leibling

I am clearly in the minority, but I voted for Rubies- I thought the corps- particularly the four men- did a really terrific job trying to embrace the style. The way they moved and covered the space on that stage- especially at the beginning of the third movement. The principals were ok- I liked Dupont in this much better than Letestu in Diamonds, and while I was not crazy about Gillot, that impression had more to do with the fact that some of the choreography I did not recognize- little things I have become used to. She is obviously a very excellent dancer.

After this, I really enjoyed the four girls in Diamonds- they seemed the equivalent of the men in Rubies in terms of there scope of movement and attack. On top of the beautiful training, one can really start to see the structure of the choreography. Also- I enjoyed the performance of the second variation in Emeralds- I am not sure who this was. To me, one of the reasons Emeralds was disappointing because I missed the extended finale. It closes the ballet unexpectedly... I liked Bart's comment about the contrast between this ending of Emeralds and the beginning of Rubies. I never thought about it, but this does link those two ballets together- the final arm gesture of the men in Emeralds suggesting that somewhere, there is something else.

Also in Emeralds, the facial expressions for the woman in the first solo- the Verdy solo, were too contrived for me. There were moments when I felt that she had studied videos of Violette a great deal, and tried to apply Violette's individuality to her performance. It just didn't ring true. Both pas de deux's had much more- well- romance than I am used to. The choreography is romantic on its own, so when dancers try to add to that through longing glances, etc. it becomes too much. Fo me, that is. The pad de trois was ok- especially the man. The two girls I do not remember too much about.

This truly marks the end of an era- at least for me. Melissa Hayden was my teacher at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and while I knew she had been ill recently, it is very hard to picture the school without her in the studio scaring all of us half to death! Believe me, I say that with all due respect... if you have ever known any of her students and heard their stories of her, then you know that as a teacher, she would do or say ANYTHING to push you into new territory. She could make some very harsh comments, but in the next moment display so much compassion and caring that you knew she only wanted the best. After leaving the school and moving on into my professional career, I stayed in touch with her as much as possible, and here is where I saw the greatness of her as a person. She never failed to surprise me with comments so straightforward and honest that I would be caught off guard by the simplicity at which she arrived at her conclusions. She was keenly aware of human nature- perhaps that is one of the things that made her such an effective teacher, and what she couldn't figure out right away, she would go home and ponder. So much history... just a few weeks ago I spoke to her about a detail in Agon, and she knew exactly what the answer was, and even answered a few questions I hadn't asked.

Melissa not only taught you how to dance, but she taught lessons of how to succeed. Anyone who came from her class knew that one of the most important things a dancer can do is to listen to the choreographer, and give him or her whatever is asked. She would tell us that she didn't care if we fell- just as long as we were doing what she told us to do. This lesson came back to me recently when, teaching a class of rather talented girls, I found myself using her ideas to push them beyond their limits. I wish I could watch her teach again. All of those details of all of those variations she knew- she knew how so many of them should be done- every musical accent, every phrase, every step, position and movement. Well, she was there when many of them were created.

I miss knowing that she is still teaching- still pushing people beyond their limits any way she could. Thank you Ms. Hayden for everything.

As sad as it may seem, I find a lot to agree with in his article. Even as a dancer, I have had the experience of going to the theater to see a ballet performance by a world class company and coming away with the feeling that it was ok- but maybe not as moving or touching as I had expected, and while the production was very pretty, true beauty was lacking. OF course, much of the technique on display that evening was astonishing, but where was the story? I could have been watching an evening of gala pas de deuxs and solos. I can't blame the dancers for this- they were probably doing what they had been told. Further, the artisitc staff had probably also tried their best to achieve what they thought the ballet was supposed to be, drawing on their experience. So who is to blame?

There are still some experts around- those that for some reason or other are able to develop dancers and coach ballets in a manner that makes the art form still feel relevent- at least in the srudio. But the issue of no substantial new classical work is maybe the bigger problem. Where are the works reflecting the issues and culture of today? Could there be a current choreographer who could deal with some of the deep rooted political issues that face us today? A few weeks ago, I went to see a series of plays at a local theater. Every single one of them had either premiered within the last few months, or was premiering that evening. The plays were fresh and relevent to today's world, and while they didn't all suceed, the audience didn't know what to expect next, either. Wouldn't it be wonderful if ballet could be used in such a way, and the dancers encouraged to use their own minds to bring thes works to life?

