Cliff

Some titles that will never be used:

Robocop Usher

Die Hard at the Ballet

Friday the Thirteenth Nutcracker

Dawn of the Dead Sleeping Beauty

Star Wars Episode Two: Giselle Strikes Back

Originally posted by BalletNut:

How would you respond if asked why you like ballet?

One can always respond with, "why do you not like ballet?"

I've thought about it a lot and hypothesize that I like ballet for several reasons: It is beautiful and has a structure that intrigues my analytical mind. Also its a good excuse to learn about an obscure topic.

Cliff

[ 07-14-2001: Message edited by: Cliff ]

Going back to Leigh Witchel's comment,

Originally posted by Leigh Witchel:

On a previous thread, Jeannie mentioned that the driving economic force behind ballet until the last century were monarchs and rulers.  I added that politics probably shaped ballet - it began in monarchy that probably accounts for the hierarchical structure of most ballets, emulating a court with the ballerina at the top.

Hadn't the age of royalty passed by the 18th century? It seems to me that if the political ethos of the times shaped ballets, then the Enlightenment should have left its mark. Such as a ballet about a congressman and an intern...

Cliff

Its not just ballet and the arts, other fields also get the one-sided treatment. Consider the game of chess. According to popular culture, run of the mill chess players are socially inept nerds. Those who study and become strong players are rewarded with insanity.

Commercials are very time limited... how much can one say in 30 seconds? I suspect that media people both rely on and create stereotypes as a kind of shorthand in order to pack in more material.

It should be mentioned that many public libraries carry ballet videos. Rental is free.

My favorite is volume one of the Balanchine collection. I intend to purchase my own copy becuase it stands up to repeated viewings.

Cliff

Perhaps Myrtha is the Wilis queen because she was a queen before her death. Giselle dates from the 1840s and the 1840s audience might assume a continuity of royalty in life to royalty in death.

Cliff

I was disappointed by _Les Presages_. Not by the technical quality of the dancing (which is difficult for me to judge), but that it didn't engage me and it went over my head. Something didn't connect. Maybe on a 2nd viewing it makes more sense.

I enjoyed the music and the sharp energy of _Viva Vivaldi_. This was followed by a sad and affecting and memorable _Lilac Garden_. These two were a good contrast.

Cliff

Regarding colors, purple was long associated with royalty because purple dye was rare & expensive.

Are there any ballets with a Green Knight? I vaguely recall that a Green Knight represented nature in the Arthurian myths.

Cliff

The argument that work for hire is not subject to copyright law sounds peculiar. Work for hire affects the ownership, not the rights. For example, newspapers & magazines copyright their contents even though the work is normally done for hire. I have patents that are owned by a former employer.

I'm not an attorney nor an IPR expert, so this is merely an opinion.

Cliff

Not to defend any particular advertising, but different types of ads will appeal to different people. The target isn't, or shouldn't, be the balletomanes. Ads should entice new people into the door.

Cliff

I can think of several authors whose books would be a challenge to adapt: Henry James, Joyce, Hunter S. Thompson,

Plus several difficult movies:

My dinner with Andre, The Terminator

Cliff