Alexandra

I know something about this because George Jackson is a Washington-based critic. There was a revival 15-20 years ago (forget the date, sorry) by Darsonval. I believe it was when Violette Verdy was director, but someone may correct me on that. Jackson saw it and was fascinated by it. (Others were less so, and, as always when there is a revival, there were questions of its authenticity.) Jackson wrote about the revival for DanceView, but I don't have an electronic copy. It's on my To Do list to scan in and put on the main site some day, but not for the next two months! The film was shown at the Dance Critics Association a few years ago and it didn't cause a stampede to revive the ballet again. I haven't seen it, but am looking forward to this festival and will report then. Did anyone see the revival? Estelle will have much better information, I'm sure.

Thanks for posting (and translating!) that, Katharine. From my limited reading about Paris, I think there has been persistent questioning of the concours for years (I don't dare guess at how many). One defense of them that I've read is that they really don't bear on the promotion process, but they give an opportunity, especially for the corps dancers, to dance a big, classical variation and that is good, both the learning of it, and that it lets the company direction see the dancer in such a role. Otherwise, there would be no such opportunity. What do you (and all of you here) think of that argument?

ABT STUDIO COMPANY AND THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL EXCHANGE PLACES FOR PERFORMANCES, MASTER CLASSES AND SEMINARS Royal Ballet School to Perform at New York’s Kaye Playhouse, February 11-13 ABT Studio Company to Appear at Covent Garden’s Linbury Theatre, March 28, 29 In a unique exchange program, the ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School will travel to each other’s respective homes in February and March to perform, conduct master classes and take part in training sessions with senior coaching staff. The Royal Ballet School director Gailene Stock will bring the entire third year class of the Royal Ballet School to New York for performances at The Kaye Playhouse in New York, February 11 through 13. The RBS repertory will include the choreography of Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, Christopher Wheeldon and Stanton Welch. While in New York, Ms. Stock and the senior coaching staff from the Royal Ballet School will hold teachers’ seminars to discuss and demonstrate the methodology of the school. The staff will also conduct a master class for students aged 10 through 18 on February 8 and 9, 10 A.M.-3 P.M., at the Alvin Ailey Studios, 211 W. 61st Street. On March 28 and 29, the ABT Studio Company will perform at London’s Linbury Theatre at Covent Garden. Performances include Antony Tudor’s Continuo, Stanton Welch’s Long and Winding Road, Brian Reeder’s Lost Language of the Flight Attendant and a World Premiere of a new duet by Robert Hill, set to music by Lowell Liebermann. Performances at the Kaye Playhouse, February 11-13, are at 8 P.M. Tickets priced at $28, $18 for members and $10 for students are available at the Kaye Playhouse box office, Monday-Saturday, 12:00-6:00pm, or by calling (212) 772-4448. The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse is located at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.

ABT STUDIO COMPANY AND THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL EXCHANGE PLACES FOR PERFORMANCES, MASTER CLASSES AND SEMINARS Royal Ballet School to Perform at New York’s Kaye Playhouse, February 11-13 ABT Studio Company to Appear at Covent Garden’s Linbury Theatre, March 28, 29 In a unique exchange program, the ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School will travel to each other’s respective homes in February and March to perform, conduct master classes and take part in training sessions with senior coaching staff. The Royal Ballet School director Gailene Stock will bring the entire third year class of the Royal Ballet School to New York for performances at The Kaye Playhouse in New York, February 11 through 13. The RBS repertory will include the choreography of Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, Christopher Wheeldon and Stanton Welch. While in New York, Ms. Stock and the senior coaching staff from the Royal Ballet School will hold teachers’ seminars to discuss and demonstrate the methodology of the school. The staff will also conduct a master class for students aged 10 through 18 on February 8 and 9, 10 A.M.-3 P.M., at the Alvin Ailey Studios, 211 W. 61st Street. On March 28 and 29, the ABT Studio Company will perform at London’s Linbury Theatre at Covent Garden. Performances include Antony Tudor’s Continuo, Stanton Welch’s Long and Winding Road, Brian Reeder’s Lost Language of the Flight Attendant and a World Premiere of a new duet by Robert Hill, set to music by Lowell Liebermann. Performances at the Kaye Playhouse, February 11-13, are at 8 P.M. Tickets priced at $28, $18 for members and $10 for students are available at the Kaye Playhouse box office, Monday-Saturday, 12:00-6:00pm, or by calling (212) 772-4448. The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse is located at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.

