cygneblanc

Thanks for these reports, Helene. Yeah, the diner was lovely, and it was great to meet all of you. I hope you can come back some days and have some profiteroles!

She's living in the USA with her husband and their little girl. Together they're restaging some Robbin's works.

Well, you can say "the pot calling the kettle black" or "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?" I really wonder what she has in her head. I even wonder if these words are really hers!

http://www.evene.fr/theatre/actualite/inte...-paris-1306.php She's saying among others things, and I don't know if I should have a good laugh or be crying: "Today, modern dance is often put forward and one forget there is a classical technic, it's even becoming exotic" .

It looks as Manuel Legris will still be dancing with PON next year

Although I'm not their greatest fan, I'll have to acknowledge they'lle be missed. Romoli has a most often a very interesting and personal approach to his parts while I will remember Kader Belarbi mostly as a choregrapher. His "Hauts de hurlements" was the best creation we saw during the last few years.

Helene, it will be definively more relaxed on Sunday. For the ones who plan to attend, please send me a PM so I can give you my details if they're needed. See you soon!

OK, I checked things out, and it looks like the best thing would be to meet on sunday after the triple bill performance and before Helene's evening in Garnier. I suggest we meet at either the Clément (http://www.chezclement.com) or the Hyppo restaurant (shttp://www.hippopotamus.fr) on sunday 27 th at about 5.30 PM. It's not easy to find a restaurant where you can eat a late lunch or an early dinner in Paris, and much less on a sunday. Both are near Garnier, near from a metro station and easy to find. Otherwise, there are also a lot restaurants in the Bastille area for a late diner on Monday. If the majority can't choose, I think I will pick the Clement ! It would be great if things could be sorted tonight !

OK, I can try to arrange something. If we settle for Monday 28th, I'm afraid we'll have to go after your performances, because I won't be able to leave my work before 7 PM, unless we can go for lunch. And it's not easy to find a restaurant where you can have diner before 7 PM. For the ones who are interested, please PM me with what you wish to eat or not, when you're available, and the area you're staying in. Otherwise, maybe sunday for a late lunch ? See you soon!

PM ! See you soon

I like her fighting spirit very much. Actually, her biggest jump, the triple axel, wasn't ratified because it was cheated and there was a problem with the second triple flip. Her leg wrap on jumps prevents her from having high GOEs on jumping elements. That's explaining the low scores. You can see them here http://static.sportresult.com/sports/figur...c2008/index.htm

Mom2, for the women long program, there are plenty of videos on youtube now. Just type the name of the ladies you wish to see. The FD of the young canadians was amazing. They have some incredible basic skating for such a young team, although they have been skating together for more than 10 years. The softness of their knees made me speechless. For sure they will be fighting for gold next year.

Happy Easter to everyone !

LOL I sincerely there won't be any strickes when you're in !

Bart, I don't know what's shown on american TV but you can find links around the web. Please fell free to tell me if you want me to post them here. I saw ladies on turkish TV tonight and it worked very well. I'm so happy that Mao Asasa won. She was really amazing in the two programms despite her fall today. It was nice to see Carolina Kostner finally fought. Even if she wasn't perfect, she didn't give up. Whatever path she choose now, I hope that Miki Ando will do well, as well Kimmie Meissner. This girl is a fighter and one can admire her courage. She may rebound next year if she's finished with the puberty monster. What a shame Bebe Liang wasn't able to put it together for once. She's such a beautiful and interesting skater. Still, 10th isn't bad at all for her first worlds.

Well, Papeete, the AD told it would be a joint evening. POB will tour Australia next year again. I don't know if they will come to NYC. Nothing was said on that.

Well, Pietragralla said she's a part of the left but after all she could have some acquaintance with the actual power...The legion d'honneur is maybe a portion of the opening ? The subsidy per price is about 80% . I wrote once here the amount in a thread about Sylvia I believe. Yes I agree with your argument on the move from ballet to contemporary. It looks that some people have taken conscience that contemporary isn't that cheap after all. The focus is more on the so said elitist side of ballet. Of course I'd like to see more less known works, but if I have to choose between all the so great creations we get now and long series of generic works, I choose the second solution. At least our big corps de ballet would be dancing and given the situation now, it wouln't harm it... for saint Germain: it was a night with some pas de deux and some small groups. The article was wrote by one of the city's council member (conseiller municipal) of the socialist group against the mayor (UMP). Since this mayor has just been elected again on the first round, one can presume that his citizens aren't too unhappy with him. The most famous dancers of the city are Christianne Vaussard and Elisabeth Platel. Well, as for ballet, I agree some people are afraid of Garnier, but not of their city theater..

http://www.operadeparis.fr/Saison-2008-200...cle.asp?IdS=599 It's a "gala night" with both compagnies

Well, actually, to my mind, contemporary dance is much more elitist than ballet. Everyone can go to see a ballet production and enjoy it without knowing anything about it, wich isn't the case with comtemporary dance, at least the one we have in France. I'm even not certain one can call some of these works dance. In spite of a clear lack of visibility of ballet, little girls are still dreaming about it. Blogs and boards hold by french teenagers and young girls are flourishing. Theater are full when there is by chance a ballet production, even in rather poor suburbs, as Massy or Créeail. That being said, I like very much the irish shows, too, even if celtic legends is rather pale imitation of Riverdance and Lord of the dance.

