felursus

Maybe someone can help me out here: the first person I recall having personally seen doing the entrechats was Eric Bruhn. But I'd also hate to hazard a guess at the year! I remember being bowled over at the sight. He seemed to be enchanted - almost as though Myrtha was making him do more and more in the hope his heart would break.

Albrecht is young, good-looking (ok - a good dancer), a little mysterious (in small villages everyone knows everything about everyone else), and Mom isn't smitten - so a romance with Albrecht has a whiff of the forbidden - something that would be enticing to a young, romantically-inclined girl. I think that Albrecht's attraction is something akin to that of a rock star to a contemporary teenager. The REASONS, IMO, that Giselle's mother doesn't approve of Albrecht are 1)he's a stranger and not enough is known about him; 2)he's encouraging Giselle to dance instead of following more serious persuits; 3)she wants Giselle to marry Hilarion. Hilarion is a forester and is, therefore, of a slightly higher social order than the rest of the peasants. He has access to the "fruits" of the forest - small game and wood - which are forbidden to the other peasants, and so is "wealthier". Giselle, by marrying him will never go hungry and will have a more comfortable life than she would if she married an ordinary peasant boy. Hilarion is also somewhat older, and so he can be expected to be steadier and behave in a more mature fashion than the rest of the "boys".

It is interesting to note that Babcock has tried to blame Holmes for "poor programming" - yet they must be doing well on ticket sales, so the PUBLIC likes what they are seeing. In the Jan. 2000 Globe article, Babcock clearly is talking (or at least made to sound like it is he who is talking) out of both sides of his mouth simultaneously. He mentions how well "Dracula" did at the box office and how it attracted a young, "hip" audience but then complains about the artistic merits of what Holmes has offered. THEN he complains that she didn't do enough to "follow up" on the "Dracula" with other ballets that would attract that audience. Geez!

I vote for virgin. I think Giselle originally thought her "fate" would be to marry good 'ole reliable Hilarion. Then up shows Loys, a young, handsome, romantic type. A little out of the ordinary (i.e. she hadn't grown up with him being around all the time), ergo MOST attractive PLUS he's attracted to her, so she's flattered. For all we know, she'd been promised to Hilarion since birth. How boring!

Would all those flowers be blooming in the autumn? The ballet clearly is set at a particular time of the year. Even the second act can't occur much after the first, as Giselle is just being "inaugurated" as a new member of the Wilis. :confused:

I rather think Bathilde is a noble who has been well brought up. She's nice to the peasants. Asks her father permission to give away her necklace to Giselle. Has a moment of "sisterhood" with Giselle (when they both see themselves as young, about-to-be-married women). On the other hand, she IS a noble and demands treatment as such by Albrecht and Giselle. SHE is the rightful fiancee. She probably isn't in love with Albrecht - their engagement is probably a politically arranged deal, but that's what she's been brought up to expect. On the otherhand she knows she deserves to be treated with respect, so Albrecht shouldn't be flaunting his peccadillos in front of her, and I think she is genuinely shocked and appalled by Giselle's death. If she and Albrecht DON'T get married afterward it will be either because Albrecht goes off to become a monk or because Bathilde's father loves her enough not to want to force her to marry the cad. :eek:

Alexandra, I do keep referring to that Globe article of Jan. '00. I think if you read between the lines, and re-read the other articles written in the past year or so, you will understand all. It is clear from that article (and others) that 1) Jeffrey Babcock wants to run the Boston Ballet without having to defer to an artistic director (at least not one with any political power); 2) Babcock wants to run the BB the way a business corporation is run; 3) Babcock does not approve of the Russian classics; 4) Babcock probably doesn't like Russian dancers or Russian training - one can then also conclude that he doesn't understand the history of ballet/ballet training; 5) Babcock DOES approve of a "European" style (? French); 6) no matter what Anna-Marie Holmes did it had to be wrong - on principle (note the criticism of her appointment of Christopher Wheeldon as Artist-in-Residence - something dance-savvy people applaud and further note that he isn't going to do a new ballet for the BB for the 2001-02 season, but will stage a revival instead). I would make a further guess that the dancers who were "at risk" of losing their jobs but who wound up retaining them were dancers that Gielgud wanted to get rid of but Babcock either had nothing against or felt their dismissal could lead to political problems (eg. Jennifer Gelfand, who is a product of the BB school and has been with the company for a long time and is very popular in Boston). I also found it interesting that the BB relies so heavily on ticket sales in their budget. Organizations like the NYCB rely far more heavily on donations - particularly, I would think, from Board members. I'm sure a seat on the NYCB board, except for those with exceptional 'talents' that could be used to benefit the company, "costs" a fair amount of money. A serious financial "stake" in a company means that one will work hard to ensure its success. Clearly the Boston Board members aren't required to 'contribute' to the same extent as in NY. :rolleyes:

Could the beconing gesture just mean: "come on and dance,I know you can do it. Don't just kneel there. I'll help."??? If Leigh is refering to the same moment I'm thinking of, it's after he's danced and is kneeling downstage right??? Giselle's grave is USUALLY there - but not always.

