dirac

I would expect that, as discussed in this thread, some of his ballets will be keepers and others, probably most, will be dropped, as happens regularly when the house choreographer is also the AD and that person leaves. I doubt any new AD would abruptly "sweep aside" Martins' works from the repertory. Martins didn't invent the trend toward programming evening-length ballets to fill seats and I expect that to continue under any new AD.

It's great - as long as those organizations have done their due diligence and nothing comes back to bite them since we still have no idea what ABT discovered.

I’ve seen another photo of Le Clercq and Tallchief on pointe next to each other and Tallchief looked a bit shorter than Le Clercq. There is an existing thread on Le Clercq, Tallchief, and their relative heights here.

A recent article on the problems reported at English National Ballet.

Which would be a classic example of two wrongs not making a right. It was hardly Copley's fault that Gelb and company didn't act on a police report.

No one asked for such a general apology, including the complainant, and it's not at all clear that anyone else was offended (it's not at all clear what was actually said and in what context, either). The chorister made additional demands and threatened legal action if they were not met, which seems a bit over the top for the making of a single remark for which the maker apologized.

I don’t see any special need to turn this into a generational war, but if you insist – such complaints tend to go both ways, as noted earlier in this thread. Fortunately, the narrow-minded absolutism of youth can evolve into something more generous with time and experience. That is certainly evident, nanushka.

IMO it's not that simple -- or that binary a choice. Their is a distinctly unsatisfactory "solution. "

I detected no snark at all, nanushka, so no worries. If individuals feel that strongly about not being a he or a she, we do need to respect and acknowledge those feelings when expressed. I'd say try inventing a new pronoun or repurposing an old one (if there is such) and see if it gets taken up. "Ms.," a revival from the 17th century, proved to be a keeper after initial resistance in some quarters because symbolism aside, it provided for very practical purposes an honorific for a woman that did not involve reference to her marital status, helpful for applying for bank loans among many other things. It also met a specific need for the growing class of married women who continued to use their maiden names professionally and/or privately. The analogy isn't quite the same, I know, but I hope you will see what I mean. (The harder sound of Mzz isn't pleasant to the ear, but given the manifest advantages of adopting the title, it's a minor point.)

The picture is getting a hard "R." I guess "romp" doesn't have quite the same meaning in movies as formerly........

Mashinka, with all due respect, it's pretty much that kind of thinking that has allowed pervasive sexual harassment to flourish. The harasser has power and fame, the victims are "ten a penny." That's how someone's humanity is diminished. When management is willing to listen and give credit to the complaints of a single chorister when made against a figure as big as Copley, that's actually a good thing. I'm reserving judgment here because there seems to be some debate on exactly what happened, what was said, and the context in which Copley's remarks were made. I am glad the union is asking questions to ensure that the punishment was appropriate, as it should.

Good point. But it does seem to me you can be "gender queer" while still identifying primarily as, or with, one sex. I don't think that's true of "gender fluid," which implies rejection of such an identification.

I must apologize myself, nanushka. I posted off the cuff and my tone was too sharp, and I appreciate that you did not answer in kind. I confess I do become irked when people say things like " language changes." Of course, it does. That doesn't oblige one to accept and employ every neologism that comes one's way, at least not without discussion. It does seem to me that people forget that the rules are also there to help us to understand and be understood better by using a common standard that ideally enables us to express ourselves with precision and clarity. Using "they" in this way in my opinion does just the opposite and is also awkward and unpleasing, and I hope it's one "innovation" that falls by the wayside. But if not, such is life, and language.

I'll have to respectfully disagree in return. I don't think any mainstream news articles will be using "they" for Johnsey any time soon. Johnsey has not made any such request, he has not specifically declared that he is "gender fluid" ("gender queer" does not mean quite the same thing IMO) and the article I just linked to uses "he." "Hey, guys," is a common casual greeting among mixed company. Never heard anyone object to it. Yet.....

I don’t see anyone here taking a purely prescriptivist position and with all due respect, I don’t think anyone here requires admonitions and reading recommendations on the subject (although I do thank you, nanushka, for the language log links, which were.....most instructive). In any case, it’s not relevant here since for our purposes, Chase Johnsey is a “he” until such time as he announces that he is undergoing a transition of whatever degree or simply says he wants to be considered a woman. Returning to our moutons, here's a recent interview with Johnsey.

Often as not the young are at least as absolutist and narrow-minded, because they have less experience of the world, of life, and have yet to confront many of their own failings and frailties. It's surprising how often tolerance comes with time.

Hyltin, of course, being an elderly 31. or 32, I think ? Times do change. It used to be said that an actor wasn’t ready to play Juliet until she was forty and it was commonplace for theater actors to play characters much younger. It was the stage and they had the technique to play younger, and nobody thought anything about it. (Mrs. Pat created the role of Eliza Doolittle when she was pushing fifty; Margaret Sullavan played Sabrina Fair at forty.) Now, of course, such casting is unlikely, even in the theater. (Not in ballet, fortunately.)

There are reports that the son of a cellist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra was warned never to be alone with Levine and there is another report that he had children around during rehearsals. These were not, apparently, students or employees, but that would make little difference in terms of public relations, in risk to the kids, or possibly even in legal liability. An investigation may also remain private because accusers want to preserve their privacy and redactions alone may not be sufficient.

Cousins had all the triples, not only the ones he did in competition. In those days, of course, you didn’t need all of them to win. In practice he was also doing triple axels in combinations. (All of this on two bum knees; he abjured the triple axel entirely after a stress fracture.) Cousins did five triples in his ’76 Olympics LP and planned five for 1980 as well, but it didn’t work out that way. If I recall correctly he did the five triples later, at Worlds. Also set two Guinness records for jumping distance.

I too am a Cousins fan. Close to the perfect combination of finesse and physical daring, with jumps that were advanced for his day. In his pro days he had a cool full layout back-flip, which looked pretty awesome on a six-footer. He has had interesting things to say about Curry in the past. ( I’d like to see him get his own documentary if only for the sake of the footage but that is most unlikely to happen.)

Cranston was a lot of fun on and off the ice. (You're not going to see any skater of either sex do those Sonja Henie toepick trots any more.) I liked his book Zero Tollerance back in the day.

Henning Kronstam Svetlana Beriosova

A new documentary inspired by Jones' book is released.

Fractured hip aside, it appears that Petty was on this prescription bouillabaisse for a long time, for various “ailments.” Some no doubt perfectly genuine, like Prince’s, but after a point I suspect it becomes a case of using the ailments to go to doctors to get at the drugs, as pherank notes, rather than taking medications for temporary relief. Hank Williams was born with spina bifida, which caused him pain all his life, even after surgery as an adult, and he started drinking around age 11 or 12. On the other hand, without the spina bifida he might have gone right into the lumber business, and obscurity. I wonder what fate he would preferred. But I digress.

Not just fentanyl, but three different kinds. (!) I wouldn't place the blame entirely on Petty. Celebrities seem to have a much easier time obtaining prescriptions than ordinary folk.