Alexandra

I found the picture of early City Ballet as a little nest of Russian Imperialists wafting around in green scarfs rather original.

I found the picture of early City Ballet as a little nest of Russian Imperialists wafting around in green scarfs rather original.

So, what do you think of today's NYTimes article by Jennifer Homans? Where Is the Heartbeat in the Balanchine Legacy?

So, what do you think of today's NYTimes article by Jennifer Homans? Where Is the Heartbeat in the Balanchine Legacy?

Thank you again for taking the time to post such nice, long detailed reviews, Sylvia. A note about how ballets look from where. I once saw a ballet by a relatively inexperienced choreographer that looked like an absolute mess when I was sitting slightly -- and only slightly -- to the side. Several nights later, I saw it dead center, and from dead center it looked almost too structured. Everything had been choreographed to be viewed, it seemed, from a center perspective. So where you sit can make a difference! (I'm sure Wheeldon would choreograph with a wider audience view in mind; what I posted above was an example of choreographer's viewpoint at its most limited.)

Keith, I didn't mean to speak about the technical aspects of writing criticism, but the analytical ones. For me, that's the same whether the result is a conversation or a review or essay. Treefrog, there is a very basic "sonata form" for ballet. It's very elastic, and provided the structure for many of Petipa's classical acts, and was bent and expanded and condensed in the 20th century. The basic pas de deux has four parts: entre, adagio, variations, coda. In most classical pas de deux, the entre is truncated; they just enter. The adagio is when the man and woman dance together, the variations are the solos, and the coda is the ending. Often there is a choreographic theme all the way through -- a step, like the arabesque or pas de chat, say. A longer ballet, like the "Shades" act in La Bayadere, uses the same form. It just expands it. The entree is the entrance of the Shades. The adagio, the first pas de deux between Solor and Nikiya. The variations -- the three Shades and Nikiya (Solor's was added later); and a coda, more solos and a final group dance. This isn't the only model, but it's one basic one as far as structure goes. (Balanchine follows the structure of whatever score he's using so that he really makes the music visible. Attending a Balanchine evening with a musician can be an exciting experience. "THAT'S SONATA FORM!" one such friend yelped during a performance of "Symphony in C." Within that structure, the choreographer chooses steps and builds the choreography on those steps, the same way a designer might choose several shades of rose, and then two or three complimentary and one or two accent colors for a living room.

Treefrog, your efforts are absolutely appreciated! What generally happens, too, is that where there is One Chicagoan, there will soon be Two, then Three, and then a few more, and we have a discussion. The Ballet Moms and Dads forum was very underpopulated its first few months. I started it because we would get a parent come to the board, introduce him/hersellf and then go away, because there really wasn't a place to talk about parent issues. Ergo, Ballet Moms and Dads. I hope the same will happen with Chicago. There's a major company resident there -- the Joffrey -- and the studio company deserves discussion as well. I totally sympathize with your wanting to know things and ask questions. I was so lucky that I did start writing early because that gave me access to other critics -- I could ask them. I'd say, "That was wonderful," thinking I'd seen a sublime performance, and get a gentle, "Well, you never saw Verdy in the role." And then I could ask why the dancer I thought was so good wasn't quite Verdy. Eventually, I realized that even if I had seen La Sublimova in the role I may still like Sheezno Fonteyn. So....ask. If you see a performance that you think is absolutely terrible, you were bored out of your skull, and someone else writes how sublime it is, ask. Or vice versa. "I was interested in what you wrote, but curious, because I thought the girl in the second act pas de deux was absolutely wonderful. I liked her feet, and I liked that her turns were so fast." And you may find that the person doesn't think a short, fast turner is really suited to that role, or that the turns were fast, but they weren't centered -- and you'll get a definition of "centered" -- or that the person was used to seeing X, Y or Z do it, or that the dancers' shoulders slumped, or that the phrasing was a bit mechanical -- lots of reasons. We've worked hard here to get away from "How can you say that? Have you no eyes?? She was absolutely terrible!!" or "Well, I guess she was good if you're partial to moronic robots." I think the more different voices we get, the more interesting it is, and if people want to have a "interesting, but why did you think that?" dialogue, then that would be wonderful. It's something we all need to work on as Moderators -- to make sure the discussions are discussions, not battles,, and we draw people out and get at what they think. You can help! Keep posting your reviews.

