Amy Reusch

That was one of the Balanchine Foundation's projects, I think. There was a time, I think, that ballerinas were expected to look like Markova... to the point where, I believe, blonde was considered not quite right. Perhaps the way young dancers were once trying to look like Suzanne Farrell.

-Washington Times article on DTH So... has anyone started an Arts Management scholarship in Michael Kaiser's name yet? Makes a good deal more sense than a Chesbrough scholarship, doesn't it? -Times Union story on SPAC auditHas anyone written a book about him yet? Actually, I might enjoy a compare & contrast study of the two men.

It must be a struggle to come up with something new to say about a production a critic has been reviewing for decades, like Balanchine's Nut (or Swan Lake, for even longer).... Jack Anderson makes an admirable effort: - Mon, Nov 29th NY Times.Even fresh talent... I mean, after all, how different can the umpteenth - no, make that umptieth - Sugarplum interpretation be? There's a trivia question... how many different Sugarplums has NYCB had?

Mel, I'm sorry too that these venues no longer get played... but am kind of wondering if these aren't also some of those stages that dancers used to complain about when they talked about performing on cement, etc.? I have a feeling there is so much dance flooring readily available these days that this is no longer a problem?

They may have totally respected his authority in the studio, but I suspect their strong personalities were reflected in their movement and this is part of what inspired him. I don't think any of them could be described as bland dancers, do you?

I came across this while hunting for something else and realized I'd never contributed to this thread, having been ill at the time of it's posting. Tom was and continues to be an inspiration. You've got to love someone who takes their first ballet class in their sixties. I "met" Tom not long after alt.arts.ballet began. When I think of alt.arts.ballet in it's glory, Tom was sort of it's reigning diplomat... always polite... always courteous... always patient... mostly witty. He helped cast it's discourse away from "flames" without lessening the passion. When he took it upon himself to compile a FAQ for the group, we all were grateful. He maintained that FAQ meticulously and deserved to be proud of it; turning himself into an expert on dance perhaps as a result. Even the venerable Mel Johnson referred to him on at least one occasion here. The dance world lost one of its most devoted. He will be missed. Gaynor-Minden has graciously provided a new home for the FAQ at www.dancer.com: Tom Parson's Ballet-Modern FAQ

And lets make sure this is linked here as well: From the NY Times Sunday book review (by Benedict Nightingale, chief theater critic for The Times of London) - Nov 28, 2004 'All in the Dances' and 'George Balanchine': Making Sound Visible

Firebird, Afternoon of a Faun, Spectre de la Rose, Dying Swan.... mostly those ballets legendary ballets of the Ballets Russes that I imagined about before seeing... (it's so hard to live up to anyone's imagination)... particularly those with music I loved (Spectre doesn't count here)... most particularly Firebird... I've never seen a Firebird leap with the energy of that music... (though I've only seen a couple of Firebirds), the women always seem inconsequential compared to the music. This might have to be a ballet filmed with tight shots on the leaps and dramatic cuts in order to get the leap to have the full impact the music does. One might have to be onstage oneself to catch the energy.

Just thought a link to this article ought to be kept here in this thread too. Moscow Times: Ballet Master November 26, 2004 (article has both books' covers imaged should you want to check out the photo on the cover of Teachout's book).

Change Urged to Save SPAC Nov 24 story in the Times Union. That's curious. Anyone know how much of an exaggeration and how much of an understatement?

- January 3, 2005 - Sugarplum Fairy & Mouse King tickle their toes on the frothy sands of ______________ - (vision which should be suggested to the board of directors' heads) Talk about working hard... I think I'll drink to the health of the dancers of PA Ballet this weekend!

A sample of the style of Teachout's book... [after some discussion of a few flops by Balanchine (after Farrell's departure) against Robbin's rising success] It may not be a major academic work, but it's plenty fun to read.

www.basilthompson.net (just to make it easier)

If this is the same Limon documentary that was shown a few years ago at the Dance On Camera Festival at the Walter Reade, I agree. I remember thinking how good so much of the camerawork on the choreography was and wondering who had been behind the camera. I couldn't tell who was responsible for what in the credits at the time. Is it made clear on the DVD? (I'm not interested in the interview camerawork, just the performance footage).

Okay, a sample paragraph from the first chapter (though I realize I should be posting this on the dueling bios thread). It's not one of those books that your wrists tell you before you've even open it that you are not to undertake it lightly. It does seem interested in how the creative process is affected by personal history.

