perky

Many of my favorites have been mentioned except for one, the two pas de deux from Balanchine's Chaconne. They are so different from each other! Dance Of The Blessed Spirits is dreamy and gentle, the second pas de deux is formal and decorative. It has has a sly, slightly cheeky wit to it, followed by the super fast variations for the man and woman which build to an extremely exciting finish.

Tension in dancers seems to show up in the hands and neck. I very much admire a dancer with easy relaxed yet "correct" hands. I also want to see energy. It must be such a hard skill to achieve. I remember reading Patty McBride recalling how Balanchine told her to carry a red ball around in her hand while doing barre to achieve the correct placement of her fingers. Does this really work?

I always think of the moment in Apollo when he rests his head in the Muses hands. You know by that point his hair is pretty sweaty.

As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, NYCB has premiered only two ballets at Saratoga, Coppelia on July 17, 1974 and The Steadfast Tin Soldier on July 30,1975. That was over 30 years ago. If Saratoga is as important to NYCB historically and emotionally as they claim then perhaps another premiere would help attendance? Or even a major revival showing at SPAC first? Something that says to the Saratoga audience "you are so important to us that we are going to do this........".

Thanks for the report Jack I wish this performance had been podcast like that performance on the Millineum stage was last time. I'm in desperate need of a Chaconne fix. It seems like quite awhile since NYCB performed it.

Two recent pointless comedy remakes, Fun With Dick And Jane and The In-Laws. The original In-Laws is one of my favorite movies, I love it's sly demented humor, the remake is notable only for making making the great Albert Brooks boring.

I'd vote for Betty Buckley. Yeah I know, she's not a big name like Close or La Streisand so it's not gonna happen.

Alexandra Danilova, Irina Kolpakova, Diana Adams. For some reason I'm stuck in the past

Nureyev is the ideal for me. He was muscular without being bulky, and sleek without being thin. He had the most attractive thighs I've ever seen on any man, let alone a ballet dancer. Regarding the comment about the Bolshoi men, Arlene Croce was reviewing I think a Swan Lake in the sixties or seventies and mentioned the lead man ( an older dancer) as being big in the rear then speculated that he must have helium in that rear as he was able to jump so high!

Thank you Helene and to all the administrators, moderators and behind the scenes people who make this board possible with your attention, time, care and affection. Very nice to hear that Alexandra, The High Priestess Of BalletTalk will be more visible on the board as well. I missed her!

Can we clone Mel's brain? I got dibs on the first one!

Happy Birthday Suzanne, and MANY MANY more!

I don't understand why Martins would do such a monumental thing as take the fall for that other person in the car and then his lawyer spoils that sacrifice by broadcasting it to the press. Now that person he pled guilty to protect is going to fall under intense scrutiny. I don't get it.

Bart, you should apply for an AD job at at a ballet company somewhere It would be a blast to choreograph for all those grotesque characters Austins wrote about so well including Mrs. Bennett, Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins. I think Persuasion would lend itself well to a Antony Tudor type ballet on the order of The Lilac Garden. Emma would make a nice Ashton ballet, gently and affectionately poking fun at those characters and situations. It's been so long since I've read Manfield Park that I don't have a suggestion for that one. Need to re-read it.

The moments in Balanchine's Duo Concertant where the two dancers stand next to the piano and listen. It always strikes me as forced and showy. I never saw the original performers Mazzo and Martins dance it so perhaps is was a more sincere moment then. When Bathilda takes a nap in Giselle's cottage. Bathilda seems like such a high in the instep character to begin with I really don't think she'd consent to lay her precious head down on less than then the finest linens and in a mere hut no less!

Music guilty pleasure: AC/DC, Lionel Ritchie TV guilty pleasure: SpongeBob Squarepants, Benny Hill Movie guilty pleasure: Dumb Steve Martin movies (The Jerk, The Man With Two Brains, The Three Amigos) Personal Grooming guilty pleasure: Big hair

Florence AND NYCB dancers!!! Mama Mia!! This reminds me of when Merrill Ashley would take company members and Balanchine ballets to Hawaii. Not that I was ever lucky enough to go. Is one of the dancers the leader or organizer of this troupe?

It's an inspired casting choice with Anne Hathaway as Jane. She looks the part from the neck up at least. From the neck down she's too thin and tall to be believeable as Austin. Wasn't Jane very short? Plump rounded shoulders were also very much in voque during The Regency.

I just finished The Deathly Hallows last night. I read it rather fast, I couldn't stop myself! So I start rereading it again in a few days, this time slowly so as to savor everything. I think it's a fitting finale to an amazing literary series. I won't get into specific plot points (NO SPOILERS), however I have to say, Voldemort flying without a broom seriously creeped me out!! It just seemed so him, unnatural and spooky as hell. My mouth also opened during the final battle when Molly Weasley called Bellatrix a b......! and then proceeded to fight a mother of duel with her. It seemed appropriate that is was Molly who brought such an evil demented witch down. The part of the book that moved me the most was the walk Harry took into the forest to meet his fate during the battle at Hogwarts. Being surrounded by the spirits of those he loved most as they provided support and love in the most difficult time of life had me in tears. Finally the final battle between Harry and Voldemort was everything and more I could have hoped. To be able to experience the journey of the unloved and neglected Harry we meet in the first pages of the first book to the wise, brave and pure of heart Harry he becomes by the time of the final battle was a pleasure and an honor.

"Unique. celebratory send-off" seems an odd way to phrase a retirement. So perhaps they are celebrating Hubbe's new job as AD of RDB. Maybe they will bring back Bournonville Divertissments to repetory to help say goodbye and good luck?

It is wonderful that Wheeldon has his own company but I'm just as excited about Lourdes Lopez being a Founder/Executive Director of it too! She was always one of my favorites from the 80's. She must be one heck of a multi-tasker with being Executive Director of The George Balanchine Foundation and this.

Who does a critic, specifically in this case Macaulay have a responsibility to? In my opinion it's to the audience but also to the ballets themselves. When he sees a dancer fudging or blurring steps in order to facilitate a declining technique or using inappropriate mannerisms for the same reason it's his job to point it out. It's painful for the audience to see these things, and I'm sure it's painful or at least uncomfortable for him to write about it. I'm sure he takes no joy from "slamming" a dancer. Especially a dancer such as Kistler, who he saw in her prime. He also knows how these Balanchine ballets should be performed. When you cast a dancer who is inadequate to the task (privilege) of dancing these Balanchine roles not just once or twice but season after season it's almost the same as taking a knife to a priceless Picasso. As time marches on the more fragile the Balanchine repetory becomes. Don't let a dancer who has no business dancing that part anymore break that fragile, unraveling thread. Give that role to a dancer that can bring it back to glorious vibrant life again. THAT'S the AD's as well as a critic's job, service to the ballet not to a dancer's ego.

I always enjoy reading Gottlieb's observations on NYCB. Ever since I read that Vanity Fair piece he wrote around 10 or 12 years ago I've always eagerly looked for any of his written pieces. I don't always agree with him, for instance he seems to be way too harsh on some dancers over and over again. But as he shows in this article he isn't afraid to say something positive about a dancer if he sees progress made. I think it was him who called Maria Koswroski a "beautiful blank". I'm happy he has acknowledged the breakthrough she has made through the last few seasons.

I just fell in love!!! Tanny's just gorgeous! She has the soul of an artist in her beautiful doggy eyes My dream is to have enough pets to name them all after Balanchine's wives and muses.

That was one of the best interviews with a dancer I've ever read! What a charming, down to earth lovely dancer and woman she is. Lucky Joe and Cameron to have her for a mom