Helene

In the review, Macaulay writes of the history of the productions of "La Bayadere" and of the changes in the qualify of the corps, both at the Kirov and the Royal Ballet. He concludes

Wow, delibes, thank you so much The most striking quote to me is

That is excellent news. Thank you for the heads up, maxboswell.

There seems to be a wide variety of ways in which dancers are chosen and coached. There are numerous clips in videos and DVDs from Russia where a dancer has a mentor who coaches him/her through roles in the repetoire. In the "Sacred Stage" DVD, Makhalina is seen coaching Tkachenko, and from numerous comments here on Somova, Chenchikova, who danced Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" on tour to Wolf Trap in the 80's that was televised on PBS, is her mentor. Then, there's NYCB. You read in Merrill Ashley's book how a dancer walked her through a role, outlining it briefly, and concluded she had taught it to Ashley, how she lost a role because she was on her way home when a replacement was needed, and how she envied Colleen Neary, who the company knew was a quick study. Peter Martins wrote in his book that he got a lot of roles because he, too, was a quick study, but noted that he forgot them quickly as well. Particularly because of the huge repetoire and long seasons, injury takes its toll and forces casting. There was one season in the 1980's where there were so many injuries, I think Heather Watts danced just about every female principal role. In Joseph Mazo's "Dance Is a Contact Sport," he describes the changes in casting for one performance, noting the long list in the program insert, and he describes the mind-bending puzzle of trying to cast the performance. Balanchine, until his last years, not only demonstrated roles -- to Melissa Hayden's delight, he demonstrated Odette -- but he also took the role of one of the partners in pas de deux. It was fascinating to read in Duberman's "The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein" that Balanchine felt that Fokine lost his ability after he stopped demonstrating; in his opinion, the choreographer must be able to feel the dance in his own body. Francia Russell ducked out of one post-performance Q&A after a matinee, because, as Kent Stowell explained, she had to do an emergency rehearsal before the evening performance, to teach a role to the replacement for an injured dancer. Dancers often speak about being cast in a role as a last minute replacement, with a quick, behind-the-curtain rehearsal, with one partner literally talking the other through the performance.

The 14-year-old National Champion, Mirai Nagasu, was able to compete in Seniors because she passed her senior tests and was eligible. She is last year's US Jr. Champion, and the reigning Jr. World silver medallist. She will compete at Jr. Worlds again later this spring. I think Vishneva got the better deal with choreographers: Mishin is no Petipa.

The oldest of the "baby ballerinas" was 14. I don't know about gymnastics, but there are junior and senior divisions in figure skating. To get to compete as a senior nationally, a skater has to pass technical tests. (Michelle Kwan famously snuck out and completed her senior test at age 12 behind the back of her then coach, Frank Carroll.) If they pass, they can compete in regionals and sectionals to make it to Nationals. (The top 5 or 6 skaters from last year's US Nationals, for example, get byes to Nationals, as do skaters who are competing in international competitions during the qualifying regionals.) A 14-year-old can dance the lead in a ballet, but if she tries to dance Giselle or Odette/Odile, she will be compared to the greats of all ages. A 15-year-old Darci Kistler danced Odette in Balanchine's "Swan Lake, Act II" for an SAB performance, and from the clips from a handheld camera that I've seen, I am sorry I missed it in person. On the whole, young prodigy dancers are cast in age-appropriate roles. Skaters have complete choice of music to which to perform, and the younger skaters, if they want strong presentation marks, pick age-appropriate music and choreography and rely upon high technical scores. Three of the last four Olympic Ladies champions were 16 or younger: Hughes in 2002, Lipinski in 1998, and Bauil in 1994. In International competitions, but not major championships (Worlds, Olympics, Europeans, Four Continents), a 14-year-old can compete. However for major championships, a skater must be 15 on 1 July before the season begins. There was a huge controversy in 2006, as neither Mao Asada, who won the Grand Prix final two months before the Olympics (over Olympic Silver Medallist Cohen and Olympic Bronze Medallist Slutskaya), and had beaten Olympic Gold Medallist Arakawa and Cohen at Trophee Eric Bompard in November 2005, nor Yu-Na Kim, the two skating wunderkinder, was age eligible for the Olympics. (Ironically, it was the Japanese Federation that had pushed for the age limits on medical grounds, and that considered an official protest to over-turn the rules on Asada's behalf.) As a result, three of the top seven women after the short program at US Nationals are ineligible for Four Continents and Worlds, while the 16-year-old Junior champion is. (And at this point in the competition, it looks like there's a chance two of the three medallists will be ineligible.) It would be possible to have a 14-year-old Senior champion and and 19-year-old Junior champion. Kistler was a Principal Dancer at NYCB at 18, Patricia McBride at 19. I think Allegra Kent was another teenaged Principal, and George Balanchine "discovered" Maria Tallchief and Mary Ellen Moylan when they were around 17 and dancing with the Ballet Russe.

