wjglavis

Many thanks for all the info, everyone. (I think I'm going to get the hang of this DVD stuff eventually...) I'm sure others, besides myself, have found the information very helpful. I'm curious, though. Are reissued DVDs (of existing videos) actually any better than the ballet tapes we have already? - Wendy

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Marc, you may be right about waiting - but aren't the new recorable DVD players going to be more expensive? Re replacing old video tapes, I was looking round at the ROH shop and they have quite a few older ballet performances in DVD (always supposing you want to buy them again!) but that still doesn't help with precious recordings off the television which have never been sold to the general public. Lara, I've read your posting twice and it's beginning to make sense to me now. (Was at the ballet last night and haven't yet recovered.) But think I'm getting the gist. That was a really helpful posting - for other people as well as me, I'm sure. - Wendy

Sorry, I know this is the 'video' swapshop, but I hope you won't mind me asking about DVD here. I'm beginning to think about whether I ought to buy a DVD player. Then, yesterday, I found an article saying that it's possible to buy multi-system players in the UK. So my question is: do such things exist in the US??? I've just reread the very interesting (but complicated!!) thread about multi-system video recorders that appeared on this site a while ago. So then I wondered: will a multi-system DVD player work with a regular television or am I going to have to buy a new one? Or deal with lots of wires and a thick instruction booklet?? Finally, like a lot of other people on this site, I own LOADS of ballet videos that it would kill me never to be able to see again. Is the day going to come when we will all have to transfer our precious video collections to DVD? - Wendy

Thanks so much for your detailed answers, Doug - especially for your thoughts on the Lilac Fairy - which were really helpful. And I'll certainly try to learn more about that 'liquid fire' Mel. - Wendy

Thanks so much for your detailed answers, Doug - especially for your thoughts on the Lilac Fairy - which were really helpful. And I'll certainly try to learn more about that 'liquid fire' Mel. - Wendy

I was fascinated by what you had to say, Doug - and am still trying to absorb it all. (And very interested in James' comments too, of course!) Presumably, some of the increased difficulty in the choreography had something to do with improved technique. So, for instance, when a ballet was brought back into the repertory for Kschessinskaya, it would be changed to show off her talents. (And there's an oft-quoted passage of Bronislava Nijinska's in which she describes helping to carry the Lilac Fairy's cloak - danced by Maria Petipa - and seeing her [character] shoes with their little heels. Wiley talks about there being choreography for two different variations - one for Maria Petipa, and a more difficult one for someone else. Is the more difficult choreography anything like what is danced today???) I don't know if you (or James) can answer these, but I have some questions about Sleeping Beauty. 1. Nijinska talks about the HUGE difference in the way her brother danced the Blue Bird - have you found anything in your researches to back up her statements? 2. Balanchine gives a very detailed account of his memories of Sleeping Beauty as regards stage effects. Some of these things are still done (like the disappearance of the Wicked Fairly's disguise) but I would like to know more about some of his other effects. In particular: - Fire - he mentions this in conjuction with Carabosse's disappearance at the end of Act 1. (And I know they used fire at other times at the Maryinsky because you hear about it in Faust, as well.) Do you know anything about this? Is there anything about it in the notation?? - Balanchine also mentions being 'a cupid on one of the carriages in the final act' What carriages? What cupids? - And at the very end, he mentions a huge and wonderful staircase, with fountains on both sides of the stairs, so that there was a sort of waterfall effect all the way down the stairs. The Russians used fountains at lot (and still do) but I've never heard about this particular effect from anyone else. I'm sure I could come up with a lot of other questions (!) but I'll try to restrain myself. Many thanks for introducing this very interesting subject. - Wendy

I was fascinated by what you had to say, Doug - and am still trying to absorb it all. (And very interested in James' comments too, of course!) Presumably, some of the increased difficulty in the choreography had something to do with improved technique. So, for instance, when a ballet was brought back into the repertory for Kschessinskaya, it would be changed to show off her talents. (And there's an oft-quoted passage of Bronislava Nijinska's in which she describes helping to carry the Lilac Fairy's cloak - danced by Maria Petipa - and seeing her [character] shoes with their little heels. Wiley talks about there being choreography for two different variations - one for Maria Petipa, and a more difficult one for someone else. Is the more difficult choreography anything like what is danced today???) I don't know if you (or James) can answer these, but I have some questions about Sleeping Beauty. 1. Nijinska talks about the HUGE difference in the way her brother danced the Blue Bird - have you found anything in your researches to back up her statements? 2. Balanchine gives a very detailed account of his memories of Sleeping Beauty as regards stage effects. Some of these things are still done (like the disappearance of the Wicked Fairly's disguise) but I would like to know more about some of his other effects. In particular: - Fire - he mentions this in conjuction with Carabosse's disappearance at the end of Act 1. (And I know they used fire at other times at the Maryinsky because you hear about it in Faust, as well.) Do you know anything about this? Is there anything about it in the notation?? - Balanchine also mentions being 'a cupid on one of the carriages in the final act' What carriages? What cupids? - And at the very end, he mentions a huge and wonderful staircase, with fountains on both sides of the stairs, so that there was a sort of waterfall effect all the way down the stairs. The Russians used fountains at lot (and still do) but I've never heard about this particular effect from anyone else. I'm sure I could come up with a lot of other questions (!) but I'll try to restrain myself. Many thanks for introducing this very interesting subject. - Wendy

