Alexandra

Thank you Alymer. Sadly, I could see the performance very clearly through what you wrote. I wonder if there's any hope of Ashton surviving? Will people coming to the ballet for the first time find it silly or dull? Or will they think it's just terrific, a masterpiece (in the form you've described)? And which is worse?

There's a bit of Swan Lake Act II in Red Shoes, too, isn't there? (I haven't seen that in about 20 years, so I may be misremembering.) If I'm remembering correctly, that staging has the huntsmen -- one huntsman for every 2 swans. Something which, I believe, disappeared when the huntsmen became soldiers in World War II. But RG is right: There's no authentic staging. The Royal Ballet's old staging -- not that we have a hope of ever seeing THAT again -- that was based on the Stepanov notations, was so changed by Ashton (beautifully, IMO, but that's a different question) that it's "traditional" only in that it's in the same line as the Petipa-Ivanov.

This site is in Danish, but may be useful to some. It's a wonderful database on important Danish women. This link is to the page for solodanseriinder. http://www.kvinfo.dk/side/170/set/1/?professioner=67

Hi! Here's a link to the roster of NYCB dancers from the NYCB site: http://www.nycballet.com/about/where_roster.html

NEW YORK CITY BALLET ANNOUNCES GUEST ARTISTS FOR 2004 WINTER REPERTORY SEASON Dancers from the Royal Danish Ballet and The Kirov Ballet to Participate in NYCB’s Exploration of George Balanchine’s Classical Heritage as Part of Balanchine 100: The Centennial Celebration New York City Ballet announced today that Gudrun Bojesen and Thomas Lund of the Royal Danish Ballet, and Igor Zelensky of The Kirov Ballet, will appear with the Company as guest artists during the 2004 winter season’s exploration of George Balanchine’s classical heritage. Gudrun Bojesen and Thomas Lund – Royal Danish Ballet Ms. Bojesen and Mr. Lund, both principal dancers with the Royal Danish Ballet, will dance in August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano on Sunday, January 11 at 3 p.m., as a tribute to Balanchine’s long relationship with the Danish company. In the early 1930s Balanchine served as a ballet master for the Royal Danish Ballet and became acquainted with the work of Bournonville, the prolific choreographer and ballet master of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1830 to 1877. Balanchine took inspiration from Bournonville’s works, which influenced several of his ballets for NYCB including Donizetti Variations and Scotch Symphony. In addition, Balanchine generously allowed many of his own ballets to be performed by the Danish company. Ms. Bojensen, who trained at the Ballet School of Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre, joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 1994, and was made a principal dancer in 2001. Her repertory with the company includes leading roles in Onegin, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as in ballets by Bournonville, Balanchine, and Harald Lander. Mr. Lund also trained at the Ballet School of the Royal Theatre and joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 1993. He became a principal dancer in 2000, and his repertory includes leading roles in much of the company’s repertory, including works by Bournonville, Balanchine and Sir Kenneth MacMillan. Igor Zelensky – The Kirov Ballet Mr. Zelensky, currently a principal dancer with The Kirov Ballet, will dance in Diamonds from George Balanchine’s Jewels on Thursday, February 12 at 8 p.m. and on Saturday, February 14 at 2 p.m. Diamonds, the final section of the three-act Jewels, is set to Tschaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Opus 29, and suggests the late 19th century ballets of St. Petersburg’s Maryinsky Theater, home to The Kirov Ballet. Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and studied at the Maryinsky Theater, where he made his ballet debut in Tschaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Throughout his life Balanchine continued to be influenced by the culture of St. Petersburg and his early years at the Maryinsky, and Mr. Zelensky’s appearances with the Company this season will pay tribute to that heritage. Mr. Zelensky joined The Kirov Ballet in 1988 and became a principal dancer in 1991. At the Kirov, Mr. Zelensky’s repertory includes principal roles in the full-length classics, as well as in several works by Balanchine. From 1992 to 1997 Mr. Zelensky was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. New York City Ballet launched Balanchine 100: The Centennial Celebration in November, and the year-long tribute to its co-founder’s 100th birthday features a winter season exploration of Balanchine’s heritage (January 6 through February 29), and a spring season exploration of Balanchine’s vision (April 27 through June 27). Guest artists for the spring season will be announced at a later date. Tickets for the winter repertory season are currently available through Ticketmaster at 212-307-4100, at the New York State Theater box office, and at www.nycballet.com. The New York State Theater is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza at Columbus Avenue at 63rd Street. For information on tickets for any New York City Ballet performance, call 212-870-5570, or visit www.nycballet.com. Leadership support of Balanchine 100: The Centennial Celebration is generously provided by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Solomon and Gillian Attfield/Harriet Ford Dickenson Foundation. The Balanchine Centennial Celebration is also made possible by gifts and grants from Altria Group, Inc., Mattel, Inc., The Ambrose Monell Foundation, Movado, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and The Shubert Foundation. Lead support for the creation of new work is provided by The Irene Diamond Fund and members of the New Combinations Fund, and by the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund. NYCB extends special appreciation to contributors who support the Repertory Fund, which helps to make possible new works, revivals, and special projects, and the many donors who support the Company’s education and outreach programs. Susan Stroman's Double Feature is made possible in part by a generous gift from Perry and Marty Granoff. Additional support is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts through the Dance Commissions program. The creation and performance of works by Peter Martins is funded in part by an endowment gift from the Solomon family, given in loving memory of Carolyn B. Solomon. George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco is endowed in part by a generous gift from Veronique and Robert W. Pittman. Christopher Wheeldon’s work as New York City Ballet’s Resident Choreographer is made possible by a generous grant from the Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation. Major support for French programming is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation. The Jewel of Russia is New York City Ballet’s preferred vodka.

