grace

fantastic, mel. i was pretty sure YOU would be the one to know the answer! thanks.

alexandra, is the privelege of putting up pictures, reserved (understandably) for moderators? or is there some trick that i'm missing? i tried to put one up in another thread using the [ img ] tags, but no success...

just a comment, 'for the record' (no pun intended), that i believe the two 'r's spelling (which you used in your post, alexandra) is the correct one, rather than the single 'r' of the thread title... for 'dream', monotones and 'month': thank you for the immense pleasure... ==========(time passing)========= well i never! both the guardian and the times use one 'r' - i must be wrong!

i will delete this thread in a week or so if there aren't any responses, as seems likely ...

antop - would there be any better value in talking of 'italian' style, rather than 'la scala' style, or would most (or all) of your comments still apply?

"thumb in contact with the middle finger" is vaganova. antop - how nice to 'see' you again. somewhere above, someone mentioned fracci as perhaps the best known italian dancer (i may have the semantics wrong, but i took that to be the meaning...). MY first named italian ballerina would be the glorious Ferri...BUT: do we consider her to be an 'english' dancer because of her RB training? or an 'american' dancer becaue of her current position and its 'international' stylistic demands? or an 'Italian ' dancer, because her italian birth and upbringing presumably contribute the most to 'who' she is, as a person and therefore as a dancer? (LOL!) ;) p.s. i would think of the documented cecchetti method as an ENGLISH system...(because - without going to the bookshelf to check those darned inconvenient FACTS - i believe it was codified and recorded by english people for english purposes in england when cecchetti was teaching in london)...

a very high tolerance for (the impression of) delicacy...from the men AND the women! to use an excellent descriptive ploy of alexandra's: if you like it, you might call it 'refined', but if you don't, maybe 'saccharine'!

BIG and BOLD. covering space well. 'heroic' use of space, perhaps... rich & eloquent character dance. that's for starters... ;)

as somone who has never seen ABT live (gasp!), i would like to kick this off, with an observation that the ballerina cynthia harvey made, when she was dancing with the RB (having come from ABT): that in america 'it' was more about movement/dynamics, whereas in england it was more about positions. ...i cannot remember her comment word for word, so that will have to do - and without overanalysing the comment, i completely agree with her - from what i have seen. the issue of VIRTUOSITY has been brought up elsewhere. i get the impression that ABT *IS* a virtuosic company - i.e. a company where virtuosity is highly regarded, and is considered marketable. is that a fair comment?

from a looooooooooooong distance (i.e. never having seen the company live), i would second leigh's description of a 'leggy' look - (which is amplified by the deliberate choice of long-legged dancers) - but also a 'free' use of arms, including very often STRAIGHT lines (not curved) with 'broken wrists - anathema to (for example) 'ashton' style).

Alexandra wrote: once "Royal Ballet style" was synonymous with Ashton style. Is that still true?" my answer: no and "If not, what are the differences between current Royal Style and Ashton Style?" my answer: aaargh! :-( very hard Q to answer - of course! ;) try this: take what you are calling the old RB/ashton style, add onto it what macmillan's choreography (in particular) required...then begin to train the new young dancers in the school via vaganova method(s)...introduce various other international choreographers works...and hey presto, there you are! whatever THAT is, that's what they've got. ;)

OK...(hoisting up my sleeves, and searching for a spade).... i'm really sorry i didn't see this earlier, however "better late than never". as a trained bensesh notator, here are some of my 'answers' to bilbo's original questions:- 1. yes, bilbo, there are written scores to almost all works done by major world companies 2. they can only be read by people trained to read them, so they would be no use to you 3. however, they CAN be read by people trained to read them, so, in that sense, all these things CAN be considered 'safely' recorded, and able to be passed on 4. there certainly ARE scores which tell you "where to breathe" - i seem to recall there is even a (rarely needed and therefore rarely used) benesh symbol for 'breathe' 5. these written scores are stored safely (i.e. ideally in lockable fireproof cabinets) in score libraries - the major companies have their own libraries, and ALSO send duplicate copies to the benseh institute library, in london. for labanotation, i am unaware of the specifics of their storage arrangements, but i am quite confident it would be similar (i.e. multiple copies in different locations, at least one of which protected by archival storage conditions) 6. choreographic copyright could be breached IF anyone and everyone had access to these scores AND could read them - so even if the notation method was simple enough for anyone to pivk up easily, the scores would not be made readily available. 7. what else was there?... ;)

i actually DO LIKE nutcracker - but in australia we fairly rarely see it. and i agree with beckster about really liking the coppelia music, despite loathing the ballet.

