Helene

It's easy for me understand why she'd take a public stand in refusing to be part of another committee, when years of committee, panel discussion, and symposia conclusions on the subject have been ignored. It's possible to interpret the enterprise itself as a cynical attempt to look like action is being taken, but actually to avoid doing anything, like creating yet another special panel or commission ostensibly to investigate, but ultimately to put off action.

I don't see any similarity between Jimenez asking Peter Martins to put his money where his mouth was and go straight to action and Parish's statement, which, like many blanket statements that purports to assign a specific motive or behavior to a wide range of people, doesn't mean very much.

The Russian dancers have personal coaches. I don't know how much emotional support they give, but having a mentor who is not making the artistic decisions, but is dedicated to their success and development, is a great form of support. Balanchine was quoted regularly as telling his dancers not to listen to anyone else. A young dancer like Kirkland was entirely dependent on what Balanchine did and didn't give her in terms of attention and support, once he started to focus on her. I'm sure there are companies where there are unique supportive relationships between the staff and dancers and older dancers and younger dancers, but I've never heard dancers describe this as if it were common.

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In today's Links there are reports from the Russian press (in English): http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40092-saturday-may-2/?p=353377 Tributes and condolensces are coming in strong on social media; here are some: Tiit Helimets: We often forget how important Soviet artists were in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, too. Marc Haegeman: Culture House: Le Monde (in French): Quote via Google translate: medici.tv: Diana Vishneva: Laura Cappelle:

Today's email says that the "GOLDEN" free-fee ordering offer for this rep is valid through this entire weekend. I assume that means it expires on Sunday night 11:59pm Pacific Daylight Time.

Copeland's media campaign started around five-going-on-six years ago. Mainstream media coverage did not begin with the publication of her book.

What they've done is to mete out roles until this season, where she gets three new roles to the other soloists' one, so that the critics weigh in first, and her virtues or lack thereof or the combination of both are made public, by other people. An Australian "Swan Lake" was a great safe bet, because it took place on relatively neutral territory. Dancing "Swan Lake" in DC was a risk she took, and allows ABT to take a steady approach to her career, as she gets more legs on the role, like every guest artist has. Critical reception I've read about Copeland has been positive, but not uniformly so. It creates a portfolio of professional international criticism over time, and whether she is promoted eventually or not, the company has resisted going-on six years of mainstream media attention focus on Copeland's race, and has treated her/neglected her until this year like their other soloists, after years of accusations of racism. This year they've treated her like they've treated other soloists in the past, some of whom made Principal after being assigned to more major roles. They've weathered six years of being accused of racism, and the idea that they'd suddenly be pressured now isn't credible to me. That she might be cast prominently and, possibly be promoted to Principal, based on box office is much more credible, based on the William Taylor video. ABT can worry about what people think all the way to the bank. The reason this isn't a sure bet is that she is stand-alone box-office -- it's tied to her efforts and her story, as well as her dancing -- and the risk is that she will not continue to be if she reaches her goal. She is not one of a series of interchangeable Russian stars/"stars" or dancers fans think are excellent because their last name ends in "ova," a tradition that has been rampant since the Ballets Russes days. Perhaps having a name ending in "ini" was the equivalent in the Imperial Ballet days. If she is promoted to Principal, that does not erase her experiences of racism up to that point or thereafter any more than being elected POTUS erased any experiences of racism that Barack Obama faces nor continues to face from those who don't think the reasons for or the people behind his election are legitimate. The other tension is that many fans of various soloists over the years are highly involved in the drama of who is promoted and the score-keeping over which roles "their" dancer gets. That kind of passion translates into ticket-buying and emotional involvement with a company that is more than an "Oh, it's Monday and nothing else is playing: let's go to ABT." I haven't seen that much of Seo, Abrera, Boylston, or Lane that often -- my travel schedule and Copeland's have intersected more regularly -- and I wish I had been able to see Boylston in a major role, but all had their virtues in what I've seen, even if they are not my cup of tea, and blanket put-downs and descriptions of their alleged incompetence isn't anything I take seriously as critical response. I don't think Baryshnikov was seen just as a dancer, and for the people who were there to see the cool motorcycle guy Stiefel and found Albrecht there would have had some disconnect that took them out of the dance experience.