I, too, would love to see Darcey Bussell dance Kitri. But what's all this about Stretton bringing three ballerinas with him to London? Don't think I like the sound of that at all. - Wendy

Thanks everyone. Helen, I'm very glad to know it's possible to buy more programmes, as I'm sure a lot of people would like one. Thanks for posting that. Kevin - for a minute there I thought I was going to become fabulously wealthy and could go to the ballet as often as I wanted. Oh well, back to the lottery. - Wendy

Great to hear from you, Sonja; I thought you'd gone a bit quiet lately Re Makarova - good point, Drew. I'm not sure that she was mentioned, now I come to think about it. Ok, just had a look at my programme and there's a section on Dowell's time in the U.S.A., which includes a photo of him partnering Makarova in 'Les Sylphides' and mentions Makarova several times. Towards the front of the programme there are tributes or memories written by all sorts of people who knew and admired Dowell and it occurs to me that some of you might be interested in hearing the names of those who contributed. (Don't know that we should make too much of the names that DON'T appear; perhaps they only chose the best or the most interesting! Others might have been busy...lost their forms...forgot to post them. But who knows.) They are as follows (and listed in the order in which they were printed): John Tooley, Darcey Bussell, Anthony Russell-Roberts, Jeanetta Laurence, Viviana Durante, Sarah Wildor, Gelsey Kirkland, Wayne Sleep, Donald Macleary, Maina Gielgud, Deborah Bull, Beryl Grey, John Sainsbury, Anya (Linden) Sainsbury, Jenny Penney, Carole Stephen-Lane (nee Dowell), Clement Crisp, Derek Jacobi, Cynthia Harvey (a poem!), Georgina Parkinson, David Bintley, Susan Hampshire, John Lanchbery, Maria Bjornson, Deborah MacMillan, Yolanda Sonnabend, Peter Wright, Philip Gammon, 'A Fan', Panton Corbett, Peter S. Diggins, Roy Round, Vivien Duffield, Monica Mason, Michael M. Kaiser, Jay Jolley, 'The dogs - Suki, Daisy and Barney', Sylvia Guillem, Maria Almeida and Jonathan Cope. Oh, and at the very beginning to the programme there's a letter from Princess Margaret (with photo). She was unable to attend the Gala, but was represented by her daughter. - Wendy

Wow! That sounds amazing. I think it would take me about a month to come down after that. Thanks for that description, James.

Thanks for the thanks, Juliet and Sylvia. I was glad I got in, too...so glad I was jumping up and down and knocking over the furniture! Every time I have another look at what's being said over at ballet.co, I discover another mistake I made. Now someone's talking about the RBS girls in blue tutus(oops, I thought they were pink - must be going colour blind!) Kevin, thanks for that amazing piece of information about the dinner afterwards. Really makes you think, as they say. And thanks also to Colwill for posting that quotation of Sylvie Guillem's from the programme. Thought what she had to say was very, very interesting. James, your brother (an extremely charming and intelligent young man!) DID meet someone from this site: ME! I really, really enjoyed meeting him - and was also delighted to meet your Mother. I WISH I'd known where to look for you on stage but thought the boys in that section looked GREAT. I was so pleased to hear things have been going well for you (touch wood!)! What was it like back stage? I bet the atmosphere was amazing. - Wendy

Many thanks, Jane and Felursus, for the corrections, additions and comments. (All fascinating.) I was trying like mad to remember every single thing I heard and saw....but there was obviously tons more than my poor overloaded brain could possibly hold. Incidentally, I understand a film about Dowell was shown on British Television which may eventually make its way across the Atlantic. Someone was describing it over on ballet.co - and apparently Dowell tells the Thais anecdote on that, too, but with comments from Antoinette Sibley. Am still hoping to hear from others who were there, at least for a rave about their own favourite dancers. Trouble is...a LOT of fans didn't get tickets. - Wendy

