Paquita

yes, I've seen it performed live ( different cast) and the CBC brodcast you saw. It's actually nominated for several Gemini awards ( Canadian telivision awards), you can read about it on their website: www.ballet.ca

Rex Harrington is great in the role, and I liked how Kudelka used the older principals ( character artists) in winter. But the summer pdd is to me, the highlight! They did some neat things with special effects too, but I think it's great to watch live.

Today at the toronto International Film Festival, there will be a screening of the movie, "The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky" directed by Paul Cox.More info is on: http://www.bell.ca/filmfest

I won't be able to attend but was wondering if anyone's heard anything else about it.

This week's issue of Time (Venus and Serena Williams are on the cover) has a section on what's coming up this fall in entertainment. There's a blurb about the Joffrey's "Nijinski Mystique" and on Ethan Stiefel appearing in Dim Lustre and being the best american born ballet dancer since Viella.

Emily's post has an interesting idea. It really reminded me of the movie "The Last Unicorn". There's an old man who keeps all the unicorns prisoners in the sea so that he can watch them all day. But I don't think that in the ballet, the idea of Rothbart being a nice guy ( or having a heart at all, for that matter) is supposed to ever cross our minds. He is most often portrayed as pure evil and darkness ( even though there is no such thing). I guess those psychological problems of his run pretty deep!

Last week Aug. 21-23 the National gave 3 free outdoor performances at the Harbourfront Centre, "Ballet by the Water". I went on the 22nd and it was a lovely evening with an impressive turn out so I hope some of those people who hadn't previously gone to the ballet, will see a few ballets in the 50th anniversary season. Karen Kain and John Northcott of CBC TV hosted. The program included:

1) Romeo and Juliet ( Cranko) excerpts- Tarantella, Balcony pas de deux, and Birdesmaids Dance.

Greta Hodkinson and Geon van der Wyst were wonderful in the pdd, and it was very suiting to be danced outside on a summer night with the breeze. I am used to seeing the MacMillan version though, so it took some getting used to.

2) 1st movement of A Delicate Battle

A new piece premiered in the spring with music by Bach. It was a good ballet to show the audience the company's range, but this section makes a lot more sense in context of the full ballet.

3) Paquita solo variations

Jillian Vanstone from the corps did a nice solo with great italian fouettes, and Rebekah Rimsay's variation was also well done. Richard Landry had some problems with his turns however.

4) Pastorale (Kudelka) excerpts

My first glimpse of this ballet. A series of 4 pdd. It reminds me a bit of Ashton's A Month in the Country for some reason. Sonia Rodriguez was partnered by newly promoted soloist Piotr Stanczyk, Greta Hodgkinson with William Marrie, Chan Hon Goh with Patrick Lavoie, and Martine Lamy and Rex Harrington.

5) Theme and Variations

It was Stacey Shiori Minagawa and Jhe Russell's debut as leads in this ballet. They looked a bit nervous, as well it's difficult with a smaller stage and with the wind. But they managed very well. Minagawa has some tightness in her upper body, probably due to the nerves. Jhe gave a confident and energetic performance, and once the few minor technical errors are smoothed over, it will be a good role for him. The corps managed extremely well during the finale with the small stage!

The NBoC orchestra was there but only played for section 2 and 3.

I'm interested in film ( especially independent and foreign) and visual arts. It's too bad that Toronto's Art Gallery ( AGO) isn't that big, but I had a great time in the spring exploring NYC's Met Museum and MoMA! My favourite artists are Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas *of course*, Chagall... there are too many! There is a Klimpt exhibit going on in Ottawa, but I can't go I also like to sketch and draw with oil pastels as a hobby, watercolours are nice too but it's a very unforgiving medium!

As for film, I recently rented the Three Colours trilogy ( Blue, White, Red) and they are all very good. A bit slow paced for some, but excellent detail. I really liked "Crouching Tiger.." too. Of the other Oscar nominees for foreign language film I saw "Malena" ( I found it boring) and "Amores Perros" which was incredibly real and honest- there's a lot of violence but it's not used in the same way as say Mission Impossible. You feel for each character. For Canadian film, this year "Maelstrom" won a lot of awards, but it was a dissapointment for me. The comedy "waydowntown" was hillarious though I haven't been to the movies this summer, except for when I was dragged to "Planet of the Apes"- don't get me started... All the movies right now are those summer blockbusters, and too many sequels and remakes to count. I'd rather go to the video rental and catch up on movies I missed earlier.

