miliosr

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/dan...=3&ref=arts

My 10th grade English teacher had us read Rand's Anthem, which went right over my head at the time. Now I look back and think: Who knew my high school English department was a hotbed of Objectivism?

Getting this discussion back on track, Peter Boal offers up some thoughts on his blog which touch on many of the issues we have discussed here: http://www.pnbunleashed.com/PNB_Unleashed/...9_NEW_YORK.html

Latest updates to various sub-threads within this thread: 1) The Limon company sent another fundraising request in which they noted they had only achieved 5% of their fundraising goal. 2) The freshman class at Boston Conservatory will be performing The Winged on April 17-18.

Against my better judgement, I watched. Here are the judges' scores for Week 1 (Note: Holly Madison and Melissa from The Bachelor replaced Jewel and Nancy O'Dell, who both dropped out due to injury): 24pts Gilles Marini/Cheryl Burke 23pts Shawn Johnson/Mark Ballas 23pts Melissa ? (from The Bachelor)/Tony Dovalani 21pts Lil' Kim/Derek Hough 20pts David Alan Grier/Kym Johnson 20pts Chuck Wicks/Julianne Hough 18pts Holly Madison/Dmitry ? (didn't catch his last name) 18pts Denise Richards/Maksim Chermkovsky 17pts Belinda Carlisle/Jonathan Roberts 17pts Steve-O/Lacey Schwimmer 16pts Lawrence Taylor/Edyta Sliwinska 14pts Ty Murray/Chelsie Hightower 13pts Steve Wozniak/Karina Smirnoff Thoughts: 1) I said that Shawn Johnson would have this in the bag provided she could put one foot in front of the other . . . and then she tripped coming down the stairs during the opening segment! Her fan base should carry her through for a good, long while but the arrival of Melissa (jilted contestant on The Bachelor) as a replacement may pose some serious competition. (She can dance and she is the "wronged woman" from The Bachelor.) 2) Cheryl Burke looks energized again after several seasons of what looked like winner's hangover. 3) Lil' Kim making a shout-out to the "Federal Detention Center" certainly was novel for this show. 4) Denise Richards is every bit as tiresome as I thought she would be.

Hmmm. The "French" version of The Moor's Pavane w/ Charles Jude (the first 1/2 of which is available on YouTube) is available on DVD! I may have to look into this . . .

Oh Jane, I am a wealth of useless information when it comes to Jose Limon! As rg noted, Limon created The Unsung in 1970-71 as part of a final outpouring of creativity before he died at the age of 64 in 1972. Although it premiered under the Juilliard banner, The Unsung was for all intents and purposes a Jose Limon Dance Company work as most of the student dancers who performed it in 1970-71 went on to join his company before his death. The work has never been long out of the Limon Dance Company's repertory since its creation. The concept behind The Unsung is that a number of Native American chieftains (portrayed by male dancers) gather to perform what I take to be a Native American "ghost dance". The dancers gather in the beginning and then each dancer performs a variation before the group coalesces at the end. The original version had eight dancers performing eight variations but the Limon company mostly performs it now in versions with six or seven dancers. (They've also performed it with an all-female cast.) Limon created The Unsung as a tribute to Native Americans but he also created it as a way to show off all of the really stellar male dancers he had in his orbit at that time. It follows other all-male dances in his repertory such as The Traitor (1954) and The Emperor Jones (1956). While my description of The Unsung implies that it is a narrative work, this isn't exactly true. There is the basic scenario (the ghost dance) but no real narrative. So, even if the scenario doesn't appeal to you, you can watch it abstractly for the beauty of the variations and for the way Limon incorporated Native American movement themes into the Limon technique. I would disagree with the New York Public Library's characterization of The Unsung as being "performed in silence." A more accurate description would be that, while there is no music, there is a "soundtrack" of sorts. The dancers create their own vivid accompaniment by slamming their feet to the floor, stepping in unison, and pounding their (bare) chests with their hands and arms. The original costumes for The Unsung were black practice tights but the Limon company's revised production now utilizes fantastic tightly-fitted pants that look like buckskin pants. All in all, I would say this is an adventurous choice on the part of Nikolaj Hubbe. I don't know how the absence of music will play with the Danish audience or how The Unsung will look on a big opera house stage. (I saw it in a very small theater at the Kaatsbaan Dance Center [north of New York City on the West Bank of the Hudson River] and it looked great there.) Still, if Hubbe's point is to show off his male dancers then this is a fine choice because it really calls for the kind of bold, virile dancing that only men can do. I hope this helps!

