Calliope

My gripe, is if you were to look at the programming, not knowing it was a celebration of Balanchine, would you recognize it to be that. ballerina1023, the reason so many people have such a strong reaction, is that it's b/c people actually do care about what not only they see, but what the future generations will have to see. A good friend of mine, first saw NYCB during the Balancine Celebration. She never went to the ballet before and fell in love with the company. She's gone ever since, but has gone less and less b/c what she felt was the foundation, Balanchine, was not what she was seeing. So, she's sought it elsewhere. The "balanchine is dead" gets thrown out a lot in Martins defense, but he brings a lot of it by saying that he is continuing the evolution that Balanchine wanted. I wish he would just say, ya know what, it's my company now and this is how I think it should go. At least it would be his own then. But in some ways, I think he hides behind the Balanchine myth. I still wonder why on tour they present one face but at home another.

With the exception of the one Edinburgh Festival, I've noticed they tour with mostly Balanchine. What an unjustice for those of us who live in NYC. After their gross misconduct (IMO) with the press articles that came out (Details, The NY Post costume article) I sent a letter withdrawing my funding from the company and sent it to SAB instead. I've still never heard anything from them. I think I'll make the trek to see Suzanne Farrell Ballet in NJ.

First Gregory Peck and now Kate Hepburn. I remember seeing her at ABT a few times and seem to recall reading she influenced someone at the Australian Ballet (but I can't remember who) For those in NY, it's only one for 2 more weeks, but the off-Broadway show "Tea at Five" with Kate Mulgrew playing Ms. Hepburn is fantastic. The resemblence is uncanny. And I will be always be thankful for the acceptance Hepburn brought to wearing pants!

As my nephew would say, what a crock!

Perhaps it's because Tobias and Croce aren't out there that I have high expectations for Acocella. After re-reading the article, it really does depend on how you approach it, I asked a friend who knows nothing and she thought Acocella was fair. If only she had more space

I read as neither Martins nor McKenzie having an original thought and while floundering went to what their predecessors had done. I may have to re-read. It's amazing how much the tone of an article can set you up to read into something (or not)

I don't know, it seemed more of a rant to me. Basically saying that the even the NY Times gave a bad review to ABT (when they never do) for the piece, seemed to sensationalize her point. I just felt she "reached" on the points. Gottlieb when he bashes tries to back it up, and it could be Acocella had limited space which to write. The Martins/Wheeldon Balanchine/Robbins, McKenzie/Joffrey connections, it almost gives nobody a fair shake (and this comes from someone who is hardly a fan of Martins) It just makes me wonder if anything "right" is going on in the dance world.

perhaps she did them in a former life ;)

or you can just bring it in to a photo store, since most now provide the service!

I think I can safely say I will be skipping the performances. I have a hard enough time coughing up that much for Bway seats. I hope they're not cash starved, I've gotten emails about discounted tix about 3 times this season.

It depends on the piece and how many times I've seen it, sometimes I like the pattern and other times I want to see the dancer's/costumes. So for the NY State Theater I like the 2nd ring or middle of orchestra. At the Met, the orchestra, I feel so small in there anyway. And at City Center, I like the mezzanine, but the front of it. Obivously, I'm NY-orientated

I don't think it has to be dumbed down. But I think the "older" do tend to support the arts more because they're able to. Financially, you're probably at a better stage than at 50 than at 20 or even 30. And when you're younger, you're out traveling, you're doing so much, you're deciding what tastes you do have. And like Shakespeare and other arts, sometimes you need to be a certain age to appreciate it and make a dedication to it. Which is why ballets geared towards kids are nice and important as an introduction. One of the things I found going so often and from a young age, is I've become jaded. I became too much of a critic for my own good and it took away some of the joy I had in going. I won't wait 20 years to go back, but like anything else, it's nice to take a break. But if they gave so many discounts to the group that supports them the most, they'd lose money. I'd give the discount to the audience you would like to eventually fill your seats, so they keep coming back.