How about "Oops, I thought this was a movie," night ? That is the night when people come in, put their feet on the seats, talk on their phones, and to each other, and, well, generally behave and dress as if they are at the movies.

I don't know that I have often seen apprentices being cast in solo and leading roles, however. Generally, a dancer is an apprentice when it is felt that he or she is not completely ready to take on the full demands of a full corps contract. I had always thought that "a good opportunity" for an apprentice would be an appearance in the corps of a ballet. Those corps dancers that you wish would be Juliet should be the ones receiving such an opportunity so that the audience can see what else they can do besides their regular corps roles. I really shouldn't comment, I suppose- I have never seen the girl in question. Maybe she is a tremendous talent and an instant star (then maybe she should have been made a corps member already?). I think this type of casting bothers me, though, because I see it happen in other places, too. Generally, the dancer does very well, but I am often left wondering if the performance might have been artistically richer with a little more of a chance to mature and develop in roles that don't require so much pressure.

I believe that Hubbe does teach advanced men. I am not around SAB very much. However, I have heard that he places an emphasis on the heel being down during the plie. This gives the dancer more control through the back of the leg, and more control on a landing. These were a couple of things I discussed with a teacher friend of mine during the last few months, so it was interesting to read that the men at SAB this year were exhibiting softer landings. I am not saying there is only one reason for this- there are probably many factors, and maybe this year there was just a really excellent crop of men.

Moderator's note:

A good point, worthy of discussion, suggested by bobbi on the SAB Workshop 2006 thread. Thanks to bobbi for the question and to leibling for the first reply!

--carbro

I've often wanted to start a thread called "Soft Landings 101." Why is it that this young David Prottas (and, by the way many of the other young men in the class of 2006) can land so softly and yet many of today's men at NYCB are -- despite being otherwise good dancers --"clunkers"? It can't just be that the Danes (Eric B., Peter M., Helgi, Peter S, Adam, Nikolaj H) or the Russians (Rudy or Misha) have a monolopy on soft landings. Our American men (Eddie, Jacques and our own Damian) seem to know how to do this. Can someone please tell me why this young David Prottas already knows how to land softly?

I understand that Nikolaj Hubbe is becoming more and more central to the SAB faculty- could this have something to do with it?

Yes- I think so. I wish that the photographer would add some of his more recent work- he also has color shots, including very stunning performance shots of Stravinsky Violin Conserto.

Has anyone heard of Vladlen Semionov and know what he might be doing now? He is married (I think) to Irina Kolpakova, and has been teaching in the United States. Does anyone know where he might be teaching?

Here is one you probably have not heard much of- Bob Mooney. He lives in Naples, Florida, and mostly photographs Miami City Ballet. His website http://home.earthlink.net/~bobmooney/wings.html has a few photos- all black and whites, some with a sepia tone- and these are actually not very recent. However, his work just continues to improve- his sense of timing and composition is priceless. He shoots most performances and some rehersals-so no posed shots-and probably has photos dating back many years. He has a way of capturing the essence of the dancer AND the dance that I have rarely seen.

Just a quick "heads-up"... MCB will be in the NY area starting April 28 and 29 at the Tilles Center on Long Island, (28- Dances at a Gathering, Fancy Free; 29-Piazolla Caldera, Donizetti Variations, Nine Sinatra Songs) April 30th at SUNY Purchase (Dances at a Gathering, Stravinsky Violin Concerto) and May 2nd in Princeton at the McCarter Theater (Dances at a Gathering, Stravinsky Violin Concerto).

This list really emphasizes how little dance is broadcast these days- when you look at the dates of these recordings, it seems that they used to be produced at least once a year, and then dance started to disappear from the lineup. Sad.

I know this is a late response, but someone had asked if the interim contract represented industry standards, as far as rehearsal hours, etc., and I can tell you that it does. In fact, it is much the same as other AGMA contracts. You can read the contracts that are currently being negotiated on-line at the AGMA websites- I think it is musicalartists.org. Click on agreements, and then choose dance.

It seems like only yesterday I was looking at pictures of Bujones and Cynthia Gregory in Dancemagazine in Black Swan. I only met him once, but I guess his name was ingrained in my mind, being an icon of classical ballet from my childhood. How fast it all seems to go...

I just finished watching a video of Paris Opera's Nureyev staging (the video is of the premiere, I think), and there is no Act IV. I thought I had missed something!

I went to see the performances in Miami- Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Well.... um... well- I don't have a lot of good things to say.

