Alexandra

This isn't new; I got it several weeks ago. But I haven't been able to post about it before. Dance Chronicle is hard to find -- it's so expensive that few individuals subscribe, but it is in many libraries around the world. It's a scholarly publication, but there are often articles of more general interest. Kathrine Sorley Walker has done many long pieces that, were this a more perfect universe, would have been chapters in a book about the history of British ballet outside the Royal Ballet companies, for example. This issue contains one short, and two very long articles. All of them are the kind of piece almost no one else publishes, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. An allegorical Fabula for the Bentivoglio-d'Este Marriage of 1487, by Francesca Bortoletti. Part Three of "Darling Helene: August Bournonville's Letters from France and Italy [to his wife] 1841." Translated by Patricia McAndrew, with an introduction and Notes by Knud Arne Jurgensen. [These are an absolutely fascinating view of what was going on in ballet during this year.] Also a third part, Kathrine Sorley-Walker's boigraphy "Cyril W. Beaumont: Bookseller, Publisher and Writer on Dance." There are also book reviews and a listing of the contents of other scholarly journals.

Nureyev used one of the court dances (Marchonesses? I dont' remember; someone please correct me) as his solo in Sleeping Beauty II. It may well have been a Sarabande, but I couldn't swear to it -- someone else may well be able to clarify. I didn't mean to imply that Agon was "about" LeClercq's illness -- but I think it's possible that the passivity/movement idea could have come from it. It's not that the pas de deux was intended for LeClercq. Grace, good to see you again -- thanks for the history. It's interesting how this happens, isn't it? The waltz had a very different beginning, and the tango may well be a stately dance in 100 years. Interesting how time smoothes the edges off of living things -- art, that is -- as well as stones!

I haven't seen the book, but I got an announcement for: "Mime in Ballet," by Beryl Morina with 328 photographs Demonstrated by artists of The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet Forward by Sir Anthony Dowell Introduction by Richard Glasstone The brochure calls this "The Indispensable Guide to the art of Mime in Ballet" and I don't think it's an exaggeration. I don't know of another work that goes through the mime vocabulary gesture by gesture. The dancers demonstrating the gestures are Muriel Valtat (Royal Ballet) and Michael Raynaud (English National Ballet). From the photos, the gestures are Very Clear -- not the kind of thing one would get if the demonstration was done by, say, Niels Kehlet and Annemarie Vessel, senior mimes of the Royal Danish Ballet, but still, you can see what they're saying. For Londoners, it's on sale at the Royal Opera House Shop For the rest of us, it can be ordered from the author (there's a website, but so far it's just a "parked" site, no content). It's $62.99 in dollars, but they need an international money order or check, or credit card, and there's shipping. The brochure lists the author's address as: berylmorina@aol.com and says you may contact her to order.

Just got the new Ballet Review -- they have a site at www.balletreview.com, but it's under construction; there is a phone number if you're interested in subscribing. And you may be able to find this in bookstores. The issue contains: A long article by Pavel Gershenzon about Bayadere: "La Bayadere: The Wrath of the Gods Restored." (Solor! Are you reading this!!!) Joel Lobenthal on the ABT 2002 season Francis Mason on "The Legacy of Martha Graham with the Court Decision on Graham's Dances" Eliot Feld writes about "Aphorisms, Piths, and Potshots" Adam Pinsker writes about Davidsbundlertanz Marion Kessel has a piece about three choreographers -- Peter Martins, Trey McIntyre and Ben Stevenson -- called "Music and Movements" And Dawn Lille writes about Sukanya Rahman Great cover of Graham

THAT's an interesting thought. Meaning that we, the audience, always either suspect or misunderstand the "core" -- what the artist is trying to do, or how the artist understands the art form -- but will be attracted by something external -- star dancer, great costumes, extreme emotion, etc. That might be the "bait," but I do think many people do make the "switch" -- i.e., finding the core.

That's an interesting definition of a Sarabande! Thank you for that, atm. By the time of the court ballets it was a "slow and stately measure," one of the measures of the noble genre, as opposed to the speedy courant. But I have no idea of the dates for either definition, nor any knowledge about the change. (Remembering that simply turning was considered vulgar onceuponatime -- or vulgar in France, at any rate; it was a German specialty. There's an anecdote in Kirstein's Classic Theatrical Dancing about how you could tell the guest at the ball was a German because he inserted a turn in the dance. Think of it!) Is anyone familiar with Louis Horst's "Pre-Classic Dance Forms"? I used to have a copy but can't find it. It should have information on the sarabande.

