cygneblanc

Letestu and Martinez are still friends but haven't been romantically involved anymore for some time now.

Clairemarie Osta and Nicolas Le Riche in Roland Petit's Clavigo were really special because of the intensity they put on it and their expressiveness, too. They were just them, and you weren't under the impression they were playing their parts. It was just them. They remind me of a pair that didn't danced but skated, the wonderful Ekaterina Gordeeva and the late Sergei Grinkov.

http://www.regardencoulisse.com/articles/article.php?num=839. Here's an interview of POB's AD. She's saying that NYCB will be in Paris in september 2008. Yeah I can't wait.

For the ones of you who are in NYC, Biarritz's Ballet (Director: Thierry Malandain) will be in NYC at Joyce's Theater in June with a new creation called "Le portrait de l'Infante".

She died from a long illness. http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2008/02/...a-est-morte.php May she rest in peace

Well Leigh, I'll be in Paris but I'm not going to Creteil. Mmded, I think it will be hard to find a last minute ticket

Here they're. Congrats to them all http://www.prixdelausanne.org/pdf/2008/Pri...rizewinners.pdf

Leigh, The cheapest Eurostar tickets are the ones sold in France as "Nasty price tickets". It's 77 euros for both your first ticket and your return tickets. These tickets can't be refunded, and you can't change them. Here's a link to the french website where you can buy them. I can't the site in English on my computer, I don't know why.. http://www.eurostar.com/FR/fr/leisure/late.../NastyPrice.jsp

Well, actually I just wanted to point that her dance doesn't look masculine at all on stage although to my mind it was on a video (the same you saw I guess). I wasn't expecting to see what I saw live, so it was a really nice suprise !

I saw her last week in the Corsaire, and I was quite impressed. She has grown a lot since I've discovered her as a teen during a documentary on the Bolshoi's school. She was quite frail at that time but has become a very solid dancer with an extraordinary technics. Even if her dance looks quite masculine on video, that's different on stage. Her solidity reminds me of Sylvie Guillem.

Legwarmer, if you wish to have an insight view of the compagny, you should definitively see Nils Tavernier's movie tout près des étoiles. http://www.amazon.fr/Tout-pr%C3%A8s-%C3%A9...5530&sr=8-2 There is an american version which I think has some subtitles in English. Can anyone confirm that ? http://www.amazon.com/Etoiles-Dancers-Pari...5631&sr=1-1 Otherwise, officially dancers have to dance what they're told to dance. That's what they're being paid for. But it appears that some of them don't usually dance the corps de ballet's parts in classical works. Although there are enough dancers to dance all these parts, a lot of them are filled by "surnumeraires" (dancers with a one year contract) or school pupils. Actually, and according to who you're, you can choose to appear rather or only in a type of works, but it has to do with internal politic, and how you're liked...a hard subject. Generally, always more dancers are becoming very fond of contemporary works, or at least, in the creative process involved, and-or by their relations with choregraphers. That's because of this reason that Maurice Bejart was so popular among POB's dancers.

Oh no, Legwarmer, you don't look stupid at all. I'm not of a member of POB, but some dancers have attended the same performing art school and/or the same ballet schools I attended during my childhood and some are friends. You have some dancers in the corps de ballet that usually dance only in neoclassic or contemporary works for a variety of reasons, and it seems that fine with the direction. But they sometimes have to dance in larger classical productions requiring a large corps de ballet as now when both Paquita and the Nutcracker are performed simultaneously. They dance in the corps for these production because they have to, and the Ladies part in Nutcracker are seen as being quite boring. That's why some weren't very motivated to dance them !

No, I didn't. casts weren't known when sales began. But SL isn't a last minute addition. And yeah, the idea of having the two biggest classical productions at the same time is strange, especially when one knows that children are needed in both. Youngest POB 's school pupils who won't perform in school performances were privated of an interesting opportunity to be on stage.

Thanks a lot for that review. It's always interesting to read a review with a fresher vision. I wonder how much my glance is distorded by habits. It seems there is a consensus among Frenchs to acknowledge a lack of rigour in POB's corps and a lot of synchronization problems and it looks as they were almost none the day you were in. You made me smile with your comment about Ladies in the first act because one of them who usually dance in contemporary works was as happy to get that part as me when I'm going to work every morning. She'll be happy to learn she's a good actor! Please don't see the reception of Miss Lunkina as an offense, because here standing ovations and flowers are very rare: you generaly get them the day you're retired or when you're promoted "etoile".

He's 20 years old and he's on a very fast track to become a big star. He gratuated from POB's school in june 2004 and was given a permanent position in the corps de ballet as a quadrille. He was promoted to the rank of coryphée in december 2005, to to the rank of sujet in december 2006, and this year to the rank of premier danseur (first soloist). The last rank of the hierarchy is "etoile". He 's seen, as a his fellow Mathieu Ganio, as as prodigy. I hope he doesn't get what he gets too earlier in his career and that he won't be burnt by injuries or something else. He has already danced the main part, or Colas, in Ashton's La fille mal gardée and Basilio in Nureev's Don Quixote. Some of you may have seen when he was younger because he competed in YAGP in 2001. He won a scholarschip to Harid's http://www.yagp.org/eng/gallery.asp?setnum...m=4Conservatory SI.

Thans a lot Chiapuris I also find that Georgiadis' designs for this ballet aren't the best. Actually, they are more than surprising when one knows designs he made for others Nureev's productions. I see we have a similar view of NW as Clara. The corps seemed to be better for the performance you attended than the for the one I saw. As for Paquita, mens are dancing the mazurka this year because POB pupils (9-13 years old) who should dance it are involved in the Nutcracker. There are very strict laws that are prohibing children to perform too often.

