atm711

Whew!!--this news really opened my eyes this morning. Dale, do you know if online ordering will be available tomorrow?

I saw Guillem and Russell Maliphant in their 'Push' program last October (here in NYC) and what a marvelous stage personality she is---still! I hope you get to see her.

i've now scanned this photo of tallchief and magallanes around the time of the premiere, it's obviously posed but still relates to ballet's beginnings.

In Haggin's 'Ballet Chronicles' there is an action photo of this very pose (Fred Fehl). The white billowing curtain is in the background. It differs in small details from the posed photo. Tallchief's r. wrist is pointed sharply upward, her r. leg is bent at the knee, but does not encircle his--and Magallanes is leaning slightly forward and looking more to his right...this is how they covered the stage before the white curtain took over

Better late than never!

I also found her observations regarding Orpheus enlightening. I've often wondered why people speak of this ballet as having lost it's power and intensity over the years. Milberg danced one of the furies at the premiere and writes of seeing it performed by NYCB during the company's fiftieth anniversary season. She was stunned by how different it looks.

Her candor in describing this was refreshing. I haven't seen 'Orpheus' since the early days of its premiere and was looking forward to seeing it this season; but I hesitate after reading her words. I can still recall the astonishment of the audience as the billowing white curtain (the best dancer on the stage?) consumed the performers. I enjoyed her book so much, it reawakened the whole period for me. I recall her as a student at SAB; but my impressions of her at the time was that she was usually angry at something.

Well put, nySusan In this day of colorless technicians her artistry is a revelation.

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's "Gay Parisian" has finally been released on DVD (accompanied by "Maltese Falcon").

I can't believe it! This film, along with its companion piece, "Spanish Fiesta" (Capriccio Espanol) was my introduction to ballet. As a teenager I saw it many times in the old Times Square 'Art Movie Houses'. A few years ago it appeared out of nowhere on one of the Cable TV channels. I hope "Spanish Fiesta" is also released---a great pdd by Massine and Toumanova.---I can't understand how Bogart got in the mix

what sweetness---could they be Hansel and Gretel?

This led me to think about Alicia Alonso, who was miscast in several ballets, especially Giselle, but who triumped through sheer willpower, and the ability to impose herself and her powerful (even when waning) technique on any role. Who could imagine a Giselle who willed herself through the steps, dominated her own madness, and was actually a stronger personality than Myrthe?

"especially Giselle" :blush: Bart, are you trying to give me apoplexy? I assume you are referring to the Cuban Giselles, of which there are too many clips on the market., They have to be viewed with a grain (pound?) of salt. They are a pale record of a most sublime Giselle. At the time I saw her (live with Youskevitch) I also saw Alicia Markova, Fonteyn, Nora Kaye, Yvette Chauvire, Toumanova and Slavenska. For me, the only one who could touch her at the time was Chauvire. Generally, I avoided the Cuban Giselles and wished they weren't on the market---but then I thought, if people allow for her age, health and partnerships, they might see a glimmer of what made her memorable.

That aside, my favorite casting from Hell is Viviana Durante in Petit's "Carmen"---which I saw live

I saw Part 1 yesterday and I am delighted that I have tickets for Parts 2 and 3. Part 1 covers the years 1833 to 1844, and all the political undercurrents Russia was experiencing at that time are thrown at you rapidly--the quote in the Program from 'The Tempest' sums it up --"How did we become the Caliban of Europe?" I like the way one critic put it (Peter Marks, Wash.Post): "...theatregoers have to take it on faith that investing time in Part 1 will lead to more substantial profit in Parts 2 and 3." This is what I felt while watching it. There is a lot to absorb; but it does settle in. Billy Crudup deserves every bit of the praise he has received for his portrayal of Belinsky. The Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center is one of my favorites--it is a very broad theater and the stage action spills in to the audience. The staging is sumptuous---and I am haunted by the setting of the Gentry in their finery dining at a glittering feast while a small army of serfs standing absolutely still watches them from behind a scrim....

Thanks for the push---I can't make it this weekend--but I just reserved a tape of 'Esplanade' from the Library.

Brava Veronika!

I can't believe it...I have been holding out to order my SB tickets---hoping for either a Part or an Ananiashvilli---when I read Dale's post I called the box office and added this to my order...Now, perhaps, Part & Gomes will be named Principals

sorry I demoted Gomes---ABT already had the wisdom to elevate him...

Four people whose opinions I respect are urging me to see 'Esplanade'--but I will save it for Taylor's next visit---this weekend I will be delving into Stoppard's 'Coast of Utopia'---snow and all....

