atm711

Breathtaking---every time I see it. There 'ought-a-be-a-law' against anyone else performing this pdd....

In today's NYTimes book review (Artists in Exile) there is a photograph of Balanchine and six female dancers at the barre---the caption reads: "George Balanchine working with his wife, Vera Zorina, at right, and other ballerinas." Nowhere in the photograph do I see Zorina--the first female at the barre is undoubtedly Mary Ellen Moylan. The photograph is on the Times web---perhaps someone with more expertise than I can access it.

Thanks so much Carbro. This short film, 'Gay Parisian' and its companion piece, 'Spanish Fiesta' was my introduction to ballet long before I actually saw a live performance. My older sister took me to see many foreign movies on the old 42nd Street and in between Louis Jouvet, Danielle Darrieux, Grace Moore and Jean-Louis Barrault there would be another showing of these two short Warner Bros. films. I saw them many times; but the one to see, really is 'Spanish Fiesta' with a marvelous Massine. My DVD will be ready to record. A-a-a-gh! I had the date wrong---I thought today was the 2nd-----missed it again.

I saw Osage County this week and it deserves all the hurrahs it has received. The playwright Tracy Letts has given us another memorable character to ruminate over. The character Violet Weston (performed superbly by Deanna Dunagan) joins the hallowed company of Mary Tyrone and Amanda Wingfield; like those two she permeates your very being. She can be quite caustic and has a touch of Medea--and she constantly puts herself out on a limb. She is hard to shake off. The play was long--3 hrs and 10 minutes, with 2 intermissions---unusual in itself for a new play. It was a bumpy ride with this disfunctional family.

yes, I never would have suspected he was that young and it makes his performance all the more remarkable. Such dreadful news. I pray for the peace of his family.

I simply adore 'le Tombeau'. If someone pinned me down and made be pick my favorite Balanchine ballet, this would be it. It wafts over you like a gentle summer breeze and the choreography has the fluidity of a running stream (, yes, I was carried away!) Gonzalo Garcia in the 'Tarantella' wasn't frenetic enough for me, and could have moved a bit faster...(my fault, though--Villella is still in my head). It's been a long time since I have seen 'Bugaku' and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hubbe was quite r emarkable as the Poet in 'Sonnambula'. He looked at home in the role; most performers I have seen in the role look a bit embarassed and don't quite know what to do with the non-dancing parts. Sara Mearns Coquette was a disappointment; she was a too wholesome girl-next-door type. This lady is not to be trifled with.

yes, that's the name.

Wow...! Now i really know that i know nothing... If you did puzzles you'd know

The white haired man on the couch reminds me of photos I have seen of the publisher of Dance Magazine (years ago!). Yes, I agree it is Koesun and Kaye.

In those days dancers were not listed alphabetically...I dont think I am going out on a limb when I say that Balanchine started that. (I have always loved Tallchief's comment when she said---I don't mind being listed alphabetically---I don't want to be treated alphabetically.) Ballet Theatre usually had four names at the top and then listed soloists, and corps separately. Mary Ellen Moylan was the epitome of the Balanchine dancer; if you check around rg's sites I think you will find a photo of her.

TCM is showing a great old war-horse of a film this week; Mayerling (1968) with Omar Sharif as Rudolf; the young Catherine Deneuve (25) as Vetsera, James Mason and Ava Gardner as the Emperor and Empress...whew! There is a long scene at an opera house and Giselle is being performed. (Liane Dayde is the Giselle---POB?, with Genia Melnikova as Myrtha and James Urbain as Albrecht.) There is one beautiful scene where Sharif and Deneuve are gazing at one another and the background music is Giselle's return to the grave. The next scene shows Deneuve sitting at a piano and playing the same music. During the many romantic scenes the background music is the PDD from Spartacus; which is repeated many times during the film.

