Hans

Alicia Markova is another ballerina who was quite composed and articulate.

I don't see the techniques for ballet and classical (opera) singing as incompatible, but perhaps musical theatre vocal technique is different. As ballet is a silent art, it is only natural that few professional ballet dancers would have vocal training.

Edited to add: I love the dancing in "What's Opera, Doc?", even if the turnout is inconsistent.

"What's Opera, Doc?" is amazing!

It is perfectly possible to correct bow legs with straight knees. See Gretchen Ward Warren, page 69.

Sandik, that reminds me of going to see movies back in Switzerland--the long ones did have intermissions, and I find myself missing those breaks, especially as film times seem to be getting longer.

I don't really know how long Dutchman is, but could the lack of an interval have allowed them to save on overtime for the stage technicians?

Also, being in high school with the girls from SAB was enlightening about the demands of Ballet on the body- the dancers dance SO MUCH that many can't put on weight if they wanted to. When girls would quit, their bodies would completely transform and mature.

I was in high school (and ballet school) with them, too, and I have two things to add--one is that in addition to dancing so much, they often would not eat much at all. Once they stopped dancing, they went off their diets. Also, teenagers are often growing, and so they can sometimes eat more without gaining weight. This would be different from the situation of an adult dancer.

Although I don't know what things were like in the 70's, it appears to me that thin is still in. Natalia makes a good point with the Mariinsky, and ABT is also very thin, although not to the Mariinsky extreme. Ballet dancers are always going to be thinner than average, but I think they are still thinner than really necessary.

The name of the fourth cygnet on the announcement sounded like Jacquelyn Reyes to me.

Absolutely, kfw. That was one heck of a jump!

I recall thinking, of the Stiefel/Murphy 'Flames' that they were not well matched. Murphy is so statuesque and Stiefel so light and weightless that it just didn't work for me. My first choice for a male dancer to do that pas de deux at ABT would be Herman Cornejo, but I'm not sure who he ought to be partnered with.

Ah, miliosr, you reminded me of one of the main things I love to hate about this production: the awful prologue with that ridiculous toy swan. Not even five minutes into the ballet, and that thing ruins my suspension of disbelief. There is also the matter of Swamp Thing running up onto the cliff right after Siegfried throws himself in as if to say, "Swimming, what fun! Cannonbaaaaall!"

Yet another amazing performance of "Swan Lake" today, this time by Michele Wiles. We were treated to innumerable balances (never so long as to be off the music, though), multiple impressive pirouettes, including triples à la seconde during Odile's variation, detailed, beautifully expressive port de bras and hands, and a poetic, moving interpretation. I am very, very glad to have been able to see this performance. While both her Odette and Odile were technically brilliant, she did not rely on 'tricks' to carry her through the ballet. Her Act II Odette was nervous and jumpy, slow to trust Siegfried, which made it all the more touching when she finally did. While her Act III fouettés included doubles and triples, it was, surprisingly, the final diagonal of arabesques voyagés en arrière that were the real climax. Every single relevé in arabesque was perfectly still, right on balance, hypnotising Siegfried and drawing him toward her. In Act IV, she overcame the bland, drama-free choreography to deliver a scene of noble sadness.

David Hallberg was very good as Siegfried. He suffers a bit from what I call 'Ethan Stiefel Syndrome'--beautiful lines, but no weight. Marcelo Gomes, as seen Friday night, has a very noble gravitas to his movements that I prefer. Still, the interpretation was convincing, and as Hallberg still seems fairly young, the 'inexperienced youth' approach works. I could really see his Paris Opéra training in the velvety smooth articulation of his feet.

Marcelo Gomes continues to make it difficult to complain about the tawdry 'Dance of the Purple Pimp' because he does it so well! As much as I would love for that part to be removed, he performs it perfectly.

The pas de trois had some notable moments--Hee Seo danced with a sunny, bright manner, graceful port de bras, and agile footwork, and Renata Pavam performed the tricky pirouette sequence at the end of her variation with ease and confidence.

The character dancing in Act III was, as before, a problem for two reasons: the choreography is not very good, and most of the dancers don't have the ability to save it. The czardas and mazurka made me long for the Mariinsky, and while the sparkling Maria Bystrova tried (essentially singlehandedly) to rescue the Spanish dance, she just wasn't given enough to work with. The bouncy Neapolitan dance was a welcome relief, although it is still not very well constructed.

It is quite unfortunate that all this excellent classical dancing does not have an appropriate setting. This production, although the sets and costumes are lavish and beautiful, has too many problems to name. The combination of such excellent dancing with a really good staging would make this a "Swan Lake" to be reckoned with.

Oh--I nearly forgot to mention (imagine that) one more standout: Veronika Part as one of the two big swans in Act II. Not that it wasn't nice to see her again, but putting her in a demi-soloist role after that Prima-quality performance on Friday seems unjust. Her performance proved that you can take the dancer out of the role, but you can't take the role out of the dancer--while dancing on the music, exactly in step with Kristi Boone (who was lovely by the way), Part remained every inch the haunting swan queen.

