Watermill

I think you must mean "Waterloo Bridge" made in 1940. Miss Leigh (soon to be Mrs Olivier) is a ballet dancer ejected from her company by Ouspeska (the great Russian acting teacher) for coming home late (or something dancers do all the time) Thinking her fiance is dead in the War (WWI) she...well...needs to make rent...ahem...on the Waterloo Bridge. (Remember, this is post 1934 Censorship Code) So of course she's hit & killed by a truck! BTW: a favorite with Russian audiences. Remade as Gaby in 1956 with Leslie Caron (who actually dances in it)

I'm really upset they left off Herman from Herman's Hermits ...and what about Jack the Ripper? As my dearly departed Irish Nana said: "The masses are asses, darlin'" I shudder to think how many notches above Eleanor Roosevelt the low-riding Britney Spears would appear on an American poll. Euwww!

What I've observed out here with Oregon Ballet Theatre is an interesting example of mixing these EXPERIMENTAL/POP/BALLET genres. James Canfield's oft quoted " If ballet doesn't change it will die" has a ring of truth to it. Who could argue that the court dances of Loius XIV would have died long ago but for the continual changes wrought by ballet masters/mistresses, composers & dancers? But Mr. Canfield's statement belies the near financial death of his own company a few years ago, as the new audiences he sought with his rock ballets failed to show up regularly and the balletomanes headed over the Interstate Bridge to Seattle to enjoy PNB. I'm not such a purist as to reject exploring new possibilities. In fact, the "Money" section of Canfield's Pink Floyd rock ballet is eternally burnt into my memory as a thrilling example of how ballet technique and rock can merge. But it's the overmixing that I object to. Look at the post-Billboards history of the Joffrey for a good example of what not to do. As a weak metaphor I offer up the following: You order an exquisite gourmet dinner; the waiter serves it with impeccable care, then slams a blender on the table, dumps everything in and hits the frappe button, and pours the mess back on your plate.

What I've observed out here with Oregon Ballet Theatre is an interesting example of mixing these EXPERIMENTAL/POP/BALLET genres. James Canfield's oft quoted " If ballet doesn't change it will die" has a ring of truth to it. Who could argue that the court dances of Loius XIV would have died long ago but for the continual changes wrought by ballet masters/mistresses, composers & dancers? But Mr. Canfield's statement belies the near financial death of his own company a few years ago, as the new audiences he sought with his rock ballets failed to show up regularly and the balletomanes headed over the Interstate Bridge to Seattle to enjoy PNB. I'm not such a purist as to reject exploring new possibilities. In fact, the "Money" section of Canfield's Pink Floyd rock ballet is eternally burnt into my memory as a thrilling example of how ballet technique and rock can merge. But it's the overmixing that I object to. Look at the post-Billboards history of the Joffrey for a good example of what not to do. As a weak metaphor I offer up the following: You order an exquisite gourmet dinner; the waiter serves it with impeccable care, then slams a blender on the table, dumps everything in and hits the frappe button, and pours the mess back on your plate.

In the world of music there are mountain ranges: the Classic Range, the Baroque, the Romatic, the Modern. We may argue over the relative heights of these mountains, but we all know a mountain when we see/hear it. The dancing muse has in turn scaled these heights and awaits a tectonic shift in the human soul, a formation of the next mountain range. The very fact that Mr. Chappell would ask that question and that Mr. McKenzie would respond to it is an indication of the foothills we are dwelling upon. But oh will there be fannies in the seats!

Ronny, I want to echo Alexandra and also say that I found your genuine "need to know" refreshing and the topic stimulating. No offense given; none taken! Cheers, Watermill

Oh, I forgot Ellen & Angela's classmate Jessica Wyatt, now with the Joffrey.

Ellen Ostrum is from Portland Oregon. She and Angela Snow of ABT were the two final jewels to come out of the Haydee Gutierrez program at OBT. Haydee turned out two or three extraordinary dancers a year at OBT until Mr. Canfield decided the spotlight had room for only himself. In a few years, look for the next string of pearls to start emerging from her new studios at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

...and how fitting that we should gather 'round the subject of checks! BTW: I'm sure there are other Dads "lurking" Don't be a stranger, jump on in. This is a very supportive and experienced group on this forum.

As a theatre professional, I have been amazed at how choreographers such as MacMillan, Tudor, DeVallois, DeMille Etc have been able to adapt plays into powerful story ballets. Read Chekhov's Three Sisters then view MacMillan's Winter Dreams. The distance traveled from the word on the page to the foot on the floor is obviously a circuitous one, as Sir K strove to capture the essence of these character's subtle feelings. In stark contrast, I think of Trey MacIntyre's treatment of Alice in Wonderland, Alyss, with its humorous and sometimes terrifying take on a well known dreamscape. Looking at the myriad styles of "interpretations" I would think it more practical to write a novel, play, poem without regard for dance possibilities. As long as you strike a deep vein of truth and modern interest, the poets of the stage will respond. Unless Hollywood gets to you first. Then all is lost.

