Alexandra

BW, thank you for bringing this up -- Lew Christensen is one of our Lost Choreographers. His works are still performed, but very rarely, and I wish we could see more of them. There's a web site devoted to his choreography that might be of interest. Christensen

Thanks for these reviews! I hope there will be more. BBfan, the company was the ballet company of the Mariinsky Theater. During the Soviet era, it was renamed the Kirov Ballet, after a Party hero, and this was the name by which it became known in the West. After the political changes in Russia, the company reverted to its Mariinsky name -- but the "brand name" was Kirov, and people were confused. In Russia, it's the Mariinsky. Here, it's the Kirov, or Mariinsky-Kirov. Here's a link to the company's own page, with its history (in English): http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/ballet

Hi, Kiki! There are some people here who know this company well, but until they come in, I can say that it's located iin Annapolis, or was last year when I saw a program, and is a small company. It lost its long-time artistic director last year. I think a new one has just been appointed, Diana Cuatto, but I can't give further details. Here's a link to the company's web siteBallet Theater of Maryland

I think Ryom had matured as a dancer quite a bit in that intervening decade, too. She was in the same class as Jeppesen and Kirk, but was a late bloomer. (And Jeppesen didn't dance much in the late '80s/early '90s, and so was a bit rusty.) I'd also been a Jeppesen fan, although I had liked Ryom as Svanilda, but I came to like Ryom's dancing a lot -- I very much changed my mind about her. It took me awhile to like Ryom's Sylphide, but I did. And this, I think, was a result of the coaching--she wasn't a standard Sylph, and she wasn't presented like one. She was, however, incredibly light, and with a crystal clarity to her dancing. And that's the way she was presented -- a tiny fairy, almost made of glass.

We deleted a post on this thread that went over our "no gossip, please" line and I thought it might be time for a gentle caution that something learned from a dancer, or family member, or backstage person, etc. isn't news; if it's not in print, or a statement from one of the indiviudals involved, it's gossip. Thanks.

Minkus does that to you

We've had so many posts here in the past few weeks that belong elsewhere that I thought this post might be helpful. This forum is, as is posted in the forum description, to "discuss performances and issues in dance other than ballet -- modern dance, show dancing, folk dance, or other classic dance forms." The General Discussion forums are mostly for watching dance, or reading about it. So if you have a question about music for a ballet class or where to take ballroom or polka lessons, please see our sister board, Ballet Talk for Dancers, which requires separate registration. (If your question doesn't seem to fit anywhere, try the Cross Talk forum on BT4D.) Thanks!

At first, I was surprised to read Helene's post, but then, on thinking about it, I realized that this is a ballet fan's program -- the kind that used to be a mainstay of the repertory (here and elsewhere). Jane, you may well have a different perception, but I remember hearing from friends about 15 years ago, when ticket prices began to rise, of complaints that the repertory was beginning to tilt substantially to the "Swan Lake"-"Romeo/Manon" axis and the tickets were marketed to businesses -- take a client to the ballet -- and tourists, and that the "regulars" were put off by both the repertory and the prices. If that's true, then this may be the result. Once you lose an audience, it's hard to get it back.

Thank you for posting this, Amy. I've been meaning to. It's a truly mammoth book, and I agree with you about the photos. It's all of dance, mostly American (i.e., New York), but more than a nod to other cities and countries as well. It's the obvious Super Christmas Gift for a dance fan -- more than a coffee table book, at that length and weight, but the kind of book you can flip through and admire the gorgeous photos, and read a bit here and there. Or tackle the whole century from the beginning!

Hello, Andrei -- it's wonderful to read you again! That's a great story -- it shines a whole new light on musicaliity

I loved the idea of a clog dance in "The Dream"

Andersen is 5'11. (That's what I was told by RDB balletmasters and teachers when I had to check the heights of several Danish dancers of that era.)

Leigh, I think Ib Andersen is 5'11 (which makes him taller than Farrell by quite a few inches) And I agree that originally the two men were different halves of the same coin (I always forget that D'Amboise first danced the second man; I didn't see him and always remember Castelli). I think the Mutt and Jeff casting spoils the ballet, but in a world desperate for short boy roles.....

