MJ

Is it worth "taking the waters" at the spa? MJ

So It looks like Race week is not the time to go! I was thinking of hitting both SPAC and the racetrack: Day at the races, Evening at the ballet. I live close enough to Saratoga to make it a very long day trip. I asked about parking not for finding a spot, but for getting out after the performance. 3-4 thousand people trying to leave at the same time makes for traffic. I once spent two hours fighting to get out of the foxfield races in Charlottesville Virginia. Looking forward to the warmer weather! MJY

Sad, San Jose is the Capital of Silicon Valley. I've spent a few weeks in SJ, nice town, beautiful weather. Kind of a cultural wasteland. San Francisco is less than an hour away (if the traffic Gods smile upon thee). The High concentration of engineers may make high brow arts a tough sell. The past two years have been brutal to the IT industry. I'm sure the symphony has suffered due to this. MJY

[political comment deleted by A.T.] One of the Plans for ground Zero includes an Opera House where the US HQ of Deutches Bank was (I think). The building is structurally intact, but mold from the water damage has made the building uninhabitable. The NYC Opera is looking to move somewhere, into their own opera house. A memorial opera house containing 2900+ seats would be a great one. Is that too big for an opera house? MJ

Has anyone proposedor built a monument/memorial to George Ballanchine? If not, where would you all propose one? Lincoln Center? NYC? Some would say the NYCB is his memorial, as would I. There is a statue of George m Cohan in Times Square, That plaza across the street from Lincoln Center with the funky clock would be appropriate. MJY

The running theme of Carmina Burana (profane songs) is Earthly pleasures, food, sex, gambling (O Fortuna!). I still don't get the swan roasting on a spit though. MJY

I saw a t-shirt saying "Giselle gives me the willies!"

Any recommendations about the Summer season at SPAC? Is it worth sitting on the lawn or is it better to get a seat in the shed? I've been to Tanglewood (Boston Sym Orch & Pops) often but never to SPAC. Any comments about lodging and parking would be welcome too. MJ

Does NYCB release statisitics for Nutz? I'm curious to see if attendance dropped over previous years. I'm sure it was better than last year, Xmas 01 was the most somber I've ever known. MJ

One of my teachers is from Romania (Rumania if you read the NY Times) And he said he would never do Dracula because it insults Ro/umanians. It would be a perfect ballet for all those Eastern European Character dances we do (Mazurkas, Polonaises, Czardas, etc). MJY

Amuhrikens are typically against state subsidized art, simply because mainstream (Ballet, Opera, Symphonies) get some funding, but more funding goes to "alternative" artisits who inject politics into many of their peices. I don't mind giving some money to fund offbeat art, but please don't insult me or my intelligence. I recall a peice of "performance art" that was a woman on stage and basically screamed all night about perceived enemies, total nonsense. Yet it was funded by NEA and the NYS fund for the arts. Good art will move me, great art will make me cry, but bad art just confuses me. MJY

In an attempt to get ballroom dancing recognized as an olympic Sport, it is now referred to as "DanceSport" MJ

Lets try to keep politics off this board, a few defeatists are trying to re-instate the draft to scare people. The USA is perfectly able to defend itself with an all volunteer army. There are plenty of forums for discussing war and Peace, that is the appropriate place. MJ

At least the NYPost keeps their opinions to the Editorial page, the NYTimes under Mr. Raines has taken Journalism to new depths. Too many cleverly written articles that make no room for Conservative views. Conserative books never get reviewed in their book review, even best sellers. I could go on all night. USD .02 MJ

How true to the original story is the ballet? The story takes place in both Transylvania and london. The british gentleman is bascially trapped in Vlad's Castle while Vlad seduces his Fincee in london. Boyfriend finally rescues Girlfriend. It was over thirty years ago i read the book, pretty scary at the time. I hope ballet companies do not fall into this ballet for Dec, this for October, this for Valentines Day. This for easter.

