' stuff over in Aesthetics. Now for your initial question, re. history: Alexandra is right, in that the 'grand-daddy' of all UNESCO-endorsed competitions falling within the "IBC" (International Ballet Competition) heading is the one in Varna, Bulgaria, which is flourishing to this day & will celebrate its 20th edition this July. There have, of course, been 'ballet competitions' of sorts at the Paris Opera Ballet, as part of their annual promotions process. I'm not sure when those began but I would guess in the 1920s or 30s...Estelle or Francoise or Jean-Luc, can you shed light? There were several 'All-Soviet' Ballet Competitions among young dancers of the former Soviet Union, commencing at least in the early 1950s. For example, the Kirov's Alla Sizova & Rudolf Nureyev won the 1958 All-Soviet Competition, held in Moscow. That's the competition that truly brought Nureyev to the eyes of the ballet world, dancing 'Le Corsaire pdd' in his panther-like manner. The b&w film of that competition made its way to the west & he (& Sizova) became quite well known even before Nureyev defected to the West in 1961/62. Portions of that pdd, in the All-Soviet competition, are available in one of the Kultur compendium videos, by the way. By the time that Varna 1964 took place, dancers of the Eastern blok were quite familiar and comfortable with such competitions. The French, too, fared quite well at such competitions, perhaps due to their familiarity with the rigorous internal POB competitions. - Jeannie [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Hi Calliope! You could almost begin a new topic on your 2nd question -- that of people's feelings about whether or not competitions push young dancers too far or in the wrong direction. In fact...I now see that Alexandra has addressed this. I agree - we can discuss the 'Are competitions good or bad?' stuff over in Aesthetics. Now for your initial question, re. history: Alexandra is right, in the the 'grand-daddy' of all UNESCO-endorsed competitions falling within the "IBC" (International Ballet Competition) heading is the one in Varna, Bulgaria, which is flourishing to this day & will celebrate its 20th edition this July. There have, of course, been 'ballet competitions' of sort at the Paris opera Ballet, as part of their annual promotions process. I'm not sure when those began but I would guess in the 20s or 30s...Estelle or Francoise or jean-Luc, can you shed light? There were several 'All-Soviet' Ballet Competitions among young dancers of the former Soviet Union, commencing at least in the 1950s. For example, the Kirov's Alla Sizova & Rudolf Nureyev won the 1958 All-Soviet Competition, held in Moscow. That's the competition that truly brought Nureyev to the eyes of the ballet world, dancing 'Le Corsaire pdd' in his panther-like manner. The b&w film of that competition made its way to the west & he (& Sizova) became quite well known even before Nureyev defected to the West in 1961/62. Portions of that pdd, in the All-Soviet competition, are available in one of the Kultur compendium videos, by the way. By the time that Varna 1964 occurred, dancers of the Eastern blok were quite familiar with and comfortable with such competitions. The French, too, fared quite well at such competitions, perhaps due to their familiarity with the rigorous internal POB competitions. - Jeannie [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Funny that you should mention 'Meditation' from 'Thais,' Dirac. That's the theme/music of Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze's new pairs LP, mentioned by Sylvia in the post above yours. I agree, Sylvia -- nobody needs to get overtly sexy to convey romance, not that B/S's 'Thais' does this. I wasn't aware of Anton's comment of the kiss, by the way. Good grief! Back to the familiar-vs-unfamiliar music, dirac et al. Dick Button was right, in that Johnny Weir's LP music, last night, was too remote..it didn't have a beginning, middle & end. There's lots of unfamiliar music with highlights, crescendi & such. Weir may have been hindered by his monochromatic music. *In last season's Grand prix Finals, Michele Kwan skated to one of the most ineffective pieces of music imaginable for this sort of competition: Bartok's 'Miraculous Mandarin.' Someone gave her the message &, thank goodness, she never tried it again! My point it: there's nothing wrong with skating to unfamiliar music -- we don't need an endless parade of Carmens, Don Qs, and Gladiators -- but it should be carefully selected so that it appeal to a general audience...not to mention those 'nine grey men & women' sitting in the jury box! They tend to be rather conservative & love the traditional stuff, after all. re. Tim Goebel last night. Good grief - Lori Nichols (his choreographer) should tell him to stop doing that 'dumbo look' at the start of the 'American in Paris' program. I've seen it three times now and, I swear, it appears as if he is looking around for the nearest bathroom! I finally realized, last night, that the looking around with glazed eyes & open mouth was part of the choreography. It's especially funny because it occurs just before his music commences...so it looks as if there is a problem that needs to be rectified before he begins to skate. Kill it! [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Hi, Sylvia - thanks for your comments. I'm glad that you mentioned the Canadian pairs team of Sale/Pelletier, who are so s-m-o-o-t-h on the ice & know how to draw an audience into their drama. As nice as their new Rachmaninoff LP may be, there is talk that they will be dumping it to return to their 1999/2000-season program 'Love Story'...more movie music. But, I admit, they skate exquisitely to it (as they did in the recent Grand prix finals, which they won). I'm still trying to decide whether to favor them or the gorgeous Russians, Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze, for gold in Salt Lake. [i'm a little partial to the alumni of St. Pete's Yubileiny Palace of Sports/Tamara Moskvina's emporium...I used to skate there when I lived in St Petes! No - not compete; just skate in circles & fall flat on my tush every now & then. ]

