dirac

I’m with Helene. Witless and stupid. Korb wants to toss Whelan a Ritz Bits? Somebody should toss him a brain. Farrell Fan is right in that it does seem rather odd to raise the subject of departure after such a struggle, but on the other hand why shouldn't the company look around for something different and possibly better? We on the West Coast would welcome a more frequent look at NYCB, hint, hint.....

It often takes some time and education for casual balletgoers -- even subscribers -- to understand the value and pleasure of seeing the same ballet more than once, or once every few years, and to see it with different casts. Many people I speak to think that way -- okay, they saw Romeo and Juliet once, no need to check it out the next couple of seasons or with new leads. It's not that they're necessarily insensitive or lacking in perception -- they just don't quite get it yet.

Thank you for chiming in, TutuMaker. I haven't read it myself, as I've become deeply suspicious of the sequels, prequels, and the Jane Austen Multimedia Industry that seems to have sprung up (yet another version of Pride and Prejudice on the way, starring Keira Knightley of the terrifying choppers). But I may check it out after all just to see for myself!

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. Ullmann came out of retirement to do it. Bergman’s been working in the theatre and television, but he’s just not busy enough, I guess. A nice review from David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0708/p15s01-almo.html

Yup, and with a photo, too!

Good point, GWTW. I’d also credit Adam’s score. Swan Lake, for example, has a number of passages where it’s not entirely clear what’s going on (Tchaikovsky corrected this in later scores) but Adam doesn’t really leave you too much wiggle room.

All too vividly. I imagine that was one bit of product placement Marlboro didn’t pony up for.

Not to pile on MinkusPugni (and thanks for starting the topic and expressing yourself freely), but I agree with bart -- "mesmerizing" is exactly the word. It could go one twice as long as I'd be perfectly happy. I first saw it as a kid going to see "The Turning Point" -- it's a great start to the movie, as each girl steps in to the camera frame, and then you see them all in full stage view. I thought it was beautiful. I saw it live later with San Francisco Ballet, and it was even more impressive -- moved almost to tears.

I was being facetious, cargill -- didn't use "whiny" with any serious implications. I'm rather sorry it was the "Swan Lake" televised, and not this production.

John Rockwell reviewed ABT in "Giselle" today, and I noted the following remarks. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/arts/dan...html?oref=login and Great news, if true, but not having seen this production, I cannot judge either way. As we have a lot of whiny types who post here, I thought I would solicit comments, pro and con.

Ingmar Bergman has returned to filmmaking, at 85, with “Saraband.” Andrew Sarris reviews it in the New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/culture_sarrismovies.asp

Suzanne Farrell had no technical knowledge of music, so I don't think that requirement is absolute, but it can only help -- especially, I would think, for those whose innate musical sense is not that strong, but could be developed. I admired Joanna Berman, late of the San Francisco Ballet, for this quality. Elizabeth Miner of SFB has it, too, I think. Outside of ballet, it's an obvious choice, but watching Fred Astaire is the best introduction to musicality in dancing you could have. Thank you for starting the topic, bart!

They need to bring in a few burly bar bouncers.

An interesting piece by Tony Green in Slate regarding the term “classically trained" -- in music, that is-- and how to evaluate such claims. It seems to me that much of what he says could also apply to such standbys as “has trained in ballet” “has ballet training,” etc. http://slate.msn.com/id/2122512/

Thanks, bart. I haven’t read this book, but I did read Horowitz’s Understanding Toscanini, and came away with the feeling that although Horowitz is prone to hyperbole and ignoring evidence that doesn’t jibe with the thesis he’s pushing, he is also thought provoking and can draw your attention to neglected issues and data.

I think the Adam score is a fine one for dancing and well made as a ballet, but I must cast my vote with those who find it difficult listening at home. The melodies that sound so poignant accompanied by dancing sound whiny and whimpering without it, etc. Certain ballet scores resemble movie music – they sound wonderful performing their intended function as support for something else, but less so when they have to stand on their own.

Bart also noted this article and began another thread on Choreographers, but to avoid competing threads I'm closing that one and copying bart's comments and choice quotes here: bart wrote:

Peter Conrad talks to the inexhaustible Placido Domingo, for the Observer. He was never my favorite tenor back when, but you gotta admire the guy. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/stor...1524880,00.html

I saw “Dead Again” on DVD over the weekend. As it rarely shows up on cable or television replays, I thought I’d give it a plug. Although I saw it during its first run years ago, I’d forgotten how entertaining it was. "Dead Again" was made in 1991, in the wake of Kenneth Branagh's huge success with "Henry V" and it's his most successful non-Shakespeare film. The plot, which centers on a murder mystery, reincarnation, and assorted improbabilities, is preposterous, but enjoyably so. Branagh’s direction owes a lot to Hitchcock but it’s really homage, as opposed to barefaced thievery, and well done -- especially for a director relatively new to the form. Derek Jacobi has a nice supporting role as an antique dealer/hypnotist, and Robin Williams pops up as a defrocked psychiatrist who consults from a grocery freezer. Scott Frank's screenplay is stronger on dialogue than plot points, but it is very good fun. Although Branagh and Emma Thompson are both technically fine in dual roles (a little struggle with accents), it does become clear why neither one became a conventional star or Larry-and-Viv redux. Branagh doesn’t have the looks, charm, or strength of a romantic lead (this is especially apparent when he’s playing the Teutonic conductor). I love Thompson and her timing is flawless as usual, but Grace Kelly, she’s not. Check it out, I don’t think you’ll be sorry........

Many thanks to whoever exhumed this thread -- very interesting to see this again. Hans, any particular reason?

Now, now. :blush: I really don't think this picture is political -- it would be just as cute with the previous occupant of the White House. And John Kerry would have been a hoot. Very funny, Leigh, thank you........

Apollinaire Scherr reviews at some length the Merce Cunningham company in “Ocean” at the Lincoln Center Festival.

I seem to recall from the Otis Stuart book that Nureyev did have that concern, and he wasn’t the only one – anyone whose work involved international travel had that worry. Again, my information may be incomplete, but beginning circa 1987 the US, along with other countries, banned any non-citizen with AIDs from entering the country. Many countries have since lifted the ban, although I don’t think the US is one of them.

Peter Duesberg, quoted in this article, is a retrovirologist who has claimed that HIV does not cause AIDs and has different causes depending upon which set of victims one looks at, and that safe sex campaigns and clean needle programs are in essence a waste of time. (I am simplifying brutally, but life is short.) He inspired a sharp controversy among scientists, some of which was related to political concerns and the reluctance to rethink matters. No question that many of the side effects of AIDS treatment are dreadful. There are many difficult issues surrounding the causes of AIDS, and anyone has the right to raise questions -- but. Thabo Mbeki, the otherwise highly intelligent and intellectual president of South Africa, used Duesberg’s notions as a justification for refusing to give AZT to pregnant women. (AZT can reduce the risk of transmission from mother to child, depending on variables such as viral load, by two-thirds.) That said, not being a scientist, I can't comment on the accuracy of this particular article. This is what I know offhand, and it may not be current or entirely accurate – anyone else?

Alexandra, thank you for retrieving Amitava’s very interesting post. It’s a complicated issue. “Original intent” is a useful goalpost, but well meaning people can disagree on what was intended when, and on what was appropriate Then but less suitable Now.