From www.nycballet.org Program and Casting Subject to Change *First time in role +Guest Artist JANUARY 21-26, 2003 TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21 AT 7:30PM Bach Concerto V: KISTLER, SOTO [Moredock] Pause Eight Easy Pieces: KEENAN, FAIRCHILD, MANDRADJIEFF [McDill, Walters] Pause Eight More: CARMENA, ULBRICHT, HENDRICKSON Intermission "Davidsbündlertänze": NICHOLS, KOWROSKI, RINGER, ANSANELLI, ASKEGARD, NEAL, BOAL, MARCOVICI [Moredock] Intermission Mercurial Manoeuvres: WEESE, SOTO, MANDRADJIEFF, FAIRCHILD, MILLEPIED [Moverman, Mase] WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 22 AT 8:00PM Serenade: NICHOLS, SOMOGYI, *SYLVE+, NEAL, FAYETTE Intermission Thou Swell: KISTLER, KOWROSKI, BORREE, RINGER, SOTO, ASKEGARD, MARTINS, FAYETTE Intermission Slaughter on Tenth Avenue: KOWROSKI, WOETZEL, FAYETTE, *HANNA, *FOWLER, *SUOZZI, HENDRICKSON, *ROBERTSON THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 23 AT 8:00PM Serenade: NICHOLS, TAYLOR, SYLVE+, NEAL, FAYETTE Intermission Mercurial Manoeuvres: WEESE, ANGLE, MANDRADJIEFF, FAIRCHILD, MILLEPIED [Moverman, Mase] Intermission Thou Swell: KISTLER, KOWROSKI, BORREE, RINGER, SOTO, ASKEGARD, MARTINS, FAYETTE FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 24 AT 8:00PM [Fiorato] Square Dance: BORREE, BOAL [Moverman] Intermission "Davidsbündlertänze": NICHOLS, KISTLER, WEESE, SOMOGYI, ASKEGARD, SOTO, HÜBBE, MARCOVICI [Moredock] Intermission Slaughter on Tenth Avenue: KOWROSKI, WOETZEL, FAYETTE, HANNA, FOWLER, SUOZZI, HENDRICKSON, ROBERTSON SATURDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 25 AT 2:00PM Thou Swell: KISTLER, KOWROSKI, BORREE, RINGER, SOTO, ASKEGARD, MARTINS, FAYETTE Intermission In The Night: RUTHERFORD, SOMOGYI, WHELAN, HIGGINS, BOAL, SOTO [McDill] Intermission Slaughter on Tenth Avenue: *SYLVE+, NEAL, FAYETTE, HANNA, FOWLER, SUOZZI, *FROMAN, ROBERTSON SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 25 AT 8:00PM [Quinn] Serenade: NICHOLS, SOMOGYI, KOWROSKI, ASKEGARD, FAYETTE Intermission In The Night: RUTHERFORD, SOMOGYI, WHELAN, HIGGINS, BOAL, SOTO [McDill] Intermission Jeu de Cartes: TAYLOR, *TEWSLEY, *MILLEPIED, HÜBBE SUNDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 26 AT 3:00PM Jeu de Cartes: TAYLOR, TEWSLEY, MILLEPIED, HÜBBE Intermission Le Tombeau de Couperin: TBA Pause Pavane: NICHOLS Intermission Thou Swell: KISTLER, KOWROSKI, BORREE, RINGER, SOTO, ASKEGARD, MARTINS, FAYETTE

Re the politics of art -- is this another area where two separate issues are often confused? There's the Canon (Dead White European Males) issue, especially the "who gets to choose?" that addresses issues of the past. That's one aspect of so-called elitism. And the other aspect is what several people have mentioned, that late 20th century artists either deliberately avoided "the public" or addressed only "the public" whereas artists in previous eras had been trained in methods, forms and rules that had been arrived at by consensus (or, in some instances, an Academy) among artists and those who pursued higher education as a profession. I still think there is a consensus, although it is becoming a more complicated one. And I know that Andy Warhol's "Art is whatever I say it is" (which really means "art is whatever I can get away wiith") is very seductive, but I still think there is a consensus. The artists/academics are often a generation ahead of the general populace in this simply because they live in that world and thnk about those issues night and day, and so see the change as it's occurring rather than confronting it on the odd Saturday night a few times a year, when it seems shocking. Editing to add -- I agree with Leigh that politics is a part of this and is certainly a valid topic of discussion. Relativists welcome, too

