canbelto

Hans, don't forget that Elisabeth Platel is in charge of the Paris Opera Ballet Academy! I know this might sound controversial but I'm also glad emploi is not as strict as it used to be. Yes sometimes it leads to miscasting, but it can also lead to some "wow, I didn't think that would work but it did" portrayals. For instance I saw Gillian Murphy in Coppelia. Never, ever thought it would work, but she was wonderful.

I think Diamonds is boring. There. I said it.

Another change that I like is that there seems to be more consideration for injuries. Many dancers take quite a bit of time off for injuries, which is probably much healthier for the dancers than the old "If you can stand you can dance" attitude. Not saying that dancers don't dance through pain and injury, just that it seems more acceptable to take time off for serious injuries. The other change is more acceptance of dancers having children.

Les Noces.

I find that very often ballet discussion focuses on unwelcome changes in style, dancing, training, standards, repertoire, lack of choreographers, etc. But what changes in ballet over the years do you like? I can think of a few: 1. More sharing of repertoire across companies. For instance the POB just staged Fille mal gardee, and most big ballet companies now have quite a bit of Balanchine in their repertoire. 2. Historical restoration of old classics, like the "new old" Sleeping Beauty, Bayadere, and Le Corsaire. 3. Guest starring. In the old days companies mostly had a "you can stay or you can go, and if you go, don't come back" policy, but that's changed, and I think it's a good thing. 4. Female dancers' jumps. Wonderful to see a Gillian Murphy or Ashley Bouder fly across the stage in grande jetes that would make men jealous. 5. Better costumes, for the men at least. No more dumpy wigs, baggy tops, and modesty trousers. Can anyone think of any more?

Ok might as well confess: Les Sylphides has to be out-of-this-world great for me to enjoy it. Otherwise it can drag.

I regularly check Diana's website simply for her delightful Dianglish. GG!: ina EVER I am sure you have already lived your dreams!!!! Your birth sign is a cancer like me...I read in an article that cancer`s are very artistic people...I hope it`s a sign!!!! Diana: Yes, cancer is very good for the artistic people. Good luck to you. Tana: I overheard one woman with a thick Russian accent saying that you are Gyspy. Is that so? That would be soooo romantic... Diana: Let it will be a secret.

I think the Royal Ballet will probably release the Giselle telecast with Cojocaru and Kobborg eventually, considering its new partnership with Opus Arte. And it's too bad that the Giselle of Vishneva and Malakhov is only available in Japan, as it preserves Vishneva's implacable, unforgettable portrayal.

The thing that bugs me the most about the Giselle film was that it was taken from a live performance, I think. So presumably Ulanova's complete Giselle is on film, somewhere. And, if Czinner had cut the peasant pdd I would have been fine with it. But he cuts the Spessivtseva solo, Giselle's first confrontation with Myrtha, the pdd between Giselle and Albrecht ... He cuts more than just dancing, he really cuts the story. Czinner's Romeo and Juliet is maybe the most perfect dance film ever made though.

Glad I'm not the only one who hates Balanchine's bed! I also don't like the metal slide the Sugar Plum Fairy gets on during the pdd. It's supposed to be 'wow' but I've seen the ballerina not get on at the right place, wobble along the slide, and then it just looks awkward.

Is anyone but me frustrated at the film? I am so grateful as it preserves one of ballet's most famous interpretations, but the "cuts" really bother me. They shave off about half the ballet. Moreover, they leave out most of the crucial parts of Giselle's role. The Spessivtseva solo, the moment when Giselle meets Myrtha and has to turn like a possessed dervish, and finally the beautiful first duet with Albrecht in Act 2 when Giselle touches Albrecht for the first time. I don't know if these cuts were made to accomodate Ulanova, but they really bother me. Anyone feel the same way?

There aren't many moments, but one that leaps to mind is the bed in George Balanchine's Nutcracker. Being pushed around the stage for several minutes always IMO is the weakest moment of the ballet.

That's akin to saying, "I really only like Act 3 of Sleeping Beauty." Yes there are campy cheesy parts of La Bayadere but I find the overall tone of the article to be extremely condescending towards the ballet, and that's my problem with his review.

It's not even the Bolshoi. MacCauley seems dismissive of the entire ballet. How is that possible, as a dance critic? A ballet that was so important in ballet history, and that was so important to so many ballet greats? As I said, this is the ballet that Mathilde Kschessinska gave to Anna Pavlova, convinced that Pavlova would be a total failure. She was of course wrong. It's the ballet that Tamara Karsavina fondly recollects as the last ballet she danced with the Mariinsky before being forced to flee Russia with her husband. It's the ballet that made Nureyev a star in 1961 and then it was the last project he devoted himself to, before he passed away. The Kingdom of the Shades scene remains the ultimate test of a ballet company's corps. The pas de deux between Solor and Nikya after they are reunited in the Kingdom of the Shades is one of the most beautiful in all of classical ballet. Sorry, but I find MacCauley narrow-minded.

