Hans

Papeetepatrick, I just saw the production for the first time today. Balanchine did indeed refer to Sleeping Beauty as a "pure diamond," citing it as the greatest of Petipa's ballets. If you are looking for a good production, the Sergeyev staging is excellent although imperfect (no mime). I think the best one is the 1895 reconstruction, but we may never see that again in the US. The Royal Ballet's revival of its 1942 (?) version was also critically acclaimed; I don't know if you saw that one when they toured here. I missed it, unfortunately, it was either that or the Maryinsky's "Giselle." Hopefully others can suggest some good productions, too.

In my own experience, I've watched drop-in ballet classes go from an affordable $11.50/class in New York to upwards of $20/class, which limits it to once or twice a week (and usually not even that) for me.

Please don't apologize--I just wanted to give your topic the space it deserves. Off the top of my head, my own opinion on the subject is that I am really not opposed to altering the sets/costumes for a ballet. I think a more minimalist Sleeping Beauty could work well if it were done the right way. I would also stipulate that the choreography must be respected. As far as ABT's new SB goes, my problem is not that the sets and costumes were not traditional, it was that they were cartoonlike, glitzed-up versions of the traditional ones. It looked like a ballet for children (and the choreographic decisions reinforced this) and while there is nothing wrong with ballet for children, Sleeping Beauty is so much more than a simple fairy tale, as we have discussed before on the board. Ballet is already stereotyped as something for little girls only, not meaningful art, and ABT has, in my opinion, just reinforced that stereotype. If they had made a bold, well-thought-out artistic decision to perhaps emphasize what SB is about in a new way using unusual sets and costumes, I could have at least applauded the attempt to show off the facets of this "pure diamond" of a ballet, to borrow a phrase from Balanchine. However, instead of taking the opportunity to show us the ballet afresh or at least doing us the courtesy of presenting it traditionally, danced with respect and life, they dumbed it down to a cheap (despite the obviously large budget) spectacle, and that is what I object to.

On the ABT's 'Sleeping Beauty' in DC thread, SanderO wrote:

SanderO, I think this is a great topic to discuss, but as it could (and should) encompass much more than ABT's performances this week, I will start a new thread for it. Thank you for raising this issue! Edit: Done. The new thread is here under Aesthetic Issues.

Some short notes (I will post a longer review later): Aurora: Xiomara Reyes Désiré: José Manuel Carreno Lilac: Maria Riccetto Florine: Stella Abrera Bluebird: Jared Matthews First the positives--the production includes most of the standard mime and is mercifully short given that it is not very good, to put it politely. A few lovely costumes (Bluebird pas de deux, principals Act III) and some impressive stage effects. Hee Seo, Zhong-Jing Fang, Sarah Lane, and Stella Abrera were all stand-outs, as was Maria Bystrova, under-used as the Queen. Beautiful technique from Carreno, and vivid, detailed characterization from Mikhail Ilyin (whom I reviewed in my blog as Siegfried) as a very abbreviated Puss in Boots. Some negatives--mostly horrible, Disney animation-esque sets (I expected Shrek and Donkey to arrive at any moment) and sparkly Las Vegas costumes. Widespread disregard for Petipa, to the point where I doubt any of the stagers even remotely understands this ballet. Weak dancing from Riccetto despite lovely musicality, weak dancing and characterization from Reyes. Replacement of the Fairies of the Precious Stones and Metals with the Prologue Fairies (as nice as it was to see those lovely dancers again). Total evisceration of Act III. I have a lot more to say about this production, but those are the main points.

Thank you for writing, kfw. I was sorry to have to miss that performance, but I will be at the Kennedy Center tomorrow to see Herrera.

Did anyone see Wiles as Aurora?

