dirac

Thanks for the heads-up, pherank. Anyone who sees it, please tell us about it!

A better comparison might be the unions of recent Number Twos. If Harry and Meghan can avoid a trainwreck like that of the Snowdons or the Yorks, they may consider their marriage an unqualified success. However, since Harry sinks lower in the rankings with each new blessed event, it may not matter much either way as long as his older brother and the missus can keep it together. We can also hope that Markle will not decide to try her hand at children's books...... I'd say there is an element of formality, or should be, in such a dance. A wedding, particularly a royal one that involves the heir to the throne, male or female, is a public and political act. In most ballets romance is of course there, but you don't get sexy and the principals never forget that they are on display. (I can think of exceptions - for example, if you choose to leave the court or formal setting for more casual and relaxed celebrations among the general public. Those dances could get pretty warm.)

Whenever a royal wedding rolls around I like to take the opportunity to thank our founding fathers for not foisting the motherland’s ghastly system of hereditary titles upon us. Not that that stops my local public television station from running endless documentaries on the House Formerly Known as Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, not to mention the TV series on Victoria, etc., etc., etc. We don’t see Rudolf and Stephanie’s wedding in “Mayerling,” but judging by the peek we get at their wedding night, I don't think they woke up with confetti in their underwear.

I recommend the 1937 movie, made in Poland and in Yiddish, which is a wonderful telling of the tale from a play by S. Ansky, who researched the legends thoroughly while writing it. I would not be surprised if the film is available online.

Thank you for posting, vrsfanatic. It's important to acknowledge the contribution of people like Mr. Miller, who make it possible for artists can make art. From the link:

I would think they've done appropriate research as well, probably before they initiated the program. No doubt there are those who are impatient with these features because Oh-I-know-this-stuff-already but enough arts organizations are implementing such programs that I think it's likely they've demonstrated some appeal, particularly to the younger audiences that it's becoming increasingly important for them to reach. However, briefer is probably better, especially given that research also appears to suggest that attention spans are not what they used to be and as cobweb points out, many people have to get up early in the morning.

The company's new program looks good. Has anyone seen it?

Thank you so much for remembering to report back to us, mnacenani. How lucky you are to have seen the original production. "Chess in Concert" continues to show up on PBS from time to time.

An interview with Jeanette Vondersaar, who is responsible for stagings of "The Green Table" and is currently setting it on Tulsa Ballet.

An interview with Magnicaballi. It says something about her performing in future with the "Farrell Ballet" (?)

Charity, Terez. It happens to the best and the very best, as when Edwin Denby once confused Nora Kaye and Markova and wrote a (positive) review of the wrong ballerina.

Thank you for keeping us posted, Pamela. Looks like the rules make it difficult for the Academy to clean house. It seems as if most of the current crew need to go......

According to the article, de Mille's estate is merely asking the producers to adhere to an old agreement by de Mille and Rodgers & Hammerstein that her contribution to the original production be acknowledged with a credit by future productions. It seems more than appropriate that her contributions to the landmark nature of the original show continue to be recognized. A review by Marina Harss for DanceTabs.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with that. But perhaps Shaw didn't work that out clearly in his ending to the play. (I'd say, however, that it's not so much that Eliza "sees through" Higgins as she realizes that he will never be husband material. Shaw does suggest that. I like to think that Eliza was always a strong independent woman, which is why she seeks out Higgins on her own in the first place. She wants something better in life and she goes after it.)

OT - Shaw did not want any of his plays to be adapted for a musical after a bad experience with Arms and the Man, I think it was, but the idea of a musical based on the play had been knocking around for some time - Franz Lehar had wanted to do it in the 20s. Rodgers & Hammerstein thought about it and decided against. There are difficulties with following the play as written, and Lerner solved the problem by following the screenplay of the 1938 film, with its extra scenes that open up the play and a "romantic" ending that annoyed Shaw intensely. Since the play's premiere audiences have wanted Higgins and Eliza to end up together even though Shaw went so far as to write an exasperated explanation of why they shouldn't, and some producers have tried to satisfy that wish. (Shaw's original ending to the play did leave some ambiguity, and Shaw went back to the ending a number of times to rejigger it, suggesting that he realized he hadn't made his intentions into a satisfactory conclusion.)

This is a great clip, rhys, thanks. I didn't have time to watch it all through but I'm going to come back to it. Particularly interested in what Dowell says about use of the upper body.

I also loved that Swan Lake video. Still have it somewhere. A belated thank-you for posting that link, volcanohunter. He's just so....perfect. May he enjoy many more years!

He loves Judy? Bless his heart.

Much obliged for the heads-up, mnacenani .

Slap on the wrist. Let's hope she can benefit from it.

True. In fairness to the Times, it was for women's suffrage before it was against it, although by 1912 it was firmly against.

It is interesting to browse through, although in some of these cases, particularly those where fame came posthumously, it's hard to say they were "overlooked" because of their sex. Nice that this is planned as an ongoing series.

A belated thanks, pherank. Yes, San Francisco is lucky to have her.

Thank you for posting, vagansmom. If anyone does see it, please post about it. I saw an HBO half hour program in which LuPone worked with young singers. Interesting.

Alastair Macaulay reviews Nick Mauss' exhibition.