Alexandra

My guess is it's simply a division of labor because of rehearsals. The repertory would be divided up among conductors, as it is divided among coaches. It could also be affinity, as you said. X is the Stravinsky conductor, Y the Tchaikovsky. As Farrell Fan wrote, it's regular practice.

Please come back, "Other" voter Tell us which "Other" you'd choose!

There could be dozens of choices, but I've picked the 5 big ones. While this poll is limited to current productions, nostalgic yearnings may be posted, as well as alternate suggestions

Amitava raised this question on the "Pas de Quatre" thread, and I thought it worth copying over here for discussion:

I think MP's answer gets to the heart of it. I don't think it's the choreographer's ego as much as that an artistic director/choreographer has a certain aesthetic: the body is stretched, or it is not; extensions are high, or they are not -- or they are appropriate to the style. And that's what you see. Also, when dancers become used to a particular style of dancing, that creeps into everything. Amitava, I know we've talked about these things in the past, but I couldn't find a thread. You might want to take a look at the Aesthetic Issues and the Discovering Ballet forum. I know there were lots of discussions of style in the latter. I'm going to copy over your post to Aesthetic Issues now for discussion. It would be nice to have different opinions on this.

We don't allow tape trading here, MinkusPugni for the reasons Carbro stated on the the thread she closed. Whether the person wanting the trade will pay for it or not doesn't matter. We cannot be the instrument for trading. Also, the purpose of the forum is to discuss ballet, not to serve as a marketplace. If you're only asking if there is a recording of "Pas de Quatre", that's fine. I believe that question has been answered.

I think it was de Valois, not Ashton, who was in charge of that production, but Ashton did choreograph a (beautiful) waltz for the nobles and de Valois choreographed the danse des coupes (sp?) for the peasants.

Yes, it IS technique, when you are learning it. It's "style" when I'm looking at what you learned and comparing it to what Ekaterina X learned. Good point -- yes, I would think, in terms of choreography. And here the difference between modern dance and ballet comes in again. We talk of Ashton style and Balanchine style. But not Graham style and Limon style (again, they had their own codified language). But yes, the exception, Taylor style.

According to dancers who worked with Fokine at American Ballet Theatre, Fokine required a "tilt" in "Les Sylphides." I don't think it will come back -- when dancers of today try it, they look extremely awkward. The "clinging vine" line is gone, too, and the low, over-the-brow ports de bra.

Good question! I think it's a matter of common parlance. Modern dancers often referred to their "technique" in the sense of being a unique way of moving -- not just vocabulary (steps) but also the impetus for movement. The early Moderns would debate these things -- for Isadora, movement started in the solar plexus. For Doris Humphrey, dance was about fall and recovery. For Graham, contraction and release. Ballet has a technique too, of course. The technique is what the dancer learns. And "style" is a word that watchers use to differentiate the technique that Bolshoi dancers learn from that which Paris Opera, Royal Ballet, or New York City Ballet dancers learn. Sometimes if you read discussions about "style" it sounds as though style is decorative -- in Vaganova, arms en couronne are held slightly forward; in Cecchetti, they're square over the ears -- hope I have that right! -- but it's not; it's intrinsic to the way ballet is taught in that place. Back to modern dance, Paul Taylor was a Graham dancer and his vocabulary is mostly Graham. He didn't develop a "technique," and so people will refer to a Taylor style -- his favorite movements that developed into the language which he uses in choreographing his dances. That's my understanding of the terms and issues, at any rate.

I meant to say DVD -- it's a film of a live performance (1989) with the Kirov and a magnificent cast, not a CD of the music. Sorry for misleading you!

I agree it's gone -- even in Denmark, which kept it the longest. I saw a tape of a televised production of "Esmeralda" staged in Talinn (1999) by Dogulshin that kept that "tilt" for the ballerina and it was fascinating. She did everything slightly bent forward, and so the contrast between Esmeralda and Fleur de Lys (the classical ballerina in the ballet) was quite clear. There's a commercially available video of the National Ballet of Cuba in "Giselle" from the late '60s (but they're dancing like the '40s) where the tilt and rounded arms are there. BUT it's hard to believe they hadn't changed a great deal in 100 years. In Denmark it went in the 1950s when Volkova came; by 1955, from photo evidence, it was gone. I think it is such a different way of dancing that it would be very difficult to keep it for two or three ballets, and then change your placement for the rest of the repertory. But the sky kicking -- that's a choice and shouldn't be allowed in Romantic ballets now -- nor in Petipa ones.

I just read John Rockwell's review of "'Swan Lake" in the NYTimes this morning and was puzzled by his lead: Have they changed the production this season?

The entire Bournonville repertory has been recorded (!!!!), and is available on CD from Dance Books -- I think that url is http://www.dancebooks.co.uk It's a package deal, though. You can't just choose one. I don't know when (or if) the CD will be available in the States. It wasn't the last time I checked, three days ago.

