su-lian

Well, I'm sorry to say, but in the program of the Paris Opera's Balanchine triple bill, it says "this new production is danced in the New York City Ballet's black and white version, just as the choeographer ultimately envisaged it." Now, it is true, this is what is written, the official reason for giving Symphony in C instead of le Palais de Cristal, maybe there are some other reasons too.

In fact, now I've thought more about it, the Royal Ballet's version is the only one I know with a Sugar Plum Fairy...Maillot's version for the Ballets de Monte Carlo doesn' t have one, Bart's version for the Staatsoper in Berlin doesn't eother, nor does the Royal Ballet of Sweden one by .... I can't remember his name right now, sorry, and I don't think the version by mark Morris has one either...I can't remember, but it would very much surprise me!

Just a little detail, but I didn't quite like the way DianaVishneva ran on stage. The first time, she was doing very big steps and dragging her feet behind her, and then it was totally the opposite, she was doing vey little steps and lifting her feet very high behind her. But that may be in the choreography, I can't remember, so I'll see tomorrow. Anyway, I didn't like it too much.

OK, I'll try, but since there's a lot of controversy and I don't quite remmeber the ballet so well, I thought it might have been better to see it another time before. So, on saturday evening, it was Diana Vishneva, Manuel Legris, Yann Saiz, Stéphanie Romberg, Jean-marie Didière and Viviane Descoutures in the main parts. It is very true that Diana Vishneva is very good technically, beautiful arabesques, very nice arms...However, interpretation wise there are a few points about which I am a bit skeptical. For example, when she tries on the coat sent by Mr de GM at the end of act I, I found that it just looked like she was putting on her rain coat on a rainy day. Well, not really, but it seemed just normal. I would have seen her more hesitating at first, or otherwise, completely the opposite, very eager to see what it looks like, because, after all she is not used to so much wealth (or display of it). I think both ways could work, but it looked like neither of them. Otherwise, I couldn't see that well, so I can't really say if she had the right expression on her face etc. But overall, I think she was quite good, not extraordinarily fantastic, but not dramatically horrible either. I must admit that I didn't pay that much attention to Manuel Legris :eek: , but I think that considering he was unwell, he did well. There was one problem at the end of the last pas de deux of act I, I don't know what happened exactly, but when he makes her slide then turn and then slides next to her, suddenly, when she was sliding, she turned badly in the wrong direction, rolled on herself a few times, he had to let go of her arms and finally had to jump over her and lie down next to her, but they weren't close to one another, so he had to catch her legs and pull them towards himself! It was nearly funny! I really thought she would get hurt. I think the problem was that her back was too much "cambré" (sorry!) and her legs weren't even on the ground, so that's what made her turn in the wrong direction at the wrong moment. About Yann Saiz, I admired him for the risks he took during his variation in act II, but it's true that he probably wasn't too much "in" the role. Another incident happened, when he got shot, the blood wouldn't come out, so he started hitting his stomach to make it come out, but it still wouldn't, so he tried a few times and kept looking to see if it that bloody thing (sorry, not funny!) was coming out or not, and this too was quite funny although it was meant to be quite a dramatic moment. After a while, I though he would stop, because it seemed ridiculous if he got shot and the blood only came out 5 minutes later, and I think to the people who don't know the ballet, it wouldn't have made any difference, they wouldn't have noticed in any case, and they don't necessarily expect to see blood. Well anyway, it finally came out just as the curtain started to close. I thought Stéphanie Romberg was also very good technically, and her interpretation was OK, maybe just a little bit too "shy". Jean-Marie Didière was very good as M de GM, as he always is in these sort of characters. He is indeed a very good mime (and was also very remarkable as the Rajah in La Bayadère, and as Don Quichotte).

One can excuse Manuel Legris for not being at his best, because he has been sick for a few days, and this surely affected his performances with Diana Vishneva. I have also seen this cast, but am about to see Manon with Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire, so I shall psot more about it when I've seen them. Aurélie Dupont, from what I've heard, was very touching and everybody was glad to see her again. Clairemarie Osta also danced the role and apparently was very good too. But it is true that here also, people are very much divided upon Diana Vishneva's performance.

In fact, I checked and this video was recorded this year (january 2003). But I'm sorry to say that as far as I know, it's not available, probably because it's so recent.

Thanks! I hope so too, because I haven't even really practised it on the teacher's piano! One question since we're on the Munich forum, is it still Ivan Liska the director? I heard that he's quite a good at this job and he has been successful. What do you think?

Thanks Jasper! So it was the one I was thinking about, but I wasn't sure. I really love the piece they dance to as well: Chopin's 1rst Ballad, it was the piece that Chopin himself prefered amongst the ones he composed. It reminded him of "home", and in fact, it now sometimes has the subtitle "polish", but I don't think Chopin himself gave it this name, it was added later. (And I finally got round to play it myself! I've got to play it at my teacher's place next friday, but I'm not ready. Sorry for going off topic, but it's just to say that this piece as absolutely fantastic.)

Rkoretzky, I would say yes too, because it is the first time they give Le Palais de Cristal since 1993, and so some say it is only given once every 10 years, so you might not get another opportunity to see it before a long time. I'll be going as well! And you have to see Garnier. It is a magnificent building, and it feels very warm, with its red and gold colours, at least much more than Bastille with its blues and greys and blacks (although I love Bastille too, but the atmosphere isn't the same). Architecturally, it's nice too, and if you get the time just before the performance (it opens 45 minutes before), or maybe during breaks (I don't know if there are any), try to visit the Grand Foyer, the basement and the rest of the building, because it's really worth seeing (beautiful statues, paintings...)

