Alexandra

I got a phone call in the middle of posting yesterday, didn't quite finish, and didn't get back to it. The production's biggest sin, perhaps, is that it doesn't show off the company. You wouldn't have known this was one of the world's great ballet companies. One other imaginative aspect of the choreography -- in the procession of the guests, as they exit the party (out the back door), you see only their backs, and they're clothed, from head to toe, in grey cloaks. Each cloak and hat combination is different. There's a dance in the Moiseyev repertory where the dancers' bodies are also obscured by clothing, and they move very quickly, giving the appearance of gliding. He's taken that dance, and given it to the guests. It's quite funny -- and between the scurrying and the grey clothes, they really do look like mice and rats, and set the scene for the battle scene. But Masha isn't on stage and doesn't see them, which unsets the stage -- if she doesn't see them, she can't dream them. If I had gone expecting to see a Nutcracker, and/or expecting to see great dancing from a great company, I would have been screaming with disappointment. My positive comments are because I think Simonov has promise as a choreographer. He takes from here and there, but he knows what he's taking and he puts it in context. Now, he may well develop in the direction of the loopy-slouchy-moderne style he used for Masha rather than the classical style he used for the Flowers, but I'd still like to see other work from him.

The Kingdom of the Sweets is a more conventional -- less dark -- set. The impression is of lots of icing (there's an enormous cake that's brought out.) I think the idea was to make the Kingdom of the Sweets ideal. If that's so, then it make sense for the Flowers and the Prince to be purely classical dancers. But this is only a guess. kfw, despite my comments above, I"m not sure I'd recommend this to someone who has to drive far to see it.

Which dancer in your home town company is its Most Valuable Dancer? Could be your shining star, or the One Who Never Gets Injured, or Mr. Dependable, or Ms. Ethereal.

It's that time of year again. How will 2003 be remembered in Ballet History? Spot any trends? Any farewells or hellos of note? What are your fondest memories....or great moments to forget?

I'm of very mixed mind about this production. On the one hand, I agree with every point that's been made here, and with Sarah Kaufman's review. I don't think this Nutcracker was ready for export. But looking at this as the work of a young choreographer, I found what he was doing very exciting and I'd like to see more of his work. First, any version of the Nutcracker that "discovers" that the Hoffmann tale is darker than the music and is lured down that path is going to have problems, because the music is telling a different story. End of story. And for the Kirov, which always puts the music first, to go down the "wow! look at this! it's grotesque!" path will lead to insurmountable problems. That said, I liked Chemiakin's designs very much -- it's the only Nutcracker I've seen where the divertissements are actually related to the "sweets" they represent (the Chinese dancers enter in teapots) for example, and the overall look is the kind of imaginative grotesquerie from children's storybooks. It sets the stage: everyone, except Masha and Drosselmeyer, is fat. Even Fritz is stout -- a loutish boy. And because of this, he doesn't look like a man playing a child's role (something I don't think works). He's oversized, like everyone else. The designs are so grotesque and the libretto is so dark -- what is the choreographer to do? Make grotesque dances, or pretend that the designs aren't there and do a conventional version? I agree with Sarah Kaufman that there's not enough ballet in this ballet -- but I think Simonov made the right choice, given the hand he was dealt. And I'd make the case that his off-classical dances are grafted onto a classical base. They stray far from it at times, but they always come back to it. The choreography looks as though Simonov had many models -- as Ari noted, there's a bit of this and a bit of that. The Sugar Plum Fairy is a heeled shoes role, like Lilac in the new/old Sleeping Beauty, for example. BUT he doesn't just take something superficial -- like the heeled shoes and costume. He understands the idea. Sugar Plum has her role -- it hasn't been distorted. She just doesn't dance the solo, but everything else is there. (I agree with everyone that the character dances were awful.) The Waltz of the Flowers -- that, and the Prince's solo are the only purely classical dances in the whole ballet -- is Ashtonesque, reminiscent of the ballroom waltz in Cinderella, with those Ashtoninan arms en couronne a la swoop as a motif. Masha is an awkward adolescent -- I was reminded more of Neumeier than MacMillan. She begins too shed her awkwardness in the pas de deux. That, and the non-classical dancing (lots of loopy moves, shrugged shoulders, rubber ankles) becomes more classical as the pas de deux progresses. I liked the snowflakes. Think "In the Middle Somewhat Elevated" in Goth dress, not in the movement vocabulary, but the way Forsythe will have dancers do their bit and then drop out of performing mode, into casual mode. The original headdress of cotton balls looked just right here (the flakes are dressed in black floppy tutus, black toe shoes, black tights, with cotton balls sprinkled over them.) I liked the idea that snowflakes would misbehave. It's a storm (I didn't find it murderous, and Masha didn't find it very frightening, and that's one of the many dramaturgical faults of the production. Was there a battle of the mice?) Drosselmeyer reminded me of the Legat caricature of Cecchetti as a grasshopper. Why he's always scampering about, carrying huge platters above his head I don't know. But that's what happens in children's books, too. There are always odd people -- grown ups are odd people -- who don't make any sense, but children don't seem to mind. I also had no idea why the rat king was a cardinal (Not having read the Hoffman in years, I don't remember if there's a cardinal in it). Or why he didn't die in the battle. Or why he's in cahoots with Drosselmeyer. There's a happy ending, of sorts. Masha and the Prince get to stay in the Kingdom of the Sweets forever. As ornaments on top of a cake.

