Calliope

Alexandra, I think your research technique should now be the new method of market research. The eyeball! No matter where I sit all I see is under rehearsed dancers and an audience that's becoming more disgruntled about it.

My initial reaction was to take offense at the stereo-type of young people not dressing "appropriately" when going to the opera or the ballet. I think they worry too much about the "future" audience when they do these marketing campaigns. They should concentrate on what the audience now wants, because a lot of the future is already sitting there. In talking to a friend about how the audience isn't made up of all "older people" anymore. She told me opera and ballet used to be an "acquired, refined" evening. It was meant for people who wanted to learn more and were ready for it. The last comment intriqued me. She explained it in terms of her profession (a teacher at a private school in Manhattan) Sure you can give a 13 year old "Emma" to read and they can get through it, but it doesn't have the same meaning as it does to someone who's 23 and reads it and that same person who's 33 will read it from another perspective. It's fine to bring a young one to the ballet and introduce them, but far another thing to expect them to understand it and like it. (That is all paraphrased, of course) I think those of us that like ballet (and those in charge) naturally want everyone to like it, but maybe it's not for everyone. The art is far from dead or even near-death. Heck, it even has boards like this on the internet! I'd rather see the marketing money spent on rehearsal time.

Thanks for the report Michael! I was wondering how the Divert went. And I too hope that Kathleen Tracey is able to come out from her sister's shadow. She seems to have resurrected her career after being stuck in soloist limbo for so long. I'll miss seeing Barocco with Margaret and Kathleen it was a nice contrast between the two.

I'd give it to the schools and not the company's themselves. And I would fly all over and go see as many companies as I could!

be careful what you wish for. Last time I recall ballet making front page was the "Ballet Bully" headlines from the Martins/Kistler Saratoga incident. Controversy always stirs up interest. Just not necessarily the interest you would like.

That is a tough one. Personally speaking, it's tough when a company brings Balanchine to NY. There are the endless comparisons to how NYCB does it. I used to always favor the home teams version. But seeing Suzanne Farrell's company changed my mind a bit and allowed me to see interpretion can be just a good. The question makes me wonder sometimes is someone like Robbins, who doesn't have a particular "style" of dance required more of a genius (that's not quite the right word, but it's been a long day) maybe he's just more versatile. Back to the original question though. I suppose it would be more interesting if the audience were to learn how these dancers learned the piece. Was it from notes, someone who danced it or a foundation?

Did Heather Watts have a "farewell performance" and Stephanie Saland?

Was the theater filled?

I was a little shocked, Margaret Tracey's already been pulled off the website for NYCB. I thought they'd at least leave it up until the end of winter season.

I paid 150 for Madonna but didn't want to shell out the $ for the Stars of the Ballet. At least with her I knew what I was getting.

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a friend who plays classical piano. We were discussing music and she kind of snickered at me because the basis of my classical knowledge stems mostly from the ballet. At first I was a bit annoyed, but then she said something that I stood up. Unless a score is written for the ballet, the music is distorted to accomodate the dancer's. You will rarely find a selection of music recorded by a major orchestra, that sounds the same as it does at the ballet. I asked if she would ever take a job with a ballet orchestra, and she said only if she found herself arthritic and with poor eyesight. She's a bit on the harsh side, but when NYCB had their orchestra strike during the Nutcracker a couple of years ago, she was with me and was thrilled it was at least taped music that couldn't be ruined any further.

The bio and the press release on their website read: Miss Stafford was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her dance training at the age of six with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. In 1996 and 1997, Miss Stafford studied at the summer program of the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet. She entered SAB full time in the fall of 1998. So they do mention CPYB. The bios are reviewed by the dancers themselves before anything is posted.

I usually have to look no further than Martin's latest piece to know who's in his good graces (and as a personal bias, Rutherford has never had a lead in one) And from there see how many more they are in. Margaret Tracey remained pretty consistent through her career with Martins and there's an article in Time Out discussing why she chose to retire dancing a piece Martins did for her.

I'm Old Fashioned and Ives, Songs and Slaughter on 10th Ave and to a degree Union Jack. Fashioned because I can't help but think that more than half the dancers have no idea who is on the screen with them and the role those actors played at that time in history. Ives, Songs, maybe it's just because I haven't ever figured it out enough to like it. And Slaughter, especially if not danced correctly.

If a theater actor was established at 25, I'd be impressed! At 25 most dancers are halfway through their career, before they even gather the wisdom to realize certain mistakes.

"The risk of injury within this quest is relatively low." That statement assumes too much, in my opinion. I think it's a field of study to new to make strong statements about. It will be interesting to see what the dancers of today have to deal with physically later on. While there have definitely been injuries to many dancers over the years and replacements, they are still in the lower percentage than those who are healthy.

In a few different topics the subject has come up of the health risks associated with being a ballet dancer. A 2000 study on dancers in Pacific Northwest Ballet revealed (not to anyone's surprise) that ballet dancers suffer injuries along the same lines as athletes in professional contact sports. We know technique (or lack of proper) is a major culprit, but are there others? Does the audience push for "bigger and better" circus act type form? Does the schools? The artistic director? The dancer themselves (in order to stand out) And ultimately, in who's hands does the responsibility of health lie?

I'm not sure if this is in effect what you mean, Alexandra, but I'll give it shot. At least for me, the ballet is so beautiful. Even the monsters are beautiful. But I'm not sure I've seen a ballet where there's almost a tangible evil. I may be forgetting something, but I can't think of any "bad guy" roles that have as much stage time as their antithesis. As I'm typing, I just thought of Dracula, but I haven't seen any and no one mentioned him... Yet I "believe" in the fairies, in the hopeless romance that goes on (a woman, trapped in a Swan body). So I think the suspension of disbelief is entirely possible, but I think we live in a society where you turn on the tv and visually we're bombarded with "scary" all the time. I have a feeling I missed the point of your question though, apologies if I did.

I'm not sure if it's a monster but Merril Ashley's Carabosse used to creep me out.

Thanks. I saw that, but when I checked Royal's website, she wasn't listed anymore.

She was a prinicpal with Bavarian, then went to Royal Ballet for a while, does anyone know where she is now? Or if she's still dancing. There's far too many Christina McDermott's in the search engine to figure it out. Thank you!

I did mean to compare them as the "demi-soloist" ranking. (Peters and Rutherford) Thanks for the clarification though, I honestly couldn't remember what Peters looked like up close and personal.

Alexandra, what do you mean when you say a beauty? dance-wise or face-wise? Emily Coates was another, but she left and has found great success with White Oak.

Farrell Fan, I think Delia Peters fell into the "demi-soloist" role that's now occupied by Rutheford.

Isn't most classical music that's not written for a ballet, changed (tempos, phrasing) to suit the choreographer's/dancer's need? And sometimes the dancer, if I recall correctly reading something about Suzanne Farrell coaching Larissa Lezhnina (at the time Kirov) in "Scotch Symphony" and Lezhnina kept saying it was too "fast".