Steve Keeley

Since it has been mentioned that in the "Swan Lake" broadcast, Miranda Weese was a last-minute replacement and that this should be taken into account, I thought I'd be fair and add the following information regarding that horrible "Theme and Variations" performance. That was a Sunday matinee, and Miranda Weese wasn't scheduled to dance that day; the program listed the cast for T&V as Wendy Whelan and Robert Tewsley. Due to illness or injury Kyra Nichols, scheduled to dance in "Diamonds," was replaced by Wendy, and Miranda replaced Wendy in T&V. I have no idea how much notice she had. ~Steve

I see your point Nan; perhaps I should have said her performances were yucky. I thought it was clear from the content of my post that I was casting no aspersions on MS. Weese as a person, but rather criticizing her work. Having since reviewed my notes and discovered that on several occasions I've been impressed by Weese's work, I should have just said I have found her adagio work yucky. I also wasn't complaining about her looks; she's certainly pretty enough. My major objection is the cold, mechanical way I've seen her perform adagios. She seemed to be going through the motions, with no attention paid to either her partner or the audience. At the last performance of "Theme and Variations" that I saw her in, I got the distinct impression she would rather be elsewhere. I squirmed through the entire adagio, and the performance left a bad taste in my mouth that still hasn't gone away. Thus, my use of the word "yucky." (Although I've seen many disappointing performances, the only other ballerina who has ever inspired me to say "yuck" is Sylvie Guillem, for the same reason. Sylvie's technique is astounding, but I have always found a repellent coldness at the heart of her dancing.) ~Steve

I don't think it would be very fruitful to argue over whether or not Weese is a "good dancer." Clearly she must have some talent or she wouldn't be where she is and have so many admirers. The more interesting line of discussion to me is how the different ways we look at ballet and dancers cause some of us to like/dislike someone in particular. I checked through all my old comments written about NYCB performances to see what I wrote about Weese in the past, and found some positive comments. In January 97, writing about a performance of "Divertimento #15," I felt the entire cast was fine but "Of the principals, Miranda Weese impressed me the most in the 'variations' section, but that may be because of the variation (fourth) itself." In June 97, regarding Miriam Mahdaviani’s “Urban Dances, I wrote "Weese, Soto, and Somogyi were especially impressive." When NYCB came to Costa Mesa in October 98, I saw Weese twice. The first time was in "Raymonda Variations": "The leads were Miranda Weese and Philip Neal. I enjoyed him more than her. Neal's movements were so sharp and clean and elegant that he gave the thin material a lot of dignity. Weese, while very competent, didn't generate much excitement in this role." But in "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" I liked her better: "...danced by Miranda Weese and Philip Neal. Together they gave a polished and exciting performance. Miranda showed beautiful line and control, and Neal again impressed me with his sharp, clean and elegant movements." That I did enjoy her performances in these roles meshes with Leigh's comment that "Her heart is in the allegros, through and through." The instances where I most disliked her were in the Odette adagio in "Swan Lake" (her Odile wasn't so bad) and in "Theme and Variations" during the adagio. (I do see this ballet differently than Leigh; to me its heart is in the adagio.) This may be where how I watch ballet colors which dancers I like; it's in the adagios that a ballerina will win or lose my heart. ~Steve [This message has been edited by Steve Keeley (edited October 03, 1999).]

