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miliosr

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Everything posted by miliosr

  1. Ratings - Week One Monday Performances - 3rd - 21.1 million Tuesday Performances - 4th - 17.0 million (American Idol finished 1-2 ahead of DWtS.)
  2. Say what you want but the online trailers (US and international) for Mamma Mia! (the movie) make this look like it will be a lot of fun: ABBA + singing + dancing + Meryl Streep + Pierce Brosnan + Julie Walters + Colin Firth + Christine Baranski + Stellan Skarsgard + on-location filming in Greece = SUMMER FUN
  3. I ran all the numbers in the run-up to tonight's double elimination round (one man/one woman): Example: Couple/score from round 2/score from round 1/total score/total score as a percentage of total points awarded Men 01 Mario/Karina 26 + 24 = 50 (20.8%) 02 Jason/Edyta 27 + 22 = 49 (20.3%) 03 Christian/Cheryl 20 + 21 = 41 (17.0%) 04 Adam/Julianne 19 + 15 = 34 (14.1%) 04 Steve/Anna 16 + 18 = 34 (14.1%) 06 Penn/Kym 17 + 16 = 33 (13.7%) Women 01 Kristi/Mark 27 + 27 = 54 (20.9%) 02 Marlee/Fabian 24 + 22 = 46 (17.8%) 03 Priscilla/Louis 21 + 24 = 45 (17.4%) 03 Shannon/Derek 24 + 21 = 45 (17.4%) 05 Marissa/Tony 21 + 18 = 39 (15.1%) 06 Monica/Jonathan 15 + 15 = 30 (11.6%) (Percentages for the women do not equal 100.0% due to rounding.) Miliosr's picks for elimination: Monica for the women and Christian for the men
  4. Thanks for the responses. Perhaps a better way to have put my question is this: What does this announcement tell us about the present state of things? I look it at and see two negative trends: A growing homogenization of the ballet repertory at the international level and a certain "crowding out" effect wherein certain choreographers and repertories are displacing others, perhaps permanently. Am I being paranoid? Maybe. But then you know the old saying: Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean it isn't happening.
  5. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse but the almost total absence of Ashton baffles me. The longer and longer they go without committing to Ashton in a big way the harder and harder it will become to perform the works in the proper style. (Something of the sort has already happened in the US w/ ABT and the Tudor repertory.) I would like to pose a question to those of you participating in this thread. When you see this repertory for 2008-09, what does it tell you about Monica Mason's vision for what the company will be in the 21st century?
  6. One more point regarding Kristi's comments about ice skating in relation to ballroom dancing. Everyone on that sound stage knows what happened to Sabrina in Season 5. The perception at the time was that Sabrina, with her background in hip-hop dancing, had an unfair competitive advantage over the others. The thinking that has evolved from her mid-season ouster (wrongly, in my view) now holds that any celebrity with recent dance experience is in fact a ringer and is therefore in grave danger of being eliminated. One way to look at Kristi's comments is that they were an attempt to defuse the whole ringer problem from the get-go -- "Oh, ice skating and ballroom dancing are so dissimilar. Please don't vote me off!!!" [My interpretation of her meaning rather than her actual words.] At the end of the day, I don't think she is in any danger of going anywhere anytime soon. She was the best celebrity over both nights and she has a hardcore fan base that will vote until the cows come home to keep her in the competition. As for Priscilla, I doubt her expression is going to change much for the rest of the competition. However, I would like to see her lighten up some. As perky noted, she looked completely out-of-it backstage.
