canbelto

I was distressed by Galina Ulanova's powder blue costume in Romeo and Juliet. I hated the puffy sleeves and the muumuu style. IMO it looked like a Kmart nightgown that made Ulanova look like she had fat arms and short legs.

I also don't like Giselle costumes that are too 'peasant.' An example is Lynn Seymour's chocolate brown dress in the film she made with Nureyev.

And pepto bismol pink always bothers me. The best example would be Irina Kolpokova's pepto tutu in her Sleeping Beauty film. (And I love wearing pink.) Puke yellow also bothers me. Viviana Durante's costume in *her* Sleeping Beauty was way too yellow.

The most bothersome though was the extremely sheer dresses in Balanchine's Midsummer's Night Dream film. Especially the fairies (including Suzanne Farrell). I saw this at the NYPL and kept staring at Suzanne Farrell's boobs and the fact that she's an outie. And that Arthur Mitchell was wearing the city's supply of bronze glitter.

For pretty dresses, I love Diana Vishneva's gorgeous red tutu in Firebird, Sylvie Guillem's stylish flapper dress in Act 2 of 'Cinderella', and Margot Fonteyn's "Marguerite" costume. There also IMO is nothing as gorgeous as seeing the lineup of any corps de ballet's white swans or wilis.

I've seen the complete POB Sleeping Beauty. It has a lot of good things I associate with the POB, like lavish production values, the perfect corps, and technical perfection of the soloists (Dupont and Legris). Nureyev's production drastically reduces the Lilac Fairy's part in the vision scene and instead gives a long seven-minute solo for Legris, which I dont like at all. Dupont and Legris's fishdives in the last act seem too prepared to be effective, but otherwise both turn in excellent performances.

Polina Semionova is the beautiful Cinderella in Malakhov's staging in Berlin. Malakhov himself is on pointe shoes and is quite the ballerina !

Civil discussion is fine, but disrespect is not. If you weren't there to see for yourself, then I don't think you have the right to be snooty.

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I dont think anyone is being snotty. I only think it's snotty to assume that by chance, because I was born after Fonteyn stopped dancing, that I must know next-to-nothing about ballet and that I should thus shut up. Standards are standards. In some ways Fonteyn was excellent (her sense of line, her steadiness, her personality.) In other VIDEOS (such as the Vienna Swan Lake video) her talents are not very well-displayed. They pale in comparison to her other videos.

I'm going to start taking beginner ballet classes next week. Dancing has always been my #1 phobia and I think ballet classes would help me build confidence, stamina, and also perhaps help with a lot of other issues I've been dealing with. Trouble is, I'm 26. So does anyone have any advice on how to handle the awkward stares and everything? I'm just terrified a group of bunheads will start squaling in laughter when they see me. So I'm excited, but really nervous at the same time.

OTOH, taking ballet classes just gives me an excuse to do something I already love: shoe shopping

But dancers like Natalia Makarova aren't Bolshoi-trained at all and yet they also effortlessly melded the bird and the human together. Odette/Odile, IMO, shouldnt just be a ballerina with a white tutu and furry white headband. The "soul" of the bird should be there. When I saw Nina Ananiashvilli dance this, I forgot honestly where the bird ended and the human began. I'll never forget it.

Well one thing I pride myself is the fact that I call a spade a spade. I enjoy many historical performances, as well as contemporary ones. For instance I dont think Alicia Alonso's fouettes in the black swan pdd can be improved. Tanny LeClercq's finale to Western Symphony is something I cant imagine being bettered either. And Natalia Makarova's Giselle is probably always going to be a standard for me. But Margot Fonteyn's performance in this particular video of Swan Lake? There's no kind way I can put it: she's not good.

For a better representation (IMO) of Fonteyn's Swan Lake, I'd say the 1960 film is better. It's really cut, and you only see the second act pdd really, but I have to say she's less obviously "over her head" there. The Nureyev filming experience was evidently not happy -- they fought over the ending, Fonteyn was unhappy and insisted on no closeups. I really dont think it's a very good souvenir of Fonteyn AT ALL.

Good souvenirs of Fonteyn: the recently issued Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty from VAI. The R&J with Nureyev. The Les Sylphides, Aurora's Wedding. Various films of Marguerite and Armand. The film of Firebird and Ondine. all of those are much, much better than this Swlan Lake, which I really like to think of as a blemish on two masterpieces -- Fonteyn and Nureyev.