A review by Jean Battey Lewis in The Washington Times: Beautiful Swan (Although it's headlined "Beautiful Swan," it's a brief preview of Swan Lake and a review of Nutcracker.)

Thank you for posting that, coda -- what a sweet idea: 30 photos for a 30th bitthday! (And very nice photos, too.)

Thank you, kirovboy -- you're right; it is worrisome. The arts are getting it from all sides.

Did anyone else go to Swan Lake (Konstantine Sergeyev's production). I thought the company as a whole looked very good; no opening night jitters or bobbles (I don't count that one swan fell). Pavlenko and Zelensky danced the leads. Their second act was very fine -- it was the kind of performance where you could sense the tension and expectation in the house. The third act wasn't as strong, and the happy ending ruins it -- Pavlenko seems made for a tragic ending; there was so much pathos in her portrayal, the thought of her Odette living happily ever after seems incongruous. So not a completely satisfying evening for me, but one I'm glad to have seen.

So that's why there are so many "John P. and Jane Q. Doe" foundations!

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such nice long lists -- I'm totally jealous reading them, but glad to be able to keep up with this company at least vicariously.

Regarding Nutcracker not being a holiday ballet in Russia -- yes! That's partly what I meant by posting earlier that this was perhaps not for export.

Someone just sent me an email saying s/he didn't understand my posts, that it seemed at first I said it was good, and later posts indicate that I didn't like it. I thought I'd clarify (and this would have been perfectly ok to post!) I did like the designs, as design -- not as appropriate to a Nutcracker. And I'm sympathetic to the choreographer for having to create dance that suited a design and a concept that wasn't his, and was interested in what he did. So for what they did, I think they did it well. But don't think it's a good production of "Nutcracker." It would have been fine in another ballet -- that didn't have a score with a totally different tone. Sorry to have been ambiguous! (I really liked the big shoe.)

This is one of the reasons why I started danceview times -- Calliope you've been away and so may not know about this (and good to read you again!) but you might want to check it every Monday (back issues accessible through the nav bar at right): www.danceviewtimes.com re Dance Magazine -- I think the problem there is space. It's just not possible to write anything intelligent in 300 words.

Welcome, Alan. I'm glad to hear from someone who liked it. The wigs/hair style differed from dancer to dancer. Nadezda Gonchar, at the Saturday matinee, had dark auburn hair and a more subdued hairstyle. She also wore a turquoise dress -- the kind of dress one might have worn to a dance in the 1950s. A rebel. I liked her. (She's also one of the strongest turners I've ever seen, and had beautiful feet.) I think the designer was trying to be grotesque -- hence the stout adults and outsized Fritz, the rat dressed as a cardinal, the boar's head that would not be approved by the Boar Hunters Association -- and the plates of picked over bones after the party, etc. etc. etc. As for the lack of dancing -- literally everyone I've talked to has said something along the lines of "I feel cheated" or "I'm so disappointed," "You'd never know it was the Kirov," "It must have cost a fortume; what a waste of money," etc. The comments about the lack of dancing are probably because this site was established to discuss classical ballet, and that's the interest of the members. I agree that there are a lot of productions of the ballet that have little classical dancing in them, but that's not what one expects from the Kirov, and there are "adult" or "sophisticated" productions that do have sophisticated dancing. Not new dancing, or modern dancing, but there we get into what one expects from a Nutcracker or a ballet performance, especially by the Kirov.

I hope we get more comments from readers -- the issue of tone is a critical one. What do you expect/want from a critic? Part of Andre's point, I think, was whether a critic can write that something "doesn't work" if there's reason to believe that it does work for most people. What if, say, you're seeing a Nutcracker where the choreographer has set the Prince's solo to the Sugar Plum Fairy's music, and Sugar Plum's to the Prince's? And say that you, the critic, thinks that the results are ridiculous, because the Prince looks like a mincing fool and Sugar Plum looks manic. But they get cheers, screams and a Standing O. Can you write, "Although I have nothing against gender bender dance in general, this particular swtich just didn't work." You mean that it didn't work as choreography, the people who loved it may take it differently. And if you add anything like, "Although the audience cheered lustily" you come off as sounding condescending.

