Alexandra

Sorry, Sonja. This had come up before, so I didn't want to go on about it. It's the same version, same sets and costumes, but it was the way it was directed in the first years that the company had it -- and that the people working on it this time have a very good shot at recreating. The Danes were justly famous, for decades, for being great dance actors, for one thing, and this ballet suited them perfectly. Also, they had a director/rehearsal master who was especially sensitive to drama and music, and directed a production rather like a conductor conducts an orchestra -- tightening the drama through the music. I like "Onegin" more than many of my colleagues, but there are some parts that can seem a bit overdone, one being the "water pump" pas de trois, in the duel scene, where the women throw themselves at Lensky. In Copenhagen, this was done so fast and with such urgency that it worked. Two dramatic details I've mentioned before. Lis Jeppesen made it clear, through her body, the exact moment when she went to sleep in the dream pas de deux. In that same pas de deux in another cast, Arne Villumsen began as the aloof figure he'd been in "real life," and then, as the pas de deux progressed, made it very clear that he was her dream, a projection of Tatania's imagination. There were many details like this, big and small. When "Onegin" came on again, after this director left, it wasn't as good. It was dropped (not for that reason) and this is the first revival. Depending on the cast (always a matter of personal taste, of course) this might actually be worth a trip to Copenhagen next season, and I haven't felt that way for quite awhile. (The RDB did Neumeier's "Romeo and Juliet" for more than 25 years, and their staging was so distinctive that Neumeier told some of his staff that he wanted them to study the Copenhagen production so that Hamburg would dance it that way. This is a story I've heard from at least a half-dozen dancers directly involved. So the stager can make a huge difference, for good or ill.) [ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

I think I'm learning something wonderful about the Washington audience -- they turn off their cell phones! This is a very rare occurrence here -- but the Kennedy Center has ushers who are extremely diligent. Let a flash camera go off, and a dozen little red coated people scurry down the aisle. Snitches sitting in the area around the Offender point fingers, they cluster at that aisle and GLARE at the Offender until it is absolutely clear that the next time s/he'll be dragged out of the house. (Of course, the clustered ushers block one's view, but that's another story.)

Dave, your self-preservation concerns are quite valid In answer to the "how do they know this stuff?" Check under the stairs in the prop room; there are people who live backstage, I think, wired, with boom mikes Seriously, the problem of professionals on the internet is a very knotty one. I've been almost frightened by some of the things that the few dancers we have here occasionally post -- don't you know your boss will read that? So some post anonymously and only a few people guess who they are. Then what to do if you're dancer/administrative employee of Company X and someone posts: "I hate company X. They're awful. And besides, they're racist and mean to women." Do you defend them? If so, do you "come out"? Dancers are the one group left out of the internet. While it's been a terrific outlet for other voiceless groups -- fans who never get to write reviews and finally have a chance to ask the famous "Where were you sitting????" question -- dancers/choreographers can't. They can't refute gossip. They can't say, "Actually, I'm a very good dancer most days but my bum knee was acting up last night and my regular partner had the mumps and because of the power failure, we had no rehearsal time." They can't even say, "I did NOT steal half of those steps from Maestro II and I do too like women." So the internet is an imperfect tool. But it's fun anyway

Thank you, Roma, but I didn't mean my post as a chiding. I was just trying to head off six well-meaning people each with a different rumor

Manhattnik, DanceView (then Washington DanceView) published a piece by George Jackson that suggests (but doesn't try to prove) that Petipa had more to do with "Swan Lake" than he's credited with. One of his fields is Viennese ballet history, and he began to question Ivanov's authorship based partly on posters and other material he found in Vienna, as I remember it. This article has gotten into a lot of Swan Lake press kits over the years, and we reprinted it a few years ago (but I haven't put it up in the Archives yet). Another source was material in Petipa's diaries (published in German but not, as far as I know, in English), and yet another, I write without checking, is the fact that Ivanov was not in St. Petersburg during at least some of the rehearsals. Two other points I remember were that if you look at Act II as it WAS, before it became a ballet blanc and had huntsmen and mime, it looks very much like a Petipa ballet. Those who've only seen the ballet blanc version, especially as it's become swannier and swannier, see the contrast between that and Acts I and III and assume they're by different hands -- but the same contrast is in Bayadere. Act IV comes from Outer Space, after the parrot dance and the Red Indians Tom Tom Extravaganza. Also, the question of "what exactly did the assistant do" is always knotty. There are assistants who think they do all the work (and may put in the bulk of the time), and there are chiefs who take all of the credit. I don't know what it is in this case. It is feasible that if Petipa weren't in rehearsals because of illness, he gave Ivanov specific instructions -- he was noted for blocking out everything before he came into the rehearsal room. I revere Beaumont, but a lot of his work has been superseded simply because he didn't have access to all of the papers that later historians, like Wiley, had (and I can't remember if Wiley addressed this, although I think Jackson's article points out that Wiley omitted some of the information that was available.) I think other people besides Jackson have raised the question that Ivanov's place in Russian ballet history became somewhat exaggerated during the Soviet era. That theory is that Petipa was French, a foreigner, and it was an embarrassment to have a Western imperialist/capitalist whatsit be the main choreographer. Another side to this might be that some clever Maryinskians (soon to be Kirovians) thought they might have a better case for keeping the Petipa repertory if there were a Russian angle. Personally, I've always been bothered by the question that, if Ivanov really did write those beautiful second and fourth acts, why don't we have more of him? There's nothing in "Nutcracker" (as seen in the recent British revival, with Wilely and Stepanov notation help) that matches it. But Petipa did produce "Shades." My guess is the jury is still out on this one. Others may well have more information.

