leibling

Not to start a new topic, but regarding the last crawl home in Prodigal, I swear I saw a painting of this exact scene in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg-I think the artist may have been Rubens. I mention this because somewhere in the past I have heard that Balanchine had used poses from existing artworks he had seen. (Supposedly, in the Elegie in Serenade, the pose with the Waltz girl on the floor, the man reaching to her and the Angel hovering over them exist somewhere as a sculpture.)Basically, the painting wordlessly depicted the exact words that Mel said are being said. (As a disclaimer, if no such painting exists, it is because I imagined it in a jet-lag induced dream.)

Actually, some companies do venture into Balanchine ballets that are not presented at NYCB anymore. We dance the Sylvia pas de deux quite frequently in Miami City Ballet, as well as an early version of his Valse Fantasie (three girls, one guy), and a few virtoso pas de trois's (Glinka is the one that comes to mind). In fact, this has worked to our advantage- these pieces not being regular rep in NY- as it attracts special attention. I hope other ballet companies don't limit their rep to only what is popular in NY.

Personally, I find falling unexpectedly onstage (or in rehersal) kind of fun. Don't misunderstand me- I don't like to fall, and as I get older, the fear of injury creeps more and more into my mind, but when it does happen, I guess it gives me a boost of adrenaline, and the rest of the performance at least feels better then it would have had I not fallen. Lately, though, we have had problems with our floor- it is a new marley and has not had enough time to be broken in properly, I guess. Someone fell in nearly every single one of our performances through the spring- usually running and trying to stop, going around a corner, etc, and that is when falling is not so fun- when you know you are entering an uncomfortable situation. I guess the floor is getting better- supposedly we have the same maley as NYCB, and I hear they fall alot.

That could be true- I know that we have done that here in Miami- using unwearable shoes to sign and give away. Most dancers wouldn't dare to give away their good shoes as it can take months to receive more.

Rick- you asked for current or emerging female choreographers- I could only think of two.... Lynn Taylor-Corbett, and the girl in San Francisco- Julia Adam(?). The fact that there seem to be so few female choreographers makes these two women important figures in ballet.

Nancy Reynolds- for her Balanchine Foundation projects- which gives some dancers a chance to work with the closest direct links to Balanchine, and then preserves the rehearsals for generations to come.

Alexandra- you mention that Albrecht's cottage is in the same area as Dr. Coppelius's workshop.... perhaps the "realtor" should realize that this is a "high-crime" district... both of these places are broken into during the ballets!!

I used to not give a lot of credit to Coppelia, but then I saw a video relatively recently from which I learned that there is substance to this ballet. It deals with love and forgiveness in a comic fashion, and I thought it looked rather challenging, technically. Furthermore, my experience tells me that it is true that tragedy is easier to play than comedy... you have to have good comic timing, for one thing.

I guess it all depends on the effect you want. One of my teachers used to remind us in school that there will always be someone whose legs go higher, so there has to be more to it than that. These days, when ballerinas with inhuman extensions seem to grow on trees, this bit of wisdom is especially true. An extension of the leg can say so much about a role- it just takes experience to know how and when to use, and what is best for you and the effect you are trying to acheive. An added thought.. I associate superhuman extension with exactly that- something not quite human, something more exotic- Swan Lake for instance- here the extensions come from a bird/woman- for Odette, at least. Black Swan IS a human woman- albeit an evil one, but human, just the same, and limited to a "human"body- therfore maybe not so extended, but exotic in the angularity of her movements. (Odile is completely human, right?) For something like Sleeping Beauty, you have a pristinely groomed young princess on the road to maturity. She is human, so by the same reasoning as above, perhaps a 180 degree extension, especially to the side, is not necessary to convey the character.

Maria Tallchief came to Miami in January 1999 for the Balanchine Foundation project, and she coached Iliana Lopez and Franklin Gamero in the principal roles of Pas de Dix. I think they did the whole ballet (opening entrance, pas de deux, variations, coda and finale) but I am not sure exactly. My understanding is that these tapes take a while to edit, so this one might not be available, yet.

This may seem ridiculously simple, but couldn't Myrtha have been the first Wili? It makes sense to me that she has acquired her power through age- she just existed before any of the others, and as other jilted girls died, they drifted until they found themselves in Myrtha's domain.