I'm also starting an interest in flamenco dance and music. I took a few classes. It's great, the guitarist follows the dancer, she controls the tempo,when it finishes, etc. If only in ballet it were so easy...

She has an official website www.palomaherrera.com and it is very nicely done! I don't know how long it's been up but I just found it and thought I'd share. There are lots of gorgeous photos...it is all in spanish.

In my summer program we do some sketching and pastels. It's really hard to draw ballet positions without studying anatomy first though! We're also doing costumes and scenography which is lots of fun. I think I'd really enjoy being a dance photographer too!

I love cross-over ballet clothes like the wrap sweater or pinch front camisole Very comfy and flattering.

I've seen a few fashion shows on TV and articles in fashion magazines about ballet-inspired clothes, like tulle skirts and flats with little bows in pastel colours. One photo shoot had a model in pointe shoes...but she wasn't a dancer- ouch!

I usually use the ballet as an excuse to dress up in something elegant, opening night galas are even more fun because everyone goes all out. But I still have to be comfortable!

It would be interesting to see some fashion designers do something for the ballet. Vera Wang did a skating dress for Michelle Kwan which was gorgeous. BCBG makes lovely sheer layered dresses.

This is off-topic, but we could also discuss how visual art and ballet work together. I love Chagall's sets for NYCB's Firebird!

One of my friends studio has "connections" with the Bolshoi and they get some of the used pointe shoes from Bolshoi dancers and let the students use them as soft shoes. And my friend has NINA ANANIASHVILI's pointe shoes!! I still think the idea is so strange though, because the shoes have already been moulded to someone else's feet. Also, why doesn't the company do as ABT and NYCB and sell them to fans for extra $? Oh well, I was green with envy to say the least.

At NBoC pointe shoes go for $50 ( principal), $25 ( soloist) and $15 ( corps). Sometimes they include the performance the shoes were worn in, so you can buy the shoes that you saw a dancer wear on stage. They also sell mens ballet slippers (sanshas, dyed in lots of different colours). Forget how much the cost, but sweaty canvas slippers don't seem to have the same allure as pretty satin pointe shoes!

I think black *male* dancers are being better represented in ballet than the women. Carlos Acosta for example, is an internationally known star. And from NBoC, we've had Kevin Pugh and now soloist Jhe Russell doing very well. But there are no black women even in the corps.

One stereotype that gets to me is that if you are "artsy" you don't know how to use logic. People assume that if you are involved with the arts that you are very interesting and eccentric, and rely mostly on intuition and emotions, but know nothing else. Similarly, it's also implied that science majors are completely left-brained and don't know how to appreciate "real" art. Perhaps this can help explain why our society suggests men cannot enjoy ballet. Because I've read that women can use both sides of the brain at once and men cannot (?). More likely though, it's society's fear of accepting something deeper than the 1-dimensional masculinity we are familiar with. With all the rights and power women are gaining, people hang on to that out-dated image of what a "real man" is.

Do you think that this is more of a problem in North America, than say, Europe? Though we take pride in our freedom, it seems that in many ways our culture is a lot more uptight than in other countries.

Finally, as a dance student, I'm tired of the common "bunhead" stereotype. The idea that ballerinas are closed-minded and shallow, that ballet is just about starving yourself and looking pretty. I've had experiences with modern dancers that once did classical ballet but now look down on it. As if it is a superficial art, and a ballet dancer is less of a true artist. These ideas are hardly fair...

I don't think whether or not to do fouettes is a big issue anymore. I know in the past, they've been many dancers nemesis. Evelyn Hart turned down a guesting invitation because it asked her to do the black swan pdd. But the 32 fouettes are in so many ballets, not just swan lake... don quixote, le corsaire, paquita, etc. They're what the audience expects, and most ballerinas can carry them off well. In most syllabus, for the advanced level you have to do 32 fouettes anyways. Now, as technique is getting more and more difficult, I'd imagine that dancers are thinking of how many doubles, triples, or even quads ( Rojo?) to include! I wouldn't like to see it go too much further, until the female principals are in a fouette competition...

Videos/ TV:

1. Royal Ballet- Fonteyn & Nureyev

2. Bolshoi Ballet- Bessmertnova & Bogatyrev

3. NYCB ( PBS)- Weese & Woetzel

Live:

1. NBoC ( Kudelka version)- Jennifer Fournier & Rex Harrington, Xiao Nan Yu & Ryan Boorne

So far, the Bolshoi version has been my favourite. The sets and choreography seem close to the original, and I really like the character dancers in Act 3, especially the russian variation. The Royal version is traditional too, and the character dances are not in pointe shoes. It was a few years ago that I watched it, but I remember there being a lot ( too much?) mime.

