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Celia Fushille will step down from the artistic directorship of Smuin Ballet, to be succeeded by Amy Seiwert.

Reviews of "Carlos at 50." Bachtrack The Financial Times The Guardian

Makhar Vaziev says the Bolshoi Ballet will eventually return to the West.

A preview of American Ballet Theatre's fall season.

A report from the first Hungarian Ballet Grand Prix by Maggie Foyer for Bachtrack.

An appraisal of American Ballet Theatre's summer season by Gia Kourlas in the "Critic's Notebook" of The New York Times.

What a disaster, on so many levels. The Odessa Steps sequence from "The Battleship Potemkin."

We have a thread devoted to "Dancing Past the LIght" here (not much to it, feel free to post your thoughts if you read it). It's a good book.

I just bought "Cassandra at the Wedding." Interesting that Tatlock's sexuality was ambiguous. Something of the sort might have been said about Oppenheimer. He and Linus Pauling were briefly great friends, until Oppenheimer made Pauling uneasy with gifts of florid poetry and not one but two rings, very odd presents from one man to another in that context. Eventually JRO propositioned Pauling's wife Ava Helen, who promptly reported it to Linus, ending the two men's planned collaboration on chemical bonding and the friendship. Ava Helen later said she thought she was just a surrogate for Linus. Ava Helen was herself very politically active in leftist/liberal causes. I saw a bootleg of the Haynes movie, "Superstar," on YouTube a long time ago. Really original work. Don't know if it 's still available there.

Sorry, Quiggin, I missed this when I last posted. I had actually never heard of Dorothy Baker or "Trio." I will have to read it. Tatlock sounds like a most interesting woman. She was portrayed by the late Natasha Richardson in "Fat Man and Little Boy," but apart from a scene exhorting her lover to hold onto his ideals, she didn't have much to play, although she looked lovely. It will be interesting to see if they do better by Florence Pugh.

I can't get unduly excited about Barbie, which sight unseen strikes me as an exercise in trying to have it both ways (shameless marketing gimmickry designed to sell movie tickets and dolls combined with self-conscious feminist we're-onto-ourselves irony so Greta Gerwig can cash in and feel okay about it). That said, I'd rather have Gerwig behind the camera than in front of it and this kind of success for female filmmakers is a Good Thing overall. I welcome different views and look forward to your take, On Pointe, and those of others who go to see it. I'm more enthusiastic about the success of Oppenheimer because it looks to be a big hit not built around comic books or children's toys, and I have a existing interest in the subject. Some good actors have played Oppenheimer, I think my favorite being David Strathairn in the television movie Day One.

Thanks for posting, vipa. I have heard mostly good things about both movies, although like you I have no plans to see Barbie anytime soon, no judgment on anyone who's rushing to the theater for it. Murphy is too short for Oppenheimer (sorry, it's important) but otherwise I would think him well cast. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for the heads-up, Dale. "Far From Denmark" is really good, even if one doubts that Henning Kronstam taught him "Apollo" all wrong. One of my favorite ballet books, written with Robert Cornfield. Looking forward to this.

Not always. When Merrill Ashley was having trouble with the repeated double fouettes in the turning variation in “Who Cares?” originally danced by Marnee Morris, she asked him if singles would do if she did them with special speed and brio and he said, “No, dear, doubles.” She said that if a dancer made a genuine effort at a difficult step and still couldn’t do it, he would make a change, but not before the dancer had really tried. It is true on other occasions that he would just change the step. Of course, those were his own ballets. Certainly changes and adjustments happen over time, but it seems to me that steps that have become closely associated with a ballet or a role should be made with caution. I am not crazy about hops on pointe, but I would miss Giselle’s (and Ashley’s in Ballo della Regina).

"The Turning Point" is now available for streaming from Max, the cable network formerly known as HBO, and it's free to Comcast subscribers through Sunday.

Chambersburg Ballet appoints a new artistic director.

New York City Ballet dancers talk about dancing and relaxing in Saratoga.

A look back at Zoe Saldana's first big role as part of the young cast of Center Stage.

An obituary for Robin Anderson, the longtime administrator of Scottish Ballet.

Q&A with Harrison Ball.

The post-retirement plans of Sarah Lapointe, just retired from Charlotte Ballet.

Sarasota Ballet announces its 2023-2024 season.

A review of American Ballet Theatre in "Giselle" by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc.

A preview of Queensland's Ballet International Gala IV.

A review of Hamburg Ballett John Neumeier by Maggie Foyer for Bachtrack.