Alexandra

But what if some in the audience do perceive it and others, especially one who writes about it, doesn't? And in the example Katharyn cites, the critic was trying to tell the choreographer that his approach was wrong, and that no matter how "good" the work was, it would be "bad" because it was expressionistic?

Thanks for this, Katharyn. I didn't find the remarks vicious, just....well, an editorial instead of a review. His isn't a view I share, but it is shared by many. There's a school of criticism today that believes that abstract dance is superior to any other form; ergo, any other kind of dance is inferior -- plug in any words that would denote "inferior" to you: mindless, stupid, silly, childish, etc. I wouldn't mind if the piece were a commentary on the art form in general, but I think it's out of place in a review. The "write of reply" question is a knotty one. Criticism is a one-way street, and that offends our sense of fairness. But artists, I think, are in a no-win situation. If they write back, they not only risk offending the critic eternally but they often look petty, saying, "I am not mindless" doesn't get you very far. We've had the situation on this forum -- and I know in the early days of alt.arts.ballet there were instances where dancers or choreographers wrote in. But they soon stopped. What can you say? "I'd like everyone to know that I was dancing on a sprained ankle" "I do too know how to create a character, but I only had 10 miniutes of rehearsal and I'd never met my partner before show time" or, "I've never read anything so stubborn, stupid and downright wrongheaded in my life. I graduated magna cum laude"? If Graham Murphy's column was just that -- a column, not a reply defending "my friend Steve," then that could be interesting. As an editor, I'd like that. What do others think about this? How should/can artists who feel they are unfairly criticized fight back?

Sherellen, I'm going to move this to the Balanchine Centennial forum, because I think more people who may have attended will see it there. (I know several of them were flooded out, too.)

Thanks for those -- I've never heard of Carnival of Saints; it sounds interesting.

Thanks for this -- I moved it to Dancers from Links (which is just for the daily posting of links to newspaper and magazine articles) We probably don't have anyone here who saw her dance but any thoughts or appreciations of Taglioni would be most appropriate.

Amen. The first Apollo I ever saw was a film of Villella, in which the director ZOOMED to his face at the moment when Apollo lays his head in the Muses hands. It took me years to get that picture out of my mind when watching "Apollo" on stage. I felt I had to ZOOM over to Apollo's face in close up at that moment.

Perhaps they're working? The last time the company did an alumni night, as I remember it, all the alums did was take a curtain call, and as nice a gesture as that is, it's a long way to come, for some of these people, just to take a curtain call at the height of the spring season.

Ashton was born in September 1904, so the Royal's celebrating his centennial next season is appropriate (the centennial falls in the 2004-2005 season, not this one.)

The camera was also a bit over-excited by Ashton's musicality, ruining a few passages by ZOOMING IN as a gesture was (very well) timed to the music and the cutting away in a flash so you wouldn't miss the movement that ended the next phrase, turning a comma into a neon red exclamation point, as it were. At those moments, I wish I had been in the theater so I could have enjoyed the musicality (and I thought generally the dancers' phrasing was excellent) more quietly.

And "Symphonic Variations" and "Birthday Offering," both of which, especially the former, they did very well. I forgot to mention Julio Bragado-Young's Bottom, which I thought was very touching and subtle. (I'd thought that perhaps the over-acting that made me wince was because of the stage/TV problem, but Ferri, Cornejo and Bragado-Young were both detailed and subtle, so, while one may not see the facial expressions clearly without opera glasses in the Met, I'd still say it was overacted by some.) It was also nice to see a young Bottom, especially the joyous dancing in the finale. If numbers count, I'll also go along with the crowd on the ONE HOUR IS TOO SHORT FOR DANCE, PBS. One of the DC PBS channels ran it at 11 p.m. (in this market, that conflicts with both the late local news and Nightline, and seems to send a message of: "we know no one is really interested in this, but we guess we have to show it sometime."

But of course!

