bart

A, but in the old days all three might have been on the Ed Sullivan Show on a single evening.

Pamela, when you report, can you please include some background on this competition, which is not one that is familiar to me and I suspect to others here in the US? was intrigued by your comparison to the eurovision song competition, which many of us now about, at least by reputation. Is the ballet comeptition organized in a similar manner? What are the criteria for selecting choreography, etc.? Thanks in advance.

True, small companies run the risk of producing something closer to Swan Puddle. A large, beautifully trained corps of swans is one of the thrills of this ballet, right up there (in my book) with the solo dancing. That's why I felt so bad about the way the director of the Great Performance/ABT version kept cutting away from the swans, rarely allowing us to see them moving en masse in the wonderful patterns of the choreography.

I saw the original Riverdance, shot in Dublin, on video. I was unfamiliar with Irish step dancing and found the performances, especially the woman, Jean Butler, strangely beautiful, with their intense concentration, powerful verticality, and strange other-worldliness. Subsequent Riverdances -- not to mention Lord of the Dance -- have moved more in the direction of nightclub dancing, Broadway, and Las Vegas, bringing in a variety of styles, all of which can be seen performed better and with more interest elsewhere. I wonder what others think of Flatley, and -- even better -- of this style of Irish dancing?

Thanks, Giannina. I raised the issue on the Manon thread because a number of other dancers had been named as "favorite Manons," but no mention of Bussell -- who, it happens, was the only Manon I'd seen (MacMillan version). I've also seen her in videos of a few set-piece pas de deux and as Gamzatti in the Royal 'bayadere with Asylmuratova and Mukhamedov. I've been impressed in all -- even in Manon, where she danced with a Hungarian partner whose name I don't recall -- by her presence, beauty of line, impeccable but also exceptionally graceful technique, and general air of pleasure in ... dancing !!. (This last is something that not all the famous ballet performers manage to convey.) I know also that she has a huge and enthusiastic fan base in a number of countries. Why is she rarely mentioned here? What do people with lots of viewing experience think?

I'm hesitant to say this, but my favorite Manon is my only Manon. Darcey Bussell. Question: why is Bussell the one name almost always left OUT of Ballet Talk posts. Is my middlebrow mentality showing? P.S.: I also liked Beverly Sills's Manon, decades ago at NYC Opera. Another big, irrepressible, and quite postitive personallity in the arts.

There are echoes of Stretton's experience at the Royal Ballet in Riccardo Muti's recent forced resignation from Teatro alla Scala. Some 700-plus employees of La Scala (talk about padded payroll in some of these state theaters !!!) voted to demand the resignation. Only 3 voted for Muti. The story's in the July, 2005, Opera News. (Sorry, I could not get a Link.)

Tess, I can see that a run-through of this thread might give an impression of negativity, and possibly even carping and elitism. But I think you have to read these statements in the context of the real enthusiasm and appreciation that virtually all posters have expressed about Dance in America, ABT, and the dancers over the years. The build-up to Swan Lake -- as to Don Q -- produced posts that were full of wonderful anticipation. Many of us feel that we have several obligations when it comes to ballet -- promotion and encouragement on one hand, and what I hope is contructive criticism on the other. I try to balance both, but tend to reserve "promotion and encouragement" for other, more generalist forums. Ballet Talk, for me, is kind of like being in a supportive but completely honest family. We praise. But we also argue (among ourselves) about areas that (in our individual opinions) need improvement. And, most important, we learn about the art. I feel that there's been plenty of all three in the postings on this thread. And, amidst all the financial, political and mega-cultural factors leading to a decline in dance on public television, I find it hard to believe that the opinions expressed on Ballet Talk have played much of a role.

I LOVE that, miliosr. I taped this on DVR and will watch it with your comments. (I don't mind knowing the results ahead of time -- indeed I rather prefer it, since you can compare your evaluations with the final results).

The Joan Lawson book is MIME, THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF EXPRESSIVE GESTURE. (Dance Horizons, 1973). It is listed on Amazon currently. While I understand the role that extensive mime used to play -- as in a balance of recitative and aria -- I confess to not wanting too much of it. I also lack the experience of truly great mime (though I loved the mime theater, based on a real place, in Enfants du Paradis) to make good evaluations of what I see today. Question: how do you draw the line between (a) enough gesture to tell the necessary story and (b) simplification to meet today's aesthetic and dramatic standards? I thought the ABT Swan Lake had sufficient mime -- well enough done -- to meet the test of both (a) and (b). Any other opinions?