BW, I totally sympathize with you. I took a criticism course when I was new to ballet (I saw my first ballet when I was in my mid-twenties and knew absolutely nothing about it before then). I thought that's what a criticism course would be -- that the instructor would teach us how to look at ballet. Not in this case. He was just interested in how we wrote about what we saw. He asked me to write for the Post when that class was over and I spent the first four or five years, at least, trying very hard to describe what I saw rather than judge it, because I knew I didn't know very much! I mostly covered the local modern dance companies, so I didn't have to worry about performance comparisons, as the works generally lived only for a season or two and the emphasis was on watching and analyzing new work, or extensive historical background. I remember vividly being sent to review what was then called an ethnic dance company -- the National Folk Dance Troupe of Whereveria -- and I had never seen a folk dance performance. I wrote what I saw. The two books you mentioned are excellent resources. I also read a lot of criticism and learned a lot from that. Both how to see and, sometimes, how not to see. I'd also like to echo what Leigh said. If you go to see something and write "I loved it! I thought the dancers were better than anyone I've ever seen" and someone else comes in and says that the technical level is deficient -- please don't let that interfere with your enjoyment. Sometimes one can learn from it -- one example might be the dancer who makes everything look hard so you know he's working, and churns out 12 pirouettes and you think it's great, and you never notice the guy next to him who only does four and doesn't grin. Someone may write that the 12-turn guy wasn't centered, or didn't pointe his feet, or that his extended leg dropped a half-inch with each turn, and that the 4-turner's placement and technique were perfect. Well, okay. That may be true. But you still may rather WATCH the guy who turns more and who you thought was more exciting. If you go for a couple of decades, you may eventualy prefer the quiet perfectionist -- and you may, at your 99,999th performance, still be cheering lustily for superturner. This goes to taste as well as experienice. Another thought. We all have different backgrounds and focus on different things. And even knowlegeable people disagree. I had several off-board conversations with about a half-dozen people about a performance written up on Ballet Alert! that was controversial. Some of the people I talked to insisted that the dancer had absolutely perfect placement, others said that her head was so out of alignment with her body that she, as one put it, "looked like a broken doll." I could only imagine that both groups were definining "placement" differently. When I was doing research for my book, I found an extraordinary review, by today's standards, written in 1948 by a political writer -- not an arts writer. It was a review of the Royal Danish Ballet's first performance of Massine's "Symphonie Fantastique." The reviewer keyed his commentary to the music. "Now, the Andante, and four women..." He also wrote about the sets and costumes in the way one would write about a painting -- how the colors looked when they MOVED, not just how pretty the costumes were. He was seeing and hearing something very different than someone today, who looks primarily at patterns and the dancers' technique, would see. (Not that everyone does that, of course, but it's a, perhaps the, predominant American school of criticism.) I really envied him. I wish I could see like that, but I haven't trained myself to see like that. (He also wrote about the dancers' technique, and personalities, and how they looked different in this compared to their regular repertory, and who was in the audience, and what the women's hairstyles looked like!) Finally, I was struck by what Leigh wrote about watching for a decade before writing -- I read a recommendation by Clive Barnes along the same lines. I didnt have that luxury; I wish I had. But I noticed a real difference at the beginning of my 11th season. It was partly time -- even if you see 3 performances a day for 2 years you'd need some time experience for comparative purposes -- and partly number of performances, as this was when Washington had a 20-week ballet season, and I'd go 8 times a week during those 20 weeks, plus another two performances, generally, on the non-season weeks to other kinds of dance. And I wanted to see critically -- I wasn't going primarily for entertainment. This is another long answer -- sorry But it's a complicated question. I always asked "where did this come from?" That was a question that interested me and it's the one I've pursued. Everybody has different questions. If the only question is, "Did I like it?" that's fine! If you want to try to figure out what other people are seeing (or think we're seeing!) then the books you've mentioned, and reading other writers, including the ones on this board, may be provocative -- not necessarily helpful, but provocative

Thank you for that, Keith -- what a lovely thought!

