tempusfugit

Not having read the letters to Pat McBride, I can't comment on them except to observe that LeClercq would at the time have been eighteen or nineteen, not an age usually noted for emotional or professional maturity. Having read many comments in published interviews by her colleagues, and never having read anything vaguely resembling "willful and manipulative", I suppose that leaves third-party "he said, she said" anecdotes. I cannot imagine defining a "prima ballerina" by the words "willful" and "manipulative".

Altynai Asylmuratova Carla Fracci Janie Parker Kay Mazzo Mimi Paul Jennifer Penney Toni Lander Diana Adams Jillana Allegra Kent Svetlana Beriosova Moira Shearer Galina Ulanova Pearl Argyle Tamara Toumanova Tamara Geva

"Willful and manipulative"? Those are two words I have never heard applied to LeClercq under any circumstances. Almost any NYCB ballerina since the company's beginnings could be more accurately characterized by those adjectives than LeClercq, including Hayden, Farrell, Kirkland, and Watts, to name four very dissimilar women. What exactly are you referring to?

Sandik, there are two versions of Valse-Fantaisie; the later one, which was made for Mimi Paul in 1967, I believe, is essentially a pas de deux with a small corps, which the first from 1953 or so was for Melissa Hayden, Tanaquil LeClercq, and Diana Adams, with Nicholas Magallanes. Those were the days of casts... Both versions are beautiful, the first especially so, but the later one is far more frequently done. it's one of the most-often-given small Balanchine dances-- not only PNB but Atlanta Ballet, PA Ballet, Carolina Ballet, etc, have done it fairly recently. Miami City Ballet does the 1953 version, in a wonderful performance the last time I saw it several years ago.

New York's loss is Seattle's gain, it seems. alas, it's quite a loss. it's been a long time since NYCB produced a dancer like Boal. one wonders when they ever will again...

The purpose of this thread, and this board in fact, is not political wrangling, so I shall refrain from the volumes which could be written on Bush Sr. and the infinite derision he so richly deserves. However, I shall add that Bush Sr. was neither scholar, diplomat, statesman, NOR bluestocking, nor member of any other worthwhile category save through the machinations of money, power, and influence. "Prestigious East Coast families" are well known for ensuring that their scions are not required to study their way through Yale, or any other Ivy League school; a new building or at least a new wing is the usual safeguard. Bush Sr.'s yahoo poses and Texan schtick may not fit him as flawlessly as they do his son; however, he is anything but a cultured balletomane.

Couldn't agree more, Amy, with your original post. Li's flattery of Bush Sr. (whom I am astounded to hear characterized as "reasonably cultured"-- in what kindergarten would that be?) is at best appallingly obvious and naive. It is precisely the fact that Fonteyn does NOT discuss politics or political actions in her Autobiography (she limits her observations to the personal) which makes her coterie of right-wing dictators and their hangers-on slightly less objectionable. in any case, Fonteyn's art is judged on its own merits, not on her taste in associates, as Li's should be as well; Fonteyn, however, was infinitely more graceful in her obligatory bows to the rich and powerful who support ballet.

Helene, I think that was Ashley's farewell. she danced some Ballos and may have done it at the farewell; she definitely danced "The Man I Love" there. it was November 1997, I believe...

Yes. Tanaquil LeClercq also mentions raked stages and says it's interesting when one jumps: "it's hard coming up but coming down, you're a goddess." LOL Villella says of his Donizetti Variations solo, which he had to encore in Russia, that the diagonal coming back up the second time was a "major problem"..... Gelsey Kirkland also talks about them. I believe the time she slid across the stage in Giselle Act II all the way to the feet of "the astonished Martine von Hamel, Queen of the Wilis" occurred on a raked European stage.

An even more inspiring achievement to dance thirty years with a great company in one of the most difficult and brilliant repertoires, and to dance not only for many years as a peerless, scintillating virtuoso but later, as Oberon says, as a paragon of lyricism. I often felt that an evening at NYCB without Nichols in a great role was une soiree manque. Her beautiful forthright candor in allegro, where she never cheated, never omitted, and never simplified, was virtue as art.

