bart

Estelle, thanks for the incredible reviews -- a great tribute to the dancers, company, and choice of choreographers. I was interested by Jenny Gilbert's statement that the SFB is America's "most stylish" ballet company.

Just thought of another. The audience anticipates the Spectre de la Rose's leap out the window, and the applause can start even before he disappears. (The musical build-up to the leap is unsubtle.) This leaves the poor girl (and orchestra) to fiddle through her awakening and picking up of the rose. I always think that whatever she feels about her dream must be overwhelmed by her shock at finding several thousand noisy people in her room.

When Jerome Robbins was choreographing "Dances at a Gathering" to Chopin piano music, he wrote that choreographers -- and, by extension, dancers -- have to "make every chord, every rest, each bar, phrase, confluence of sounds, your skin, your hair, your finger, your sweat, your [edited, but refers to sexual organ], your toes -- the soles of your feet." All dancers move TO music. But which dancers, in your opinion, have that quality of expressing music deeply, from within, and uniting with it so personally? And what do they actually DO? I have a few ideas based on names that have come up on recent threads -- Allegra Kent (I'm currently remembering her unique symbiosis with Tchaikosky's music in Balanchine's Act II, Swan Lake long ago) and Suzanne Farrell on her best days. But I'm not too knowledgeable in this area and really look forward to learning from your responses.

Green Table was revived by Joffrey during the Vietnam/Cold War era -- and it was the BIG hit of their New York season at the time -- I mean, intense, passionate standing ovations for the ballet as well as for the performances and production. Much of the appeal was precisely because of the pompous old-fashioned and gestures look of the diplomats and their nasty games, but especially for the powerful, truly awesome, terrible figure of Death. I hope it still resonates with audiences today. Most of the issues that motivated Joos post World War One are certainly still with us. Mel (and others who've seen this), who would be your casting choice for Death?

Kent was a lovely, lovely dancer. As a youngster, I appreciated the stronger more dramatic qualities of Hayden and the precision and ranginess of Adams, referred to often in the film. It took time and some growing up on my part, but Kent taught me the attractions of a gentler, more ethereal kind of dancing and stage presence -- as though wrapped in that gauze that richard53dog mentions. She first made an impression on me in Balanchine's Seven Deadly Sins. Kent danced the role of young Anna, sharing the stage with a much older version of herself who sang the role. The older Anna was the singer-actress Lotte Lenya. The vulnerability, fragility, lightness and innocence of the young character were embodied in Kent the dancer -- the self-sufficiency, toughness, bitter cynicism were expressed by Lenya the survivor. The unforgettable moment for me is when Lenya, who made some kind of pronouncement, turns to Kent (the young Anna) and asks her: "Right, Anna?" Kent starts to open her mouth to respond, perhaps to disagree. Lenya puts her hand over Kent's mouth to keep her silent and answers her own question: "RIGHT, Anna." Although it's been a long time, I can still see both performers positioned next to one another, Lenya to the left, facing the wings, Kent slightly behind her facing the audience, hair down -- hear the raspy intonation of Lenya's voice -- and remember how powerful it was when it seemed that this gentle dancer, to whom so many dreadful things had happened during the ballet, actually might speak her feelings out loud on stage. This is probably my single favorite memory of any stage performance. (Great Kurt Weill score, too.)

I just clicked the link and said to myself: hey, this looks familiar. Then I clicked to Insight Photography's Home Page and found ... our new member amitava. Small world. (And great pictures, too.)

You would think that all parties, especially orchestra and dancers' unions, would see the marketing advantages of distribution of performance dvds. The Royal Danish Ballet is a potential world brand that is being de-valued by this outdated and narrow-minded approach. The same appears to be true about NYCB (and the Balanchine monopoly in general), and other major companies that tour infrequently. "We're so special, you have to come and find us." Just how DO they imagine they will be able to develop the audiences of the future, especially now that touring for many large companies (in high-cost, non-subsidized economies)is in decline.

Thanks, Jllaney, for the comparisons of the live peformance with the tv presentation, especially for the effect of lighting differences. I wish I had been able to see the opening and conclusion as you describe them on stage.

Martins' version does not seem to be doing well. I'm out of the loop recently as regards the NYCB. Just what has been the recent performance history of this production at the State Theater? And what do the NYCB fans think of it?

You're right, dirac. Sorry. I tend to get carried away on the issue of the decline of government respect and support for the classical arts. Actually, if we're just talking about looks, of all the world leaders, I think Jacques Chirac would look most wonderful. The flag would have to change, though. But the French do love their red white and blue.

It's always revelatory to get the dancer's point of view. Great postings on the BT for Dancers thread. Thanks, Hans. I appreciate your point, in defense of ballet's ability to encompass and express feeling -- and that individual ballet teachers who emphasize only the externals (line, position, etc.) are leaving out a great deal.

Strange, but I was just about to add that video of The Four Temperaments to this list. Though I would have added Sanguinic with Merrill Ashley and Daniel Duell. That's probably because I re-visited the DVD only a few days ago. (My "favorite excerpts" tend to be selected from my "most recent" excerpts.) One stunning set of images from The Elusive Muse: a very young Suzanne Farrell doing barre at SAB, and later in the video, Farrell in her 50's doing just two tendus on the porch of her cabin in the Adirondecks. The intense focus on the movement. As though the familiarity of it -- and the perfection of execution -- were a comfort, almost a spiritual experience. All the fouettes in the world don't equal that, IMO. Also -- comparing other parts of those two videos -- Suzanne Farrell performing Tzigane in the 1970s -- then Farrell teaching Tzigane to dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet in the 1980s. And one more: the old film of Farrell dancing Dulcinea's third-act (I think) solo in the 1965 Don Quixote. For the first time I really understood how great and unique a performer she is. S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G.

