Amy Reusch

And if it happens, does this mean we will never get to see Peter Boal dance again? It seems unlikely that he would do any more performing as Artistic Director, doesn't it? I'm beginning to have mixed feelings about this...

The cover illustration reproduced a Balanchine self-caricature, signed G. B.

That's now the first page (or whatever the page after the endpapers is called). There are still 32 numbered pages, so I imagine there haven't been any changes in content.

Thanks for satisifying my curiousity about Tom Schoff. With a dial-up connection, sometimes googling gets tiresome.

"By George Balanchine." I bought it for $4.95. I recently saw this in a catalog of The Dance Mart, priced at $175.

Aaah! Myhusband gave me a copy as a birthday present this summer! They were for sale at the Wadsworth giftshop (and presumably still are... they had several dance books, mostly Balanchine, on display (as well as No Fixed Points). I remember there was something curious on the publication page, but I can't seem to put my hands on it now.... It was probably for more than $5 but I don't think as much as $20. Oh yes... here it is... (too small for a spine to easily show up in the bookcase)

This edition has the centennial on the cover.... the curious thing on the publication page is that the copyright is August 2003 -- January 2006 by the George Balanchine Foundation. I guess they got some sort of special copyright arrangement in honor of the centennial celebration and the copyright will revert back to the San Marco Press that has the 1984 copyright? At any rate, the last line on the last page is the Balanchine Foundation thanking Tom Schoff for making the publication possible. Who is Tom Schoff?

I liked this one:

Classicism is enduring because it is impersonal.

Here's the ISBN if it helps 0-9747618-0-x

Probably doesn't though... I looked to see if one could get it off Amazon... no luck... however, to my surprise up popped this: George Balanchine / TIME Cover: January 25, 1954 I'm not surprised, but I hadn't known he made the cover of Time magazine.

Oh, thanks very much... I should have remembered that....

I guess with the memorial program photo sort of juxtaposed as it were displayed in the same room as the angel winged costume designs of Errante, my mind made a leap it shouldn't have.

Reading a little further in the catalog, I come across another tidbit...

Lew Christensen's "Filling Station" had it's world premiere at the Wadsworth in 1938, with sets by Lincoln Kirstein's future brother-in-law Paul Cadmus (Kirstein married his sister)....

The stage at the Wadsworth is so small, it's hard to imagine so much dance being presented there (BalletCaravan, Humphrey-Weidman, Truda Kaschmann and Alwin Nikolais, Martha Graham & company, Agnes de Mille with an ensemble).

I love ambitious artistic directors!

The exhibit sounds fascinating. Any chance that it will tour to other cities?

There is no mention of a planned tour in the catalog.

My memory is hardly trustworthy but there seem to be photos in the catalog that I don't remember being in the exhibit. The footnotes reference the Harvard Theater Collection as well a NYCB archives and the NYPL's Jerome Robbins Dance Division... but I can't tell if the photos I'm wondering about are in the Wadsworth collection.

The beautiful photo of Balanchine next to an angel on the memorial service's program seems to be from "Errante" (1935) which Tchelitchew did some beautiful studies for... full of movement. I can't remember much being said about Errante. I gather it's one of the lost works?

"July 16, 1933

Dear Chick,

This will be the most important letter I will ever write you as you will see."

-Lincoln Kirstein

There's a wonderful exhibit running at America's oldest art museum, The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT called "Ballets Russes to Balanchine: Dance at the Wadsworth Atheneum" inspired by this year's centennial celebrations of Balanchine & Ashton, both of whom were brought to America in 1933 under the auspices of the Wadsworth Atheneum.

There's a little thrill that flows through me as I read the original handwritten letter from Lincoln Kirstein to Chick Austen and look at the telegrams involved and the original programs for Serenade, Mozartiana and Alma Mater (more intricately laid out than I would have imagined), as well as a program for Balanchine's memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC... by the way, any Ballet Alerters in attendence that day? A college roomate of mine went and told me how touched she was to see so many of Balanchine's ballerinas holding candles for him... that it was a very emotional day.

I need to return and study the exhibit again.. it runs until January 2, 2005. The museum has free admission after 5pm on the first Thursday of every month, and I believe if you get there before noon on Saturday, but it's only $10 normally & $5 for students with ID... well worth it.