  7. Three Balanchines and only one Ashton? I don't get it.
  8. Miliosr Report - Week 1 - Night 2 General Thoughts Where have you gone Maksim Chermkovsky? Dancing With the Stars nation turns its lonely eyes to you! The Scores 27pts Kristi/Mark 24pts Priscilla/Louis 22pts Marlee/Fabian 21pts Shannon/Derek 18pts Marissa/Tony 15pts Monica/Jonathan Couple-by-Couple Shannon/Derek (cha cha cha) -- While she has beautiful "showgirl-esque" legs, I felt that she was too tall for him and it threw everything off. Also, like Christian the night before, Shannon looked like she had a bad case of nerves. Not bad but middle-of-the-pack is always a dangerous place to be in the early going. Monica/Jonathan (foxtrot) -- Oh dear. She looked SO stiff and awkward and uncomfortable on the night. You're heart bled for her because she was obviously nervous prior to and during the dance and you could tell she was mortified by the scores. Marissa/Tony (cha cha cha) -- Hated it. For starters, we got the same old-same old Tony Dovalani no-content dance. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst of it was his celebrity partner. Marissa accomplished something that I thought was an impossibility for this show -- she proved that you can actually be too overenthusiastic on Dancing With the Stars. Her overboisterous, know-no-top-to-go-over personality grated beyond all measure and detracted from the dance from beginning to end. And she forgot what she was doing at times. Priscilla/Louis (foxtrot) -- After three so-so to bad dances, sixty-something Priscilla Presley finally got the evening in gear. Louis (the "good" Louis from Season 2 -- not the "bad" Louis from Season 3) choreographed a great, demanding routine for Priscilla and, for the most part, she managed to keep pace. Good for her for doing the death spiral! My only complaint with her was her inexpressive face which made the dance seem less exciting than it was. (I'll stop there as I don't want to run afoul of the moderators.) Kristi/Mark (foxtrot) -- Beautiful and breathtaking. I'll leave it to sidwich to point out any technical flaws but, as a performance, it was spectacular. Marlee/Fabian (cha cha cha) -- Not quite at the Kristi/Mark or Priscilla/Louis level but still very good. Marlee moves well, is dead sexy and has a delightful personality. I'm not so sold on her pro Fabian. He rubbed me the wrong way which might have hindered my enjoyment of this dance somewhat. No elimination for the women either. Everyone's back next week! After two nights of this show, I am exhausted. Like Miss Pittypat (or Belle Watling -- you pick which one I'm closer to) in Gone With the Wind, I'm taking to my bed until next week!
  9. Miliosr Report - Week 1 - Night 1 General Thoughts Loved the opening pro dance, especially the sequence with Derek and Mark. Loved Len's tie. If you know who makes it, e-mail me. The Scores 24pts Mario/Karina 22pts Jason/Edyta 21pts Christian/Cheryl 18pts Steve/Anna 16pts Penn/Kym 15pts Adam/Julianne Couple-by-Couple Penn/Kym (cha cha cha) -- An "A" (or "E") for entertainment value but I cannot see this couple advancing very far in the competition based on what I saw Monday night. He was game enough on the night but he has about as much finesse as Godzilla does destroying Tokyo. Jason/Edyta (foxtrot) -- This, for me, was the (pleasant) surprise of the evening. For such a tall (6'5") man, he moved with great dexterity and displayed beautiful posture. And the fact that he is seriously gorgeous shouldn't cost him any votes in this competition. Christian/Cheryl (cha cha cha) -- To my eye, nerves were a big (negative) factor for him. Also, his upper body was a complete mess. We'll see if Cheryl can fix that problem the way she (mostly) did with Drew. Adam/Julianne (foxtrot) -- This just made me laugh (I'm not sure for good or for ill, though.) Adam's not quite at the Kenny Mayne/Tucker Carlson level but he's close enough that he could well be gone at the first elimination. Clearly, his survival will depend almost entirely on any pre-existing fan base he brings to the show. Mario/Karina (cha cha cha) -- I didn't like this duo as much as I liked the Jason/Edyta pairing but they were strong on the night. He is a born performer, which should serve him in good stead over the course of the show. Steve/Anna (foxtrot) -- Steve is this year's George Hamilton/Jerry Springer/John Ratzenberger. He will "act" the hell out of the dance but the actual dancing ability may well prove to be more modest. No elimination this week. Everyone returns to dance again next week!
  10. Don't despair. According to the February issue of Dance Magazine, other companies (in addition to the ones listed above) have performed or will perform Tudor pieces during the first half of this year: Continuo (ABT II, Boston Conservatory, Brigham Young University) Dark Elegies (Boston Ballet, Boston Conservatory, Company C Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University) The Leaves Are Fading (Colorado Ballet) Lilac Garden (Ballet Mainz) Little Improvisations (Ballet Tucson) Offenbach in the Underworld (Milwaukee Ballet) As I read over the combined list of performances from the two posts, I'm left with a glass half-full/glass half-empty feeling. The half-empty feeling comes from the realization that Tudor's work exists mostly at the regional ballet/college company level and hardly at all at the heavy-duty Group of 7 level (ABT, Bolshoi, Kirov-Mariinsky, NYCB, POB, Royal, Royal Danish.) (Sorry Helgi -- you're still the "Russia" of the group.) ABT should be the flagship company for Tudor but, apart from whatever they do this fall in honor of the centennial, seems content to put on one desultory Tudor piece a year. (And, putting on witless three act ballets instead of hunkering down and reviving something worthwhile like Tudor's Romeo and Juliet.) Truthfully, New York Theatre Ballet is more the flagship company for Tudor at this point than ABT is. The half-full feeling comes from the realization that Tudor's pieces are probably better served by being performed on the smaller stages that come with regional/college ballet. I'm not sure huge opera house stages work to Tudor's advantage. (I feel the same way about Graham and Limon.) Interesting how certain Tudor works are "in favor" and certain works aren't. As Dance Magazine notes, no one has announced plans to stage Pillar of Fire, Shadowplay, Undertow, Echoing of Trumpets, Dim Lustre, Gala Performance, or (especially) Romeo and Juliet.
