tortis

Peter Martins had all of the dancers before his eyes when he made the casting decision for Square Dance. Have faith! He's a very serious man I believe in the choices he makes as much as I do Borree. She may have a fair performance now and then but she's a virtuouso, a very great artist with enormous talent and long experience. The only thing you can say about her is that she's little but her body is very unusual and beautiful, with a long torso yet much better proportioned than Kay Mazzo was. In Rudolf Bing's book '5000 Nights at the Opera,' he had this to say about critics: (This is the Gottlieb-Greskovic-Acocella troika...) "Psychologically, the position of the critic is very difficult. He cannot exist until somebody does something, which is an unhappy, frustrating set of circumstances. Only rarely does anyone set out to be a critic as he might set out to be a painter or a composer. In nine out of ten cases, becoming a critic is the result of frustration, a failure to make a career as a violinist or a pianist or a composer. Human nature being as beastly as it is, a critic makes a name for himself with bad reviews-to make a name with good reviews a critic has to be a giant with great enthusiasm and sense of mission, and there are always very few giants." Peter Martins is a giant and he does have a mission.

The most beautiful is Suzanne Farrell.

Tell us some names that have been dropped?

It is clear that Martins is more interested in preserving himself than the Balanchine Legacy. But nothing can be done about it. 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Joan Acocella wrote another excellent column in the New Yorker about Suzanne Farrell, which appeared in the 6 January 2003 edition. In it, Farrell describes her relationship with Martins, "...what happened is, he did offer me little things. He asked me to teach company class during 'Nutcracker,' when no one comes to class. He asked me to stage a ballet for S.A.B. -- Balachine's 'Gounod Symphony,' an enormous piece that I had never danced in, and had hardly seen. He offered me things that he thought I would turn down. But I didn't turn them down. I took these crumbs he offered me. Eventually, he figured out that he was not going to get rid of me that way, so then the other thing happened"--the call from the manager came. " (You're off the payroll.) So what's a girl to do? Have her own Ballet of course! The Suzanne Farrell Ballet.

When people are promoted there is a press release but when they are fired, there is nothing? I wonder are all the dancers employed 'at will.' Can they be dismissed at any time? Is the contract different for a principal? If they have added new members haven't they dropped some people?

Is there a problem in that Peter Martins tries to preserve himself rather than do the best for the ballet company? For example, he would not allow Suzanne Farrell to be a co-director of the company. Why does she have her own ballet now, why is she not operating within NYCB? She seems to be much more competent than Martins in staging the Balanchine works. It makes me sad that people like her are excluded.

It seems to me that Lincoln Center is responsible for the decline of the Arts. In the beginning we had Rudolf Bing, Leonard Bernstein and Mr B. Whom do we have now? James Levine is a phony and he seems to be dying lately but certainly is 'past it;' Lorin Maazel is dull as a deer antler and well, Peter Martins is not a great artist. Rather than spend billions to fix Lincoln Center, it ought to be razed, along with Jiulliard to make way for apartments and shops. So yes Mr B is the greatest and there will not be another great artist until Lincoln Center is torn down.

It will be another year at least... "Apr 1, 2004 8:09 am US/Eastern (1010 WINS) (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) Saratoga Springs will remain the summer home of the New York City Ballet through 2005. That was the decision made yesterday at a meeting of the board of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Earlier this year, the board said the ballet's annual summer residency at SPAC would end after this year. SPAC officials said the ballet - a Saratoga tradition since the venue opened in 1966 - had become too expensive to stage. But a public outcry from ballet lovers and political and business leaders has resulted in an outpouring of financial support for the dance troupe. The SPAC board members say that has convinced them to extend the ballet through the 2005 season. After that, attendance figures will determine if the three-week ballet season returns"