Alexandra

At the winter performance of the ballet academy where I teach (history) Saturday night, there was an unusual mishap that raised several issues I thought worth discussing. (There's a full account of it in George Jackson's review on danceviewtimes: Aplomb ) The short version is that the kids were dancing to tape, and the amp blew -- no sound. It happened a few seconds in to the Grand Adagio of Vainonen's "Nutcracker," which gives Sugar Plum and her Cavalier four assistant cavaliers, and there are lots of lifts, and passing the ballerina back and forth among the cavaliers, as well as throws. The dancers didn't stop for a second. Oleg Vinogradov (the head of the schsool) was sitting in the front row and called out softly, "Keep dancing," and counted -- also quite softly; I couldn't hear it on the other side of the studio, except for two bars towards the end. Issue one, I guess, is what would you have done? Kept on, or stopped it? The audience, mostly parents, of course, though some local fans come, was completely sympathetic and the dancers got a standing ovation at the end of the adagio -- which did wonders for the solos that followed! But it was harrowing to watch. Issue two, was how fascinating it was to watch the choreography without the music. I didn't enjoy it -- I want the music! -- but without the music, the ballet was pure Architecture. It was like watching artisans put a beautiful statue in place -- first this angle, then that. Does she look better from this side, or that? for the viewer, it was a completely different experience. Issue three, the effect of the mishap -- because the dancers were successful, it energized them. Not that one wants something like this to happen (I've seen only two other comparable problems in my years of watching ballet) but it did bring to mind Fonteyn's comment that people who liked ballet were the kind that liked bullfights. (Natalia, sorry you missed this one!)

Thank you for this! Oh, please, Father Christmas, let this be a trend

I got a copy last week from Dance Books in London -- it's all regions, so will play in my machine.

Often the company reads this board, and individual comments and tributes are welcome, but I wanted to say on behalf of all of this how sad and shocked we are, and, as carbro noted above, offer condolences to Jennifer's family and friends, as well as the company and the ABT family.

American Ballet Theatre just sent out the following sad announcement: STATEMENT FROM AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE American Ballet Theatre sadly notes the passing of cherished Company dancer Jennifer Alexander. Alexander suffered fatal injuries on December 2 as a result of a car collision in New Jersey. Alexander, along with two other ABT dancers, Alexander’s husband Julio Bragado-Young and Nicole Graniero, as well as a dancer from the Martha Graham School, were returning from an appearance of The Nutcracker in Pennsylvania. . “It is with unbearable sadness that I, on behalf of the dancers, staff and Board of Governing Trustees, express our deepest sympathies to the Alexander and Bragado-Young families,” said Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. -30- Monday, December 3, 2007

Put a ball bearing in the pointe shoe and you could do even more Seriously, Mel's point about placement cannot be overemphasized. These should be PIROUETTES which are not TURNS. There's a difference.

Perceptive indeed, and so beautifully and vividly written! Thanks for posting the link, canbelto. I wonder if Ms. Bentley could be persuaded to write a biography of Balanchine?

Now that, I find quite odd. I wonder if she saw him? I saw Nureyev over several Graham seasons, always the season, or at least a few months, after he'd first performed the role, and the performances were always consistent, to me. This was also what I remember was the general view in the press. The controversy was about whether he should be doing Graham, whether he had corrupted her into doing the fur coat ads, whether Graham should be in the Met, etc. -- and from many modern dance critics who felt that he was a terrible Graham dancer (others wrote that it was obvious why Graham chose to work with him, because he had the same "monstre sacre" nature that she did) -- but not losing interest or lack of consistency.

I didn't see the show, and so was even more grateful for bart's summary. I wanted to comment on one thing:] That was not the view at the time. It was rather the opposite. Baryshnikov's hunger to dance everything (which was totally understandable) made him "rush through the repertory like a kid in a candy store," as one critic wrote about his first seasons at ABT. He would do role after role once or twice, then move on. It was one of the issues that Kirkland (who wanted to rehearse everything A LOT) has mentioned. [editing to add: I think this may have changed as he matured, but his tenure with Graham was quite short, as I remember it. During the White Oak period, however, I remember reading and hearing that he was totally committed to that project and those works. Careers have different phases.] As for Nureyev, Paul Taylor wrote that Nureyev would try out "Aureole" in the wings, years before he danced it. I also remember reading, at the time, how hard he worked with Graham and Murray Louis. [Editing to add: He worked with Graham over several seasons, dancing repertory roles as well as several creations.] And in his early years at the Royal Ballet, he would take small roles in new choreography, and work quite hard on them. Perhaps Alymer or John P (if they see this) might comment, since they were there. Re Baryshnikov's comments about Nureyev, I did see that interview and was struck by his generosity towards his older schoolmate and rival. That interview with Baryshnikov is a treasure -- and it's now available on DVD at Amazon