The best part of the evening on Saturday ( that I saw- I left after the first intermission becasue most things were being repeated the following day), was listening to Violette Verdy speak as she accepted an award from the Festival -some sort of "Grand Prix Gold Medal" in honor of the tenth anniversary. She is the most delightful woman, and accepted the award saying that she doesn't expect any awards because she loves what she does.

Other than this, I can't say too much about Saturday. There was a Swan Lake Act 2 pas de deux- this is never very good on it's own anyway. The pair from Royal Winnipeg performed a contemporary piece that started out ok, but quickly became too repetitive choreographically. When I begin to feel that I know the steps the dancers on stage are doing, they have done them too much. A selection from Midsummers- was refreshing, and the dancers were very good. The "Grand Pas Classique" was forgettable.

Now for my rant. Sunday afternoon's performance lasted almost four hours, and I am sorry to say that it was not a pleasant afternoon. The dancing ranged from forgettable to capable to the highlight of "Complexions" in "gone." However, I cannot blame the dancers onstage for my bad experience. I have never been more embarassed to be a part of the AUDIENCE than I was on that afternoon. Cell phones, people talking, candy wrappers. On piece was was a duet for two women with no music. It was not a great piece, but those women, trying to accomplish something on stage, did not deserve to be treated the way they were. People in the audience laughed, talked out loud, and ANSWERED their ringing cell phones. As the piece ended, there was such a response as I have never heard- some people began to yell bravo- laughing as they did so, happy the piece had ended, and others booed. I don't know what to say about an audience response after a piece- people are free to express themselves, I guess- but the ridiculous behavior during the piece was inexcusable. I wish I could say that this was the only time the audience behaved this way, but the rest of the afternoon was much the same. Anything contemporary- even Complexions-was not given very much respect, but if a girl in a tutu came out and did some fouettes, the audience went crazy. It was worse than a circus.

If it is any consolation to those of you in West Palm, Rolando Sarabria was injured and only danced the adagio and coda from the Nutcracker with an overly-smily Lia Ciria. To tell you the truth, there was nothing in his partnering work that would recommend him in my eyes. He made very little connection with his partner- although she wasn't helping- and then would punctuate a phrase of movement with an unnecessary port de bras, as if he wanted to remind the audience that he could dance. He has received a lot of publicity- he jumps high and apparently can do a lot of pirouettes, but isn't ballet, and dance in general about more than these tricks? Shouldn't the quality of the art show up at the very least in an adagio?I shouldn't pass judgement on him because he is injured, but the willingness of people to christen someone an instant star because they can do 32 double fouettes that finish with a backflip is something that I find disheartening.

At least the trio from Complexions provided not just satisfying, but memorable dancing. These men were movers- and while they could have just resorted to the usual variety of self-indulgent movements to show off their very flexible and fluid capabilities, their piece, with it's folksy music by Odetta, seemed to describe some part of the human experience. Each man seemed to have a purpose beyond showing off, and through each of their respective internalized struggles, I felt I could see references to slavery, segregation and this society's struggle with that history.There were no overt references or gestures, really, just an atmospheric quality brought together by the music, the well balanced choreography, and each dancer's artistic contribution.

I don't want to say too much more- I can't say anything else nice, really. The production department behind the festival has a lot to work out- both performances started a half-hour late, the programs are poorly edited and Violette Verdy's name was constantly mispronounced. (Please- if you are honoring someone with an award at least figure out how to pronounce their name.) There were a variety of lighting mistakes, and even musical cue mistakes. These amateurish mistakes do not put the festival in good light, and I hate to think of how this might reflect on ballet in general.

Symphony in C, finale- all those tendus!!

Usually, in the Spring, both Pointe and Dancemagazine have special issues in which US and some European companies list the starting salaries, number of weeks, and benefits. This could be a good reference. Generally, I have noticed that the "mid-range" reginal companies usually are able to offer a minimum of 30-36 weeks, starting around 400-500 dollars, along with some form of health insurance.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Gillian, and I was afraid she would turn out to be just another technical dynamo so wrapped up in steps that she forgets the story. I was very pleasantly surprised, though, to see that she is on her way to becoming a beautiful artist with astounding technique. I really enjoyed her Odette, and I liked her powerful projection. It reminded me of Matthew Bourne's idea behind his all-male Swan Lake that Swan's are very powerful creatures. Gillian's powerful Swan Queen made the story more poignant for me- rather then being a victim who is inevitably doomed, she makes it seem that she has come to the very end of the rope. I felt that her black swan, while still impressive technically, somehow lacked maturity, almost as if she were approaching the role from the point of view of a young, inexperienced woman. This was only a subtle detail, really, and maybe only something I saw.

