dirac

Thanks, Buddy. There's also the example of Moira Shearer, a "natural," as the director of The Red Shoes, Michael Powell, observed, who left dancing to act on stage as well as in movies. Other ballet dancers I've seen on film tend to be good natural actors. And unlike movie actors dancers are accustomed to maintaining character and body awareness in performing situations where the audience can see them from head-to-toe all the time. I would think a potential issue would be vocal problems - if you don't have much vocal training projecting over theater distances for an extended period of time is not easy. Of course, these days almost everything is miked..... There are a few, now I think about it. Aside from Shearer, Nureyev also played leads. Herbert Ross' "Nijinsky" features George de la Pena, Leslie Browne, Anton Dolin, and Carla Fracci, and they all did just fine (De La Pena was overmatched, but it was his dancing, not his acting, that was the big problem.) One of the big what-ifs, of course, is Gelsey Kirkland, originally slated to take the role of Emilia in "The Turning Point." I understand her stated reasons for backing out - Emilia is a ninny - but it was a mistake, I think. She probably would have done very well and of course the dance sequences would have profited hugely by having a ballerina on competing terms with Baryshnikov. But now I really am wandering off topic................

That was many years later. In Dancers she was completely out of her depth and The Voice...why they just didn't use some of that movie magic and dub her I will never know. By the time of Center Stage her voice was still nasal but it wasn't like nails on a chalkboard. That's what I understand too, sandik. Apparently the dancing was trickier, but these movies aren't really about fancy dancing. (And with Singin' in the Rain you have a property that is not only a film original but is very much a movie about the movies.) I would have been interested to see what Tharp did with it, though.

Yes, Farrell has had her ups and downs as a stager. There was that near-legendary week in D.C. that left people with their tongues hanging out and for awhile she could do no wrong. Then rising expectations were not fulfilled and a critical backlash set in. I didn't think it was altogether fair - some of the problems mentioned later were already evident before the backlash - but that's life. I'm sure many of the difficulties stem from the severe constraints Farrell works under, but not all, perhaps. Regarding these minor works, I agree with those above who say it's a question of company goals and priorities, although I'd hope no blood is shed and not too much treasure expended in the process. Given the nature of Farrell's enterprise I think it's valuable for her to present these rarities and well within her portfolio, although I sometimes wonder (and not only in Farrell's case) how much of what we're seeing is what audiences saw at the time.

It's representative of the shift of cultural power and influence from Broadway to movies. It used to be that Broadway musicals transferred to film with a great deal of pomp and fuss, as if doing the movies a favor, and now it's mostly the reverse, with the theater often relying on properties that were made for the movie house, and also on movie stars to sell tickets. Off topic, but Baryshnikov had a success in movies unparalleled by any other ballet star. He was a genuine movie star and he proved himself a pretty decent actor as well. He's been appearing on stage recently and without having seen him I'll bet he acquits himself well. Stiefel hardly compares, but perhaps his timing was off. Baryshnikov came along at just the right time, with popular interest in ballet at a peak. (Also nobody was going to get any Oscar nominations for Center Stage.) As for that "arsenal of director's tricks," they can only go so far. There was no magicking away the disaster that was Julie Kent in Dancers....... Very true, but the NYCB piece does give us an idea of how Wheeldon initially conceived the music for dancing. It will be interesting to see if he uses some of the same choreographic material or tries something new with it. Quiggin's analogy with Robbins is on the mark, I think. Big shoes to fill. This is a very ambitious project for Wheeldon to take on, if he is indeed directing the production.

That's true, bart (and they seem to be better at it than Americans doing British accents). But they don't always ring true. And this fellow will be taking over a Gene Kelly role, and Kelly was so echt American. I think it's really important to the story that the "American" aspect of the character come through. "All sorts" - indeed. You remind me of that bizarre accent Laurence Olivier assumed for his role in The Betsy as a Detroit auto tycoon (otherwise a highly enjoyable performance). Apparently the director tried to talk him out of it but he was not to be budged. Thanks, Buddy. Kelly did indeed promote and proselytize on behalf of ballet (and dance in general) and used ballet dancers often, even if he was not himself an innately balletic dancer (which is not a knock, BTW). Astaire was innately balletic, but interestingly he had no interest in the art form. Because he was Astaire he was forever getting fan letters from the likes of Baryshnikov and Fonteyn, but his own fan notes tended to go to dancer/performers like Sammy Davis, Jr., Michael Jackson, and John Travolta (in his Saturday Night Fever days).