President Sarkozy is a good friend of former POB director Hugues Gall, but I think besides that, he hasn't a particular interest in arts. He likes popular things and was being reported by his former wife not to be particularly fond of music and ballet. He went with her because she liked it, but that was all. One cannot say Carla Bruni isn't an educated lady and for sure she knows art but from what I've heard she is more into litterature and painting than music and ballet. I don't think Christine Albanel has a special interest in ballet. The health minister has, and she's often been seen at POB. I think but I may be wrong that the prospects for state-funded classical arts may not as a bad as it has been said. Our intelligensia is yelling now and it's true there are cuts in t state's subventions. But the goal is to have profitable institutions. It's true some theaters in province will be affected, or at least their lyrical productions. Ballet won't suffer since there aren't any ballet compagnies in province except in Bordeaux and Toulouse but contemporaries center certainly will. By the way, it is reported there are some problems in Marseille (anonymous letters against the director). What's curious is that Marie-Claude Pietragralla, who has a very contemporary compagny, in her last book denounced all this public funded compagnies and pleaded for ballet! It has been shown classical arts are generally profitable. You have to queue a long time in order to see some expositions, a lot of classical concerts are sold out 6 months in advance. What we can say is POB, as "a mirror", will have to be profitable and probably will come back to a more classical approach. As a tax payer, I noticed the public funds are given to anyone doing everything in dance but ballet, and that has to be ended, as some very bad ideas carried by the left. To give you an exemple, POB came for one night in Saint germain en Laye, one of the two royal cities with Versailles, about 20 kilometes from Paris. Tickets were cheap, the theater was full, with a lot of kids. But the left wrote an article in the local newspaper where it was said that ballet is elitist and ins't interesting anyone anymore. They were pleading for having what they're calling a popular show like "celtic legends", if the right really wants to have dance in this theater...

I think JGB has some projects abroad. One teacher position is available because Noella Pontois who turned 65 got retired and Ghislaine Thesmar will get retired soon, too. So there are some possibilities for JGB to teach at POB but I don't know if he wishes it. Well, BL will stay until she turns 65 if she can. She'll have to leave at that age. Yes, her directorship is the longer since Lifar, and she has been there since 1995. Yeah, I mean Paris' audience will rush to get tickets for NYCB and other european audiences too since tickets will be cheap according to british standarts eg. I believe for London's tours the most expensive tickets were about £200. In Paris they will about 80-100 euros.

Well, I guess it will be very, very difficult to get tickets for NYCB's performances. As for ballet, Yes, I'm as thrilled as you. The word now in France is that public funded institutions have to be profitable. Since tickets sales for contemporary works are very far from being great, they have to plan works which will fill theaters. And the personality of the new director who will be around in 2009 (Nicolas Joel) is less eccentric than Gerard Mortier's one. We can presume POB will be more classical in the next few years.

Since Jean-Guillaume Bart is now retired as a dancer, he will asked to do a full lengh work in the future, who knows ? Divetimento was danced (very well!) by POB's school two years ago.

POB's next season was announced today to AROP's members. It's far better than the current one. So we'lle have next year: New-York City Ballet - Balanchine: Divertimento , Episodes, Vienna's Walz - Balanchine/ Robbins/ Tharp: Serenade, Symphony in 3 movements and ? -Balanchine/Martins/ Wheeldon/Robbins: Duo concertant, Hallelujah Junction, After the Rain, Dances at a Gathering - Wheeldon, Balanchine, Martins, Robbins: : Carousel (A Dance), Tarentella, Barber's Violin Concerto West Side Story Suite NYCB/POB: Balanchine: Apollo, Sonatine, George Balanchine: Symphony in C Robbins: Suite of Dances Robbins' triple bill En Sol Triade (creation of Benjamin Millepied) In The Night The Concert Jose Martinez Children of the Paradise (creation) Nureev Raymonda Béjart's triple bill Serait-ce la mort, L'Oiseau de Feu, le Sacre du Printemps School of POB Péchés de Jeunesse La Somnambule Yondering National Ballet of China Le Détachement Féminin Rouge Sylvia Lifar/Petit/Béjart's triple bill Suite en Blanc L'Arlésienne Boléro Preljocaj Le Parc Neumeier third Symphony of Malher Young dancers night Cranko Onegin Gat/Duato/Preljocaj triple bill Hark! White Darkness MC14/22 Petit Proust ou Les Intermittences du Coeur Ashton La Fille mal gardée We'll have a blast!!! I can't wait

Actually, Lucia Lacarra was never a dancer of POB but she danced with the Ballet de Marseilles under Roland Petit. Cyril Pierre is a former pupil of POB's school but didn't made it into the compagny.