Anne74

At the risk of sounding skeptical, I must wonder what those 121 fouettes LOOKED like.....

I think perhaps why this whole issue gets under my skin so much is that I see audience members (seasoned and "newbies" alike) judging the merit of an Odette/Odile's performance on how her fouettes go! How awful. Yes, that third act coda is a landmark moment in ballet history, but who's to say WHAT Petipa really, truly intended. A specific showcase moment for this particular dancer to show off her particular trick, a place for succeeding dancers to show off THEIR particular tricks, or an iron-clad determination that 32 fouettes were the only way to convey the seduction and dynamic between Odile and Siegfried? In any case, I don't think any dancer should be judged an inferior Odile for performing an equally difficult and mesmerizing "trick" step in her coda. That's my story and I"m sticking to it!

But isn't the problem actually getting two Balanchine repetiteurs to agree on what he really wanted??? As you've all said, he changed his own ballets often--- some repetiteurs stage an early version, some a later version. Who's to say what's "right"? Which could be called better or more authentic-- the choreographer's first vision or his later re-vision?

Hmmm... thanks for the information. I was hoping it would be shown on plain ol' public television sometime soon. Or anytime. I'll keep my eyes peeled!

It is, in my opinion, clear that Balanchine works and the "classics" are apples and oranges when it comes to this issue of "different versions" of choreography. I'm straying from the original topic of Swan Lake foutees, if that's ok. It seems to me that it's almost as if you'll never see the same male variation twice in most classical full-lenght ballets! Men are given practically free rein to choose, or even concoct, a variation or coda that suits them best. Women, on the other hand, have little or no choice in the matter and must deal with the flak they'll get for amending a variation. Although I've seen Balanchine repetituers give dancers (men and women both) various options in certain places while staging ballets, they certianly are always firm about virtually everything. Another can of worms to open is the fact that each Balanchine repetiteur stages any given ballet a different way! Talk about confusing for a dancer....

I'm glad to hear from someone else on the same wavelength about this! I agree one hundred percent that learning and rehearsing a certain role can be the best way to improve one's technique, but as you pointed out, even Balanchine apparently preferred to change a step to suit a dancer's strengths rather than put them onstage struggling. My personal experience has shown that many Balanchine repetiteurs act the same way--- they offer different options after a dancer has struggled and has trouble coming to grips with a given step or passage. I believe the honor lies in the fight to succeed, not in fitting into an ironclad mold. And the beauty and magic lie in a dancer's artistry onstage. I agree with you. I really hate when a role boils down to a set of turns or balances, and the performance is "graded" solely on those elements.There's a new scoring system in figure skating that gives credit for (legal) elements performed. Some skaters have chosen to drop a jump that they have difficulty performing, often substituting a repetition of a harder jump in combination, and others have chosen alternate positions for spirals and layback spins of equal or greater difficulty, but ones that emphasize their strengths, not their weaknesses. There are many people on figure skating boards who feel this is somehow cheating, even when, empirically, the skater has done something more difficult. In skating and dancing, I would rather see "elements" performed well and integrated into the drama. Even Balanchine changed steps for dancers, based on their strengths and abilities. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If, for an audience member or a dancer, "Swan Lake" is all about the third act foutees, I think something's wrong. What makes the famous 32 foutees so famous (and not just in Swan Lake) is the repetition. Audiences love almost any step if it's repeated beyond the point that seems natural to stop at. I understand the point about that moment in the ballet being a metaphor for Odile's ability to mesmerize Siegfried and capture his devotion, but I hate the thought of a ballerina being branded "a wuss" or as technically incompetent for substituting another step. Foutees are indeed very difficult to do well, but so are many other steps that could, if done with the right impetus, equally mesmerize and enrapture a prince.

I agree that they can be sucessful when they're advertised to the public as "mischevious" shows. In my experience, the jokes are mostly wasted on the audience and are funny only to the dancers and crew. Exceptions are the obvious--- Mother Ginger with a "Happy New Year" sign on New Year's Eve, snow falling on the conductor, etc. I know some companies that bill a cerain performance as "nutty" can make out pretty well.

I used to follow Alberta Ballet closely because I lived there, but haven't heard much about what's going on with them lately. Has anyone seen them recently or know how things are with their displacement from their usual performance venues?

I heard (from someone who works with NYCB) that a documentary film was made of their recent tour to St. Petersburg, and am wondering if it will ever be shown on tv or released on video/DVD. Does anyone know? This individual told me it's entitled "Bringing Balanchine Back".