Helene

He's exquisite. I couldn't have expressed it any better. There's a generosity to his dancing and to his partnering, and a complete lack of self-consciousness of his placement and technique. No matter how technically demanding the steps or bravura the role, there's not a hint of "ta-da", like when he continues from the landing of the tour jetes in one direction right into steps in another, phrasing without pause, in the "Spectre de la Rose" clip, where the transition from solo to partnering is seamless. I particularly love how in the final arabesque, it's not about his leg or his foot: it is an expression of his whole body as she sleeps and his perfume envelops her.

Many thanks for the review, cygneblanc I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on the next program. When I first saw "Brahms-Handel", it was ready-made for me to love: it featured my two favorite male dancers, Ib Andersen and Bart Cook (dancers about as different as night and day, except for size and their inherent musicality), an at-peak Maria Calegari, and Merrill Ashley, as well as a number of great soloists, and an anticipated collaboration between Robbins and Tharp. What I saw was a disappointing mush to what I agree was dull music. (Maybe in its original, the Handel is more interesting.) Not even Andersen/Calegari/Cook/Ashley could save it, even seeing it with them three times.

If Rachel Moore was in the loop, I'm sure the contract was signed before the info got out.

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What great news for the ABT dancers! A new Ratmansky work might boost attendance at some of the triple bills, and, hopefully, he'll be adding some full-lengths to the rep. "Bright Stream" would get me on a plane

For most companies, "Nutcracker" is a cash cow, and spending money on extra scenery in Act II is rarely done. Balanchine moved the Sugar Plum Fairy's solo from Grand Pas de Deux to the beginning of Act II. If moving the music around is heresy, Nahat has a venerable precedent. Using Balanchine terminology to describe the music. I've always felt that Tea and Candy Cane, both shortish and high-energy, were not well placed next to each other, leaving the longish, delicate Marzipan to follow what is usually the most rousing music and virtuoso dancing, to be followed by the longish Polichinelles. I can understand why in Balanchine's version, Maripan and Candy Cane aren't switched, because that would put two movements with kids back-to-back, but, with the caveat that I don't know if Tchaikovsky was doing anything with key or structural progression and the following would sound off or sour (even with applause breaks), but this is what I've always envisioned: Spanish (gotta have a warmup) Coffee Tea Marzipan Candy Cane Polichelles Flowers What is the musical sequence in Ballet San Jose's version? In the Links section, dirac and Mme. Hermine post links to articles on Ballet San Jose when they find them. But we'd love to hear from SJB watchers here.

Ballet Arizona will perform a triple bill in parks Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, and Mesa. Admission is free. The program is: "Four Temperaments" (Balanchine/Hindemith) "Dance of the Hours" (Andersen/Ponchielli) Excerpts from "The Play" (Anderson/Mozart, Stravinsky, Schubert, Britten, et. al.) The company's performances of "The Four Temperaments" this past June were superb. (I haven't seen the other two works.) Here is the schedule from The Arizona Republic * Sept. 18: Glendale - Historic Sahuaro Ranch Park, 59th Ave and Mountain View Road. * Sept. 19: Mesa - Red Mountain Park, E. Brown Road at Sunvalley Blvd. * Sept. 20: Phoenix - South Mountain Community College, 7050 S. 24th St. * Sept. 25: Fountain Hills - Fountain Park, 12925 N. Saguaro Blvd. * Sept. 26: Tempe - Center for the Arts Amphitheater, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway. * Sept. 27: Phoenix - Steele Indian School Park, Indian School Road and Third St. http://www.azcentral.com/ent/arts/articles...9sr-ballet.html