Kathleen O'Connell

What are the differences between men and women that are risible?

Like the stereotypes involving watermelon, hooked noses, and limp wrists? Yes, those are extreme examples, but where does one draw the line? I'd say that someone who relies on another person's race, creed, nationality, ethnicity, sexual preference, and gender to make jokes really doesn't evidence much of a sense of humor at all, but rather, genuine humorlessness.

Von Rothbart's Odile's back-up singers. Like Bette Midler's Harlettes. Oy. What was I thinking with" Von Rothbart." "Odile" is a dandy name for a certain flavor of world-weary chanteuse.

I'm pretty sure I learned what a dandelion was from my mother, not a dictionary.

Thank you Pherank! I couldn't resist the one of Eglevsky as ... hmmm ...? Neptune? Whatever -- it's gorgeous, he's gorgeous. I wish I could buy them all. And yes, the Toumanova portrait is really something.

I don't agree either. And never mind the face -- which we can't always see clearly, either on stage or in real life-- as social animals humans are exquisitely attuned to body language and even the slightest adjustment of a shoulder or a hand can speak volumes. And if Jennings can't explain to McGregor why 20 minutes of men bending women into pretzels and then toting them from one corner of the stage to the other makes the women look like passive objects unable to move under their own volition, I sure as heck can't. I'm not much bothered by extreme extensions when they're part and parcel of the style, but I think choreography that trades on them is rather limited in terms of expressive power.

Oh darn! Me too!

Well that was a nice jolt of joy before breakfast! All hail Nerd Fest UK for some spectacular editing. If you didn't click through to watch on YouTube: Mr. Fest is this guy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00O7DHBSK/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Michael+Binder&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Michael+Binder&sort=relevancerank He put the video together to pitch making donations to film preservation charities. If you turn on the captions, you will see the films' titles and years made. One of the YouTube commenters put together an IMDB list of all 66 movies excerpted in Nerd Fest UK's compilation: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls031777718/ Lordy, I love what nerds get up to on the internet.

Courtesy of The Toast, Every Russian Novel Ever ROTFLMAO, as we used to say at the dawn of the interwebs ... And, when you're done with that, Every English Novel Ever

OK! Just give me a minute to check under the sofa cushions and turn out the pockets in a few of the things I haven't worn in a while to see if I can at least rustle up the reserve .... In all seriousness, some of the items on auction are truly wonderful and I'd love to spend an hour in a room with all of them! Thanks for the link!

I don't have time for a full review, but here are my big take-aways from ABT's Fall 2015 season: 1) Get this company out of the Met and into The Theatre Formerly Known as State asap. Or at least get them there for a few more weeks. 2) Cassandra Trenary & Skylar Brandt. I plan buy tickets to see both of them in the Spring. (Ahem. William Taylor, please take note.) 3) Go Gabe Stone Shayer! I thoroughly enjoyed watching him in Company B and Piano Concerto #1. ETA: 4) Whoo-hoo! Monotones! I'm always happy to see more Ashton added to ABT's rep, and was especially happy to see Monotones. Please bring it back next Fall!

They've been selling candy in the Theater Formerly Known as State since I started going there w-a-a-a-y back in 1978. At first it was standard fare like M&M's, Hershey Bars and the like but it's gradually moved upscale to the faintly gourmet-ish stuff they offer now.

For the record: 1) I don't think any work should be censored, altered, or mothballed because all or some portion of the audience finds its images, themes, materials, or content "not pleasant." I hope no one thought I was suggesting that. 2) I certainly don't think works of art should be altered years after their creation in order to make them more palatable. (They might be revised for practical reasons, of course. That's a different argument.) 3) That being said, I'm perfectly fine with discarding works of art that in some way, shape, or form debase or countenance the debasement of "the other," the powerless, or despised minorities. 4) There's a difference between artists using provocative or unpleasant images in order to challenge their audience's comfortable prejudices and artists trading on (or being blind to) baseless stereotypes. 5) Women have been putting up with a lot of fundamental disrespect that's been mislabelled as flirting, or as some kind of validation of their attractiveness, or as a solicitous regard for their presumed frailties for millennia. The fact that some of them might have accepted it doesn't make it less problematic. To quote Margaret Atwood: "Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them."

