koshka

OK Alertniks, POB is doing Clavigo tonight in Athens, where I am at the moment. Anybody know anything about this ballet? How hard should I try to go, given that I had my dose of avant garde for the year already?

Well, to me the class sounded interesting, but given that there are a bunch of other appealing events and that it would cut into some of my "regular" classes, I'm passing. A mid-level technique class might be a different story. :-)

About the tutus: yes, there were some yellow ones (and they were dreadfully worn and dirty), but for DonQ on the last day of the run, she definitely wore a red and black one that was very likely custom-made (seems to be common in Russia) and incredibly gaudy.

It pleases me immensely that the Kennedy Center is offering more of these events to subscribers, rather than just to big donors. There are also a few open rehearsals and a Royal Danish Ballet master class for which tickets are available; as far as I know, last year these events were only for the big donors or others with connections of some sort. I really hope these events are "successful" by whatever measure the Kennedy Center uses so that the trend will continue. And yes, I'll be passing on the actual class too. :-)

From what I observed at her performance style at the Kennedy Center last season (very gaudy, very "new Russian"--ridiculously glittery tutu, lots of jewelry (!!!!)...), and from comments from one of my friends in Moscow, I'd be inclined to believe the theater's version of events more than Volochkova's.

You might want to consider boxing them instead of putting them in binders. It should be fairly easy to find some kind of box that will accommodate the size (possibly from a library supply company). Another possibility is to find generic magazine binders of the appropriate size, but I fear that this would also be expensive. A third option would be to store them in page protectors in regular 3-ring binders. PS Now that I see that we live in the same town (!), I should add that I don't know of any likely shops around here, though I do have a colleague that has located a library-supply firm and otherwise I would suggest a spin through Ikea.

I have a Sleeping Beauty program that I got at the Mariinsky last October (2002). It has about 6 or 7 full-stage photos that purport to be from the 1890 production of Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theater. I feel sure that photos like this must be easy to find, but if you have not seen them and would like to, there is surely some way I can transmit them to you.

If you have a decent public library, check there--my public library (Arlington, VA) has it... There was a book too.

Do the other ABT SIs also have performances? It looks like I might be near the SoCal ABT SI about the time that it ends, and I would love to catch a performance.

Socalgal-- Is the Houston Ballet roster on the Houston Ballet site, or where can I find it? Or can someone list who from BB went there?

I second the comments about the extremely dubious significance of most "statistics". About ticket prices: let's face it, you have to really really want to see it and/or have lots of money for tickets that run $40-$80 and sometimes more. On the other hand, this isn't crazy: pro sports event and rock concert prices are typically at least at this level and tickets sell just fine. (And then there's opera...) For subscribers and prime seats the tickets have to be at a certain level to pay the bills, but there are ways to sell cheaper tickets without cannibalizing or alienating the full-price audience, including --"student rush" tickets--I don't know if these exist in DC, but in Boston the Wang Center (where BB performs) has them and as of a few years ago they were $12. You would think that this system could be extended fairly easily to other penniless ballet nuts (eg, the "student" discount could also apply to dance teachers). Very few students and dance teachers can afford full-price subscriptions (though I will admit that I scrimped to afford a BB subscription as a graduate student). --Boston also has a half-price ticket booth for unsold tickets as of the day of the performance or maybe the day before that. I think NY has something similar. I think these are an interesting channel because they may get people in who come to the kiosk just wanting to see a show--if ballet is one of the options, maybe they'll give it a try and maybe they'll even like it. --Washington Ballet's "preview night" is about 1/3 less than the other nights. Usually Weds. is "preview night" and then Thursday is "opening night".

All- I am going on a short trip to Vienna, Athens, Bucharest and Sofia in the middle of September. Does anyone know of any performances, open adult classes, or interesting ballet shops in any of these cities? Sadly, there is only opera at the Vienna Opera on the days I'll be there.

So why aren't you naming the "unsung jewel"???

I believe that Cupid was danced by students when I saw DonQ at the Kirov last October.

About the scary tutus--maybe it was another ballet. It was definitely a BB production (maybe they were just badly cut and were riding up???) Whatever--happily, I never saw anything like it again, at BB or elsewhere. But we do still remember these costumes with a shudder. If the scary costumes won't be there, perhaps we will consider taking my friend's 6-year old. She made it through the spring Balanchine program, so maybe she'll last through DonQ. Thanks for the clarification on what will and won't be different, and for the update on my favorite Jester ever.

Wow! I can't believe that Polyana Ribeiro has been dancing soloist/principal roles for 10 years now! Time flies! Costumes: I am vaguely recalling that there was a BB production, likely DonQ, with really awful thong-bottom tutus in the first act. Eek! My ballet subscription buddy and I were _horrified_, even as we noted with a teensy bit of catty satifaction that it was clear that not even professional dancers all have "buns of steel". Sure hope this production's costumes are different. Eek. I am squirming just remembering it. Mme. Hermine: in the gymnastics world, errors such as you mention are referred to as "obligatory gymnastics article mistake"--there always seems to be at least one. Is Daniel Meja still dancing? If so, where?

Thanks for the info. I still have a season subscription to Boston Ballet after being in DC nearly 9 years, so I will be going. The new schedule is apparently the result of budget cuts. It is rather inconvenient for those of us coming from afar, but it might be better for the production and the dancers. About DonQ for kids: in Russia/former Soviet Union, DonQ seems to be _the_ ballet for kids--it was on the matinee program at the Kirov / Mariinsky this fall, and I once attended a weekday kiddie matinee of it (hundres of schoolkids and...me) in Moldova. The latter was extra-hammy and especially entertaining. The exception would be the Eifman version, whose asylum scenes could be scary to kids.

