balletforme

Who were the corps dancers?

I saw the Kennedy Center version and loved it due to the ballet and Juliet Doherty and Tiler Peck but, as a story, it was flat. I also read the book upon which it is based The Painted Girls, which was sorted and less sympathetic to Degas but very intriguing. Being a petite rat was a really sad situation for these girls. The POB benefactors were true voyeurs. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-reviewthe-painted-girls-by-cathy-marie-buchanan/2013/01/21/364c5b04-5f35-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story.html?utm_term=.6944b8b2371c I also researched the true Marie. What I remember from the Kennedy Center show was that Tiler Peck had to tie her pointe shoes a lot on stage. I also remember that one cast member left on her legwarmers and then had to keep them on the entire show--orange legwarmers in the corps. It was rousing and sweet but did not have that "Broadway" glow--where you leave feeling somehow transformed. And, I do hope that they have managed to capture something of the story in the rework-- but honestly, the character of Marie is complex, sad, hopeful, and sorted. It's a true range that, to me, is really best captured by a seasoned actress.

It won't make it past previews. . especially in NYC. . . I don't expect to see it even move passed workshop.

Can I ask a question about the School? When Martins was in charge, he and Kay Mazzo were "co-chairmen" of the faculty. Then in the fall, it seemed like Mazzo was chair. Now Stafford is "artistic director'' of SAB and Whelan is specifically described as not having a formal role at the school? Does anyone know what the difference between a co-chair of the faculty and an artistic director of a school are? Why say "Whelan will not take on a formal leadership role at SAB, she is expected to guest teach with regularity?"

Kent is moving foward. . .:)

By "can't win" I meant he is in an impossible situation. . . it's an expression. I did not mean that he can't win the ADship. He has not been clearly endorsed/hired as THE AD and that simple fact compromises his strength. HE as a leader or person is not weak, the situation compromises his authority inherently. Actually, his grace and strength under such perverse circumstances reveal fortitude. Of course, he "can win" as AD but someone needs to clearly hand him the baton/prize

Yep.

Stafford is being thrown under the bus, IMO. He can't win. The organization appears to be in disarray. And Martins should depart with class. If there are any actors who lack class it is him. Sad, really.

Why do you think Stafford, who is usually quite low key, chose not to give "no comment?"

Why oh why or why so long? Is the board divided? Get on with it already.

Amen. Sounds diagnosable

I am so glad that Poulin had consequences for his posts.

Thanks folks for the corrections. I guess that I would expect an article over a year after the NYT article to give us something "newsworthy" instead of simply replaying info from so long ago.

I thought that the article was silly and written by someone who is actually a lot less knowledgeable than the folks on this board. It made no sense to me. Millpied? Wheeldon? Misty Copeland? Suzanne Farrell? I thought Farrell actually had to cancel her summer program? Misty Copeland directing NYCB? It's just bizarre.

While a disagree with Poulin's perspective, it also appears that what contributes to his problems are a lack of education and skill in appropriately voicing an opinion, a lack of filter, not understanding the power of making inflammatory statements on Instagram as a public figure, and a lack of understanding the world outside of a Soviet perspective in 2018. Wasn't Ratmansky "caught" with some similar misogynistic statements? And I don't believe he lost choreography jobs over his statements?

And it seems the Ms. Wenkman sees the importance of this concept, as she reportedly is stepping back from competition. https://www.danceinforma.com/2018/12/28/new-year-new-goals/

I think that you have to want to dance more than you want attention. And you have to be able to tolerate the rigors of company life as a lowly corps member. You have to be able to deal with being passed over, told to lose weight, being injured, dancing better than everyone in your cohort and still be looked over. The competition ballet dancer or studio star has a different training experience than the kid in a large pre pro or company school that does not do competitions. There are certain liabilities to the co school but there are as well for competition stars.

Yeah. . . . I think that they just don't want to dance. They want something else.

Such a pity that Juliet didn't joint a company. I would l have loved to see her build a ballet career.

I think she would jump at it, if offered. Miami City's budget is like 16 million and NYCB like 60 million? Can't imagine her NOT wanting it. Any more thoughts about Whelan? I wonder why not Woetzel??? -- Too much to buy out his contract?

Quinten, I agree. Maybe I am not thinking about artistic choices but tempo changes of convenience. It can be very odd for the tempo of a well-known piece to be going along and then change in a pronounced fashion. I'm not talking about a pause that holds longer or a breath between phrases. I 'm talking about the music was at one metronome tempo for 8 bars and now, all of a sudden, you are doing a totally different one, that is not written in the music. That seems a bit aggrandizing-- as in, "Let me make this music match me and show me off." To me, it privileges the dancer and not the art.

Yes, the timing has likely been very well-calculated. My bet is on Wendy Whelan? We shall see. OR maybe they will go with a "team?"

So, in my opinion, it is NOT musical if the music changes tempo to the dancer. To me, that is the opposite of music. Musical is responding TO the music not it responding to YOU that would be about musician "danceacality." Ha ha!

It was very good. I find her so interesting, smart, and very "accessible." She just does not appear to be super self-absorbed. Any thoughts on her for NYCB AD? She's had so much NY experience (didn't know that) and has been an AD. And she's getting this Dance Magazine award. I just wonder which way the winds are blowing?

I have to agree with Helene's analysis of Black Swan. I found it hypergraphic, shocking, disturbing and truly distasteful and hyperbolic and I would have taken exception to a movie like that about my profession-- there are negative stereotypes about all professions. It just sells tickets to aim at a cloistered, mysterious group of mostly talented, beautiful women. It fed into so many really negative ideas about ballet-- ED, the whoring, bawdy performing artist, grasping mother, lecherous AD, drug use, the damaged dancer with a hard background, suicide, the dehumanizing casting process (remember the Russian woman at the audition (kind of Kopakova) who points to a girl and says out loud- "Hips too wide?"), insanity, the politics of casting, . . the art veritably devours the artist. It was not just a few neurotic characters. It was MOST IMO. I did not find it humorous it was too graphic and assaulting to the eyes, psyche, and heart. How could anyone think anything positive about ballet after that? In fact, there was almost no real ballet in the entire thing. It was constantly cutting away from the dancing. Horrid.