PeggyR

Principal dancer Nicolas Blanc is off the roster. Although I've seen comments elsewhere that SFB has made this announcement, I can't find anything on the website.

I suspect cats think they're perfect as is and see no reason to change.

dirac, I'm not used to flaws of logic on your part.......is it possible to OWN a cat?? Which brings to mind my favorite bumper sticker (a kind of literature): "Dogs have owners; cats have staff."

Do cartoons count as literature? If so, I'd nominate Booth's cats and more cats.

I went over the the Letterman show website to see if I could find Part's interview and found this: Thursday, July 9 Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) Veronika Part / Levon Helm (American Ballet Theatre) / (CD, "Electric Dirt") As a singer, Levon Helm is one of my favorites, but as a ballet dancer...

I'd add E. Nesbit's The Five Children and It and The Story of the Amulet. She wrote other well known children's novels, but these are the two I remember reading over and over and over.

If Taylor's situation were not so seriously unfunny, that would be a funny remark. I wonder how many rugby players suffering from "...symptoms similar to hemophilia." would still be playing. The sheer will power of dancers never ceases to amaze me. Kudos to Taylor for her bravery and determination.

...try to walk turned out...and HOPE someone is looking and that they'll think you're a dancer, OMG! This is SOOOOOOOOO true, bart!! Cristian, I think you mean Peggy. But I confess to having done this too. Not to mention trying a bit of the "brooding Prince walk," which I first learned from videos of Erik Bruhn. Well...now I know I'm officially falling asleep...Dear bart, I SWEAR I saw your name on that post (It's a good thing when the boss is not around, right...? ) Anyway, and to add to the matters of the turned out walking, is even more gratifying if is at the night at the ballet, and EVEN MORE if the cute old lady asks you: "are you a dancer...?" (Am I sounding too ridiculous...? :blush: ) Hey, I'm flattered! (Sorry, I tried to delete some of the quotes but it kept coming out wrong and I'm too tired to figure it out!) Here's another one: You own eight Swan Lakes, seven Sleeping Beauties, five Giselles, two each of La Sylphide, Cinderella, Coppelia, and approximately 45 more assorted dance DVDs -- and feel deprived.

...try to walk turned out...and HOPE someone is looking and that they'll think (against all logic and visible evidence) you're a dancer

The 2010 roster has been updated again: Vitor Luiz (principal) and Rebecca Rhodes (corps) are now listed along with -- Isaac Hernandez! Glad to see he's back, although the others will be missed. Still no word on promotions. Is there a drop dead date for such announcements? Are they usually published the first day back or might we see something later on?

The following dancers have been removed from the SFB roster for 2010. Principals: Tina LeBlanc (retired) Ivan Popov Rachel Viselli Soloist: Mateo Klemmayer Corps de Ballet: Courtney Clarkson Isaac Hernandez Adeline Kaiser Patricia Perez Suzy Spaulding Kendall Teague Aubert Vanderlinden Note that the two new dancers announced in the May 12 press release, principal Vitor Luiz and corps member Rebecca Rhodes, are not yet listed, nor have promotions (if any) been announced.

San Francisco Performances presents Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company at the Novellus Theater at YBCA. Performance dates: January 23 and 24, 2010. Program TBA. Here's the link. Scroll about halfway down to the Dance Series.

Alastair Macaulay has an interesting appreciation of Michael Jackson as a 'mover' in today's NYT. To be honest, I've never paid any attention to Jackson as a performer: his music was several generations too young for my taste; but based on Macaulay's comments, I went to YouTube to watch the 'Billie Jean" video. I'll be the first to admit I can't stand pop music and after five minutes Jackson mumbling unintelligibly on the same two notes, I was really, really ready for some Frank Sinatra. But --- I couldn't take my eyes off Jackson. I don't know, maybe it wasn't really 'dancing', but in "Billie Jean" and the earlier "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" video you can see why Fred Astaire had praise for the young Jackson; they shared a casual elegance and charm. I hope Michael has found his peace at last.

From Macaulay's article: Which is worse: seeing a ballet in a stylistically impure or diluted form, or losing it altogether, never to be seen again in any form?

Looks like they made it.

