Amy Reusch

We had no focus problem... I wonder, were we not in an IMAX but simple 3d? It wasn't a huge theater. The house was about the same, maybe 16 people, 9 of whom I brought.... Extreme close-ups kill large theater acting... Big mistake. I can't understand why any cinematographer would choose to shoot jumps from above the eye level of the dancer, that she flew at all is a credit to Osipova. I did like her mad scene though... Particularly her way of picking up frantic speed on her way to collapse...very effective. I didn't see the attraction for Sarfaanov.. Overly clean line, too immature in the acting... Seemed better cast for Franz in Coppelia than Albrecht but not sure he can act the sense of humor necessary for a good Franz. Lovely feminine line arabesques if you like those in a man, and exaggerated feet in simple walking. I will say his enterchat six were worth paying admission for though....

Interestingly we did not seem to have any distortion issues... Though a couple of times we just lost the edge of a foot. 3D could have used so well in the corps dances... But there the director prefered to use an extreme wide shot.... We could have so easily understood Hilarion's dizzying drowning if we were immersed in 3d, but the obvious use for 3D was ignored... So strange.

I had such hopes for this... And the dancing was good... The mother did a superb job of the pantomime... But... I'd like to hear from the others who frame dance on this forum... Is it possible? Could they have a near perfect score of missing the shot at almost every opportunity? Well... I don't understand; Giselle is like a series of storyboards,,, it's basically a live graphic novel... It's over a hundred years old and there are many other director's choices to study. The Het Nationale does the framing beautifully. All I can say for this production is that the mystery of how Giselle's hair gets loose has now been carefully revealed. The framing was wide when it should have been close, close when it should have been wide and mostly the medium shots revealed what was behind the character's back instead of what s/he was looking at. Either there is a back story of feuding video crew communication or the director never bothered to reed the libretto. Perhaps they followed opera models. Bring your fellow balletomanes, but leave the newbies home. Like the Director, they just won't "get" it. There are moments, however that are well beyond worth the $12. Save the novice for the real thing unfiltered by poor camera direction. It was nice to be in the orchestra pit for the overture, and the music was nicely recorded, though at moments during the first act I wasn't sure if it was happening on the same day as the dancing.. I was surprised that the corps didn't pull off the arabesque voyage crossing in the 2nd act... The Mariinski Corps should be better than the Russian National Ballet in its one night stand tours... But here it wasn't. Why? I'm still hoping for Wim Wenders' Pina in 3D...

I don't know if it's is any help, but there is now a Facebook page where one can show support for the dancers: Friends of the Joffrey Ballet dancers... Friends of the Joffrey Dancers

His work sometimes to me seems to be the successor of Massine's....

I have always liked the way the camera saw Petit's choreography here:

Seems like something the Iranian National Ballet would have an interest in doing... I see in Wikipedia that they did Serenade...but no mention of this.

I'm going, here in Connecticut with as many students as I can talk into going... So many of my students have never seen a major company perform... I hope this works for them!

This was filmed? I thought Figure in the Carpet was one of the lost works.... Or was this filmed and then lost?

I just received the beautiful Fall season brochure and there are many gorgeous shots in it... There is something strange in it too though... Does anyone else feel the dancers in the non dancing shots look like they are being portrayed as children? I feel it strongly but can't lay a finger on what makes this so. By contrast, the photos of the principals opposite the company listing look like artists. The earlier ones almost look like a middle school yearbook... What is it? The smiles? The poses? And why would one want them to look like kids? Is this like a glorified dance school approach? Very strange... And yet the dancing photos are stunningly beautiful.

Joffrey does have a pretty bad track record when it comes to union relations.... I remember the mess when they left NY for Chicago...

Facetious answer: so that they have an excuse to carry around that beautiful van Cleef & Arpels Swan Lake cigarette case on display at the Cooper Hewitt? But honestly I wish no one smoked.

Do they pay a lower labor fee or less in rights for a smaller audience? I can't understand why they are going to such lengths to shrink their audience... Even if it is an audience of only expensive ticket holders.

