Helene

These have been such a delight to read!

I don't think he was the first to call himself "choreographer", but he insisted upon being billed this way for his work on Broadway. I'm fairly sure this was in Taper, and it has been picked up by other biographers and writers as well.

to Moredo and Higgins.

Casting for Week 1 is up! http://www.pnb.org/season/broadway-cast.html Lesley Rausch debuts in "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" with Jeffrey Stanton, who is a great hoofer. Carla Korbes also dances Strip Tease Girl; Seth Orza debuts as her hoofer. Korbes and Orza dance the leads in "Carousel", with Korbes making her debut, and Jodie Thomas and James Moore are paired in the same roles. There are some debuts in "Take Five...More or Less": Tisserand and Porretta in the Opening Night Cast, Dec/Chapman/Gilbreath on Friday, and Thomas in the Saturday matinee. For "West Side Story Suite": Tony: Lucien Postlewaite Anite: Carla Korbes Maria: Sara Ricard Riff: Orza or Stanton Bernardo: Cruz or Bold

Also, it's been noted earlier that the reason for not disclosing the names is that their current contracts do not expire until the end of the Spring Season. I would not expect any official news until much later in the spring, and only if the dancers themselves disclose this on their own sites.

Hopefully PNB will bring something better than "Jardi Tancat" to Ballet Across America. Sadly, the Mariinsky is bringing the 1952 version of Sleeping Beauty.

Tallchief herself said this in so many interviews, including several on tape, in the context of looking back to see why Balanchine married her. She said he saw her "as material", and that he had already had the new company in mind and wanted to ensure her loyalty to the enterprise and to be sure that her energy and focus was on their work together. Tallchief was the center of Balanchine's artistic focus at the time, and it wasn't even as if he found her perfect. She relates several anecdotes on film, such as how her muscles became elongated after studying with Balanchine, how Balanchine watched her warm up before a performance doing her "lousy barre" and told her that if she "could just do battement tendu well, that was all [she'd] need to know" -- which she took to mean that she needed to get back to the drawing board -- and how when he cast her with Tanaquil Leclerq, whom he had trained since she was a child, in "Symphony Concertante" that Balanchine wanted her to move like Leclerq, and that the ballet was a teaching ballet, and even as the de facto star of the company, she did not feel exempt from being taught. Just the excerpts shown in the PBS Balanchine bio are superb. I only met the father of my Somerville, MA roommate once or twice; he and her mom were early NYCB goers and may have been members of Ballet Society. (On a ballet weekend in NYC, my roommate even brought me to the second floor Japanese restaurant in the 50's that was her parents pre-NYCB-at-City-Center dinner haunt at a time when Japanese food in street-level restaurants meant grill.) His face lit up as he recounted Tallchief. He said he had never seen anything like her energy and speed in "Firebird" before or since.

According to the link on their official website -- thank you, leonid -- the Matvienkos have confirmed that they have joined the Mariinsky: According to the bio section, Denis Matvienko turned 30 a little over a week ago (23 Feb). This is quite a birthday present!

Many thanks for your review! I hope to see the Company on a future trip to Europe.

Denial. I regard those as representative of ballet as the Barbie doll is of an actual woman. Edited to add: I love the dancing in "What's Opera, Doc?", even if the turnout is inconsistent.

[Admin Beanie] Just a reminder that when dancers leave and join companies, when posting the news, official sources must be cited, like leonid's reference to the Mikhailovsky Ballet's official website in the post above, or links to newspaper or magazine articles or official dancer websites (not fan sites), or official company announcements (press releases, stage announcements, etc.) [/Admin Beanie]

I'm reading of number of accusations of personal vendetta, but I'm not reading any substantiated examples or quotes. Macaulay has given his reasons in his reviews, and it would be helpful to argue against specific points. I disagree with his criticism of Whelan, for example, but he's listed specifics with which I disagree.

What makes the entire video worth it for me is Bart Cook's "Melancholic", and there are parts of the solo that are very different than the versions being performed today.

