Helene

From Farrell's book, I believe Adams was a great friend of Leclerq's; if I remember correctly, Farrell wrote that Adams used to go to Leclerq's to play cards. But I think as muses go, there was Kent between Adams and Farrell, and Leclerq, until she became ill. Her trust was religious. She leapt and never looked back. Bejart attested to that when he said in "Elusive Muse" that he knew she belonged to Balanchine when she worked with him. She was on loan. He hadn't had a family life since he was a child, before he went to the Mariinsky school, except for some vacations. She had a family, and I've read in several accounts that Balanchine liked her husband. There was a delightful series in Ballet Review in which von Aroldingen wrote about how he'd come over to her apartment, they'd share a glass of wine, and then they'd get down to cooking. It sounded very simpatico, simple, and affectionate. For someone with little energy to spare, he expended a huge amount of it pursuing Farrell. I always got the impression that he wanted a sense of peace after that. Look at the great gift he gave von Aroldingen in "Davidsbundlertanze", so nuturing and kind.

I don't think so. Because she was yet another in a long sequence even if she was also "first and foremost" by then, which she clearly was. If 'first and foremost', she'd be that by just being the favourite, which she was anyway without even having to get married as desired elsewhere. Ideas about "the right to be first and foremost in love" seem to me to be outmoded, or at very least they're open to serious question. We haven't "rights to be" something loved, we are either loved or not. I would never claim that anyone had the right to be loved, but everyone has the right to decide what they want from love and to live with the consequences of that decision. She was a young woman raised pretty much fatherless who came of age in the 60's. Whether her ideas were outmoded or not, she had every right to heed them for whatever reason and to choose Paul Mejia, with whom she was the "first and foremost" for at least the early parts of their marriage when they were together. She had no obligation to choose Balanchine or what she saw as her place in his life. She already knew on a personal level, where out of the studio, he'd bring her to see his older Russian friends, and then ignore her. From our point of view, perhaps, or history's or posterity's. But she was speaking in her own voice. There are a lot of people in Europe -- they filled stadiums -- to whom Balanchine was fine, but Bejart was King, and they remember Farrell quite differently.

Many thanks, Paquita! A few years ago, I remember sitting in Bojangles in Vancouver reading an article in I think Globe and Mail about the up-and-coming young men at National Ballet of Canada. Cote was one, and Stanczyk was another. It's nice to see that he is realizing his potential. Congratulations to him and Bowles.

I admire Farrell for describing the sitatuation at the time. During a Chicago visit by NYCB, a writer announced an upcoming marriage between Farrell and Balanchine, and put her on that list to the public. What else could make her position clearer to her? In love, she had every right to want to be first and foremost, not one in a long sequence. In art, why should she want to be "the next"? I can't count the number of times I've heard a young tenor lambasted for not wanting to be "the next Pavarotti", but wanting to be the first [fill in the blank]. What is wrong with wanting to be appreciated for your unique gifts and not put on a list? She would have every right to feel the same as strongly now, and I would admire her no less. I think you have every right to feel differently.

I've always found that Farrell's statement rings true. She was still a young woman and dependent on Balanchine for her professional life. She knew more than anyone what she had to lose were he to cut her out. Her mother, with whom she was living, was in her face and wanted her to marry Balanchine at that point. Yet there was some streak of stubborness, whether protective of self or ego, that made her say "No", draw the line, and deny, independent of feelings of guilt about LeClerq. Perverse as it may be, I've always admired her for that.

I just read an article in the Idaho Statesman about Seth and Sarah Orza's upcoming teaching stint at Ballet Idaho Academy [Edited per correction below] and performance at the Eagle Performing Arts Summer Solstice in Idaho. I started this thread for notes about upcoming (non-PNB) dance activities and performances by PNB dancers, so that we can keep track of them. http://www.idahostatesman.com/132/story/420560.html

In sports only some of those factors are taken into consideration when compiling statistics, and others are asterisks, official or not. For example, the size of the ballparks where Ruth hit his home runs vs. the size of the ballparks where Bonds hit his home runs may be argued far into the future, but that doesn't affect the number on the stats charts. A notorious attempt to mark a stat officially was the infamous * against Roger Maris's season home run total, to show that Ruth established his record in a 154-game season, but Maris broke it after the 154-game mark in a 162-game season. In measured sports, the dimensions of the field, rink, pool must be within a small tolerance, and in timed sports, like track, the wind factor determines whether a new record has been broken. In mixed sports, like football, the line markers must be placed correctly, but the width of the field can vary, and like in baseball, where the distance between bases is the same but the distance to the left field wall, the amount of foul territory varies, and the height of the rails and stands varies (affecting the ability to catch foul balls in the fans's air space. In theory, the size of the stage shouldn't matter for fouettes, because they are supposed to be done in place

After reading two dance biographies in a row, Rudolf Nureyev's and Vera Volkova's, and seeing the biases and influences of major critics, who are often enlisted in writing obits, and reading this new article, I have to wonder who was feeding info into The Guardian obit and had influence over the tone it took, or whether this was a hatchet job on a public employee, meant to embarass an organization getting public subsidies.