Delibes' "Sylvia" and Glazunov's "Raymonda." And I do have an emotional attachment to the tarantella from "Napoli" and the death scene from "La Sylphiide" I was just playing the CD of "Le Corsaire" this week, MinkusPugni, and I loved the coda of Jardin Anime and the "The Pirates are coming!" parts

Hi, Sunpacy! Welcome to Ballet Talk. You raise an interesting question. I don't know anything about sponsorship of NYIBC, but to address your question generally, the arts are in a bind. On the one hand, they desperately need the money. On the other, often the corporations seem to have a hidden agenda: Bad Guy mustn't be so bad, because he supports the arts and gives to the poor. The question is, what can arts organizations do about this?

I've copied this over from Links (thanks to Helene for finding it). This is too good to let go without a discussion: In a frightening story reported in Manchester Online, there's going to be a ballet on the TV show Big Brother 6.

Anyone who's trying to teach people dance history is a friend Keep up the good work. They are interested in it, I've found. Many of them have just never thought of it before!

Iza, there's a lot of terrific information on the ArtsLynx site, including this one, compiled by Richard Finkelstein: This Month in Dance History

Congratulations to everyone who competed and to the winners! NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION 2005 CONCLUDES WITH THE AWARDS CEREMONY AND GALA PERFORMANCE JUNE 26 AT ALICE TULLY HALL, LINCOLN CENTER New York International Ballet Competition concluded with the exciting announcement of the winners and a gala performance hosted by glamorous French actress Adriana Santini. The evening began with the presentation by writer Robert Tracy of a Gold Medal to Violette Verdy, in recognition of her contributions to the dance world and to NYIBC. Medalists and prize winners were: Men Joseph Gatti USA Gold Medal Daniel Sarabia Cuba Silver Medal Altankhuyag Dugaraa Mongolia Bronze Medal Women no gold Christine Rocas The Philippines Silver Medal Hanae Seki Japan Bronze Medal The Arpino Award Christine Rocas, The Philippines (The Arpino Award, new this year, is a one-year contract with the Joffrey Ballet, selected by representatives of the Joffrey Company) The performance following the awards presentations featured all medalists and other entrants this year, joined by guest dancers: Victoria Mazzarelli, gold medalist in the first NYIBC in 1984 Ogulcan Borova, gold medalist in 2003, currently a member of Ballet Internationale Norbert Nirewicz, finalist in 2000 Mari Savitski, entrant in 2003 Caitlin Valentine, bronze medalist in 2003, currently a member of the Orlando Ballet Executive Director of NYIBC is Ilona Copen; Artistic Director is Eleanor D'Antuono. Chairperson of the 2005 jury was Victoria Morgan (USA), Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Ballet, joined by Stanton Welch (Australia), Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet Andre Lewis (Canada) Artistic Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Xin Lili (China), Artistic Director of the Shanghai Ballet Dame Merle Park (England),former Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet School Alexei Ratmansky (Russia), Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet Hans van Manen (The Netherlands), world renowned choreographer Victor Ullate (Spain), Artistic Director of Victor Ullate Ballet The next New York International Ballet Competition will take place June 20-24, 2007, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.

I don't know much, except that it's in Dusseldorf and Youri Vamos is its director. They keep a low web profile! I found their web site. http://www.rheinoper.de/ It's in German, but even not reading German I could guess that they do take Americans because there's a page with directions to the theater in English, and there's a notice of their (last year) auditions. I also notice that Joyce Cuoco is their ballet mistress. She's an American dancer -- you might try writing to her. The addresses are on the web site -- click Kontakt at the top right. Good luck! I hope some of our German posters will be able to tell you more (and you might want to ask the same thing on Ballet Talk For Dancers in the Cross Talk forum, if you haven't already)

Welcome MinkusPugni I'm afraid that what you're proposing isn't possible. We don't have the capability (nor the bandwidth) to do something like that.

As a Bournonville partisan I have to jump in and say -- they do that in Denmark, too. I haven't seen this DVD but I'll put it on my list. It's a shame they didn't film Platel; there's a smidgeon of her dancing on the "Etoiles" DVD and it made me want to see more. I don't care for the Lacotte reconstruction -- or reimagining, really, since he had to make up a lot of iit -- but the older filming, with Theismar and Denard, has Effy and the Scots girls on pointe, which just wouldn't have happened in 1832. The whole "point" of the Sylph being on pointe is that she was otherworldly.

I'll cast a vote for Monica Mason's Carabosse too. Madge: Sorella Englund. (I never saw Gerda Karstens, who is, to many, THE Madge of Madges. Photos show her as a harmless old crone in Act I and a near-toothless, twisted monster in Act II. There must be dozens of great villains (as opposed to villainesses) but I'm blanking. Help!

Just to stir things up, since they're beginning to be calm I have an Anecdote. I took two 16-year-old ballet students, innocent of the politics and history of the company, to a program of NYCB this past spring. This was the reaction after a very disappointing, shall we say, go at "Theme and Variations": Said one: "What do you think the artistic director says to them after a performance like that?" (On opening night, after an even more disappointing performance of the same ballet, a student I just happened to run into at intermisison asked, rather urgently, "What does an artistic director DO?") Two months later, the class watched a video of "Stravinsky Violin Concerto" from the 1980s. "What company is that?" said one of the visitors. "New York City Ballet," I replied. 'THAT'S THE SAME COMPANY WE SAW AT THE KENNEDY CENTER? But they're so GOOD."