Hans

I understand Bart's question and don't find the mere asking of it unreasonable. Has NYCB always drawn such small audiences at SPAC or is this fairly recent? Or perhaps this performance was not typical. Yes, Saratoga Springs residents fought to keep NYCB, but are they justifying it by buying tickets? (That's not intended to be a swipe at anyone living in SS; I don't know all the ticket-buyers' circumstances.) All ballet loses money, but it does seem that NYCB could choose options that would lose less while obtaining more national notoriety (as well as affording opportunities for people who don't live in New York to see them).

I don't know if this will actually help anyone, but it certainly made me laugh! It's from Sunday's Links: Review for the Clueless. My favorite part: "The girls seem to be wearing black Gucci swimsuits."

Doesn't Melissa Hayden teach at NCSA? [snip]

Thank you, Mel! As I recall, there's also a Dead Russian Composer quiz, and the last time we made the rounds, you ended up as Rimsky-Korsakov, Fokine, and Legat.

Well, the original Giselle had Albrecht going off with Bathilde in the end. I'll bet that was one awkward conversation during the carriage ride home.

Oh my goodness! I can't believe you managed to dig up that quiz. I wrote it something like...three years ago! Thank you BalletNut! There were plans for a "Which living ballet choreographer are you?" quiz, but I only know about the dead ones. Perhaps Leigh could help? For additional fun, anyone who hasn't seen it before can also take my Which Ballet Teaching Method Are You? quiz, also on quizilla.

I actually find the current entrance of the shades very restrained and would think that any sort of attempt to change it would be overindulgence on the part of the stager.

1. The new fairies are blessing a marriage, not a christening. 2. Lilac does attend the wedding, at least at the Kirov. 3. I don't know 4. The Kirov does use the Golden Fairy music as a variation for Lilac in Act III...the key change is kind of weird, the variation just comes out of nowhere. 5. The entrance for the grand pas de deux is used by the Kirov. The Fairies of the Precious Stones and Metals dance with two pages and four cavaliers before the adagio.

Especially since Makhar Vaziev would probably think it was "cool" and decide to acquire it for the Kirov...:rolleyes:

Thank you for the detailed explanation nlkflint! Guillem was indeed a gymnast before she danced, and I think she started at POBS around age 12-13. But the difference is that she is a ballet dancer, and Pilobolus isn't a ballet company.

I thought up another dancer I'd like to see more of, although I realize that she hasn't been in ABT all that long so I'm sure I'll have to wait. But Sarah Smith is quite lovely.

Maina Gielgud still dances en pointe (!) I don't know if she performs, though.

Ben Griffiths is an SAB alum along with Korbes. PNB is certainly gaining some very talented dancers!

The Ballet History, Part One thread on Ballet Talk for Dancers started to veer off topic in favor of Renaissance dance, and it was a fun discussion to read, so I'm starting this thread to continue it. Moderators, I don't know if it's possible to move posts between the two boards, but perhaps the relevant ones could be moved to this thread? Or maybe the link is enough. Also, if you feel this belongs in a different forum, feel free to move it.

Dr. Coppelius, I definitely think "amusing" would be the word for it!

Mme. Hermine it is sometimes performed as first arabesque allongé (that is, with the front arm raised higher than usual) but it depends on the company. I don't have any videos with me at the moment, but when I get home I can compare the Royal Ballet, Kirov, and Bolshoi.

Sylvie Guillem did a Giselle set, I think, in Italy during the 1930's.

Exactly GWTW. Having the dancers come down two ramps would ruin the simplicity too. As for what the step actually is, the British would call it first arabesque fondue. In Vaganova technique, when performing this movement it is appropriate to lean the body forward slightly and raise the leg. This is not a penché, and I've never seen it performed as a penché (which would look terrible).

