Pamela Moberg

Having seen on Swedish TV the incredible weather in South East US, I do hope that all BA posters (others of course too) are OK. Bart, you are from there, arent you? Everything OK?

Indeed, I have great sympathies - last beginning of January we had a hurricane here. I was not badly hit, amongst other trees, I had one pear tree - rather big one - totally uprooted like a giant hand had done it, or the way you pull out a weed by the roots. Very scary indeed. The forces of nature...

Still, I do wish you luck and hope that all are fine and property undamaged.

"End of an Empire: the last tsar's lavish life on show"

There will be an exhibition in Edinburgh, Scotland and it will run until 30 October.

The Royal Museum has over 400 items on loan from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It will probably be a handy digest of items that one could take in.

The Hermitage Museum is so vast that even if you spent entire days there for a whole month you would only see a fraction.

I am thinking about going there. Anybody interested? It would be nice to meet some British BalletAlerters.

Thank you for that, Bart! I wasnt even aware that this site existed - but some of the names are familiar to me. There are a few small companies in and around Gothenburg, well, it might be incorrect to call them companies, I would say groups performing at various venues. As they all do modern dance (and some of it distinctly weird) I have actually never seen any of them.

So there is no classical ballet to be seen in Gothenburg and we can now assume that the opera ballet will follow the hitherto familiar track with only modern stuff.

The Gothenburg Opera has got a new ballet master for the coming season.

French-Canadian Mireille Leblanc.

I have heard the name, but dont know much about her.

What are we to expect? Anybody knows something of her work

According to my old tome there seem to have been several versions of "Delire" about.

One such version, referred to a "pantomime ballet in one act" was arranged (whatever that might mean - he did his own version?) by Alexandre Fuchs and performed at the Stockholm Opera between Oct. 1845 - June 1849 - a total of 15 performances.

Johansson did definitely not dance in this one as he was already living in St. Petersburg by then.

The title of the ballet is translated into Swedish - "Målarens drömbild" and quite literally in English it would be "The painter's dream picture".

Ha, I did the solo waltz in Les Sylphides! Me, at 5'8''!!! It must have been awful... No, it was awful and I am truly ashamed although I really tri ed very hard, but it was not my style.

Well, we will forget about that.

But really, I think I could have been a real good Giselle. Never got the chance, though.

Afraid I havent got my books close at hand at the moment, so I cannot answer the question.

But never mind, my beloved Pehr Christian Johansson was mentioned on this board... Heavens, what joy, I thought he was forgotten by everybody except myself.

When I find out, I hope I will be able to answer. I have only one letter that Johansson wrote to Bournonville from P-burg and there is nothing there. :huepfen024:

It is an extraordinarily beautiful movie - like nothing else one has ever seen. I felt moved almost to tears thinking of that once I had walked through these large rooms.

What amazes me is that it was actually shown in a movie theater here and ran for a few weeks - that in a small town...

Before I swoon here I must say something. Could it be "Chalon"?

In that case, my dear, you really have something.

Alfred Edouard Chalon was a Swiss painter and lithographer 1780-1860.

In those days I wouldnt say they were churned out by their millions, but there was a fair amount about. Then with time most have been ruined or simply thrown away by people inheriting what they would have called oldfashioned sentimental rubbish. So a real Chalon costs a few dollars today.

I would be very happy indeed to own a real Chalon, especially of Pas de Q.

There used to be a shop off Charing X Road in London called "The Witches' Ball".

They used to sell authentic lithographs of dancers, but I could never afford a Taglioni. Any Londoners know if that shop still exists?

Thanks a lot, Julie, for telling me about the book, I didnt even know of it.

I am planning a trip to Edinburgh to see the exhibition "End of an empire: tsar's lavish life on show". There might be something about ballet, though I doubt it. Anyway, it will sure be an interesting exhibition.

Every time I go to England I love to browse book stores (you should see similar establishments in this country...), so I will certainly buy it there. After the success with the TV movie, lots of Potteriana was issued - though not as bad as with Harry Potter, of course. My daughters have a comprehensive selection, and so do I.

