Alexandra

[Note: I edited the title of this thread after rkoretzky had clarified her meaning below. This post referred to the original title.] I don't think there's a connection, though. When one writes something, one has no control over how it's used. (I don't believe Acocella shipped up a crate of clips to be passed out!) There are plenty of NY Times and NY Post reviews that take a different view and would be available for leaflet dropping. There have been a lot of links on Links about this season -- it's not selling well. So despite all the attention, and the hard work of so many people, and the consciousness raising, etc., people aren't coming. I'm just curious -- did SPAC ever sell out in the "good old days?" One editorial (I just skimmed, so I hope I didn't misinterpret) said, stop worrying about ticket sales; this is about more than that (with which I'd agree). But I wonder if this is really a change, or if the SPAC Board simply doesn't like ballet and wants to do something more fun, like ritual sacrifice or bear baiting?

Tobi Tobias writes about "Five Brahms Waltzes" and "Dante Sonata" for her Artsjournal blog: Ashton Celebration #2

It's a major alternative newspaper, one of a chain of New Times (the chain was started during the Vietnam War, after Kent State, and has been a watchdog on mainstream publications and the establishment generally). There are New Times in several major cities, some papers started from scratch, others bought (like the SF Weekly and the Miami one, I believe.) I checked the Miami New Times "market profile": the readership is young (under 34), predominantly male, oriented to pop culture but also covers the arts, especially experimental arts. Runs articles like "Miami, still the poverty capital of the U.S." so they have that kind of a slant. (Their arts column is called Kulchur, and The Bitch is something you read a lot these days on blogs. It's an affectation of the young ) But they are a serious paper and the claim of winning major awards is a real one, as is their circulation of over 100,000.

Because of the time difference, Jane (or others who watch the Royal regularly) might not see this for awhile. I remember Galeazzi as a very funny, scrappy Lise in "La Fille Mal Gardee" when the company was here a few years ago. Not an "ideal" Lise, but genuinely funny, and I believe she's noted as a dramatic ballerina. I haven't Nunez in a major role so I can't help there. Here's a link to the Royal Ballet's page of principal dancers. There's a full list of roles and photos for each: http://info.royaloperahouse.org/ballet/index.cfm?ccs=247

I hoped that Dance Theatre of Harlem would do "Spartacus," back in the days of Eddie J. Shelman.

Mindy Aloff reviews Program II of the Ashton Celebration for DanceView Times: Comedy Dark and Divine

Howard Kissel, theater critic for the Daily News, made two comments in his piece today that I thought warranted discussion. (It's been a long time since I've read a theater critic who could write about ballet as though he actually attended performances regularly!!!) Comment one: Comment two: The second comment reminded me of something NYSusan wrote yesteday, that "Enigma" wasn't the kind of ballet one would recommend to the casual balletgoer (I love "Enigma," but I wouldn't argue with her!) I remember reading reviews back in the 1970s warning of what would happen to ballet if programming were done to showcase stars and not choreography, and at the time, I thought it silly. I later came to understand what they were saying, and I think what Kissel writes goes to this. It's a paradox. Boost audiences by having stars. At first everyone's happy. Then stars become more important than what they're dancing -- and, a related problem, every dancer has his/her fans who will be happy to see him/her in anything, which can cause dancers who aren't really suited to a particular ballet to be cast in it. The "general theater culture" audiences start to drift away. This not only causes a shift in the repertory -- More Rhapsodies, not to mention Within You/Without Yous, fewer Enigmas -- or Duo Concertantes. It's hard to get the "general theatergoers," the kind of people who regularly attend theater, concert music, opera and dance, back in the house. Paradoxically, this means Big Trouble for not only classical ballet but experimental dance. It's the stuff in the middle that draws the crowds. What do you think?

