Alexandra

I'll look forward to reading your review, Jeannie. I did go, but I found it a very disappointing evening. Not the usual opening night problem -- it looked well-rehearsed. But I have to say I think that Raymonda is the worst thing I've ever seen the company do. There was no frame. It's just a selection of dances one after the other without a ballerina to pull it together. (The production may go over better with other dancers.) I thought Corella was going to set the stage in the entree -- his walk to the ballerina and the way he presented her was beautiful, every movement musical. That was the high point; nothing after lived up to that. I kept thinking, as I often have in the past few years, that the solos have been rehearsed in separate studios (perhaps in different cities) and the cast only meets afterwards. I also feel, as I often do, that I was watching a skating competition: "And now, for his free skate, Mr. Corella will deliver six double tours en l'lair" The individual steps were danced as well as anyone could dance them, but they weren't part of anything. It was just a module plugged into the rest of the modules. For the record, Veronika Part danced in the grand pas classique, with Michele Wiles, in a double solo (presumably they're Henriette and Clemence). Part's arms were lovely, the legs not very strong. Wiles danced beautifully -- but again, it came off as an excerpt. In the men's double variation, David Hallberg (tall and blond) was paired with a short dark-haired boy who had a very hard time with the steps. Hallberg was magnificent; give him a chance and he could hold the stage all by himself and create a world. As Raymonda, Murphy looked overcoached -- every finger was set, as the Danes would say, but again, nothing was integrated into a whole and the dancing was static. She doesn't yet have a ballerina's authority -- and in a company where La Van Hamel was the Raymonda queen for years (not forgetting Cynthia Gregory and Natalia Makarova) she looked so small. Sticking out your chin doesn't make you look authoritative, just snotty. As for the male corps and soloists (with the exception of Hallberg) -- do they take a classical class these days? They looked to me like San Francisco Ballet did before Tomasson took over and turned the SFB corps into classical dancers. The male dancing in Raymonda was below this company's own standard--both compared to when they were just building up to full-evening ballet status in the 1970s, and they tried as hard as was humanly possible to be classical, or even five years ago. I had noticed a change in the men last year in Romeo and Juliet, but in this, it was much more obvious -- no tautness in the dancing or the line, can't land in fifth. The variance among body types makes it look as though they're being selected for the Duato rather than Petipa repertory. The wrist flicks are still there, but now they're done in a studied, "refined" way, which makes it worse. Especially coming after the Kirov, the lack of polish was hard to watch. It's as though the dancers are using bad grammar but speaking with the best Oxford accent that can be managed if you were born in Mississippi. The audience loved the Duato; I loathed it. The dancers did everything that was asked of them and looked like amoebas in body stockings. They look terrific in it, the way they used to look terrific in Tetley. I have two objections to the Duato works I've seen (aside from his extensive "quoting" of other works). One is that they make the dancers look anonymous. I often am surprised, during the curtain calls, to realize that I've been watching a particular dancer. And second, watching it is like watching marshmallows melt to muzak. The music for "Without Words" (like dance usually has words?), by Schubert, is far from muzak, but it might as well BE muzak the way it's used. I actually thought of you during it, Jeannie, because of something you wrote a couple of years ago here, of what opera house ballet meant, and to me, this was an example of something that doesn't belong in an opera house at opera house prices. I'll hold off on the Beatles until tomorow. I'm sorry to be so negative about a company with so many wonderful dancers and whose performances I've enjoyed so many times in the past. I have high hopes for this weekend's Bayadere, where the women's corps gets a chance to shine.

Leigh, I asked an ABT representative tonight, and was told that we could expect to see more of Meunier and Veronika Part in the spring season. Apparently there have been off and on injuries, unspecified. Looking ahead to this weekend's Bayaderes, Meunier is listed as a Shade Saturday afternoon, and a D'Jampe Dancer Saturday night. As for Part -- I know this is a Meunier thread, but many of our Meunier are also Part fans -- was one of the soloists in the Raymonda Grand Pas Classique. She will also dance a Shade Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon.