Slightly off-topic, but as the discussion has gone this way-- Nichols is my favorite Russian Girl. One performance of hers with Kistler as Waltz Girl and Calegari as Dark Angel was epic. Many good to great jumpers have danced Russian (in fact, during Balanchine's lifetime, I know of no bad jumpers in the role) and several (Hayden, Kent, Ashley, Nichols) have danced both Russian and Waltz, usually in that order of progression. Borree in Russian, as in so many roles, strikes me as the Watts of this period-- that is to say, a scourge, and dancing so OFTEN and so hard to AVOID! :green: Her palpable tension, blatant technical inadequacies, and thinly veiled look of terror ruin nearly every part in which she appears. That said, I thought Gilliland had a lovely look of repose and can see the comparisons to both Farrell (young, of course) and Kirkland.

Agree with everyone except that I don't think Kent at all suited to Balanchine in general or Mozartiana in particular. the small intricate footwork and renverse-hell-sequences required were never a gift of hers and IMO are utterly beyond her now. if it's only one, OldFashioned, Part hands down without discussion. she's beautiful in the role. Dale, couldn't there be a civic ordinance limiting # of Kylian pieces per year? :green:

Haven't seen a post about this company, although I haven't combed the archives either. i was traveling this weekend and was delighted to see four performances (with different casts) of two terrific mostly-Balanchine programs-- Program I: Square Dance, Symposium, Who Cares? Margaret Severin-Hansen, who danced nearly every leading ballerina role in these programs, was excellent in Square Dance; her delicacy and finesse in epaulement occasionally resemble Kay Mazzo's, but her verve resembles nobody's: the coupe jete entrance was the most brilliant I have seen. Pablo Javier Perez, also small and slender, partners her well (they were also seen together in Tarantella, of which more anon). the corps looked wonderful. this was an interesting hybrid with a dashing caller (old version} and the magnificent Sarabande which Balanchine added for Bart Cook in 1976. (new version, sans caller). Symposium, to the Bernstein Serenade for violin and orchestra, was an extended piece by company director Robert Weiss which used most of the principals and soloists in pas de deux, and featured Christopher Rudd in a large role as Dionysus. Who Cares?, with the same cast at both performances, had Severin-Hansen in the jumping role, Margot Martin in the turning role, and Lilyan Vigo in the McBride role, with Alain Molina as the principal male. Molina was injured and unable to dance his solo to ''Liza", alas; his partnering as well as his presence was handsome, stalwart, and debonair. Vigo, who also danced most of the ballerina roles, appeared slighly tentative in this one (she was better and more confident in the more difficult Donizetti Variations), perhaps because of its idiosyncratic demands and history of being a 'star' part. Severin-Hansen, a small dancer in a role made on Karin von Aroldingen, devoured the stage, looking about eight feet tall during Stairway to Paradise; and Martin, a strong, assured, and almost cocky dancer, danced her formidable variation to My One and Only with nonchalant glamour {great fouettes and turns in general}. this performance omitted, to my dismay, the finale to Clap Yo' Hands, which I believe is no longer done at NYCB either. what a shame. Program Two: Concerto Barocco, Reflection (a Weiss pas de deux to the Tchaikovsky "Meditation"), either Tarantella or Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (at one performance we happily saw BOTH in turn), and Donizetti Variations.... Hong Yang, a recent arrival from China, and Heather Eberhardt danced Barocco, with Dameon Nagel as Hong's partner. everyone danced well in this ballet, both in this performance and in the cast which featured Severin-Hansen and Martin with Molina, but the corps was especially ravishing and fluid in their passages with the principals. Reflection was made for Melissa Podcasy, long a star of Pennsylvania Ballet, and her partner Timour Bourtasenkov; it was very hard to put out of mind the choreography of Balanchine for Farrell, but Podcasy and Bourtasenkov danced well and expressively. Tarantella alternated Severin-Hansen and Perez with Martin and Rudd; both women were wonderful, with Severin-Hansen dancing with tremendous vivacity and finish to her footwork . the men looked less at ease in Villella's bravura steps (the speed of the transitions, as well as the difficulty of jumping high with absolutely no preparation time) but both couples carried it off. the friend with whom I saw this performance said astutely that Severin-Hansen and Perez looked like street dancers, while Martin and Rudd looked like ballet dancers. I enjoyed both , especially Martin's bold and flirtatious approach (this is less the way McBride did it but extremely diverting to watch! ) Tchaik Pas had Vigo and Cyrille de la Barre, who danced a dazzling variation and was an experienced danseur-noble partner. Donizetti was danced by Vigo with de la Barre and Severin-Hansen with Gabor Kapin; both couples were good and the ensemble distinguished itself greatly, especially Lara O'Brien, who has an exquisite and languidly poised epaulement and a lovely smile in addition to considerable ease in her dancing. Kapin, a young, puppyish, gangly dancer, had lots of dash and enthusiasm, and was superb in his difficult a la seconde/passe turning sequence; the company, as everywhere in these programs, danced with relish and joie de vivre. Terry Teachout was present and spoke briefly and eloquently (his new Balanchine bio is just out). Hope this company will get more and more attention; it is richly deserving of praise.

