drb

Don't give up hope. During the Act 2 PdD they were up to 400Kbps and it looked pretty good. Right after it was at 50 again. So they ARE able to do it well, probably just first time glitches. THANKS BOLSHOI!

Evidently the Swan Lake went well, as the Odette/Odile Julie Kent reports in today's Bergen Record:

Most recently, Kent, along with her mother and son, spent a week in Mikkeli, Finland, where she danced "Swan Lake" with another ABT principal, Vladimir Malakhov, and a small company, the Imperial Russian Ballet.

"I never would even have known [the town] existed, or met these people or shared these wonderful experiences if I hadn't had this incredible path in my life," she said.

I'd like to second the thanks to Helene for the detailed review. And that "As a Prince, he'd be expected to pay his respect to the ruling monarchs, just as England's Princess Anne curtseyed to the modern oil monarchs of the Middle East. Longevity and accomplishment do not outrank rank." is priceless! What is with the two great Russian companies? They seem to equate deleting mime with being modern. Some sort of supreme misunderstanding of Balanchine?

The remark of seeing Odette in Vishneva's vision scene made me remember what for me was the crowning moment of Ashley Bouder's sublime Aurora at NYCB: her vision scene also suggested Odette: Aurora was trapped in a perpetual dream just as Odette was trapped in a swan's body. Both share the same desperation to escape, the paths to escape are exactly the same.

The following quote from the Gia Kourlas article on Corps Dancers in today's Times (see today's LINKS) seems to speak to some of the issues on this thread:

"The most extreme landscape for the art form is found at City Ballet, where dozens of works, frustratingly underrehearsed, are performed each season. Yet by the very nature of the company's George Balanchine-heavy repertory, there is often ample opportunity for individual dancers to shine. The company, no longer the one Balanchine envisioned, has turned into the punk rock of ballet. Performances are jittery, raw, unpredictable and, at times, horrific, but at both its unprofessional worst and unnervingly beautiful best, programs at the New York State Theater are alive. You go because you can't fathom what will happen next. Consistency is a lost cause; City Ballet is about survival in impossible circumstances.

That remarkable dancers emerge from such a messy mosh pit is a tribute to their resilience and the School of American Ballet (affiliated with City Ballet), where most receive training."

With Martins not inviting -- not allowing, it comes to the same thing-- the input of a goodly number of Balanchine's own dancers who would gladly teach, invaluable memories are not being tapped, invaluable instructions are being lost. The inspiration in its particulars and specifics is not being passed down....

... to fund work along the lines The Balanchine Foundation is doing with The Interpreters Archive, i.e. taping Balanchine veterans as they coach contemporary dancers.

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kfw, could you tell us something more about this work by the Balanchine Foundation? In particular, is it well-funded, and if not, could you tell how those of us concerned about this matter might contribute?

I don't think that Gillian Murphy's possible leave of absence to dance with Ballet Pacifica in 2006 should be presented in an alarming fashion to ABT fans. According to the LA Times(May 15, 2005), Ballet Pacifica's 2006 season will begin with some touring in September, followed by its Nutcracker Season. Hardly a 'threat' to ABT's May-July 2006 Met season.

From their website, it seems they are first giving priority to their school, with company auditions scheduled from February on. Auditions schedule:

http://www.balletpacifica.org/company.htm

Playbill reports that Gillian Murphy may join Ethan Stiefel's Ballet Pacifica for the 2006-2007 season, requesting a year's leave of absence from ABT.

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3055.html

"... Gillian Murphy, a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre and also Stiefel’s girlfriend, has requested a year’s leave from ABT to perform with Ballet Pacifica full time in its inaugural season, 2006-07. She said that ABT artistic director Kevin McKenzie was supportive of her plan, but that nothing is official yet.

The company is changing financially as well, with a budget that will rise to $6.2 million, with $3.2 million yet to be raised. According to the Register, the company’s board now has New York-based members on it, which will give Ballet Pacifica a national profile and could attract wealthy donors from other parts of the county."

The Kirov (1991) performance of the Prokofiev/Grigorovich "Stone Flower" is now available "up there" at Amazon, and supposedly the Bolshoi (1990) performance will be quite soon. Since both have a been available on video tape for some time, and both are already available on DVD in Europe, can anyone compare the two versions?

Some details:

Kirov: Polikarpova, Gulyaev, Terekhova, Babanin; conductor (after all, the music is by Prokofiev, so this should matter) Viliumanus.

Bolshoi: Semenyaka, Dorokhov, Semisorova, Vetrov; conductor Kopilov.

