Alexandra

Gallica, have you checked Marc Haegeman's site (For Ballet Lovers Only)? He often has casting info there. http://users.skynet.be/ballet-lovers/

"Swan Lake" has been here long enough, I think. Now that the season has begun, I'd like to begin another one. The floor is open for nominations. (Remember that we've already done "Giselle" and "Coppelia.") The Swan Lake posts will be moved into a Swan Lake Archive tomorrow. Last chance to post Thoughts on Swan Lake.

There was a post on alt.arts.ballet about a new website devoted to ballet in the netherlands, including a message board. Here's the URL to the message board. (There's probably a link to the main site at the bottom of the message board. The software will look familiar ) http://www.dancenow.nl/forum/

Congratulations on the A+ -- but I also must say, I'm glad you found it interesting

I just posted this on Links -- I'd missed this when it first came out. This interview is by Ismene Brown, and in it, Stretton lays out his plans for the company. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000148269...3/btisme23.html

Sonora, the only review I could find was in Berlingske Tidende (Vibeke Wern). Basically, it said Hubbe was elegant and has a big jump. (Most of the review was devoted to the new ballet of Anna Laerkesen.) http://www.berlingske.dk/artikel:aid=128826 Thomas Lund makes his debut as James this week -- I think it's Wednesday. I hope some of the Danish Lurkers (you know who you are ) will come out of Lurkdom and report. There's a lot of anticipation in Copenhagen about Lund's debut.

Yes, the Nutcracker ballet is very different from the story. Often in discussions such as this, "content" becomes equated with the narrative. If the ballet isn't as "dark" or "psychological" or "spooky" then it somehow is lightweight, creampuff, not worthy of our attention. We must change it! Add subtexts, characters, etc. Why not have the mice just eat Clara and be done with it? Ballet isn't supposed to be realistic. It's an abstraction -- all fine art is an abstraction, I would argue. The content in "Nutcracker" -- and "Concerto Barocco" -- is not in its story, but in its form (the poetry of its structure and its steps).

I put this on Links, but thought it deserved discussion. A Dancer from Spain talks about ballet's Spanish Ballet classic -- an interesting interview with Tamara Rojo: This Lady is Not Just for Turning Tamara Rojo transfixed her audience when she danced Giselle for the Royal Ballet last year, and her latest role, as Kitri in 'Don Quixote', is sure to be just as dazzling. She talks to Louise Levene http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=006416154...9/btrojo29.html

STEPHANIE JORDAN WINS DE LA TORRE BUENO AWARD Professor Stephanie Jordan, author of the Dance Books publication, has received a special citation in the prestigious de la Torre Bueno Prize for 2001 for her book 'Moving Music - dialogues with music in twentieth-century ballet', published by Dance Books. The de la Torre Bueno prize is awarded annually for the most distinguished original book of dance scholarship in English published during the previous calendar year, as determined by a jury of experts in the field. This year's jury included James Neufeld, Gus Solomons Jr., Allan Ulrich, Selma Jeanne Cohen, and Mary Ann Malkin. The citation reads: 'Illuminating the origins of twentieth-century musical practice as it relates to dance, Stephanie Jordan examines the work of the pedagogue Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, a host of early modern dance pioneers, and the linking of major modern composers with the choreographers of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes. Where most dance scholars merely cite the musicality of the great choreographers, the author has instead analyzed the specific musical approaches of George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, and Antony Tudor, in particular, and twentieth-century choreographers in general. Jordan has executed her task with close and highly informed readings of the steps and scores that will stand as a model for future inquires into their relationships.' Professor Jordan is the 9th author to win an award from the de la Torre Bueno prize for a book published by Dance Books. Previous Dance Books publications' authors are: Jack Anderson: The One and Only: The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Alexandra Danilova: Choura Knud Arne Jurgensen: The Bournonville Tradition (Lillian Moore Award) Valerie Preston-Dunlop: Rudolf Laban: an extraordinary life Richard Ralph: The Life and Works of John Weaver Suki Schorer: Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique Elizabeth Souritz: Soviet Choreographers in the 1920s David Vaughan: Frederick Ashton and his Ballets

