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perky

Senior Member
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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    avid ballet watcher
  • City**
    midwest
  1. Hi Cuban, For as long as I could remember, Italy has been my dream destination. I think everyone has a place or several places that resonate with them on a completely personal and intimate basis. Italy has been my special dream place. This year, after much tight-fisted savings, we managed to finally go to Italy. I'm thrilled to report that it actually lived up to my inflated expectations. Rome made me feel like I've always secretly wanted to see myself. Sophisticated and cosmopolitan, even though I am neither of those things. Sipping Asperol Spritzes while seated at an outdoor table at a trattoria with my husband, while gazing upon Ponte Cavour each evening was like a dream come true. But, it was Venice that made me feel like I had plucked myself out of one of my own daydreams and set me down in my heart's desire. I remember thinking to myself after getting off the train and boarding the water taxi up the Grand Canal, "This can't be happening! It's all some strange, wonderful dream!". Venezia truly made my heart sing and pump into a happy and contented rythmn. It's what I imagine being able to dance Balanchine choreography feels like. It's been awhile since I've posted on here, but your post compelled me to respond. Thank you for sharing your trip.
  2. Thanks Miliosr for taking the time to post your thoughts on the All-Star pairings. I agree with pretty much every thing you said. Bristol/Mark and Helio/Chelsea are my first picks to go home. The former because she's a bad dancer (among other reasons) and the latter because while he's a better dancer than Bristol and not nearly as annoying, he won purely on Julianne's razzle dazzle charm and smoke and mirrors choreography. The Apolo/Karina pairing looks exciting to me. I adore Karina. I could spend hours watching Slavik and her dancing during their competing days on Youtube, and Apolo has charm, dancing skills and a strong work ethic. I can't wait to see them together. I think Drew/Anna could work very well. She's mellowed a bit from her early days on the show and has a dry sense of humor that will pair well with Drew's. Gilles/Peta is the wild card for me. He is a fantastic dancer and deserved to win his season. If he had gotten Cheryl again this time it would be a total no brainer (barring injury) for them to be in the top 3. The chemistry between Peta and Gilles has got to be there from the beginning and Peta has to step up the difficulty of her routines for him. She's got a contestant that can handle it. For the women I'm curious to see how Kelly/Val do. I started watching from the second season and so have no idea who she is and how she dances. Val is a fantastic dancer and hasn't really been given an opportunity to shine with his two previous partners so I hope for his sake that thier partnership really rocks and they go far. I have a soft spot for Melissa/Tony. I like them both, but I do see what other people say when they mention Tony's choreography being dull and uninspiring. When he danced with Elena during his competing days he made some wonderful, exciting routines, so he needs to treat Melissa as a professional partner and really step it up. I liked Pam as well during her first time on the show and thought she should have gone much farther. She had real potential. Plus, she's got Tristan this time! Lucky girl. I am looking forward to this season and expect to see some great dancing. I think the pairings that are new actually have an advantage over the ones that have already danced together. They don't have to live up to thier fan's expectations and knowledge of what they can do. Starting a clean slate with a new partner seems the better option.
  3. Puppytreats, I'm laughing at him, not with him. His complete lack of self-awareness as to his own ridiculousness is what I find amusing.
  4. I finally got around to watching the final two episodes online. The show started to pick up some steam once rehearsals started for the spring season. The first episode was so deadly dull that I almost gave up on the show. The most interesting person on the show for me is Allison. The producers paint her in rather broad, bratty strokes. Mind you, she is a real pill but I think most of her brittle fickle behaviour hides a very wounded soul. You could sometimes see her pain and confusion through all the bravado. I thought she looked really lovely in the tiny little bits of Emeralds we saw her dance. Ronnie cracks me up. His aversion to shirts, the way he says Paquita as "Paquida", his nightclup humping, his tough guy hetero demeanor, The guy is comedy gold! Rex may be a more pleasing dancer, but Ronnie is a more entertaining reality show participant. It's not the reality show that ballet deserves but hopefully it will bring about more ticket sales for BalletWest. I honestly don't know how regional ballet companies are even surviving these days.
  5. I'm comfused. Are they going back to having each movements tutus be a different color only with a new design? Please don't tell me they are getting rid of Karinska's powderpuff tutu and replacing it with a pancake tutu. I swear I will rip apart those new tutus with my bare teeth!