I think Giselle falls for Albrecht because he's romantic. Hilarion is probably quite a bit older - he's a forester, which would have given him some social cachet in the world of peasants, because he had access to the produce of the forests (rabbits, birds, wood). Remember this was an era when the ordinary peasant couldn't take anything but fallen wood from the forests and couldn't hunt rabbits. Nevertheless, Giselle is probably feeling "trapped" by her assigned "fate" - to marry Hilarion. Albrecht is younger, handsomer, and more interesting. Sort of like a teenager falling in "love" with a movie or rock star. She can't love HIM - because she doesn't really KNOW him - Giselle loves the IMAGE she has of Albrecht. Hilarion is certainly fond of Giselle (although he isn't always played that way - a lot of people play him as though he just thinks of Giselle as his "property"), and doesn't want her to wind up as the dupe of the cad, Albrecht. And Giselle WOULD have been duped. Albrecht could never have married her - he's got to marry Bathilde and fulfil his royal duty. Giselle would have wound up "barefoot and pregnant" - although perhaps provided for in Albrecht's cottage. So I actually think that the GOOD pairing is Giselle and Hilarion and it is Albrecht who is "wrong". Admittedly, it would be hard to cast for that: just as a matter of practicality in partnering one couldn't have too great a mismatch in height. One also isn't likely to have dumpy, peasant-looking ballerinas in a ballet company! It would really be casting against type to cast a soubrette-type woman against a "princely" man.

I certainly wasn't alive to see the original version! However I could SWEAR that I actually saw a version where Bathilde appears at the end and Giselle promoted a reconciliation. I've just seen so many versions that I can't remember WHO! (My brains come out of the last millenium if not from two centuries ago!) I think Albrecht COULD go back to Bathilde, not because he loves her, but because it's his royal duty to marry and have children. Bathilde isn't a bad person - she's quite generous in giving away a valuable necklace to Giselle. Most nobles wouldn't DREAM of giving something so valuable to a mere peasant girl. I think there was a moment of "sisterhood" between them - when they saw each other just as young women engaged to be married. Nureyev's Albrecht-as-total-cad interpretation certainly grew over the years. His Albrecht was much more interested in and involved with Giselle when he danced with Fonteyn. He DID play him as someone who never for a moment forgot he was a royal, however. He was very autocratic with Wilfred and Hilarion - and it was clear that it was his Albrecht's BEHAVIOR that caused suspicion in the mind of Hilarion.

I LOVE the Eric Bruhn solution. I think I had mentioned the problem of Albrecht's property ownership/rental in a post elsewhere. In most productions it looks like Wilfred has found the cottage for him. Wilfred, of course, is too fancily dressed to have PERSONALLY found the cottage - but I'm sure he could always command a flunkey to dig up something for him. Perhaps none of the villagers recognize Albrecht because of the convention that one can be completely disguised by dressing in a manner different from one's station in life. So as soon as Albrecht dons a peasant outfit, no one would THINK of associating him with the elegantly dressed noble they were used to seeing. It's quite possible that he has a habit of picking up pretty peasant girls in different villages. People didn't travel far from home in those days, so no one would know. I think Berthe is suspicious not only because he's a stranger but also because he's got no visible means of support - and there's Hilarion, who's got a good job as a forester. Nevertheless, if Albrecht's not a complete cad, then the nurse solution is positively brilliant.

I've always thought that Giselle's drawing a circle with the point of the sword was like drawing a magic circle - she's warding out evil or warding out everyone else - step inside (as Hilarion does) and there will be bad consequences. The Wilis circle I always thought was because they can't touch Giselle and Albrecht who are together INSIDE the magic circle - the wilis can only get at them if they are apart - but they aren't powerful enough to keep them apart for long. Myrtha only has the power to make Albrecht continue to dance. There's another circle of sorts: the corps girls make the spokes of a wheel and rotate around in a circle - they are actually in concentric circles. Albrecht and Giselle are on the outside of opposite spokes and are trying to "catch" each other - but can't until the "circle" breaks up. So the girls who represent "ordinary" life are on the inside, while Giselle and Albrecht, who are about to be excluded from ordinary life are on the outside. Circles are very powerful: there is an inside and an outside, but there is no beginning or end. What a choreographer does with them can be far more interesting than straight lines of any kind. As a total non-sequitur, but it's always made me giggle: there's a feature of the circulatory system in the brain called "the circle of Willis" It was the one part of the anatomy of the brain I never had a problem learning!