Continuing a controversy I started in the "Ballet's Worst TV Exposure: Miss America" thread: IMO, Miranda Weese is yucky. I'm aware, in saying this, that there are others here who greatly admire her. We all have our own likes and dislikes regarding particular dancers, and one of us may like dancer A more than B, while another may feel that B can dance rings around A. But I don't just like Weese LESS than other dancers, I find her downright off-putting. It may be interesting to compare notes on why we like/dislike Weese as it will illustrate the different qualities each of us feel is important in a ballerina. (Actually, I think it would be more fun if we also impugned each other's eyesight, sanity and ancestry in the process, but Alexandria won't allow that here. Oh well...) In the "Worst Exposure" thread, I singled out Miranda's Odette as an example of a poor performance by a principal dancer of a major ballet company on national television. Under the circumstances that she performed, I granted there that that may have been unfair, but the fact is I've seen her on stage quite a few times and she was just as bad. (I saw her most recently in a performance of "Theme and Variations" that she single-handedly drained all the life out of.) What don't I like about her? For one thing, her whole upper body seems to be along for the ride. She seems to hang out her arms as an afterthought. But her most serious shortcoming is her lack of expressiveness. I can see her moving on the stage, but I feel nothing from her. Sitting in the second row, I got the impression that she had her mind elsewhere, reviewing the things she needed to pick up from the grocery on the way home. A dancer is not merely a technician, but also a performer. If someone walks onto a stage and doesn't try to connect with the audience, or even to give a damn whether or not they're there, then I don't care how proficient they are. That, ultimately, is what makes me like a dancer; does she (or he) communicate to me? Do I feel anything when watching her, or do I just think "Hmm... nice arabesque"? I can overlook some flaws in technique in a dancer who moves me. But no amount of skill in movement will make me enjoy a cold fish. (This is not meant to imply that I think Weese's technique is all that great to begin with.) Do I have anything good to say about Weese? Yes: her footwork is terrific; sharp and fast and precise. She would be great in "Riverdance"; she could let her arms hang lifeless by her side and wear a blank expression while wowing the crowd with her flashing feet. ~Steve [This message has been edited by Steve Keeley (edited October 01, 1999).]

A couple of videos I haven't seen mentioned here: Yulia Makhalina performs the Lilac Fairy on a video of the Kirov's "Sleeping Beauty" (leads are Larissa Lezhnina and Farukh Ruzimatov) from 1989. It used to be available on the Philips label; KULTUR may have reissued it. Isabelle Guerin dances Terpsichore in Balanchine's "Apollo" on the Balanchine Celebration Part I video. ~Steve

I've never seen a ballet competition, and have no interest in doing so. Given the lopsided supply/demand ratio for jobs, the dancers that make it into a major company are the winners of the only competition I think matters. ~Steve

As Estelle said, the Koegler book is not quite up-to-date, having been last updated in 1987. But it's still the best single source. I never bother putting it back on the shelf; it is always sitting right beside my computer. It's hard to find in the U.S. you can order a copy for about $17 from Dance Books UK (www.dancebooks.co.uk). The next book to go for would be the Balanchine/Mason "101 Stories of the Great Ballets." Another very useful reference is "The Dance Handbook" by Allen Robertson & Donald Hutera. ~Steve

But who could they get to play Kirkland and Baryshnikov? ~Steve

Gianinna, I'll be making two trips to NY in May: the first, from May 12-16, to see Viviana Durante with Angel Corella in R&J, plus two casts in "La Bayadere" (Jaffe/Herrera/Carreno and Kent/Dvorovenko/Malakhov); the second trip will be Memorial Day weekend for the two NYCB programs you mentioned plus Viviana's "Giselle." So that weekend will be my suggestion. (Yes, I am actually flying cross-country twice just to see Viviana Durante. Am I devoted, or what?) If you do come the weekend of the 29th, let me know. There will be two other Ballet Alert/a.a.b. denizens joining me at those performances and we can all get a chance to say "hello" to each other face-to-face. ~Steve

I don't think "Classical" ballet aligns well with any other form of classicism in the arts. Certainly not with music; classical ballet tends to be associated with romantic, rather than classical, music. (This, of course, ignores the fact that Baroque, Classical, and Romantic forms of music are usually lumped together as "classical.") If I weren't so lazy, I could probably make up a list of elements that would be required for a ballet to be "classical" as I think of it. Instead, I'll just give the short form: to me, "classical" ballet is anything in the style of Petipa. Petipa used the vocabulary of ballet as it had developed through the romantic era, but spiced it up with the technical virtuosity of the Italians. I think the pas de deux, with its supported adagio, solos, and coda, is one of the main elements of classical ballet. Added to that is a vocabulary of steps and a style of performing them that makes a ballet classical in style. One can stray from Petipa quite a bit and still remain classical; but there comes a point where you cross the line. I may not be able to define classical ballet, but I know it when I see it. ~Steve