I liked the way Carla Fracci's hair was managed in the ABT video with Erik Bruhn. Her hair does not come down, but is definately disheveled by the end of the mad scene. It looks much more natural to me, as I have noticed on numerous videos how the mother is removing pins. It also does not quite seem logical that her hair would fall down as she throws herself onto the ground... if she fell as she were clutching her head, ripping her hair out or some other grevious action, then the undone hair would be ok. Too many times I have seen the intent to reach for the necklace to rip it off, and the hair comes out, too. Anyway, Fracci's hair is damaged by the removal of the necklace, then she continues to pull at it at logical moments through the mad scene. By the end some of it is up, some down, she doesn't seem to care. She is crazy by now, and I am sure that her hair is the last thing on her mind.

I agree completely with BryMar1995's comments- an interesting observation about the roots of the bad name ballet sometimes seems to have !!

Congratulations!!! Maybe I'll order one of those videos...

It happens with people who don't enter competitions, too- the extremely talented young dancer joins a big company, then suddenly doesn't know how to function. It is a big transition- not only are these young dancers starting their first jobs, but many are moving away from home for the first time- I've seen a couple of very talented dancers got through tremendous difficulties because of this. One needs to be very self motivated when joining a company, and many young dancers are so used to constant attention and nurturing from their own teachers they may have been with for years that they don't know what to do when they arrive at a company and don't get any attention at all.

I've come late to this discussion- I am not even in DC to see the performances, but so much of what has been said echoes what I felt when ABT was in Miami. Particularly what Alexandra said about ABT resembling Joffrey with the mant different bodies... it didn't occur to me in February, but that is part of the proplem, definately. It just seemed to me that the presentation I saw went beyond any excuse about ABT being on tour, in a new city, etc. "Unloved"- that was a good word. None the less, I wish I could be there to watch!!!

Here in Miami, Edward Villella always offers a discussion before every performance, and there has been a very positive response. It seems to me that the audience appreciates being told a few things to watch for in an evening, such as the differences of styles, motivation, symbolism, not to mention the personal stories behind the ballets themselves. Many friends of mine vow never to miss the pre-performance talks, finding them helpful to understanding the structure of Agon or even Raymonda Variations. He is able to point out the wit in a ballet, and then people can watch for that, if they want. I guess the discussions make people feel a little more knowledgable, and this makes them feel more comfortable, too. I know that I would find Agon very disconcerting if I were seeing it for the first time- or even the second, third or fourth. When people feel comfortable with what they are watching- when they feel they UNDERSTAND it- they are more likely to appreciate it, and buy tickets then to the next series. At least, that is how I would operate.

I resent Segal's phrases that allow ballet to be represented by Mark Morris's dance group and other such entities. Furthermore, I have not seen many schools or artistic directors that will allow exceptional talent to escape if it is a little overweight. There is so much more to ballet than just weight- movement quality, for one, can put on pounds or take them off- it is part of the illusion. And while the Keefer case involves a child that may be top young to determine truely exceptional talent, she can always come back next year, or go someplace else. No one is denying her the chance to train and even attempt a professional career- San Francisco Ballet, I am sure, is not the only ballet school of merit on the west coast. I don't think it is time for ANYTHING to change- ballet is loved because it is what it is, and there are so many different people with different tastes out there that I believe there is a place for everyone. Furthermore, ballet training has mostly produced highly disciplined individuals- especially those that choose other careers. Many of these people go on to suceed in many different areas- teachers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, physical therapists, etc. This is a lot more than I can say for professioal sports leagues, where you hear more about this team member or that one who was arrested for assault, battery, drunk driving, drug use or even murder. (If I offend, I am sorry, but I least I am not being offensive in a nationally read newspaper.)

What are the characteristics of "good" mime versus "bad" mime? I haven't really seen very much mime- being in a Balanchine based company, and I have only performed small amounts of mime in the Nutcracker ( a traditional version during a guesting)- so I have a sense that it needs to be believable, as well as pretty- but I know there is more to it than that. Are there any examples of "bad" mime- (sorry to ask for that) and why?

