perky

Here's my two cents: ABT at The Met-mixed bill(1984) Les Sylphides, Sylvia pas de deux, Paquita ABT Giselle with Makarova The Kirov Ballet in London(1988) including a charming Elena Pankova in La Vivandiere and an ageless Irina Kolpakova in Le Papillon The Glory of the Bolshoi(1995) Essential Ballet- Stars of the Russian Ballet (1992/93) Asylmuratova/Zaklinsky in The Leaves are Fading pas de deux(it looks a little under rehearsed, but who cares? I'd pay money to see Asylmuratova dance the macarena! ) and Nina Ananiashvili in Don Q Of all my Choreography by Balanchine Tapes the ones I love and play the most are: Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze and Tzigane, Andante from Divertimento No. 15 and The Four Temperaments X-mas wish list (in case Santa is viewing): Any ballets on video by Frederick Ashton Royal Ballet La Bayadere with Asylmuratova

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and information about this ballet. I'm really a bit of a novice when it comes to Ashton's ballets, but what I've seen so far I love. I find it a bit weird that the two choreographers I like and admire the most (Balanchine and Ashton), are so different from each other! It makes me wonder what it is that makes me respond in such a positive way to each of thier ballets. To my eye they are both very musical and what Alexandra said about Ashton "so smooth and subtle" could also apply to Balanchine I suppose. If anyone else has anything to add about this ballet please do. Thanks again!

What can anyone tell me about this ballet. I know it's based on Turgenev's play using music by Chopin. I guess what I want to know is, have you seen it? And what do you think of it? I have a video called Great Pas De Deux that has a short piece of it with Makarova and Dowell dancing a pas de deux. It's a very bittersweet and lovely pas that looks like Beliaev has just told Natalia he is leaving. It's make me hungry to see the whole ballet! I don't think it is available on video (Hopefully I'm wrong.) Also is the ballet still being performed by the Royal Ballet? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

Oh how exciting! My heart was actually beating faster reading your post! Quick question regarding Mozartiana (1933/45), What dancers did Mr. B choreograph it for in 1933 and then in 1945? Was it Danilova and Franklin in both? Did Tamara Toumanova ever dance a version of Mozartiana? By the way Carbro, thanks very much for your posting about this important lecture/demo. :grinning:

Very cheeky Hans! :yes: I'll do my best. By the way in response to your previous post, it should be one and a half to two hours long. Might want to tape to that you don't have to sit through the endless commercials for toys, it is Nickelodeon after all.

Treefrog, my daughter already pesters me enough about buying everything related to Barbie Swan Lake. One more whine and my bloody head will explode!!

For all of you who are interested ( or even morbidly curious ), Nickelodeon will air Barbie of Swan Lake on November 16th noon eastern time. I'm a little suprised they are airing it on TV so soon. I would have thought they would want to milk the video sales as much as they could for Christmas. :shrug:

I loved reading all of Leigh's articles on the Balanchine Archive Project. So interesting! Two questions; Will you be writing more articles? and have you thought about expanding and compiling the articles into book form and have it published that way? I would love to own a book like that. By the way you got me hooked, I'm going to subscribe to Danceview!

Thank you so much Peppermint for your post. I only live 2 hours from Ann Arbor and wanted to attend but was unable to get out of a previously scheduled event. Reading your wonderful post eases my heartbreak a little. :nopity: By the way, I want to be first in line for that audience that gets to dance in a Balanchine ballet. Thanks again!

Piccolo, please post your observations and thoughts about the performance and syposium. I'd love to read it! Thanks

Silvy, There is also a nice chapter about Osipenko in the book "The Great Russian Dancers" by Gennady Smakov. Lots of beautiful pictures and details on what roles she danced. You can probably check it out at your library.

I'll go as Petipa's Esmeralda............now I just have to find a goat!

I was in the library with my daughter when she spotted the Barbie of Swan Lake illustrated book and begged me to check it out. The storyline follows the standard Swan Lake story with a few "improvements". Odette saves a unicorn from being captured, a fairy queen gives her a magic crystal as thanks, a troll named Erasmus guards the Book of Forest Lore, there's a porcupine and a skunk who dance in the forest with Odette and Prince Daniel, and of course a happy ending. Also, Odile looks, how to say this delicately?...........BUTT UGLY! Looks like Rothbart mated with a hedgehog to produce her. So after reading this book, I've decided to not purchase this video for my daughter and will purchase the Kirov or Royal Ballet video of Swan Lake for her. :rolleyes:

Will any BalletTalker's be attending the Oct. 31 performance and the following days Balanchine Symposium? The Creating With Balanchine, moderated by Francis Mason, with Suzanne Farrell, Violette Verdy and Edward Villella (what a trio!) sounds particularly facinating.