Here's that LINK to John Rockwell's review, for those who haven't made it to today's Links thread. Thanks, Alexandra Mime and Acting and Lavish Sets, and a Back Story, Too?

Discount tickets at the last minute have the effect of antagonizing those who did the "right thing" and bought their tickets early, especially subscribers. I've resigned myself to this, but I know others who resent it deeply.

Skittl1321, it's great to hear that mime reallly does fulfill its function of explaining and advancing the story. I also thought the mime in the tv Swan Lake was well chosen and executed, though I'm no mime connoiseur. When Odette explains to Siegfried what happened to her and how she got in her fix, it was simple, direct, and clear. Better than a caption. I was intrigued by your point that the mime, in a certain way, made it "more real" for you. I wonder how others, more familiar with the history of mime and the way its practiced in various European traditions, felt about it????

Dale, "there it is" -- or isn't -- indeed. The word "paucity" comes to mind. What would YOU put on if you had the power/money?

Swan Lake's done. What ballet (or ballets) you would like to see next on Great Performances/Dance in America? Specifics on company, dancers, and your reasons will be welcome! I'd go for a Balanchine evening, but NOT involving Peter Martins (deadening commentary). Maybe an everning of shorter ballets, one each by San Francisco, Pacific Northwest, Miami, Farrell and other options. No reason why NYCB couldn't participate as an equal. Maybe there could be a competition among companies which dedicate real attention to the Balanchine legacy. Theme and Variations and Agon would photograph wonderfully.

To drop a leaden weight on the anticipation: what do you all think about the effect Nabakov's music is likely to have on the audience? This was, for me, the single most (and perhaps only) strong negative in Balanchine's strange and wonderful ballet. Alas, it casts its pall from beginning to end. I notice no one is mentioning it in the publicity or in Ballet Talk memories of the original production. P.S. I write this as someone who actually enjoys a great deal of later 20th-century serious music and listens to it frequently.

Thanks for the answers so far. Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner are cited as having set it for Ballet West. Those who enjoyed the ballet seem to focus on the performance of the female principal in the adagio. How much of this survival of this ballet has to do with it being a vehicle for a certain style of dancer -- and how much to the intrinsic worth of the choreography (and its relation to the music)? That's often a puzzling question in ballet.

Recently I saw a video of Altynai Asylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklensky dancing the adagio from Antony Tudor's "The Leaves are Fading." I think it was shot in London in 1992. I was enthralled by Asylmuratova -- and found myself really enjoying and admiring the dance itself, which I had never seen. Internet research -- which started with Ballet West's 2004 visit to the Edinburgh Festival -- revealed some very different opinions about this "late Tudor" ballet, from those who liked it to those who found it insipid, droopy, and "NOT up to Lilac Garden." I really liked it (and I'm not ordinarily fond of Tudor). I gather it's been danced by ABT (created in the 1970s), Kirov, POB, Tulsa, Royal and Deutsche Oper. If you've seen it or've danced in it and have feelings our thoughts --- pros and cons -- or memories of performances, I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

Thanks, Mikhail. Delighted to hear about the clacque's "fading importance." Sounds like the increasing internationalization of Russian ballet -- and an increasingly open cultural press -- is gradually breaking down the power of this dinosaur of an institution. I hope that as more and more Russian ballet people develop careers outside the country, and more westerners go there to perform at least attend performances, tolerance for organized clacquing will decline.