This was my first Gala and I'm still in a state of shock (so please add to this posting, fellow fans, and correct my mistakes). (I'm also still in shock that I managed to be there at all. Like so many others, I applied for a ticket, but didn't get one. So in a fit of insanity - or so I thought at the time - I went down to London yesterday to queue for returns, expecting to find that 10,000 other ballet fans had had the same idea. To my amazement, I was second in the queue, but the word was that there was a waiting list of 100..200...700 depending on who you'd been talking to. There was NO chance of returns. NONE. But the queue didn't budge and eventually....we got in. Amazing.) Inside, there were tons of flowers. The programmes were being sold by girls from The Royal Ballet Upper School (wearing pink tutus and mostly standing in taking-a-call ballet postures). They looked sweet and told me they had standing room for the performance. As for the Gala itself, Anthony Dowell narrated throughout and was both interesting and audible (important for those of us in the upper Amphi). The dances were from roles for which he was famous. I'm not going to go into detail about everything that happened last night, however, or it would take about six months to write it all down. Perhaps other fans will help me out here. I'll just mention the highlights (for me!). The first half of the programme was: - a piece for all the boys at the Royal Ballet School - great to see the students dance (and dance SO WELL!). -'Scherzo' from the 'Dream' (Ethan Stiefel, Giacomo Ciriaci, Jane Burn, Mara Galeazzi, Laura Morera and Jenny Tattersall.) - The black swan pdd from Swan Lake with Yoshida and Johan Kobborg. - 'Monotones' with Zenaida Yanowsky, Maurice Vodegel-Matzen, Alastair Marriott. - First highlight for me was the 'Awakening pas de deux' from 'Sleeping Beauty' - some Ashton choreography I'd never seen before (but would like to see again). The Kirov play this music during the interval before the Awakening scene. It was beautifully danced by Belinda Hatley and Igor Zelensky. - The 'Troyte' solo from 'Enigma Variations' came next, well danced by Edward Watson. Dowell told us about one of his early performances. He had a tricky entrance through some scenery and the music was supposed to start when he got on stage. One day they had a famous guest conductor (my brain is failing - was it Klemperer?? Help me someone.)...and the music started while Dowell was still in the wings. 'I don't think I've ever run so fast,' he said, and it took him some time to catch up with the music. - Another highlight was the 'Thais' pdd (Leanne Benjamin and Roberto Bolle). Roberto looked absolutely stunning....and his dancing was brilliant too. Leanne, too, did a good job. Talking about his first performance in the role, Dowell said they hadn't had as much rehearsal time as they'd have liked, especially since the costumes were a bit tricky, so he and Antoinette were extremely relieved that it had gone well. But when Ashton came out for his applause at the end, he held up his hands for quiet. 'Would you like to see it again?' he asked. That, said Dowell, was his only experience of an encore. - And the first half ended with the third act pdd from Manon with Viviana Durante (greeted ecstatically by her fans) and Jonathan Cope (looking great). The interval. Floral Hall was a mob scene. Forget finding anyone you knew or getting a drink. But wonderful to see everyone in 'black tie'. Part Two - Once again we began with the Royal Ballet School, this time performing excerpts from 'Souvenirs', an interesting and amusing ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. Wonderful to see so much young talent. - Act II pdd from 'Giselle' with Viviana Durante and Kumakawa. - 'A Month in the Country' with Alina Cojocaru and Jonathan Cope. - Another highlight was the good old Don Quixote pdd with Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo. Acosta was brilliant (intricate and complicated jumps, great height...) Wasn't sure about Tamara at first, but her fouettes...! Usually I count, but this time I lost track. I think, however, that there were at least three triples amongst them. - Adam Cooper and Sarah Wildor in 'Varii Capricci' - looking great together. - Luke Heydon in Kulygin's solo from 'Winter Dreams'. - Final highlight: Well, we thought the evening was almost over, but the lights dimmed and then we saw a short pdd for Sibley and Dowell. Not sure what it was called, or who did the choreography. (The story was simply the accidental meeting of two ex-lovers on a park bench, who discover that they are each reading the same poem.) I found this extremely moving - and I COULD NOT believe how great they both looked together and how well they danced. - The programme ended with the Finale from 'Symphony in C' (Yoshida, Yanowsky, Benjamin, Bull, Cope, Acosta, Kumakawa, Persson.) At the end the back curtain went up and we saw all the students from the Royal Ballet School (of course half the proceeds of the evening were going toward the new building for the Royal Ballet School upper school, which will be on the other side of Floral Street, just opposite the stage door at Covent Garden. Someone told us later that the Gala had raised 700,000 for the new building. And later it was announced that one of the new studios would be named for Sibley and Dowell.) - And then we had FLOWERS. Lots of them. And also a 'flower shower' from above. Great to see Darcey Bussell come out with a huge bouquet for Dowell. (Darcey looked terrific.) Then two rather chubby footmen appeared bearing more enormous bouquets...one of the footmen lost 'his' wig....and everyone laughed as they recognized Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. (Unless I was hallucinating and it was someone else! Well, I was at the back of the Amphi!) And finally Dowell himself appeared again, bearing yet another enormous bouquet which he presented to Antoinette Sibley. What a night. Sigh. - Wendy