Which one is the third Pas de deux of Kameliendame? I know the ballet quite well, but I don't count the pas de deux, so I don't know which is the third one. Ohad Naharin was born in Israel in 1952 and worked in New York with Martha Graham. He then danced with Béjart's company and later started choreographing in 1980. He then worked with Kylian and now has his own company. I can't say much more about him, since I have never seen any of his ballets, even though one of them was danced by the Paris Opera a few years ago.

You can! Here, in the Nureyev version, it's Clara (or Louisa, or whatever you call her, but here it's Clara) who does that variation.

Thank YOU very much! Not me!

I'm sorry to ask Grace, but is this finished?:confused: Or are you just waiting a bit before continuing so that we have time to assimilate it or because you haven't had enough time?

Isn't she still dancing with the Scala quite often? I thought she was, but I might be wrong (she was still dancing there last year).

No, it's not yet available commercially, that's why I didn't talk about it. I hope it will be soon. Probably next year?...Keep your fingers crossed. Although, that said, the dancing was very good, but the filming was quite bad.

Well, I'll try to do my best... Personally, I really love Robbins' ballets. I have seen The Concert, In the Night, Other Dances, The Cage and A suite of Dances. I haven't been able to see Afternoon of a Faun, and I am very sad about it. It was a ballet I wanted to see. In the Night is in my opinion, a very nice ballet, full of emotion, and it is wonderful to see how he uses the music and the dance to convey exactly the feelings we can't truly express with words. In addition, I am a great Chopin fan, it's what I love most with ballet. This is why I also want to see Dances at a Gathering, but it hasn't been done since 1993 I think. And I like the style a lot, based on a very classical 'vocabulary', but also those other very dary and unusual movements which neo-classicism allows (I don't know if Robbins is neoclassical, but that's more or less how I see him. Maybe there's also more.), like the portés and some promenades. And the costumes are very nice and the set or lighting quite unusual, and very pleasant. I like Other Dances for more or less the same reasons: Chopin, style, feelings, costumes... The Concert is also absolutely fabulous, at least, that's what I think. But it's not for the same reasons! I like the comic side of it, and it is interesting to see how Robbins picked out on some details that we don't pay much attention to (people coming in late...) and how he made them ridiculous, ironic, exaggerated...Both times I saw it, the audience was laughing out loud, including me. I was trying to keep serious at first, because, well, it's the Paris Opera, and people expect certain things of you, so I supposed even if it was funny, I wasn't meant to laugh, but then, when I saw even distinguished ladies and gentlemen were laughing, I relaxed a bit and laughed too. I also quite liked The Cage and A suite of Dances, but my memories about these two ballets are much more vague, and I can't really discuss what I found interesting or not in them, sorry. I can't really talk for other people, and don't know that many who are so interested in ballet, but I know two of my friends also liked Other Dances, it was in a programm with other ballets, and it was their second and third best after L'Arlésienne, and for the other, after The Cage too, but then, the other ballet in the programm was quite bad, so I don't know if it's that significant, but any way, even if it wasn't the one they prefered, they still liked Robbins quite a lot.

I don't know if this is relevant and interests you, but the Paris Opera Ballet has danced The Cage in october (2002), and in february-march 2001, and Afternoon of a Faun in december 2001-january 2002. About other of ballets by Robbins it has done recently, it has done Other Dances (last time was 2001), The Concert (2001), In the Night (2001), A Suite of Dances (2000).

Yes, thank you, silvy! I was wondering too who it was!

I hope you enjoy these! If you like the Paris Opera Ballet, there is a thread about its videos and DVDs. La Bayadère is a good one. Paquita has also been filmed recently, but it's not available commercially yet.

There are two versions of the Nutcracker that I know are available on DVD: -the one by the Royal Ballet, choreography by Peter Wright with Leslie Collier, Anthony Dowell, Michael Coleman, Julie Rose and Guy Niblett, it dates from 1985. It is the same version that is still danced by the Royal ballet. -the one by the Staatsoper of Berlin, choreography by Patrice Bart, with Vladimir Malakhov, Oliver Matz, and Nadja Sajdakova (? I can't remember her name), which is much more recent. The only one I know with an extra is Illusionen wie Schwanensee by Neumeier, in which Neumeier explains how he did the ballet, how the idea came etc, but it's not that long (maybe about 10 minutes).

I think there is one by the Royal Danish Ballet, from 1981, but I don't know if it's available commercially.

Well, in general, yes they are called "parterre", but at the Opera, they are "orchestre" in the front and "balcon" at the back because it's slightly higher. Then the seats right on top are called "amphithéâtre" and all the others are "loges". The orchestra and balcon are very good seats.

I suppose I would say it depends on what sort of red, but probably why not?

Well, once, at Garnier, I was sitting in the front row of the box right next ot the stage, looking straight down into the orchestra pit and literally just next to the stage. It was great because you could see everything in so much detail, but the problem was that you could also see the firemen standing with their arms crossed at the end of the backstage area. But otherwise, it's difficult for me to tell, since I don't know the terms in english for the places where you sit.

Yes, I was a bit diasppointed too not to see Mathieu Ganio, and about Aurore Cordellier, I thought it was a bit strange to give the rose adagio, because this gives a lot of importance to the girl, and the boys are just there to accompany her, so it's a bit unfair for them. Especially for the ones who didn't dance again later. The roles are totally disproprotionate. I was straight away surprised that this adagio was programmed, I would have felt the same if it had been an normal gala. But, to show how good I found it, I'll say that I would have very much liked to see it again, but unfortunately, I'm not here this week-end. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it!