Martin's version was not a hit with me. I won't get into the costumes and sets that seemed bright and tacky. The style and choreography didn't seem to "fit" at times, but perhaps it's just me. I really like the vaganova training and style for this ballet.

Kudelka's version is simply too dark. The Act 2&4 set is more a swamp than a lake, but the Act 3 set is stunning. There's a prologue with Rothbart sitting under the moon with huge wings and some electronic swans go by. A waste of money imo. I don't like how Act 1 is all men, and how Rothbart never seems to leave Odette or Odile and the Prince alone for a second!

A lot of the new Swan Lakes have been dissapointing and very expensive. Maybe we should stop trying to change this classic!

The newest Swan Lake video is probably the one with Ananiashvili & the State Perm Ballet. Would those of you who have seen it recommend it?

I've never seen Tchai pdd. Is the choreography very grand, with fouettes and tours a la seconde? I can't really imagine fouettes without a tutu. I saw on TV once, Swan Lake, with Nureyev and Fonteyn with the RB and the music they used for the black swan pdd was different... is that the music for Tchai pdd? They did not use the "familiar" black swan music in the 1st act- it wasn't in the ballet at all. But I do have a Swan Lake CD where the "familiar" black swan music is in the 1st Act. The music that Fonteyn danced Odile's variation to, has been used in Act 1 before. In NBoC's version, it's the music for the "wench".

And just a bit off topic, what is the history of the music for the russian character dance in Act 3? I heard somewhere that it was added later. How many times has the score for Swan Lake changed?!

[ 06-23-2001: Message edited by: Paquita ]

I've only gone to New York to see the ballet. It's a short flight from Toronto, and I stayed at the Marriott- World Trade Centre. They have good weekend rates, and the subway station is nearby ( just through the shopping mall). Subway is probably the cheapest mode of transportation, and I found it quite easy to use. I love the city: great museums and shopping! And it's great because you can see 2 major ballet companies: NYCB and ABT. The only drawback for us Canadians is the exchange rate. I found food to be very expensive in NYC. The price for a sandwich and salad lunch in a "cheap" diner could easily buy me a gourmet dinner back in TO. Oh well, seeing Angel Corella's worth it ;)

I hope I can travel to San Francisco, Paris,and London in the future. I've never been to Paris, is it easy to get by with English? I take French in school but I'm *far* from fluent. Or to Montreal when they have the Gala Des Etoiles. I'd also like to see NYCB in Saratoga, I could drive there. I'd like to visit Japan, if a company like RB, POB, Kirov, etc. toured there. They don't really have a famous home company, but when I went to Osaka, I found the people in general really appreciate and support ballet, a lot more than in Canada. They have a beautiful dance magazine ( I should learn how to read Japanese!) and gorgeous ballet shops ( surprisingly spacious for Japan). But then there's the language problem again. When I went to Japan before, I had a homestay, which is very different from travelling alone. I've also heard that hotels and food there is quite steep. But I'd still love to go there, during spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom!

Karen Kain appears in the video of Rudolph Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty ( Veronica Tennant as Aurora) in the Bluebird variations with Frank Augustyn- they won a silver medal at the Moscow IBC with this pdd I believe. Frank Augustyn's autobiography is called "Dancing from the Heart". I've read half of it, but to me, in terms of writing, Karen's autobiography is much better ( and her book has lovely colour photos as well). Currently, she is artistic associate for the National Ballet.

Americans can submit video tapes for auditions.

Lilly, great to read your impressions of the performance. Unfortunately I couldn't go this year, but my teacher went and enjoyed it. I wanted to go last year too, they did Aurora's Wedding which I heard was excellent!

Xiao Nan Yu has been promoted to principal, and out of all the promotions I think she is deffinately the most deserving. Ryan Boorne and William Marrie are also principals now. Boorne has being doing lots of lead classical roles so I wasn't surprised. But I think M. Marrie needs to polish his technique a bit more for the big classical roles, he's excellent in the more modern repetory though. Richard Landry is promoted to first soloist. I haven't seen much of him this year, so I can't really comment. Tiffany Knight, Brenda Little, Je-an Salas and Piotr Stanczyk are promoted to second soloists. Good for all of them. Especially Salas, she has been in the corps for 7 years, and dances with a lot of spirit. I think what was previously holding her back from a promotion is that she is quite short and lacks the long line of a classical dancer, but she is a great dancer!

For the Erik Bruhn competition next year, corps member Heather Ogden and 2nd soloist Guillaume Cote will represent NBoC. Can't wait to find out who ABT, Royal, and Royal Danish are sending!

