MissChristine

A friend of mine will be attending an ABT performance of The Nutcracker at Kennedy Center and she is wondering what she should wear.

I've never been to the Kennedy Center myself but based on my own experiences attending ballets I suggested she wear dressy business attire.

When I saw the St. Petersburg Ballet there were some in the audience wearing some very very formal dresses though so I'm not sure if I'm correct in my suggestion.

What would you suggest she wear?

If I had my prepregnancy body I'd probably go with the Carmen corsette costume.

The Monitor

Dance icon Doria Avila found dead in home

October 21,2005

Rose Ybarra

The Monitor

Doria Avila, a pioneer of fine dance in the Rio Grande Valley and a renowned instructor over three decades, was found dead Thursday at his home in central San Antonio.

Police are investigating the death and fire as a possible homicide and arson.

While a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department would not confirm Avila’s identity, stunned friends and family confirmed Avila’s body was discovered when the San Antonio Fire Department responded to a 4 p.m. call from a neighbor reporting flames blazing out of control at his home on Parland Place near North New Braunfels Avenue.

(...)

The investigation into Avila’s death will continue today.

There is another article about the continuing investigation here.

It mentions a little more about his life.

Thanks everyone.

I've been looking for a video/dvd featuring Jeune homme et la mort.

I know there is a glimpse of it at the beginning of White Nights but I'm wondering if there is a video out there that features the entire piece.

I saw (on a website) that Nureyev was in a movie about it in the 60s but everything I find now lists it as a book.

MissChristine are you discussing pirouettes from 5th or 4th? If you are discussing from 5th then yes, the weight is on two feet in the preparation. FYI, Mezenseva may have been a very beautiful dancer but she is not, to my knowledge, a trained teacher from Vaganova Academy. I assure you what I have stated about the weight on the front leg in 4th position preparations, as well as in 2nd position(the supporting leg only), is the way it is taught according to the Vaganova method. What is confusing for many (an perhaps professionally trained dancers who graduated from Vaganova Academy as students) is the recommendation to push off from two heels. This is indeed a very important aspect of the turn however there is no weight shifting to the back leg in 4th position. The recommendation has to do with the full usage of the working leg so the student does not use the working leg weakly. Read Kostrovitskaya, 1995 edition, page 360. A pedagogy book is only a guide, nor an edict, therefore, I will email my student at Vaganova Academy an find out if perhaps they have changed how they are doing pirouette since I was certified to teach 10 years ago.

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I am talking about pirouettes from both 5th and 4th.

During turns from 4th they did often expect you to lean forward a bit but they didn't want all the weight placed on the front leg. I remember them stating that, no matter what position you were turning from, it was important to use the back leck to push you up and into the turn and that doing so is made nearly impossible if you place all the weight on the front foot.

I am also aware that Mezentseva is not a trained teacher from the Vaganova Academy. She offered her services as guest instructor/coach when she visited during her tours w/ the St. Petersburg Ballet (and some guest appearances at a Summer Ballet Intensive) and it just so happened to be the time in my education that I was learning fouettes.

I was trained in the Vaganova technique and even had the opportunity to learn fouettes from Galina Mezentseva.

In my personal experience, the instructors always emphasized placing the weight on both legs and they were very big on teaching control.

A common exercise was to do a half pirouette to the right, then alternating to the left. After that they'd have us do very slow pirouettes and then we would gradually increase our speed.

I think it's just more important to be able to exercise precise control rather than just whipping around in the hopes to get as many turns in as possible.

My personal favortie at the moment would have to be Evelyn Hart's performance in Natalia Makarova's 1972 production with London Festival Ballet.

I think she's got a very frail look to her as Odette but not really that 'gassy' look.

She has a very suspicious/wary look when she first crosses paths with Siegfried and then a very somber look throughout her performance.

Hey, the girl's only chance of getting out of this spell is having a guy devote his undying love to her and she's got big bad R. to worry about...I wouldn't exactly be thinking my chances were on the up and up either.

When she is Odile she has a very sly evil grin to her.

Yes, she is supposed to be pretending to be Odette but if Odette was able to make the party then wouldn't she be smiling a bit too?

I think it's just the look in her eye that I love, it's so mischevious but not too over the top. Plus her dancing, IMO, is pretty amazing. Nothing too forceful or powerful like she's about to beat the tar out of Siegfried's heart, just luring him in and enjoying every moment of it.

additionally odette and odile are not swans at all; they are the woman that princess odette is allowed to be from midnight to dawn. the only swans in SWAN LAKE are the property swans meant to be shown gliding on the lake at the start & end of the first lakeside scene.

