Drew

I think (young) women are, in some contexts, implicitly and sometimes explicitly encouraged to wear less and less (by advertising for example) for reasons that don't necessarily have anything to do with thinking nothing is "wrong" with nudity. That is, women's fashions sometimes have less to do with freer, less repressed or neurotic views of the body than with the commodification and hyper-sexualization of women's bodies. The latter is entirely complicit with puritanical views of nudity, and definitely not a benign "let it all hang out" emancipation from body or gender hang ups. Of course, I am speaking primarily about the United States...other societies may reflect other norms etc.

I read your post with interest...What strikes me though is that ballet (classical ballet--not dance in general) emerged in a court society in which nudity was definitely neither a norm nor an ideal nor an acceptable social alternative so that even it were true that "we" are heading in that direction, ballet itself as an art form would be substantially changed if nudity were considered just another costume. And at a certain point it might no longer be ballet. It might be dance; it might be great art; and it might even be something ballet companies included in their repertories now and then just as they now include Martha Graham or Paul Taylor. But not ballet. (And yes....these distinctions seem important to me.) That is, I suspect certain ideals and norms are baked into the ballet cake -- you can push them, prod them, revise and reform them--indeed have to do so to keep the art alive--but at a certain point you are no longer eating cake. (For example when movement no longer stands in any relation to turn out whatsoever, not even a negative relation.) So I think I agree with critics cited above who see ballet as a stylization of the human body that extends it in certain ways and am skeptical that nudity could be merely another ballet costume. But I suppose it will be choreographers whose work finally decides the matter not my speculations! (The above goes along with your premise, but honestly I'm also not convinced we know which way these things are headed socially.)

A wonderful ballerina -- stunningly beautiful (and great at comedy too). I very much hope she can give a live farewell performance.

Thank you -- I often think how hard it must be for dancers who were planning to retire at the end of this season to have "lost" their final season dancing. (I assume some retirees I read about have re-assessed due to the Covid19 time away, but they too are ending their careers in an unexpected way that may feel abrupt and a little sad.)

Big news--sad that Watson's final season was no season at all. (Something he shares with any number of dancers and a real loss for all of them and their audiences.) He's a remarkable dancer and has had a remarkable career. I'm a little sad about Tristan Dyer as well--I only saw him twice (once in Scarlett's Age of Anxiety and once as Benno in Scarlett's Swan Lake) and found him quite interesting both times. (I don't remember ever having had the chance to see Montes). Wishing all three dancers wonderful and exciting futures...

I had not posted this before but a few days back Atlanta Ballet cancelled its Nutcracker season. I can only guess at the financial repercussions. Its season is now supposed to begin in February...Supposed...

Thank you. Goodness knows under the circumstances it’s easy enough to believe several of the artists have fallen ill. Wishing everyone a swift recovery .....and prudent leadership.

Not entirely unexpected reports of Coronavirus among the artists at newly reopened Mariinsky and Bolshoi theaters (I think only the former has had public performances); these websites are both ostensibly news sources, but I don't actually know how to evaluate these stories (esp the 2nd one which comes from a website with which I'm completely unfamiliar); I did notice on Instagram today three Mariinsky dancers I follow posting photos of themselves with masks --something I had not seen before from them: https://www.corona24.news/c/2020/08/08/rbc-reports-on-the-bolshoi-and-mariinsky-theaters-infected-with-coronavirus.html https://www.archyde.com/in-the-bolshoi-and-mariinsky-theaters-artists-were-quarantined-society-rbc/

Welcome to Ballet Alert -- it's great that you have developed a passion for learning about ballet. It is a wonderful art form.

From what I read, she died in her sleep at home....That seems like a gentle ending and I hope it was. May she rest in peace.

@dirac posted a link to an article about Helen Pickett's recent work with Boston Ballet dancers -- it dates back several weeks but I only caught up with it today and a search doesn't turn up any other discussion of it on this site. Pickett collaborated to create three short new digital works evoking the experience of sheltering in place during the pandemic. I'm posting a link to a more recent article about the work that was also shared on the balletcoforum site -- hoping to catch the eye of additional people. From the article: "'Home Studies'” is the first installment of a greater triptych and is composed of two duets and one solo, each piece exploring the experience of being 'cooped up' and how the emotions of that circumstance differ so greatly between individuals. Pickett also worked with British composer Peter Salem, who offered the stunning score for the pieces, as well as cinematographer and long-time Boston Ballet videographer Ernesto Galan to capture the project on film — both of whom donated their time and services along with the dancers for the sake of making art in this difficult time." The article includes separate links to each separate section of the work (each a little over 3 minutes long). I especially liked the solo--with it's V-shaped enclosed space heightening the feel of claustrophobia and, perhaps, the urgent need to move too--and the second duet. The dancers are LIa Cirio, Paul Craig, and My'Kal Stromile and all quite wonderful in these video vignettes: https://www.wbur.org/artery/2020/07/20/boston-ballet-home-studies-choreographer-helen-pickett

Goodness! When I saw there was a new post from you about De Havilland, I started preparing my "rest in peace ..." message...Evidently not. Hurray for Olivia De Havilland!