I'm not a scientist either, but Dirac is, I think, absolutely correct. Duesberg's controversial hypothesis -- of which the Nureyev story appears to be just a small facet -- was pushed relentlessly in the pages of the New York Native, almost to the point of monomania. This has to be read in the context of the passionate controversy over AZT. The denial of an HIV-AIDS causality seems to have faded since then; at the same time, other factors cited by Duesberg have been recognized to play a role. One casualty was The Native itself, which did not survive its fixation on this line of argument.

Re: the Fairy of Mid-Performance Program Perusal. I confess to the urge to be transformed into one of those occasionally. Why can't management raise the lights on programs of several short dances (with no interval), so you can see what's coming up next? If they don't, some of us risk being turned into the terrible Fairy of the Pen-sized Flashlight.

The Cellophane Fairy (sister of the Cell Phone Fairy), who brings her own sound effects to enhance the Tchaikovsky score. And their wintertime cousin, the Fairy of the Loud A-choo.

Perhaps I should redefine my request to "potential" master choreographers. Is there no one who leads you to think that there's a long-term future for the the creation of new ballet masterpieces? Or is ballet doomed to become a museum for revivals, floating on a river of transitory, forgettable, disposable ... minorpieces?

I go with the Mukhamedov Spartacus, not only for the dancing but also for the very clean production values and non-distracting camera work. Delighted it will be available on DVD soon.

Balanchine, in Robert Gottlieb's opinion, is a "supreme master," comparable in creativity to Shakespeare. Petita lives on stages all over the world in full-length classics. Fokine and others get revived, praised, forgotten, then revived again. The list of choreographers whose works have "legs" and who are considered central to the art of ballet is not long, considering all those who've created dances over the years. Here's a few questions I have NO idea how to answer on my own, without imput from other posters: Who among contemporary choreographers in ballet, "contemporary ballet," fusion, or whatever, are most likely to survive in a league with the masters? Which works? And -- most important -- WHY, in your opinion? (If you don't think there are any -- why not?) Edited to add last sentence.

I was not a fan of Don Q in 1965 and admit to skepticism about the Farrell revival before reading all the posts on this thread. Gottlieb's review is so rich in thought and description that it got me to reconsider and hope very much to see this ballet after 40 plus years. I found his placement of Balanchine's work in the history of our culture especially important: QUOTE: "The lesson we learned in Washington is that although we didn't know we've been missing it since it vanished almost 30 years ago, Don Quixote does still matter, both for its own sake and because of its unique place in the Balanchine canon. WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH A SUPREME MASTER -- A SHAKESPEARE, A MOZART -- YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO REVISIT HIS ENTIRE CORPUS OF WORK. You need King Lear all the time, but every decade or so you also need Timon of Athens. Otherwise your understanding of a genius like Shakespeare --or Balanchine -- is diminshed, and so are you." Way to go!

To be fair to the current occupant of the White House (and because this is a message board dedicated to the arts) it would be interesting to ... list all the cultural initiatives, examples of patronage, and public encouragement that Mr. Bush and/or the First Lady have personally undertaken in support of ballet or any of the higher arts during the 5-plus years of this administration. My example. . . . . . . Wait! I'm thinking ...

All those responses to the Dancer-Salary topic made me think: what about choreographers? Some are obviously on company payroll. But what about the freelancers? Jerome Robbins got just $10 a performance for his first ballet, the huge hit "Fance Free." I assume the going rate is higher now. But how is it arranged: royalty by performance? licensing to a company? what? And how lucrative is choreography if a ballet hits it big?

There's an interesting Link today to Muriel Maffre's report about the SFB's first encounter in rainy weather with the courtyard stage at the Hotel de Rohan-Soubise.

Didn't someone (Balanchine?) say something to the effect that the art of ballet is what happens between the obvious steps? Paul, your analysis of the fouette situation is wonderful.

Gillian Murphy in Pointe Magazine (June-July 2005) re her teacher Hayden -- QUOTE: ___________________ "'If she told you to do something, you could do it,' Murphy says. 'I don't think I heard her say, 'This is a difficult step but give it a shot.' Instead it was, "You're doing to do this. No excuses.'" "'She can be pretty hardcore. You know, there are a lot of horror stories out there about her, but for some reason the two of us connected. We got past the teacher-student thing. From the start, she's been very generous.'" _____________________ Of course, teacher's can't be evaluated only by the way they relate to brilliant students. That part must be easy.

Anyone want to share their response to Lambarena -- either in San Francisco or with other companies? Ballet Florida did it this spring. (They previously worked with Caniparoli in of the original two productions of Lady of the Camelias, so they have a relationship with him.) Costumes were Sandra Woodall's and "African Dance Consultants" were listed as Naomi Gedo, Johnson Washington and Zakariya Sao Dioul. I was amazed at how this work seemed to stimulate more energetic, joyful, risk-taking, and generally "better" dancing from the company than the more traditional choreography on the program. There's lots of solo work for both men and women, and Caniparoli seems to be in total command of the stage space as dancers sweep in and out. Tina Martin, Maria-Angeles Llamas and Christina Hampton were standouts. It's one of those works which seems to spark dancer enthusiasm and remind them of the joy of motion that made them want to be dancers in the first place.