No curtain calls at this performance even though the 'shower curtain' worked fine, so I wonder if they just don't do them with this production. It does not really seem fair to deprive Ananiashvili of that in her final Kennedy Center performance with ABT.

What is it with ABT and shower curtains?

Susan, I didn't see Siegfried 'swear' his love to Odette, either, and I was in the 2nd tier, so my view was not blocked by the swans. I agree with you about the production, of course. What they did to Act I is pretty egregious, and I didn't find the staging for the swan corps in Act IV very effective.

Re: Part's extensions--extreme extensions and an overstretched look are something I am very sensitive to, and I don't think she took anything too far in that area. Her extensions never had an uncontrolled look about them, and she always kept her body upright and did not let her leg get too close to her torso or interfere with her arms. The 180º penchée, as you noted, seems to be expected of everyone now, and I thought it looked all right on her. She kept it at a perfectly straight line, unlike some who crank it into a slight oversplit. It is surprising how just two or three degrees make a big difference!

Actually, I do have one thing to add. This was the evening I brought a group of my ballet students to see Swan Lake, so they were also able to see this performance of a lifetime. I believe for most of them it was their first time seeing the ballet live--a very good introduction indeed!

I have nothing to add to Natalia's excellent review. It was truly an exceptional evening, a real triumph for Part, and one I will remember.

All the negative reviews of Martins' R&J have made me long to see it, so I welcome the opportunity, especially considering that I won't have to pay for the, uh, privilege.

Yes, I would really like to see her again, in something else. She was perfectly lovely in the less flashy parts of her variation. I could imagine her being very beautiful in T&V and Sleeping Beauty, as you mentioned.

As before, the evening began with Allegro Brillante, this time with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxin Beloserkovsky as the principal couple. This was my first time seeing the ballet, and I think it is one to add to the list of 'beige ballets'--its chief merit is the negative one of inoffensiveness. Still, it was pleasant enough, and I enjoyed seeing Balanchine performed with the elegant upper bodies of Dvorovenko and Beloserkovsky, who, although they have long lines and limbs, danced with easy agility. I thought the demi-soloists looked rather ill at ease, though.

Next was that creaky old gala pas de deux, Flames of Paris, performed once again by Daniil Simkin and Sarah Lane. The danger of a flashy pas de deux like this is that sometimes dancers will turn it into a technical exercise, and that is what happened tonight. A suitable backdrop for Simkin's variation would have included a pummel horse and uneven bars--his death-defying jumps drew gasps, but they remained athletics, not art.

I have to pity Sarah Lane. She seems like a charming and technically strong dancer, but it seemed she felt she had to prove herself a worthy partner to the flying whirligig--in trying to impress, she reached too far and in spite of some nice pirouettes, the overall effect was one of unsteadiness. I think if she had worried less about tricks and had just relaxed and provided some much-needed personality, it would have been more of a success.

Next was the real meat of the evening, the reason I went in the first place: Pillar of Fire. I had only seen this ballet once before, probably the last time ABT brought it to the Kennedy Center. I'd been sitting far away and was mostly confused by it, though I wanted to understand and see what others saw in it. Well, tonight I did. The performance (Michele Wiles, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg) wasn't what it should or could have been, that much was clear, but the dancers performed it with commitment, and the power of Tudor's choreography came through. It was intense and very moving.

I understand why they put the 'difficult' ballet in the middle, but I wish it had been last. At the end of it, I felt the way one feels after Giselle--what could follow it? ABT went the mood-buster route with Brief Fling, which I found tedious and long. Tharp has a reputation for wit and humor, but this ballet was more like Scotch Symphony on hallucinogens. The dancers had plenty of energy, and Cornejo was particularly impressive, but the whole thing seemed pointless and odd rather than clever and interesting.

Generally, the evening was a bit of a letdown. Three of the works presented really had no choreographic substance, and they looked even emptier next to Pillar. However, in my opinion Pillar alone was worth the ticket price, and I'm glad I attended. It does make me wish ABT would bring more Tudor here, though.

That is good information to know, rg. I have to teach on Monday, and I'd rather not go all the way to NY with no certainty of getting in, so I guess I'll have to miss it.

Mathilde Kschessinska, who died penniless in France in 1971. It's not just that she died in such unfortunate circumstances, but also that she never worked as a coach or ballet mistress. She had a school, but like many great dancers was not a very good teacher. One thinks of the imperial-era dancers as belonging to another age in a dusty text, but the 1950's and 60's were producing dancers who are teaching now. Imagine what she could have given us, even if it were just memories of Petipa, had she been consulted in a more useful way.

I also see in Imperial Dancer that Olga Preobrajenska's "belongings were sold (without her agreement or even consultation) during her lifetime."

I had considered going to New York for this, but I see it is sold out. I hope anyone who attends will let us know what it was like.

They did mention 'In the Night'--Peter Martins briefly talked about how difficult it was.

Wasn't Northanger Abbey intended to make fun of the popular gothic novels of the day?

Things at the Mariinsky and Vaganova Academy have changed a great deal since the 1940's, too.