Alexandra

I've written to ABT's Press office about both dancers, and let's see what they respond, before we worry about injuries or worse

It's an interesting question -- don't worry, Antony (although I thank you for your sensitivity). People are generally very polite here. I've always been surprised when I see a dancer with a cigarette, because of the effect on lung capacity. I think there is a difference in America, as Mel noted, because there has been such a concerted anti-smoking campaign here, and because of laws that make it a hassle to smoke. I have two anecdotes from the '60s and '70s, though, that bring in another angle -- stress control. I read an interview once with Peter Schaufuss who said that when he met Bruhn and Nureyev, as a young dancer, they told him he'd have to either smoke or drink to relieve the stress if he went on the super star circuit. And when I was doing the interviews for my book, I did an interview with Antoinette Sibley and I love one of the things she said, and it didn't fit in the book, so I'll put it here. She was talking about the social atmosphere among dancers in the 1960s and said, "You either smoked or you drank. I did both."

And the winner is...... Christopher Stowell. See the news article on today's Links threads -- thanks, Ari!

Thank you for posting this, Ballet Nut -- and forgive me for not responding sooner (since I've been egging you on to post asbout what your'e seeing!) but I've been having computer woes and haven't been here much this week. I felt much the same about this production -- some good dancers, some good dancing, but. well. You've said it We didn't get to see Gracheva here, and I'm disappointed to read what you wrote -- I was hoping they had at least one Swan Queen. Anyone else go?

Interesting question. I haven't seen "Still Life" for years and don't especially remember the arms (and I think there's more than one ballet called "Steptext," so I don't know which one you mean) but my guess is that they don't "mean" anything -- not boxing But perhaps they fit in with the theme or mood of the piece? Using nonstandard (nonclassical) arm movements has been going on for awhile. Sorry not to be able to be more specific. I hope those who've seen the ballets have comments. In general, I'd say that there are choreographers, like Nijinska, Ashton and Balanchine, who use arm movements borrowed from modern dance, social dance, or cigarette posters -- but make them look classical. And there are others who never get past the cigarette poster.

I would have guessed 85, tops! Happy birthday, Ann Barzel!!!

Here's news from David Leonard: LONDON FESTIVAL BALLET CD SET We've recently managed to obtain copies of the long deleted two-CD set of recordings by the London Festival Ballet Orchestra, under Terence Kern. The set includes complete recordings of Etudes, Night Shadow, excerpts from Napoli, and the famous pas de deux from Flower Festival at Genzano and Le Corsaire. There are no other recordings of most of these items, and what makes the recordings particularly valuable is that the recordings are all at performance speed, making the set an essential acquisition for ballet schools and students. The set also sells at bargain price: two CDs for the price of one. Full details can be found at: http://www.dancebooks.co.uk/new.asp complete with on-line ordering facilities. Alternatively you may send orders by: email: orders@dancebooks.co.uk telephone: +44) (0) 1420 86138 fax: +44 (0) 1420 86142 post to Dance Books Ltd., The Old Bakery, 4 Lenten Street, Alton, Hampshire GU34 1HG, UK.

Sorry, BW, but every time someone raises the notion that anyone who thinks that the 1960s were a golden age is wallowing in a misremembered nostalgia, I'm here to say no. And I wasn't watching it at the time! There are high points and low points in dance history -- or that of any other art form, and while there are always good moments/artists and bad ones in any given year, there are eras that go down in history as great ones. And that was one of them. Those who claim, from memory or otherwise, that the Diaghilev Era, or the Romantic Era in Paris were high water marks were not just sighing over their lost youths, either!

I'd take children to see Don Q -- it's a comedy, it's lots and lots of dancing. I once got an 11-year-old boy to come with me to "Giselle" by saying it's a ghost story, and in the second act a bad woman tries to dance the man to death. "Ma! Can I go???" He liked it. In DC, the "full lengths," especially matinees, are usually chock full of children. I might demur at Hunchback, but not the others. But to Susan's more central point, there could well have been supporters of particular dancers, staff, etc at BB who are upset with what happened and are withholding both their money and their presence. Whether that would cause the very noticable dip in attendance though would be hard to say.

I thought we'd absorbed it Susan B was noting a change in attendance patterns, and we're trying to guess why

I agree with ATM's Grahamesque interpretation but I think the original intent was "The gods did it; I am but his instrument." There are a lot of parallels in the libretto of Bayadere to Iphigenia (Euripides ?), and I think Petipa was trying to produce a ballet version of a Greek tragedy (married to 19th century local color, of course). So, by those standards, Solor was not weak-willed, but also an instrument. The priest and the brahmin, though -- hey, gloves off. For people like them, you need vengeful gods.

