Hans

Liebs, I definitely know what you mean about the corps. I'm not a big fan of either co's corps:). I also see your point about the principals--but perhaps that has something to do with NYCB's forays into the classical repertoire, whereas ABT (as far as I know) doesn't do much Balanchine besides Theme and Variations. I've also found that it's easy to imagine all kinds of people dancing the classical roles because they can perform the steps. Of course NYCB's men can dance Petipa's steps; it's the style that I find out of place, just as it would be if ABT did 4T's.

liebs, do you find that the NYCB men tend to "cheat" technically more often than the ABT men in terms of footwork and posture? I always found the ABT men to be more precise, though perhaps a bit slower.

Anna Moffo was (is? haven't seen her in a while) very beautiful, IMO. I think Beverly Sills looks great now, and I second Farrell Fan's nomination of Franco Corelli. I suppose Roberta Peters is beautiful, but she made the strangest faces when she sang. And how about Ruth Ann Swenson? I heard that Lucia Popp passed away a few years ago...of cancer? I loved her voice.

Pamela, as far as I know, the Vaganova Academy performs the Legat version with added dancing. I would dearly love to see that version, too, but I have to say the original was very charming even though only one dancer was en pointe and the title role didn't dance at all! The tape we were shown of the Vaganova Academy students performing the Legat pas de trois was very interesting and detailed. The only version I'd seen before was the current Maryinsky version, which is almost identical to that performed by the Universal Ballet Academy. It was very nice, and a cute pas de trois, but it lacked some small details that were in the film that I would not like to see lost.

I find that NYCB's roster of male dancers tends to look rather thin compared to ABT's. Boal is excellent, yes, but my impression of Woetzel (after seeing him night after night) is that his technique is not very clean. Soto just does not compare with the ABT men, IMO. Hubbe and Evans are usually very good, but then there are Nilas Martins, Charles Askegard, Phillip Neal. A very uneven list, especially when compared with Carreno, Corella, Bocca, Stiefel, Malakhov, Belotserkovsky, and Gomes, who are all stellar.

I think I know what you mean about the body type, Grace: long-legged, flexible people do not have as much muscular strength as shorter, less flexible people--or rather, for taller people to move as fast as shorter people, they have to use more strength (I've been re-reading "The Physics of Dance"). Alexandra Danilova said something similar in "Choura": that she thought dance was more athletic in her day, "with Pierina Legnani commanding the stage like a fire engine with her forty-eight fouettés." I rather doubt Legnani danced like an ox, but it seems that women today are expected to be smooth, clean, and very flexible, while men are expected to be athletes. The very high leg extensions are in a way athletic, of course, but not in the same way lots of fouettés are.

oh, goodness. This wasn't in the age of the dinosaurs, but I remember living in Switzerland on 1,000 francs/month, which is pretty much the minimum for civilized existence there. I recall once having nothing but jam, chocolate (cupboard staple in Switzerland), and a rather stale (rock-solid) loaf of Milanese bread. Good thing the cafeteria at school had a French chef--everyone's main meal was definitely lunch, and we were allowed to take home any leftovers.

Yes; that's correct. I'd hoped I made that clear in my post above, but I guess not:(! Also, it would have been more accurate of me to say "the Legats," as both brothers choreographed it, apparently. Jackson said it was for Kschessinska, not Pavlova, but I'd heard before that it was for Pavlova. Are you certain it's from Harlequinade, though? Someone asked that of Jackson, and he said he had not heard it in either Balanchine's version, Romanov's version, or an old Russian staging at the Maly Theater in St. Petersburg. Perhaps it just didn't get used...?

I voted for Graham as well. I know Duncan worked before Graham did, but Graham has had such a wide-ranging, direct influence over so many choreographers and dancers today. She built a complete, complex dance technique from the ground up (something no other person--arguably--has done), and it became a springboard for many, many artists.