Casting for next week is up. For those who have been worried about Mr. Tewsley, he's in Emeralds. NEW YORK CITY BALLET PRINCIPAL CASTING FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 10 – FEB. 15, 2004 TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10, 7:30 P.M. (Conductor: Kaplow) JEWELS EMERALDS: Rutherford, *Tewsley, Ringer, Fayette, *Edge, *Riggins, *Carmena RUBIES: Borree, Boal, Reichlen [Grant] DIAMONDS: Kistler, Askegard WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 11, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Moredock) COPPÉLIA SWANILDA: Ringer; FRANTZ: Woetzel; DR. COPPÉLIUS: La Fosse+; WALTZ: Edge; DAWN: *Tinsley; PRAYER: Hanson; SPINNER: van Kipnis; WAR & DISCORD: Bar, Hendrickson THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 12, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Kaplow) JEWELS EMERALDS: Rutherford, Tewsley, Ringer, Fayette, Edge, Riggins, Carmena RUBIES: Weese, Soto, *Lowery [Grant] DIAMONDS: Kowroski, Zelenski+ FRIDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 13, 11:00 A.M. (This is a special free performance for New York City school children, closed to the general public.) (Conductor: Fiorato) SERENADE: Nichols, Borree, Kowroski, Askegard, Fayette CONCERTO BAROCCO: Weese, Rutherford, Hübbe FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 13, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Moredock) COPPÉLIA SWANILDA: Ringer; FRANTZ: Woetzel; DR. COPPÉLIUS: La Fosse+; WALTZ: Edge; DAWN: Tinsley; PRAYER: Hanson; SPINNER: van Kipnis; WAR & DISCORD: Bar, Hendrickson SATURDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 14, 2:00 P.M. (Conductor: Kaplow) JEWELS EMERALDS: Rutherford, Tewsley, Ringer, Fayette, Edge, Riggins, Carmena RUBIES: Weese, Soto, Lowery [Grant] DIAMONDS: Kowroski, Zelenski+ SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 14, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Fletcher+) COPPÉLIA SWANILDA: †Fairchild; FRANTZ: *De Luz; DR. COPPÉLIUS: Hendrickson; WALTZ: Mandradjieff; DAWN: Tinsley; PRAYER: Hanson; SPINNER: Riggins; WAR & DISCORD: Bar, Orza SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 15, 3:00 P.M. (Conductor: Fletcher+) COPPÉLIA SWANILDA: Fairchild; FRANTZ: De Luz; DR. COPPÉLIUS: Hendrickson; WALTZ: Mandradjieff; DAWN: Tinsley; PRAYER: Hanson; SPINNER: Riggins; WAR & DISCORD: Bar, Orza

I think I'd take a child, msd. There's nothing risque about the show at all. As a matter of fact, they do a repertory that would have been danced in the 1940s and 1950s. A child may have questions about how a man can look so like a woman -- or not! -- and why one might want to ("They never get to dance on pointe in a real company, dear, and besides, women's roles are better," is how my aunt would have handled it.) The Trocks are very funny, and people can respond to the physical comedy of it even if they don't get the ballet jokes. On the other hand, your child might be disappointed that it's not as racy as the Super Bowl half-time show and commercials! (disclaimer: I write as a childless dance fanatic who would probably take a child to see anything that didn't have nudity or wasn't hideoulsy scary)

Since he was born in 1969, by my math that makes him 33. I saw him with the Kirov a few weeks ago in "Swan Lake" and he was dancing very well.

I wouldn't say that Sleeping Beauty is my favorite -- I couldn't pick one either! I'd have a hard time narrowing it down to 25!! Just that it's the one I'd vote for to go in the time capsule -- for the reasons Drew so beautifully stated above.

But there's also professionalism. And when half the audience can see you playing pinochle, this is not cool.

We have two reviews on DanceViewTimes (you'll see them on the front page) Did no one go? Your reviews, please!

Great! Our original intention was that these company forums would be little club houses for the fans of the companies. So let's see how it goes!

I hope we will have responses. We've had a couple of inquiries about Ballet Met, as you can see, but not a regular "population" That happens with the Net -- you need three people, minimum, to have a lively forum. Let's hope we'll have one. I'm serious about being happy to host a post-performance chat. If you want to put up a notice somewhere inviting people to log on and come to this forum, maybe we'll stir something up

Hi, Jack, and welcome to Ballet Alert! Thanks for posting this -- yes, it's permitted, and very much welcome. It would be good to have a post-performance talk, too, although we've never found a good balance to this, to tell you the truth. It can be very valuable to have discussion between audience and artist, but Audience sometimes gets very quiet in such a siituation, and is reluctant to post what they really think.... so we'll have to play this by ear. I hope you understand. I hope you'll join in our discussions so people will get to know you -- we have several dancers, former dancers, choreographers, ballet masters here, and it usually works out quite well.

I agree that it doesn't matter if they're doing crosswords, or playing pattycake, during rests if they play well, but bad horn playing isn't acceptable in orchestras -- Leigh, every CD isn't edited, and I've attended many symphony and chamber concerts over the years; I've never heard horn playing as I do from ballet orchestras. (Editing to say that that last comment refers to the orchestra here, in D.C. I haven't heard NYCB's often enough to compare that.)

I've seen the same thing here, Uncrossed 5th, when I've been seated upstairs. Re horns. Do you have one CD of any symphony (of the non-ballet type) where the horns break wind, as it were? Or ever heard it in a concert? I haven't. Maybe they should all play the Handel horn concerti every night for homework!

