Alexandra

I'll look forward to reading it, Natalia! Did anyone else go? There were a lot of people there -- more comments would be appreciated! There are three reviews up on danceviewtimes. Here are the links: Program I (George Jackson): http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2010/06/setless.html Program 2 (George Jackson): http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2010/06/musi...-black-box.html Program 3 (Alexandra Tomalonis) http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2010/06/wheres-the-ballet.html

Cable news junkies will note that Rachel Maddow closed her show with a mention of this incident.

Do they (Festival organizers, judges, ballet professionals) know the difference anymore? Just asking....

Thank you for that! We usually don't link to other message boards (we don't want to olnk to other discussions; we'd rather you talk about things here ) But this is a news thread, and we've always bent rules a bit for competitions, Olympic or otherwise, so thanks, and I hope this is of interest to some BTers.

I'd love to have some news, too. KAB has four students competing -- I'm sure there are others here who have students or kids, or children of friends, etc., and even if you don't, this is a once-in-four-years show. If anyone is there, please report! Just knowing who makes it from round to round would be nice.

There's a review in the NYTimes today: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/arts/dan....html?ref=dance Did anyone see this?

Good point! This often happens. I do not know why "Fille" doesn't sell. I know the conventional wisdom is it's the name, but it is 50 years old now and the title should have gotten around. The last time I saw the ballet in New York, I was sitting next to a very chic young couple who looked very grouchy at the beginning. When the curtain went up on the chickens, they stiffened and looked at each other with a "We're outta here!" look. But then the chickens started to dance, and the two were instantly converted. The house looked little more than half full, and I didn't see a sour face at intermission.

Dance Books recentluy announced a reprint of a book published in London in 1912 about the state of dancing which I'm finding fascinating. It's called "Modern Dance and Dancers" by J.E. Crawford Flitchy, M.A. 1912 is before there was as Modern Dance in the way we use the term today; he was using "modern" as contemporary, and these are the chapter headings: The Ancient and Modern Attitude Towards the Dance The Rise of the Ballet The Heyday of the Ballet The Decline of the Ballet The Skirt Dance The Serptentine Dance The High Kickers The Revival of Classical Dancing The Imperial Russian Ballet The Repertory of the Russian Ballet The Russian Dancers The English Ballet Oriental and Spanish Dancing The Revival of the Morris Dance The Future of the Dance

I think the French title does turn people off -- at least, that's the story. Supposedly Sol Hurok wanted to change the title to "The Farmer's Daughter," but Ashton and the RB wouldn't go for it. I've never seen a performance where the audience didn't love "Fille," (which is, of course, a different question than whether or not it's a classic) and never understood why it's taken so long to get into the international repertory. But that doesn't mean it's not a great work. "Fille" is one of the rare ballets that was considered a great work at its birth, by critics in London, New York and (a bit later, when they took it on tour) in Russia as well.

Marc Haegeman's review of a performance of Bayadere is now up on danceviewtimes. Did anyone else see this production this time round? La Bayadere at Paris Opera Ballet

Jane Simpson now has a review in Ballet.co's Magazine: Royal Danish Ballet

Thanks to all of you, from an out of towner. I've really enjoyed reading this thread!

All good quesitons. Isn't all of that up to the dancer, or the producor/director? We have a whole forum on Giselle that tackles these and other questions that you may wish to check (and feel free to respond to any thread): http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showforum=42

Do you mean www.danceviewtimes.com? There's a review of "Bayadere" up now, and one of "Lady of the 'Camelias" is in the works. Thank you!

As the season gets going, I wanted to point out to newcomers, and remind oldcomers, of the tone of the site. When we started this board, its purpose was to have serious conversations about BALLET, not this or that dancer's instep, teeth, or eyelashes. Remember that dancers read these boards. So please refrain from making personal swipes, and think before you write. It's easy to get carried away in the heat of battle, but self-censorship has its place. Another thing we'd ask you to remember is that these boards are not intended to be My Favorite Dancer Booster Boards. Everyone has favorite dancers, and they might not be yours. Constantly reminding us that there has never been a more perfect dancer than X or Y (or its inverse!) sets people's teeth on edge, and will not have the desired effect. The most important thing to remember is that this is a discussion board that welcomes a variety of opinions. The discussion evolves and nobody’s word is final. We'd ask you not to keep making the same points over and over (twice is enough; if they don't get it after reading it twice, move on.) We want everyone to feel welcome on this and all the Ballet Talk forums. Everyone needs to feel comfortable posting. If you're looking to be Forum Leader, the place for that is not here, but in a blog. We have a blog option; it's free. If you'd rather go off-site, there are many free blog programs available. I'm going to close this thread, as it's just a Reminder and not a discussion topic. I hope I won't have to bump it up as the season progresses! Thank you, and enjoy the season!

Thanks for that, Anne. I've seen the Dancing Bournonville film several times and I agree with you! It was done right before the first Bournonville Festival, back in 1979, as an introduction. It's also amazing to see who they had teaching then -- it was back in the day when the company's retired stars taught in the School,even the small children's classes.

I've seen small Myrthas who were excellent, authoritative and terrifying -- Mette-Ida Kirk in Denmark, about 5 feet tall, was one. I think the reason is that many directors don't understand the role and/or give in to dancers' demands ("I am a BALLERINA and I demand to dance only ballerina roles") and/or think that "tall" and "authoritative" are synonyms. If they explained to the uppity ballerinas that Myrtha IS a starring role, it might work.

Anne, thank you so very much for taking the time to do this! It is standard fare, but not to us There haven't been that many interviews with NH over here. Thank you again!

I agree. It still is in Paris and St. Petersburg (not sure about Moscow), but elsewhere it's often the tallest corps girl or young soloist, a "junior" role (tall being the substitute for authority). It's definitely a ballerina role, and great ballerinas have danced it.

In the 19th century, dancers ordered padded tights, specially made to make their calves look more seductively rounded. Much cheaper and more comfortable -- Danskin's, I hope you're reading this (and I want a cut).

You're turning up some treasures -- thank you, Anne.

I do remember reading statements (besides Jane's or comments on the board ) about expecting the "naysayers" to dislike "Napoli," but alas, I don't remember where! Thanks for the reminder about reactions to "La Sylphide" and "Giselle," Anne.

Thalnks, Anne. I've read several places about "the naysayers" and pressure -- but I haven't read any article that questioned it, or review that Perhaps they expected to be criticized for changing a work. I think the Danish press would have been disappointed if he had NOT changed it. Then he wouldn't have been "creative." (But that's just an impression.) I think that American and Danish (European?) critics look at old ballets, and perhaps we are overprotective. Many American critics view the ballet as a work with a specific theme, characters and choreography and expect to see that when they see a ballet with a certain title. In Denmark, from reading the critics, especially those who began writing in the 1960s, it seems they expect a director to be "creative" and "put his onw stamp" on a ballet. I know when I was researching my biography of Kronstam that I reads so many negative reviews of his "Giselle" (which I thought was beautiful) that complained that he was just doing a traditioanl proeuction, that there was no creativity, that he even used the sets and costumes from the last production, etc.

Moderator's hat on -- All right, please -- quit it! We don't discuss the discussion here. Back to the topic. Alexandra

Did anyone go? There are two reviews so far, Sarah Kaufman in the Washington Post and George Jackson in danceviewtimes: Sarah Kaufman reviews Washington Ballet: Death by Balanchine blunt-force trauma Of Melancholy