Alexandra

Estelle, that was in Chujoy's Dance Encyclopedia.

And, I believe Jillana's teacher, Emily Hatley, was Diana Adams mother. (BTW, I agree with you on the usefulness of Horst Koegler's dictionary, Estelle. The new version ("The Oxford Dictionary of Dance") is troublesome -- a lot of omissions, lots of complaints of inaccuracies, and, perhaps most important, the lack of Koegler's broad background and knowledge. I've been saving up some book announcements and comments, including one about this one, and hope to get to them this weekend.)

A new book from Dance Books -- and right in the line of one of our continuing discussions! Dance Books is pleased to announce publication of "Preservation Politics", the proceedings of the 1997 University of Surrey Roehampton conference, edited by Stephanie Jordan. TITLE: PRESERVATION POLITICS SUBTITLE: Dance Revived, Reconstructed, Remade ISBN: 1 85273 079 X PRICE: GBP15.00 EDITOR: Stephanie Jordan PUBLISHER: Dance Books Ltd PUBLICATION DATE: May 2001 CATEGORY: Dance SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback 264 pages 238 x 165mm 2 colour cover DESCRIPTION: Proceedings of the Conference at the University of Surrey Roehampton November 8-9, 1997 Strong signals from both the profession and dance scholars prompted Preservation Politics, the first major European conference to examine our relationship to past dances and dance styles. Dance is now clearly wanting more of a past. Reconstruction is increasingly seen as a political manoeuvre, to establish a power base for cultural identity as well as for the art itself. The radical reworking of heritage to make it new is a compelling theme for many of today's choreographers and the reconstruction of lost work has burgeoned into a major enterprise. These Proceedings reflect the breadth of participants in the Roehampton conference: choreographers, scholars, dancers, rehearsal directors, critics, notators, as well as representatives from the other arts, all engaged in one of the most important artistic debates of our times. Contributors include: Matthew Bourne, Ramsay Burt, Kenneth Archer and Millicent Hodson, Ann Hutchinson Guest, Alastair Macaulay, Monica Mason and Nancy Reynolds. Details and ordering facilities can be found at: http://www.dancebooks.co.uk/new.shtml

A press release about the upcoming IBC competition in Jackson, Mississippi: USA INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION ANNOUNCES DATES AND RULE CHANGES FOR 2002 JACKSON, Miss., February 22, 2001 – The USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC) to be held June 15 – 30, 2002, in Jackson, Mississippi, will once again allow non-competing partners to dance in pas de deux performances. Dancers will also have the added option of performing either two solo variations or one pas de deux during Round One performances. "As one of the world’s oldest ballet competitions, the USA IBC is committed to continually improving the quality of the event," said Sue Lobrano, executive director of the USA IBC. "Non-competing partners did not participate in the 1998 competition and, as a result, only 12 of the 85 competing dancers participated as competing couples. We anticipate this rule change will give more dancers with a partner an opportunity to compete." Lobrano also expects this change to offer the competition’s audiences a greater variety of performances to enjoy. "The combination of solo and pas de deux programs will add an extra measure of interest and excitement to Round One in particular," Lobrano said. "Opening night is always energy-packed and a thrilling experience." Whether planning for a solo or pas de deux, dancers preparing to enter the 2002 USA IBC are reminded that the application process requires a performance video demonstrating their abilities be submitted along with a written application and a letter of recommendation. Dancers should include non-competing partner information on their written application. Dancers must also choose to compete in either the Junior or Senior division. "Our Competitor Selection Committee, comprised of well-known dance experts, evaluates hundreds of entries from around the world," said Lobrano. "Reviewing videotaped performances has proven to increase the accuracy of the selection process, and ultimately the caliber of competition performance." Applications for the 2002 competition will be available in Summer 2001. -more- ADD ONE/USA IBC "The USA IBC offers dancers an experience of a lifetime," Lobrano said. "In addition to competing for medals, cash awards and scholarships, many competitors have the chance to launch their career by signing a contract with a well-known dance company. Whether dancers win a medal or not, their exposure during the USA IBC is phenomenal." The USA IBC is designated as the official international ballet competition in the United States by a 1982 Joint Resolution of Congress. Every four years, the two-week "olympic-style" event hosts three rounds of competition in Jackson, Mississippi. For more information, visit the USA IBC’s new Web site at www.usaibc.com or call 601.355.9853. ###

