Helene

Adults who start college later are generally motivated by specific goals. It's a lot different than going to school as a back-up plan or when one's focus is still in one's current career. The Fordham program is one where dancers can take classes while they are still dancing, mainly at the Lincoln Center campus. That means they have one or both feet in the dancing world while they are studying part-time. A committment to something outside dance might be psychologically difficult under the circumstances. It would be interesting to compare the dancers who start college or do most of their college studies after they stop dancing to those who are studying and dancing at the same time. Perhaps the 1 in 5 that don't have difficulty choosing a major fall more frequently into the former category. In 1986 or 7, I took a seminar for dance management at Jacob's Pillow. There was a special session with a woman who had started a dancer's transition program when the idea was still very new. Barbara Horgan, who was one of the three people giving the main part of the seminar, seemed dismissive of the effort, and said that with rare exceptions, every former dancer who wanted to work had found employment within two years after retiring from NYCB. The woman, whose name I can't remember, replied that of course every dancer had found a job eventually: people have to pay rent and feed themselves. It's interesting to read Mr. Handelsman's coaching quotes. This was exactly what this woman was saying in the mid-80's! She emphasized that dancers, especially the women, are thought to be dumb and docile, but they were actually under-educated. She noted that for kids who don't live near big cities where a parent had to commute 2+ hours in either direction many times a week to get their kids to pre-professional training until that child transitioned to a residential program, the parent often would tell the kid, "If you don't get straight A's, you're not dancing any more." She said many of these kids were straight A students until they were early to mid-teens and focused on ballet entirely. They did know how to "do school." She had to tell them constantly what they brought to the table for an employer: discipline, hard-work, focus, attention to detail, and the ability to take direction and follow through.

The link to the article is here. It's difficult enough to transition from one career to the next when what you've done with some degree of satisfaction is outsourced, or even when the next one is the fulfillment of a dream -- starting one's own business, etc. Imagine the stress when you're confronting the end of a career that you started seriously at age 10, and by age 30 you'd been training for and doing for two decades, and wouldn't leave unless you had to: Everything about their professional training is focused towards one goal: a performing career. In terms of the inability to declare a major, I don't think that's much different than many college students face, especially students that have excelled in high school and do school well. Take pre-med because that's what one's parents want? Take government and history because there's pressure to go to law school? Choose something practical? Choose something related to ballet (become a physical therapist, etc.)? Go the liberal arts route? School as an experience or to get experience? There's certainly a psychological transition to be made from being told for decades how and when and where to move to making choices about what one wants, knowing that one's choice is unlikely to be as fulfilling, at least in the immediate future, as life on stage and in a family-like, all-encompassing work atmosphere.

I only saw it in the days of the pass-off, but it always looked pretty scary to me In the Six Ballerinas documentary, Maria Tallchief described how Danilova (I think) told her after a performance that she needed to look up during the toss, and Tallchief told her she was trying to look serene, but there were several men tossing her and only one to catch her.

If they are, not from any official source. I don't think it's any different from any other company when a young dancer is promoted. It is usually career suicide to complain. Balanchine was known for casting whichever dancer he was interested in at the time. One of the few times dancers were vocal at NYCB was when Balanchine cast and focused on Suzanne Farrell at what they felt was their expense. Some made direct statements to the media (then or since), and other made more oblique ones or non-verbal ones (voting with their feet), and Farrell spoke about this in her memoir.

That's where the throw does happen, but is there another Balanchine ballet where they'd be dressed like that in which the character suggests adding the toss, or is the ballet they're dancing supposed to be La Sylphide?

The throwing in #3 sounds like a reference to the second movement of Scotch Symphony, but the only other Balanchine ballet I can think of where there was a tartan is Figure in the Carpet. I'm not sure what the characters are supposed to be performing.

I can attest to its longevity, as it was my senior class play in the Age of the Brontosauras. However, I can't say I thought much of it then or now, although that's not critical consensus by any means.

Alerts to ballet-related clips on YouTube are allowed, including key words on which to search. We don't allow direct links to YouTube videos.

Saturday, October 20 Anne Midgett reviews the 17th century opera-ballet Zélindor for The New York Times. Ellen Dunkel reviews Hubbard Street Ballet for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Gia Kourlas reviews Eiko and Koma for The New York Times. (Through Oct 27 at the Japan Society) From The Times Michael Clark on I didn't get where I am today without...