chrisl217!

Is she the redhead who was dancing with white and black scarves? Thank you so much for your review. I bought my copy for Dance Books (www.dancebooks.co.uk), since it isn't available on amazon.com. Ever since I ordered "Ballerina" and "Variation Lesson: Lopatkina" from amazon Japan, both with Japanese subtitles, I've opted for a version that I knew would have English subtitles. (And the total price, while high [but worth it], was similar when shipping is added.) As it turns out, there are only two parts of the documentary for which subtitles are even used, over 30 minutes into it: a rehearsal of a Lizst piano concerto, in which Gergiev spoke to the orchestra, and the scene where Lopatkina talks about the history and her approach to "The Dying Swan" at her makeup table. The rest, as Natalia writes, is a visual poem to the city and the theater. I've never seen Pavlenko, and I'm grateful to Dale and chrisk for pointing out that it was Yuliana Bolshakova who danced Princess Florine. While I wish high extensions had been left out by all of the women, I thought she was very articulate. I saw her at Berkeley in the same role a few years ago and found her brittle, but not in this performance. Korsakov I loved just as much as when I saw him live. While it probably isn't fair to any dancer to watch her Aurora after a Kolpakova/Sizova-fest, because I expect luscious port de bras and am often disappointed, I found Osmolkina a very generous dancer, particularly in her wonderfully open thigh in turnout, which was highlighted in the Pas de Deux as she did the attitude to en dedans pirouettes with beautiful turnout and lifted knee. Fadeyev was very elegant as Prince Desire. I was sorry I wasn't able to see his performance in Berkeley. I again have my usual frustration that so few dancers are credited. (Although with the DVD listing Pavlenko as Princess Florine, who knows how accurate they'd be...) Red Riding Hood had wonderful, skimming steps on point "running" across the stage; although the camera cut in for a close-up part way through her entrance, you could from her upper body that they retained their quality. I loved the feet of all of the featured women. Although this DVD has only Aurora's Awakening and Wedding of the reconstructed ballet, it would have been worth twice its price to see this version. The costumes are stunning. But it was the entire approach or gestalt that is so appealing: having woken up from a one-hundred-year sleep, this, ironically, was a court with time on its hands, and there was no rush to innovate. The sense of graciousness and decorum -- and oblivion -- was potent, and this was evident in the style of the dancing. This was a production where the divertissements were danced by courtiers playing dress-up, not hired entertainment. As a result, they were more grounded, which makes sense dramatically. When Korsakov did the series of beats in his solo, he did not lurch his upper body back and forth to get higher and higher but kept it still, and in the coda (brise vole?), he did not try to kick his back leg up to match the extension of Princess Florine: he knew exactly where 45 degrees was. I liked Bolshakova's Princess Florine a lot more than when I saw it live because the edge was off: she danced as if each step was meaningful, not something lesser than her ability. It was wonderful, too, to see the faces of the divertissement characters; only the wolf's face was covered with an animal head. The dancer playing white cat was very contemporary glamorous: she could have walked the red carpet in Hollywood. Watching the Fairy solos made me think that the choreography was made for a different type of dancer, the shorter, stockier, quicksilver petite allegro specialist: they had the only choreography that to me looked rushed. I like Tereskina's Diamond Fairy, but the speed made it a bit of a stretch. I liked the Silver Fairy a lot, but there were no solos for the secondary fairies. The Sapphire Fairy's tutu was to-die-for gorgeous. Before the Apotheosis, Gergiev spoke to the audience, presumably announcing that Uliana Lopatkina would dance "The Dying Swan," which she did with her magnificent port de bras in an understated way that I found ravishing. The gala ending was terrific: the King and Queen entered to the Apotheosis music, and clinked full champagne glasses before they descended the stairs. With the dancers gathered stage right and left, pouring down the stairs were members of the Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinsky Theatre, the men in white tie and the women in different dresses in black, white, and silver, and they sang the version of the Apotheosis music that Rossini used in "Il Viaggio a Reims." While they sang, they, too clinked champagne glasses with one another, as did the dancers, as they mingled with each other. The orchestral version then played again, with Gergiev descending the stairs with Lopatkina in a gorgeous black dress, looking a little bit like Marcia Cross. There were lots of highlights, but one for me was the number of beautiful young men in the chorus. Fadeyev is no slouch in the looks department, but these guys were gorgeous in a mortal way. Oh, and they can sing, too.

