Old Fashioned

Dancermom2, you should come to Houston sometime. I can't come up with one thing that Lauren Anderson has not been cast in. She's carried much of the company's weight for many years. When Carlos Acosta was here, he was also as much apart of the repertoire as anyone else. Right now there is a budding corps dancer, Cleopatra Williams, who was featured in an advertisment for the Nutcracker this past Christmas as Clara.

I've cried watching Plushenko (actually, more like laughed) and Kwan before, but I still understand figure skating is a sport because it's all about competition.

Swan Lake. I've never been particularly fond of this one, mainly because of the score, but now it seems like every choreographer has to have their own version, which makes me dislike it even more. I like Petipa, thank you.

Why not include all of the above and have a two-hour special instead of one?

I swear my school uses one and probably along with all the other schools in my district and surrounding areas.

Yes. ::Shudder::

I like the idea that he's continuing the tradition of creating new, full-length ballets instead of turning so much towards modern dance for new choreography. Age is not an issue for me; I believe he will carry the company well. Also, keep in mind that he isn't doing it alone. Mr. Stevenson will still have a lot of input and Welch has Maina Gielgud with him.

Yup. Read it in the paper yesterday. The thing with Stevenson is that his "golden age" with HB was long over. Without his muse, Janie Parker, he just didn't become inspired much anymore, and the reputation of the company had gone down a bit. Not that he doesn't enjoy working with HB of today, but he feels he needs to move on and spread his work. I think it explained it in the article I posted, but it's not there anymore.

But what about Balanchine's firm belief in that all he was doing was creating entertainment?

Oh, yes, very much so. Or maybe your idea of punk rock is different from what's being played today.

Hmph. I think I'm fairly familiar with Fosse's work, and I still enjoyed the film. I didn't try to compare it to how movie musicals "used to be" or theatrical stagings.

What I actually meant was I wished to see it on the big screen. I was wondering if I should pre-order the soundtrack on Amazon. If you do, does it arrive at your house the day of the release or is it shipped off the day of the release?

I thought it was amazing. What a beautiful transition to the screen; this definitely did not feel like a taping of a stage production. Gere didn't disappoint as much as I thought he would, but I still would have preferred to see someone else in the role (he did do some nice footwork, though). I'm still WOWing over the performances given by both Zellweger and CZJ. They are decent enough dancers- I thought the faultiness in the "I Can't Do it Alone" number was a nice touch. Maybe they don't have the greatest voices in the world (I didn't think Verdon and Rivera did, either), but the sensuality of their singing worked wonders on the audience; the point is they are great performers. John C. Reilly also really shone in this film. *Sigh* what I would give to see Queen Latifah and Zeta-Jones do "Class."

Ah, I forgot about that. When Fosse did Cabaret , he wanted his German dancers (all were actually German except for two) to put on weight and leave their armpits unshaved. I read that Marshall tried to create the same affect for this movie- guess it didn't turn out as well (wouldn't have worked for audiences, anyway). When I first heard who would be cast in the movie, I was a bit disappointed. CZJ and Zellweger didn't strike me as the "murderess" type; they seemed just as you had described Zeta-Jones as "too ladylike, too soft." Now I'm being optimistic about it. For some reason, I see the cast of Xena in this. Lucy Lawless as Velma, Renee O'Connor as Roxie, Kevin Smith as Billy...they can all sing, too.

That's really odd, Ari. I keep reading rave reviews about Zeta-Jones and how she outshines Zellweger song and dance wise, but I can't judge for myself cuz I haven't seen it yet. I wish I could have gone to the early screening of it here in Houston, but it was a school night with finals coming up, so that was out of the question... "Zeta-Jones doesn't look like a dancer (she's a bit, um, fleshy)." A bit harsh, isn't it? I know her body can't compare to the ballet dancers of today, but why should it affect an actress in a jazz/musical role?

I wish I could frequent the New York dance scene so I could participate in the majority of the discussions here. Just two more years, just two more years...

I don't understand- wasn't he against winging?

I totally agree with you on that. There's a clip somewhere around online of him singing "Razzle Dazzle" and sounded...strange...(what kind of accent is he using?). Hugh Jackman would be so much better in the role, if only he didn't have to do an X-men sequel. I wish Fosse was alive, also, and have Bette Midler and Liza star in it as original planned (the movie would have been shot much earlier, though). I'm still looking forward to seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones- who I hear is amazing in it- and Renee Zellweger star as the "merry murderesses." I didn't know that the movie was through the eyes and imagination of Roxie, but it seems pretty clever to me. I read a review of it already and the critic actually criticized it for being too theatrical and wasn't filmed like a movie. The critic went on to compare it to Cabaret, and said Cabaret was "movie"-like while Chicago was like a filming of a stage production.

Anyone else as excited as I am?

Hmnn...has anything ever been done to Django Reinhardt? I'd like to see a "swinging" ballet.

Ben Stevenson has an Alice in Wonderland production that premiered in 1992 and will be staged by HB again for this season. Ann Holmes, a Houston Chronicle critic, described it as "a mad, magical night of boisterous fun…The ballet is a witty, wacky, sometimes lovely mix of dance and musical comedy!" His Alice has also entered the repertoires of Ballet West, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Atlanta Ballet.

"Harmony and contrast: all beauty comes from these two things." -Vatel When I watched the movie awhile ago, I couldn't stop thinking about this one line. I was coming up with things in my mind that have harmony and contrast, especially in ballet. What ballets and dancers do you think show these qualities?

I'm praying that it means Acosta will be back in Houston. They took his name off the roster while he was gone, so I hope they'll change it soon.

I feel the same way.

Thank you for your input! I'll hopefully have time this weekend to go to the bookstore and look into it.