An appearance at the Joyce (small though it is, at least it's in Manhattan) can be parleyed into dollars and publicity back home, especially if there are reviews in the Times and (often) Newsday. Ballet Florida has gotten great mileage from their one (honorably reviewed) week a few years ago. Helene, we share the Manhattan-centered view of people who left "the City" 10 or more years ago. But isn't BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) now consisdered a major destination for both touring companies (especially European) and for dance audiences in New York as well? Pina Bausch, etc. Becca_King, subscribers here are rather like patrons in additdion to being ticket-buyers. We pay full price many months in advance of the opening of the season -- and often even before the production schedule is firm. Many of us are motivated by guilt or enthusiasm to send additional contributions. Names are printed in the programs at each level of giving. Opera companies have to do the same. Most ballet performances have (sadly) a lot of unsold tickets right up to the curtain, and some offer discounts at the last minute, for those who don't want to commit early on. This is random and inconsistent, probably put into effect when things aren't selling well. This encourages the one-time attender, but does not provide for followup and return. That's why I think that more companies would benefit from a 10-pound a seat policy (for some performances at least) or something like the Fourth Ring Society. Ballet companies tend to have "Boards" which raise the money to pay the deficits, and these organizations can be quite social -- not to mention quite Machiavellian in their in-fighting. I like the idea of smaller spin-off or study companies touring. Surely a way could be found for them to perform with taped music -- which, as Amy says, is a LOT better for those of us in the provinces than nothing at all. Peter Boal came to West Palm Beach last season, but much more common are the Philoboli, Hubbard Streets, and Momixes of the dance world, which are great, but leave potential audiences unexposed to an awful lot of wonderful work being done in ballet.

Jack, I'm posting Mark D's link to the NPR piece, for those who might have missed it in the Links thread for today.

On the contrary -- very interesting, and very welcome to Ballet Talk. As I read these posts, some of my original feelings about the production become confirmed -- or refined -- or even flip-flopped. I agree with you about the Makhallina video, though I gather that she is not too popular among people who are afficionados of Russian ballerinas. I agree that Murphy is --a t this stage of her career, at least -- a strong rather than beautiful dancer. And I suppose I would rather go with beauty and feeling -- even if there's a sacrifice of some technique -- in Swan Lake. Few posters have spent much time on Angel Corella's performance -- and much of that has expressed some discomfort with his (a) casting or (b) acting/reacting. On re-viewing the DV recording, I am increasingly impressed by the beautiful positioning of his legs and feet during his jumps. (Enhanced by white tights and shoes.) :blush: Geat elegance, and quite difference from his work as the slave in Corsaire, ABT's previous televised outing. In the air, at least, a danseur noble in the making? And his placement at landing: fantastic! There's one multiple piroutte -- watch the way his returns his feet to fourth, then slowly lowers his extended arms. Mesmerizing -- and easily lost in the fast-moviong, quick-cutting, often cluttered imagery on the tv screen.

Thanks for the eyewitness corroboration, ginny. Apparently the choreography is even more astonishing than I thought.

Just re-watched Act II, and I'm more impressed by what Murphy was trying to accomplish than I was at first viewing. There's quite a lot of excellent reaction and mime when she first meets Siegfried, and she does it clearly and elegantly. Every placement has carefully been thought out. Canbelto points out some of Murphy's limitations in adagio. I was also struck by how magnificently Murphy is bound to the earth. Even when leaping, she seems to pull the power and weight of the "terre" with her. This partly explains (for me) the lack of real emotion in the adagio pas de deux (violin solo). There are lifts that should -- for me -- express a yielding quality, something of her vulnerability and even helplessness. Murphy rises and conquers the air, but is never at home there. Her image as she thrusts upward and descends in Siegfried's hands is solid, powerful like a spacecraft. Backward bends and arms extended backward can't really disguise that. About the camera work --- In Act II, the camera allows us to see the entire corps at most 8 seconds per shot (I counted through all the corps work that precedes the little swans),before cutting to something closer up. Usually it's a max of 5 seconds. No wonder the corps, despite what appears to be excellent dancing, seems lost, absent, irrelevant, or whatever. There's no time to register the patterns and the symmetry. The little swans, on the contrary, are allowed to dance without any cuts at all -- they fill the wide screen and there's plenty of time to watch their synchronization and the movement of feet, legs, and heads. So they make a huge impression.

I also watched recently the Kirov Swan Lake with Makhalina an Zelinsky. It's realy quite beautiful. Just re-viewed last night's Act I Pas de Trois on our DVR. The credits list Erica Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes as Herman Cornejo's two partners. Question: which woman dances the first solo variation (the presto, done mostly on pointe, with high entrechats)? She's incredible. All three, in fact, are incredible and delightful. Robert Greskovic has described this section as a "little ballet within our ballet". In retrospect, it was the dancing highlight (for me) of the evening. When I've seen it before it made nothing like the impression it did last night.