Alexandra

Tobi Tobias writes about the Danish Ballet's La Sylphide in her Arts Journal blog: THE DANES AT HOME She liked Lund's James; I've quoted that paragraph here -- but the whole review is interesting, I think. For our European readers who might not know her, Tobias has long had a special interest in the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1979, inspired by the Bournonville Festival, she began an Oral History Project on the company and its Bournonville tradition, interviewing the dancers of that generation -- many of them who are now deceased (N.B. Larsen, F. Bjornsson, K. Ralov, F. Schaufuss, Bruhn, Kronstam, Brenaa). The tapes of these interviews are in the library of the Royal Theatre -- some were transcribed, others just in tape form. In case anyone is interested.

Please. Just once I'd like to have a discussion about this so that the people who post here who do like story ballets (of whom Glebb is, I believe, one) will feel comfortable discussing them!

Yes! It was made by and for folks whose taste in simplicity is best exemplified (in my town) by the Old Executive Office building, a minimalist version (no gargoyles, not too many tours, widow walks or balconies) of Conspicuous Consumption. There were fountains, lots of stage magic -- it was THE hit show for tourists. Its successor, "The White Fawn" was so extravaganza that even its audience thought that, well, it was maybe -- just maybe! -- a bit too much.

I second Mary's suggestion of reading Barker -- her point (which she makes quite convincingly) is that "The Black Crook" was misunderstood by most of the people in its day. It is considered the precursor of the musical comedy, as Mel wrote, but they would have said the smae thing about "Swan Lake." It played to an audience innocent of classical ballet, one might say (except for a few who'd made the grand tour, and found it remarkably similar to the spectacles that were then popular in Italy -- on the La Scala stage.) The difference is that they began with a play that the theater owned and had to produce (a bad one, all cliches) and added songs and (lots of) classical dancing to it. So there was no pantomime -- spoken dialogue instead -- but otherwise, what Barker lays out sounds remarkable similar to Petipa ballets. (a grand pas classique here or there, lots of processionals, transformation scenes, etc. So I've begun to think of it as Sleeping Beauty without Petipa or Tchaikovsky Re the size of the dancers -- Barker has photos of them, too. the fat ones were chors girls. The coryphees were ballet girls from La Scala and were tiny. There were a lot of these kinds of ballets around -- one choreographer (a Hungarian) staged Excelsior here, and then created his own American version -- America. Shame they didn't stay in repertory!

Great topic! Thank you. Re-watching tapes can be an enriching experience (as you've written) and it can also be rather sobering -- a dancer you thought was absolutely marvelous last Thursday embarrasses you Saturday when you show the tape to a friend, to the point you're positive he hasn't been taking class. (I noticed that Dowell's Oberon changed quite a bit when he'd lived on a shelf next to Plisetskaya's Kitri for a year ;) ) (I'd say, parenthetically, that I agree with what you wrote on "In the Middle." My theory is that Paris can make anything look classical I liked this ballet very much when I saw a tape of POB dancers, but less so when I saw Frankfurt Ballett do it. While you're going through tapes, if you have the Balanchine biography, watch that "Western Symphony" -- LeClercq was the one who made me love the ballet.) It is fun -- any more rediscoveries?

Reinhard, looking at the Stuttgart's seasons lately, it seems as though they are moving away from story ballets a bit -- more contemporary programming. I know this is is ancient history now, but after Cranko's death, Glen Tetley was brought in (the theory being the company wanted a choreographer) and he only lasted a year (or was it half a year?) because the audience wanted Cranko ballets. (I'm remembering this from articles in Dance and Dancers at the time.) What's the feeling now, would you say?

In looking over the American 2003-2004 season (companies all across the countries) it's hard not to notice that repertories are dominated by story ballets -- and not just "Swan Lake" and "Romeo and Juliet." There are a lot of new, full-length story ballets being created. MacMillan and Cranko and Ben Stevenson continue to be popular. Younger choreographers are beginning to try their hand at story ballets (Val Caniparoli's "Lady of the Camelias" is making the rounds." Some people love story ballets, some people hear the phrase "story ballet" and think "children's storybook" and won't go near them (with many in between, of course!) What do you look for in a story ballet -- or narrative ballet, if you prefer the term? Who are your favorite choreographers, your favorite ballets, and why?

Yes, there's a link to this story on today's Links forum. Although what often happens in labor disputes is that a company feels it needs to get rid of a dancer who's been a problem, but many dancers unions have negotiated contracts where a dancer can only be cut for an artistic reason, and so the company has to come up with an artistic reason -- which, of course, can be subjective: you're not fast enough for the new repertory we're bringing in next season, or you're too heavy to be lifted. NOT saying that's what happened here; I don't know. But it's happened in other companies.

Thanks very much for translating this for us, coda. It makes a lot more sense than ice cream and contract quibbles.

Mel already put up Step One -- but it won't be another forum, just a series of threads on this one. Those interested in Bournonville steps and style on this level might want to read his "Etudes Choreographiques" Much of which is in the book by Erik Bruhn and Lillian Moore called "Bournonville and Ballet Technique" which is hard to find now, but you might be in your library.

Mel wrote: Actually, I think Bournonville was from the Hammy School. The Stanislavsky style came in in the 1930s, because the Royal Theater's school taught Stanislavsky classes and several of the Danish dancers took those classes. One of them, the great (great great) Gerda Karstens also taught repertory to the aspirants. So the two lines -- I call them the Innies (Karstens-Stanislavsky) and the Outies (the 19th century declamatory style) -- coexist at the RDB. There have been great artists, and not so great ones, in both groups, so it's not always a matter of quality -- Niels Bjorn Larsen was of the old, external school, but he was top of the line. (The Danes of whatever party will always tell you that it must come from the inside, but some are better at doing that than others "They know they should say that!" as one stager told me.) Michael wrote: I'd be happy for new work, but when it comes to the existing repertory, I totally agree with you. The tragedy to me, watching Periods of Rot (we're in one right now) is that things are being carted off to the trash that are treasures. Since they're dances, that trip to the trash is a one-way ticket to oblivion. They're not paintings that can be stored in the attic and rediscovered a hundred years from now by someone with eyes.

I spoke with a retired Danish dancer last night, who made a comment that struck me as so profound that I wanted to post it (I have the dancer's permission, as long as there's no attribution). He had read in the Danish press a review with some of the principals in the new production of "La Sylphide" and one mentioned that the dancers had been instructed to ACT (not dance, at least not in this context) bigger. And the dancer I spoke to said he thought that wouldn't work -- wouldn't produce the effect desired. There had been a comment by one of the Danish critics that the production was a bit light. "Of course" -- and this is the profound part. "If you're going for bigger, you'll never get it to look dark, because it will be fake and people can sense that." Spoken like a true son of Hans B Often coaches say BIGGER because they know something isn't working the way they want it, and they don't know how to solve it any other way. It reminded me of a story I heard once from someone who had been watching rehearsals (not in Denmark, of another company completely) and everyone could tell that the ballet -- a cheery one -- was flat. The ballet had no internal life, the kind of life that a skilled coach can give a work. But the present coach was not as skilled. He knew something was wrong, but didn't know what it was. BIGGER. BIGGER!!!!!! And then, finally, he had the bright idea to shower glitter dust on the dancers to make the dancing brighter. One of the things you'll hear Danish dancers say constantly is "it must come from the inside." They all know that, but getting it to happen is something else again.

I'm sure several people from this board will be coming to the Festival, nikolai.

Thahks much, Effy. I can't resist commenting on one thing you wrote: When I was researching my book, I came across a review by a (now deceased) Danish critic, referring to a ballet that Kronstam had brought in when he was ballet master, which caused an outcry because he had never seen it (but took it on the recommendation of one of the senior dancers who had). The critic wrote something to the effect of, "would that the repertory had some ballets that Frank Andersen had never seen!" (he wasn't a fan)

I have a suggestion -- another digression, but it is nearly 3 a.m. here!! How about for this new season, we have a Step of the Week in this forum -- SIMPLE!!!!! don't start with the hard ones!!! -- but aimed so at the end of a year, our discovering balletomanes would have a usable vocabulary of 52 steps that they'll see on stage and read about in newspapers? Volunteers

Paul, I THINK that is the step that Fokine referred to when he wrote about one "old-fashioned" step that he thought really should be retired because it's so ugly. (It's not when they do it, but it can be with someone not trained in the style.) I hope Victoria sees this thread. I saw her post about pirouettes sur le coup de pied a couple of years ago -- they are still (nominally) a demicaractere step; she was talking about teaching them. They're being phased out in Denmark now, too, though. They were taken out of some variations (sadly, I must admit, by Brenaa, I was told by one of his assistants).

Ask away I couldn't answer that because I've only seen a few companies a few times, several years apart. I put up the threads I did because they're considered the major "schools" and most other companies' styles are descended from them. The Australian Ballet was once considered an after-Bolshoi company, but that changed.

Doug, I wouldn't disagree with you. (I think they got from Denmark to Russia not only through Petipa's French heritage, but through Johansson; and then got back to Denmark, refreshed, through Volkova.) I think the complaints were on style rather than steps; although the style is closer to the 19th century style than elsewhere, it's not as close as it was a short while ago. And those who saw the company in the 1950s, of course, would say that 1980 was far from 1950. There's a fascinating film at the Dance Collection of the Danes in Massine's "Symphonie Fantasque" in 1948, and you can see the style before Volkova. I've never seen a more harmonious company -- they all seem the same size (although they weren't) and are dancing in exactly the same way, like a huge family.

I thought your screen name had a Danish tinge If you're seeing performances there, by all means post about them -- if they're of the RDB, then in the RDB forum, please (so that we don't have several threads going in several places).

Welcome, aspirant! (We have a special fondness for people who register and jump right in and post -- double welcome. welcome welcome ) I've only seen Fairchild in two roles, when I was in New York last winter, but I thought she Had It too (and there was a huge sigh of relief here when Bouder's name was "back on the posters.")

Yes, they came here. I didn't see them, but friends did. Radchenko was a great character dancer with the Bolshoi. The reports I got were mixed -- what you'd expect from a company that spends much of its life on the road, with dancers of a variety of ages, technical ability, etc. Yet both of my friends who saw it enjoyed it. It was a few years ago now, so I can't remember details (I'm sorry) but you might turn up something on them on Google. I"m sure it was canned music here. If you're taking kids who've never seen the ballet, unless you're dragging them kicking and screaming because they think it's dumb and they'd rather be skate boarding, or whatever active children do there, my best guess is that it's safe. (please don't hate me if I'm wrong! )

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. :yes:

I found only one reference -- it's Joseph Carow, one "r" -- in Balanchine's Book of the Ballets. He was in deMille's "The Wind in the Mountains" in 1965. So later than I thought. Editing to add: through the magic of Google -- www.google.com -- I found several references. He was in "Once Upon a Mattress," he staged a Nutcracker for the New Jersey Ballet (hope I'm remembering that right) and last fall he was teaching at East Carolina University School of Theatre and Dance. There may be more -- Google him

I hope atm sees this -- she would have seen him dance (but doesn't check the board every day, so if you don't get an answer right away, don't fret ) I can't help, unfortunately. Mel?

Thanks very much for that -- I'm very grateful to you for writing about the production. If Doug sees this, he may be able to comment on the first act pas de trois, etc, whether it's what we like to think of as Petipa, or rechoreographed. I also liked your assessment of the Jester: It sounds as though the Jester has morphed with Benno (did the Jester do a jester-type solo? Or is he just called that in the program). Or maybe Benno was a closet Jester all along, and has just come out Other comments welcome - and if anyone sees other casts, we'd like to read about them, too.