And the Bathildes

I was so happy to see footage of him in the recent American Masters documentary on Jerome Robbins -- I remember how sad we all were about his death. It was in mid-February 1986, just barely over 23 years ago. There was a photo memorial to him in an issue of Ballet Review, and an article which noted that he was treated for depression by more than one professional. He had made a dramatic breakthrough in the season or two before his death. Once primarily a self-effacing and elegant partner, he became a true leading man, charismatic and vivid in roles like the last movement of "Brahms/Schoenberg Quartet" and "Who Cares?", and he was superb in the matinee performance of the First Movement of "Symphony in C" the day before his suicide.

Way to go, Marga!!!!

I think that on TV that is pronounced, "Faaaaaaaaaaa bulous".

Thank you so much, PeggyR! When this is revived, Kochetkova is first on my list to see. I thought she stole "The Nutcracker" film, and I'm looking forward to seeing her live. Edited to add: I went to Baguette Express and was chatting with the very nice owner, when he asked how I found his shop. I told him that a friend from an online community had just been there and had recommended it, and he was surprised and delighted! I had the vegetarian (spicy), and they were delicious. I was heading to Sai Jai Thai, but was distracted by the menu at the (fancier) Bang Sai Thai. Not only is it Halal, but they have vegan vegetarian options which don't use fish sauce, and a combination eggplant and tofu dish. (Usually, I've found that eggplant alone is the other veggie option instead of tofu or mixed vegetables.) The tofu was firm and baked, and the dish was fantastic, as was their sticky rice and mango dessert, which came with half a mango. I'll save Sai Jai Thai for my next visit. I don't know how you chose, Leigh. It would take me two years to eat my way across 10 blocks of Larkin.

I think that "fabulous" has changed its usage from its teen fanzine days and has been co-opted by adults. I'm afraid that today's teen-speak is text-speak, and no word has a more than the maximum of four letters, u c. I had an easier time understanding the French surtitles to "Lady Macbeth in Msensk" at Paris Opera Ballet than a text message I received from a 15-year-old friend of the family. (And I still don't know how the "Kos" in "Daily Kos" is supposed to be pronounced.)

Some notes about the mortals in this performance. First among mortals was Joan Boada. In Russia, he would never be cast as the Prince: he's probably too short, and if there is any dancer to whom I would compare him, it would be Jock Soto: dark, muscular, with juicy plies, full-bodied movement, a balanced symmetry, and a refined virility. Ivan Popov was the perfect Prince type, and I thought his performance was superb, but Boada affected me in a quite different way: while there are plenty of Siegfrieds with whom I've empathized over the years, I don't think I've fallen for one since Ivan Nagy, when I was 14. Boada was a beautiful partner, and ardent man, and all of his solos were fully formed and beautifully phrased. The Black Swan Pas de Deux felt complete and like the narrative and dramatic center of Act III as a result. While I'm still a bit dubious about the version of the Pas de Trois in this production, this afternoon it was danced with lightness, clarity, and proportion by Clara Blanco, Isaac Hernandez, and Elizabeth Miner. I couldn't recognize either dancer with the Jane Austen wigs (or hairpieces), and neither was blond, but it almost didn't matter, they were both so well-balanced. Hernandez was superb, with a slight delay in his double tours, landed in full plie and then onto the next movement, all on one continuous phrase, just a beautiful performance. (One of the great joys of LeBlanc's performance was a similar quality on the horizontal plane: in the White Swan Pas de Deux, she never hit a position and stopped. Even in supported attitude penche promenades, the outward energy from her limbs was palpable.) Hernandez was also terrific as a replacement in Spanish for Anthony Spaulding, who gave another fantastic performance as von Rothbart, and who was properly booed as the villain during the curtain calls. Miner was charming and light in the Neopolitan, and Elana Altman was once again dynamic and formidable in Spanish. Ludmila Campos was more evenly matched with Nutnaree Pipit-Suksan as the "big" swans in Act II, which created balance and symmetry; Pipit-Suksan later danced a fine Russian, paired with the wonderful Frances Chung. The four cygnettes were wonderfully precise without being robot-like, but the audience giggled on queue. Pascale Leroy's Queen was more unimaginative and unquestioning than Odile-like in this performance; the other night, it was clear what the Prince saw in van Patten's Odile: Mom. This afternoon, the transformation from woman to swan in the Prologue elicited gasps for as far as I could hear in the Dress Circle and received a spontaneous round of applause. The projections of the two swans flying away at the end got oohs and aahs. Someone got the pulse of the audience correctly. I think that the image of Odette when she is hit by the spell is so arresting, that the transformation isn't needed, nor is anything needed to distract from the breathtaking image of the swans, in lines facing upstage, separating the prone von Rothbart from the dead lovers, and then transforming into the wedge on the floor. I can't say enough about how wonderful the corps was. I don't know about the rest of the house, but aside from some coughing, this was about as perfect an audience as I've been in. There were at least a dozen kids in my section, and they didn't move or make a sound during the entire ballet. One dad laughed a guy's knowing laugh when the Queen pressed Siegfried to choose among the princesses. (Yup, those women are always pressing the marriage angle ) But that was about the only peep I heard all afternoon. No jangling bracelets, no talking, no cell phones, no watches chirping on the hour, no sniffling or coughing or choking from noxious perfume baths, no cellophane unwrapping, no sandwich chomping. It was a miracle that was replicated at the Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations "The Stage Music in the Plays of William Shakespeare" concert I heard tonight at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, part of the Cal Performances concert series. Composers were Robert Johnson, Mattiew Locke, and Henry Purcell, almost all music for dance, and the audience was completely still for this first rate, superb ensemble, until the encore, when Mr. Savall asked us to be the percussion through rhythmic clapping. Not only was the audience quiet throughout the concert, but they followed directions, and there wasn't a misclap or miscue in the house I think I've used up all of my good audience karma in one day!