Copied from today's links: The New York Daily News on the Ashton Festival: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/c...0p-181236c.html

Copied from today's Links: Clive Barnes in the New York Post on the Ashton Festival: http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/24726.htm

Copied from today's links: Anna Kisselgoff in the New York Times on Frederick Ashton: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/arts/dance/09BASHT.html Ms. Kisselgoff also reports on companies appearing in the Festival: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/arts/dance/09ASHT.html

Petit's "Carmen" and "L'Arlsienne." Carmen is perfect, for what it is. "L'Arlsienne" has a lot of quirky padding, but what a great role for a male dancer!

This story may not be over. The New Times (the same newspaper that broke the story, and the writer, at least, seems to have no love for the Miami Herald) ran a news item that another writer, sports writer Dan LeBatard, also "apparently self-plagiarizes." http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2004-07-08/bitch.html Editorial comment from me: I don't think using the same line or phrase in more than one piece would not be considered in the same light as recycling paragraphs or full stories. It's something that writers are aware of, I think. You'll hear people say, "Darn, I had such a good line and I wasted it on HIM!" meaning if you come up with something you fondly believe is brilliant, you only use it once. Not so much because of fears of being accused of "self-plagiarism" but because the line would be diluted each time it is used. This issue has caused a lot of comment among writers, as one might imagine, discussing what the rules are, what one can and cannot recycle, and I think it's worth mentioning that if you have to review "Serenade" once every season, you're going to use words like "moonlight" and "romantic." You'll have to tell the story of the Girl Who Falls Down and, if you have room, why the men come in at the end. You have to tell the story, at least in a sentence or two, of "Giselle" or "Swan Lake" or whatever, too, and indicate whether this is a "traditional" version or a Freudian version. There's no way around that, in criticism, and the writer has to remember that every year there are people who see "Serenade" and "Giselle" for the first time. In political writing, too, there's only so much variety you can have. If you are (for the sake of example only) violently opposed to the war in Iraq, or to stem cell research, you're going to have your five or six reasons why, and your examples. If you're famous enough to be asked by several publications to write about it, you'll have to use those same five or six reasons and examples. The tone (and length, and choice of language) will be different if you're writing in USA Today than if you're writing in "Foreign Affairs," but you're not going to change your take on things. What you can't do is recycle the whole article without a line that says "This article first appeared...." With a very famous writer, or a celebrity, an editor will WANT them to tell the same story over and over; that's why they got you, for the story, or for your byline. It's the contemporary version of the old-fashioned "I dined out on that story for three years!" But if you only have one editorial and don't want to rework it, it would appear with the "first appeared" line. Whether saying, for two different publishers, that Michael Jordan "ascended to the mountaintop" crosses the line -- I think that could be discussed. But we don't have enough examples of either Herald writer to know how extensive the recycling is, or isn't.

I just got this press release, and thought there might be some people who would be interested in knowing about this book: ANNOUNCING THE STUNNING NEW 'ROUND ABOUT THE BALLET' Photos by ROY ROUND Profiles by JOSEPH CARMAN Produced by WILLIAM CUBBERLEY Introduction by JENNIFER DUNNING From Limelight Editions is ROUND ABOUT THE BALLET, a splendid new ballet book with photos by renowned dance photographer Roy Round, and profile/interviews by dance writer Joseph Carman. New York Times critic Jennifer Dunning has contributed the introduction, and publisher William Cubberley is producer of this exquisite new book, scheduled for October release. Eight major artists from American Ballet Theatre and seven from New York City Ballet are revealed in Roy Round's breathtaking photos and Joseph Carman's fascinating and very personal interviews. They are: Maxim Beloserkovsky Angel Corella Irina Dvorovenko Albert Evans Marcelo Gomes Nikolaj Hubbe Julie Kent Maria Kowroski Vladimir Malakhov Benjamin Millepied Gillian Murphy Jenifer Ringer Jennie Somogyi Ethan Stiefel Wendy Whelan Londoner ROY ROUND is one of the most acclaimed and experienced photographers in dance. Among the ballet stars framed by his lens are Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Sir Anthony Dowell, Dame Margot Fonteyn, and Dame Antoinette Sibley. WILLIAM CUBBERLEY is the Publisher of the Practising Law Institute in New York. An enthusiastic and knowledgeable dance lover for many years, Mr. Cubberley is a lawyer and former Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations. JOSEPH CARMAN, former soloist with ABT and the Joffrey Ballet, has moved with great success to the field of dance writing. His articles appear frequently in the Arts and Leisure Section of The New York Times, as well as Dance Magazine, Stagebill, The Advocate, Playbill, The Village Voice, and Dance International.