Why does it matter whether a 1940s audience would have found the sailors' behavior offensive? There were a lot of things the audiences of yore didn't find particularly offensive that do trouble us now. Three men harassing a woman on the street is not an image that warms the heart.

Cobweb -- Here's how the casting sorted out in the program I saw on Tuesday, October 6: Sterling Hyltin & Jared Angle = Melissa Hayden & Jonathan Watts Ashley Laracey & Justin Peck = Jillana & Conrad Ludlow Sara Mearns & Ask la Cour = Diana Adams & Bill Carter Jennie Somogyi & Tyler Angle = Violette Verdy & Nicholas Magallenes Here's how the casting sorted out in the Spring 2012 season, when there were many role debuts. It wouldn't surprise me to see some of these dancers reprise their roles in Winter 2016 -- and someone will have to replace the now-retired Somogyi. Sterling Hyltin & Robert Fairchild = Melissa Hayden & Jonathan Watts Megan Fairchild & Chase Finlay = Jillana & Conrad Ludlow Maria Kowroski & Jonathan Stafford = Diana Adams & Bill Carter Tiler Peck & Justin Peck = Violette Verdy & Nicholas Magallenes I think I've gotten the roles sorted out, but if anyone has them mapped out differently, let us know!

Oh, I absolutely agree! Too often the casting of the first three movements can seem like an attempt to give underutilized dancers something to do, but Tuesday's cast looked like it had been put together to showcase each ballerina's special gifts and make something special out of the choreography. I especially liked Le Crone's take on the Valse Mélancolique. Dangerous indeed: she was bewitching in every sense of the word, and danced with the kind of intensity that projects beyond that dreadful scrim, the dim lighting, and far too many bolts of pastel chiffon. If I ever win lotto I am going to march into Martins' office with a big fat check and insist that the company re-dress the first three movements to give the choreography some theatrical context beyond ghosts in a gloomy ballroom.

OK, it's not a video of the whole thing in costume, but here's some delightful Bill Irwin & Tiler Peck rehearsal / performance / interview footage. I yield to no one in my admiration of Tiler Peck's stupendous gifts, but in this case I think Irwin pretty much steals the show ...

So, while I was exploring the many resonances between Kathak, Flamenco, and Classical Ballet I came across this, which immediately made me think of this. Surely a coincidence ... But, that being said, the way this Kathak dancer uses her arms really does make me think of Ballet (and certain flavors of Flamenco, too.) ETA: OOPS! Wrong cue in the first Kathak video - now corrected ...

Yes, Tiler Peck has been cast in Liebeslieder. She was part of the almost entirely revamped cast NYCB fielded in the Spring 2012 season. And, if I recall correctly, she performed the role originated by Violette Verdy, which is the one I've seen Somogyi perform. (Kyra Nichols often performed it as well.) In that same cast Megan Fairchild performed Jillana's role; Sterling Hyltin performed (I think) Melissa Hayden's role; and Maria Kowrowski performed (again I think) Diana Adams' role.

Not just slippers - bare feet!

Thank you, Helene! It looks as if W&P has posted the whole program! Duly added to my playlist ...

And the Soul Train Line!

Ballet Review has set up a special online archive containing downloadable PDF reprints of articles it has published on dancers of color. A Conversation with Raven Wilkinson A Conversation with Betty Nichols The Caramel Variations A Conversation with Sylvester Campbell

What a lousy break! I can't imagine what it must be like to be THIS CLOSE to something you've dreamed of doing since forever and watching it go poof! just like that. The heartache must be as bad as the physical pain. Hope to see him back soon! (But not a moment before his injury permits ...)

Just confirmed with Works and Process (via Twitter): No live streams for the current season. But, "[We] will be sharing video excerpts of many of this season's performances. Stay tuned for more information." I will indeed stay tuned. A post-event video is fine by me so long as it captures a decent chunk of the proceedings. I'm sure this is news to no one, but just in case, Works and Process has a YouTube channel where they archive videos of previous programs.