I'm still digesting "3500 seats." That's almost the Met! The Kennedy Center Opera House is only about 2200, and is not always sold out, even for big name companies, like the Royal. If the attendance has fallen off that much, it is an interesting question. Boston Ballet has been doing a lot of press -- we get a press release a week from them, it seems, often on new classes they're starting for this group or that, and very detailed releases about the programs, etc. One difference that's very notable here is how much of a difference subscribers make. When a company comes for two weeks, and one week is on subscription and one is not, the difference in attendance is noticeable (the nonsubscription week has the empty seats). I wonder -- and this is pure speculation! -- if the drop off has been in subscriptions? When a company has a bad year or two -- or there's a perception of instability -- sometimes people want to hold off on subscribing. Also, of course, change -- any change -- means it takes a few years for the audience to adjust.

Kathrine Sorley Walker has written quite a bit about Helpmann, for the American journal Dance Chronicle (available in some libraries; it's a scholarly journal and very expensive) and, I believe, Dance Now. She's also written several articles in both publications about bygone British companies -- International Ballet, Camargo Society, etc -- that I admire very much.

I feel the same way about many of the wunderkinds currently so popular -- not only with the Kirov. Some companies emphasize maturity and others don't, I think. I'm not sure it's just a factor of age. I also find the Parisian men -- and the Bolshoi men -- more mature. However old they are, they dance as adults.

They're a contemporary company, I think -- not modern dance, not ballet. I say this based on reading press release and photos; I haven't seen them. They were in New York a few seasons ago -- any New Yorkers have comments about the company's rep? In the past few years, at least, they've done several pieces to pop music.

I'd add to the Department of Clarifications that being more popular doesn't have anything to do with being good, better or best -- just more popular.

Grace, I'd imagine this issue could be debated in boxing rings among Britons and Australians "Insiders" and "outsiders" view questions of acceptance so differently... I didn't read the Helpmann obits, so I can't comment on them. I've never heard Helpmann spoken of in any but laudatory terms, but I may have hit a different subgroup of critics It won't help, but the one London critic I mentioned this to said, "But everybody here likes Australians -- they're so open and honest!" But then, she's Scots.

Oh, dear. She should be given her walking papers any day now!!!

I think a lot of people would agree with Mr. Mateo's manifesto but there are a lot of people who do like classical ballet, and would disagree. I agree with some points and disagree with others: Outdated acting style (acting has changed in the past 100 years in other theater arts, except for ballet) This is not factually correct. Acting in ballet is very different from what it was 50 years ago, much less 100 years ago, and there is photographic as well as film (and diary, journalistic, etc.) evidence for this. Outdated narrative style. That's so general I don't know how to address it. There are choreographers who can handle narrative and those who cannot. I've seen "outdated" works that work and radical attempts at reworking narrative that are incomprehensible. Full-length ballets are too long for a modern audience. ????? THE trend of the past 20 years is for audiences to prefer full-lengths to programs of short works. Agree with this taste or not, the taste is there, and company repertories reflect it. Too much performance of works by dead choreographers. (Ballet is a living art, and seems to work best when the choreographer is alive and can be right there working with the company) There's some truth in this, but it's too general a statement. Dancers need a living artist to set a work on them -- as opposed to a dimbrain, a machine, a hack, or a saintly, well-meaning person who can't bring it to life. But there are stagers/directors who can make a ballet created 50, 100, 150 years ago to life for both audiences and dancers. I've seen this personally, and studied one company noted for doing this intimately and for a long period of time, and there are other examples. The revivals going on now, in several places, of Balanchine's work is one of them. Lack of choreographic consistency in Nutcrackers (most are done by many choreographers) I agree that lack of choreographic consistency is an artistic sin I don't think it's just in Nutcrackers, though -- and it can be in other ballets, more likely in full-length ones than not. Movement style that reads as "unnatural" and "aloof" to an audience (modern audiences respond better to the "personal connection" more common in modern dance). This is very true for some, probably many people, but assuming it's true for everyone is a stretch. Many people find operatic singing unnatural and prefer musical comedy. Fine. Go. Both opera and ballet are unnatural, artificial in the original meaning of the term. It's their way of bringing objectivity to art. There are people who only respond to realilsm, to immediacy, to something they can relate to. There are others who have different tastes and expectations. I'd also say that I think there are many subject matters that modern dance is much better able to handle than is ballet, and think ballet cheats itself and its audience when it tries to figure out ways to do deal with such material. As for which modern audiences prefer, if they like the immediacy of modern dance more than ballet, why does "Swan Lake" consistently sell out, while modern dancers struggle to find an audience? Lack of integration between training of dancers and the choreography danced by those dancers (Balanchine had this, but many large ballet organizations do not). Agree absolutely. The great choreographers had companies that spoke their language -- modern dance or ballet. Balanchine expected, and got, a particular way of moving. Modern dance, too -- imagine the Graham company doing a Humphrey work. It wouldn't have happened. There are two ways to deal with this. One is to have a personal movement style, as the great Moderns did; movement made out of their bodies, a technique forged from that movement style that was integral to the work. Or, in a ballet company with a resident choreographer, to make that choreographer's particular way of moving color the repertory. (When Ashton was choreographer in residence at the Royal, they danced everything in his accent. ) How to handle a multiple-choreographer repertory has been controversial since the 1950s when ballet companies began expanding their repertories. School of Thought A is that each work must be done in the style of the choreographer. School of Thought B is that if the company has a distinctive style of its own, then it's ok to dance everything in that style. As in most things, an individual's opinion is usually a function of his/her taste. An American may think that the way his/her home company dances "Swan Lake" is an improvement over the way the last visiting Russian company did it, for instance, while the way that Russian company danced "Agon" is a crime. The view would be reversed in that Russian company's hometown.

