leonid17

Thank you for posting this photograph which I found fascinating as I have been interested in Shelest for a long time. Shelest was by repute and outstanding member of the Kirov ballet and regrettably there is very little on film to evaluate her reputation. Maya Plisetskaya, is quoted as saying that Shelest "... was absolutely complete; a unity of style, intellect, technique and dramatic abilities".

I was moved in hearing the news of the passing of Melissa Hayden. I am grateful that I saw her dance with NYCB and as Lise with the RB. A major contributor to American Ballet and admired around the world.

But to say, "she was a great artist, we should only focus on that" makes me bristle. Quite right, only I can't find any post where this was said.

Part of the rehabilitation of even the worst of criminal offenders, is putting their past life behind and moving on to make a positive contribution to society. To deny in this instance, is not in itself a crime, but is rather an assertion that what was, no longer is. We are not talking about a war criminal. Many, indeed most Germans supported the Nazi party in Hitler’s time in way or another, the alternative was for them was unthinkable. To contribute to an art form as Dame Elizabeth Schwarzkopf did and in a way that bought much too many, she made a unique contribution to opera and song. Just let’s get the balance right in assessing what made her a public figure and thus open to criticism. In my opinion she made what I believe will remain a unique contribution and I will always remember her recitals in London and a performance where she could still sing an operatic aria with meaning and technical skill at an age when many legendary singers have long left the stage.

This exactly what I was implying in my earlier post when I said. " There is much more to the creation of important works of ‘high art’ than bringing people of talent together. It is the right people at the right time, with the right visionary authority to oversee and encourage such an event as a new successful ballet being created."

Thanks Andre I assumed the Kirov had toured their latest production and Mr Segal's text confused me.

I do not consider anyone is hiding behind the term 'high art' as no one has to. Some contributors, commentators and one dancer for sure, think that there is a problem regarding classical ballet especially in its three or four act story telling form. There is no problem there is only a reality. The most significant choreographers of the 20th century full length story ballets have all produced flawed works that survive only because there are at times, exceptional performers that make them work. Those ballets of the 19th century that remain at the centre of the core of major company’s repertory, do so because the component parts are in some degree combined in a manner that first established a form and were the work of outstanding creators. As to the improvement of a high art, I am not sure what is meant by this. For it to happen, it requires a strong story that must work on a number of levels, it needs a choreographer of great skill, dramatic sense and taste combining with a score that works to support and indeed meet fully the expectations of an audience. Story is not enough, choreography is not enough, dancers are not enough and where oh where do we find a suitable score? If ballets were to follow the distinguished path of devolution to popular taste from opera to operetta and musicals perhaps that is the future. But hang, on despite musicals being popular opera is still alive and well, what is most interesting is that in the latter half of the 20th century opera has looked further and further back for revivals of opera seria that have found favour with audiences. Why has this happened, is it because there are only small audiences for new operas? Improvement is not required, but highly developed talent is. Where is this to be found? How do we encourage it when experiment is such an expensive process? Many Ballet Alert contributors could undoubtedly work out scheme in which potential talent is developed, but will that end up producing ballets of value and worth? There is much more to the creation of important works of ‘high art’ than bringing people of talent together. It is the right people at the right time, with the right visionary authority to oversee and encourage such an event as a new successful ballet being created.