GeorgeB, please don't worry about it. Thank you, but it happens all the time, for the very good reason you stated, and often, too, because the appropriate thread has slipped down the list and someone doesn't see it. We will move things around, and hope people won't be upset by that, and we wanted to head things off at the pass!!! (Someone else had, quite understandably, posted in the Recent Performances forum because of the post there.) Thanks to everyone for writing -- wherever it is!!

Hilary Ostoerle in the Financial Times: Lincoln Center Festival 2004 Metropolitan Opera House, New York

There was some confusion this morning, as someone who hadn't seen this forum kindly put up in Recent Performances a call for reviews. We'd like to keep all the reviews together for easy reference. We'd also ask that you start a new thread for each program; it makes it easier to have a discussion that way, so we don't have two conversations going on on the same sofa, as it were. Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading lots of reviews. Pro or con, fiesta or siesta, please weigh in.

We put up a forum for the Ashton Centennial several days ago here Please post any topics (reviews, comments, etc.) in that forum. We'd like to have a separate thread for each program.

American historical fiction -- interesting topic. Would you count "Gone with the Wind?" "The Last of the Mohigans" and "The Red Badge of Courage". Scads of World War II novels, many of which made the careers of the writers. (But Herman's point is a good one -- novels which were contemporary when they were written may seem like historical novels 100 years later, but I'm not sure they go in that category.)

Herman, I agree, and we'd all like to see them, but we don't have state funding here, and I don't think the financial problems are easily solved. An example: when the Balanchine biography was shot, there is at least one major dancer, and may be more, who would not give permission to include film footage because of unresolved issues in the contract. Another example, from a European company, if one wants a copy of a house tape for scholarly purposes, one can only get it with written permission of not only the dancers' union but the musician's union, and it is never given.

Anna Kisselgoff in the New York Times: The Rarely Seen Side of a Brilliant Choreographer

Tobi Tobias writes about "Enigma Variations" in her ArtsJournal blog: ASHTON CELEBRATION #1

I wanted to keep an archive of print reviews for the Celebration and will be posting Links here, so they'll be easy to find later. Mindy Aloff reviews the opening night at the Ashton Festival. A Crowd-Pleaser, a Moonwalk, and a Stunning "Enigma": the Ashton Celebration Opens

There's a problem generally with getting archival material onto video because of union regulations, involving both the dancers and the orchestra. I think this may be one difference between European and American Ballet, and Russian ballet. The videos that are available are mostly of programs that have been televised, and contracts are written to accommodate this.

silvy, rg will know, but I'm fairly certain this was a movie, but has never been released on video.

Oh, Giannina, I'm so sorry -- I hope you're better now. Maybe it was the stratosphere, or the rudeness. Thanks very much to both of you, art076 and Giannina, for writing about this for us. This sounds like a find prologue to the Ashton Bicentennial Season (oh, to be in London....) Giannina, this sounds like the cast that was recently televised in Britain, and I agree with you about the Stepsisters. I think, too, that without Ashton and Helpmann, the roles look, as art076 notes, hammy. Art, I don't blame you for being giddy. It sounds like a good performance all round. I don't mind the slipper bit; I can accept the toe shoes as a convention. With Dowell as the Prince, I liked the ballroom scene, but I can see where the dances could become tiresome. Thank you very much for writing in such detail. I hope for more! Giannina, we will all remember that you're going again Thursday