Helene

I agree with Ray. In the NYCB Week 8 thread ("A Midsummer Night's Dream), there was a discussion of dancers who reached the American public beyond the ballet audience, and Tallchief was one not mentioned. She intersected Balanchine's creative life at a critical period, from Ballet Russe (post WWII incarnation) to Ballet Society to NYCB, through the transition to Suzanne Farrell, as well as his personal life. It's such a rich period.

I wished they'd bring "Bright Stream" to Berkeley, if that is physically possible, and any of the reconstructions.

Never having seen a full-length "Le Corsaire" before, I much prefer the Ali-less version done by the Bolshoi, which in the context of Act I, is so much more of a pleasure to me than any gala/competition stand-alone version. There's so much build up to it with great examples of other kind of dancing, and it's the climax of all that's gone before it. My favorite parts of "Don Quixote" are not the gala excerpts at all; they are the character dancing and the dream sequence. I really dislike the Don Q Pas de Deux, and I get the hives when I hear the music, which is really inconvenient, since my all-time favorite figure skater is John Curry, and my all-time favorite competitive program of his, his 1976 Olympic long program, was set to this music

One of the differences that I noticed between the audiences who saw the late Nureyev and the long-time audiences who see Kistler is that Nureyev-watching was an event and almost obligatory to see. From my not-so-scientific eavesdropping at late Nureyev performances, there was a certain watching-a-train-wreck aspect to it. Certainly not from all of the audience, but from lively and vocal sub-groups. The sense I get from many long-term NYCB-goers is that regarding Kistler, it's more a matter of averting one's eyes. The last Kistler performance I saw was the Balanchine Centennial gala that was broadcast over PBS, in which she performed in "Liebeslieder Walzer" excerpts. I liked her very much, and I remember being ??? about comments about how weak she was at that time, which was a decade after I had last seen her live regularly.

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I think Ilya's point, if I understand it, is that the characters that he finds offensive were not even part of the original but were added, and he's asking why. If that's the case, then leaving them out isn't untrue to the original; it would be the opposite. Ilya, please correct me if I've misunderstood.

Even before I opened the link, my thought was "Are they voting members even going to watch them?" I don't think it's a terrible thing for more movies to get recognition, though.

I was one of the people who recognized the stereotype, starting with the program where the character's first name was "Isaac", but thought that Yanin's characterization was quite likable, and that he overcame the baggage. (The coins malfunctioned during the Sunday matinee and refused to roll out, leaving a few confused looks on stage.) As for there being no anti-Muslim stereotype, a man who owns a harem and is supposed to be the ruler of the land but who is outsmarted by every female in the ballet (except Zulmea) because of his desire/sexuality, isn't exactly a glowing portrait. If anything, this reminded me of all the ageism in ballet plots, where there's always an old guy trying to sell off a young woman to the highest bidder -- the next oldest guy -- the old guys get humiliated and lose the girl, and the young guy gets her, although, like in Don Q, the girl is the one who wears the pants and the brains. Because wording is tempered for an audience does not necessarily mean that the company thinks what they print in Russia is wrong; someone knew it wouldn't fly in the US, and do we even know the company did the translation and edits? Lots of things get toned down/left out in translation moving from culture to culture. It's smart business. I happen to agree that they aren't funny, but I've never liked slapstick and really don't like much physical humor or grotesque physical stereotypes, which is one of the reasons I loved NYCB's Troy Schumacher's Puck last weekend -- he avoided all of the obvious physical humor that's crept into the role and which makes me roll my eyes. What I loved about Yanin, Loparevich, and Petukhov was that I liked their characters despite all of the nonsense surrounding them. (Of course, it didn't hurt that Conrad is such an idiot.)

And it is your right not to discuss these if you don't find them important. You are right that this reflects a tradition in Western art of a certain period -- Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" and Rossini's "L'Italiana in Algieri" are operatic examples -- one that is rarely discussed in detail.

Unfortunately, Martins' stock in trade has not been choreographing for sweetness and grace. The closest things I saw to these qualities in his work were very early ballets, like "The Magic Flute" for Kistler and Killian (for SAB), and he did a fine piece d'occasion for Farrell in "Sophisticated Lady". Post hip replacement, Farrell was physically limited and Martins was sensitive to that, but that's not really Kistler's style, either. It would have been great if there was a choreographer for whom she was an interest and muse and whose choreography reflected her qualities. It's easy to see why Titania would be such an appealing role.

My favorite part of the conversation is, "But you weren't here!!!!"

I don't disagree that Nichols retired before her good days were behind her, although when I saw her last, in "Scotch Symphony", even though it was hardly a "bad" day, she wasn't close to the dancer I had seen regularly decades before, nor was that to be expected. Kistler made the decision when she was very young to do everything that Balanchine asked of her at a time when she needed to ease off and heal, and those injuries and weaknesses that were bred during the last few years of Balanchine's life have haunted her since, putting her at least a decade behind Nichols in dance health. I have no reason to think that she has any regrets about this, but the results are very clear. The bottom line is that casting is Martins' decision and responsibility as the head of NYCB.