Jet Blue has really cheap flights to JFK & Satelite TV in every seat. Delta Airline is the official Airline of Boston Ballet, and two dancers are on their Autumn schedule cover. Marketing has two aspects: [MBA Mode ON] What is your message? Who do you want to direct your message to? What do you want the recipients of the message to do? Typically, you want to get your message to people with money who will come and see your performaces and attend and participate in your fundraisers. You don't want to advertise at a tractor pull or Nascar Race. Each community is different, and advertising mediums are as well. Ballet companies in Connecticut advertise on Billboards, whereas NYC ballets advertise on Radio and Newspapers. Cable is an excellent way to reach the demographics you want without blowing a fortune on TV ads. A good ad on Videotape is worth a thousand newspaper ads. Advertising you pay for, publicity is free. [MBA Mode OFF] Typically the airlines become "official" because they donate free tickets to get dancers to perfromances on time, not a cheap proposition. Piano companies donate their dented, but perfectly playable pianos for the same reason. Last year we had two guests in Our Nutcracker, local radio personalities, they talked about it for weeks! We quickly ushered them offstage when the dancing began. Make sure to keep your Web site up to date and accurate. All performace dates should be easy to find, lots of pictures too! Opera companies are very similar to Ballet companies, and should match each other's successful advertising campaigns. MJ

Having just finished Mr. B's Nutz, we were contiously admonished not to videotape. Several dancers had to look at the McCauley Culkin (SP?) video when there was confusion, I don't know how accurate the Movie is to Ballanchine, I'm sure some changes had to have been made for TV, and as 2 Left can confirm, HOllywood listens to No-one. I won't speculate why, I'll let the peanut gallery do tthat. MJ

Eye on Dance, A NYC tv show breifly mentioned how rare it is to record many ballets. The artisitis featured were attempting to reconstruct an old Ballet Russe production from their days touring South America during WWII. I tend to agree with the artists, Ballets are rarely videotaped/filmed for archival purposes. One would think it would be easier to re-construct a ballet when it will be revived in a few years, or maybe not. Is it laziness, poverty, or shortsitedness? Just curious. MJ

i was going to write a long diatribe about Nutz, but decided against it. i just finished my eighth performance and am dog tired. Just one opinion about Nutz, the music is perhaps the best ballet. Go see it live with a real live orchestra, and you will truly appreciate the beauty of the Tch. score. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! MJ

Lucky you, Danois! I just heard Nutcracker (It's now October, I can now say the "N" word!") in class today. The Coda is truly one of the best I know. "Footnotes" on bravoTV calls N the ballet everyone loves to hate. They hate to do the sme ballet every year, but most dancers love the music. I do a Ballanchine N in CT. Mr. B added a violin solo from Sleeping Beauty to the scene where Clara comes down from her bedroom to get her nutcracker (as if that scene isn't long enough!). My dressing room is right next to the orchestra, the music is georgous, it will make you weep. The audience always applauds the solo. Pity Clara is asleep on the sofa, someone should really be dancing to that music! The only movement is Clara's mum looking for her. MJ

Hmm, where did I put that Schwann Opus Catalogue? I just found Christopersseminars web site, excellent! they have both Don Q and Le Corsaire. You can even listed to samples! I'm surprised Amazon does not have these CDs!

I cannot find Le Corsaire and Don Q. I've tried Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com and all the others. Does Anyone else have ballet music you cannot find? Letting Music Executives and Musical directors of Orchestras know you are looking for a peice might encourage them to burn some CDs. I'm actually suprised how little ballet music is available. MJ

I think the best way to read Ulysses is to go to Dublin on Bloomsday (someday in June) and follow other Joyce Fans from Pub to Pub. There are bronze plaques in the sidewalks to help you.The book truly is impenetrable, even to most comp lit professors. The more Guiness you imbibe, the eaiser it is to understand Joyce. This is one of the few books I would recommend using Cliff Notes along with the book. MJ

Ann Coulter's Book "Slander" Ann is so Connecticut! "Jihad: the trail of political Islam" by Gilles Kepel. A very boring, authoritative, book on 20th century Islam. MJ

I used to work for a company HQ'd in Walnut Creek, nice town. Sad to see a company go under. Hopefully they will return under a new name. Small Companies have to be very careful with expenses, I recall the Hartford Ballet had a lot of difficulties with expenses and big plans. Every Company wants to tour, but it often will bankrupt the organizer. Besides Nut******r (still too early to say the N word) Few ballets draw enough to pay for themselves. Even the classics can cost a fortune to stage. Was the Walnut creek community behind the company? Walnut creek is a BART ride away from SF and the cultural institutions there. MJ