Professor Higgins' numbers in "My Fair Lady" are designed for a non-singer, though, Buddy. The Gershwin score will require someone with pipes. Wheeldon will probably redo most or all of the choreography, perhaps with a nod or two here and there to the original. The Kelly role doesn't require a ballet dancer, but much will depend on the demands of Wheeldon's choreography. Jerry definitely needs to be played by an American if at all possible, unless, as bart says, they rework the story considerably. The big ballet at the end of the movie was created for the cinema and not the stage, and the visual effects are at least as important as the dancing, which is in short segments with frequent cuts - not necessarily inappropriate for Gershwin's score, which lacks unity. Another potentially important singing/dancing role is that played by Georges Guétary, who had the big "Stairway to Paradise" number in the movie. No ballet dancer required there, either. (French accent, yes.) A link to what some Ballet Alerters had to say about the Wheeldon choreography for NYCB.

I can't say I see anything especially harsh about "part-time ballerina." (I recall when Margaret Tracey retired and Robert Gottlieb wrote, or snapped, in connection with Tracey's announced intention to take up teaching, "Teach what?") I guess it depends on the circumstances, pherank. Sometimes a critic is indeed offended by what's being presented to him for evaluation and I think he (or she) is not going out of bounds to say so. Criticism of dancing is by its nature intensely personal - the dancers are sometimes literally naked before us. C. S. Lewis is to the point here: "Keep a strict eye on eulogistic and dyslogistic adjectives — they should diagnose (not merely blame) and distinguish (not merely praise.)" I do think Macaulay has tried to do that, even if perhaps he didn't do it so well in this latest piece. And often as a daily newspaper critic he's functioning under time and space constraints. There are other approaches (such as that of dance criticism's Angel of Mercy, Deborah Jowitt). But I'm not sure I'd want everyone to write like Jowitt.

I think as a general principle it's all right for a critic to say that Dancer X is not for him a true ballerina, although I agree with your questioning of the way Macaulay did it here. It seemed to me the article, while a good one, lost its way a bit. Major themes were raised - the eclipse of the ballerina by the male dancer in contemporary ballet, for example - without much in the way follow-through while Macaulay took a few of his usual hobbyhorses out for a gallop. Nice to see Zahorian and Van Patten get a shout-out.

It is undiplomatic to suggest that you’ve spent the last 25 years slaving away largely unappreciated in a cultural wasteland. I take your point, but Villella’s remarks weren’t nuanced, to put it mildly. I tend to agree with Kristen in the original post (and vrsfanatic's diplomatic comments – no, Miami isn’t one of the world’s great cities like New York, it’s possible to appreciate both, invidious cultural comparisons are a bit beside the point. Villella was able to find support enough to found a very good company there and secure many years of gainful employment for himself and the missus. No one questions Villella’s skills, hard work, and dedication, nor his accomplishment in building an organization that looks solid enough to survive the departure of its founder, but it doesn't seem to me he had such a horrible deal in Florida.

I wrote "ADs" not "Villella," and I was commenting on the quotation from Beverly Sills. I have no idea who Villella's angry at, myself, or if he's really angry at anyone, but as you noted earlier in this thread, he does sound a trifle edgy, which is understandable since all of this is quite recent history. Nobody likes to get sacked.

Yes, indeed. No surprise that Baryshnikov had his troubles with the Villella repertory.

Or as Beverly Sills liked to say, "I don't share credit. I don't share blame. I don't share desert." Hmmm. Not sure that Bubbles, who apparently never forgot a slight and harbored grudges with energy, is the ideal to follow in this context. Villella's remarks about Miami do sound a bit Sills-like. I would hope that ADs share credit and acknowledge help where credit is due and help received, while not forgetting where the buck stops.

