Alexandra

The house looked quite full tonight, so it seems that the TICKETplace tickets found good homes.

Good question! I think they're just entertainers, but I think, too, that they may be descendants of the old ballets a entree from the Baroque era. If you just take the structure of that act, with its grand entree (procession) and then each "variation" or entree, it's exactly what one reads was done at the court of Louis XIV. Different dances are plugged into that basic structure that Louis wouldn't recognize, but I think that's the idea. Is that too fanciful?

Much simpler solution: Mr. Rockwell could always come HERE to Ballet Talk's (virtual) Radio Talk Show. Open 24/7. Carbro, I used exactly the same baseball/basketball/Michael Jordan analogy in the first draft of the Crossover piece I just put up. (I cut about half the article because it was just too long). So I agree, I agree

The connotation of "miscegenation" is very, very ugly in American English, as it refers to "mixed race marriages" usually between a white and a black American, an offense for which people were lynched. It would seem he is making an analogy between those who make such a distinction among human beings and all it implies, with those who make a distinction between modern dance and ballet.

I never saw Nijinsky, but I'll take him on faith I did see Nureyev and Baryshnikov, and both had incredible jumps. I've read that Nureyev was a taught, rather than natural jumper, which is even more astounding. Two other men for me were Patrick Dupond, whom I first saw when he was 16 at a little gala in New York and he really almost disappeared into the flies. And Igor Zelensky, who danced his first Albrecht in Washington (at least we were told it was his first).

There may have been some confusion. For the record, I came home to a phone message Friday afternoon inviting me to be on the show. I called them back a little after 4:00 p.m. and left a message that I couldn't be there because I taught Monday afternoons, but could do it by phone if we could arrange a hook up. Perhaps that message got passed along incorrectly. Perhaps they didn't want to go ahead with only one person "on the other side." Who knows? I wrote an essay on the crossover issue for this week's danceviewtimes. I wanted to put down as briefly as possible what I see as the major issues. Golly gosh, I don't think I mentioned Hitler once http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2005/Winter/05/crossover.htm

I was just reading it, thinking, "What an interesting piece!" I think she has a good point. It's great for the Kennedy Center to have these Festivals -- tie all the arts together, whether the link is by country or time or something else. There was a wonderful Romantic Era festival here back in the 1970s under Martin Feinstein. Everything in the Kennedy Center was drenched in Romanticism; no exceptions. There was even a Romantic era ball in the Grand Foyer. It was beautifully planned and fascinating to see so many different aspects of Romanticism. Quite different than SAYING you're going to have a Romantic festival and then booking Peter Sellars to do a new production of "Death of a Salesman" and the Kirov to do two weeks of "Sleepiing Beauty" and "Raymonda." City Ballet isn't bringing much of a 40s repertory either (harder for them, since they brought THEIR 1940s ballets last year, also a matter of convenience, since those were the works just performed in the Winter season. ) I think newspapers (the Post, at least, which is a very political paper) are always looking to do something that isn't about a star -- although that is what most ballet people would like to read about most. Their reasoning is that if you deal with a larger cultural matter, more people will be interested in the article, I think, and whether that's true or not I don't know. But I was interested in the piece and agree that this was a missed opportunity. For the dancers, as well as the audience.

I think it's Joe Mazo who wrote that if you fell out of a third floor window, you'd be praying that Connie Ludlow was walking beneath, to catch you.

I think it's worth noting that, according to the fellow who contacted me about the show, it was John Rockwell's suggestion that Leigh and I were invited. That says to me that he is interested in the issues, and a dialogue of ideas.

Call for papers. I've gotten a few emails this morning that are formal comments about the issues raised in John Rockwell's Sunday pieces and the letters (not written in collusion) by Alexandra Tomalonis and Leigh Witchel. These were formal comments, intended for publication and we will print them in DanceView Times (a site that is not linked to Ballet Talk) next week. I'd like to invite anyone reading this thread to also submit comments -- on any side of this issue, and I mean that. Please make them comments about the dance issues rather than individuals. We'll print a comments section in next week's issue. I can't promise to print all letters, but I will contact you and let you know. We reserve the right to edit or shorten. Send comments to: (I'm not putting put up a clickable URL to avoid spam bots) comments at danceviewtimes.com Thank you. Alexandra Tomalonis, Editor DanceView Times

I have to make a brief comment at this point -- thank you, Jeff! This is all bright side, as far as I'm concerned. Repertory is one of the central issues in ballet today, and these issues should be discussed -- and they're being discussed! Please keep on talking, pro or con. There have been a lot of very cogent and interesting comments on this thread and we have a pretty good idea that they're being read.