I have mostly stayed out of the MacCauley debate but his latest review of the Bolshoi's Bayadere makes me bristle. There's a tone of contempt about this most classic Petipa ballet that makes me angry. Yes, to audiences accustomed to Agon and Serenade it can seem campy, but there's also a beauty and majesty to La Bayadere that MacCauley seems unable to grasp. Also a lack of respect for ballet history. This ballet made Anna Pavlova a star. It made Nureyev a star in Paris in 1961 and it was the last thing he did before he succumbed to AIDS. Natalia Makarova is still staging her version of the ballet in companies around the world. For someone who is often so emotional about his favorites (i.e. Kyra Nichols) MacCauley also is frustratingly narrow-minded and dismissive.

My feeling is that a dancer has to do what she has to do. They roasted Anna Pavlova when she strengthened her pointe shoes by flattening the platform of her pointe shoes. They said she was cheating. I'd rather have Anna Pavlova and Alina Cojocaru dance, and if their pointe shoes don't look as beautiful, it doesn't really bother me.

I felt bad but not TOO today bad for simply approaching Irina Kolpakova in the lobby. Of course when I saw her I started stuttering and fumbling for a pen, and she was in a hurry. "Sorry -- next time," she said, but just at that moment I found my pen and ran after her. For some reason the second time she was much friendlier, and even flipped through the pages of a program book for a good place to sign. I thanked her and she smiled, and then ran off. But I got to speak to my idol and I was overjoyed.

Well I didn't get the notice. I was in NYC all morning. I was bummed as hell. I saw Irina and Max do Swan Lake several years ago and they were on fire. Today they seemed tired, maybe from the short notice. The highlight of the afternoon was I spotted Irina Kolpakova during intermission and even though she was in a hurry she signed my program.

This page lists some more exciting future releases, like Alonso's Giselle and the Sleeping Beauty with Sizova and Soloviev!

Cygnet, isn't that a lot of gossip and speculation that aren't allowed on this board?

I might be in the minority but I was a bit let down by last night's performance. Maybe her third Manon in a week got to Ferri, but I thought she seemed cautious and at times fidgety. Her body (especially those feet, which she adorns in extra shiny shoes) is as stunning as ever, but her dancing seemed to lack a certain energy. I thought Bolle was wonderful -- very handsome and a great partner. But there wasn't much chemistry between the lovers. I remember Ferri's almost reckless energy a few years ago as Juliet. Don't get me wrong -- she was a lovely Manon. Very lyrical, very beautiful, certainly arresting, but the performance just lacked a certain something. As for Vishneva, having seen her multiple times, she gives her all in every performance. If she cancels, I choose to believe she has good reasons.

Very true. I think the case of Tanny LeClercq illustrates that more than anything. But also as ballerinas age injuries often become more frequent, they perform less, and technique often slowly but surely degrades. So a chance to see Diana in her prime, doing one of her best roles? I wouldn't pass that up for the world.

Exhibit A: Anthony Dowell on the video with Durante.

Ones that I've seen, either live or in the theater: Best: The new Royal Ballet costumes. Yeah the scenery's gotten tackier, but it's still the most cohesive production. Saw it with Nunez and then there was the BBC telecast. I gather the old Messel production was great, but I only have the truncated B&W film to judge, plus the Act 3 from the early 1960s, distinguished mostly by Sibley's Florine. (One of Margot Fonteyn's worst video outings, IMO. Also very good: Peter Wright's production that can be seen in the Dutch National Ballet dvd. A little portentious, but overall, a nice production. Nureyev's production for the POB. Some things bug, like the long solo for the Prince before the Vision scene, but not enough for me to stop watching. The video with Dupont and Legris is great. Kirov's 1952 Sergeyev production. I don't like the complete erasure of all the mime, as well as some changes in the choreography, but it's a pretty production. Perhaps a little too fairy-tale-ish. All is pink and pretty, all the time. I saw it in the theater, it made me happy and smiley. There are several good videos out there. Bad: The Anthony Dowell production, preserved for posterity on video. Ugh, awful costumes, awful sets. Saved only by Viviana Durante's almost eerily rock solid Aurora. The tilted sets: no, just no. I unfortunately haven't seen either the NYCB Sleeping Beauty nor the Kirov reconstruction although I know Act 3 was televised this New Year.

But how often does a reviewer say, "Ms. Ferri's second performance of Manon was even more ardent than her performance on Wednesday, which showed some tentaveness that perhaps were a result of opening night nerves"? How is that any different? As for Ferri vs. Part, apples and oranges. Ferri was never a tutu ballerina who specialized in classical repertoire. Part is (or wants to be). As I said, I wasn't there when Part botched her opening night Rose Adagio, nor have I seen Part's Aurora in any other context, but IMO it's perfectly fair game to compare two performances from the same dancer, especially in the same role.