Thank you for that, Keith -- what a lovely thought!

Welcome back, Colleen !!!!!! I'm so glad you took the time to post and hope to hear from you often during the season I've been impressed by Molinas as well. He seems more mature than some of the ABT wunderkinds, and I'm grateful for that More Onegin reviews for Maria, please!

Interesting! Looks like we need a tie-breaker. Did anyone else go?

Hey, Jeannie! I love your new Location. I don't know the word for it, though. "Bicoastal" doesn't quite cut it -- Bicontinental?

Thanks for these links! I still cherish, though, the image of an angry Juliet, armed with scalding chicken soup, marching towards Pavarotti's hideaway to instruct him on his duties as a megastar -- and perhaps give him some much needed advice on sartorial matters

I just got an email back from my publisher saying that reissued paperback (with photos!) will be out in August. This is good news also because university presses "back list" books -- that is, they keep them around more than a few months! So the book will be available for the foreseeable future.

You might be able to find a copy through alilbris, the online used book store place -- www.alibris.com -- or through Amazon (which does deal in used books) or even through ebay. BUT -- I have inside info on this -- the book is going to be reissued in a new, paperback edition by the University Press of Florida this fall. The catalogue gives a publication date of October, but it might be out before them. They are also my publisher, and I'll ask and see if I can find a better date. (There's a list price of $24.95)

Thank you, Katharine -- I enjoyed reading this immensely. As often happens, we agree on the principles but differ on details. I admire Bausch -- not as a ballet choreographer, of course, but as a dance choreographer. And I like "Violin Concerto" and have seen some performances (with Martins and Mazzo, especially) that were very moving. But I very much enjoyed reading what you had to say. I could see the performance -- thanks for posting this

I'd echo Helena's comments completely! In fact, I was just about to post something similar. I, too, have seen Farrell, Fonteyn and Kirkland. Had I not, I would have probably chosen Fonteyn. The others I haven't seen and I, too, voted for Ulanova -- I've seen enough on video to know that I missed something quite wonderful. I want not only Giselle, Odette and Juliet, but The Red Poppy and The Fountains of Baksichirai! It is interesting, though, how many people didn't see Farrell (from the votes). I think of her as retiring just yesterday (It's a few more years than that!)

Hi, Sonora. I don't think much of anything, unfortunately. There isn't anything that I know of coming up at the Kennedy Center or Wolf Trap. Our local modern dance performing space -- Dance Place www.danceview.org -- usually has something every weekend, and something else may turn up, but it's pretty dead here during the summer. Hot and humid too! Apologies to the D.C. tourist board, but July and August are not our best months

A Glamourpuss MUST be able to wear a hat. I remember Walter Terry pushing for Danilova, then at least in her 60s, to have a crack at The Merry Widow in "Vienna Waltzes" for just that reason. What about companies besides NYCB?

I don't think anything happens to Russian (or any other) dancers when they cross the ocean, I just think that people in different places value different things. This thread is a good example of that -- thanks to everyone for giving your REASONS for thinking this, that or the other!

Thank you, Paquita! It was great to be able to read such a detailed account. I've seen the Erik Bruhn film and agree with you that the footage is phenomenal -- he was noted for his turns (among other things). If fans hadn't snuck cameras into theaters during the goodolddays, why, some people might question the fact that they existed ;)

Thank you for that, Babou. I've only seen the defile on a video taken from television, and THAT book my breath away! The combination of power and grace is quite wonderful. As is your English -- I hope you'll post often and tell us what's going on in Paris. There are many people here with an interest in that company.

Several posts, including one by YAGP and responses to it by Victoria, Leigh, and myself, have been deleted after much discussion among the moderators. While we appreciate YAGP taking the time to read and consider the comments by participants and observers and to post on many points that had been made, we felt that the effect of the post was to squelch discussion. Also, there were some things in the post that were, to put it politely, public relations material. As an editor, I wouldn't print unfiltered public relations material, and I think we have to have the same standard here. I'm also going to delete the thread that Aubri started called Yagp because it responded to something in one of the now deleted posts.

I wonder who is the executor of Bruhn's will! How did Stuttgart get in there??? I'll second Jeannie -- sorry the Royal isn't involved. A