I don't think it's any particular production, but yes, I do think Albrecht's a cad. The DEGREE of "cadness" (to coin a new word) can vary, but I think that clearly he's attracted to the pretty village maiden, but he certainly isn't going to give up his social status for her - he doesn't tell Batilde to go take a hike, because now he's in love with Giselle. Some dancers have made him a little more caring than others - he may never really intend to MARRY Giselle, but he'd set her up in a nice cottage and look after her. Maybe he even thought of having a "fake" marriage. Being the prince, I guess he could have arranged anything. Then he could have fun with Giselle in the village and keep Bathilde safe in the castle. Certainly Albrecht is a spoiled royal who has always had his own way. He's made Wilfred REALLY nervous this time though. I always get the impression that poor Wilfred has had to cover up for Albrecht on more than one occasion: who has set up the cottage? Exactly who/what is Albrecht posing as? He's clearly seen Giselle before the beginning of Act I. On the other hand, after Giselle dies, I guess he really is remorseful for his behavior and is willing to take responsibility for what he has done (he COULD have listened to Wilfred and have got away before the Wilis showed up. So he had a suicidal ideation at that time. There used to be a version (Russian???) in which Giselle promoted a reconciliation between Bathilde and Albrecht. (" - And if you have a girl, name it after me"????)

A wili is definitely a girl (maiden or not ;) who has died before her wedding day - either of a broken heart or by suicide (depending on the theological point of being buried in unconsecrated ground). I think they are wearing white, because they are in their shrouds. They certainly are out to get revenge on men. I'm sure Freud could have written a good essay on the point.

I think the suicide theory makes the most THEOLOGOCAL sense - otherwise Giselle would have been buried in the churchyard and wouldn't have become a Wili. On the other hand, much is made of her "weak" heart, and when you see the full mime of the Gisele's mother, it is clear that the wilis are girls who died of broken hearts (presumably because they were betrayed by men). Most productions have Hilarion pull the sword away from Giselle before she has a chance to stab herself. If she DOESN'T stab herself, then there's no reason for her to buried in the middle of the woods. Would there be wilis in holy ground??? Any Catholic theologians or experts in myths in the group?

Glad to hear all these reports. I'm also glad you enjoyed McKerrow. She told a friend of mine that this is probably her last year. I hear she has trouble with a hip.

Multas congratulationes tibi ago! (Has there been any Latin on the Board before?) In plain English: many congratulations, Leigh!

Did anyone else notice that Anna-Marie Holmes isn't mentioned in the article - it's as though her 4 years as artistic director never happened. It is also my understanding that Marks left the company with a considerable deficit - so how come he's such an expert? I think he was featured because the current BB management had first ascertained his views on the current situation in Boston, and having gained his approval for the appointment of McPhee, Marks was "featured" in the article.

Thanks for posting the link, Kevin. I had forgotten that vital fact of historical interest about Sir Fred having actually seen the Act III performed by the Ballet Clasico de los Galapagos. I guess it would have stayed with him - as one of the national dances performed in the Act III is the blue-footed booby dance. I heard that when the Ballet Clasico de los Galapagos took Giselle on tour they ran into a problem when they ran out of blue dye for the toe shoes of the girls doing the booby dance and the local shops were unable to supply any. I heard they had to substitute green instead and rely on blue gels over the lights to make the girls' feet look blue. Oh, the joys of touring!

A friend of mine from Iceland was a principal dancer in Germany. Her "image" of the ideal ballerina was something like Spessivtseva - beautiful and dark. She died her hair for years before coming to realize that you could be blonde and a ballerina. Only problem is that she was VERY blonde - and it didn't always look good under the lights, (too washed-out), so she just made it more golden. LOL I think we have Hollywood to thank for a lot of the imagery: brunette - strong, experienced, nasty, evil; blonde - young, innocent, fragile, etc. One think of Hermia and Helena in "The Dream". Hermia = a blonde and Helena = a brunette. Because Hermia was the one originally persued by two suitors. This is in some contrast to the EXTREME blondes, who were/are viewed as "sex symbols" (Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, etc.) Interestingly, there is a film (and if anyone knows where I can get a copy - please let me know) that I saw in England over 20 years ago. It was a Finnish film entitled: "Men Can't Be Raped." It involves a blonde "mousey" woman who is raped and gets revenge by putting on a brunette wig and becoming completely glamorous and haunting the raper. So in Finland it's the brunette who has the "sexy" image - like the "blondes have more fun" image here.

