Alexandra

I agree, piccolo -- that's why this is bad news, I think. You have two problems now. Editors, generally, are not tuned into dance so they have no personal interest. And, then, dance doesn't attract the same crowds as rock concerts. Ergo, it must be an inferior art form I hope you wrote this to them. Thank you, BW. I think if a lot of subscribers wrote -- or people who buy the magazine weekly when there's a dance review in it, which is what I've done, or those of you outside of New York who access it by the net. That might mean something to them. At least they will know that DANCE MATTERS.

Thank you very much for posting this! It's hard to write that first review -- but you did a great job, GWTW. I love the internet. How else would people in at least a dozen countries know about a Latvian company dancing in Tel-Aviv!!!!! I think you gave a very good sense of the production, and thank you for that. Isn't it odd to set "Swan Lake" in the 18th century, one of the least Romantic of all centuries!!! Helgi Tomasson's for San Francisco Ballet uses the same time period. It doesn't sound like an ideal performance -- with a lackluster Siegfried and a soggy ending -- but it seems that there was something to enjoy in the evening. A good corps and a magical swan helps I hope you'll post again. I don't think there is much ballet in Israel; it's more a modern dance country. Am I wrong?

Patricia, since Tobais will not be replaced, I think we can take them at their word and believe that it was "due to budgetary considerations." I read that as "dance isn't important enough to warrant the measly page and a half we give it 15 times a year," but that's my interpretation

Patricia, since Tobais will not be replaced, I think we can take them at their word and believe that it was "due to budgetary considerations." I read that as "dance isn't important enough to warrant the measly page and a half we give it 15 times a year," but that's my interpretation

True, but I don't think they do reviews. Previews are a different animal.

True, but I don't think they do reviews. Previews are a different animal.

Thank you! My friend telephoned, and there was only time to give the gold medalists. Congratulations to the Chinese dancers. A fine showing

Thanks, Calliope. I wrote along the same lines. I think this is important on two grounds, one, because Tobias's is such a distinctive voice, brilliant writing, rigorous standards. And two, because how in the **** can NYMag say it represents NY without talking about dance??? I'm still stunned by this -- and very alarmed. The Voice has been cutting back dance space. Clive Barnes in the NYPost is reduced to three and four-sentence reviews -- and kudos to Mr. Barnes for hanging in there, and squeezing something of value into those three or four sentences. Joan Acocella does not write very often about dance in the New Yorker -- they're always interesting pieces, but the magazine does not offer comprehensive coverage. That reduces the New York dance scene to two papers -- the NYTimes, which is also cutting back coverage, not always covering cast changes -- appalling for "the paper of record" and Robert Greskovic in the Wall Street Journal. (Along with the short reviews in the Voice and Barnes' mini-reviews.) I suppose I'm struck even more by this because of two factors: the Net has made me more aware of the richness of criticism in London. There are eight critics writing on a daily or weekly basis in newspapers, and they have Dance Now, Dancing Times, and Dance Europe -- and is Dance Express still running? Now, there's a city. Teeny little New York. There's Ballet Review. Even Dance Mag moved out of town. What's going on there? Secondly, because I just spent ten years researching a dancer's career, I'm keenly aware of the need for a diversity of voices. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were 8 critics in CHICAGO, much less New York. When you have that many views, you can begin to get an accurate picture of a dancer, or a ballet. If all eight think one thing, that's a clue. If the eight split 3-3-2 (love, hate, dunno) that's another, and if that 3-3-2 split stays, you can see a pattern: this one really will never like modern dance, this one hates ballet, this one only likes blond(e)s, etc. Who would want to write a history of the period from about 1980 to the present I can't imagine, but if they do, good luck. They'll need a medium to connect to the spirit world to get enough opinions upon which to make a judgment.