Paul, Is the video featuring Antoinette Sibley as Princess Florine still available to purchase? I would love to have it! She's always been my favorite from the Royal Ballet. Such a sensitive and beautiful dancer. I love reading recollections of her dancing days.

My ballet from heck is from the movie Center Stage. It's the one at the end that the Ethan Stiefel character choreographs. The film makers present this ballet as "hip", more revelant than the previous ballet performed which was more classical and traditional. If a "hip" ballet includes motorcycles on stage, simulated humping on a bed, and a cheesy disco finale, than count me out. I'll be a traditional ole fuddy duddy the rest of my life. The whole situation in the movie seems similar to that time in the 1960's and early 70's when ballets like Astarte and Maurice Bejarts ballets were supposed to be a reaction againest the elitest art form of classical ballet, the Swan Lakes and so forth. That was 40 years ago! Yet Center Stage suggests it as some radical new idea. How "hip" is that? I know there are some younger posters who like this movie, so I'm not trashing the whole film, just that particular nauseating ballet in it. :green:

What can anyone tell me about Marjorie Spohn? I have only seen her dance featured roles on video but something about her makes her stand out to me. She had a flowing quality to her dancing that's quite beautiful, and long graceful legs. The performances on video are from Divertimento No. 15 and The Four Temperaments. What other roles did she dance?

Out of all of Petipa's "lost" ballets, this is the one I would like to see revived. I don't think it has been performed since the early 1900's. Is this correct? How would one go about reviving a lost ballet? If notation of the ballet is available I assume that would be a big start. What other resources would you use? In one of my ballet books is a picture of Michael Mordkin as Ta-Hor and Anna Pavova as Aspicia that has fueled my imagination of this ballet. It seems to have had many on the qualities that make me love La Bayadere so much; exotic locales, fanciful costumes and stretches of pure classical dance. Any additional information on this ballet would be appreciated.

Don't be like me. I've lurked since 2000 before I finally got up the courage to post for the first time in July this year. What a dork!

A very Happy Birthday indeed! Much like a good ballet performance, you fill a sometimes starved entity, my soul. Thank you.

I feel I'm a part of a community of people that love ballet as much as I do. Sometimes it's nice to belong.

Can I make a request for the next Balanchine ballets for BalletMet to stage? How about Symphony in C or Who Cares? Pleeeaaase! Also Grace, Daryl Brandwood was not performing at the show I saw. I did notice that they had two casts performing 2 shows each, however Daryl and his partner Carrie West were the only dancers scheduled to perform more than twice. They were scheduled for 3 shows and he seemed to be featured alot in thier advertisments. Maybe someone else went to his performance and could comment on it for you.

Jewels is a debut for BalletMet, so I thought I should comment on the performance. They did a wonderful job of bringing this ballet to life, with the help of Repetiteurs Elyse Borne and Bart Cook. All of the dancers looked happy and energized. Emeralds seems like such a hard ballet to get just right. It has such an elusive fleeting quality to it, but they did a good job of it. Cheryl Sullivan and Anthony Krutzkamp had a lovely chemistry and rapport together, and Jamie Dee and Hisham Omardien in the walking pas de deux were mysterious and shimmering. The dancers took the cheeky style of Rubies and ran with it! They looked like they were having a ball. Mishic Marie Corn was long limbed and glamorous in the solo girl part. Although all of the ballets were done well, to me Diamonds was the best performed. Kristi Capps was glorious and confident in the Suzanne Farrell role, and Dmitri Trubchanov was a gallant cavalier. The corp handled all the intricate maunueverings beautifully. I hope they keep Jewels in the active repertory. They did a fantastic job and should be proud!

Well I lived in India for a while a few years ago, does that count? Is there anybody out there in India, Pakistan, or there abouts?

carbro and dirac's above postings have given me food for thought and also some questions? If you're reading a dancers autobiography, should the narrative or tone reveal or shed light on her real life everyday self, or on her dance persona? I have read Margot Fonteyn's book and agree that it's writing style is close to her dance style. Another example is Maria Tallchief's book. Although I never saw her dance in person, it seems like her dance style is very close to her writing style. So, if dance persona=writing style, what should have Suzanne Farrell's books narrative been like? I hope this all makes sense. Just tell me whould have made the book better for you.