I love any and all DonQ performances. IMO it is really a perfect ballet for kids--in some ways much better than the Nutcracker. Does anyone know --How this DonQ is different from/similar to other productions? In particular, it seems to me that BB has done DonQ in the past 5 years or so, but from the wording of the press release, they have not done the Nureyev DonQ since 1986. --Who will be dancing Kitri? (A role tailor-made for Polyana Ribeiro IMO)

I am NOT asking for gossip here, but is there any word on where any of these dancers will be going next?

To add about being "bored": It does happen, but for me only in a very specific circumstance, which is when I am in a class a bit lower than my true level AND at the same time the level is a bit high for some people in the class, so that there's lots of "down time". Except for that circumstance, even a lower-level class provides plenty to work on, and in fact one of my teachers seems to push me a bit more when I take a lower-level class. I'm not sure why this is, but might go to a topic being discussed in the teacher's forum about corrections in adult classes. In the lower-level classes, maybe there are more students who are not particularly interested in or receptive to corrections. If I had my druthers, I'd take a couple of classes a week in the more correction-intensive kids' classes, but that is apparently Not Done.

OK, here's my $0.02 and story, which I've probably told elsewhere here. There is nothing that makes me a "natural" for ballet--I have a long torso, short arms and legs, no musicality, etc. I do have very "sturdy" feet and a nice high demi-pointe without any effort. Took ballet but never particularly seriously (2-4 classes/week) from age 10ish to 17ish at several different studios, the most serious and "best" of which was bek's. Had to stop halfway through my senior year of high school because of logistical challenges but it didn't particularly bother me at that point. Went to college in Chicago. Attended ballet performances as much as I could afford, which wasn't much, though I did get to see the Kirov in 1987. Worked in Minneapolis. No ballet performances. Moved to Boston for school. Attended as many performances as possible at Boston Ballet--I had season tickets (ouch-this was expensive for a student!) and made use of the "student rush" tickets. Moved to Washington, DC. with a real job, so I now have 2 subscriptions to the Kennedy Center and one to Washington Ballet. After 7 years of driving past the local studio, I finally gathered the courage to try a class. I was prompted by three things: 1. A loss of flexibility due to my only form of exercise being bicycling. 2. Weight gain. I was not yet above the "healthy" range for my height, but even with the biking, I was getting there and it felt not-right for me. 3. One of the "youngsters" at work, just out of college, was taking classes and talking about it. Somehow it made me remember how much I missed it, after 18 (eek) years without a class. That first class was 2 years ago. It was fun from the beginning. I started to lose weight quite easily and rapidly. I started with 2 classes / week, then 4. That was the first year, at the end of which I was well and truly hooked. I now find it irritating when we have breaks between terms. This school year I've managed to average about 5 classes per week. I guess I've gotten better--it's hard to tell. Some things seem easier and some seem harder. I have certainly gotten muscle definition where there was none before. The adults don't get annual evaluations as the kids (under 18s) do. At the place where I take classes, there are separate classes for kids and adults, so we don't often mix and there's not the issue of seeing the youngsters advance. Sometimes in the summer the upper-level kids who are not at SIs come to adult classes, and my feeling then is that it's just a pleasure to be in class with them. So, why? It is fun. Yes it is hard work, but so are lots of things that are fun. We know that exercise is addictive at a biochemical level, and that is certainly part of it. It is a mental challenge in a way that it wasn't when I was a kid. It is an escape. So that's it, I guess. I started for the fitness side and am now addicted.

Here is a story about Misty Copeland's path: http://www.s-t.com/daily/11-98/11-01-98/e08li161.htm She was spotted at age 13 (!) by a teacher who gave her a scholarship and, when the commute to the studio became too much, took her in. At some point her mom became unhappy with this arrangement, and there was some much-publicized legal maneuvering, which is reviewed the story cited above. By the accounts I've read, her mom always wanted Misty to be happy, and knew how happy dancing made her, but was very uncomfortable about how ballet is so all-consuming and was keeping Misty from regular school and a "normal" life. From what I understand, after the end of the story cited above, she returned to live with her mom, then went to ABT for an SI at age 16, and then was invited to join ABT's junior company. As we all know, the story ended happily and Misty is dancing professionally after having her first ballet class at age 13.

Do you mean Jennifer Glaze, from Boston Ballet? A google on her suggests that she has retired from dancing and is still with Boston Ballet as some kind of an assistant to the artistic director. You might try calling Boston Ballet (617) 695 6950 and just asking if she is still there.

I always go for the front row, ideally toward the center, but I prefer the front row even if I have to be off to the side. Why? I don't know. Maybe my eyes are bad. I like to be able to see the details: faces, feet, costumes, etc. much more than the larger formations that can be seen better from afar. I also like not having to look around/over others. I am usually just tall enough to see feet from front-row seats, though sometimes it's a stretch. Heck, I'd probably work as a super if I could, but they never seem to need average-height women. Next-best if I can't get the front row: as close to the stage as possible. I also like the backstage "seat" I usually have when the teenagers where I take classes perform.

I've seen many wonderful male dancers and can't pick a favorite, but then I never saw the "greats"--Baryshnikov, Nureyev. Some favorites: As Jester, Daniel Meja, who used to dance with Boston Ballet. I probably saw him dance 12 or more years ago, and to this day, he is the standard when I see a Jester. None has measured up so far. Otherwise: I liked Zelensky, esp. his jumps. There is a very young (23 or 24, I was told) and even younger-looking Kirov dancer I saw this fall. I think his name is Anton Korsakov, but not sure about that.