My expectations of a proper SW include the basic 4 acts, with Act II and Act IV the "White Acts." Female swans. No psychological re-interpretations. NO JESTER!!! A Black Swan pas de DEUX, not a pas de trois including Rothbart. And they jump in the lake at the end; the score was not written for a happy ending. See the video of the ABT production with Makarova/Nagy to see how to do it right. ~Steve

I keep track of the performances I've seen by writing up comments on them. I do this on the computer, and then post my comments on alt.arts.ballet. Thus, I not only have the original files, but can also search for my posts on Deja News. It would be a fairly simple matter to create a database in Microsoft Excel and enter in the date of the performance, the principals, soloists and even corps, as well as comments about what struck me at the time. But I'm too lazy. ~Steve

An Oliver wrote: "p.s. I see that another Olivier is a very active member of this forum - Well Olivier, if you read this sometime then a big thanks also to you and your wife for coming to London." I was a bit taken aback at first to read Oliver praising PNB in the third person; it sounded a bit self promoting. It wasn't until I reached this part that I realized we had a second Oliver. May I suggest you two alter your profiles and/or signatures (e.g. "Oliver W." and "Oliver F.")so we know which one is which when we read your posts? Thanks, Steve

Two moments that always get to me: the harp riff at the start of the "Rose Adagio," and the moment the curtain goes up on those 17 ballerinas in "Serenade." ~Steve

<blush> Since I've already posted on a.a.b., I won't add much here other than to say I had a ball at the two performances I attended. "Le Corsaire" is a silly, lightweight story to a trite (if lively) score. But the focus here is on splashy, spectacular dancing, and with no real characters or mood to betray, the dancers are free to show off all they can. Gianinna felt that at times it was "too much," but I was thrilled to sit back and let these dancers show me "what they got." (NextStage was also at those performances; maybe we can persuade Next to comment, too.) What I didn't mention on a.a.b. (A Ballet Alert! Exclusive!) was that on Sunday, just before the performance, I observed company class. What a treat that was! Since the class ended a half hour before the performance, some of the dancers (Malakhov, Kent, Herrera) were in make up. Most of my attention during the barre was focused on soloist Veronica Lynn, who was directly in front of me. My word, but she is gorgeous! Tall and elegant and flexible, it was amazing to watch her working and paying attention to the small details. She would come out of a stunning port de bras and go to releve', letting go of the barre and holding her balance, then, SO slowly and deliberately, lower her foot back to fifth maintaining proper placement throughout. It was a beautiful sight. Just behind her her and to the right were two young corps members I couldn't name, who were also impressive. During the center work, I had an opportunity to notice Angel Corella's sister Carmen (you can't miss the resemblance). Turning must be genetic; when the women were doing fouettes, they dropped out one by one as they reached their limit, but Carmen just kept right on turning until the music stopped. She gave the impression she could keep on doing them forever. She even got a hand from the dancers. I love to watch dancers working as much as I love watching them perform. There is something magical about seeing them, not on stage in character and in costume and under the stage lights, but as people working hard on their craft. The wonders they work with their bodies are all the more impressive up close. ~Steve

ABT was doing this a couple of years ago. They would send a small group of dancers to do one-and-two night stands of repertory pieces with recorded music at venues that could not support a full touring production. The idea was to give the people in these small towns an opportunity to see some of the stars of the company, as well as a group of professional dancers. I don't know if "ABT Lite" still tours, but I liked the idea. Those of us who live close to Kennedy Center or the Orange County Performing Arts Center may sneer at recorded music, but if you're living in Melbourne, FL, this is likely to be the high point of your year. ~Steve [This message has been edited by Steve Keeley (edited 02-09-99).]

