Pamela Moberg

This might be slightly off topic, yet it is something I suddenly remembered today and I want to share with you. When I was a small child, my mother used to know a lady who was then in charge of the "French couture" dept. at a very renowned ladies dress shop. The lady told me as she knew I liked ballet, that when she was a young apprentice Pavlova had made a guest appearance in town. Pavlova had come to the dress shop asking them to take off two layers from her tutu and replace them with new fresh ones as she felt that the tutu looked creased and not as pristine as she wanted it to be. The lady said she felt very proud to have handled and worked on Pavlova's swan costume, but I was not told any technical details about fabric or cutting or hemming.

Yes, of course you can hem tulle if you really want to - ideally by hand or it could be done by machine. Maybe using pinking shears is part tradition, part because it is practical, dont really know. But what I know from general dressmaking is that hems should ideally be as invisible as possible and also that by using pinking shears you stop the fabric from fraying, which would be a big problem with tarlatan, whereas tulle is less likely to fray.

Swedish TV has graciously broadcast Hommage to Jerome Robbins from 2008 - a program from Arte. It was from the Palais Garnier and very well worth looking out for. I have heard about "In the night", but never seen it and I found it wonderful. Now of course it would be nice to see the NYCB version of it. Agnes Letestu and Nicholas Le Riche amongst others. Then there was "The Concert" which I have also heard about but never seen. Sorry folks, the fault might be mine, but so called "funny" ballets are not quite my thing. I just didnt see anything there. Maybe the POB hadnt grasped the idea of it and it might be better with an American company. Final ballet was "Triade" with choreography by Ben Millipied, which, although competently danced, was not my cup of tea either. Has anybody seen this program? It would be nice to hear some American - and French for that matter - views.

It's a great read, but you might now like to try Coryne Hall's Imperial Dancer - Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs,which is a complete biography of Kschessinska, published in 2005. Hall knows a great deal about Russia in that period and has had access to a number of unpublished diaries, letters and papers. It's perhaps less romantisised than Dancing in Petersburg, but fascinating nonetheless and Kschessinska comes across as a remarkable woman. Couldnt agree more with Alymer, Coryne Hall's biography is absolutely marvellous. I think I have said so before on this forum, but I will certainly keep on saying it until everybody has read the book!

Helene, are you by any chance in Torino, Italy? Or anybody else there? I have to be content with the TV, but this time it will be fine, no problem with time schedules. Of course, you American guys are probably facing the problems I had with the Olympic games I will certainly see everything that is being televised here and if nobody reports live, I will put in a commentary or two. Today it was ice dance, and the chosen music was Viennese waltz. Sounds easy, maybe, but I know from experience that doing that type of waltz in shoes on a proper floor is not that as easy as it looks, but on ice... Well, few of the non European skaters seemed to get the real feel of it, although their skating might have been fine.

Since Renee Fleming won the Polar Prize she has been a frequent delight on Swedish television. :blush: Not long ago there was "Der Rosenkavalier" and most recently, a recital from St. Petersburg with the Russian baritone Dmitrij Chvorostovskij. This concert was part of an offering called "The glory of Russia" and is available on DVD.

Well Bart, if you thought that Elg (the name, by the way, means moose in Swedish ) was kinda European exotic, then Mitzy Gaynor must have struck you likewise. She was actually Hungarian and also started life as a dancer, but I dont know if she actually did any ballet in any film, not any that I have seen at any rate. And I loved and saw a lot of American musicals when I was a kid - they were very popular here. And to Leonid:- When I was a kid at the theatre school I heard rumours about Mlle Gardemeister - one was that she was Anastasia who had surfaced! Already in those days, my knowledge of history was not bad and I knew there was too much an age difference. However, when I returned to Sweden after many years abroad I phoned her and invited her to dinner. She came to our house and she told me this sad story. Finnish mother and two little girls managed to escape to Helsinki. Mila's sister later died from cancer and Mila herself never married, she said her pupils were her family. Asking her how she felt about the tragedy of her family, she replied that at least mother and children were spared, many had fared worse, and for riches and titles, well, she was too small when it happened to understand that life could have been so different. Yet, I have a feeling that history had in some way marked her for life, she probably had never been a happy woman. But my daughters, who were very young at that time, marvelled at the thought of a real Russian princess visiting us!

