Hans

Could someone please tell me what on earth Suki Schorer knows about Russian-style ballet? What does she even mean by 'Russian'? As far as her training goes, I know she studied with Danilova and Doubrovska, but they were products (as was Balanchine) of the pre-Vaganova Imperial school, which no longer exists. From my time at SAB, it seems to me that the SAB/NYCB 'establishment' seems to have a problem with the Vaganova method even though Balanchine really did not have any contact with Vaganova and was not developing his style with knowledge of the innovations and updates of her method. Therefore, this seems to me a false comparison, especially considering that comparing a choreographic style with a teaching method is like comparing apples and oranges.

This has been floating around for months at least, and the NYT just picked up on it now?

I'll be seeing the mixed bill tomorrow and Swan Lake the day after, so I look forward to reading about Wiles as Odette/Odile. Thank you for this review, Natalia--I believe Wiles is doing Hagar again tomorrow, so I am very excited to see her in that role.

Yes, but in the original Petipa version of the pas d'action, Siegfried does the lifts (according to what I've read here on BT) and Benno does the promenades. Doesn't seem like much help to me.

I've also been told that the lunge is ballet symbolism for a kiss, but it doesn't seem appropriate that Benno would perform the lunge, then. Can someone explain this?

Edit: I just watched the video canbelto linked to, and I really need to know why it is not performed that way anymore! There is so much about that choreography that makes sense, I don't see why it was altered. It also makes clear that Siegfried really gets barely any partnering assistance from Benno, and as Benno is not onstage most of the time, I don't understand why people felt the need to eliminate him totally.

Also, this is the first clip of Fonteyn as Odette that has any complete dances in it, and I can finally see (hopefully) what people mean when they talk about her Odette. She is THE swan queen, from her acting to her port de bras, épaulement and the first-rate technique of her legs and feet. Breathtaking. She really makes me see Swan Lake in a new light, as does the excellent staging.

Wasn't partnering mostly what Gerdt did toward the end of his career?

I hadn't realised that the Act II pas d'action didn't always end with a penchée. I think it might work better finishing with the lunge, as the dancers usually seem rushed trying to fit the écarté devant, lunge, and penchée in there, and the penchée is generally no longer a beautiful line but rather a split.

I've never seen that, and I hope I never do.

I assumed so, too.

The short answer is that some ballet dancers are good at many types of dance, and others are not. I'm terrible at social dancing, for example, because it requires improvisation, which ballet generally does not. However, I know some ballet dancers who can also do tap, jazz, hip-hop, you name it.

Do you mean they play the written overture with the curtain (or front scrim) down?

Yes. The April 2006 Mariinsky Ballet performance that is now available on DVD/Blu-ray disc has the orchestra play the entire Prologue with the big main curtain down.

Just to be clear--Swan Lake as written by Tchaikovsky does not have a prologue. The ballet starts with Act I, preceded by an overture.

Not every dancer at POB has a big arch. Rather, it's the way they use their feet that makes them so extraordinary.

At SAB, some of the boys used to put cotton balls on top of our feet inside our tights or socks. The problem, of course, is that if you ever have to dance in a ballet without tights or barefoot, your feet will look rather different.

Even if the audience doesn't understand the mime, that doesn't make a prologue necessary. The dancers should be good enough actors to convey the basic idea, and the audience can read the synopsis in the program.

I've lost patience with the 'just close your eyes' reaction to bad choreography: If I wanted a concert, I'd go to the symphony.

And I would respond to ABT by telling them that if they hadn't needlessly complicated things in the first place, they wouldn't have to explain it all with a prologue.

Oh, for heaven's sake. I had hoped DC was beyond that sort of thing.

If the production is one that retains the major mime speeches/dialogues, a prologue is unnecessary. Odette tells Siegfried what happened to her in Act II; we don't need to see it twice. Likewise, Siegfried's conversation with his mother in Act I tells us his situation. Even if the mime is removed, a principal dancer still ought to be skilled enough to convey the general idea.

I think they are referring to the practice of lifting the sides of a tutu while one is wearing it. This would cause the tutu to lose its shape--the front and back would droop. I'm not entirely certain, though.

Balto Opera changed its slogan to something like, "Opera: It's better than you think it has to be." I understand, but...

These remind me of the horribly off-putting cards Baltimore Opera used to send. They said things like, "Where there's a smokin' Druid priestess, there's fire" (advertising Norma). I've received many other cringe-inducing ads from them over the years. It makes these organisations seem rather desperate.

It looks about the same to me. Just a question of personal taste, really.

Maybe it's because my original training was Balanchine, but I can always see the preparation before a pirouette. It takes a little longer to do a pirouette from the lunge, especially when the dancer is on pointe, and so the position of the preparation is more obvious. However, with a plié the preparation can be very fast--down and right back up. I recall at an audition I attended, there was a woman from SAB, and during the pointe section there was a combination given with a steady 2/4 rhythm. She couldn't stay on the music because her lunge preparation took an extra beat. So it depends on whether you want speed or a nicer line. The plié really does not bother me, as it is the same line one sees during a plié in 5th, and people seem to only find it offensive during pirouettes from 4th. Upon landing an échappé to 4th, it is possible to keep the back knee straight, but no one has complained about that yet, so I don't think it can really be all that bad.

Fokine invented curved lines in ballet? What was Balanchine smoking?

Regarding your last question, Bart, I would say no. Without firm, consistent self-discipline, it is not possible to reach an advanced level in ballet school, much less become proficient enough to be hired by a company.

Some of Stiefel's changes sound good (acting classes, for example), but I fail to see what push-ups as punishment are going to accomplish.

I still find it hard to believe that she has students who can't hear the difference between 3/4 and 4/4. I seriously doubt someone with that sort of deficiency would make it past beginner ballet.

It is necessary to control one's facial expression during class because that is one of the ways in which one disguises effort. A pasted-on grin or a creepy half-smile are both wrong. No one wants to see furrowed brows and contorted mouths during a difficult adagio--it must appear easy. One develops almost a 'poker face' in class, betraying nothing, and although there is nothing wrong with a natural smile now and then, control of one's face is essential so that one can portray the appropriate 'look' for any given ballet. I think acting classes can also help with this because even if a ballet does not have characters, there is generally still a mood to the piece, and the dancers need to be able to understand and convey that, even if they are not using the usual 'acting' techniques one would see in a 19C classic.

We do pay attention to facial expression in ballet class. The look must be alert, yet calm--simultaneously serene and engaged. One learns to not make faces during difficult exercises, but a smile every now and then, during a particularly enjoyable combination for example, is welcome. In Gretchen Ward Warren's Classical Ballet Technique, there is a description of the appropriate classroom expression, as well as expressions to avoid. One classroom expression that particularly irritates me is usually found on teachers who demand that their students always appear to be extremely alert: eyes open a little too wide, eyebrows slightly raised, and a sort of half-smile on the lips. While one does not want to appear bored, the 'One too many cups of coffee' look is going too far in the opposite direction.

Apparently Farrell can't hear that a march is 2/4, not 4/4.