Alexandra

I didn't see Tallchief, so can't really comment -- I'm sure someone here has. Conjuring atm

Good question, fendrock! In addition to what Farrell Fan posted, I think that it often happens that history remembers the latest as the greatest. But Tallchief was extremely important, not just to Balanchine and NYCB, but to American Ballet in general. A friend of mine who's been watching NYCB since the early 1950s told me that Tallchief was Balanchine's first true ballerina, and that's why he staged "Nutcracker" -- before, he'd had people who could do the steps, but no one with a ballerina aura.

Good question, fendrock! In addition to what Farrell Fan posted, I think that it often happens that history remembers the latest as the greatest. But Tallchief was extremely important, not just to Balanchine and NYCB, but to American Ballet in general. A friend of mine who's been watching NYCB since the early 1950s told me that Tallchief was Balanchine's first true ballerina, and that's why he staged "Nutcracker" -- before, he'd had people who could do the steps, but no one with a ballerina aura.

DCA is now accepting applications for two available Emerging Writers Fellowships to the "Fresh Terrain" festival being held Jan. 23-26 at the University of Texas in Austin. DCA also is looking for mentors to represent DCA at the festival. Applications for fellows must be received by Wed. Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. EST. DCA members interested in serving as mentors also should notify DCA of their interest by Wed. Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. EST. The festival, an interdisciplinary event that will encompass dance, theater, music and visual arts, is being presented by U-Texas and P.S. 122 in New York. In keeping with the interdisciplinary theme, DCA members will be working with their counterparts from the theater, music and visual arts critic associations. For this festival, P.S. 122 and U-Texas are bringing together individual artists and groups to work on new collaborative pieces. Everything presented will be a new work. Groups and individual artists participating include Ann Carlson, Universes, Big Art Group (Caden Manson), Rude Mechanicals (Austin), Da Da Kamera (Daniel McIvor, Canada), New York City Players (Richard Maxwell), and Diane Szeinblum (Argentina). Mentors would be expected to review writing portfolios, and working with fellows on reviews they produce during the festival. Fellows will be attending performances and writing reviews for group and individual discussions with mentors. Time will also be made for mentors and fellows to attend speakers and panels at the University of Texas symposium that is accompanying the festival. DCA will pay for travel and lodging expenses (up to $500 each) for up to two DCA fellows and for up to two DCA mentors. Fellowship winners must agree to write about the conference for the DCA quarterly newsletter. Any DCA members intersted in serving as mentors should e-mail a statement of interest to kcollins@app.com by Wed. Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. EST. Fellowship applicants should be emerging dance writers with less than five years of experience in dance writing. Applicants should submit a bio or resume, as well as a statement of not more than 50 words explaining why they would like to attend this conference and what they hope to get from the experience. All applications must be received by Wed. Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. EST. Applications should be e-mailed to: kcollins@app.com or sent by regular mail to: Karyn D. Collins c/o Asbury Park Press 3601 Rt. 66 Neptune, NJ 07754 All fellows and mentors will be selected by the DCA Board. Thank you.

A preview in the L.A. Pilot, including an interview with Preljocaj: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/en...ct26.story?null And Lewis Segal's review. Preljocaj's opposing forces

Kisselgoff in the Times: Sexuality From France, Arriving by Helicopter

Deborah Jowitt in the Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0243/jowitt.php It's the second review, after the one on Petronio.

I'd heartily recommend the Lynn Garafola book NEW AT DANCE BOOKS =================== DANCE BOOKS BALLET CALENDAR 2003. An old favourite: a large scale calendar (42cm x 30 cm) with 13 full colour photographs of dancers mainly from The Royal Ballet. Dancers represented include Alina Cojocaru, Mara Galeazzi, Robert Tewsley, Edward Watson, Johan Kobborg, Darcey Bussell, Tamara Rojo, Inaki Urlezaga, Jaimie Tapper, Jonathan Cope, Belinda Hatley and Ivan Putrov. THE BALLETS RUSSES AND ITS WORLD by Lynn Garafola& Nancy van Norman Baer We've recently been able to make a bulk purchase at a greatly reduced price (from £40.00 to just £12.50) of this is sumptuous, lavishly illustrated book surveying the dance, art, music, and cultural worlds of the Ballets Russes. It includes contributions from many distinguished writers and a comprehensive appendix listing the company's opera and ballet productions. The large format book has over 400 pages and there are more than 200 illustrations, of which 32 are in full colour. 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.

Some other reviews of Preljocaj, as the company winds its way around the country. From today's Boston Herald: Hub needs a jolt of Preljocaj's electric vision

You know, Mel, when Magnicaballi danced it, I thought, "Gosh, now it looks demicaractere!" And character wouldn't be in toe shoes. It's odd, though, having someone so tall in a demicaractere role. But demicaractere is so wide a genre that it could well encompass this.

Neo-classic/character ballet? Or just one of the rare examples of 20th century character dance? I think a lot of "character dance" has elements of what we think of as modern dance, especially weight and broken lines.

