Memo

Found this article thought it was an interesting change

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-21/entertainment/ct-live-0722-joffrey-shrew-postponed-20100721_1_merry-widow-joffrey-ballet-british-choreographer-ronald-hynd

Yumelia Garcia also danced Cinderella in one of the performances I saw. It was a lovely production and played to full houses in Los Angeles. I would say it was a huge success.

I thought it was choreographically thin, except for Vestris (which was a custom piece by Jakobson for the very young Baryshnikov -- don't know that anyone else has danced it til now) and Ashton's Dance of the Blessed Spirits to Gluck's music, which shows that was made on Dowell, since it needs a man with gorgeous line.

The second act, which was the solos and the duet from Petit's Proust ballet, showed most of the men shirtless, supporting the observation that there is usually a direct relation between the skimpiness of costuming and the skimpiness of choreography. Only Matvienko and deLuz didn't show their naked torsos. I hope this is not read as a complaint -- such magnificent looking men!

I went in with low expectations, so I'm glad to report that I left happy.

I saw it in LA but I saw Dennis Matvieneko who I will say was not as strong as the other men. I have seen video of Vestris with Barishnikov and feel that this performance of it lacked depth. I loved the Ashton piece and think that David Halberg has an amazing line and visually is very expressive".

I loved the duet by Roland Petit. Danced by Matvienko and Halberg.

I had not planned to go and got a ticket at the last minute as well as a backstage pass.

Desmond Richardson performed in the version I saw and he is also a force to watch. Its interested that he looks 6'3" on stage and is not nearly that tall in person.

I saw it twice in Los Angeles during the run. I enjoyed it very much. I thought Victoria was really beautiful as Cinderella. I did not enjoy Yumelias as much as I found her expression a bit forced in the "tutu" scenes. Loved the sisters and found Calvin Kitten to be quite amazing. I loved the 4 princes and the fairies variations are ingenious. Choreographically I really love the material and the music. I saw 2 different Fairy Godmothers and like Valerie the best. She had the maturity and energy for the role.

awwww congratulations to them

I agree Helene I have had it forwarded to me dozens of times. I find the dancers to be talented but the venue exploitive. There is something discomforting about it.

Thanks Peggy I already looked at that. Was hoping for some updated information.

Whats happening in the fall are they going on tour and is it listed anywhere?

Shanda Sawyer choreographed the piece. It was filmed in LA. They used local dancers ballet and contemporary people. Good cast.

I have seen her several times this season and she will be missed. She is still so vibrant and strong. Amazing to watch. Its hard to believe she is 42 years old. She certainly dances like a much younger woman, its amazing. Wish I could see the program.

I will really miss seeing Tina LeBlanc, I have read that she loves to teach so hopefully she will pass on her wisdom to future generations of dancers, I just wish it did not have to end. Its coming up so quickly.

I saw Whitney Jensen perform at YAGP and she was wearing them. It made her foot look strange because the underside of the foot did not correspond with the top of the foot.

about time

My fears and predictions have just all been confirmed in reading this thread

How nice that Rory is back for Westside Story. He is such a fun and dynamic dancer. Does anyone know what he has been up to and/or where he is dancing since he left SFB? I found nothing through a Google search.

I think I saw pics of him dancing with Morphesis (Christopher Weeldons company) if anyone else has more information I would love to know.

reminiscent of Fonteyn.

Why is Vaganova always so controvertial when discussing an obviously talented dancer? I mean take all names out. Why should there be controversy over an obviously qualified system of training on obviously talented bodies?

You just did exactly what I predicted. Any criticism of the method is almost considered sacrilegeous. It is obviously qualified for talented bodies but it is not for every body and those who teach it often expect the same of every body.

I agree Hans but I think there is truth in what she says. But then all methods have their strengths and weaknesses and as a dancer matures they add more layers but if the foundation is not strong there is collapse. I think it is important for them to expand and take other input. I find her thoughts interesting though they will be controversial, and criticism of the Vaganova training always is.

