Alexandra

quote: Originally posted by Leigh Witchel: I'm just curious about when this great "fitness crisis" in dancers emerged? Exactly. And what Paul wrote about Danilova rings true, too. I've done at least 200 interviews with dancers over the past 20 years and the subject of "fitness" in the sense that it's being used here has never come up. I couldn't find the interview where Stretton was quoted, but my memory of it is that the context was that one of the reasons he was bringing in the contemporary ballets was to raise the fitness level of the dancers. (I can imagine Danilova's response to THAT.) If someone remembers differently, or has the interview, please correct me. I also think BW's point, that we're talking about two kinds of fitness here -- physical and intellectual/artistic -- is a good one. It isn't that dancers should be scholars, IMO -- in fact, pouring over literary criticism before dancing Juliet, say, would probably do no good at all and may very well do harm. It's that if dancers are culturally aware -- go to museums, concerts, plays, etc. -- it enriches their world view, which enriches their performance. I also remembered some stories I'd heard from and about dancers' childhoods. Even in thegoodolddays many dancers came from homes that were now oriented to the arts. They had a dance mentor -- teacher, coach, older dancer -- who urged them to read, go to museums, etc. They began to be interested in music from the roles they danced. The first time they danced a Stravinsky ballet, for example, they'd be intrigued by the music and buy several recordings of other works. And so I do think that if the atmosphere in the company was less on how much can you benchpress and more on "did you see the new exhibit at MOMA?" Farrell takes her summer workshop students to museums and concerts -- as Balanchine took her. It's another thing an artistic director can do.

quote: Originally posted by Leigh Witchel: I'm just curious about when this great "fitness crisis" in dancers emerged? Exactly. And what Paul wrote about Danilova rings true, too. I've done at least 200 interviews with dancers over the past 20 years and the subject of "fitness" in the sense that it's being used here has never come up. I couldn't find the interview where Stretton was quoted, but my memory of it is that the context was that one of the reasons he was bringing in the contemporary ballets was to raise the fitness level of the dancers. (I can imagine Danilova's response to THAT.) If someone remembers differently, or has the interview, please correct me. I also think BW's point, that we're talking about two kinds of fitness here -- physical and intellectual/artistic -- is a good one. It isn't that dancers should be scholars, IMO -- in fact, pouring over literary criticism before dancing Juliet, say, would probably do no good at all and may very well do harm. It's that if dancers are culturally aware -- go to museums, concerts, plays, etc. -- it enriches their world view, which enriches their performance. I also remembered some stories I'd heard from and about dancers' childhoods. Even in thegoodolddays many dancers came from homes that were now oriented to the arts. They had a dance mentor -- teacher, coach, older dancer -- who urged them to read, go to museums, etc. They began to be interested in music from the roles they danced. The first time they danced a Stravinsky ballet, for example, they'd be intrigued by the music and buy several recordings of other works. And so I do think that if the atmosphere in the company was less on how much can you benchpress and more on "did you see the new exhibit at MOMA?" Farrell takes her summer workshop students to museums and concerts -- as Balanchine took her. It's another thing an artistic director can do.

liebs wrote: quote: one of the choreographers stated that he wanted to create a piece with as few steps as possible.That doesn't sound like refinement, but that that was his intention. liebs, why not ask him what his reasons were? He may well have wanted to use a limited vocabulary ("Let's see if I can make a dance with three steps in it.") Or he may be reflecting the trend that some of us have noted above. Or he may have a different reason entirely. It would be interesting to know.

Thanks for that casting info, Kevin. Jeannie, I hope you haven't been swallowed up by the snow And I do hope someone will report on the gala.

Gulyara Sadykh-zade on the Kirov's new Cinderella, from the St. Petersburg Times -- interesting background on Ratmansky's career and analysis of the current repertory, as well as a full description of the ballet: the return of 'cinderella' quote: Since that time, Ratmansky has gained a reputation as the country's most promising young choreographer, one with a gift for combing his romantic inclinations with a rare ability to step back from established dance devices, to turn them this way and that and, in doing so, to draw from them new images and new content. Ratmansky's choreographic instincts pull him toward miniatures rather than grand-scale affairs, toward precise and graphically strict pictures. His works lack the integrity and expressiveness of the previous generation of ballet masters. This may be why he ultimately declined to choreograph Mikhail Shemyakin's "The Nutcracker" last season.