  6. Since working with gemstones is part of my job I was happily surprised to find out that St. Hildegarde used various gemstones as part of her healing ministry along with herbs and assigning specific diets for many maladies. She was a facinating and awe inspiring woman!
  7. A pilgramage to Varanasi is a very important event in a Hindu's spiritual life. The river is the beginning and the end, a way to purify and heal. I'm not Hindu, but I lived in India for a time when I married my husband there. The really devout Hindu's have a purity and serenity about them and a devout belief in devotions, prayer and giving that I found much to admire about. I think the path to spirituality is such an individual personal thing. Prayer can be many things. Surrending yourself to a higher power or a noble ideal is one way. Communing and sharing with that higher ideal is the next step. Watching 2nd movement Concerto Barocco makes me feel that way. For just awhile, I'm privileged enough to breathe the same rarified and precious air the must abide in Heaven or Paradise. It's a glorious feeling.
  8. Some BalletAlerter must have seen Farrell dance The Siren! It seems to me to be such a delicate act to dance an aloof/inviting and cold/warm personality like The Siren.
  9. Note to Oprah: Give Jeni her own show on your network stat! She's one of those ballerinas that makes you feel happy whether she's dancing or just sitting there.
  10. Wow Violin Concerto, you really socked me in the gut with that statement about Balanchine. It made me realize why I love his ballets so much. I've always been drawn to mystics. They vibrate to a higher tune than the rest of us. They have the ability to transcend normal human needs and wants in order to communicate and draw closer to the Divine. I think that's how Balanchine lived, loved and created. He did say he was a cloud in pants after all.
  11. Oh I don't know Richard53dog, once I finally started to pronounce La Sonnambula correctly it made me feel instantly smart and worldly, at least for a few days! It does sort of trip off the tongue in a romantic, mysterious way. I love the pictures of Danilova as The Sleepwalker. I'm used to seeing only blondes (Kistler, Whelan) dance this role. She seems less ethreal and more sensual. More moody. I like it.
  12. I had read somewhere of the change at one time to Sugar Plum having four cavaliers instead of one. I can't imagine how jarring that must have been! The little tweaks and experiments over the years that Balanchine made to this production are facinating. It seems so strange to compare how many principals the company had at that time compared to now. Of course, they had a much smaller season and repetory then. Maybe I'm easily amused but I also love seeing the old advertisements as well. TransAtlantic voyage anyone? I would really love to see more of these old programs posted if you have anymore RG. Thank you for posting this one.
  13. Speaking from the Midwest, seeing Balanchine choreography danced live is an extremely limited experience. The classic's still dominate the regional dance companies. I suspect the main reasons to be name recognition and inability of smaller companies to stage a Balanchine ballet. Ask ten people where I live if they have heard of Swan Lake or The Sleeping Beauty as a ballet, you would mostly get an afirmative answers. Now, ask those same ten people if they have heard of The Concerto Barocco or Symphony In C ballets and you're going to get 10 blank stares. Heck, ask them if they know of George Balanchine and you will get the same blank look. As someone who loves Balanchine with an enduring and ardent love, it's almost a physical pain in the heart when no one around you knows who and what you're talking about. Are New Yorkers Balanchine-centric? Well if they aren't then they should be! Wave your Balanchine flag( in the colors blue, black and white for Serenade and the black and white ballets) high and proud. I think it's okay for New Yorkers to see new choreography filtered through the lens of Balanchine, in the same way ballet watchers in London see dance through McMillen's looking glass, etc. The "nobody makes meatloaf like my Mom" analogy is very apt.
  14. Amy, I've been having the same exact problem! Thank God I'm not the only one! I thought I was going crazy! I'll click on say around 8:30 am, hit view new content and it will say "only 3 new entries since 5:10AM, or I'll try in the evening and get "2 new entries since 2:45PM. I'm not anywhere around the computer during those times! It's seriously curtailed my viewing experience with BalletTalk. I even accused my husband of spying on what I post here. And for what it's worth I have a Mac as well.
  15. I agree with the above posters regarding Jennifer's Today show appearance. She was calm, warm and open and seemed to me a little overwhelmed by the firestorm. She did acknowledge that she was appreciative of the outpouring of support from so many who rushed to her defense. On a completely shallow note, her shoes were to die for! I didn't appreciate seeing the clips from Black Swan used to suggest that ballerinas are under pressure to be too thin. Gad, I'm sick of that movie!
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