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Very true, but since there isn't time for a costume change for Odette from Swan tutu to Maidens gown they stick with the swan themed tutus (feathers and all.)

I think sticking to black and white just goes with the whole evil vs good base of the story...though seeing someone have an Odile in red could be very interesting.

I've yet to see a Swan Lake with vibrant colors anywhere in it.

• Should Odile's costume be onyx-black or with intricate gold patterns, like I've seen on some ballerinas?
  
• A feathery, fluffy tutu or that straightforward, starchy one (I'm thinking the latter, because of Odile's "Siegfried, baby, you are my prey" direct approach and her distinct motives)?
  
• Ornate tiara, with jewels to dazzle and blind Siegfried, or a plain one made out of some cheap village mine gold?
  

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IMO I think the tutu should be black with *maybe* some slight silver embroidery, very minimal. The point is to confuse S. into thinking he will pledge his love to Odette not to a girl in a party dress who looks sorta like her.

I also prefer the straightforward, starchy tutus for both roles. Just a cleaner looking line. I'm not partial to floppy tutus that bounce about when the dancers move.

As for the head piece I prefer the feathers with a very small jeweled center/crown...something no bigger than the palm.

Like This

I've once had a choreographer tell the story while staging the ballet and he implied that all the other swans were simply Swans. Von R. captured them and gave them to Odette to have as company because she was to be under his spell forever.

He also mentioned that he believed that was a good reason for Odette to have the short tutu while the regular swans had the longer more romantic type.

I once would have argued that you should keep them for the reason Legnani put them in -- it kept away pretenders (those who wanted the Ballerina's Crown without having the technique necessary to wear it).  But nowadays, when probably everyone in the corps can do the 32 fouettes, but perhaps not much of the rest of the role, I'd say, chuck it if necessary.

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OK, I'll be the stickler here.  If you can't do 32 fouettes, you don't dance Odile.  If you can't hold a balance in attitude without falling off pointe, you don't dance Aurora. And so on...

~Steve

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I agree that nowadays almost everyone can do the fouettes and that is why I side with Steve on this.

When you've got people in the corps that can do it why not have the principal put in a bit more effort to get them down properly?

If you can't do them then you don't need to be dancing the role of Odile.

I've had the pleasure of studying under her several times as well as attending her peformances.

Personally, I see her as the epitome of CLASSICAL ballet.

When you look at dancers today and compare to GM, I don't really know how to describe the difference...it's somewhat along the lines of 'trying too hard.'

There is simple elegance and beauty in her dancing and lines.

I also do not understand how someone can say 'brittle' or 'icy' about her, I have yet to see that quality.

As for what she is doing these days, it is to my understanding that she is currently residing in Georgia.

In 2003 she was a Guest Teacher at the Ballet Masters of Europe Summer Intensive hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Ballet in McAllen, Texas.

She also performed "Dying Swan" at the final performance that year as well.

It's strange to me that she's not mentioned as much as other dancers of her age group.

I was fortunate enough to have had her as a Guest Teacher several times while I was a student and she was just amazing.

I've also seen her perform, and while I do not feel she in under rated (many know how amazing she is), I feel as though she is under appreciated.

Vladimir Malakhov

I know that there have been a few articles about the dancers at ABT continuing on throughout their pregnancies but I was wondering if any of you have personally experienced it.

My husband and I are expecting our first in Dec. I have stopped teaching as well as dancing but I am keeping myself in shape on my own.

The hardness of many russian pointe shoes has nothing to do with shoddy manufacture - they are very well made and are popular in the US as well (Grishko and Russian Pointe brands for example).  A harder shoe often lasts longer than a softer shoe (like a Freed), so economy does play a part.  When I did a lot of dancing, I could wear out a pair of Freeds in a very short time - say a couple of classes plus a rehearsal.  Less than a weeks worth of wear!  A harder shoe could last me two to three weeks.  When you're buying your own shoes at about $60 a pop, this is a big deal.

In addition, some dancers require a harder shoe for more support, or prefer the way they feel/perform. 

I hate loud pointe shoes too though - nothing like skimming across the floor doing bourrees and thinking "wow, I sound like a stampede of rhinoceroses!". 

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I couldn't have said it any better myself.

OT:

Does the squeeking sound made by some shoes get to anyone?

Sometimes I find this to be a tad more annoying than the louder noises made by pointe shoes.