Alexandra

That question was asked when the videos were released, and the answer was that someone (I honestly don't remember who) was not satisfied with the performance and did not want it released. Considering how quickly a video performance becomes The Work, I'd count that as a good decision.

YES, POST THE EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the Lilac Fairy might mime, "Think!!!" She's giving you the Royal Ballet tempo! She'll slow down. Give her a chance to settle in to the slower pace of the Big Apple

Thanks, Juliet! I think they need more than a shot in the arm (bone marrow transplant's more like it) but it will make the few remaining Danish dancers happy to have someone on the artistic staff who speaks Danish. (That's another aspect of internationalization that is seldom considered. The Royal Danish Ballet will probably be more than half-Danish this year. It's been about 45% non-Danish for the past few years. This means that the Danish dancers have to spend their entire working lives in a language not their own. (Few of the imports learn Danish; classes and rehearsals are conducted in English.)

I'd echo Ed's post. It's one of the most harmful and potentially lethal aspects of the Net: that any idiot can post anything, true or false, and there it is. If an artistic director fires you, if your partner drops you, if you didn't get the role you wanted, you could, in theory, put up a web site (or, more craftily, have a civilian buddy do it for you) dedicated exclusively to attacking the Villain. For lesser offenses, head to a web site and post "La Sublimova sold her children to support her drug habit and has ball bearings in her toe shoes." Or whatever. Someone who's a bit more sophisticated can do the most harm by being less obvious: posting something that seems reasonable -- perhaps sadly lamenting the fact of X, Y or Z -- but is pure venom. To be fair, though, the same thing is happening in the print world. Once upon a time, editors could catch this kind of thing. "Hmm. Isn't Makarova generally considered one of the great ballerinas of our day? Then why would you write that she'd obtained her present prominence by...." fill in the horror/lie. Today, the editor of a general interest publication or newspaper may not have heard of Makarova, or Whoeverova. (The converse is true, as well. I could probably get someone to write that *I* was the great ballerina of the day and no one would question it -- before it was printed, of course ) We've only had one episode of this, thank goodness -- the infamous Nasty Poster, who obviously had a Huge Ax against three or four individual dancers and chose to grind and chose to grind it here, but luckily I found the posts within an hour of posting (late on a Saturday night) and got them down before many people saw them. There's no way to prevent something like that, of course; one can just react.

Good news from Copenhagen. This will matter to only a handful of people, but I don't care. It's one of the few good things I've heard from the RDB for quite awhile. Arne Villumsen will return to the Royal Theatre to coach a few ballets, at least "Onegin" and "Sleeping Beauty." He stepped into some rehearsals a few years ago and the general take among dancers was that those rehearsals had "the best atmosphere" or were "the closest" to when Kronstam was there, so to have him back, in any capacity, is good news, I think. He was a great dancer, one of the most musical men I've ever seen, and has a fine eye for detail as a coach. In the Danes Abroad division -- for those with an interest in what's happening with Bournonville, or his bleaching bones -- Nikolaj Hubbe will stage Napoli pas de six and tarantella for Ballet Arizona in the fall. (This falls into the Good News! category for me as well.)

James, if you find one, please let me know You might be able to find that solo, though, in another way. In the late 1970s there was a Christmas broadcast of Sleeping Beauty with David Wall, and I think it was the same solos. Since this was televised, someone might have it. Good luck!

As was posted when I first hid the emails, this is done largely for the protection of our Under 18s; unless we went through and did them by hand, which would take more days than I can donate, it's an all or nothing proposition. Anyone over 18 who wishes to post an email address and ask someone to email them is welcome to do so unless they are A) selling them something or B) are attempting to make contact with a child.