I don't think Baronova danced with the RDB In Denmark, how far do you want to go back? Lucile Grahn was 15 when she created the role of Astrid in "Valdemar," and 16 when she created "La Sylphide" the next year. Betty Hennings was also 15 when she danced leading roles. Today, Danish dancers become "aspirants" at the end of 10th grade (school leaving age); their contracts start August 1st of the following year. Many Danish dancers danced with the company, in the corps, or even in small solos or character parts (not counting bona fide children's roles, of course), at 14 or 15 (as they do in City Ballet, and probably other companies). It's a way of easing them in, and, sometimes, finding a substitute for an injured or ill dancer. Kistler was 16 when she made her debut in "Swan Lake" Act II. In ABT, Deirdre Carberry was 15 her first season, Nancy Raffa was 16 (Those two are from memory, but I'm fairly certain it's accurate). The Danish dancer's career with which I'm most familiar, of course, is Henning Kronstam's, and he had a leading mime role in an opera at 13, began dancing regularly in the corps at 14, was the understudy for a couple of principal parts at 15, danced about a dozen small solo roles in demicaractere ballets at 14 and 15, and danced with the company regularly in the corps before officially becoming an aspirant. He was unusual, but I doubt he was unique.

Thank you for that, John. I knew Hightower was one of the Five, but didn't realize she was so strong a technician. It's interesting, though frustrating, to read about so many of these ballets -- most of them are probably dead now, and the few that could be revived....won't be.

Homans claims, arguing against Kavanagh, that "Nureyev had no way to know that his sex life would be any freer in the West. " I think this is patently false. And to say "Defection set Nureyev free, but it destroyed his life and his dancing" is certainly an interesting indirect endorsement of the virtues of a totalitarian state! I guess she's right, in a cynical sense--I mean if Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn hadn't served in a labour camp, he would have never written The Gulag Archipelago. Good point (about Solzhenitsyn) Ray! I agree too about the "destroyed his life and his dancing" line. To what dancing are we comparing what dancing? If Homans saw Nureyev, it would have been, I'm guessing (she seems rather young) have been in his last months. And very few Westerners saw Nureyev dance in Russia. I find that line rather stunning. It sounds good, but..... Off to work on the Go Starve in the Gulag Artist Encouragement Grants Project. "It worked for Solzhenitsyn, it can work for YOU!"

Oh, FF, I'm so sorry -- I'd looked forward to seeing you. (I'd sent you a PM, BTW, when you posted that you couldn't get there this summer. Sorry to post it, but I wanted to be sure you were checking your PMs, and I can be reasonably sure you'll read this thread ) Are other BTers going?

Of course, when you interview lots of people about the same ballet, there are often different memories. When I was interviewing a lot of Royal Danish Ballet dancers about ballets from the 1940s through the then-present (early 1990s) I was also astounded at how many of them had absolutely no memory. Some would say that Production A was exactly the same as Production B, when it really truly wasn't -- many changes, in steps, tempi, dynamic, not to mention different characters. But it was "the same." I always thought I'd asked the "right" questions, and then, after having spoken with two other people, I'd realize I hadn't asked what I needed to, or needed to clarify. I was lucky to be able to clarify, either going back to the original victim or asking the 5 "control people' who were very generous, and allowed me to check in with them about every 2 weeks and say, "X says this, and Y says that, and they're completely different. What do you think?" It also took me awhile to learn that there are times when something -- a step sequence, blocking, a matter of style, something that I considered major -- was considered unimportant, while another change -- a minute change -- would be considered anathema. Having had the opportunity to compare those answers gave me a much deeper understanding of what that company considered important -- which helped shape later questions. I have to say when reading several of the new hyperdetailed biographies published in the past three years, I'm disappointed that some are compendiums of contrasting quotations, with no effort made by the author to sort them out. If someone says something provocative, even if it doesn't make sense in context, or seems to be a real stretch in credibility, in it goes. For oral history, I guess that's okay. The point is to make a collection of raw tapes. But for print, I think there should be some attempt to find out what really happened.

John, I've only seen photos of Charrat, and your post jogged my memory. She had (from what I remember from photos) real glamour, which the casts of "Le Combat" in the late 70s/early 80s certainly didn't. Hightower is another ballerina I regret not seeing -- I'm sure there are films somewhere, and widh they could be released.