Fracci was a beautiful Giselle. Kirkland talks about this in Dancing on My Grave, and how Fracci's costume reflected and enhanced this.... I also saw her in Lilac Garden-- perhaps not the first dancer you'd think of as Caroline, but it was exquisite in every way.

Firebird and the adagio of Bizet atm, did you see Tallchief in Firebird or LeClercq in Bizet? understand that Kent was beautiful in Bizet. the snippet of film of this is quite the thing, anyway--

Toni Bentley has more than one wonderful book (Winter Season was mentioned earlier in the thread): Costumes by Karinska is superb, and has tons of little-known information. Allegra Kent's Once a Dancer is fascinating and unlike any other dance book. Split Seconds (Tamara Geva) is great: Geva was erudite, witty, and brilliant, and later had a career in straight theatrical plays. Lynn (Lynn Seymour) is interesting... Distant Dances is excellent. Sono Osato was better known on Broadway, where she WAS a star (in On the Town, among other shows) Merrill Ashley's Dancing for Balanchine is quite interesting on Balanchine roles and their demands-- and there is a Tudor bio (Shadowplay: The Life of Antony Tudor)

Perhaps if Martins' offerings in the areas of choreography, programming, casting, and maintenance of the Balanchine masterpieces which constitute the heart and soul of NYCB's repertoire were more elevated the New Yorker's critics would say something new and interesting about them. Indeed articles like Acocella's are not interesting any more; they are distressing beyond words and truer than ever. The steady decline of standards at NYCB during Martins's tenure and its proximate causes (his stubborn refusal to hire great ballerinas to restage their great roles, in the face of every proof that this produces great performances-- NOT rehashes, but great performances in the tradition of what is required in a role-- his apparent lack of concern with the maintenance of the technique required to dance Balanchine brilliantly, as opposed to getting through the steps acceptably, etc) are enough to make any critic cynical, not to say vituperative. It is not that Whelan, Weese, and Bouder, to name three excellent dancers, do not give us perfume, virtuosity, or personality; they do, and Whelan produces semi-miracles regularly with no coaching and no mentors, which is nothing short of astounding. It is that the framework and the sensibility necessary to bring their talents (and many other talents at NYCB now) to the fullest blossoming is not there. Rather like the dancer at ABT who nearly died when Tallchief informed her there were double saut de basques in the Tchaikovsky Concerto finale-- she didn't know, nor would she have without a coach who did the role the way Tallchief did. Oberon, in the past every great singer went, as often as was feasible, to the source to study a role: the composer, the diva on whom the role was created, or if possible both. This is no longer possible in opera (one of the reasons for the horrible death of singing) but it is still possible in ballet. Tallchief, Farrell, Kent, Wilde, Jillana, Hayden, Mazzo, and many other dancers are alive, well, and bursting with brilliant insights about Balanchine; I've seen most of them speak or coach , and not one ever asks of a dancer that she BE the reincarnation of a creator. No one wants that, nor would it ever be possible. They all ask that the dancer give more, demand more of herself not only technically but spiritually (as Mimi Paul once said in a class, "you must strive for the outer extremes of positions, of what is asked in the choreography. don't be satisfied with the middle.") they ask for what Balanchine wanted: MORE.

Theme and Variations! Life couldn't go on without Divert... and I realize it's "minor" Balanchine but La Source, which has one of the loveliest and most refined pdd ever No one's mentioned Tchaik Pas? Tsk. It may be overdone but there's no other pdd like it........ ok, even deleting Davidsbundler and Violin I'm up to about twelve. I'll stop. For the time being. LOL btw, Carbro, you mean the Baiser Divertimento, I'm assuming? wish the full ballet weren't lost.......

Alexandra's posts, as usual, are the epitome of taste and style. did I mention that she said it all? many of my thoughts on Roca's article are unprintable.... :green: I loved Food for Food Throwing and felt that in Roca's case, the food was TRIPE or perhaps HAGGIS.......

