dirac

I saw the movie and was mostly disappointed. There is a trend lately for family members to make documentaries about famous family members and the results tend to be mixed. This one was made by Vreeland's granddaughter-in-law, Lisa Immordino Vreeland. This works for the movie in that she probably had easier access to the boldface names and other family members, but the view taken of Vreeland is largely uncritical, with few dissenters heard from on her tenure at the Costume Institute, for example. The director also permits herself the indulgence of a shot of her little daughter reading from one of Vreeland's old columns. Cute kid, but best to have left it for home movies. Questionable anecdotes from Vreeland go largely unquestioned. Delicate topics like family life are elided or skipped over. Vreeland's sons do suggest that she wasn't Mother of the Year, but it would be hard to guess that Reed Vreeland was very important in his wife's life and her taking up of a career from this picture. We don't even learn as much about Vreeland's professional life as we might have done. Not really a big deal, given the subject, but I'd hoped for more. There is some footage at the beginning of the movie that looks like Barzel's. Anyone else see it?

It was posted in the LInks on Wednesday, along with a number of obits and appreciations. Another nice trove of pictures of Wall can be found in the Keith Money book "The Royal Ballet Today." The main company was away so Money focused more than usual on the farm team, particularly on Wall, often seen with his regular partner Doreen Wells. I think he's on the cover, too. There's also a striking sketch by Money of Wall in "The Two Pigeons."

I don't think Kourlas' interviewing style is particularly aggressive. Even if it were, however, it isn't the reporter's job to not ask questions that might be revealing, certainly not when dealing with consenting adults.

Tracy Letts doesn't look like my idea of George but I understand he was excellent. Interesting that in recent revivals the Georges seeom to be monopolizing the notices and the prizes. I also understand that Hanks was/is actually pretty good and he seems to have been a good Broadway soldier this season. I wouldn't have cried if he'd won, although it was a nice moment for Letts, who looked gobsmacked when they announced his name. It was nice to see Durang win, too. Overall a pretty good show, I thought, an improvement from last year.

Well, at least I don't have to feel bad about not subscribing to the monster-sized cable package in order to get Ovation -- I just couldn't afford it... In fairness I should add that Ovation is currently showing A Chance to Dance with Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, a fun series that reminded me why the channel is still worth having, other things being equal.

This is dreadful news. I never saw Wall dance live but I always liked him in clips and he was a great interview. He was part of a great age for British ballet. What a loss, and untimely too. RIP. Thank you for posting, Alymer.

An obituary for David Blackburn, who has died at age 76.

Dancers are constantly praised for their beauty because, well, they're beautiful people. It’s true that how you look onstage matters, and performers have to deal with poor reviews as well as good ones. There is no way to avoid such discussion – we are after all talking about dancers, and the look and shape of bodies is important. It’s more a matter of what’s within bounds to say and how to say it. Comments about a dancer’s beauty aren’t equivalent because paying a compliment about looks is different territory. A critic can remark that Maria Kowroski is beautiful but he or she is not going to say that Dancer X is plain, certainly not in so many words, and for good reason. Nor is it true that constant and sometimes unseemly harping on a dancer’s beauty is necessarily flattering or complimentary, given that women tend to be assessed disproportionately on the basis of appearance (although the same can apply to very handsome men). Of course, there are worse problems to have.......

If Gottlieb thinks Mearns isn't at her best for this particular reason I don't see why it's out of bounds for him to say so. Athletes, whose performance can also be affected by weight gain (and loss), receive this kind of comment all the time, and much more harshly - the fluctuating weight of Pablo Sandoval of the SF Giants and any relation it has to his current foot injury is a topic of daily discussion, and it's not always very kind. That said, cultural considerations do matter. Baseball, unlike ballet (or gymnastics and figure skating) doesn't come with a lot of historic baggage about ballplayers with eating disorders, and such disorders and other considerations related to weight do affect women disproportionately in our society and the ballet world in particular. It is no bad thing if critics keep such things in mind when writing about dancers and weight. (I remember Dick Button commencing an interview with Elaine Zayak, whose battles with weight were well known, with "Elaine, you look so thin and pretty!" Urrgggghhhh.......)

Going by what he actually wrote, he did not say that Mearns was too heavy in general. He said she was too heavy right now to be at her best. Not having seen the lady live it's not for me to judge his accuracy, but it seems fair comment enough. There are figures where extra weight tends to show up more prominently than on other shapes. Perhaps that's the issue here, or maybe Gottlieb needs a new prescription from the eye doctor. Her photos do not put me in mind of Tallchief, but certainly she doesn't confirm to the stereotype of the "Balanchine look." No problems with that. There are right ways and wrong ways to discuss a dancer's weight, but I do not think the topic should be ruled out of discussion; performers present themselves to be looked at and weight can matter. It's a difficult question, especially in a culture where women are expected to be slender and physical fitness, otherwise a Good Thing, has become something of a cultural fetish for both sexes.

