atm711

The photos are wonderful---they are so alive--they jump out at you. I also loved the photo of Hans Beck---and I have seen that clasping of the hands in the photo on men who would never be considered effeminate---to me, it's the pose of a man deep in thought.

Bravo, Michael---what fun to read!

The point I was trying to make is that the 1945 version of the 'Ave, Verum Corpus' could also be interpreted as being about death--it was sad and lyrical, and it was not interpreted as being about HIS death. I see no reason for connecting his death to the later version.

Maria Tallchief---she and the music were one---even before her Balanchinazon.

Great!

JA made me wince with the following:

"Balanchine made 'Mozartiana' two years before his death, and many people believe that it is about his death". He also did a similar version of 'Mozartiana' in 1945 using the same "Ave, Verum Corpus". It was as beautiful as the later use of the music. In that production a lovely soloist named Dorothy Etheridge (think, Jenifer Ringer) performed this part, which was called 'Prayer' carried on stage in a reclining position supported by two men.---but, I am getting away f rom myself---in 1945 NOBODY said he was thinking of his death---so why second-guess him now?

Thanks, FF--I have just ordered my tickets for the 18th---would like to meet others who will be there.

Patricia, I can't agree with you more about Paul Szilard's book. Dreadful! When I saw a photo of him, I thought I knew him. Shortly before he became an "impressario" I came in contact with him while I was taking a few classes with a Russian teacher (I think it was Orest Sergievsky). He was Mr. Bragodoccio in those days, too and a decidedly oily character. What really amazed me though, was that a few years later he was partnering Nora Kaye in 'Giselle'---in Japan! He was not too impressive in the technique department--he was already about 40 when I knew him.

Well, I just finished reading a book called "The Secret" by Eva Hoffman on the very subject--so I feel fully qualified to name my clones:

Diaghilev

Balanchine

Tudor

This has been a real trip down Memory Lane for me! I saw that Apollo with the cast you mentioned--Diana Adams also gave "birth" to Eglevsky--and I can still see his slow pirouettes as he untangled himself from his swaddling clothes. Having seen Alonso's "Giselle" in the 40's and 50's---I stay far away from the later videos of her--but I am sure it's better than not seeing it. As glorious as these dancers were, their famous roles have been well taken care of by later generations--particularly Farrell's 'Terpsichore' and Asylmuratova's 'Theme & Variations. Youskevitch is the hard one to replace. He did not have the elegance of a Bruhn or Malakhov--nor the macho heroic style of a Vasiliev or a Mukhamedov--he fell somewhere in between. He was at ease with his masculinity---you never felt he was shouting "Look At Me"! He had a charming habit of tilting his head to one side (I always loved this about him and thought I was the only one who took note of this, but Edwin Denby also mentioned it). Danseur Noble is a phrase written for him.

Yes, most Drosselmeyers should be relegated to the 'dustbin' accompanied by the Joker of Swan Lake.

The "Nutcracker" is not high on my list of favorites and recent Drosselmeyers have pushed it way down--I come away feeling that a child protective agency should be notified.--Added to this is Paul Parish's recent musings on what Odette is really doing at the end of the Swan Lake Act II PDD when she is performing those petits battements!. Pretty soon I shall take Balanchine's advice---close my eyes and enjoy the music.

Ashton's 'The Dream' with Ferri and a surprisingly good Stiefel

Ananiashvilli in 'Symphony in C' and "Offenbach in the Underworld";a fabulous 'Sylvia PDD" with Herrera and Gomes; the emerging talent of David Hallberg; and of course, the Kirov "Bayadere".

Yesterday I went to the 'Winter Garden' to see the seven new models for the WTC site. This is a space I visited often before 911 for small concerts and restaurants, and just to enjoy the beautiful atrium. It was my first visit back, and also my first look at the so-called ground zero, which I viewed from within the 'Winter Garden' -- which was once joined to the WTC by an enclosed bridge. I feel that the Lower Manhattan Design Center has put too many restraints on the architects--i.e., "preserving the footprints of the Twin Towers for memorial related space, restoring a powerful, tall symbol in the lower Manhattan skyline..." I found the preservation of the footprints in all the designs depressing and morbid. I think it is time for the politicians to remove themselves from the project (ha!, what a case). Two or three of the designs were particularly insensitive for this site--the buildings curved towards one another, and at certain angles looked like they were about to collapse.

