Hans

Actually, I get your point about the poll--it would have to list just about every choreographer starting with Gorsky. Unwieldy. But I would love to see that article because I've been wondering about that very idea for a long time.

Alexandra, I sense a poll.... I know what you mean, though. I've never liked Act II of Swan Lake as much as Act III of La Bayadère. Petipa seems to have had surer taste...or maybe just tastes more like mine

Here's a clickable link for the petition.

Aren't there plans to do that at the Kirov in the near future?

Hopefully, if a dancer is cast as Odile, she and the artistic director already know that she can either consistently do 32 fouettés or something equally impressive. Unfortunately, mistakes happen, but the only solution I've ever seen to fouettés gone wrong was a pas de bourrée en tournant into more fouettés, which didn't look like a mistake at all, especially as the dancer had just fallen out of a quadruple pirouette onto the working (right) leg--so it was quite natural to dégagé the left leg, pas de bourrée, and keep turning.

I can answer the technical question. Dancers today dance differently and put emphasis on different aspects of their dancing, but they are in many ways not more technically accomplished than those of the past. On that point, I agree with Watermill--the style (and on many points, the technique that used to be kept firmly in service of the style) is slipping away fast in favor of athleticism. As far as dancers having their athleticism recognized by the general public goes, I see your point, but I would hope that dancers themselves would be more concerned with having their artistry recognized. If recognizing the athleticism is the first step to this, so be it, but let's not lose sight of the real point of ballet.

That review would drive me to China.

Send the Pain Onstage: A Tribute to Chevelle Artistic Director Lobotomy or He Oughta Be Sedated: A Celebration of the Ramones Highway To Hell: Ballet According to AC/DC

"Other." In terms of companies, if it's the Kirov (or ABT depending on the casting, &c), I'd probably go see it anyway. In terms of a new ballet, again, it depends on the reviewer.

I said "Possibly," but for me, it would depend on the critic. If Alexandra raved about a ballet, I'd probably buy tickets right then and there, but if, say, Clive Barnes raved about something, I'd be more cautious.

I second the Petipa biography idea.

That is exactly what has happened to Petipa, not to mention Bournonville. I don't want to think about the next hundred years.

I'm having a hard time choosing between the Ballet Comique de la Reine and the original Sleeping Beauty (the REAL original Sleeping Beauty). The first because from it, ballet might redevelop in an entirely different way, which would be fascinating to see, and the second because it's the pinnacle of classicism (IMO, anyway).

I wish I could I just read it in "Balanchine's Tchaikovsky."

It was Lopokhov

Well, to tackle one point the article makes, it doesn't follow that the more popular or famous (for example, a ballet company) is, the worse it must be. The idea is to become famous (and lucrative) without compromising artistic standards.

Apollo. I just like it the best .

Simply put, ballet attire has changed a great deal over the centuries, and what the Paris Opera dancers wear to daily class now is very different from what they wore in the 19th century. That is a very interesting point about Degas perhaps unintentionally creating his paintings from unusual viewpoints, but he also created similar paintings even when he was re-creating a scene he'd seen in a studio. Maybe he sat high up first and found the viewpoint interesting? Question related to the attire issue above: Does anyone know if the Paris Opéra corps de ballet always wears practice tutus, long skirts, &c for class? It seemed very unusual to me.

This was a really interesting program focusing on Degas' paintings of dancers at the Paris Opera intercut with shots of the POB corps taking class and a short clip of POB students in a barre stretch. Gorgeous, gorgeous dancers, and the history behind the paintings was fascinating. I already knew much of the material regarding the POB, but it was interesting to hear more about Degas and why he painted dancers and how modern and shocking his paintings were considered at the time.

I want Benno back, too . And God bless the Kirov for having nobility in Act I (not peasants) who dance like it, who bow to each other and are waited on by servants (not each other), men who stand in third position and do not drag their ladies around by the waist and a queen who looks and acts like a queen and travels about with a little retinue.

I saw the Sarafanov-Sologub performance, too. Even considering its flaws (lack of mime, dancing Rothbart, happy ending) I think it's one of the best Swan Lakes being performed today. By the way, every member of that corps de ballet should receive flowers. They are truly the best in the world. Whoever danced the third variation in the pas de trois was wonderful--beautiful lines, could pirouette for days, and she actually projected, which was more than I can say for the leads. While Sarafanov and Sologub were technically just about impeccable, I'd be surprised if they "read" past the footlights--they certainly didn't make it up to the front of the second tier. I didn't mind so much that they looked like children, Sarafanov especially, but even though they pulled out a lot of stops technically (consistent single-single-double fouettés from Sologub), they left me completely cold, even bored, and a weak performance (dramatically) from newbie soloists was the last thing I expected from the great Kirov-Mariinsky, especially on tour. I'm sure they'll both grow up to be quite beautiful artists--they are both certainly built for it--but they were just not ready to take on Swan Lake (which is of course not their fault but that of the director). Where have all the Kirov's stars gone? Even Daria Pavlenko would have been preferable.

Hm...well my teacher was taught in Tbilisi and at GITIS, so the Vaganova Academy might not agree. I sense a need for vrs....

I'd be interested to know as well . Marc maybe?

Actually, the leg does NOT merely extend directly to the side. As I was taught, it goes to somewhere between front and side (sort of écarté), then goes all the way à la seconde before the retiré. So there is a rond de jambe action happening; it's just smaller.

Here's some more clarification: The reason it's an adjective is because the full name of the step is "battement tendu" or "pas jeté," (the last one translates to "thrown step"). So the name of the step itself is not an adjective, but the adjective makes clearer exactly which step the teacher wants you to do .