Thanks to Maria, Jane and Simon for these -- it sounds like a bumpy night, although not without interest. Simon, I was struck by your comments about Guillem the Tragedienne (I've seen her "Month in the Country" and her Marguerite -- she's not my idea of an Ashton dancer. I think she's interesting in those roles only as they are an extension of herself -- Natalia P, married to a rich man, yes, but stuck in the country what a bore -- and a courtesan who is suddenly selfless. I would have thought she'd make a good Siren -- tall, thin and icy, but I'm also not surprised she's not. But the Tragedienne -- is it because this is the career path for end of career ballerinas? Men find their way into modern dance. Women cling to Giselle and her sisters like grim death. I'm curious about Edward Watson too -- a dancer I haven't seen much of (and never in a major role), but who's often mentioned as one of the Boys Most Likely. Maria liked him in Agon -- others?

Still laughing -- thank you, Juliet What is it about the horns? (Dale, can you tell us?) The Kennedy Center Orchestra's horn section has yet to get through a Prokofiev "Romeo and Juliet" without embarrassment. One of the Post's music critics (forget which one) made special mention, during the Kirov Opera's recent week here, how Gergiev had made the horn section behave, as though it were a first -- and it may well have been. Back to NYCB, has Andrea Quinn made a difference? All I read about is how fast she is.

Thanks, Mary J -- what a good question! Much harder than just one Balanchine, and that's hard enough! I'd go wiith Sleeping Beauty, both as the epitome of ballet, and the best model for future development.

Re applause: I think sometimes people clap because they think they should. (I don't mean to imply that they don't appreciate or admire what they're applauding, but that they think it's proper to express it. I'm of the "don't applaud until the end" school, too. Re Thalictum's observation: I think you've got a point. She's spoken about how important that coaching was for her. (There was a brief interview with her, by Dale Brauner, in a recent Ballet Alert! newsletter about this.) This kind of guest artist exchange is one of the positive things happening today in ballet. 20 years ago, it wouldn't have been possible.

A post on this thread was deleted (to put Mel's remarks in context, and well said, Mel!) and the poster was notified. The post was put up again, and again deleted. Please do not make the same post again. If you wish to know why the post was deleted, please check your email. Back to the topic!! justafan, thanks very much for the link to the transcript.

Costas sent us this by email and asked me to post it, to clarify dates and his relationship with the company. "Costas has been photographing dance for 35 years. However, his emphasis on NYCB and Balanchine did not start right away. His first assignments were some of the Judson Church dancers, then Bejart, then ABT. He was initially invited to photograph NYCB at Wolf Trap in the summer of 1973 on the occasion of Melissa Hayden's farewell performance. It was only later that he had open access to the company."

That's a lovely story, chauffeur -- thank you! (There's an interview with O'Connor on the DanceView Times site. I can't conjure up the url right now, but if you go to www.danceviewtimes.com and put his name in the search engine, you should find it. Or go to the DanceView Times forum at the bottom of this board; I'm pretty sure it's listed there. I'm glad you're poking around, and I hope others do as well. It was my hope that if we showed the forum list (which was too long to do when the two boards were merged) that people would discover forums they hadn't realized existed. Don't forget to click on the American Ballet Companies link (and European and Other) -- you'll find lots of subforums inside. Also, the Ballets forum has subforums for some of the major ballets. Tell your friends

But they haven't tapped out the arts cognoscenti! In DC, many of the arts cognoscenti (ballet subscribers from the 1970s) have moved to opera and need to be wooed back, but they won't come back to a program aimed at people who equate ballet with footbal. Ballet is in the hands of the marketeers, and we're going to have more and more of this, and will only drive away people who might go to the ballet to, gosh, see ballet! (Thanks for being a good sport! I knew I could count on that, too ) I hope we'll hear from people on all sides of this issue, including those for whom ticket sales are a real, rather than theoretical, concern.

Yes, and coupled with the new MSN commercial, where the Butterfly gives Joe Sixpack two tickets to the ballet after he and his wife quarreled with the line, "It works every time" and then cuts to Lincoln Center to see the wife covering him with kisses (ABT poster nicely in background; Butterfly liked the ballet), we know what SCORE means. They're not selling the art form, they're not saying the production is good. They're saying you'll be able to score if you take a woman -- and, I agree, FF, the persistent stereotype that ballet is for women is very harmful to ballet.

Oh, I'll be the first curmudgeon. I think it cheapens ballet. Nothing against the Joffrey -- these ads are turning up all over the place, including ABT. Other opinions welcome!

Thank you, Estelle -- I hope you'll be going to some of these and telling us about them!

Thank you, Marc -- I agree. But isn't it of significance that, at least in this case, somebody there realizes it? A little candle of hope......