In the hopes of saving Kevin from trying to figure out a way to answer this, I'll ask that he not. I'm sure a lot of people are wondering what happened to Makhalina, or other dancers -- it's a good question -- but I'm afraid I have to step in again and say any answer would fall into the Gossip bin. The answer will depend on who one asks, and there's no guarantee that it will be accurate. Unfortunately, while rehearsal schedules and cast lists are posted openly backstage in most theaters, Currently Out of Favor with the Directorship Lists are not, and there's no Injured Reserve list in ballet, as there is in sports. [ 07-02-2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

There are a lot of ballet heroes and heroines who are the products of one-parent homes. (Or even orphans.)

I know part of what one likes has a lot to do with what one has grown up with, so I don't mean to be offensive to Jester Fans when I write that I think he was originally put in for the Groundlings -- something a little zippy for those who found the first act boring. I think he changes the focus of the first act considerably and, of course, vote for Benno (in his original, noble, non pas de trois dancing form.)

Ralph, I don't think anyone said that Plisetskaya COULDN'T do them. It is that she DID NOT do them.

I don't think there's an official Trust yet, although there may be one in the works. I believe Ashton's heir controls the repertory, in the sense of who is allowed to perform it and who stages it. James, I'm very glad to learn of your interest in Ashton. I hope you're not the only one of your generation! There are some of the "lost" ones I'd love to see, including his war ballets ("The Wanderer," "The Quest") and even some of the earlier ones ("Horoscope," which I think really is lost; they left the costumes behind when they had to flee Holland when the war broke out, and "The Lord of Burleigh," "Nocturne" and "Apparitions.") I also hope to see his "Romeo and Juliet" staged again. It was a bomb when it was last put on in Copenhagen, according to dancers because it was not well-staged and directed. And could we have "Sylvia" again? I admired all of the bits Ashton added to "Swan Lake," especially the waltz, a classical pas de douze, that was quite complex and required a high standard for "top corps" or corpyphee dancers (one of the reasons, I'd guess, that he choreographed it). He choreographed several bits of "Sleeping Beauty" was well that would be nice to get back (garland waltz, a few solos). "Symphonic Variations, " "Monotones," "Daphnis and Chloe," "Fille," "Rhapsody," "Marguerite and Armand" (which isn't a story ballet with gaps in it, but a slide show of potent memories of a dying woman), "Fille," "Les Rendezvous," "Birthday Offering," "Ondine," "Month in the Country," "La Valse" -- well, that would be for a first season of the Ashton Ballet Company, at least I recently had the opportunity to see a film of the first cast of "La Fille mal gardee" and it's Exhibit A in the "They don't dance it like they used to." Ashton is so often done daintily, he's not dainty. The corps in Fille danced BIG -- lots of backbends and arm swoops done extremely fast. (I was told by two Danish Juliets, used to the speed of Bournonville, that Ashton's lovely, lyrical Romeo and Juliet was the fastest choreography they'd ever faced.) So I'd love to see his ballets "danced in Ashton" and not globalglot. I hope you'll keep us posted on your Ashton journey