During the late summer in the UK there is a period in respect of the media known as ‘the silly season’. It is the time newspapers try to dig deep and come up with very little and ephemerality acquires a supersonic status and I wondered is this how I should view Mr. Segal’s article? I chose not to. When I started to read Mr. Segal’s article, the ‘f’ word (fractious) came to mind and as I read on, a number of other ‘f’ words came to mind including fallacious, foolish, flawed, fabulist, falsidical, farrago and his imaginary finalistic tolling of a bell for classical ballet. Despite my above fulminatory remarks, I am glad I read it. Nobody has to witness a performance of ballet or a go to a ‘ball game’ but for those that go regularly it is a personal choice and it is the right of patrons to support what they enjoy or to stay away. I do not understand what the writer means by stating that ballet is”decaying”. Surely an inferior choice of adjective from a wordsmith unless of course, he is possibly aiming for cheap pot shots at the high art form that ballet is considered to be. Accuracy might have assisted his premise but to say, “Bad enough that ballet largely ignores the present, but it also falsifies its past. The problematic "Sleeping Beauty" that the Kirov Ballet danced at the Music Center last season credited 19th century master choreographer Marius Petipa, but it dates from 1952.” Wrong, Mr. Segal and on two counts. Firstly the re-creation was based on period archive material and secondly the educated audience (yes there are levels of education need to fully appreciate ballet as there are in baseball to fully appreciate that game) and most critics admired what was a highly successful attempt to re-instate historical accuracy to the production. Again in farcical mode yes another ‘f’ word Mr. Segal states, “For beginners, the easiest thing to hate about ballet may be the way so many 19th century story ballets depict non-Christian, non-European, nonwhite people. Happy slaves, lustful Muslims, murderous Hindus: They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. But why are we watching this stuff — surely not out of nostalgia for the racism and xenophobia on view? It's not the same thing as viewing a movie from a less enlightened age; it's more like remaking one: enlisting the finest dance stars and stage artists of our time to reanimate a corrupt vision.” Art of any period is not limited to accurate portrayal of any kind that is not its aim. What takes place in a theatrical setting is not meant to be either to be taken as real or as model of belief as to behaviour. Operas, oratorios, paintings, sculpture. architecture or novels are the creation of artists of lesser or greater degree to represent a view of life not a model for life, but yet, through allegory, symbolism, and illusory methodology as used in ballet can reinforce positive view of human behaviour. A ballet with scenes that appear reprehensible today due to their historic context should not be judged by modern values that decent people hold, nor should they be subjected to the mania of ‘book-burning’ that was carried out by totalitarian states in the last century. The LA Times correspondent then states, “Classical music still shakes us to the core. Classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives. “People who go to watch ballet get exactly the same response to productions and performances that he talks about. “But too much antique Western classical dance doesn't even function as metaphor...” If Mr. Segal is unable to see the metaphors in ballet others can including children. The depiction of an allegory or a symbolic expression is a central feature of most ballet stories. If you want to apply political correctitude to the arts in general, I think that many American made films would be doomed to the dustbin. “It used to be that only slaves and children were known by just their first names, but with slavery long abolished, dancers seem to be the sole adults on the list.” No Mr. Segal, kings and queens throughout history were known by their first name. “Thinking of dancers as beautiful children might seem harmless enough, but in ballet its part of a system that denies young people any real choices in their lives. It's even worse for the ballet women who starve themselves to match a skeletal ideal and then stop menstruating for the length of their careers. Talk about arrested development.” Really Mr. Segal children that become dancers, singers, actors, athletes, American footballers, baseball players, scientists, etc are all generally encouraged, nurtured and pushed to achieve, by generally very caring parents. Nobody in any dance company would encourage skeletal dancers but instead chooses young people whose physical predisposition is leanness. Darcey Bussell the UK’s most famous dancer is the proud mother of two children.

I have never lived under a totalitarian regime and so have no idea how I would act if I did so. Dame Elizabeth Schwarzkopf aunt to General Norman Schwarzkopf had this to say about her nazi past, "After her retirement, she admitted she had applied to join the Nazi Party in 1939 - something she said was "akin to joining a union". "I applied for membership when I was 24, in my second year at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin," she said. "I was told that I must do so if I wanted to continue my career. The membership card never reached me." This defence, however, did not stop the New York Times dubbing her the "Nazi Diva". When immediately after the UK's 1939-45 war with Germany, America recruited Nazi German scientists to develop a rocket programme, nobody in the USA as far as I know criticised this. My family home in London was destroyed by a rocket those scientists created yet I hold no bitterness towards Germans today. The experience that people have in totalitarian states should not be compared to the life we in the UK or USA have experienced. Not everyone has it in them to become a martyr. In Russia it became impossible for some dancers to travel abroad if they were not card carrying communists who toed the line. Nureyev would like other dancers, never been allowed to travel abroad again if he had not defected. Most of the famous dancers of the Kirov and Bolshoi were card carriers and as such once they attained certain status in the company were required to act in a way that I personally feel is reprehensible. My absolutely favourite classicist Irina Kolpakova's reputed denunciation of Valery Panov is in the telling quite apalling if true. I have heard other stories of another famous Russian ballerina's telling the mother of a dancer to beat her to bring her to her senses. Apalling if true. Unless you have walked in the shoes of some one else you may comment but it is impossible to judge using the values we have in a free society. How on earth Dame Margot Fonteyn got into this discussion I do not know?