  11. One other point to make about haute couture: The words "haute couture" get tossed around a lot these days but the only people who can truly call themselves "haute couturiers" are those who are licensed by the government of France. (Or so Tim Gunn told me on Project Runway!) perky's mention of the two churches as works of art got me to thinking: What is that tipping point where a work with a utilitarian function crosses into art? (And does the original function cease when it does so??) Still thinking out loud . . .
  12. I've finally recovered from Cate Blanchett not winning. Oh cruel world! The dresses are so boring these days. It's as if everyone is still hungover from the days when Joan Rivers and her tongue were prowling the red carpet. I found myself getting a little misty-eyed for the bad old days when Cher would show up in something crazy just to get everyone talking. One trend I approve of wholeheartedly is seeing more male stars wearing the classic tuxedo. George Clooney and Patrick Dempsey looked like movie stars from the grand old days in their gorgeously fitted classic tuxes. For years, I've hated that trend of wearing a conventional looking tie with a tux. Even though the ties are made of an evening fabric, they always make the men look like they're going to a business meeting.
  13. While my natural inclination is to fall on the "haute couture as High Craft" side of the divide, I would have to agree with dirac that Balenciaga came as close as any designer ever has to making High Art. If Nan Kempner was still with us, I would love to pose this question to her as she was supposed to have owned, at the time of her death, one of the greatest haute couture collections in private hands in the world. This discussion has gotten me to thinking about architecture in addition to haute couture. Is architecture an art? Or a craft?? Just thinking out loud . . .
  14. So, I was leafing through the NY Times Style Supplement yesterday and I came across two separate articles discussing two separate fashion retrospectives: -- Madame Gres at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology -- Christian Lacroix at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris All this got me to thinking: Is haute couture an art? Or is it a craft (albeit a craft at a very high level?) Discuss.
  15. So, I'm watching the stars arrive at the Academy Awards and it's funny watching the young starlets adopt the same "sultry" poses for the cameras -- it's like they've all watched Gilda one too many times. And I can't decide who is more handsome -- Patrick Dempsey or George Clooney. I think I'll go with Dempsey . . . Cate Blanchett for the win!
  16. The answer to your question dirac is YES! The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven adds about 45 minutes of footage and completely transforms the narrative. With the additional footage, the motivations of the main characters (particularly Balian and Sibylla) become much more comprehensible and the storyline as a whole becomes much more coherent. SPOILERS AHEAD (Stop reading if you don't want to know the changes) 1) At the beginning of the director's cut, the character of Balian is fleshed out in much greater detail. The viewer learns that he was a soldier before he was a blacksmith and that he has a familial relationship with the priest who is hounding him about the suicide of his wife. The viewer also finds out that the local lord is really Godfrey's nephew -- who is none too keen that his uncle has returned to France and now has a son and heir. (The lord stands to inherit Godfrey's lands in France if Godfrey dies childless.) This puts the later ambush scene in the forest into an entirely different context because the attack on Godfrey, Balian and Godfrey's knights now is more of a political assassination than a matter of arresting Balian for his murder of the priest. 2) By far the biggest change from the theatrical cut to the director's cut involves Sibylla's story. The director's cut restores the subplot involving Sibylla's son Baldwin V. When Baldwin IV dies, Sibylla's son becomes Baldwin V but -- disastrously for Jerusalem -- he too is a leper and Sibylla euthanizes him before the leprosy can take its toll. Once she kills Baldwin V, Sibylla turns the kingdom over to Guy; knowing full well that he will lead the kingdom to ruin by waging war on Saladin. The addition of this subplot makes a BIG difference to the character of Sibylla, whose actions in the theatrical cut are incomprehensible. Here, she is a much more interesting character and you sympathize with her because she is caught between bad choices and worse ones. 3) The director's cut adds a sword fight between Balian and Guy at the end but I thought this was a mistake to include. It adds nothing to the film. If you have to watch one version of this film, watch the director's cut. It's still not perfect but the storyline "breathes" so much better in this version.
