canbelto

Highlights:

- the February ballet stars gala, in which I got to see Alina Cojocaru and Diana Vishneva. Considering how I had to move away from NY soon afterwards I am so glad I got this opportunity.

- getting up at 6:00 and driving 5 hours to Detroit to see the Kirov in the Sleeping Beauty. I was so exhausted by the end of the day I could barely move, but I'm so glad I did it. And I got to see Yulia Bolshakova as Florine. This girl has PROMISING written all over her.

- the continued release of ballet on dvd, a great sign (for me).

Lowlights:

- moving away from NYC, and thus missing Vishneva's Giselle

- the Kirov wigs. The male wigs looked like dead squirrels, the female wigs looked like they might fall off with a stiff wind.

Rosie, I too am sure Nureyev is in heaven, along with Margot. In fact, I'm sure they're dancing together and giggling as we speak.

Seriously, Nureyev is one of the rare dancers for whom I feel a strong personal affection. I don't always love his productions of ballets (in fact, sometimes I hate them), and I know he wasn't the most polished of dancers, and I'm sure sometimes he could be hell on wheels, but every time I watch that tape of him honking Miss Piggy's nose, or see those pictures of him with Margot in Giselle, all reservations are washed away, and I just thank the lucky stars that he was born.

(I apologize if this post causes an insulin attack in anyone )

It was a combination of her seriousness, shyness, and perhaps the hard time others in the company were giving her for being Balanchine's favorite.

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And perhaps the hard time Balanchine was giving her for ... well, we all know the story.

I have before me a booklet from the BBC opus arte, there are several ballets on dvd I want to buy. Need some guidance in this! First Mendelsohn " A midsummer night dream" choreographed by George Balanchine, performed by the Pacific northwest ballet. Secondly The Firebird choreographed by Nijinska performed by the Royal ballet. Thirdly, Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Peter Wright performed by the Dutch National Ballet. Of all the ballets I have different versions but I always love to expand my horizon. Tell me what you think of the above selection, and add to it by all means!

Health and Happiness

Walboi

:rolleyes:

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The MND with the Northwest Ballet is a must.

The Firebird is dicier. I don't think Leanne Benjamin is necessarily the best Firebird. I prefer Diana Vishneva (on Kirov Celebrates Nijinsky) or Nina Ananiashvilli in a dvd called "Return of the Firebird." OTOH, the RB probably has the best *production.* I mention the two other Firebird videos because I also think they have better programs in general. Les Noces is a real acquired taste, but Scheherazade, Spectre a la Rose, and Polovtsian Dances on Kirov Celebrates Nijinsky are all great fun to watch. Return of the Firebird has Scheherazade and Petruskha.

I'd definitely get Peter Wright's Sleeping Beauty. Overall I think it's the best on the market. A second runner up would be the Royal Ballet version with Durante as Aurora, but that production has truly horrifying sets, as well as a Lilac Fairy (Benazir Hussein) who's very, very weak. If you really like Sleeping Beauty, VAI has a telecast with Fonteyn/Somes that's very abridged, but wonderful nevertheless.

Irina Dvorovenko. She would eat him for lunch She's about the right height for him too.

Historically, Maya Plisetskaya. The war of the nostrils. Let the games begin.

But then again, Nureyev's most famous partner was Margot Fonteyn, so I'm thinking a tender, ethereal, ballerina like Alina Cojocaru (or, recently retired, like Altynai Asylmuratova) could have been magic with him.

About Nureyev's Albrecht, I think he played him as a cad in Act 1, but I haven't ever seen an Albrecht who was as heartrending in Act 2. That's why I say his Albrecht is peerless.

The 'Margot Fonteyn' and 'Nureyev' documentaries, both by Patricia Foy, are kind of necessary because they contain different parts of what must have been a complete telecast of the act 2 Giselle pdd. It's kind of frustrating -- I'd like to have a dvd where the complete pdd is available, but oh well.

Has anyone, by the way, seen the Fracci/Nureyev Giselle, Dancing Through Darkness, and the Tennant/Nureyev Sleeping Beauty?