No one will get this before next Wednesday or Thursday, earliest, but when you do, I hope there will be discussion. Old-tiimers will remember that I began this board as an online Letters to the Editor for DanceView and Ballet Alert!, and I'd like to revive that aspect of the board. So comment, quibble, disagree, agree, ask questions, whatever! Thank you

I'll be mailing out the latest issue of DanceView (Winter 2003) throughout the week. This issue includes: A Conversation with Wendy Whelan, by Marc Haegeman Cincinnati Ballet’s Ballet Russe Celebration, reviewed by Mary Cargill San Francisco Ballet's fall City Center Season, reviewed by Gay Morris A review of Miami City Ballet's latest Balanchine program, by Carol Pardo Gretchen Ward Warren's report on the Cuban ballet scene , including reviews of several performances at the 40th International Ballet Festival in Havana Mary Cargill's review of NYCB's spring 2002 season The New York Report (this time, by Gay Morris, who will be alternating with Mary Cargill in the role ): ABT's fall City Center Season, Mark Morris's "The Hard Nut," and Meredith Monk's new "Mercy." Jane Simpson's London Report, including news and reviews of The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Siobhan Davies, and Dance Theatre of Harlem's recent London season and Rita Felciano's Bay Area Report, with reviews of several companies in the San Francisco area ----------------------------- Many Ballet Alertniks are familiar with with Marc Haegeman, Mary Cargill and Jane Simpson from their posts here. Carol Pardo and Rita Felciano are also regular writers, though not posters. I'm very glad that Gay Morris, who once edited book reviews and wrote from San Francisco for us, is back on board. Gay is now based in New York. She's an art critic as well as a dance critic, and is the editor of the book Moving Words: Re-Writing Dance an excellent collection of essays about issues in dance today I'm also very pleased to have a contribution from Gretchen Ward Warren, a noted teacher, whose Classical Ballet Technique is THE standard today and, with its 1600 photos of steps, from different angles, is of value to the balletgoer as well as the dancer or teacher, and whose The Art of Teaching Ballet: Ten Twentieth-Century Masters is both an interesting read for balletgoers interesting in teaching and coaching, but detailed enough to be of value to teachers. And no, they didn't ask me to include those commercials But it's nice to know a little something about the people whose articles you're reading. DanceView is available by subscription only. It's black and white with no ads.

I thought punk rock had died a decade ago! (But that's only from hearsay; I don't listen to pop music except when in a cab.) I think it's an interesting idea and I'm grateful it's being raised. Is this also the reason that the most popular of the narrative ballets today are "Onegin," "Manon" and "Romeo and Juliet?" (And the second wave of Draculas and Madam Butterflies?) These ballets are not as rich as operas and the criticism of them from an artistic point of view is that they lack depth -- lack supporting characters, trivialize or sentimentalize raw emotions, etc. Which wouldn't bother a generation that knows opera only through surtitles! But from an audience point of view, especially to people new to ballet, these are the favorites. Also, opera is generally popular now. Teens were drawn to ballet in the earliy Nureyev and early Baryshnikov periods to watch cute guys. It could be that simple -- it's chic, everybody's going, it's cool to say "I'm going to the opera." ??? All rank speculations

ATM, I was told that by dancers in Copenhagen (where LeClercq began her physical therapy) as well. He was fascinated by her passive movements -- she was paralyzed and could not move on her own, but a therapist could move her. That sounds quite related to the original idea for the Agon "pas de deux".

Moving this over to the Issues forum for discussion -- no harm in having a new thread, since the conference is upon us. So thanks for raising the topic, Ballet Dad. What do you think of the conference?

Since there's a new DVD out with several of Bruhn's TV appearances from the 1960s, I thought it might be appropriate for Bruhn to have his own thread. (Suggested by Drew, who on the Dancers of NY Golden Age poll said she had first come to this site to talk about Bruhn.) I only saw Bruhn on stage in mime roles, and since there are many people here who saw him in dancing ones, I'll defer to them to start.

Drew, although we've certainly talked about Bruhn, I'm not sure we've ever had a discussion devoted specifically to him, and he certainly deserves one. I've posted a topic in Dancers, Erik Bruhn, so if you'd lilke to talk about him, please follow me there. http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...=&threadid=8966

Absolutely a genius can be a decent person -- and none of my comments on other threads about artistic directors' management skills were in any way meant to imply the contrary.

Please, don't be shy. I have a suspicion that some of you have been going to performances. I want reviews! (pretty please and thank you)

I just learned today that Sorella Englund, who was a great dramatic ballerina turned character dancer, was teaching at the National Ballet School this fall. I wondered if any of our students had taken or observed her classes?