I wish they'd have a club you could join where you buy one, get X at half price... I often try to bring someone new to ballet with me... Its going to be pretty nigh impossible with the new prices... If they really want to grow their audience, they need to start to think about those of us who do such things....

Farrell looks so beautiful, and the Royal Ballet photo is truly priceless!

Another trailer for Atrophy Bank

This is one of the most beautiful promos I've ever seen....and usually I detest close ups

I love the idea of the top ring being for students... But I suppose there need to be chaperones too or things will be damaged? Would be a great use of the top rings and certainly help fill the lower rings with audience 10 years from now

Most likely Martinez' Swan Lake stayed in Pennsylvania Ballet's repertoire after the Milwaukee/Pennsylvania Ballet union broke apart... that makes sense... for some reason I thought it came to Penn from ABT, but don't know why... perhaps I'll run across it somewhere, perhaps I saw an old program... but more likely it was just a mental error on my part... and more likely I saw an old ABT program for Coppelia which I saw as a child and made some assumptions.

I'm pretty sure the Swan Lake I shot for Pennsylvania Ballet was by Enrique Martinez... must check when next I'm home... it had a lovely Maypole dance in it, which I'm not sure I remember in other productions, but you, rg, would surely know. Thanks for the info!

I'm guessing because Franklin was so gifted at bringing out the best in a production... I don't know Enrique Martinez's story at all,though I have also enjoyed his Swan Lake. Is he still living? How did he get to be staging ballets? Did he have one of those phenomenal memories like Franklin? I'm not aware of him as a choreographer... Did he simply restage or is there a body of original work as well?

When Balanchine ballets are presented by every high school (or ballet school) in the land, they will be able to charge Broadway prices. This is essentially what they have going for Nutcracker. I'd really love to see them charge 1970s prices 6 months in advance, 1980s prices 5 months in advance, 1990 prices 4 months in advance, 2000 prices 3 months in advance, 2011 prices 2 months in advance and scalper prices the week of... With student rush for the under 27 the day of.... Seems like this would reward loyalty and fill the house while building buzz and maintaining some degree of exclusivity for those who thrive on that.

Interesting to see any variation danced by 7 different dancers... What surprises me is not so much the beautiful tricks delivered here with remarkable ease but rather the drop after Baryshnikov in quality during the transition steps... Attitude renverse is a beautiful movement in itself and seems to get short shrift artistically from many of them. I liked Zelensky's musical finish, but his hair seemed to have a life of it's own which for some reason distracted me.

But keeping a piece in constant rep can make it fade too... Giving it a break and then reviving it isn't so terrible an idea... The issue is perhaps in how long the break is and who is responsible for the revival...

Coppelia remains in ballet's rep for good reason... I have read that it revived Ballet which had fallen far out of favor in Paris and with a score like that and a beautiful ballerina with charm and humor, it seems a believable theory. I understand the ballerina was lost shortly afterward, something to do with the Franco-Prussian war. Wikipedia says she was only 17 at her death... And the choreography was lost. Petipa revived it and ABT's descends from his. It, along with Fille and Nut, are about the best ballets out there to start a very young balletomane off with. I think, with its comedy, it requires something we haven't been training into our dancers much lately, acting ability... Something I suspect the early ABT and late Ballets Russe excelled at. I was noticing how compared with Bright Stream the group choreography seemed tame and I don't know why. If dancers as good as ABts corps can't captivate with a tendu and only with flashy steps, something indeed is wrong, but i don't really think the problem lies there. Perhaps subtleties don't read up to the nosebleeds as well, but surely this is where I saw it as a 7 year old... And I remember being captivated by the girls sneaking into the house back then. Little was made of it now... And why on earth did Franz show up with a ladder and place in front of a wide open door? Osipova's acting read well unto the top balcony, Simkin's was okay, Coppelius' was basic, corps de ballet's was not much apparent at all. In some parts the corps was clearly being rigorous about holding to the dynamics they were instructed to, but these seemed disconnected to the music and I can't understand why... Something must have been lost in communication... I can only imagine that my hero, having defied nature all years, is indeed finally 97.