Alexandra

Now that's an interesting question -- thinking of the artist's biographies and autobiographies I've read, think there's a Condition (it's not quite a syndrome) that causes them to know exactly how good they are and, in one pocket of their heart understand this and demand recognition; but in another pocket, they think they're worthless. And although these seem contradictory, they seem to coexist in many people. (This must be distinguished from Polite Modesty, as when Ashton would refer to "my poor baubles." He knew they weren't poor baubles, but I think he wanted the person he was addressing to tell him this. Part reassurance, perhaps, and part acknowledgement.)

Most of Danceview Times this week is on Balanchine: http://www.danceviewtimes.com/ Mindy Aloff's letter has a short preview of the Balanchine documentary to be broadcast on PBS this week, as well as a detailed report on the panel discussion (with Anna Kisselgoff, Peter Martins, Jacques d'Amboise, Arthur Mitchell and Merrill Ashley) called Balanchine @ 100 Dale Brauner has a preview of the Balanchine documentary, including a list of all the clips used And there are two reviews of the first week's rep, one by Gay Morris (new to DVTimes, but a regular contributor to Danceview for years. She wrote about dance in San Francisco for us and was book reviews editor for a while) and Susan Reiter First paragraph(s) are on the front page, with links to the articles inside.

Maybe it will come to L.A. another day. Here's hoping! And here's a link to Dale Brauner's article on DanceView Times with a listing of all the flim clips: So you can print this out and read along while you watch. http://www.danceviewtimes.com/dvny/feature...icanMasters.htm

It can also mean that that particular web-site/distributor is out of stock -- this happened when my book was first released. A distributor may only order ten copies of the book, and so when those are sold, it's "sold out." But it's not out of print; they can order more. You'll sometimes see this on Amazon: Only 1 copy remaining, more on the way.

Great quote! I hope you got it on tape so you can play it for him when he's a big man

This is happening all over Europe -- classical companies are being turned into contemporary companies. (I have no objection to contemporary companies -- let them flourish! I do object to the destruction of the classical tradition, of course.) I think a large part of it is money. A contemporary company means fewer, or no, toe shoes, much smaller cast works and, hence, a smaller company and in many cases, the end of the orchestra, because for some reason audiences accept taped music for contemporary dance.

Thanks Beckster and Rebekah! I think both of you have helped answer the question I posed to Alymer above (and a belated thanks to Alymer for your very thoughtful answer; I haven't been able to be much on the board this week, due to looming deadlines elsewhere, and wasn't able to read your answer until today. Beckster, you may have been disappointed with the original cast as well (or subsequent casts, for about three decades after the ballet's premiere) but one could also make the case that with a stronger cast, the dancers pull the ballet together -- or, to put it another way, when you have a weak cast, the ballet looks like sections and not a coherent whole. Alymer, as for ballets disappearing, I hold the memory of Hans Brenaa as a hope. He brought back "Lifeguards" ["Livjaerne paa Amager"] after it had been out of repertory for nearly 30 years. Granted, he was in a company where there were a lot of dancers still around who had seen those performances, and a few who had been in them, but he was also able to show new dancers how to do the roles. So there's always hope......

Yes, please post your review! Khan is controversial -- some people see great depth, yet I've read others who've written he's exhausted his movement ideas in five minutes. There's another review on the DanceView Times site, by Susan Reiter, also generally positive: An Unsettling Journey But please post what you thought (and please never be reluctant to do so, whether you agree or disagree with what someone else has written).

There will be a preview of this by Dale on DanceViewTimes this week (out Monday) with a complete listing of the ballet excerpts included in these programs. (Thank you, Dale!)

There will be a book launching Tuesday, January 27 at 7PM in the big Barnes & Noble Bookstore near Lincoln Center (at Broadway & 67th Street). There will be a 1-hour roundtable with Lourdes Lopez, Virginia Johnson, Nancy Reynolds, Sean Lavery and Costas.

Thank you, Effy -- I'm glad you mentioned the casting. It's a problem with the Bournonville ballets generally -- stars continue to be stars, and often they'd take tiny parts -- like Aage Poulsen doing the drummer in Napoli or the Postman, for heavens sake, in Far From Denmark. And they make a role out of it. And that's what Bournonville ballets were made of. Viderik and Diderik had become corps parts the last time I saw it.

The children at the Royal Danish Ballet school are called "little mice" and have been for at least a century. It's the same scampering about idea -- and until about the 1970s, the children had the run of the theater and would go visit "friends" in the paint and carpentry shop, and play with the old costumes in wardrobe -- then scurry away if they were caught someplace they shouldn't be. I also think the mice/rat comparison reflects the comparison in size. Provincials are mice; you have to live in a major capital to be a rat. In the 19th century, theaters were filled with rats -- I've read stories about patrons carrying umbrellas to the theaters so they could beat the little critters away if they came into the parquet, lured by the sweet sounds of the orchestra. So one can imagine people hearing the patter of little feet and not being sure whether they were hearing rats or children.