Thank you for that, liebs. I never saw Elliot's "Giselle" but she was a dancer I liked very much. She was part of the generation of soloists that was, in my view, passed over when Baryshnikov took over. OT on Giselle, but Elliot did one of the most beautiful "Theme and Variations" I ever saw, and was one of the last dancers in the Fonteyn mold -- out of fashion after Makarova.

To give you some background, Segreta, Jillana is an American ballerina who danced with New York City Ballet (beginning with Ballet Society, I believe), American Ballet Theatre (briefly) -- and on Broadway. She was part of the generation of City Ballet dancers known for their individuality -- Diana Adams, Tanaquil LeClerq, Melissa Hayden, Patricia Wilde, Allegra Kent. She was in the original cast of "Liebeslieder Walzer" and created the role of Helena in Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and was the first Coquette in the NYCB production of "Night Shadow."

Oh, please keep mumbling and grumbling! I hope you know that I'm very much in favor of respecting tradition and keeping ballets in repertory. I remember, just when the full-length boom was starting, that ABT did a triple bill of "Theme and Variations," "Pillar of Fire," and "Fancy Free" It was my first year or so of seeing ballet -- I was still doing standing room -- and I remember being (pleasantly) shocked by it. And then it slowly sunk in that all three of these ballets had been created for ABT. I'd love to see "Shadow of the Wind" and Tudor's "Romeo and Juliet" again, and even some of the more minor pieces -- DeMille, Lichine. And Fokine and Massine did several pieces for them. We often read and hear that ballet just doesn't have a rich repertory and that's why we have to have so many Made Yesterday 'Noon pieces, but that's not so. There are dozens and dozens of ballets -- good ballets -- that could be done and, I think, if they were done with care, audiences would still respond. ATM, if you'd like to start another thread with a Wish List, do feel free

Just so there is no misunderstanding, I was not advocating updating "Giselle" I meant the thread to be about contemporary interpretations of "Giselle" (I have no objection to Mats Ek's "Giselle" as a different entity, i.e., "Mats Ek's Giselle," but I agree with you, Pamela -- it's not "Giselle.")

Isn't this similar to what happened in New York a few seasons back? Ayupova, who at the time was more of a "draw" here than the younger ballerinas who weren't yet known, was announced, though I don't believe she appeared. And Asylmuratove was said to be too injured to dance, drat, and then suddenly appeared.

Thanks for that, Scottie, and also to Allegro for your additional comments. It's very good to be able to read about these groups and choreographers -- anyone else go?