I've been thinking about Leigh's comment about the sub-genres of Emeralds. I had a long essay prepared all about Emeralds and its supposed motives, motifs, etc. but then it didn't seem to fit on this forum- not really referring to casting and employ. Anyway- I already digress- the pas de trois, as Leigh mentioned, provides additional genres to consider, and the best I can say is that the two women may "grow up" into other roles in this way... the hopping variation relates to the first ballerina role in Emeralds, and as I type this, my imagination sees her maturing also down the jazzy path to the McBride Rubies role. The second pas de trois variation - with the soft port de bras and swirling movements seems to point to the second ballerina in Emeralds, and once again, eventually stretching the imagination to include Diamonds pas de deux. This is not to say that the pas de trois women should be cast with the same women or types that I mentioned- only that at a glance, it looks like this is where "young" dancers would be heading as they grew up. It is because the pas de trois is usually cast with shorter people that I say young. The man, on the other hand- is already a mature role. He is the leader of the three, and could be the same type or person to be cast for Rubies. The other two men in Emeralds seem to do little more than attend the women they dance with- most notably with the man in the "walking" pas de deux. He is most like a ghost. The other male figure has more interaction with his partner- he is more alive. However, I cannot see a connection with the other men in Jewels from these two as I can with the pas de trois man/Rubies. Somewhere, on some thread, someone mentioned that in classical pas de trois, the two women are meant to contrast with one another- this is exactly what they do here. And I thought that Balanchine was just being clever !

Thanks , Alexandra, for the idea... maybe someday... I have a question- who is "Losch" that Drew mentions in her post ?

It is true- we cannot define Balanchine, the man, now. He used so many formulas and molds, only to redefine himself when someone new came along. We can try to define his ballets- at least they are set steps- and we will alwys find at least one case that will prove everything wrong. Here is a question that may help- who are the dominating personalities that we remember from the Balanchine years ? Farrell (of course), McBride, Peter Martins, Violette Verdy, Melissa Hayden... do you think it would be interesring to try to make a timeline of sorts with the emergence of different dancers and their roles, and then who took over those roles and what they then created ? (they in the last phrase meaning the dancer inheriting a new role). Even as I type this, it seems that it would be a tremendous amount of work, but the patterns may be interesting. (If I were a student, I have a feeling that this could serve as my thesis!) A "family tree" of Balanchine dancers and roles.

Good- now maybe I will feel a little bit like I know what I am talking about. Can we start with Jewels? On another thread, I think Alexandra talked about classifying dancers by the roles they dance in Jewels. We may have to invent some category names. Emeralds- this is romantic in nautre, as far as I can tell. Edward (Villella) says it is french romanticism, to be exact. Rubies- american jazz. Plain and simple. Diamonds- well, here in Miami, this is an example of the "grand, imperial russian manner and style"... I'm not sure if it is so straightforward as that. I think the Farrell role is considered to be a "muse"/goddess role, but maybe the ballet as a whole escapes my own classification abilities. For some reason, when I think of the Verdy role in Emeralds, the word soubrette comes to mind. I'm sure that is way off- base- but I guess it could be a "classique" role. (Classique romantique !!!). The second variation- danseuse noble, maybe? Rubies is demi-caractere for the couple, and a jazzy danseuse noble ?? Could she belong to Alexandra's "black line" ? Diamonds, I just realized is probably danseuse noble... there are references to Swan Lake and Lilac Fairy (in the scherzo, she bourees side to side, while moving her arms across her body- somebody- Arlene Croce, I think- pointed that out as a direct reference to Lilac Fairy)- both previously defined as nobles. This is only a simple attempt to define these- so I'm curious to hear everyone's opinions. One more thing- I just thought of Apollo- the female variations- Calliope=c classique, Polyhymnia= demi-caratere, and Terpsichore= noble (of course)-she is also defined as a muse/goddess role.

This is really fascinating.

I have heard stories from friends who danced with POB during the Nureyev reign- they would say that he just knew everything about ballet, and he could communicate what he wanted. The first time I really became aware of Paris Opera was with the PBS broadcast of Nureyev's Cinderella, and Sylvie Guillem was not the only dancer that I would watch over and over. Each of the soloists in the seasons- the two stepsisters... I felt then that I was watching the greatest company in the world. Anyway, it sounds to me as if he ruled with a stern hand- demanding nothing less than the best one could do... but he told his dancers HOW to do it.