I don't think there's an official Trust yet, although there may be one in the works. I believe Ashton's heir controls the repertory, in the sense of who is allowed to perform it and who stages it. James, I'm very glad to learn of your interest in Ashton. I hope you're not the only one of your generation! There are some of the "lost" ones I'd love to see, including his war ballets ("The Wanderer," "The Quest") and even some of the earlier ones ("Horoscope," which I think really is lost; they left the costumes behind when they had to flee Holland when the war broke out, and "The Lord of Burleigh," "Nocturne" and "Apparitions.") I also hope to see his "Romeo and Juliet" staged again. It was a bomb when it was last put on in Copenhagen, according to dancers because it was not well-staged and directed. And could we have "Sylvia" again? I admired all of the bits Ashton added to "Swan Lake," especially the waltz, a classical pas de douze, that was quite complex and required a high standard for "top corps" or corpyphee dancers (one of the reasons, I'd guess, that he choreographed it). He choreographed several bits of "Sleeping Beauty" was well that would be nice to get back (garland waltz, a few solos). "Symphonic Variations, " "Monotones," "Daphnis and Chloe," "Fille," "Rhapsody," "Marguerite and Armand" (which isn't a story ballet with gaps in it, but a slide show of potent memories of a dying woman), "Fille," "Les Rendezvous," "Birthday Offering," "Ondine," "Month in the Country," "La Valse" -- well, that would be for a first season of the Ashton Ballet Company, at least I recently had the opportunity to see a film of the first cast of "La Fille mal gardee" and it's Exhibit A in the "They don't dance it like they used to." Ashton is so often done daintily, he's not dainty. The corps in Fille danced BIG -- lots of backbends and arm swoops done extremely fast. (I was told by two Danish Juliets, used to the speed of Bournonville, that Ashton's lovely, lyrical Romeo and Juliet was the fastest choreography they'd ever faced.) So I'd love to see his ballets "danced in Ashton" and not globalglot. I hope you'll keep us posted on your Ashton journey

James, I'm almost certain the Act III variation was never videoed.

Thank you for posting that, bijoux. Your post holds the only possible solution to this -- being oneself, and to hell with stereotypes, which is obviously easier said than done. I did an interview a few years ago with a black dancer here who runs a summer program for inner city kids, and he said he consistently ran into two attitudes: whites who (still) thought blacks shouldn't be dancing ballet because they couldn't, and blacks who thought blacks shouldn't be dancing ballet because they shouldn't--because it wasn't a "black" art; they should be tapping. I frankly don't know how one could deal with that -- yes, doing what you want to do no matter what people saisd, but it must take an extraordinary amount of courage. We had a thread on racism (in general) in ballet last year and I think almost everyone here was aware of the problems, at least in theory, but at a loss to know what to do about them. Media images of people of color performing and enjoying the fine arts would obviously help.

I think the other swans have the same Curse Curfew Rules as Odette. Nearly every "Swan Lake" I have seen, however, implies that they're all swans because, as you point out, otherwise why would Siegfried have to be told not to shoot them? A little dry ice (originally, steam? Doug or Mel?) might help here. I think Siegfried is supposed to have his bow cocked to shoot and the Swans were hidden in the mists? Or he it is part of the confusion and magic of the moment. He expects to see swans, and readies for them. It's when Odette comes out and says, "No, these are my friends" that he puts down the bow. (I believe then the huntsmen came on, bows also cocked, and Siegfried has to stop them from shooting.) I have faith that this all once made perfect sense through the way it was performed, when everyone knew what he or she was doing. That tradition having been lost, perhaps what's going on now is partly that the dancers are trying to make sense of the action on their own without guidance (or having been told the story properly) and/or the stager has a different idea. There's a school of thought that says that the second act has become swannier through the years, first after "The Dying Swan", then after various performers added flappier and flappier arms. Poll the audience, I'll bet most of them think they're all swans, not women. Bright 12-year-old

Wait! Which solo are we talking about? I assumed (perhaps rashly) that James was referring to an interpolated "modern" solo in Act II. Ashton did choreograph a male solo for Act III for Michael Somes. (Very classical, very simple, very beautiful; it was also in the Danish production). I wasn't aware that Dowell danced this Act III solo, nor that it had been filmed. (Learn that one too, James, if you can find it. )

This thread has been a smouldering volcano for several days, and I'm beginning to smell burning lava. Hence..... Should anyone wish to discuss Picone's DANCING without speculating on his current, past or future employment, please start another thread.

Not quite a Cunningham Event, as he -- I hate to say "strung together -- excerpts from past dances (and, as you pointed out, the recombination was the very point) and, as far as I know, kept the same costumes. And not for any lack of creativity, of course.

