atm711

How true, How true The 'La Sonnambula' sleepwalker was waiting for Allegra Kent, and the 2nd movement of the Bizet needed a Farrell or an Ananiashvilli. They were better than their predecessors. (I still can't get those blue boxes for a quote.....

They had better get busy...the movie with Tom Hanks will be here soon :rolleyes: edited to fix quote box

Two ballerinas come to mind--Maria Tallchief and Farrell. Tallchief fits into the 'wildness' category; there was a wonderful freedom to her dancing in her soloist days. Instead of being all over the place, Balanchine reined in all this energy, and it was startling to see her Eurydice----she started to become a ballerina with this role. This was completed the following year with 'Firebird'. For me, there have always been two Farrells---pre and post Bejart. She left a soloist and came back a ballerina.

In 2002 at the City Center I saw Paloma Herrera in a 'Sylvia PDD' that can only be described as awesome---it wasn't just one balance---everytime she struck a pose she could have stayed perched forever, it seemed, and there were no visible swayings.

The Dream---because I think this surpasses the Balanchine version--but, more on topic, it shows the elegance and panache of the man.

I remember how excited I was seeing 'Flower Festival' the first time it was broadcast, I think, in 1962. It was the first time we got a glimpse of Nureyev. He is a charming country bumpkin in this, something I fully realized later when I saw Bournonville trained dancers do this PDD. (He was a r eplacement for the ailing Erik Bruhn). and weren't those Chaine turns of Tallchief in "Allegro Brilliante' something to see? She pulled out all the stops.

With all this talk about Balanchine and the crotch, what I found most disturbing was the clip from Ashton'sMonotones. The female dancer, clad in a white long-sleeved, long legged leotard, with a white cap on her head, and white pointe shoes, raises her leg to 6 o'clock while being slowly turned by two men---I thought, How Grotesque! she looked like a flag pole.

The Second movement of Symphony in C---nobody does it better than I do in my head and the solo waltz in Les Sylphides.......

While the show was being taken down, a bystander thanked Jean Claude for the display---and she said "Don't thank us -- we didn't do it for you -- Artists do it for themselves".

I am astonished by today's ballerinas and soloists who have the rock-solid steadiness to hold a balance, it seems to me, until they CHOOSE to end it and the music is running out. This aura of danger and tension did not only occur in Agon PDD; it was evident in most of the supportingPDD at the time. This rock-solid steadiness wasn't there in any abundance in the 50's, and I do miss it in Agon. [Edited by Estelle to add a "quote" tag]

There are three that I saw who come to mind---Tamara Toumanova, Mia Slavenska and Nora Kaye who were much more successful in Act I. Toumanova was my very first Giselle (with Dolin) and I realized how unsuited she was to Act 2 when I saw Markova and Alonso. Slavenska was a very healthy village girl and her Act 2 was a real "hoot!". She had a very glittery tutu with a plunging vee neck, topped by her flaming red hair. Nora Kaye had a very successful Act 1 and she proved she could be quite vulnerable; she really was not suited to Act 2, and she also had to put up with those awful Berman sets with the blue/black tutus of the Corps. (The Nora Kaye Giselle was broadcast live in July of 1950 and there must be a kinescope (?) of it somewhere)

After seeing the POB 'Paquita' I found the story so convoluted that I want back to Beaumont's Complete Book for clarification . What impressed me most about the production was the recreation of a romantic ballet costume I have always loved. Just below the bodice of the dress is a few inches of open netting; a design I have come across many times in the old lithographs. In spite of the story I was so pleased to see a recreation of Act 1; these are treasures we should not lose. Thibault was outstanding in the pas de trois (is he an etoile yet?). In Act 2, the fouettes performed by Letestu are among the most beautiful I have seen. I actually did see Danilova's version of Paquita in which she performed. If the production seemed 'bald' to Ms. Croce perhaps it was because the Ballet Russe operated on a shoe-string in those days.

I chose Giselle---because of the anxiety a ballerina must feel over the interpretation. Fireworks wont help her out of this one.

I bought this video because I was curious about 'Scheherazade'. The last time I saw the ballet it was performed by the Denham Ballet Russe with Danilova as Zobeide and Frederic Franklin as the favorite slave. The Kirov production appears to have more solo dancing for Zobeide; I do not recall Danilova in a long solo; but then, she performed in very high-heeled shoes. The Odalesques are just as I remembered. What I did miss, however, was the famous 'spin-on-the-neck' of the favorite slave, just before being slaughtered. Franklin accomplished this beautifully and he and Danilova were quite passionate.

Just one more comment about the color, I promise :rolleyes: I went to my local Macy' s this morning and walked through the new Spring line of clothes---suits, coats, jackets, sweaters, blouses, pants were all aglow in Saffron? Pumpkin? Orange?---only the color was variously identified as Coral--Pimento--and Fire. Cristo may be able to recoup some of his money by turning the shades into dresses. In a more restrained tone: I would not want to see the gates in MY park. The Park I walk in almost every day (I recall reading somewhere that it was designed by Olmstead) is b eautiful and serene, especially now with the frozen ponds and white snowy hilltops and and the black branches of the trees. The Gates are an intrusion of public space---and the Park should not be violated for someone's artistic interest. Buy your own Park.

That bit of 'business' about the gunner was not in the ballet in 1944. I am not sure when it was added, but I know it startled me at the time, and although a small thing, it has always bothered me.

Saffron?-----I don't think so. I use saffron quite a bit in my cooking and it looks nothing like 'the gates'.---Pumpkin, yes.

I have the DVD---and it is worth it just to see Tallchief in 'Allegro Brilliante'. She was so successful after she left NYCB that we sometimes have to be reminded of what a great Balanchine interpreter she was.

Well--the artistic side of the venture escaped me I do agree with Farrell Fan---it could be mistaken for a construction site. I suppose I am always suspicious of artists who have to clone one theme hundreds of times to give it some weight. I did like what Cristos did in Paris; he draped a bridge across the Seine and it was so ethereal, it looked like it could go straight up into the clouds.

I haven't seen it yet, but I will. The color has turned me off, though---it is like the color of the jumpsuits worn by prisoners......

In her day, Krassovska had a beauty that was only rivalled by Toumanova's. The one ballet she was made for is 'Les Sylphides'. I did not see her 'Giselle'. Another role she excelled in was Balanchine's 'Le Bourgeoise Gentilhomme'. She would have been a wonderful 'Sleepwalker', (Night Shadow). If she ever did dance the role, it was not in New York; Danilova danced it then.

Sat Mat 2/12 Jewels I read Rockwell's review of Wed. eve performance, and for once, I can agree with him. I did find him too restrained in his views of Whelan's Diamonds. I don't know when I have seen a dancer more unsuited to a role. She attacked the role as though it was one of the leotard ballets---no poetry, and worst of all, no femininity. Her poor skinny arms moved like dried twigs. I say this as an admirer of Whelan...a few years a go I saw her Odette on the s ame day that I saw Ananiashvilli's---and she stood up quite well in the comparison. Her performance was more than an 'off day'. Seth Orza in the pas de trois of Emeralds showed us a beautiful easy flowing technique, what a gorgeous line and such an easy jump. The male corps was in top form in Diamonds---where else can you see a male corps made up of 16 men? I always regret that Balanchine did not give them more to do as a group. They were in top form at this performance.