Balletwannabe

1 hour ago, sandik said:

Echoing what's been said above -- if you're watching Balanchine's work, listening to the score ahead of time is a great tool.  As far as "what I'm looking for" though, it's a combination of things.  Patterns (shape, rhythm, dramatic), how vocabulary is developed (and passed along from person to person), dynamics -- those are a big part of my toolkit.  But you might have totally different interests and concerns.  In general, though, ask yourself what sticks with you, when the work is over and done.  What still resonates with you -- what surprised you, touched you, annoyed you, exhilarated you?

 

 

Thank you, I'll keep these things in mind when I'm watching.

I can't imagine how devestating this is for the dancers... unfortunately many ballet companies are full of creative people, with little business sense.

I worded my post incorrectly making it sound like I saw one this season, it was actually last season that I saw:

Allegro Brilliant (Sara Mearns was sick, filling in for Fairchild who was really sick, I could tell something was off!)

1 act Swan Lake (Teresa Reichlan, her technique was excellent, but this version is way too short to pull me into the story)

Four Temperaments (After seeing this one, I know that Balachine's black and white ballets are my cup of tea; I left so fulfilled!)

I'm going in January to see: Apollo, Mozartiana, and Cortege Hongrois.

I watched a YT video of Suzanne Farrell performing Mozartiana, if I'm correct in my recollection of her autobiography, Balachine gave her the rights to this ballet?  

Thank you, I'll look up the music for the three pieces beforehand, that's a great tip.

I'll be seeing my second NYCB performance this season, my other live experiences have been with a smaller, (but excellent) company.  I'll be see an All Balanchine program. 

What do you look for in a live performance?  I read reviews and I'm amazed at how people are able to so eloquently describe performance's and dancers.  Just wondering if there are any tips you could give me to enjoy live ballet more.  

7 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Since danseurs don't dance on pointe I think we can safely say that ballet does not by definition require dancing on pointe.

But it requires women, in classical ballet, to dance on pointe.  If that changes, I doubt we'll refer to it as classical ballet. 

I think classical ballet will always exist in its current form, but that modern/contemporary ballet companies will emerge more and more.  But a company calling itself "classical" and hiring a dancer who can't dance on pointe?  I don't think that's realistic.  I think the demand for its current form will always be there, because it's so beautiful, and again, there's nothing "wrong" with the way it is.  It's art, it's subjective.

1 hour ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

 

Well, he did start off with "Sorry, there is no such thing as equality in ballet" — which suggests that he thinks it's more than just his preference, but rather something akin to a law of nature. 

 

ETA: He's welcome to his preference of course; he's not welcome to declare that ballet is whatever he says it is, or isn't as the case may be. That's why we have Jennifer Homans. 

I think he was talking about classical ballet which, although didn't start out the way it now, has been the same for quite some time now.  I read the whole conversation on his page.  Ashley Bouder's suggestion that the future of ballet could include dancers who are not trained on pointe, is an interesting one.  I don't think that's realistic at all.  Those dancers will always be viewed as modern/contemporary, in my opinion.  It's all just opinion really; I didn't read into his statement that it's what ballet can or can't be, simply what it is, and what he expects it to continue to be.  But I digress, only he knows what he actually meant.

He is comfortable with the way things are...he didn't say he's against change.  I don't have a problem with his statements.  The way he likes ballet isn't wrong (in my opinion), it's just his view/preference.  I understand what everyone is saying...I just don't view it the same way.  

I am so enjoying the reviews of each of the female O/O's; keep them coming!

6 minutes ago, Helene said:

Any time a dancer is pushed down or out when the audience watching feels it's premature likely will see the person making that decision in a bad light.  Especially Peter Martins, who kept on his wife at a very high salary when her dancing had degraded, something I witnessed.  (I didn't see the end of Whelan's career, so I can't judge that.)

That makes sense.  I didn't know that about Kistler.

38 minutes ago, Helene said:

I would think that if ballet was my life, being taken out of ballets would be the biggest problem in mine.

Of course!  And I'm not saying any of us wouldn't react the exact same way.  I guess I'm just noting, wow, she has an incredible life!  Her biggest problem, perhaps, was not really a problem, but just a painful transition.  She lived her dream.  And Martins gave her the option of still continuing, she said that in the documentary.  Even though he was essentially asking her to step down, could he have been any nicer about it?  I'm not sure why anyone would see him in a bad light. 

Just my personal reaction when watching this.  Would love to read others opinion's on this.

Honestly when I watched the scenes where she was in tears about being taken out of roles I thought- how nice for you that this is the biggest problem in your life!  I really love her as a dancer, she had a fantastic, long career- what more could she have asked for?  Was she going to dance til she was 60 (at NYBC)?  I think Martins gave her the tough love she needed.

Where can I view the Wendy Whelan documentary?

That is a great point stage right!

23 minutes ago, Helene said:

As far as Ballet Alert! is concerned, if it's official news from an official source, it is valid to discuss here.  Period.

 

If you don't think it should be discussed, don't discuss it or the discussion.

I apologize; I'm sensitive about this particular topic, so I'll just bow out of the discussion.

21 minutes ago, dirac said:

Balletwannabe, thanks for posting. I think perhaps you mean “drug abuse” and not “drug use,” which in and of itself is not necessarily harmful (?)

 

Celebrity status tends to cut both ways, but most prominent and influential people will admit that overall it’s pretty cool to be prominent and influential. There are tradeoffs, and this kind of unwelcome attention, as opposed to the red carpet attention to which the Martins family are accustomed, is one of them.

Yes dirac, thank you for correcting me on that, I did mean drug abuse.

I think most people are aware that drug use is a serious and complicated problem.  I don't think it's OK to speculate and read into a statement like "she's fine".  Frankly, the whole situation is none of our business.  I hate how celebrities get hounded.  It in no way affects ballet students at SAB.

*I don't see a lot of live ballet so maybe my thoughts here are somewhat off because I mostly watch videos/youtube:

There are some very very good technical dancers, that are said to have that "performance qaulity" but to me look like they're just trying *really really* hard to impress the audience.  Others, just seem to be dancing as if there is no audience, and there's a natural performance qaulity about them.  I liken this to good and bad actors- they're all saying the lines, but I can't quite put my finger on WHY this or that actor is bad, I just know they are (of course, just my opinion).

I'd love to hear your thoughts about forced/natural performance qaulity in dancer's.  I don't know if I want to mention specific dancers; not wanting to offend anyone.

1 minute ago, abatt said:

Just to clarify, the popularity of Ferri and Kent had nothing to do with social media.  I would say the only ABT dancer who has really exploited social media/PR machine to an art form is Misty Copeland.

They could get away with not having social media self-marketing only because they are a generation behind Copeland; when it wasn't popular/necessary.

1 minute ago, nanushka said:

 

Certainly possible. But then by that logic, job protections in general would be pretty useless.

 

And one answer: people who don't have the luxury of easily finding other jobs in their chosen field -- such as 39-year-old ballerinas.

I understand.  Speculation on my part.

Maybe she didn't want to fight it. Who wants to work somewhere when they know they're not wanted (by their employer).

Imagine if they treat Copeland like this when she retires  I imagine instead it will be the most spectacular send off in the history of ABT.

Ok thanks.

Where is this Facebook post people keep referencing?  Are you allowed to post the persons name on here?

Buying a "meaningful relationship"?  Sounds creepy.