Thank you, all of you. :blush: Good luck to Ari and Hockeyfan and Mel and Dale and Carbro and Natalia and Treefrog. You will do all great job. The great days of this forum are in the future! And now, what could be more appropriate for my Final Official Act than to ..... close this thread See you later!

This is excerpted from the letter I sent to Mr. Rockwell (a personal one, not speaking for this web site): Dear Mr. Rockwell, I enjoyed your piece in Sunday's paper very much. It's good news that the Times's new chief dance critic is going in with an optimistic attitude instead of its opposite. I'm quite sanguine about the future of experimental dance, and very glad that the Times will be committed to cover it; I look forward to reading your articles. I'm afraid I'm less optimistic about ballet, and am writing to offer a different perspective on several issues you raised in your piece. One of the things that concerns me about the trend to crossover dance as a repertory staple in ballet, and the idea that there are no distinctions among the genres worth making, is that the many ballets created between "Sleeping Beauty" and last week are being lost, tossed out to make room for works that own no style or vocabulary and are generally created for very small casts, leaving the majority of a company's dancers badly under utilized. This is a huge problem in Paris this season and is being decried at high pitch by French ballet fans. I heard more anger and frustration than excitement about the recent contemporary dance program. I'm told that many people left after the first intermission (and so, I think, never saw the Trisha Brown work) because when you pay $150 for a ticket to see a ballet, you generally want to see a ballet, in the same way that when you go to a tennis match, you expect to see tennis and not ice hockey. Why is it considered good for a ballet company not to dance ballet? Would we be as excited if New Loft Dance Group! put on a meticulous reconstruction of "Swan Lake?" Repertory is certainly an issue. There hasn't been a first-rate classical ballet created in 25 years. Is this because there's no one interested in creating classical choreography? No. It is because classical choreographers are being actively discouraged to the point of being driven out of the field. I know young choreographers who have approached companies with the idea for a ballet that actually uses the language the company's dancers have been trained to dance, only to be told, "We hired you because we want something trendy." Where have the directors gotten this notion, unless it's from 40 years of reading critics who describe any new work based on the danse d'ecole as "just classroom steps" and stories that start with, "No tutus and toe shoes for Joey Brown! This dashing young rebel has smashed through the boundaries and turned classicism on its ear!" It's a new century. Isn't it time for classical ballet to stand on its feet again? Ballet dancers are trained to dance ballet. They don't really do modern very well--they don't have the weight for it, among other things--and if they're fed a steady diet of contemporary dance their classical technique starts to tank. Which brings me to one last point. I think many Americans see the dance world through the prism of the modern dance structural model, which is ex-institutional; a constant process of revolution, of renewal and invention, is its very life blood. But ballet is an institutional art form, dependent on continuity of training and repertory, and the dancers and works that are in its care need tending. There must be novelty, of course, but not as a substitute for works using the classical language. Ninette de Valois' recipe was a simple one: a repertory should be equal parts the [19th century] classics, new classics, national works (perhaps an outdated notion, but crucial during the her time) and novelty. The repertories now have been reduced to "the classics" and novelties, and this is not a positive reduction. The "trendy" modern works created in the past quarter century have been not only negligible, but disposable; it's the "new classics" that we need now. Another 25 years without them and not only will the 20th century repertory be dead, but so will ballet. I hope you do see a lot of exciting new work and make readers excited about seeing it too. I also hope you do not ignore ballet, nor dismiss its concerns.

Posted by Drew before the move and copied over from the old board: Herman Stevens asked if I really thought of all the NY papers, the Times was the one to chastise about arts/intellectual coverage--a schrewd question. I suppose the answer is that I do hold the Times to a higher standard, because it represents itself as offering a higher standard. Its part of the Times' "identity" to cover intellectual/artistic issues, and yet, it often does so in a peculiarly anti-intellectual way. I confess, too, I'm more irritated by their coverage of intellectual/literary debates than their coverage of other arts--and that's something I was especially responding to in Quiggin's earlier remark. (Some years, ago, when still living in New York, I sometimes read Newsday and did find better Book reviews than in the Times.) (Thalictum said something similar a few posts earlier as well.)