Solidarity! I'm worried about Autumn and, even more, winter. Fortunately I live someplace where we usually get a "late" summer and winters are not severe so I will be able to go outside sometimes. Still...it will be dark and dreary. (I am anticipating being sealed in until mid-spring at earliest, but at least once it's warm it's possible to get outside more.)

Thank you for posting...will look forward to reading more....

A long, rich life and career -- may she rest in peace...

Hello Hogmel and welcome. Sometimes even people who have been going to the ballet for years can't find the words to explain why they reeeeally like things! That's one of the mysteries of art....(But it can be fun to try to find them.)

A ballet legend...may he rest in peace....

Atlanta Ballet has just announced it is cancelling its Fall season and doesn't expect to return to the stage for regular "series" performances until February. I remain a little confused as to whether they are still hoping to have a Nutcracker season: https://www.atlantaballet.com/news/2020-2021-season-update For now, I am in an increasingly "hot" hot spot and very much wish there were a state-wide "face coverings" mandate here. There is not. Mostly I work from home but it's proving not always possible...Tomorrow I have to go into my workplace because of a computer problem. Not happy about that--and I don't think the tech person I'm meeting with is all that happy either....(We will both be masked.)

I would be very interested in the answer to @odinthor's question -- and very interested if any choreographer or company wanted to stage a suite from Petipa's choreography for operas. (Allowing that the source material is detailed enough, workable as pure dance outside the opera etc.)

A great figure....May he rest in peace. (Thank you for sharing the link.)

Hello @Giannina's daughter--Your mother's presence here is still missed. And thank you for that kind and generous offer!

My great Abrera Sleeping Beauty experience was when I saw her dance Princess Florine in Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty--I thought it was in every detail--down to her fingertips--the most beautiful, enchanting performance of that role imaginable. She danced with such purity and fluidity and inhabited so completely the fairy tale spirit of the pas de deux that one felt the whole spirit of the ballet was captured in her performance. Of course, I didn't get to see Abrera as often as many posting here, and I do think that performance of Princess Florine probably goes down as my favorite performance of all those I saw her give.

This is wonderfully helpful information. Sadly, for myself, I can't imagine doing any ballet-travel until there is a vaccine for Covid 19 or, perhaps, if a vaccine proves impossible, until the disease is much more under control and we have much better treatments for it.

I had the same experience as you--none of the posts I saw showed any irritation at being directed to the other hashtag. People found it helpful ... and, in turn, they wanted to be helpful. I've still been surprised at the degree to which companies and other organizations have felt they need to weigh in on the current protests. But mostly it's been a pleasant surprise. (One of the most strongly worded and explicit statements I read from an arts organization came from Atlanta Ballet--and, in the larger historical and social context, that did not surprise me.) Social media has its limits for sure, and most of us need a rest from it from time to time. But since (as we all know, even if our views on the situation differ) the current social media "noise" reflects things happening in the 3-D world, it's to be hoped some 3-D changes can still happen...

Seeing announcements of promotions and retirements at Ballet West made me realize I should post about the retirement from Atlanta Ballet of wonderful ballerina Nadia Mara who has been dancing here for 15 years. She is returning to Uruguay to become a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Uruguay -- currently directed by Julio Bocca. Mara was one of the company's best and most versatile dancers--and one who always "delivered." I even recall one or two performances where (almost) everyone else seemed to be having an "off" performance -- or to be out of their depths (cough...Paquita...cough) -- where Mara's reliability and charm helped to save the day. I always especially appreciated that while she was technically one of the strongest ballerinas I've seen here in Atlanta (especially pre-Nedvigin), all of her performances were gently infused with warmth and emotion. I treasure many of her performances but will mention two (where, in fact, the whole company was "on" but her performance was the stand out): the lead ballerina in Allegro Brillante -- not as fast as Tiler Peck (!) but more warmly romantic in a way that recalled to me things Tallchief has talked about as important to the ballet; and Marguerite in Helen Pickett's Camino Real, a role that calls on the ballerina not just to dance but to speak and even cry out in anguish which Mara did convincingly. Here is the company's notice about her departure--as they write, it's sad that Atlanta Ballet and its fans won't be able to see her off in person: https://www.atlantaballet.com/news/a-fond-farewell-to-nadia-mara