I was also intrigued that Kronstam thought Balanchine was "remembering Fokine and Fokina" when he worked with Baryshnikov. He (HK) said he was thinking of photographs of F and F, and their plastique, that reminded him of the newer version of Apollo. Ken, the comment about not being able to keep the Copenhagen version wasn't related to dancing it big or small, but to specific differences in the choreography that were in the Danish version, that were changed in 1993, during the rehearsals discussed in the book. The Apollo differences would make an interesting article. Several people agreed with Martins and said that Balanchine never changed it -- except, fo course he did, taking out the birth scene, changing costumes and scenery, etc. -- yet several other people gave specific instances of changes. I think the question of big and small -- scale and dynamics, not necessary bodies -- is part of the choreography freezing problem. In American terms, there is a D'Amboise version, a Villella version, and a Martins version, and all looked quite different, even if the steps were changed. (The other difference Ken refers to is more complicated, and it's whether Apollo is a demicaractere or noble role -- and I think the answer to that is that that did change.

I am very pleased to announce that I've put up three articles by Mindy Aloff on the DanceView site -- there will be more to come (all with copyright permissions granted, of course)! http://www.danceview.org/Aloff/aloff.html They are very long, thoughtful pieces, all of which originally ran in the New Republic in 1999, and I hope you will enjoy them. One is about narrative dance -- its difficulties, and then some then-current examples; one about Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring, and to say that the last is about the Kirov Ballet, and its Sleeping Beauty and Balanchine works, doesn't quite do it justice. Please feel free to use his space to discuss the articles! There will be more up in the next month, and I'll announce them as they are up.

Oh, not fair! I'd love to see Pavlenko's "Raymonda."

Now THAT one, I don't have Thank you for posting that, Mme. Hermine. I knew they'd danced Nutcracker on TV, but I didn't know that they'd credited it to Lander. (I'm assuming, from the date, that this is Nuts.)

Welcome, Mary J. I'm still surprised to find people who know who Kronstam is! Fredbjorn Bjornsson is on that tape, too - - the red-haired thief -- and Hans Van Manen is visible for about a second; he's the thief in the light blue jacket, with the sideburns.

Aha! NOW we know exactly who to blame if a dancer misses a pirouette, or has an off night, or isn't suited to the role. THANKS A LOT, N.E. AND W.R. I second Calliope's idea.

Thanks for posting that, Sylvia. I'll look forward to your longer report. Anyone else go?

Welcome to Ballet Alert! Online, and thank you for posting these! I wish I had seen these performances. I thought Elizabeth Zimmer's piece was lovely, especially for someone who recently wrote she was one who truly believes ballet is dead. I think her review shows a sound appreciation of the art It was especially interesting to me that both writers noted that the company is a true ensemble, with good performances from dancers at all ranks. That's one of the best signs of a ballet company's health, I think. Come on, Philadelphians. I know you're out there. Did you go? What did you think? Which did you like best, Apollo, Bugaku or Scotch Symphony??

The notebooks were written down in the 1930s by Valborg Borchsenius, who had been Hans Beck's partner (turn of the last century). According to Theatre lore, she stalked into rehearsals when Lander began staging Bournonville ballets because she didn't trust him to stage them properly. Borchsenius had never worked with Bournonville, but had made notes from working with Beck (the first great Bournonville stager). She kept them in a sewing basket -- just little pieces of paper. During rehearsals with Lander, she would rummage around and pull out a note or two to make a correction. Lander urged her to write them down, and she did. So "The Notebooks" are 50 years post-Bournonville, and Hans Brenaa would sometimes put in something that he remembered from his childhood that wasn't in the notebooks -- always a tiny detail, usually mime. If you're interested in the history of Bournonville stagings, may I humbly refer you to my articles about this that are now available on line: http://www.danceview.org/archives/bournonv...ille/hells.html I should also add that there really isn't much about Bournonville style, per se, in the Kronstam biography, although you will be able to get information about it from comments the dancers make, I think. It's more about the tradition generally -- the training, the school in its broadest sense.

Glebb, the NBW production was by Elsa Marianne von Rosen. I have no idea where the sets and costumes are now, I'm afraid. I have many friends who loved this production; I haven't seen it. Again, my Danish sources (by these, I mean Danes who have staged the ballet, are the ones who are most familiar with it, have grown up with it and know the old notebooks) do not admire it and, as with Schaufuss's production, can go through it, step by step, and tell you why.

For what it's worth, on the Bolshoi's most recent visit here, they were 100% reliable on casting. (I agree with Drew that casting is often unpredictable, and there are no guarantees, but there were no surprises.)

There are many times when I am grateful that Bournonville has kept so low a profile. I sometimes imagine him, back there 150 years ago saying, "No, better not put too much dancing in them. If I do, other companies will want to stage them and I'll be ruined, ruined!"

Glebb, I think I'm probably not the best person to comment, but thank you I've come to believe that, outside of Denmark, everyone uses the Bournonville version as a proxy for what they'd like to think the old French version was. I loved Kirkland, and liked Makarova, and Tcherkassky, but they were dancing some American-Russian version. The Bournonville version has nothing to do with the Taglioni lithographs. Not that they're not pretty, but they're not Bournonville. Evdokimova did care about the Bournonville style, and I have a vague memory (I saw her before I really knew the Danish version) of footwork that matches pictures I have in my head of the way it's been danced in Denmark. Not saying that these Sylphs aren't lovable in their own way. And please remember this the first time you all see the Biker Concerto Barocco.

This is a fascinating thread. Is anyone artistic and ambitious and would like to do a map with these sites noted? If so, I'll put it up on the main site