I know this is the way dance history is taught, but I think that we know more about the 19th century now than when the first books (that are still used, or that form the basis for later books) were written. Ballet's classical period took place at the same time every other art form's classical period took place -- we just don't have any left (Noverre's "Jason et Medea," Gardel's "Alfred le Grand," etc.) Romantic ballet rebelled against both classical content and classical form in the same way that music did. Petipa, at least the works we have of his, was a throwback, and was basically making 18th century ballets with 19th century content and technique. Sleeping Beauty was a conscious attempt to recreate the ballet de fee. I think the confusion also involves what is "classical" -- people used "classical ballet" in the same way they used "classical music," not to indicate a time period or aesthetic, but "something that isn't popular." Since "Swan Lake" Act II is thought of as the epitome of "classical ballet," somehow this became "Ballet is odd. It is the only art form where the classical period follows the Romantic." (I think there were a lot of things written when people who had not grown up with the art form were confronting it for the first time and trying to make sense out of it, and this is one of them. I know this is all OT, but since many of us have read the same books, I thought I should add that historical note.)

Just a brief word -- I agree that it predates World War II; I didn't mean to imply anything different; I was addressing a subset of the mistrust. Mistrust of art in America goes back to the Puritans and there's always been a strain of it. There have been many books written about this. What I'm talking about the mistrust of art from within the middle-class, from within the class of arts consumers, in Newspeak It's the Lyceum movement families (the great-grandchildren of 19th century people who attended those lectures and concerts with not only pleasure, but the notion that edification was a societal good) who turned their backs on art in the late '40s and early '50s. I don't think it's a coincidence that pop art -- pop music, television, etc. -- rose to the fore at this time. I was struck by treefrog's comment above, about being raised in a highly educated household that didn't partake of the arts -- I think that says it. If one was raised in such a household, the arts were, somehow, a part of one's world, even if one didn't attend them. Maybe your grandmother used to go to the theater and your great uncle Claude to the symphony -- this was part of your inheritance -- like the china (I came from the opposite -- a family that sent its children to private high schools but not to college, yet did partake of the arts, especially theater and music. Two different views of the middle class.) I also agree that the "how European do we want to be" question has long haunted us. We argue both sides of it. We do NOT want to be European. We're better. Superior in every way. We're more free, BIGGER, we can do anything, we're reinventing art. We don't need any of that arcane, prissy, elitist angst. To lump all the stereotypes into one bin But then the other side, our insecurity, shows when an American wins a European competition (the Van Cliburn syndrome). Suddenly all that arcane stuff has value because we've won and we're gonna beat 'em. Or when we have someone in the public eye -- Jacqueline Kennedy is a good example -- who passes the Culture Test, there will be articles written, with pride, about how well she did at diplomatic dinner parties. So I definitely think we're conflicted about this.

4Ts, I agree with you on both Jazz and Fred Astaire -- I think what's happened there is that most people confuse "high art" with "good." Say, "Fred Astaire is an example of popular art, not high art" and someone will scream HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT BARYSHNIKOV SAID HE WAS THE GREATEST DANCER EVER. I also agree with 4Ts statement: Yes, high art, especially theatrical art, always had popular elements -- it had to appeal to a broad range of people. But it's done within the accepted form of what was high art at the time. Beethoven wrote waltzes and country dances to be danced at balls; these weren't intended to be high art. Leigh, I think that art has been used as politics, and I think contemporary artists are, in effect, using art as a secret handshake ("Tee hee. They won't be able to understand this, the idiots.") But I don't think this is what the dread Dead White European Males did. Way way back -- and still in some Asian classical forms -- art was to honor the gods, or God, and you gave him the best you had. What we have today descends from forms created then, and refined and refined over the centuries. Now we have to apologize for this? Not me. It occured to me watching "The Pianist" that the American attitude towards the high arts -- fear, disdain, discomfort -- might trace back to World War II. Before then, there was the notion that being educated included being educated in the arts. Symposium, lectures for the edification of young ladies and gentlemen, all that was a part of American middle-class culture. But after World War II, there were many articles written about how, if culture was so great, Naziism happened. One of the Nazi stereotypes is the SS officer who loves music, poetry, opera and ballet and then goes to work and tortures people with obvious pleasure. There must be something horrible about art -- or, at best, it cannot innoculate us against evil. It's a fraud -- it don't make you cultured. It just makes you mean. We're still living with that. I think it's time to get beyond it.