As I recall, Shakespeare doesn't really spend many words on Othello's color, or on the black man/ white woman contrast. But there's a constant reference to "this Moor," "the Moor," and this is often in quite a negative context: "lascivious Moor," "rude" (i.e. rough or uncivilized), etc. Desdemona's father calls Othello "Moor" rather than his own name, and refers to him repeatedly by using the label. From memory, I believe that in Shakespeare's time there was a distinction between 'moor' and 'blackamoor'. This may or may not correllate with present day north African people's of Arab/Berber descent and those of central and southern Africa.

Lubov Egorova is associated with the Lilac Fairy and this was mentioned in early posts re Marie Petipa and the Lilac Fairy variation. Ludmilla Schollar and Anatole Vilzak in their book ' A Ballerina Prepares' confirms Egorova's association with the Lopukhov variation and gives a version of it written out. There are one or perhaps two photographs of Egorova in the role in the original production published in several books. As it is 06.32 as I write I do not have the time to check other sources of information I am sure another poster will confirm this information.

I trusted my memory on Basil Thompson and cannot now find supporting evidence. I apologise.

There are few seasoned balletgoers in London that admire Darcey Bussell that much and for various reasons. The main reason is that they feel Miss Bussel despite her beauty( some describe her as a toothy schoolgirl), has added no depth to her performances over the years. Her technique has been seen as weak in turns( I have seen her very good in turns). I see her as quite glamourous and she has despite nerves on occasion shows tremendous attack, high elevation in grand jete and a crowd pleasing panache. I thought her first night performance in the reconstructed Sylvia was both entertaining and enjoyable although her epaulement let her down. Although the most famous Royal Ballet dancer since Margot Fonteyn she lost ground in the company when she was off with her baby Phoebe and Alina Cojocaru and Tamara Rojo established themselves with audience and critics in a way that Miss Bussell never did. With a family and business interest and perhaps other fish to fry she is now only a guest artist with the RB. Odette/Odile, Aurora, Giselle and Natalia Petrovna are beyond her reach but I admired her as Nikiya and Gamzatti. Where she goes from now I am not sure. She is a media celebrity and in an interview she is quoted as saying, "... the Royal Ballet is not me." Many thought, myself included that Miss Bussel was perfect for NYC and was not really a classical ballet dancer.

