bart

sandik, I agree.Nowadays (I'm thinking about the commercial triumph of the Alexander McQueen show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), the luxury fashion world does seem to be calling the tune when it comes to the higher arts.

Do I detect a hint of the Phantom of the Opera in Igor's appearance?

In fairness to Capezio, this was a U.S. company, trading almost exclusively in the U.S., at a time when there was very little exposure in this country to international ballet companies Theare were no dvds, no films, only the tentative beginnings of visits to by American cities by the largest international companies. Soviet artists rarely travelled to the West on their own. Didn't the first Bolshoi tour to the U.S. take place in the mid-50s? On the other hand, the biggest stars of London, Paris, Copenhagen, and (yes) the Soviet Union were known to ballet people through specialty ballet magazines. I can imagine that a "Famous Dancers of International Ballet" would have had an American audience, though not as much we in the 21st century might think.

All New York City Ballet. Did they have other series, with dancers from other companies? P.S. Google just answered my question. Here's a pdf file of a program from the Montreal Theater Ballet (1956) with an ad for the complete list of Capezio cards. It appears that Ballet Theater and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo were also well-represented. http://esbq.asp.visa...&File=Programme Scroll down to page 2.

Fokine's choreography experienced a revival, I think, in New York City during the 70s. I remember a Carnaval performed by Elliot Feld's company, the only time I've seen this work. I also saw what I imagine to have been a sort of Fokine mini-season at American Ballet Theater. ABT did Syphides, Firebird (Gregory) and Petrushka (Baryshnikov) on a single evening at the Met. On other nights, Barykshnikov danced Spectre -- and Makarova, Firebird The Joffrey's production of Petrushka -- with Gary Chryst -- was the one that thrilled me the most. And then, of course, there were plenty of Sylphides and Dying Swans from the Trocks later on.

From the Deseret News (Salt Lake City paper): There's not much new about the idea that ballet is athletic, highly competitive, and saturated with perfectionism. However, the material described in the second paragraph, above, deals with usually private matters like contract renewals, promotions, and letting dancers go. I wonder how they will handle that? http://www.deseretne...-on-the-CW.html

Marvelous, marvelous links, George. Thank you very much. The Baryshnikov sequence reminds me of the work of Edward Muybridge, which revolutionized the way people "saw" movement. . A great point. Despite a lack of ballet training or exposure to it, I loved, intuitively, the first classical choreography I saw (Swan Lake) and, later on, my first experiences with neo-classicism (Balanchine). Concepts like "line" can be taught in class. But perhaps it works better if they are "felt." My own experience with beginners ballet -- after almost a lifetime of passively watching from the audience or the sidelines -- was a revelation in that regard. In relation to the Somova photos and videos linked and discussed above, perhaps there are people who actually can "feel" when something is wrong, even without knowledge of ballet technique. If experiencing something as "right" produces pleasure, I can understand how and why many of us become discomforted -- or even upset -- when we watch a dancer or company performing classical works in ways that seem to violate that rightness.

Economists have another term for "kickstart" -- "stimulus package." But who in Spain nowadays has the cash (or the confidence) to fund classical ballet? The Spanish economy remains in deep recession; the banks -- often a reliable source of "private" funding in Europe -- are begging for money from a central government which has none to give. The regional governments have even less. It's sad that Spain at this time does not have the financial resources, let alone the will, to support one of its greatest performing artists. I assume that many of Spain's classically trained dancers are in a similar boat. I was thinking, when I read CarolinaM's initial post, about Garcia Lorca's La Barraca, the small, brilliant touring theater company of the 1930s, which brought classical drama, imaginatively and inexpensively reconceived, to so many small towns and cities. Lorca, like Corella, was an artist with a national reputation and a strong sense of mission. He had the advantage, of course, even in the dark days of the Great Depression, of a central government willing to fund his experiment. Corella is not so fortunate. But there might be altruistic individuals and philantropic groups in Spain or the larger EU willing to support a scaled down classical company that reaches out to areas not served by the Teatro Real, the Liceu, and similar venues. Another possible model is the the Ballets Russes, especially during its exile from Europe during World War Two, which kept performing on a shoe-string, somehow finding the money -- from ticket sales, individual patrons, and a variety of other sources -- to keep the show on the road. They kept moving and they kept the art alive. Maybe their history might give Corella and his more commited dancers a few ideas, while we all wait for the economy to improve.

A surprise worth waiting for. I've always loved the pas de chat.

Alastair Macaulay's comparison of three Giselles danced last week by American Ballet Theater (Vishneva/Gomes; Osipova/Hallberg; Cojocaru/Corella), says the following. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/arts/dance/osipova-vishneva-and-cojocaru-3-giselles-at-ballet-theater.html?_r=1&ref=dance

I was not familiar with the term "Dance United," so checked the link in Helene's post. I gather this is kind of a summer festival with a number of visiting artists performing. Among the the gujests this year: Jeanette Delgado and Renato Penteado of Miami City Ballet. https://www.facebook...&type=1

I rather like "measured and careful" when it is also, as with Mr. Stewart, thoughtful, balanced, and clear about the option the speaker favors. Given the circumstances, these dancers are an impressive group. I'd love to be able to hear more from each of them.

