Helene

Saturday, October 6 From The New York Times: Alastair Macaulay reviews Noche Flamenco. Claudio La Rocco reviews Mika Kurosawa's performances at The Kitchen. Gia Kourlas reviews Terry Dean Bartlett's and Katie Workum's "France-off, performed at the French Institute Alliance Francaise's Crossing the Line festival. Alastair Macaulay reviews Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn’s “Remembering ...” Claudia La Rocca reviews Willi Ninja's company at Dance Theatre Workshop. Roslyn Sulcas reviews Tango Connection.

"Balanchine's Petipa -- Choreography for Men" began with an introduction by Doug Fullington to Stepanov and his notation system and to Petipa, to the participating dancers -- Benjamin Griffiths, Carla Korbes, James Moore, Kaori Nakamura, Lucien Postlewaite, Jodie Thomas, and Mara Vinson -- and an overview of the approach for the demonstration. The presentation took place in the Studio C, the large studio, where the cannons and the Peacock's cage from The Nutcracker were already stowed. With the exception of the "Dance of the Arab boys" from Raymonda, which was performed twice by the intermediate boys class, after Doug gave an introduction to the pieces that were about to be performed, and discussed the structural and musical similarities and differences between the reconstructed Petipa and the Balanchine excerpts -- sometimes followed by comments and anecdotes by Peter Boal -- there were demonstrations of the works by the dancers. The pairings were "Zephyr solo with four nymphs" from The Awakening of Flora and "First male variation with 4 demi-solo women" from Theme and Variations "Male variation, Act III" from Swan Lake and "Variation 5" from Divertimento No. 15 "Kingdom of the Shades Pas de Deux" from La Bayadere/"Harlequin and Columbine" from The Nutcracker and "Pas de deux" from Apollo "Pas de Trois" from Paquita and "Pas de Trois" from Emeralds "Prince Desire variation, Act III" from Sleeping Beauty and "Male variation" from Divertimento from "Le Baiser de la Fee" Doug explained that the male variation from Swan Lake Act III was choreographed and performed by Alexander Gorsky, who was the second man in the Act III Pas de Deux, much like Benno was the third person in the "White Swan Pas de Deux." He pointed out the influence of the French style and Bournonville on this variation. A common thread was a discussion of structure and architecture, and how patterns and symmetry played an important roles in the works. Doug also noted that both Petipa and Balanchine were notable character dancers. While not all of the choreography demonstrated was done by Petipa -- Gorsky did the Swan Lake variation and Ivanov completed Nutcracker after Petipa did the notes and overview -- it must have been liberating to approach choreography as a character dancer. A Prince who choreographed might have been locked into line and have been limited in scope and imagination, but to a character dancer, Prince was just one more shade of male. The Swan Lake variation was beautifully danced by Benjamin Griffiths. Using a wider palette also allowed for a more varied approach to the role of the cavalier. Doug spoke about the difference between the long, stretched lines of the typical Prince style, compared to the work in plie like in "Variation 5" from Divertimento No. 15, which had similarities to the Gorsky Swan Lake variation. Lucien Postlewaite, who performed both and the solo from Theme and Variations, has a fundamental grasp of the emphasis on demi-plie in these variations, and his own geometry, with his beautiful turnout, reflects the diamond patterns that are found on the floor in many of the Petipa and Balanchine ballets. (This was one of the highlights of his performance in Rubies.) Peter Boal spoke about how ending/staying in plie, usually a transition step, was emphasized in the choreography. Postlewaite could be the Prince, too. Doug's approach to the Sleeping Beauty variation was to break it down into sections which Postlewaite performed. The variation straight through would have been like competing in the decathalon, but performed as JavelinHurdlesShotputHighjumpDiscus1500metersLongjump400metersPolevault100meterd ash. Postlewaite also danced Apollo to Carla Korbes' Terpsichore, the role in which Peter Boal discovered the 14-year-old Korbes. He has the uncanny ability to focus on the ballerina in such a way that you see her through his eyes. I hope this pairing isn't a tease, and that we get to see them in this ballet soon. Dianne Chilgren, the accompanist for the program, gave an almost haunting rendition of the score. There was a fascinating part where Doug described a lift in the La Bayadere Pas de Deux, which Postlewaite and Kaori Nakamura, who excelled in this and the Paquita, demonstrated: he lifted her to his waist, so that she was practically horizontal, while he extended his other arm to the side, while walking backwards. It was an incredible lift, but it was replaced with a different one in the actual performance, a lift that Doug noted Balanchine used in a number of his ballets. I know that the large full-length ballets are an issue for casting, since the number of Principal and solo roles are limited, but watching Nakamura made me long for them. Doug spoke about how Petipa's era was Victorian, and bit about the conventions of the time, and how Balanchine's Apollo Pas de Deux broke those conventions; he also mentioned how Balanchine's experimental troupe, which performed the overhead lifts Balanchine devised that caused an uproar. Several times he noted that the partnering in both Petipa and Balanchine was open, and how the Russian style later developed with closer partnering conventions. I had always thought the openness was a temperamental preference on Balanchine's part, and didn't realize how much direct influence there had been. Postlewaite might have been spared the decathalon, but Benjamin Griffiths was not. The last work on the program was Helgi Tomasson's great solo in Divertimento from Baiser de la Fee. Boal spoke about how as Tomasson was close to retirement, he taught Ib Andersen and two other dancers, including the 18-year-old Boal this solo. From Tomasson to Boal (who I'd never seen in it) to Griffiths; what a pedigree. I'd always heard this was one of the great solos for men; from the Fourth Ring of the New York State Theater, it never resonated for me. In the studio, as danced by Griffiths, it was breathtaking and, at the end, a complete heartbreaker. One of the things that was striking about watching these dancers is that they can bear any critical scrutiny from ten feet away. It was a wonderful and enlightening presentation. And I got to meet Sandy McKean and his wife, which was a delight; he did not exaggerate a bit when he described her, and he is, indeed, a lucky fellow.

I just attend "Balanchine's Petipa." doug.

When I attended regularly in the '80's and '90's, there was a weekly cast list posted in the lobby, which many of us pondered and which was the basis of our attendance strategy for the week. That in addition to the occasional interview or article which listed who was dancing what ballet, plus the inevitable guessing game we played. "Heather Watts has owned the lead in Agon, so I bet she's doing it again this year." I used to subscribe to both Sunday night series -- the extra Sunday was usually some type of special program, like the Dancers' Emergency Fund benefit at the end of the winter seasn -- because they took away the Sunday night blues. The rest of the week was more strategic, filling in casts that I hadn't seen, seeing favorite ballets again. ABT always listed casts months in advance in a big ad in The New York Times. The Bolshoi website generally lists casts when it publishes, again months in advance. The Royal Ballet's press release for the 2007-8 season listed casts almost a year in advance for end-of-season ballets. Paris Opera Ballet gives a list of those scheduled to dance the principal roles (ex: http://www.operadeparis.fr/Saison-2007-200...cle.asp?IdS=397 ) currently through calendar year end. Regional companies in the US are mostly on the staggione system and don't often show casting until a couple of weeks before the opening of a given program. But you start to guess who will dance opening night and which matinees are likely to feature a younger dancer in a debut. (Saturday matinees at NYCB used to be noted for this.)

It's a good thing there was someone around to keep me from drowning.

In the 24 September issue of The New Yorker -- the fashion issue -- there was a profile of Donatella Versace, which gives a partial description of the tribute by Bejart to her late brother, which Ms. Versace produced at La Scala this past summer:

There are dancers and house choreographers on the roster: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/abo...etail.aspx?id=5 If they need more dancers, they hire them separately. Ballet dancers appear as everything from extras, when elegance is needed, or where they are essentially extras but do extra movement -- a classic is to have a dancer slink around the leading man, like in Rigoletto -- to the acrobat/dancers who depicted the two opposing armies in Rinaldo doing 1.5 back layouts landing on their stomachs -- Marilyn Horne and Samuel Ramey stood on scaffolds on either side of downstage and did vocal battle at the same time -- to stylized and national dances, to the big walzes (like in Eugene Onegin) to in-opera ballets to full-out ballets, sometimes simultaneously with singers. Sometimes star ballet dancers are hired, like Nichols, Kent, and Woetzel, -- I just remembered that Gary Chryst was the original Harlequin in Parade -- but mainly the dancers provide day-in-day-out support to the stage picture, and dance the built-in ballets when the music isn't cut, like in the Triumphal Scene in Aida, or Walpurgisnacht Ballet, or the ballet music from Don Carlos that Balanchine used for Ballo della Regina. On the triple bills, I believe they did give a chance to one of their house choreographers, but I'm not sure if he finished a ballet that someone else started, or if he left off before it was finished. Bringing in Ashton choreography was in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the choreographer's birth.

Didn't the new production of Swan Lake -- Act II at NYCB in the 80's have black swans as well? I seem to remember a story about Balanchine wanting black swans, and the black netting material having been purchaed and stowed away in case there was a new production.

There is real ballet in the opera, but you have to look for it. Balanchine and his company were the Met Opera Ballet for a few years in the 30's, with Balanchine as choreographer. It wasn't a happy collaboration, and there's a fascinating description of those years by Lew Christensen in Barbara Newman's Striking a Balance. Kyra Nichols danced in a ballet in the Act III of La Traviata within the last few years; I'm sure someone in our NYC contingent will know who the choreographer was. There were three triple bills in the '80's that included two operas and one ballet: in 1981 Satie's Parade, Poulenc's Les Mammelles de Tiresias, and Ravel's L’Enfant et les Sortileges -- Balanchine's version was on the same inaugural Ballet Society program as Four Temperaments -- and a Stravinsky Triple Bill of Le Sacre Du Printemps (ballet), Le Rossignol (opera), and Oedipus Rex (opera). Damien Woetzel danced Harlequin in Parade during in the 2002 revival; the 2002 choreography is credited to Gray Veredon. In the 2003 revival, the Ashton version of Le Rossignol was presented, danced by Julie Kent and Damien Woetzel, as reviewed by Susan Reiter for danceviewtimes. Reiter lists the revival choreographer for Le Sacre du Printemps as Doug Varone, replacing original choreography attributed to Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. I remember at the time of the triple bills, which I saw in their original incarnations, there were choreographer crises, and neither choreographer who got the program attribution completed the final version. I just don't know if the records were ever updated to note the final choreography.

It's coming!!!!

Peter Boal and Speight Jenkins are neighbors, too. I remember reading in one of the articles when Boal first moved to Seattle that Jenkins cooked something for him, something for which Jenkins is famous, and brought it over. (I think it was fudge or brownies. I'm remembering chocolate, but that may be because my mind is on chocolate.) If Peter Boal has Speight Jenkins' energy after 20+ years, he'll have an amazing gift.

Thank you so much, bart! My Opera News just came in the mail today, and I'm going to read it now.

It does work in reverse, but I'm afraid the only way I'm going to get extra vacation is to be unemployed, sadly. The flights I found in March leave Seattle at 3pm and arrive in Newark at 11:18pm. The outbound flights for this fare leave at 7:40 am (argh) and after 5pm, getting into Seattle at 9pm (much more civilized). So for those of you who want to do a PNB field trip, Contemporary Classics: Thu., Nov. 1 7:30 pm Fri., Nov. 2 7:30 pm Sat., Nov. 3 2:00 pm Sat., Nov. 3 7:30 pm Thu., Nov. 8 7:30 pm Fri., Nov. 9 7:30 pm Sat., Nov. 10 7:30 pm Sun., Nov. 11 1:00 pm Agon (Balanchine/Stravinsky) Kiss (Marshall/Part) Caught (Parsons/Fripp) In The upper Room (Tharp/Glass) Romeo et Juliette Jan. 31 7:30 pm Fri., Feb. 1 7:30 pm Sat., Feb. 2 2:00 pm Sat., Feb. 2 7:30 pm Thu., Feb. 7 7:30 pm Fri., Feb. 8 7:30 pm Sat., Feb. 9 7:30 pm Sun., Feb. 10 1:00 pm Maillot/Prokofiev Director's Choice Thu., Mar. 13 7:30 pm Fri., Mar. 14 7:30 pm Sat., Mar. 15 2:00 pm Sat., Mar. 15 7:30 pm Sun., Mar. 16 1:00 pm Thurs., Mar. 20 7:30 pm Fri., Mar. 21 7:30 pm Sat., Mar. 22 7:30 pm Vespers (Dove/Rouse) Fur Alina (Liang/Part) Sense of Doubt (Gibson/Glass) One Flat Thing, reproduced (Forsythe/Willems)

I don't know what year in which Q&A's started, but Francia Russell and Kent Stowell did them as well, sometimes together, and sometimes with dancers or other guests. There were occasional guest substitutes; I believe Doug Fullington did, and Otto Neubert did as well.

sandik wrote a short article on the program in Seattle Weekly: http://www.seattleweekly.com/listings/calendar/171417 There's a lovely photo from rg's collection, but I'm too bad-sighted to be able to read the caption. It's this Friday!

Today is the kick-off of our 2007-8 fundraiser. Ballet Talk and its sister board, Ballet Talk for Dancers, share a server and licenses. Our annual budget is a little less than $3000, of which a little more than a quarter comes from amazon.com commissions from sales using the search boxes at the top of the sites and the "Ballet Talk Amazon Mini-Store." Our fundraising target is $2100 from both boards. In the past we've found that the proportion of donations from each board is almost exactly in proportion to resources used by each. Our suggested donation is $15, but we accept all donations through PayPal or check. We aim to get a large number of small donations, which indicates support for our mission and the community we've created here. For members of both Ballet Talk and Ballet Talk for Dancers, one donation will cover both. For those who already donated during the year using the "Donations" link in My Controls, this does not mean you We thank you for your contributions. The link to the PayPal button and the address to which can mail checks is located here: http://www.ballettalk.com/supportus.htm We ask that if you use PayPal to type your board name in the "BT/BT4D Login Name" box at the bottom of the confirmation screen on the second page. If you are sending a check, please write your board name in the "memo" field of your check, so that we know whom to thank. Because we don't have a commercial checking accoung, which would add hundreds of dollars to our yearly budget, all checks should be payable either to "Helene Kaplan" or "Victoria Leigh." It will take a couple of weeks for us to endorse and deposit them. Please note that Ballet Talk/Ballet Talk for Dancers are not 501-©-(3) organizations, and donations are not tax-deductible. We will close the fundraiser as soon as we reach our target.

There was also the thinly veiled series of infomercials about POB productions, "Dancer's Dream." In the Raymonda version, Manuel Legris, a contemporary of Hilaire, who was heavily promoted as Hilaire's equal during the POB's NYC appearances, was less than impressed by Nureyev, which was shockingly negative given the "rah-rah" nature of the series. I think it may have depended on the cost-benefit analysis of each dancer, much like stories of working with Jerome Robbins read: was the behavior worth it in the end to that dancer? Was there recognition of genius, and, if so, was it enough? To Armen Bali, Jane Hermann was too thin-skinned; clearly, to Jane Hermann, the answer was "no."

If you go to Wednesday's performance and like it enough, you can see it again on Friday. The costumes and sets won't be the same as POB's version. (In my opinion, that is sad.) But even with changing standards at NYCB, there are bound to be at least some performances that make it worth your time to see. Plus you'll have three companies to compare. You may also be able to find some of the old Dance in America performances from the '70's in the library on VHS or DVD. There is an abbreviated Emeralds with Merrill Ashley in the Violette Verdy role, Karin von Aroldingen in Mimi Paul's, and Daniel Duell, Heather Watts, and Susan Pilarre in the Pas de Trois, and the Diamonds Pas de Deux with Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins. (The second half of the Pas de Deux is also in the PBS "Balanchine" bio.) I agree with Arlene Croce that Balanchine's insistance on this casting for the female leads in Emeralds was an over-long experiment.

I love reading Pauline Kael, because, as a rule, it doesn't matter whether or not I agree with her, I know what to expect when I go to see the movie. The only exception to this was her review of the new cut of L'Atalante. I read her enthusiastic review, found it was playing at the Lincoln Center cinemas, and invited my friend and his girlfriend to go. Not only did he actually have to pay for parking, because in his rush, his legendary parking karma was absent that day, and not only did I mix up the start time with another film's, and make them show up 45 minutes early, it was one of the most boring films any of us had ever seen. After it was over, I gave him ten lifetime "Get out of jail free" cards: I would go to any non-porn movie he wanted, no questions asked, regardless of the number of aliens, blow-ups, fires, gratuitous killings, or appearances by Mel Gibson it contained. That's how bad the movie was. When I went back and re-read the review, I realized that she didn't describe it at all; she just spoke about how important it and its director were.

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Siobhan. Ballet Talk is a discussion board from the point of view of the audience. Our sister board, Ballet Talk for Dancers is where students, teachers parents, nutritionists, costumers -- i.e. the doers -- discuss issues pertinent to training, such as the great question you've asked. You may find views on this topic already posted there. You'll need to register separately for BT4D, but the process is similar.

When casting is posted for any company, excluding Press Releases, please open a thread in "Recent Performances" with "Casting and Reviews" in the title. The reviews can follow the casting reports. This has worked programs early in the season.

The Hard Nut ends happily.

Last performance of the run... Very good news on the injury front: according to Peter Boal in the post-performance Q&A, Stacy Lowenberg will be fine; it was just a bit premature to come back today for two of the hardest corps roles. (Boal confirmed that it was Kari Brunson who replaced her in Square Dance, and again she danced beautifully. It's always wonderful to see a corps member dancing as full out to the back corner as in the front row.) And while I was looking forward to seeing Noelani Pantastico and Jonathan Porretta in the leads -- the male solo being my favorite, and the more interpretations the better -- Kaori Nakamura came right back, and she and Benjamin Griffiths danced in their place. Nakamura gave a splendid performance, with lyricism, fluidity, and wit when the role demanded it. Griffiths was again impressive and matched Nakamura's fluidity; he also has very beautiful feet, and like last night, in last his entrance in the middle movement, he hung in the air that extra second in back assemble with beats. Three years ago, in Lucien Postlewaite's debut as Prodigal, he approached that character as a naif. although an imprisoned one. Three years later, in the first scene, he was bitter and rebellious; in his reaction to Ariana Lallone's Siren and his need for her, he was even more vividly taken. For the majority of her solo and the Pas de Deux he was single-mindedly hers; there was little hesitation or fear, which made his fall that much harder. Kiyon Gaines and Jordan Pacitti, although temperamentally different than Orza and Kerollis, were equally strong as the Friends. Anton Pankevitch, who danced with Gaines last night, doesn't quite convince as a vulgarian. Otto Neubert did something subtle and remarkable: in his first entrance, he forward leaned slightly, adding just a tinge of the rod to his authority. Mara Vinson replaced Pantastico as Second Ballerina last night in Ballet Imperial, and she danced the role again this afternoon. Both times she grew stronger and more radiant throughout the performance. It was the first time I saw Seth Orza in a formal, neoclassical role; he danced in the Pas de Trois with Vinson and Karel Cruz, who was typically elegant. He has everything: line, feet, juicy plie, proportion, strength, and stage presence; he's a full-bodied dancer. Miranda Weese and Orza spoke in the post-performance Q&A. When asked why they came to Seattle, both spoke of the more humane schedule, having described typical in-season demands at NYCB. Orza also spoke about having watched Boal from the corps, taking his inspiration from him, and missed that after Boal retired. He said he was lucky to be in Seattle, but the luck is shared by us. Someone asked whether Balanchine and Graham collaborated on Prodigal Son, and like in each Q&A I attended, there was interest in seeing the version with the caller. If that is enough to get the ballet back on schedule sooner rather than latter, I hope it happens, as much as I prefer to see the dancers have the entire stage. Miranda Weese did cut her hair at the end of last season; I wasn't sure if she was wearing a wig in last year's Celebrate Seattle Festival, but it is definitely just above the shoulder and is ab fab. Speaking of haircuts, there was an article in today's Seattle Times "Living" section, reporting that Patricia Barker has cut off 29 inches of her hair: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/livi..._pamgirl30.html

It was a most unusual night all around at PNB. In Square Dance Kaori Nakamura and Benjamin Griffiths were well on their way to giving a more relaxed and, understandably, fuller performance than the night of Griffiths' debut, when I was momentarily distracted by trying to figure out who had replaced Stacy Lowenberg in the corps -- Gilbreath? Brunson? -- and suddenly Nakamura had a fluke fall. She got right up and finished the movement, but when it was time for the "wickety-wack" solo, Carrie Imler had taken her place. In the post-performance Q&A, Peter Boal said that Nakamura was ready to finish the ballet despite the pain, but they held her back, and Imler, who was preparing for Ballet Imperial, had her crown pulled off -- according to Brittany Reid last week, holding the crowns on takes many, many bobby pins -- and she grabbed the first shoes she saw, which happened to be a pair that had broken down during last night's performance. Imler also noted that her (new) pair of shoes for Ballet Imperial broken down after the second movement. If there is any doubt that it is the strength of the feet and not the shoes that are doing the work, that Imler could perform two of the most technically demanding roles at the highest level on broken down shoes is proof of it. My only worry -- apart from the hope that Nakamura is okay -- was the final shoulder lift. Nakamura and Imler are two different body types, and I wasn't sure if Griffiths, who has been with the company for just a few years, had ever partnered Imler before. It went very smoothly; perhaps they had a chance during the corps work at the opening of the last movement to try it. The centerpiece of the program was James Moore's and Carla Korbes' second performance in Prodigal Son. Moore started out as a rather gentle Prodigal who was in quite over his head. What was most striking about his interpretation was the strength of his mime. Not traditional mime, although there are straightforwards gestures in the ballet, but his constant reactions to his surroundings, to the drinking companions, to his friends, and to the Siren. And his reactions were ever modulating, sometimes building, and other times showing an emotional chain reaction of extremes, with a wide palette of tone and timing. An example of Moore's attention to detail was in the scene after the Prodigal is stripped of everything and finds himself bereft. When he dragged himself to the water, first he drank, slowly and deeply, then he quickly splashed water on his face, and then looking down at himself and registering the state he was in, washed his arms and shoulders before trying, and failing, to stand. This couldn't have taken more than eight to ten seconds of a thirty-plus minute ballet, but he created an entire scene in that time, as he went from basic physical need to an awakening awareness of his condition. When he saw his home gate in the distance, he chose to emphasize a final, adrenaline-driven push to reach it, before he collapsed. This isn't the only choice for the scene, but he made it believable. Carla Korbes was amazing as the Siren: inscrutable, erotic, morally bankrupt, and utterly irresistible. She and Moore created a chemistry, with each reacting to the other and feeding off the other's reaction. I hadn't realized before that the bridge that the Prodigal does at the end of the Pas de Deux is his surrender: in animal world, he is exposing himself, open neck, to the Siren. When the PdD ended, the entire audience smoked a collective cigarette. As Imler and Milov dance Ballet Imperial, the references in the first movement to Swan Lake are crystal clear. The second movement, though, does not have shades of Siegfried and Odette, but, instead, is a distillation of the Vision Scene. The final movement is pure Balanchine. It was like being able to see Imler in two full-lengths and a Balanchine in one ballet, and it doesn't get much better than that.