I wondered that too, but then thought that the men who write/shoot/schedule them don't think of them as "dumb" but are still in the "real men spit, scratch their armpits in public and hate ballet" mode. There's another commercial, slightly related, that shows a bunch of men running after a sattelite disk truck like kids after the ice cream truck (the parallel is made literally). When they catch up to him, one guy says, "Do you have figure skating?" The others look at him in horror and he says, "Er, football?" There's another satellite dish commercial that shows the salesman talking to a couple, and falling into the stereotype -- sports for Him, women's stuff for Her. But hey, she's an interesting woman. "What about football?" she says. He looks interested. "Got that." What about racing? she asks. "Horse racing?" he assumes. "Stockcar," she says. Wow! What a gal! Ed, the "if he likes opera he's gotta be gay" stereotype is out there too. And the guy can't wear a button saying, "Yeah, I like opera but I'm straight" because he'd have to wear a sub-button that says "Please do not take the above comment as a knock on gays." General point being, that we're still a society that functions with the use of stereotypes, but the stereotypes are different -- and just as harmful, I'd say.

Manhattnik, I will be laughing happily at the Sousa "Swan Lake" for months! Thank you

[Note: This post is meant in general terms and does not relate to any current or recent post.] On a newsgroup or unmoderated message board, Anything Really Goes, and someone can land from a far galaxy and post anything they want. "Did you know Maestro will only cast his mistresses in principal roles? Gee, too bad La Sublimova has Parkinsons Disease. Guess that's why her pirouettes were a bit shaky last night." Every moderated message board has its own rules, and all of us, I think, are torn between letting the internet be a bastion of free speech and having a back-of-the-board view of who actually is reading this stuff and the damage it could cause. Because Ballet Alert! is the offshoot of a magazine, I try to use, as much as possible, rules that would work for a print publication. What do you think should be off limits? If Everybody really truly knows that La Sublimova is really La Drekova, but is blackmailing Maestro because of his cocaine habit, and there's a thread where 25 people have said, "I just don't understand why everyone loves La Sublimova. My daughter, who won gold medals in 77 international competitions, is about to quit ballet and become an international property lawyer because she doesn't want to be in the same art form as someone so putrid who continues to get leading roles," is it ok to hint that there's something going on here that can't be spoken about publicly and for goodness sakes, tell her daughter to hang in there? [Disclaimer: All of the characters in this post are fictional and any relationship to any persons, living or dead, is in the imagination of the reader.] If a dancer is dancing on a sprained ankle/torn ligament -- in absolute agony, plucky little thing -- and is terrified for the driection to know it because it's her first season of getting solo parts, but she's getting panned, run over by a truck, in the reviews and your boyfriend knows her roommate, do you defend her? If.... but you get the point. What are your thoughts? As a sidebar, a few of the people on this board are dancers, teachers, administrative employees, writers, or have some other connection with companies. What rules should apply to them? What fears do/should they have about posting?

Summer is the perfect time for opening can o' worms, so this is the first of two. We've often grumbled about the way ballet (and opera, serious drama and music) are portrayed in popular culture, especially TV commercials -- taking a Tylenol to get a man through the ballet, etc. In the past few months, I've noticed several very anti-art commercials, some of them with a twist: not only is the man too macho to be able to stand fine art, but too stupid to appreciate it. I find this extremely offensive. Examples: 1. Man at ballet sleeping; woman sitting next to him, in rapt attention, as what looks like "Le Sacre de Printemps" with the people dressed as Pueblo Indians is danced in front of Stonehenge. 2. (This one is actually quite funny) The punch line is "somehow, the imitation is never quite the same as the original" as a corps of slobs trucks through what's billed as Hudson Riverdance. The focus is on a couple in the audience. The man, spitting popcorn as he speaks and obviously merely between beers, loves it, claps and yells, "I smell a Tony!!!!" His date/wife/guardian sitting next to him has a look of utter disgust. In a related matter, anecdote. I took a cab downtown today and the driver had on one of the local classical music stations. During the ride, I thanked him for it. He looked rather smugly satisfied and said, "I knew you'd like it." (Panic: do I know this man?) Why? "You're white." Do you mean you changed stations when you stopped to pick me up? "Sure." Would you have played this station if I were a white man? "NO!" (subtext, "Fool. Think I'd blow a dollar tip?") I should add I was dressed in blue jeans and a shirt, carrying a backpack, so I don't think I looked like I was about to go commune with Bach anywhere. The driver vigorously denied that he was stereotyping people. The very idea!!! He was right. I was a white female. I liked classical music. He rested his case. Anyone want to start a "Men Can Too Like the Arts And Are NOT Dumb?" Special Interest Group?