Interesting . . . The ballerina/danseur noble programs look very intriguing. Ashton's Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan? Limon's The Unsung?? I might have to fire up the passport and take myself off to Denmark for this!

Mr. Maccaulay puts in his two cents worth on the matter in today's New York Times . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/arts/dan...1maca.html?_r=1

I didn't see this posted anywhere else: I received an e-mail blast today from Tobi Tobias notifying her subscribers that Bloomberg News is dropping its arts coverage because it is not cost effective for the organization. She plans to keep writing but will have to do it more-or-less for free.

My yearly pilgrimage to see the Limon Company in person will take me to Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis on March 19. The repertory will consist of: Into My Heart's House (Clay Taliaferro, 2008) The Traitor (Jose Limon, 1954) Missa Brevis (Jose Limon, 1958) I'm very excited to see Missa Brevis (w/ live music!) for the first time but disappointed that the company won't be bringing A Choreographic Offering in some form. I was so hoping to see the complete version for the first time. Failing that, I was hoping the company would perform the suite version on the Northrop Aud's bigger stage which would allow the dancers to spread out and let the work "breathe" better than it does when performed on smaller stages (which is where I've seen it in the past.) Alas, it would appear that the complete version of A Choreographic Offering and its reduction performed on a larger stage will remain as elusive as Bigfoot for me for now. Full review to appear after the event . . .

miliosr's picks for Best and Worst Dressed at the Oscars: Best Dressed Man: Zac Efron -- Sorry dirac but Efron looked like a swoony 30s matinee idol in that classic tux and that slicked back hair. Best Dressed Woman: Angelina Jolie -- I know she polarizes the audience like Moses parting the Red Sea but I loved the juxtaposition of the "simple" black dress with the contrasting green/emerald earrings. Worst Dressed Man: Mickey Rourke -- A white suit, no tie, greasy, scraggly hair -- ugh!!! Worst Dressed Woman: Beyonce -- The dress looked like it was wearing her rather than the other way around and the gold print was something you would have seen on a couch.

How is my friend the Swamp Thing faring in DC?

Well, CNB has a new artistic director, a new (and better) Web page and -- best of all -- an official YouTube channel w/ lots of performance videos. This company's repertory is very individual -- they don't seem to be chasing after the usual suspects (Balanchine, Tharp, etc.)

Where things could get really sticky for management at City Ballet (and at the other large ballet companies) is in the next fiscal year -- 2009-10. If revenue (from the endowment, corporate donors and ticket sales) continues to plummet but labor and operating costs remain more or less fixed (which they will if you have a unionized workforce and you are tethered to a specific theater), then you are faced with the prospect of another round of cuts. Probably the worst case scenario would be along the lines of my "bad recruiting year" concept (and ViolinConcerto "shortchanging the future" idea) -- the current roster remains more-or-less static in terms of voluntary turnover (i.e. retirement) but the company cannot go above 90 dancers and, possibly, may have to trim the ranks again. Where this scenario could kill you is with the Class of 2009 from the school -- where do they go upon graduation if there are no slots? Moderators: Again, if this is too speculative, please delete.

My take on the 101 to 90 cut wasn't so much that it was historically anomalous but that the cut -- depending on who will go at the end of season -- could have important ramifications for the future. IF the dismissals occur at the newer end of the corps (and we won't know that until the season is over), then the potential is there for a gap to show up in the future. It would be somewhat similar to a college athletic team having a bad recruiting year. You wouldn't notice it at first because the existing seniors, juniors and sophomores on the team would maintain the level of play. But as the freshmen class rises and you lose the upperclassmen, you might begin to see a gap in the team's performance as the bad recruiting year comes to the fore. Moderators: If this is too speculative, please delete.

"Should all arts organizations be saved?" This was the question the Wall Street Journal put to Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, in an interview published in the Journal's February 19 edition. Kaiser agrees (somewhat ruefully) that, "there is a life and death to arts organizations and not everyone should survive forever, or will survive forever." He has a number of interesting things to say about reviving failing arts organizations, although I don't know how useful some of his advice would be to medium-to-small sized arts organizations. For instance, he talks about cutting out free coffee ($30,000) at the Kennedy Center. That's great but I doubt most smaller arts organizations have that much slack in their budgets. (Kaiser's experience seems to be completely with large organizations -- ABT, Ailey, the Royal Opera House and the Kennedy Center.)

