Hans

As much as I hate to say it, yes, some of it actually does happen. In fact, after reading through it...more of it happens than doesn't.

I know there is a full Nutcracker available with Lezhnina and Baranov...I would just about kill to see one with her and Zelensky as well as the Giselle you mention (although it's difficult to imagine Ruzimatov as Albrecht).

The full, correct Vaganova term for that step is "tour piqué en dehors." It's also known as a piqué turn en dehors, and other syllabi probably have other names. And yes, I do think Volochkova is stingy with the glitter--I mean, how can she not put it on her tights and pointe shoes? I'll never understand her. I cannot believe I forgot toe-tap--the only excuse I can think of is that it just seemed so obvious to me that I didn't feel the need to spell it out!

...your five-year-old's makeup kit has enough eyeliner to get Boy George through all of the 80's and some of '95. ...the most highly-regarded teacher's only qualification is a bachelor's in dance ed. ...the "advanced" class includes three twelve-year-olds and takes class once a week. ...the students compete for the privilege of dusting the trophy cases in the lobby every Saturday. ...the costumes (and choreography) for the retical's jazz piece make Anastasia Volochkova's Kitri look like a Puritan. ...the studio offers so many different activities that its ad takes up two pages in the phone book. ...you call your teacher "Miss Tami-Sue" even though you're the same age. ...you don't take ballet, but you do take "toe." ...you think ballet terms are in English (i.e., "lame duck"). ...your class lasts 45 minutes, in which time you are able to study tap, jazz, hip hop, "ballet," tumbling, hula hoop, and fire-baton twirling. ...you think that although your ballet could use some work, ABT will still accept you once they see your killer lyrical routine. ...your teacher told you that Cynthia, who left to study at the snobby ballet-only school across the street, is a traitor and that you should never speak to her again. ...you got to lead the warm-up routine because Miss Tami-Sue was late on account of her trailer rolled into the holler again. Anyone care to add?

I'd be interested to hear whether people find her emotionally expressive or cold and calculating. The reviews I've read make it sound as if she is remote to the point of ignoring everyone else onstage, but Ismene Brown found her very effective. She seems to be extremely intelligent and thoughtful based on the interview, but sometimes people who think too much aren't very moving artists.

Thank goodness--a dancer with taste! Yes, yes, yes, I entirely agree with that wonderful quote. Thank you drb!

I don't have an answer to that question vagansmom, although I do enjoy dry wit, but my favorite author is Edith Wharton (Austen is a close second). Here's the weird part: I can't stand Henry James, who is often considered to be superior to Wharton. (Wharton and James were good friends, and even she wrote privately that she couldn't finish The Golden Bowl because it was so boring.) One male author I do admire is Thomas Hardy.

Regarding orchestras, I think NYCB's orchestra is contractually required to play whenever the company dances within a 250-mile radius of NYC. So they wouldn't have to take the orchestra everywhere they went, but it did cause some problems with the Kennedy Center a while ago, which were fortunately worked out.

My musical "local favorite" is Michele Jimenez of the Washington Ballet.

Cygnet (and Leigh) that quote is priceless! Here's one I like from Ulanova: "Talent is work." And another, from Salvador Dali: "Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it."

That's interesting Mashinka--I actually found ABT's acting much worse! What did you like about it?

My favorite Romeo & Juliet DVD is the Lavrovsky one with Ulanova.

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale, not real life. It represents an ideal, not the way things really are. That is why everything is restored to perfect harmony in Act III. NYCB wore some truly hideous costumes for the ballet Twyla Tharp choreographed to Beethoven's 7th Symphony.

You may wish to re-read my original post, in which I stated that the Kirov uses the Golden Fairy's variation in Act III as a variation for the Lilac Fairy.

That's all right dirac--after all, if we all had the same opinions, this board wouldn't be here.

I seem to be unable to finish a book lately. I've started "Savage Beauty," the biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, as well as "The Master" by Colm Toibin, and I can't bring myself to finish either of them! Then there's "Atonement," with which I lost patience about 2/3 of the way through....

Out of curiosity, how does Wolftrap compare to these theaters?

Grands fouettés are often called "Italian" fouettés. To perform a grand fouetté, one does a developpé with the right leg (for example) to either écarté or à la seconde on demi-pointe, then turn the body toward Vaganova point 6 (upstage left) while bringing the leg down to a plié in first position. From there, brush the working (right, in this case) leg front, turn the body to Vaganova point 2 (downstage right), and as the body turns the leg moves from devant to à la seconde to Vaganova 3rd arabesque or attitude derrière croisé.

Helene, I see you chose a Petipa answer along with all your Bournonville ones. Thank you, BalletNut! I'm glad you enjoy it.

I imagine so too, dirac, although Mel's comments seem to imply that a dancer could go from one characterization to the other within moments and no one would bat an eye. Was Le Corsaire thought of as silly at its premiere or was it considered a serious drama?

Based on the repertoire Baryshnikov currently performs, I wouldn't go see him either.

Precisely the way it's meant to be taken. The only problem with having written the quiz is that I can't take it fairly, as I know to whom each answer "points!"

Mel, how would you reconcile the dueling Medora personalities?

Having recently seen the Kirov's Le Corsaire live, I decided to pull out my DVD's and have a small Le Corsaire marathon for comparative purposes. I think the Kirov's version makes more dramatic sense. Even though ABT includes more dancing for Medora in Act I, the whole thing is rather silly. Medora is a slave in Lankedem's possession, but she's carried about on a litter wearing a glittery tutu--seems more like a wealthy courtesan to me. Julie Kent as Medora is not particularly afraid of being sold to the Pasha (she flirts with him a good deal), she just likes Conrad more. The Kirov, on the other hand, shows Medora, Gulnara, and their friends being captured on the beach, and Asylmuratova is quite frantic at being sold in the slave market. This type of situation creates more tension--you realize she may never see Gulnara or her other friends/family again. ABT's Medora doesn't seem to have connections to anyone except a rather vague friendship with Gulnare. She doesn't know the other slave girls and only seems to notice them when they ask her to intercede with Conrad on their behalf. A nice touch the Kirov includes is that the pirates don't just rescue Medora and her friends; they include all the woman being sold. ABT's pirates wave their swords at the slave girls menacingly as they take them to the grotto. ABT does include a dance for the pirates in Act I that the Kirov omits, as well as a bit of important mime in Act III that goes a long way toward advancing the plot (when Medora tells Conrad that she's the one who cut Birbanto's arm). As far as the Jardin Animé (Pas des Fleurs) goes, I think we can all agree that between the boys and girls from the Vaganova Academy, the three huge fountains in the back, and a large, perfect corps, that the Kirov has everyone beat. If only they'd do something about that hideous backdrop and fuzzy "garlands" that appear to be made of large pipe cleaners. Do we know what the original Le Corsaire was like in terms of Medora's characterization? I was surprised at the large differences between the Act I music in these productions; it leads me to believe that Act I was originally rather longer than it is currently presented by either company. Channeling Doug.

Perhaps they were Chanel. The members of the Ballet Russe, after all, did socialize with Coco Chanel.