Helene

Reading "Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear" I was shocked at the amount of positive reinforcement from almost all of the stagers and choreographers who worked with PNB that season. I always expect to read that choreographers are a cross between Jerome Robbins and the Daniel Levans character in "The Turning Point". Verdy seems to get such pleasure from seeing the dancers bloom when she coaches.

abc announced the teams for Dancing with the Stars, Season 14, which starts March 19: Jack Wagner (actor, "General Hospital", "Melrose Place")/Anna Trebunskaya (9)* Melissa Gilbert (actress, "Little House on the Prairie")/Maksim Chmerkovskiy (12) Donald Driver (athlete, former Green Bay Packer)/Peta Murgatroyd (2) Sherri Shephard (actress, co-host "The View")/Val Chmerkovskiy (2) Gavin DeGraw (singer)/Karina Smirnoff (11) Martina Navratilova (tennis legend)/Tony Dovolani (13) Roshon Fegan (Disney star, rapper)/Chelsie Hightower (6) Maria Menounos (author, host "EXTRA")/Derek Hough (9) Jaleel White (actor, "Family Matters")/Kym Johnson (11) Gladys Knight (singer)/Tristan McManus (2) William Levy (actor, telenovelas)/Cheryl Burke (13) Katherine Jenkins (singer)/Mark Ballas (10) http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dancing-stars-season-14-cast-jack-wagner-sherri/story?id=15803787# *() number of seasons for the pro.

That is very sad news. Rest in peace, Mr. O'Brien.

I think Portman looked stunning: http://perezhilton.c...7&pic=3#gallery Livia Guiggioli's dress might be meh, but she's gorgeous, and Colin Firth looks very happy in this photo of them: http://perezhilton.c...&pic=13#gallery I think Bo Derek looks terrific here: http://perezhilton.c...&pic=23#gallery I love Michelle Williams' hair: http://perezhilton.c...4&pic=2#gallery This would be lovely without the big neck bow: http://perezhilton.c...4&pic=4#gallery Like here: http://perezhilton.c...4&pic=5#gallery I prefer this dress to Jlo's, and her butt would have looked just as good in it: http://perezhilton.com/galleries/oscars2012white-hot-celeb-style/?id=219839&pic=6#gallery Or this: http://perezhilton.com/galleries/oscars2012white-hot-celeb-style/?id=219839&pic=10#gallery http://perezhilton.c...&pic=11#gallery This in a jewel tone without the one-shoulder pad would be nice: http://perezhilton.c...9&pic=7#gallery

We may get some insight into Boal's reasoning at the "Balanchine Then and Now" presentation on 2 April at the Phelps Center, for Peter Boal and Francia Russell's "exploration of the work of George Balanchine over the span the great master’s career, focusing on his earliest work still performed—Apollo." Company dancers are part of the presentation, and we may see side-by-side comparisons of some of the material.

I just received a phone message from PNB to say that Peter Boal and Francia Russell's presentation "Balanchine Then and Now" has been moved back one day to Monday, 2 April, 5:30-7:00pm at the Phelps Center. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from here:

I really like this dress: it looks like it can move, and she can sit in it. The color, though: I'm not sure who's supposed to look good in that.

Unless our board software is changed, it's unlikely that they will appear on "View New Posts" in any modifications, because that would mean a change to search display, which is a lot trickier.

I'm on a MacBook with Firefox 10.0.2 and Safari 5.1.3, and I see subtitles on the Forum and Thread pages. The modification I purchased does not extend to search results, which is what "View New Content" is. Cristian didn't mention "View New Posts", only that the subtitles no longer appear.

Embedded YouTube links are a new feature with Version 3, and you do need to put in a line break before they'll be recognized by the software. I think the separate emoticon window was removed because it's not mobile friendly, and the two interfaces are based on the mobile app. Are you using the mobile app? That's a separate interface. IPB removed the subtitles in this version, and someone wrote code to display them on the regular, non-mobile site, but I don't think the modification was extended to the mobile version. You can add thread subtitles, and admins can edit them, but the modification doesn't allow us to edit or add forum descriptions (that look like subtitles). The mobile version is not new, but not that many people were using it until iPads became so common. If you're using the regular version, please link to a page where you can't see the subtitles, because I see them on thread and forum pages.

If you're seeing <DIV> tags, then you're having the same HTML problem I had. I solved it by clearing my browser history from cache. If most of what you're getting is codes like "&nbsp;", they are encoding issues. If you're copying and pasting from an article, there's an encoding conflict. If it's only when you enter data, then you might check your browser encoding settings.

Karoui is giving NYCB a little more notice than Stewart Kershaw did for PNB, but that's still not much time. I wonder if some of the other candidates, most of whom were wonderful, who "auditioned" with the orchestra during the interim season, would be interested in the NYCB job.

