Alexandra

I'm not positive it's lost, but what killed it was the Great Change in ABT's Aesthetic, turning it from a company whose repertories were built on triple bills -- of mostly created works -- into a a company that concentrated on 19th century classics. At the time there were remarks made about "having to compete" with the Royal Ballet. I remember there was talk about discussions about what to do about "Romeo and Juliet." They recognized that this was a rare work and didn't want to lose it, but it was out of fashion. (If I had to finger anyone, I'd pick The Board.)

I just posted this on Links, but wanted to post it here, as well, for discussion. Eva Kistrup reviews the Royal Danish Ballet's new "Cinderella" (by Tim Rushton) at danceviewtimes.com Blame it on Prokofiev

Nope

Thank you for that, Natalia (and if you "bomb," it's only because the casting is so unpredictable and likely to change at 1 minute to midnight!) Maybe we should do an online betting pool on casting!!!

Welcome, lucie, and THANK YOU for delurking. I hope you'll inspire others. I'll echo Carbro's thanks, too, for a very interesting review -- I hope you'll be posting often.

I just think it's fantastic that Ismene B is now a net head

Yes, more please! And welcome to griffie and mimsyb. It's great to read some new voices! (NOT that I don't love reading Longtimer and Fairly Recent voices too )

The Paris Opera School brought this to Washington a few years ago and I thought it charming. I'd love to have a DVD of it -- I hope they'll release it commercially.

Thank you very much;, Hans. I wish you'd come and said hello! I didn't see you (I can't see faces from the stage, except those in the first few rows.) The audience had one thing in common with a group i had last year: they're not happy with the state of ballet today. That surprised me. Several ballet teachers and dancers came up to me afterwards but I think most of the people were long-time, very knowledgeable (from their questions) fans. There's another one next month on "The Nutcracker" (And "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" ini January and April.)

Thank you for that beautiful tribute, debhig -- and welcome to the site. I did not know of Andrea Karlsen, and am sorry to learn about her only at her death.

Thanks, drb! And thank YOU, Ismene Brown. It's wonderful to have an on line collection -- and I like the design, too.

Absolutely! Just try moving tapes around, and putting people next to Maya Plisetskaya, and see how their technique changes the next time you watch!! Seriously, yes, I remember being surprised when i had the same reaction -- we like to think that we have one opinion (the Right opinion and of course, that won't change. But WE change. We see more, we see other things, we have a broader basis of comparison. Something that looked too simple at first may seem very complex a few years later. A dancer whom we liked immensely and thought was top drawer may seem a little less exciting after we've seen other dancers. Or, alas, we might just have a bad day! They never do. It's frozen in time. They win this round

Leonid, I agree with you completely about the Russian Imperial era idea of the danseur noble, but what I wrote above I have read in several British and American reviews and books, including ballet history texts, and in interviews with dancers. (That there was a view that Siegfried did not have virtuoso steps because Gerdt was in his 50s when he created the role, and that Benno took part in the pas de deux because the aging Gerdt needed the assistance.) I"m not saying this view is correct, but it is in many books and articles. Unfortunately, I think "Swan Lake" has changed so that it can't be put back, and each generation seems to misunderstand it more and more. I hope I'm wrong on that one. We had many discussions on this board when it was younger about employ, in both 19th century works and 20th century neoclassical works. The specific definitions of each genre have changed with each century, but, I agree with Leonid, the tradition is depleted.

I've been surprised that no one has tried to do an Austen ballet, considering how popular the books, and movies about the books, have become in the last 15 years or so. Perhaps because of the difficulty of finding a score?

Thank you Effy. I look forward to reading more of you, especially on the original aspects of Hubbe's production. I thought he was more returning to a tradition than leaving one, but you indicated in your review that there was a slightly different twist to the ending. (The Bathilde/Myrtha doubling is actually Igor Youskevitch's. Bruhn got it from him. I have to say I'm glad to hear it's gone )

There are some stunning photographs of Nureyev in this book. There are also many photos of members of the Dutch National Ballet in performance and relaxing on tour.