Good points, vagansmom! I certainly agree with your assessment of the two Russians (Yagudin & Pluschenko). Plushy's latest costume for his new LP makes him look like 'The Tin Man on Acid.' He's a wonderful jumper & spunky character (not to say 'cocky'!), nonetheless. This should be a very exciting Olympics for the men. You might also want to keep an eye on Japan's Takeshi Honda, who is one of the most artistic men around; I sure hope that he can get his jumps together in Salt Lake (so that he not be buried in 17th place after the short program). [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

This being a Winter Olympic year, and Salt Lake City '02 right-around-the-corner one month from now, there seems to be more than the usual interest from 'cross-over' balletomanes who also admire artistic figure skating. Even DanceMagazine names a skater or two among its 'Dancers to Watch in 2002'! [uS ladies-singles skater Sarah Hughes is one, I believe.] In Russia, figure skating is most definitely accorded equal status with ballet...you can't love one without loving the other. The Protopopovs are Russia's answer to 'Margot and Rudi' and so on. So...how about kicking off a pre-Winter Olympics discussion on dancers-on-ice? Who, in your opinion, are the artists on ice of the present? Is the state of the 'fine art of figure skating' (as Dick Button often calls it) going to pot because of the emphasis on quad jumps...or are there a few true artists yet to be found out there? I'll get this started: I see a lot of artists, despite the emphasis on 'quad' jumps. Americans could tune into the finals of the Senior men at the US Nationals last night on ABC. [Tonight it will be Senior Ladies short programs on ESPN & tomorrow are LIVE finals of Senior Ladies on the ABC-Family cable channel starting at 8 pm EST for three hours, to be repeated on ABC on Sunday afternoon at, I think, 2 pm EST. Check you regional TV schedules for exact times.] Getting back to last night's Sr men's finals....did you notice how the one man who captured the hearts of the audience & truly skated WITH the music -- Todd Eldredge -- won the Sr men's title *despite* his lack of a quadruple jump? He beat the reigning titlist, Tim Goebel (a.k.a. 'Quad King'), who gave, IMO, a lackluster and mechanical rendition of 'An American in Paris' despite landing two of his three planned quads. There is huge debate this morning on the various skating websites about whether Todd or Tim deserved the title. On another level, there is even bigger debate as to whether or not the bronze medalist last night -- Washington, DC's Michael Weiss, with (to me) a beautifully choreographed & artistically-delivered program to Puccini melodies -- deserved to make the Olympic team above the somewhat-clutzy Matt Savoie or the floating-but-lightweight Johnny Weir, who ended in 5th and 4th place, respectively. [Weir, IMO, is a true artist; at 17, he has time to develop some 'oomph' to his style. I really like him.] Ladies preview: Ballet fans should look out for Sasha Cohen, currently in 2nd place, ahead of world bronze medalist Sarah Hughes (Dancemagazines's selected one). Sasha is, IMO, a true ballerina-on-ice; she hits exquisite positions in her spirals! [i'm only a bit miffed that she -- of all people -- is trying to become the first woman to land a quad. Come on Sasha - you don't need it!!! You are an artist.] Only reigning US & World gold medalist Michele Kwan stands ahead of Sasha at this point. Also be on the look-out for current-4th-place Angela Nikodinov, who has gained a very balletic style since working with the late Elena Tcherkasskaia. Angela's long program will be GISELLE. Michele is skating an LP to SCHEHERAZADE. Sasha Cohen will be CARMEN (in the Schedrin ballet version, I believe). Sarah Hughes is the only top lady not skating to ballet music; she is skating her LP to a Rachmaninoff orchestral medley I think....she skated to DON Q last year.] Some exciting TV viewing coming up this weekend. Calling all ballet-and-skating fans. Opinions, please! - Jeannie Szoradi [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