For those in NYC, CUNY TV has scheduled a telecast of the Bolshoi version on Sunday, October 30 at 2 PM.

I'd second Agon and Faun, but my #1's are The Wrens in Union Jack, as lead by Suzanne Farrell or Maria Kowroski. And Swan Lake: Odette, as danced by Veronika Part and Marcello Gomes; Odile, as danced by Irina Dvorovenko, Sylvie Guillem, Cynthia Gregory.

Special mention to most of Balanchine's choreography for Suzanne. The adagio of his Symphony in C, with Suzanne and Peter Martins, and currently with Maria K.

Of the ballets "intended" to be erotic, most seem heavy-handed, but I think Manon succeeds, in part because it acts like a magnet in attracting such great dance-actresses as Guillem, Vishneva, Ferri, and Cojocaru. MacMillan's R & J and Cranko's Onegin and Taming of the Shrew, too.

Amen, Farrell Fan. Although she is The Muse, Suzanne is not the only muse not on the muse-thin list of those still associated with the company. Those who inspired Mr. B's creations might also inspire the great dancers Peter Martins has gathered into his company.

At least they have ingress elsewhere in the world---as can be seen in Paris, St. Petersberg, Shanghai, Seattle and, thank you Nina Ananiashvili, his home country Georgia. Mr. B seems to be thriving everywhere. Almost.

There's also a pretty picture of the three sitting on the steps of California Plaza in downtown.

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The article and photo are here:

http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/cl-et-be...e-more-channels

One can enlarge the photo by clicking on it. Princesses!

nycb is not a balanchine museum. new works need to be danced...

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I absolutely agree. It is virtually necessary that a living company have a good new work in its opening Gala. The problem is one of exclusion, not inclusion. Balanchine is very much a unique and living part of NYCB--his school and his technique still feed this company. And he has so many awesomely great works that continue to draw audiences. With time, some art just plain goes beyond objective/subjective debates, Giselle and Swan Lake, for instance. They simply are, they are wanted. And an extraordinarily large number of Mr. B.'s ballets simply are.

Well, I like Fearful Symmetries too. It must be that I've become ancient, but still it is sad to see The House of Balanchine turned into The Apartment of Martins, even if it does have some nice guest rooms.

Diana Vishneva had her Mariinsky debut in Swan Lake last month. Did anyone see the performance? Here are 28 photos from the event, mostly, but not just, curtain calls.

Left click on the photo (or click on the word below-right of the photo) to see next in the sequence.

http://photofile.ru/image.php?id=20145129

If you click on the word directly below the center of the photo, you'll see a substantially enlarged version.

The correct spelling is "bal a Chine."  This refers to a dance hall somewhere in China, where Balanchine performances may still be found.

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Will the Majestic Theatre in Shanghai do? Serenade premiers with the Shanghai Ballet on October 25.

Or, sticking with the Frenchified spelling, how about the Chatalet in Paris, November 28, 29, where Mr. B.'s old Mariinsky will give Four Temperaments, La Valse, Ballet Imperial and Prodigal Son.

Just not in The House of Balanchine.... But then isn't what Peter Martins is offering much more exciting than, say, what Peter Boal offered for PNB's Gala?

Regarding Detroit, the following inquiry and response appears on Diana Vishneva's site today:

Hi Diana, I`m disappointed that you will not dance in Detroit, because I was looking forward to seeing you. Do you have any idea who your replacement will be?

Diana: I do not know.

Her site's posted schedule for the month of October remains unchanged:

Oct 28 2005 Berlin: STAATSOPER The Sleeping Beauty

Oct 26 2005 Berlin: STAATSOPER The Sleeping Beauty

Oct 15 2005 San Francisco: Berkeley, Zellerbach The Sleeping Beauty

Oct 12 2005 San Francisco: Berkeley,Zellerbach Hall The Sleeping Beauty

Oct 8 2005 Los Angeles: Music Center The Sleeping Beauty

Oct 5 2005 Los Angeles: Music Center The Sleeping Beauty

One can certainly understand that the new production in Berlin will require significant rehearsal time.

That's what happens when you substitute absinthe for vermouth in your martinis!

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Ahhh... so THAT'S the solution! Let's require absinthe drinking in Choreography 101.

An extremely detailed piece on Sylvia can be seen at:

http://www.cooldictionary.com/words/Sylvia...%2529.wikipedia

including libretto, performance history, versions, choreographers (Did you know that Delibes asked Ashton to resurrect the ballet? In a dream, of course.), photos, reviews, lots of info on the score.

