Alexandra

Think of the "bloody toes" section of "Concerto Barocco"......

Okay, so this is what happened. I was on the google search page and saw there was something called Froogle! and clicked on it, and got a page of shoes on sale. And one of them was ..... well, go see for yourself. 7" spike -- ballet 30 DO click on "larger view" for full effect.

Amanda, I had the same question that you raised -- that it wasn't really reflective of Balanchine's choreography. I think this is an accident of scheduling -- they had to do the things that were in repertory and currently being rehearsed, and since this is European week, that dictated the rep. They'd done Concerto Barocco recently, and Duo and a pas de deux ("Who Cares?") would be easily put on.

Thanks Juliette, but I don't mind at all. I didn't close the thread. I just didn't want to get into a fight about it again. This is a cause for some people, including someone who can no longer post here, and I didn't want us to get dragged into a fight at one remove, as it were. (sorry, this is old history and will make sense to those who were here at the time. For others, not to worry! Feel free to discuss, and if I sense that things are going badly, I'll jump in.)

Hi, catbrown. Welcome to Ballet Alert! I hope you'll post about what you're seeing and join in our discussions. Your objections may explain the difference between the "I loved it!" "I thought it a bore" divide on this ballet. I haven't seen it, so I don't know, but I'm guessing that it may be a matter of what people consider "real dancing." From what I've read, there's a lot of character dancing (which would suit the music, and be faithful to the spirit of the ballet as well as the score.) Some people will like this and consider the whole thing dancing and others will be impatient waiting for the classical dancing to start. As a fan of Bournonville ballets, I'm very used to this argument! It was when I started to look at it all as dancing - mime, processions (in Petipa ballets), character dances, the whole bit -- that I started to like it. It's hard to do, I think, because we're used to abstract ballets that are "all dancing." I think this is why the Soviets changed the Petipa ballets in some productions, putting the character dances on pointe and cutting out all the mime. Personally, I was glad to hear that Morris was using the full palette for ballet, old-style, but I can understand why others would be disappointed, if not downright miffed.

We've had this discussion before and it led to blows -- I don't think it will help to bring it up again. Anyone is interested can search through the past threads and find those discussions. We can't know the reasons for POB's decision. There are some dancers who, through no fault of their own, are "out of time." They have the wrong body, the wrong employ, for the time in which they're dancing. Some dancers can't partner. Some aren't suited to the repertory the company wants to do. Some can't act. Some can act, but don't have a solid technique. Also every company -- especially a great company -- has a standard that people have to meet that make sense to them. I don't mean to defend or oppose the POB's decision, but just a caution that whether we agree with it or not, they have their reasons, and we don't know what they are.

Thanks, EJ -- you've given us a source, and this certainly is HELPFUL gossip

charlieloki, sorry if we sounded harsh. It's difficult, sometimes, to have a dialogue because people, understandably, think their opinions are being questioned, or refuted, when we're just trying to have a conversation. "I thought it was great, especially X" "Really? I hated the whole thing, except for Y" -- which can be interesting, rather than just a string of "I liked it" "I hated it". Please don't take offense; I'm sure none was intended. I have to say there were a lot of ghosts for me, although I enjoyed the performance and am very glad they filmed it. (But what happened to the ending of "Duo Concertante"?) I hadn't seen a lot of the clips, and am very happy to have Mr. B, in his own voice, saying how much he liked England and wanted to work there -- instead of the too often quoted "in England if you are awake you are vulgar" comment -- AND better yet, him saying "I was a dancer, and not a bad one." Yes, a very good one, actually, before an early injury.

Thanks! How did you find them? I did a search for "choreographers" and "Balanchine," and also went to their shop and looked at the stamps they had (the arts and the people section).

If they do it like the other sets, they have: Stamp 1, stamp 2 Stamp 3, stamp 4 Stamp 1, stamp 2 etc. So you'll have to take 'em all I have photos of these -- if I have time to post them on the main site tomorrow I will, and give you a link. I just checked the USPS site and couldn't find them.

In an odd coincidence, a different poster put up a link to a site where videos were available. The poster's email address of record did not match the IP number. We deleted the post.

I've deleted several posts on this forum and notified the poster. Unfortunately, we received several warnings from people who had not had a positive experience with this poster in previous trades. While we would not take action on the basis of one report, when more than one person tells the same story, I feel I have to protect the majority of our posters. Apologies to those who responded to these threads; it was necessary, in this case, to throw the babies out with the bathwater. MANY THANKS to those who wrote us.