I've moved this into the Boston Ballet forum, and hope that other Bostonians will comment. Box office woes are a general problem, but this one seems case specific. (Of course, non-bostonians are welcome to chime in )

Thanks, Lauren -- I agree. I've seen the film and thought it lovely. Are you at Indiana University? Lucky you

Welcome, Shelly Thanks for the info, Liebs -- I missed that one! I skip the financial reports sometimes. I think of the Harlem Nutcracker as being successful, because it came here so often!

Thanks for that, and for Hoyt's and liebs' posts as well. I'm confused, though. Does this mean there is no more Donald Byrd company? I thought that was one of the more successful dance troupes around. Or will the Byrd company merge with Spectrum? I don't think of him as a jazz dance choreographer either. But categories don't mean very much these days

Good question -- and I think the Disney factor may be part of it. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fairy tales were considered delightful entertainments -- for adults! -- and I think the pleasure was that a story could be appreciated on so many different levels, depending on the viewer/reader's age and experience. Adults got the satire or morals; children liked the stories. The 16th through 18th centuries had the myths, too, of course, but we don't know those myths well enough (as an audience) to understand them on stage except at the most superficial level. I wonder if anyone could put on a storybook ballet and have it taken seriously -- although reports of Hineline's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" intrigue me. I haven't seen it, so I don't know whether it's a children's ballet or a general audience one. There are dozens of "Peter Pan's" around, and I think that could be a serious ballet that appeals to adults as well as children, but that's not the approach, at least of the ones I've seen and read about. The Top Ten fairytales are taken -- there may be folk tales, or lesser known works. There isn't a ballet Beauty and the Beast yet, unless I'm blanking on one now. Calliope, do you think a fairytale could work for contemporary audiences? Or, perhaps better phrased, how could a storybook ballet work for contemporary audiences?