Didn't Gelsey Kirkland had some sort of reconstructive surgery to enhance her arch...?

I thought I read that somewhere that there is a way to have some kind of silicone (like breast enhancements) implanted in her arches.

I think feet are the "thing" right now. I have seen beautiful dancers rejected by major programs and companies when they have everything else except huge arches. I dont think Osopova is wearing arch enhancers. I think she has elastic inserts in her shoes but I cannt see arch enhances. However onstage her feet are quite strange. I have heard that Zenada wears them. I wonder if it gives the dancer more confidence onstage.

I think they'd look terrific in pink!

I can hear the squeals of delight!

At the moment, I think WE look fine. Just afraid that the difference may be too subtle -- depending on room lighting and (for laptops) angle of the screen.

Everyone looks good in Pink

Congrats to them both. I believe they are currently apprentices.

I was trained by 3 dancers mentioned above who danced with the Royal Ballet in the "hey day" so to speak. Rowena Jackson, Philip Chatfield, Brian and Dorothea Ashbridge throughout my career as a pre professional and professional dancer. (I was also privately coached by Rowena Jackson as a small child maybe 9 or 10 and remember those sessions very clearly still today) I feel that the style was very distinct and unique. I am attracted to the style and it reminds me of my training and I really enjoy the "look" of it. However dancers schooled in the Russian tradition or Balanchine work done really well, also fascinates and intrigues me. I saw Ashley Bouder dance a few years back at a gala and found her truly thrilling to watch. As these dancers have gone out into the world however has it been watered down or mixed with other styles to meet the demands of a more athletic finish needed for todays contemporary work? Are low legs are great lines given ANY VALUE in todays ballet market as a young dancer goes out and tries to find a position?

One of the big complaints and debates today about the ballet world is that it is so steeped in tradition that it does not keep up with times.

Has the real "Royal Ballet Style" gone or is it constantly evolving?

Also are one or two dancers joining the company a year because that is what is available? Is what contracts the director is allowed to offer? They can only offer what they have. If they are satisfied with their company and do not have need to fire anyone, they can only offer spots that have been vacated. They do not have an unlimited supply of contracts to hand out they are all on strict budgets.

Why are the Prix de Lausanne kids leapfrogging ahead of their British classmates? It's not about driving the foreigners out, it's about raising the standard of the natives.

Can you give me an example of this?

SAB, which dances neoclassical ballet, has been able to take dancers at the age of 13 and older, who supplant the students in the school who started at 8, in the upper ranks. Within 2-5 years of training, there is a home-grown corps. (I'll leave it up to the people who've watched NYCB regularly over the last decade to comment on the impact to the corps.)

I would like to see the percentage of dancers who are in NYCB have been fully trained say since age 11 by SAB. SAB very rarely takes dancers into the company without them dancing in the school first but how long they dance at the school is sometimes a formality and for maybe a semester for a year. However if you refuse the schools training the chance of you auditioning for the company is slim to none.

The Royal Ballet used to, and from reading a number of essays and interviews, many of the earlier generations of dancers from Commonwealth countries who joined the Royal Ballet mentioned the RAD syllabus.

thats true and although the school trains up to Advanced 1 this is not a factor as to who they take although I do not think it ever was, it just happened that more dancers were trained that way.

If the goal is to create a corps trained in "international style", which seems to be a combination of many styles more than a defined style, then it makes sense for the Royal Ballet to take all of those Prix de Lausanne winners instead of RBS-trained British dancers, PdL winners are top dancers from a much bigger population, much larger than the population of Great Britain, just as SAB takes students from all over in its pre-professional ranks.

I do not think this is correct. I think there was something new last year where 2 dancers from the Prix de Lausanne were offered apprentice slots, one of which was taken up I believe. However the Prix de Lausanne is more focused towards giving students scholarships and many have been given by the RBS to talented students as well as the RBS having a consistently good showing of winners at the Prix of students they were currently training. I do not think you could say that the RB corps is being drawn from the Prix de Lausanne. (please someone correct me if I am wrong).