I think we usually translate it "The Miraculous Mandarin." Did you like them? I saw the Firebird, along with a piece he did for Jean Babille when Babille was in his 50s (which I liked very much.) I don't remember much about the Firebird -- it was the first year or two that I was going to ballet and it was very different from what I was used to. But I didn't hate it

It will be interesting to hear your perspective on the NYCB Winter season too -- I hope you have a laptop But someday you MUST tell us about Casanova!

I'll be a purist here For me, you can't have art without artistry. And it's not as though we're awash in great artists these days. There are some people who might be good artistic directors -- they serve as editors, in a way: choosing repertory, assigning dancers to it, and always with the whole in mind -- not just this season, but what are we building to. I don't think there's a substitute for this. MBAs, on the other hand, are in plentiful supply. Schmoozers are in more than plentiful supply. Why not hire the artist and find a schmoozer? If the artist is bad with people -- can't look them in the eye, mumbles and shuffles on his way to the studio, say -- there can be a cheery intermediary. If the artist is hot-tempered and likely to bite the head off certain cherished patrons, don't let him near them. I've read a lot about Balanchine but never about how he attended daily cocktail parties. What's wrong with the "Maestro would love to talk to you, but he is in the studio creating his latest masterpiece." To me, you look at what's needed, which, to me, is an artist. Find him -- not through a search committee, either, which is the hot new trend. (A diversion: one search committee in the quite recent past began with asking questions of people in the company and connected with the company. First question: what is the biggest name in your market? I do not think we will ever have art under those circumstances.) Regarding the AD and dancers relationship that Leigh raised -- that's a tricky one. Ideally, I think, an AD does need to be able to work with his dancers; they need to like and respect him. If he's really an ogre, there will be problems. But and on the other hand, if he caters to the dancers -- Sure you can do Apollo, or Aurora, or whatever, to the surly second soloist who knows how to pick his/her moment and pushes and pushes to get a role -- then I don't think that's good either. If the director is Ice Man, well, there are people who can work with that, and people who can't. If he's got a keen eye and can inspire the dancers artistically, maybe it's a question of shakedown time. Eventually, those who want to be cuddled will leave, and those who want to work will be drawn to the company -- if they are "fed" as I've heard dancers say.

Estelle, you're right, of course, that Diaghilev is an exception -- as were Colonel De Basil and Denham. I think the variable is that these were the travleing companies, not institutions. They didn't have a home or an infrastructure. Diaghilev was reall part impresario, part artistic coordinator -- and probably an outsider (nondancer) could do that even today, if he had the same level of artistic staff that Diaghilev had. And if he were Diaghilev, of course (And that goes back to education; how many people are getting the same level of education and exposure to the arts that Diaghilev and his generation had?) mbjerk, I like the idea of the AD being armed with the language so they can hold their own in combat with the board. Perhaps there should be a course at a training program (a real one, like the one at the Vilar Institute) that's tailored to ADs, a sort of business language for artists cygneblanc, I know that ethics is still taught at university philosophy departments, thanks. Unfortunately, sarcasm and irony do not transmit well on the internet! mbjerk was making a joke that there should be ethics courses taught by the executives of three American companies that were caught doing very unethical things, and my comment "does anyone teach ethics today" was meant to be sarcastic. I'm sorry for the confusion! I think the point you raise, that the Artistic Director has often been a principal dancer in the company and that this can cause problems is a good one. On the one hand, it's good to have someone in charge who has been with the company and understands its repertory and its aesthetic. On the other hand, it's sometimes hard for a dancer to be a dancer on one day, and then in charge of all the dancers he grew up with the next. I don't think this will work unless he has the respect of the company. If the dancer keeps dancing while he's director, that can also cause problems, especially if he looks at ballet with an eye to whether there's a good role for him in it. I also agree with you that many directors would like to have a chance to study problems related to their work, and I think that's why the Vilar Institute (a one-year training course at the Kennedy Center where artists get practical knowledge in the business and marketing) and the conferences of artistic directors that took place last year in Canada and will take place again in England in a few weeks is a good idea and I hope it will prove valuable.

But "workmanlike" does have a connotation of dull, as does "serviceable," I think, so I don't think we'd want it on the poster trying to entice people to come in. "Scene de ballet" is beautifully constructed, Lolly -- its form is perfect, I think it's fair to say. And I'm sure it's received dull performances, but I don't think it's a dull ballet.

I think Ari has given a good example, Ari. One sees that kind of thing often in narrative ballets. There can also be moments of raggedyness or off-musicality in abstract ballets that one would think someone would see and fix. But I'm curious about your last sentence: "You can be a good AD (or ballet master or whoever is responsible for getting the work onstage) and not be gifted with theatrical instincts." It could be that I"m misreading you or have a different understanding of theatrical instincts, but I'd argue that an Artistic Director MUST have theatarical instincts, in the sense of knowing whether a production "works" or not, knowing how the audience will see it.