...while we're all holding our noses... What about the dreadfully fascinating Specter of the Rose (1946) with Dame Judith Anderson and Mihael Chekhov? Ben Hecht wrote & directed the overwrought screenplay about a "mad" male ballet star "Ivan Kirov" (!), played (and danced..um...eccentrically) by Andre Sanine (?) who obsesses over his new partner, "Viola Essen" played by the one-named Haidi. It has absolutely nothing to do with Spectre, and is choreographed by none other than Tamara Geva! Ivan's endlessly final solo as he dances "insanely" in a small hotel bedroom has got to be seen to be believed. If you don't believe me, here's a sample of dialogue: IVAN: Hug me with your eyes! VIOLA: I am. IVAN: Harder!

You're right rg, the low end DVD players should probably be avoided. I bought my Toshiba SD-1700 for $125 & it works quite well. dirac, you are very amusing: these "new gizmos" have been out for 12 years (...and I though I was bad!) Know what you mean about the director's cut: often a showcase of indulgence. (Ex: Apocalypse Now) But sometimes the corporate studios hack things to death and you don't get to see the REAL film until the director's cut. (EX: Once upon a Time in America.)

None whatsoever... The board has hired a big headhunter from Canada to beat the artistic director bushes. The deadline for submissions was months ago, but I suppose they'll have to continue looking. Knowing the scattered nature of the board (mostly business & government types with barely an artistic bone in their bodies) I have little confidence it will be someone special. But I'd love to be suprised! Just not Forsyth..I didn't mean That kind of suprise...

DVD Players are down to $89, so your excuses are running out, dirac! Seriously, I resisted my braying children for years before buying one and now I knock them out of the way to get the best seat. I especially enjoy the letterboxing and the added features. I mostly borrow from our library so I don't spend much aside from occasional rentings. Kosintsev's Hamlet with Smoktunovsy in the title role is one of the greatest film adaptations of that great play. I saw a restored print on a big screen and was nearly overwhelmed by the power of it. One of the reasons I'd love to see this Tchaikovsky film...

Sellars is a UCLA Prof of World Culture (fitting, isn't it?) He still takes the field to stir the pot , but looks like Tyrone Guthrie next to the latest generation of whiz kids of whom I'd guess Messr Bieito is one. "Opting for the lewd" struck me as a leitmotif I have certainly grown tired of ...But then I've just survived 6 years of James Canfield at OBT. And this past theatre season, I had to endure a Seagull where Arkardina & Trigorin "enjoyed" each other on the dining table... in the middle of the afternoon... while speaking their lines...And no this was not a college production, but our major theatre company! And don't get me started on Contact again... Has somebody dumped viagra in the water system?

All I can reiterate is that Jane Eaglen on that night could have weighed three thousand pounds and it would not have mattered. Opera is primarily about music for me, not about acting or staging. It's funny that you should mention the glorious Flagstad, dirac, because we all agreed that not since Flagstad had there been a prettier sounding Isolde than Eaglen's. I do agree that enormity is a visual obstacle, and that it surely brings health problems. Caballe's long career is perhaps an exception. But as you said, Juliet, this is a wide tangent (*wink*) The Deli is closed! Back to Ballet Beauty!

Bravo, Ed: One of the most glorious evenings of my entire life was Seattle Opera's Tristan und Isolde with the notably rotund Ben Heppner and the..er...shall we say...rather earthbound Jane Eaglen. The statospheric vocal artistry of this duo surpassed any visual obstacles presented by their Olympian girth. And what about the tremendous (in all ways) Monserrat Caballe? To think that we might be losing the next MC because Opera schools are "going for looks" sends shivers down my spine. An EDUCATED audience knows what to listen for and when to look. I hear that opera choruses across the country are starting to cast for looks, and are losing depth of sound. That's like casting ballet corps for their singing abilities! Render unto Ceasar... Watermill

Thr Russian Cinema Council has released the 1974 ballet film Anna Karenina w/ Plisetskaya & Gudunov on DVD: http://www.ruscico.com/detail_eng.php?link=149 I think it's ALL Regions, but check to make sure. They also seem to have it on PAL VHS, but not NTSC. They also have released a DVD of the major bio-pic of Tchaikovsky from 1970 which has some added features, including what appears to be an interview? with Plisetskaya. This appears to be only Region 2 http://www.ruscico.com/detail_eng.php?link=118 Gosh I wish they'd DVD more ballet! I'll bet they have not hours, but DAYS of it rotting in film cans and oxydizing on old vhs masters. When I think of what's being lost I could just cry... What an irony that it was the horrendous Soviet sytem that preserved Russian Ballet (because of its rampant failures in almost all other endeavors, excluding Space, it had to), but now the new capitalists need to know there's a market before preserving these pieces of ballet history. Meanwile, the clock keeps ticking, and the image vanishes... Maybe if a few of us buy the Anna K...? Watermill