Here's of POB's school in 1974 when it was still located in Palais Garnier. A lof aspects are covered, including what looks as an English lesson! http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.p...total_notices=8

As I’m quite busy, i twill be a day by day review…I haven’t seen men’s competition due to a lack of time… Quadrilles : Compulsory : La fille mal gardée (Ashton), I, II, Lise’s variation Teenagers shine ! For me, highlights of this level were definitively were Amandine Albisson-Pivat (18), Eleonore Guerineau (19) and Aubane Philbert (19) (in alphabetical order). Amandine Albisson, as it was seen in school performances, is an excellent technician and has an atonishing theatrical maturity for one so young. She was a charming Lise, but displayed a raw elegance in Cigarette’s variation. She, as Aubane Philbert, deserved a promotion. Eleonore Guerineau was simply delightful. She will be a beautiful Giselle in a few years. She has a great musicality and just loves to dance. She possesses a very precise technique. She’s small and if her size was perfect for Lise’s part, it could have been an handicap for Etude’s Etoile Variation but it was not and she was brilliant. Congrats! I feel so sad for Aubane Philbert. Not only she’s a delightful young lady but she’s already an extraordinary dancer of her own. She has such a poetical style and; a bit like Claire-Marie Osta but in a very different way, looks inhabitated. She’s just luminous. She was a very pleasant Lise, and an amazing and extremely poetic Diane in Diane’s variation of Diane et Acteon. My own rankings are 1. E. Guerineau 2. A. Philbert 3. A. Albisson 4. F. Gorse 5. E. Hasboun I can’t say I’m thrilled with choices of judges, especially Caroline Robert that looked very ordinary. That being said, one can understand Ghislaine Reichert’s choice as she has been a quadrille for a very long time (20 years ?) and was excellent in Mats EK’s Giselle. F. Gorse two variations were good, and she was a classy Cigarette. Emile Hasboun’s Lise was charming and she surprised everyone with an excellent rendition of In the Middle. Others noticable dancers: Sophie Parczen, Valentine Colasante and Miho Fuji... See you later for coryphée's level !

Yes, we can say being ranked is a small honor. Men results Are promoted coryphées 1. F. Révillon, 2. M. Botto 3. A. Madin 4. G. Dominiak 5. C. Mitilian end of results 6. J. Cozette Are promoted "sujets" 1. A. Houette 2. V. Chaillet end of results 3. A. Renaud 4. G. Gaillard 5. S. Bertaud 6. D. Stokes Are promoted "premier danseur" 1. M. Heymann 2. S. Bullion end of results 3. J. Hoffalt 4. M. Gaudion 5. B. Bouché 6. N. Paul

Yes, this is an on stage competition for promotion. End of result means you have been ranked but not promoted. All competitors aren't ranked. Estelle: 5 positions of coryphée 2 positions of sujet 2 positions of premier danseur

Here are women's results. Men are competing tomorrow. results Are promoted "coryphées" 1. C. Robert 2. E. Guérineau 3. F. Gorse 4. J. Mathis 5. G. Reichert end of results 6. A. Albisson-Pivat Are promoted sujets 1.L. Pagliero 2. C. Granier 3. S. Mallem end of esults 4.C. Giezendamner 5. L. Levy 6. A. Cardinale. Are promoted "premiere danseuse": 1. E. Grinsztain 2. M. Zusperreguy end of the results 3. A. Bellet 4. L. Hecquet 5.K. Dayanova 6. A. Renavand these results are worse than worse figure skating scandals! A full review later!

Well, I don't think one can say that Nutcracker in Paris is a tradition-in-the-making. We have it for Christmas about every six years. I can't say tonight's Drosselmeyer was very memorable, so I will rather refer to my old tape, Laurent Hilaire being Drosselmayer. Here, Drosselmeyer's part is a part involving a lot of pantomine. He's quite mysterious but not sinister and definitively not at all spooky. He isn't a charlatan or a buffon either. I thin he's rather a caring uncle, but always distant and can have some fun but not on the buffon's mode. His mysterious temper is always there but he also seems very concerned about Clara when the Nutcracker is broken. I believe this mysterious trait and this restrained attitude are linked with the fact that in Nureev's translation of the story Drosselmeyer and the prince are one. The prince is the opposite of Drosselmeyer in the sense he doesn't have a restrained attitude and isn't mysterious. He's a beautiful and loving prince !

This year, Paris isn’t the only Nutcracker-free area in Europe. I have to say I’m more than disappointed by tonight performance, the only one I have seen until now because of strickers. Magic and sparkle weren’t there. Sceneries are desperately sad. The corps de ballet is terribly rough. A lot of dancers look demotivated and it’s more than conspicuous . Nolwenn Daniel and Christophe Duquenne are two very good individual dancers and both are strong technicians but as a pair it just didn’t work although they tried their best. Miss Daniel’s Clara is very artificial and lacks innocence, freshness and youth. To my mind, she isn’t a good fit for Clara’s part and it’s not her fault. I guess she would better in Paquita. Christophe Duquenne was an honest prince but he had better days. That being said, one can underline the excellent performance of Eve Grinsztain and Josua Hoffalt in the Arabian dance, the joy and professionalism of POB’s school pupils who were on stage (aged 9-14 years old), and the brilliant conductor Kevin Rhodes who’s doing a very, very nice work with our damned musicians each time he’s coming in. More over, he was the most acclaimed person with the kids and the Arabian dancers. I think I’m now going to cry while watching my old Nutcracker’s tape with Elisabeth Maurin and Laurent Hilaire

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/ind...t=BIBSH#details POB's school will perform Leo Staats' Soir de Fête

Personally, I like it very much. Although it is danced by POB now, I believe that it was danced by ROB. That being said, some don't like Nureev's reading of the ballet. I will let them explain why