BalletNut

Many of these ballerinas are in the Ballerina Gallery, http://www.ballerinagallery.com.

Forgive my ignorance, but what are the Elgin Marbles?

In no particular order:

Julie Diana

Sabina Allemann

Julie Kent

Susan Jaffe

Jenifer Ringer

Carla Korbes

Pascale van Kipnis

Rachel Rutherford

Sofiane Sylve

Alina Cojocaru

Margot Fonteyn

Zhanna Ayupova

Altynai Asylmuratova

Maria Alexandrova

Anastasia Yatzenko

Isabelle Guerin

Deanna Seay

I think that's all.

Interestingly enough, I happened to get sidetracked and wound up on the website of the AFL-CIO, and clicked the AGMA link on the list of affiliated unions, where I just so happened to find pdf files of these contracts. NYCB's contract actually lists some roles which are considered "extraordinary risk," such as Apollo's mother, who has to sit on top of that staircase-thingy (but I thought NYCB got rid of that? ), Puck, The Unanswered Question, Swan Lake "Vision," (the illusion of Odette during the Black Swan pdd, right?), and some others. They make special note of roles involving "weapons," which I suppose includes sword fights and the like, but how many ballets in NYCB rep actually have sword fights? Besides Nutcracker, anyway?

On a side note, the NYCB contract also stipulates that dancers who sing are to be paid extra. The contract specifically mentions West Side Story, but I wonder: would this apply to the end of Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, where the dancers start singing "la la la la la la la" as they exit? I know it's not in NYCB rep, but inquiring minds want to know...

Also of interest, from ABT's contract:

"Employer agrees that the same costume will not be worn twice in the same day by different dancers."

Well, I hope they don't exploit the potential loophole by holding the used costume unwashed for another dancer to wear the NEXT day. And I also hope I haven't given anyone any ideas.

I have a couple of questions about the Diana & Actaeon pdd (hope I spelled it right) which seems to be a staple of ballet competitions and gala performances. When was it first performed, and who danced it? Is it just a "party piece" or is it an excerpt from a longer ballet? If it is an excerpt, what is the context of it, i.e. what's the plot of the ballet and what do these two characters have to do with anything?

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity.

Agreed, Ed.  This is one of those books that you can't tell the author what to do with, because she'd probably like it, and consider it a compliment.

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Bravo! That's classic. Can I quote you on that?

Obliging a critic to give only good reviews to the local ballet company can't be good in the long run, either for the dance company, the audience, or the critic's credibility. If readers find that Reviewer X keeps praising Pretentious Crap to high heaven, they simply won't trust his/her reviews anymore, and will come to see them as just a shill for the local dance company, and furthermore, will no longer be motivated to go to the ballet at all; after all, if that Pretentious Crap is "a brilliant work of art in the glorious tradition of George Balanchine," what does the TRULY bad stuff look like? Not that Milwaukee Ballet or the ballets mentioned in the article actually fit this description, it's just a general observation.

What do people think critics are for? Well, that depends what people you ask. As someone who would spend money on tickets, I would like them to critique performances--worth seeing or not?-- and give background on the history and context of those performances. Someone who MAKES money off of ticket sales, OTOH, might want a critic to provide a "review" that could serve, more or less, as a source from which to derive copy for later advertisements. ("Brilliant! A world-class company on the cutting edge of ballet!") And a "bad" review would have the exact opposite of the desired effect for that purpose. :rolleyes: Yes, I know that is cynical and simplistic, but again, I am not picking on Milwaukee Ballet; the same goes for all dance companies, and books and movies in general.

I just find it disturbing that dance critics might be required to produce good reviews out of obligation to the well-being of the local dance scene, and that a bad review shows a lack of loyalty to the company, choreographer, and dancers being discussed. Can you imagine if a political correspondent were to be considered unpatriotic for implying that the government's actions were less than intelligent? Well, actually...oh yeah, not supposed to talk about politics. Sorry. :shhh:

A story ballet is, simply put, a ballet that tells a story. An example of a story ballet is Giselle, or Swan Lake, or Nutcracker, etc. As opposed to "abstract" ballets, or plotless ballets, which have no story but sometimes can convey a general idea or mood. Most but not all of George Balanchine's ballets are plotless ballets.

Yes, there is, I believe it is on the Royal Orchestra Covent Garden recording, conducted by Richard Bonynge. Forgot what label it is, don't know if it is still in print, but it comes on 2 CDs. Hope that helps.

Come to think of it, probably the biggest snobbery one runs into in ballet circles concerns the general superiority of the past to the present. 