Thank you! I've never seen this, nor seen Fonteyn this young, nor the company this young. When you think that she had never seen the ballet, it's amazing how much she understood about the style (a tribute to the coaching, of course, but also to her openness).

Has anyone seen this yet? If so, please write! Eva Kistrup has posted a review of it on her danceviewtimes blog: Speaking the Language

England, 1930s ??

I'll defend his "Cinderella," too. I did not like it (nor think it good) when I first saw it, but I changed my mind after several viewings. There's a lot there. I think he understands classical ballet -- its history, its aesthetic, its point -- very well and I'm looking forward to see what he does with it. (I think you can see that in "Bright Stream" and "The Bolt," too.) It's also worth noting that both "Cinderella" and the RDB's "Nutcracker" were Mr. Fix It jobs -- Ratmansky was brought in to choreograph a ballet when the original choreographer pulled out, and was stuck with designs and Concepts created by someone else. Here's a link to my review of "Cinderella". Bleak House

It seems to be official. I think it's the most exciting thing that's happened in ballet in longer than I can remember. I'm very happy for ABT -- both its dancers and its audience -- and bravo to Kevin McKenzie for making it happen.

OK, I would say the 20s or 30s from the head pieces, and rg's "another ballet russe" indicates that it's either the Diaghilev company or Rene Blum's BR. It's a very well ballet mastered and well trained company, to my eye.

Oh, I'm interested. I love the softness of it, and the connection among the dancers. You can see the musicality. But I don't have a clue. How about a couple of multiple choice questions, rg?

It is a good film -- by Anne Wivel, called "Of Dreams and Discipline." It's fanciful -- it takes awhile to get used to seeing the Wilis dancing during the rehearsals for Act I, but Wivel is making the point that this is what they are IMAGINING. It's also very interesting to see Riggins so young (19), and the difference between Ryom in rehearsal and in performance. My students always have doubts about her until they see her on stage. Kronstam was a very noted coach and the film shows why. I wrote a very long piece about the Danes for Ballet Review in 1990 that goes into more detail about this. There have been several productions of "Giselle" in post-Bournonville Denmark. (There was one in teh 19th century, when Bournovnille was out of town, but he hated the ballet and threw it out when he came back. I was told he didn't like it because the hero lied, and of course you can't have a hero who lies.) I've only seen Kronstam's version, but he built on the earlier ones (a Danish tradition). The first was in 1948, and based on an older Russian tradition through Pavlova's company. There was another one in the 60s, but I don't remember who staged it. Kronstam brought in Erik Bruhn to do a production in the late 1970s and he made two changes that have been copied by others. The most important was casting the same ballerina as Bathilde and Myrthe. I balked at this one until Mette-Ida Kirk (who was wonderful in both roles) told me that it helped her as a dancer, because as Myrthe, she already had a relationship with Albrecht and she could build her characterization on that. (Bruhn's idea was that the second act is a dream. It was the fashion in the '60s and '70s.) The other change, which I hope Hubbe will keep, is making Albrecht's little house that of his old nanny and her husband. She's retired back to her village, and it gives him an excuse to visit the village (and triples the adult population of the village.) Kronstam changed the grand pas classique of the Wilis in Act 2 to the Kirov staging (he had a Russian balletmistress teach it to the company.) What Kronstam brought to it was his gift for inspiring the dancers and making them think they were participating in something brand new. That "Giselle" was a great drama. It boiled. Hubbe danced Albrecht in that production (with Lis Jeppesen) and it will be interesting to see what he brings to it.

You are welcome, FF! I've been perusing the Archives page (link in my post above) and the list of libraries is now HUGE! (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a link to the list of tapes, and another to the libraries which have copies. It's in dozens and dozens of libraries around the world. If you live near a major university, you will be able to view these tapes.