Not exactly elderly--but the Prince's mother in Patrice Bart's POB Swan Lake is as sexy a figure as any you might see in a ballet :rolleyes:---and the PDD with mother and son is eye-popping...

After Paul and nysusan's endorsement of 'Esplanade'--I looked and found a description of the Work---I think I have seen clips of this Work...If I am not mistaken, Taylor uses the Bach Double violin concerto---Perhaps if he hadn't used "Balanchine's Music" I could view this work without any prejudices---but Concerto Barocco is so embedded in my head that I could never appreciate another conception...

I agree he has some wonderful dancers in his Company---this was true especially in the beautifully lyrical 'Roses'. In the first part he used five couples; the women wearing black sleeveless floor length dresses with billowing skirts. From the program notes, I could not identify any of the couples; although I wish I knew the lead couple who were so admirable. Lisa Viola was in the second segment (she is so unique, and easy to identify) She was dressed all in white and her partner was Tresnovec. She was a disappointing contrast to the first couple; Viola is more suited to the athletic and dramatic, rather than the poetic. But, I am learning....and I will be wary of the music score.

I read mostly biographies and right now I am two-thirds of the way through Doris Kearns Goodwin "A Team of Rivals" on the presidency of Lincoln.---it is eye-opening to read of his Cabinet---(most of them did not agree with him)---it is a pleasure sometimes to sink back into the past.....

I can sometimes be a late bloomer; it took me 50 years to discover Paul Taylor --but discover him I did I saw his Company for the first time about 3 years ago ('Airs', 'In The Beginning', 'Piazzolla Caldera'); I saw 'Airs' performed by a ballet company, but it didn't register with me. Last Sunday I saw another of his programs --'Roses'; 'Book of Beasts' and 'Company B'--and I found it to be a real pleasure to watch a dance program and love everything I saw. In thinking about Taylor's choreography I came away feeling that he is a legitimate heir to Tudor, deMille and Robbins. He combines their drama, wit and lyricism.

This is my pet hate: either pin it up and keep it that way or cut it off.

I'm with you. Most of the time the hair looks stringy. Perhaps if the flowing tresses looked like a shampoo commercial, I might change my mind.---but I don't think so.

Am I missing something?---or has 'Ballet Review' been renamed--'Ballet and Cinema'? Is Mr. Mason having a tough time finding ballet articles? How else to justify thirteen pages devoted to Japanese cinema? On the first page of his article Don Daniels made a very weak reference to Balanchine ("....the most comprehensive collection of great modern roles for female performers this side of Balanchine....")--and at the end latched on to a review of ABT---go figure!

How many males today would do a ribbon dance in tights? <Asaf Messerer in The Ribbon Dance

I liked it; it was very powerful.

I once saw Igor Youskevitch do a ribbon dance in 'The Red Poppy'--he was bare chested and a lot handsomer than Messerer. :blush:

I really can't add much to British and American tastes...but I surely hope Stoppard's 'Coast of Utopia' survives the trip across the Atlantic. I will be seeing all 3 parts next month at considerable cost and most reviews have been mixed.....

As to 'Faith Healer' in addition to Fiennes it also had Cherry Jones, a New York favorite.

I have had my eye on the Swedish Swan Lake, I borrowed it 2 or 3 times from my library just to see it again. I finally ordered it at the sale price of $21.97. Nathalie Nordquist is a very young, sweet, unaffected Odette.

3] balanchine's 1937 version;

I saw a revival of this in 1946 by the Denham Ballet Russe. I am not sure how grand the production was; the Denham Company appeared to exist on a 'shoestring'; but I was enchanted with Marie-Jeanne as the Bride (saw Danilova, too, but felt she was unsuited to the part) and Maria Tallchief was truly marvelous as the mysterious Fairy. It would be wonderful to see a grand production of this work.

There is a video tape out there with Marcia Haydee and the Hamburg ballet.

I have only been to one Gala---last April, the Youth America Grand Prix at the NYCity Center---my first and last I came away feeling as though I had eaten too many rich desserts and craved something more substantial. There should be a ban on performing the Swan Lake white PDD as a separate piece---it simply doesn't work with a blaring blue background.

Many thanks, Violin Concerto.

If I'm not mistaken, the unidentified dancers in photo #2 are Tanaquil LeClerq as a young teen and Andre Eglevsky.

That photo is of 'Danses Concertantes' (Berman costumes) and it is from her Ballet Russe days--LeClercq was not a part of that Company and neither was Eglevsky at that time---the male dancer looks like Alexander Goudovich; female dancer, could be Elena Kramarr.