I'm glad you got to see this, Estelle -- and very glad for your review. The company was in Washington a few years ago when I was out of town and I missed them -- to my great regret, as many of my friends went and had only positive things to say. Balanchine lives in strange corners It's interesting that Glushak has staged so much Balanchine, as she was primarily an ABT dancer (although I believe she attended SAB). She was dancing roles like Zulma (or was it Moyna?) when I first started going to ABT. What was the audience reaction? [ March 17, 2002, 10:53 PM: Message edited by: alexandra ]

A few years ago I gave my extra ticket to someone who was primaril interested in modern dance. After one ballet -- not a very good one, not one by a master -- she said, "Too steppy." That was my introduction to the Anti-Steppers, a small but extremely vocal, and influential, cult among the Contemporary Set. When I taught at an area university, I heard exactly what Ballet Nut said -- and I used the Webster analogy too! (It didn't convince them.) This was in an aesthetics class, and after reading some of the articles that dealt with ballet, one of the brightest students said, "I'm glad I read that. I always thought ballet choreographers just picked a bunch of steps at random." There was very much the notion that modern dancers MOVED and ballet dancers Did Steps. I thought Manhattnik's point about "Esplanade" very interesting, because, in a way, yes, there are no "steps" in it, and yet it LOOKS as though it's composed of steps. I've always thought one of the reasons ballet people often like Taylor -- or at least, he's their gateway into modern dance -- because the dances look familiar. They're not ballet steps, but there are steps in his works. Ari's point is a good one too, I think. I wish a choreographer would think that way. I'd be surprised, though.

The Houston Chronicle has a lot of information on Peter Pan -- including photos and video! Peter Pan [ March 17, 2002, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: alexandra ]

I came across this while purusing the American press this week: In a piece about Cabaret by Andrew Patner for the Chicago Sun-Times -- Songs in the night -- began: quote: Aficionados call it "the fragile art," for cabaret is harder to perform and preserve than even classical ballet or the high-wire act.I've often heard sportscasters -- football, tennis -- say that an athlete was a "Nureyev" or a "Baryshnikov." Often a running back who deftly avoids tacklers and weaves his way to the end zone -- showing not only speed, but tremendous grace, not to mention an incredible balance -- is sometimes called as "that was ballet." This year, a U.S. General said that his troops performed its maneuvers like (better? I forget) "than the New York Ballet". A review I read of "Gosford Park" a few weeks ago called it "a ballet" and mentioned the ensemble acting and complicated script. I draw from these examples that the connotation of "ballet" to those who may have never seen it is: It is fragile, it is graceful, it is complicated, it is precise, it involves a lot of people working together smoothly. Of course, there are dozens of "dance" metaphors: I'll dance around that question, he performed a tap dance on the witness stand, etc. But that's another question Any other examples you can think of? Or how is "ballet" used in everyday, or not so everyday, writing or speech?

A review of Trey McIntyre's new "Peter Pan" for Houston Ballet by Molly Glentzer: Ballet's 'Peter Pan': An enchanting pixie dusts the fairy tale quote: Unlike the hero of his first full-length ballet, Trey McIntyre has grown up. The world premiere of Houston Ballet's Peter Pan on Thursday at the Wortham Theater Center showed the 31-year-old choreographic associate to be a superb storyteller with a kid's heart and an adult's appreciation of life's complexities. This Peter Pan is no Disney or Broadway tale of the boy who leads a girl and her brothers to Never Land but ultimately can't keep them there. Fed by the dark satire of author J.M. Barrie's 1911 novella, it is a playful, compelling tale that juxtaposes the whimsy of childhood with the pain of growing up. Act 1 sparkles with magic realism, Act 2 is like a madcap cartoon and Act 3 gets serious -- although not overbearing.

A very l-o-n-g consideration of this phenomenon, now wowing them in London. The article indicates this is really an opera, although the content is pure Springer. Or impure Springer. Has anyone seen this one? Jerry Springer, the Opera quote: Stage luminaries of every stripe, from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Nicholas Hytner, have swarmed to see the thing. Hytner, who will take the reins as director of the Royal National Theater next year and directed the new Broadway musical ''The Sweet Smell of Success,'' can't get enough of it. ''What I love is its violent marriage of high and low culture,'' he says. ''To hear the kind of vulgar chaos of 'Jerry Springer' submitted to the disciplines of classical opera, weirdly enough, results in something more than the sum of those two halves.''(I picked this article because of the line "submitting it to the disciplines of classical opera," something that goes along with our discussions of ballet's use of pop culture.)