Not a bad thing, imagine that people in general were influenced to buy the stuff after having seen of all things a BALLET. One can hardly believe it is true.

Didnt mean to sound so sarcastic, but when one has reached a certain age one begins to despair.

"Tales" is indeed wonderful. A work of art in its own way. I have never seen it on stage, but the Swedish State television has had the good taste to show it every year for Christmas. My daughters used to love it, we bought our first video recorder in 1981, so of course I recorded it. They used to view it so often that come the fall, the tape began to show signs of wear and I made a habit of doing a new recording every Christmas.

And there certainly are some glorious moments, I think the fandango on top of the table is my own favorite. Not to mention Black Berkshire Pig, danced by Brenda Last who used to take class with Madame Nordi when I went there. She was such a talented dancer and a lovely person.

After all there viewings when the girls were young, I still take it out at times and I enjoy it as much as the first time. You can always discover small details you hadnt noticed before.

Bart, I think I can sort out a bit of Spanish terms for you. Indeed I had a school in Spain for some years where I taught "Ballet clasico" and not "Baile clasico". The baile bit refers to old court dances. Various types of dance have been forbidden on and off in Spain. Sarabande was an old "baile" that was forbidden at one time. So was flamenco also at one time. Then you have folk dances, like the jota and also the flamenco - jota in the middle of Spain and flamenco in Andalucia. Problem is that when you talk to people they think that flamenco is typically Spanish, whereas it is only danced in Andalucia. Not surprising, 99% of all tourists go to

Costa del Sol where they are likely to see some kind (usually quite indifferent) display of stamping and clapping. To get to see the real thing is not easy, but that will have to be another thread.

Not until very recently has what we call classical ballet taken root in Spain, I feel like quite a pioneer, there had never before been a school of classical ballet in the town where I lived.

Also, I could recommend a very good book that sorts out all these terms. Unfortunately I dont seem be to able to lay my hands on it right now - must be somewhere though. Anyway, the author is Caballero Bonald and it was published

1957 or 8. Text in English, I remember buying my copy in Beaumont's legendary

book shop in London. :rolleyes:

Helene, Bart and Viviane,

Thankyou so much for that wealth of information! DD sends her regards and thanks as well.

She will be leaving on Friday for a crash course in Dutch. But as this is some kind of European Union exchange, lectures will be in English. Schedule looks a bit tough, but she hopes to see some performances at least so she can report to me.

And as I told her, studies first, then fun and games!

But what a pity, she will miss the Bolshoi, as she will be back in Sweden just before Christmas.

Wasn't it the Indian dancer Ram Gopal who said that a dancer ought to be musical to such a degree that even a stone deaf person watching should be able to "hear" the music in his/her imagination?

As Svetlana Beriosova was my all time favourite I read everything I can find about her. Occasionally I sweep the Internet and now I have found a new thing. It is a very long and - at least to me - boring document about her husband. It is about him, but there are a few references to her. It makes me so sad to read it, she must have had a terrible life. For those interested,

here is the link:- http://www.bostonreview.net/BR27.6/boynton.html

I totally agree with chrisk217 that the camera technicians in Poland fancied themselves a bit with weird photography. Why I did not mention it, though it disturbed me too, was that I didnt want to gripe too much. After all, one gets a couple of crumbs thrown at one and then one gratefully laps them up.

I dont know where you live, but I have the same complaint. The Swedish Broadcasting Company NEVER shows any ballet, well, maybe there is a little snippet once a year. Somehow it feels like the whole subject of ballet is something tainted and by watching it one runs the risk of catching something awful. I have even phoned the TV company and complained whereupon they answered that a public service company must cater to everybody but of course minority interests will get less programs. Well, it seems I have a minority interest!

I think it was Marga who asked about past competitors and about Rose Gad. Well, that I actually saw on TV. Rose Gad was unfortunately injured but worked her way back slowly only to become a pensioner after a short time. Female dancers in Sweden get pension at 42 and men at 45 and it is the same in Denmark.

Anyway, I have just made up my mind - next competition I will attend in person!

