Hans

"Ach, Ich Fuehls"--preferably sung by Te Kanawa or Popp.

I second the mention of Gail Grant's book. It is only about $5, and it contains many, many ballet terms. It is also small enough to keep in your dance bag.

I believe that was Jean-Baptiste Lully who accidentally stabbed himself in the foot. Very unfortunate.

Yes, but Ketinoa also uploaded things like a complete Sleeping Beauty and La Sylphide with Ayupova, a Dumchenko La Sylphide, &c, which might never have been seen otherwise.

I wonder what Gaultier would have thought of Edith Wharton's statement that one of the primary objects of art is to make useful things beautiful. Of course, she was writing about interior architecture and design, but I think her idea could apply in many other areas as well. Movement and theatre are useful, and dance makes both more beautiful, IMO.

I'm with Helene. Some of the students I teach are 13 year old girls. I see and work with them every day. It seems to me that sometimes adults who are not frequently around children view them more as an abstract idea than as people, but the reality is that they are children, and even if they were not, taking sexual advantage of an adult woman--yes, even a woman under the influence of drugs, even if she took them of her own free will*--is criminal, unethical, and immoral behaviour. Adults who work with children--whether as a career or only for a few hours--have a responsibility to protect them, and this is a very serious responsibility. Those who take advantage of such a position are justly dealt with harshly. There is no need to reply directly to me as I have now said what I have to say and will no longer be reading this thread, as I find some of the arguments too disturbing. *I'm not saying that's necessarily what happened in this case.

Thank goodness they aren't performing Don Quixote!

If you do decide to name steps, I very strongly recommend buying Gail Grant's 'Technical Manual and Dictionary of Ballet'. It is not very expensive (about $5 and usually readily available at Borders or B&N) but it contains just about every academic classical ballet step there is--and even more importantly, it will help you make sure all the terms are spelled correctly. Many ballet terms are very frequently misspelled and misused, particularly 'sissonne' (everyone wants to neglect the second 'n'). Most people probably wouldn't notice, but those in the field definitely would.

Video is very different from a live performance, but the bits of Fonteyn I've seen make me wish I had seen her in the role live, particularly her Odile. Alexandra has described her Odile as a very glamorous, sophisticated woman in a little black dress and diamonds, and most of the Odiles I've seen have appeared rather cheap. The best live Odette/Odile I've seen is Veronika Part, with her gorgeous upper body and soulful portrayal. As Odile, she has a devilish charm that she uses to marvelous effect.

That is interesting--I've had the opposite experience! Dancers who can fouetté for days, kick themselves in the head, &c, but they forget about the drama, or even personality.

Well yes, a dancer ought to be able to do the steps required by a role. I don't think I'd like a Kitri who contorts so far that her foot touches her head during a sissonne (I'd rather see a powerful jump) but to each his own.

Well, I don't know if I'd refer to it as a sin. I'd rather see a more subtle Don Q than a vulgar Giselle. However, I will agree that Don Q and other similar ballets are meant to be exciting and fun, and there is no need for performances to be cold and dull--the Mariinsky's Don Q at the Kennedy Center this past season was mostly a complete snooze, and I can't say I want to see it again. I'm not sure what you mean by 'technically bland'--could you explain a bit more?

Yes, I removed my post as I felt it did not productively contribute to the discussion.

Just to be clear, at the time of the crime, Polanski was in his mid-forties. That is very different from two teenagers a year or two apart in age. Edit: Sorry, Sandy--I was writing as you posted, and I see your point. In this case, though, I don't think one would be unjustified in using the word 'brutal', but of course, that is only my opinion.

The Smoking Gun has published the transcript of the victim's testimony at the time. It is quite disturbing. They also have a copy of Polanski's testimony in which he pleads guilty.

Actually, Ketinoa did have several complete Mariinsky company classes featuring dancers such as Asylmuratova, Ayupova, Makhalina, &c.

Is it really a good idea to make a vulgar ballet even more so by giving a trashy performance? It's probably excusable, to an extent, but shouldn't a dancer add to the artistic value of a work by his performance rather than detract from it?

Macnellie, 'Swamp Thing' is how a lot of people refer to the lakeside incarnation of Rothbart in Kevin McKenzie's production of 'Swan Lake' for ABT.

MakarovaFan, I've noticed the same thing about Kistler--in fact, I recall one performance (toward what we all thought was the end of her career, about ten years ago) in which she smiled her way through Bugaku.

I think opera can handle somewhat more in terms of restagings than ballet because the music does not change, whereas in ballet, a restaging means different steps. I think it is good to see more 'adventurous' stagings of operas as well as traditional ones. Ballet, on the other hand, really can't be changed. Restaging Petipa or Bournonville is like altering Mozart. Another thought, related to the 1992 broadcast mentioned above: those buildings were built for humans, and stage decoration used to be on a similar scale. So why are they considered too large and overbearing now?

I agree, but I was surprised to find that they were only mentioned once or twice on the earlier thread.

It is quite interesting to read the older thread on this topic and see what was thought vulgar at the time--primarily excessive pirouettes, balances, applause-milking and indecorous behaviour. I'd imagine that now, extremely high extensions would be first on the list.

Ketinoa had at least two versions of the complete 1890 Sleeping Beauty reconstruction, which many would never have seen otherwise. And at least one of them included Veronika Part as the Lilac Fairy.

I really, really miss Ketinoa's channel.

That is lovely, thank you for sharing. I always enjoy clips of Farrell in live performance (or in this case, rehearsal) much more than the studio recordings.