People who pull this stuff make me want to blurt out, "Well, excuse me for being born too late!" I mean, I wish I could have seen Fonteyn, I really do. And NYCB when Balanchine was alive. Heck, I wish I could have seen the Ballets Russes, and Marie Taglioni for that matter! :rolleyes: But I was cursed with the misfortune of having been born in 1982, so I don't have that frame of reference. Does this mean that loving something I see today makes me less "cultured" because I don't have the authority to say, "Fonteyn was better"? This rant, by the way, is NOT directed at anyone on this board.

I think this whole discussion could be thought of as a variation on the dichotomy between high art and low art, whatever that means. Adherents to either camp have a tendency to fling barbs at one another. For example, one side will decry stuff like Liebeslieder Walzer as Esoteric Snobbery, and the Esoteric Snobs [sorry :shhh: ] will write off some of the more accessible stuff as beneath consideration. Of course, these are stereotypes; I know that, as a ballet lover, I get put in both camps depending on who I'm talking to. People whose idea of culture is American Idol will consider me an Esoteric Snob for liking ballet, and people who are diehard fans of opera and/or modern dance will think I am unsophisticated and simplistic. You just can't win...

I thought it would be interesting to hear what people's favorite costume and scenic designs are. Mine, in no particular order, are:

1. All 3 parts of Jewels, by Karinska [not sure about the sets, though]

2. The old Royal Ballet designs for Swan Lake, by Leslie Hurry

3. Macmillan's Romeo & Juliet, by Nicholas Georgiadis

4. Western Symphony

5. The Prodigal Son

6. Liebeslieder Walzer

7. Vienna Waltzes

8. Kirov Symphony in C

9. Lilac Garden

Dansuer85, I haven't seen Alonso dance, but I heard a joke that went something like this: Two Egyptian mummies awoke from thousands of years of slumber, and the first mummy asked the second, "So, is Alicia Alonso still dancing?" For what it's worth, a Dance Magazine from the mid-nineties has a (favorable) review of her dancing in Giselle, at around 75 or so...

Evelyn Cisneros of SFB retired in the best way possible, IMO. During her last year she danced one or two more Swan Lakes as well as a special farewell gala to celebrate her retirement and her career. Confidencias, Rubies, Sleeping Beauty Act 3, so she got to bow out in a gorgeous tutu. She was 40, and had always said she would retire at this age. Reminds me of the quote, "I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one."

Legs: Yulia Makhalina, Maria Kowroski, Sylvie Guillem

Arms: Natalia Makarova, Darci Kistler, Gillian Murphy

Face: Julie Kent, Altynai Asylmuratova, Antoinette Sibley, Jenifer Ringer, Alina Cojocaru

Feet: Paloma Herrera, Patricia Barker, Isabel Guerin, Alexandra Ansanelli, Darcey Bussell

Hands: Zhanna Ayupova, Martine van Hamel, Miranda Weese

Hair: Carla Korbes, Janie Taylor, Julie Diana

Eyes: Viviana Durante, Ludmila Semenyaka, Nina Ananiashvili, Maria Alexandrova

Smile: Kristin Long, Tina LeBlanc, Altynai Asylmuratova, Lorena Feijoo

I think that about covers it!

In the case of NYCB, this is a difficult and key question to ask. At one time, I  might have said "Barocco," "Serenade," "Apollo," or -- fill in the blank with your own favorite Balanchine ballet. But Balanchine ballets are in the repertories of ballet companies all over the world now, and performances by those companies are frequently on a par or superior to those at NYCB. Same with the Robbins rep. Christopher Wheeldon is in demand here and abroad. The conclusion is inescapable. The specialty of the house at NYCB are the ballets of Peter Martins.

Ugh, how depressing. But true. Which makes it even more depressing... :mondieu:

As far as Bay Area companies are concerned, Oakland Ballet at one time had a specialty of rare Americana and Diaghilev ballets--I remember one particular program of Le Traine Bleu (Nijinska), Jardin Aux Lilas (Tudor), and Bolero (Nijinska again.) Those were the days...

No, Vinogradov is not the AD of the Kirov/Mariinsky anymore, the director is now Makharbek Vaziev.

I just find it a bit odd for such a large, reknowned company (or for Helgi Tomasson) to just hire a student into a soloist position. I am sure there were some angry company members that are waiting their turn to be promoted.

Well, I can't speak for all of the dancers, so I'm not about to say with any certainty that nobody is angry about not getting promoted, but it isn't like Tomasson hired Pipithsuksunt INSTEAD of promoting dancers; in addition to hiring her directly out of school, he also promoted Rachel Viselli and Elizabeth Miner to soloist, and Lord knows that with 3 female soloists--S. LeBlanc, Young, Winfield-- retiring or otherwise leaving the company, there were plenty of open slots to be filled.