Thanks nysusan and drb--my day is off to an exhilarating start

I took my time watching it--one act at a time over a few days--trying to let what I saw sink in. I came away disappointed. Many years ago (1946) I saw the Balanchine/Danilova version and was always pretty much dismissive of it.--the ballet, not the performers. At that time, most audiences were not receptive to the 'antique' ballets. We had yet to see the full Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty. The only 'long' ballets around were 'Giselle' and a 2-act Nutcracker. Since that time I have seen most of the Raymondas in the theatre or on tape, and I have come to the conclusion that I was much too harsh on that first version I saw.---the costumes and scenery were by Benois, and they make the Kirov scenery (A-g-gh! those awful drapes) and that silly feather on Kolpakova's head......What really has me 'venting' now is the performance of Kolpakova. To be sure, she is a charming dancer and does indeed have beautiful port-de-bras. The 'pas Hongrois' is my favorite variation, one which I always look forward to. I really could not believe what I saw---flapping hands, and broad Pepsodent smiles. If you are still reading this, bear with me for a moment while I go into a "you-should-have-seen" mold. Alexandra Danilova--that was a Raymonda. She was mysterious, and had a sphinx-like 'above-it-all' demeanor--and those gorgeous legs in the bourrees and the quick passe-releves was really something to see. Today, I am grateful to have seen Ananiashvilli.

Love her ears when flapped down and pointed to the sides...lovely line.

Estelle, unfortunately for Lifar at the time the Company was probably performing for a Balanchine audience. It was at the City Center where I saw my first Balanchine with the Denham Ballet Russe. Palais de Cristal made the best impression on me and I loved the delicate colorings of each movement. I wish I could give you the complete cast, but I only recall the two dancers who made the greatest impression on me---Alexandre Kalioujny in lst mm., and Michel Renault in the 3rd mm. The Lifar ballet I liked the most was 'Mirage', due mostly to the performance of Chauvire. There was another ballet that was great fun to watch that had a grand guignol theme, but I am not sure of the name. There was indeed a large group of picketing outside the theatre. One night, after a performance I got Lifar to autograph my copy of his biography of Diaghilev; he seemed pleased to see a friendly face and w rote a very nice inscription in the book. I tell you, what a handsome man he was up close.

Yes, I did see that tour and it was the first time I saw Chauvire The woman with the handbag does resemble her, but I think not. The one dancer I know I could recognize is Michel Renault and he is not among them. Toumanova was not a part of this tour.

I saw 'On Stage' with Ballet Theatre in which Kidd has been described as Chaplinesque; which he surely was, especially in his PDD with a mop. The ballet was funny and poignant and Janet Reed had one of her best roles at the young dancer auditioning for the Company. R.I.P.

I can see where I will be spending a lot of my time After a brief perusal I was surprised that the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo 1945 'Concerto Barocco' did not show more details. It was historic, in the sense that it was the first time the ballet was performed in "practice clothes".

A biography - 'Blue Blood' which details the whole sorry mess of the Harkness Ballet, written by Craig Unger.

Oh! thanks rg---that is Marie-Jeanne---complete with the small white flowers which sat straight on her head in a circle. I don't recall Ruthanna Boris dancing the Bride.

'Le Baiser de la Fee' is the one I would love to see again. When the Ballet Russe did it in '46 it had a pretty marvelous cast.Franklin was the boy, Tallchief the Gypsy, and Danilova alternated with Marie-Jeanne (who surpassed Danilova in the role) as the bride. I saw it in later revivals with other dancers and it was Marie-Jeanne's bride I missed the most. She was soft and looked like a romantic ballerina in the role---a far cry from her usual steely pointed technique.

Alas! I had that same photograph autographed to me by Alonso --if my memory serves, it said---un carinoso saludo--- Unfortunately, about 20 years ago (during a move) I sold part of my old memorabilia to the Ballet Shop in NYC.

I can't seem to get enough of Lopatkina's Act 2 adagio...it starts off so beautifully slow and she maintains this throughout most of it---I keep playing and re-playing. It is a real love duet; he isn't there just to hold her up--and she is not just showing off her technique--they really relate to one another. A rare quality in this duet.

Those clunky shoes that Schollar is wearing would be fashionable today. Balanchine may have thought Nikitina was an aw-w-w-ful dancer, but she is the prettiest and I love her boots.

To that I would add her Odette. She had a pristine classical line; it's the role I most missed her in when she went to Europe. She had full ballerina status at the time with Ballet Theatre (her name was among the top four; no alphabetising then). She was the first Myrtha I saw (with Toumanova, Markova and Alonso as her Giselle) and she stood her own as the fine ballerina she was. Also, she did a marvelous comic turn as the pig-tailed student in 'Graduation Ball'.