dirac

An incredible load of talent. Only possible under the old studio system, for better and worse. It is indeed too bad that there's no such oral history. Yeah, Hart was an outsized personality, but not outsized that way. (And Tom Drake as Richard Rodgers? Whaaaa?) To be fair, the composer biopics were never meant to be factually accurate, and it is doubtful that the subjects themselves would have desired such accuracy. They were intended as showcases for the music. So true. " I Wish I Were in Love Again" is a great number, and a nice way for the Rooney-Garland partnership at MGM to end. In most of their pictures together, though, Rooney dominates and is allowed to do so. This made sense at the time because he was the bigger star to begin with, but to the modern eye young Judy is far more appealing. By the time of "Words and Music" she had really come into her own. (I will say she does look a little too thin.)

The proffered help is appreciated, but I may just go back to strumpet jokes. Amen to that, mira.

“Mainstream” Republicans did flirt with the birther position in “mainstream forums.” As aurora and I pointed out earlier, the making of such “agreeable noises” would signify that an important voting bloc for their party required them. It would also mean that they were deliberately encouraging views they knew to be not only nutty and frivolous but detrimental to the legitimacy of the executive in the public eye, an executive who just happened to be a man of mixed race with a funny African name. Not to mention the nationwide distraction the birth certificate business proved to be. While this topic was on the front burner, some conservatives did attempt to point to the 9/11 Truthers as the Democratic equivalent of the birthers. The truthers started on the fringe and they have remained there. You did not see Democratic politicians and apparatchiks playing footsie with them or openly encouraging them. Some of you people spend a lot more time tracking birthers than I do. I'll take your word for it that some mainstream Republicans flirted with birtherism, but I've lost track of what that supposedly has to do with racism in ballet. Beyond that, I agree with what you say here. No. The problem is racism, and the question is how much of a problem it is. I didn't say talking about racism is racist. Yes indeed, the problem is racism. I was responding to your statement, quoted above, that personal stories about experiences of racism are “counterproductive,” influencing their auditors to exaggerate a problem that a) does not exist at all or b) isn’t really that big of a deal these days and that such "object lessons" are causing unnecessary and misleading trouble -- and are thus, presumably, contributing to the problem they describe.....

Sad news, MakarovaFan. Thanks for the post. Just an insanely beautiful woman. She had bad luck in her American movies, which were mostly junk, but the Sixties weren't a great time for female stars generally. I agree, she was fabulous in "Queen Margot." More here.

“Mainstream” Republicans did flirt with the birther position in “mainstream forums.” As aurora and I pointed out earlier, the making of such “agreeable noises” would signify that an important voting bloc for their party required them. It would also mean that they were deliberately encouraging views they knew to be not only nutty and frivolous but detrimental to the legitimacy of the executive in the public eye, an executive who just happened to be a man of mixed race with a funny African name. Not to mention the nationwide distraction the birth certificate business proved to be. While this topic was on the front burner, some conservatives did attempt to point to the 9/11 Truthers as the Democratic equivalent of the birthers. The truthers started on the fringe and they have remained there. You did not see Democratic politicians and apparatchiks playing footsie with them or openly encouraging them. The people who talk about facing the problem are part of the problem?

It is. Years ago there was a big fuss when NPR began to abandon its concert broadcasts in favor of more and more talk. One reason was that the music lovers were quick with complaints but less quick with donations. The talk show fans were also big donors. PBS should certainly be supporting dance on general principle, but the tricky equation should be kept in mind. Send money and tell them why. The major PBS affiliate in my area, KQED, shows little in the way of dance. I usually see the dance programs, including the show under discussion, on PBS Life, a cable channel not accessible to everyone. Regarding the show - enjoyed it hugely. What great kids, and so nice to hear from Kistler, Pilarre, and Schorer. I agree with Amour that Serenade in particular was wonderful, although the ballet is not suited to television (and even less to a computer screen). Martins had good things to say too, as he did in the Jerome Robbins documentary.

The success of The Cosby Show was actually the first of its kind - presenting a middle-class black family to widespread white audience acceptance. Cosby's success was not typical, it was the exception and a first. It is true that several African-American male actors have become big stars, but not always without qualifications. And black female actors had, and continue to have, a much harder time of making it to the top and staying there, which may be germane to the topic here. Only up to a point, abatt. The reason the Administration finally gave in and released the long form birth certificate was because the topic would not go away (the flames fanned by the GOP) and it really was beginning to hurt him. My hunch is they may have been playing rope-a-dope, in addition to a natural reluctance to give in to the crazies, but they did it a little too long. And again, we're not talking only extremists, but mainstream elements within the political opposition.