Noooooooooooooooooooo! I'm still in a sulky denial over the PNB retirements/leavers.... I will miss them both.

I really loved Andersen's "Romeo and Juliet", and I want to hear all about "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I'm going to be East that weekend, and have opera tickets to exchange, too. The one-weekend schedule is tough; I was out of the country for both of the mixed bills at the Orpheum this year, and I'm hoping that doesn't happen again this year. I really like that theater.

I finshed this book this past weekend, and it was one that I never wanted to end. I wanted to read the entire unfinished manuscript of Volkova's teaching manifesto, and I wanted her to have finished it. Last weekend's boarding pass is now a shredded series of bookmarks. What an amazing, complex woman! She could size people up with the best of them. What a life she had. I have a few questions, though: When her spoken English was recorded, it was broken, but her letters, many to her husband, are beautifully written. What was the original language, and were they "cleaned up" somewhat in translation? Did she write the unfinished teaching principles in Russian? When she left the Royal Ballet, was there anyone who kept up the standards of her teaching, especially during the transition to the MacMillan rep? The Sibley generation still seemed influenced by her teaching, but that's a hard thing to keep up in isolation.

I wasn't clear. I meant that the part of her character, single-mindedness, that allowed her to survive was part of what tied her up and set her back once she made it past the first danger point in what was an intense emotional war. Of course, if you don't survive, you can't heal, but look at how many years it took her to do so, and it seems that this happened in phases.

I, too, think it's an honest book, because I think she was speaking her truth as she knew and felt it. I took away a sense of pervasive shame and confusion, as well as an unhealthy single-mindedness which allowed her to survive to a point. That doesn't mean that it's unbiased or that she was right or 100% honest with herself. It was very much a product of a point in her life when she had embraced sobriety, which is like a type of conversion. I read a article, perhaps in Dance Magazine, that talked about how at a gathering of ballet people, Edward Villella made a plea to stop treating Kirkland so harshly; she was pretty much excommunicated from much of the dance community after publication of her book. I just finished reading Kavanagh's Nureyev biography, and I don't think her self-described behavior could touch his at its vile worst. And how many excuses were made for him -- early poverty, always an exile, etc. (I'd take his father over hers.) Apart from trading sex for drugs in the worst years of her habit, which is hardly uncommon among heavy users and addicts, I never got the impression that she was an inveterate user; more that she shot herself in the foot before she could manage to please someone. One of the things about the ballet community has been its refusal to admit that many problems that affect society, from drug and alcohol use to eating disorders to treating students as expendible, are issues in the ballet world. That makes it impossible to place Kirkland on the continuum. The ballet world was not credible when it behaved like a dysfunctional family in denial and pointed its collective finger at the bad child, however badly behaved that child was. This makes it impossible to tell how far she was toward the extreme or whether there were many more cases like hers that were swept under the rug or dropped as expendible.

What a brutal and dead-on description. And, That's it. I going back to bed now to crawl under the covers.

Thank you so much for your review, ArizonaNative I love reading your descriptions -- I feel like I'm there. I'm sorry you didn't get to see Paola Hartley in Sanguinic, but it's a tough life when her replacement is Magnicaballi I would have like to see Magnicaballi partnered with Zejnati in the role. (She danced with Ross Clarke in the Saturday matinee.) I've just finished reading the translation of Alexander Meinertz's biography of Vera Volkova. In it there is an excerpt from the never-finished manuscript of her teaching principles: I thought of Zejnati when I read this. His placement is so gorgeous and centered. Joseph Cavanaugh caught my eye the first time I saw the company dance. He is beautiful, and I've always been a pushover for dancers with juicy plies and mass. There's resonance in the air once they move out of position. Sadly, I won't be at Suzanne Farrell Ballet. My personal travel budget trough is now running on empty and needs a rest I'd love to read your impressions of the performances. Having seen Magnicaballi with Suzanne Farrell Ballet was the reason I first travelled to Phoenix, that dustly little western frontier town. Seattle was always described the same way, except for the dust part.

Now that's what I'd call "live music".

My "What I Wished Washington Could Have Seen" meets only one of Boal's criteria*. 1. It needs more than twice as many dancers (14) 2. It needs live music 3. Who knows what the availability of many of the dancers was? 4. The dancers look great in it*. I wished that DC could have seen the (full version of the) "Square Dance" that opened "8 Encores" last Sunday night. "Square Dance" needs dancers like Carrie Imler and Jonathan Poretta in the leads, and it lives or dies by its corps casting. The ballet needs dancers like the two leaving PNB this season, Kara Zimmerman and Rebecca Johnston, and Rachel Foster, Kylee Kitchens, Stacy Lowenberg, and Brittany Reid, just like "Concerto Barocco" and the all-corps movement of "Divertimento No. 15" need these dancers. "Square Dance" needs men like Kiyon Gaines, Barry Kerollis, James Moore, Jordan Pacitti, Sokvannara Sar, and Jerome Tisserand, or it's all a bunch of steps. "Jardi Tancat" simply doesn't need Imler, Gaines, and Pacitti, nor Herd, Pantastico, and Lallone.

