dirac

You could well be right, on all points.....

Thanks for posting, Michael. My understanding is that classical period in dance is the late eighteenth century/ early nineteenth century (the Gardels, and Noverre before them), the era of the ballet d'action. And then in music you have the classical era of Mozart, ending with Beethoven, who is a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras. The terms have different historical and popular meanings, as you and others note. (I'm not sure how much genuine confusion this causes; most people who are reasonably knowledgeable about the canon of Western composers understand that Tchaikovsky isn't a classical composer in the historical sense.)

Yes. Maybe I can't see past those long Romantic tutus and those low Romantic buns, but Act II strikes my eye in a different way than a Petitpa white act does. But the Romantic ballet that feels really different to me is Bournonville's "La Sylphide." Only the Sylph and her sisters dance on pointe, and the pointe work thus has a real theatrical purpose: you know James is communing with something otherworldly for real. Flesh-and-blood Effie and her companions dance up a storm -- but in character shoes, and it matters. By the time we get to Petipa, pointe work has lost that flavor of specialness. Or perhaps its flavor of novelty and exoticism. By Petipa's time pointework is taken for granted as part of ballet vocabulary. It still has a real theatrical purpose, but of a different kind. Nice topic, bart, thanks for starting it.

Yes, thank you for reviving this thread, innopac. Arthur Mitchell has said something similar about the partnering in Agon - it works better if the woman allows herself to be manipulated, and as he also observed, today's women can have more trouble with that. Of course, the reverse can also obtain. In the memoirs of Peter Martins and Robert La Fosse, both men complain about a small ballerina who wouldn't help with lifts. It made for a nice airy effect but it was hell on a fellow's back.

Great quote from Roth. Thanks!

That's too bad, Jayne. You missed an exciting game, not to mention the postgame drama of Harbaugh Agonistes. The Niners were in it this year, of course, so there was a bit of local interest (joke). Many do know that Super Bowl Sunday is a good day to be out and about if not football-inclined or if the game turns out a turkey - heavy traffic magically vanishes, parking in busy areas much easier, etc. "The Seagull Project" sounds like a worthy production, although the very lengthy rehearsal period offers perils as well as advantages.

Thank you for that glowing report, AlbanyGirl. Sounds like wonderful listening. "Kodaly Dances" was once an NYCB ballet - John Clifford did it, I think.

Thank you for posting, Jayne. Weisz already played a variation on Anna this year in "The Deep Blue Sea." The movie and her performance were a bit disappointing for this viewer, but both are worth checking out. He wishes.

Thanks for posting. I was initially suspicious about the sound of this because the subject matter seemed like raw Oscar bait with the hook sticking out, but I understand the movie isn't really like that. Cotillard is great even in thankless roles like Dillinger's girlfriend, so I'm sure she's worth watching.

Good points, sandik.

I don't think ballet will ever return to the Sixties-Seventies boom, which was fueled as much by politics as by talent. Nureyev and Baryshnikov were sensations, but without their sensational defections it's unlikely either would have achieved quite the same level of mass public recognition. I'd suggest respectfully that Black Swan has been as much impetus as symptom. Without Natalie Portman pushing the project it probably wouldn't have been made, and its somewhat unexpected box-office success set off renewed popular interest in ballet. I'm not sure the Ballet West reality show happens without Black Swan as a popular reference point. I agree that ballet seems to be in a very good place right now.....

I don't see why Copeland agreeing to write (or "write") a couple of small-scale books is necessarily more detrimental to her career focus than flogging clothes and perfume (and Baryshnikov took breaks to make movies as well). There is special interest in Copeland's progress for obvious reasons and that's hardly her fault. That she hasn't yet been promoted to principal isn't necessarily relevant, unless the title of her memoir is "How I Made It." I do think the writing of children's books has become something of a racket, though.

I would add that Nureyev’s "pedigree," arrogance, and willingness to push his dancers might not have made a big difference without his wonderful eye for talent, which certainly contributed to his dancers’ belief. He came in, looked everyone over, saw who was good and didn’t wait to promote them.

There's the dramatic aspect of an acid attack, although I think if Filin had been murdered that would be big news as well. One senses in the coverage a certain bemusement or puzzlement that Russians take ballet this seriously, that cultural matters are such a big deal anyone would actually consider the artistic director of a ballet company as a target for violent removal and/or retribution.

If that's your idea of knavish and cruel, solo, then wait and see what happens when and if Tsiskaridze finds himself in the sights of a really sensationally-minded publication.... True, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Tsiskaridze to have taken part in this crime, given the recent history, but it also didn't make a lot of sense for him to neglect to condemn the attack in its immediate aftermath without so much as a pro-forma "Gosh, I hope he feels better" or to say the attack was probably connected to personal problems and not company politics, a strikingly contrarian stance. Perhaps he felt secure enough in his innocence to avoid any sentimental efforts at humanity or sensitivity, or maybe his boyhood ambition was to be a prime suspect. Beats me. But it doesn't look great.

You're quite welcome, Pamela. There was a good PBS special not long ago on another group of our feathered friends called "A Murder of Crows." They're called collective nouns, and Wikipedia has a list.

Some beautiful formations in the sky. I had never heard of "murmurations," before, beautiful word, too.

Hello, ballet_n00b, thanks for posting. Yes, his approach was somewhat...remote, shall we say.

You're right, lmspear, I remember d'Amboise saying something to that effect.

I saw her dance in it and to my (admittedly inexperienced) eyes it looked plenty problematic to dance in. Sure does. Whatever Balanchine's rationale, it was a boo-boo. I always thought it was a pity that Kirkland's only real experience of having Balanchine make a ballet on her turned out so poorly - perhaps if it had been a happier experience things might have worked out differently. "Ballets made for Gelsey Kirkland by Balanchine" is one of the great what-if categories of ballet.

It is certainly both, and an excellent example -- thank you so much for letting us know about this backstory. A belated thank-you, Hamorah, that was a great story, as are the other anecdotes on this thread. Surely there are a few more such tales out there?

Nowadays "are you tough enough to take it" wouldn't be an issue because it would be harder for Robbins to get away with the worst of his abuses. I tend to dislike the use of such terms as "toughing it out" in this context because it implies that dancers or other subordinates unwilling to take abuse or coming forward to complain about it are lacking in intestinal fortitude. In the PBS documentary you didn't find most of the interviewees, whether from Broadway or ballet, saying his behavior was all right or an artist's prerogative. I think the summary from many was that "he was awful but he was worth it."

Thanks for the information, all. True, Cygnet. You find a similar conundrum when it comes to many acting awards. I suppose as a practical matter you can only subdivide the prizes so much.

Thank you for posting this, Cygnet. I don't know much about these awards.

Agreed.