Well, it's true that in the right situation, high extensions can be fun to look at. I recall watching a tape of Sylvie Guillem performing Grand Pas Classique at the Hans Christian Anderson Awards and balancing for a good five seconds with her foot next to her ear à la seconde. (Of course, that type of balancing requires strength and control, which the floppy Kirov dancers don't have.) But that sort of thing should be a "This has been a High Extension for a Special Effect. We now return you to your regularly scheduled classical aesthetics." I also have to say that I derive a lot of pleasure from seeing a just-above-90º extension that is turned out with the hips properly placed. Carla Fracci didn't raise her legs high in La Sylphide (and not because she couldn't) yet her line is beautiful far beyond anything a contortionist could produce. Returning to Sylvie Guillem, she is not a great dancer because of her extension, even though she is famous for it. Every ballet company in the world has at least one dancer who can raise her (or even his, as carbro has reminded us) legs just as high, yet Guillem still stands out above them because of the intelligence and quality of her work. Wow, I never thought I'd actually be defending Sylvie Guillem! I do not enjoy watching her dance because I don't think she connects with the audience emotionally, but I do think she deserves to be recognized as a very interesting and special talent.

I agree with your last sentence Helene, and also with the idea that one doesn't have to be a genius to create good-quality, valuable work. I think that the difference in attitudes between audiences of Wheeldon and Forsythe is that Wheeldon's followers watched his work and thought, "Is he the next Balanchine? Probably not. But he's good," whereas Forsythe's followers loudly proclaim that he is a Great Genius and The Next Balanchine.

Sounds as if Zakharova needs to hear carbro's "Just because you can doesn't mean you must." By that sort of weird logic, one could assume that if Zakharova could do cartwheels easily she'd put them into every ballet from Jewels to Giselle. Extreme extensions have nothing to do with ballet technique, and the Kirov's promotion of such dancers is like an opera company hiring only sopranos who shriek the "Konigen F" every chance they get. Lully did not write extremely high notes, and Mozart used them sparingly, for a particular effect. In bel canto opera, there isn't much in terms of vocal display that is too vulgar. Opera singers know this, and they will not distort early Baroque music but understand that they have more freedom in bel canto. A similar idea applies to high extensions IMO, which can be a very effective technical tool when used properly. By all means kick yourself in the head during Rubies, but use developpés of about 100º or so to show Giselle's frailty (and to be historically appropriate). No one will ever again move the way Taglioni did, but that's no reason not to respect the history of a ballet. For a look at what the younger generation thinks of Zakharova, take a look at this thread on Ballet Talk for Dancers.

I was posting at the same time as Natalia and Thalictum, so this post is a direct response to Kate B's. I agree with Natalia's opinions re: Forsythe; he does have to be taken on his own terms. But his choreography is not ballet choreography of the same standard as Balanchine, Petipa, Ashton, &c. My original post: Well, Balanchine and Ashton choreographed plotless ballets, and Balanchine used music by Hindemith and Stravinsky, so no, I don't think ballet companies should perform only story ballets. My issue is with the quality of Forsythe's work, which I don't see as being anywhere near the quality of Ashton's or Balanchine's. The Kirov does perform Balanchine ballets as well as Fokine and Nijinska, and that's probably about the closest any company can get to "new" ballet choreography that is still good.

I did find it pretty funny that the Kirov proved Forsythe wrong. But the statement that Forsythe is "hugely" influenced by Balanchine is bizarre. Perhaps he saw a Balanchine program once at the Paris Opera? What really bothers me is the Kirov's schedule as described in the article. That type of overwork leads straight to injuries and shortened careers. While everyone wants to see the Kirov and I'm glad that they come to the Kennedy Center so often, surely it's not necessary for them to perform so many different ballets at once. To add a little perspective, though, about the whole rehearsing until midnight thing, by the time a performance is over, it's about 10:30-11, so there's only an hour, if that, until midnight. I still think it's inappropriate to rehearse dancers immediately post-performance, but it's not as if they're performing a 3-act ballet and then rehearsing for hours. Mashinka I could not have described Forsythe's choreography better--meaningless and pretentious it certainly is. Oh, and as for the statement that Kirov dancers are suited to Forsythe because they hold their arms above their heads with the elbows rotated, that's called third position of the arms in the Vaganova syllabus (Cecchetti 5th en haut) and all ballet dancers do it.

The fairies are all female...I think the point is that they are supposed to be similar, but that they represent different ideas (material wealth as opposed to personality traits). There was harmony in the kingdom during the Prologue pas de six, and the reappearance of fairies in Act III signals that harmony has been restored.

Mel! I saw the Kirov perform Kingdom of the Shades live with someone who is very quick to point out anything boring. She loved the whole thing; it moved her to tears. Said the entrance of the shades was delicate and beautiful.