Last in the "Lost and Found" film series at the Kennedy Center was a 1980's film of the original Hassreiter "Die Puppenfee," along with a film of Vaganova Academy students performing the pas de trois of the same name with music by Drigo and choreography by Legat. The story is quite simple; it concerns a toy shop into which a wealthy but unsophisticated farmer and his family enter, as well as an English lord and his family. The owner of the toy shop displays all his mechanical dancing dolls: Chinese dolls, a Japanese doll, a harlequin, an Upper Austrian Lady, a baby doll, a moor, a Spanish doll, a Hungarian, a poet (stuffed, not mechanical), and the Fairy Doll, the most prized. The Englishman buys the Fairy Doll (just handing the shop-owner his wallet after the amounts he offers are deemed too small) and the farmer buys the harlequin and the Upper Austrian. The shop closes, and midnight approaches. The Fairy Doll steps out of her case and summons the other dolls out of theirs. They dance, along with several toys that have come to life: chess pieces, a cello, a hammer, bowling pins, &c. At one o'clock, they all step back into their cases, but the shop-owner has heard a noise, and comes into the room with a light. The Fairy Doll's case lights up and she stepes out of it to confront him. Suddenly, all the lights go up, and he is surrounded by the dolls. The curtain falls. It's a gem of a ballet. Easy to understand, clear mime, an imaginative concept (the baby doll sings "Papa, Mama" for example), the dances are interesting but not unharmoniously technical. Ideal for a student production, perhaps as a springtime companion to Nutcracker, especially as it is only about an hour long, with no intermission. It gets to the point, there's no "filler" (unlike "Excelsior"). Pointework is not overused (only one variation is en pointe--the drummer girl). Delightful:).

I'd choose Zelensky if he'd been more consistent. Right now, Carreno is my favorite. My biggest regret is not having been able to see Soloviev.

If she hasn't already read them, I think many things by Edith Wharton would be appropriate, but not The House of Mirth. Twilight Sleep is funny, and The Reef is a beautiful book. Roman Fever and Other Stories is witty and interesting, and The Age of Innocence is wonderful, though perhaps a little sad at the end (no histrionics, though). The Children is another good one. Probably not The Custom of the Country. There is also an adorable, funny book by Thomas Hardy that I can't for the life of me remember the title of--it takes place in a small English village and involves a love triangle between a rector, the church organist and a farmer's son. All right, that description makes it sound very immodest, but really it's sweet and amusing.

I thought the effects were good, too, Alymer. The dancing in the 1913 clip was rather wilder than in the modern production, in which the dancing was rather bland, I thought, though Seabra was a welcome relief. Whoever danced Civilization in the 1913 film did some amazing things--double echappés without coming off pointe, for example, travelling downstage! I also preferred the original mime of Light and Dark to the boring modern choreography: arabesque, arabesque, pirouette in arabesque.... Granted, the dancer had a beautiful arabesque, but it was just too much after a while. Also, I found her to be rather in the Julie Kent mold--gorgeous long lines, high extension, very polished and smiling, and absolutely lacking in power or dramatic force. When she performed the supported penchés with Darkness that were clearly meant to represent Light pushing Darkness down, it was instead quite obvious that he was supporting her as she raised her leg to the sky. Thought Bolle was good as the Savage, though I agree, Alexandra--much too tame. Jackson said when he first appeared "Watch him, he turns into a danseur noble." I thought, "He already is one to judge by his dancing!" But still--beautiful lines. He looked great paired with Light. The ballet can't have been very long (less than two hours) but to me it felt like an eternity. The divertissements, which in the classics are beautiful and tasteful, were in "Excelsior" boring and repetitive. The music was reminiscent of a Hollywood movie, and the dances seemed calculated to impress, with a great many "piqué turns" (ie, tour dégagé en dedans) and various other pirouettes, but the elements were all just sort of thrown together, and not presented well. Did not like Darkness' costume, or the MacMillan pas de deux between the Savage and Light, which looked drearily like a combination of Manon and Romeo and Juliet. The acrobatic splits given to Darkness were ridiculous--he looked like he was taking a stretch break in the middle of the performance. Also, it was not clear when he burned his hand that he was trying to destroy Volta's lab equipment. The finale was all right, although the marching steps looked kind of ridiculous in those long tutus, especially when the dancers' legs wouldn't stay parallel and they'd slip into a sort of marching waddle.

