dirac

I would pay double for live music, but no one has solicited my opinion, for some reason. The company will perform in the Bay Area next month, although it's going to be a Tchaikovsky mixed bill -- Meditation, Waltz of the Flowers, Swan Lake pas, and Serenade. I'm sorry to miss the Apollo program.

I'll be there Wednesday and Saturday p.m. Gergiev is going to conduct tonight, with Agrest taking the other performances. I don't mind missing Gergiev but I'll be sorry not to see Vishneva's Firebird....

I can remember a couple of reviewers saying something to the effect of "it doesn't sound like her." Not in relation to her dancing – just that the tone was off, somehow. And it is true that, even with ghostwritten or assisted autobiographies, the "voice" of the person can come through. I'm not sure it did with Farrell's book. As carbro says, that doesn't make it less valuable or not worth reading.

A piece by Kate Mattingly in the Village Voice on Baryshnikov's recent injury to his left knee, causing postponement of some upcoming tour dates. Dr. William Hamilton is quoted: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0340/mattingly.php

I understood that things weren't all roses with her peers when she returned, although the situation never reverted to the 1960s crisis level. The New Yorker article Jack refers to is, I think, David Daniel's "In Balanchine's Footsteps," in which Farrell went public with her underemployment by the company and the complaints of others regarding the state of the Balanchine repertory were aired, including reports of Martins quarreling with Karin von Aroldingen.

I don't think he was overlooked in relation to Kelly and Astaire – O'Connor wasn't leading-man material, his looks and manner clearly indicated "Hero's Sidekick," and his dance style was comic and eccentric, a little like Bolger's. He just wasn't a star. Nothing wrong with that, and fortunately he worked in an era where musicals could incorporate the unusual without violating the artistic unity or whatnot. I also find myself watching O'Connor instead of Kelly (same thing happened to me when he danced with the Nicholas Brothers in "The Pirate" but then any dancer who appeared next to Harold and Fayard at their peak did so at his peril.....).

I always liked Keillor's piece, "Shy Rights: Why Not Pretty Soon?"

The Kerrigan/Harding analogy is an interesting one, Susanne, but in America the story played out a little differently. It actually did get non-skating fans to start watching. Men – not generally part of the figure skating constituency -- followed that story, too, and caught a little more skating action than they would have otherwise. The high profile given the sport by Tonya-and-Nancy coincided with a boom in skating coverage that lasted several years. It's quite true, as you say, that the coverage of skating has dropped considerably in recent years, but there's no question that in the U.S. at least, T&N were good for the sport (in one sense), a genuine example of bad publicity being good publicity. Perhaps the Kirov will hire goons to take out one of Volochkova's knees, and then we'll really have something. Our present drama isn't really about weight, true, but one reason it's captured so much media attention is because the story in outline conforms to preconceptions about women and ballet, and so those aspects are emphasized because they're in line with what viewers expect….it's kind of a vicious circle.

gatto97, I can recall an article that appeared at the time of the original PBS broadcast, saying that about fifteen minutes had been cut, with the explanation from the PBS honchos that (I quote from memory, but this was hard to forget) "People aren't that interested." And welcome to the board!

What Arak said, although I'd add that stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason. This is not something ballet needs, and I wish the powers that be who wanted to take the lady down a peg had considered such issues before throwing their punches. (I don't think they'd call a man fat. Out of condition, temperamental, yes, but not fat.) Most people won't be that interested in the fine print. They'll see the headline or hear a little on television, and that will be that. Also: no fair voting and not posting. Come on, people.....

Socalgal, it may be me. I must confess that even as a preteen/teen I was unimpressed with Baryshnikov, lookswise. I mean, he was cute enough in a blond fresh-faced way in The Turning Point, but even as my sister was raving about him I was thinking he couldn't compare to Rudi. Nureyev was for women of the world, which I liked to pretend I was. :rolleyes: Baryshnikov was Tiger Beat. (I hadn't seen either man live, of course, I was just going by pictures.) glebb, you're more charitable than I. I thought it was product placement.

There was an article on Katherine Dunham today, on the bottom half of the fold of the Arts & Leisure section of my national edition. It was a review of the tribute that took place last weekend.

I'd recommend that one, too, although I have to say the dancers could have been photographed more flatteringly -- Nichols and Kistler in particular were not well served, IMO. I put in my vote for "Nutcracker: the Motion Picture" from 1986, directed by Carroll Ballard with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and decor and costumes by Maurice Sendak.

He debuted on the show last night, and it's a new major role, not just a cameo. My hunch is they're setting up a situation where Carrie decides between Petrovsky and Big for the finale in January. I missed chunks of dialogue owing to chronic Comcast transmission difficulties – may you rot in Hell, Brian Roberts, and your daddy along with you – but my impression was that he did okay. He's no more an actor for the camera than he ever was, but he wasn't bad and the writers carefully avoided giving him anything to do that might require actual comic timing. He definitely looks his age, which is fine but a tad depressing for this viewer. Not much chemistry between him and SJP, so far. His character hasn't changed much, in a sense – he's still playing the exotic Russki womanizer familiar from his flicks (we're told Petrovsky used to hang out at Studio 54 with lots of supermodels – what a deep guy). No references to dance of any kind (again, I did not catch all the words, so there may have been something I didn't get), and it occurred to me while watching that many younger viewers of the show may have no clear idea of who he is. There is one big acrobatic leap to retrieve Carrie's purse. Anyway, while he will not distract me from ogling Blair Underwood, it was very nice to see him.

Not to change the subject, but does anyone know which ballets (if any) are excerpted in the film?

Shock as an artistic tactic has been around since at least Caravaggio's time, but it does appear to be reaching a decadent stage.....

The note has been sounding for 2.5 billion years, the article says. Almost unimaginable, isn't it? Nothing like a billion years of drone to make you put on those boogie shoes, I guess.

Mark Morris is scheduled to talk at the Commonwealth Club offices in San Francisco this evening (reception 5:30; program 6:30). Link to Club website below: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/

Yes, it's Columbia (the Nell Campbell role). You might also be thinking of Magenta, which would have been perfect for the young Heather Watts.

It will be interesting to see how Campbell looks next to all the actual dancers. I suspect she'll still stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, but one wishes her the best, of course.

That must be it. (I'm glad they didn't do the scene in the series.) I thought Glenda was okay in both movie and series, but my favorite screen Elizabeth remains Bette Davis, who played her twice. (Cate Blanchett was good, too, of course.) Okay! Now back to the topic! I mean it, this time! (And if I violate the rule again, I'll banish myself from the board, like Ed Norton slapping himself around the office in Fight Club.)

Sometimes it is deliberate, though -- an attempt to enhance a dancer's speed or virtuosity with a little extra assistance, shall we say. I think it was Leigh who pointed out on another thread the interesting way Herbert Ross had of cutting away from Leslie Browne after every fourth fouette......

Just noting for the record that a thread on "The Company" with information, articles, and discussion can be found in the Other Arts forum (link below): http://balletalert.ipbhost.com/index.php?s...showtopic=11245

perky, the original Matrix is already a ballet. I like kfw's idea, but it lacks the necessary backbiting and scheming -- a (not the) Richard Hatch in a leotard, for example -- that makes the voting idea work. What we need is backstage action -- dropping ground glass into toe shoes, ruthless upstaging, maybe have the ballet master macking on a contestant or two, I'm sure everyone can come up with something, and we'll have "Survivor: the Ballet."

Sounds doable to me.