Bruce always does a bang-up job of providing a good April Fools satire in the time-honoured British tradition. So how many of you fell for the one last year about the "newly discovered 3rd act of Giselle"? It was an extremely well-written piece that reported that someone had discovered archives in a library in Idaho (if I remember correctly) that was the libretto of the 3rd Act of Giselle - in which it turns out that Giselle, and everyone else, experienced Act II as a hallucination - that in fact Giselle never had died at all. The 3rd act is taken up by Giselle and Albrecht travelling the world (lots of ethnic dances) before returning home in triumph. Britain has a proud history of such "hoaxes. The BBC once did a piece on the "Spahetti Harvest in Italy". It depicted happy natives in national costume climbing ladders placed against the spaghetti trees and carefully harvesting each strand, so it would not break. Then there was the Guardian's centrefold (c. 1977) about the small, Indian Ocean nation of Sans Serif - a country consisting of two islands shaped like a ;. Now the Guardian frequently had centrefolds about different nations. There would be articles about the politics, geography, economy, main industries, tourism, etc. about these countries - so they did the same for Sans Serif. (For those of you who don't know, sans serif is a kind of type face.) They even threw in a photo contest for readers' best holiday snaps from Sans Serif.

I saw Plisetskaya perform the 'Dying Swan' many, many times. Yes, she did go rather over the top, but those arms were GORGEOUS. I heard a rumor that she perfected them because at one time in her life she was ill and unable to dance - so she danced with her arms. Lukayev, if you are having trouble stabilizing your scapula, you need to do special exercises to strengthen the muscles responsible. One of the reasons the Russian arms look so wonderful is that they are taught from the beginning that arms do not start at the shoulder joint - they start with the scapula - and as muscles attach the scapula to the spine, you can say that the arms start at the spine. The muscles you particularly want to work on are the middle and lower trapezius. Go see a physical therapist. He/she can show you some simple exercises you can do to strengthen this area. Scapular stabilization is very important for achieving beautiful arms.

I know what you mean about the feet, Cygnedanois. They are like Lynn Seymour's. Judging by the dancers he particularly liked, I think MacMillan was partial to highly-arched feet. (As some of you may recall, in a past life I was nanny to Seymour's older boys. One night while we were watching TV she was flexing and pointing her feet. I assure you that that was ALL I watched! ) Anyway, there's a moment in the "bedroom pdd" in MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" where Juliet is in an arabesque on pointe(standing on rt leg) and supported under her arms. Romeo kneels back so Juliet goes over onto her instep. The Romeo stands up again, so Juliet is back on pointe. Seymour and Ferri are nearly the only two I have ever seen where the (beautiful) arch of the foot stayed the same whether on pointe or not. [This message has been edited by felursus (edited March 28, 2001).]

My only implication in mentioning an "activist mother" was because IF the company had let go BOTH of their African-American dancers and did not replace them, it is not inconceivable that a discrimination law suit COULD have been brought. Given everything else that has gone on with this company, I really don't think that this is what they would want. I have no way of knowing how Gielgud felt about either or both of the Black dancers. She may not have liked either - for reasons completely unrelated to ethnicity - and wanted to not rehire either. (Difficult to say who made what decisions and when - given what Gielgud and the Board and everyone else connected with the company are saying) Now this does not reflect in anyway on how well either of the girls dance - given that principal dancers also were not rehired and that Jennifer Gelfand was also one of those almost not rehired. It IS possible that, given that auditions had not been completed, so there was no way of knowing the capabilities of those who planned to audition, SOMEONE decided to 'play safe'. I would bet that that person was NOT Gielgud: not having lived in the US, she was probably unaware of the sensitivity of racial issues in this country. As far as the "reprieved" dancers go, it is difficult to tell what their future in the company may be like. IF it was GIELGUD who wanted them gone then they can all breathe a sigh of relief that she is gone. If it was people still attached to the company then their positions are more tenuous.

I'm not sure about the Asian girl, but one of the two black girls lost her job, and the other one was on the "reprieved" list. I've heard tell that the "reprieved" girl has an activist mother. Perhaps this had something to do with it - seeing how they were busy purging the company.