Corps member Sean Stewart, one of a group of corps and soloists interviewed by Gia Kourlas in the Sunday NY Times, makes a comment that fits this thread perfectly. http://www.nytimes.c....html?ref=dance

Joan Accocella has a short review in the May 14 New Yorker (Talk of the Town section). the piece includes a short but quite insightful bit of biography. Don't know whether this is available online to non-subscribers, but my two favorite bits are: And: Another review, from the New York Times, is linked by dirac, here. It includes six of the color illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully. Thanks, dirac. http://balletalert.i...__fromsearch__1

A couple of thoughts about The Machine. One of the NY Times reviewers recently, in an overview of the four productions, has pointed out that the director uses it differently in the last two operas in the cycle (those premiered this season) than for the first two. In Siegfried and Gotterdammerung it is used less as a moving platform on which singers move and sing, and more as a moving screen for colorful video projections. I guess the director has learned and adapted. I realize that The Machine relies upon sophisticated computer programing. But it also has the look and feel of distinctly old-fashioned technology. I was surprised to see how much it depends on things like as ... MEN PULLING ROPES. The documentary shows stagehands pulling, pushing, cranking, sweating, worrying, holding their breath, just as in the 19th century.. The documentary mentions that the Met had to rebuild the the stage floor to allow for the enormously heavy equipment to be moved on and off stage between productions. There is no mention, however, of how much this cost -- something in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. The documentary is honest enough to show us some of the performance problems, since as the failure of the bridge at the end of Rheingold to move at all. Each problem is depicted as being resolved. The documentary does not, however, deal with (or allow us to experience) the creaking, cranking, bumping, banging into position which have been reported by reviewers watching from within the Met auditorium itself.. The filmed performances most of us see are subjected to sophisticated sound-engineering. This cuts out The Machine's noisiness, just as it evens out the volume level of all the singers, allowing us to hear singers that are minimally audible in live performance in a hall as big as the Met.

There are a number of references to Hightower in Edwin Denby's Looking at the Dance, a compendium of reviews and essays from the 1940s. These essays can also bae found in his Dance Writings.. A quick check of the index shows brief references may give you a sense of her qualities and her rep with Ballet Theater. Hightower was in her early twenties at the time of these performances. Other young ballerinas at Ballet Theater during the war years included Alicia Alonso, Ruthanna Boris, Nora Kaye, May Ellen Moylan and Maria Tallchief, all praised by Denby. Markova ("the queen ballerina") and Toumanova (possibly her "successor") were Ballet Theater's biggest female stars.. In 1943 Hightower danced in Antony Tudor's Dim Luster (Ballet Theater, Met Opera House), with Tudor, Kaye, and Hugh Laing. Nov. 1943: Danced in the Nutcracker Pas de Deux (Ballet Theater) with Andrew Eglevsky, a performance of "exceptional brilliance and classic finish." The Hightower/Eglevsky Nutcracker was their signature pdd at this time. To give you an idea of BT's repertoire at that time, Jerome Robbins danced the role of Petrouchka that same evening.1944: Danced the role of Papillon in Fokine's Carnaval (Ballet Theater). Denby descrdibed her as "impetuous." May 1944: The "white" acts of Swan Lake. Other roles: -- one of the trio of bathers in Massine's Aleko; -- "a very funny hoyden" in Lichine's Graduation Ball; -- the Lucille Grahn role in Pas de Quatre (with Alonso as Grisi, Janet Reed as Cerrito, and Markova as Taglioni.) -- "Miss Hightower impersonates a majestic Grahn"; -- The Street Dancer (Nijinska's role) in Petrouchka -- Les Sylphides: "Miss Hightower ... excelled in Sylphides, particularly in the two ensemble numbers. While Miss Alonso keeps the gestures of her limbs academically depending on the torso, Miss Hightower has a fine flinging abandon; it is difficult for her to phrase so much energy with delicacy, but one loves the spontaneous warmth of it." (Given Denby's description of Hightower's performance, I was amused to see that Fancy Free was also on that bill, October 10, 1944).

Love the name "Dancism," suggesting among other things a philosophy, a way of life, ... and possibly an addiction ? I suspect that many of us are proud exponents, or happy victims, of dancism. Welcome, Dancism, to the ongoing conversation.

Pamela and Marga: I am impressed. And intrigued. I have a number of shelves of ballet and other dance books, but use them mostly to enrich my personal interests and to help me to keep up with the knowledgeable people on Ballet Alert. I know a few people who seriously collect ballet cds and/or dvds. Now you are making me wonder about how many people devote serious time and interest in collecting and ballet books? What got you all started? How do you "use" their books? What do you feel about living with them on a daily basis? How do you feel when you have to let one go? It would be wonderful to hear more from both of you, and from others on this Board. (And I do suspect that there are more than a few "others" in this category. }

Wonderful glimpse of Farrell. Thanks, kfw, for tracking this down. Has Farrell EVER been as beautifully, lovingly filmed as in this brief number?