I was there for the premiere on friday. I had mixed impressions of Pied Piper. Coming in from Toronto, I really wanted to love it ( and I thought La Bayadere act 2 was wonderful! Especially Stiefel.) but I came to see ABT's excellent dancers, and in this ballet as Terry said, there was no real dancing except for Angel Corella. He literally had to carry the show, and thank god he did! I was in awe of his incredible stamina, because he was on stage most of the time doing leaps and turns. Such energy in his dancing! I liked the music, and some of the special effects were neat, but I'm getting sort of sick of effects because too many productions now are focusing on that rather than the dancing. Just one note, in all the advertisments they have Corella wearing this blue/red/green long sleeve bodysuit- and in the performance there was no such costume. Instead it was a little brown crop top with a pleated skirt. No complaints, I was just suprised, I kept looking for that other costume!

Thanks syncopation and mom2 for your comments! I was feeling kind of like the lone Canadian here!

I laughed too, when I read the program:

"slowly she abandons her innocence and they lie down beneath the stars". That's one way to put it...

mom2, I agree, the company looked much better in this new work, rather than the Comforts of Solitude. They should have scheduled Butterfly, such a romantic ballet, for Valentine's Day instead of the cold modern work.

I think you're right, the busy-ness in the first scene gives the audience that impression of Japan. I've been there once, and I think time goes by 10 times faster in Japan! Everything is so quick and efficient, it has to be with so many people in such small space! I think the ballet was quite acurate in terms of depicting Japanese culture and values at the time. Especially at the end, the principle and importance of dignity.

Did anyone see RWB's Butterfly? Curious about that...

I saw it on friday night, and the students from grade 5-10 from the National Ballet School were also there. They were all screaming at the curtain calls!

It was a lovely evening of dance, Serenade and Madame Butterfly.

SERENADE ( Balanchine, Tchaikovsky)

Xiao Nan Yu danced the waltz girl, Greta Hodkinson the Russian girl, and Julie Hay was the dark angel. All three were absolutely stunning. Nan has one of the most gorgeous arabesque's in the company, and her long lines make for beautiful adagios and pdds ( partnered by Rex Harrington and Geon van der Wyst on friday). She brings such depth to each role she dances, and relishes in every step. Greta was phenomenal and has really entered her prime. She danced with such ease and weightlessness, everything she does is polished to perfection. And corps member Julie Hay was also stunning in her debut. I loved the part where she's in arabesque and the man turns her around 2 or 3 times, such balance required for that!

But I really have to hand it to the female corps. This was the best I've seen them all season. They were so together, it made the overall mood and effect much more powerful. Each step was performed in style, and it was great.

Rex stuck to what he does best, which is partnering. When he would have a grand jete or something, he would look much more tense. He'd rather be lifting Xiao Nan Yu over his head!

Just a stunning ballet, danced very well. I was sitting there thinking was a genius Balanchine was.

MADAME BUTTERFLY ( Stanton Welch, Puccini- Ballet in 2 acts)

I was lucky enough to watch the first cast, Chan Hon Goh and Geon van der Wyst as Butterfly and Pinkerton. Both were perfectly suited to their roles. Chan’s delicate naïveté and superb dramatic skills, and Geon’s American poster boy good looks ( you can bet those NBS students were smitten!) and commanding presence. Chan’s pointework was so light and clean, she would do high grand jetes and land without a sound. Geon’s landings were heavier, especially after double tours, but as the ballet progressed he gained better control. His acting was very dramatic, on occasion over the top, but it was heartfelt and he held nothing back. He was Pinkerton. He truly loved Butterfly, but didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Much like Albrecht. At one point, he gave so much, he slid! But he managed to recover just in time to lift Chan gracefully. Her interpretation was transcendent, with rare sensitivity. The romantic pdd at the end of Act 1, after they get married, was breathtaking. Everyone walked out to the intermission just silent. Otherwise, fumbling for words, “Wow!…uh…Wow!”

Stacey Shiori Minagawa was equally excellent as Suzuki, Butterfly’s most loyal friend and servant. Of course physically, she suits the part because she is Japanese! But also in her acting, her attention to details, the ballet had more depth. Her dancing was clean, not flashy, as Suzuki is very humble. But the dancing still shone, everything was so polished. Stacey is very light- it’s not ballon in the jumps that I mean, it’s being “pulled up” all the time.

