jllaney

Thanks so much for the education rg.

Are the fairies from the pas de quatre in act 3 all originaly female? In the 96 Royal version, the gold fairy is a male and I think I've read on this site that that is a more recent phenomenon. The Gold fairy music is not used on that particular DVD but it's lovely and for some reason it just sounds like a male variation.

On video, the slave in Corsaire is often depicted by gesturing with two hands to his shoulder blades or any variation of one hand on and one hand off in turns and jumps. What is the history behind this gesture? Did it come from a specific dancer or is there more historical significanse to it? And is there a correct vs. incorrect way to use this gesture?

Thanks

I didn't see it on the big screen but was fortunate enough to catch it on NPR. And while I'm not a huge opera buff and not by any menas an expert, I thought the performance was very good.

And I thought Beverly Sills and Renee Fleming did a wonderful job with their insight as well. Both were very entertaining.

just a thought

I'm not familiar with this opera but I couldn't help but think about it. The afore mentioned Sills and Fleming talked for a while about the famous "mad scene" from this opera. In ballet, when I hear someone mention a mad scene, I automatically think of Giselle. Is it the same in opera? When someone mentions "mad scene" Does I Puritani come to mind? Or are all operas full of mad scenes?

Thank you Haglund for that wonderful link to those pictures. It's just amazing to see the scale of that production and how many people must have been involved to bring it to stage.

Roberto Alagna is heckled by the crowd and then leaves the stage forcing the understudy to step in wearing jeans. Must have been a rather odd scene.

After reading that people pay $2000 for tickets to La Scala, I'll never complain about New York prices again.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/1...reut/index.html

Is it possible to order DVD's from Japan? Are they in the same region code as North America?

North America is region 1 DVD while Japan is region 2. You may order them but your DVD player.assuming you bought it in North America, more than likely will not play them.

I haven't been fortunate enough to see any noteworthy Bluebirds but how about a short list of guys who I'd love to see.

Herman Cornejo-ABT

Ivan Putrov & Carlos Acosta-RB

Emmanual Thibault-POB

Daniel Ulbricht-NYCB

Some high flyin' dudes there!

THank you all for your input. Sounds like all I need is a weekend, netflix, and lots of popcorn.

Anyone have any good recommendations on Fred Austaire films that show him at his dancing best?

There are bunches to choose from and while I'd like to watch him dance, I don't have that much free time.

Thanks

You could try the DVD recording. It was a filmed version so the sound should have been stereo recorded. Not the best solution but maybe the only one.

Two links to the DVD.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...336343835&BAB=E

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002Y4SQ...&v=glance&n=130.

Vasiliev is such a gentleman. I have so much respect for him after seeing this interview.

There was a wonderful program on the documentury channel on Sunday about Arum Khachaturian. It may well have been mentioned here before but it's worth noting for me because of a ten minute interview with Vasiliev about Spartacus and his insights into it and the composer. Also some nifty footage of Gayanne on film that I'd never seen before. It is worth checking out if your a fan of Khachaturian.

I was listening to my ipod on a trip from Belize and came across this wonderful piece of music. It's the second variation from the pas de six and to my knowledge, I've never seen it performed on stage or in film. Does anyone know if it's for a man or a woman? It's so sad, almost like a funeral march, but it's beautiful. I was thinking it would work well for Seigfreid's variation at the end of act 1 as he contemplates on his loneliness.

What do you think?

You can listen to it at the amazon website

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/samples/B...ing=UTF8#disc_2

There also seems to be a misunderstanding of what "having a thesis" involves in scholarship.  This reminds me of a way of thinking/analysing/communicating become all too prevalent in our culture, especially visible in the work of political think tanks and cable news discussions.  And that is:  presenting only the arguments and evidence (of greatly varying reliabiity and quality) that support your thesis, while completely ignoring -- or (worse !!! ) not even being aware of -- evidence that does not.

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Bart,

Thank you for summing up what I was thinking as I read a few paragraphs of that article. And I had to giggle when reading your response as it seems a perfect example of the Colbert word of the year, And that is "truthiness".

LAC,

Thanks for the wonderful reviews. What is it you refer to when talking about the "ticking" noise in the green table?

Thanks

On the ABT homepage, who are the dancers portraying Conrad and Birbanto?

www.abt.org

BTW, that's a pretty good leap for a pirate

Thanks

And the Esmerelda pas de deux is different from the Diana and Acteon Pas de deux from Esmerelda?

Thanks

Indeed, so much good news!!!!!!! Now the bad part is waiting for this must have DVD. Thank you Jane for this post. I will be smiling all day tomorrow.

I think it's interesting in what seems to be the other end of the spectrum that's being posted about ABT's spring season. You have up and comers who can't get on the stage in meatier roles(Fang has been mentioned several times) and even established stars (Part as O/O or Cornejo as anything) when they appear to be more than ready. Meanwhile we have a nice heated debate about a youngster getting the chance when she may or may not be ready at NYCB. I think all posters have made good points and I enjoy reading them.

There's probably no comparison between the two but it emphasises how hard being an AD probably is.......I'd still take the job if they offered it to me though.

Above all I wish Miss Mearns well.

P.S.

You think she'll be nervous before that show?

Just a little?

Maybe?

These are wonderful. Thank you. Can anyone translate the standard in Petipa's hand?

Thanks.

My favorite moment was the Bolshoi orchestra's playing of Shostakovich's Bright Stream score at the Met over the summer. Their sound was so pure and rich they made the Met seem like a 500 seat theatre.

My low point was not hearing them play the Spartacus score that same week when I had the chance.

I will add my thanks as well. That was very helpful.

Might someone enlighten me on the "competition" aspect of what's going on there? Is this only for POB dancers and are they competing for promotions. How often do they hold this competition?

THanks

I Showed the picture to my teacher and she said she was pretty sure Igor's costume was Nutcraker and a little less confident but her guess about Toumanova's tutu was that it was from Ballet Imperial. She was working from memory but she danced with both of them.