That would be the one: struggling or falling off pointe there has become the neoclassical equivalent of losing balance in the "Rose Adagio.". I think it's in the "Dancing for Mr. B" video that there's a clip of Allegra Kent doing this balance, but her partner was Ludlow, and from everything I've read, he made the most difficult partnering look easy. On the other hand, it's a much longer journey around the tutu and the leg extended in full arabesque than when the leg is extended a la second at ear level. My two experiences with Le Palais de Cristal in the '80's was that one of the dancers who did Second Movement was the young Sylvie Guillem. (According to Wikipedia, she was 21 during those 1986 performances, and she just turned 47 last Thursday.) I had read that Balanchine was much taken with the 16-year-old Guillem, and her performance was the one to which I most looked forward. I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed with any performance: I found her dull. Not cool and elegant, like Platel, who danced the next day, but just plain dull. I couldn't see anything -- physique, mystique, energy, attack, sweep, musicality -- that he might have seen. My second experience was landing a ticket in a box for a Wednesday matinee performance, and the only other person in the box shrieked whenever Patrick Dupond blinked in the Third Movement. I still have the burn marks from where she glared at me for not sharing her enthusiasm.

A former Julliard student and member of the NYCB orchestra has written to us that he would like to resume contact with an old friend, Charlotte Dickerson, who used to dance with NYCB. If anyone has any official news, please feel free to post it here. If anyone knows how to reach Ms. Dickerson, either directly or through an institution, please PM me or send an email to "Contact Us", and we'd be happy to forward his contact information to her.

We've received an inquiry for information about Arnold Dover: I am attempting to research the life and career of the late Arnold Dover. My wife is his daughter. I know that he had a ballet school in Johannesburg in the 50's, that Vergie Derman was one of his students there and that he was choreographer for the jazz opera King Kong. Any information about Arnold would be greatly appreciated. Nick Smithson If anyone has information that they'd be willing to share with Mr. Smithson about Arnold Dover, please PM me or send an email to "Contact Us", and I will forward his email to you.

I just found the link to next year's HD's -- I missed that on the site: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/liveinhd1213.aspx?icamp=HD1213int&iloc=leftnav I had heard lots of good things about Dalayman in Gotterdammerung, when she took over for Voigt, but you're right: Kundry is a tough role. Linda Watson did a wonderful job in Seattle in 2003. (It's hard to believe that was nearly a decade ago. The highlights were Richard Paul Fink's Klingsor and the young Stephen Milling's Gurnemanz.) I'm not surprised that if there was an "Otello" HD it would be the one with Fleming, but I'm sad to miss Hampson's Iago on film, and that means more scatterbrained hosting by Fleming. Probably more surprising than "Parsifal", mostly because of its length, is that there's an HD of "Francesca di Rimini", which very few people know -- I'm pretty sure I saw it a long time ago at City Opera, but it's a rarity -- and from which there aren't well-known arias. (Maybe this is the closest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC60w1xrVaA.)

Yes! I rarely use the box and didn't realize the behavior had changed with the last upgrade. I don't understand why such a good feature was removed.

I saw Paris Opera Ballet perform "Palais de Cristal" in NYC in a 1980's tour. There were differences from "Symphony in C", but it was not totally reworked, although like any earlier version, it looks odd to people used to the NYCB version which they are used to. The POB men are more refined in it, in general, and when the emphases are different, the steps can look quite different. Thesmar was a guest at NYCB, and she received coaching from Balanchine, so she would have seen it from both sides. You can see, for example, the high develope a la seconde in the Second Movement adagio in the NYCB version, where the man moves to the other side of the ballerina in an unsupported balance until he re-takes her hand, is done as a plain arabesque. That's not that drastic, theoretically, but when everyone is waiting for that one big balance, to see something else can make it seem like a lot has changed. According to the Balanchine Catalogue: http://balanchine.or...rchMethod=exact In "Le Palais de Cristal" each movement has a different color costume. It's been over 30 years, but I seem to remember rose, blue-green, yellow, and maybe cream. I don't remember black by the '80's -- it was obviously in the original photo with Toumanova --, but I could be remembering this all wrong. The all-white was introduced when there was a lot of doubling up among the corps of the much smaller Ballet Society-turned-New York City Ballet. Francia Russell recalled for a Q&A that she had to switch crowns backstage, changing from soloist to corps, when she covered for a colleague.

