canbelto

I thought this would be a very fun topic. Nowadays it seems as if multiple biographies of the same people come out every year. Also, new translations of classics, etc. So I thought I'd start this off by comparing biographies of one of my favorite topics, the Tudors. Just about the six wives of Henry, we have tomes by Alison Weir, Antonia Fraser, and David Starkey. I think Starkey's book goes more in depth than the other two, reprinting in whole letters and documents. Cardinal Wolsey and Catherine's servants get much attention. It is also longer than the other two books. However, Starkey seems very full of himself (read the introduction), and his conclusions are IMO somewhat dubious. I think the best overall book is Antonia Fraser's. It's the most well-written and insightful, and has the right amount of scholarly research but isn't overloaded. But the best book about Henry's wives is IMO Eric Ives' "Life and Death of Anne Boleyn." Any others?

No offense but I don't know why you think this is so. Vivien Leigh suffered from terrible bouts of depression. She was bipolar, and had tuberculosis. But she had many friends who refused to ever say a bad word about her, including both of her ex-husbands and her colleagues. Her stepson loved her very much, and has said that she was more supportive of him when he came out of the closet than his father.

I've also been rereading Don Quixote with the EXCELLENT translation by Edith Grossman. Also, The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser. I read the David Starkey book but I like Fraser's better. It rings more true to me, and goes into less excruciating details.

Yes I think it'll be the definite book on Anne for years to come. If I'm not mistaken it's actually a rewrite of an older biography. Its the rare biographer who goes back and checks his research again.

I think the last chapter, in which she talks about her pedagogical philosophy, should be required reading for all ballet teachers and students alike. I realized that it was the most valuable part of the book -- she was a real living treasure, who felt it was her duty to impart her training at "Theatre Street" into the SAB students, and also to adapt them to the Balanchine style.

I love what Mr. B said about the British critics: "If you're awake it's already vulgar."

That's not true. Gottlieb is a fan of Murphy (not many critics are), and his assessment many of the NYCB ballerinas has always been very enthusiastic (Ashley Bouder, Sara Mearns, etc.) even as he deplores some of the decisions Peter Martins has made.

cbmb, I think if you find "Holding Onto the Air" stiff reading (and I'll be honest: I do too), you might want to get its companion piece of sorts, Elusive Muse. That's a documentary which of course doesn't go into as much detail as the book, but is rounded out with dance clips, interviews with Suzanne's colleagues and family, and also, Suzanne's own voice, which I found stifled in her autobiography. She was IMO much clearer, more articulate in Elusive Muse.

La Valse has romantic tutus. Nutcracker is full of tutus. Western Symphony too.

I liked her in the "6 Balanchine Ballerinas" interview and in this interview because she's different. Many ballerinas in my observation in older age are as hard as pointe shoes. You can see it in their chins, their steely voices, their tales of the pain and monastic life of dance, their coldness when they are asked about a rival. Not that I blame them -- it's probably the way they have to be. But Allegra seems soft, dreamy, a bit kooky, but I find it endearing. She's somewhat melancholy, but not bitter. Grateful that Mr. B remained loyal to her personally even when he lost interest in her artistically. And I always love to see the clips of her dancing. Even the brief clip on Charlie Rose showed why Mr. B kept her in the company year after year, after three pregnancies, disastrous plastic surgery, and injuries. She danced like a star.

I am reading it now and zipping through it -- it flies to the very top of the ballet autobiography charts, in my opinion, along with Tamara Karsavina's Theatre Street. Both of them so vividly describe their childhoods. Danilova's childhood seems almost unbearable, with everyone close to her dying before she even reached her teens. Her memories of the Academy are priceless, as are her memories of the Ballet Russes. She comes across as strong, opinionated, resilient. I can't recommend it enough. One interesting tidbit: Danilova mentions that in the Nutcracker Balanchine was always given the "candy cane" variation. I assume that's part of the original Ivanov choreography?

Sorry, I mean Eric Ives.

I'm reading "The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn" by Charles Ives. Magnificent.

I like Robert Gottlieb. His opinions can be very harsh, but he has a great sense of humor, a genuine and obvious love and knowledge of ballet, and is a great writer. Moreover, as an important editor, his wide knowledge of culture, politics, and history infuses his work with a delightful "wow he knows THIS too" quality. I love reading his reviews not just for his opinions on dance but for his knowledge, wit, and style.

I found this film disappointing. I loved the production, but Laeticia Pujol is for me very technically weak in Act 2.