THANK YOU PBS FOR TELEVISING THIS. I hope we have some Nielsen people who are ballet fans I thought ABT did a fine job, especially the corps. This isn't their native language, and they didn't fall into the usual traps of trying to make Ashton look quaint. (I don't think Ashton is either small or big; they didn't mince it, and they didn't look dotty, and even though there was a slightly different accent, I thought they were fine.) Ferri was wonderful, I thought, her performance beautifully danced and subtly acted (as opposed to Stiefel's rolling eyes and flaring nostrils, and the Lovers' three-expressions "acting", the most common usually OH!!!!! -- eyes widened, jaw dropping -- that spoiled the comedy when they're supposed to be poking gentle fun at 19th century melodrama. Cornejo's was a Hall of Fame performance for me; I've never seen that role danced so clearly, and he had the tone just right. I thought Stiefel was off the mark throughout, except in the pas de deux, where I thought is dancing was quite fine. But the Scherzo was too slow, and his preparations showed. (Dowell is impossible to live up to, I think, especially in a created role, and the line just isn't the same with someone who has short legs!). I also had a major quibble with the pas de deux; they danced it as though it were a Petipa balletl: the story is over, now we do a pas de deux. That pas de deux is a conversation, a gentle power struggle, in which the two work out the differences which led to the quarrel in the first place, and I didn't get that at all. But, despite my quibbles, Ashton looked like Ashton, and that is no small accomplishment! I also agree with kfw -- why this isn't in repertories all over is a mystery. Maybe there's hope -- many companies picked up "Fille" after ABT did it, so maybe they'll be a trendsetter for "The Dream" as well. And, while we're throwing out hints -- and this has been said before -- ABT looks so good in Ashton, please please please do more! Cinderella would be nice....

Thanks for asking, Mike -- I didn't see it, I'm afraid, but was intrigued by someone using Persephone as a theme. There's a review of it on DanceView Times, as well, that describes the piece in some detail: Notes from the Underworld

Agree, agree. Balanchine haters should give it a whirl, too Lots and lots and lots of clips of ballets with the original casts.

PNB School is presenting Doug Fullington's reconstruction of Petipa's Le jardin anime on June 19 (among other works on the program). Doug has been working with the Stepanov notation for many years now, and has found many differences between what we think is Petipa and what Petipa thought was Petipa This is a great chance to see and compare -- I hope hockeyfan, sandik and gang will go and report!!!!