The new software expects you to type in the title, then highlight it, click the "link" icon, and type/paste in the URL. For example: This is the link to this topic vs. http://balletalert.i...310#entry299310 The label was misleading, and I re-labeled it to "Mark Read: Forums/Blogs/All" to note the options. I suspect "Mark All As Read" is similar to the functionality for "View New Content", which is that somewhere, there are cookies trying to determine what has and hasn't been read/is or isn't new. Some members have had the same issues with both functionality. I've checked the support forums, and there is no insight into this, especially since it's not consistent behavior. My issues were fixed after I cleared my browser cache, thanks to a suggestion from tech support

I've looked at the schedule and wish I had a commuter plane: there's so much I'd like to see. Happily I have Met Opera Radio on Sirius, and then there are the broadcasts, but I wish I could see the following live: Borodina's Amneris ("Aida") Everyone in "Un Ballo", one of my favorite operas: Mattila (Amelia), Kim (Oscar), Zajick or Blythe (Ulrika), Álvarez (Riccardo), Hvorostovsky (Renato). I heard Blythe's Ulrika in London in 2005, and it was worth the price of the ticket. Hvorostovsky was a wonderful Renato, and it was the first time I heard Nina Stemme (Amelia), who was such a splendid Brunnhilde in San Francisco over the past couple of years. Isabelle Leonard as Rosina and Alek Shrader as Almaviva in "Barber". People who saw "The Audition" will remember Shrader as the tenor who had never sung "A mes amis" publicly before the finals. Yonghoon Lee's Don Jose -- I've heard nothing but raves for him from those who've heard him live in the house, or I wouldn't have "Carmen" on my list. "La Clemenza di Tito", a too-rarely performed Mozart masterpiece. "Dialogue of the Carmelites", also too-rarely performed. I saw it last in Vancouver. Popovskaya and Beczala in "Faust" -- I wouldn't travel just to see "Faust", but I would stay an extra day if I was already there. Eva-Maria Westbroek in "Francesca da Rimini" (I've already traveled to see her: worth every trip.) Giulio Cesare": strong casting in a McVicar production. I heard Dumaux in Dallas in the horrid Fair Park auditorium (pre-Winspear Opera House), and his phrasing was lovely. He was a young countertenor, and I bet his voice is even stronger now. Elsa van den Heever and Joyce DiDonato should be great in "Maria Stuarda". van den Heever already had success in San Francisco and Europe before she won the 2008 Wagner competition. (She is also said to be an amazing cook, and she planned to cook professionally if she couldn't make it as a singer.) "Otello" is harder: In the fall, Bychkov conducts, and Fleming (Desdemona), Botha (Otello), Fabiano (Cassio), and Struckmann (Iago) sing. In the spring, Domingo conducts, with Stoyanova (Desdemona), Cura (Otello), Dolgov (Cassio), and Hampson (Iago). If it were only possibly to re-arrange that all into more ideal casting and conducting... Thank goodness for Sirius and four live performances a week. The "Parsifal" is exceptional across the board: Dalayman, Mattei, Nikitin, and Pape in addition to Kauffman. I don't know if they'll do an HD of this one, though. Thomas Ades' "The Tempest". Due to a fog-in and a very late flight from Dublin, I missed this in London. I hope it's an HD. It's Keenleyside's only performance at the Met next season, and William Burden is a splendid tenor. Susan Graham and Dwayne Croft in "Les Troyens". (I also have a soft spot for Voigt.) Iréne Theorin in the later "Turandot" performances. She sang Brunnhilde in the "Copenhagen Ring". I wish Netrebko, Polenzani, and Kwiecien were singing something other than "Elisir d'Amore"

I've been experiencing some strange behavior on Ballet Alert! -- but not on BT4D : 1. When I start to type in the "Reply" box, I"m not seeing any formatting options (bold, italic, etc.) 2. When I edit, I see HTML code. 3. When I click the "Follow this topic" button, I don't get the dialogue box that allows me to subscribe for notifications. 4. When I try to "Start New Topic", I get an error message, but if I click the "Okay" button, get a "New Topic" screen. 5. The logo doesn't appear, just the word "Logo". Is anyone experiencing these? If so, I'd appreciate it if you'd confirm here, as well as noting any other weird site behaviors.

Lindsi Dec and Karel Cruz will perform Desdemona and Othello in Gillmer Duran's "Othello" with Alaska Dance Theatre on 2-3 March: http://www.anchorage...1871e3ce6c.html Oregon Ballet Theatre's Artur Sultanov will dance Iago. They will make a physically striking trio. I'm glad in particular for Dec: this will give her a meaty, serious dramatic role.

Olivier Wevers is choreographing new work for Grand Rapids Ballet, headed by former PNB star Patricia Barker, as part of its two-program "Movemedia" series, to be performed in March and April. http://www.mlive.com...mpany_br_1.html

Great news for Polonin and, hopefully, UK ballet fans: from today's Links, Polunin has been issued a three-year work visa that is not tied to a specific country: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24037906-new-visa-means-ballet-star-can-dance-in-uk.do According to the article, Sadler's Wells did the paperwork, and he can perform in Men in Motion at the theater. With Eagling resigned from ENO and budget cuts to Birmingham Royal Ballet, I don't see it likely that he'll join a UK company.