In today's NYTimes: A Showman and His Showcase: Zeffirelli at the Met quote: "Lavish in scale and unashamedly theatrical." This, in a nutshell, is the style associated with the star designer and director Franco Zeffirelli as he himself defined it in his autobiography 16 years ago. He stages opera the way De Mille filmed "The Ten Commandments," and he drenches movies in the pathos of opera. Some artists are content to please the few. Mr. Zeffirelli's mission is to reach the many. Everyone loves him, the saying goes, except the critics. And he has said the same. "I've made my career without the support of the critics, thank God," he told Opera News 20 years ago, after the premiere of his epic production of Puccini's "Bohème" at the Metropolitan Opera. "I rely only on my profession, my honesty and my audience."I've always been partial to the humble ones One of the reasons I put up the Other Arts section is to help us keep up with what's going on in opera, theater and classical music. Any of our opera goers have an opinion on Zefferelli as an opera stager? [ March 17, 2002, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: alexandra ]

Thanks for that, atm. I can see why she found the British public of that era "conservative." Yes, they embraced "the new" -- but then, that became the only thing they wanted to see and they didn't like anything that was different. I think that happens all through dance history. This isn't about Raymonda, but it goes to the question of why the Balanchine-Danilova Raymonda wasn't appreciated in its day. I think, especially in England and America, where ballet really was new -- there wasn't an enduring tradition. Few people had gone to the ballet from childhood, as they would have in Paris, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg or Moscow. And so when you see ballet for the first time, it's either a direct hit by a lightning bolt, or you wonder what people see in it. Those who love it love what they're seeing. I'm not even sure it's a matter of being conservative or open to new things -- although sometimes that's it. It's that you love what you're seeing. And you want to see more of THAT. No matter what else you're offered, it's not THAT.

Yippee! We're getting their "Dances at a Gathering." I haven't seen that one in years!

Did anyone see this? I'd love to read some reviews.

Thanks for posting this, Poppiedancer. Since most of us won't have seen this, could you tell us a bit more about it? (Who was the choreographer, who were the dancers? What did you especially like about it?) Unfortunately, I think few people who post here have had the chance to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and we'd be glad to hear about it. [ March 17, 2002, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: alexandra ]

Ah, leibling. The land of cheese -- and Clara will be the little girl in the cheese commercial (the one who leaves Santa cheese and gets what looks to be the entire FAO Schwartz store in return). The Land of Cheese could be a serviceable idea for a new Nutcracker Act II (sponsored by the Dairy Council and Velveeta). The divert dancers could be costumed as the appropriate cheese. Hmmm. What's an Arabian cheese? Or a Spanish one? (I'm sure there are some; I just don't know the names.) But roquefort or bleu have to be in there somewhere -- for Juliet's sake, if nothing else. Yes, I realize this is Off Topic, and I have sinned. Sorry

Ah, leibling. The land of cheese -- and Clara will be the little girl in the cheese commercial (the one who leaves Santa cheese and gets what looks to be the entire FAO Schwartz store in return). The Land of Cheese could be a serviceable idea for a new Nutcracker Act II (sponsored by the Dairy Council and Velveeta). The divert dancers could be costumed as the appropriate cheese. Hmmm. What's an Arabian cheese? Or a Spanish one? (I'm sure there are some; I just don't know the names.) But roquefort or bleu have to be in there somewhere -- for Juliet's sake, if nothing else. Yes, I realize this is Off Topic, and I have sinned. Sorry

Another point on stamina, re the Royal Ballet, several people I know, or have read, have commented that when Symphonic Variations was revived last season, the dancers had trouble getting through it -- they were visibly tired at the end. I remember reading a comment from Michael Somes who said that they couldn't have danced Symphonic in 1936 because "Fred hadn't taught us how yet," or something of that nature. Part of good balletmastering is preparing dancers for the repertory, again, through the classes, and by dancing difficult works often enough to be used to them. This is another aspect of the only getting to do a part one or two times a season. When they first danced "Symphonic," they danced it a lot. No step classes or volleyball needed Dancing "the classics to keep the dancers in shape" was something one used to hear/read frequently. I think Leigh's points about Martins are good ones. I know Martins' directorship is not admired by everyone, but when I look at what's happening to other companies, I think he often doesn't get the credit for what he did do right. He doesn't throw dancers away. He hasn't completely overturned the repertory. He hasn't encouraged them to pump up the virtuosity in Balanchine. No fouettes in Concerto Barocco just because they can I was very interested in Paul's observations, especially the comments about tension and relaxation -- that's another thing that's changed in ballet. Until fairly recently, the goal of a classical dancer was to make the difficult look easy, not to come out flexing their muscles and making it quite clear that everything they were about to do was very, very difficult. Perhaps that's another consequence of reaching out to new audiences. If you're new to ballet and see a performance that is, as Bournonville (and Stanley Williams) would have it "all difficulty is concealed under cover of harmonious calm" you may want your money back. WE all need to read/listen/think more too, perhaps. Colleen, I think your send the dancers to Europe scholarship fund is a great idea. The Grand Tour reinvented

