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Theoretically the value of the show should lie in the highlighting of Verdon’s story, but since so far we have seen her mainly as Fosse’s loyal wife and helpmeet (I’m only as far as the third episode), that’s not very much. Williams can’t dance, so we don’t get to see Verdon the star. Episode 3 does try to remedy this by showing us the travails of Verdon’s early life in somewhat melodramatic fashion (Verdon the young mother leaves squalling baby in Grandma’s arms as she goes off to make a living, etc.) Verdon is long-suffering, Fosse is caddish and strung out ……….at this rate it’s going to be a long eight episodes.

Nice to hear it looked right. Sorry about your friend, but IMO if you're going to do it, do it properly or not at all. (I've never been able to inhale, myself.) Thanks for your review, Marta.

Returning to our topic, has anyone seen any updates regarding Macaulay's replacement as chief dance critic? The original NYT retirement announcement from late 2018 said that they hoped to choose a successor by the end of last year, and we are now close to halfway through this one.

I didn’t know, miliosr, thanks. I did see Crawford's Possessed (her first, which as I'm sure you know is unrelated to her 1947 picture with the same title) for the first time on TCM not long ago. Thoroughly enjoyed that. Crawford is the girl from the wrong side of the tracks climbing up in the world, as usual. She becomes the kept woman of rich lawyer Clark Gable, who won’t marry her because he was burned so badly by his ex-wife, who cheated with the chauffeur. Push comes to shove when Gable decides to run for political office. Very satisfying denouement. It’s unusual casting in a sense because in another story Gable would have been the hot chauffeur (who is not seen here) rather than the uptight rich guy. Crawford looks beautiful and she and Gable are a sparky couple.

Thank you, On Pointe and Roberta, for these detailed comments. Russian dancers in particular were big smokers back in the day and I understand the habit isn’t entirely gone (if you’re smoking, you’re not eating). At least they are loyal enough to the period to show them smoking. Do the actors smoke convincingly? One thing I have noticed is that many actors these days can’t or won’t puff in a believable manner.

I will keep watching, but disappointing viewing so far. It doesn't help that Fosse told a lot of this story using many of the same devices and told it better. The weak link for me is Rockwell - his acting is not bad but he's just a charmless unattractive lump, you can't imagine why he could think he had a shot at being a musical comedy star or why women like McCracken and Verdon would be tussling over him. (He's a little better when he's older with the beard. I'm just praying they don't show him trying to do the Snake in the Grass.)

The New Zealand dancer and choreographer John Casserley has died at age 78.

The former artistic director of the Louisville Ballet, Alun Jones, has died at age 82.

Thank you for posting, cubanmiamiboy. I'm sure she will be missed in Miami. I have only seen her on video, but based on that she is plainly an exceptional artist. Best of luck to her!

Wow. There are just too many choice quotes but I quite liked this exchange: “Baggage,” forsooth! These were……children. I’m just dumbfounded.

I tend to agree, BalanchineFan. The decision seems well reasoned and justified. It’s important for all employees to be protected against arbitrary dismissal by an employer, non-profit or otherwise. Many if not most American workers have no such protections; Catazaro and Ramasar are fortunate in that they have such rights and they were enforced. Firing people for private and non-criminal conduct is truly a slippery slope and the company should have taken greater care. The union has to balance the needs of all its members, and the dancers who are unhappy about this decision today may well appreciate -- and benefit from -- the protections they have in future.

That project was announced in 2018 - tactful timing, given that it was Robbins' centenary year. Should be, hmmmm, interesting.

Thank you for those links, sandik. I would be interested to hear from anyone who sees the "Night of 100 Solos" live, as well.

This is great news, Ashton Fan (and about time)! Many belated thanks for posting. Home page Henry Danton commenting on 1946 footage of Symphonic Variations

Fires are a known hazard of restoration work, so absent any evidence to the contrary it is the most reasonable explanation. What a shock seeing the spire collapse. I gather today that the damage could have been much worse, the structure is sound, and restoration is certain, so despite the losses there will be a happy ending. As Mashinka notes, such things do happen. Sometimes such restorations can even make improvements. Awesome work by the Parisian firefighters, as Mashinka also said.

The beautiful and gifted Bergman star is dead at 83. She had been ill for a long time and this may well have been a release, but still, sad news. Photo gallery

Thank you so much for updating us on Mr. Danton, Fraildove. This is great news. So glad to hear he is doing well and best wishes for his health and happiness!

Not always easy to separate, particularly if you think, as the late John Richardson did (I just posted his obit in this forum, I'm sorry to say) that Picasso's art entered a new phase with each new woman in his life. I wondered at that, too. "Iffy" is bit too demotic and frivolous for the context. Exactly - in these little dialogues the attempts at simulating spontaneous give-and-take are often just labored and self-conscious.

John Richardson has died at age 95. Related.

I suspect that Smith was taken aback by Macaulay's dismissal of Evans and obvious unfamiliarity with his work. No doubt some of the reactions were off-the-cuff, which is why I wish the Times would return to offering carefully thought-through work from its critics instead of these little chit-chats, which are mostly of dubious worth and interest. They do, however, get clicks, so we seem to be stuck with them.

I agree, and I'd remove the "arguably." Macaulay does seem to indicate that he is not familiar with Evans' work apart from what he'd just seen in this show, so maybe that 's it.

Thank you for the report, seattle_dancer, really interesting reading. Its neat that you got to meet Stroman, too.

He's a doll. Just announced his retirement. Bad news for his sport but good for his future health, one hopes.

I am also curious to see this. It won't be easy for any performer to approach the charisma of the youthful Rudi, although Michiel Huisman made a respectable try in the made-for-TV Fonteyn biopic.