Thanks, aspirant! To me, that's good news. She's a very musical dancer (and I like her style in Bournonville -- she doesn't mince the steps, she MOVES).

I think that's "La Fille Mal Gardee," not the Dream. It uses a 19th century score. Then it was common to incorporate arias, popular songs, etc -- they wouldn't be considered stealing, because everyone would know them, and they were used to cue the action. If the lover was unconstant, a bit of Don Giovanni might find its way in, etc.

I'm surrprised no one has ever done Serenade in the original costumes. It would be fascinating to see -- There's a sentimentality and romanticism with the current costumes (I don't mean either word in a negative way) and I think the ballet would have another look entirely -- I'd also wonder what the lighting was like? I've seen several productions of Serenade in the past few years that have what I've called -- and I do mean this in a negative way! -- "pool side" lighting. It's as though someone has taken Balanchine's description of the way he lined up 17 women "like orange trees in California" and used that as a lighting cue. Yet, perhaps originally it was danced in bright light. (But bright light and long blue ballgowns don't go!)

Re Part and Meunier (both of whom I admire as well) I don't have any inside information, but I doubt that the company hired them only to lock them in a dungeon for spite There could well be an illness or injury problem we don't know about.

Good point. The ones I looked at were all 1st edition -- BUT that's 1977, so it covers through "Month in the Country" (1976) and covers the major ballets. Editing to add, I checked Amazon and there are used copies available (new, and some used, are in the $50 range). The used copies don't say which edition they are; they're cheap, and I suspect they're not the newer one.

This book is out of print and very hard to find, and indispensable in understanding Balanchine's ballets. Well, at least it's a huge help! I periodically do a search on alibris to see what's there. Right this minute there are 5 copies under $100 available, and about the same number over $100. http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?q...ches=11&qsort=p

For those interested in Ashton, I just did a search on Alibris -- www.alibris.com -- and there are lots and lots, many under $30 (which is a good price; I paid $75 for one, for a gift, 10 years ago!) http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?q...ches=13&qsort=r

Current info for Kennedy Center season (from the Kennedy Center's press release dated today): Repertory: Evenings, Tuesday, December 2 - Thursday, December 4 & Saturday, December 6: Mozartiana “Tempo di Valse” from The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux Serenade Friday Evening, Saturday & Sunday Matinees: The Balanchine Couple: Pas de Deux from Apollo Pas de Deux from La Sonnambula Pas de Deux from La Valse “The Unanswered Question” from Ivesiana Pas de Deux from Agon Meditation Divertissement from Don Quixote Second Pas de Deux from Chaconne Pas de Deux and Finale from Stars and Stripes Dancers: Principal dancers with the company are Jennifer Fournier, Chan Hon Goh, Natalia Magnicaballi, Peter Boal, and Runqiao Du. Soloists are April Ball, Frances Katzen, Shannon Parsley, Bonnie Pickard, Momchil Mladenov, Jared Redick and Alexander Ritter. Other company members include Erin Ackert, Gina Artese, Amy Brandt, Amy Cole, Kristen Gallagher, Elisabeth Holowchuk, Katelyn Prominski, Lisa Reneau, Mariaelena Ruiz, Cheryl Sladkin, Meaghan Spedden, Lydia Walker, Bill Biondolino, Ryan Kelly, Benjamin Lester, Eric Ragan, Stephen Straub and Alfiero Supan. Company apprentices are Celeste Birr-Gucanac, Parise Sellitti, Ilona Wall, and Alexandra Wasell. Ron Matson is the Musical Director and Conductor; Holly Hynes is the Costume Designer; Russell Sandifer is the Lighting Designer.

I think we have a forum for the National Ballet of Cuba, but it's okay to put it here. We may move it to that forum, once the thread plays out. We have several southern Californians here -- I'd be interested in reading their take on this company too! Thanks for posting the question.

I'm going to start a series of threads in the Ballet Forum to discuss Balanchine's ballets, one by one, during this Centennial Season. The first is.... Serenade. Here's a link: http://balletalert.ipbhost.com/index.php?s...=0entry117668 Please come on down!

David Vaughan's book. ("Frederick Ashton and His Ballets.") Detail on each ballet, plus appendices with "minutages" of several ballets; extensive material on Ashton's use of music.

He now directs Ballet Arlington in Texas.