Seeing the thing on TV is one thing but being there is quite another thing. I was actually thinking about going to Poland, it is not far from where I live, but the expense stopped me. I have experiences with former Eastern bloc countries, if one wants to stay and above all eat at the level one is accustomed to, it gets awfully expensive and I have no friends in Poland.

DD is soon going to Holland to study law and that is a country close to just about everything - Brussels - Paris - Germany. Off topic here, but I have a question for

European posters. DD asked me what performances one could see in Holland, or Brussels for that matter.

She is not interested in modern, only classical.

No innovation, but that was not expected either. The usual Paquitas, Don Quixotes and Esmeraldas and Grand Pas Classique. I would say that the contestants are a bit too young and immature for these kinds of solos and the result is wobbly.

Then, on the other hand, I think it was Estelle who remarked that the competition has veered away from classical to modern. Couldnt agree more.

Milou Nuyens (20) from The Netherlands won. She was very good. But I would have preferred to see her in something more classical.

The couple from the host nation, Elena Karpuhina (17) and Michail Wylot (19) who did a tango pas de deux, music by Cuadro Nuevo, won and deservedly so. While they danced I made some notes "very good" for a start and by the time they took their bows I had written "excellent". It was indeed. Not only were they technically good, one got the feeling that they were at home on the stage.

Both dancers were interesting and I would love to see them both doing solos and something from the classical repertoire. However, they are both young, but looked very accomplished and mature so if all goes well they should have a great future.

A Belgian girl came third, Marjorie Lenain, she was very sharp and precise in her Esmeralda variation. Young kid, only 16.

Of course the Swedish contestant was of special interest to me. Danielle Rosengren (17) seemed a bit hesitant and nervous in the Swedish competition, but yesterday she had found her feet and seemed more assured. A very talented girl.

The jury was distinguished as usual, Irek Mukhamedov was president and then, as a special guest, came that diva, Maya Plissetskaya. She is just incredible, to look like that at 80 is remarkable. One must jump to the conclusion: ballet is good for you! In all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, I wish I had been there myself.

The European Broadcasting Union Ballet Competition (takes place every two years) will take place tomorrow evening in Warsaw Poland.

I hope to be able to post the results and comments tomorrow night.

Any European posters attending? If so, please comment! I have to make do with the TV broadcast.

I have no idea which countries will be represented, Sweden will participate, that I know.

But I do hope that this competition has not gone the same way as that other EBU

competion, the pop song one. Before it used to be strictly Europe, now it seems like half of the Middle East also take part. That is to say, countries well outside Europe.

Well, by tomorrow we will know.

I am very pleased to learn that a new Kschessinska bio is just published. It is called "Imperial dancer Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs". Published by Sutton and will probably be out in the US in September.

The author is the English historian Coryne Hall, a writer with immense insight in the Russian Imperial family. She has previously published two volumes on the subject: "Little mother of Russia: A biography of Empress Marie Fedorovna" and

"Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, sister of Nicholas II"

Now it just struck me, when I first started going to London Festival Ballet, Grand Duchess Xenia was their patron.

Anyway, knowing Ms. Hall's knowledge of the subject, I can hardly wait. Do I order it or do I book a ticket on the good ship to Newcastle to buy it in person? The latter might be more in the spirit of Mathilde, I could then order a sumptious dinner on board in her style, champagne and caviar. I have a feeling it will be worth it...

Yes, Solor darling, I have not only read Karsavina´s book - I have it. My favorite ballet book. So beautiful, so evocative of old St. Petersburg. By the way, if you want to read something that captures the spirit of those days, please read "Reminiscenses of the Russian Ballet" by Alexandre Benois. Wonderful stuff! I found it in an antiquarian book shop for approx. $ 7 !

My copy of Little. K's book I paid 10 GBP for - about 15 years ago.

While on the subject of ballet books, I think this (Sweden) is a great country for finding old ballet books at hardly any cost. People havent a clue and they are all dumped in the odd bin. The other day I found a good copy of "Letters on dancing and ballets" by Noverre for US$ 4!!!

So folks, if you want ballet books, come to Sweden!