Thanks, Calliope. I wrote along the same lines. I think this is important on two grounds, one, because Tobias's is such a distinctive voice, brilliant writing, rigorous standards. And two, because how in the **** can NYMag say it represents NY without talking about dance??? I'm still stunned by this -- and very alarmed. The Voice has been cutting back dance space. Clive Barnes in the NYPost is reduced to three and four-sentence reviews -- and kudos to Mr. Barnes for hanging in there, and squeezing something of value into those three or four sentences. Joan Acocella does not write very often about dance in the New Yorker -- they're always interesting pieces, but the magazine does not offer comprehensive coverage. That reduces the New York dance scene to two papers -- the NYTimes, which is also cutting back coverage, not always covering cast changes -- appalling for "the paper of record" and Robert Greskovic in the Wall Street Journal. (Along with the short reviews in the Voice and Barnes' mini-reviews.) I suppose I'm struck even more by this because of two factors: the Net has made me more aware of the richness of criticism in London. There are eight critics writing on a daily or weekly basis in newspapers, and they have Dance Now, Dancing Times, and Dance Europe -- and is Dance Express still running? Now, there's a city. Teeny little New York. There's Ballet Review. Even Dance Mag moved out of town. What's going on there? Secondly, because I just spent ten years researching a dancer's career, I'm keenly aware of the need for a diversity of voices. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were 8 critics in CHICAGO, much less New York. When you have that many views, you can begin to get an accurate picture of a dancer, or a ballet. If all eight think one thing, that's a clue. If the eight split 3-3-2 (love, hate, dunno) that's another, and if that 3-3-2 split stays, you can see a pattern: this one really will never like modern dance, this one hates ballet, this one only likes blond(e)s, etc. Who would want to write a history of the period from about 1980 to the present I can't imagine, but if they do, good luck. They'll need a medium to connect to the spirit world to get enough opinions upon which to make a judgment.

Thanks for posting that, Leigh. There's an archive of Tobias's New York magazine pieces at http://www.nymag.com/archives/archive.cfm?cat_id=11 A quick check of her pieces shows that she covered a broad variety of dance, including a lot of the smaller modern dance companies that don't get much coverage.

Thanks for posting that, Leigh. There's an archive of Tobias's New York magazine pieces at http://www.nymag.com/archives/archive.cfm?cat_id=11 A quick check of her pieces shows that she covered a broad variety of dance, including a lot of the smaller modern dance companies that don't get much coverage.

Thanks for this, sneds!

I received the following email a few minutes ago from Tobi Tobias: Dear Colleagues & Friends, I am sorry to have to tell you that, for budgetary reasons, New York magazine has decided to discontinue its dance column. tt -------------------------------------- Tobias's last column, on the Kirov, will run -- presumably next week. To be clear, she will not be replaced. They are cutting dance reviews. This is MY request to all Ballet Alertniks, NOT Tobias's: If any of you are concerned about this -- whether you are, or are not, a fan of Tobi Tobias's criticism, but if you care that the New York dance scene has a diversity of voices writing about it -- please email your concerns to the editor caroline_miller@newyorkmag.com Thank you.

If you'd like to make the contents of your email to New York Magazine about its decision to cut Tobi Tobias's dance reviews and to discontinue its dance reviews (pro or con) please post them here. If you're aren't a regular member of this message board and don't want to register just for this purpose but would like your letter added to this thread, please email me: at@balletalert.com Please be sure to include that you are giving me permission to post your comments. (And if you'd like to keep your email private and not post it, that's fine too. Because people are checking our site to monitor developments in this story, it's helpful to have the letters, but I don't want anyone to feel coerced into posting them.) -------------------------------------- To email NY Magazine about this issue, write to caroline_miller@newyorkmag.com Thank you.

I received the following email a few minutes ago from Tobi Tobias: Dear Colleagues & Friends, I am sorry to have to tell you that, for budgetary reasons, New York magazine has decided to discontinue its dance column. tt -------------------------------------- Tobias's last column, on the Kirov, will run -- presumably next week. To be clear, she will not be replaced. They are cutting dance reviews. This is MY request to all Ballet Alertniks, NOT Tobias's: If any of you are concerned about this -- whether you are, or are not, a fan of Tobi Tobias's criticism, but if you care that the New York dance scene has a diversity of voices writing about it -- please email your concerns to the editor caroline_miller@newyorkmag.com Thank you.

