canbelto

Well it's more like ... in the many ways ballerinas have "gotten ahead" or built a fanbase, or made some publicity, I find tweeting to be one of the most innocuous. And I do actually find it refreshing that many ballerinas are more open with their fans. I do think in many totalitarian regimes tweeting or blogging wouldn't be tolerated. Witness the recent very ugly fight between google and China. I'll give you an experience that took away "mystique": after the Bolshoi run of Corsaire in Washington DC, while I waited for a cab, I saw many of the Bolshoi dancers leave the theater. No one was there to even wave to them or give them flowers -- they were just carrying their duffle bags, and many of them looked exhausted and sad. I was surprised at how haggard and plain they looked offstage, but it's understandable, given they had finished a long national tour. But it didn't make me admire them any less -- in fact, I admired them more.

I'm not sure I got that... Are you referring to the issue of freedom of speech that has been discussed here...? Read Maya Plisetskaya's autobiography. But it's not exactly earth shattering news that in the past (and probably in the present too) many ballet dancers got more opportunities due to their political affiliations.

And personally I find it less reprehensible for a ballerina to tweet that her leg hurts after practice than for ballet dancers to be used as figureheads for totalitarian regimes.

Oh come on don't you think you're being a little severe? Many athletes, actors, actresses, and politicians have facebook pages and twitter feeds. You can follow Hillary Clinton on her twitter, post on Sarah Palin's facebook page, etc. In this day and age social networking is the norm. Diana Vishneva has a fan page where she patiently answers questions from fans about her training, diet, upcoming performances, favorite ballets, and even how tall she is. This doesn't make any of these people less professional, or less dedicated. The way I see it, as long as Ashley Bouder is giving her all onstage, what's the harm? (And she does give her all onstage. I've seen her enough times to know that. )

well I promised I wouldn't splurge either but just picked up performances for two Bayaderes (Vishneva and Part), the Osipova DQ, and the Cojocaru SB.

Giselle's entrance in Act 2 (as a Wili), if done well, is still the most electrifying moment in all of ballet. But it has to be done well. I've seen ballerinas make absolutely nothing of the moment.

As much as I love Johnny Weir, I don't think he'd be right for DWTS. Ballroom dancing is in many ways very fixed about the role of a male dancer, and Johnny's androgynous, flamboyant style would be hard to utilize.

I loved Tsiskaridze's hissy fit in "Strictly Bolshoi" when he realized that Wheeldon's work wasn't going to be an old-fashioned star vehicle. It was entertaining, and I also in a way had to admire his candid reactions. I feel like many ballet documentaries feel very scripted and canned, with many stars saying pat truisms about art and hard work and dedication. (The recent film "Ballerina" was like this.) Tsiskaridze brings the entertainment.

There;s at least one Aurora at the Mariinsky that nails the final balances in 5th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAbrbbZZOcg...feature=related p.s I realize this clip is highly edited, but you can see Asylmuratova performing portions of the Rose Adagio here and she clearly holds the final balances in 5th as well. There's a commercial video where she holds the balances for quite long as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xJWzkGMnA...feature=related

I saw the Swan Lake originally when it aired on PBS. There really are no words to describe how ugly the production is. I do like the gloomy fourth act though.

That's weird because there are some videos (both commercial and one uploaded by ketinoa of youtube) of Asylmuratova doing the Rose Adagio and she holds the balances for fairly long. Anyway I love the reviews by everyone of this two-week run. I only saw Bouder but it seems as if this might be Peter Martins' best full-length work.

