canbelto

I think that's one of the problems I have with Uliana Lopatkina. Her supporters call it her "spirituality," but having seen her several times I've come to dread her patented frozen, "the stage is a temple" expression. For instance when I saw her dance La Bayadere her Nikya never smiled at Solor, never frowned at Gamzatti, much less the audience. During the Shades scene the mask froze even more. I find it terribly disengaging, the fact that she dances as if she were unaware that the audience was watching her.

A good place to start in your search about your cousin is to read the new biography of Jerome Robbins, "Somewhere." Robbins and LeClercq had a long relationship and their correspondence is maybe the best thing about "Somewhere." LeClercq comes across as sharp-tongued, witty, a very strong personality.

cubanmiamiboy, I think it will be one Balanchine ballet you will love. Notice in particularly the second movement adagio, which is maybe the most celebrated part of Symphony in C. And watch whether the ballerina attempts to touch her knee in her penchee, which was the "Farrell move." And be exhilarated by the final. Prepare to NOT be entranced by the costumes, especially those for the guys.

I saw it last night. It's a fairy-tale at heart, but it reminds me of "Pan's Labyrith" in that the fairy tale is not manipulative or "feel good" but rather intense and disturbing, and so Jamal's happiness seems earned. I also find it to be perhaps (interjecting a lil' politics here) perhaps an appropriate movie for 2008, as Jamal Malik is an intelligent Muslim who has been the victim of racial and religious persecution. I couldn't help but think of the new president when I saw him.

Omigod that is absolutely awful. Poor Fadeev. I hope the injury is not serious, although if Tereshkina was in tears it must have been frightening.

Thanks for the reports. I intended to go originally but for a variety of reasons couldn't make it. I wish I had been there though.

Surprised no one has mentioned the superb video with Cojocaru, Bonelli, and Nunez from the Royal Ballet. I rank Cojocaru's Aurora among the best, and I like the Royal Ballet production.

What struck me about this film was how the two ballerinas with the "showiest" personalities onstage (Zakharova and Somova) offstage, without their makeup, seem extremely reserved and shy, almost to the point where they can't seem to look straight into the camera.

I think one of the most enchanting (and underrated) ballet set pieces is the Esmeralda pas de six. Arlene Croce writes of falling in love with Asylmuratova while watching her in the Esmeralda pas de six. Unfortunately I haven't really been able to find many videos of the pas de six. I know there's a black and white video with Asylmuratova in "Classic Kirov" on an OOP videotape, and Komleva performs it in "Kirov Classical Nights" but does anyone know of any more filmed versions of the pas de six? And does the Kirov still perform it? I think someone petite and dark-haired like Pavlenko or Vishneva or Novikova could be enchanting dancing it.

Well we'll just agree to disagree. I think the ballet should be enjoyable to adults, but it should bring back childhood memories, or at least a feeling of warmth and nostalgia. Tchaikovsky, one of the most emotional of composers, made the Nutcracker score by turns playful and gentle. Grigorivich's sledgehammer style of choreography just doesn't work, in my opinion. And memories of great individual performances are not the same as evaluating choreography.

So ... is your point that Balanchine's Nutcracker is not ballet because of the large amounts of mime dancing in it? Even though the first act contains children's ballet dancing, which is not on pointe? How about Fokine's Scheherazade? Is that not a ballet? I think the worst Nutcracker is Grigorivich's. Lots of people onstage all the time, doing nothing in particular, ugly sets, ugly costumes. Contains the usual beefy bravura dancing for the Prince which basically prevents the Prince from being danced by anyone other than the heroic dancers. Doesn't have a drop of childish imagination.

It wasn't just Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere though. There was Awakening of Flora, Ondine, and Carnaval of Venice. I suppose they're all going to be junked as well?

Here's an interview with Yuri Fateev, in which he says pretty clearly that there will be no more "reconstructions." So I guess no more 1890 Sleeping Beauty, 1900 Bayadere, or Awakening of Flora? And I never even got to see them.

So you don't consider the large amounts of character/mime dancing in La Bayadere, Lavrovsky's R&J, and Balanchine's Nutcracker ballet? Just curious.

Just a question. Why does it have to be "pointe work" to be considered "real dancing"?

Basically describes every Borree performance I've seen since the time I've been watching the NYCB, unfortunately.

It was great! Marcelo was sizzling, and yet at the same time such an attentive partner. I thought the Tharp tribute was a bit short too but it's quality, not quantity. A bit OT, but Marcelo is the rare type of dancer who rarely changes from role to role and is yet always perfect. I've seen him do Franz in Coppelia to Solor to Sinatra Suite. In every role he's not your boy-next-door, but instead the Man of Your Dreams. Balanchine said, "When you put a man and a woman together there's already a story." In many cases this is not the case but with Marcelo it is. You put him onstage with a woman and it's already a love story. Please, ABT, preserve this man's performances on film!

All the writings by Edwin Denby are by far the most enjoyable in that entire large book, but especially "Against Meaning in Ballet" and "Superficial Thoughts on Foreign Classicism." This was clearly a critic who never lost his common touch, and that's just a joy to read.

The big question is: will she actually dance something new, or will it be the same showpieces (Rose Malade, Dying Swan) that she's been doing for ages?

Nothing against Uliana Lopatkina, but does she have like a quota of one gala per year at each festival?

I think the push to make Clara/Marie danced by an adult, and in some cases for her to take the place of the SPF, comes from the 20th century prejudice against mime in favor of dance. If Clara/Marie is danced by a child, her role is necessarily more mime than pure dance. That's why I enjoy the Balanchine version so much -- it's ironic that the greatest champion of Pure Dance produced the ballet with some of the best mime dancing of all. It's not just the Prince's famous mime in Act 2. There's also the mime of the rats, of Drosselmeyer, of the guests at the party, of Mother Ginger. Each time I watch the Balanchine performance I marvel at how he uses mime in crucial places to amplify the wafer-thin storyline. That's why Balanchine's Nutcracker can survive a ho-hum performance by the principals.

I was at last night's performance. I was disappointed that on the website they had announced Bouder as the SPF but then we got the dismal, shaky Yvonne Borree. Benjamin Millipied did his best to partner her but the shoulder lifts, which at their best can seem like spontaneous leaps onto the shoulder, were performed carefully. At times he seemed to be holding Borree on her point, that's how bad her hand was shaking. Much more pleasant was Mearns' Dewdrop. I didn't think she could pull off this whiz-bang allegro role, but she did with flying colors. The corps de ballet looked great. I think this ballet might be dancer-proof though. I always feel so much pure HAPPINESS after seeing it.

I recently got the Criterion Collection's new release of four of Mizoguchi's films, packaged together as "Fallen Women." The films are Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion, Women of the Night, and Street of Shame. They are in a way incredible films, for their hard look at prostitution, but they don't make for easy viewing. But for those who want quality foreign films, I'd say pick any film by Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi, and you can't go wrong.

You know, I think maybe the hand-wringing is a bit pre-mature. Not because Somova deserves Principal status (she doesn't), but because I don't think her promotion in the long run will affect the company who for centuries has been known as the Stage Where Ballet Legends Are Made. Somova might stick out like a sore thumb, but it's a testament to the training and tradition of the company that she sticks out so much. When I saw the Kirov in La Bayadere and the 32 shades came down the ramp, I thought that it was so beautiful that one Alina Somova could not destroy the best company in the world.

Anyone read the article?