That only works if the company is perceived as looking good in the work, and that the work is perceived as extension, not regression. From an audience perspective, how was the company perceived?

Christopher Stowell has catalyzed great change in the company's rep and technical standards, and it's great to see recognition for the company's work.

About an hour after I posted this, I read your danceviewtimes reivew in which you wrote, It is disappointing to read that these dancers didn't shine, especially in a showcase festival, since they all have had fantastic performances all year. Herd and Pantastico will go on to be seen by other audiences at Dutch National Ballet (where Herd guested last year) and Ballet de Monte Carlo. I wish the others had been seen at their best.

Sorry, bingham. Brightcove TV does host videos on its own site, which can be found by clicking "Brightcove TV" fomr the tiny top menu or by clicking this link. He dances the role, particularly the first solo, with his own style, unlike anyone I've seen do it at NYCB or PNB.

In today's Washington Post, Sarah Kaufman writes, This isn't the first time Pacific Northwest Ballet has toured with "Jardi Tancat"; it was one of six ballets performed on two mixed bills at a City Center appearance in the mid-90's that opened with Balanchine's "Divertimento No. 15." I think it was performed more than once alone at Bumbershoot, but that's not surprising at a rock/rock-influenced festival. Boal didn't bring the work into the Company; Francia Russell and Kent Stowell did during what Kaufman describes as Duato's "darling of the dance world" period. Kaufman brings up an important point: when presenting the Company with a single work, why modern dance? In light of Kaufman's question and her examples of the rep that other companies brought with them, I see distinct two camps. The first brought classics and the performances were a gauge of expertise and company health: Pennsylvania Ballet danced Robbins ("In the Night") and Ballet West danced the Balanchine classic "Serenade". The second camp brought dance specific to the company's core identity: Kaufman's example of Kansas City Ballet's "The Still Point" was a tribute to its founder, Todd Bolenger, Joffrey Ballet brought "Lilac Garden", the type of ballet that has deep roots in the Company, Oregon Ballet Theatre brought Wheeldon's "Rush", which does speak to the direction that Christopher Stowell is bringing his troupe, and, for better or worse, Houston Ballet brought Artistic Director Stanton Welch's "Velocity" and Boston Ballet brought Resident Choreographer Jorma Elo's "Brake the Eyes". I don't know enough about Washington Ballet to know what kind of statement it was making with Twyla Tharp, or whether it was trying to give major roles to many dancers. I also don't know whether the choice of "Jardi Tancat" is a statement of identity or was meant to take an audience-pleasing piece with a small cast that would mix well in a mixed bill without the complications of little rehearsal time with live music. The performances took place just a few days after a long season, with two weeks of the Robbins program and a Sunday night closer in which it seemed every healthy dancer took part. Houston Ballet's last rep of the year ("La Sylphide" and "A Doll's House") run's concurrently with these Ballet Across America performances, though. On the other hand, "Jardi Tancat" looks more and more like the mixed bill rep that the Company is presenting here. There is no shortage of Balanchine and we are getting more Robbins, but we're also getting more specifically modern work. Boal has "prepared" the audience for Ulysses Dove's modern pieces by first presenting two works choreographed on ballet companies, "Red Angels" and "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven". (I personally think that the works get structurally weaker as they progress.) I don't put the full-length Maillot "Romeo et Juliette" in that category, because while it wasn't ballet, in many ways it was great theater, something that all else in the modern camp but Tharp (sometimes), is not. There are at least three up-and-coming and working choreographers in the Company -- Paul Gibson, Olivier Wevers, and Kiyon Gaines -- each of whose work for the Company is solidly in the ballet camp. Gibson's "The Piano Dance" and "Sense of Doubt" show the company in great form (although the latter piece takes more than the six that travelled for "Jardi Tancat", as does Gaines's "Schwa"). I bring these up in the context of Kaufman's criticism, as there was an opportunity to put forth a company identity as a nuturing place for in-house choreography, even if the Balanchine identity was skipped. If this choice was meant to be an identity piece at all.

What about the dancers who've remained as the pillars of the corps, sometimes featured in demi-soloist roles and occasionally in principal roles, but generally dance senior corps roles?

Brightcove Internet TV is a publishing platform that websites can be used to publish video on their sites. On what site is this video hosted?

As a family ballet. It has a lot of delights for children. It is also great poster material, and if there are stars in a company, they can do the posters to appeal to the people who always have to see a particular dancer.