altongrimes

I continue to feel my heart go out to this young woman and her family. Looking back on "twenty one" - which I believe to be her age - I can recall most vividly how lost I was during my formative years, as well. Considering, too, the enormity of her parents contribution to the world of dance, I would hope that the family can find a fresh new beginning together devoid of condemnation and guilt but rather charged with a new vision and love for one another.

A huge thank you to those who authored the above replies ! So exciting that you would take the time to craft such an illuminating array of response. Wonderful stuff from everyone. So rich and educational. Thank you.

Drew I see your point, Drew! Of course, it's not all about Nikiya but the unfolding drama involving other characters, as well. Yes. But perhaps to satisfy some part of my initial thought, maybe the lighting on the other characters and stage in general could be dialed down a bit in order that she is shown in perhaps a slightly greater light than they. Splitting hairs here !

Perhaps my offering here may strike the reader as a kind of wild gourd. After all, in spite of my decidedly formidable passion for the art form, I am acutely aware that Ballet Alert is populated by a highly trained and cultivated audience indeed. Alas, I, by comparison, am a mere newcomer. O.K, to my point. In every clip I have experienced featuring the Nikiya Death Scene, the entire stage would seem equally illuminated. To me, this appears as a painfully obvious lack of good creative judgement. I mean, wouldn't such an intensely intimate and dramatic moment as this call for Nikiya to be bathed in something like a kind of diffuse spot light? Surely, these excruciatingly beautiful moments are hers and hers alone? Bathing the entire stage in what appears to be the identical light, seems, in my opinion, to sabatoge the artistic excellence attempting to find a suitable avenue of expression here.

Thank you, Drew ! Wonderful of you to respond. You always post the most fair and informative comments on this great site !

In my dance travels, I have been sometimes overwhelmed as a kind of "lonely guy" out there. As anyone knows who has tried to navigate the big cities of the world all alone, that experience can be a rather "icy" undertaking. So I am wondering if someone could recommend an alternative such as travel groups whose objective is to visit the great dance companies of the world based on a preexisting itinerary? Or, perhaps there is an alternative way to connect with fellow balletomeres and venture forth as a group to these various dance destinations?

You are right. I wrote that several months ago, when it seemed that such an observation appeared correct. Accusations seemed overabundant at that time amplified by what appeared to be a rush to judgement. I was simply delighted that Jane responded to my initial thought with such care and deliberation that in my enthusiasm, I threw something of a "wild gourd" into the mix.

What a fantastic response. Thank you, Jayne. Wonderful to receive this. "And more care will be given to the professionalism backstage" is the desperately needed imperative that needs to be implemented. And as I ponder your words: "men who are tempted into this kind of behavior", I recall myself at twenty five being greatly distracted by a libido that sometimes threatened to act as a "runaway train". Even so, this is no excuse for behavior that is clearly beyond the pale of acceptability. Perhaps, we the people have yet to plumb the necessary depths in discussion relating to human sexuality? Finally, your words: "the difficult thing about social media is the impossibity to divine the true intentions in ... their words". In this regard, I wrote the following. I hope you find it relevant to your above thought. "By the time our sometimes unprincipled media finishes with its clever spin on "sexual abuse",the accused has already been ruined. Even if due process of law has had opportunity to gain traction, it's often too late. The damage has already been done. I would submit that to the extent we are yet pawns of the media and it's machinations that we are no better than a lynch mob. While I wholeheartedly applaud the new found freedom that women are finding in this matter, I am vehemently opposed to "guilty until proven innocent".

The spate of news relating to sexual misconduct within the dance community brings a certain sadness with it. At least for me. Clearly, some of the accused have brought the art form to us with great power and grace. And while I would not diminish the seriousness of sexual abuse, I will sorely miss those magnificent artists whom I may never see perform again.

While perusing YouTube, a very brief clip of Anastasia Smirnova appeared. Something so wonderful about this young artist that keeps me coming back for another look. Would anyone care to volunteer background information about her? Apparently, she is so new to the horizons of dance that a brief video or two is all there is.

While perusing my cache of favorite dance videos (clips), I encountered Nikolay Tsiskaridze dancing as the Blue Bird in the Bolshoi's Sleeping Beauty of 2000. How my eyes opened in some greater way to the extraordinary talent of this artist ! I was stunned. I don't believe that I have ever experienced such an extreme degree of suppleness - I hope that's the correct term - in a male dancer. In my excitement over this discovery, I put the video on pause and hurried over to my computer to share this new found artistic joy with the members of Ballet Alert ! And from this discovery, a question arose within me. Would it generally be true than the women participating within the art form could be expected to exhibit that beautiful suppleness of movement more than their male counterparts?

Thank you to MadameP for your gracious and generous response ! It must have been magic for you to have been in that audience at Mariinsky 2 and to have witnessed the synergy between Ulliana, Shklyarov, the dancers and the great Plisetskaya ! Surely, the price of admission and the sometimes Herculenian effort required just to get from the airport to the theater ontime is often more than justified by moments such as these that fuel and sustain our drive for the art form.

Perusing the internet for ballet images as I so often do, I encountered a fascinating image whose inscription reads: "Maya Plisetskaya giving Alina (Somova, of course) her diamond earrings after a performance of The Little Humpbacked Horse". How I remain riveted to this photo ! What a thrill it must have been for this young artist to have received such a gift from the hands of a master ! It's one of those off-stage moments that is, for me, a thing of pure inspiration. I wonder if anyone out there on Ballet Alert can recall a similar ballet moment that they also treasure as I do this timeless encounter between these two wonderful ladies?