Negatively, "cookie cutter corps" does mean that they all look alike and are regimented. In the 1980s, when ABT was trying to become Kirov West, I was told, by a school who had several excellent dancers rejected, that they simply measured the length of the leg. That's what they wanted -- 24, or whoever many it was, legs of exactly the same length. I'd argue that when that's your Number One priority, it rules out other elements, including personal style, musicality, dance intelligence, etc. But as to what an ideal corps for the ballet blancs would be, I agree with Leigh. It's a common sense of style and community, to use a Really Modern Acceptable word When I first saw the Kirov in Chopiniana, it struck me that they all breathed together, that they were all sisters. I agree that there can be divergent heights -- I noticed in the Paris Opera corps, the first time I saw their Swan Lake, that there was one woman who was barely 5 feet tall. yet, I didn't notice this until the fourth act of the third performance I saw, when I was seated in about the third row. She didn't jar the eye. Yes, I do think you need this kind of uniformity to dance 19th century ballets that have ballet blancs in them, a/k/a The Classics. You don't have to dance these ballets, but you cannot be a modern dance company five nights of the week and then try to rope in the Weekend Crowd with Swan Lake; they're two different aesthetics. There was a Sea Change when companies in the West turned from being demicaractere companies into classical (imitating the Royal) or neoclassical (imitating NYCB); it definitely changed the types of dancers who were hired. The two genres require different skills. And smaller companies are going through this change today. The look of the corps determines the look of the company. I still have a firm imprint of the Royal Ballet corps coming down the ramp in Shades, perfect 90 degree arabesque after perfect 90 degree arabesque. Ashton's corps was often accused by New Yorkers of being too neat, like a well-groomed lawn, but I never bought into that. I don't think Ashton was interested in looking neat and tidy as a good in itself, but in geometry. He wanted that particular shape and he got texture by varying the heights. Back to the short-lived One Leg Length Fits All ABT corps -- and this speaks to the danger of trying to build a corps quickly -- there was a video released about this time with several of the Tharp ballets. One shot was a row of corps dancers who might have been three sets of quadruplets, each blander than the next. That kind of selection and regimentation makes the dancing look boring to me. It didn't achieve the poetry of the Kirov, or the power of the Bolshoi corps -- or the righteous neatness of the Royal Corps. It danced obediently. (I think the ABT corps is much better than this now, although it still has the problem of being a combination of dancers from many different schools, and it shows.) We don't really know what the 19th century corps looked like -- the drawings of Paris productions make the dancers look quite similar, and the few shots of the professional dancers (not the pick up show dancers) of our own "The Black Crook" shows a group of very well-trained, small, beautifully formed Italian dancers. The Diaghilev corps looks much more robust -- but were they the best corps dancers of the Maryinsky? We don't know. I do agree that skirts hide a multitude of sins, and allowed for a wider variety of body types. I agree that the Rockettes are the Rockettes and that's not the kind of regimentation appropriate for ballet -- unless someone does a mechanized ballet -- but I don't believe that physical diversity is a good unto itself. If you have a chorus of sopranos, you don't hire an alto, much less someone who sings contralto off-key. There are certain physical standards that must be met in the interests of uniformity of style.

I am convinced, no matter how old I get, nor how many performances I see, that I will always and forever hear, as I leave the theater, happy that I've seen the World's Greatest Performance Ever, I will hear a small, determined, elderly voice call after me, "Ah, but you should have seen Taglioni!"

Vivianne, in Copenhagen there are a lot of secondhand bookstores and the books are cheap there -- lots of 1950s era, especially Royal Ballet. Books are the only things that I've found that are cheap in Copenhagen!

