diane

It looks like an interesting, moving film. Seldom do films like that come anywhere near where I am. -sigh- Thanks for posting about it. -d-

^^ I love these automatic translations! They are so picturesque and intriguing at the same time! (did I understand correctly that the reviewer basically felt the dancing was pretty stellar but the acting left a bit to be desired?) In the video clip (above) the swans going by behind the two dancers were quite unusual, too. At first I mistook them for flamingos, and thought that was an interesting change. -d-

Thank you! This was lovely. -d-

Interesting, thanks. There are often more politics involved in these things than is generally good for them. -sigh- unfortunately, only UK citizens / residents may sign the petition. (makes sense, I guess....but still) -d-

It is all politics, Amy. Lobbyists abound. -sigh- -d-

Thanks for that link! It is fascinating and frustrating and sad. There are several (ballet) ensembles in Germany right now which may not exist in one to two more years. These are not just the "smaller" companies, either. This jumped out at me from the article: What the....??! Weird. -d-

Pretty interesting! Thanks! Do you know where that was from? There appears to be no description on the youtube page. I wonder where that was made - and what for? Intriguing! -d-

I also missed it; the 23rd was a working day which went until after 10 pm, so... no go. :/ There appear to be a few videos on their site which show highlights, which I have watched and thoroughly enjoyed. At least there is something! Maybe they will post more as time goes by?! -d-

cubanmiamiboy, that is exactly what I meant; you articulated it much better. "Fun" vs "joy", perhaps. (I almost wince when I hear a parent say to their child as the child goes into ballet class, "have fun!"; or when I have a teacher-parent talk and the main thing important for the parent is that their child is "having fun".) So, perhaps some of my classes are not fun, and perhaps to some students I am psychologically abusive, as I do not compliment them all the time nor couch everything into a game or joke. Of course lessons should be at least some of the time more enjoyable than not doing them, but it does not have to be an entertainment-hour where all the pupils do is "consume". ("learning can be fun!" - yes, but it is also work, often hard work. There is no free lunch. ;) ) The greatest joy - or perhaps even "fun" - comes when one is finally able to do something one could not do at first. -d-

^^You are right, cubanmiamiboy, it could very well be taught how to "mask" a yawn so as to not appear to be disrespectful. (I often have to stifle a yawn whilst teaching some of my later classes; I am not at all bored! Just really tired and in need of fresh air and a break, both of which are not going to happen right then) And, you also make a point about classes - any classes - being "fun" or not. Those were days when not everything was meant to be "fun". I think that in many places that has changed now. I find it troubling; that and the expectation that it is really important to "be happy", the implication being that we have to "be happy" all the time for our lives ot be fulfilling. -sigh- -d-

re: yawning.... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111115-yawning-mystery-brains-sinuses-health-science/ sorry very slightly: -d-

Amy, you do make some points; I was also trained in the "old traditiion" of verbal and the occasional physical abuse. (although I more often had to watch others getting the brunt of it than suffer it myself) There are methods of getting results without abuse, of course, but these do not seem to "work" with everyone. There are - it appears - some students who do not seem to respond to anything but the most overt and "abusive" corrections, only then do they appear to "wake up". (drill sargeants do come to mind!) Oh, and yes, there are sometimes those with an amazing amount of hubris, though I do wonder how they got that far (to a big, professional school) with still so much of that intact! (usually reality takes hold earlier!) Actually, these students should probably not be trying to be professional dancers, if they need to be so pushed to feel motivated But, who am I to say who should do what? I am probably missing something. Work visas: Where I live the allotment of work-visas seems to differ from one state or even city to another; in some places it appears to be fairly easy for non-European-Union members to get visas, in others: not so much. Perhaps it also depends on the person behind the desk; I am unaware of any hard-and-fast criteria, other than that the dance-co. must "prove that there are no European Nationals available who could do the job". -d-