Well, I stand corrected in this matter. Thank you for your illuminating response. I suppose at the root of my flawed response is a sense of profound disappointment at the loss of an artist so heavily gifted. I will never forget the power of his onstage presence. A magnificent performer capable of attracting "the lightning". And so he did. Many times.

I add my wholehearted agreement to your train of thought. Why are mere allegations sufficient to elicit such a response from ABT? I find this news deeply troubling. Why and by whom has society now been given license to ruin reputations and lives by mere words? I am repulsed by this rush to judgement.

Thank you to "dirac" for bringing to light this intriguing initial reation to Degas' Little Dancer. Fascinating.

I couldn't help but share this bit of delightful, albeit sobering, prose and ballet education from When Ballet Became French by Ilyana Karthas. " Ballet dancers were seen primarily as workers and minimally as artists. Degas depicted the ballet he observed in the 1880's; it was primarily a working class profession and art form in decline. In his work, the ballet dancer was not a metaphoric symbol of nobility, grace or poetry, but first and foremost, a sexual being, a worker and a titillating subject. To the French public of 1881, the ballet had come to represent a modern space of cross-class sexual exchange, a world of display and male possession, and an eroded French art form. "

I applaud that the heretofore sacrosanct inscrutable realms of entertainment, finance, etc. are now showing cracks in the wall and that those who inhabit those realms are, in some measure, beginning to be subject to the full import of the law. My only concern is that if the media in its often slick manipulations can destroy a man's reputation long before due process of law has had opportunity to take effect, then my final applause for this worthy cause is at best tepid.

The answer to the following may appear obvious, but upon further reflection, I am not so certain. Concerning the women in any given company, how would one describe the differences between a member of the corps and those who have attained the rank of soloist or principal? Is it simply a greater mastery of technique combined with a more developed theatricality?

I wonder if anyone would care to venture a guess as to why Polina Semionova's "star" seems to have virtually disappeared from the world stage? Of course, she has started a family but so have other prominent ballerinas without any apparent loss of visability. Apparently, Alastair Macaulay was less than gracious in his reviews of her performances in New York. (Could The Times please bring onboard a bona fide dance critic). A few years ago, I moved heaven and earth to see Polina perform in an ABT Swan Lake. So completely astounded was I by her power and grace in that performance that I felt in a kind of creative trance for days.

I am simply wondering if it is possible for a dancer to fall out of favor with the dance world when he or she - for whatever reason - takes a break from the art form ? Throughout the last several years, I have harbored a great passion for the greatly gifted Polina Semionova, but since her absence from the stage, I naturally don't "feel" the excitement and power of her gift in the way that I once did. Perhaps as she now returns to the stage, she will quickly recapture and continue to build upon her previous artistic momentum. Or is there occasionally a kind of fickleness about the dance world that has little patience for the "human side" and quickly moves on in search of the next star?

Considering how hard these dancers train and the almost monastic and insular lifestyle these artists lead, I am sometimes repulsed by M. Macaulay's often indecorous remarks. Even so, I can also appreciate that he sometimes "hits the mark" and can be quite illuminating, so that he is not, after all, a mere crackpot posing as a genius.

In the midst of mining APOLLO'S ANGELS and Ballet 101 for more gold nuggets, I encountered this delightful train of thought from Jennifer Homans: "John F. Kennedy also made the arts a priority. His wife, Jackie, was a prominent figure at cultural events, and the glittering celebrity ethos of the White House gave new glamour and sheen to the performing arts everywhere; she sent a jet to escort Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn to the White House for tea." But alas, how times have changed. And for "tea" no less ! How fantastic .

Thank you Drew ! An Illuminating an intriguing response from you concerning Cyril Atanasoff. How fascinating that you could discern the way in which he "paced his performance ... across the entire evening everything was crafted to get stronger and more vivid as the variation and evening progressed". Perhaps like some fine wine that gathers it's strength over time, the more seasoned M. Atanasoff imparted to his work a subtlety and nuance that only great experience can bring. You used the word "crafted" to describe his gift and how I would heartily underscore your observation. For a brief moment, while watching him in that 1988 Sylvie Guillem Swan Lake, some indescribable thing within me quickened, and I "saw" a craftsman. My creative mind "caught fire" as I watched him cut through air and stage with razor sharp precision. With what care and reverence he seemed to execute every step.

At the prompting of a rather precocious ballet "pen pal", I have been perusing footage of Sylvie Guillem (Mademoiselle Non is more fun to say) in 1988 versions of Swan Lake. The first viewing features Sylvie with Nicolas le Riche, the second with Manuel Legris. Naturally, I was greatly impressed and then - as if some kind of creative bomb went off inside me - I saw a mere few seconds of Cyril Atanasoff. How my heart and mind caught fire at the sight of his masterful presence ! It later occurred to me while delighting in the fire of this "revelation" that it may have also been Cyril Atanasoff who played the dancing master in Nureyev's Cinderella? As is my habit, I am simply gushing my enthusiasm here on Ballet Alert at this new ballet discovery. My God, Cyril Atanasoff ! Was he not the very picture of the grace and refinement so assiduously sought after by the French school?