GNicholls, I would also like to know the answer to this. I really like the Forsythe, which has been performed by many companies. It is real ballet, consciously placed within the classical ballet tradition.. On the other hand, choreography that usesthe only an allegro vivace finale is bound to come across as more limited than something that has to deal with a four-movement syimphony. (So much speed; so much energy; so much invention and wit; but not much contrast.) Balanchine revisited Schubert's "The Wanderer" several times, but does not seem to have been attracted to his symphonies. I wonder why. He certainly must have known Schubert's work, and he was willing from time to time to choreograph to complete symphonies by other composers. With apologies to Wagner, I can't imagine what Massine's choreography to the complete Beethoven 7th might have looked like. Is there such a thing that music that is TOO danceable, in too many ways? Can music actually be too rich for choreography? That might be one reason that great choreographers, like Balanchine, tend to to avoid such pieces.

Classical ballet is particularly subject to this sort of problem, since most of its classics were created in the distant past. "Other times, other manners."Another disadvantage is that classical ballet's conventions are, built into the choreography . Classical theater has greater freedom in how it presents (or alters) its stereotypes, visually at least. This is possibly because texts can be cut, or given a different emotional significance. (For example, using irony to present text and situations which earlier audiences may have taken literally.) (On the other hand, a subscriber to our best local theater company protested vociferously at the inclusion of Athol Fugard's Master Harold ... and the Boys in the subscription series, on the grounds that we are now a multi-racial society so there is no need to revisit plays about racism. ) Maybe it boils down to one's personal response to each individual work. The Stravinsky music sucks you in, as does the vividness and stylistic power of productions like the Joffrey reconstruction. The pathos of the characters and their situation somehow make everything seem somehow "right," even if I don't like all the assumptions behind it. The pace actually gives us (or me, anyway) precious little time to think and analyze. I'd love to see an updating, conceived as imaginatively as the Donald Byrd version described by sandik, but with the original Fokine choreography. On the other hand, isolated bits of ethnic stereotyping -- like the dreadful (to me) Chinese variation in Nutcracker -- are almost impossible for me to watch, both as stereotyping and as choreographical cliche..

Sandik, I like your use of movement across big empty spaces. Much better for a ballet audience than my own static vision. Are we talking marching bands here? Possibly with diagonals, criss-crossing, and moving wheels (a la Balanchine) to reflect the complex rhythms and inevitable dissonances? Still ... It WOULD be nice to have Apollo win in the end. Such gorgeous music.

Sounds like a fascinating combination, sandik. I am imagining two orchestras on opposite sides of the stage. The Apollo orchestra is in tails; the Carmina Burana orchestra looks like it just got home from an all-night party. They duel. The Apollo orchestra seems about to be overwhelmed, but is victorious in the end, when the Carmina Burana orchestra stops playing and just listens all the way through the apotheosis music.Agree with Makarova Fan as to the Adagio from Spartacus; it's very hard to keep from humming along with that. Also want to add the Hungarian variation (with the balalaika) from Raymonda.

Maybe someone could kindly change the title of the thread to "haunting" which is what I assume it should be? Done! Thanks Kerry and Aurora for pointing out the typo. In the meantime, it's a good topic, and one that gives us the chance to think about melodies that stick in the mind. In my case, most of these tend to be slow rather than fast. For example: -- the adagio from the Second Movement of Bizet's Symphony in C. -- the berceuse (supplication dance) from Stravinsky's Firebird. I associate both with the Balanchine choreography. Am I right in thinking that "haunting" melodies can include those that drive us mad, taking over the auditory memory and pushing out almost everything else?. If so, I would have to include a bouncy 3/4 passage early in Act I of Giselle. It accompanies Giselle as she skips around the stage. When THAT little passage enters my brain, it's almost impossible to retrieve the rest of the Adam score, including the initiation scene which Cristian has put on his own list. It goes: DUM di DUM di DUM di DUM ... di dah dah dah d-a-a-h ... di DUM --- followed by a series of fast little dahs. After a weekend of Giselles recently, it was with me almost continuously for nearly a week.

It's probably off-topic to say this, but I regret very much Clark Tippet's death at such a young age. I've only seen a couple of his ballets, but -- watcing the video of the Bruch, a work I've only seen once -- makes me think: This is someone who could have made a big difference to the future of classical ballet. The Bruch Concerto should be revived more often, and for the same reason that Corella chose it for his redesigned, renamed company's NYC debut. Also, the technical demands for four couples and a corps seem within the realm of possibility for a number of regional companies. Perhaps the Ballet Barcelona performances at City Center will give others the idea of presenting this ballet.