Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Donald Gray

Member
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  1. Within the San Francisco Bay area there are 4 PBS type stations and one of them plays Classic Arts Showcase for approximately 3 hours throughout the day/evening. Last night was a film clip of Alexandra Danilova with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancing a Massine ballet. This was from the 1940's and recently there was a clip featuring the Divertissement from the Midsummer's Nights Dream DVD that Pacific Northwest Ballet recorded. There are opera singers, orchestra concerts, old film clips, in fact, just about anything that could qualify as something artistic (a documentary from the 1920's on the different architectural styles of apartment houses in Los Angeles now probably all gone, alas). These are only shown in 5-10 minute intervals with a nice short biography at the beginning and end of the segment. Unfortunately, the station alternates with DW TV and sometimes unexpectedly something like the Australian Ballet's Snowflakes will be cut off to start the "news of the hour" for Germany (in English). There was a good point brought up about PBS having lost its way. After all, it was their mission for many years to produce Opera, Dance in America, etc., and hope to draw people in, not grasping for ratings so they can get bigger advertising bucks. In the meantime the other channels were created to grab as many of the higher rated shows as possible, such as Discovery, History, A&E. I'm hoping PBS will return to their "bread & butter" products.
  2. Within the San Francisco Bay area there are 4 PBS type stations and one of them plays Classic Arts Showcase for approximately 3 hours throughout the day/evening. Last night was a film clip of Alexandra Danilova with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancing a Massine ballet. This was from the 1940's and recently there was a clip featuring the Divertissement from the Midsummer's Nights Dream DVD that Pacific Northwest Ballet recorded. There are opera singers, orchestra concerts, old film clips, in fact, just about anything that could qualify as something artistic (a documentary from the 1920's on the different architectural styles of apartment houses in Los Angeles now probably all gone, alas). These are only shown in 5-10 minute intervals with a nice short biography at the beginning and end of the segment. Unfortunately, the station alternates with DW TV and sometimes unexpectedly something like the Australian Ballet's Snowflakes will be cut off to start the "news of the hour" for Germany (in English). There was a good point brought up about PBS having lost its way. After all, it was their mission for many years to produce Opera, Dance in America, etc., and hope to draw people in, not grasping for ratings so they can get bigger advertising bucks. In the meantime the other channels were created to grab as many of the higher rated shows as possible, such as Discovery, History, A&E. I'm hoping PBS will return to their "bread & butter" products.
  3. As regards to "Sandpaper Ballet" I think it's one of Mark Morris most American works with the use of Leroy Anderson tunes and the amount of skipping and pony tail bouncing that is exhibited. In the words of one of my favorite posters with his/her remarks on another ballet (La Vivandiere), "bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, cheery, cheery, cheery". Well, there's not much harm in dancers as well as the audience having fun. What I'm most interested in hearing is how the French are going to respond to this work when the SFB performs in Paris. And thanks, Alexandra for your remarks on the SFB. The company has grown and have challenged themselves with both outside works and "in-house" choregraphy. James Kudelka, David Bintley, Paul Taylor among others are all choregraphers that have works performed by them. Unfortunately, their season is almost concluded but next week I have tickets for the POB's La Bayadere. Donald Gray
  4. I saw the program on Saturday night. There was a cast change in the Symphony in C, Muriel Maffre and Benjamin Pierce replaced Lucia LaCarra and Yuri Possokhov. SFB has performed this work 3 or 4 times in the past decade and I've seen Muriel Maffre dance the 2nd movement almost every time. In this performance she was much more "relaxed" and confident in the role but somewhere along the way steps were changed and an entire sequence, including a lift, was left out! I could not believe my eyes while the music was playing and the steps were not there. Alexandra had warned that she didn't think the SFB were doing the regular version on their tour of Washington D.C. last year. She was right and I'm very sad to confirm this. It says in the slick program, "Staged by Bonita Borne, under the direction of John Taras". In years past the company has performed this work with what I would consider the regular choregraphy (with and without Maffre) but why it has been changed I can't imagine. Magrittomania was quite a fun romp and a very ambitious work for a new and young choregrapher. Surrealism as an art mode isn't frequently encountered on the ballet stage. The male dancers were dressed in black suits and bowler hats with the women in long dresses with white "cups" over their breast. By the end of the ballet the women were wearing the bowlers and some were in jackets. The wonderful ppd was danced with Yuan Yuan Tan and Roman Rykine. Not a work I'd want to see every 3 or 4 years but interesting to watch. The music contained a variety of Beethoven's works (Sym. #3, Concerto #5) as arranged by Yuri Krasavin a Russian film composer (or "borrower"). This was a strike against the ballet as Beethoven's music, however wonderful, doesn't "dance" (and I include the so called 7th Symphony "the Dance"). Now, where's that Balanchine cop when you need them! Donald Gray
  5. Not long ago I took an old vcr in for repair and purchased an Aiwa multi-system from the shop (used) for $350. It works fine but does not have its original booklet.
  6. I'm under a rather old-fashioned idea that a dancer needs roles created especially for them by a good choreographer in order to grow professionally. By showcasing a particular dancer's talent in a certain area elevates them from the crowd. This was the case with many of Balanchine's dancers, both female and male, as well as dancers for Ashton, Taylor, Joffrey, Kirilan, Tudor, et. al. Don
  7. Before this topic is retired I'm curious to know why the Kirov chose the "tutu" ballets of Balanchine instead of an evening of 4T's, Episodes, Orpheus or ? Wouldn't the black leotard works have given them another dimension that they don't already have? Do they feel the Bezart ballets are sufficient for this? Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...