Good point about the tall drinks of water, volcanohunter. And of course Williams married one of them, the late Fernando Lamas. Charisse was so young in "FIesta" it took a couple of minutes for me to register that it was she.... I see what you mean, Barbara, but I think Williams wrote about the cross-dressing because Chandler was no longer around to be embarrassed by the revelation. She doesn't seem like the sort that would deliberately falsify the record to make someone look bad, and she writes about it rather amusingly.

You have a lot of stamina, Natalia. I would be so overwhelmed by the onslaught of low camp that hospitalization would probably be required.

Never said she did. (Nor did I say the career decisions would necessarily have negative results.)

A reader of the board wrote in with the sad news that Esther Williams has died at age 91. "Wet she's a star, dry she ain't" had some truth to it, but she was a very likable presence who provided some spectacular highlights for the "That's Entertainment!" series of feature films. She had a good head on her shoulders, too, and wrote an enjoyable autobiography. As sidwich observed on the Gene Kelly thread, definitely a star to have over for dinner. I get a kick out of "Jupiter's Daughter." RIP.

A couple of the articles I linked to hinted as much, noting that the Royal has a plethora of choreographers and stagers right now and they didn't really need Kobborg in that capacity. There's an interesting parallel between Cojocaru-Kobborg and Murphy-Stiefel - in both cases the men reached retirement or semi-retirement age significantly earlier than their ladies, creating potential career issues for the ballerinas.

I enjoyed "In This House of Brede" although for no particular reason I didn't get around to her other books for adults. Which ones do you recommend, vagansmom?

Powell's a nice hearty girl. She seems most comfortable when she's outfitted in tails or cadet gear. It's hard for women to tap and retain a feminine style (Ginger Rogers was no virtuoso but she could do it). She was likable but not overly appealing as a star personality. She could tap dance and she was fortunate to come along when, at least for a time, that was enough, and she was a star, not just a leading lady. Her solos can be dazzling - the drum number in Rosalie is worth the price of admission. And of course, there's the low camp factor, some of it in dubious taste, like production numbers involving tanks. I wonder if some of those people on the lot were turning out in order to roll their eyes..... As for dinner and drinks, it would have to be Garland on a good night, not that I would bar the door to Esther or Ellie. A very clever woman, a fine wit, and one of the century's extraordinary talents. Thanks for reviving this thread, pherank.

Garland and Kelly are the great musical team that never quite happened. Kelly tended to overpower his leading ladies, but he often defers to Garland (because she was the bigger star and out of respect for her great gifts) in a way that makes him especially appealing - he performs with her. (The exception is "The Pirate" where Garland was in poor health and and Kelly's performance is Gene Unchained.) Kelly did break an ankle at home, thus losing the role and bringing Astaire out of retirement, which can't have made Kelly happy in any respect. As noted earlier, Kelly often played roles with an element of "heel" in them - he wasn't Pal Joey for nothing. Also true in his straight roles ("Christmas Holiday," etc.) I agree, sidwich, that it's nice to see Astaire and Garland together. I have every respect for Charles Walters but I don't think much of "Easter Parade," though. Fortunately when it comes on I know how to time it so I can tune in for "A Couple of Swells."

I like "Cover Girl," too. Hayworth looks luscious even by Hayworth standards and the Kern/I. Gershwin score is lovely. It was Kelly's real breakout picture, and not even at his home studio....

Other ducks get into the act:

I saw "An American in Paris" again recently. I was too hard on it, I think. It's lovely to look at and has a lot of charm, and the dream ballet holds up well by dream ballet standards.

The quote is attributed to Hepburn, emilienne, although the wording varies. One of the more famous remarks in Hollywood history. I haven't read Croce's original article, although I assume a lot of it made it into "The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book," a useful little volume. Thank you for pulling up this thread, pherank.

Thanks, yiannisfrance. I hope we hear from someone who sees the performance.

I think the Balanchine diaspora would have occurred regardless of Martins' management style -- too many disciples, too little room, too many cooks in the kitchen, etc. And Farrell's path to successful teaching and coaching was not an entirely smooth one. I can't see the company actually dissolving, but it is certainly easy to imagine much more trouble and turnover than we've seen under Martins' regime.

Stage Right, they're available at Amazon's UK site. Virago seems to have picked up other Godden titles as well (but not Pippa Passes). You're very welcome, angelica. I hope your granddaughter enjoys them!