According to Choreography by George Balanchine, the costumes for the Glinka Pas de Trois (entry 307) were by Karinska, and the costumes for the Minkus Pas de Trois (also called "Pas de Trois Classique" and " Paquita Pas de Trois" (entry 247) were by Jean Robier, with whom I'm not familiar. The premiere was in 1948, for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. There's no note to suggest that NYCB used anything but the original designs. From the same source ("Swan Lake", entry 285), Benno was danced by Frank Hobi in the premiere in 1951, and the "Dance of the Four Cygnets" was in it as well, but in 1964 there were a handful of major revisions, to both Odette's and Siegfried's solos, replacing "Dance of the Four Cygnets" with "Valse Bluette," and eliminating Benno. I'd never seen a performance with Siegfried's solo, but the book says it was "often omitted." Many thanks for identifying these references.

According to an interview with On The Boards Artistic Director Lane Czaplinski, choreographer John Jasperse noted the single constraint of his new work, Misuse liable to prosecution: nothing used in the sets, props, and costumes could be bought; all must be found, borrowed or stolen. As a result, Jasperse has created a set of striking and quirky beauty: giant mobiles of used hangers, on which an occasional janitor's dust mop is hung, and threw which overhead lights were strewn. Deeper into the interview, he said that he wanted to use a different vocabulary than he had in the past, changing the aesthetic, especially his own. For at least one half hour before the start time, Jasperse lay upstage right on a huge orange rope net that hung from the ceiling, with his legs in the air continuously weaving and unweaving, tying and untying his legs and feet with the mesh. (I can't imagine the physical strength it took to keep his legs up and active for so long, before he then performed in an hour+ show.) In the next phase, he balanced an orange traffic cone on a broom, and proceeded to read a set of financial statistics among them about himself, his company, his dancers, Judge Judy's salary compared to the Supreme Court justices. He followed with an exhibit of gelaimter-ness I found thrilling: he gathered the cone, a plastic crate, and feather duster, and an assortment of mops and brooms and heading upstage, dropping them and rearranging them and losing a piece and dropping another trying to pick up one from the floor, trying over and over until he arrived, where he arranged the pieces in plastic crates as carefully as one would flowers. Four dancers, two men and two women then took the stage. One man and woman moved in parallel, while the other set proceeded to weave themselves in and out and around each other. Later they lay on their backs and proceeded to loop and weave a long rope of tied fabric pieces with their legs and feet, until the entire mass was under the woman's shirt, after which the man rolled it up and over her head in a nifty bundle. In another part, the dancers struggled and tossed each other against an air mattress, in yet another, the three men interacted with each other and what looked at first like a sleeping bag, but later seemed too heavy. (I'm not sure what it was.) There was also an extended section where in unison, each dancer folded, unfolded, threw, whipped, and tossed a pair of jeans, until three made origami hats out of them. There were times when I was distracted away from the dancers, mostly to watch composer and musician Zeena Parkins -- who moved so calmly that there was no reason for her physical presence to be distracting -- but I was so fascinated by the score, that I wanted to see how it was being made. Another time, Jasperse arranged plastic bottles on a piece of fabric that took up a good chunk of stage right. I knew there was dancing going on, but I was focused on his calm and deliberate actions. (That was followed by a wonderful sequence in which the two women used their legs and feet to gather this giant sheet and the plastic bottles until it was like a blanket.) The times I tuned out were when the music became too loud or the dance sustained an aggressiveness. I didn't feel actively uncomfortable, but my reaction in distancing was pretty clear. However, this was not a piece whose purpose was to show the disintegration of human interaction, and each of these situations played out and switched in a different direction. I loved, loved the score, the scenic design, and the lighting, making it a complete work of art. All in all, it was a delight. Misuse liable to prosecution travels to BAM, which commissioned it, from 31 October-3 November at the Harvey Theater.

"Diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome". by G.Umpierrez ,M Khajavi M and A Kitabchi .

dancerboy, many thanks for your review and your vivid description of Dupont!

I just finished reading Kyle Froman's In the Wings: Behind the Scenes at the New York City Ballet. For anyone who has any interest in a thoughful, reflective, beautifully written story about a day in the life of a dancer, this book is a treasure. The day is one in which Froman will rehearse and perform in the corps of Square Dance, and I will never see that ballet again without having twice the respect for the effort the dancers are making. While the book seems to have been meant as a picture book -- in the Foreward, Peter Martins writes, "It all started very quietly: one day he showed up for company class with a camera slung over his sweatshirt," -- in my opinion, they are the beautiful bonus to the narrative. They range from straightforward rehearsal photos and shots of dancers before class, to dancers preparing for performances, to dressing room shots, to a few in actual performance. There are also some that are deliberately artful (in the good sense), and some that look deliberately imperfect or shadowy, such as a gorgeous photo of Seth Orza in mid-flight, in focus except for his lead foot. There are ample photos in this 118-page book. There are several shots of Merrill Ashley and Sean Lavery in rehearsal -- sadly all of those with Jean-Pierre Frohlich are shot from behind -- and the typically odd combinations of rehearsal clothing, in particular an outfit that Nikolaj Hubbe is wearing in rehearsal with Wendy Whelan in Sleeping Beauty. (There's a photo of Jared Angle doing cabrioles, which makes me think I misidentified Benjamin Griffiths' entrance step in Square Dance.) Others identified in captions are Megan LeCrone, Sofiane Sylve, Savannah Lowery, Christian Tworzyanski, Abi Stafford, Sara Mearns, Albert Evans, Max van der Sterre, Dara Johnson, Ellen Bar, Ana Sophia Scheller, Stephen Hanna, Susan Hendl, Andrew Veyette, Miranda Weese, Marika Anderson, Maria Kowrowski, Sterling Hyltin, Rosemary Dunleavy, Sebastien Marcovici, Janie Taylor, Ask la Cour, Rebecca Krohn, Ashley, Laracey, Yvonne Bouree, Peter Martins, Austin Laurent, Craig Hall, Daniel Ullbricht, Edward Liang, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Jenny Somogyi, Rachel Piskin, Sean Suozzi, Lauren King, Glenn Keenan, Aaron Severini, Carla Korbes, Damien Woetzel, Jason Fowler, Teresa Reichlen, Gwyneth Muller, Saskia Beskow, Charles Askegard, Mika Melamed Hadani, Megan Fairchild, Elizabeth Walker, Amanda Edge, Rachel Rutherford, and Troy Schumacher. Some dancers I've seen; other's I know only from reviews on this site, and it was a pleasure putting faces to the names. One of my favorite photo sections, though, was in the chapter "11:30 A.M," devoted to the physical therapy room. I found the shot of "Marika Molnar's hands" the most moving one in the book. I highly recommend this book well beyond the NYCB audience.

I've been thinking about this since Sandy first posted it. One of the oddest things about the experience was the realization that while we, the audience, could see backstage, the dancers could also see us! I just finished reading Kyle Froman's new book, In the Wings: Behind the Scenes at the New York City Ballet, and in it he writes: So here were were, in a brightly-lit studio, caught staring at, for example, Benjamin Griffiths' hair, wondering how he made it look so different (and unplastered) for the Balanchine program, or the boys group, who could have been 10-year-olds, sitting self-conscious and huddled under the bar, their knees held against their chests, until they unfolded themselves, got up to dance, and proved themselves to be the 12-14-year old dancers they were. While I don't know what they were thinking, seeing a small set of core audience, but I could imagine Peter Boal thinking, "I hope they're all signed up for the Reverence Society," and perhaps the dancers, "She left the house wearing that?" or "He's kind of cute," or "She reminds me of my aunt," or "Isn't there someone under 50 in the room besides us?" But whatever they were thinking, there was little mystery left

I was particularly surprised not to see Somova cast in Forsythe, since, from all descriptions I've read, would be her realm.

You're very welcome. Normally, stories take a while to move to archives, but Miami Herald seems to have an arrangement with a third part that moves them almost instantly.

It's available in the archives on nl.newsbank.com; however, links to the archives expire. Otherwise, we would have added it to the Links thread for the day in which it was published, where we track published reviews. Thanks to leibling for the heads up on how to find it. To find the review, go to the Miami Herald website. At the top of the page, click the radio button to the left of "Archives," type "miami city ballet jewels" in the text box, and click the "go" button. You should be able to find the review by Jordan Levin, published originally on 10/13/07. Any link you create will expire in less than a day. I don't know how long this will be up, but I do know that from the nl.newsbank.com site, to read the article would cost $5.15.

From PR Newswire -- thanks to TutuMaker NEW YORK, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Movado is proud to announce the second year of the Movado Future Legends program, a unique initiative that is helping to nurture a future generation of artists with exceptional abilities and commitment to their craft. This year, three of this country's most prestigious arts institutions were invited to identify a Movado Future Legend - an individual still studying, but undoubtedly on the path to becoming a major force in his or her field. Recipients of the 2007 awards are: Design team Doshi Levien selected by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, dancer Kirk Henning selected by The Suzanne Farrell Ballet on behalf of The Kennedy Center, and dancer Doug Letheren selected by the Baryshnikov Arts Center. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071018/NYTH013LOGO) Cooper-Hewitt Director Paul Warwick Thompson, in conjunction with the curatorial staff, selected the London-based design studio Doshi Levien to receive the 2007 Movado Future Legends Award. Founded in 2000 by designers Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien, the studio's defining goal is to bring together the designers' distinct yet complementary cultural approach to their work. While Levien brings a European approach to design, Doshi's work is strongly influenced by her Indian upbringing. Doshi Levien's work explores the "unity of opposites" by combining the handmade, the unique, and the symbolic with the machine-made, the industrial, and the mass-manufactured. Doshi formed her strong graphic sensibility while attending India's National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, founded in 1961 by the Indian government, and based on a remarkable program commissioned by Charles and Ray Eames who continue to exert an influence on the designer. Doshi and Levien met while attending England's Royal College of Art and set up their studio soon after graduating. On behalf of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Suzanne Farrell chose dancer Kirk Henning as a 2007 Movado Future Legends Award recipient. Henning is currently performing with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, the Center's own ballet company. Kirk, the second of six children, grew up in Momence, Illinois. At 17, he began his ballet training in the west suburbs of Chicago with Watmora Casey and Avnun Yakabov. In 2000, Kirk joined the Dayton Ballet in Dayton, Ohio, where he enjoyed performing a variety of works including the title roles in Peter Pan, Hamlet and Trinity. He won the 2003 Josie Award for most outstanding performer in the Dayton area. In 2004 Kirk moved to Richmond, Virginia, and joined the Richmond Ballet performing multiple contemporary roles including Peasant Pas in Giselle and Prince Florimund in Sleeping Beauty. Kirk was very excited to joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2006. Kirk is currently a corps de ballet member with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and will appear in the company's Kennedy Center Opera House engagement, November 20-25, 2007. Mikhail Baryshnikov selected Doug Letheren to receive this year's Movado Future Legends Award. Doug Letheren was born and raised in New Hampshire, where he trained in dance at St. Paul's School under Richard Rein and Rebecca Wright. He studied at the Conservatoire Nationale de la Region in Rennes, France in 2001, and went on to complete his studies at the Julliard School. Working with Aszure Barton since 2005, he has participated in a number of projects including a creative collaboration in Kenya, and a world premier with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. In summer 2006 and 2007, Letheren toured internationally with Hell's KitchenDance, a company formed to showcase work created at Baryshnikov Arts Center. This past summer, he and his classmates received a grant from Julliard to bring the New York Company, Public Dance Theatre, on a 4-city teaching and performing tour of Peru. The 2007 Future Legends recipients will each receive a crystal award designed with two interlocking circles, symbolizing individual artistic commitment and Movado's dedication to supporting new talent. Each recipient will also receive a $10,000 grant to support his/their artistic efforts, and each artist will be presented a Movado watch. On October 24, 2007, Movado will host an exclusive event at Cooper-Hewitt to celebrate "60 Years of Modern Design," and to honor the artistry of the selected recipients who are now on the road to becoming legends. Movado is proud of its longtime association with the arts. Three organizations that Movado is extremely proud to support include Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; The Kennedy Center, where Movado is the official watch; and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The Museum presents compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily life through active educational and curatorial programming. It is the mission of Cooper-Hewitt's staff and Board of Trustees to advance the public understanding of design across the twenty-four centuries of human creativity represented by the Museum's collection. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, located on 17 acres overlooking the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is America's living memorial to President Kennedy. The Kennedy Center, now in its 37th season, presents the greatest performers and performances of music, dance and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts education. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet made its debut during the Kennedy Center's Balanchine Celebration in the fall of 2000. Since its inception the Farrell Ballet has been presented annually at the Kennedy Center in addition to domestic and international touring. The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) opened its doors in New York City (Hell's Kitchen) in November 2005. BAC is a center for artistic experimentation and collaboration that serves as a creative laboratory, meeting place, and performance space for a vibrant community of artists from around the world and across disciplines. Core activities include artist residencies, student fellowships, commissions of new work, and arts presentations.

Sandy, you are right that in general, Heads Up! is full of announcements that tend to get buried until/unless they're "bumped" closer to the performance. Thankfully, Quiggin posted the link to the MCB Jewels video preview, the discussion of which has made the thread. But I'll be more diligent about posting a link to the "Recent Performances" review, so the corresponding review thread is one click away. Generally, we catch most of the reviews in Links, which over one quarter of our members only read We do miss a few, and we're happy to add them, with attribution. The problem with dropping review links into other forums -- which we don't even do in the Links forum, where we give a relevant quote, unless it's a simple announcement -- is that links generally kill the discussion, unless there's something controversial written. We do want to hear what the critics say, but we're trying to encourage people to discuss what they see, especially since we can ask them about it and engage in a dialogue, while our questions to Alastair Macaulay or Joan Acocella, for example, are rhetorical

I completely agree with Quiggin on all points. Diamonds was a revelation of an alternative performing universe. The movement quality of the lead men is particularly pliant and juicy, which I love. I'm still at a loss with Emeralds, because I cannot translate in my head what this will look like in costume. while both Diamonds and Rubies are immediately translatable. But not at enough of a loss to stop me from wanting to see these dancers in person and to solve the mystery with my own eyes!

I agree with papeetepatrick. Viggo Mortensen always reminded me of a cross between Baryshnikov and Tristan Rogers, the actor who played Robert Scorpio on "General Hospital." I also heard the cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott on Monday, in a joint recital with pianist Angela Hewitt. In person, he reminded me of a cross between Joshua Bell and PNB Principal Dancer Casey Herd. (In his photo, there's no resemblance to either, oddly.) In the Just the Facts section of his bio in the Vancouver Recital Society, there's an item that reads: When people praise his good looks: "As long as they are open to the music, I don't mind." In spite of his good looks and the praise he gets for it, he has a very modest and charming stage presence.

Click here to go to the review thread, where you can read cubanmiamiboy's review.

Odd that Serenade only has two principals listed. I only have tickets for the 17th and 18th. The 17th is Forsythe, and I'm not sure which dancers would be best in those works. The 18th has a Somova/Korsuntsev Serenade -- and Somova's extensions will be dampened by the tulle, and she'll be mitigated by two other principals -- a Vishneva/Fadeev Rubies, and, at least on the schedule, a Lopatkina/Kozlov Ballet Imperial. Maybe it's not time yet to sell those tickets on ebay...

I just wanted to clarify something about links to newspaper and magazine reviews and the "Recent Performances" and "Heads Up!" forums. What we'd like to avoid are posts that are only links to reviews, or links and quotes. Why? We want to know what you think. "Recent Performances" was created for us to describe our thoughts about and reactions to the things we see. It is perfectly legitimate to cite a published review in the forum if you have a specific comment to make about it, such as "She described it perfectly in the Miami Herald" or "I disagree with XYZ because..." Or if there is a print-only review, it's fine to quote a short excerpt to get the discussion rolling. "Heads Up!" is to let you know when an event occurs. We hope that if you attend, you'll post in "Recent Performances." Published online reviews in the "Links" forum are posted by noon Pacific Time in the thread for the date on which they were originally published. If by the end of the day you find a link that we haven't posted, please feel free to send us a PM or email to the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page, and we'll confirm the link is working and add it. Search engines -- even Google -- don't catch everything, and the beauty of the Internet is that articles are published round-the-clock, and are often posted after we complete links for the day, which is why we add posts to days past. (Thank you!)