All of the supported pirouettes this afternoon were amazing and fluid. Boada was a wonderful partner. Please tell us all about the Kochetkova performance! (I won't be able to be there.)

The Metropolitan Opera has replaced cash collateral for a loan with the two Chagalls that hang in the window, according to New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/55026/ I wonder to whom the Elie Nadelman statues in the New York State Theater belong.

My superstitions got the better of me, and when I found out that Tina LeBlanc was scheduled for today's matinee, one of my two tickets, I couldn't rejoice prematurely. (Or even tell anyone I would be there.) When there was no substitution slip in the program, I still didn't quite believe it. When the substitution announcement before the performance was made, it was Anthony Spaulding replacing Damian Smith, but I still had my worries. Even after her delicate and ravishing Odette in Act II, I was still at edge: the one time I saw Evelyn Cisneros, years ago, her partner was injured during Act II, LeBlanc completed the ballet, and the irony was too hard to miss. (I could, though, at least be thankful that I had seen her in both roles, albeit a decade or so apart.) It wasn't until she appeared in Act III, a confident Odile who needed no "ta-das" or mannerisms, but who clearly revelled in the Con, playing the good girl and convincing everyone, that I could relax. By the end of her Act IV Pas de Deux (with Joan Boada), I could barely breathe. This was a performance by a master ballerina, her last Odette/Odile with San Francisco Ballet. What is amazing is that in the year of her retirement, in her 40's, having recovered from what would have been a career-ending injury for most, the work was still transparent, and the dancing astonishing. I've loved LeBlanc for many years, and today's performance was a great gift

Postlewaite as Tony is just Central Casting (I would have loved to have seen him as Nardo.) I'll be away from Seattle the first weekend , and things have been so crazy, I never even posted about Jewels last month... I hope that my free days for weekend 2 match with different casts. I was really sad not to have seen Rachel Foster's "Rubies" and Kaori Nakamura's "Diamonds"

Many thanks Amitava! I'm looking forward to reading more reviews. A new young friend is in the production, and our mutual friend told me he was going to travel to Houston to see it. I'll ask him for his impressions, and try to find out more than how [kid's name] was