leonid17

Many Thanks

Woops! I had wanted to ask about the religious nature of the Prelude given the political context of the time. Had there been repercussions for the choreographers? But I ran out of time and didn't realize I had saved the post. Was also going to wait and find the date of the original choreography before I posted. Sorry about that. People like Vasiliov and Kasatkina had grown up in an era of religious thaw, following Stalin’s desperate cynical turn towards the Orthodox Church to unite the Russian people in faith and the sense of one country, when Germany invaded Russia in 1941. The Vasiliov/Kasatkina “Prelude” was apparently first performed in 1967 during the Kruschev era when religious persecution of all kinds was a reality and they have continued to have a successful creative life if not an international one. Many Russians were looking for a spiritual identity in their imposed atheistic world and the arts were often been a place of expression for that yearning. I think rg is correct when he says, “my HUNCH is that the 'sacred' nature of the music was by this time only general and that the dance itself was seen as lyrical and/or serious, lofty, something like the GLuck ETUDE to the Dance of Blessed Spirits, and not necessarily specifically Christian/religious, etc." I personally have found that music and dance can often bring an elevation of the spirit somewhat parallel to the religious experience that is to say beyond ones everyday experience. Martha Graham variously said,” The body is a sacred garment.” , “The body says what words cannot.” , and “We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. “ PS In 1999, a performance of the Vasiliov/Kasatkina, “The Creation of the World” was scheduled for the Ballet Internationale of Indianapolis but I cannot find if this took place.

I have never seen a list published in English of either the Lenin or Stalin Prize. "It (the Lenin Prize) was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. In the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was not awarded. On August 15, 1956 it was reestablished, and continued to be awarded on every even year until 1990, on April 22 (Lenin's birthday), to individuals in the fields of science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology." " The Stalin Prize, existed from 1941 to 1954(or 1952)" The list would inlude choreographers and dancers from all the Soviet/Russian republics. If you were interested in just the Kirov and the Bolshoi you could use the Russian Ballet Encylopedia that Grigorovich oversaw. If its urgent I can't help if its not, I will spend some time using the above encyclopedia when I am listening to music and check out the Kirov and Bolshoi for you. Let me know. Ps Galina Ulanova won the "Stalin Prize and Medal "for valiant labour in the Patriotic War" and a Medal "for the defence of Leningrad". and a Lenin prize for ballet as well according to John Gregory's obituary. AMENDED it appears that she won the Stalin Prize on three other occasions.

I am going to both of the Osmolkina performances because a Kirov guest is a rare occurence with the Royal Ballet. I saw Marianela Nunez as Odette/Odile at the end of October last year and I would certainly be very happy to see her again which is not something I am often able to say.

This is just circus, I've seen this dancer in Don Q. pas de deux in London: vulgar beyond belief. I have seen Vladimir Vasiliev and Yekaterina Maximova in full length performances in the theatre and in 1969 saw them dance the pas deux as a concert item. Both pulled out all the stops, performing a highly technical version with perfect control and there was a lot of fun to be admired but no vulgarity. I think Vasilievs performance is best caught on film and perhaps more so than the entirely delectable Maximova who on stage in Don Q, was an accomplished performer who brought true joie de vivre and an impeccable techhnique.

Hello Lorenzo, I am surprise you have an issue of October 1925 poetry magazine. Yes, Jacques LeClercq was her real father. I would love to read his poetry, if you have time. Please keep in touch. Thank you. Jaques Le Clerc was I know, a well known translator of famous poems by French, German and Greek poets. But himself a poet, I did not know, But in recall, It must be so.

because a lot of this thread has dealt with possible ticket selling difficulties I just wanted to put this in some perspective. Hopefully this is not too OT. I was able to get discounted ($26) tickets for almost every performance of the Kirov at the not terribly large City Center last april. Similarly for Miami City Ballet's NY debut (yes not as big a name, but a much anticipated debut in NY as one of the foremost Balanchine interpreters) i got $26 tickets to opening night--first row center. I don't think either tour was considered a failure. Hopefully artistically it will not be a failure as I am especially looking forward to Swan Lake. Corsair I have not decided whether to see it or not as last time I saw it I felt the cast sent it up rather than play it truthfully. I am not sure if ballet companies make an actual profit on tours or is it just the impresario. If the company does benefit, I hope booking picks up.

I mentioned earlier in these posts, is that in normal circumstances(not in a recession) "Swan Lake" is usually bankable as long as the company has some kind of profile. But you are right Jane to to raise the question, " Surely it can't be just that no-one noticed till it was too late?" It looks like ABT is pretty much the loser in this competition but one assumes the visit was underwritten. What balletgoers in England will miss out on, is the projected visit by ABT to Manchester with a triple bill programme to be performed at the Lowry Theatre which has just vanished into thin air.

Obituary from the London Times of Fleming Flindt. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/o...icle5903581.ece The technical ability of Flindt often seems to overlooked and it was good to be reminded that we had seen him perform triple tours on l'air brilliantly, smoothly and within a complete flow of movement.

The London Times interview with Kevin McKenzie and problems with visit: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle5903093.ece This includes Royal Ballet response to ABT repertoire coinciding with their own.

