Alexandra

Xena, I was thinking of a dancer knowing a piece of music well and having his or her own thoughts about it, and then dancing in a ballet where that music is the score.

Angry Russia Threatens To Withdraw From Games http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/...-2002Feb21.html Hughes Skates to Improbable Gold She Goes From 4th to 1st; Kwan Settles for Bronze http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/...-2002Feb21.html There are links to many skating stories on this page in USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/hphoto.htm More skating stories (including about judge's scoring) on CNN: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/...omens_final_ap/

An exhibit of 20 of Noguchi's sculptures opens Saturday in New York (runs through mid-August). (Noguchi provided the sculptural sets for many of Martha Graham's and George Balanchine's works.) http://www.nytimes.com/guests/nytoday/bin/...d=1014112906209

That's a good one, Calliope. It varies from clime to clime

Now that that director is retired, Alymer, do you think you could get him to speak on the record I think a strong director could sit on said virtuoso, or a clever one could convince him that he has twice as many opportunities for cabrioles in Ballet X. But now that the top level ballet companies are (with few exceptions) no longer closed shops, dancers have more options, and Il Virtuoso, that situation, could easily find a dozen companies that would let him dance whatever he wants. Perhaps part of the situation (many would not see it as a problem) is because we are no longer in the Age of the Choreographer, but in the Age of the Dancer and Marketeer.

One city's struggle to build an opera and ballet center. From Toronto: If the well-heeled won't support the ballet or the opera, who will? "While the survey suggests that Canada's millionaires treat opera and ballet much as they would red-headed stepchildren, Julia Drake, spokeswoman for the National Ballet of Canada, points to the efforts of philanthropist Walter Carsen as evidence that the enthusiasm of even one ardent supporter can go a long way. "Walter underwrote our productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet and The Firebird," she says. "His support has meant a lot to the company." " http://www.nationalpost.com/

Thank you for posting that, Jeannie (and for translating it, if that's the case). It is very good to read what is being said. There was a similar problem with the men's fast track skating last night. A Korean skater was suddenly disqualified and an American won -- and the skating rules don't allow a protest on the part of the Korean! Whether it's true or not, it's a perception. CNN reports similar views from Russia. Our coverage of the Olympics has long been excessively jingoistic, in my view. It's all "America cleans up at the Olympics." Entire sports are ignored, if Americans aren't highly placed. Often we don't see anyone except the Gold medal winner and the 22nd place American. That's not sports coverage. There are probably examples of the kind of behavior cited in the Russian editorial among all countries, but when one country is so big and so powerful and so All About Me, it shows more.

Thanks for that report, Jeannie -- and I love your note about Ben. At the gala, too, there was an added excerpt from Iolanthe and they not only announced this before curtain, but (at least in press programs) the names were written in. So the Disinformation Specialist only works ballet

A very good idea, Calliope. I have to say I'm stuck on Best New Ballet. Can I nominate "Sleeping Beauty?" Last year was not a good year in Washington; this year will be better. I'll be interested to read who others nominate -- any city, or a mix of cities, would be fine

Calliope wrote: I would like to debate whether or not a ballet that has many casts is due to the ballet's importance or that people get injured, or don't want to do the piece. Or that they need to throw some dancers out there. In Toni Bentley's book, she says that young corps dancers wanted to get into every ballet, and older ones wanted to be taken out of them -- that made sense to me. But I do think there's a need to "throw some dancers out there." Perhaps that is the best reason for the throwaway pieces. (Not that they're consciously created as throwaway pieces.) My comment about casting and the work's importance is based on observation but certainly not a formal study. When "Push Comes to Shove" was new, only Baryshnikov did it. Alternate casts were announced (Ivan Nagy!) but never materialized. Then one season, two dancers had it, and now (although it isn't done very often) there are many casts. Once upon a time, there were only a half-dozen men who had danced "Apollo." Think of the Great Search for that ended in Peter Martins' coming to NYCB. At the time, there were only two men whom Balanchine would allow to do the role and both were unavailable -- not because it was so technically difficult but because it was so special. Now, ABT will put on -- was it 7? Seven performances, seven Apollos. Great for the resumes of the Apollos. I think Katharine also made some good points. The weeklong runs, or more, of a single program is a relatively new development -- although I've never understood exactly how much more money is involved to handle the backstage details of two ballets (sets and costumes). Aren't the union crews already on the payroll? Do you have to pay them more if they actually work? I agree that it's hard, psychologically and physically, on the dancers, and it's boring for the audience. It also can be fought. In Frank Andersen's last year (the last time) at the Royal Danish Ballet a new Theatre Chief determined to cut costs (do they have to wear shoes?) came in and there were, suddenly, a month of "Onegin," a month of "Romeo and Juliet" two months of "Sleeping Beauty," etc. When Peter Schaufuss came in the next year, it went back to a more shuffled repertory. There must have been some leeway in the budget so that choices could be made. Thirty years ago, when there was not block programming, there was minimal marketing, no education programs, and other administrative costs that have been layered on to ballet companies today. Artistic directors didn't have travel budgets to let them zoom around the world any time they wanted to go to competitions, see premieres, etc (and not all do this now, of course, but some do). Bruce Marks said once in an interview (to me) that ballet companies have become bureaucracies and when that happens, the energy goes into protecting the bureaucracy.