Yes, I would be interested. I'll bet there's a desktop publishing software that can be used. Although the printer needs that special ink for the routing #. Also, Ballet Dad 48, I believe you were involved with the late Clev/SJ Ballet School? If you reach the magic # of 30 posts I would like to send you a Private Message. I have a question re a former instructor. Cheers, Watermill

I watched the Classic Kirov video last night and was fascinated by the "evolution" in dancers looks it illustrates through the years. Just watching the feet in terms of arch & turnout is a history lesson. The stocky peasant bodies of the 30's slowly give way to the streamlined fineness of Kolpakova in the 80's. It re-inforced the concept of Ballet as Beauty for me. It's not entirely unfair. Those dancers genetically cheated by the game of DNA pinball can only profit from ballet technique, flexibility, stature, discipline, etc. and take it to other dance forms, esp modern but certainly B'way. It's a big dance world. Terphsichore is as likely to alight upon the high school gym as onstage at the NYState Theatre. It's we who attempt to contain her wild spirit. Watermill

..funny, I couldn't pick it up before I started it! Hopefully. it will provide Yona with enough income so she doesn't have to write about Barbie's Fiftieth! Wickedly, Watermill

Good issue...constantly raised in the field I toil in (theatre) Profane language has a power because it is limited to certain situations. I may draw the line in a different place than you, but we all draw the line somewhere. I personally would have bleeped because I know a general audience including children (esp young dancers) was tuned in. I feel that young (12 & younger) children should not be exposed to such language. That's where I draw my line. I must admit, however, that I am somewhat amused by the proponents of artistic profanity when they raise the banner of "honesty" (as in: "That's the way people really talk") Contact was a perfect example of how false that argument is: a man taking his wife to a middle class Brooklyn restaurant in 1954 would NEVER speak that way in public, no matter what crime family he might belong to. Out on the docks, sure...but not in a crowded, respectable eatery. Not even in 1964. The larger point, of course, is that this is a SHOW, not REAL LIFE, and it is just as ridiculous for me to insist that it be true to the mores of 1954 Brooklyn as it is for the anti-bleeps to uphold the overuse of certain words "because that's the way it really is". (Not that anyone on this board has said this...yet) I have a further question, born of my severe disliking of the show: Of all the performances from LC that could have been shown, why this? Having shown a variety of music, ballet and opera, did they want to represent theatre somehow? And this was all they could offer? I know this is a popular, entertaining show, but what a jumble of trite ideas and shallow characters: all set to a grab bag of top forty tunes (even the classical top forty). I felt like I was watching something conceived by a team of hormone-laden seventh graders. I will concede to some inventive, fun choreography danced very well, but this is not what I think of when I think "Live from Lincoln Center". . Another point against wasting valuable PBS resources and airtime on this pop-fizz is that while we in the hinterlands pine away for want of current ballet and opera offerings, Contact is touring all over the place and can be seen soon in a theatre in downtown Anywhere. Shouldn't Live from LC be bringing us the stuff we can't see? But then pop singers have been crooning fron the stage of Carnegie Hall for decades, so I'm not suprised at this, just disappointed. Oh, well...at least it provided work for some very good dancers. And I liked the dance-centric nature of it all. I just think that Ms Stroman's talents lie in the area of light show choreography and she needs to work with a much better artistic team if conceiving an original piece with deep themes. "Clever" always loses when it meets "Meaningful". All right, that's enough wind from the northwest.... Watermill

...and that today's Artistic Directors are less Artistic and more Director (as in Board of Directors). The fund-raising alone is enough to crush the creative spirit of many. Is it me or is there a slowly seeping mediocrity of vision amongst these artists turned administrators? It's as if some wierd formula were at work: AE- (f/r) ___ (f/s) x (c/s)nth = MV Where AE is artistic excellence diminished by a factor of fundraising events divided by exposure to financial statements times the size of the company to the nth power, n being the number of pointe shoes used in a month which all equals Mediocre Vison. Or a simpler version: art + compromise = real life Although, now that I think of it, some of them weren't the most artistic to begin with. Haven't seen Forsythe's work, but I applaud his amusingly over-written statement.

Say Old Fashioned, you might have a good idea. What about a film "based" on the SF/MrB story, but with no dancing, just an exploration of the characters. (Including Mrs F, Paul M, etc) There certainly was a enough drama to make a movie. Start writing that screenplay! Watermill

Say Old Fashioned, you might have a good idea. What about a film "based" on the SF/MrB story, but with no dancing, just an exploration of the characters. (Including Mrs F, Paul M, etc) There certainly was a enough drama to make a movie. Start writing that screenplay! Watermill