I saw a production at the "Met" some time ago of Poulenc's opera, "Dialogue of the Carmelites". I was sitting way up in the family circle and I was completely entranced with the staging of the work. I wish I could remember who staged it. (I hope some of our opera buffs can answer this) It was spare and lean and the performers moved beautifully through all the space that was enveloping them. I thought at the time, if an opera director can do this, why not the real thing and have a ballet?

My fondest memory of a hilarious ballet is Tudor's 'Gala Performance'--especially with a good cast.

I saw the TV show--and was quite impressed with him...He could probably do a pretty good 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue".

I am not so sure about Paul Parish's 'shimmer of ecstacy' in Swan Lake. In the Supplement to Beaumont's Complete Book of Ballets he says the following about petits battements (and other things) in Swan Lake:

"The small circular movement of the head used by birds to preen their neck and breast feathers; the use of the arms curved to the sides like folded wings; the arms outstretched and fluttering like wings; THE USE OF PETITS BATTEMENTS TO SUGGEST THE TREMBLING OF A WING-TIP OR THE FREEING OF A LEG FROM TINY DROPS OF WATER; are all adaptations of bird behavior."

I wonder what old C.W. would have made of all this.

Why is it that in order for dancers to wear a pair of pointe shoes they must:

"...crack the hard leather shank to make it pliable...then they take a farrier's rasp to the leather sole to give it some grip. To soften up the hard box of the toe, they crush it underfoot or slam a door on it...then they bang the pointes on a concrete wall for a few minutes which deadens the racket the shoes make on the stage floor..."

Given the fact that dancers have a 'favorite cobbler' that they swear by---and that the shoes are made to order on a cast of their foot---why all of the above shenanigans?---or do they really hate the darn things?

The article is about Degas' first ballet painting: "Portrait de Mlle E. F....;a propos du Ballet La Source" Apparently, the dancer Eugenie Fiocre was his inspiration to start painting dancers. To quote from the article:

"Currently it can be seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts until January 12 and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Feb. 12 to May 11. As the cornerstone of a major show, the work that forcast the artist's lifelong obsession with the ballet, 'Mlle. Fiocre' becomes an object of curiosity all over again."

The article is accompanied by a reproduction of the painting which is necessary because Croce goes into much of the symbolism and also the history of the ballet 'La Source'.

Croce says:

"In ballet history, 'La Source' is the story of Saint-Leon and Grantzow; in art history it is the story of Degas and Fiocre."

It's the Dec. 2 issue of the New Yorker and well worth reading. (Also, as a bonus there is a profile of John Kerry of Massachusetts by Joe Klein---sounds hopeful!)

Not to forget (although I would like to)--Matthew Bourne's "Car Man".

I have one of those short bios which no amount of housecleaning has made me discard. It's only 20 pages and was written by C.W. Beaumont on Fonteyn and published in 1948. The photos are particularly interesting---all taken before her 'nose' job--much more dynamic face which emphasized her Brazillian roots.

I am reading the book and enjoying it very much---but, for me, it is a slow read---because I read EVERY footnote and whenever Alexandra zeroes in on a particular ballet---I search out my videotapes to refresh my memory!

I saw 'Le Combat' with a French company in NY and it is a powerful work. The dancers, I believe, were Colette Marchand and Milorad Miskovich.

KFW----I will answer you as soon as I can figure out how to do it! It doesn't seem to be working.

There's one point in all this I am not clear about. If I own one of these tapes (actually, I have the Makarova/Baryshnikov Giselle from this period) and I want to make a copy for a friend---is that legally permissable---or will the FBI be afer me!.