Choreo posted what I thought was an excellent question on the Tchaikovsky thread. I hope some of our dancers and former dancers (and young dancers, too!) will see this and tell us, as Choreo wrote: "How do other dancers feel when knowing a piece of music, and then performing to it? How do your attitudes change (or not) concerning that music?"

Choreo, I was just going to ask you about how you, as a dancer, listen to music associated with roles -- and then you posted the question. I'm going to move that to a separate post -- I think it's an excellent question. Thank you

Paquita, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what was happening in Toronto Thank you so much for posting, and for making it such a nice, long, detailed post. I look forward to reading your account of the triple bill We do have other Canadians here -- did anyone else go?

The Times review had been rather anti-set, anti-Met, and I wondered if this piece was intended as a correction, or digging deeper, etc. The review had a tone of, "This is a controversial set, and we saw this accident coming" to it.

I also think that at least part of the reason why ballets have only one cast when they're new is that that's the cast the choreographer wants to see -- and, sometimes, that that's the cast the audience expects to see. Lucia Chase speaks about that in Charles Payne's book on ABT. When Theme and Variations was new, audiences expected to see Alonso and Youskevitch in the leading roles, and there was no second cast for quite some time. I think the more casts a work has (post-1900 repertory) indicates how important the work is, or how the work is perceived by the company. First, there's one cast. Then a carefully chosen second cast. Then another cast or two, and then anybody who can do the steps and fit into the costume. When you get to this stage (or beyond), you're into three, four, five casts, only two or three performances each, and rehearsal time becomes an issue.

A positive story about arts and money, for a change! http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story126170.html

World domination -- not so!! You'll notice I've only staked out the stuff nobody else seems to want. These are all wonderful ideas. We must start buying lottery tickets in earnest!

I've been trying to figure out how to fall into an orchestra pit and crush the bow of a violin while sparing the violin AND the violinist. Just to be clear, I thought I'd add that the description of the event is a quote from the Times article, not mine I didn't want to mislead anyone!

Usually, our standard "homework help" answer is "go to your library!" but I'm not sure that would be helpful in your case. For photos, the web may well be the best place to look. Henrik, you might also try www.balletcompanies.com There you will find just about every dance company in the world. AND many ballet companies have photos of dancers on their web site. Stuttgart and Hamburg Ballets both have a lot of photos. Also, www.bournonville.com has a lot of photos of Bournonville ballets. There aren't a lot of good picture books in print now with photos, that I can think of, anyway. [ February 20, 2002: Message edited by: alexandra ]

Thanks, Roma. I definitely had the feeling they didn't know who they were, but, then, how would you explain it, if you were coaching? There's the other problem. You are The Girl Who Fell Down. or The Man Blinded by Fate. At least they didn't do it that way I've been struck by how, in both Serenade and Jewels, the Kirov looks and dances much lighter than NYCB. I don't mean to suggest that is "wrong" or "bad," just different. I wonder if it's what Balanchine meant when he said, on visiting Russia, "No, America is the home of classical ballet now. Russia is the home of Romantic ballet." Romantic ballet IS lighter. And there's no reason why a company can't develop a neoromantic style to complement a neoclassical style. I don't remember this about their "Theme and Variations," "Scotch Symphony" or "Apollo" danced here 15 years ago. But I can't say whether that's because I didn't notice this, or think in these terms. I've learned a lot in the past 15 years.

The word "jump" has been used. This is now a dance story! Imagine, the most humiliating incident of your young life. You think, nobody noticed. You're dragged on stage to prove that you're all right -- he can't sue, see. He's fine. And then you're fired. Or, Cynical Me says, what a hell of a way to jump start your acting career! The (NY) Times had a story about it too (well written and amusing; I'd recommend reading this one in full): An Extra's Unscripted Tumble From the Stage Is Roiling the Met "Was it a fall? Or more of a leap? Opera fans are gossiping and performers, from the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko to the American bass-baritone Samuel Ramey to extras to orchestra members are still scratching their heads in this latest mystery at the Met, itself no stranger to intrigues onstage and off. "The vanquished grenadier, Simon Deonarian, a 21-year-old actor hired as a $30-a-day supernumerary, or extra, says he fell in "a freak accident." "But Joseph Volpe, the Met's general manager, after discussions with Mr. Deonarian and viewings of a videotape of the Thursday night performance, says that he "jumped" after losing his way "because he was overacting." Mr. Deonarian was unhurt but landed on the bow of the assistant principal violinist, Sylvia Danburg, crushing it. He was dismissed from the other nine performances, including Monday night's, which passed uneventfully, to the relief of front-row patrons." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/20/arts/music/20FALL.html [ February 20, 2002: Message edited by: alexandra ]