I think DeborahB explained above: After many decades of watching ballet, I can say while this may sound like sentimentality, it's actually something quite different, based on cumulative experience and context. It's up to each viewer who has seen something unique which is about to be lost to decide how much it's worth to them to see that diminishing bit of something quite precious and irreplaceable. Some people do, but many who loved her in the past, from what I've read here, have given up completely, and are waiting for the 2010-11 2011-2012 season. A newcomer looks at Kistler and will rarely see what DeborahB describes, because from most reviews here, it takes an effort to find it, and there's too much lost. I felt much the same way about Nureyev; even though I had seen him on film, by the time I saw him live, at the very end of his life, I could not see any of the qualities that made him great. Nureyev was Nureyev, though, and I was not going to dismiss Paris Opera Ballet or La Scala Ballet, because what I had seen seemed to be a self-indulgent display and had little to do with either company. NYCB is another animal, and I can appreciate that someone new to the company watching will see what's in front of them without a very long-time context and come to the conclusion that it's not worth returning, especially since NYCB does not have a rep that allows dancers to age out through character roles, the way Bournonville does, or the way opera does, hence Leonie Rysanek's Kostelnička late in her career. (NYCB rep is pretty cruel that way.) It happens to dancers (and singers) who, as they grow older, give spotty performances, sometimes brilliant, sometimes off, ex: all of the "Good Kyra day"/"Bad Kyra day" reviews in the last few years of Nichols' career; a person who has no long-term interest and who sees an off performance will often dismiss the performer completely, long before the bad days are more the norm. I don't see that much argument that Kistler's bad days aren't the norm now.

Christopher d'Amboise wrote a memoir as well, but I don't remember what rank he was when he wrote it. It's more about SAB and company life than "I got this role" then "I danced that role".

I loved the corps. Plus, now I want to be a pirate!!!!

Audiences to tour cities are going to judge the company by the state of the few, limited performances that are put on there, and most likely will take what they see as an indicator of the state of the company. Then they will decide whether to return, which is why casting for tours is such a tricky business.

There are two ways to look at this: 1. As the AD of a major ballet company, if his historical ballet education is lacking, he should get himself educated and be committed to stretch the audience's appreciation of historical masterworks as much as looking for new work. 2. As the head of a company that has an audience with certain preferences, which coincide with his own and the company's mission, he should focus on his own areas of expertise. AD's of ballet companies have not been expected to have the level of expertise that a music director is. For one thing, a dancer becomes a professional and generally stops formal schooling, including in ballet history, when a music student is just entering conservatory, where s/he'd be expected to know a wide range of music from many different periods. For anyone in category 1, for Boal not to know the Ashton rep is like a music director saying that s/he knows Stravinsky and Shostakovich very, very well and wants the audience to know and appreciate Torke, but doesn't know Bartok, even if knowing Bartok doesn't mean programming Bartok.

They could bring Acts III and IV in 2013...

It was also heroic if a bit crazy for Osipova to have danced on Saturday with a high fever, because if Alexandrova had already left, then Shipulina would have had to have danced the Friday night, Saturday matinee, Saturday evening, and Sunday matinee performances! Kaptsova danced in either every or all but one performance, and she was as lovely on Sunday as she was on Opening Night, but Gulnare doesn't have as much dancing or stage time, with her first entrance an hour into the ballet, nor is she expected to carry it.

All of the threads on the ABT performances are in the American Ballet Theater sub-forum of the American Ballet Companies forum: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showforum=53 There's a thread for Giselle and a thread for Airs/La Sylphide, and there will be reviews for Osipova among them. We consolidate reviews in one place, so that people can track the whole discussion, and don't wonder why their reply is "missing" from one of several threads. The "Dancers" forum is for general news and general discussions of specific dancers; reviews of their work are discussed in the appropriate Company, Video, or Gala forums.

I apologize, I got that backwards. Did Krysanova do one performance, though? There are several contradicting reports.

Now I'm confused -- according to Natalia, her friend who saw each performance said that Kaptsova danced every Gulnare, but did not dance the dress rehearsal. According to YID and George Jackson's review, Krysanova did dance at least one Gulnare. I'd be surprised if there was no pre-curtain announcement of a substitution for Gulnare, since there was one for Pas d'esclaves (only) on Opening Night.

That is so true -- they are used to hearing about the trials and tribulations of transportation snafus.

As much as I love Hubbe's production of "La Sylphide", I didn't like his James very much (and may, no will never forgive him for taking the performance from Thomas Lund, who danced that night in "Etudes"). I thought Hallberg's James, even in this production, was better than Hubbe's, too.

(That's so )