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to give us so much detail, Dale! I hope you'll inspire others I came back in to add: I had to rush out and didn't have the time to write more fully. Dale, I think you made many interesting points, especially about "Dim Lustre" and "Variations on America." "Dim Lustre" is one of those ballets that strikes many people as old-fashioned and perhaps superficial, but I agree, there is depth there. (And "Variations on America" has little depth, but was a wonderful romp for Baryshnikov who, I swear, would lie down, completely parallel to the ground, in the air in this piece.) I also thought your comments on Symphony in C's fourth movement interesting. It is usually strongly cast at City Ballet, and always looks "easy." One always learns something about a ballet when a company new to it and/or outside of the ballet's home style dances it. [ October 29, 2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

Thanks very much for posting that, Bobsey. I was beginning to wonder if anyone went to ABT -- it's been going for nearly a week! More, please

Juliet, I can't tell you how grateful I am you posted this. I mailed the renewals/libraries on Monday, which was the day they realized that the anthrax problem in the post offices was quite serious. There has been a rumor all week that they were going to burn or otherwise destroy all mail that was then in the system. ($300 of postage, 150 issues -- I don't have enough to replace them, so it would have to be reprinted!!!!!) I can sleep now. Thank you!!!!! To subscribers whose issues were not up for renewal: I will not mail these out until the all clear sounds here. There's no point in putting them in the mail to sit in a warehouse -- and perhaps end up in an incinerator. I'll post when that is. Apologies to all who are affected by this.

You all may have read that we're having Postal Problems in D.C. I mailed out most of the DanceView subscriptions that require envelopes (renewals, writers' copies, libraries) on Monday. That was the day, apparently, when mail was frozen here, at least in the Affected Zip Codes, of which I am one. No mail has come in all week! I'm guessing no mail was processed out, either. I'm not going to even try to mail the rest of the issues until things have settled down here, and just wanted to alert you to that. If someone you know has gotten his/her issue and you haven't -- it's not a deliberate slight! The new issue (Autumn) contains: A review of ABT's spring Met season by Lynn Garafola A review of NYCB's spring season by Mary Cargill A review of the Royal Ballet in D.C. by me A review of the Kirov in Versailles by Marc Haegeman An analysis of Sylvie Guillem's "Giselle" by Isobel Houghton How do you Get to be a Wili? by Jane Simpson (suggested by the discussions we had here on the same topic) The New York, London and San Francisco reports (the latter has Rita Felciano's review of the not-premiere of Mark Morris's new "V") A very brief interview with two D.C. modern dancers on what they did September 11th (by me) So it's a good issue -- hope you get to read it some day

Thank you for that, Effy. I'm glad to hear that Sorella Englund is back. What you describe sounds like what happened at the January 2000 Bournonville Week -- I think it's what happens when you bring someone who's no longer connected with the Theatre in for a guest appearance. Even as great an artist as Englund needs time to get acclimated -- you can't take a Madge like hers out of a suitcase. Sorry to hear the Laerkesen was a dud.

Thank you for that, Kate! (Picky can be a good thing, even at 24 ) It sounds pretty much the way it looked down here. Venue does make a big difference, though. I know I saw Paul Taylor for 15 years in Lisner Auditorium and even HIS dancers didn't look their best there; the company "improved" dramatically when it moved into the Eisenhower. I've thought the same thing about Washington Ballet, too. [ October 26, 2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

I think Sonora did -- Sonora, we await your words

Thank you thank you thank you thank you I figure that classical ballet has been "set on its ear" so many times since the 1960s that it must be upside down by now. Therefore, "setting it on its ear" must now mean putting it right side up

Jeff, you could probably market that one in a minute. Lincoln Center's Moldy Mozart Festival Why can't arts marketeers figure out a way to shine the spotlight on new works without trashing everything that's gone before?? Why do they find it necessary to do so?