Actually, I went to hear someone speak about the effect of media on children once, and he said that as we sat there listening to him, we were burning more calories than we would had we been watching TV. I suppose it depends to an extent on the program, though.

Oops. I posted this before I'd read Alexandra's post in "Ballet History." Any moderators may feel free to move this post under hers. This was the second installment of the three-part "Lost and Found" film series at the Kennedy Center. "Excelsior" was choreographed by Luigi Manzotti in 1881. For those who thought 19th-century ballet was all roses and fairies, here is a ballet extolling progress and technology. It's been heavily updated, and from the bit of the 1913 film we saw, Manzotti was no Petipa or Bournonville (some Parisians found the ballet vulgar), but the little scenes are fun to watch even if some of the dances are too repetitive and uninspired. The printed cast list isn't entirely accurate, but I can only be sure of the correct name in one instance: Sophie Sarrote is listed as Civilization when it was danced by Isabel Seabra. The principal cast members were: The Spirit of Light: Gilda Gelati The Spirit of Darkness: Andrea Volpintesta Civilization: Isabel Seabra There were many, many other characters, including people of various nationalities, telegraph girls, Alessandro Volta, &c. Enrico Cecchetti was in the first production, but the printed material doesn't say which role he performed. Here is the printed synopsis that was handed out: Part I Scene I. A Spanish town in ruins. A bell tolls for those about to be burnt at the stake. The Spirit of Darkness rejoices, for at his feet lies a woman, Light, in chains. Gradually she revives, breaks her chains, and informs the Spirit of Darkness that his reign is over and that the future belongs to her. Part I Scene II. The abode of Genius and Light. The walls are inscribed in gold with the names of those associated with the greatest achievements. Science, Power, Industry, Love, Civilization, Perseverance, Union, Concord, Courage, Glory, Invention, the Fine Arts, Agriculture, Commerce--all inhabit this abode. Civilization and the Spirit of Light meet in triumph. [A "grand ballabile" was performed here, with a set comprising many levels, golden lions, and a great many people. The 1913 clip also shown was of this part. -Hans] Part II Scene I. A village on the banks of the Weser. To the left a tavern; to the right, a post-house. The inn-keeper and his wife greet their son, Valentine, a boat-man who has won all the prizes at the regattas. His betrothed and his friends congratulate him and drink his health. But the unsuccessful competitors are downcast and do not care to join in the rejoicings. A quarrel is averted by the arrival of a party of postilions and country lasses who dance a mazurka. The dance concluded, the losers propose a new trial of strength, which Valentine accepts. As they go to the river, the Spirit of Darkness draws their attention to a strange craft, the invention of Papin, which moves by itself. He declares it to be inhabited by demons, and that it will ruin their trade. The boatmen seize their weapons and smash the steam-boat. The Spirit of Darkness is triumphant; but Light appears, saves Papin, and declares that his invention will attain full success at the hands of Watt and Fulton. Part II Scene II. The Brooklyn Viaduct, New York. Two promontories are connected by an iron bridge over which express trains pass, while a steamer forges through the stormy sea below. Part III Scene I. Volta's laboratory at Como. Volta is engaged in various experiments. After some failures an electric spark appears. He kneels and offers thanks to God. The Spirit of Darkness attempts to destroy the battery but is hurled backwards by an electric shock. Light shows Volta the benefits of this discovery and the curtain descends to the ringing of electric bells. Part III Scene II. Telegraph Square, Washington. Light and the Spirit of Darkness are borne to the Central Telegraph Office, Washington. Little telegraph-messengers pour out of the office. Light is triumphant, but the Spirit of Darkness swears vengeance. Part IV Scene I. A Desert Simoom. Clouds of sand arise and hold up a caravan. Robbers attack the caravan and pillage it. The wayfarers struggle vainly against the storm and gradually all are buried beneath the sand. The Spirit of Darkness arises in triumph, but Light points to the horizon. Part IV Scene II. The Isthmus of Suez. The desert is replaced by the Suez Canal along which pass numerous vessels. In the meantime there are great festivities in honor of De Lesseps's achievement. [At this point, there was a pas de cinq between Civilization, a Turk, a Chinese man, a British man, and a Spanish man. George Jackson said that when the ballet was shown in St. Petersburg, Petipa was asked to do one like it, and he produced the Sleeping Beauty. The pas de cinq was supposedly the predecessor of the Rose Adagio. -Hans] Part V Scene I. The Tunneling of Mount Cenis. The Spirit of Darkness watches in anger the work of tunnelling go forward. The mine is ready and fired, but the Italian engineer's men do not hear the pickaxes of the French. There is consternation. A distant detonation is heard and an engineer listens intently. He hears the French at work and orders his own men to attack their end of the tunnel. Soon mount Cenis is pierced and the French and Italians embrace in triumph. Light glories in the achievement. Part V Scene II. A bust of De Lesseps supported by Fames. The Spirit of Darkness attempts to flee, but Light tells him that it is his turn to tremble. Clouds fill the stage and, through them, all the nations are seen at peace. At a gesture from Light, the earth opens and engulphs [sic] the Spirit of Darkness. Part VI Scene I. The clouds vanish and there follows a Grand Festival of the Nations. Part VI Scene II. Apotheosis of Light and Peace. It sounds much longer than it really is--about 2 hours. I'll write my opinions in another post:).