I don't remember a dagger, but I think Leigh and the British guy (whose name I completely forget) are explaining to Sophie "The Last Supper" Mary Magdalene is actually seated to the right of Jesus. Her hands and hair are situated so that they hide her bosom but you have to look to notice it's a female. They also mention that many art books were photographed before a certain date, when the painting was still dirty And I remember all the symbolism was discussed, but I can't remember exactly what it all was.

I voted Graham, because hers was the name I've known for the longest. It's a rather lame excuse, but if Robin Williams can bring her into a comedy routine, then she must be influential.

Today they announced it will close on June 29th http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/arts/the...ter/12BOHE.html

I object! Eminem, though he has a bad image, his songs actually have sound and rhythmn with a message.

I wasn't that fond of the "Movin Out" piece. I should re-phrase that, I liked the men's choreography, but Elizabeth Parkinson looked a bit like a rag doll being tossed around. It was a decent telecast, and I wished I'd seen "Hollywood Arms" and wishing that Kate Mulgrew had been nominated for "Tea at Five" (her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn is as impeccable) but I think that was considered off-Broadway.

Thanks Old Fashioned, I didn't realize it was part of a series either. DV Code is actually #1 on the NY Times bestseller list. And apparently there's a controversy over whether the book is plagiarism... (SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't read the book and don't want to learn plot line...don't read this) http://www.msnbc.com/news/920480.asp?cp1=1

phew... I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one disappointed with Vienna. Merry Widow... out of all the dancers of late doing the role, I liked Ringer best, but as liebs said, still missing that air of mystery. And as remiss as I am to say this, I feel as though Rutherford's been phoning in many of her performances this season. Perhaps she just seemed to work harder before, I'm not sure. But Vienna felt cold instead of enchanting. I am looking forward to Edge's Steadfast this week, hopefully I can make it.

There are several senior corps members (Amanda Edge, Elizabeth Walker, Pauline Golbin) that haven't been promoted. Some dancers (and I'm not saying these are) are just not soloist material, and some are content being in the corps. As many have said here, sometimes they get promoted and are banished off into soloist exile and we hardly see them. I'd defer to Dale on getting information about dancer's injuries. ( thank you for not speculating too much ballerina1023)

I think the company is young in certain aspects. The trend seems to be corps dancers take 4 or 5 years to make soloist (Rutherford waited 7) and then principal a couple of years after that. It goes unsaid, they need to be ready/able for the promotion and there needs to be slots to fill. And I think there's a little bit of luck that figures into play. Many dancers have said that is so & so wasn't out, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to dance those roles...

There was a book in the 80's (and it's referenced in DaVinci Code) called Holy Blood, Holy Grail. That book opened up a watershed when published, it was not in a fiction setting.

I went to schools that was progressive in it's reading structure. We had a required literature class from 7th on up. Except senior year, where it was elective, but they were always the fullest classes. My favorite out of all of them was in 10th grade, we did poetry, I'm so thankful for that class. It was my introduction to Dorothy Parker, William Blake and Neruda. I was glad to have someone guide me through reading them, otherwise I think I would never pick up some of the books I do. One of the most popular senior classes was literature and film. We had to read the book and then watch the movie. As a teenager you think there's no way the book can be better than the movie!

I'm suprised the box office couldn't tell you what seats were available. They always point it out on the seating chart before I pay. Online ticketing is pretty tough. I was trying to get tickets for an event just last week, couldn't find anything on line, I was fortunate enough to be close to the theater from work and walked over, got front row seats. Go figure. It's like the American Express advanced ticket sales, they give you the worst pre-sale seats available, but they use those purchases to gage future sales.

What I've always found interesting with Robbins pieces, is that they're not so typecast. You can have many different dancers in roles and it still works. And I think it's because, for me at least, he establishes the dancers relationships to each other so well. I've seen major flubs of some of the steps, but you hardly notice because he used upper body so well.