Thanks for all of these! It's great to have a spread of opinions. Robert Greskovic reviewed the production in today's Wall Street Journal (available only to online subscribers, unfortunately) but here's a quote:

The best I can do is that there have been Chicago Bears drafted to dance in local performances. I remember the news stories at the time, but not the names. Also, Lynn Swann (sp?) did a TV show with Peter Martins and Twyla Tharp.

So, how was it??? reports, please.

The company's press release: Wunderkind choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, who's been called "the golden boy of international ballet" (New York Times) and a choreographer "so good it hurts" (Edinburgh Evening News), was profiled in yesterday's New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/magazine...REOGRAPHER.html Oregon Ballet Theatre is very proud to present the American premiere of Wheeldon's sexy There Where She Loved. New OBT Artistic Director Christopher Stowell programmed this ballet over a year ago, just as Wheeldon's reputation was beginning to crest. It's further indication of how Christopher Stowell's deep and wide connections in international ballet will continue to bring the very best of the art form to Portland. If you haven't requested press seats yet for "Masters and Moderns," which also includes pieces by Balanchine and Frederick Ashton, as well as a world premiere by Julia Adam, please contact me. For ease of reference, the Newmark performance schedule is: Evenings, May 7/8, 13/14/15, 20/21/2, 7:30 PM Matinées, May 8/9, 15/16, 22, 2 PM

The Spring issue of DanceView is being mailed now. If all goes to plan, all copies will be mailed by Saturday, including to outside-U.S. subscribers. This issue contains: Mary Cargill's review of NYCB’s Winter Season An interview with Donald Mahler by Lynn Garafola, mostly about Reviving Pillar of Fire, but of working with Tudor and Tudor's work generally, as well. A few notes by George Jackson on the Kirov Ballet's new/old Sleepiong Beauty: "The Sleeping Beauty—Foot and Face Matters An Interview with NY choreographer Jonathan Riedel (by Mary Cargill) A review of Neumeier’s Nijinsky (by Lynn Garafola) Gay Morris's New York Report covers Paul Taylor at City Center, Noh at the Japan Society, Stephen Petronio at the Joyce Jane Simpson's London report covers English National Ballet, Royal Ballet Northern Ballet Theatre, Nina Ananiashvili Dance Theatre of Harlem Rita Felciano's Bay Area Report covers Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dimensions DanceTheater, Batsheva Dance Company, Scott Wells & Dancers, Flyaway Productions, Erica Shuch Performance Project (her season review of San Francisco Ballet will be in the summer issue) For those who are not subscribers, a year's subscription (U.S.) is $30.00 (four issues): DanceView P.O. Box 34435 Washington, DC 20043 (The online subscription has been disabled because we're obviously no longer accepting subscriptions to Ballet Alert! and I haven't revised the form yet.)

fyi -- I just put up the new danceviewtimes, and there are three reviews of last week's programs: DanceView Times

I just put up Ann Murphy's review on this week's DanceView Times: A Brilliant Revisionist Sylvia There are also links to seveal San Francisco Reviews in today's Links: The San Francisco Ballet gave the premiere of Mark Morris's Sylvia on Friday. Reviews: Michael Wade Simpson in the Chronicle Mary Ellen Hunt in the Contra Costa Times Anita Amirrezvani in the San Jose Mercury News Laura Bleiberg in the Orange County Register

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, Rosaline, and thanks for posting that. I'm thrilled to have another Houston Ballet follower -- we don't hear enough about this company, so I hope we'll be hearing a lot from you (Houston Ballet does, indeed, have a reputation for having a fine teaching staff.)

On our Ballet Talk for Dancers forum a student just posted that she'd written to Paloma Herrera and got a very nice response

Thanks for this, Mike. I couldn't go, unfortunately. I've gotten several reports from friends who did go, and I think the responses have been very interesting. Each of them enjoyed the evening, and each singled out ONE ballet that was good, thinking the rest not really much more than workshop --- and each picked a different ballet.

Darn! I couldn't think of a SINGLE example ;) and was counting on you for a list!!

I agree with both of you Yes, Mozart is instantly recognizable as Mozart (The National Gallery has a whole series of books on different artists with titles like "What Makes a Van Gogh a Van Gogh.") And that's what I meant by signature. But what about Joe Mozart? The non-Mozart, the sub-Salieri? I agree with Nanatchka -- it's the same steps or movements repeated -- material reshuffled, but not reinvented. It is form without content (content not meaning a story, but just something going on beyond class). Make sense?

Beautifully put, Nan. How would you explain to someone the difference between someone whose work has a signature and someone whose work is repetitive (and really does "all look alike")?