Tuesday night opened the Kirov-Mariinsky opera season with a gala (Gergiev conducted) that included some ballet excerpts. (Serenade and Tchaikovsky pas de deux. Note that they spell it "TCHAI" and not "TSCHAI") First, a few tourist at the opera notes. I haven't been to an opera in DC in years, and when I did go, I stood, so I missed the ambience. Definitely an older crowd (I do not think this is a bad thing) and obviously, by applause and attention span, a group that knew what they were going to hear and had heard it before. (And the tenors were all tenors. Think of that!) These must have been long-time opera buffs and Washington Opera subscribers, because people around he were constnatly greeting each other by name -- not something I'm used to at the ballet, which does (in comparison) patch its audience together between subscribers, fans, boosters (by that I mean if the Houston Ballet comes, so do a lot of people who work for Texas congressmen; if it's a German company, you'll get embassy people, etc.) and bus tour and other group sales. I've been told that the ballet audience here was quite similar in the Martin Feinstein era, but that many of the connoisseurs switched to opera when the ballet programs turned to smaller companies and more pop dance. Now to the dancing -- which received a wonderful reception, and I hope some of these people will be drawn back to ballet again through the Kirov appearances. I had no sense that people were being polite to the dancers on "their" gala. No one clapped at the wrong time, no one thought that "Serenade" was over before it was over -- just genuine appreciation. Lots of applause for the dancers. Ayuopova and Samodurov (who did Tchaikovsky pas de deux) got a front of the curtain call. Now to the dancing. Vishneva and Kolb had been on the cast list a month ago to do Tchai pas and Zakharova listed in "Serenade." They did not dance. "Serenade" was Sologub, Korsuntsev, Dumchenko, Gumerova and Baranov. I liked the dancing without liking the performance as a whole, if that makes any sense. It was too brightly lit and too light, physically and emotionally, too. There was the oddest sense that the dancers needed a set -- they left plenty of room at the sides and back, as though there should be rocks, or love seats, or whatever. There was no sense of mystery. Have they been told "Whatever you do, don't show any emotion? This is Balanchine?" I liked Sologub very much. She wasn't the strongest dancer I've seen in the role, but I did not recognize her after only seeing her Aurora. She's just not an Aurora, not a classical dancer (in the classical-romantic sense of the divide). Put her in a long skirt though, and the line is lovely. Korsuntsev danced the role better than anyone I've ever seen (my City Ballet "Serenades" were in the period when that ballet was not loved and seemed to be a home for out of favor dancers). Baranov (in the Elegy) was a-Romantic; I got no sense of who he thought he was. Korsuntsev, without projecting a character, made a place for himself in the ballet. Dumchenko (the Dark Angel role) and Gumerova were fine, too. It LOOKED like Serenade; it just didn't feel like it. Tchaikovsky pas de deux was wonderful. Samudorov is a bit tight in the hips, but otherwise danced very well. The audience was especially appreciative of his triple lutz double toe combination in the solo -- Whoops. Wrong sport. Ayuopova was quite wonderful. Light and fast and youthful. The turns were especially beautiful. My only complaint was that the flying fish dives were as careful as Sleeping Beauty fish dives, which isn't my idea of Tchaikovsky pas de deux, but otherwise, this was a very fine performance. For opera buffs, the program also included the Act II duet from "Iolantha," a scene from "Pique Dame," the final scene from Evgeny Onegin, and the execution scene from Mazeppa. I didn't know any of the singers and would not presume to comment on opera But I was quite happy to be there. The audience was very enthusiastic at the end. I heard a lot of people, on the way out, "Just think! We have ten years of this to look forward to." Another thank you to Messrs. Kaiser and Vilar. [ February 20, 2002: Message edited by: alexandra ]

The National Post has another commentary that links bad judging to men wearing spangles. Skategate: Bush doctrine in a spangly pink bolero Five months to the day after Sept. 11, another foreign conspiracy struck on U.S. soil http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/col...0218/86560.html Here's the Olympics front page from the Washington Post. More on the judging controversy. Plus photos. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sport...2002/index.html

I'm glad you said it first I never went through Tchaikovsky withdrawal either. I fell in love with him at 6. My first piano recital piece was a baby version of "Marche Slav." There was a little bio that said he was a Russian and that Russians were fatalists. I didn't know what a fatalist was, but it sounded lovely. I looked up Russia in the Atlas and found that Lithuania (where my father's family came from) was part of the Soviet Union. Politics were not a concern at that age, and for years I thought I was Russian and loved being a fatalist In that way, Tchaikovsky is perfect for adolescents; there I agree with Page. Tchaikovsky and Dostoyevsky I didn't know the Tchaikovsky of Sleeping Beauty until I discovered ballet. Those melodies are still in my head, after having the pleasure of hearing (almost) the full score for the better part of a week Anyone come to Tchaikovsky reluctantly? Or still prefer to stay away

Ed, thanks for posting that here, and not on the other thread. I'm going to close it, though. I just do not want to get into ethnic debates on the board.