Agreed. Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity rules OK. Inclusivity of opportunity is what everyone should want and the problem seems to arise from the lack of exposure to ballet and the financial restraints of both studying and attending performances I would also like to say I do not enjoy this discussion about dancers and their racial background because, so called black people are not a homogenous group and I am uncomfortable that the questions should be discussed as if they are. As someone who embraces the recognition of equality and diversity in a nation, I prefer people should be delineated by nationality alone or no delineation at all as regards race and many young people I meet only want to be called English not British and certainly not British Black as their identity and that of their parents has been entirely English. The famous Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus, were an entirely American phenomena and I personally feel they should not be described as anything but American and their work and success should be celebrated in terms of dance. What they as individuals chose to say about themselves is a personal privilege. Their audiences were definitely members of mixed societal groups attending a ‘dance’ event not just a black dance event. If I think of dancers of the past like; Basil Thompson, Clive Thompson, Arthur Mitchell, Sylvester Campbell. Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison and Virginia Johnson, I remember them as outstanding dancers not outstanding black dancers. To paraphrase the American poet Getrude Stein, a dancer is a dancer is a dancer. Working with colleagues from many nationalities and intimately interviewing people from most of the worlds nations on a daily basis I can say only in a general way, that it has been my experience that groups of people enjoy the culture of the particular sector of society they choose or are able to belong to and each of them, have their dance traditions that they are proud of. Many and probably most will have no inclination to embrace ballet as an interest and why should they? Ballet does not have as wide appeal as many might like to think. Ballet is a luxury activity and like the other high arts is of minor interest to the vast majority of the world’s population. Those that want to engage will engage those that do not, will not and those that try may just find the way to become a professional dancer. Making it easier for people to access ballet training will not necessarily result in success. Examine the low numbers of contracts achieved at the end of every major ballet school’s graduating year. Consider the number of children who study ballet compared to 40 years ago. No greater numbers of outstanding dancers are appearing on the worlds stages than was achieved in the past. In the UK ballet outreach work over the last 20 odd years in schools catering for 5 to 11 year olds appears to have had little influence in attracting non-white children to take up ballet in great numbers or to become part of the audiences. This I would suggest has also been the case of those white children from a blue collar family background. To attend a major ballet school in the UK like the Royal Ballet School the annual fees for boarders is 28000 English Pounds and for day pupils approximately half that amount (Bursaries can be awarded). Half decent seats in the amphitheatre (the highest tier) at the Royal Opera House for ballet (e.g. Sleeping Beauty) are 59 English Pounds, the best seats 87 English Pounds. So in England where the average national wage is 24000 English Pounds and some families have less than 59 EP to spend on food per week , of course relative poverty is a deterrent for some parents to consider dancing as a career for their children. Following the early posts and wanting to dive in straight away, I then thought hang on Leonid why not your colleagues ask and clients who mostly come from African and Afro-Caribbean background what they think. Only one out of 15 people (a very small sample) was interested in ballet as entertainment (but did not attend unless taken) and the rest thought it was too hard a training to put their kids through. One colleague who I know has two daughters who study ballet said if they wanted to become professional dancers they could. However she said I would be continuously worried of the depth of disappointment if they did not make it into regular employment. She felt due e to the very high cost to a working mother, her children would think that going to ballet class for a number of years was that it had to be training for work. Finance is obviously a barrier for many parents and ultimately children. One answer I got in various but similar descriptive terms from a number people was, why, do you as a white worry about what we want to do with our social and cultural life. "It seems that you are not just asking a question, you are perhaps suggesting that if we do not embrace your culture we are somehow missing out. No Mr. White Boy we are not." This was said in a jokey way with a strong element of sending me up. In London audiences I have heard two distinct comments about racial differences in ballet dancers in British companies and they were not based on the abilities of dancers. The first is the lack of homogeneity that would occur in ‘ballet blanc’, the second is the inherent nationality of certain classical ballet roles and the historicity of casting someone who quite clearly by racial typography could not have been in particular countries at certain times or in certain situations. The consensus of opinion on leading roles has always been it depends on the power of the dancer’s performance and the individual ballet role, but the hesitancy of some acquaintances to comment may reveal their antipathy to inclusivity. Certain ballets have a lengthy performance tradition which was until recently entirely Caucasian in England. The single exception for many years was the outstanding dancer Johaar Mosavaal whose technique and acting ability made him a great favourite of the Royal Ballet Touring Company for a good number of years. Opportunity to partake in excellence of training and employment in ballet for persons with talent should always be there and children as ever should be given the right climate in which they may aspire to be as good as they possibly can be, at what they choose to do. For an interesting personal view on this area of discussion from behind the proscenium arch I would recommend an interview with Arthur Mitchell at the below link. http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/06/29/...hell/print.html

Apologies in reviving an old topic, but a question was put to me last week regarding ownership of a particular piece of choreography. There are recorded instance where dancers actually create steps and even sections of choreography but never get credited for them. When a solo is evolved from dual contributions how in all honesty can the copyright be enforced by heirs to an estate. We know why, but has anyone knowledge of such a challenge to ownership in this particular aspect (Not others, as in recent legal history)?

The website dedicated to Nina Ananiashvilli says that she is hoping/expecting to return to performing in 2007 following the birth of her daughter five months ago.

I rather like to think of dancers as being like Aristotles view of the five elements of matter in the explanation of his theory of the Motion of Objects. His classification of the components of matter was: Fire - Earth - Air - Water – Aether (the divine substance of the heavens) Aristotle posed the following questions: Why does a rock fall while smoke rises? Why does water flow downward while flames dance into the air? Why do the planets move across the sky? Well for me, dancers fall into the Aristotlian categories quite nicely and Vishneva when I first saw appeared to be a dancer of the fire always moving swiftly reaching upwards to the sky. For me her technical fluency is self-evident. Fearlessly attacking steps but without the hardness of other dancers have who perform at the same level as she does. Vishneva achieves all the five elements for me with her earthy terre a terre technique that enables her to perform pirouettes sur la place, her airy lightness as both Nikiya and Giselle the controlled fluidity of her movement where line is never sacrificed for effect, in the forceful fieryness of her jumps and that quality of the spiritual ethereal world she can assume at will. Having spoken to members of the audience and and read the reviews of her recent performances in the USA Vishneva appears to have moved into a new level of achievement. What first attracted me to Vishneve was her determination to come on stage and perform to her utmost capabilities every single time I have seen her. Her forthrightness appeared a little brash for some of my friends but no one denied that she gave 100% of herself in an attempt to inhabit a role. Some of her early attempts came off better than others but a real progression has been evident. With Malakhov(an exemplar of classical male dancing and partnering) she has further developed to achieve things on stage that seemed just beyond her reach with some of her Kirov partners. I have heard people say she doesn’t have beautiful feet (nor did Karsavina, Ulanova or Fonteyn) certainly she appears to lack a beautiful instep like the two Pavlova’s or Maximova or Sizova. I have heard it said that her legs are short never to my eyes. She has a strong back, high extensions (usually not too high) certainly very attractive with a face whose expressions carry beyond the footlights and has developed an authoritative stage manner and acting skill as she has so far progressed through her career. I am hoping there is more to come. In the past, I can see why Omshanti sees her as a character dancer( more correctly a demi-classical) but then other dancers when young have been labeled as such but developed into true artists(yes that word again) who were capable of performing a wide range of leading classical ballet roles. To call her a character dancer, would suggest that she was a Massine type dancer, Her performances in Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty clearly show she has no such limitations. Omshanti mentions seemingly grudgingly of her success as Kitri but forgets that in the vision scene the role changes from demi-classical to strictly classical and here Vishneva achieves everything that is necessary for this scene. Do I think she is great? For me, not yet. Seriously important? Certainly.

