andycrawford

Holy mackerel, Andy!!

2-foot vertical from First?

Voranger, you said? Where does she dance?

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She dances at jose mateo ballet theater for the most part but guests around at other companies too.

i've never seen a jump like that anywhere else so i just figured that she was from another planet or something like that...

definately Francoise Voranger.She has a 2foot vertical from first position - which should be impossible...most men can't match that.

years ago - when i first started to dance one of my dancer friends showed me an awesome book that was all about Vladimir Malakhov.it had loads of great pictures and info in it , but i forget what it was called and can't find anything about it since...i know it's a shot in the dark,but does anyone here have a clue where i can get this book...or even what this book is ??

Insulting?  Vaguely, but what isn't, these days?

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:glare: . No kidding.

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Yoga bootie ballet ??? whaaat....that sounds really nutty...maybe the yoga people have breathed too much insence in and it's effected their thinking....

Greetings, and welcome to Ballet Talk, Andy.  Hope you'll talk often.

I looked you up (nice career!) As someone who danced in a company that does Ashton awfully well (BRB brought Two Pigeons to the Met last summer and it and the entire company got a very warm reception); what Ashton did you get to dance?  What did you think about it?

I can't speak for the entire website, but you'll find some staunch Ashton defenders here.  I can say for myself that I think the more Ashton a company dances, the better they dance.  It takes real technique to do a beautiful Scenes de Ballet.

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Yes i totally agree with you - it does make your technique alot cleaner .I find that the choreography looks a little gawky on taller girls unless they really really practice it and get it as clean as possible - i found it took me a little while to co-ordinate my feet and arms at first.I consider Margaret Illman to be the most exemplery dancer in his works.I have danced alot of Ashotn's work but my favorites are;

Birthday Offering

La Fille mal Gardée

Monotones

The Dream

Two Pigeons - which i performed in school

Ashton was able to create a beautiful intimacy in his use of pas de deux which i first discovered dancing two pigeons in school , i was lucky to have an amazing partner so I had a wonderful and challenging experience.That was the best time I had doing Ashtons work.

Jorma Elo's Plan to B - i've seen this piece and think that people watching his work should farmiliarise themselves with Mats Ek.He doesn't seem to be as well known in the USA as he is in Europe , Jorma Elo's work is extremely reminiscent of MAts Ek.

not to mention the false eyelashes....

o the heartbreak

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lol yeah ! but some of them do it better than some of the corps girls i've seen here and there !

wow - its a small world - i went to school with francoise and saw ballet theater's Nutcracker a few years ago whilst on christmas break.it is a very lovely company and a small company is an ideal training ground for young dancers as they get more attention from mallet masters/directors etc.

Another lovely dancer I would like to draw attention to is Temple Carol who i saw dance while i was there.She did a nicely executed arabian and has a beautiful yet sultry quality.

Francoise is certainly a powerhouse especially for one so young, definately one to watch.

Can't get to Copenhagen for the Bournonville Festival this year? Streaming video clips of six ballets are available here. I've only taken the time to watch the clip for La Sylphide, but it's several minutes long! 

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cool thanks.

thanks for posting.I love Angelin Preljocaj

he never leaves out a detail

Toomas Edur has powerful stage presance (along wiht incredibly clean tecnique) i wish i had seen them perform - thankyou for posting .

. . . I love when ballerinas dance effortless and very fluently.

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I agree; tall or short is OK by me if they can achieve the above.

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you hit the nail on the head with that comment

Well, I don't mind if a ballerina is not big. I love when ballerinas dance effortless and very fluently. Because of this some of the "big" ballerinas are not my favourites. My favourite is still Sylvie Guillem, who even with her length, dances "like a small one". I mean she doesn't give me the feeling: Look at me, I'm tall.

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Sylvie Guillem is AMAZING...I swear she's from another planet

I was surprised no one posted about the Trocks' recent New York season.  Did anyone go?

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i often wonder why the trocks do it .... men in pointe shoes .... i can't even imagine that kind of pain !

(1) Ashton's Cinderella was the first full-length ballet made for a British company. To what extent is this ballet a statement of what British ballet is (or should be)?

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Im not quite sure whether i can answer your question too well - but while at the Royal Ballet School we were taught that Ashton was basically the essence of British ballet itself , especially at that time.I don't think it is really a statement of what British Ballet is today - but more a statement of where british ballet came from...as far as i can see there really is no real british ballet left at the Royal Ballet as most of the company members were trained elsewhere and maybe finished their last one or two years of training in Britan , they bring their own qualities to the older somewhat 'stiffer' ballets such as Ashton's Cinderella.