Are there any performances you've seen where the dancers made "Giselle" seem contemporary? I remember a few where the dancers were quite anachronistic, if one wanted to be a purist, but very vital. Since I'm of the religion that you don't update by changing the ballet, but you keep a ballet alive by the new interpretations that are brought to it within the context of the ballet, I found these very interesting. Patrick Bissell, for instance, as Albrecht in the first act reacted in a very contemporary manner to the embarrassing situation in whichi he found himself at the end. He was one of those dancers whom you could see think, and when Hilarion blew the hunting horn he was dismissive -- "I can get out of this," the practiced philanderer "said". Then Courland comes out of the hut and you can tell he realizes that this isn't going to be quite easy, but you could SEE he came up with something and, again, "I can get out of this." Then he sees Bathilde, and you could see him give up. He couldn't get out of that one. Peter Bo Bendixen, who did Hilarion as well as Albrecht in Denmark, had a moment in the second act that I thought was brilliant -- and then he never did it again, so whether he took it out or was told to take it out, I don't know. He was a very masculine, self-assured Albrecht, a tall man, and the Danish wilis were quite small, so when he was first encircled by them you felt he thought, "Hey, no problem. These are only girls." And then you could see their magic take hold; he became like a man who realizes that what he thought was a shallow puddle is really quicksand. Another Hilarion, with Moscow Festival Ballet (and I don't have my program It was Timofey, but I don't remember the last name) was probably a little too contemporary, but I still liked him. He had real conversations with his fellows, not just empty gesturing, and when he first showed Giselle the sword, she brushed him off. "No, wait. You don't understand," he seemed to say, and showed her the sword again, more forcefully. She started to push him aside and he stopped her, as if to say, "You don't get it. He's a NOBLEMAN. He's LIED TO YOU." There are other dancers who seem to make this, or any other ballet alive, simply by being -- I thought Nureyev did that. I remember reading reviews of his early performances in the West that I didn't understand in the late 1970s but I do now -- that he made ballets that seemed dull and old-fashioned come to life. The 1960s were another period, like the current one, where there were very loud voices saying that ballet was completely old-fashioned and should be replaced with modern dance. So whether you like or hate Nureyev's productions, his mere presence saved several ballets -- their reputations, if not their very existence. There are other dancers -- I think Makarova was one -- who dance so beautifully and with such conviction that they make the style seem alive and not old-fashioned. Any other thoughts along these lines?

ATM, I think we just see with different eyes -- I can very much understand that people who were used to Tudor or Balanchine would find Raymonda horridly creaky. DeMille wrote a lot of anti-Massine pieces -- they think this is new, but it's not. If you saw what Graham was doing, you couldn't sit through Massine, etc. But some people would have gone to it and been transfixed, in the same way that so many people used to Diaghilev's one-acters fell in love with "Sleeping Beauty." (And vice versa, of course. If today, in the midst of an entire season of "full lengths," there was Best of Diaghilev program, there will be people who will go and say, "That's it. Now I know why people like ballet." And the ones who only want to see "Raymonda" will think they're daft.)