Thank you, Alexandra .

I saw one in Ballet Alert! that referred to Sylvie Guillem dancing in her production of Giselle. I don't have the article right now, but it went something like this: "It looked as if Giselle had developed an unfortunate tic that caused her to toss her log up at odd moments."

I had music and visual art classes in elementary school, and I played the violin and piano. In middle school, I was in chorus (we were given a choice of music classes, but I don't remember what the other choices were). At the public high school I went to, I took Drawing and Painting to fulfill an art requirement. Even when I went to a private high school specifically for children in the performing arts, a visual art class was still required . I agree with Leigh, though, that it's most important to have it in the home. I didn't listen to anything but classical music until high school, when a friend drove me to ballet class and played pop and rock in the car. (I still love rock, but cannot stand pop music .) My father was a professional musician, and still plays three instruments, so there was a lot of music in our house. Editing to add: I forgot to mention that in elementary school, I was privileged to learn calligraphy and the minuet as part of a unit on colonial America . I still enjoy calligraphy, but unfortunately cannot remember the minuet.

My elementary school had "SSR" time. I can't remember what the first S stood for, but the other two letters were for "Silent Reading." We could read whatever we wanted, and it was my favorite part of day. I had to write about books starting in 6th grade and analyze them (very basically) in 7th grade. I learned formal essay structure in 9th grade. Often when writing about a book we were either allowed to choose from a selection of books or a specific genre, or sometimes at the end of the year, we could write about whatever we wanted, but certain types of books were not allowed (ie, no Danielle Steele books. Invariably at the end of class there was a group of girls who went up to the teacher to say "but this book by Danielle Steele is really good!). I remember one time in middle school we were required to choose a book for a report, and the book had to be at least 100 pages long. I was surprised that such a short book would be allowed, but all my classmates complained that a book that size was far too long:rolleyes:!

I have to say I don't watch TV because so much of what's on bores me. When I do watch it, it's usually PBS, A&E, or the History Channel. Sometimes HGTV, and I admit I enjoy Will & Grace (I liked Seinfeld, too, when it was on:)). I watched every episode of the first American Idol because I was taking voice lessons and found it interesting to compare, but found the next edition (and all other "reality" shows) dull. Mostly I use the TV along with the VCR or DVD player for my ballet and opera videos, and sometimes the news, although I usually get my news from the Washington Post. Also, I hate the screen formats of news shows with all those columns and words running across the bottom of the screen. TV is a tremendous power that can be used for good, but it usually isn't. One problem is that you have to have cable to be able to see a lot of the good arts programs, but arts programs are so rare that it usually ends up being a waste of money. Is it just me or is there a lot more drivel on TV these days? I remember being enthralled by Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock as a child, but I don't remember anything like the Power Puff Girls or Sponge Bob Square Pants. Maybe I just wasn't allowed to watch as much as other kids.