A good number of people who didn't live on farms had to have the facts of life explained to them after their marriage, Mel!!! (My favorite honeymoon story, from my aunt, born 1902, was a friend who came back and said, "Well, it's sticky." Yes? "You take off your clothes and he throws biscuits and jelly at you." This was not a woman of royal blood.) Back to the task at hand I'm with Jane. I hate the term "Cardboard Prince." I think modern Siegfrieds spent so much time and effort trying to make a flesh and blood character out of Siegfried the wrong way -- adding a glower here and a wink there. A really great Siegfried just Is. Dowell was no piece of Cardboard. I didn't know a thing about him -- his past, his thoughts about his mother, his thoughts on comparative brands of crossbows, what he got on his last algebra paper. "But I love not," he mimed when his mother springs the betrothal ball on him. Not gay, not an air head, not a congenital idiot -- a Prince who awaits his destiny. I once asked a Danish James why James was special -- Effy loves him, the Sylph loves him, even the witch loves him. "He is the hero," I was told. "You cannot ask why he is special." I thought of that for a long time before I understood it, but I think that's the key to the Princes. They're heroes. They don't have biographical details. They have destinies.

I think the great Siegfrieds were great because they made you think it was the first time they did the ballet.

I'm always torn on this question. (Plisetskaya, of course, didn't cut them because she couldn't do them. She did them, beautifully, elsewhere.) I once would have argued that you should keep them for the reason Legnani put them in -- it kept away pretenders (those who wanted the Ballerina's Crown without having the technique necessary to wear it). But nowadays, when probably everyone in the corps can do the 32 fouettes, but perhaps not much of the rest of the role, I'd say, chuck it if necessary. As always, if I have a balletmaster I trust, I'd trust him/her to make the right decision. When it's "The third caller to guess the right number of jellybeans in the jar gets to dance Odette Tuesday!" casting, that's a different story.

Ann, I haven't seen that video, so I don't know. Thanks for the info -- I don't think we discussed it here. Does anyone else remember? (It may be by MacMillan. I believe he did a third act solo as well, as there's one in the ABT production.)

My prediction for the Next New Thing is for the Blenders to take some of their old work, set it to new music, put it in different colored unitards, maybe add a funny hat or two -- new! new! -- and retitle it. I'll bet you few would notice. Only slightly more seriously, there is a huge amount of stageable repertory that's slipping away -- Fokine, Massine, Nijinska (she didn't just do two ballets), not to mention Tudor, Robbins and Ashton. I doubt a serious theater company would do ONLY Shakespeare and New Last Tuesday.

Nadezhda, I'd say, if you don't know much about 20th century dance, why not pick something that interests you? If it's a year-long project, try to find something you're sure you can live with So either the one thing you're most curious about, or the thing you know the least about, but feel you should know more. Vague, I know, but hope it helps.

Interesting comments, all. Keep 'em coming. Stan, your example is a very good one. I'd feel uncomfortable if that were posted, unless it were confirmed, especially if it provoked the kind of discussion that we'd all probably love to have in the privacy of our living room -- He fired HER? WHAT was he thinking? felursus, isn't this "They weren't fired, we just didn't renew the contract" the new way of firing people? A close cousin to, "Gosh, we'd love to have you next year, but we're just not doing your repertory!" Or the sneakier, yet popular, "Great news! You can teach for three months next year -- October, February and May. Oh, not enough income for you to maintain an apartment in New York so you'd have to leave? Who'da thunk it. We're so sorry to see you go." All of these are, to me, firings. There is a distinction, I'll grant you, between calling someone in in March and saying, "Because you haven't been to rehearsals in a month and have violated eight other terms of your contract, as proven by the administrative hearing required by union rules, we regret we will have to terminate your contract" and "We're not going to renew your contract next year." But in reality, the latter is, I would argue, a firing. Another cousin of these is the, "Since you've totally blown it, we want to get rid of you, but that would make us look like total fools, so we're going to give you three years severance pay and allow you to resign." I think what frustrates internet posters -- as it has always frustrated journalists -- is that, to take the last instance -- the "did she jump or was she pushed?" question -- often people know the behind-the-scenes story but no one will corroborate it. This is when leaks happen. In frustration.

I haven't seen enough to say. From the few pieces I've seen, I'd agree with Leigh. The "contemporary" saves it. I've read interviews where King says how much he admires Balanchine, and to me, it seems as though he's one of those choreographers whose interest in ballet goes back as far as "Agon." Which is a ballet (and a contemporary classical one) but not considering the other aspects of ballet -- the aesthetic -- makes it need the qualifier.