Posted by Carbro before the move and copied over from the old message board: QUOTE(Ari @ Jan 14 2005, 05:30 PM) Rockwell's NYCB review suggests that he is bored by classical ballet and prefers edgier, more modern things. As I recall his rock critic years, he was biased towards boundary-breaking acts. No reason to think he should approach dance from a different sensibility. QUOTE Of course, everyone has his own prejudices and preferences, and Rockwell is entitled to his. But I can't help but wonder whether his lack of interest in classical ballet is rooted in unfamiliarity, and whether he will make an effort to rectify that. For someone in his position, the consequences could be serious if he doesn't. * As a friend once pointed out, you can't really be a restaurant critic if you're not willing to eat everything. The more I think of it (with the help of some of the comments on this thread), the more it seems the so-called and self-appointed Newspaper of Record will indeed give dance short shrift for at least the near future. Grrrrrr. angry.gif --Carley

Posted by Thalictum before the move and copied over from the old board: Whether this is now a relative distinction or not, the Times remains the country's, and probably the world's major newpaper, and that makes it all more, as Quiggin rightly said, shameful that they treat these subjects with the back of their hand. Given the resources at their disposal, their arts coverage is, yes, SHAMEFUL. I expect nothing honorable from the Post or the News anymore politically or in any other way, so, yes, I am more apt to write them off entirely.

Posted by Ari before the move and copied over from the old board: Rockwell's NYCB review suggests that he is bored by classical ballet and prefers edgier, more modern things. He is perfunctory about Square Dance and Tchaikovsky Suite 3, but sounds genuinely stimulated by Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Wheeldon's Polyphonia. Of course, everyone has his own prejudices and preferences, and Rockwell is entitled to his. But I can't help but wonder whether his lack of interest in classical ballet is rooted in unfamiliarity, and whether he will make an effort to rectify that. For someone in his position, the consequences could be serious if he doesn't.

Posted by Amanda NYC before the move and copied over from the old message board: In his second piece, about the all-Balanchine program, he also seems to try to show he did his homework-- I don't mind background, as it helps place a work in context and educate any readers new to the piece. But, I do expect some actual review-- in this there seemed to be one line of commentary for each ballet compared to tons of copy about the ballet. I'd like to hear a bit more about why he says what he does about the various performers and their performances. I hope it's not because he is not versed enough to comment further... I'm curious to see whether he continues this approach.

I've moved several posts over from the old message board that were posted there during the move. Here's one. Posted by Herman Stevens before the move: * So you really think of all daily newspapers the NYT is the one to chastize for their ambivalence towards the arts?

These posts were made on the other board before the move: By fandeballet: The Two Pigeons by the BRB, what a daring choreographer Ashton was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Double Feature, what great fun, even if it was alot of slick producing, rather than great choreogrphy. I finally saw Balachine's, "Slaughter on Tenth Ave." with Sofiane Sylve. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! clapping.gif wub.gif --------------------------------- Posted by Old Fashoined: I completely forgot to add ABT. Veronika Part and Maxim Beloserkovsky in Mozartiana. Gillian Murphy as Hagar in Pillar of Fire.

Dancelyssa posted this on the other board before the move: Is a surnurmiere like a "super" or children's role in an ABT ballet?