Andre, I understand your reasoning and it's not unreasonable As a writer, I don't think we (writers) can win. If we write from the point of view that kfw describes above -- that the reason we've been asked to write about a subject is because we have some expertise in it; this is for newspaper and magazine writing, of course, where writers are vetted, and so we just write and assume that readers will understand this -- then we face the objection you raise. If we write "that doesn't work for me" and "in my opinion, John Doe was off-form last night in the Corsaire solo" then another chunk of the audience will wonder why we're doing it.

Well, the Kennedy Center has been trying to get a Nutcracker for some years now. ABT's wasn't a success. The Bolshoi's wasn't a success. And, although I was a bit disappointed that I didn't hear any shrieks from the toddlers at the matinee Saturday, I don't think this one is a keeper either. Question -- you, out there, artistic directors, choreographers -- do you know who your audience is? Have you ever gone to a Nutcracker and stood in the lobby and watched who goes in? You've got your balletomanes who want to see CLASSICAL DANCING. And you've got your kids, in their best Christmas clothes bringing their favorite toys to share in this joyful experience. They do not want to see a new, improved Nutcracker that probes the depth and depravity of the rat-infested human spirit. There is an audience for depravity and psychological realism that would undoubtedly be fascinated by yet another "discovery" that the Nutcracker libretto and the ETA Hoffman story (upon which it is NOT based) are different. Go find it. I feel much better now.

re Bujones -- he was fine for a non-Dane I think the "La Sylphide" on DVD was of Lis Jeppesen with Nikolaj Hubbe (his debut) rather than Villumsen, although there were at least two Jeppesen/Villumsen Sylphides filmed for Danish TV (it's often the state occasion ballet). Paul, a note about Napoli. I think the religious aspect was part of "local color" as well as plot, and the use of the hymn shows the 19th century way of weaving a popular song, or bit of an opera, or other music eitherthe audience would know that would help tell the story because it would cue the viewer to what was going on. Villumsen was very powerful in that moment in live performance -- he could make you believe that the power of faith, with the help of a blessed medal, would overcome adversity. I've read that Bruhn was not considered a good Bournonville stylist by the Danes at the start of his career, but I've never read why and never understood it (except, possibly, that he did more pirouettes than was then allowed; Bournonville wanted you to stop at 2). The filmed segments I've seen of him look perfect -- he was a turner but he was also a jumper and, as djb noted, his technique could stand up to stop action photography. There are two monographs -- "Bournonville and Ballet Technique" (a slim book, published by Adam Black) and "Beyond Technique" (a Dance Perspectives number) -- on which he collaborated, with Lillian Moore. Much of the material is from Bournonville's "Etudes Choreographique." There's a Napoli, also from Danish TV that I've seen but don't have, that has Ib Andersen doing the first solo in the pas de six, and Arne Villumsen, both at the top of their game, doing the third (Flemming Ryberg, a bit past his prime, is the second). And a Folk Tale pas de sept from the mid-70s -- again with Villumsen and Ryberg, and Eva Kloborg (who was a wonderful Bournonville stylist) and Anna Laerkesen that was televised. The textbook Bournonville man from that time wasn't a principal -- Arne Beck. Sometimes the stylists aren't the stars.

I wonder if this Nutcracker will be back

I have broadband and had no problems -- but thanks for the warning. The clip is only about 10 seconds long and the viewing area tiny.

It's a bit of the Flower Festival pas de deux. It's too small on my screen to see the dancers, but I don't think they're Danes.

There's a lot in the article that bears discussion -- mixing of styles, hype, lack of depth in choreography generally. Here's a quote from Kisselgoff about what she's seeing in new work: I'd agree with her -- I liked "this buzz of busyness." I find it pervasive in new work -- but if all, or most, choreographers are doing it, has "busyness" simply become the Next New Thing? Meaning, is this a transition, something we'll have to live through until a genius or two comes along, or have we already made the transition, and this is It?

A digression, but I think a point worth making. Andre, I think one is supposed to read "I think" or "in my opinion" when reading any critic. When I started at the Post, I would write that, and was told to take it out, because it's assumed that what I'm writing is my opinion. I've found, especially from experience with message boards, that this is NOT assumed by many readers, but it's part of the rules, for lack of a better term, under which critics operate.

This article is about the dance world in general, not just ballet, but I think it might provoke an interesting discussion: The New York Times' three dance critics talk about the lows in 2003: Merce Versus Music, and the Ballet Boyz There are a lot of interesting points raised here, many that we've discussed on this board: marketing, printing the names of donors who "sponsor" dancers, blending different dance styles, etc. It's not that long an article I hope some of you will read it and tell us what you think.