cargill

There is a review by Walter Terry (I think--I can't find it now) of the premiere of Balanchine's 1 act Swan Lake where Terry says that Balanchine was planning to do the complete ballet for New York and he (Balanchine) was going to do Rothbart. Obviously it didn't happen, but how I wish I could have seen it!

It's Danish modern.

A friend of mine was at that performance of Symphony in C and said there was a storm of applause when she entered and then basically the audience held its breath for the rest of the section--it was the quietest he had ever heard an audience. I was always so jealous of him getting to be there!

She danced an excerpt from Giselle (the 2nd act pas de deux) with Herman Cornejo at the recent Studio 5 (from City Center) program honoring Cornejo's 20 years with ABT, and even in that setting (no stage, no sets, bright lighting) I thought she was magical. I really hope I get to see her do it.

Oh my gosh, that is just too cute!

It was a touring company in Texas I think.

Those 19th century stagers really went all out--I can remember my grandmother talking about seeing Ben Hur with a live chariot race.

The author seems to have been quite successful, going by Wikipedia. I loved the titles of his other works on the cover page!

Well, time does fly.

I just saw that Maina Gielgud has posted this on her youtube channel. "Steps, Notes, and Squeaks" was a program she devised about 25 years ago, and one of the versions has Beriosova coaching the grand pas de deux from "The Sleeping Beauty". She doesn't dance it, but she does move, so it is possible to get a glimpse of what she must have been like. Her part starts about about 27:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzldHPaQNmw

In some productions she presents them to her mother, which is a much nicer touch!

Well, she is in good company--John Martin of the New York Times dismissed Symphony in C as "That ballet of his, this time for some inscrutable reason to the Bizet symphony". The second movement (which I love) is like Swan Lake without Tchaikovsky.

She certainly cut the pas de chat in her solo, just before the fouettes--or at least just barely indicated it.

Yes, I remember it. It was years ago, and Stiefel was wonderful as the boy in blue. Gillian Murphy (I think she may have been a soloist then, but maybe she was in the corps) was phenomenal as one of the girls in red. (with all the turns)

It is a combination--Sleeping Beauty in practice costume would certainly not be as effective as the complete production. Costumes are important for the overall look and effect of a piece--City Ballet did "Les Sylphides" in practice costumes for a while--it is certainly great choreography but it just looked flat.