I also enjoyed Corella- he is continually improving, but I do wish I could have seen Gillian dance with Marcelo Gomes, maybe. I saw those two together in Theme several years ago, and that seemed very "right."

I enjoyed the whole thing, really- since I wasn't sure what I would think having read so many posts from people who have seen this version live. I even liked the "Swamp Thing."

I am wrong about the Dulcinea's- sorry. However- isn't Suzanne quoted somewhere as saying that she "never even had an understudy?"

This is my first chance to be at a computer since I saw the Wednesday night performance, and I am writing without having read the other posts...I wanted to do this before I was influenced by other people's comments. It was an interesting evening...although what stands out in my mind really are the sets, costumes and the music. As much as I have heard about how people did not like the original score, I really enjoyed it. I found the music very descriptive- telling the story better than the choreography did. The sets and lighting effects often made me think of Salvador Dali, and many of the costumes- particularly in the palace scene, were just beautiful- at least from my view in the first tier.

That being said, I also feel that the amount of work Suzanne had put into this was particularly apparent in the ensemble sections and in some of the soloist parts. The opening village scene was lively and well staged, I thought... for the most part everybody seemed to be engaged by the actions centerstage. The dancing in the village scene by the corps was full of spirit- not the most technically adept spirit, but energetic, nonetheless. Later on, in the Palace scene, Bonnie Pickard's intensely detailed parformance in the fourth variation also seemed to display what I thought might be a bit of what Suzanne tries to pull from some of her dancers. Also- the characters in the Palace scene carried themselves in a manner that was completely appropriate- their regal smugness providing more evidence of the attention to detail. The dream scene at the beginning of act 3 seemed to be more typical of Balanchine- with solo couples weaving in and out of the corps. Here, Shannon Parsley's quick, musical and energetic footwork impressed me the most, despite some awkward choreography. Also, the images created by Erin Mahoney's entrance- dressed entirely in black- stick in my mind. She brought something more powerful onstage here than she had in her earlier variation.

It was the performance of the Principals, though, that seemed to be the most lacking, I am afraid. From the very first entrance of Dulcinea, where she bends over to dry the Don's feet with her hair- I wished for something more imaginative- more sensuous. I found myself trying to imagine what Suzanne's own performance might have been like in this role. I can imagine the particular way she may have pricked the floor with her toes in the village scene variation as Marcela, and I can imagine the abandon with which she would have thrown herself into the later variations. The quote in the program talked about how Dulcinea was an off-balance character, and that there was nothing about her that was straight up and down. For me, Sonia Rodriguez's beautifully centered, balanced dancing didn't add anything to the character- perhaps actually subtracting from whatever power might lie in the choreography. As Don Quixote, Momchil Mladenov improved as the evening went by, but there seemed to be very little chemistry between the two of them, and there were too few moments when he seemed to exist right there, in that moment.

I suppose this could have been the effects of opening night- I unfortunately did not have the chance to see another performance or other casts. In terms of the ballet itself.... well, knowing that Suzanne was the only Dulcinea to appear during it's time in the NYCB rep says alot. I am not sure that the ballet can exist on its own merits without a dancer such as Suzanne in the leading role. Maybe her current Dulcinea's will find their own way over time- who knows.

The rep is interesting for this year as more than in previous years, many dancers are choreographing. The pieces are fairly short, and interstestingly, it's the younger dancers in the company who are offering their works. A couple of them have participated in the choreographic workshops at SAB. Also, I believe there will be a pas de deux from La Sylphide ( depending on the performance), and Lynne Taylor-Corbett's "Chiaroscuro."

You actually haven't missed it yet... this year it is scheduled for the last weekend of April... the 29th, 30th and May 1st.

I think that Nissinen does teach the company class in Boston sometimes- maybe once a week or so. He also has at least two ballet masters and one ballet mistress with whom he can share those duties.

I feel that the critic here may actually be commenting on Stevenson's particular version. The complaint here- about so much mime and village folkdancing, echoes the review I just read of Ballet Florida's production of Stevenson's Dracula. I haven't seen Stevenson's R&J- so I don't know for sure, but I have seen his Dracula, as performed by Houston Ballet, and I remember that while the production was gorgeous to look at, there was NO dancing. I could see how R&J could lend itself to the same choreographic treatment.