Thanks for posting those links, Jeff. Those are to the feedback forms, though, and the only allow you to give feedback on the topics A&E allows. Here is the link to the Breakfast with the Arts discussion forum. http://boards.aetv.com/forum.jsp?forum=358

I wouldn't be alarmed yet. It was scheduled for release in New York and L.A. today, and "other markets" for later release, so it may take a week or two. I don't know the logic behind movie theater bookings.

Copied over from Links (thanks, Ari): The Kirov Ballet's new production of The Nutcracker by Mikhail Chemiakin and Kirill Simonov is reviewed in the Washington Post by Sarah Kaufman.

Oh, dear, your critics are beginning to sound like ours. ("They think that if a ballet is in modern style, it’s masterpiece by definition.") We've had ballet directors that thought that, too, but as they get older they begin to see -- some of them, anyway -- that if you're going to have a school to train dancers in classical ballet, then it makes sense to acquire work that .....are classical ballet! Thanks very much for the report, Inga.

Kirill Simonov, about whom I know nothing -- Marc, Andrei? I belileve this is his first ballet. Designs are by Mihail Chemiakin. (I didn't want to write in detail, at least until others had responded.)

This is a controversial production. I expected to dislike it intensely, fan that I am (not) of "updated" classics, but I have to admit I was intrigued. The designs were children's storybook brought to the stage -- grotesque, imaginative, at times magical -- and I thought the choreographer tried to make his steps compliment the designs. The result wasn't always to my taste, and there were parts that just didn't make dramatic sense (it's one of those dark Nutcrackers.) And there are bits of every choreographer he's ever seen in it -- but that's often what young choreographers do. I haven't yet talked with anyone who agrees with me, though : ) What did you think?

Jane Simpson reviews the new production of Ashton's Cinderella for ballet.co: Cinderella Did anyone else go? What did you think?

This just in from Boston Ballet: Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen announced today that Soloist Nelson Madrigal has been promoted to principal dancer as of January 2004. Trained at the National School of Ballet in Havana, Cuba, Madrigal will join his wife, Lorna Feijóo, as a fellow principal dancer at Boston Ballet. Noted by The Los Angeles Times, "...for his brilliant turns and jumps, perfect clarity, whether on the ground or in the air, and disarming modesty, a dancing master indeed," Madrigal joined Boston Ballet this season, during which he has impressed Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. "I am proud to promote this fine dancer. Nelson performed beautifully in Don Quixote, the fall repertoire, and currently in The Nutcracker. He has natural style, charm, strong technique, and excellent partnering skills," said Nissinen. Prior to the Cuban dancer's 2002 debut with Cincinnati Ballet, Madrigal established himself as a leading dancer with The National Ballet of Cuba, and an artist of extraordinary ability. He trained in the Cuban system of ballet schools, graduating from the National Ballet School in 1994. That same year, Madrigal was awarded the First Prize in the national Youth Dance Contest sponsored by the Association of Stage Artists of the Cuban Writers and Artists' Union.