You win the prize, OF -- it's Welch! Here's the press release: HOUSTON BALLET SELECTS STANTON WELCH AS NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Acclaimed Young Australian Choreographer Succeeds Ben Stevenson as Leader of Texas Troupe Houston, Texas -- Mr. Nicholas L. Swyka, president of Houston Ballet Foundation, announced today that the acclaimed Australian choreographer Stanton Welch has been selected to succeed Ben Stevenson as artistic director of Houston Ballet. Mr. Welch will take over the leadership of the company in July 2003, when Mr. Stevenson assumes the title of artistic director emeritus. Mr. Welch has emerged as one of the most gifted young ballet choreographers on the international dance scene, having created works for many of the world's best companies, including Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, the Australian Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, among others. Mr. Jesse H. Jones II, the leader of the search committee formed to select the new artistic director, commented, "As the search committee worked through the process, it became clear that having a director who was also a choreographer and who created a unique repertoire for the company was a defining feature of Houston Ballet's identity over the last twenty-seven years. We wanted to continue that tradition of having a gifted choreographer creating a distinctive repertoire that is unique to Houston Ballet. In Stanton Welch, we are fortunate to have found an exceptional dance maker of international distinction with close ties to Houston Ballet. "When we began the search, Ben Stevenson advised us to look closely at Stanton Welch. With his passionate commitment to the creation of new full-length narrative ballets, his deep roots in British ballet, and his intimate knowledge of our company, Stanton is ideally positioned to build upon Ben Stevenson's legacy at Houston Ballet." "I want to preserve and protect the legacy of the company that Ben Stevenson has built in Houston," Mr. Welch observed. "Houston Ballet is unique in North America in that it is the only big company that is regularly producing new story ballets. Houston Ballet has built an environment that makes high quality productions of this nature possible. Houston is also the only big company in the states that gives a choreographer four stage rehearsals. The company has really established a healthy environment for the creation of new work. "I am also interested in bringing new choreographers such as Julia Adam to Houston. The dancers and the audience of Houston Ballet should have a checklist of the great choreographers, and should be able to see their works. Jiri Kylian's Forgotten Land is an absolute masterpiece, and I would be very interested in seeing Houston Ballet perform it. Christopher Bruce is a genius, and the company should continue to dance his works." Mr. Welch will be the fourth director of Houston Ballet. Tatiana Semenova, a former dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was director of Houston Ballet Academy, the school and precursor of the current professional company, from 1955 until 1966. Nina Popova, a former dancer with the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre, assumed the leadership of the professional company from 1967 until 1975, when James Clouser, the company's ballet master and choreographer, served as acting artistic director. In 1976, Ben Stevenson took over as director of the company, doubling its size, increasing its touring engagements, and building an international reputation for the ensemble during his twenty-seven year tenure. With an annual budget of $13 million, Houston Ballet is America's fifth largest ballet company, an ensemble of over fifty dancers who have been hailed by The New York Times as "one of the nation's best ballet companies." Founded in 1969, Houston Ballet performs an extensive repertoire of works, ranging from the great nineteenth century classics (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Giselle) to new pieces by some of the world's most exciting young dance makers. Over the last ten years, Houston Ballet has emerged as one of Houston's most effective international ambassadors, touring to Moscow, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. In 1995, Houston Ballet was the first full American ballet company invited by the Chinese government to tour the People's Republic of China, giving performances in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, who commissioned Mr. Welch to create the one-act ballet Clear in October 2001 and who has asked him to stage a new version of Carmina Burana in May 2003, commented, "Houston Ballet is very fortunate to have Stanton Welch as its next artistic director. He is steeped in ballet, has a fresh and energetic approach to the art form, and is an enormously inventive choreographer. Bravo!" Mr. Welch: From a Ballet Family, but a Latecomer to the Field Born in Melbourne, Australia, on October 15, 1969, Mr. Welch is the son of two of Australia's most celebrated classical ballet dancers of the 1960s and 70s: Garth Welch and Marilyn Jones. (His brother Damien Welch is also a much admired dancer who has appeared with the Australian Ballet and other companies internationally.) Mr. Welch began his study of ballet at the relatively late age of 17, but quickly made up for lost time by winning a scholarship to study at San Francisco Ballet School. In 1989, he joined the Australian Ballet, and he eventually rose to the level of leading soloist with the company, performing such principal roles as Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon, Lensky in Cranko's Eugene Onegin, Camille in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow and Alan Strang in Equus. In 1990, Mr. Welch created his first work for the Australian Ballet, The Three of Us, followed by Of Blessed Memory (1991), Divergence (1994) and