I've seen Copeland dance live, and I've seen her bring drama or meaning, where drama is not appropriate, in dance terms. I've also seen and read many interviews with her and followed much of the press about her, and "whinging," is not how I'd describe it. I don't think she is a perfect dancer; I have criticism about the epaulement of about 90% of the dancers I see, including Russian dancers. I am looking forward to reading about her Juliet debut.

Every time a foreign dancer/guest star takes a role, there's downward pressure on casting. The house ballerinas get cast in roles on which soloists would normally cut their teeth, and the soloists get slotted in demi-soloist roles on which corps members would normally cast their teeth. Or the soloists are cast a lot less, a phenomenon many dancers have described. There are few reasons for companies to promote to soloist, when there's nothing to stop them from casting corps members in soloist roles, and soloists are more expensive and a big opportunity cost once promoted, the biggest opportunity cost in terms of morale, since in companies, there are far more corps members trying to funnel into a soloist opening than soloists into a Principal opening. Dancers don't get promoted automatically by contract based on the roles they dance, the way apprentices become company members at NYCB automatically after dancing a certain amount as apprentices. It's interesting that you assume that Copeland's race had a positive influence on her being a soloist, which was before her media campaign. I would think if that were true, that ABT would have tried to leverage at least a tie-in to her story as a "how far she had come and now she's fulfilling her dream" narrative, connecting the dots to media coverage of her as a child. The "rags-to-riches" story has always been compelling to the media and soothing to the public, supporting the national myth. ABT would have controlled the narrative, as patting itself on the back for having promoted a black ballerina to soloist could have easily backfired, because a logical follow-up question would be,"Why did it take them so long?" However, few companies would have expected a dancer to form her own narrative that is at all critical of anyone but herself -- usually career suicide -- or if she did that it would get mainstream media attention -- unprecedented since Gelsey Kirkland published her first book -- or that it would have an upside, especially after DTH dancers were vocal about not getting hired after DTH disbanded, one of the great lost opportunities in American ballet, and that worked for no one. Even if they were dead wrong, ABT reaps the rewards of media coverage of Copeland, and times have changed from an almost exclusively carefully constructed media image to warts-and-all day-by-day coverage of minutia through social media. I think the company has played the tension quite well. That was over a decade before she leveraged media interest in her as a ballet professional, and before individuals broke through the media monopoly on news through social media. How many people who are not interested in ballet even remembered the earlier story, let alone remembered her name and put the two together?

Ballet deserves wider attention from the general public. The mainstream media still decides who gets that attention from the general public, except where social media goes viral -- which Copeland's did not -- and the mainstream media follows. That is not about who is the greatest dancer, any more than the "baby ballerinas" were the greatest dancers in the Ballets Russes. I think that Copeland's accomplishment was more difficult: besides how rare it was to become a black ballerina soloist at ABT, there was no institutional push for it -- an executive for the institution described the contrary: an artistic policy that side-lined its homegrown ballerinas of every color, height, shape -- like there was at the Bolshoi. By the chronology she accomplished this by her dancing, since her media prominence was not until after her promotion, and in spite of her institution.

Ballet West just posted that Terence Kern, long-time company Music Director (1988-2012), died at age 77. He worked with a number of companies and among the world's greatest dancers during his long career. SALT LAKE CITY, UT – May 1, 2015 – Ballet West mourns the loss of a dear family member today with the passing of Terence Kern, who was the Company’s Music Director and Principal Conductor from 1988 to 2012. Mr. Kern’s contributions to Ballet West cannot be overstated. He was well-known in the ballet world, having enjoyed a great international career. From staff conductor of the Sadler’s Wells Opera to Music Director of the London Festival Ballet, The Scottish Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet and finally Music Director and Principal Conductor of Ballet West since 1988, he touched countless artists and patrons over many decades and thousands of performances. Mr. Kern was renowned throughout the dance world and deeply respected by everyone he worked with. New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, in a 2010 article referred to Kern as “one of the most expert ballet conductors in America.” “Terry was a wonderful man and a brilliant artist who had deep knowledge of his craft and special understanding of ballet and ballet music.” Said Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute. “He was also a link to our heritage and our history. There are fewer and fewer people left in this world who worked closely with ballet greats such as Ashton, Dolin, Fonteyn, Joffrey, Markova, Nureyev, Beryl Grey and more. His contribution to the Dance world will never be matched and he will be missed forever.” Our heartfelt condolences go to his family during this difficult time. Mr. Kern was a remarkable man who made a difference in the lives of many people and a lasting impact in the world of ballet. Rest in peace, Mr. Kern.

