pj

I first saw ballet performed when I was in college. In fall of 1975, I took a semester at a college in NJ and went into the city for concerts, plays, etc. quite often. The first ballets I saw were Firebird and Dying Swan, and probably some other pieces (but my memory fails me). I also saw Nutcracker. These were all performed by NYC Ballet. What I remember most was the color, the sets (the Chagal Firebird painting was so HUGE!), and the costumes. I was just like a small child when I saw the Nutcracker Christmas Tree grow several stories above my eyes. Unfortunately, I don't remember a thing about the technical aspect of the dancing itself, other than I thought it all beautiful. I threw out my programs from those ballets when I got married. Little did I know that one day my daughter would be thoroughly entrenched in the art. What I really don't like is that I have no clue as to who I might have seen dance -- anybody have any ideas?

Lopotkina danced on Tuesday evening, not Wednesday. Lopotkina is very tall and the girl that danced on Wednesday was not that tall. I believe it actually was Tkachenko (she was wearing a dark wig). I agree that Scheherazade was the most beautiful ballet of the evening -- the sets and costumes and choreography were all just stunning as were the performances. I also loved Chopiniana, as we have never gotten a chance to see a live ballet of the romantic style. My daughter was very impressed by Igor Kolb's feet! We have seen NYCB do Firebird, but really loved the Kirov in this performance. Irma Nioradze was the Firebird on Wednesday evening and was amazing. But, before the wonderful evening got started, we had a very big shock -- I have now heard everything! Mr. Gary (I didn't catch his last name, but I believe he said he was a dance critic for a magazine) was very good at telling the story behind the Ballet Russe and Diagalev, but when it came to technical matters, I'm afraid he needs to brush up a bit. Aside from mispronouncing many of the Russian dancers names (along with Vaganova, when he was discussing the Russian training), he fielded a question about pointe shoes, and I'm afraid his answer was less than technically accurate. (Actually, at this point, I was shocked and appalled by the question having to do with "wooden blocks in the pointe shoes.") You must imagine my dismay (and my daughter's) when "Gary" indicated, that yes, there ARE wooden blocks in pointe shoes, and his friend, Evelyn Hart, used to get very sore feet when working in them, etc. As it was the end of the pre-performance talk, and as I am a bit shy, I didn't have it in me to correct him. But now, there are hundreds of people in Orange County, CA that believe that there actually are wooden blocks in pointe shoes :shrug: I don't know if I'll ever recover.

This past week our family spent the week in LA while our daughter participated in the Kirov's performances of La Bayadere. It was an incredible opportunity for all of us. Rather than tell you separately about each performance, I'll just comment generally on the performances we did see. Our daughter got to see opening night, as she was a "cover" for the evening; since she had a ticket she got to see it from the house. Diana Vishneva was Nikiya; and of course our daughter was just amazed by her performance. Igor Zelensky was Solor and again, our daughter was just amazed by his wonderful turns and jumps. Earlier in the day, my husband and I got to watch dress rehearsal for Act II. Watching a dress rehearsal is so interesting because you see how the dancers and directors, etc. are when they are not so much "on stage." There were some problems with the tempo on one of Vishneva's variations, and she was so patient and calm with the partner and with the Orchestra Conductor. It is very nice to see a "diva" who is kind and works hard just to get the job done so it is good for everyone. Later in the week, Saturday afternoon, I believe, my husband and I watched Sophia Gumerova dance the role of Nikiya. She did very well. The dancer who danced Gamzatti had some trouble with her fouettes and did not even come out for her curtain call The best performance of all was Sunday night (closing night, sort of) when my daughter and I got to see Vishneva dance again. I'm not sure who Solor was (shame on me), but this performance was all about Vishneva -- her artistry and sense of drama combined so well with her technical dancing. It is difficult to even describe this performance other than to say that I got the feeling that Vishneva couldn't do anything but dance the way that she did -- all of the steps just flowed along with the music and the drama. Then on the real closing night, which was Monday due to a power failure that caused Sunday matinee performance to be postponed, my husband and I got to watch Sophia Gumerova as Nikiya once again. Other memorable performers were Sunday night's bronze idol, Vladamir Ponomarev as the High Bramin, and of course, the entire corps de ballet as the shades. My favorite performance was danced by my daughter, (Yes, I am biased) as one of the "little" girls with Manu, Elena Yushkovskaya (the soloist). My daughter just happens to be just as tall as the soloist, with the same hair color and a very similar dancing style, so some adjustments in the little girls' arm movements had to be made. I actually was amazed at how different they appeared on stage (mostly because of the costumes and the arm movement change, I guess), and very relieved that what could have been considered a problem was not a problem at all. One night that my daughter did not dance, she actually got congratulated on her great performance as Manu (at the time, she was standing with the other set of "little" girls, who are very small), so she could understand the confusion, but she was very proud to be mistaken for the real soloist. The whole experience of watching the dancers back stage and of having the directors and dancers watching the "little girls" rehearse, was just so exciting and inspiring for our daughter. Now, the Kirov is her favorite company. Tomorrow night in fact, we are going to see them perform in Costa Mesa in the Fokine program. So, I'll report on that in a couple of days.

I'm in tears as I read about all the ballet companies that people want to send to LA. Why oh why can't we get a great Classical company? I think the gazillionaires are too busy planning their parties (so they can get movie contracts) and so they have no time or money to spend on a good ballet company to give LA a good cultural shot in the arm. As far as John Clifford goes, people here (especially dancers) are incredibly forgiving; so who knows -- it COULD happen.

The closest we have to a ballet "boom" in LA is that the Dorothy Chandler has more "room" now that Disney Concert Hall has arrived. It seems that the Dorothy Chandler is getting more ballet companies to tour at their venue this year (let's hope the trend continues). OCPAC is also doing well with attracting more ballet companies. In my humble opinion, the Kodak is by far a better venue for ballet, and they do have some, but they certainly don't have sell outs (unfortunately). As far as a real live LA Professional Company, I doubt it, now with money for the arts as it is in this economy. Some of the regional companies are having a tough time of it, due to financial constraints. If John Clifford is working on another LA Classical type company, I have yet to hear of it. I'll do some asking around.

There is a David Allen in S. CA. He is a professor of ballet (I don't know his exact title) at UC Irvine. He is usually involved with the production of Riverside Ballet's Nutcracker. I personally have not met him, but one of my daughter's ballet teachers knows him fairly well. If you are trying to contact him, I would try UC Irvine.

For everyone who wants to know--ABT OC's end of intensive program is at 12 noon and 4 p.m. on Friday Aug. 22, 2003. It will be held at the Irvine Barclay Theatre which is on Campus Drive at UCI. Ticket price is $12 for general seating.