I had it on while I was working, and watched as much as I could. I liked what I saw -- it took dance seriously. It was frustrating to hear the music for "Emeralds" and "Symphony in C" and not see any dancing, but they did use "Emeralds" for Degas' green period paintings, so they were paying attention.

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE AT THE GUGGENHEIM TO PRESENT SYMPOSIUM ON NEW PRODUCTION OF RAYMONDA SUNDAY AND MONDAY, JANUARY 18 AND 19 AT 8 P.M. ABT Dancers to Perform Excerpts from New Production of the Full-Length Ballet American Ballet Theatre, in conjunction with the Guggenheim’s Works & Process series, will present a discussion and performance excerpts from the Company’s all-new full-length production of Raymonda on Sunday and Monday, January 18 and 19 at 8 P.M. in the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim Museum. Moderated by ABT Artistic Director of Education and Training John Meehan, the symposium will discuss the past, present and future of the full-length ballet, which was first performed in 1898 in St. Petersburg, Russia. This new production, conceived and directed by Anna-Marie Holmes and ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie with choreography by Ms. Holmes after Marius Petipa, will have its United States Premiere on May 21, 2004 during ABT’s Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House. A co-production with the Finnish National Ballet, Raymonda was given its World Premiere in Helsinki by the Finnish National Ballet on May 10, 2003. During the evening, Kevin McKenzie will answer questions about the new production, as well as coach ABT dancers, including Soloists Michele Wiles and David Hallberg, in excerpts from the ballet. In addition, ABT Ballet Mistress Irina Kolpakova will discuss her experiences with the ballet and will present video clips from her performances of the title role with the Kirov Ballet. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary season, the Works & Process series, produced by Mary Sharp Cronson for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, features extraordinary contemporary music, dance, opera, and theater. Each event presents excerpts of productions accompanied by discussion among the artistic collaborators, offering insight into the creative process. The Guggenheim Museum is located at Fifth Avenue at 89th Street in New York City. Tickets are $18 for general admission, or $15 for members of the Guggenheim Museum, ABT’s Dancer’s Circle or Golden Circle and for students and senior citizens. Tickets may be purchased at the Museum admissions desk, through the box office by calling 212-423-3587 or by email at boxoffice@guggenheim.org. The box office is open from 1 to 5 P.M., Monday through Friday. For more information about ABT, please visit www.abt.org <http://www.abt.org/> .

The classes weren't three hours long. They weren't given on the name day of the week either. The children's classes would do Monday class for a few days "until the teacher felt we made some progress" and then move on to Tuesday. Bruhn was trained in those classes. Everyone through Niels Kehlet and Flemming Flindt -- they'd be one of the last who had contact with those classes before the school was trained. I deal with the training system extensively in my biography of Kronstam Yes, Hubbe was trained in Bournonville. You don't have to take "the schools" to get Bournonville training. From 1950 on, the teachers -- Volkova, Williams, Brenaa, Kronstam -- would use Bournonville steps and enchainements in their teaching. Volkova would concentrate on the preparatory work needed for a step, and expanded the classes in that way. There were always Bournonville classes of some sort, I think; I doubt there was a season without them, so that the dancers could stay in touch with them. There is a generation that didn't know the shcools by heart -- didn't know that the steps they were doing came from Thursday's class, say, but that doesn't mean they didn't know the steps or weren't trained in the style.

Can't help, I'm afraid -- I've tossed my Nutcracker program. I didn't see her name in Swan Lake. But, as we've seen, the programs weren't very helpful.

There are two interesting programs coming up this week -- DC people, they're free! 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. A chance to see a lot of different choreographers' work: Friday, January 9, 2004 DC Area Dancers D.C. Area Dancers - Men’s Project: An eclectic mix of solo and group works have been created by local dancers and choreographers, including Vladimir Angelov, Daniel Burkholder, Reggie Cole, Paul Emerson, Reggie Glass, Ludovic Jolivet, Helanius Wilkins. Saturday, January 10, 2004 DC Area Dancers D.C. Area Dancers - Women’s Project: An eclectic mix of and solo and group works have been created by local dancers and choreographers, including Karen Bernstein, Sherill Berryman-Johnson, Mary Buckley, Gesel Mason, Cathy Paine, Carla Perlo, Deborah Riley. These will also probably be broadcast live -- check the Center's web site: www.kennedy-center.org