Oh, I forgot to add: there's also a Nutcracker with Nureyev and Merle Park. His Nutcracker (like his La Bayadere) is heavily influenced by his Kirov background -- traces of Vainonen abound. For instance, his omittance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, his use of an adult Clara, and the emphasis on a romantic awakening for Clara, and his omittance of mime. There's some eccentric touches as well -- in Act 2 Clara is terrified by some bats and the Prince comforts her. In Nureyev's production, Drosselmeyer and the Prince are danced by the same dancer. An odd choice, but I suppose a lot better than Baryshnikov's decision to make Drosselmeyer, Clara, and Prince into a love triangle. However, I hesitate to recommend this Nutcracker, mostly because Merle Park is about as girlish as Ninette de Valois. I'm not dissing Park -- her dancing I remember is pretty impressive, but in the end, she just stretches ALL credibility as a girl.

Also, there's a film of him and Lucette Aldous in Don Quixote. Robert Helpmann is the Don Q. It's a very standard production, differing little from the Kirov's. It's a very nice film, although Aldous is only so-so as Kitri IMO.

So, basically, I'll rank the Nureyev videos (and keep in mind this is just my opinion):

Essential:

- Romeo and Juliet - with Fonteyn. It really doesn't get any better than this

- Evening with the Royal Ballet - Nureyev and Fonteyn in Les Sylphides and Le Corsaire. All well worth watching.

- Giselle - Lynn Seymour is out of shape, but Nureyev's Albrecht was legendary, and deservedly so.

- The Muppet Show - ok, maybe this isnt essential but it's so much fun you sort of owe it to yourself to find a used copy.

- Bruhn/Nureyev Bell Telephone Hour performances - captures Nureyev in his prime with a variety of partners, including Maria Tallchief and Svetlana Beriosova. If you're an Erik Bruhn fan this is a must too.

- Glory of the Kirov- Nureyev and Sizova are both dynamite in their graduation performance. Nureyev also dances with Kurgapkina in a clip from Laurencia. But mostly this video just has an abundance of riches and belongs in any balletomane's collection.

Nice to have:

- Don Quixoite - Nureyev is a charming Basil, the film is nice eye candy. Aldous is a bit pale. Don Quixote is a bit of a fluffy ballet anyway so that's why it's not in the 'essential' column.

- Fonteyn and Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership. Much of the dancing clips (save an extended one from Marguerite and Armand) is available elsewhere, but there are some behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage as well as a dress rehearsal of Birthday Offering. I always cringe when I see that -- Margot dances perfectly (or it seems to me) and the rehearsal coach sternly says, "Margot, you want to do that again???" That's ballet for you I guess.

- Nureyev - the doc by Patricia Foy. Not much new material, a bit fluffy, but some nice interviews with Rudi.

- Cinderella - Guillem and Jude star. It's a cute production, moved to the 1920's, and Cinderella in this case is a starlet and Nureyev the 'Fairy Godmother' is a movie producer. Nureyev barely does any dancing, but this is worth it for Jude, Guillem, Maurin, Guerin, and Loudieres, all future POB etoiles.

For the completists:

- Swan Lake - with Fonteyn. A missed opportunity, in my opinion. For one, the Vienna State corps are pretty awful, the whole thing was filmed on a tiny soundstage and thus there's an incredible sense of claustrophobia, the makeup artist for Nureyev should have been shot, it's not Fonteyn's finest hour, and Nureyev made some really odd choices, especially with the musical arrangement. Perhaps the oddest being an abrupt cut of the Odette/Siegfried adagio into a solo for Siegfried.

- Nutcracker - for the reasons stated above. Plus, it's not really that great of a production, to tell you the truth. At least I don't think so.

Out there, but I haven't seen, and therefore can't comment:

Giselle - with Carla Fracci.

Sleeping Beauty - with Veronica Tennant.

Nureyev: Dancing in Darkness. A doc of some sort about his final years.

