Helene

Jezebel's feet were spared from the dogs because she danced at weddings, which was considered blessed.

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During the entire fiasco, I myself wondered two things: 1. Would the SPAC situation have turned out in NYCB's favor if Herb Chesbrough's administration had been able to withstand state audit and financial scrutiny and had his position not been a prize political plum? 2. What would be the outcome of the soft murmurings about evaluating the results of this season, which very few seemed to focus on in the post-Chesbrough euphoria? The state did not say that they would become the "angels" of SPAC indefinitely. The new administration made itself clear that NYCB supporters would need to show that support financially, and that they would ask the very same question Bart did, however NYCB fans and supporters feel about that question.

I don't think this is humorous. It's sexism would be enough, but once again, an author casts ballet as an elitist art for which one needs a PhD to appreciate.

"You are August Bournonville! You created some of the most well-crafted ballets in the repertoire with your emphasis on technical restraint and mime. Now if only the Royal Danish Ballet could remember how to mime." If only... But I didn't know Bournonville occasionally cursed in Russian

Certainly for the women. Did any of the men of her own class suffer? Ethan Frome is the only man I can think of who joined the women in hell. The rest lived, at worst, in purgatory, and most in oblivion.

I think Kronstam's comment about Bournonville's reasoning sums up why it doesn't matter how the dancer portrays Albrecht -- no matter how it's sliced, it an old story of an aristocratic man who misrepresents his station to get what he wants. If she doesn't die, he doesn't need to express remorse and receive forgiveness; he lights a few candles and is relieved about his close call. Then she's extremely "lucky" if, like in Edith Wharton's Summer, she survives into a loveless marriage with her guardian.

This makes perfect sense to me.

There's version of Raymonda Pas de Dix on the Art of Maria Tallchief (VAI) DVD. VAI has discontinued the NTSC version of the VHS tape -- where it appeared originally -- called Maria Tallchief in Montreal. amazon.com doesn't have the tape version now, although it may become available through a third party, but there are various other sources on the Internet where it is available. This afternoon I've even put aside my brand-new copy of the 6th Harry Potter book for a Raymonda-fest of two versions of the Bolshoi Grigorovich/after Petipa and Gorsky version of the ballet. The first is with Ludmila Semenyaka, Irek Moukhamedov, and Gedeminas Taranda, and the second with Natalia Bessmertnova, Yuri Vasyuchenko, and Taranda. As I found out, it's impossible to have too much Taranda. Algis Zhuraitis conducted both live performances at the Bolshoi Theatre. The first DVD, issued by Kultur, has no credits other than for the three leads and the conductor, and doesn't even have a date on it, although the www.kultur.com website shows that the VHS NTSC version was released in 1980. However, the booklet with the second version states that Grigorovich staged Raymonda in 1984, as does the Bolshoi Ballet's press release for the performances last year at Cal Berkeley, and I suspect this is a typo. The second, issued by Arthaus musik, has a booklet, and with each scene and running time listed, and a release date of 1989. (Both versions, though, only let you select the Intro, Act I, Act II, and Act III from the menu.) It also includes an essay that gives a brief biography of Petipa leading up to the creation of Raymonda, Petipa's relationship with Glazunov during the creative process, Glazunov's attempt to protect Petipa after he fell out of favor, and a discussion of Raymonda's place in history, as well as short bios of Grigorovich and Bessmertnova, and a printed cast short list. (The rest of the performers except corps are listed in the closing credits.) Arthaus' packaging is far superior. Semenyaka is a beautiful woman and a long-limbed dancer, and she has a lovely smile that warms the production. Her arms have a soft quality throughout much of the performance, and her upper back was very expressive. Sometimes, though, this put her a bit out of position, from which she had to recover. Bessmertnova, by contrast, had rather angular arms and hands, and a straight back, and it wasn't until the coda of the "Pas classique Hongrois" that her smile relaxed. However, Bessmertnova gave a lesson in dance professionalism, in her pacing, her way of modulating the dance phrase to build, and by defining a technical frame that she never distorted. And what technique she has -- beautiful bourrees, impeccable hops on pointe, impeccable pointe work in general, clean precise legwork, and juxtapositions of adagio and speed with no visible preparations. She approached each step will full confidence that it would work, and there was no noise -- no adjustments, no wobbles, no weight in the wrong place, no break from the waist to "heave" into a jump. She also looked perfectly confident in her partner and went straight for it, without fear that he wouldn't be there. (Of course, dropping the boss' wife is a bad career move ) I looked her up on the web to learn more about her, and found out she was born in 1941, which means she would have been 47-48 when this video was made in 1989 -- I didn't even see her breathing in this video I would describe Semenyaka as an Odette/Lilac Fairy Raymonda, and Bessmertnova as an Odile/Kitri Raymonda. I also preferred Vasyuchenko to Moukhamedov. Vasyuchenko is so ardent -- he appears to look deep in Bessmertnova's eyes during each pas de deux -- that he convinced me he wasn't just the aristocratic hero stiff. He has a very soft, elegant style, and he also doesn't force it. At the same time, he doesn't have any "character" to his Act III variation, which Moukhamedov has in spades. While I prefer the humble heroes, I suspect not everyone would prefer Vasyuchenko. Taranda was magnificent in both, but I think the camera work in the Arthaus video is better overall, and he was awesome in that version. (The exception is in the men's pas de quatre in the "Pas classique Hongrois," which I think is filmed and danced better in the Kultur version.) Did I mention how absolutely fabulous Taranda is? There's also wonderful dancing both versions from the soloists, although for most I prefer the Arthaus, which seemed to have more energy overall. There is an interesting review of the Berkeley performances by Allan Ulrich on the Voice of Dance site. (He doesn't like Grigorovich's version.) If you saw this version in Berkeley and liked it, as I did, I think you would like these videos.