I have the video, and I think Fonteyn's Swan Lake was one of her worst video outings, EVER. She's saddled with Nureyev's rather unorthodox production, but she also seems shaky on balances, and sorry, her arms are rather floppy and inexpressive *in this video* I think. Compare the way Natalia Makarova or Maya Plisetskaya use their arms in Swan Lake -- now THOSE are wings. Or to compare to Fonteyn, she uses her arms to much greater effect in the Firebird film or the Giselle excerpts. I was SO disappointed in this video. I thought I'd see an incandescent performance, but the whole thing was so earthbound. The corps? Unacceptably sloppy, and cramped on a too-small soundstage. Nureyev looks hideous with his bright-blue eyeshadow.

Also, I've seen quite a few modern-day Swan Lakes and they are anything but "soulless." (Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine to think that ballet's soul died with Margot Fonteyn.)

I order from digitaleyes.net. Very cheap, free shipping, and so far theyve been reliable.

I also think that it's not just about knowing when to retire. It's knowing what you can still dance, and what is beyond your ability. I think Mr. B did it the right way with Melissa Hayden. He knew it was time, she knew it was time, so Mr. B did things the kindest way possible: a farewell ballet (Cortege Hongrois). And a new role for Mr. B: flower boy. It'd be nice if every ballerina's retirement were so sweet, but that's just not possible

I think the time to retire is when the company starts planning "anniversary galas" for your benefit on a regular basis.

Margot - i'd like to see a ballerina play her. Maybe Leanne Benjamin? I have both Margot's and Leanne's Firebird and was struck by the similarity of both appearance and style between these two dancers.

Tito - Antonio Banderas, ask him to gain like 15 pounds.

Constant Lambert - Anthony Hopkins

BQ - Dame Maggie Smith

Madam Ninette - Meryl Streep. Theyve even got the same nose. If Meryl's not available, Laura Linney.

Rudi - Definitely Malakhov! They've got the nostrils, they flamboyance, the talent. Oh I can't wait.

Bobby Helpmann - Rupert Everett

Frederick Ashton - Ian McKellan

Kiera Knightley I'd think would be better as Antoinette Sibley, being young and blond and capturing Dame Ninette's heart. (I mean, after Margot and Rudi, from all accounts it was Sibley that Madam was crazy about.)

With some makeup, Emma Thompson might be a good Tamara Karsavina. Little cameo role. Emma Thompson's so good at portraying goodness.

Gottlieb doesn't shy away from this "character flaw" either. In fact, I found his book more candid and it gave me a greater understanding of Mr. B, warts and all. For instance, Gottlieb theorizes that Mr. B's inability to find lasting love with any "muse" or woman perhaps stems from his extremely lonely childhood. Gottlieb also touches upon some episodes that show a less-than-pleasant Mr. B, including the incident with Erik Bruhn. If anything, I think Gottlieb's mini-biography is less hagiographical than Bernard Taper's much longer biography. There, I think Taper really did whitewash or brush aside any implication that Mr. B was less than a saint. But from Gottlieb's book I got a picture of a flawed, perhaps lonely person who definitely had feet of clay.

And this is going way way off topic, but recently i saw "Dancing for Mr. B" and that also gives us a good picture of Mr. B the man, warts and all. Particularly painful is Allegra Kent's interview, where she ends up biting her lip, near tears, as she says, "I really liked the way I danced sometimes." Gives a hint of the power Mr. B held over his ballerinas.

Strangely enough, Two Pigeons. That absolutely broke my heart when I saw it.

My favorite dancers are often the ones that despite imperfect technique really "go for it." An example is Natalia Makarova, whose turns are somewhat weak, but went at them doggedly nonetheless. Altynai Asylmuratova is not a strong turner either -- in the videos she often just barely saves her pirouettes. Rudolf Nureyev also seemed to have trouble finishing his turns.

Carla Fracci jumps immediately to mind. Definitely not a "tutu" ballerina and someone told me once, "Look at her feet." I did -- I agree, her turnout, etc. were far from perfect. Nevertheless I love her.

I was thinking that Diana Vishneva's Firebird is only appropriate if you think the Firebird is really "afraid" of the Prince. Leanne Benjamin's Firebird is -- she writhes and struggles, and her eyes bug out in fear. Nina Aniashvilli is also afraid. Diana is not. She plays the Firebird as the eternal siren. Knowing, cunning, firy, sexy, and above all, elusive. Her natural personality perhaps doesnt include a kind of stark fear, but still, I think her portrayal is in its own way extremely compelling, if not completely literal. Of all the Firebirds I've seen she's the most birdlike, always out of grasp by a hair. Her sharp, flirtatious expression enhances this effect. I am very glad I have this memento of Diana, as I'm rapidly turning into a huge Vishneva fan.