Thanks to everyone who's posted thus far. There's certainly a lot of collective experience here and these have been fun to read. A few quick notes on the productions I've seen (or that I can remember that I've seen). American Ballet Theatre -- 3 David Blair (the production I saw the most; solid, old-fashioned. I was quite fond of it. Makarova-Nagy; Kirkland-Baryshnikov; Fracci-Nagy and Nureyev; Makarova-Dowell, Tcherkassy-Bujones, Gregory (not one of Nature's Giselles, IMO), Cynthia Harvey) Baryshnikov's and the current Uncredited Production. National Ballet of Canada - 2? I'm sure I saw Bruhn's (with Fracci and Nureyev, and Lotsofotherpeople and Nureyev; Nureyev got three entrances in that production ) Somewhere along the line I also saw Peter Schaufuss Ultra Realistic (blood dripping, mad mad mad scene) Giselle, but I can't remember whether it was with NBC or the then-London Festival Ballet. Mary Skeaping's for Festival Ballet. I agree with Alymer; it could have been a great production There were lots of things about it that I liked, but, as we've been talking about on the Hodgson and Archer thread, she started backwards, not really with the sources, so bits of Act II suddenly ended up in the reconstructed solos, and some corps work, in Act I, and it made you think that those dances were foreshadowings of what was to come. National Ballet of Cuba -- the Wilis are a centipede. I've never seen such precision. I saw Alonso in this when she was 60, and she brought out the mime in the second act -- movements I'd always thought were ports de bra that suddenly became gestures -- and it was quite a revelation. I'm looking forward to seeing it again next season. Bolshoi -- Grigorovich (Semyenaka and Possukhov, Semizorova and somebody, Ananiashvili and A. Fadeyechev; others on tape) Kirov -- Vinogradova. An accidental (last minute substitution) performance of Makhlina and Zelensky that I loved. He takes the Standing High Jump Competition medal, in my book, in a nose-to-nose finish with a young Patrick Dupont Berlin Ballet -- whose production? Nureyev and....Evdokimova? Australian Ballet, Maina Gielgud. Pretty much the David Blair production, but she added something I'd never seen that I liked very much. It's a "borrowing" from a lost ballet, "The Ballet of the Nuns," at the beginning of Act II. She had the wilis, shrouded and veiled, come forward out of the mist. Great coup de theatre. Royal Danish Ballet -- Kronstam's, of which I've written before. For me, the production that came closest to perfect, despite the fact that he turned the second act into a dream and double-cast Myrtha and Bathilde. But he had good reasons for it and, more importantly, it was done so subtly it didn't intrude. You could ignore it, or you could read all sorts of things into it. He had a few other things that I thought were very beautiful and I've never seen elsewhere -- Myrtha's branch doesn't break, but its petals fall off, slowly. The phrasing of the second act, especially in the dances of Myrtha with the Wilis, was very subtle and beautiful. All of the Albrechts (Hubbe, Lloyd Riggins, Peter Bo Bendixen) were very young and not yet quite ready, but the Giselles -- Lis Jeppesen, Heidi Ryom and an also very young Rose Gad -- were fine. Jeppesen was somewhere between Fonteyn and Fracci -- classical in line, like Fonteyn, but soft and nunlike, like Fracci. Ryom was very dramatic. Rose Gad had the most beautiful soubresauts I've ever seen. Everybody else looks like a kangaroo to me now. And her mad scene -- which, at Kronstam's direction, she did as trying to recover her balance after receiving such a blow, not going mad -- was extraordinary. San Francisco Ballet -- Tomasson's. The best of his productions of "the classics," IMO, but still not ideal. Too many contemporary, i.e., out-of-period, trick steps. Two local productions for small, semi-professional companies, one staged by Paula Tennyson (a former Ballet Russe dancer), the other by Paul Meijia. I loved both of them. The Tennyson one was really for high school kids, and probably nobody in the cast went on to have a career, but it was like a first-rate high school production of "Romeo and Juliet." There were no "cheats" in it, and the audience -- all parents and kids -- got to see a real "Giselle." The Meija one (for him and his wife, Linda Kintz, and a wonderful Myrtha named Christine Matthews) was very romantic, passionate. Lots on tape, but they don't count. I still haven't seen any British production, and I would have loved to have seen the one Ashton did with Karsavina looking over his shoulder (and his peasant pas de deux -- for Sibley and ? -- and I want to see Paris Opera, too.

Welcome, Katja, and thank you very much for posting. Malakhov impressed in New York as well (I haven't seen him, unfortunately) where he danced with Amanda McKerrow. I have a question because you've mentioned something that has come up in our discussions before, and it's something I'm trying to trace. You mentioned Malakhov's "blue prince" line. What is your understanding of the meaning of that term, and where it comes from?

It's so good to hear the season's off to such a strong start! Mary, "Halleluiah Junction" was, indeed, choreographed on the RDB. About 20 minutes, I'm told, to a John Adams piano piece of the same name. My correspondents liked that one and disliked the other two intensely. I was told that one critic (Aschengreen) gave the program a favorable review but the others did not.

Nijinsky was in the middle in time, but in no other sense, I think. That's one of the problems with these reconstructions. The reconstructer is working backwards -- so there probably is some Graham, and lots of other stuff that Nijinsky had never seen, and she seems to be speaking physically, technically, as though he's a missing link.