I forgot that there are several coffee table books about the Fonteyn/Nureyev partnership.

One is Keith Money's Fonteyn and Nureyev: The Great Years. That one contains a lot of behind-the-scenes photos, along with Money's quite colorful commentary. One of my favorites is a series of photos in which Margot is frowning as she's knitting her shoes. You can tell she's upset. Money supplies the background: Nureyev was threatening to cancel.

Another is Alexander Bland (Maude and Lloyd Gosling's) Fonteyn and Nureyev: The Story of a Partnership. This one mostly focuses on the roles they did together, along with newspaper reviews and beautiful photos of rehearsals.

I have both books, and would not be without either.

I always thought it was pronounced NYU-reyev. Kind of like VISHneva.

But the first place to find out about Nureyev is through videos! Luckily, there are lots of them.

Romeo and Juliet with Margot Fonteyn is probably the most essential video, but there are lots. His graduation video with Alla Sizova can now be seen in its entirety on 'Glory of the Kirov.' 'An Evening with the Royal Ballet' features him in Les Sylphides and Le Corsaire. On VAI there's his Bell Telephone Hour performances, juxtaposed with Erik Bruhn's Bell Telephone Hour performances. Some good stuff on that video, including a pdd with the criminally under-recorded Svetlana Beriosova.

I hesitate to recommend his Swan Lake, as it's an odd production, and it's not Fonteyn's finest hour. There's a documentary with Patricia Foy, which is nice if a tad fluffy. I haven't seen his Giselle with Carla Fracci, but there's his Giselle with Lynn Seymour, and his Albrecht is truly peerless. 'Fonteyn and Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership' just came out on dvd -- well worth watching, if only for the rehearsal footage. Just watching Margot's smile when she mentions their partnership is magical. The Dancer's Dream series about his productions at the POB don't feature a lot of Nureyev, but his presence is certainly felt. There's a Cinderella from the POB with a very young Sylvie Guillem in which Nureyev is the 'Fairy Godmother.' He's pretty funny. There's a Sleeping Beauty with Victoria Tennant that I've never seen.

But ... and this is a huge but ... my FAVORITE Nureyev on video has to be his appearance on The Muppets Show, especially his "pdd" with Miss Piggy. Priceless.

I liked it when Suzanne blew a kiss to her dancers. (Or at least I think it was her dancers.) What can I say, I'm cheesy that way.

And one more post about Suzanne's hair, and I promise I'm done:

Suzanne when she was young had these very cute round cheeks. As she's aged, obviously she's lost the beautiful roundness of her face. (And I am NOT saying Suzanne looks old, she doesnt, I'm just talking about the natural aging process that happens to everyone. For instance, I'm 26, and am told that I look very young, but when I look at pictures of me as a teenager the first thing I notice is how round my cheeks were back then, as opposed to now. In my case this is a good thing because I have a very oval face so losing the round cheeks has made my face a more complete oval. But this is OT.) The bangs and the face-framing locks have brought back some of the roundness to "Bobby Sue's" face.

As for the dancing, it was a brief piece, but I was astonished by the uniformity of the dancing. For an instance I thought I was seeing the POB or Kirov. Not to draw any comparisons, but I thought they looked much, much more uniform than the ... NYCB corps ...

I liked the tribute to Robert Redford, not especially for Redford (who's never been a real favorite of mine) but for the appearance of the ever-handsome Paul Newman. If there's a more handsome octagenarian in the world, I haven't seen one.

I have quite a few, since I bought quite a few dvd's this year:

1. La Bayadere - POB. Guerin, Platel, and Hilaire were all wonderful (especially deep freeze Platel and handsome Hilaire) but mostly I love it for Nureyev's incredible production, and the eery perfection of the POB corps. If the Kirov corps are the most elegant, the POB corps are the most perfect. Just watching them come down the shade ramp with not a leg out of place was something else.

2. The Nutcracker - Royal Ballet. Miyako Yoshida is only so-so, but you get to see the divine Alina Cojocaru, who at the time of the filming couldn't have been over 20, but she was already dancing with incredible grace, beauty, and elegance.

