vrsfanatic

In the last picture in C maple's Blog, the caption states, "Kirk and Susan Peterson". Are Kirk Peterson and Susan Jaffe married?

No, they are not married.

This is a fascinating thread. I cannot thank you all enough.

My own speculation has lately swung to the idea that their accountant told them both that...

Oh Major Johnson this is one of the funniest things one could have said in relationship to this question!

...The casting seemed an echo of the old CCCP...Roman Zhurbin (High Brahmin, Moscow)...

FYI: Mr. Zhurbin may have been born in Moscow, however he never studied ballet until after his family moved to the US. His training is purely American.

...I forgot to ask where she gets the boneless arms, but perhaps it's the same question. But it does leave us with a mystery. Is it in their blood? Is it trained? Or do Russian training academies choose students with a naturally flexible back?...

Yes, Russian children are selected for ballet however Vaganova methodology is very well known for the lovely training of the upper body, back and arms.

Before running Milwaukee Ballet, Ted Kivitt was a member of Pennsylvania Ballet. Years fly by, I cannot remember the years anymore, but it was somewhere between 1978-1981?

agnes, Vaganova is not a style, it is a method of teaching classical ballet. Thankfully, there are no accepted videos currently on the market that try to teach the method. It is not possible to do it in video format. What takes professional level teachers 5 years to learn cannot/should not be put on a two-ten hour video. There are Japanese dvds (that will only work in certain dvd players) of examination classes to watch, however nothing for the actually teaching of the method!

" Smuin" S-M-UUU-I-N! Very long "U"!

Meanwhile, there's a great feeling in the UK that it's training is inferior, partly because culturally there is not the same 'ethic' as in America,...

The Royal Ballet School does not feel that way about the training in the US!

Studying abroad will help a ballet student to experience so much more than ballet. If one can do it, go for it, however it is not that the teaching is better than in the US. From what I have observed, it is the culture that lends itself better to the professional schooling of ballet. European and Japanese culture (I have not been to China) instill in their young generations a great respect for history and the arts. Children are brought up with a different kind of discipline and work ethic than is prevalent in the US. The respect for the schooling of ballet as a profession enables the ballet teaching professionals to place demands on their students that in most school situations in the US, the teachers are unable to demand. American culture does not lend itself kindly to the professional training of ballet dancers. For the most part, the Europeans working in the US have attended government funded professional ballet academies that are their entire educational experience. The Japanese dancers or the other hand come from private studios, with very hard working teachers. Japanese society is very disciplined. The students work like race horses, never questioning, just doing as they are asked. It is an amazing process to see.

In school ,we called Mr. Gomes (G-O-M-E-Z) M-A-R-S-E-L-L-O. Difficult for me, with my Italian background. He never corrected me then and he has never corrected me since. He pronounces his name...

M-A-R-S-E-L-L-O.

I was able to ask our Brazilian students today...in some parts of Brazil, they say Gom-ez and in other parts of Brazil and Portugal they say Gom-esh. As with most languages...regional differences are ample.

Mr. Gomes introduces himself "Go-mez", however that may be from hearing Americans mispronounce it for 3 years at school in the US. We go back to school tomorrow, where there are still a few Brazilians, I will ask them!

Gomes: Neither. GO-mesh; it's Portuguese.

Thank you carbo for this correct pronunciation. At school we always said Go-mez. I always wondered about the correctness of this pronunciation.

Yes there is some confusion! Since Kent/Carreno are dancing Friday evening, best bet is that Kent is not performing in the Saturday matinee also! At least the website is trying to stay current. A week ago it read quite differently.

...but she didn't move you,didn't make you weep the way Bessmertnova did, especially when she was partnered by Baryshnikov...

This must have been and interesting pairing. I wish I could have seen it. Not having seen Bessmertnova in person, it is interesting to imagine her in Giselle with Baryshnikov.

Yes, and of course, very big merde to your son.

The School was open I believe from 1987-1990 and had nothing to do with the previous school at ABT, nor the company. There were two female teachers, two male (only one boy's class) and one character teacher. All Russians, from Vaganova Academy and/or Kirov Ballet, living and working in NYC (one female and one male were also associated with the company in teaching and/or ballet master positions). There were to be no more than 12 students in each class, making it a total of 36 students. The students ranged from ages 12-14. There was no tuition, no housing and the students attended Professional Children's School for academics. They auditioned all over the country, were video taped for Mr. Baryshnikov to see and select personally. There was a thriving summer course, with space for only 36 students. They studied technique, partnering, character, stage work and with the plan to add modern. Sasha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel were two of the young men (at least they were there for the summer, if not year round). Previously there were a few of the girls also (briefly) in ABT. Stephanie Waltz was one of them. When the school closed they all went off to different places to continue there studies.

Mr. Baryshnikov paid all salaries, and the expenses associated with having the school. It was quite remarkable to see it in action and remarkable for the time.

After having thought further...Please note corrected numbers.

Unless things have changed, the company/school building is in a very nice residential section of Hamburg. The facility is available by train quite easily from the very beautiful center of Hamburg.

I just mapquested the school address and ran a search for a hotel. Nothing comes up in the same "zip code" a few close by. Hamburg is a small and lovely city.

The School of Classical Ballet was funded soley by Mr. Baryshnikov. After his resignation the school remained opened only until December and then was closed. My memory is failing me, however I do remember my late husband, one of the faculty members, saying that there had not been any fundraising, therefore the school was dependent upon Mr. Baryshnikov.

artist, your disccussion on the differences between Cecchetti and Vaganova trained dancers is soley an opinion, not based on the physical facts of human anatomy. Heredity dicates how the human body will develop. With a well proportioned body, good teaching and training will produce lovely classical line. This is not a We versus They situation.

Your comment regarding job placement and Cecchetti trained dancers is unfounded and hearsay. Well-trained dancers all have a better shot at obtaining work. It is not a matter of one school of thought being more prevalent.

Actually ABT has donors sponsor more than principal dancers. There are quite a few corps members sponsored as well. Read through the alphabet.

http://www.abt.org/dancers/default.asp?section=corpsdeballet

Read through the corps listings, there are quite a few.

Does anyone know what it actually means? Is it a salary sponsorship perhaps? How is the dancer chosen? As long as it is nothing other than a way to interest sponsorship, what could be the issue?

Yes, we received the news today of Ms. Zehr's injury. Thank you Paquita for the official press release. Let's hope Ms. Zehr recovers from her injury quickly.

A brilliant mind and marvelous woman...RIP Ms Barzel.

Pennsylvania Ballet might know. Former faculty member, Yvonne Patterson did inherit the rights to his work. Mr. Dollar passed away in Philadelphia. Jeffrey Gribler, ballet master, did remain very close to Mrs. Patterson. Mrs. Patterson did not attend the Weisberger 80th party in October, so I am assuming she is not in good health. They were/are both lovely people.