A translated review of this programme can be found at http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...I7RNWN%26sa%3DG At newspaper site click on CULTURE at top then scroll down to Scene. PS The translation leads to some deliciously amusing expressions.

Such an intriguing question! I guess "Heartbroken" isn't in the DSM. Giselle suffered from Cassandra's Complex... I had a double take when I first read your post because it reminded me of the goth band of that name. Hilarion does of course warn her about Loys but poor girl already hopelessly in love does as you say reflect the classic Cassandra Complex(metaphor or curse) in which valid warnings are disbelieved. In the best of productions there is enough business away from Giselle for the hairpin removal not to be noticed especially when in the hands of an experienced Berthe. Madness in women is traditionaly portrayed in art with the hair down and dishevelled and it is a picture that audiences identify with éperdu.

I am sure these ballets were staged with fidelity to a Balanchine version that he would fully recognise and expect. When in Copenhagen in 1930, Balanchine was commisioned to stage 6 ballets from the Diaghlev Ballet Russe repertory and was quite happy to alter or improve them and in the case of "The Legend of Joseph" he created his own version. He also staged two genuine works of his own, Apollo Musagete and Barabau, By all accounts the Danes were not too impressed with his work at that time. They changed their mind later.

Not one that has been published! I have heard and read of several versions for her transfer but none so far, can be verified.

Great to have such a detailed report. By what you have told us, I know I would have loved to have seen this production.

Deborah MacMillan reveals a diary version of the background and staging process of the reduced Isadora in The Spectator at: http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/th...726/diary.thtml More reviews are to be found in todays links.

I do not recall either Dame Merle Park or Sandra Conley dancing the Brahms Waltzes.

Today, I was at “The Actor’s Church” which Bart pointed out, to attend the Memorial Service for Irina Baronova. It was a family affair. Members of her own family, the professional ballet world family and the ballet lover’s family. St.Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, is one of those Georgian Churches whose interior is beautiful in the way it combines understated grandeur through simplicity of decoration. I have attended many memorial services there in the past for people from the theatre world and ballet. J.M.W Turner and W.S Gilbert were baptised here, and those buried here include Sir Peter Lely, Samuel Butler, Grinling Gibbons, Thomas Arne, and Thomas Rowlandson. The ashes of Ellen Terry and Edith Evans repose here and there are commemoration plaques around the walls of the church dedicated to numerous famous actors and persons associated with the performing arts. I arrived early and sat amongst old friends and talked with Katherine Sorley-Walker who was a long time friend of Mme Baronova and author of a number of books; including Robert Helpmann (Rockliff, 1957), Eyes on the Ballet (London, 1963) De Basil's Ballets Russes. London: Hutchinson, 1982) and Ninette de Valois (London, 1987). The order of the service was: An organ Prelude - Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring - Bach The Bidding - The Reverend Simon Gregg Hymn – Praise, my soul. The King of Heaven Tribute – Lynn Wallis the Artistic Director of the RAD Interlude – Two Rachmaninoff Songs (As Fair as Day and Spring Waters) Reading- Robert Tennant(Son) read out messages from his sister in Australia as well as those from Frederick Franklin and George Zoritch followed by a reading of the familiar, "Death is nothing at all“ by Henry Scott Holland Reading – Finn Tennant(Grandson) the poem,” And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year…” by Minnie Louise Haskins Interlude – Oliver Wennink (step grandson) played and sang, “Girl from the North Country by Bob Dylan Hymn - The King of love my Shepherd is…” Prayers - The Reverend Simon Gregg There followed a slide display of photographs of Mme Baronova from childhood to old age showing her in many roles and with her family while Ross Alley at the piano played the “Panorama” music from “The Sleeping Beauty” . To end the service The Reverend Simon Gregg bid the congregation to join in a round of applause for Irina Baronova which went on and on as if no one wanted it to stop and the experience of this became extremely moving. As people lefts the church I noticed that there was a good smattering of octogenarians and possibly nonagenarians in the congregation some of whom had seen Baronova dance. The ballet-world was widely represented and included representatives of the Royal Academy of Dancing of which Mme Baronova was a Vice-President. Dame Antoinette Sibley looked amazingly young in a lavender/violet coat; Dame Monica Mason looked both serious and extremely vital. Peter Wright was there as was Lady Sainsbury (Anya Linden), Ivor Guest, Peter Wilson ballets man of many parts, former RB dancers Gail Monahan (nee Thomas), Kathryn Wade and David Gayle and a good number of others whose names I regret escaped me. My good friend Richard Whitehouse looked around and said ponderously, “Mmmm I think I am probably the only person here to have danced with Irina Baronova.” “Really” said I to give him a lead, “Yehss he drawled, it was at a RAD function when we waltzed together.” I never met Mme Baronova but I had corresponded with her when she graciously became a member of a distinguished support committee for ballet history event I had organised. Afterthought! I know I am not alone in being interested in the history of ballet as a pathway to understanding this art form as is obvious from the distinguished contributions from many at ballettalk. What on occasion concerns me today is that societies across the world are more self-obsessed about the period of time they live in, rather than investigating the past to contextualise their experience. It is also my observation that many younger ballet goers seem to think that nothing in ballet exists other than what they have personally experienced.