3. The Kirov Celebrates Nijinsky - Diana Vishneva's Firebird. I often watch that video just to see her long, long arms flickering exactly like a bird's.

Speaking of birds, this is an older release but I loved the VAI video of Maya Plisetskaya. I will replay the Dying Swan compulsively.

4. Le Corsaire - Kirov Ballet. I don't much like Evgeny Neff, but Altynai Asylmuratova, Yelena Pankova, and the Kirov corps are sooooo beautiful.

5. Giselle - Seymour/Nureyev. I realize Seymour is totally out of shape, but Nureyev's Albrecht was legendary and I'm glad to see that, like Makarova's Giselle, it deserved every bit of its legendary status. Too bad Makarova and Nureyev never filmed a Giselle together

I can't believe I'm going to this great length to defend Suzanne's new 'do, but here goes -- I think Suzanne is of that certain age when hair starts to thin, and lose its lustre. So her superlong 'do no longer had its effect when it thins and starts to look limp. By cutting it short (but not too short -- just above the shoulders, I'd say), perming it (but not too curly -- just a gentle wave here and there), and dyeing it a more gentle sandy blond, I think Suzanne's taken years off her actual age. I thought her new 'do looked beautiful.

Farrell Fan, where are you? What do you think about this most important of issues?

I loved Suzanne's elegant black dress, as well as her new shorter 'do. As I said before I think it looks gorgeous.

I thought Jacque's mentioning of Suzanne leaving the NYCB in 1969 was so tactful. He did a great job. I wish they could have shown some clips of her as Titania. And it's nice to see Suzanne smiling and having a good time. I always thought of her as a bit of a glacial Diana, and I must admit I was jolted when I saw her giggling and laughing tonight. It's like my vision of her was ruined.

Just wanted to pipe up and say how much I like Suzanne's new 'do. I thought the super-long, straight do made her face look kind of severe, and I like the softer, permed hair and the bangs. Very pretty.

chris, I'm glad that it is obvious even to Westerners Seriously, (and this will be my final word on the topic) the jarring appearance of Zhang, Gong, and Yeoh in Japanese geisha getup is so jarring precisely because geisha aren't just Japanese, they're uber-Japanese. Geisha apprentices were carefully selected to represent the epitome of Japanese beauty and grace. The less fortunate were weeded out in this most competitive of professions. Thus my reaction when looking at pictures of geisha is that they all kind of look alike. And I don't believe it's my "insensitive" Chinese eyes -- I think it's because they indeed were selected because of a certain "look" that was so prized in Japan in those times. Zhang, Gong, and Yeoh are all gorgeous ladies, but they simply don't have that geisha look, and giving them an obi, split peach hairdo, white makeup, and kimono can't change that.

I always thought that was a reference to Karsavina, the one dancer Lifar might have really known personally.

It's doubly strange because Karsavina is complimentary to the point of obsequeiousness to Kchessinska, and really saves her bile for Anna Pavlova.

Ballerinas, they're such fun!

Ok I just got a warning from a friend whose judgement I trust. He told me that while Munich might be an "important" film, going to see it is a little like volunteering for a root canal. He told me that it's that excruciating, overlong, and has some of the by-now tiresome Spielberg cliches, like a mix of violence with maudlin sentimentality.

He did tell me however that Casanova was two tons of fun

And to give you some idea of what I'm talking about when I say Zhang despite all the makeup and costumes still doesn't look like a geisha:

Zhang as geisha

Actual historical geisha

ETA: I realize all geisha do not look alike, but I hope the two pictures give you some idea of the large differences in appearance between the Chinese and Japanese.

This is getting off topic, but it's something I've thought about so ... indulge me. As a Chinese woman, I have mixed feelings about the Memoirs cast. In China, these actresses have taken quite a bit of flak, because Chinese and Japanese relations have historically been very poor. But forget that for a second.