Nice to hear that Taina Elg is alive and well and celebrating 80! Here is a little background story. The then Russian-Finnish ballet master at the Gothenburg Theater, George Ge (he was actually born Grönfeldt, but found that name a bit unwieldly) found that the corps was a bit lacking - which was true - so he decided to call in four Finnish dancers. From the top of my head I remember that he staged Coppelia and L'epreuve d'amour. One of those dancers was Taina Elg, but she didnt remain for very long before going to the US. Two of the dancers I know nothing about, but the fourth stayed on and soon started the theater ballet school which I attended. Her name was Mila Garde- meister, but actually she was princess Galitzyn, her father had been executed during the revolution so she used her mother's maiden name. Moderators: If this would be more suitable in Ballet History, please feel free to move.

Thanks a lot Jayne! Worked fine, though I think I must fix a broader broadband. When skaters - or dancers for that matter - freeze on the screen one sometimes sees positions that would not make them happy if they could see themselves, but which would pass unnoticed at proper speed! I do have a fairly large computer screen, but I do have a very large TV screen so it will be a joy to see the World Championship - not many days to wait now. Of course, then you Americans might have the same problems as I have had with timing. Anyway, I promise to report what I see I saw the entire closing ceremony - they graciously broadcast a repeat of the entire event here. It was magnificent, so glad everything worked OK, not like the opening which left a bit to be desired. And that beaver Yes, I agree, the dancers looked like ants on the TV as well, it was not a memorable thing and I had looked forward to it so much.

Finally I managed to see a bit of skating today - these Olympic games will not go down in history as memorable - idiotic schedules due to time differences and small bits and pieces of skating which doesnt allow one to compare the skaters. No use crying over lost opportunities, next big event, World Championship, will be next month in Torino Italy. Good for me, but maybe then you Americans and Canadians will suffer the same problems as I have had , hope not anyway. Thanks Helene for your kind words about Adrian Schultheiss, yes, he is a guy to watch. I worried a bit about him, I know he is good, but being away and this was his first real big event, would his nerves be with him. Well, apparently he did fine and I will expect a lot in the World C. And that beautiful Finnish girl, Laura Lepistö, she is elegance personified on ice. Now I have got the DVD working while I am sleeping, tomorrow I will see the closing ceremony - just hoping that Swedish TV will do the entire thing - waiting for Lopatkina of course

When I was a small kid I relished the interpretations of Chopin by a Romanian pianist, Dinu Lipatti. I had some records then and thinking back, I think Dinu Lipatti managed to capture the very essence of Chopin. Chopin is not easy to play and sometimes I think that one should be East European to be able to catch the innermost feeling of the music. Pogorelich of course falls into this category and I like his interpretations very much.

Well, here is one who hasnt been mesmerized at all To date I have seen nothing - nada - not a single skater I try to follow what is happening in the newspapers and on the web, but it is not the same thing. The fault is entirely with the Swedish TV (not the first time in history for that matter). The real problem is the time difference and I can appreciate that they have to broadcast all night. But at least there ought to be some kind of schedule and never mind if they cant adhere strictly to it, I for one dont mind waiting for half a hour, but I am damned if I keep the DVD going from midnight to six in the morning, just in order to sit and trawl through all that for maybe five minutes of figure skating. There is ice hockey, skis and ski jumping and all other ways of skiing - OK, I know people here are interested, but there is actually a big interest in figure skating here as well. As far as Sw.TV. this must go down in history as the most badly organized broadcasts of all times

Oh well, Tutumaker, I saw such a lot on the website and made a lot of notes so I must have got them mixed up. The Prix de Lausanne website carries a lot of past competitions as well and it is well worth visiting - standards are high generally. Hope those two youngsters from California are doing well today because I really thought they stood out.