That is very sad and troubling. I have not heard any official reports of abuse in the state schools here, though I have heard from students who were there (one DD, among others) that some less-than-desireable things happen. (I am pretty sure this is the case everywhere; we just usually do not hear about it. It is very individual, I think.) As to the employment situation: How many companies are there in Sweden which hire full-time dancers, do you know? Is it "easy" for the companies to procure work-visas for the foreign dancers? Did any of the dancers from other countries finish their training in Sweden? It is not that much different here in Germany, either, as far as I can tell, as far as the hiring of dancers goes. Most dancers in the companies are not from Germany originally, though many did finish their training here at one of the state-schools. -d-

Love that story! Thanks for posting! -d-

thank you. I work extensively with young people, putting on shows in which the stories are told only through dance (not only ballet), and we have encountered difficulty in portraying relationships - and in fact plots - clearly and consisely without programme-notes or text. (we have a very limited budget, so programmes with notes are out ot the question) Hence my interest in how others have overcome such difficulties! Knowlege of the stories and similar types of stories helps immensely, I am sure! -d-

I can sort of understand the desire to perform - just perform - and not have to continually be working on something new and re-rehearsing things as one person or the other gets injured, etc. It is a bit of exhaustion - mental, really - and the need to go "on autopilot" for a bit, perhaps. (thinking back to how I felt....) Especially if one has spent much of one's life-up-until-now doing almost exclusively ballet, then at some point some of the dancers may start to think about what it is they could have "missed", and possibly want to make up for that. Of course, I do not know this young man, so I cannot really speculate with any authority, except my own memories as a dancer and talking to those (my DD) who is now doing that. This is very personal, and not everyone feels this way, of course. -d-

thank you! This sounds interesting. One question: How did one know that the "Lilac Fairy" character was a "great, great Grandmother"? Just how would one show that in dance, or even pantomime, I am wondering? -d-

Gorgeous. Thank you. Paul, I think you have good points - Fonteyn knew what her dances were ABOUT and she was concentrated on that. (along with all the other things she did well... ) -d-

That is correct, the Kindle version is much cheaper! (€7.7 today for $10!) Helene, that is interesting! I did not know that one does not have to buy the Kindle to read the books. I had not planned on acquiring yet another piece of electronic gadgetry, just yet, so being able to read things on my computer would be great! Thank you for the information! I will look into that. -d-

Most rules have been put in place because someone, at some time, went so far as to make the rules necessary. (I must say that a rule of only 55 min. before a break seems a bit odd, but -whatever! ) In different countries and sometimes inside of the country there are different rules - and different unions, which of course makes things even more complicated. Some theatres have special deals worked-out so that they can circumvent some rules and regulations, also regarding pay. As in everything, it is good when the pathways of communication are open and people are willing to talk to each other without their egos getting in the way. (I would like to read this book, too, but am waiting for it to come out in paperback, over here. So far it appears to be still too expensive for me.) -d-

Just wanted to thank all of you for putting up your examples and explaining your points of view. It has been very educational for me, and I am so sorry that I never got to see many of these performers live. It is so wonderful that we have the opportunity to have a tiny glimpse of what it must have been like through the snippets of film and video and of course the written memories. I was lucky enough to have seen Nureyev and Fonteyn when I was a child/young teen, even being allowed to go backstage and meet them once (due to my father having once "known" Nureyev) and I was absolutely enthralled! What magic! Leonid, I like your comments on the cultural and historical context when viewing these bits of performances; and of course so much is also a matter of "taste". When I choreograph/direct for youths (not all ballet students, and most have never seen a dance peformance) I also tend to be quite dramatic in a rather "overdone" sense, as that is what the "non-initiated" to the art will likely understand and even be moved by. It is perhaps as with very young babies; they must be exposed to light in order for their eyes to react and recognise light - same goes for sounds and soon after the different tones and inflections, making it easier or more difficult for the person to learn languages /dialects, etc. later. (just musing here... ;) ) -d-

Wow. That is a weird situation with the union-rep., but perhaps it is that way for a reason. (to help keep caps on things, you know) -d-

Great! I am forwarding this to my DDs. Thanks for finding. -d-

wonderful. Thanks for posting! We once had a very large BED which was accidentally left centre-stage after a scene-change. That was quite a challenge to do the entire next scene dancing around it. ;) (not possible to just "push it offstage", of course) -d-

well, perhaps someone will get an idea... especially the original story is quite full of neat possibilities, I think. ;) -d-