Of the ones I've seen live, Van Hamel. This is not to say I didn't also love Asylmuratova, but I only saw her once. Of the ones I've seen on tape, Fonteyn. She's the only ballerina I've ever seen who was not using every muscle in her body to a) act like a swan in Act II and B) look as different from Odette as possible in Act III (while still being, internally, totally different.)

I hope all you New Yorkers have picked up on the fact that scheduling "A Midsummer Night's Dream" this week may not be a coincidence. It IS Midsummer Night this weekend. Glad Sankt Hans Aften. Perhaps speeding batons are part of the Misdummer Madness/Magic.

I don't need Heaven to understand Lopatkina

In the mime scene that's always cut, I believe part of it explains that the Swans are her friends (her court, her ladies in waiting?) who her mother put under the spell with her so she'd have someone to play with. IF Odette finds a Prince "pure of heart" who loves her so much he will die for her, not only will she be free of the curse and returned to human form, but so will her swans. There was at least one version (a Soviet one; filmed in condensed form on "Stars of the Russian Ballet" with Ulanova as Odette and Plisetskaya as Odile. Well, you had to be there) where, after Prince Siegfried vanquishes Rothbart in hand to hand combat, the curse IS lifted, and Odette and her ladies end the ballet in human form. But leibling's idea could be one of the harmless revisions -- it parallels the serf ballerinas, real life "swans" who had to till the fields by day and dance for the nobles at night.

One of the main tensions in ballet has been between classicism and expressionism. The classicist will want the hero to Just Be. The expressionist will want him to be a secret drinker, or have seven mistresses, or be afraid he's not ready to rule. Who is Siegfried? First off, who is he supposed to be, and then who do you prefer to watch, if they're different.

Putting it here is fine, but thanks for asking. The original idea of this site was to be able to discuss anything, but within the context that there were differences. This has usually been difficult to do, but in this instance, it may be possible. I'm not in that position, but I can see the dilemma. You might be the perfect "third stream" person. (This is the most attractive term I've ever read for contemporary dance.) [ 06-29-2001: Message edited by: alexandra ]

The neat thing about modern dance -- at least in theory -- is that, since it continually reinvents itself, if modern dancers really care about these issues, they can deal with it. All it takes is one Isadora searching for her solar plexus, and we're back in business (For me, the most disturbing thing about the modern dance evolution is that the whole point of it was to be expressive, and we've lost that. Nanatchka and others would disagree, of course.) I definitely think a similar thing has happened in ballet technique. A generation ago, people could look at a dancer and tell where he had been trained. I don't think you can tell that now -- I'm not sure even a teacher could tell that, certainly not in all cases. It's interesting to go back and reread the reviews of ABT in the classics. In the 1960s, it's "Yay! Our team can do Swan Lake!!!!" The thought was that refinements would come later. In the 1970s, it's, "ABT needs serious help in coaching classical style." (Croce et al.) In the 1980s, more of the same. In the 1990s -- the stylistic mush has become accepted by most, I think, and the emphasis is all on technique -- understandable, because ABT has such wonderful dancers. All of this is compounded by the fact that Americans seem congenitally driven to watch dancers' legs at the expense of everything else, so "upper body dancers" never had a real chance here. What can we do as audience members? Good question. Be aware. Know what you're watching. Give feedback to companies. Don't fall into the "they really can't do the classics well and look so much better in the contemporary stuff" trap. When the nice telemarketer calls to renew your subscription and says, "And there's the all new program!!!!!" try to let them know that the word "new" doesn't necessarily sell it. "But is it good?" [Again, to avoid a misunderstanding, we have to have new works. We all pray for new works. But "new" and "good" aren't synonyms.] I don't know what else to do except play the boy in "The Emperor's New Clothes." If someone says it's wonderful that we have three modern dance choreographers coming in to do works for us, ask why is it wonderful? Why don't they work in modern dance and revitalize that genre before it gets mushed in the blender? Why not do an exciting, vibrant, young proudly contemporary dance company? Any other thoughts? (Sorry for once again writing a book.)