Well, the Gothenburg Opera premiered SB last Saturday. It was the Ek version, complete with Swedish chef et al. Will not attend any performances

Must say that I enjoyed the Prix de Lausanne immensely The TV didnt seem to work although I have Arte so I settled for the computer. With a good broad band and a fairly large screen I sat there glued for most of the time. This year, it seemed to be the year of the guys - there were several very promising ones. It is always lovely to watch young people and then see if one can predict their future. The Argentinian guy who won doing Bournonville was good. He had as good a feeling for the Danish style as one could possibly expect. Now he did a solo from La Sylphide whereupon I quipped to my husband that the guy ought to have done a solo from "Fjernt fra Danmark" (Far from Denmark) in stead. The story of that old ballet is about a Danish frigate sailing to just Argentina. Spain did well too, and even Portugal According to my notes I also liked Skylar (might have got that wrong) Campbell, 17, from the US. Another one I liked was a New Zeeland girl Karen Johnson who also didnt get a prize. So, in total, five boys and two girls were awarded prizes. Dont know what happened to the Swedish guy, probably he didnt make the finals.

With Helene being at rinkside, we hope to get some first hand reports. I can only convey what I see on TV. Sorry to hear that they havent got it better organised and that the judging seems weird. Here they havent even said who are on the panel of judges. Anyway, I have been watching for most of the day. What really interests me is the newcomers, those one hasnt seen before or seen very little of. My own personal favorites were: Michal Brezina, 19, from Brno Czech Republic, he is a new kid on the block and I liked him. Also that Spanish guy, Javier Fernandez has promise. The couple from Perm I liked very much, Bazarova and Larionov. Yuki Kawaguti is cute, I think, but cuteness isnt everything. Of course I watched my two compatriots with interest, Kristoffer Berntsson and Adrian Schultheiss. No medals, but having seen quite a bit of these two guys, I must say that their skating had matured quite a bit. It will be most interesting to see tomorrow how the Swedish ladies will fare. So far none of them have taken me by storm, but not having seen them for a long time, who knows, there might be some improvement there as well. Please Helene, a couple of words of your impressions of Tallinn. Living very near I have yet to go there. There are ferry lines from Sweden and they are quite popular with a certain clientele.

The European ice skating championships started today in Tallinn - Estonia. Will not go there myself, so have to be content with what Swedish Television has to offer. And the prospects seem very good actually, the great total of three (of which one is a repeat from the preceding day) programs every day. From what I saw today, the standards seem very high. Today it was pairs, Solkowy - Savchenko (Germany) made my day and they deservedly won. Tomorrow it is the turn of the guys, and now folks, wait for it "Plushy" is back in town (well, back on ice rather). That is something to look forward to! Programing tomorrow as follows: 11.00-12.00 - 16.05-17.55 - 22.45 - 0.00. Very nice of Sw. TV Any of you skating fans gone to Estonia? Helene, how about you? Anyway, I suppose European stuff will not be televised in the US, maybe on some sports channel of course, but I will try to send updates and reports.

Alymer is certainly quite correct here. He was the "hairdresser" of the time. In London. everybody had to go to Sassoon (so did I, had weekly appointment at his school - just as good, but at a fraction of the cost)

Further to Jane's post, yes, there have been galas in Stockholm over the New Year. The link showed the program. I live on the West coast and these days there is no reason for me to go to Stockholm so I did not attend. Sorry to have to say so, but with tickets (train or plane) tix for the performance and hotel accomodation, it would have been far too much. Anyway, there was a review in a Stockholm paper - in Swedish so I will do a brief translation:- "Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg (who is a descendant from a Swedish family) gave extra glamour to Balanchine's Theme and Variations. This was Hallberg's second appearance in Sweden, last August he was a guest at the dance gala of the Gothenburg Opera. He has been hailed as a new Baryshnikov and is surely technically brilliant, but in my opinion rather lacking in personality. The otherwise excellent ensemble swayed and the couple Murphy-Hallberg did not seem to find the right kind of chemistry between them. Balanchine's demanding choreography did not really hold its own in this final number". The new ballerina, Jurgita Dronina, got a wonderful write-up. "Ethereal Giselle, unwordly beautiful". Avetik Karapetyan's Bronze Idol was also acclaimed, and so were AdiLiJian Abudureheman and Andrey Leonovitch. Well, seems that Stockholm Opera had a few guys to show off. . . Nadja Sellrup did Dying Swan and was called "a firecracker on stage". What that might mean... I am just translating from the paper here )