On the one hand, I think it's wonderful that Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Michelle Yeoh are finally getting mainstream Hollywood recognition, because all of them have been doing wonderful work for years. Zhang in particular is my age, but I've never seen her give a bad performance and I've seen her give quite a few astonishing performances. If Gong, Zhang, and Yeoh get an Oscar nod I'll be thrilled for them.

OTOH ... I've seen stills and the trailer of the movie, and I thought something was terribly "off." And then I realized it: you can put Zhang/Gong/Yeoh in a kimono, wooden clogs, white makeup, and a split-peach hairdo, but they still don't look anything like geishas (or at least historical pictures of geishas). Because while it may not be obvious to Western eyes, Chinese people and Japanese people look absolutely NOTHING alike. Of course there are individual variations (my sister for instance is often mistaken as Japanese) but in general, their facial structure and features are completely different. I can't really explain it, but you can just tell.

Of course, in the end, it's a moot point, because there are far weirder examples of ethnic mixups in Hollywood history. For example, Natalie Wood (born Natalia Zakharenko) playing the Puerto-Rican Maria in West Side Story. And there are weird mixups in Chinese cinema too. For instance, in the recent "2046" Tony Leung spoke Cantonese, Gong and Zhang spoke Mandarin, and this other girl in the movie spoke Japanese, but none of them acted like their was any language barrier. Whereas in real life Cantonese and Mandarin are mutually incomprehensible, as is Japanese of course. I wondered about this weirdness until someone told me that in Asia, these movies would be completely dubbed over according to region/language, or subtitled, so there's often no attempt to match dialects in these movies. But still, as someone who speaks Mandarin, the movie was absolutely bizarre for this reason.

I have a couple of favorites that I find myself returning to again and again:

Romeo and Juliet - Fonteyn/Nureyev

La Bayadere - Asylmuratova/Mukhemedov/Bussell

Swan Lake - Makarova/Dowell

Giselle - Makarova/Baryshnikov. And I say this even though I found M.B. to be absurdly miscast. But Makarova's Giselle is one of those legendary portrayals that deserves every inch of its legendary status.

Ok my friend bought me "Memoirs of a Geisha" for Christmas and after reading it I can understand the critical pans the movie has gotten. And I'd say it's not so much a problem with the movie as with the source material. Arthur Golden wrote 2/3 of a great novel. Maybe even 3/4 of one. But the last chapters of Memoirs of a Geisha completely stretch credibility to the point of being ridiculous. Novels, like movies, need to get better as they proceed. Golden's novel peters out in the worst way.

I might see the movie, but after reading the novel, I can't say I'm really interested.

But has anyone seen Munich, Casanova, Brokeback Mountain, and Match Point? All are getting excellent reviews. If I werent holed up with a cold I'd see them myself.

Robert Browning wrote a whole series of "dramatic monologues" -- poems a couple pages long, that are tremendously fertile -- "My Last Duchess" would be a great piece to present. And they have the virtue of being not just condensations of great stories but themselves great poems.

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Along those lines, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "Lady Lazarus" are great narrative poems.

Does the SL Nureyev made for the POB resemble the Swan Lake he filmed with Margot Fonteyn? If so, I hate it ...

I think Frank Langella (Bill Paley) should definitely got a nod as Best Supporting Actor for Goodnight and Goodluck.

While we're doing supporting parts, I thought Rosamund Pike (Jane) was one of the best things about Pride and Prejudice, as was Brenda Bethlyn.

Rosario Dawson was also terrific as Mimi.

I predict the Oscar Best Actor category: Joaquin Phoenix, David Straithorn, Heath Ledger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and perhaps Russell Crowe as Cinderella Man, although that tanked badly at the box office and just doesnt seem to be getting the pre-awards buzz. Personally I hope Johnny Depp gets a nod in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." It was a really eccentric performance that IMO worked very well.

As for females, I think Reese Witherspoon and Zhang Ziyi will probably be nominated, as will Felicity Huffman, but after that it's an open book. And Reese will probably take away the statuette.

But it'll be the Best Actor category that's the race horse.