others. He was appointed resident choreographer of the Australian Ballet in 1995, and has created two full-length works for that company: Madame Butterfly in 1995 and Cinderella in 1997. In May 2003, Mr. Welch will create a new version of Carmina Burana for American Ballet Theatre. During the late 1990s, Mr. Welch's career as an international choreographer took off, with commissions coming from around the globe. He has created two works especially for Houston Ballet: Indigo, to music by Vivaldi in February 1999, a work that has become a signature piece for Houston Ballet and was last performed by the company on tour at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow; and Bruiser, which was featured as part of the company's mixed repertory program at the Sadler's Wells Theater in London in March 2001. In September 2002, Houston Ballet performed Mr. Welch's celebrated production of Madame Butterfly, a popular and critical success in Houston. Mr. Stevenson has also previously commissioned him to create a new evening-length work for Houston Ballet to premiere in March 2004. The Oxford Dictionary of Dance characterizes Mr. Welch's work as a choreographer as follows: "His classically based style reflects the influence of modern choreographers such as Graham and Limon in its weight and fluency, but also tends towards a more fractured edginess. He has become one of the most sought-after choreographers of his generation." Maina Gielgud to Join Houston Ballet's Artistic Staff Mr. Welch has invited the celebrated British ballerina Maina Gielgud to join Houston Ballet's artistic staff in a senior role. After a successful performing career with Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the Twentieth Century, the London Festival Ballet, and numerous other international companies, Ms. Gielgud served as artistic director of the Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996 and of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1997 - 1999. Writing in The International Dictionary of Ballet, Emma Manning observed, "Maina Gielgud's career has encompassed many areas in the world of dance: she has succeeded as both classical and as a contemporary dancer, and as an indefatigable artistic director, and she has brought the Australian Ballet to international acclaim….Gielgud adamantly believes in the nurturing of young dancers and in giving them major roles while still young….Her drive is relentless, her gaze piercingly astute, and her devotion to dance unquestionable." Ms. Gielgud is the niece of the legendary English actor Sir John Gielgud. An Exhaustive, International Search for a Successor to Stevenson In looking for the next leader of Houston Ballet, the board of Houston Ballet conducted an exhaustive, international search. The process included the retention of a consultant, Genovese, Vanderhoof & Associates, to help conduct the search. Eight candidates from across the globe were flown to Houston to interview for the position. Each candidate did a series of extensive interviews with the search committee, the dancers, the faculty of Houston Ballet Academy, and the company's artistic, administrative, and production staffers -- in addition to leading a ballet class and conducting rehearsals with the dancers. The search committee met with the dancers to hear their responses to each of the candidates and to receive their input. The search committee met over thirty-five times, for a total of eighty hours, in their quest to find the right candidate. Serving on the search committee were Mr. Isaac Arnold, Jr., Mrs. Lorne Bain, Mr. Robert T. Blakely III, Houston Ballet Managing Director Cecil C. Conner, Houston Ballet Music Director Ermanno Florio, Mrs. Barry J. Galt, Mrs. Donald M. Graubart, Ms. Karen J. Hartnett, Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Mireille Hassenboehler, Mr. Kenneth F. Jones, Houston Ballet Soloist Nicholas Leschke, Mrs. Virginia Mithoff, Louisa Stude Sarofim, Mr. Stevenson, Mrs. Mike S. Stude, Mr. Nicholas L. Swyka, Richard W. Wortham III, and Mrs. Oscar S. Wyatt. Mr. Welch: A Choreographer Nurtured and Developed by Ben Stevenson Ben Stevenson was responsible for initially bringing Mr. Welch to Houston and for helping to nurture his talent as a choreographer. "When I was working with San Francisco Ballet in February 1997 doing my ballet Four Last Songs, I saw Stanton's Maninyas, a very sensual piece about relationships with men and women strutting around onstage," commented Mr. Stevenson. "What struck me about his work was that he moved dancers with great skill and that he was a young choreographer who really had something to say. When you're a young choreographer making a new ballet, it's very difficult to pull the work together so that you have inventive steps and it's also entertaining for the audience. "I commissioned Stanton to do two pieces specifically for Houston: Indigo in 1999 and Bruiser in 2000. I saw his production of Madame Butterfly in 2001, and knew that I wanted it for Houston Ballet's repertoire. I also wanted him to create a work that would be unique to Houston Ballet, so I have commissioned him to create a new full evening program for the company's 2003-04 season." Mr. Welch first came to Houston in the early 1990s to visit a colleague from San Francisco Ballet School who went on to dance with Houston Ballet, and attended a performance of The Nutcracker. "I loved Ben Stevenson's version of The Nutcracker," Mr. Welch remembers. "I thought the first act of Ben's version of The Nutcracker was the best Nutcracker I'd ever seen. And, as a dancer, I've seen so many Nutcrackers. "I really love story ballets, and I've done a lot of them in Australia. Someone who can make a crowd scene work as well as Ben does in the first act of his Nutcracker -- who can give it humor and make all the characters individual -- is a person I admire. It's a goal that I hope to achieve some day."

