Alexandra

This was indeed sad and shocking news. I've been surprised at how much coverage there has been -- a big segment on The NewsHour last night, half the program on Piers Morgan. Very grateful for that coverage, of course -- Nora Ephron was such an important voice.

Thank you, vrs. Here's an obituary that ran in the Guardian today. There was also one in the Times, but you can't see it unless you're a subscriber. (A friend wrote to say that the woman with her back to us in the photo is Queen Elizabeth.) http://www.guardian..uary?MP=twt_fd Editing to add: if it seems odd that an obituary is written by the subject's spouse, Judith Cruickshank is also a London dance critic, and, along with her husband, has long written the obituaries of major figures in dance.

Jane Simpson has put up a lovely appreciation of John Percival here: http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/06/john-percival-1927-2012-a-personal-appreciation/

Ratmansky's "Cinderella" (which the Mariinsky brought her a few years ago) is quite contemporary and Somova may well be perfect for it. (Not writing that to start yet another fight about Somova by any means, just wanting people to not expect a traditional production.)

Thanks dirac and atm. Glad you two were also fans One thing John shared with others of his generation was an insatiable appetite for seeing dance. Soon after I got to know him, he was very excited because he had seen two productions of "La Fille Mal Gardee," a matinee in Birmingham and the evening performance in Covent Garden, on the same day. Very good for someone then in his late 70s, I'd say (and a terrific review of both, too). I envied him for having seen so much. As the ballet.co article tells us, he began watching dance in 1943. This generation is dying off now. Horst Koegler (a close friend of John Percival's) died a few weeks ago. Between the two of them they'd probably seen every even mildly important production of a ballet, every choreographer, and every dancer of any note. We've lost a lot of cultural memory.

I have the very sad news to report that noted British ballet critic John Percival died yesterday (June 20) at his home in London. (I have this news from his wife Judith. John wrote for danceviewtimes for several years, I am very proud to say, and I had kept in touch during his final illness.) John Percival was the main critic for the Times of London for decades. Here's a very nice interview with him on Ballet.co: http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_02/dec02/cruickshank_int_percival.htm Percival was one of the finest critics writing in recent years. He was one of my teachers by example. When I first became interested in ballet, I'd read his daily reviews in The Times and marvel at how he could pack so much detail into six lines yet still keep the writing individual and vivid. I realized after I'd been writing for a few years that I'd subconsciously been using the structure of his full length reviews in Dance and Dancers, where he was a mainstay until that magazine ceased publication. What I think he had that no one else had, though, was a love of dance as keen as his eye, and an openness to all genres of dance that was rare in those days. I went to see Paul Taylor and Martha Graham because John Percival did. He also had a way of being honest about a new struggling choreographer's work without pulverizing him with wit. I'll also always value how he remained a strong voice in support of Ashton's work. I never met John, though I spoke with him several times over the phone. I was extremely happy that he agreed to write for danceviewtimes, and if you read the reviews he wrote for us you'll see that his skills as a critic did not diminish with age. My most sincere condolences to Judith, as well as all who knew him, whether as a friend, or as their window on dance.

Thanks for that, Natalia. Yes, in all the other productions I've seen, the innkeeper is a man, and his inn is the first one on the left. I wasn't sure if this was a rival inn (as it's farther back). In the Royal's production, the divertissement of the bells is quite a formal affair, with the local Duke and his entourage, and in earlier acts there are many happy drinkers going in and out. It makes more sense to me to have a male innkeeper of the same age being helpful to Dr. C. I only care because I wondered if this was a change or a restoration.

This is sad news indeed. I've only seen him perform on video, but it was clear he was a very interesting dancer, an artist. And I've seen a few of his stagings of classics that I thought were extraordinary.

I hope somebody gets to see this and writes about it. It's a production I would dearly love to see.

Thanks for all of this, Natalia and Simon A (I've been reading, but haven't had a chance to post until tonight.) I've posted a review on danceviewtimes here: http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2012/06/the-doll-that-will-not-die.html

I think Riho turned 14 in March. She came to KAB when she was 10! (Alex Babayev, Richard Foggio and Ayaka Fujii are seniors. they're going to the Pennsylvania Ballet 2 (Alex), Richmond Ballet 2 (Richard) and Hungarian National Ballet (Ayaka).