The semi-annual board update is now complete.

We will, Patricia. Thank you for posting.

According to the website's list of characteristics, "Other skeletal abnormalities include a sternum (breastbone) that is either protruding or indented, curvature of the spine (scoliosis), and flat feet." I think these would make it difficult to become a professional dancer.

Subscribers are such a double-edged swords for arts administrators: we provide the cash up front and guarantee a certain number of people in seats, but keeping us satisfied and reaching out to new audiences at the same time can be a nightmare. I tend to think that the relationship between AD's and subscribers is much like a taxi driver to his riders: When the cab is empty, the goal is to find a passenger, and when the cab is full, the goal is to get rid of the passenger as quickly as possible.

It was very generous of Martins to break the convention of his ballet to give Fayette the chance to dance his final performance with his wife, Jenifer Ringer.

You're set, Mandy. Thank you for posting.

Best wishes to your son, dancemomCA! It's a wonderful showcase for boys, with a couple of sequential parts, where each boy does, for example, double tours solo, one after another, and I'm sure the boys will have a great time pushing each other to do better and better.

Today is the deadline for telling us that, if you have never posted -- i.e., post count=0 -- you want us to keep your account. We have five donors -- two PayPal donors and three check donors -- who we can't match to a board name. We don't want to delete your account inadvertently if you haven't posted. (We sent acknowledgements to PayPal donors at the address on the PayPal account, unless we received "undeliverable" notices and sent a follow-up to address registered to the board. For check donors, we sent PM's or an email to the email address registered with Ballet Talk or Ballet Talk for Dancers.)

While on the BalletMet website, I found this: (From the Home Page, click "Performances" from the upper right menu, then select "Frequently Asked Questions from the left menu.) That last sentence made me want to weep.

Skittl1321, You may have to call the company about live music. According to this article, there was orchestra for Swan Lake and Nutcracker last year, but the orchestra was cut for the spring production of Cinderella, in order to balance the budget. http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/s...11/daily20.html

The DTH Creole Giselle with Virginia Johnson and Eddie Shellman is being released on DVD. Expected date is 26 July, according to the Kultur site. When I tried to create a link from the Ballet Talk site, amazon.com flashed an error message. It can be pre-ordered from amazon.

I try to ignore what people's followers say as well, and try to focus on what is on the stage. Particularly when they speak in Capitalized Titles

I think Forsythe is a fine choreographer. I don't think much of any choreographer's (or composer's) self-important speeches (or program notes) about what they're" doing;" I only care about what I see on stage. I don't think all ballet choregraphers have to be geniuses for their works, or a subset of their works, to be important to the ballet repertoire. Lander's Etudes and Lifar's Suite en Blanc are examples of works that are valuable, but whose creators are far from geniuses. I've seen in the middle, Somewhat Elevated at least six times, by a handful of companies, and I disagree that Forsythe's work doesn't stand up to repeated viewings. I found Artifact II to be a very different work than in the middle, and actually preferred it to in the middle, which I like a lot, and I look forward to seeing the ballet again.. I also think that in the middle has energized the dancers; they've translated "big" into other works, and I'm not talking about Giselle. The hype of lineage is far from limited to the Kirov. For several years after Balanchine's death, every ballet choreographer whose works have been shown in New York was "auditioned" to be the successor of Balanchine by a desperate public. Wheeldon suffers from this now. If three of his works become part of the literature over time, he will have done a service without being the successor.

This is from a published article, and it is perfectly fine to post.

I could not agree with you more.

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