I am pretty sure the variations in the last act of Paquita should be danced nobly as well. Presumably the three (depending on the version) flower girl variations in the last act of Don Quixote should be danced in a similar manner to Kitri's, but perhaps not as flamboyant.

Alexandra, I was exactly the same--in fact, I still have to be told to stop reading, sometimes. During the last year, I was torn many times between getting to the class I had to teach on time and analyzing just one more exercise in "100 Lessons in Classical Ballet." Teaching always won, though:)--the alarm in my datebook told me exactly when to leave. Then there are the books I read more than once just because they're so interesting, or because I look through them to clarify a detail and get caught up in them all over again.

I don't love his work, but I don't hate it, either. I definitely enjoy his sense of theatricality and his way of combining many theatrical elements (speaking, singing--his dancers are trained in those and more) into his works. If nothing else, his creations are always interesting. I have seen his "L'Oiseau de Feu," "Bolero," "Sept Danses Grecques," several ballets I can't recall the names of, and what when I saw it was referred to as his "Création Mondiale." I was a supernumerary in a couple of those. I find his choreography uncluttered and often interesting, but often I feel that he doesn't develop his point very well--he starts out with good ideas, and he uses them fairly well, but his works leave me--not cold exactly, but more like tepid--at the end of the evening. The dances don't come to much of a climax, and even when they do, I find that the material leading up to it lacks focus. I guess what I'm trying to say is that he has good, interesting ideas, but he digresses too much and too often IMO. About "Le Sacre du Printemps," I learned part of it, and although I didn't like to do it or watch it, it is a very good piece of choreography. It's focused.

Well, I am just a bit of a bookworm, so this list might be a little long. When I was growing up, I read the Encyclopedia Brown books, the Hardy Boys (terrible writing, but kids don't know that!), Le Petit Prince (in English, though now I know it is much better in French), Dr. Seuss, Good Night Moon, I read the Betsy-Tacy books along with my sister, Chronicles of Narnia, E. Nesbit (though I can't read Nesbit now--the boys are so patronizing to the girls), Swiss Family Robinson, several Robert Louis Stevenson books, Winnie The Pooh, Call of the Wild, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers. I'm sure I've left some out. Then when I got to middle school, I started in on Jane Austen, Henry James, Edith Wharton (The Reef and The Age of Innocence are my favorite books), To Kill A Mockingbird, the short stories of O. Henry. Now I favor ballet books, opera books (I will "read" the music and "sound it out" in my head), Gail Godwin, whatever long-lost Edith Wharton books are coming back into print, dancer biographies, technical ballet manuals...I even have a book about character dance technique. I used to like horror books like Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe & such. I like The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado particularly . Alexandra, I remember Johnny Tremain! Also "Middlemarch" by George Eliot and how could I forget Thomas Hardy books--he ranks next to Edith Wharton as my favorite author. Also The Wind in the Willows and The Willows in Winter.

I agree with Alexandra's recommendation of magazines:). I haven't read too many ballet history books, but as for DVDs, I can't limit myself to 3. Here are my top picks: "Kirov Classics" "Essential Ballet" "Kirov Ballet: Classic Ballet Night" "An Evening With The Royal Ballet" "Balanchine Celebration" (actually 2 videos) and the Kirov (Maryinsky) dancing any of the major classics. There is a very thorough Don Q (5 acts, I think) with Terekhova, Ruzimatov, Asylmuratova, and Makhalina (talk about an all-star cast!), a Swan Lake with Makhalina as well as one with Mezentseva, and several tapes of Sleeping Beauty with Sizova, Asylmuratova, Lezhnina, and Kolpakova as Aurora. HTH:).