This will be of special interest to Danish ballet lovers, but John R. Johnsen's photographs are of interest to any dance fan. I just got a notice that he's published a collection of photos to be released this May -- it's a Danish publisher. I don't know whether it will be available in the U.S. or not, but if you're interested, I'll include the publisher's address. (We don't usually post notices of books, unless it's a rare one, or one that probably won't be in a major bookstore. This one, I think, is worth a commercial ) Some Danish books are available on Amazon Germany. Here's the publisher information: Gad Publishers Fiolstræde 31-33 1171 Copenhagen K Denmark www.gad.dk John R. Johnsen, Erik Aschengreen, Anne Middelboe Christensen and Kirsten Sørensen Dance in the Mirror Dance in the Mirror is an ultimate celebration of dance, and not least ballet, in all its many guises. In particular, it pays homage to Danish ballet photographer John R. Johnsen (1945-), whose work is presented here in collected form for the first time. Artistically, Johnsen towers above the vast majority of his contemporaries, and in the period 1967-96, during which he photographed the Royal Danish Ballet and leading international companies such as New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Martha Graham Dance Company, he was indisputably his country’s foremost photographer of dance. His photographs uniquely document the work of these outstanding companies in that period. John R. Johnsen (photos), Erik Aschengreen, Anne Middelboe Christensen and Kirsten Sørensen Dance in the Mirror Approx. 260 pages Price: DKK 349 (Danish kroner) Publication date: May 16th 2012 Gad Publishers Fiolstræde 31-33 1171 Copenhagen K Denmark Direct +45 7766 6011 Cell +45 2780 6011 www.gad.dk

This was still a staple of ABT's rep when I started going to the ballet in the mid-1970s. The company used it to give chances to up-and-coming young dancers, as there are about a dozen very good small roles. It was a staple of the Danish repertory, too.

Here's a link to dancetabs, which is the successor site to ballet.co, for those interested: http://www.dancetabs.com/

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank you for posting that, dirac. Havel is one of my heroes.

Yes, indeed, we do!!!!!

I think the reference was also that people are using facebook and twitter to talk with friends about what they're seeing.

Michael, I think that's a beautiful piece Thank you!

It is, isn't it, Helene? The ballet part of the net will not be the same -- and that's not just meant as a complement. There are so many posters who see the Royal Ballet frequently and write about it (and so many of our posters who are interested in the RB) that that, alone, will be a loss.

Some very sad news. Ballet.co is no longer an active forum. Site founder Bruce Marriott explains why in this link: http://www.ballet.co.uk/2011/12/balletco-going-into-archive/ I understand that some Ballet.co regulars are exploring some way to keep the site going and I hope they'll let us know if that happens.

Thanks, Natalia, Cristian, Bart and koshka for watching, and for your comments. Cristian, I agree -- I get shivers when I think of how many dancers have performed this piece, and it's one of the reasons I love classical ballet. I also liked seeing the girls meeting their costumes. Tonight was the opening, and you would have thought they'd been wearing them for years. There were some wobbles, but no "mistakes" and considering that many of these girls have only been at the school since September, they coped very well with the style. Bart, there is something about marking, isn't there? I checked, and they did have them mark because they hadn't had class for a week. But, even though marked, the idea comes through. Natalia, the blue lighting does make magic -- I wish we could have seen it in the gas light, but this is much safer! For those in DC, they'll be dancing it both Friday and Saturday nights. There was also a brief clip on TV4 (NBC) news tonight, for those interested: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/news/local/Kirov-Academy-Teaching-Disciplined--Athletic-Students/135706648 Thanks again for all who watched. I think those videos will be left up on the KAB site for awhile.

I liked the bees, too, although several friends didn't. I had thought they'd be annoying and cute, buzzing about where they weren't wanted, but I didn't see them that way at all. I reviewed this for danceviewtimes (link on Links ) and wrote that flowers need bees. Also, as several critics have pointed out , there were men in the original Waltz of the Flowers. Congratulations to all the mothers! You should be proud. (And congratulations to the coaches who did such a great job with that many children.) Opening night was a bit rushed -- it always is, because of limited rehearsal time (the company just got there Wednesday, I believe, and I don't think they've danced this for a year), but this one was stage ready. I wish I could have seen it Saturday night! Partly to see other casts, but also to see how it settled in. For those who missed it, I think ABT is headed for BAM with this soon. New Yorkers will know. Editing to add: I checked BAM's site, and "The Nutcracker" opens there on December 14th.

I don't know how many rehearsals they've had since the last post, but this was the first one in the performance studio. There's a lot of marking; I think this rehearsal was for spacing. At the beginning, they're meeting their sleeves for the first time. And this is the first time we'll see the 3 Shades (who mark), and a bit of Nikiya and Solor. All the soloists are seniors.

Forget technical proficiency Please write. We'd love to know what you loved about it.