I had been to see the Ballets Russes exhibit of a few years ago, and of course there are repeats, but I seemed to notice different things this time, and with different expectations had different reactions to some of the work I had seen before.

A few things I found interesting:

There's a nice catalog of the exhibit, should collectors be interested. ($15)

A beautiful photo of Balanchine & Tchelitchew taken by Tanaquil LeClerc (have her photos been published elsewhere I wonder?)

Designs for Doubrovska's American premiere with Lew Christensen in his first major role, in a piece called Sereneta.

Bakst's costume design for a guide in "Sleeping Princess" (was this different from Sleeping Beauty?) has a dancer with clearly African features.

How hot so many of the costumes looked.

Bakst' designs were so beautiful in the original... I didn't realize that famous one of Nijinksi with the blue scarf as the faun had gold worked into it. The design for the Rose in Spectre was luscious.

Looking at the original Benois set designs (how that man could capture excitement in movement, much more so than the Picassos on view!) for Petrushka and Rosignol, got me to wondering how the dance had to be pretty good to compete against such galvanizing designs. I wonder how hard Diaghelev had to work the lighting to give the dancers a chance. Just looking at Benois' opening scene for Petrushka reminding me of his book which I read so long ago and have now mostly forgotten about how he was trying to recreate from memory what had fascinated him as a child... the "fascination" part reads so well... I don't know if it's his use of light or the complexity of the energy in the scene, but it comes still across.

The Matisse costumes for La Chant de Rossignol have some amazingly detailed beading work... I can't imagine the labor that went into that for a detail that must have been barely visible to anyone who wasn't on stage with the costumes!

It seems Matisse and Benois both made designs for Rossignol, were both produced?

I didn't realize Matisse painted on the dancers! There's a photo of him painting Markova. Frederic Franklin was another principal, did Matisse paint on him as well? Do we have an aural history from Franklin on this?

The original Apollo drop design was pretty ghastly, thank heavens it never made it to the stage.

On the other hand, the drop for Concerto Barocco is quite beautiful and it seems very appropriate... but perhaps it made the physical aesthetic references too obvious, detracting from their charm... I've often noticed designers make this error... particularly costume designers... as if they see something in the movement and try to magnify it in the costume design, but by making so obvious the movement seems to lose it's inventiveness.

On at least 3 and maybe 4 of the costume designs (each by a different artist) I noticed that minor changes had been made around the feet... in one it looked like the leg had been shortened, in another lengthened, in another the line redrawn... I became curious because I couldn't see why the change would have been made, it seemed so innocuous, but I wondered if Diaghelev had objected to something and made them change it, just to assert his role as director, yet not wanting to change anything aesthetically significant in the design... very curious... anyone else notice this and have a theory?

It was nice to see the Spectre de la Rose costume in grand jete, but it would have been so much more effective if they had used a more lifelike mannikin... after all, part of the shape of the costume is how it looked on a dancer's legs.

Also, I found myself wishing we could see the costumes with something approaching stage lighting, so that the silks and satins and gold embellishments would gleam as they had been intended to... but I suppose that might have been damaging to these delicate relics.

Original designs for the Prodigal Son drops.

Original set design for Les Noces... I didn't realize there were 4 grand pianos visible on stage, 2 on each side of the set...

That four Four Saints in Three Acts, Ashton raided the Savoy club in Harlem for the dancers.

Interesting study of a male dancer holding the hand of a little girl (pre-school age?)... such a contrast of physical self control... (Tchelitchew "Errante")

The Paper Ball designed by Tchelitchew looked like tremoundous fun. Tchelitchew did most of the costumes and he put Kirstein, Balanchine & Everette in elaborate paper beggars' costumes. (ha ha wink wink, I suppose).

"Ode" designed by Tchelitew for Massine's choreography must have been an interesting one... elaborate lighting effects and film projected onstage amongst the dancers... back in the Ballets Russe days, was that a first? How early on was film used as a stage effect?

My only regret? That there was no live performance of Serenade to see in the theater it was created for.

Here's a link to the exhibit:

Ballets Russes to Balanchine: Dance at the Wadsworth Atheneum

And back to the source, why not revive "Remembrances" and "Gamelan"?

Did Gamelan use a live gamelan?