The first question I plan on asking when I get to Heaven is "what on EARTH do they see in Mezentseva?" (Not intended to quibble -- I know there are gazillions of Mezentseva fans, and I certainly respect their opinion, but I'll never understand why.)

Thanks for your kind words. Gossip is undeniably fun, and some rumors actually turn out to be true, but we try to put up yellow light signs because it is so easy to be spontaneous on the internet, and one innocent "so and so left" post can lead to fascinating speculation on the state of mind and body of all concerned

I've seen Ashton's "The Dream" several times and loved it, even in less than perfect performances. It was broadcast on British television (with Merle Park and Anthony Dowell). I didn't like the Balanchine version at all at first (I saw it before the Ashton) and had to be dragged to see the Ashton -- also with the Joffrey; Burton Taylor/Denise Jackson. I'd be very happy for ABT to add both "Dream" and "Fille" to its repertory because Ashton is done so infrequently in New York. They're welcome to revive "Birthday Offering" and "Symphonic Variations" and "Les Rendezvous" too.

Thanks, sneds! Kipling Houston is still doing Bottom? Amazing!

Off the top of my head, I believe the Mendlssohn score for "The Dream" is incidental music originally written for the play. (Shakespeare's plays had both music and dancing in them in olden times.) The Ashton "Dream" is one act and uses only the Midsummer music. Balanchine tacks on a symphony to make it two acts (loved Clive Barnes comment in today's review on Links). The Ashton was originally done for a Royal Ballet program celebrating Shakespeare's 400th birthday. It was a surprise hit. According to David Vaughan, all the attention had been given to a new Kenneth MacMillan ballet, "Images of Love." (Helpmann's "Hamlet" completed the bill." Nancy Reynolds noted in "Repertory in Review" that Balanchine had appeared in a Russian production of "Midsummer" (the play) as -- if I'm not misremembering -- a bug and had not only a long acquaintance with, but affection for, it.

