Old Fashioned

Socialism is on the rise throughout Latin America, not just in Venezuela and Cuba, and it doesn't look like the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement will be dying down anytime soon. I would think that National Ballet of Cuba is the one important company; Cuba is not a very large country to begin with, quite unlike the US where it's virtually impossible to have a true national ballet and regional ballets flourish in its place.

Thank you for saying in a single sentence what I attempted to do in a whole paragraph. One artistic director I can think of who has done a decent job of promoting diversity within the company is Ben Stevenson for Houston Ballet. Whatever one thinks of his choreography (on this international and New York-centric board, he and Texas companies are often overlooked), he elevated the status of ballet in Texas, which I think had a lot to do with bringing talents like Anderson, Li Cuxin, Li Anlin, and Carlos Acosta to the forefront.

I don't think I articulated my thoughts clearly. I certainly don't believe that AD's should hire minorities simply because they would diversify the company at the expense of talented white dancers...I'm only trying to pinpoint what the current problem is, and I'm far from knowing the right solution. Of course the AD's purpose is to serve the art form first and foremost...I guess what I'm trying to call into question is what that artistic vision involves and if that vision can include a diverse talent pool. I don't believe that one race, nationality, ethnicity, etc. can be inherently superior over another (although interestingly enough, Plisetsky said "No one is so naturally gifted in dancing as the Cubans"), but given the right opportunities and proper training, everyone has an equal chance at success. Is enough being done for everyone to be given that chance? The fact that there are more Caucasian ballet dancers in US companies than other races will always be a given...I don't expect there to be equal numbers of each race or more minority dancers than white, unless there is a dramatic shift in the general population. I think part of the problem in attracting a wider audience for ballet today is because people don't see a reflection of themselves or the real world in the company make-up. Whether it is artistically valid to be more reflective of reality in an art form like ballet is up for debate. Personally, I don't think the integrity of the art will be jeopardized if directors made the active effort to diversify, if there is no compromise of standards in technique, like Mel said. In the long run it will increase the quality of the product on stage. Back to the finer points of the article, I wonder what it is about the dancers mentioned that kept them from progressing in the ballet world, without considering their skin color. I haven't seen either Aesha Ash or Alicia Graf perform, so I ask of those who have seen them: was Ash talented enough to get a promotion? would Graf's dancing style fit in with either NYCB or ABT's artistic standards?

I agree with you for the most part, but being colorblind can be to a fault. If directors do not have the initiative to improve racial diversity within a company, then they could be acting under the auspicious title of "colorblindness" because race is a non-issue for them. I’ve seen this sort of mono-culturalism occur before in organizations that pride themselves on indifference to race, color, or origin, and this happens because it discourages active diversity within.

There are different opinions regarding the quality of training in the US. McKenzie's statement seemed to be a way of avoiding answering the more sensitive issue and directing the attention elsewhere. The article argues that it's not because these dancers are not talented enough, but that there may be some inherent racism or unwillingness to hire or promote them because they don't fit a particular "vision." Should artistic directors make a conscious effort to hire black female dancers? Or is affirmative action in this case out of the question?

Ah, now we have come upon the larger question. There has always been a divide among African-Americans; those who want to conform to the dominant culture to gain acceptance within society and those who embrace their own cultural identity. In the history of ragtime, jazz, to the present controversy over hip-hop, some (usually the more affluent middle-class African-Americans in opposition to the lower-class) have resisted these black forms of music, which they saw as debasing and "giving them a poor image." They preferred their children to learn the highbrow music of Bach and Mozart rather than learning the music played in brothels. Politics of respectability are at play here. James Reese Europe's family is a good manifestation of this occurrence. Europe's mother was dismayed at her son's preference for ragtime music, and his sister actually became a very talented concert pianist in the European tradition. Applying this to ballet, I think economics play a more important role in keeping minorities out of the classical European arts than negritude. What's interesting is how this dynamic seems to be occcurring in jazz music, too...I could go at length about that, but I won't.