Ouch -- the Times reports that the endowment is down $49 million for the fiscal year!

Thank you bart. I do what I can given what time and resources I have at my disposal. (Vanity of vanities -- I sometimes feel I am doing a better job of it than the people running the official avenues of Limon communication.) I hope they can weather the current storm more or less intact. The Limon repertory, style and technique will never become a dominant language in dance any more than Welsh or Flemish will become dominant languages around the world. But the dance world would be a poorer and less diverse place if Limon's work and ideas disappeared (just as the world would be a poorer place if unique languages like Welsh and Flemish disappeared.) Alas, I fear that events may result in the disappearance of a great many unique "languages" in the dance world. Addendum: So, I've written out a check for the Jose Limon Dance Foundation in its hour of need. If it is to be my fate to live under the Balanchine hyperpower, then let it be with the knowledge that I did what I could to preserve alternatives.

Talk about adding insult to injury: Five days after Madison Ballet's cancelled Evening of Romance performance (w/ Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy) was supposed to have taken place, I received a postcard in the mail today promoting the event! Truly, this event was ill-starred!! (On a side note, interesting that Ethan Stiefel was slated to appear with Madison Ballet given the (at least formerly) schismatic condition of ballet in Madison.)

An ominous e-mail message from the Limon company: "The current economy has weakened everyone, but little attention has been given to the disastrous effect on arts organizations, particularly dance companies. While the award of the National Medal of Arts to the Jose Limon Dance Foundation last November was rightly a cause for celebration, it came when both private and public funding had been seriously constricted. Without your immediate support, we stand to lose what the National Endowment for the Arts cited as a repertory, "of an unparalleled breadth, creating unique experiences for audiences around the world." As Scooby Doo would say: Ruh-Roh!

No problem dirac. When it comes to this board, my guess is I'm an audience of one when it comes to the Friday the 13th reboot!

Well, I saw the reboot of Friday the 13th today! The best way to judge a movie like this is whether or not your heart is pounding by the end and my heart was POUNDING. Very, very suspensful -- largely because the producers/director/writers stripped away all the camp from the Jason Voorhees character and made him seriously scary. In addition, the reboot had the feel of the first four films -- the lake/woods setting, good-looking but not especially intelligent "teens" (all the actors look like they're in their late-20s/early-30s), alcohol/drug use, ridiculous nudity, sex scenes, foul language and absolutely bone-crunching violence. I would give it 9 machetes out of ten. My only disappointment was that (SPOILER AHEAD -- stop reading if you don't want to know) the producers couldn't find room for actress Betsy Palmer (the deranged Mrs. Voorhees in the original) in some kind of small role.

Well, carbro, I won't disagree with you that ABT's repertory outside of City City (where it practically becomes a different company) is conservative to the point of reaction. Part of the problem may be that the present regime is still reacting (or overreacting) to the eclectic -- and polarizing rep -- of the Baryshnikov regime. It appealed to the intelligentsia but it was off-putting to that larg(ish) faction within the ABT audience which loved the Golden Age in the 70s with its stars/guest stars/full houses/shredded programs galore. Maybe the current leadership thinks things became too schismatic by the end of the 80s and are trying to hold the "warhorse"-loving audience together. Or maybe ABT is just stuck performing in a too big house (the Met) which precludes much in the way of innovation. Hard to say, really.

Thank you, Classic Ballet, for your full-throated defense of ABT! My own feeling about ABT is that Lucia Chase hardwired its DNA over 40 years ago when she turned ABT into a showcase for stars. The ballet intelligentsia in New York may not want that but the mass audience does. Baryshnikov tried to change all that with his City Ballet/Kirov/downtown dance fusionary experiment in the 80s -- to no avail. (A good thing he failed, in my opinion.) As the late critic Anita Finkel pointed out, the ABT audience wanted "grand personalities" and "false eyelashes" and "stylized histrionics" and "fandom". Good luck to the ABT school and Mr. Ratmansky in the future but I think they may find that they will be no more successful than some of their predecessors in changing the DNA.