[From ABT's web site; their url is at bottom of post] NEW YORK, NY — American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie today announced the Company’s 2001 City Center Season, October 23-November 4, 2001. Among the season highlights are a World Premiere by Stanton Welch, a new production of Antony Tudor’s romantic classic Dim Lustre and the ABT premieres of George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, ABT Ballet Master Kirk Peterson’s Amazed in Burning Dreams and ABT Principal Dancer Robert Hill’s Marimba. The Company will also perform two works from this year’s Metropolitan Opera House season: Paul Taylor’s Black Tuesday and Mark Morris’ Gong. Rounding out the season will be the return of three perennial favorites: choreographer Natalie Weir’s Jabula, Clark Tippet’s 1987 masterpiece, Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 and Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo. The City Center season opens October 23 with the Opening Night Gala Performance. The highlight of the Gala will be the Company Premiere of Balanchine’s Symphony in C. Additional programming and casting for this event will be announced later. American Ballet Theatre’s City Center Season is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. For the past 15 years, Movado Watch Company has been a principal benefactor of American Ballet Theatre. Major funding has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Tickets go on sale June 25. Tickets range in price from $30-70. To order tickets by phone call CityTix at (212) 581-1212 or on line at www.abt.org. For Group Sales, with discounts of 15 to 20 percent for groups of 15 or more, call Susan Levy at (718) 499-9691. To order Gala tickets please call ABT’s Special Events Office (212) 477-3030 ext. 3239. Gala tickets range in price from $30-$100. World Premiere Highlighting ABT’s 2001 season at City Center will be the World Premiere of a new ballet by Stanton Welch. At age 32, choreographer Welch has been hailed for the imaginative range of his ballets — from full-length drama to inventive abstract works. For his first ABT commission, Welch is using violin concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. New Production Also in ABT’s 2001 City Center season is a new production of Antony Tudor’s 1943 classic, Dim Lustre, featuring new sets and costumes by Zack Brown. Set to Richard Strauss’s Burleske in D for Piano and Orchestra, Dim Lustre is a moody and evocative meditation of memory and desire. It received its World Premiere by ABT on October 20, 1943 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Other Highlights One of the highlights of ABT’s 2001 Met Season was Black Tuesday, a new work by Paul Taylor, staged by Susan McGuire. Black Tuesday is a ballet for 14 dancers set to music from the Great Depression. Black Tuesday features sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting design by Jennifer Tipton. It is set to eight songs, including "Underneath the Arches" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" A co-production with the Kennedy Center and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Black Tuesday had its World Premiere at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2001 and its New York Premiere on April 30, 2001, at American Ballet Theatre’s Opening Night Gala at the Metropolitan Opera House. Another highlight of ABT’s Met Season was the World Premiere of Mark Morris’ Gong set to the Balinese-inspired Tabuh-Tabuhan, by Canadian composer Colin McPhee. Gong features costumes by Isaac Mizrahi and lighting by Michael Chybowski. Morris’ ballet for 10 women and five men had it’s World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on Tuesday, May 1, 2001. Company Premieres A highlight of ABT’s 2001 City Center season will be the Company Premiere of George Balanchine’s masterful Symphony in C. Set to Georges Bizet’s music, Symphony in C. The season also features two Company Premieres by members of the ABT Company, including Robert Hill’s Marimba, set to music by Minoru Miki. One of ABT’s Principal Dancers, Hill first choreographed this fast-moving ensemble work for the ABT Studio Company. With its youthful effervescence, exotic rhythms and unique blend of classical and contemporary movement Marimba was an immediate success and now becomes the second work by Hill to join ABT’s repertoire. In addition to Marimba, ABT’s 2001 City Center season includes the Company Premiere of Kirk Peterson’s Amazed in Burning Dreams, set to music by Philip Glass. Costumes for Amazed in Burning Dreams were designed by Peterson and Larae Hasca. Peterson is currently Ballet Master with ABT. He has had an illustrious international career as a dancer, artistic director, teacher and choreographer. Returning Favorites Rounding out the season will be three returning favorites including one of the hits of last year’s City Center season, choreographer Natalie Weir’s Jabula. A thrilling, kinetic celebration of tribal ritual, Jabula is energized by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer’s music from the original score to the film The Power of One. It features costumes conceptualized by Weir and lighting by Brad Fields, after original Lighting by David Whitworth. Jabula received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at City Center on October 28, 2000. In addition, the season features the return of Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto No.1. Created for ABT in 1987, Tippet’s inventive neo-classical work combines subtle dramatic subtexts, complex patterns and athletically spectacular duets. A ballet for eight leading dancers and a corps of 16, the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 received its World Premiere at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California on December 1, 1987. It was Tippet’s second ballet for ABT, after 1987’s Enough Said. The season also includes a Company favorite, Agnes de Milles classic Rodeo. Created almost 60 years ago, de Mille’s humorous, heart-warming dance-drama about a shy cowgirl in the pioneer West is vintage Americana. Thanks to the combination of de Mille’s evocative choreography, Aaron Copland’s rousing music and Oliver Smith’s colorful set, Rodeo has become a beloved part of ABT repertoire. Classical Pas de Deux In addition, ABT will preform a selection of classical pas de deux designed to showcase its international roster of stars. Selections and casting will be announced at a later date. Saturday Morning Just for Kids ABT will offer two Saturday morning programs for young people — ABTkids on Saturday, October 12 and Saturday, November 3 at 11:30 a.m.. Priced at $12 for children and $18 for adults, this hour-long performance consists of excerpts from ABT’s vast repertoire. Special preperformance workshops are available for patrons who purchase tickets to ABTkids. For more information, call the Education Office at (212) 477-3030, ext. 3012. ABTkids is sponsored in part by The Heidtke Foundation, The William H. Kearns Foundation and the Metropolitan Life Foundation. ABTalks ABT will offer informative pre-show lectures led by dance writer Elizabeth Kaye and ABT Assistant Artistic Director David Richardson on selected evenings. ABTalks focuses on the fascinating stories behind the works. These fascinating talks are free to all ticket holders. ABTalks will take place one hour before curtain on October 24, 25, 30, 30 and November 1. For more information about ABT’s 2001 City Center season, please call (212) 477-3030 or visit our website at www.abt.org.