These posts were made on the other board before the move: By Michael: Very much due to Sylve's sensibilities and self, I'd say. Sylve is a wonderful Ballerina but lyricism or strong perfume (mystery) in a piece like this is not really her thing as I perceive it. She's pretty much a "What you see is what you get," Dancer but -- Oh What You See! So physically imposing and masterful. Amazonian even. Those thighs -- I think you could fit the whole of Megan Fairchild into one of them. As for the pace of the Adagio -- That adagio has always flowed fast at City Ballet, NYCB does it much faster than ABT, it's one of the big differences between the two versions as they've evolved (Hugo Fiorato usually saw to that pace when he conducted Theme). Particularly if you were used to the ABT version, this would appear much too fast. One more thought about Quinn -- She conducts Stravinsky very well and handles the mixed counts and interlaced tempi there better than anyone else at the moment. And that's quite important for the NYCB repertory. ----------------------------------------------- Posted by Dale: Michael, I'd agree about Sylve -- she's not as smooth or melting as other NYCB now or in the past doing the same roles (I agree on her good qualities too). However, she was smooth and melting (as much as she is going to be) in Cortege Hongrois. Well, first - that was not a debut - she did the role in Saratoga and maybe that had something to do with the abruptness of the phrasing in T&V but second - Quinn did not conduct Cortege Hongrois. There is a wonderful part in the pas de deux section when, after the woman's pirouette into a lift, the couple dances to some pastoral music side by side. There's supposed to be a hesitation and then the delight at the change in mood. But with Quinn it was just full speed ahead. She crushed several such moments. There was no pause, there was no feeling that something special is happening and I didn't feel it was the dacners' fault. It came from the pit. ---------------------------------- Posted by Lampwick: I noticed the fast pace of the music on Wednesday night as well. The corps, too, were *barely* keeping up in T+V and I was distracted by this. It was too fast for anyone to do, even NYCB.

Dear Friends, In a few days, I will retire as Administrator of Ballet Alert! I'll be teaching four days a week next semester (ballet history and appreciation at a local ballet academy) and as much as I love all of you and the forum, I no longer have the time to administer it. The board will continue, though under a different name -- Ballet Talk, which is its nickname any way. (The dancers forum will be Ballet Talk For Dancers; there will be no detectable change there, as Victoria Leigh has been administrator since the begnning and, with Mel Johnson, has put together an admirable moderating team.) Most of what it takes to run a forum like this is not visible (we hope!) to most visitors; 90 percent of what happens goes on behind the scenes. There's so much work that it's more than any one person can do. Therefore, we've put together a team of administrators and moderators so that the work is shared. Leigh Witchel has (thank Terpsichore!) agreed to head a transition team and give advice or help as long as needed, which we would expect to be about a month. Ari and Hockeyfan have agreed to become the board administrators. Mel will take over as the technical guru. Carbro will handle registrations and related problems. Dale, Estelle and Treefrog will be Board Moderators (able to move posts on any forum and generally oversee things). Dale and Natalia will keep things running on the NYCB and ABT, and Kirov and Bolshoi forums respectively. We're still working on putting together a team of moderators for the different forums; look for announcements about this from Leigh in a few days. We will be moving the board to a new location -- with apologies, because I know this is disruptive. It will move off the Ballet Alert! web site onto one of its own. We expect this to take place Friday afternoon or evening. We'll put up the new URL then for both this forum and BT4Dancers. After the boards have moved, I'll keep a little box on the Ballet Alert! home page that points to the forums and (I hope) put up redirects so that if someone tries to access the current URL, they'll be automatically redirected to the new one. One very positive thing that I think will come out of these changes is that the board will no longer be "Alexandra's Board" but belong to all of you. We're going to put up a suggestions for the future thread tomorrow and we really want your suggestions! What would you change about the board, what would you like added, etc. All of the changes might not be practicable, and the new team will have its own ideas of what's best for the board, but we want to have a sense of what the members want as the new team makes plans for what's ahead. When I first put up the site six and a half years ago (!!!!!) I hoped that, oh, maybe 50 people who really loved ballet would find it and come together to talk. It's a little bit bigger than that now, and that has its advantages and disadvantages. We've had astoundingly few crises. The site has worked because you've made it work, and I'll always be grateful for the friends I've made, and for all I've learned from everyone who's posted here. I can never thank the Moderators enough for all that they do to help keep things going. Leigh has been an invaluable help. We've tackled many of the board's challenges together and I don't know what I would have done without him. I'll certainly be checking back when I can to see what you all are up to. I'm not going to post for the first few weeks, because I want Ari and Hockeyfan to be able to set the course for the board without my hanging around making "helpful suggestions."

Bravo, Paul!

News brief: According to a Kennedy Center spokesperson, Diana Vishneva is here. I saw Natalia there -- did anyone else go? l'll say quickly that I liked it -- not perfect, certainly if you're expecting something in the line of "Sleeping Beauty" you may be disappointed. I may have been the only one there who liked it, but I did