Amy Reusch wrote: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But the photographs also showed Sacre to be a clear choreographic stepping stone between the Italian ballet master, Enrico Cecchetti and the mother of modern dance, Martha Graham, and the idea of attempting to reconstruct the ballet took root. - Deborah Bull -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone else have a little trouble with the above statement? It implies that Graham was influenced by both Cecchetti and Nijinski... I've never read anything that implied this was the case before... I don't believe she ever saw Nijinski nor that Ruth St. Denis & Ted Shawn taught Cecchetti. ----------------------- I agree, Amy. That quote bothered me, too and for the same reasons. I don't expect dancers to be dance historians, except when they're writing an article about dance history.

Not only Balanchine, but Fokine and Massine, and about a half-dozen lesser, but still salvagable, -Ines.

Terific, Amy. You've just given them an idea. The three-ring Sleeping Beauty. In this ring..... (Get 'em out early; pick the act YOU want to watch; THREE, count 'em, THREE casts on each and every night....)

Thanks for that, Ann. They make an interesting contrast. Bull is certainly a good writer, and understands the politics of reconstruction very well, I think. Her point that, to paraphrase, if this production is thought so exciting, and yet it really isn't Nijinsky's choreography, what does that say about Hodgson [meaning, Hodgson is pretty darn good], is rather less clever than it sounds, I think. There are many painters who could muster up a "Rembrandt" that would fool me, or write an "after-Austen" novel that Jane didn't live to finish, but that doesn't make them real, or great. It just makes them more or less like something else. I think Acocella's Beethoven's 5th analogy is quite clear, but I'll add one of my own. Suppose the notes to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address were lost and no one had the wit to write it down, so stunned were they by the power of the moment. Several people wrote down the first line, and since about half of them wrote down the same first line, we'll take that one. We know its length. We know the number of casualties of that battle. We know the weather on that day. We know what the Gettysburg countryside looked like, and where Lincoln stood. Someone said he mentioned slavery and a terrible cost. We know that, in July of 1863, nobody knew how the war would end. Suppose someone reconstructs a speech -- a Lincoln scholar and good writer -- and throws in a bit of Whitmanesque poetry (since Whitman wrote a poem about Lincoln after he died), and gives it to a gifted actor to deliver. It may be very exciting, and a good history lesson, and the actor may feel that he's actually stood in Lincoln's shoes, but it wouldn't be the Gettysburg Address. Hypothetical example: "Our country was founded almost 90 years ago" or "Four score and seven years ago, our Fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation." Details, details Acocella's second point, that "Sacre" was a dud, can be debated, I think. I agree with her, but my memory of the early reviews (of the original reconstruction for Joffrey Ballet) were that most critics thought that this was a Monumental Achievement. I think people are so enamored with Nijinsky and want so terribly badly for him to be a Great Choreographer that nearly any reconstruction would have succeeded. At the time, there were a lot of people rewriting history: Isadora was really the last Romantic, and didn't invent Modern Dance at all; Nijinsky did. (I disapproved of that reinvention.) I know people -- people I respect very much -- who added this view of history to their university courses. We don't know. We do know that it's not accurate because the original was lost, but we don't know whether we got "90 years ago" or "Four score and six." Acocella's third point, that the subsequent restorations are less defensible, is a good one, to me. Not to take anything away from the enormous amount of work and good intentions, but what exists on stage -- nothing that has a life as theater, independent of history. "Till Eulenspiegel" is especially suspect. I once read a lot about that one -- the designs are spectacular, fantastic -- but Nijinsky was supposedly so ill and distracted on that tour that he didn't finish it, and didn't know how much he had choreographed. The dancers told him, just worry about your part and we'll do ours. I don't think there's anything in that that could be gotten back, and I think Acocella's point, that to say that there is is bordering on being "a racket" -- that this can get staged because it has Nijinsky's name, however tangentially, attached to it -- is worth considering. That said, I'll go to see them. There's always something in them that sheds a light on history, and if that's an interest, then that's a plus. But none of the H&A reconstructions that I've seen have convinced me that they've saved a great work. ("Le Sacre" is very similar to certain American Indian dances, or, at least, theatricalized versions of same, btw, which accounts for Acocella's "I'm a little Indian, too" line.)