To discuss this performance, please go here. This was my first live full-length "Bayadère," although previously I have seen the Royal Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet productions on video, and I have seen the Maryinsky do the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene several times, both live and on video. This production is beautifully designed, with lush sets and beautiful costumes, and although there were too many obviously fake animals for my taste, at least it omitted some of the more racist elements of the original ballet. Unfortunately, I found the staging (until the Grand Pas Classique and the Kingdom of the Shades) rather weak despite the deployment of more people onstage than most companies have the resources for. Nikiya is not given much to do in her Act I entrance besides saunter around en pointe for a while, and the mime between her, Solor, the High Brahmin, and the fakir was so vaguely sketched out that I had a hard time understanding what they were "saying," even though I understand classical mime and know the plot. Act I, Scene II was not much better--lots of incoherent attempts to mime, which surprises me, given that the Maryinsky has been miming since before most ballet companies in operation today existed. A bright spot was the D'jampe dance, performed with spirit and precision by the corps. Less enjoyable was a mostly boring pas de deux featuring a little contortion toward the end, and by the time Act I was over I was beginning to see why certain people think old ballets ought to be scrapped. Lots of over-wrought, hand-wringing melodrama, hardly any choreography, and precious little logic or sense. Act II was (eventually) an improvement. Aside from ladies dancing so carelessly with their taxidermied parrots that had the birds been alive they all would have had motion sickness, we had a tiger that appeared to be from Toys R Us, more taxidermied parrots hanging at bizarre angles from flower garlands, and a mechanical elephant with a dark-skinned mannequin attached to its head. This act featured a large corps dancing boring steps leading up to the Grand Pas Classique, which is beautifully choreographed for a couple and two trios, followed by Nikiya's sad dance. Act III is, of course, an unsurpassed choreographic triumph. However, it is an unsatisfying ending to the ballet, as it leaves the gods' vengeance on Gamzatti, the Rajah, and the High Brahmin unresolved. I was mostly unimpressed by the dancing, as the Maryinsky principals and soloists have been performing for a few years now as if they are competing at the Prix de Lausanne. Lots of big jumps, high extensions, careful preparations for pirouettes, student-like mistakes during relatively simple steps, and hardly any acting, refinement, or adapting one's style to suit the demands of a particular ballet or character. Tereshkina, with her small-featured, unexpressive face, was not, in my opinion, an appropriate choice for the dramatic, mysterious character of Nikiya. She did all the steps just fine, and often very well, but she has an overly long, un-classical line, and this combined with her willowy figure and careful way of moving prevents her from being powerfully expressive. Similarly, Korsakov as Solor had very neat technique, with soft, silent landings and precise footwork, but he is so intent on splitting his legs to 180º during every grand jeté that he often ends up looking as if he's auditioning for "A Chorus Line" rather than expressing nobility. I believe he could be a moving Solor with better coaching. The lady who danced Gamzatti was extremely pretty, with features that "read" up to the balcony, but she too was not a strong actress, and her dancing was riddled with technical insecurities. The dancers I most enjoyed watching in this performance were the soloists and demi-soloists. Unlike the corps, which was very precise and detailed but whose steps were insultingly simple (I found myself thinking, "They were trained for eight years and mastered the difficult Vaganova syllabus to spend their days doing toe-pulls and jumping on one leg a few times?" Granted, technique at the corps level was probably not as advanced in 1877 as it was in the 1890's.) the soloists have steps that are just challenging enough to be interesting but not intimidating, and as they are not called upon to express anything in particular besides beauty and grace, they are able to just have fun and shine, and they excelled at this. Unfortunately, they too were subjected to the complete lack of attention to petit allegro that seems to have occurred at the Vaganova Academy about ten years ago, so their footwork was not as clean and precise as that of earlier dancers, but they were lovely to watch nonetheless. In Act III, the corps danced, as always, perfectly, but the three soloists had problems. The first shade clearly wanted to dance at a faster tempo, and she would have been much better had she been allowed to. The second shade also had musical issues, perhaps due to the conductor not understanding how the steps fit to the music. The third shade was fine musically, but she was trying so hard to raise her leg during her opening diagonal that she unfolded it in two counts instead of one, landing from her sissonne in an awkward position before straightening her working leg. She had some trouble during the second part of her variation as well, but those steps are notoriously difficult. At the end, she floated down from her final grand jeté, making a completely seamless transition to her landing on one knee. "La Bayadère" is, obviously, an important ballet, and it must continue to be performed. However, it must be performed as if it is still alive, not preserved in formaldehyde or treated with disdain (Kennedy Center orchestra, take note--Minkus's music is bad, but it sounds worse if you play it as if it's "Chopsticks"). The aforementioned ballet companies dance "La Bayadère" as if it's "Swan Lake" or "Sleeping Beauty" or "Giselle," and that is necessary if the audience is to take it seriously and stay until Act III. To discuss this performance, please go here.

