Olivier

I just want to chime in quickly and shortly in defense of Alexei... I am so excited for him. He loves Russia, and he has tremendous respect and affection for classical ballet and dancers. His passion has no limits and I know that he values artistry before tricks. His choreography I believe is fantastic, full of humour and unexpected. He is a wonderful generous human being, and that is what is the most important for a Director I believe ! Good luck Alexei...

It is the Petipa choreographed version of the original Perrot from 1844.

FYI, Alla Shcherbinina who plays the Little humpbacked horse on the tape became Alla Savchenko and was Ballet Mistress with the RWB.

Can you explain what you mean please ?

That would be awesome... I saw POB perform the work about 3 years ago... Absolutely phenomenal...

Thanks for the info rg... Did you record it ? Or would anyone have a copy ?

Does anyone have a tape of Pina Baush's Rite of Spring ?

Where can I find that Thread with Victoria's quote ?

Does anyone have a tape of Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring ?

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet just finished filming a Dracula this past month. The choreography is by Mark Godden, and the music is by Mahler... It is a film version, not a live performance of it, and I don't know when it will be aired and where. It is a Canadian production, and it might take another few month of post-production. [ 09-25-2001: Message edited by: Olivier ]

ABT was in Kansas City, and have about 30 hours by bus to San Diego. Sorry for not mentionning Kansas City in my earlier post !

ABT is bussing to San Diego (about 30 hours). The dancers waived their overtime !

Our thoughts are with all of you on the East coast... I am so stunned...still can't believe it...shocked...! PNB closed for the day for security reason (Seattle Center grounds with Space Needle)... Glad to hear that most of you are fine... How can something like this happen ?

Thank you DDianne for this wonderful insight... You are truly an inspiration and we are fortunate to have you around on this board !

Great humour guys !!! Unfortunately, I think Hollywood is probably auditioning a Monica right now ! I don't think Gelsey would even make the list of Hollywood's future projects...too bad ! But : "Go...Vanessa !!!"

I remember when I worked with Alexander grant... He is quite a character...fun and quite charming... He helped a lot on Ashton's 'Facade'... It is a very hard piece to show on this continent...the humour has to be right ! And his help was very appreciated... We need more coach like him... People who knows from their own experiences... Olivier

Well...yes I did... He is on the tape of the Royal Ballet's Ashton, with Dowell and Sibley and Ashton/Helpman as the step-sisters... I thought he was a mess ! He's got the look and the charm, but his dancing was just not there... But you are right about his 'bottom'...very touching ! Olivier

That's right Alexandra...Alexander Grant did bottom ! (I always picture A. Grant in Cinderella...quite a disaster there !) I just could not forget Wayne Sleep's puck ! Amazing ! Olivier

I believe you would much rather enjoy Wayne Sleep as puck than Alexander Grant !!!

This is a very interesting debate... And I would like to point a few things out about the choice of live or taped music for touring... The base of the problem is of course economics...But when a company is faced with the decision, it is not only the Artistic Director's integrity that matters. What is appealing to presenters is a cost-effective company...a famous company (preferably), cheap to bring, that will guaranty sell-out...(because of the economy in their country, the Bolshoi and Kirov are very cheap companies to present). I think we should blame presenters integrity and interest also ! An the audience members need to raise their opinion, they are the one buying the ticket, if they were not satisfied with taped music, the presenters need to hear about it ! And Jonathan, you are right about dancers having a much harder time to make ballet look good with tape...Dancers start to forget the music, they don't have to pay much attention to it, it becomes a second nature and you loose the spontaneity of the dance...they loose connection and don't get any opportunity to play with the music, to respond to it or to use it properly ! Long live LIVE !!! Olivier

Just a guess... I'll bet you it was Gillian Murphy... Olivier

Well Katharyn... The 'Remanso' by Duato is a pearl ! Vladimir Malakhov, Keith Roberts and Parrish Maynard are really fabulous in it...It has a lot of Duato wonderful moves of course, but they really get to show off their pure technique also... Watch for 'The Leaves are Fading' Pas de deux with Amanda MacKerrow and her husband John Gardner...one of Tudor's finest achievement...(only the second pas de deux is performed on the Gala!) Kudelka's Pas de deux with Julie Kent and Robert Hill...a beauty ! I saw it from backstage live one day, when I was performing at a Gala...it is really moving ! Alessandra is great as Juliet... Susan Jaffe and Jose Manuel Carreno are very well matched... And if you like tricks then you're in for a treat with DonQ Pas de deux with Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella (but don't look for anything else than tricks !)... And Makarova was very glamourus in the opening (Sleeping Beauty)... Enjoy !!! Olivier

Yes Giannina, no rotation during the preparation, and a perfectly clean fifth position is the best...tecnicaly speaking. I have personaly never seen a "perfect" double tour en l'air (on tape or live). You have to see and judge what is attractive to you...if the absence of rotation in the preparation makes you go 'woaw !', and makes you appreciate the dancer, then all I can say is 'Great !'...What you can also look for is the position in the air during the tour, and the landing... But remember also that double tours can be really tricky since there are a lot of different ways to execute them...some lands in fourth position, some to the knee, some are left and some are right, some changing feet and some without. And like anybody dancers have preferences...righty or lefty...most dancers like double tours changing feet better than without changing feet (which makes the ones without changing more challenging for them). Well, I guess i'll need to go and work on mine, since PNB's performances at Sadler's Wells in London will be broadcast by the BBC. [This message has been edited by Olivier (edited 01-02-99).]

Sometimes taped music is required by the choreographer... For example : some Forsythe works have to be performed with taped music...His ARTIFACT II, have to be performed on a particular recording of Bach's Partitat No 2, Chaconne. A live performance by a soloist violonist could destroy the work, as it was choreographed on the special nuances of a particular recording. But I agree, a performance without live music, is missing the magic that happens when performers bound...

This is a very interesting question Celia... Acting is a very fine art, especially for ballet, you have to do enough of it for it to be seen in the very last row, but you can't do too much, otherwise it will just look fake and overdone. Also you have to be able to blend technique and acting together, that's another fine line. You can not just forget about your character when ballet steps comes along. Probably one of the hardest moment in ballet is in Giselle Act 1. When Giselle comes out of her house and meet with Albrecht. It is all choreographed, and it is suppose to look like a real conversation, except it's not, you have steps to do on a particular music. That entire scene is a real challenge for any dancer...it's a real test of talents...I can't stand when you see dancers doing the ballottes kicking their legs high, that scene is all about being gentle...they are dancers and should be able to lift their legs high anyway, but this is a really bad moment to show off...they have crossed the line that I was talking about ! I like to think that I become a character, but that would be wrong, because Romeo, Albrecht or Siegfried are not dancers, I mean they would never act the way we have to...so what I like to do is put myself in their shoes, and look like them, move like them, think like them...but staying myself, and try to find my own emotions to feel the way they would feel at any given time. When I am Romeo, I am totaly in love with Juliet, whoever Juliet would be...with Evelyn, we shared some wonderful moments on stage, it's easy to forget that you're performing sometimes, especialy Romeo, because you go through so much emotions in 3 hours...And I know that I feel every one of them ; the passion with Juliet, the hate for Tybalt, the anger with the death of mercutio, then the loss in the crypt, and the terrible decisions that you are facing. I think it's the best way to transcend acting...you have to be natural, and believe in your character...how would I feel, what would I do...then maybe we will touch someone in the audience and transported them somewhere beautiful, somewhere they can always go back to with their memories. Sorry I got a little carried away...I hope this answered your question Celia ?