The whole time I was watching Vishneva in Rubies I remembered Natalia Dudlinskaya in a documentary demonstrate port-te-bras. "Arms must be soft, but tough." I've seen the NYCB dance Rubies and the greatest difference IMO was the port-te-bras. The NYCB dancers adopt a more post-modern port-te-bras, with hard jutting elbows, stretched fingertips. Vishneva danced the same music and really did a wonderful job with the staccato, jazzy, sexy style of the piece, except her arms were obviously still of the Vaganova schooling: soft, fluttery. But it just goes to show that there is more than one way to dance Balanchine. I'm not sure how much of Vishneva's Rubies was in the Balanchine style, but it was a joyously danced, energetic performance that I am glad I saw.

The unexpected delight for me was the two Petit works, La Prisonierre and Carmen. L'arlesiane I simply did not get. Lacarra and Pierre got the loudest ovations of the night, perhaps because they were the least well-known yet danced so beautifully.

Last night my tall ballerina prejudice was shattered forever: I fellt deeply in love with Diana Vishneva It was so strange seeing Rubies danced in a style so different from what I had seen at the NYCB, yet, at the same time, so right. Diana I love you.

Oh and Alina, please, please, please, come back to NY soon. Sniff. It's a rare ballerina where every pose she makes is a work of art, but that's Alina. I thought Johan was a surprisingly stiff Albrecht though.

I was bothered by Anasanelli's port-de-bras during Le Corsaire. She hung her arms off her sockets like a stickman, as if she didnt know what to do with them. But her fouettes, oriented in a circle, and then in a straight line, were stunningly well-executed (until the final one where she almost fell).

Angel must be so sick of Le Corsaire pdd by now ... Yet the pro that he is, he danced it as if it were the first time. What a joyful dancer.

I'd say Alicia Markova becoming a ballerina at the age of 14 in the Ballet Russes is too young, but it seems ot have worked out well for her

Ditto Vaslav Nijisnky, Rudolf Nureyev, Alla Sizova, and Maya Plisetskaya, all bypassing the corps after graduation, but it worked out well for them too Oh and Diana Vishneva.

I was thinking exactly such, as I write my bits yesterday.  BUT....Fonteyn had the greatest coach imaginable in that role:  Tamara Karsavina, the original Firebird herself!

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Well, coaching IMO only goes so far. For instance Svetlana Zakharova, Galina Mezentseva, and Altynai Asylmuratova were all coached by Olga Moiseva, but they're very different ballerinas.

I also agree with Richard53dog that there's a difference between "casting against type" and "miscasting." To stick to Fokine, MISCAST I'd say would be Mikhail Baryshnikov as the Spectre. His blond, wholesome persona looks awful as the dreamy Spectre, and there's way too much blatant showboating to make this piece work. Herman Cornejo was perhaps cast against type in Spectre -- after all, Herman is also known for his puckish grin and boyish persona. But he made the Spectre unforgettable, and brought out the very best in Xiomara Reyes.

But in the case of this video, I really failed to see either casting against type or miscasting. No one looked instinctively "wrong" here. If they failed to be as memorable as past Kirov interpreters, that;s: 1. dancing badly, or 2. being new to the roles (and thus not as comfortable).

Carbro, thanks for the info. Carlos Acosta doesnt SEEM that tall, but this might be illusion: his boyish demeanor, his long, muscular legs, and his super elevation.

I think again, dancers that are too tall (Erik Bruhn, Peter Martins, Jonathan Cope) can give the impression of stiffness, while medium height dancers are better able, just like medium height ballerinas, to convey the illusion of elevation and suspension in the air. Think Angel Corella, Rudolf Nureyev, Carlos Acosta, Yuri Soloviev, Nijinsky obviously. But there are of course exceptions -- Marcelo Gomes for instance is tall but also has the feline grace and elevation in his jumps.

Not to mention, would Margot Fonteyn be thought a "natural" Firebird?

And specific to the Kirov, was Altynai Asylmuratova a "natural" Aurora?

I think miscasting is miscasting when clearly the dancer is unfit for the role. Like, can't dance the steps. Or is personally so wrong that it becomes overwhelming.

Otherwise, if a dancer can make something new of the role, put a personal stamp on it, even if he/she isnt "stereotypical", I think that's part of the joys of ballet.