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diane

Senior Member
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Everything posted by diane

  1. The other Strauss - meaning Richard? Yes, sometimes there are some other things; even R.Strauss, but not often. This one is for publicity, after all. Karajan - yes. Yes. It is a Tradition (with a captial "T") for us to watch the Neujahrskonzert here... and at midnight of the first of January to listen to the Donauwalzer and dance around the room precariously holding a glass of Sekt. -d-
  2. Did anyone see this? Being "over here", we of course see the German/Austrian version and the Austrian broadcasting people are "presenting" it. Is this shown "live" in the US? It's quite "kitschy"; but I guess that is the idea; get more tourists to come to Austria. I am finding the dancing bits more and more cringe-worthy as I get older. The dancers are fine, the choreography and attempts at - what? a story-line? - bother me more and more. My DH is Viennese and therefore this is a must-do for us on New year's day after breakfast. Actually, I liked it that there were not quite as many martial pieces this time; or perhaps I was not paying attention. (who was it who said of playing/conducting Viennese walzes, "...it is not - one-two-three - but more like, one-two and... maybe... three"...?) -d-
  3. I am stunned that this was meant seriously. On another note: It is possible to put rubber onto strategic parts of the soles of the slippers or pointes; even so, it is still not fun dancing on super-slippery floors. Perhaps that is what was done for these brave dancers? -d-
  4. Yeah - and I wonder what the real reason is?? Copyright? Some companies at least leave up the entire class for years and years. Oh, well. -d-
  5. Cool! Yes, for sure I hope that she did not have to sit there for too long, getting cold! And, I am really wondering what she did to her pointe shoes so that she could dance on that floor!! (I know that one can have rubber glued onto the soles, but I did not notice anything, did anyone else?) -d-
  6. Ah, thanks. It is wonderful to get to see class and some rehearsals! Unfortunately, I never have time to watch the videos at this time of year - it is a super-busy time for me.I will make do with the highlights which remain so that I can watch bits and pieces over the xmas and soring holiddays. -d-
  7. So much fun to look at these! Personal observation: I know that one cannot really make comparisons from photographs, as they could vary ever-so-slightly from second-to-second, so that we cannot know if the photo of the three muses, for example, in the iconic arabesques with Apollo, was taken at the exact moment as the other photo of the same pose.... but..... personally I find that in general the older photos show more in terms of body language and emotion and "human-ness" than the more recent ones. Of course, it may just be me reading too much into them. -d-
  8. Quote pherank: "Somehow, there remains this notion that any artwork that doesn't pretend (and it's always pretend) to be wholly original and seemingly beholden to nothing else in the universe, is secondary or just not very good." I agree. This goes on all the time in (especially modern/contemporary "zeitgenössisches") dance all the time, and sometimes those who feel they were the "first" get annoyed and sue. I think that much of art through the history of mankind has "borrowed" heavily from other works; and that is fine. To me, anyway, art is distilled experiences, put in a way which makes it possible for someone else to experience something in, perhaps, a slightly different way. (without immediately shutting the door and shouting...) -d-
  9. I am glad that someone finally (at least I was unaware of earlier times) brought this issue up at all. Of course each audience member has their own way of seeing things and interpreting things, and the artist may have a totally different way of seeing it. The issue is whether something which is undesireable in a society is being unwittingly perpetuated by being made to appear "harmelss and everyday" onstage. There are times when things are taken for granted and are "just fine", and then there are times when they are not. (ways of depicting peoples, minorities, and that sort of thing) I got the impression that Burke was more calling into discussion what she perceived as using certain "images" just to achieve an effect, and not going into them deeper. What I am not sure of (having obviously not seen the piece... I am in Germany...) is if a choreographer is really ever aware of what they are putting out there, and very often their intent is quite different to what the audience member feels. Oh, dear.. I am afraid I am not very good at putting this into words. But I have seen multiple examples of this throughout my years as a dancer, then teacher and (very minor) choreographer. -d-