If you'd like to make the contents of your email to New York Magazine about its decision to cut Tobi Tobias's dance reviews and to discontinue its dance reviews (pro or con) please post them here. If you're aren't a regular member of this message board and don't want to register just for this purpose but would like your letter added to this thread, please email me: at@balletalert.com Please be sure to include that you are giving me permission to post your comments. (And if you'd like to keep your email private and not post it, that's fine too. Because people are checking our site to monitor developments in this story, it's helpful to have the letters, but I don't want anyone to feel coerced into posting them.) -------------------------------------- To email NY Magazine about this issue, write to caroline_miller@newyorkmag.com Thank you.

Thanks, Lolly. Hordes of promotions. This is from the web site Lolly has linked to above -- the web site has been changed quite a bit since the last time I visited, so Royal Ballet fans might want to click and take a look around. Promotions, dated August 2002: Marianela Nuñez is promoted to Principal. Ivan Putrov is promoted to Principal. William Tuckett is promoted to Principal Character Artist. Laura Morera is promoted to First Soloist. Ricardo Cervera is promoted to First Soloist. Justin Meissner is promoted to First Soloist. Edward Watson is promoted to First Soloist. Bennet Gartside is promoted to Soloist. Martin Harvey is promoted to Soloist. Thomas Whitehead is promoted to Soloist. Natasha Oughtred is promoted to First Artist. Brian Maloney is promoted to First Artist. Ernst Meisner is promoted to First Artist. Johannes Stepanek is promoted to First Artist.

This is one of the reasons why there are so many (awful) versions of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, et al. They're "free" -- in the public domain. And anyone can take the music and do anything they want with it. And so they do

And the winners are: Special Varna Jubilee prize: Arsen Mehrabyan (Armenia) Male senior gold Boyko Dossev (Bulgaria) Female senior gold Jin Yao (Chna) Juniors: special award -- Lu Meng (China) male gold: Sergei Kheilak (German) female gold: Izabel Sokowlowska (Poland) Choreographer's prize: John Neumeier Yuri Bubinocheck Critics prizes: classical -- Marcin Kupinski (Poland) contemporary -- Nikolai Vivszhanin (Russia) classical -- Maria Kochtkova (Russia) contemporary -- Alexandra Sourodeeva (This report was phoned in to me by someone on the scene, after the competition was completed and the medals awarded. I can't be sure of the spellings.)

Four Temperaments II or just a simple 4Ts2

This is scheduled for release next week -- there was a posting on alt.arts.ballet about it, and I ran to Amazon. Here's the book description: The Four Temperaments by Yona Zeldis McDonough The spellbinding story of a father and son, both married, who fall in love with the same alluring ballerina. Oscar Kornblatt has been a first violinist with the New York City Ballet for so many years that he scarcely notices the throngs of eager young dancers who fill the ranks of the corps de ballet. But Ginny Valentine catches his eye, and when he comes to know her he becomes utterly enchanted by her. One night when Ruth, his quietly independent wife, is away, he brings Ginny back to his Upper West Side apartment and the two become lovers. While the affair doesn?t last, Oscar?s attachment to Ginny continues to flourish. He invites her to join his family for Thanksgiving dinner, where she meets and falls in love with Oscar?s eldest son, Gabriel, home from San Francisco for the holiday. Gabriel, married to a beautiful, highly unstable woman, finds himself falling under Ginny?s spell. As the bonds of the family begin to erode, Ruth takes drastic and shocking measures to salvage what is most precious to her: her baby granddaughter, Isobel. Set against the glamorous, exciting world of the New York City Ballet, The Four Temperaments explores the ways in which love and marriage are tested. Through its unforgettable cast of characters, this novel reveals how the demands of the flesh can suddenly, almost inexplicably, turn lives upside down. With the assurance and virtuosity of a seasoned storyteller, Yona Zeldis McDonough presents the powerfully sexy story of two adulterous affairs and imbues them with an irresistible emotional undercurrent.