Ah, that's what I get for sitting in the cheap seats. I don't remember reading anything about opium in the program synopsis, though, but I could have missed that as well--I was mostly biding my time until the shades came on, and I can't check because I was so disappointed by the production and performances (Saturday night) that I threw away my program.

Macaulay gets one thing glaringly wrong: Solor doesn't smoke opium in the Maryinsky's production. He falls asleep watching the snake charmer. Otherwise, I mostly agree with him (but not with his assessment of Tereshkina, one of the most irritatingly mannered ballerinas I've ever seen).

It isn't. There are dreadfully imperfect high extensions and stunningly beautiful 90º ones, as well as, of course, vice versa.

I read in an interview that just before a performance of "Kingdom of the Shades," ABT's corps stands in a circle and links pinkies.

One that stuck in my mind was, "eight temps levés in second position with demi-plié, then eight more temps levés in second position without demi-plié."

I read through it a long time ago. The exercises are, as I recall, extremely difficult! Spessivtseva must have had amazing strength and stamina.

Out of curiosity, since I couldn't find anything resembling a logo on the homepage, what is NYCB's new logo?

We dance spontaneously all the time. Many ballet dancers love to go to dance clubs when they have the time and energy. As a student, I was once out with my friends in Vail, CO, and did a grand jeté over a puddle, and people sitting at a nearby sidewalk café applauded--I hadn't thought anyone would notice!

That's right, I had forgotten that. I think chrisk217's point about the Valse Bluette is correct--I believe the swans are supposed to be teaching the cygnets to dance as they await Odette's return. I'm less of a fan of the second waltz, with its bland choreography. Was that in the 1895 production? Somehow I was under the impression that the Valse Bluette and Odile's variation were the only interpolations.

I don't really see how the Valse Bluette could be a "set up" for a happy ending considering it was in the 1895 production...?

Dido & Aeneas (But with an original score, please. I don't want to listen to mutilated Purcell.)

I would say that coaches and AD's permit, or even encourage, dancers to gloss over the mime because they think (or they think the audience thinks) that it's boring, but that it has to be in there because "Giselle" is the oldest continuously performed ballet and it's their duty to leave it unchanged. That, or--since they know what all the gestures mean--they don't notice that they aren't being performed very clearly since they automatically "fill in the gaps" mentally.

Unfortunately, quite a bit of mime has, in my opinion, degenerated to ritual. The dancers, knowing what the gestures mean, half-perform them, thereby robbing them of any meaning for the audience members, who, should it be their first time at that ballet, have no idea what is going on even if they have read the synopsis. I do still find the mad scene convincing when well done, but the poor quality of mime in ballet is something that needs to be addressed.

kfw, I enjoy Lamott's non-fiction as well--this was the second novel of hers that I had read (the other was "Blue Shoe," which, while it had Lamott's trademark hysterically funny lines, didn't quite work for me). "Rosie" is the story of a beautiful, alcoholic woman (Elizabeth) who does not fit in to her small town's society and her young daughter (Rosie). Lamott tells their story in her trademark poignant and hilarious style, and through the two main characters' ups and downs there is a sense of hope, that everything will be all right. I hope it's not spoiling the ending to say Lamott makes it uplifting without being cliché or cloying--it feels inevitable and right. Changes in the characters occur quietly, but the book never drags. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading the sequel, "Crooked Little Heart."

In my opinion, if the dancer really does have the ability, there is no reason for them to not do the step; however, they must be carefully taught when it is appropriate, and that it must always suit the music. They must also continue to develop other aspects of their technique and not focus on one step or style to the exclusion of others.

I recently read "Rosie" by Anne Lamott, "Catherine the Great" by Henri Troyat, and "Falling Leaves" by Adeline Yen Mah. Each excellent in its own way. Now I'm on to "Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and Times" by Florescu and McNally as well as "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt.