Alexandra

Ozzie, if you click on the Amazon link at the top of the board, and then scroll all the way to the bottom, there are links to the Amazon sites overseas. I believe there is one in Australia. I don't know their policies for shipping, but the U.S. site has very clear instructions/info/details. Good luck. (p.s. if there's not a link there, try www.google.com. Do a search for Amazon + Australia )

clever ozzie

Hear hear! We have lots of Australians who REGISTER. Surely someone is seeing this company. Come on out and post!

Boundless, a new ballet by William Forsythe.....

From today's Guardian: A dance to the music of spacetime If anyone goes, I hope you'll tell us about it.

Seeing dancers today in her roles (Who Cares, her solo in Union Jack -- I think it was MacDougall of Sleat ?) makes one realize what a strong technician she was. She MOVED. I think another reason for Balanchine's attraction for her was his attraction to German expressionism -- there's a strain of that in his work. Perhaps that's why he wanted her in Prodigal Son. (The "goons" in that ballet are very similar to a group of men from a Mary Wigman piece of that period, judged by a few photos I've seen of it; and the "bridge" the Siren has to make needs someone with short legs so that the body looks like a flat table, not a slanted one.) But I think there were many ballet fans who would agree with what Ari and Marga have written.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces 2003 National Tour of TOUR INCLUDES WEST COAST PREMIERE OF THE COMPANY WITH ENGAGEMENTS IN LOS ANGELES, BERKLEY, TUCSON, AND SANTA FE, AMONG OTHERS TOUR CULMINATES WITH A WEEK-LONG ENGAGEMENT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Three Programs of All Balanchine Repertory to Include The Company Premieres of Mozartiana, Serenade, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, plus a Program of Duets Exploring the Dynamic Between Woman and Man in The Balanchine Couple all Set and Coached by the legendary Suzanne Farrell . Washington, D.C. -- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces the 2003 national tour of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, (Suzanne Farrell, Artistic Director), with performances coast-to-coast October 5-December 7, 2003. In addition to the West Coast premiere of the company, highlights of the tour will include the company premieres of Mozartiana, Serenade, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and “Waltz of the Flowers” from George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, plus a program of duets exploring the dynamics between woman and man in The Balanchine Couple. The tour begins October 5 at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, and culminates in a week-long engagement at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater beginning December 2, 2003. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet had its beginning in the fall of 1999, when Ms. Farrell presented the Kennedy Center special production for the Millennium Season, Suzanne Farrell Stages the Masters of 20th Century Ballet. In the fall of 2000, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, now a full-fledged company and an ongoing project of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, made its debut during the Kennedy Center’s Balanchine Celebration. The company has since presented an east-coast tour, performances in residence at Florida State University – where Ms. Farrell is a professor in the department of dance – and two full seasons at the Kennedy Center. The Wall Street Journal has called the company “luminous and majestic” while The Washington Post called their performance “fresh and alive.” The 2003, 16-city nationwide tour will take The Suzanne Farrell Ballet from the East to the South, to the Midwest and West in three programs of all Balanchine repertory. 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, and Jared Redick. Other company members include Gina Artese, Amy Brandt, Amy Cole, Kristen Gallagher, Elisabeth Holowchuk, Katelyn Prominski, Lisa Reneau, Mariaelena Ruiz, Jenny Sandler, Amy Seawright, Cheryl Sladkin, Meaghan Spedden, Lydia Walker, Bill Biondolino, Ryan Kelly, Benjamin Lester, Eric Ragan, Alexander Ritter, and Stephen Straub. Company apprentices are Celeste Birr-Gucanac, Ilona Wall, and Alexandra Wasell. (Not all company members will perform in all tour stops.) Ron Matson is the Musical Director and Conductor; Holly Hynes is the Costume Designer; Russell Sandifer is the Lighting Designer. Support for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is provided by the Cordelia Corporation, Mr. Ted P. Shen, Ms. Maxine Groffsky and Mr. Winthrop Knowlton, Mr. Jack Reed, and Mr. and Mrs. James D. Wolfensohn. The Kennedy Center Ballet series is sponsored by Altira. For more information about The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, please visit www.suzannefarrellballet.org For more information about the Kennedy Center, please visit our Web site at www.kennedy-center.org TOUR SCHEDULE AND REPERTORY INFORMATION IS ATTACHED 2003 National Tour of October 5 (Su) 4 pm, McCarter Theater ( program A) Princeton, NJ October 7 (T) 7:30pm, Haas Center (program A) Bloomsburg, PA October 9 ® 8pm, Opera House (program A) Wilmington, DE October 11 (Sa) 8pm, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (program A Newark, NJ October 12 (Su) 2pm, Brooklyn College (program A) Brooklyn, NY October 17 & 18 (F/Sa) Times TBA, Florida State University (programs A and B) Tallahassee, FL October 28 (T) 8pm, Morris Performing Arts Center (program B+) South Bend, IN October 30 ® 7:30pm, Wharton Center (program B+) East Lansing, MI October 31 (F) 7:30pm, Power Center (program B) Ann Arbor, MI November 4 (T) 7:30pm, Centennial Hall (program B+) Tucson, AZ November 7 & 8 (F/Sa) 7:30pm, Royce Hall (program A) Los Angeles, CA November 12 (W) 8pm, Christopher Cohan Center (program B+) San Luis Obispo, CA November 14 & 15 (F/Sa) 8pm, Zellerbach Hall (program B+) Berkeley, CA November 16 (Su) 8pm, Flint Center (program A) Cupertino, CA November 21 (F/Sa) 8pm, Lensic Performing Arts Center (program A/B+) Santa Fe, NM December 2-7 (T-Su) Performances, Eisenhower Theater (program B/C) Washington, DC Program A - Divertimento No. 15, Variations for Orchestra, Tzigane, and Chaconne Program B Mozartiana, “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Serenade Program B+- Divertimento No. 15, “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Serenade Program C – “The Balanchine Couple” - Pas de Deux from Apollo - Pas de Deux from La Sonambula - Pas de Deux from La Valse - “The Unanswered Question” from Ivesiana - Pas de Deux from Agon - Mediation - Divertissement from Don Quixote - Second Pas de Deux from Chaconne - Pas de Deux and Finale from Stars and Stripes PROGRAMMING, DANCERS, AND DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

I've gotten the Kennedy Center press release on this, which I'll post on another thread, and close this one.

I think Ari has made a good point -- German music isn't musique dansant. (generally, generally) Re Frederick the Great, he did have a ballet company -- La Barbarina (I forget her real name) was his ballerina and he was quite taken with her. He wanted a world class ballerina -- so he wanted to compete with his fellow Greats, as it were. Perhaps that strain of ballet didn't develop because there was no Academy? (But first, a school. Louis and Mr. B.)

It took me awhile to warm to her, because of the body (short legs, long torso, and, hence, no line in the sense that I was used to line). She took a lot of hits from some critics who viewed this as bad dancing. I understood her better when a colleague explained to me that she was a character ballerina -- rare in this country and in her time -- and that's how Balanchine most often used her. Her created repertory was extraordinary; I can't think of another ballerina's anywhere who had one like it. In a waltz gown, she was, indeed, beautiful, and there was a wistfulness in roles like "Vienna Waltzes" and a womanliness in "Davidsbundlertanze" that I've neve seen matched.

To my great sorrow, Joe, I didn't see that Makarova troupe -- I was young and naive, and thought it would be around forever I have friends who did saw it and came back, very excited, saying that Raffa was going to be another Danilova; there was a similarity in the shoulders and arms. I believe she is now teaching with Miami City Ballet now.

Marc, from what I've read (American critics and some British) the divide in 1969 was much the same: "Stunning! Finally, a ballet for our time! Move over Petipa/Ivanov" or "Why change Petipa when the new dances aren't as good, and why do we need a Freudian Swan Lake, isn't that what coffee bars are for?" Editing to add an afterthought: I'd imagine most, or at least many, dancers would like the Grigorovitch version, because there's so much dancing. In Russia, there were (and I hope still are) specially trained character dancers and it's an honorable profession. Unfortunately, elsewhere there isn't the same tradition, and often dancers without a strong technique are put in the character pieces. It gives everyone -- viewer and dancer -- the impression that character work is second rate, or not "real dancing."

Nice poll, Marc - lots of choices, and there are 27 votes already as of this hour. Thanks for giving us the link (and please feel free to post updates to this site whenever you have something you think will interest us.)

Glebb wrote: That's been one of the consistent criticisms of the NYCB corps for the past few years in some reviews, that they no longer have the articulation or technical strength to do justice to Balanchine. I think the corps uniformity issue is a matter of taste and we have quite a few Londoners on this site who would not consider their company dull.

Robbins' "Antique Epigraphs." For eight women, as I remember it. (Haven't seen it in about 15 years, so someone may have a more accurate count.) One could consider the grand pas classique of the Wilis in Giselle to be an all-female ballet.

This was the version the company danced the last time they were in DC, just about a year ago. The direction is changing again, so I don't know whether they will stay or not. I think it's safe to say the production was controversial. There are two ways to look at Swan Lake stagings, I think. One is that it's a 19th century ballet and it should be staged bearing that in mind. The other is that it's a score, and it should be choreographed fresh. For those who like the Grigorovich version, it's a more contemporary reading and they like the "all dance" aspect of it, as well as the psychological approach. For those who don't, it cuts out every bit of Petipa as well as the mime and adds psychological undertones that are anachronistic. Putting the character dances on pointe changes the character of the original ballet -- not a concern if you take Approach #2 above -- because ballets of that era mixed classical and character dancing (and mime and processions).

That's my understanding too, Glebb. The premiere was in DC and there was a lot of coverage about it at the time. I did see Wright, and just about every other soloist and demi-soloist in the company. ABT would bring Nutcracker for two weeks every year during the late '70s-early '80s and the Post did cast changes then and that was my beat For me, no one came close to Kirkland. I remember liking Nancy Raffa a lot, though. There was a tomboyishness about her that was refreshing. A

Thank you, Old Fashioned. How wonderful. Something to look forward to. Oodles and oodles of story ballets aimed at young people who also watch MTV and play video games (Nothing wrong with either, of course, and someone can watch and play and still be interested in other things, but still.)

Thank you for the update, Grace -- good for your editor! (I sent you a PM when the posts were deleted, if you hadn't gotten notification of it.)

What a terrific question! My off the top of the head answer is that I think much of it is due to the institutional structure of ballet. First, all over Europe, ballet scores were usually created by house composers -- composers attached to the opera house. There are exceptions, of course (Mozart wrote a ballet, as did Beethoven) but generally you had people who specialized in ballet music and generally they weren't the top composers. Why top composers were drawn to opera and not ballet is a question I can't answer. Second, Vienna does have a continuous ballet tradition and had some good choreographers, but the ballets haven't lasted, for the same reasons they haven't lasted elsewhere -- generational change, no notation, no easy way to keep ballets alive from one choreographer/dancer generation to another.

Thank you, Funny Face. You are hereby appointed class disciplinarian The "transition" period issue is now beginning to fascinate me. I checked Kirstein and he, too, takes neoclassicism/classicism right to the bring of romanticism. I know now that scholars view this differently -- I've come across the term romantic neoclassicism (or neoclassical-romanticism). But I don't know when that change in viewpoint occurred.

Yes, "Eroica." (I think there were quite a few artists, and others, of course, whose view of Napoleon changed around that time!) Other views on Beethoven? Late classical, transition, a "period" all to himself?

Dancerboy, when you say "It's often more like watching a group of soloists as opposed to a true corps de ballet," I think that's a good point. So many of the ballets in that repertory use a small group of dancers, they really are soloists, or at least demi-soloists. That's what many of us think of as the company's style -- when they do "Swan Lake" it gets a bit more controversial, as several threads on these boards will show.

Thank you for that, Mel -- that makes sense. (I've never seen any of it, of course, except a gas stove )

That's interesting -- I'd read of a blue glow, making the stage darker, and making it possible for night scenes to take place. (The analogy I've read is classical/candlelight/daylight; romantic/gaslight/moonlight.) I took a quick look at Guest's "The Romantic Ballet in Paris" and couldn't find a reference. Sorrell says only "The scenic designers for the melodrama were the first to take advantage of the multiple possibilities of gas-lighting onstage, with a gradual variation of illumination, making use of the eerie bluish effect of its radiation. Gaslight achieved surprising stage images for the melodrama with its many Gothic castles or ruins in mysterious forests and wild lake landscapes. When the Opera -- and with it the Romantic ballet -- began to use gaslight, then all that was still unimaginable a generation before became the reality of the widest range of illusions. The chandeliers in the auditorium could be extinguished and at last, from the darkened house, the spectators' eyes could be surprised and stunned by a moonlit scene simulated by gas jets suspended in the flies. First realized in "The Ballet of the Nuns," gas-lighting illuminating the extra lightness of the ballerina in an eerie setting created the sensation of having put reality into its romantic place."