I went to tonight's performance and agreed that Bouder's Aurora was an unqualified success. If she danced in a company that was known for its Sleeping Beauty, like, say, The Royal Ballet, I have no doubt Bouder's Aurora would quickly be labelled "classic" and "legendary." What I love about Bouder's Aurora is that she doesn't seem to try to overthink anything. Every step -- all those little jumps, the long-held balances, the double pirouettes, seemed to emanate from an impulsive and bubbly personality. Her Rose Adagio was amazing -- each balance in the final series seemed to be held for an eternity. In the Vision Scene she seemed to be a sprite, literally dashing on and offstage in a whirl. In the Wedding pas de deux my only quibble was that there were a few awkward moments with the fish dives. But this was a star performance, and I;m glad I saw it. I find Martins' production to be unobjectionable but unmagical at the same time. it's amazing how much of Tchaikovsky's music he fits into such a streamlined production, but there was little time to luxuriate in Tchaikovsky's magical score. With the lack of intermissions the scene change department was in overdrive and it was sort of zip zip zip moving right along ... Thankfully individual performances made the evening special. Andrew Veyette's Prince was dashing, elegant, although not exactly spectacular. Daniel Ullbricht's Bluebird was one special moment -- wonderful entrechats, had the audience clapping loudly. Sara Mearns' elegant, spacious way of moving made her Lilac Fairy another memorable performance. However I thought her variations were not as well-choreographed as the variations in many other productions of SB. Tiler Peck's Florine was one disappointment -- i thought the phrasing was too vague and broad and the mime between Florine and Bluebird not well-articulated. But overall I'd say that of Martins' full-length ballets this is by far his greatest success.

Well ... Veronika Part as Nikya started off with the ghostly, severe look. As she continued to dance with her Solor (Gomes) you could see her face change, and at the end of their pas de deux she raised her arms, almost as in triumph, and her face was a smile. Not a happy silly perky grin but that of a woman who had overcome and forgiven. It reminded me almost of an Olympic gold medalist on the medal stands. It was an unforgettable performance.

Sigh. Kistler cast so often as Titania.

There's actually a DVD of the Moscow Classical Ballet in Swan Lake: http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Swan-Mos...5230&sr=1-1

Jennifer Jones interests me mostly for the heartache she brought to Robert Walker, one of my favorite actors.

I forgot about Diana Vishneva's frenzied turns when she's initiated. Also, Natalia Osipova's. Both of them really look demented.

I loved Lucinda! A real villainous matriarch in the tradition of Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light or Stephanie Forrester on Bold and the Beautiful. What I always liked about As the World Turns was that it seemed to cast normal-looking people and really focus on "normal" storylines.

I went to see last night's perfomance with Peck, de Luz, and Bouder. Peck and Bouder were both fantastic, although I must say that they are a little too alike in personality and style to be put in the same performance. Bouder's whizbang Dewdrop is of course a famous portrayal, but Peck, while charming and also a whiz-bang technician, I thought didn't exude the kind of ethereal magic the best SPF's have. It didn't help that she was paired with Joaquin de Luz, who was a little too short to partner her. The leaps onto his shoulder had a bit of hesitancy. Her balances were to die for though. Overall though going to the Nutcracker is always a magical wonderful experience and Balanchine's humor is evident in so many places.

Symphony in C's second movement, definitely appropriate and I'd say even necessary.

I'd argue that there's a difference between showing such a work at a theatre that's renowned for modern dance works, and showing the work on TV. In the first instance, the audience is likely to be adult, and can appreciate the artistic content (if any) of the work. In the second instance, it's Christmas time, traditionally a time for very kid-friendly fare to be shown on any TV station, and also a public television network, where standards of taste are supposed to be higher than commercial television. I'd say the BBC was within their rights and probably smart to pull the programming. Another issue I think is the steady loss of interest in these kinds of modern dance works.

In the original 1895 production part of the swan corps de ballet included children. It also includes a lot of the original mime, and the fourth act follows the notation of the 1895 original as well.

I think Tiler Peck and Patty McBride look a lot alike.

Wow. All really serious questions, and I admit I'm maybe too vapid or easygoing to ponder the answers. Mostly I just view the film as entertainment, as I ultimately do with ballet. In fact I think that the fact that this is acknowledged to be a film for entertainment purposes makes it less offensive than something that purports to be "factual" and is actually full of speculation, innuendo, and gossip.

I'm not defending tabloid trash or unsubstantiated gossip, but I think interest in the personal relationship between these two great dancers is natural. They were not just performers, they were people, and their personal relationship was important to both of them. To suggest that their private lives be completely off limits by biographers and filmmakers is kind of unrealistic.