Whilst this post has been extremely interesting to read, I am reminded of Sir Thomas Beecham’s remark," A musicologist is a man who can read music but cannot hear it.” I recall this quote not to offend but this post rather like another post in a similar vein, at times seems in danger of forgetting that ballet is first and foremost is a performance art that takes place in front of and for an audience. It does not matter what critics or so called experts say, it is the audience that keeps ballet alive in the 21st century nearly a century after new style dancers in the 1920's had given it the last rites. In the theatre, ballet is presented to be appreciated and enjoyed and all considerations of dancer’s physical attributes and methods of training and placement mean nothing except to reduce ballet to a physical event when it certainly is much more than that. Narrow views are to be abhorred and judgements are only personal views no matter whether they emanate from Auguste Bournonville, or any other luminary of dance teaching. I mention August Bournonville very particularly as he created a very strict method for the classroom but all his ballets rely on the effect created by outstanding dancers with personality and whose individual attributes made them special. It is this kind of individuality in a dancers that enabled his ballets to survive, not the story or choreography alone because, ONLY DANCERS MAKE A BALLET LIVE. Those dancers that for some, seem to meet a personal ideal in physique and training may never become an audience favourite because the best examples of what a ballet dancer should do on stage, always go beyond the point of physical and technical analysis. To not understand this, is to not understand ballet on stage. I am however not in favour of seeing dancers stumbling through choreography and I defy anyone to say that Dame Margot Fonteyn (who never stumbled through steps because she was an artist of the ballet) should not been a ballet dancer because she did not have the correct or incorrect development of buttocks or that her centre of gravity was in the wrong place, or her technique was weak. Favourite dancers of mine included Osipenko, Kolpakova and Sizova, Dancers of a refined artistry and exemplary schooling. What they brought to the stage in entirely different ways would probably meet suggested standards for most observers. I can tell you however, that I have heard these dancers criticized by knowledgeable teachers of some repute. All discussions are futile if based only on regimented point of view because, you stop talking to people and only talk at them. I would like to quote one of my favourite English poets, "Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more." William Cowper. PS There is a useful introduction to the Physics of Dance at http://web.hep.uiuc.edu/home/g-gollin/danc...ce_physics.html that gives a technical explanation of the physics of dance and a dancers centre of gravity.

(Quote)Does anyone have other examples of ballets in which wine advances the plot or changes what is going on onstage? Not taking the question too seriously, Ashton's 'Creatures of Prometheus' and 'La fille mal gardee' have scenes with wine and of course Lavrovsky's Romeo and Juliet there are wine goblets. Alcohol is consumed in Cranko's ' Pineapple Poll' by Jasper.

The Varna Ballet Competition was founded in 1964 which makes it the first international competition of its kind. The Jackson Competition originally followed the same rules but has I understand, now amended them. The Varna competition has always been held around the first two weeks of July. It is an audience marathon(or can be) with the competition in the evening and if you are determined enough to gain access, there is the opportunity to watch rehearsals(through the night) and classes in the morning and afternoon as well as stage rehearsals. In the beginning it attracted Vladimir Vassiliev, Natalia Makarova, Eva Evdokimova, Mikhail Barishnikov, Natalia Bessmertnova, Patrick Dupond, Sylvie Guillem, Agnes Letestu, Yoko Morishita, Martin Van Hamel, Evelin Hart, Loipa Araujo, Vladimir Malakhov, Fernando Bujones, Maximilliano Guerrra, Marin Boierou etc.