Wonderful suggestions for ballets/performers; I'd be thrilled with any of them. I prefer full-length (including one acters) over galas, though they can be fun and might be a good way to encourage ballet novices who may be put off by three hours of swans. The idea of commentaries is a good one, assuming the speakers have anything interesting to say and the ability to say it. I've always enjoyed 'discussion' commentaries for movies: director/writer, multiple actors. For example, a 'Giselle' commentary among the stager, Giselle and Albrecht could be interesting. Certainly DVDs over computer, but I'd be willing to pay to watch online if the quality were good enough (not 3 inch YouTube-type video, but full-screen, HD). Online could be a good way to bring smaller American and European/Asian companies to a wider audience.

Bolshoi Ballet, La Bayadere, Saturday, June 6, matinee, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley Wonderful performance. Gorgeous sets and costumes (according to the program notes, they are based on sketches of the 1877 originals). Please, somebody, buy Peter Martins a ticket so he can see what an evening-length story ballet is supposed to look like! Ekaterina Shipulina made a nicely flamboyant Gamzatti, all hard edges and nasty looks, although flappy hands (widely spread fingers and broken wrists) tended to mar her otherwise fine performance. Alexander Volchkov's ardent and wonderfully danced Solor stood out for beautiful lines, huge jumps and dazzling turns. He's a dancer I'd go out of my way to see again. As the temple dancer Nikiya, Maria Alexandrova in the first two acts wasn't as flexibly sinuous as the Nikiya's I've seen on DVD performances of this ballet, and her third act shade had more physical presence than you might expect of a wraith. Although she seemed to be having an off day for pirouettes, she was quietly stunning is so many other ways: the silkiest bourrees; a line of the quickest, most perfect chaines I've ever seen done on pointe; an emotional vulnerability that was appealingly at odds with her obvious physical strength. There's an interesting BT thread about her here. The corps de ballet acquitted themselves well in the shades scene, and yes, we had a ramp. However, after all 32 dancers entered and finished their dance, when they split in half and moved to the sides, 16 of them left the stage and, as far as I could tell, for the rest of the scene there were only the 16 on stage. Is this usual? I'm guessing it was due to the stage's fairly small size. And then there was the earthquake: about 10 minutes into the second act, we had a 3.2 earthquake. No one on stage seemed to notice anything, though the audience went into a momentary tizzy; but when the balcony showed no inclination to fall into the orchestra, we settled down and got on with the show.

My question is this: if they each had both arms and both legs (and presumably all other parts) intact, would anyone care to see them dance?

And they never, ever understand, do they! However, I actually persuaded a work friend who likes (not loves) ballet, and who doesn't know much about it, to see two Jewels last season and I think (hope!) she's been persuaded how different a ballet can be with different casts (good for the box office, too). Personally, I'd go to every performance, regardless of who/what, but can't due to financial/distance issues. Edited to add: Should point out too that there are times when the same dancer(s) in the same ballet can be completely different from one performance to another. That variability is, for me, one of the attractions of the performing arts in general.

According to the Amazon website, the Flamenco DVD "...has been discontinued by the manufacturer." "New and used" copies are available from $79.99. Darn...

I've just made a contribution. BTW, when you read this article, don't miss the (fairly civilized) flame war between ballet/arts lovers and a snowboarder in the 'comments' section.

It's encouraging to see a smaller company generating some good news for a change. Here's the press release on their website.

That thing looks like some kind of medieval torture machine: "Tell us the enemy's plans, you dastardly villain, or we'll put you in the Pro-Arch® (now available at fine dance suppliers from Lotharingia to Wessex. Local Danegeld may apply.)!!!

Same here. Disclaimer: Highly unscientific survey with only one participant. First act: Loved the dancers; everything else . Intermission: Not interested so decided to wash dishes. Second act: Literally forgot about it; instead, finished washing dishes, cleaned stove and refrigerator, mopped kitchen floor. Conclusion: Washing dishes is more interesting than NYCB's R+J.

Are these chats available as podcasts anywhere? I checked the NYCB website but couldn't find anything. (Here at SFB, similar pre-performance interviews are usually posted on the SFB website as free podcasts.)