  10. Pherenk and sandik, yes, those are good stories. My husband was quite miffed; but he has since come to see that it is not necessarily a sign that someone is not paying attention if they are doing something else with their hands while watching/listening to a play. (except eating - ha!) In fact, isn't there some evidence that doing something physical whilst listentng /watching helps some /many people to concentrate? (in one of my DDs grade-school classes the students were encouraged to bring those large, rubber spherical things (one cannot type certain words here...) which they could sit and "bounce" on during lessons; they just had to have a small "ring" udnerneath so that the spherical objects would not roll away when the kids got up. Back to the topic: In some theatres here there is an intermission put into even the shortest of shows so that the folks who sell drinks and small snacks can make a bit of money. Of course, with an intermission one runs up agains the possibility that some people will LEAVE then. -d-
  11. In most theatres I have been to in Germany and Austria (not cinemas, mind you - theatres with live shows) it is strictly prohibited to bring any food or drink into the auditorium, and of course strongly forbidden to consume any of it. That said, there are those audience members who do need a cough lozenge or a sip of water to calm a throat, and that is usually O.K. I cannot imagine seeing anyone actually eating during a performance! (my husband once saw a woman in the first row knitting, which made him pretty angry, as he thought she should be paying more attention to the play hein which he was acting...we had quite a discussion on that, as I can sure see the point of an audience-member wanting to use their hands productively and quietly... but, I digress!) -d-
  12. Yes, money is the driver. However, many politicians, those who have a voice in deciding what funding goes where, will say it is because they wanttheir cities to be seen as modern and "up to date" and having a hand in the "evolution" of dance. (and, there are enough potential "ballet directors" to take up posts doing just that... they churn out one "world premiere" after another.,.. garnering much-wanted attention even beyond the provincial borders. I will stop now.) -d-
  13. I think this is the same all over other parts of Europe, too. Often politicians who have very limited knowledge of theatre think that they are being modern and progressive by turning the ballet companies into modern-dance companies (which is basically what happens when the ensembles are drastically reduced...), and - hey! - they save money, too! -d-
  14. I am surrpised there has not been a lot of talk about this before. I remember not a few dance-students taking drugs to "enhance" their dancing or help them lose weight back when I was studying. There were drugs (cocaine, heroin, amphetamines...) in several of the companies I worked with; though it did not appear to be widespread. (alcohol was much more a problem...) Definitely agree that it is necessary to educate the dancers, and also the choreographers and directors (who are not always looking to the best health interests of their dancers, because there are deadlines and there is competition for contracts to make new pieces) to the necessity of long-enough breaks between shows/rehearsals, etc., as well as anatomically intelligent movements which do not put the dancer under undue pressure to over-and-over do things which are harmful to the body, though they look amazing. -d-
  15. this is so dear! Oh, that all children could be so cherished and loved! What a wonderful welcome for this tiny, new human! How charming! -d-
  16. What a darling! Oh, you must be so proud and happy! Congratulations! -d-
  17. I think many of us were surprised, but, I think, Dylan has always seen himself more as a poet than a songwriter. The few times I have seen him in concert he has -somewhat reluctantly, it seemed - played some of the old favorites, but only the text remained similar; the music was - or seemed to be - inconsequential and replaceable. For him, the words seem to be the most important. -d-
  18. That is amazging! I am so happy for you! You will never be the same again, you know; your life is about to change forever! Congratulations! Congrats as well on your new job! Challenging, for sure, but probably also rewarding. -d-
  19. Ah, thanks. That does make sense, mmded. Tragic times; I hope they do get enough money together to meaningfully help. -d-
  20. Oh, yes; I am sure I will get the "hang" of it, eventually. It is as getting used to anything slightly different - one just has to keep at it. Helene, I was seeing every post in a thread extra - listed extra - instead of one "heading", where when I clicked on it took me to the last post. It does not appear to be so, now, so I am pleased about that. Thank you for helping so much! Sometimes it is a semantics problem; I think that I probably do not use the correct terms to describe something. (this is even more pronounced in German in many different sites where one is told to use a "name" and a "special word" and a "password" and then a "user-word" - and one never knows just what is meant for each site.) -d-
  21. Thank you, Helene, that is helpful! I am still unsure how to set it up that I see only the main thread, and not every single entry in that thread. (am I making sense? At present I see, as I scroll down the page of "my stream", which I just created, every single entry in a thread,listed extra. It's not terrible, of course, but it is a bit disconcerting. ) -d-
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