Drama and dancing continued to escalate in the 2nd Act. Pinkerton’s betrayal is tragic, and when Kate ( by Martine Lamy) comes for the child the sorrow is shown on Butterfly and Suzuki’s faces. The last bits of dancing by Chan Hon Goh, before Butterfly commits suicide, were so passionate. I was brought to tears, which has never happened to me at the ballet!

Anyways, as a whole it is a beautiful production- lovely sets and costumes, and of course, great music! Stanton Welch has done an excellent job in translating the opera into a ballet.

NBoC principal dancer Chan Hon Goh appears in this month's issue of Chatelaine ( Canadian magazine). It's 1 page, with a nice picture of her holding a little ballerina doll, and they have some quotes from her.

I went to the performance on May 5 ( evening). Just some thoughts:

SEPTET ( Stravinsky, Alleyne)

I saw Septet on it's premiere in 1999. I found it repetitive back then, but the 2nd time around it was much more interesting for me. It's a beautiful lyrical piece, and not typical Alleyne from what I hear. The ballet explores the depths of memory, and yes there is repetition, but it is well placed. There might be a few variations inbetween or a pas de deux, and then the 8 dancers are all on the stage again returning to the central theme. The music is wonderful and abstract.

Greta Hodgkinson and Rex Harrington were 1 pair, and their pdd consisted of many complex lifts. They looked very comfortable and secure on stage. Rex is a great partner that way, and in this ballet he doesn't have a variation or anything difficult technically.

Another pair was Aleksandar Antonijevic and Sonia Rodriguez. She was gorgeous and light, which delicate phrasing. She has really come a long way. I had seen her a few times last season and was not really impressed, so I was quite surprised when she was promoted to principal. However, she looked completely different on saturday. Perhaps the promotion has given her motivation to push herself further. She has always been an excellent technician, but her artistry has really grown this past year. Aleksandar as always,exuded energy and charisma and was a pleasure to watch. His soaring jumps and soft landings, as well as his extension lend very well to the contemporary rep. The ballet ended will a variation by him which left a lasting impression.

I also have to mention that Stephanie Hutchison. She really stood out. She dances fearlessly and simply radiates confidence and fire. I am so glad I gave Septet a second chance

A DELICATE BATTLE ( Bach, Gavin Bryars, Matjash Mrozewski)

This new work by young soloist Mrozewski ( only 25) was what I came to see. It had been very well received by Toronto critics, and I can only agree with all their positive comments. The ballet is about the barriers and struggles artists face, which in this context is very literal. He had a vision intitially, which was very different from the finished product. There was not enough funding to pay for it. So instead, Mrozewski decided to change the direction a bit, and used his own frustrations to inspire "A Delicate Battle". It also deals heavily with human relationships. It is cold and snow is falling. When the curtain rises 7 dancers in ice blue skin-tight leotards and shorts (no pointe shoes, looked like socks) are dancing under a canopy protecting them from the snow. 3 couples, men in business suits and women in long Victorian gowns interject. This is the first movement.

Then the 3 couples dance together. The canopy is lifted. They cannot get close because of the bulky gowns. One woman removes her gown and wears a sheer, flowing dress. The other woman takes off both the gown and dress underneath, and is in a nude coloured leotard. But she has given herself so much to the man, that she literally can't walk by herself. She has compromised herself too much. The third woman remains fully dressed the whole time, and also collects the clothes thrown on the floor by the other 2.

I found it really interesting, and visually very powerful. Mr. Mrozewski has so much creative talent. Torontonians are very sad that he'll be leaving the company and going to Europe

THEME AND VARIATION ( Tchaikovsky, Balanchine)

First things first, I didn't like how all the costumes were all green. I've seen photos of ABT's costumes for Theme, and they're lovely, blues, pinks...That's my only complaint though.

This was my first time seeing Theme, and I absolutely adore it now. Pure classicism, and pure dance! No one better to lead this ballet than Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic. Theme is the perfect medium to showcase their phenomenal talents. For both of them, it was one of their best performances. The part where the corps are all en pointe and Greta is in the middle doing develope devant and then arabesque, penchee..etc. was beautiful. Perfectly on balance, and goregous lines! I was in heaven ;) Gotta give the corps credit for that too. They were very vibrant and synchronized, really enjoying the movement which is exactly what dance is about. Greta was so poised and elegant through every difficult combination, and Aleks was completely "on"- marvellous turns! That was almost a week ago and the awe hasn't worn off!

I'm seeing Madame Butterfly with Serenade tomorrow evening, taking my mom out for Mother's Day! Next friday I will be in NYC to see Pied Piper and La Bayadere Act 2. Very excited!