Thanks very much for the info, Deebugs. I'm glad to hear Terekhova is still 'jumping like a teenager'. In which case, I bet her pirouettes and fouettes are still pretty formidable too. I hope very much that things go well for her in Boston. - Wendy

Thanks very much for the info, Deebugs. I'm glad to hear Terekhova is still 'jumping like a teenager'. In which case, I bet her pirouettes and fouettes are still pretty formidable too. I hope very much that things go well for her in Boston. - Wendy

I, too, would have to speak up for Tatiana Terekhova's Myrthe (only watched on video, unfortunately, but watched over and over!): strong, athletic, relentless, angry, amazingly skilled. What a dancer. Like 4Ts, I was disturbed at her being 'let go' by Boston Ballet. (What CAN they be thinking of??) So I hope you are right, Alexandra, about her return to Russia. If anyone has any more information on this, I would love to hear it. - Wendy [This message has been edited by wjglavis (edited March 14, 2001).]

I, too, would have to speak up for Tatiana Terekhova's Myrthe (only watched on video, unfortunately, but watched over and over!): strong, athletic, relentless, angry, amazingly skilled. What a dancer. Like 4Ts, I was disturbed at her being 'let go' by Boston Ballet. (What CAN they be thinking of??) So I hope you are right, Alexandra, about her return to Russia. If anyone has any more information on this, I would love to hear it. - Wendy [This message has been edited by wjglavis (edited March 14, 2001).]

I feel the same way, Sonja. Wonderful news for Darcey and Angus....but a certain amount of ballet-deprivation will have to be faced by us fans. However, reports in the press have been encouraging and, fingers crossed, she might be back by the end of the year. Let's hope there will be lots of other opportunities for her to dance with Zelensky (and lots of chances for us to SEE them!) - Wendy

Brilliant. Thanks, Sonja. I've watched Elena Pankova in the video of 'Corsaire' lots of time (and managed to see her dance Gulnare live once, too) and have been wondering where she was and how she was doing. Obviously, she's doing very well indeed. Thanks again for your interesting post. - Wendy

Sounds like a great night Sonja. Thanks for posting that. Will be very interested to hear how Pankova does tonight. -Wendy

Oh wow, that's what we all love to hear about: someone who went to the ballet for the first time and really loved it. (Of course, it's happened to most of us at one time or another.) Glad you liked your first Swan Lake, simons. -Wendy

Good luck in the Darcey Pointe Shoe competition Sonja!! (Nearly a week later and I am still on a high after that Swan Lake!!) - Wendy

Glad you got into the evening Swan Lake, Sonja - I had a hard time getting a ticket, too. And I was absolutely knocked out by Darcey's performance. In fact, I'm still on a high about it. By the way, have you ever visited the Darcey Bussell site? It's at: http://www.darceybussell.com/ There's a new newsletter up and you have a chance to win a signed pair of Darcey's used pointe shoes. (Mind you, I shouldn't be telling you this, if I want to win them myself!) Anyway, glad you had such a good time. - Wendy

Oh dear, I don't have a lot of time at the moment to do this subject justice, but I have to come in here and join Ann in her defence of `Manon'. I'm not saying I don't prefer Petipa's ballets (I do), but I do think it's my favourite of modern ballets. I admit that the first time I saw it I didn't like it, but over the years I've come to love both the ballet and the music. I've never been quite sure why so many Americans dislike `Manon'. I wonder if it's something to do with the fact that Manon herself (and, indeed, most of MacMillan's heroines) is something of a victim (though she has a go at getting her own back when it comes to the men who want to own her) - both of men and of society. Re the scene in New Orleans with the gaoler - the point here is that Manon has finally learned what love is. In the beginning it was simply a means of getting what she wanted (money, nice clothes etc) but thanks to Des Grieux, who has forgiven her betrayal of him and shared her suffering and exile, she nows understands its value. So she will NOT sell herself any more, not even to save her life. Perhaps, for some, the problem is that Manon has to learn what real love is, rather than knowing all about it by instinct. (On the other hand, I don't think she's the first woman in the history of mankind to trade her `favours' for some tangible return.) As a young girl, I don't think she knows that love has any value at all. She is sorry to leave Des Grieux, but I think she assumed he would understand. Love is very nice, but so are diamond necklaces; why not have both, she thinks. Perhaps if people were to watch the ballet a few more times, they might discover more in it. I myself have found that MacMillan isn't an obvious choreographer and it sometimes takes a while to see what he's trying to say. I wonder if the French like `Manon'? Guillem certainly seems to.