Another point on stamina, re the Royal Ballet, several people I know, or have read, have commented that when Symphonic Variations was revived last season, the dancers had trouble getting through it -- they were visibly tired at the end. I remember reading a comment from Michael Somes who said that they couldn't have danced Symphonic in 1936 because "Fred hadn't taught us how yet," or something of that nature. Part of good balletmastering is preparing dancers for the repertory, again, through the classes, and by dancing difficult works often enough to be used to them. This is another aspect of the only getting to do a part one or two times a season. When they first danced "Symphonic," they danced it a lot. No step classes or volleyball needed Dancing "the classics to keep the dancers in shape" was something one used to hear/read frequently. I think Leigh's points about Martins are good ones. I know Martins' directorship is not admired by everyone, but when I look at what's happening to other companies, I think he often doesn't get the credit for what he did do right. He doesn't throw dancers away. He hasn't completely overturned the repertory. He hasn't encouraged them to pump up the virtuosity in Balanchine. No fouettes in Concerto Barocco just because they can I was very interested in Paul's observations, especially the comments about tension and relaxation -- that's another thing that's changed in ballet. Until fairly recently, the goal of a classical dancer was to make the difficult look easy, not to come out flexing their muscles and making it quite clear that everything they were about to do was very, very difficult. Perhaps that's another consequence of reaching out to new audiences. If you're new to ballet and see a performance that is, as Bournonville (and Stanley Williams) would have it "all difficulty is concealed under cover of harmonious calm" you may want your money back. WE all need to read/listen/think more too, perhaps. Colleen, I think your send the dancers to Europe scholarship fund is a great idea. The Grand Tour reinvented

Liebs, I think your point about age is a very good one. The average age is so low, too, because dancers retire earlier. When I first started watching ballet there was grumbling that dancers were being forced to retire at 40 and companies were losing "personality." Balanchine was criticized for his "heartless" way of getting rid of ballerinas when they hit 35. Now, 30 year olds are "senior dancers." It certainly matters with, as Leigh mentioned, more sophisticated ballets, although it's just fine for the aerobics numbers. As for stamina, dancers build the stamina to perform from performing, from regular dancing. They managed to do this for decades without the need for an aerobics class.

Liebs, I think your point about age is a very good one. The average age is so low, too, because dancers retire earlier. When I first started watching ballet there was grumbling that dancers were being forced to retire at 40 and companies were losing "personality." Balanchine was criticized for his "heartless" way of getting rid of ballerinas when they hit 35. Now, 30 year olds are "senior dancers." It certainly matters with, as Leigh mentioned, more sophisticated ballets, although it's just fine for the aerobics numbers. As for stamina, dancers build the stamina to perform from performing, from regular dancing. They managed to do this for decades without the need for an aerobics class.

I think that regular well-taught ballet classes give a dancer all the "fitness" he or she needs. Aerobic conditionining is for runners and basketball players And dancers who lift weights can end up with very strange-looking (for ballet) muscles. I'm with Mel. This was a sound bite -- and, I think, an attempt to justify unpopular repertory choices by using what may sound like a professional reason. I also agree with Katharine and Leigh about the intellectual (or, at least, artistic) cross-training of dancers -- that that is one thing lacking in today's dancers. It's not their fault; they don't receive the education. I don't think what's lacking is college degrees, especially if the degrees are in business and nutrition (which may be excellent for career planning, but that's a different subject). It's thinking of oneself as an artist, going to museums, listening to music. Very few children grow up in that environment and very few schools provide artistic education. And it shows on stage.

I think that regular well-taught ballet classes give a dancer all the "fitness" he or she needs. Aerobic conditionining is for runners and basketball players And dancers who lift weights can end up with very strange-looking (for ballet) muscles. I'm with Mel. This was a sound bite -- and, I think, an attempt to justify unpopular repertory choices by using what may sound like a professional reason. I also agree with Katharine and Leigh about the intellectual (or, at least, artistic) cross-training of dancers -- that that is one thing lacking in today's dancers. It's not their fault; they don't receive the education. I don't think what's lacking is college degrees, especially if the degrees are in business and nutrition (which may be excellent for career planning, but that's a different subject). It's thinking of oneself as an artist, going to museums, listening to music. Very few children grow up in that environment and very few schools provide artistic education. And it shows on stage.

Team wins 'Olympics' of dancing quote: Kelli Dickens is bursting her buttons these days. With good reason. Her Kelli's Steps School of Dance has won, for the second year in a row, the Contest of Champions at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. “We took 86 kids, from Ocean Springs to Diamondhead,” she says, “and we won again. It's really kind of neat, kind of like the Olympics.” ....... "We were up against the best,” says Dickens, “New York, Colorado, even Alaska.”