In Russia it is always a 7 pm (19:00) curtain for ballets & operas. I'm sure that has something to do with the short daylight hours during most of 'the season' in fall-winter-spring, when the sun begins to descend around 3 pm. Besides, the St Petes & Moscow Metros also shut down around midnight. There are several practical reasons for this. I also suspect a purely-cultural reason: Those curtain calls can go on forever & ever & ever! Sort-of like a 'Nina Night' at ABT. The extra time is needed.

This is the first big competition of the new year. As most of you know, it is quite unique in that only pre-professional students compete & the prizes are scholarships to top ballet academies around the world. It is also unique in that the finals can be seen by anyone around the world who possesses a computer with internet access - yes, the finals are 'webcast.' It should be fun to reserve those dates &, perhaps, those of us interested can see it & 'comment' on the procedings as they go along (write our comments on this board, going back-and-forth between the two websites), as if we all were sitting together in the auditorium in lausanne. Think about it. If there's enough interest then we can 'meet' in cyberspace! Here is the link to the competition website: http://www.prixdelausanne.org/en/whats_up/home.asp Click on the "LiveandPictures" subdirectory near the top of the home page to access the link to the competition films. [The link to this year's finals is not up yet but plans are to do the webcast again, for sure.] To view any of the competition films, or this year's live webcast, you will need to have RealPlayer on your computer...which can be downloaded for FREE from the Lausanne competition site. It's in the "LiveandPictures" subdirectory. In the meantime - How about competitors? Does anybody know anyone who will be competiting? Any Americans or UK-based dancers? Other countries? Please feel free to share your insights! - Jeannie [ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

That Alberto Vilar does well in his investments, so that he can continue to bankroll the Kennedy Center Kirov seasons for an additional 10 years (beyond the year 2011, which is the current commitment). That Michael Kaiser continue to lose weight and look terrific, so that he stay healthy & happy in his current post of head of the Kennedy Center. That the public continue to support the arts & return to pre-9/11 spending habits re. entertainment and philanthrophy for the arts. That Washington Ballet continue its upward trend of quality programming. That the upcoming kennedy Center Kirov & Bolshoi seasons include all of the major principals & not a selective few, as in the past. Perhaps this year Gratcheva, Lunkina, Antonicheva will be included in the Bolshoi tour? Perhaps Nikolai Tsiskaridze will be given the opportunity of dancing a leading role in a complete ballet in Washington? I'll think positively. - Jeannie

That Alberto Vilar does well in his investments, so that he can continue to bankroll the Kennedy Center Kirov seasons for an additional 10 years (beyond the year 2011, which is the current commitment). That Michael Kaiser continue to lose weight and look terrific, so that he stay healthy & happy in his current post of head of the Kennedy Center. That the public continue to support the arts & return to pre-9/11 spending habits re. entertainment and philanthrophy for the arts. That Washington Ballet continue its upward trend of quality programming. That the upcoming kennedy Center Kirov & Bolshoi seasons include all of the major principals & not a selective few, as in the past. Perhaps this year Gratcheva, Lunkina, Antonicheva will be included in the Bolshoi tour? Perhaps Nikolai Tsiskaridze will be given the opportunity of dancing a leading role in a complete ballet in Washington? I'll think positively. - Jeannie

re. photo with Putin: My guess is that Plisetskaya simply updated the photos for the English-language printing & did not write a new chapter to fill-in the seven-year gap between the publication of the Russian & English versions. The Plisetskaya autobiography was published in 1994, when Vladimir Putin was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg & nobody imagined that he would one day be President of the Russian Federation...least of all himself. Funny, too, about Plisetskaya's KGB stories, yet her tremendous pride in being awarded an accolade from the hands of the former head of the KGB/FSB. I guess that bygones can be bygones. [ January 02, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ]