Helene

Judging from conversations I've had this summer, if this was the case, PNB would have no Corps. No kidding.

Bummer.The latest is that on the Classical KING-FM commercials for the gala opening this Saturday, PNB is advertising that Boal will announce two new Principals at it. The "announce the winners" aspect of the International Wagner Competition a few weeks ago was a bit hit with the audience, but that also included an Audience Award, and I don't think Peter Boal is letting us make personnel decisions

There are a lot of people on that roster who weren't born when Nichols joined NYCB in 1974.

Körbes and... There are two other soloists who I think have earned it, and it's going to be disappointing to learn that at least one of them will not be. Unless, of course, there are two promotions to Principal and one to Goddess, in which case everyone is covered. But what about promotions to Soloist?

From the US Open site: A Grand Finale to Martina's Career Happily, Damm had his victory in Men's doubles, with partner Leander Paes, which was an upset.

Hayden: 1948 to 1973 (25 years) McBride: 1959 to 1989 (30 years) Ashley: 1967-1997 (30 years) Nichols: 1974-2007 (33 years) Hayden was already 25 and a veteran of ABT when she joined NYCB.

And according to washingtonpost.com, which featured Shaparova's win ( ) on the home page, Navratilova's win was a mere footnote at the bottom of the article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6090901239.html Navratilova, a great champion!

Or, perhaps, films like 32tendu's documentary on Gen Horiuchi and the St. Louis Ballet could be picked up nationally on PBS, giving incentive for local filmmakers to feature local companies.

-ing and -ing at the same time.

I hope Vivica A. Fox can dance and can get her fan base voting, because I want to see as much of Nick Kosovich as possible this year. He's my favorite of the pros, and does he ever point his feet in Standard.

This could be the Jeopardy! clue answered by, "What do ballet fans and figure skating fans have in common?" Most ballet galas remind me of figure skating exhibitions, not my favorite genre.Thank you so much for the re-cap! It's such a shame that this was so little publicized. I'm hoping that, if nothing else, the appearances of Feijoo and Sarabia are being talked about within the Cuban-American community in Miami, and that there will be better turn-out. Bouder and Phillips will likely perform the Pas de Deux (fourth movement) of Stars and Stripes, which should be very exciting, along with a chance to see the post-competition Gatti. I'm glad that Hartley (a native of Chile) and Zejnati were highlights. I went to Ballet Arizona originally to see Magnicaballi, whom I had seen dance with Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Berkeley, and fell in love with Hartley, and I was very glad that Zejnati landed there, after two stints with PNB.

As long as you navigate to the amazon.com site using the search box next to the logo or the mini-store, and, stay within the same browser session, the Ballet Talk code is retained with the order, and BT gets credit for the purchase.

It's a visual stunner.

I just finished reading Anna Karenina, and can see why ballets based on the novel can be made only the most superficial sense. The psychology in the book is the source of its riches, particularly in the ways that Karenina and Levin are very much alike. Portraying a Tragic Love Affair barely scratches the surface and misrepresents the characters of Karenina and Vronsky.

Thanks to tylers's suggestion, I reinstated the search box, which I somehow disabled when I first set this up. (It did seem like an odd business model to restrict sales to nine items, even though that is a bit like the impulse purchase gum display on the supermarket checkout line, in which sales are diminished when there are too many choices.) The choices are to search by categories, and the results will be added to the mini-store shopping basket, or if you want to buy things in the categories that aren't searchable -- lathes, bath salts, granola bars -- there's a "Go to Amazon.com" link that will navigate you to the main store, with the BT purchase code passed along to the amazon.com site.

It does seem as if a criterion is being alive, at least at the time of the nomination. The first Kennedy Center Honors were in 1978, which means they had seven years in which to honor Lew Christensen, the first American Apollo, and brothers Harold and William for their contributions in creating the oldest major ballet company in the US and its and affiliated school to the American West, as well as for their performing careers. Harold Christensen lived until 1989, and William Christensen in 2001. That's a lot of missed chances.

Elton John may have started a trend of disappointing selections, and, frankly, I didn't buy their explanation for Joan Sutherland, either.

Got notice today that it shipped from amazon.com, along with The Kumars at No. 42. I'm planning a very homebound evening when that package arrives.

Too bad about the late (year-end) start: the Madame Butterfly that opens the season is visually stunning.

(Now a selection in the BT Amazon Mini-Store [link under logo]).

According to the Washington Post article, I don't see on the Kennedy Center website whether the honorees have to be alive to receive the award. With that lineup, I'm surprised there wasn't an actor on the list, but not surprised that there were no dancers or choreographers (although with McDonald and Lane on the committee Tharp, Vernon, Reinking, Fosse, Prowse, and/or Vereen might have been.) Patricia McBride? Cynthia Gregory? Peter Martins? (Martin Scorcese? Samuel Ramey? Ned Rorem? They missed Robert Merrill.)