"What is 'Swan Lake?'"

Hallberg the ABT Principal Dancer without the "first American at the Bolshoi", oops, "first American Principal Dancer at the Bolshoi" story would still be a relative unknown to the general public, just like Leslie Browne without "The Turning Point," Julie Kent without "Dancers," Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, and The Blond without "Center Stage," and Sarah Lane without "Black Swan." He would not have been a blip on Stephen Colbert's professional radar. No one needs a publicist to handle their ballet-community only press. They need a publicist because they have what the mainstream press believes is a compelling story that will produce revenue (direct or indirect), no matter how worthy or news-worthy anyone in the ballet community thinks a dancer is, whether insiders with the authority to make career decisions, or fans who look at it from the outside. Copeland's story was considered newsworthy by the mainstream media. This has translated into box office, at least according to the ABT executive William Taylor, and certainly according to reports of her performances of "Swan Lake" in Washington and how difficult it was to get tickets.

I suppose that's why we see Marcello Gomes, who has danced in many galas and has connections throughout the ballet world, and at least Hallberg's equal as a dancer, or Andrew Veyette all over the mainstream media. Even Robbie Fairchild, Tiler Peck, Ethan Stiefel, and Megan Fairchild haven't gotten more sustaining publicity than Hallberg in his non-dancing state has, and they are in or have been in movies and musicals. Hallberg was invited to the Bolshoi as the time became right: Filin wanted to shift the company to the 21st century and to shake the company hierarchy, which Ratmanky had started by fast-tracking Osipova and Vassiliev. Hallberg was useful to him, however much flack the decision engendered, as a dancer who was already networked into Russian ballet through ABT. It wasn't simply that Hallberg was the most deserving man on the planet and one day Russian Ballet opened its eyes to recognize the dance genius he was. Hallberg became prominent in the media because he was a compelling story. He needed a publicist to manage and leverage media asks when his story heated up, and he needs one now to keep it active, since his dancing isn't, and he isn't doing very much of interest in the community, at least to the media. Copeland might not be a Principal Dancer, but if her media campaign started five years ago, after she became a Soloist, she got to that rank on account of her dancing, and a black ballerina getting to that rank had only happened once more than an American dancer joining the Bolshoi. There was no stated goal, like Filin's stated goal, to shake things up, or any stated push to promote black dancers. In fact, an executive from her company described in a now pulled YouTube video in a college address how they actively squashed their own ballerinas' development based on their calculations of box office appeal. It was arguably harder for her to accomplish that promotion to Soloist through her dancing than Hallberg being invited to join the Bolshoi, given the prevailing winds. Hallberg had to be ready and willing to take an opportunity to be part of Filin's plan. Copeland, the ABT executive noted, has created her own box office appeal, the only currency they've stated drives their decision-making. And she needed a publicist to manage and leverage media asks when her story heated up, after she earned Soloist rank through her dancing. In terms of height, they have more variety because of the number of dancers, but in terms of body type, they are more uniform than any North American company I've seen. When I was last in Paris, and saw the corps in full force, there was one dancer who wasn't thin-thin, and she might as well have been wearing red in a ballet blanc, partly because of her body type and partly because she moved so beautifully. In the Wiseman film, there's an interview where a young dancer tells Lefevre that she's lost weight like an obedient puppy -- ie, what she was told. She looked like she could be broken in two like a twig, and that was on film, which generally adds pounds. When the I saw the Mariinsky, I saw very thin legs and almost no prominent calf muscles. I was pleasantly surprised to see visible calf muscles among the Bolshoi corps. I've also noticed that when smaller companies focus on more recent works, usually 8-12 dancer ballets, they hire more shorter men, since the demands and the look are different than when presenting classical ballet, or when "Swan Lake" fills the hall regardless of any considerations of emploi. There have always been a limited number of companies that hire tall women as a rule. Despite the median height of men at PNB seeming to have shrunk since the Russell and Stowell years*, especially among the Principal men, and some very talented shorter women coming in, there seems to be no shortage of tall women, and the swans this year had a great range of height. If the patterns cause them to start in size order but move to where there are a variety of heights near each other, or if a 5'6 man ends up partnering a 5'9" ballerina during one of Balanchine's switch-rounds, so be it. *Ironically, they told Ariana Lallone that she should expect to dance stand-alone roes, when we recently saw Lauara Tisserand, who's at least 5'10" make her debut as Odette/Odile.