ROBERTA MARQUEZ TO MAKE DEBUT WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE Principal Guest Artist to Perform Nikiya in La Bayadère at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Metropolitan Opera House Roberta Marquez, a guest artist with The Royal Ballet in London, will debut with American Ballet Theatre as a Principal Guest Artist performing the role of Nikiya in La Bayadère on Saturday evening, February 7 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. She will reprise the role on Friday evening, May 14 and at the matinee on Wednesday, May 19 during the Company’s 2004 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House. At each performance, Ms. Marquez will perform the role of Nikiya opposite ABT Principal Dancer Ethan Stiefel as Solor. Born in Brazil, Ms. Marquez trained at the Maria Olenewa State School of Dance. In 1994, she joined the Municipal Theatre Ballet in Rio de Janiero and was promoted to principal dancer in 2002. Her repertoire with that company includes leading roles in Natalia Makarova’s stagings of Swan Lake and La Bayadère. In 2003, Ms. Marquez was invited to perform as a guest artist with The Royal Ballet. With The Royal, she performed Nikiya in La Bayadère, as well as Princess Aurora opposite Mr. Stiefel as Prince Desire in Natalia Makarova’s The Sleeping Beauty. During The Royal Ballet’s tour to Russia, she performed Odette-Odile in Anthony Dowell’s Swan Lake at both the Bolshoi and Maryinsky Theatres. Ms. Marquez’s repertoire also includes Swanilda in Enrique Martinez’s Coppélia, Kitri in Alicia Alonso’s Don Quixote, Juliet in Vladimir Vasiliev’s Romeo and Juliet, Katarina in John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew, Chloë in George Skibine’s Daphnis and Chloë, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Dalal Achcar’s The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Serenade, Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc and Tatiana and Olga in John Cranko’s Onegin. Ms. Marquez was awarded the Silver Medal at the Ninth Moscow International Competition in 2001 and Best Dancer of the Year by the City of Rio de Janiero in 2001.

I'm always amazed at how much kids do get. Two anecdotes: 1. I saw La Sylphide at the Met, and coming out I was behind a little girl, about 4, with her Dad. "I know what that meant!" she said. "Don't ever be mean to a witch!" Not the whole point, perhaps, but certainly not off point. 2. The very imaginative three-year-old son of a friend was taken to the Kirov's "Swan Lake" (on Michael's theory above). It was outdoors at Wolf Trap and they were on the lawn, so it was the most relaxing environment possible. He was afraid of storms. As the drums began to rumble in the overture, he dove under a blanket and would not come out for a half-hour. But then he watched. And for weeks afterwards, he would ask his mother, "What happened to the bad man?"

Oh, yes. I'm so glad you said that, Michael.

I think the perception that "fairy tales" are "children's fare" is at the root of the problem. It ignores hundreds of years of cultural history, both oral and written tradition -- fairy tales and myths are METAPHORS and that is why ballet has often chosen them for its subject matter. It's not about "real life". As Arlene Croce once wrote, "If it's swans you want, go to the zoo."

I'm a big "Striking a Balance" fan as well. I read the first edition (there's an updated one from the early '90s with additional interviews) my first year of ballet going -- before I'd ever seen Swan Lake! As noted by others, many of the interviews are with Royal Ballet dancers, all of whom talk about "Swan Lake" and how difficult it is. Odd to read when you've never seen the ballet -- and very intriguing. I also remember the LeClercq interview. "Of course, I couldn't jump." "Of course, I couldn't turn." It was, indeed, very modest!!!

It's always hard to judge audience reaction, because that really does depend on where one is sitting, I think. But the children around me weren't laughing very much, and the few kids within eyeshot were squirming during that scene. I think they may well have identified with Kate and read the whole thing as "Kate's behaving badly, and they're punishing her." One little girl kept flinching every time P picked K up and threw her over his shoulder. I'm sure the kids didn't pick up on the "morning after" change of mood, and I didn't mean that I thought it was inappropriate for children; more that it was an inappropriate reduction of something more complicated.

Thanks -- I only use names in a review when I'm sure of them personally, or can checkwith a press person. I thought Kondaurova was one of them -- so I'm glad to know she was. She seemed more mature than last spring when she did Shades here (which I liked very much).

Thanks, koshka. I think your point about the coercion is a very good one. She doesn't have a realization in the starvation scene. She's still angry. There's no moment where she realizes, "Oh, this is how I treat other people." I think the taming was also .... Let's just say that Kate was suddenly docile the morning after. As in all that B----- needed was a good, um, wedding night. That's what I meant by writing "the story was reduced to locker room one-liners." I think one-hour programs are a great way to introduce kids to ballet, too. And there are companies that have good children's programming. I don't know how this one got here -- if this had been called "Kate and Pete," it wouldn't have gotten in the door.