The sunburst is a wonderful image, but it pales next to the "freezing simplicity" (Arlene Croce) of the REAL (okay, first and foremost) ending. The ballet has many gorgeous baroque moments (the sunburst, the troika, the Muses lifting and lowering their legs on the floor) but it's the plain, elemental, rough poetry of the birth scene and the apotheosis which frames and explains the other choreography. Who but Balanchine would end with such a divinely ordinary passage?

Saw two performances on Friday and Saturday...... Wish I had seen Zehr, who from all reports is great and unusually talented. however, agreed with most of the reports here. Bears has never danced with more abandon, amplitude, or style; the ballet is very lucky that she's returned. she was a model of sensibility in La Valse. and as Old Fashioned said, she is extremely classical, punciliously so. it's a pleasure to see her in non-classical positions such as the ones which are frequent in Apollo; when she does them it's clear what they are diverging FROM. I liked Patak fairly well in the role but it was, of necessity, very young and unfinished next to Bears' performance. the emotions didn't come across with Patak. Also enjoyed the Handmaidens in Apollo very much (Michelle Carpenter and Clare Miklaunus). Neither Webb (to my great surprise) nor Gumbinner was technically clean as Polyhymnia (it is an extremely difficult role); I found Gumbinner more vivid and more interesting, and I usually love Webb. Wagman was funny and sprightly as Calliope, and Ball was interesting and rough (which Balanchine was known to like and want in this role) as Apollo. The apotheosis was beautiful-- what a loss when the full ballet is not given.....and the ravishing final ascent..... The corps did look pretty good in Theme. and the demis on Saturday, who did include Zehr (but not knowing her, I couldn't pick her out, though I had suspicions, lol) were excellent. I must differ from the other reviewers on Konvalina, who does NOTHING for me (I groan when he's announced). Webb was listed for Saturday's Theme but was replaced by Oliveira, who was good especially in the second solo variation (the turning jumps especially). the first variation seemed to daunt her slightly, which is normal :green: have seen many ballerinas in this part and only Ashley and Nichols appeared at ease in the opening variation. Hassenboehler doesn't like gargouillades (well, who does) but she was appropriately regal and elegant in the rest of the role, although much more at ease in the pas de deux, it appeared. Murphy was better than Konvalina but neither was up to the part-- nor did either attempt the tours and pirouettes to one side, then the other, which are done at NYCB in the variation. it is much more difficult and interesting that way. The polonaise was a galop in three both nights-- MUCH too fast, even for Balanchine tastes. the dancers did well to fit in the steps, especially the demi passages. As Old Fashioned eloquently opined, a Balanchine evening is a breath of fresh air.

Jack, although it is true the Workshop has done Ballo, Stars, Divert, La Source, Rubies, and all kinds of other gutbusters, I wouldn't say the Russian Theme in Serenade is exactly a pushover. Actually, all the roles in Serenade are hard if they are danced well, and they have the added requirements of extreme subtlety and finesse-- and the history of so many great performances in them. I remember seeing Paloma Herrera, for example, in the Workshop performance of Raymonda Variations; excellent technique, no clue about the role. this can sometimes happen with talented fifteen-year-olds in huge virtuoso ballerina parts: the steps become the gig. I understand that Monique Meunier was unforgettable in HER workshop Serenade......

Tchaik Pas was begun, interestingly, on Diana Adams! Adams suffered a foot injury and the ballet was finished on Violette Verdy. {trivia for the day} Verdy recalls this in Balanchine's Ballerinas. she says she always esp. liked dancing to a violin because it gave the muscles a sensuous quality.... I'd say the little CHANEL black dress, with perfect pearls, of pas de deux. Nichols was especially lovely in this, as she was in many Verdy parts (La Source, Liebeslieder, Emeralds). and it's never mentioned at all, but Ashley was so dazzling in it one completely forgot the man! There were two distinct male variations at one time: Villella's and D'Amboise's (the two men who most often danced the role, beside Ludlow)

Indeed something has gone wrong if it looks even vaguely satirical. The moment when the Sleepwalker carries the Poet's corpse away is, or should be, unlike anything else in ballet-- the reversal of role is bonechilling and, in the words of Arlene Croce, "high traumatic bliss". Allegra Kent recalls the first time she saw the ballet in which she was later famous...... "did I imagine that?" I felt exactly that way at my first performance of this work. I couldn't believe my eyes.