It's the recognized farewell for five dancers. The website says: The way I read that suggested that the "Mozaik" excerpt was for Hartley and Zejnati, since the retirements/departures of Huang, Shtylla, and Mahowald Vagi hadn't been announced when it was posted on the website. As much as I love Hartley, the cast of Magnicaballi-Shtylla-Huang-Zejnati is the strongest I've seen anywhere in a single cast.. However, Hartley will dance the Mazzo role in Sunday's season-ender, and Mozaik will give Huang a central role for her last performance: Hartley: Allegro Brillante, with Iovino Stravinsky Violin Concerto, with Zejnati Zejnati: Mozaik excerpt, with Huang Poet, La Sonnambula, with Magniacaballi Stravinsky Violin Concerto, with Hartley, who dances it twice with Zavarov tonight and tomorrow evening Huang: Mozaik excerpt, with Zejnati Coquette, La Sonnambula Shtylla: Guest, La Sonnambula Stravinsky Violin Concerto, with Mgnicaballi Mahowald Vagi -- she's listed under each name in different ballets: Couple, Allegro Brillante Corps, Stravinsky Violin Concerto

If there was any company in North America that had a corps with the restrictive body types as the Mariinsky or Paris Opera Ballet, then there would be an argument for body type uniformity, but even NYCB, where Balanchine had preferences for tall and lean, the company has always had short dancers and larger-framed and more muscular dancers of all ranks, and no other North American and few European, Australian, or New Zealand companies I know are as restrictive or selective as they. All of those companies make "exceptions" for white, but also Asian and light-skinned Latina, dancers on a fairly regular basis and hire a range of body types that many black dancers can fit into. He needed a publicist for the same reason that Copeland did: to vet and manage the media opportunities presented and to find new, lucrative ones so that dancers could still do their day jobs. Hallberg has been injured for a while, and currently has more time on his hands, and arguably could use one more to maintain interest, since its the only thing keeping him in the news at all, now that his dancing isn't and can't be and having ridden the wave of having reached the initial milestone, with no further milestones at the moment to publicize, like first American to dance XYZ as a Principal Dancer, etc. etc. I would not be surprised if McKenzie/ABT management is milking the "controversy" and tension of the situation for all it's worth, like TV shows do with couples who hit and miss for seasons, Those couples become dull once the tension and obstacles are gone -- okay, maybe not Murdoch and Dr. Ogden -- just as how in Cinderella stories, the only place to go is "Into the Woods," which soap operas recognize and exploit. At a certain point, the audience tires of the back-and-forth between obstacles and advancement, at which point the narrative switches to stretch the victory lap (engagement ,wedding, honeymoon in romantic terms) for as long as possible, or the characters fade out (move to Ohio). If Copeland is promoted, aside from an initial media blitz, the amount of media interest in her likely will drop, and scalpers will be poorer, since "Should she or shouldn't she?" is a much more enticing situation than "Should she have been or shouldn't she have been?" She'll still have a solid foundation in community outreach and programs, as a role model, and as a public spokesperson which will keep her in the spotlight no matter what and which will bode well for her post-performing future, regardless of the outcome. Had DePrince had a publicist, her AD might not have had to issue a press moratorium. Ballerinas, like actresses, are pursued by many men, and some of those men are very wealthy. There are enough marriages between ballerinas and mega-rich people who two degrees of separation away from decision away, or board members (or AD's) themselves. Each relationship is different. "Open secrets" do little than tarnish all of them, regardless of the specifics of the situations. It wouldn't much help if it's a business arrangement where there are more dancers than opportunity, iff they all have sponsors.