I've moved a post, and some responses, off-line until we can check whether or not it was appropriate. Please don't post information that's on company bulletin boards, or told to you by dancers, or overheard in the wings, etc etc etc. When the company is ready to announce promotions officially, we'll be glad to post it.

Leigh, I think there are children in Appalachia, or in Your Home Suburb, who would find an NYCB performance as alien as inner city children. I don't think any ballet company can make up for what's lacking in a home or in a society. As far as racial politics go, the only way that children of a disenfranchised group (underclass, perceived disenfranchised, whatever word that works for you) will feel a part of something that's done by the power group is when this no longer matters. When we look at someone and no longer think -- Hmm. Spanish looking, but a bit Asian, too. Filipino? When we look at a person who had some ancestors who once lived in Africa as an American -- fill in appropriate home country. I don't think we change it the old Quota Way. Gosh. There's nothing for the Iriquois in our rep! We'd better add a Native American piece quick! Commission something from three African-American, two Asian-American, and someone born in the Southern Hemisphere -- No! Those are outdated demographics. Make that three Latinos, two AfricanAmericans and one Asian American. Etc etc etc. I find that insulting to everyone involved. I don't think it makes anyone feel more included, and I don't think it does anything for the art form. Society is changing, but, like anything, changes in deeply held perceptions take at least two generations to work through, and we only really got serious about this in the 1960s. And I don't mean the birth of a second generation, I mean the disappearance of the generation that grew up under the old regime. (I am not suggesting hastening that.) Until then, what? Do as much as possible to make everyone feel welcome. Do everything possible to make scholarships available to people of all groups who need them. Do a real affirmative action program -- go after "children of color" the way ballet companies go after boys. I have great admiration for what Eliot Feld has done -- go into the schools. Give those children jobs. As for the body image thing, I like the sports analogy. Any talented player is taken who meets certain height and weight requirements appropriate for that sport. Within this, there are different body types -- I once wrote a piece on this, in the early 1980s, comparing the long, lean Dallas Cowboys to shorter, stockier, Washington Redskins, postulating that coaches made body type choices in much the same way choreographers and balletmasters do. We have a society now that is very sensitive to "You're unfair to me!" We stop everything and try to make that right -- even if we ignore, or are more unfair, to 100 other people. No one loses out on a job because they're unqualified. No no. It's because I'm a woman, or a member of this ethnic group, or my accent is wrong, or or or or or. Should a ballet company be able to reject someone because his neck is too short, her legs are bowed, his feet are flat, and she's knock-kneed? Yes.

Yes. Thank you, RK!!!! It's been lovely reading these. Best wishes for a speedy recovery

On the Australian tour -- I have no idea at all when it was planned, but I cannot remember any instance, in any major company during my ballet going years, when an outgoing director planned a foreign tour to take place after he left office. That it takes place in the native land of the new director leads me to assume that this tour was planned by the current director. I am speculating, but it's an educated guess. Also, regardless of who planned the tour, it's the current director's responsibility to plan the entire season in the interests of the dancers, the audience, and the repertory (not necessarily in that order.) In my experience studying opera house managements, galas such as jubilees and anniversaries (the Ashton, the MacMillan, for example) are penciled in years in advance. The details are worked out closer to deadlinle, but everybody knows they're coming up, and this jubilee was a biggie. They may not have known the exact date until close to the wire, but they knew it was this year. TO KB: I have tried to do ths through email, but that obviously isn't working. Discussing politics is fine when it is relevant. Passion -- positive or negative -- is fine. Rants are not. Stay on topic, stay to the point, AND STOP BEING RUDE. Your posts are offensive to many people here, not for their ideas-- which, I'm sorry if this disillusions you, but they're not new and have been expressed here, and elsewhere, often -- but because of your tone and your dismissive attitude toward other posters. If you wish to continue posting here, you will abide by the board's rules and policies.