I have some books that I actually want to sell and I know they cost an enormous amount of money in the US. The shipping also costs an enormous amount, so one needs to know someone traveling.

Agree, Solor, she must have been really something. Not only living to such an age, which means she was physically very strong - but having gone through what she did, she must have been a mentally very strong person as well.

She always fascinated me - because she was a very tough customer, I think.

Some years ago I did a radio lecture on her on the Swedish State radio. Then, some other lectures on women were assembled and issued in a book which was called "Strong women"!!! My lecture was there and I think she was in good company: Jezebel - Rosa Luxemburg, Madame Tussaud, Florence Nightingale et al.

There must have been some very scary moments in her life - and some very glorious ones, too. However, she was a survivor - I think you are born like that.

Maybe she was not always such a nice person, but we should not judge her because we were not in her circumstances.

However, I usually start feeling rather benign towards the characters I write about

and I would have liked to have met her, alas, I never danced in Paris. But through my research and visits to St. Petersburg, I almost feel I know her and the Imperial epoch at the Maryinsky Theater.

I suppose you have read her biography - rather shallow stuff I think, but it gives a good view of the epoch.

Thankyou so much, Daniil, for the wonderful video clips! You are really great and I am sure you have a fantastic future ahead of you. Congratulations and thanks again!

Thanks for reminding me, Marga.

Come to think of it, why not go? I am close enough.

DD and I discussed going to the European Broadcast Union (EBU) ballet competition which is held every other year. Swedish finals will be this coming

Saturday and Europe finals will be held in Poland. We dont know anyone in Warzaw, trouble with getting visas, expensive flying there etc. etc. So we decided

against it. But Helsinki is just a ferry trip away for us, perfect!

If we go I promise to send a detailed report - in the meantime I will report from

the Swedish competition on Saturday.

Most competitors come to nothing, but sometimes there is a true gem. I remember Zenaida Yanovsky, now with Royal Ballet. I first saw her in the EBU competition, she did an Esmeralda to die for, I still remember it and treasure my video.

In reply to Chrisk 217, first of all I must say that nobody, and I do mean nobody, would misinterpret your English. Unfortunately, one gets no inkling from where the poster comes (pity, I think), but you are crystal clear! As for myself, I started learning English at the tender age of ten, now I speak it, read it and write it as well as Swedish, actually I read English better than Swedish.

As for Leigh, yes, he has a point and I agree with him.

Sometimes one sees a young dancer, perfect in every way, turnout is perfect,

adagio pleasing, jumps high and small jumps neat, turns multiple and steady -

yet, this dancer leaves you stone cold - you see a spectacle of classroom exercises - there is no soul.

Maybe, this could be a question of maturity. Some youngsters are extremely self-

conscious and dare not project themselves and shield themselves behind bravura

feats. Never having been shy in the least myself and often regarded shy people as some kind of stuck up idiots, I have now come to the conclusion that shy people often are frightened of what others might say. This also, I think, applies to dance, some dancers adhere strictly to the rule book and dare not show their personality.

Dont get me wrong here, by "showing personality" I do not mean mannerisms.

We are all different, in everyday life, and as dancers, but of course, as a performer, demands are put upon you, demands which you would not find in daily life.

Fine, brilliant, I appreciate a dancer who can at least perform the steps, is it not the most important thing? We want an Odile who does not flounder at fouette 17 and then wobbles about, trying to improvise desperately.

But, and here is the but, is technique so desperately important? What about interpretation of a role? Why all this fuss about technique? If you want to see weird stuff, there is always the Olympic games gymnastics or the circus for that matter.

No, any day, give me an ADEQUATE Technique and I mean people who can hold a balance, jump cleanly and execute a couple of turns without veering off centre.

When I want real weird stuff there are the sports channels on TV.

When I watch ballet, I want a total experience, there must be art and an artistic

interpretation, musicality, acting, sense of period -

when for example older ballets were choreographed, there were no six o'clock

arabesques - so respect that. There is always - in all arts - a bit of poetic licence, but do not abuse it.

I thought we were discussing ART! Sorry to shout, but it seemed appropriate in this case.