There is some evidence that it's not so hard to get police, prosecutors, and jurors to believe "complete nonsense" when race enters the picture--whether or not they are themselves, as individuals, racist and--in some cases--whatever race they happen to be. Nothing to do with the "ballet world"? -- I doubt it. Even if I allowed that the ballet world lacks its own version of racial crankiness (which I don't) I think cranks couldn't wield the influence they do (wouldn't get the attention they get) if they weren't touching some chord in others less cranky than themselves. I suspect the 'birther' movement vis-a-vis the President wouldn't have the little traction it does in terms of news coverage/interest etc, if there weren't other non-birthers vaguely uncomfortable with a black President and even one for whom they may have voted. I'm tempted to respond to this in more depth, but it's straight politics, and not BA territory. However, birthers get no respect, even from other conservatives, and 'racial crankiness" in the ballet world is what I'm looking for evidence of. It's not evident in Project Plie, or in the photo I posted. What problems has she had? It's great that people want to recruit and support African-American dancers. Racism has obviously kept them out of dance in more ways than one. But that's different than saying they face racism in the dance world today greater than the support they have in the dance world today (support this thread is evidence of), or that Copeland did. Regarding what you wrote below (the software's being cranky), I was exaggerating to make a point. I didn't mean to suggest these people don't exist at all. At the peak of the birther movement, various Republican politicians and pundits dipped their toes in those murky waters, lending various kinds of tacit or direct support. Generally they did back off when questioned directly, along the lines of just-what-did-you-mean-when-you-said-that-sir? but there is no question that mainstream conservative elements were, to say the least, chummy with the birthers, or at least disinclined to enlighten them. Names that occur to me offhand – Senators Inhofe and Vitter, Ken Cuccinelli, who was Virginia’s Attorney General. In Kansas, multiple Republican officials openly considered challenging Obama’s eligibility to appear on the ballot in 2012; one of them was advising Mitt Romney at the time. Most of this talk died away publicly after the release of the long form birth certificate, but as the poll numbers cited by Kathleen attest, the damage was done. No doubt some of this was pure political expediency as opposed to genuine conviction – not sure if that makes it better or worse -- but it is a fact that pols considered the birthers to be a group significant enough to be worth appeasing. I believe Copeland has discussed the challenges she has faced.....

My fantasy is that on the last day of his Administration, Obama calls a surprise press conference and says, "I just thought you all should know that I really am a Kenyan socialist Muslim! Suckers! Allahu Akbar! Wahoo!"

Thanks for your comments, sandik. The reviews were mixed to negative, so it's nice to hear something more positive. This production, as you might know, was a follow up to the big success of last year's broadcast of The Sound of Music. While I appreciate as a Good Thing the revival of live theater on TV, I can't say I was wild about either show (I didn't watch either one to the end). Next up, I believe, is "A Few Good Men." Anyone else see this?

Thank you for posting this, Quiggin. I had not seen the Times obit yet and didn't know she had died. I first learned of Freilicher by reading O'Hara - as you probably know, she's the "Jane" in the Jane poems. Another link to a great era in the New York arts world gone.

I have also noticed the spread of soft porn visual tropes in conventional celebrity photography, among photographs of athletes, for example. Not too long ago I saw a photo spread in Sports Illustrated, of all places, that brought new meaning to the term "fantasy football." We used to have a stash of very old SIs around the house, and I recall a photo of Don Drysdale wearing a nice-young-man sweater that set off those eyes of Dodger blue. Today, readers might have the opportunity to check out Don's butt cheeks. But I digress.

What happens when you try to hijack a cab hailed by Nureyev.

That argument would apply here if only very young girls looked up to Copeland, and if those girls could be expected never to grow up. The other thing that should be said about “strumpet” and “wench” is that not only are they inaccurate in content - to use kbarber's words, no one's comparing posing for a photo with "promiscuity" or "prostitution" - but their tone is all wrong. it’s possible to criticize without insulting, and to criticize people for one thing while admiring them for another, as I have done. Caricatures distort, and blur the difference. I think sex workers are perfectly fine people, or at least no better or worse than anyone else (and I don't use "promiscuous" as a pejorative either, particularly not where women are concerned). I did feel a certain amount of irreverence was in line, given that portions of this thread have already gone well beyond parody. In any case, not half as insulting - to anyone - as some of the allegedly "serious" comments made about Copeland in this discussion.

Not necessarily for purposes of facetiousness, but I'm quite happy to substitute "nipple-displaying wench."

Good idea. Added.

Thanks for posting, abatt, although given the information we have (thank you for the links, Kathleen), the title of the thread may be a bit premature. The situation still seems unpromising but we'll see.

Thanks for the heads-up, miliosr.

Cutting & pasting's Drew's comments in the NYCB forum: I hope you are right, but I have decidedly mixed feelings about two of the best American ballet dancers--which is to say, two of the best ballet dancers in the world--taking off a year (or even a little less) to do Broadway. Peck and Fairchild are a big part of NYCB's current "renaissance" with fans and critics (I say "renaissance" because even Martins' naysayers have been taking note of how well the company is dancing) and ballet careers are short and unpredictable. Nor am I persuaded Broadway is the best way for them to develop as ballet dancers, even though they will presumably learn a lot from these projects. Obviously, they want to do the shows and I wish them all success etc.. I may even try to see at least one (though with limited budget for ballet trips to NY, I usually prioritize...well, ballet), but I have very mixed feelings about seeing Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck depart for Broadway even temporarily. Judging from Little Dancer's reviews, it may not be Broadway bound, at least right away. And from what I can glean from reviews and comments from both productions to date, Peck (and Fairchild) are both appealing performers, but may not be ready/able to carry a show. I agree that the best way for them to develop as ballet dancers is to stay home and dance ballet, but I also understand their wish to branch out, and I do believe that they will learn useful things.

A new exhibition of Hepburn photos and magazine covers goes on display in London.

Thanks for posting, AshtonFan. I'll have to re-read the Mason section in light of your comments.

Another liberal-minded arts world type gives Misty a platform...... Such cynicism. Copeland’s an up-and-coming dancer, an African-American dancer, and a dancer much in the news nowadays. Those are three good reasons to invite her back. Cynicism, indeed.

Thanks for the heads-up, Cygnet.

Thank you for starting this topic,storyballet4dk. Offhand I would say yes, that ballet did struggle to be taken seriously as an independent art form for a time after it had separated from opera. Potentially a rich topic, and I would be interested to hear comments from others.

Thank you, Buddy, for your review and comments on the production. He might well mean that.