Thank you for posting that, Anoushka.

Welcome, garnet. It's a good question, and I think this is the best place to put it. Unfortunately, I can't answer you, except to say that there may well be used booksellers in Europe that will serve you just as well. Also, I THINK that most countries have a cut-off for customs duties, that if a shipment is under a certain amount there is no Customs. Have you looked into that? Where are you living? (Translation: what ballet companies can we expect to learn about from you? )

You're not usually this shy. Please, New Yorkers, tell us what you're seeing! (If you haven't yet discoursed on Week One, there's a thread for that, too!)

This press release just in from Boston Ballet: Boston Ballet Announces Internationally Acclaimed Guest Artist to Perform in Sir Frederick Ashton's Ballet La Fille Mal Gardée (BOSTON)- Mikko Nissinen announced today that Boston Ballet will present Carlos Acosta as a guest artist in four performances of Sir Frederick Ashton's full-length story ballet, La Fille Mal Gardée, at The Wang Theatre from February 20- March 2, 2003. Acosta will perform the lead role of Colas. This will mark the first time that Acosta will guest in a Boston Ballet production. A Cuban native, Acosta began his dance studies at the age of ten at the National Ballet School of Cuba, in Havana. Nationally and internationally acclaimed, he has won many awards including gold medals at the 1990 Prix de Lausanne and the 1990 Spanish Vegnale Dance Prix in Italy, and the grand prix and gold medal at the 1990 Fourth Annual Competition of Ballet in France. Acosta was a principal dancer with English National Ballet for the 1991-1992 season, and a principal dancer at Houston Ballet from 1993- 1998. He joined Royal Ballet in 1998 and performs as a guest artist with companies around the world. Known for his spectacular technique and elevation, Acosta is internationally renowned as a first-rate dancer. "We are thrilled to have Carlos with us for this wonderful production. He is considered one of the foremost dancers in the world today, a true superstar in the ballet world. His strength and precision will compliment the talent of Boston Ballet dancers," said Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. Acosta's repertory includes lead roles in most classical ballets including, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Don Quixote, Le Spectre de la Rose, La Fille Mal Gardée, and in many contemporary works by today's leading choreographers. Recognized as a dancer with impressive power by many, Acosta was cited as "a noble and triumphant Colas (La Fille's male lead), always concerned with Ashton's classical style," by The New York Times, when he appeared with American Ballet Theater last year. Acosta will perform with Boston Ballet on February 26 at 7:00p.m., February 27, at 7:00p.m., February 28 at 8:00p.m., and March 1 at 8:00p.m., at The Wang Theatre, Boston La Fille Mal Gardee RELATED EVENTS DANCETALK Wednesday, January 29, 2003, 7-8pm 19 Clarendon Street, Boston An Insider's View of La Fille! La Fille Mal Gardée is one of the oldest surviving ballets-and one of the funniest. Christopher Carr and Grant Coyle, who are in Boston to set the ballet, and Boston Ballet principal dancer, Paul Thrussell, will discuss Frederick Ashton's production of this classic. The talk will be illustrated with excerpts danced by Company members. TICKETS: Individual tickets for each evening are $12.00, purchased at the studio beginning at 6 pm before each DanceTalk or in advance by mail. Student ticket price with a valid ID is $5. Purchase tickets to three or more DanceTalks at the subscriber's price of $9.00 per ticket. Time permitting, tickets will be mailed in advance. Programs are subject to change. For more information, call (617) 695-6955 or email events@bostonballet.com DanceTalks are held in Boston at 19 Clarendon Street, and in Newton at 861 Washington Street. Tours of Boston Ballet's studios in Boston are offered to attendees beginning in the lobby at 6 pm. Please note that the studios are kept warm for the dancers, so dress accordingly. All programs begin promptly at 7 pm. # # # Ticket prices for La Fille Mal Gardée range from $26 to $82. Tickets can be purchased by calling Tele-charge at (800) 447-7400, or by visiting Tele-charge online at www.telecharge.com, or in person at The Wang Theatre box office, located at 270 Tremont Street in Boston's Theatre District. The Wang Theatre box office is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Discounted group tickets (15 or more) are available by calling Boston Ballet's Group Sales Office at (617) 456-6343. Student rush tickets are available for $12.50 in person at The Wang Theatre box office and must be purchased on the day of a performance. Student identification must be presented at time of purchase, limit one per student. MEDIA NOTE: For more information, digital images, or to set up an interview, please contact Tiffany Kehayoglou at (617) 456-6240, tkehayoglou@bostonballet.com or Ellen Ames at (617) 456-6231, eames@bostonballet.com For more information on the 2002-03 season, please contact Boston Ballet Box Office at (617) 695-6955 or log onto Boston Ballet website, www.bostonballet.org http://www.bostonballet.org>.