Perhaps I should have added that I didn't want to see ABT or NYCB do Bejart or Eifmann, but with Joffrey's old affinity for pop(?), it might be a possible fit? Or have the companies jostled their identies since I had the chance to see them... now ABT is more like the Joffrey, NYCB is more like ABT was, and Joffrey is ... well not like the old NYCB but what? Are there any Cuban choreographers whose work Joffrey should feature? For a while there, it seemed like Joffrey was a home for Cubans.

Call me quirky, but I'd like to see them do a Bejart work or an Eifmann...

1964 First world tour and London debut. Critic Alexander Bland wrote: "Diaghilev would have loved Cunningham."

Am I wrong in thinking that not since Diaghilev has anyone collaborated with as many major artists as Cunningham has? Am I forgetting someone? Martha Graham, perhaps. Who else?

(apologies for straying off aleatory topic).

It's interesting to me that Cunningham has stayed married to the chance procedure for so very long... not that it isn't a useful tool or interesting, just that it seems so disciplined to stay with one admittedly radical idea for so long. You'd think that chance element or no, after so long redundancy would set in.

PABallet performs John Butler's version of "Carmina Burana"

If I remember correctly, John Butler's version was the only one sanctioned by Orff. It's a powerful piece. I remember how it's sudden and dramatic dynamic range drove my poor audio engineer nearly insane. If there ever were an argument for defending live music over canned for dance, this is it.

about the Marquis de Cuevas marrying John Rockefeller's daughter! (Now there's a way to get funding.....) I'd never read that either

If you weren't aware of it, then perhaps not many are, and I'd better divulge the source... It came from Dick Andros' site (Dick Andros has taught ballet in NYC for many years at various places, I remember him at STEPS in the 1980s... apparently now he teaches at Ballet Academy East):

Marquis George de Cuevas, an American patron of the arts, married to the granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, and became an important figure in the dance world. Although born in Chile, he acquired the title Marquis from his Spanish father. That and the Rockefeller's money made him a power to be dealt with. He became interested in Ballet while helping to organize the 1939 World Fair. He then founded Ballet Institute and Ballet International in 1943. They made their debut in New York City using many American trained dancers. Texas born Nana Gollner became the first American ballerina to be promoted to Prima Ballerina of a European company. In 1947, de Cuevas created the Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo.

Dale, I fished around a bit looking for info on Fleischmann at that site but didn't turn up any. Where was it? (Or was it just info on Cincinnati Ballet?)

I did find some info by googling him though... his grandfather had been Mayor of Cincinnati around the turn of the century... made his fortune off of Fleischmann Yeast (became Standard Brands).

Here's a blurb Fleischmann Bio

Along with entrepreneurial success, the Fleischmanns also had a history of

cultural contributions. One of Julius' contemporaries in Naples stated he "was

active in the family business, but his interests were divergent and included

publishing, ownership in several hotels, theatrical production, director and

president of the Ballet Russe in Monte Carlo, and he was one of the most

renowned yachtsmen in the world."

While hunting for info on Fleischmann, I discovered that the Marquis de Cuevas was married to John D Rockefeller's granddaughter... somehow I'd missed that bit in all my dance history books. It would be nice to find some web pages about how some of these "angels" shaped the arts by their generosity. Perhaps they might inspire some contemporaries.

I don't know, perhaps there's something wrong with my curiousity, but I think the following article falls a little short.

Thank Cincinnatian for ballet's appeal

It is intended to laud Julius Fleischmann's contribution to ballet's popularity in America, but I find myself wishing for more. I'd love to hear something about the man beyond just that he gave money... like what inspired him to such generosity, or how he came to be interested in the ballet... what he was beyond a checkbook... what his relationship was with the ballet (was he interested in funding certain productions over others? did he donate to other dance companies?)... at least one human interest detail about him?

Am I just being grumpy? Was he the sort of person who preferred anonymity?

Considering how vital "angels" are to the survival of dance companies, it seems like a little more could be done to laud their contribution... glamorize it, I would hope...

Or am I just naive; such attention would be unwanted?

I wonder if the January 2005 opening date is still correct.

Doesn't seem from the website that they're taking applications yet.

I wonder what the selection process will entail.

I'm not sure under what forum to post this... but...

How is Baryshnikov's project going? Haven't heard anything lately about more solo concerts... Is it in a new stage of planning? Any rumors? Will there ever be a website?