Thank you so much for this post. I do not recall seeing a colour reproduction of this painting before and it appears to be a much better portrait than the painters representation of Karsavina in the Firebird costume. Is the reproduction in the catalogue larger than that shown on the AAM website? If so, I think it is worth buying just for that.

I met Mary Day at the Varna Ballet Competition in 1968. She was a calm and erudite person who listened and commented in a way that was warm, friendly, encouraging and distinctly distinguished. She was probably the first American I met socially who was associated with ballet and I was literally blown over by her charm, knowledge and her understanding of a youthful(well fairly) enthusiast of ballet that I was at that time. After Ulanova and Alonso she remains an abiding memory of my visit to Varna where there were many denizens of ballet attending. I was recently described by a colleague as old but another colleague said I was not old but had an accummulation of youth, which is what Mary Day exactly projected to me.

I apologize for not completing my thought in this post. I think the way the discussion has evolved is much more important than a narrow interpretation of the question. I meant to bring up Seymour in the context of the discussion: a dancer who is widely called a great dramatic ballerina and artist, who strengthened her technique during her career, but was never a stellar technician or bravura dancer, and whose training in unified schooling started relatively late, with her move to England. In a narrow definition of ballerina as classical technician, she would not qualify, and would have been sent home to Canada. Luckily for ballet, this did not happen. I witnessed many of Lyn Seymour's performances in the 1960's and 70's with the Royal Ballet in London where she was after Fonteyn and Beriosova much loved by the audience. Her teacher at the Royal Ballet School(and later in her career) was the distinguished Winifred Edwards who had returned to England in the 1940's from a long sojourn teaching in the USA with the Kosloffs where Agnes de Mille was also her pupil. As has been mentioned Miss Seymour never had an extensive technique but in 1958 she did dance nine Odette/Odiles when the RB were on tour in Australia. The last major classical role I saw her dance(excepting MacMillans's ballets was as Aurora to which she brought much feeling and a softness of movement with her beautifully rounded arms lovely leg line that ended in beautifully arched feet like Pavlova's that Ashton so admired and exploited when he created 'The Two Pigeons for her. Seymour's performances with Chritopher Gable were legendary. Rarely have two dancers met on the same emotional and dramatic plain as they did in Romeo and Juliet. She was Macmillan's muse and the ballets he created for have in my opinion never had a better interpreter. Ps. Antoinette Sibley and Marcia Haydee were in the same class as Lyn. No doubt Miss Edwards learnt a lot as a member of the Anna Pavlova Company.