Also, does a company hire all corps members to be potential soloists, or to be career corps, with occasional solos and some growing out of the ranks? A company as large as the Mariinsky, especially with all of the touring, has enough corps members to take in bumper crops that are likely to grow through the ranks, while have a core of career corps, although from recent posts here, it sounds like they have gotten rid of many of the older corps dancers from the roster.

I think the company would keep that information to themselves. I think they hire the best dancers they can find and think some will rise through the ranks and some fit well in the corps but then only time and individual dancer can really determine what happens from there. I also think all companies are different. Some really keep the corps very busy and many get to step up into soloist roles. Especially if there is new choreography going on and the choreographers are able to choose the dancers they want. That levels the playing field and gives everyone a chance at a role which I think is very healthy and keeps dancers motivated and "on their toes so to speak". My guess is the the more traditional companies have more of the status quo and more innovative directors might be more inclined to give new dancers more chances. However I do think that a cross section of hiring does happen when a director hires what he or she thinks as a solid corps member as well as dancers who are potential soloists. However I wonder if the factor of national origin comes into affect when hiring a dancer who a director really sees as having potential and being able to handle roles in the future or if they just want to hire the best dancer for the spot! I guess if they are a native of the country its a bonus but I don't think they will pass up a dancer they really love just because they are not a local. Put yourself in the directors shoes.........they must have pressure to do this as I am sure the Royal Ballet does, as there is a lot of discussion on this subject. But ultimately the audience then wants to see the best dancers, with a unified style, and the distinct presentation of that particular company, when they pay for that pricey ticket to the ballet do they not? What's a director to do?

Also as Helene mentioned about Melissa Haydens quote, if the coaching is not strong enough at the company level, the dancer is not going to continue to grow or develop an understanding of different choreographers. As they mature their knowledge and understanding increases and the coaching must continue to be very strong as the company level and not just in school in order for the dancer to continue to grow.

My question is do you think the company should go back to that?

Should the nationality of the dancer be taken into consideration when hiring?

I found the article very interesting. I disagree that Gailene Stock has not done her job. (but I am a big fan of hers so I am definitely bias) I think that she has an uncanny eye for talent. She is not partial in anyway she calls it like she sees it and she also is a great judge of temperament as well as talent and she has an ability at the school to usher these young teenagers with discipline and compassion in the direction of their professional careers. I think having 60 teenagers from all over the world (and may I say predominantly brits) in one place keeping them in check and focused is a huge responsibility and the way they handle it with a positive teaching technique rather than compliance by humiliation is to be admired. I will say however there are two things to consider. Huge talent, I mean principal quality talent is hard to come by and very very rare and if the Royal ballet has the resources to go all over the globe to find it, or has the draw to bring that kind of talent to them then that is to their benefit. In any company they are from all over the world because that kind of dancer is hard to come by and reach that point at different times in their careers.

Also as the director of a ballet school in the US, and the child of a director of a ballet school outside of the US and having listened to Gailene Stock speak in public about this on several occaisions, societies view on the early training changes from country to country. Taking into consideration that you are starting with a young child with considerable natural talent, In an environment where the parents feel that a balanced life and maybe ballet 2 days a week you are not going to reach the destination in the same way as an environment where the child has access to ballet classes 6 days per week 3 hours a day. Training a dancer to the point where they may be ready to be accepted into a vocational school honestly takes going to the limit as far as the amount of classes and the time spent on this effort. Some people are just not willing or wanting or able to go to that extreme. And as someone who has been there as a professional dancer, a teacher and as a parent of a professional dancer it is ALL CONSUMING. Many parents begin to pull back with young talented dancers and become overwhelmed by the huge commitment that is required. From what I have heard there is just not the social support in the UK for that kind of intense commitment for children of a very young age. Where as in Russia or China parents may be more willing to put their children in a situation to be able to receive intense training without other outside interests or activities at quite young in order to improve their situation as adults. The thought process is just different.

I don't know if I am explaining this as well as I could. It is complicated. And trying to establish how and where the "talent" is coming from is really impossible to define let alone control.