I've begun to read the Teachout book, and in spite of prejudiced misgivings, I'm finding it wonderful. This book could be said to be the opposite in style to Jowitt's book on Robbins which I've been trying to plod through. This should be a stocking stuffer for teenage & older dance students... very palatable, an easy and enjoyable read, perhaps they might not even realize they're digesting dance history! I'll have to drop in a few quotes so you see what I mean. (it's not to hand at the moment, but I'll edit some in tomorrow). Paul, I agree about Denby... it seems to take a poet to bring dance to life on the printed page. Sandik, I forgot to respond... yes, it was videotaped, but low-tech... I saw what I believe was an old VHS camcorder on a tripod in the back of the house... though considering the program was miked and the visuals were not so significant, it's probably sufficient.

Oh how I wish the Balanchine centennial had been celebrated with trading cards. A card for each piece in the repertory? Heaven knows Costas has probably got a great photo of a memorable moment for most of the work, judging by the Balanchine calendars published yearly. What if you got one in your programme every time a Balanchine work was on the bill? It would be fun to collect them all.

Do you mean on stage or in that piece? I don't think a quadruple pirouette is that unusual...

On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of person Terry Teachout is trying to reach... actually, both writers were pushing getting more and new people to the ballet. Perhaps it would have been more exciting if the entire audience was packed with people unaware of NYCB. I do hope that person actually is motivated to buy a ticket now.

What fun. I think the shoe companies should be prevailed upon to do this again. After all, printing expenses must be much much less than when these cards were produced, don't you think? Paging Gaynor Minden!

RG, I've often enjoyed perusing the card collections you post. There was some discussion of ballet trading cards today at a talk with Terry Teachout and Francis Mason at the Wadsworth. I immediately thought of your collections. Someone in the audience brought up that there were ballet trading cards, that when one bought a pair of pointe shoes a card was included. I'd never heard of this and wondered who the images were of (unfortunately when I had a chance to ask, my mind had wandered to something else). The person who mentioned this looked like if she had purchased pointe shoes, it had been at least a decades before my time. I've always assumed your cards were souvenirs of the theaters in Russia. Do you think these trading cards she was referring to might have been Russian? Or are you aware of an American equivalent. And do they still publish cards like this at the Maryinski? I remember Eliot Feld having including trading cards in his programmes one year at the Joyce... I don't think he kept it up, but I've often wished every company did this.

Not in this photo, Dale... his index finger tip is intact... Wasn't it a lawnmower accident? I agree, Farrell Fan, it's an odd photograph. I remember having a negative reaction to it when I first saw it (where? maybe Amazon.com? ), but now I kind of like it. It seems somehow unbalanchine, doesn't it... as if he's working out a choreographic problem with his fingers Petipa's chessboard style? I never had the privilege of watching him work, but had the impression it wasn't like this. I didn't pick up the puppetmaster image though. I like the long photo blurbs at the center of the book, perhaps because so many people I know when they encounter a dance book immediately flip to the photo sections first. It looks like a piano to me. I can't quite imagine him crouched under a table or desk, can you? I think the photo on the back is stunning. It's a 1949 photo by George Platt Lynes of Balanchine supporting LeClercq in attitude while Moncion looks on. It's not that the pose is extroadinary, but rather there's something unnatural about the lighting that makes LeClercq look like an ideal rather than a woman.