RM Campbell wrote a preview in today's Seattle P-I. There's a nice rehearsal photo with, I think, Noelani Pantastico and James Moore. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/classical/348628_clas25.html Edited to add: The casting is now up: http://www.pnb.org/season/rom-casting.html Pantastico is dancing Juliet in all but one performance, in which there is a guest artist, who also staged the work, Bernice Coppieters. Postlewaite is Pantastico's partner for week one, and James Moore in week two. Postlewaite partners Coppieters at the Saturday, 9 February matinee. Jonathan Poretta performs all of the Mercutios, Benjamin Griffiths all of the Benvolios, and Maria Chapman all of the Rosalines.

Schultheiss's 6th and Berntsson's 7th place final standings (total of 13) have earned Sweden three spots in next year's European Championships in Helsinki. Congratulations to them both! I look forward to seeing them in Gothenberg. :blush: to Tomas Verner for his first major championship title!

Just as an aside, in Tuesday's New York Times crossword puzzle: 3 down: 1998 role for Cate Blanchett Answer: ELIZABETHI

Nureyev also was someone who was notorious for not picking up tabs. I detect a pattern here...

Savchenko is from Ukraine. I only mention this because three of the most wonderful female pairs skaters of the last decade have come from Ukraine: Savchenko, Obertas, and Volosozhar. Volosozhar is my favorite female pairs skater. Obertas has so much talent, but hadn't competed well for several years and is off this year. I've never seen Schultheiss, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in March, thanks to Kristoffer Berntsson's top 10 finish at Worlds last year. I am going to be there for the whole competition, and I'd love to meet you while I'm there

In an article for the Summer 2007 Dance View, Kirov Academy of Ballet (DC) dance student Jackye Waugh wrote about her experience at the Kattsbaan International Dance Center taking class and being taught and coached by Gelsey Kirkland and Michael Chernov. Her half of the class was taught the Lilac Fairy variation from the Prologue of "The Sleeping Beauty." Apart from adjustments for students who weren't advanced enough to do the actual choreography, Waugh wrote, It can be remarkable how the choreography can look altered when the eye is caught by a different emphasis or attribute.

When I was writing this up, I kept blanking out on whom the adult (singer) Nedda was onstage with during the interlude. I kept thinking, "It couldn't have been Canio, he was downstage at his table," but what Sandy described had to have been exactly what happened.

I think that is one of the book's strengths. The book gives a very broad view, and it written after Balanchine had regained interest in the possibilities of other dancers in the company. It's a very pithy, fun read, with little condescension. (Although I always have wondered about his description of Heather Watts. I can't imagine her ever being a girl who would have lived at a mall had she not become a dancer, but that could be an East Coast bias about California girls on his part, and people from New Jersey shouldn't throw stones about malls. ) He seemed to enjoy and appreciate the dancers as people, and it interested in the working process. One of the more controversial chapters was the one on Robbins. Some of Robbins' dancers, after the choreographer's death and around the publication of a few biographies a couple of years ago, have said that Mazo was too one-sided and harsh in his description. This might be the case, but it might also reflect maturation and the way memories change, especially since the dearth of choreographic genius they've worked with since, however irascible he might have been. I see the same tendency in changing attitudes towards Nureyev's tenure as AD of Paris Opera Ballet.

That sounds like a treasure, Cristian! I can't speak to her importance at ABT, but to give a little background of Mary Ellen Moylan, she and Maria Tallchief were two young American dancers with whom Balanchine worked during a stint with Ballet Russe. Moylan was the original Sanguinic in Balanchine's "The Four Temperaments," a role quickly assumed by Tallchief; the ballet was on the opening program of Ballet Society, which two years later, in 1948, became New York City Ballet. She was also in a Pas de Trois in "Danse Concertantes," with Tallchief and, if I remember correctly, Nicholas Magellanes. She was one of six Balanchine dancers interviewed in the documentary "Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas." If you can find it in the library, it's worth watching. One of the highlights for me was listening to Moylan, and there were several short clips of her dancing as well.

At the end of "Vesti la Giubba," Canio was at his downstage left dressing table. His arms were crossed on the table, with his head in his arms, sobbing. When the curtain rose on him at the beginning of the second act, he was in the same position: the interpolated scene was meant to be his remembrance of their relationship as it progressed. I think the reference to the short evening was partly in response to the length of opera that Seattle Opera tends to produce, like Wagner, Der Rosenkavalier, etc. I think it's also a "I'm glad we can get back to Tacoma/Redmond/Everett" at a reasonable time or that "we can get the earlier ferry to Bainbridge/Vashon Island, etc." I think the only people who "have" to go are a few reluctant spouses. We only have Gold and Silver; no Bronze here