Alexandra - your B2 is the definition i learned as a child - and found that beautiful, too. as a young teen, i also always related the word and its meaning to a particularly atmospheric and lovely portrait of fonteyn, arabesque a terre, arms upraised, in a B/W silhouetted archway of the alhambra (i believe it was the alhambra - i think it was a keith money photo). does anyone know what that first definition of alexandra's refers to? : "The inglorious obscurity in which the Arabesque doctors have in general slumbered." -?

sounds like you might be suggesting that ..??..well,.. to be honest,.. i can't quite work out what you are suggesting. ...but i assume that you are maybe wondering if ballet might be MORE popular in areas where the 'variety' of muslim faith is the more 'liberal' interpretation 'variety'. is that it? i think this teacher is actually in baghdad, isn't she? it DOES surprise me. given the strictures of muslim dress and women's behaviour, i hadn't really thought of there being muslim ballet participants! (within strict muslim countries, that is). i don't mind if that is revealing my ignorance - i would rather confess to what i am thinking, and become better informed, than shy away from being specific, and thereby remain no better off. of course, i probably should add, that i think we should all be careful to talk ballet here, and related issues - rather than politics.

i just want to point out to anyone who might not have realised it, the derivation of this singularly important word for us ballet-people: *ARABESQUE*. it seems to be hanging in my mind recently, as i am watching CNN or skynews continuous coverage of the iraq war... it really DOES mean 'arab'-ish or 'arab'-ian, hence 'arab'-esque. i have tried to explain this to students occasionally (not recently), and i've found that their level of sophistication about language is such, that they often don't 'get' it, even when it's explained. i know that readers here are generally far better educated, but i think there might still be a few people who have never thought about the WORD - i hadn't until a few years ago. and now would be as good a time as any! just came across this: i thought we might all be interested to see that the same passions that we share, exist and flourish even in baghdad at present...http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/...8=3898&format=0 i tried to post the photo, and failed, so here is the link to see the photo, which rather brings it all closer, causing me (at least) to wonder about these people....and what else there might be to tell, about ballet in baghdad...? http://www.middle-east-online.com/pictures...ballerinas-7-1-

have just checked: the mag i used to get in england was called Dance Research...

;)

what good writing...your enjoyment is infectious...

was just curious to hear his views on such an unlikely subject! for starters i didn't know it was a review, so you have already told me something! i thought it could have been some sort of reflective article on bausch's style, ...or something like that. when in england, i used to get a historical magazine that came out through dancebooks, from a dance history society - that was very good, quite academic...but i think it had a different title. i'll have a look later...

sorry to disappoint you, but i know nothing about this! ;) that's why i'm posting - to maybe hear some information from anyone who HAS read this article in the new issue of DANCE NOW.... - mind sharing a bit? also in this SPRING 2003 issue (apparently): Jonathan Cope in conversation with Debra Craine The legendary Olga Spessivtseva by Jane Simpson Relationships in Mayerling by Jann Parry Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! by Keith Watson Mark Morris in Britain by Jenny Gilbert Twyla Tharp on Broadway by Allen Robertson Violette Verdy in conversation with Gia Kourlas Scènes de Ballet by John Percival Pina Bausch's Kontaktof by Bruce Sansom it all sounds interesting.

thanks to both of you for responding. i haven't been online for a few days, or more. brandsen also brought pastor's work to western australia, in his previous directorship. in the future, if anyone DOES see any of brandsen's choreographies (especially the one's he has premiered in australia) i would be very interested to hear your views.

marc, have you seen any other DNB productions recently? (i.e. since ted brandsen came back)...any of his own choreographies?

Coppelia (5 years isn't enough)

silvy - i have never seen bylova in this role, but have admired her commitment and her plasticity in other roles - and that was about 15 years ago (i've no idea when your video was made).