Thank you very much for letting us know about this, Estelle. And thank you, Aubri, for your memories.

I haven't seen the ballet, but the reviews, both here and abroad, indicated that the ballet was thin choreographically.

Mel, from my experience putting up press releases where the punctuation doesn't "jump" I don't think it's a missing word. I think it's just a dash.

I don't think anyone would argue that creativity is not important, nor that there is precious little of it in ballet today. (Well, some might argue that, but I wouldn't!) There also is some truth, I think, to the idea that once you go down Swan Lake road, you have to go down that road (i.e., the synchronized corps) you can't switch off easily to other types of ballet. (That's why I put up the thread on Hierarchies II; the corps) But this is not true when ballet is working. Both Ashton and Balanchine had a corps -- their companies could do "Swan Lake," (the second act, the one with the 24 swans ) and did it very differently. But they also created contemporary BALLETS, grafting onto the ballet vocabulary movements from other disciplines without losing the character of ballet (as choreographers had been doing for the past four centuries). So it can be done.

Hans, I was just copying over a post you made on the Repertory: what should ballet companies dance? thread: Hans wrote:

Mbjerk, I was afraid of that Brendan, I would find it very disturbing if directors of what they still call "ballet companies" believe that "creativity" and "ballet" is an oxymoron. This is something that modern dancers have said for years. "WE are creative; we invent movement. THEY are stupid and dull; they cannot invent movement, they get it from a book." And this is a complete misunderstanding of what ballet is. The great neoclassical choreographers of the past century took ballet's language and used it "creatively." That's what needs to be done today, instead of trying to turn every ballet company in the world into a contemporary dance company. They are two different genres. This doesn't mean that "Swan Lake" is the only possible definition of ballet -- that's another dead end.

The latest issue of Dance Now looks quite interesting. Lots of articles, including several by Names Known to BalletAlertniks: Marc Haegeman interviews Vladimir Vassiliev. Jane Simpson on the program dancers from NYCB brought to London this summer. Brendan McCarthy on "Ross Stretton's Troubled year at the Royal Ballet." Plus Debra Crane on ENB's new "Nutcracker" (headlined "Gaudy Night"), Nancy Goldner on "The Four Temperaments," Debra Craine on Merce Cunningham's London premiere, a review of Dance Theatre of Harlem by Allen Robertson. Much more. Dance Now is published by David Leonard at Dance Books, and they have a web site: www.dancebooks.co.uk

Thank you, Brendan. It's understandable -- much of the discussions would have been about specific problems, I would imagine, and they don't want to put that in a statement. I think these meetings are good -- I'll say that until they come out with a statement that "We've all agreed to do nothing but new stagings of Petipa and balleticized operas because that's what sells" or "We're scrapping everything in the reps around the world and only doing stuff made last week. We're throwing out toe shoes and live music because they're too expensive." I don't think either of those things will happen, but one always leaves a loophole