A small excerpt:

Musical scenes

[Act I

i. Prelude

ii. Faunes Et Dryades

iii. Le Berger

iv. Les Chasseresses

v. Intermezzo

vi. Valse Lente

vii. Viktor Simeisko

viii. Cortege Rustique

ix. Scene

x. Entree Du Sorcier Et Final

xi. Entr'Acte

[Act II

i. La Grotte D'Orion

ii. Danse Des Ethiopiens

iii. Chant Bacchique

iv. Scene Et Danse De La Bacchante

v. Rentree De Sylvia

vi. Scene Final

[Act III

i. Marche

ii. Cortege De Bacchus

iii. Scene At Barcarolle

iv. Divertissement: Pizzicati

v. Divertissement: Andante - Viktor Simeisko

vi. Divertissement: Pas Des Esclaves

vii. Divertissement: Variation-Valse

viii. Divertissement: Strette-Galop

ix. Le Temple De Diane (Final)

x. Apparition D'Endymion (Apotheose)

ABT's site gives this synopsis for their production:

Act 1 – A Sacred Wood. Woodland creatures dance in the moonlight before the shrine of Eros, the God of Love. They are interrupted by the arrival of the shepherd Aminta, who is in love with Sylvia. Hearing Sylvia and her attendants approaching, Aminta hides and watches them dance as they celebrate the success of their hunt. Sylvia, who as one of Diana’s nymphs has promised to renounce love, taunts the statue of Eros. Meanwhile, Orion, the evil hunter, has also been secretly watching Sylvia and, inflamed by her beauty, is determined to possess her.

Aminta’s cloak is discovered and the shepherd is dragged from his hiding place. He declares his love for Sylvia, but she is outraged and, blaming the mischievous Eros, draws her bow at the god. Aminta, shielding the statue, is pierced to the heart by Sylvia’s arrow. Eros retaliates by shooting Sylvia. Shaken, she removes the arrow from her heart and leaves with her companions.

Peasants on their way to the fields, dance in honor of Eros. As they leave, Orion enters and gloats over the body of Aminta. He is interrupted by the return of Sylvia who, having been pierced to the heart by Eros’ arrow, now mourns the dead Aminta. Emerging from his hiding place, Orion captures Sylvia and carries her off to his island cave.

A peasant, having witnessed Sylvia’s abduction, calls his friend back and they too weep over Aminta’s body. A strange, cloaked figure appears among them, and they ask him for his help. He picks a flower from the nearby bush and pressing the petals to Aminta’s lips, brings him back to life. Aminta thanks the stranger who then tells him of Sylvia’s abduction. As the peasants find her bow the stranger reveals himself as Eros and sends Aminta in search of Sylvia.

Act 2 – Orion’s Island Cave. Orion tries in vain to gain Sylvia’s affection by tempting her with jewels and fine clothes. She is reminded of her love for Aminta by Eros’ arrow, but as she attempts to escape, Orion takes it from her. He offers her wine, but she, in order to evade his advances, encourages him to drink. She dances for him until he falls senseless, whereupon she retrieves the arrow and prays to Eros for help. Appearing, Eros shows Sylvia a vision of Aminta waiting for her by Diana’s temple and takes her to be reunited with him.

Act 3 - The Sea Coast near the Temple of Diana. A festival in honor of the god Bacchus is interrupted by the arrival of Aminta in search of Sylvia. He hopes to find her in Diana’s temple but is met by closed doors. He sees a boat approaching with Eros, Sylvia and her attendants on board, and Eros reunites the lovers.

The general rejoicing is interrupted by Orion, determined to recapture Sylvia. She takes refuge in the temple and, after a fight with Aminta, Orion tries to break in. Enraged by the intrusion, Diana appears and kills him. Her anger is now directed at the lovers and she forbids their union. Eros reminds Diana that she herself was once infatuated with a simple shepherd, Endymion. She relents and gives the lovers her blessing.

Whatever, it is really worth seeing (and hearing, of course)..

Quoting Allegra Kent:

... "Information and ideas can come from unexpected places.  By chance, 45 years ago, I ran into Mme. Danilova at a bus stop where she demonstraed a movement from La Sonnambula for me.  All at once, I understood the value of looking backward, forward, sideways, or in any direction for inspiration."

Ms. Kent began studying ballet before she'd seen a performance. Finally at age 11 she was taken to a mixed bill. The first ballets did not live up to her "lofty" ideal of what ballet was, but the last one did: "Night Shadow," as Balanchine's La Sonnambula was called then, starring Mme. Danilova and Fred Franklin.