A small, minor correction: the ABT gala in question was taped not at Lincoln Center but in Nov. 97 during their run at City Center. ~Steve the nitpicker

Ah! Marc mentioned Irina Shapchits. I would love to hear more about this dancer. All I know of her is her Swanilda in the video of Vinogradov's "Coppelia" (a version I seem seem to be alone in having enjoyed). I thought she was lovely and charming, and I looked forward to hearing more of her, but never have. Please fill me in! ~Steve

1998 was not the fullest ballet year for me, and my best moments came back in January in New York City. The most thrilling performances then were at NYCB. One was Darci Kistler in "Diamonds." Darci was pure magic that night. The other was Nichol Hlinka and Damian Woetzel in "Stars and Stripes." They were both dazzling. ~Steve

Giannina, Try www.amazon.co.uk The price there is "Life in Dance" 14.39 pounds/$23.84 Air mail post 4.95 pounds/$ 8.20 Total 19.34 pounds/$32.04 (Based on today's exchange rate of $1.6566/pound) I don't know of any U.S. sellers. ~Steve

I have so many "favorite" dance books that it would be hard to pick a "top ten" list. Many of these books are favorites for different reasons; a favorite collection of photos, a useful reference, etc. So rather than making a list, I'll talk about some favorites one at a time. The one I want to talk about first is the one that made the biggest difference to me on my journey from clueless to knowledgable. This book is "Ballet Steps, Practice to Performance" by Antony Dufort (Clarkson N. Potter, Inc; 1990; ISBN 0-517-57770-4). When I first got bitten by the ballet bug, I would recognize many moves and positions that recurred. I knew these these had names but had no idea of the vocabulary of ballet. This was one of the first books about ballet I bought, and the one I learned the most from. "Ballet Steps" was written by a non-dancer for non-dancers; rather than trying to teach you how to do the steps, he teaches you how to recognize them and how they are put together in a performance. He worked with dancers from the Royal Ballet, watching them in class, asking them questions, and using them as models for his excellent drawings. His drawings of the steps are supplemented with photos of those same steps in a performance. (As a plus, one of the models he used most was Viviana Durante!) After explaining some basic principles like turn-out, the book follows the form of a class; he starts with the barre, explaining plies, tendues, ronde de jambes, and so forth, then moves on to the center work and pas de deux. He explains not only how they are done but why they are significant and points out places in actual ballets where they are used. He wraps it up by re-creating sections of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," demonstrating how these moves are strung together to build a moment of dance. This book made such a difference in my understanding and appreciation of ballet that I recommend it highly to anybody new to ballet. No longer will you say "I loved the part in Sleeping Beauty where she stands on one leg with the other bent behind her while the suitors turn her around"; instead you'll speak of the promenades in attitude. (Maybe I should have posted this on the "New to Ballet" board.) ~Steve

NTSC stands for National Television System Committee, the industry group that defined the standards for U.S. color television signals. The NTSC signal has its phase varied with the instantaneous hue of the color and the amplitude varied with the instantaneous saturation. PAL stands for Phase Alteration Line. In the PAL signal, the subcarrier from the color burst is inverted in phase from one scanning line to the next. These signals have several other differences, including the scanning rate. ~Steve the techie

Ewan, This probably won't be of much help to you, but I bought my copy of "La Bayadere" at Borders Books and Records. While you could do the same online at www.borders.com, this video is in NTSC format (North American), and wouldn't work on a U.K. television. Other videos with Darcey (all NTSC) are: "Prince of the Pagodas" RB w/Fiona Chadwick, Jonathan Cope and Anthony Dowell. "Winter Dreams" RB w/Irek Mukhamedov, Viviana Durante, Anthony Dowell and Nicola Tranah "Mayerling" RB w/ Darcey in a supporting role. The stars are Irek Mukhamedov and Viviana Durante. "Gala Tribute to Tchaikovsky" RB and Royal Opera. Darcey and Zoltan Solymosi dance Balanchine's "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux." Also includes duets by Durante & Sansom (Anastasia), Benjamin & Kumakawa (Nutcracker), and Collier & Mukhamedov (Sleeping Beauty). "Balanchine Celebration Part II" NYCB. Darcey and Lindsay Fischer dance the "Agon" pas de deux. Also, an unnamed and as yet unknown Darcey can be seen in the first part of Makarova's "Ballerina" series. (Not commercially available.) In part one there are scenes of various major ballet schools; in the shots at the Royal Ballet's school one can see an adorable teenaged Darcey at the barre. ~Steve

