atm711

It left me misty-eyed---it's all gone with the wind...

Thank you, DSanderson, I ordered it from Video Universe. It's expected Nov. 15 to Nov. 21--we shall see , and yes, Helene, I agree--order from Amazon whenever possible.

This keeps getting more curious---after reading these last few replies, I have contacted Amazon again (for the third time). I tried to get it at the Performing Arts Shop at Lincoln Center, but no luck. I have taken refuge in the DVD of Zakharova's 'Swan Lake'.

"Good night, sweet Prince, and flights of angels

sing thee to thy rest"

The Producers--with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I saw Lane and Broderick in the musical, but neither of them were comparable to the originals. Mostel had an underlying 'craziness' , an obsessiveness that made his portrayal so appealing. Lane came across as a good con man, and Broderick gave a pretty good imitation of Gene Wilder.

And why has nobody mentioned Serge Lido in France?

Yes, yes.. how could I forget him---I once had two of his books. I loved his photos of French dancers in the 40's. Some very striking ones of Jeanmaire. His books introduced me to Petit, Babilee and Paris Opera dancers before they hit my shores.

Many thanks for your replies---Amazon did e-mail me and said I was one step ahead of them--their supplier is late (again!) and the new delivery date is early December. (I have tried to find it elsewhere, but no luck---Amazon has managed to placate me by offering free one-day service

Fred Fehl has always been my favorite. When you see his photographs---you are there seeing the performance. I quote below some of his comments:

"To me ballet is the most fascinating and beautiful movement of the human body that can be captured by the camera. I photograph various aspects of the performing arts, but nothing is as gratifying to me as classical ballet. And I always prefer photographing during performance, because a performer alone offers the flow of movement as well as the artists' highest emotional expression. Of course, two things are all-important. First, one must be an expert photographer and, second, one must have a keen sense and understanding of dance movement. The most interesting experience for me is showing these action photographs to the artists and watching their amazement, surprise, enthusiasm--or, sometimes, disappointment when they see that they did something wrong, for the pictures show them as the audience saw them. Choreographers who dance in their own ballets will infrequently notice some step they wish they had not done and make corrections for the next performance."

I am trying to locate a copy of the DVD. I placed my order with Amazon on July 11 and I am waiting very impatiently for it. The last delivery date I had was for Nov. 2--and it has been put off again Is there any hope of finding it elsewhere?

Two of The Swedish Royal Ballet's Principal dancers Marie Lindqvist and Anna Valev danced in the ballet "252 days" at the end of their pregnancy.

This is in the same class as Demi Moore's pregnant nude body on the cover of Vanity Fair.

NYCB 'Picnic at Tintagel' --Fred. Ashton.

Delightful news. I'm so glad that motherhood is not passing her by.

But as odd as this may sound, I think Swan Lake is a perfect choice for a 5-year old. Kids inherently respond to fairy tales like Swan Lake, and the music is beyond compare. Seriously, plop down with Makarova and Dowell in Swan Lake, and I bet you the kid will be carried away.

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The recent Burmeister Swan Lake with Zakharova would be a good choice for a 5 year old, since it is the original fairy tale and they live happily ever after.....

As for Gong.  My wife enjoyed it and I didn't.  I generally do not relate very well to Mark Morris and accept my wife's occasional judgement that, at times, I am a cultural lout.

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A cultural lout?--no, no, Mark D--not in this case.

I agree with you Michael, that Saturday matinee of Faun was truly special. I was also much impressed with Herrera in the Paquita PDD. She always reminds me of the old nursery rhyme: "There was a little girl who had a curl, right in the middle of her forehead---when she was good, she was very very good--and when she was bad she was horrid". I thought she was very very good! It was her demeanor that impressed me; if it is possible to be both regal and simple at the same time, she achieved this; and the absence of any kind of mugging or ingratiating herself to the audience brought to mind another truly regal ballerina--Alicia Alonso. Les Sylphides was a letdown, although I did like seeing the two soloists, Yuriko Kajiya and Zhong-Jing Fang in leading roles. There was little other-worldliness about it. which wasn't helped by Dvorovenko's broad smiles and complete lack of style.

It's been at least 20 years since I have seen this Company--known then as the Central Ballet of China. They performed "The Red Detachment of Women" and a third rate 'Swan Lake".--but, as they say: "They've come a long way, baby".

Overall, I found "Red Lantern" to be good production; the choreography was simplistic and a bit monotonous and there was little or no batterie. The dances for the female corps are like most of what can be seen on CCTV. The use of all the

rhythmically stomping men and the people walking aimlessly in the back ground brought Jooss to mind. The production was beautiful (if that is what you yearn for at the ballet) and I particularly liked the second act with the Peking Opera and the very inventive mah-jongg dance.

...the less said the better...

Mike, I saw 'Lantern' and enjoyed it very much as dramatic theater.  It reminded me very VERY much of the best of the Boris Eifman works.

Oh, dear---I will have to try VERY hard to keep an open mind when I see this Friday night

I came across a very good interview with Jillana---and she addresses, very eloquently, most of the topics discussed here.

http://www.criticaldance.com/interviews/20...llana020603html

(when I clicked on the above, I got criticaldance--the interview is somewhere... )

Thanks, Natalia, for the background information on the dancers...I will be seeing them in Brooklyn later this month, unfortunately, they are only doing 'Red Lantern'.

  Some of the largest crowds I have seen there were for the Eifman MUSAGETE.

...and that's because of the large Russian emigre communities of Brooklyn and Staten Island......they flock to all his stuff

    I also wonder how much tickets cost for the old touring companies, and whether they were any more affordable to audiences Back Then, than ballet tickets are today.

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Back then I could earn $1.00 an hour as a part-time typist---this paid for my ballet tickets....standing room at the Met Opera House was $1.80 and my balcony seat at the City Center was $1.10.---I guess someone can translate this into today's economy.

On Monday night the Met Opera put on a dazzling show...Act 1 of Marriage of Figaro; Act 2 of Tosca; and Act 3 of Samson and Delilah. With great ease, Bryn Terfel went from Figaro to Scarpia and Placido Domingo was our Samson. They were both highly praised, and even my untutored ear could appreciate them. Angela Gheorghiu was Tosca and was quite magnificent in her red gown and abundant cape. I found her to be a low-key Tosca (I don't mean this vocally!); and I missed the passion of Callas; although, even to my ear, she has a better voice than the Divine Maria. The Philistines got to show off their debauchery in Samson and Delilah; the only positive note of the choreography is that they had to employ 30 dancers.

I was 'blown away' by her performance in "Theme and Variations" (the original version--not that later one ) I saw Alicia Alonso originally in the role, and I thought I would never see her equal---They both had the marvelous aristocratic style, but overlayed with a patina of softness.

I just have to bring to attention this wonderful ballerina.

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