For the full story, a 23 minute audio interview with Ms. Kent on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1594107

She spends a lot of time on La Sonnambula, explains how the sleepwalker knows how to move through space without seeing. She also gets into Balanchine's work, saying that the subtext of music is played out in his choreography.

The NPR site also offers a two minute excerpt of Allegra Kent and Conrad Ludlow dancing the slow movement of Symphony in C. On the same page you will find a number of other Balanchine-related interviews.

" -- the eyes. They are alive, alert, acute, expressive. She is looking at something. Not many ballerinas -- who often seem to affect blank stares as somehow necessary for true classical style -- have/had this mesmerising quality..."

Amazing how those rigid, only-the-steps, mechanical Balanchine dancers, dancing his purely technical choreography, were often so much more expressive than all that histrionic dancing in much of emotional modern "ballet" choreography... Has Mr. Balanchine been stereotyped? It is wonderful that dancers such as Suzanne Farrell, Violette Verdy, and Allegra Kent (and others, of course) are still generously passing on the REAL BALANCHINE! Thank you, Allegra Kent.

"...if you consider Kent to have been the most beautiful, the edgiest, the most mysterious, and most other-worldly of Sleepwalkers."

Sure do! Memories...

Martha Swope's great photo of her sleepwalking is still on view:

http://www.ballerinagallery.com/kent.htm

Wow!!! Also some of her with Eddie Villella as partner. Plus further proof that hyper-extensions predate Sylvie Guillem and her Mariinsky copiers.

Since her phenomenal final Giselle with ABT, Amanda McKerrow and her husband John Gardner, former ABT soloist, have been quietly growing Ethan Stiefel's Ballet Pacifica:

"... in the true tradition of quality ballet, their motto remains “first a school”—incidentally, the most famous quote about Balanchine ever. McKerrow and Gardner will teach full-time their first year before focusing their energy on the company.

“This year, we will raise the level of the training, take it to a higher level,” McKerrow says; already this fall, they’ve added point and technique classes to build strength and endurance—plus an emphasis on teaching a technique that reflects the range of American dance. “Today’s American dancer has to be prepared to do a diversity of styles,” McKerrow explains. Eventually, the school will act as a feeder for the company."

The full article, which includes a photo of Gardner lifting McKerrow in class:

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/05/50/art-khuri.php

Although sights are really set on Fall, 2006, there will be a children's program in October:

"Ballet Pacifica Academy will be presenting a new program this fall for our Children's Series at the Laguna Festival Forum Theatre on October 22 and 23. The fall program will present two new premieres: a newly choreographed ballet by choreographer, Charles Maple, Why do Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears?, as well as the colorful and entertaining new ballet, The Monster Boogie and Other Dances, choreographed by Lorin Johnson and set to the music of the beloved song-writer for children, Laurie Berkner"

and a Nutcracker season with some interesting guest stars.

The performance schedule is:

December 9-24, 2005

December 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 at 7:30pm

December 10, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, and 23 at 2:00pm

December 24 at 11:00am

Guest Artist Schedule

Sascha Radetsky and Stella Abrera

(American Ballet Theatre)

12/13 @ 7:30pm

12/14 @ 7:30pm

12/22 @ 7:30pm

12/23 @ 2:00pm

Douglas Gawriljuk and Marife Gimenez

(Ballet Gamonet Maximum Dance - formerly Miami City Ballet)

12/15 @ 7:30pm

12/17 @ 7:30pm

12/18 @ 7:30pm

12/20 @ 7:30pm

12/21 @ 7:30pm

Tickets are on sale for both programs, with location and ticketing information at:

http://www.balletpacifica.org/performing.htm

In answer to a specific inquiry, Diana Vishneva says, on her website today, that she will be dancing Aurora in LA on October 5 and 8. In response to another specific inquiry, she will NOT be dancing in Detroit on October 20.

Further news from her site:

Diana Vishneva specifically plans to dance Manon ("my favourite ballet") during ABT's Met season. She also is interested in performing in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and Giselle during the season.

Where has Wiles gone?!

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Michele was in the original cast of Gong, about half that cast is still with ABT, and there are six performances of that. Also, given her success in Pillar of Fire, she'd be a natural for Tudor's Dark Elegies (also six performances). So it may just be that she'll be so busy in ballets with no casting yet posted, that she wouldn't be in those that have been listed so far.