As always, what your friends tell you is not official news. What people reveal about themselves is generally fine; disclosing more than that about fellow members is not. These things have been removed.

Recorded music? Oh, horrors! I think the only times I heard recorded music for Balanchine ballets were when they were performed at the Orpheum, not at Symphony Hall. Maybe that is rose-tinted memory, but, argh. I so loved Huang in "Stravinsky Violin Concerto." It's a great role for her to end her career with the Company. Many thanks, Jack.

Mahowald Vagi is a lovely dancer.

Not at all true, but they're generally called "memoirs" when this happens. Or "Profiles in Courage." And not just politicians: CEOs, dancers like Robert LaFosse, who still have careers ahead of them, athletes, like the 17-year-old Michelle Kwan who still had more than an Olympic cycle to go, etc. For the publishing industry, either the publisher decides the story will sell and publishes it, or it does not.

If you click on the post box or click the "Quote" button, the white space should be surrounded by a light blue box. Right above the white space should be two rows of buttons. Those buttons are the edit controls. The "B" button will make highlighted text bold, the "I" button italic, the "U" button underlined, etc. Right above the "B" button should be a little picture of a light switch. In all of the screen shots below, there are red arrows pointing to it. The switch turns visual formatting on and off. Visual formatting is when you see the effects onscreen. Example. if you highlight the word "Example" and click "B", you can see that the word Example is now bold. Here's a screenshot of this post with visual formatting: The light switch switches between seeing the text in visual format and seeing it in plain text, which looks like a typewriter font, and shows how the text is "marked up" with formatting codes, or what's behind the scenes when you're looking at it in visually formatting mode. I can't do the font switch in visual mode, but it would be the difference between seeing: Example and [_bold]Example[_/bold] (except there wouldn't be an underscore after the first bracket) Here's this post in plain text: Here's an example of a quote with visual formatting: Here's an example of the same quote in plain text: If I deleted the highlighted portion of the plain text quote, only the highlighted part will be deleted. The safest way to do any editing is in plain text mode because it's what the machine is interpreting, not simply a visual representation of it, but there are various ways to skin the cat. I find when I try to delete the top of a quote and clean up the spacing, I end up deleting the author line, even though it looks like my cursor looks like it's directly to the left of the first line of text, a disconnect between visual formatting and the actual formatting. I regularly get a similar disconnect when I highlight a specific paragraph to indent, and the software indents the entire post, or the entire post from the highlighted portion to the end of the post. Then I toggle to plain text, find the end-tag, and move it where I want it to be. If the cursor won't move past the quote box when it is formatted visually, I toggle the light switch, and hit "page down," which re-positions the cursor outside the box, hit return, and then toggle back. But everyone does what's comfortable for them. Whatever works.

Ismene Brown translated Tatiana Kuznetsova's review of Ivan Vasiliev in "Ivan the Terrible" for her blog: http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2014/10/27_Ivan_Vasiliev_interview.html While it's mostly about Vasiliev, who didn't dance in the HD, there is some information about the production and, and Kuznetsova describes some of the movement.

It would be far easier and less time consuming to list them than to link to the full-time professional ballet companies' and company-affiliated schools, rosters, artistic staffs, and teaching staffs to show their racial composition. Board members would take a bit more doing, but I'm sure there are photos on the internet that would show the same. The three black dancers who have spoken publicly -- Copeland, Adams, and DePrince -- have described racism they faced and/or racist comments either directed at them or spoken in their proximity. Jimenez and Johnson have spoken about it, and there have been panel discussions and academic symposia about the issue. The results of whatever behavior is happening are right there on stage and in schools.

I don't see much inclusiveness in conventional ballet companies among dancers, choreographers, and staff, even in neoclassical or contemporary ballet rep. (I don't mean the small number of companies that are dedicated to what is called contemporary ballet, where there is more diversity.) There doesn't seem to be the same issue in some European companies like Dutch National Ballet, and certainly not in Cuba.