Welcome, John, and thank you so much for joining in this project. I've never seen anything by Gore, and have always been curious about him -- you've made me more so!

Thanks, laurel! And welcome to Ballet Talk

I always wanted to see "La Fete Etrange," having loved the novel and an exquisitely beautiful film made of it ("The Wanderer," by Albinococo). Thank you for that, Jane. Howard is a choreographer that's interested me, and I think you are exactly right about the danger of losing distinct voices. I may be confusing her with someone else, but did she not do a ballet called "Assembly Ball," using the same Tchaikovsky piece that Balanchine used in "Theme and Variations" (and about the same time)?

Washington Ballet did "Le Combat" about 20 years ago -- I'd like to see it again, but at the time I thought it was obvious why the ballet hadn't lasted. Lots of horsey horseplay, as it were -- but no dominant personality who could put the ballet over. The Joffrey was still doing "Cakewalk" in the 1970s (perhaps a bit later) and I saw that and liked it -- I can't remember anything about it except that it was playful and well-constructed. A girl on a swing? A little cupid with a bow and arrow? Clever, but not too cute, and it made me want to see more of Boris. I THINK New Jersey Ballet just did Pas de deeses? I also saw the Joffrey do this, with Ann Marie de Angelo, whom an older colleague of mine insisted was the perfect reincarnation of a 19th century Romantic ballerina. (It's a reconstruction of the 19th century star vehicle. Three goddesses and one male dancer.) I also saw "Romeo and Juliet" in the 1970s. (Looking back, 1980 seems to be a sort of curtain date, at least in America, for Ballets from the Old Repertory.) I would give a lot to see it again. I wanted so much to love it, as I'd read so much about it, but it seemed very dull. Hilda Morales was Juliet and Fernando Bujones was Romeo. I was shocked by the ending -- Romeo wakes up in time to see Juliet dies, and Juliet knows (Isn't there enough tragedy?) -- and liked the designs very much. There really is a lot out there. Or was

Is "Design with Strings" Taras's? That was a big favorite in the '50s and '60s, a small cast work especially suited to young dancers. I never saw it, but have read about it often (I know, I know, not helpful. But maybe somebody else saw it.)

Helene Kaplan wrote a review of this production for danceviewtimes, and I've just added a few photos (all from the dress rehearsal, and all a bit dark, but they give you an idea of the dancing). "Giselle" — Vividly and Happily Alive I'll also take this opportunity to say that I wrote a piece about the review for my blog in DanceView Times' Sunday Section: Piffle Pieces: Camargo in D.C.,"Giselle" in Phoenix, and dance criticism in America

Thank you, John. That really does give a sense of place, and a wonderful sense of how exciting the post-War years were. I'm trying very hard not to be jealous of you for having seen the premieres of nearly every ballet Frederick Ashton created When I first started going to the ballet (in the mid-70s) I remember trying to see as many star dancers, many of them past their prime, as I could, just so I could SEE them. (One day it occurred to me that this wasn't nearly enough, and that there were people who had actually seen Fonteyn, Petit, Massine, etc. many many times.) It seems to have been a time where experimentation was encouraged (or it just bubbled up naturally) while companies were able to maintain past works to a high standard -- and works between Petipa and Now. There was a real range. I wonder why it's so difficult to do that today.

Welcome, Anne! And thank you for your kind comments on my book Oddly, there was little press attention paid to Kronstam after he resigned as balletmaster, and most people outside the theater had no idea of his role. Others were all too eager to take credit for what he was doing, I think ;) I hope you will write about the performances you see, and tell us how things are going. I'm also very hopeful about Hubbe's directorship -- he certainly is respected by the dancers, and that's half the battle. There are many readers of this board interested in the RDB, so this welcome is for them, as well. We're very glad you've joined us.

If you count tango as character dance, ballet can claim it (You "plunked" just fine.) And thank you for plunking -- I'd be happy to see a performance where there was an exquisite segment, even if tiny! I've seen several tango troupes that I found very interesting -- one was really trying to build choreography on the tango, use the tango as a language. We haven't had much here in the past five years or so, and I was happy to read about a tango night.

That's the odd thing about the "debate." The classics do sell quite well. But somehow dancers are learning that they don't. I'm told every year by students (ballet students 14 to 18) that companies have to do modern dance because the classics are old and audiences don't like them. Yet that isn't the case. Of course there are people who love modern/postmodern/whateverpostmodernis work, but to sell out a big house for more than an occasional program, it's "Swan Lake." Now, if we could just have a new "Swan Lake"..... [no. Not a new improved old Swan Lake, but a new classical ballet of the same resonance).