I'm pulling this over from Links, because I think this article is worth discussing. (The intention of the thread is to DISCUSS THE ARTICLE, not just the reconstruction process, which we've done many times, and so if anyone has read this and is interested, please post your thoughts.) http://www.newyorker.com/THE_CRITICS/A_CRI...RITIC_AT_LARGE/

Press release dated May 1, 2001 from New York City Ballet: CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON NAMED RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER FOR NEW YORK CITY BALLET Peter Martins, Ballet Master in Chief of the New York City Ballet, announced today that Christopher Wheeldon has been appointed to the post of Resident Choreographer for New York City Ballet, beginning with the 2001/2002 season. In making the appointment, Mr. Martins noted that the arrangement is very much in keeping with New York City Ballet's long tradition of encouraging new choreography. "This position will provide Chris with an ongoing relationship with New York City Ballet, and provide a wonderful opportunity for our dancers and audiences alike," said Mr. Martins. Referring to his new appointment Mr. Wheeldon said, "New York City Ballet is home for me now. I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to continue to make ballets for the company I admire and love." Although New York City Ballet has, throughout its history, invited many choreographers to create here on a regular basis, Mr. Wheeldon will be the first choreographer to hold the title Resident Choreographer with the Company. Mr. Wheeldon is currently completing his tenure as New York City Ballet's first-ever Artist in Residence, a year-long residency program initiated during the Company's 2000/2001 season. As part of this residency Mr. Wheeldon has created two ballets for NYCB. The first, Polyphonia, premiered during the winter repertory season, and the second, Variations Sérieuses, will premiere at the Company's Spring Gala on Thursday, May 10. A native of England, Mr. Wheeldon trained at The Royal Ballet School and began his dance career with The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993 he was invited to join New York City Ballet's corps de ballet, and was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1998. Last spring, Mr. Wheeldon retired from dancing to devote himself to choreography full time. In addition to his work with New York City Ballet, Mr. Wheeldon has also created ballets for Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and The Royal Ballet and School, among others. In addition, Mr. Wheeldon choreographed ballet sequences for the feature film Center Stage, and will choreograph the stage version of The Sweet Smell of Success, which is scheduled to open on Broadway in 2002. New York City Ballet's 2001 spring season opens on Tuesday, May 1 and continues through July 1 at the New York State Theater.

Marc, obviously *I* wouldn't use it as a compliment, but I thought in the context of the new, improved Kirov it might have been so intended.

I agree (and thanks for all your input on this, Doug). I think that was Balanchine's thinking in 1946 as well. The Raymondas I've seen have been a mess because they tried to make the story make sense, instead of just following the libretto, which does make sense, at least stage sense. Danilova's comment about updating is understandable in the context of the times in which she was speaking, but...tastes change, of course. A very short time ago audiences were impatient with story ballets and anything long. They wanted a selection of short ballets. Now the taste has changed. In the 19th century, there were ballets that failed because there was too much dancing in them. Had those hung around, ballet's repertory would be substantially larger. We've gone through a time of mime cutting; that will change as well. It's a shame no one has yet figured out a way to preserve a ballet in private, as it were, behind the scenes, while "updating" it publicly, so that when tastes change the ballet is there, ready an waiting. I love the score for Raymonda, and it's a great ballerina role.

Some of Neumeier's dramatic ballets are, well, dramatic, at least, but as a choreographer, his charms elude me. The choreography is so...awkward. Not deliberately ugly in the provocative avant-garde sense, which can often be very interesting, but just plain awkward when he seems to be trying to be lyrical. (His Romeo and Juliet pas de deux, for example. They run down the stairs from the balcony, stop, grin at the audience, and then he flips her over his shoulder.) I keep thinking about the "born to dance Neumeier" line. I suppose it was meant as a compliment.