And here's the official press release: HEREAFTER, A CHORAL EVENING CHOREOGRAPHED BY NATALIE WEIR AND STANTON WELCH, ACCOMPANIED BY 100 MEMBER NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETY, TO HIGHLIGHT 2003 SPRING SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE, MAY 5-JUNE 28 ONE-TIME ONLY EVENING HONORING THE CULTURAL OLYMPIAD TO INCLUDE WORLD PREMIERE OF ARTEMIS BY LAR LUBOVITCH The Royal Ballet’s Alina Cojocaru to Appear as Guest Artist American Ballet Theatre’s 2003 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 5 through June 28, was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director. The eight-week season will feature seven full-length ballets including the World Premiere of HereAfter (working title) in collaboration with the New York Choral Society. The season will also include a special Spring Gala performance and a one-time-only evening in honor of the Cultural Olympiad featuring the World Premiere of Artemis by Lar Lubovitch. Last season’s Company Premieres of Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée and The Dream will return to ABT’s repertory, as well as Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld. Principal Dancers for the engagement will include Nina Ananiashvili, Maxim Belotserkovsky, Julio Bocca, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Irina Dvorovenko, Alessandra Ferri, Marcelo Gomes, Guillaume Graffin, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Vladimir Malakhov, Amanda McKerrow, Gillian Murphy, Ethan Stiefel and Ashley Tuttle. American Ballet Theatre’s 2003 Metropolitan Opera House season is sponsored by UBS PaineWebber and UBS Warburg, ABT’s National Presenting Sponsors, and Movado Watch Company, a leading benefactor. ABT’s Spring season is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Alina Cojocaru, a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, will make her debut with American Ballet Theatre appearing as a guest artist for two performances as Nikiya in La Bayadère on Saturday evening, May 10 and Monday evening, May 12. Born in Bucharest, Romania, Cojocaru trained in Kiev and at The Royal Ballet School. She danced with the Kiev Ballet and joined The Royal Ballet in 1999. She was promoted to first soloist in 2000 and to principal dancer the following year. American Ballet Theatre’s 2003 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House will open with a gala performance on Monday, May 5 at 6:30 P.M. For information about the Opening Night Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239. The World Premiere of HereAfter (working title), a unique choral evening, will combine the choreography of Stanton Welch and Natalie Weir, accompanied by over 100 members of the New York Choral Society. HereAfter, scheduled for its World Premiere on Friday, May 16, will consist of two separate acts bound together in one theme. Ms. Weir will choreograph the first act to John Adams’ Harmonium, and Mr. Welch’s choreography for the second act will be set to Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. HereAfter features costumes and scenery by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Brian MacDevitt. The Cultural Olympiad will be celebrated by American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday, May 20 with a special salute to the culture of Greece. Internationally acclaimed film director Costa Gavras will direct the evening, which will feature filmed projections and readings by Greek and American personalities. This special gala program in honor of the Cultural Olympiad, will include performances by two renowned Greek artists, opera singer Agnes Baltsa and George Dalaras and his orchestra. The evening will also feature the World Premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s Artemis, a full company work inspired by the Greek myth of Diana and Acteon. Artemis is set to a commissioned score composed by Elliot Goldenthal. The first of two repertory programs on ABT’s Spring schedule will be presented May 6 through 8 and will include Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld. Staged by Donald Mahler, Offenbach in the Underworld, with sets and costumes by Kay Ambrose and lighting by Brad Fields, received its ABT Company Premiere on October 24, 2002. The ballet, which is set to Offenbach’s score, arranged and orchestrated by George Crum, depicts French café society in the 1870’s. The second repertory program, scheduled for June 23 through June 25, will feature Lar Lubovitch’s Artemis and last season’s Company Premiere of Frederick Ashton’s The Dream. Alessandra Ferri and Ethan Stiefel will dance the lead roles of Titania and Oberon at the season’s first performance of the ballet on Monday evening, June 23. Staged by Anthony Dowell and Christopher Carr, The Dream is set to music by Felix Mendelssohn, with sets and costumes by David Walker and lighting by John B. Read. The Dream is presented in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr. by his family. Full-length ballets scheduled for ABT’s Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House include La Bayadère, which will have eight performances, beginning on May 9 with Julie Kent, Ethan Stiefel and Irina Dvorovenko in the leading roles. Choreographed by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, La Bayadère features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. The full-length production of La Bayadère received its World Premiere by ABT in May, 1980 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée is scheduled for seven performances beginning Friday, May 23 with Xiomara Reyes and Angel Corella in the leading roles of Lise and Colas. This production of La Fille mal gardée with choreography by Frederick Ashton and staging by Alexander Grant, Grant Coyle and Christopher Carr, received its ABT Premiere on May 31, 2002. The ballet features music by Ferdinand Hérold, freely adapted and arranged by John Lanchbery, scenery by Osbert Lancaster and lighting by Brad Fields. ABT gratefully acknowledges Julia and David H. Koch for their generous underwriting of this production. Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet returns to ABT’s repertoire on Thursday, May 29 with Alessandra Ferri and Julio Bocca performing the title roles. Choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet, which will be given 11 performances, May 29 through 31 and June 6 through 11, was premiered by ABT in January, 1985. Don Quixote, staged by Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones, after the choreography of Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, will be given 10 performances, June 2 through June 5 and June 12 through 16. Paloma Herrera and Jose Manuel Carreño will dance the leading roles for the first performance of the season. Set to music by Ludwig Minkus and arranged by Jack Everly, Don Quixote has scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz. Mr. McKenzie’s and Ms. Jones’ staging of the current production was first performed by ABT in June, 1995. Closing the season will be Kevin McKenzie’s production of the Tchaikovsky classic, Swan Lake, generously underwritten by the Rosh Foundation. Swan Lake will have its first performance of the season on Tuesday, June 17 with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Belotserkovsky in the leading roles. The ballet will be given an additional 10 performances June 18 through 21 and June 26 through 28. Swan Lake, staged by Kevin McKenzie with scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler, was given its World Premiere in March, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. ABTalks, 30-minute pre-curtain discussions, are held one hour prior to performances and are free to ABT ticket holders. Please see schedule attached. ABTKids, a special one-hour performance for children and their families, is scheduled for Saturday, May 17 at 11:30 A.M. Narrated by ABT’s artistic staff, ABTKids presents age-appropriate excerpts from the season’s repertory. All tickets for ABTKids are priced at $15. Reckson Associates is the Principal Corporate Sponsor of ABTKids. Additional support is provided by the MetLife Foundation American Ballet Theatre’s productions of HereAfter, The Dream and La Fille mal gardée have also been made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding for these productions has been provided by Philip Morris Companies Inc. Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2003 Metropolitan Opera House season are on sale now by phone at 212-362-6000 and by mail. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org. -