Is it typical of artistic directors 'descended from Balanchine' not to have Giselle in their company's repetoires, or is this peculiar to PNB?

[And is there a better phrase than 'descended from Balanchine' I might use?]

Ummm.... just wondering... if it has the "American Ballet Theatre" name, is it done with the consent of ABT.... and if not, does that matter legally? Seems like if it were the men of "Microsoft" or "Pepsi" some lawyers would be making work for each other.

If you sit on this page: http://www.abtcalendar.com/order.html long enough you will see thumbnails of the various month's photos... which are much more appealing (to me anyway) than the photos in "the making of..." section, which kind of leave you wondering just what kind of calendar this is supposed to be... (though I kind of like the one with the broken compact).

Shouldn't there be some master teachers nominated as well?

Or how about some company founders?

How about Francia Russell & Kent Stowell for building Pacific Northwest Ballet?

Sometimes I think ballet's philanthropists deserve "living treasure" recognition!

How about Baryshnikov? I'm thinking of his interest in performing Judson works to preserve interest in them as well as his arts building project.

How about Nancy Reynolds for her efforts to preserve the Balanchine legacy by recording it's masters coaching younger dancers?

How about Todd Bolender?

Are both Texas Ballet Theater and Metropolitan Ballet Company now resident at the Bass Center? Am I the only one curious as to what is going on?

Fort Worth Dallas Ballet a while back was directed by Paul Mejia, who departed due to some... well... anyway....

Fort Worth Dallas Ballet was taken over not too long ago by Ben Stevenson and renamed Texas Ballet Theater, and performs at the new Bass performing arts center.

Now Ballet Arlington, co-directed by Paul Mejia, has renamed itself Metropolitan Ballet Company of Arlington and Forth Worth and is also performing at the Bass arts center.

What is happening here? Or rather, is someone willing to talk about what is going on behind the scenes here?

I have no opinion... I'm not familiar with either company... I just sense a story and wonder what it is. Or is it just that Dallas/Ft. Worth are big enough for two ballet companies... one ABT-style and one NYCB-style?

I know many dancers in smaller companies that have some of the ost beautiful legs and feet and arms.

Although now retired, Lisa Sundstrom is still one of my favorites

After Hartford Ballet imploded, what was left renamed itself Dance Connecticut and continued as a school with more or less (lately less & less) of the same people... for a while their website professed intentions of a professional company, but beyond producing Kirk Peterson's American Nutcracker at the Bushnell with ABT Studio company for leads and students filling in the corps, nothing was ventured other than assisting in the presentation of other dance companies at the Bushnell.

Those of us at the school have been getting a lot of mixed messages about the future of the school. Apparently it had run out of money sometime around March and unbeknownst to most of us, some angel has been covering the salaries of the teachers and accompanists [fabulous accompanists]. Apparently the University of Hartford has "bought out" the school. For several years there has been some arrangement between the school and the University whereby the BFA students took classes. I'm not clear what exactly the University has bought. I understood that the facility (pretty nice facility with several big studios) was owned by the City of Hartford and leased at a pittance to the school, with the school bearing labor expenses, insurance, etc.

However, even though a complete summer schedule had been worked out, as of today it seems there will be no classes until the fall because the University bureaucracy doesn't want to deal with the transition in such a short amount of time, preferring to spend the summer working out whatever they're planning to do.

It seems a sad squandering of resources (teachers, accompanists, studios, students, community interest). Once upon a time someone built up quite an institution out of nothing and dancers were trained who went on to perform with major companies (ABT, Royal Ballet).

Thanks for the imagery suggestions.

How old is the child in question (I ask to determine what she may or may not understand)?

I guess the best thing would be to take her to see some sylphs in action, but out here in the boondocks cultural wasteland it's a bit difficult.

I've been trying to figure out how one cradles a lyre. Would this be like in a greek amphora illustration... sort of 2 dimensional? with one hand closer to the chest than the other?

But back to the imagery issue that started my musings... (if I can ask this without having to switch forums)... have you ever come up with a good visual explanation for this position? I'm on a mission to undermine the "alligator arms" imagery since it seems to result in rather stiff "jaw" porte de bras... and it's so tricky dealing with a young child's relationship with their teacher.

Would that I could just put her in a better school, but at this point I'm just happy to have in any dance class at all.