I'll say. "It was awful having to work for two decades in the boonies with those yahoos who wouldn't give me any money and didn't appreciate how blessed they were by my presence. There wasn't even a skating rink for my wife. Praise God I'm back among the civilized. " Of course, Villella may be tooting his own horn, but certainly he has some remarkable accomplishments in Nowheresville, I mean Miami, to toot about. This was interesting: Thanks for posting, Kristen, this was fun to read.

I don't think anyone contributing here would disagree with that, pherank.

Thanks for starting the topic, fadedhour. Certainly ballet companies should be looking into different media platforms, but people looking online for content tend not to expect to pay for what they find, or pay very much. The Crystal Ballet is charging £15 for its debut ballet. Will there be paying customers, and if so, how many? It's not a huge amount of money, but will someone cough up to watch an original ballet on their phone?

Thanks, pherank. But for the record, it's perfectly okay to ask how to pronounce a dancer's name, and even make a joke or two.

Endgame in the Alagna-Gheorghiu saga. Basta, indeed.

Hello, flipsy, and thank you for starting the topic. Baumbach's work has been hit-and-miss for me since "Kicking and Screaming," but Frances Ha sounds like it might be a good one and the reviews I've seen have been very favorable.

Belated thanks for posting, ABT Fan. I didn't think much of the Stravinsky/Chanel film and I had doubts about the rightness of Mikkelsen for the role, but his charisma was certainly apparent.

Thank you for telling us about the performance, Drew. I really enjoyed reading this. I will say that your description chimes in with my impressions of the production as described in the reviews, even though as you say they were largely positive. I thought they were describing an ambitious but confusing mishmash of effects. It is nice to know that Mearns was able to come through. Thanks to you also, pherank, for starting the thread.

Thanks for posting, Pamela. Yes, it's too bad, an opportunity missed, I think. David Bailey was fun. I wonder what Vreeland thought of those awful career woman getups produced by Edith Head for Kay Thompson in "Funny Face." Natalia, did you ever see it?

I saw this recently. Thank you for the recommendation, sandik. Not the liveliest example of costume drama I’ve ever encountered but a respectable – perhaps a trifle too respectable -- rendering of a fascinating historical anecdote. Mads Mikkelsen’s unconventional appeal holds limited appeal for this viewer, which didn’t help, probably. Alicia Vikander is good as Caroline Mathilde, if a bit on the bland side, and believable as a teenaged queen (sad to think Caroline never made it past her early twenties). Vikander and Mikkelsen do not make the sparkiest of couples. There’s no suggestion that Struensee’s romantic interest in the queen might also contain an element of self-interest, which might have added some complexity to the story. The peacock part belongs to Mikkel Følsgaard as the is-he-crazy-or-isn’t-he Christian VII (“I want a fun queen!”) and he’s a lot of fun to watch, with a fabulous giggle. I had a vague recollection of the story before from a fictionalized version read when I was in my teens (I’m reasonably sure it was Norah Lofts’ The Lost Queen). I think there's a ballet in the Royal Danish Ballet's repertory as well.

Thank you for reporting back, Stage Right (and you, too, vagansmom). I never got to "A Candle for St. Jude" but "Pippa Passes" definitely wasn't for kids.

Ashley writes of her struggles with this number in "Dancing for Balanchine." She did change steps in the variation, but not before manfully, or womanfully, trying to meet its challenges. (She couldn't do repeated double fouettes.) Watts, well......

Yes indeed. I can never understand those who dismiss the work of this beautiful dancer as facile. I saw -- and and actually remember -- Diana Adams in the part, dancing with Arthur Mitchell. Bussell had much the same look, I think. And a similar body type. Would love to have seen her in Diamonds. I was also impressed by Bussell's Agon pas on the tape. I haven't seen it in a long time but I thought it was missing a crucial factor - in Mitchell's words, quoted from memory, "It's not the difficulty of the steps or how flexible you are, it's the precariousness." Bussell didn't have that tension. Seconded about "Diamonds," definitely.....