Happy New Year to you as well, Barbara As far as David Hallberg goes, I know that he performed once in Sweden. There was a gala last fall at the opera house in Gothenburg. Did not attend, as the tix were horribly expensive and the entire gala evening was a terrible mixture of all but the kitchen sink. There was modern, street dance, bits of Ek and very very little of those visiting American stars. The serious papers didnt even bother to review. So, alas, no impressions to post - just to answer your question. Another thing, though, his name is a rather common Swedish name, I mean Hallberg. But as far as I know he is born in the US, most probably to Swedes who immigrated some time in the early 1900. As a curiosity, we would pronounce it more like "Hullberg".

Yes, Nanarina, it was a wonderful concert from Vienna I would love to be there in person, but alas, I have been informed that if you want tickets you must book them right now, and even then it is not sure that you will get any. It is very expensive and very popular, noticed all those Japanese in the auditorium. They have traveled far! However, I have been to the Musikverein listening to an ordinary (sorry, they are never "ordinary") concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and I can assure you that the concert hall is even more spectacular in real life. The ballet was good - I am pleased that they hire famous soloists these days, hasnt always been the case. Remember a time when the ballet looked more like an end of term display. What really impressed me during this concert was the film clip showing during "An der schönen blauen Donau". It showed almost the entire river, from its birth in a spring in Germany, through Austria, Serbia and Romania. The scenery was breathtaking. There are river cruises along the entire Donau... It got me thinking...

Happy New Year to everybody - I know that some people have already celebrated - some others will soon - here, we had ours about three hours ago. So, where ever you are I would want to wish you a very happy NEW YEAR Much happiness, good health, of course and a lot of lively and alert posters and friendly comments and I DO LOVE YOU ALL Good heavens, what was that, Helene? Pea soup? OMG, sounds weird. We dined and had lobster (here I am a bit ashamed, but it is only once a year, it was Canadian lobster, sorry about that). And champagne of course - otherwise it would not be New Year. Sweet was home made though, apples from the orchard, no pesticides, I am absolutely adamant there -likewise Christmas tree (I have a plantation and sell ecological ones), people who buy get some bugs for free, but the trees smell wonderful when you put them indoors. This year I charged 10 dollars a tree, customer has to saw his own. Fun is had by everybody

Joining Cubanmiamiboy in wishing all BalletAlerters a very Happy Christmas

So sad to hear this. During my time in London, she was one of my role models. Her beauty was extraordinary. RIP, Georgina Parkinson.

Your Nobel Prize reporter is back - this time from Stockholm. Before telling you about the events of this evening I will just say a few words about the ceremony in Norway earlier today. President Obama's lecture has been very widely acclaimed here and he is very much admired. The evening ceremony in Stockholm was magnificent, glittering and as usual extremely well organised. I expect that you will see at least bits and pieces of it on American TV channels as there were so many American laureates. The three Royal ladies were absolutely stunning in their evening gowns, jewelry and tiaras. Rather sad, though, that the fiance of the Crown Princess had been advised not to attend. He has recently had an operation and with all those germs about he would be ill advised to go. Yet, Crown Princess Victoria looked absolutely stunning. After the actual award ceremony which takes place in the concert hall there is a big banquet in the town hall. After the supper all the laureates are supposed to give a short speech. (In the olden days they could go on for hours, but these days they should be brief). Mostly they talk of their advances in their discoveries of molecular biology or something of the sort, and then thanks the Nobel committe profusely. As a rule it is hardly riveting... But tonight when Herta Muller, the literature prize winner, gave her speech hardly an eye was dry. It was evocative, humble, yet proud and just wonderful. She got as much applause as President Obama. I have just one complaint here: She spoke in German and was then translated into English. OK, most Swedes understand at least some English, but I fear that a great many people could not fathom the depth of what she said.