Thank you for reviving this thread. I was thinking about racial diversity in ballet lately but didn't want to bring up the topic because it's something that has been discussed many times before and didn't know if there was much else that I could add that hasn't already been said. When there was still talk of who Peter Martin's would choose to dance the role of Juliet, I thought of the slight possibility that he would cast a non-white SAB student, since there is comparatively more racial diversity in the school than in the company. THAT would have made an interesting choice. Alas, it was beyond him. The segment on Aesha Ash in Kourlas' article is devastating. If what she said is true, that was a rather insensitive comment on Mr. Martin's part. I could care less if her statement is in violation of some company confidentiality--I'm glad to be made aware of these things. I was also unaware that Alicia Graf had tried out for NYCB and ABT and rejected by both. If the lack of racial diversity in ballet companies is due to the fact that artistic directors are unwilling to "challenge" the audience, then they are more short-sighted than I thought. I highly doubt that people would be so unwilling to see more black, Hispanic, or Asian talent in the company ranks for the audience base to be jeopardized. It's not the pre-civil rights era where Hollywood execs were afraid to cast Lena Horne in Show Boat because Southerners didn't want to see a black lead. Ballet would be able to draw more viewers, diversifying the audience as well. Back in Texas, Lauren Anderson was probably the best recognized out of all HB ballerinas.

Not really, at least nothing that I know of (I have bunions, too). Dancers with bunions sometimes wear spacers between the big toe and the second toe to alleviate pressure on the bunion. Some people may even find the shape of Alina's feet reassuring: her imperfect feet didn't stop her from becoming a great ballerina!

You are not alone in your judgment of her skills at the time. I just came across this somewhat dated article: The Guardian (June 24, 2000)

WHOA. I've been away from the Houston dance scene for longer than I thought. I knew that Konvalina had joined NBoC, but I had no idea THAT had happened.

I've never been a fan of the "spoon" hands, as Balanchine described them. While I don't like the extreme extension of the index or the exaggerated rose petals some dancers employ (I've even heard of the separated fingers described as "claws"), I find the Barbie paddle hands unexpressive.

Look up actor Ulrich Muhe's biography on wikipedia. I wonder if the film was partially based on his life.

I was surprised at its nomination, since everyone I know who has seen it disliked it. I've been kind of avoiding it myself, though I'll see it eventually. I haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth yet, either, but hopefully I will this weekend. And Little Miss Sunshine - I liked it - but I can think of a few films more deserving of Best Picture. Ditto on Little Miss Sunshine. Babel had to be one of the most painful movie watching experiences for me. I was tempted to leave the theater at times but I trudged through it til the end. I can handle blood and violence, but something about that film struck a nerve. I saw Children of Men and feel it is more deserving of the nomination. There isn't a single film I want to root for in the Best Picture category. I haven't seen The Departed and The Queen and don't really care to (I've seen Infernal Affairs and The Queen just seems a bore). Letters from Iwo Jima is good, but as far as war films go, I didn't think it represented a great departure from the status quo. A bit too idealized, IMO. It's unfortunate my two favorite films of the year have to compete against each other in the Foreign Language Film category (at least Apocalypto and Iwo Jima are not included). For anyone who has not yet done so, please see The Lives of Others if it is playing near you. I'm no good at reviewing, but the film is a subtle study in human emotions and relationships. The few people in the theater with me last night were transfixed in their seats long after the credits started rolling and a few even managed to clap. I'm predicting that Pan's Labyrinth will leave with the Oscar (the other favorite), but please don't let Lives go unnoticed.

I'm with SanderO on this one. There is such thing as questionable charity. A passage from George Kent's Freedom from Want: Those who ought to be helping may be either the government or other potential donors (mainly the government). The government sees that arts organizations already receive plenty of funding from wealthy donors and decides they don't need to provide the assistance. As for turning away other potential donors, people may look at the Playbill and see that Company X already receives plenty of contributions that would outweigh their own. This may discourage them from giving in the future. Who knew my studies on human rights could also be useful in the discussion of funding for the arts?

I can buy the argument that Sylve can be a bit expressionless at times, but for a ballet like Stars & Stripes? The performance I saw she gave just enough exuberance, and I'm glad she didn't make it too campy the way some dancers in this ballet are prone to doing. Besides, how patriotic can she be?

I liked Dybbuk when I saw it a few nights ago, so it's a work that I would like to see the company grow into. Why should a company drop a ballet from its rep simply because they don't do it was well as another company? I don't like Othello, and think it should be dropped, period, but that's besides the point. Should NYCB stop performing Sleeping Beauty and the Royal stop performing Balanchine?