Thank you, Marc --we've missed you

Thanks -- I'll change the header And the review, by Laura Shapiro (of several dance books), is on line: http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/d...9635/index.html

And the show did go on! (It's like waiting at the airport in a blizzard. I have the ticket; the plane MUST take off!) I hope everyone is all right. Blackouts can be frightening and unpleasant. Thanks for the reports on this, lillianna and djb -- did the evening show go on?

As the New Yorker might put it: A young friend writes: "Tanaquil Le Clercq and Diana Adams "Unless one of your avid readers has already noticed it, they might be interested to know that there is a photo of the two goddesses above (unidentified) in this week's New York Magazine (Dec. 22-29). It's on p. 70 in a photo showing Tenessee Williams and Gore Vidal at the Cafe Nicholson (once a hot spot--the issue is devoted to hot spots). There is another man in the photo whom I don't recognize. There's also a review of Nancy Reynolds' new book, 'Points in Space.'" I couldn't find this on line, but I'm sure this is still on the newsstands.

He has a web site! http://www.vasiliev.com/eng_rukovod_1.html I didn't see an answer to your question in my very quick perusal, but there's a lot of material of interest here to Vasiliev fans. Marc will probably know what he's doing now.

I'm copying this over from yesterday's links for discussion: The Kirov Ballet's Precarious Spin

Welcome to Ballet Alert! The NYCB spring season runs from April 27 through June 27th. Here's a link to a thread on this forum that has the company's press release. It's about the third post down. http://balletalert.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=12129 If you go, I hope you'll post what you think!

Yes, that's right. Jim, I'm going to close this again -- we don't discuss injuries. If we have a thread up about it, people will post -- with all good intentions -- "I heard so and so broke his ankle" -- or foot or neck -- and someone else will say "No, that's not true! I have it on very good authority that he's on drugs!" And that's why we have a no gossip rule. If it's not in print or officially confirmed by the press office, we don't discuss it. If (god forbid) someone falls on stage, or is obviously injured and people see it, that's one thing. But we are not able to have a running list of who is injured and how badly, etc. If there's a major injury, we contact the press office and ask if it's true the person will be out for the season, etc. (We have a No Gossip Policy rule posted on this forum, as well as the About the Site forum that goes into more detail.)

I agree, Bryan -- and we have quite a few people from Asia who post here, although most are ballet students who mostly post on the technique boards -- and, if they attend performances, keep quiet about them We often have links to articles about ballet in Asia on the Links forum, so if that's an interest you might want to watch that forum (Ari posts links to articles in newspapers and magazines available on line every day). There are several Japanese-language forums, so probably most of the fans in Japan post there.

My guess is that this is a step from Russian folk dancing -- maybe a split jump? (I'm sure it existed before skating competitions, although "Russian split" is such a descriptive term, it sounds perfect for an article for a general readership!)

Good to see you again, Kurvenal. I know of a Norman Walker who was a modern dancer and a balletmaster for the Harkness Ballet (he now teaches at Butler University, I believe, and is associated with Jacobs Pillow). I don't think one of the ballets Ashton did for City Ballet was in the Harkness repertory -- the Joffrey Ballet revived his "Illuminations" in the 1970s or early 1980s. I don't know of another company that has performed the other NYCB Ashton commisson, "Picnic at Tintagel." I don't know a Cora Caan. There was a Cora Cahan who danced with the Feld Ballet for many years, but I don't know of any connection with an Ashton ballet (that doesn't mean there isn't one!)

Yes, Odette is a tough one -- there have been so many great Odettes, and each one has marked an ideal for her place and time. I hope people will ring in with their favorites.