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drbacc

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    beginning fan
  • City**
    Texas/Tennessee
  1. CONCERNING A NEW BOOK - THE HISTORY OF BEAUTY @ AN OBSERVATION ON EMPOWERMENT -DELETED - BY DRBACC
  2. Well, maybe not for Steven Seagal. Drbacc, thank you for reviving this thread. I thought I was all alone out there. I agree with you about Bill Conti’s score, and I ought to have mentioned how distinctive it is (if I’m not mistaken, the LP became a collectible). You’ve also solved a mystery for me. I noted in Karen Kain’s autobiography that she spelled Ditchburn’s first name without the E, and I wondered about the discrepancy. I was happy to have the opportunity to see Ditchburn, too. I had been curious about her because the Seventies was not exactly an era crawling with women ballet choreographers, and it was nice to have the opportunity to see a little bit of her work. As a dancer, she was interesting to watch – long, rather flat torso, legs a teeny bit stocky, on film anyway, and a rather exotic quality, as you note. Didn’t much care for her acting, although granted it was her first time out. (Voice lessons would have been in order.) I also love the Seventies outfits she wears – the long skirts and coats with boots, always a favorite combination of mine. In any case, I’ve seen this on cable several times, and I’m sure I’ll probably watch it again. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Please see my edited version and comments at the end. Any time in the future you see this movie coming on, please let me know. I may want to put it directly on dvd but don't have the capability this minute. And yes, in the opening scene, working out without make up, she appeared to have very athletic legs. A producer she worked with in another movie noticed this and referred to her firmness--like steel or something to that effect. A lot of things have to come together just right to make a ballet dancer, I guess. Do ballet dancers exercise other than practicing the dance and stretching, etc? Do they ever lift weights or exercise in other ways to gain strength or endurance?
  3. A TRIBUTE TO Anne Ditchburn and Paul Sorvino - SLOW DANCING IN THE BIG CITY 1978--Anne, referred to as the "divine ballerina" in a movie review, was given leave from the National Ballet of Canada---Ann Ditchburn in Canadian Ballet, Anne in the movies. SLOW DANCING IN THE BIG CITY (1978) "has so much heart John Avildsen's aorta is showing." It features a "lovely dancer and choreographer"..."what's a shame about Slow Dancing in the Big City is that somewhere on the cutting room floor probably is a fine movie." Variety Magazine, Jan. '78. [Paragraph] These ideas crystallized since first seeing the movie, and hopefully, serve as a counterpoint, as least, providing an alternative view to a barrage of criticisms. With copycat criticisms gaining momentum through a "tyranny of consensus," a kind of wolfpack mentality developed; (none on this website) some being very insightful and constructive, others, willfully malecious and hateful. One thing that always bothered me and became the ultimate mystery of the movie, was the cynacism and vehement criticism inflicted on this movie, especially the ballerina, without justification or mentioning any of its' many redeeming qualities. And criticism it does deserve, let's get that straight up front. You know the movie is off track when they create a troubled 8 year old, pointedly fowl-mouthed and made to be despised by unrealisticly giving him the street smarts and mouth of a 20 year old gang leader.. [Paragraph]This movie reminds me of the national Inquirer, everyone puts it down, yet millions can't put it down. Even the ones who love it go through the obligatory apologies, give it a hard time, only to surprise you in the end, confessing they are fascinated by it, accept it as a "guilty pleasure," and confess they will view it again. I know I will. There are a lot of suckers for this movie, because the theme is universal, boy meets girl, a touch of the wrong side of the tracks, and no one needs a psychology course to understand why this lovely ballerina set her admiirer's heart aflutter in a New York minute,....(to be continued, soon)
  4. ANN DITCHBURN --National Ballet of Canada in the 70's and 80's: If there are more beautiful ballerinas than her, it would be too scary to contemplate. She danced with Karen Kain in Gisele; Also, she played in a not too well known movie that frequently appears on the movie channels SLOW DANCING IN THE BIG CITY with Paul Sorvino (Nominated for Golden Globe Award as Anne Ditchburn)--which has appeared on TMC, FLIX, SHOWTIME & ENCORE-LOVE STORIES and TMC, appearing 14 times in March. Described as a "divine ballerina" in a major movie review and "lovely dancer and choreographer" in Variety magazine, she had parts in 4 other movies (Curtains, Six Weeks, I am a Hotel, Coming Out Alive) and was dancer/choreographer in A Moving Picture, Mad Shadows, Kisses and others; she was one of the rare female choreographers during the 70's, I am informed. A Moving Picture was described by a Toronto newspaper as the ultimate in a sexy, sensual fantasy, shown on A&E, winning several awards and seems to be highly regarded. Another ballet, Edna in the Afternoon, toured the USA and Canada. There have been a few requests on the movie message boards wondering what became of her. I have never been able to find any clear photos of her, newspaper or magazine articles or a complete biographical sketch, though I am sure many exist from those days. She is in a few movie posters, one great profile shot of this lovely enchantress slow dancing on the roof top, with her "diamond crown tiara," but without the wings, this time. Hopefully, some Canadian ballet fans know far more about her life. Her name is Ann Ditchburn in Canadian Ballet, and Anne Ditchburn in the movies (no one yet knows why) She was a real "spellbinder" from what I've seen. Adorned with her fine lace scarf, more exotic than a headscarf has a right to be, she performed her enchanting dances on a Manhattan rooftop and throughout the movie, with her trademark scarf appearing even from one very early photo. Although she has been described as a "world-renown" choreographer and a 'renegade' choreographer, from comparatively less biographical information on her, I am uncertain as to how she is viewed by the world ballet community. I am not uncertain as to how I see her. Neither am I sure if she has been authenticated as a genuine miracle of Canadian beauty, but she is. If interested in the exact schedule of her ballet movie, the easiest way is to type in Paul Sorvino who starred in the movie and about the 5th one down you will see his movie schedule for each month, (14 times in 3/05)--the movie has some flaws, is overly criticized even by those who love the movie, but has great music and dancing and the never to be forgotton "divine ballerina." This lady ( in the '78 movie, bd 1948 or 1949--2 sources) may have the single most beautifully designed face I have ever seen on a human being and critters, too, and, bejeweled with her magnetically brilliant and expressive eyes, one that I never tire of studying; [ not one (eye), rather, face that I never tire of... just wanted to get that straight]--a beauty that goes beyond beauty, beyond forms, beyond the delight of the senses--a "dangerous," but NOT PERILOUS beauty that inspires (my 1st muse!) and captivates the heart. But, if one word describes her best, it could only be--LOVELY-- lovely to the nth power, (fathomlessly lovely is a tongue twister, so forget that one, patient reader) Fortunately, her work will be there for the ages, because "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Yet, I sometimes wonder, does such beauty make us all miserable? Cervantes's knight errant, Don Quixote, must have had this in mind when he proclaimed, "The reason for the unreason with which you treat my reason, so weakens my reason, that with reason, I complain of your beauty." (post 33 other beautiful ballerinas @ Ann) and (discussion begun under - Recent Performances - Slow Dancing in the Big City 6/14/05 & us.imdb
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