This is a long, shaggy-dog story, and I've told it before on a.a.b. But since you asked... Growing up, the only culture I was exposed to in my home was what we saw on the television. But at a very early age, movie musicals caught my attention. The first I recall, when I was about 5, was a local broadcast of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." I loved this movie, especially the singing and dancing parts. I would watch all the musicals shown on TV and dreamt of someday going to a B'Way musical. Although born and raised in NYC, I never saw a B'way show until I was earning my own living. But then I did my best to make up for lost time. I loved theatrical dance, but never cared about ballet, which seemed too dainty and fussy for my tastes. Several factors led to a change of heart at age 25. First, my tastes in music started to gravitate toward classical, so I was better able to appreciate the rythms and phrasing of it. Second, although I'd usually favored the high-stepping, energetic dances in musicals, I started to find some of the quieter and more lyrical dances moving me more. Two specific movie examples: Cyd Charisse's lovely "striptease" in "Silk Stockings", and the brides' dance in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." While not as much "fun" as the more raucous dances, they were more deeply moving and satisfying on another level. I recognized that these dances were very balletic, and was thus open to give ballet a try. In June 77, PBS broadcast ABT's "Giselle" live from Lincoln Center. I watched it, and found it quite enjoyable. The following year, the live broadcast was NYCB's "Copellia," which I enjoyed even more. (Today, my feelings about these ballets are reversed, but at that time "Copellia" was more amenable to my B'way inspired tastes.) Shortly thereafter, I went to the Met to catch my first two live ballets, ABT's "Swan Lake" and "Giselle." But although I'd tasted the waters, my primary focus was still B'way musicals. I would attend the ballet once every few years, but it didn't become the obsession it is now until November, 1994. At that time I was browsing through Suncoast, a video retailer, looking for a movie with lots of explosions. The video of NYCB's "Nutcracker" had just been released and was playing on the store's monitors. I wasn't paying much attention to it, but was enjoying listening to the Tchaikovsky. But I happened to glance up just as Darci Kistler was beginning her Sugar Plum Fairy solo (in that production, it occurs early in Act II). BAM! I was enthralled; I must have stood there with my jaw hanging open. I watched the ballet for quite a while, then bought the video, rushed home and watched it several times. Then I started buying every ballet video I could find; then I started looking for books on the subject. I was living in Arlington, VA at the time and started going to every ballet program at Kennedy Center. I couldn't get enough, and still can't. At first, it was a lonely obsession. Nobody I knew was slightly interested in the subject, and I always went alone. I'd come out of a performance all exited but with nobody to talk to. When Time magazine did an article on some up-and-coming ballerinas, I tore out the full-page photo of Darcey Bussell and pinned it up in my office. Besides the fact that I liked to look at it, I had hoped that some closet ballet fan would see it and know they'd found a like mind. No such luck. Even the women I knew were more interested in the Redskins. Then I went online and discovered the USENET newsgroup alt.arts.ballet. At last! Here were people I could talk to! Not only did I get to correspond with other balletomanes, I eventually got to meet quite a few of them. I no longer had to go to the ballet by myself. One of them even convinced me to start taking class. The question remains; why, at age 42, did I suddenly get so totally involved? It's not as if that were my first exposure. I don't know, but I'm glad for it. I told you it'd be long...

How do *I* decide who's great and who is merely competent? For me, it's an ineffable combination of all their qualities. I don't judge them like ice skaters, 5.2 for technique and 6.0 for presentation. I judge them on how, and if, they combine technique, personality, phrasing, expressiveness, projection and everything else. A technically flawed performance can be redeemed by an ability to project feeling. OTOH, a stunning technician like Sylvie Guillem can not only leave me cold, but actually turn me off. What it comes down to is whether or not the dancer communicated with me; did I just sit there and watch her move, or I did I feel something? The great ones are the ones who reach across the footlights and right into my heart. I've noticed when writing about performances that I can more easily write about those I didn't like. I can go on at length about all the things that were wrong with it. But the more I liked a performance the harder it is to explain why. When I'm enjoying it, I don't pay attention to the details; I just let myself get carried along.