dirac

PepsiCo executive Donald M. Kendall has died at age 99.

Thank you for the correction, Buddy. No offense intended. Have you seen the reboot? I think it's on Netflix.

The "Emeralds" excerpts on the video consist of the opening group, the pas de trois, the walking pas de deux, and the finale augmented with Balanchine's new ending. No solos. That's from memory, but I'm pretty sure it's right.

Louisville Ballet prepares for a new virtual season.

San Francisco Ballet's principal guest conductor, Ming Luke, presents Musical Point(e)s.

PopSugar's recommendations for ballet dancers to follow on Instagram.

A Daily Kos piece about diversity or the lack thereof in ballet.

Edward Watson photo gallery.

A review of Nadine Meisner's "Marius Petipa - The Emperor's Ballet Master" by George Jackson for danceviewtimes.

Thanks, pherank and Buddy. I saw the first few episodes and didn't pursue it, although Rachel Brosnahan was excellent and the snippets of standup were often funny, not always the case in scripted series about standups. I admit I did not find the period feeling or decor particularly convincing. It just seemed to scream "PERIOD DECOR!" It's nice that Amy Sherman-Palladino has found success again after seeming to flail around for a bit following the end of "The Gibson Gilmore Girls." She was responsible for the ill-fated "Bunheads," which showed promise but also had problems that it wasn't allowed time to work out. I prefer the Sorkin brand of walk-and-talk, but Sherman-Palladino is very talented and writes good roles for women.

In private life JFK preferred show tunes, but it is certainly true that the higher arts were celebrated in his administration to a degree not really seen since, largely thanks to the efforts of his wife. Kennedy once feared that Jacqueline would be too rarefied for the larger public to embrace, but she proved to be hugely popular. In those days when the US was on the rise the Kennedys presented an example to be aspired to. It would be different today. She was a comfort to Andre Malraux during a difficult time in his life and he responded by sending the Mona Lisa to the United States for exhibition on loan to her - personally. Regardless of President Kennedy's personal preferences, his understanding that spotlighting the high arts was beneficial in ways both practical and enriching to the country as a whole is something that we may not see again.

Rigg had a great stage career and was a favorite of the late John Dexter. She also compiled an amusing book of bad reviews, "No Turn Unstoned." She never quite made it in feature films, which is too bad. She came along at a time when there weren't many opportunities for strong female stars. RIP. Thank you for posting, Helene, her death hasn't received the attention it's due, IMO.

Dancer and ballet mistress Joan Harris dies at age 100.

Designer and retailer Terence Conran dies at age 88,

Princess Caroline of Monaco on the importance of the arts.

Canton Ballet presents "Peter and the Wolf."

The Joffrey Ballet School wins a restraining order against Christopher D'Addario for "stealing its website."

Patrick Swayze's behind-the-scenes travails during the filming of "Dirty Dancing."

American Ballet Theatre announces promotions.

Berlin's state ballet school deals with accusations of abuse.

New York City Ballet is staying digital for the new season.

What Quiggin and Drew said. I'm very happy not to have to wear corsets that damage my muscles and internal organs and it's nice to be able to go to the beach and not wear outfits that get soaked and heavy in the water, but that's as far as it goes. It doesn't mean there's some kind of organic progression from corsets and crinolines to thongs and Brazilian waxes and ultimately to total nudity. And I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the days when women wore nothing in the way of knickers, which led to alleged incidents like the future James II getting a sneak preview of the charms of Arabella Churchill after she fell from a horse. (I have been told that one aspect of nudist beaches is that you quickly become used to everyone not having anything on, and it's actually less distracting than clothing. I wouldn't know, but I'm inclined to believe that's true.)

Thank you, Helene, for all your hard work taking care of this.

Q&A with Tobias Praetorius of the Royal Danish Ballet.

A story on the Leap of Dance Academy of Lagos, Nigeria.