I think you might find the following of interest. I found it is easier to type in Christina Ezrahi to open the PDF. Best wishes Leonard [PDF] Christina EzrahiFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Christina Ezrahi. International Symposium of Russian Ballet. The Thaw in Soviet Culture and the Return of Symphonic Dance ... www.harrimaninstitute.org/MEDIA/01228.pdf -

I will not be seeing "Isadora" as I found it loathesome when fully staged and as I left the theatre felt I had experienced three weeks of torture. As the torture has been reduced to something like a week I am not tempted even with Tamara Rojo in the role. In the matter of Mr. MacMillan I concur with the views Jane Simpson expressed in Dance view in 2003. I am sorry to say I have never seen Limon's "Five evocations of Isadora" but have seen Ashton's work a good number of times. In his "Five Brahms Waltzes......" I have never failed to be moved by various casts in his evocation of Miss Duncan and Lynn Seymour with her softly contoured figure and extraordinary theatrical ability brought the emotional, psychological and aesthetic Isadora to life in a way that 2 hours plus of MacMillan never achieved. I should have liked to have seen the companion work on the programme, but after the RB's original cast for "Dances at a Gathering" I have always been a little disappointed in subsequent casts. THe other tragedy apart from "Isadora" is that MacMillan's best works, the one act ballets are neglected and instead his terrible version of "The Prince of the Pagodas" is according to Deborah Mac Millan(before whom it now seems all must bow down), to be revived three years hence.

I feel extremely sorry for all the ABT dancers but there may be some members of the company who remember that they had to agree in early 1993 to have their guaranteed work for 36 weeks a year cut to 26 due to financial problems. I do not know if this was imposed upon them or not. In the topic "How's the ballet box-office doing nowadays?" begun by Bart, he and myself among others took the economic situation seriously adressing the problems ahead for arts organisation and I drew some comparisons between the UK and USA situation which two months ago was already hitting ballet companies. The economy of a ballet company has somewhat less to do with bums on seats as in the past because tickets sales often only meet something over a third of necessary income and in that topic I stated some of the problems that had already arisen in terms of funding to the NEA and corporate sponsorship. Of course ABT will survive and hopefully they will find the money to not only sustain there status but also that the dancers pensions and dancers' vacation pay will be returned to the status quo swiftly. I read two days ago the the Philly has cut its administrative staff by 20% and those staff left earning over $50,000 will be required to take a cut in salary. But those steps it reported will still find the orchestra more than $2000000 in the red at the end of the financial year. The recession in the US and the UK is now more than 3 months old and it seems to ne that Joffrey Ballet saw it coming when in the middle of last year, they made the company leaner by freezing hiring, go without a marketing director as well as other posts and genrally reducing administartive costs. The Lyric Opera Chicago has plans to set up an instalment plan for subscription tickets so that they can continuing to attend as in the past. In the UK we see tickets for ballet being discounted in a way that has never happened before. In London like New York I supect, the local population is not so worried about what is happening in Michigan or Bradford. If you prefer an American view of the arts, check this article that was written more than a month ago. http://www.knoxville.com/news/2009/jan/27/...erforming-arts/

To give you comfort sz when a discussion arose from a Tobi Tobias article in 2007, Alexandra asked for a vote from contributors on "Which is America's top company, The result of the vote was American Ballet Theatre [ 52 ] [43.33%] New York City Ballet [ 50 ] [41.67%] Other [ 18 ] [15.00%]

Thank you phenby for your most useful contribution. I would ask that if any balletalkers visit the exhibitions or performances now listed, do give a report and please describe catalogues or programmes. I said it before and I will say it again, without Diaghilev, ballet would not exist in the manner it does today. It is not just the works he produced, its the countless people he inspired in all fields related to ballet and his legacy, makes a fine partner to the legacy of the Imperial St. Petersburg Ballet repertoire.

Sergei Vikharev's first reconstruction of "Coppelia" was given by the Novosibirsk Ballet in 2001. He also staged a small section for the Vaganova Academy and it was then thought a Mariinsky Ballet production might follow. It didn't.

Over a very long period of time I have seen companies on their home ground as well as in London. As in recent years I have only been watching ballet in London, I do not want to offer a firm opinion or even enter into a competition as a judge on the current status of 'famous' companies of today. In Europe the name of the Matha Graham Dance Company remains famous amongst those that have never seen them. I doubt if the NYCB or ABT are famous among those who have never seen them but still enjoy dance and ballet. Balanchine however is supremely famous as his works are ubiquitous and admired. I find no sympathy in comparing the major dance, neo-classical or academic classical ballet companies because I think that the honest judges among frequent dance/ballet consumers would most likely be the same right across the world. But as you asked and I now see it would be churlish to give no answer.I would say that as regards pure dance, interperative performance and aesthetics none of the top 5 or 8 companies in my humble opinion match up to the standards seen 45 years ago except in one case, the Paris Opera Ballet and they would just scrape into my top 8.