Calliope

Desmond's in a lot of the photos with Zeta Jones, from All That Jazz. When ZJ pulls a female dancer in front of her and a male behind her, that's him. He's actually pretty visible, perhaps the camera didn't have to zoom him so much b/c he can dance

What a bizarre piece. I know there's been rumors about Glover and whether or not he's always tapping (tap syncing is what the alleged charge was) I don't know if Rafferty was hinting at that, or just looking to swap battle scars. I can't stand anybody's feet, so the mere thought of it gives me the heebeejeebies.

I remember stories of Suzanne teaching the Kirov, Lezhnina particular, in Scotch Symphony, and Lezhnina wanted the music slowed down, Farrell was pretty upset with her on that. I think ballerinas used to just be "good" and take direction, not ever talk back, that all changed. A friend, also a non-ballet goer, thought it was a "readable" article, as she put it, no ballet babble.

Old Fashioned, you know dance, so Fosse... and if you've seen the old musicals, well then you have something to compare it to if you wanted. you basically have some background

I didn't mean to direct the age differential at you dirac I just meant, they don't know any better. Fosse, who's that? Chicago, that's a candy bar, right? A generation that thinks Barnes & Noble is the new library. And I'm not saying it mean spirited, I'm a Generation X-er, so I've seen black and white movies, but if you look at Baz's Romeo & Juliet, big hit with the younger set, same cutting, craziness, I blame it on Soderbergh, actually, but.... if you've not seen anything good (in the movie theater) you have nothing to compare it to. We're talking a generation who's "My Fair Lady" is "Grease"! Special effects and camera "trips" (a la the Matrix) have spoiled the stable camera angle. As my neighbor said of Chicago, "it was like being on E (cstasy) without having to take it" whoa

dirac, you are the first person that I know that hasn't liked it. it's unfortunate that the movie can't just stand on it's own. it's like people who complain The Two Towers is slightly different from the Tolkien book. For the $10 price, I'd go see this movie 7 times before I went back to the theater to see it. Perhaps it's a generational thing. I liked it, that whole fast, blitzy feeling is like going to a club and trying to see. For 2 hours I was entertained, I was impressed these actors whom I had no hope for, in my opinion pulled it off.

I'd add anger management. How to talk to people Union management And make them take an acting class so when none of the above work, they could at least fake it

I think it's one of those unfortunate ballets that suffers from it's title. I can't even begin to tell you how many people I've brought to it, that said they wouldn't have gone otherwise, simply b/c they couldn't pronounce the title. They should just advertise it as the I Love Lucy of ballet.

Didn't he do something with death and polio and LeClercq danced in it, to be stricken by it years later?

Jenifer Ringer

In today's NY Post there's a tidbit about Carreno hopefully joining soon as a soloist, apparently there's been visa troubles.

Casting is up for the first week of rep. Lots of debuts....

Perhaps if the italics after the article read.... company will be on tour.. I wouldn't have felt it was more an article with what's wrong with NYCB doing Balanchine and what's right with SFarrell Ballet (I guess I can't use SFB)

I'd bring back Pavlova and Petipa, just to ask them what they thought about ballet today. I' d second Balanchine and Karinska LeClercq, Robbins and pull out of retirement Deborah Wingert, Farrell, Sibley, Arthur Mitchell. I'd clone Elizabeth Walker too, just so she's always there

this dancer is "sponsored by" Mr & Mrs. So and So I know it's not going to change, but I still don't like it. I second "diamond project" (or anyone else's last name for that matter) "...not enough rehearsal time..." AAAAGGGGHHHH

That's her! Thank you Dale! I can stop digging through boxes for the stagebill!

I couldn't but to feel the undertone of the piece was that if NYCB wanted to get on the straight and narrow, they needed to hire Farrell. I liked it but so many contrasts. Perhaps I missed it, but does she ever explain Suzanne's change of heart regarding running a company? I liked the "explanation" Suzanne gives as to why Balanchine constantly changed his ballets and his "now" mentality. I think that spontaneity is missing, not just from NYCB, but from pretty much everyone right now.

Thanks liebs! Sounds a bit like Nutcracker fell on the wayside?!

For ABT a toss up between Gillian Murphy who finished her Swan despite all the hullabaloo in the audience and Michele Wiles, for sticking through ABT's program of going through the studio company and working her way through ABT. NYCB, I'd agree with Whelan and lots of props to the sr. corps members. Also to the male corps members who we never seem to see enough of. The Kirov, I'm blanking on the name of the principal, female, really exaggerated extensions. Ugh, sorry blanking. I'd nominate her! And kudos to Twyla Tharp, to listening to what critics and audiences had to say about her out of town production and changing it into what's now a great show.

I was hard pressed to find 10 things I liked about 2002.

it's not letting me vote, is the poll expired?

I think it depends on the piece and who's doing it. Ballet is at such an in between phase, we had brilliance, and now we have what's perceived to be mediocrity (and time will tell if it is).

Movie was fabulous. Be sure to look for the Rivera cameo, if you blink you might miss it. I was pleasantly suprised by both Zeta-Jones and Zellweger, though Zellweger is a wee bit on the thin side, and she has the unrefined biting the bottom lip quality during an intense dance routine. Queen Latifiah is perfect as Big Mamma. Gere, he was passable, more than I would have expected, but the weakest link in the chain. The camera angles are a bit choppy, not as blurry as Moulin Rouge, but influenced by it. Zeta Jones is really fantastic though. She carries her scenes well. I can't wait to see it again!!!

I rather like the POB system of dancer "rankings" with the further subdivisions. I'd like to see corps broken up into corps and senior corps or make demi-soloist a title. Certain corps dancers that constantly do the demi roles and stand out from their fellow corps members a bit more. Plus it seems once you get promoted to soloist, you go from dancing every night to far less frequently. It would be a nice transition stage. I think soloist must be the toughest ranking to hold. (this of course is US company based) Benjamin Millipied says in an interview in Time Out, that he was so "stressed out" for so long, b/c as a corps member you're trying to get to a soloist, as a soloist, you need to look and dance like a prinicipal, then he finally got promoted

He doesn't mention that he was "punished" just that the interview was indicative of where he was in his life and after that he stopped going out so much and really concentrated on work. He seems to have recovered nicely