Alexandra

Yes, volcanohunter. It's part of the It's All About Me!!!! syndrome.

"We never really know why Madge is so antagonistic in her relationship with James." ???? Not only is James's treatment of Madge and her reaction to it clear (it's in the mime), but it's historically accurate. Or was. Bournonville set the ballet in the Middle Ages, not his own time. One of the little hints he dropped that this was a Romantic ballet.

Thanks for posting that, Sandi. It looks fascinating and I hope someone who goes will post about it.

When I was first interested in ballet, in the mid-70s, that was the list, as well. Paris was omitted -- although that was before POB's resurgence. I'd also say that the RDB style has changed quite a bit in the last ten, twenty years. I've seen photos of recent performances that look very ... different.

Bastille Day 1975 when I was out of college, going to a lot of theater performances, and a friend and I decided to throw caution to the winds and take in a ballet and an orchestra performance (Rostropovich!) My first program was Nureyev and Friends: Marguerite and Armand (with Fonteyn), Le Corsaire pas de deux (with a very young Karen Kain), Bejart's Songs of a Wayfarer, with Paolo Bortelucci (sp?), and The Moor's Pavane, with the whole cast.

I thought all ballet would be like this

I think Under Armour has said they're running "ballet is a sport" ads to broaden their market. I'm sure it was innocent. It just fed into the wider question.

Helene, thank you for such an interesting post. I only mentioned ballet competitions in passing, because of space, but of course they're very influential, to both dancers and fans. If you're new to ballet, like a dancer, and learn that he/she is a Gold Medal winner!!!! of course you'll think ballet is a sport. Even the competitions, though, emphasize that ballet is an art. I remember about a decade ago, there was a very talented young man whom everyone expected to get a special higher-than-Gold medal whose variation did not go well at all. The judges had seen him do it time and time again, they knew what he could do -- and they decided to let him skate it again, which he did perfectly. The Varna people explained they'd done this because ballet is an art, and not a sport.

Ken, that's a good twist on the definition. For the article, I read several dictionary definitions and all incorporated the element of competition in their definition of sport. Your ask a good question and I'd say that if your first ballet is a star-studded "Don Q" or "Le Corsaire" (which used to make people cry, according to 19th century accounts) you'd think that ballet certainly has a sports -- even a competition -- element to it. I think one has to see a performance (one hopes more than one) where the dancers transcend this aspect and you're confronted with someothing that has nothing to do with the human body and wonder, What WAS that?

Alexandra, thank you for the article. Not happy but not surprised at the 85% who think ballet is a sport.

I subscribe to Stravinsky's statement that ballet is the highest form of theatrical art, because its sole purpose

is to show beauty. (Anyone who has both listened to and watched The Sleeping Beauty knows that).

I think we (who love the art form) have a lot of work to do to get the message out.

Greetings, Daniel, and thank you for reading the article! I'm sure it wasn't a scientific poll, but since we are in an age of Extreme Technique, I wasn't surprised that most who chose to answer the question were on the "sport" side. Please help get the word out! (I liked your Stravinsky quote, too.)

kfw, I remember in the very early days of Ballet Alert! that dance students would have this as a sig line: "I am an athlete and dance is my sport." (We would encourage them to find another ) I think we're in a sport age. I agree that sports are competitive; that's part of the definition of the word. Abatt, I think if a single person jogs, it's "physical activity."

There are ballet performances that feel like at least some of the dancers think they're in a competition.

This topic has been discussed here several times, and it's popular again because of the recent Under Armour ad. I have an article online in Dance/USA's From The Green Room:

http://www2.danceusa.org/ejournal/post.cfm?entry=what-s-the-score

I'm firmly on the "it's an art" side:

Artistry poses infinite questions. Sport is finite. It ends. It pits two teams, or several individuals, against each other to compete for one very decided, satisfying goal: who has the most points? Who was first to reach the finish line? These aren’t questions we ask about ballet.

What do you think?

Welcome back, Leonid, whatever number you are!

Welcome, ClaraFan. Nutcracker is a great place to start! Thanks for taking the time to read the Rules/Regs and hints, and please jump in with questions or comments when you're ready.

There was a comment way above that it would be hard to run a company while choreographing new work. That HAS been done -- think Balanchine, Ashton (not to mention Bournonville and Petipa, and every great modern dancer you can think of). But it does seem early to speculate.

It seems to be back up, just about 15 minutes ago.

Thank you, kfw and sandik! It's still down, it seems, but I trust that they are working on it. I'm sorry it's a Monday, because a lot of people check it on Mondays. Patience!

Dear readers of our sister site, www.danceviewtimes.com.

There are problems on the software company's end and right now we cannot access the site. There's a message "unknown domain: www.danceviewtimes.com".

The company has been working on it all morning, and I'll post when it's been restored.

Sorry for anyone who has been inconvenienced by this!

Peter Martins could definitely stage those diverts! Not saying that he'd want to, but I'd be very surprised if he weren't able to.

I think they were of their time, though. Bournonville had just been "discovered' after the Bournonville Festival in 1979, and Stanley Williams was on staff. They were quite different stylistically from Bournonville as the Danes then danced him.

Carley's sister sent me a link to a fund that has been established in Carley's honor. Those who would like to contribute can click the link and do so -- one good way to continue her extraordinary generosity.

Thanks for posting that, Anne. Blankstrup is such an interesting dancer.I remember seeing him as an aspirant (even then, he was fascinating to watch in class). It's hard to think that this means the official end of his career. I hope he'll continue to perform, somehow -- if he wants to, of course.

Happy birthday, Mads Blankstrup!

Very sad news, indeed. Carley was such an important part of this site. She added so much to our discusisons, as people have said, and she also was invaluable behind the scenes, managing membership, which is quite a task! (Deleting probable spanners, helping new members through the process, always with her kind and gentle patience). Rest in peace, Carley.

Very sad news indeed. He was a beautiful dancer, always an artist.

I'm coming very late to this thread, unfortunately, but still, a very heartfelt WELCOME, Ilona. I am very glad you're bringing us news and reviews of what's going on in Germany (and wherever you travel).

There are quite a few photos on the web that show his jump -- impossibly high, it would seem, but not for him. I've read several places that people who saw him when he was young who had also seen Nijinsky that Babilee was the only dancer who matched that great Russian.

Drew, I also saw him in the Bejarst -- I think it was "Life." He was in a boxing rink. He was not young, but he was extremely powerful.

Yes indeed! That was fun. Thank you!

Thank you so much for this, Ilona. It's a lovely review -- and there are so many photos!!! It's sad to think of Malakhov stepping down, as a dancer as well as director of the Berlin Ballet (I first saw him one summer at Wolf Trap with some Bolshoi students; he was 18, and already a mature performer.)

I can't help because I've never seen the company perform (just a few bits on video). I hope you tell us about the production, Sasha, and anything else you see. We're hungry for reports from Europe.

I'm so sorry -- I just found this post! (I've had trouble logging in for reasons we cannot determine!

Thank you all for your thanks! AND for posting. Thanks for reminder that this site was founded to be a place for civilized discussion of classical ballet -- I hope we remember that when the spring season commences.

AND thanks to Helene who keeps the site going, dirac who posts the Links, and Carley handles at least membership requests per day!!!