This was suggested by mbjerk on the thread about Rehearsal Practices. In the goodolddays, an artistic director was the balletmaster, and he had administrative responsibility for the company -- choosing dancers and repertory -- but also rehearsed the repertory and usually taught company class. Today, in America, an artistic director often has to do fundraising, and the adminsitrative staffs have swelled so (many companies have as many admin people as they have dancers) that it takes real management skills to handle that. Companies now usually have an executive director -- and in some companies, the executive director is gaining in power over the artistic director. Some questions. Is this trend for good or ill? Should the artistic director be in the studio teaching class and rehearsing ballets? Where are we headed -- what will the model be ten years from now?

Another excellent point, and I think it's very related. There are several models, I suppose. A new piece is under the control of the choreographer, whether resident or guest, who may or may not have rehearsal assistants -- correct? In subsequent seasons, the in-house staff takes over, with the choreographer's assistant helping out. And perhaps, but not always, the choreographer will come back to look in on the last rehearsals. The problems come when there's a revival. True story (from an interview with a dancer involved in these rehearsals): a major company which shall remain nameless was reviving a classic that had been out of repertory for seven years. They had seven days to rehearse it, with -- I am not making this up -- seven casts. No one could quite remember the ballet and there wasn't a clear tape. There were two people in charge -- but would it matter? And they'd danced the ballet in different eras. It's my understanding that in Balanchine's day there were assistants who rehearsed the ballets, but he would supervise the final rehearsals -- and I agree with citibob, that's a darned good model for that company. Then you had someone overlooking the entire repertory, which, at the end at least, was predominantly made up of his own ballets. (Robbins rehearsed his own repertory; Robbins and Balanchine trusted each other. Balanchine would advise/look in on neophyte choreographers.) Then you have the team-tag approach. Susie, you take the corps. I'll take Casts 1 and 2, Joe takes casts 3 to infinity. (Personal theory: this is the result partly of the Baby Boom and partly because dancers retire earlier. 40 years ago you could have a job through your 40s, even longer as a character dancer. And there weren't as many dancers. Now there are thousands of dancers in the 35 to 60 age group who need work, and this coincides with a ballet having 3 and 4 coaches, or a company having multiple balletmasters. Since they're all trained in different places and with different backgrounds, it makes cohesion more difficult.) I think if everything is working, the artistic director as benevolent overseer works wonderfully This is what I observed in Copenhagen, where each ballet was staged/produced/directed as though it were a play. Roles were called back every season and the ballet was staged as if it were a new production. And that's the way it looked. Yet there was a cohesion to the repertory because you had one person teaching company class (or others teaching with him as a model) and looking over the final results. Do artistic directors spend much time in the studio? There are some I'd rather divert to fundraising, or baking, I think. But if the artistic director is expected to do mission statements and fundraising and overlook a burgeoning administrative staff -- or try to stop the executive director from doing damage to any and all of the above -- how can s/he take part in the rehearsal project? Back to overrehearsing, especially of a cllassic, I think there are times when the ballet masters don't know when to stop. I was talking with someone about Symphonic Variations the other day, and about the photographs of that ballet in its early days. There was a LIFE to it, and a freedom in the dancing that could be considered sloppiness -- arms at different angles, lines not exactly precise. Many complain that this ballet has ossified over the years and become, not as much a ballet as a Statement of the Company's Classical Manifesto. There may be a temptation to prune and spray and clilp until there's very little left. Is this another reason for the gradual move to contemporary dance by ballet companies, by the way? That the ballets are easier to keep up? As for the way companies are run and the division of labor -- I think that could make a good topic and will post it

I think humanity and the humanities are related, when you think about it. One of the thiings that a liberal arts edcation is supposed to give, in addition to broad, general knowledge, is a sense of The Other -- that "I" am not the center of the universe. Ethics and aesthetics are part of this, of course, but, in theory, sustained exposure to literature and the arts teaches us humanity and personal relations because we get to see it at one remove -- read the great works of literature, see other people mess up their lives so we don't have to And with this in mind, some background in the Liberal Arts would help too. Georgetown U has a wonderful adult BA program with six courses -- you take one each term, and there are three terms a year -- that are team-taught and interdisciplinary and that cover the arts, history and literature. I was in their Master's program and so only knew about them through the catalogue, but I was quite envious of those students -- it would have been fun to take those courses as a 35-year-old, since I'd only half-undestood them at 20. You don't get this in business school (although I thinkl the courses Michael mentioned above do sound relevant, and if ADs had them, they'd be able to look eye to eye with the execs).