Helene

I've wondered what the classical ballet scene in Madrid would be like today if Nacho Duato hadn't changed Compañía Nacional de Danza into his own, contemporary company. Ullate was the first Director, followed by de Avila, and then Plitsetskaya in 1987, before Duato became Artistic Director.

There were people who found the revival Balanchine's Don Quixote boring because of mime and story-telling-to-dance ratio.

I think this needs to be repeated over and over again, until it is absorbed.

Tonight I went to the Max Aronoff Viola Institute Annual Festival performance. Daniel Ott is the resident composer for the program. For the pre-performance presentation, Ott spoke about his collaborations with Benjamin Millepied on Double Aria and Circular Motion, and the creation of the scores for both works. He also played videos of the two pieces. Double Aria was taped live in Lyon, with violinist Timothy Fain. While gymnastic in quality -- Joan Acocella described the ballet as "a taffy pull for two of the company’s handsomest, most long-limbed dancers, Maria Kowroski and Ask la Cour" -- it was neither show-offy nor arch in tone, which is quite unusual for the genre. I don't think it was particularly deep, but it showed the dancers to their advantage. But the breaks to focus on the violinist seemed like a throw-away. I really liked the score, though. According to the composer, Fain recorded it to be released later this year. While Double Aria had passages that were interesting in themselves, but lead to dead ends, Circular Motion not only went nowhere, there were few parts of the journey that were engaging. One of few was Alexander Ritter's floor-slithering solo, but on the whole, I had to make do with Craig Hall's remarkable ability to build phrases and dance explosively while never breaking classical form. (What gorgeous form it is.) He almost managed to make a show. Again, I found the score to be the strongest part of the creation. Ott explained that Millipied, who grew up in Africa where his mother taught dance and his father, a decathlete, trained athletes, was influenced by African music. He asked Ott to create a piano version for Steve Reich's Music for Pieces of Wood, composed for five claves, or carved pieces of wood, each of which has a single tone, Dsharp, octave Dsharp, A, B, C. Ott created a version for two pianos. He noted that at the dress rehearsal, one of the Dsharp strings broke and couldn't be fixed, so that it wasn't as prominent a tone in the performance. (It was taped at Florence Gould Hall.) Millipied asked him to write an intro. After Ott played it for Millepied, the choreographer said it was too much like Reich, and that he should write it in his musical voice. I happen to love his musical voice, and found that the two pieces were well suited for a work. It was great to see two pieces that I had only read about here and in the NY Press: Double Aria joined NYCB rep, and Circular Motion was part of the Fall for Dance series. And also to see several dancers I had only heard about: Hall, Angle, and LaCour.

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Alexandra. Ballet Talk is a site dedicated to the discussion of ballet performances, issues in ballet, and ballet history. For discussions on dancing, please see our sister site, Ballet Talk for Dancers: www.dancers.invisionzone.com You'll find plenty of company among fellow dance students and dancers.

I agree that this is complex, but the number of men I've observed who do hug, and then make a little "funny" comment like, "this doesn't mean I'm gay" does suggest an underlying issue.

Not just today. I think one of the reasons that Robbins' work looked so "spontaneous" and "natural" to audiences is the lack of steps. Dancers run or walk to each other in his works, or perhaps perform a little folk dance. I don't think it was coincidence that one of the most striking set of steps in any of his Chopin piano works was made for Violette Verdy in the second pas de deux in In the Night, nor that the petit batterie was performed upside down, in a lift.

After seeing him in Emeralds on the POB Jewels video, I have to agree.

Whacking each other on the butt in football (American football) is about as close as they get, unless there are several layers of hockey padding in that post-goal hug, with the exception of the post-championship pile-up. Yesterday, some work colleagues were watching the World Cup game between Spain and France over lunch. When the game ended, and the players hugged, I heard at least two comments about "those European guys hugging and kissing." And I don't think he was kidding when one of them said to turn off the TV. And when long-time and beloved Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez retired a few years ago, a long line of fellow players, current and retired, stood in line to give him a hug. All but one did the "guy hug": lean in at waist and touch top of shoulders, pat, pat on the back. Only one (I can't remember who) actually gave him a full-body hug.

You must have been a very young boy at that time

I prefer bare legs to semi-sheer dark tights, like those in Western Symphony and many ballets costumed in the last couple of decades.

My favorite memory of Ashley was in an official Q&A that took place on stage of the NYST in front of the curtain, in which her husband, who was a simultaneous translator for the UN, served as moderator. He was responsible for repeating the questions so that the entire audience could hear, and he did, but only after he had turned rambling and gushes into succinct, coherent questions that captured all of the questioners' points.

I'm hoping it will help me describe steps better than, "the turning thing where it's kind of like a back assemble, except her back foot is slightly crossed behind her ankle."

You may be able to get the "Balanchine Celebration Part Two" VHS or DVD from your local library. There's are two excerpts from Stars and Stripes on it -- the Liberty Bell/El Capitan pas de deux and the finale to "Stars and Stripes Forever." The entire ballet consists of five movements: the first for "short" girls, the second for "tall girls," and "Thunderer and Gladiator" for male soloist and corps.

Alexandra, do you mean Classical Ballet Technique? I hope so, because I ordered it earlier today! List price is $39.95, but there were several used copied for under $30.

There are All-American ballets, like deMille's Rodeo and Balanchine's Stars and Stripes, but, sadly, all of the regular season performances for ballet companies are over. Some companies, like Miami City Ballet, are touring (MCB in LA this weekend), others are visiting festivals, like Suzanne Farrell Ballet at Jacob's Pillow, and there may be some smaller companies that participate in Fourth of July celebrations in their areas. Edited to add: Doh -- American Ballet Theatre's season isn't over, but they are performing Ashton's Sylvia over July 4th weekend.