An interview with Allegra Kent can be found here. Enjoy!

What are you angry about?

I've always enjoyed the 1935 film of "Midsummer's Night Dream." I know it gets a bad rap for being too "Hollywood" but it makes the play accessible, there are some lovely visual effects, and at 143 minutes (restored on dvd) it retains a good amount of Shakespeare's text. I love James Cagney as Bottom. The all-American cast isn't exactly Shakesperean but they're never pretentious. I like it.

Personally to me there is one Nutcracker that is superior to all and that is Mr. B's. I know Cubanmiamiboy will disagree but i don't think the reshuffling of the grand pas de deux is that unforgivable as to discount all the virtues of the production. The film has Maccauley Culkin as Prince but thankfully he doesn't do much harm. I would AVOID any of the Bolshoi Nuts as they are Grigorivich's production, to wish I can only say ... um, it's not very good.

Yay! This Sleeping Beauty is IMO *the* one to get. Alina Cojocaru IMO joins Margot Fonteyn, Mathilde Kschessinskaya, and Irina Kolpakova in the pantheon of truly great Auroras.

6/11/08 Giselle - Nina A, Jose Carreno, Gillian Murphy The house was sold-out tonight. I thought the performance was overall very strong. I have quibbles with the peasant pdd of Jared Matthews and Maria Riccetto. Matthews needs a lot of work refining his technique, and Riccetto seemed to be dancing without much enthusiasm. Nina A's first act was not as good as her second act. Although she was still believably girlish, she messed up the Spessivtseva variation. I knew from the moment her arms started flailing wildly that she was struggling to stay on pointe. She made it across about half the stage, then substituted a few pirouettes. Her act scene was very well acted though. Not hammy at all, she seemed to wander around aimlessly for a few seconds, then stared at Albrecht, right before dying. It made the betrayal seem all that stronger. In Act 2, however, the performance picked up considerably. Gillian Murphy was a marvellous Myrtha. Imperious, commanding, with very strong jumps, it's the best Myrtha I've seen. Most of all, Murphy has an essential hardness about her that can be offputting in other roles but is appropriate here. The Wilis could have been better, especially in the hopping arabesques. Carreno's technique is no longer awe-inspiring, but he was a good partner. His brises toward Myrtha were very well done. I thought his portrayal was more introverted than most Albrechts, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Gennadi Savaliev made Hilarion a real, sympathetic character. I thought him tying the cross to make Giselle's grave at the start of Act 2 was a nice touch. Nina A was fabulous! When Myrtha first commanded her to dance, she spun with surprising speed and abandon. The extremely exposed arabesques were solid, with just a hint of a wobble, but it didn't detract from the overall line. Her entrechats were surprisingly fast and sustained. Most of all, Nina's elevation was still incredible. She gave off an air of absolute weightlessness. This Giselle was a kind Wili, a gentle spirit. I love how when dawn came she raised her finger towards the heavens, a touching vow of love for Albrecht. When she went back to her grave the tragedy was all the deeper. Bravo Nina!

Well now that the generous donation has been made, I hope there are serious efforts to revamp the building, which has too many problems to name, but I'll start: 1. The poor acoustics. Might have made dancing shoes quieter, but the orchestra (to me, a greater part of enjoyment at the ballet than loud pointe shoes) has never sounded good. 2. The shabby interior decorating, which always looked like the Met on the cheap. The gold circles, the sad, shabby looking gold curtain (that now looks less than golden). 3. The poorly designed orchestra area, which has no walkways besides the ones at the very sides of the auditorium. 4. A better designed lobby, which might include a small gift shop. There seems to be plenty of space within the theater, it just isn't used widely.

Not to mention Carnegie Hall.

One excellent documentary that was only shown on PBS and was in movies briefly was "Daughter from Danang." It's about a disastrous reunion between an Amerasian adopted by an American and her birth mother in Vietnam. Very sad movie.

That's not really true. Leigh was certainly sharp-tongued about Hollywood, but when she did commit to a film project, her devotion and professionalism were almost fanatical. She was one of the few people to ever get along with Marlon Brando, for instance. Speaking of underrated movies, see "Waterloo Bridge" because it was Leigh's favorite film. And contains some of her best acting. It's a weepie in the best sense of the word, although Robert Taylor is very very wooden, as was his wont. I say "Gilbert Grape" is underrated because it's the type of film that's really never made today in Hollywood, and wasn't even made back then. It had none of the self-conscious "cute quirkiness" of a Juno or Little Miss Sunshine.