Thank you Helene for reminding me of the centre of this topic, as in replying to other posts it has become much broader than perhaps Bart intended with his original question. I am ducking the question of the great male artists of the dance as the popular conception of such rare animals would raise such contentious issues it deserves a topic of its own. To answer Omshanti’s assumptions about my background I would inform her that I studied ballet in class, I have had the opportunity of watching legendary dancers from the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballet (i.e. Natalia Dudinskaya and Asaf Messerer etc) teach classes and have watched a hundred or more classes taught by famous dancers and other teachers with established reputations. I also in the 1960’s attended a long series of lectures on Vaganova technique (presented by Anne Marie Holmes) illustrated by I think 11 films made at the Vaganova Academy illustrating the classes over a 8 year period which were discussed by the audience who included representatives from the Ballet Russe era and those who taught the Cecchetti and RAD method. Watching films of Anna Pavlova and talking with many members of her company has for me also been inspiring. Escorting Galina Ulanova around a museum and discussing with her aspects of former ballet stars and her teachers was an unimaginable experience as has been listening to talks by famous dancers and choreographers. I have contributed research to published books and lectured on ballet history and staged a ballet festival and exhibitions about dancers. I am also a collector of books on ballet history and attend performances that I expect to enjoy so yes Omshanti, I do see ballet from the point of view of an audience but I also like to think as an informed member of the audience. The reason I am interested in dancers who did not have strictly academic technique as well as those that do, is because ballet is not just about the perfect replication of the established steps, it is also about the ‘flow of movement’ and a ‘ theatrical experience.’ I have to say that dancers that have meant most to me possessed as good a technique as can be achieved. Omshanti you mention “…. by the one and only logic” by which I understand you to mean the guiding principles of a school of ballet. Every dancer should find within the framework of the execution of steps and choreography on stage something that illuminates their performance and adds a layer of their own logic (the relationship between elements and the whole in a set of objectives), to that which they learn and practice in the classroom. Margot Fonteyn was in a direct line of ballerinas who confirmed ballet as a complete theatre art wherein the execution of steps in time to music achieved in relationship to choreography and acting took place when she danced. The theatre is the place where the dancer leaves the classroom behind and the performer appears. It is through seeing dancers like Fonteyn, Chauvire, Kolpakova, Zubkovskaya, Osipenko, Sizova, Komleva, Plisetskaya, Struchkova, Maximova, Asyluratova, Lander, Samsova, Beriosova, Verdy, Schanne, Ananiashvili, Nadezhda Pavlova, Bessmertnova, Chenchikova, Evdokimova, Haydee, Seymour, Vishneva, that have set standards which I undoubtedly carry with me to performances and establish my expectation in all other dancers I see. There have been many outstanding soloists and character dancers that have also formed my expectations and taste. Of course it is absolute originality of personality in performance that I would expect from any dancer in a leading role. When technique falters in older age or due to injuries, what often remains is still a unique theatrical experience which is why I pay to go to a theatre and watch the ‘art; of ballet and not go regularly to watch a class. How far should we go in measuring the balance between technique and audience experience? We have to travel no distance at all because the performances by great artists transcend normal measurements. The subjective appreciation or experience diminishes the objective measure, which should be the aim of any practitioner in any field whose work is aiming for a significant audience response. We have the ability not only to see and measure, but to also to feel a response that arouses the emotions and that is what great artists evoke and a work of a craftsperson does not. Art imposes a response from an audience not measurement of skill at a craft. The aim of every artist is to make technique invisible so that only art remains. If it is not invisible then they have in my opinion failed as an artist. “When I (Omshanti) wrote elitist implications my comment was not concerned with wealth but meaning that people who do [art] call what they do [art} to say what they do is higher in worth or importance compared to the things they do not call [art].” What is wrong with this? Calling something art is not to diminish a practitioner of a craft or skill. Elite also means the best or most skilled members among society in a particular area of expression whether tennis, football, opera or ballet. This is a reflection of societal value systems that grow from education, knowledge and experience. Audiences of all sports. arts etc, seek to become members of the cognoscenti. Education and the acquisition of knowledge and the resulting formation of particular expectations or taste, is a natural process for some people but not all as some members of audiences merely want to entertained to while away time. To become an elitist or a member of the cognoscenti can attain seemingly obsessive levels and that is an individuals right. If someone wants to be (or is) considered to be an ‘exquisite’ (One who is excessively fastidious in matters of taste or appreciation) that is their choice and many people across the world will admire that and emulate them. It is natural for individuals to recognize different kinds or levels of expression of skills and it in the use of the words art or craft, which have a historical usage over centuries, that people are able to share a common understanding of their meaning. When I see dancers today on stage emphatically producing every step at its fullest possible value as if in showing their teacher that they can execute the step, I despair. Bravura dancing is an art itself but it should be within character and not just a display of technique. The classroom should not be seen on the stage, as the stage is a place for seamless interaction between choreography, music and the other aspects of a ballet. It is in the lightest of touches of performing technically difficult steps that we as an audience recognize art transcending form or structure. Dancers who exhibit obvious strength in performing every step of choreography, can tend to become wearing and appear vulgar. There are those dancers who want to make a greater physical impact on the audience and to hear gasps of delight from those that go to ballet to seek sensation. It is in the giving of different weight or emphasis to the same step (among other things) that makes the repetition of such steps in a ballet bearable. The true ballet artist learns this through teaching, coaching and the experience of audience response. Schooling alone (ecole classique or not) cannot make a ballet artist, because artists quite patently are born not made. Great artists, who assimilate technique into their performance so that it matches the choreographer’s inspiration or goes beyond it, are in my opinion, extremely rare. Frequently, they are dancers who do not exhibit (but may possess) the perfect schooling or strength of technique as they are concerned with becoming the role and vividly bring a character to life in way that has meaning beyond the skill of most dancers and the audience responds. .

WOW!!!!! I am waiting to get my breath back from Mashinka's and Omshanti's posts. When I have, I will reply. I feel I have entered an advanced fencing school all thrust and parry. Warmest regards Leonid