It is true, though, that there haven't been many soloists or principals hired directly out of school. However, if I remember correctly, I think Yuan Yuan Tan might have been, since her bio doesn't list her as having danced previously with any other companies before joining SFB as a soloist.

In any case, I do look forward to seeing Nutnaree Pipithsuksunt this season.

If you go to the “Dancers” section of the Dutch National Ballet site, http://www.het-nationale-ballet.nl/index.php?sm=hnb_dancers, all of the principals and soloists have video links in their bios.

FYI: The "TBA" ballet on Program 6 is Symphonic Variations, according to the updated website.

According to that link, Collier retired in 1995, and I may have read somewhere that she danced Giselle for her final performance.

I believe Chelsea Clinton was or is a ballet dancer, or at least studied the art form.

Overall, I liked the broadcast very much and enjoyed seeing NYCB dance these Balanchine ballets. My favorite was Liebeslieder Walzer, and I enjoyed the other excerpts as well, with the exception of The Man I love. When the camera was on Ansanelli and Martins, they were very good, but I must agree about Marsalis, not only didn't I like the camera focusing on him and not the dancers, but his playing jazz-style with a classical orchestra was jarring. The Vienna Waltzes piece was good, but since it had already been filmed, it would have been better, in my opinion, if they did a different large-ensemble ballet. Perhaps Symphony In C? Just a suggestion. I also would have liked it more if they had done away with most of the video clips of Balanchine, those having appeared in previous documentaries, and done more ballets or more complete versions of the ballets they did do. Still, it's nice to get some quality ballet on TV for a change.

Oh, rats! Julie Diana was starting to grow on me! :rolleyes:

Well, best of luck to her, and Hench too. I wonder who they'll promote or hire to replace them...

SFB has announced their next season: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...DDG8767ITP1.DTL (Sorry, but I don't know how to do that neat little quoting thing that there is in the Links forum.)

I have say I'm disappointed; the season is quite heavy on Tomasson and I'm not a huge fan of his ballets. I also would have liked to see at least one of the Ashton ballets from this season repeated next year as I unfortunately missed Program 7. I also have doubts about the new Nutcracker from what I've read in the article; I don't like people making modernized psycho-dramas out of the classics, or moving classical ballets into contemporary time periods. But that's just my opinion...

This is a day late, but I thought I'd comment a little on program 6, an all-Balanchine triple bill featuring Square Dance, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Who Cares.

I absolutely loved Square Dance. Tina LeBlanc breezed through the intricate footwork like she could do it in her sleep--well, she probably could . Joan Boada was also impressive, and the corps was as together and energetic as I've ever seen them, such that I couldn't even single out specific corps dancers as having danced particularly well. One small caveat was that the program notes said that there would be a caller and there wasn't, but so what? It worked just fine, and the "square dance" influence was still evident in the energy and interactions of the dancers. Andrew Mogrelia conducted very well.

I wish I could say I fell in love with Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and perhaps someday I will, but right now I feel that this ballet, masterpiece that it is, is an acquired taste, like pate or blue cheese. I couldn't have asked for better dancers, though. Muriel Maffre and Yuan Yuan Tan are perfectly suited to their roles, Aria I and Aria II, respectively, and their partners, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba and Damian Smith, were pretty good too. Once again, the orchestra seemed to play well, although listening to this Stravinsky piece for the first time it was hard to tell.

Who Cares was also quite good; although the pink, teal and lime costumes seemed jarring at first, they grew on me. Lorena Feijoo was smoulderingly sexy in The Man I Love and sparkly in Fascinatin' Rhythm. Vanessa Zahorian was adorable in Embraceable You and did some impressive turns in My One And Only. Katita Waldo in the third role was slightly less impressive, and I think she's too thin, by the way. Stephen Legate partnered all three ably and was nothing to sneeze at in Liza. As I said before, the colors of the costumes worked well together and made for a colorful finale. The drawback here was the orchestra, and since Mogrelia did such a good job on the other two ballets, I don't think it was his fault. My hypothesis is that either the pianist was having an off night, the orchestra isn't used to playing jazz, or both.

Overall, a very enjoyable evening, topped off with a delicious piece of cake, courtesy of SFB, for all the members of the audience, in honor of Mr. B.

I don't like dancers who pose for the snapshot, exaggerate extreme positions, and milk applause.

Amen, amen, amen!

I won't name names :shhh: , but there was a certain SF Ballet principal, now departed, thank God, who did all three with regularity, and annoyed the heck out of me because of it.

In general, I'm not fond of ballerinas who are thin to the point of looking weak, like the aforementioned example. Also out are dancers, male or female, who feel the need to balance longer or turn more times than the music permits.