I'm very glad that next year my silver cast subscription to Seattle Opera will be on Friday nights, back-to-back with my gold cast subscription, because I don't think anyone should have to sing at 2pm, especially something like "I Pagliacci," which I heard yesterday afternoon. General Director Speight Jenkins decided to perform "I Pagliacci" on its own, in the two-act version. He noted in the post-performance Q&A that he had received a number of complaints from patrons who felt they were only getting half an evening, although as he also noted, "I Pagliacci" is just as long as "Electra," and no one complains about that opera on its own, and also that Seattle Times critic Melinda Bargreen told him that she got a lot of positive feedback for "an early evening at the opera." He asked director Bernard Uzan if there was any way to extend the opera, and Uzan said he had always wanted to show the background of Canio's line from "No Pagliaccio non son" where he says that he took Nedda as an orphan and gave her his name. Assistant Conductor Philip Kelsey found little-known music from Leoncavallo's opera "Zaza" and his "Romance" and re-orchestrated it. The "Zaza" music was circus band music, in this case scored for piano, played by Williamson, and seven or eight of the principal players. The opera opened in front of a drop, with two dancers portraying comedy (female in white) and tragedy (male in black) doing their thing, which was a bit cute for my taste. (Neither they nor a choreographer were listed on the cast page, and it looked a bit improvisational.) They then rolled out a trunk, from which Tonio emerged, to sing the Prologue. When the drop curtain was raised, we saw the set rented from Montreal. (With its church upstage left and a house downstage right, it could have be used for both "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "I Pagliacci.") The set was timeless, but as the chorus poured into the square, the dress was from the 1950's, Seattle Opera's own costumes. The Commedia troup arrived in a small Fiat pulling a small trailer into town. (It was a bit shiny and unscratched for such a group, but I don't think any dealer wanted to sponsor a beater.) The town square was setting for the most of the rest of the act, until Canio retreated downstage left to a dressing table after singing "Vesti la Giubba," which ended Act I. When the curtain opened for Act II, Canio was in the same place, head in arms, and the interpolated scene represented his memory of his early years with Nedda. In the center of the square was a stage on which the troupe would later perform. An older acrobat taught a young girl an act, and they did many of the tricks together, including presses and lifts. They were replaced by two others, this time a young woman as Nedda. Eventually replacing them were the adult, singer Nedda and two aerialists. At the end, a foretelling of what happened after the opera, the two aerialists hung straight down from their feet, dead in the air. I had never seen a production in which the Act II stage audience sat upstage, behind the stage, and what was closest to the audience was backstage. The commedia was played both to the back of the proscenium and to the sides, except for Beppe's serenade from the balcony of the downstage right house. The actual murders took place closest to the audience, "behind" the stage. Reverting to the original, before Caruso appropriated the final line of the opera, "La Commedia e finita" was spoken by Tonio, as he stuffed comedy and tragedy into the trunk from which he emerged at the beginning of the opera. The chorus was the star of this show, not only vocally, especially the united bright voices of the tenors, but also as the creator of an organic village. (Although I did find it amusing that every family seemed to have one child, as they head off to church.) They were a remarkably natural audience for the troupe in both acts. I thought the comedy/tragedy clown concept was weak, but I've never liked clowns. As Jenkins pointed out, in stock commedia del arte, there are five characters: the older husband, the wife, the young harlequin lover, a nice character and and evil character, but in "I Pagliacci," the latter two are combined into a single character, Tonio. In my opinion, Tonio is neither comedic nor tragic; he is unfortunate, embittered, manipulative, and a bit pathetic. (Nedda, again in my opinion, has his number.) Onstage, the only time he was at all sympathetic was when he was playing to the children; they seemed to like him, even if he pretended to try to scare them. Jenkins said that the concept was that he was Iago-like, masterminding and manipulating the situation. He was also a pig. Regardless of his handicap, which could make him sympathetic -- and, at the same time, make Nedda seem shallow -- he was, in actuality, a competitive macho jerk, hitting on the boss's wife, as if he were entitled. I found it a great dramatic touch that when Nedda whipped him, she whipped his offending hands, which is exceedingly painful. The only time Canio was sympathetic to me was during the interpolated scene. It was remarkable how quickly he and Tonio defaulted to calling Nedda a slut (repeatedly). His character flaw is less jealousy than a sense of property and gender entitlement, fueled by massive insecurity. The little Fiat from which the troupe piled that was so cute at the beginning of the opera, represented a claustrophobic and hostile cage for Nedda. Silvio is not a hormonal diversion for her: he represents freedom from the road and the day-to-day emotional violence to which she was subjected, with her only ally Beppe, the perpetual peacemaker. Matinees are not great for judging voices. Mark Holland, who sang Tonio had a beautiful top, clear as a bell, but in the middle and lower register didn't sound settled. That was also an issue for Canio, John Uhlenhopp, who didn't display consistent control throughout his range. The role of Silvio didn't sound like it fit comfortably in Morgan Smith's range. Each of these singers had a number of interesting ideas that didn't quite come to fruition. This didn't stop them from effective drama, and in some ways it enhanced the drama: there were few beautiful sounds to trick us into setting aside the words. I think that Friday night will be a better indicator of their voices. (Smith was a terrific Don Giovanni last year.) I loved Eva Bastori's Minnie a few years ago, and her Nedda was fabulous. She sang and acted the part with conviction, never softening to gain sympathy. The last time I saw "I Pagliacci" live was in the 70's, and I didn't remember from that performance or from recordings the size and volume of the orchestra she faces in her first act solo aria: it's a rumbling, gurgling forest she has to sing over, and she soared over it. Doug Jones was a great Beppe. He moves like a dancer and his stage sense is exemplary. He also has a gorgeous voice. Unlike many singers in the role, who sing the Serenade as sweetly and prettily as possible -- it is, after all, the role's cameo -- he phrased it like a stock Harlequin, while never sacrificing his shimmering tenor. The orchestra was mixed. There was a lot of wonderful playing, intermixed with some sour brass and a few noticeable synch issues, which I suspect will be ironed out with this cast by Friday.

Mr. Patrelle, through his company, has the ability to give them opportunities to perform, as well as developing dancers in class, but I agree that it deserves noting that there are and have been many wonderful teachers at Ballet Academy East who've developed a number of dancers there. And it's where Lourdes Lopez cut her teeth administratively.

January 6-January 12, 2008 Rita Feliciano reviews "Women on the Way Festival." George Jackson reviews Moiseyev Dance Company.

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I've seen almost every representative from the Balanchine Foundation called a repetiteur, as well as many people sent by a living choreographer to stage his/her works. While the Ballet Masters might be nominally over the repetiteurs, since the purpose of the Balanchine repetiteurs is to uphold standards -- and I suspect the same of the people that Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe, etc. send to major companies -- that would mean repetiteurs have two masters, and one of them is the holder of the rights.

The link to that footage is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwBctmtbRrU In this segment, there are some lovely clips of Ulanova dancing as well as shots of her gently coaching.

George Jackson reviews Levydance for danceviewtimes.