She was fine in that, but I saw her the other night in Stravinsky Violin Concerto and one could see the quiver in her fingertips without looking through binoculars. She also had a pretty big slip toward the end, which I wouldn't have minded so much if I knew it didn't come from nerves.

Can you elaborate? I was there today and thought it was a solid, lovely performance. I had mixed feelings about a couple dancers, but for the most part it was enjoyable.

I hope everyone gets the chance to see Pan's Labyrinth. I thought it was worth watching twice in theaters, something I rarely do anymore.

I think the comparison works well because neither Farrell nor Holiday had the "perfect instrument"--Farrell did not have the ideal body proportions for a ballet dancer (correct me if I'm entirely off here) and Holiday did not have a strong voice. The greatest similarity has to be the one given: "Farrell's phrasing, which was always extremely free; she liked to jump ahead, or lag behind, and play catch-up with herself." Lobenthal may have also thought of the way Holiday would often sing "off-key" for a certain effect, and Farrell is well known for her off-balances. Billie never sang a song the same way twice; and from what I've read, Farrell never danced a ballet the same way each time. In addition to this, most jazz intellectuals would cite Holiday as the greatest jazz singer--a genius, no less, even Fitzgerald cannot top her in some respects--and most ballet intellectuals would say Farrell is the greatest American ballerina, even though the consensus from the the general audiences may not be so unanimous. It's much more difficult to "get" Holiday and Farrell, but it's not difficult to "get" Fitzgerald and Fonteyn.

I attended the second performance of Fairchild's Aurora and have to say I was thoroughly impressed. I haven't seen any of the other NYCB Auroras so can't be sure if she did well in comparison, and the only other viewing experiences I've had with Sleeping Beauty are Houston Ballet's version and various videos. That being said, I loved how unobtrusive her dancing was, and she simply let the choreography speak for itself. There were no unsightly extensions to speak of and Fairchild maintained a classical form. The modesty of her dancing was not something I expected from a City Ballet ballerina.

Has anyone seen Fairchild as Aurora yet? I'm interested in others' impressions of her...I'll be seeing her and De Luz Saturday evening.

I suppose Apocalypto made a watchable, entertaining movie, but I hate the fact that Gibson decided to use the "authentic" Yucatec Maya language rather than English. It's not that I mind reading subtitles, but the native language lent the film a false impression of historical accuracy, which it most definitely was not. While I understand that this film wasn't meant to be a documentary, it kills me that people are probably going to see it and believe this is what the Maya culture was really like. There were so many blatant errors that it was difficult for me to sit through.

Forgive me for playing into stereotypes, but there is a higher ratio of physically attractive people in the ballet world than in the opera world. The general public knows that dancers are slim and beautiful, but they are less likely to consider opera singers in the same way. So when someone like Anna Netrebko comes along, of course marketers are going to want to exploit her looks, telling an uninformed audience that opera singers can be beautiful, too. That wouldn't work quite as well in ballet...sure you can single out Julie Kent or Darci Kistler, both of whom are undoubtedly lovely, but then again so are the majority of the other women dancing along side them. Marketers want to dispel stereotypes that would normally keep people away from going to the ballet or opera. They want to show that opera singers are not necessarily old and plus-sized, and that male dancers can be "manly" men.

I'm not trying to deny that Fonteyn and Nureyev were extraordinary in R&J, nor assume that Shearer might have made a better Aurora, I was simply making the case that when a company places so much star attraction around one or two dancers then other talented dancers may be overlooked. People have wondered why there is no standout ballerina today the way Dame Margot was, and I believe part of the answer lies in the fact that companies now will realize the potential of multiple dancers. Perhaps this is why a run of Swan Lake will not go to one or two principal dancers, but an AD will decide to cast 4 or 5 different principals--and in many cases soloists and corps members--as Odette/Odile. I think it may be a bit like parenting: a single child is usually given all the care and attention from their parents, while it is more difficult for parents to give the same amount of energy and resources to each child if they have a brood of 5 or more. *Editing to add: A lot of people on this board have mentioned that they dislike the system of casting too many dancers in a single role that none of them get the chance to really refine their interpretation of it. Well say that this is to change today, and companies decide to revert back to casting one or two dancers for a role. Then people would complain that their favorite dancer wasn't cast in it. "What! How could so-and-so be overlooked?" And unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), no single dancer is going to have a monopoly over the public the way some had in the past. Nowadays, no one has the same favorites.