  17. The Season 6 contestants: 01 Television personality Adam Carolla 02 Actor Christian de la Fuente 03 Actress Shannon Elizabeth 04 Actor Steve Guttenberg 05 Entertainer Penn Jillette 06 R&B singer Mario 07 Actress Marlee Matlin 08 Actress Priscilla Presley 09 Tennis player Monica Seles 10 Football player Jason Taylor 11 Actress Marissa Jaret Winokur 12 Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi Kristi Yamaguchi would have to be the prohibitive favorite at this point . . .
  18. I have mixed feelings about Kingdom of Heaven (both the theatrical cut and the director's cut.) I found many of the performances cartoonish to the point where I thought I was watching a silent film. I also thought the script was problematic in its ahistoricism -- every time a character uttered some modern sentiment, the willing suspension of disbelief collapsed for me. Lastly, the extreme anti-clericalism of the movie left a sour taste in my mouth (and I say that as someone who enjoys the anti-clericalism of someone like Bunuel.) On the "plus" side, however, the costume and set designs were splendid -- they really transported the viewer back in time to Latin Jerusalem. Also, the fight scenes were well-staged and didn't sugarcoat the violence.
  19. Well, I finished Disc 2 tonight, which is pretty much El Cid's defense of Valencia against the Almoravid invasion from North Africa. The sheer scale of the battle scenes was awe-inspiring -- all the more so because this was done in an era when CGI wasn't available. Thousands of real life extras are so much more impressive visually than digitally inserted armies. That being said, I think I prefer the actual fight scenes in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven -- the bone-crunching violence in that film really makes you believe it's the 12th century. And I loved Sophia Loren's red lipstick during the Almoravid siege of Valencia. Honestly, there are only so many sacrifices you can ask a great actress to make in the name of historical accuracy!
  20. Ah, this is what I love about this board! Where else could I learn about poisonous Medieval makeup? And the 80s are back in a big way right now . . .
  21. I finished Disc 1 of the recently restored and re-released historical epic El Cid (1961) this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Filmed in Spain, El Cid stars Charlton Heston as the legendary Spanish warrior Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (otherwise known as El Cid) and Sophia Loren as his wife (who spends most of the first disc plotting to kill him!) This is the kind of film that deserves to be seen on a big screen but it was breathtaking nonetheless on my television set. Even if you hate historical epics, this film is worth seeing just for the numerous, extended shots of the beautiful Spanish countryside and Medieval castles. As you would expect, Heston is very good in this kind of part and he and Loren have an intriguing chemistry. Apparently, they did not like each other so the ongoing plot point of El Cid's wife trying to have him killed (as revenge for his murdering her father!) and the resulting tension between the two takes on an intriguing quality. Is the on-screen tension all just acting? Hard to know but the two leads being at odds off-screen certainly didn't detract from the realism of their on-screen portrayals. Director Anthony Mann does an excellent job of bringing all this to life and there are some absolutely beautiful "painterly" shots in the film. (Love the shots of Sophia Loren alone on her wedding night and the Muslim horsemen riding along the shore at sunrise to a castle.) The actual history is moderately good by the standards of the time (and is no worse than the history in something like Kingdom of Heaven.) (The film greatly simplifies the complicated political situation in Christian/Muslim Spain of that period and downplays El Cid's character flaws -- namely, his tendency to insult powerful people.) Special mention should go to Genevieve Page as the scheming, incestuous Princess Urracca. (Didn't she go on to play the madam in Belle de Jour?) Onward to Disc 2 and the Almoravid invasion (and Herbert Lom's hammy acting!) P.S. Did they have lipstick in the 11th Century?
  22. Thank you for the excellent reviews. I would have loved to have attended these performances! Update: Alastair Macaulay's review in today's Times also makes the connection between Mazurkas and Dances at a Gathering.
  23. This may be somewhat off-topic but can someone tell me what was so disastrous about MacMillan's Isadora? (I've always wondered why he tackled the subject when Limon and Ashton had already made well-received dances on the same subject.)
  24. I was referencing Cate Blanchett's second stab at the part of Elizabeth. The commercials I saw this past summer/fall were very over-the-top. The scene of Cate Blanchett pounding the floor was like something Joan Collins would have done on Dynasty -- "Colby Co. will not fall UNDER MY REIGN!" I think Blanchett's Oscar nomination for this part came as a bit of a surprise to everyone (including her.)
  25. I stand by my comment about Blanchett (although Ledger was hard on her heels (boots?) in I'm Not There.) Blanchett for the win! Did anyone happen to see her other Oscar-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth I? I took a pass as the commercials made it look unbearably campy (which is saying a lot coming from me) -- "England will not fall ON MY REIGN (pounds floor)"
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