Thanks for posting that, Estelle. Joanna Berman is a curiously controversial dancer -- I say "curiously," because she doesn't impress me as extreme in any way, or seeking controversy. Maybe it would be clearer to say that opinions about her seem to be rather polarized. I know that some regular SFBers admire her very much, critics less so. (I must confess I find her extremely dull.) It's always interesting when a dancer strikes some people as absolutely wonderful and others as "so what's the fuss about?" Opinions on Ms. Berman, please.

The Royal Ballet is governed by a board. There was a search, and there were applicants who grew up in the Royal Ballet. I'm sure the board had its reasons, and I'm not trying to second guess them. I'm not saying that Stretton IS unsuitable; I don't know that, and we won't be able to judge it until he's been in there for awhile. All I've tried to do -- in this case, as well as several others -- is to suggest that there are different criterion for different companies, and that, while it's perfectly understandable -- and OK -- for balletgoers to mourn the loss of a favorite dancer or favorite ballet, there's more to it than that, so when people question company administration, choices, etc., they may be looking at the larger picture.

Always a pleasure to see you, Drew. I agree wholeheartedly with your point about the company using that phrase ("dusty Balanchine repertory") in its publicity material. It's not atypical, unfortunately. And, unfortunately, it's very understandable that people whose only regular exposure to ballet is a company whose direction thinks of classical or neoclassical ballets as "dusty" and who read phrases like that constantly develop the same kind of thinking. (Yes, this is another one of my causes ) Do go to Dracula. Please. Think of the scope for imagination in writing about it

I just posted this on the Links forum, but wanted to post it here, too. There have been so many unfortunate stories lately -- companies in turmoil, or sudden turnover, or running out of money or all three -- that it's nice to have a success story. Ballet Arizona was drowning in debt a year ago, had a tiny subscription base, and Andersen has turned it around. There are some good Danes Ballet Arizona sparkles with 'Autumn Program' .....In little over a year, artistic director Ib Andersen and executive director Sherry New have scoured and polished the once dispirited and drooping Ballet Arizona into a gleaming gem. http://www.azstarnet.com/star/tue/11023BalletAZ.html

Yes, there was a lot of turmoil in San Francisco. And in Boston and Pittsburgh and Alberta and lots of other places. The SFB example was the reverse of what's been happening in the decade since (there was a long, very interesting piece in Atlantic Monthly about it years ago). There, the board did get rid of the artistic director and deliberately went out and found another director. Their motivation wasn't just to sell tickets or stir things up, though. They wanted to build a first-rate classical ballet company, and there were at least some people on that board who knew what that meant. But the larger point is, these smaller, younger companies do not have the same histories or traditions -- or role in their countries' art establishment -- as do the handful of companies in ballet's Ivy League -- the Great Classical Institutions. (LMCTech, if you disagree, fine, please express it, but please do so without accusations or characterizations of other posts or posters.) In looking at the GCI's (great classical institutions) the departure of a dancer may have an effect on repertory, the introduction of a ballet or ballets may have an effect. These are matters that go far beyond someone's favorite dancer or favorite ballet and must be looked at in historical context. Until recently, there was such an emphasis on choreographers that what was going on backstage, the balletmastering, got overlooked, but it needs to be looked at (I write as someone who, as most of you know, studied the history and politics of one of these companies very closely for the past ten years.) No artistic director can be fairly judged until a few years after he's retired, but there's nothing untoward about questioning early choices of dancers and repertory, either. [ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

I can't offer you news, verdura, but you might want to check past posts for comments on Zhakarova. You can try doing a search (use the "search" link at the top of the board and search this forum). Or make all the posts in this forum active -- use the pull down menu at the top of the forum and select "show all posts." Happy hunting

I agree, but I kept thinking, what is a journalist's responsibility for an interview? I can't blame someone for doing spin control, really. It's usually a journalist's job to get the other side of a story. But often, especially in the arts, things aren't checked, the person is given a "let him tell his story" type of interview. This wouldn't happen in business, or politics, or sports, but in the arts, different rules apply. I'm very glad the opening went well, but if we're looking at the Royal Ballet's tradition, what is that company doing dancing Don Q? (I know it's been in repertory for several years.) That's a Festival Ballet (ENB) ballet. (This is a rhetorical question )