As part of their participation in the Balanchine Centennary and in conjunction with their show Ballets Russes to Balanchine, The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford presented a moderated discussion with Francis Mason and Terry Teachout. It was free. It was Hartford. It was sparsely attended. It was a rare pleasure. I'll just mention a few impressions, as I'm still recovering from recent surgery. I think perhaps the best part was hearing both these authors talk about their first exposure to Ballet and Balanchine. Mason spoke about Orpheus... and talked about the use of a silk drop to show the descent into Hades (where he was sure we would all end up). I haven't had the pleasure of seeing this one, only photos. Does it retain it's original settings? I see it's in the rep for 2004-5. Mason mentioned that Stravinsky conducted the performance he saw. Did that happen often, or only on opening nights? Mason recounted his earlier experience of the Ballets Russes Massine presentation in Philadelphia (not caring for what he felt to be "fancy pants on Beethoven") When the Wadworth renovated recently a battle was mounted (and won) to keep the original boards on the stage. I asked whether no attempt had been made to bring either SAB or Purchase to perform Serenade, or even a screening... (I mention Purchase because they performed it on the Warburg Estate last Spring, and Mason teaches at Purchase). Mason & Teachout were quite enthusiastic about this idea, but the Wadsworth staff kept mum. I don't understand why the Wadsworth Premiere of this piece isn't mentioned on the NYCB blurb... I thought the first performance in a real theater was significant. Frankly, I think an "open" spacing rehearsal would be even more interesting than a performance. The stage has pretty different dimensions than the State Theater. There was some talk of that sole performance of Balanchine's Serenata with lighted candles on the heads of the ballerinas (did they stay lit thoughout I wonder, or did the pesky things tend to blow out at in opportune times?). Mason mentioned that Barbara Horgan recently told him that in 2003 there were 203 companies mounting Balanchine works worldwide. There was some discussion of where all in the world that might be and Zimbabwe was singled out for presenting Serenade. The most popular Balanchine works were listed in the following order: 1 - Serenade 2 - Who Cares 3 - Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux 4 - Allegro Brilliante 5 - Apollo 6 - Four Temperaments 7 - Valse Fantaisie 8 - Theme & Variations 9 - Tarantella 10 - Agon Looking at this list, these must be the most frequently mounted works on other companies? rather than the most popular? (I must confess, I'd have thought Rubies would make the top ten). Terry Teachout mentioned he listed 4Ts for his "best of the 20th Century" Someone mentioned that bringing Balanchine to America was what Chick Austin considered his finest achievement. (I tend to agree). Austin's son was in the audience (apparently he "debuted" in Hartford the same year as Balanchine). Teachout talked about how some paintings "go dead on the wall" not standing up to repeated viewings, and went on to mention how there are some ballets that go dead on stage as well, but that Balanchine's work he can see over and over again, and each time sees something more... a good definition of a masterpiece. They also talked about how Balanchine ranked with Picasso as a modernist... actually they mentioned 3 names, but I'm afraid I've forgotten who were considered the other leading modernists. I'm afraid I was daydreaming tangentally about Balanchine & modernism & New York. They were talking about Balanchine and Robbins and American pop culture... and I got to thinking how one might consider "modernism" New York's pop culture... and I wondered if Balachine would have created the style works he did had he been based in another city... say Vienna or Los Angeles? Does anyone else see 4Ts & Agon as New York ballets? Someone in the audience went on at length about the many connections between dance and Connecticut, and wished the museum had managed to do something in conjunction with Nilas Martins' company which was in town a few days ago. Someone else in the audience wondered if in Boston or New York there was an opportunity to see Balanchine's work performed. After a brief pause on stage, they began mentioning the many companies nationally (perhaps it would be simpler to list a company with professional ballet dancers that has no Balanchine in it's repertory?) With special mention of the Don Quixote to be mounted in Washington by Suzanne Farrell's company (the rights to the film of that ballet were lost in a poker game?). Alas, I forgot to ask Mason how he & Balanchine decided which ballets to include in their "Complete Stories of the Great Ballets". He did talk, however, about the editing process with Balanchine... how Balanchine did not want to read the work himself but rather had Mason read it aloud to him... and then often would cut it down.. "too long"... Balanchine didn't want the names of the steps included... felt people would get bored by too many details. (Mason & Teachout both discussed how people seemed to think erroneously that they had to "prepare" to see their first ballet by learning the names of the steps for instance or how pointe shoes are constructed. There was some talk about how going to the ballet should instead be like going to a baseball game. Again, I got lost in tangental daydreaming.)

Has much been written about the Franklin Danilova partnership? (I mean in books, I'm sure there were reviews aplenty). They seem so well suited to each other inspite of their different backgrounds. I suppose I'd have to go to microfiche & a major library to read reviews?

But Theme is still a tutu ballet. When I think "20th Century", I tend to think of the advent of leotard ballets. I suspect Spessivtseva as well, but not having a 20th century work to judge her in, it seems tricky to count her... though perhaps she inspired a desire for dancers that resembled her? ... oh I'm sorry... I remember now it's not "20th Century" but "Modern"... still, when I think of "modern", I think "modernist" and I'm back to leotards. Is "plotless" sufficient? ... though I guess, when I think "ballerina", it's hard not to think "tutu"; "modern" or not.