BALANCHINE ON FILM Nesholm Family Lecture Hall ~ Marion Oliver McCaw Hall April 27, May 4, and May 11, 2004 SEATTLE, WA -- Pacific Northwest Ballet proudly pays tribute to the genius of George Balanchine, the most influential choreographer of the 20th century, as PNB’s Balanchine Centenary celebration continues with BALANCHINE ON FILM. Hosted by dance historian Doug Fullington with guests from PNB, the three-part screening of historic and documentary films features Balanchine’s revolutionary choreography and his immense contributions to the world of ballet. The series runs April 27, May 4 and May 11 in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall. EVENING ONE Tuesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. From Silence to Sound BALANCHINE ON FILM kicks off with a program featuring the hauntingly beautiful silent films of Balanchine's La Valse (filmed at Jacob's Pillow, 1951) and La Source (filmed c. 1969). These silent films of Balanchine’s choreography are brought to life by PNB pianist Dianne Chilgren, who seamlessly synchronized her playing of the score with the films’ visual images, in this 1995 joint project of The George Balanchine Trust and The New York Public Library, directed by Ron Honsa. Tanaquil LeClercq and Nicholas Magallenes in La Valse, as well as Violette Verdy and Edward Villella in La Source are among the featured dancers to watch for. Western Symphony Balanchine's immense versatility is exhibited in this rare archival film of the Paris taping of Western Symphony, his delightful cowboy ballet choreographed in 1954 and set to Hershy Kay's western-inspired score. Filmed two years later as a motion picture and directed by Thomas Rove, the film features New York City Ballet Dancers Diana Adams and Herbert Bliss, Melissa Hayden and Nicholas Magallenes, Allegra Kent and Robert Barnett, and Tanaquil LeClercq and Jacques d'Amboise. EVENING TWO Tuesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. New York City Ballet, 1965 The celebration continues with a film that takes a more personal look into the life and work of George Balanchine. Filmed for WNET television and directed by Charles Dubin, audiences are given the rare opportunity to see Balanchine discuss his views on dance in this program featuring New York City Ballet dancers performing Balanchine pas de deux. Among the featured dancers are Suzanne Farrell and Arthur Mitchell (Agon), Patricia McBride and Edward Villella (Tarantella), Farrell and Jacques d'Amboise (Meditation) and Melissa Hayden and d'Amboise (Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux). Balanchine Lives! Balanchine Lives!, directed by Michael Blackwood, is a 1997 documentary about Balanchine’s choreographic legacy and the preservation of his ballets as living works of art. The George Balanchine Trust repetiteurs Francia Russell, Elise Borne, Bart Cook, Suzanne Farrell, Sara Leland, Kay Mazzo, Patricia Neary, Suki Schorer, Victoria Simon, Violette Verdy, and Karin Von Aroldingen contribute to an intriguing discussion about the process of staging Balanchine ballets over rehearsal footage of six American and European ballet companies including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet de Capitole of Toulouse, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Bern Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. A Midsummer Night's Dream BALANCHINE ON FILM concludes with PNB's award-winning production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Balanchine’s first original full-length work was choreographed in 1964 to a radiant score by Felix Mendelssohn. The enchanting two-act re-telling of Shakespeare’s beloved tale was revived by Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1997 in a staging by Francia Russell, with new sets and costumes by Martin Pakledinaz. PNB Company dancers, students of PNB School and the BBC Orchestra, directed by PNB Music Director and Conductor Stewart Kershaw, all shine in this production filmed in high-definition by the BBC at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London in 1999, directed by Ross MacGibbon. Winner of the IMZ Dance Screen award for "Best Television Realization of a Stage Production," this special screening is not to be missed. Tickets to BALANCHNE ON FILM are available from the PNB Box Office at (206) 441-2424. Ticket prices are $12 for single tickets, $30 for series tickets (all three evenings). Student tickets are half price. For further information, visit PNB’s website at www.pnb.org. Pacific Northwest Ballet thanks for following BALANCHINE ON FILM promotion partners: 911 Media Arts Center, Film Info List, Mayor’s Office of Film and Music, and TheWarrenReport.

We confirmed this with a company spokesperson today. The company's general practice is to announce retirements and other personnel changes at the end of the season, but it did confirm that Julia Diana and Zachary Hench are leaving to join the Pennsylvania Ballet.

Don't worry, the queries are still out. We doubt it, though. If Spandau was ever a castle, there would have been court ballets performed there, but they wouldn't have been named "Spandau Ballet." I'll let you know what answers we get.

I don't know the finances involved (whether one house is more expensive than another) but there might be an advantage in NOT having the two companies having simultaneous spring seasons.

There are so many issues (indirectly affecting ballet) in today's NYTimes article about Peter Martin's suggestion: Gosh, if that happened, ABT couldn't come in as co-tenant, could it? Another paragraph caught my eye. It's the reason often stated -- for decades -- why there isn't a modern dance repertory company. Does this ring a bell? And a third issue: Public? Would this bring a new audience to modern dance?

I doubt that we're going to find anything -- I agree with Mel and Tancos. I think the group was just trying to pick a cool, provocative name. Or one that they thought was cool and provocative, not having put in much time there.

Welcome back, felursus! We've missed you!!!!

I'm glad you two found each other

Thanks! I'm going to close the thread until we've confirmed the rumor.

This seems to have crossed the line from rumor over to "open secret." I don't think there's anything official yet, and we'll check with the company tomorrow, but I just emailed a colleague in San Francisco who had heard the same thing from many people. If it's true, lucky Pennsylvania Ballet!