stinger784

is that expensive or what?!

So I'm a little confused. Is her company made up of students, or is it professional?

Hello Everyone, Sorry for the extremely long overdue update but trying to get things together and to pack and unpack all my stuff and to start in a new city takes some time. I just signed with Ballet Met a little over a week ago and I make my debut with them this Friday in Gerard Charles' The Nutcracker. I want to thank everyone for your continued support! Some other dancers have signed with other major companies as well and if you look at my website, you can see the link in my "clippings" section. Talk to everyone later! ~Ian~ www.ianpoulis.com

Hi Guys, Umm...What can say I other than that the Exec Dir. and Mr. Aliev are working to get money to start a new company. That is the only news I have as of now. Butler University has offered there studio space for us to keep in shape and hopefully a place to soon be rehearsing The Nutcracker. That is all I have for now. ~Ian~

Hey everyone, Nothing new to report as of yet. Tonight should hopefully shed some light on our idea to continue on with the Nutcracker. Hope to have more information soon. If I do, it will be late tonight. ~Ian~

you made a mistake with my website address. There is only one "l" in my name. www.IanPoulis.com

Well everyone, It has been a crazy 24 hours so far and I still don’t know what to expect. Ballet Internationale (BI) as well as the Academy have shut its doors due to financial reasons. It was without warning and we the dancers were without any knowledge of how we could possibly help the situation. As for my status here in Indianapolis, well it is up in the air at the moment. I do not want to make any promises of where I will be because the dancers and directors are working on something that we may do independently. If you have any help that you can provide us with, meaning financially or know of anybody that can just help the situation, please let me know. But as of yesterday at 5pm, Ballet Internationale is no more. Here is a link that might help explain what is going on a little better: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...5/ENTERTAINMENT So I do not want to say any specifics at this time as I do not want to start rumors or regret saying certain things. What I will say is that I thank each and every one of you for your support whether or not you have come to the ballet or not. Even if in some small minute way you said “hey how you doing” to me at one point, it let me know I had people that care about what I do and the sacrifices I made. BI gave me my first 4 seasons as a professional dancer for which I am grateful. But it seems now that the physical and metaphorical doors have closed on us and it is time to move on. So again, if you or anyone you know can help in any small or huge way, contact me immediately!!! Love and Later, ~Ian Poulis~ www.ianpoulis.com www.myspace.com/ianpoulis

Well guys, It's true. All I can say is thank you for the continued support. I can not say much because I do not want rumors to start, but I can say we are working on something. The company dancers are upset, yes, but our creative wheels are always turning and you have not seen the last of us. I had my debut performance of Giselle here four seasons ago, toured China, Taiwan, Montreal, NYC, and the rest of this great nation, but it was all stopped today. I do not want to get into details because I am not sure what I can say legally. But I do want to say, keep praying. And if you know anybody that can seriously help, send them my way at www.IanPoulis.com. You can always contact me there. I have a MySpace account as well at, www.myspace.com/ianpoulis. So keep the 27 dancers with dreams of sugar plums and Christmas cheer alive. We need all the support we can get. I hope to have some good news for you soon! ~Ian~

I'm surprised no one has said AMERICAN BEAUTY. (Let's see what kind of flack I get for this.) Why is Kevin Spacey considered a god? In the majority of his movies except for The Usual Suspects, he always seems to play the montone lead. I never see much of anything else from him. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I don't understand him or where he is coming from. As for the movie, can we say teenage angst? I wonder if it would have done so well if not for the star power it had.

Believe it or not she is just as normal a human being as you or I. She is a very sweet woman and really does care. Vlad is equally as cool and an excellent teacher.

Ok I just asked her what other videos she would be on. She said there is a Raymonda, Chopinana and one called (sorry if I butcher the spelling) "Baryshna (?) and Hooligan". The last one was made for the cinema I'm guessing how Spartacus with Vassiliev was made. She said there may be others but that is all she knew off the top of her head. Hope this helps... ~Ian~ www.ianpoulis.com

I know exactly how you feel. Everyday when I go to work at Ballet Internationale and she is rehearsing me, I am so surprised still at the fact that her por de bras is as magnificent as it was on the video. As far as videos go, I can not help you there. All I can tell you is that she and her husband will be celebrating a milestone anniversary this Sunday and that they are both inspirations to me.

I remember seeing a performance of NYCB about 7-8 years ago. I am not a big fan of NYCB, but I went because I never saw them perform and I was interested in seeing them anyways. I forget the program I saw but what I do remember was that I was not impressed at all. Upon later seeing a video of the company when Mr. B was alive and well, I was shcoked and actually liked what I saw. So the company in my opinion has definetly changed. But who am I to judge. We all have our likes and dislikes. But in my humble of humblest opinions, City Ballet is not what it was 30 years ago by any standards. Mr. B really had some great dancers and now I wonder what will happen with the company as the final generation says goodbye... 'nuff said.

Hey all you DMB-ites, So I just saw the piece titled "DMB" last night here in Indianapolis at Clowes Hall on the Butler University campus. I believe we were the second crowd to see it as it only premiered 4 nights ago in Newport, Virginia. The set list for the piece was Satellite, PNP, When The World Ends, PNP (reprise), Out Of My Hands & Stay. They used PNP as a link or interlude if you will between two of the pieces which was a pretty cool idea. Costumes were very organic in that they wore beige linen pants, t-shirts and a linen rolled-up long sleeve shirt. Very cool and relaxing looking for a very cool piece. Satellite opened the piece to a very cool-soothing series of transistions in a very well patterned circle of what almost seemed like, well none other than a satellite in orbit. The thing about Parsons Dance Company, as noted in the pre-performance discussion, is that you can not take it so seriously. You have to go and just look at it and take it for what it is. It worked for me and the rest of the crowd, although many of which were white haired, was very enthusiastic. Many of the college aged crowd behind wanted to erupt in ovation on the first note of DMB, but I felt they got scared and cowered out. Back to the dancing... Satellite finished after a series of amazing patterns and coordination that really fed your eye. PNP served as a sweet interlude and a small discussion between two dancers played out in choreography was quite playful and just all around feel good. As the dancers returned into a clump on the stage, one more came out as the music crashed with When The World Ends. After a series of cool turns and jumps, it was someone elses turn to get angry and dance. Each dancer displayed some very cool athleticism that kept the audience involved to see what would happen next. PNP played one more interlude and it was time for Out Of My Hands. For some reason this piece eludes me at the moment. While Parsons work is very innovative, sometimes your eyes can take so much that many of his ideas are somewhat forgotten. The piece finished with Stay. This was an all around show stopper, much like Dave's wailing was in that very cool bootleg of Seek Up from 7.30.01. The company you could tell was having a blast and it was just one more chance for them to strut their stuff. With the back-up singers going nuts, Parsons did the same with his dancers as they came out in solos or pairs. All in all a very cool piece. One I hope that will get the recognition it deserves. I would have liked at least two more songs for this piece, but as a dancer, I know how demanding a piece like this can be. If you guys get a chance to see Parsons on tour, GO!!! Not just for this piece but for innovative ideas with a very good sense of humor. Pay attention and look for the signature piece CAUGHT. Strobe lights are used. I do not want to spoil this piece for you, you just have to experience it. Later and Good Times!! ~Ian~ www.ianpoulis.com

I feel in the next coming year or two, Marcelo Gomes will make a huge impact in the state of male dancing over at ABT. He has all the essential tools of an artist, not a trickster. He is bringing the art back the ballet and that's what the ballet world needs if we want the like of Nureyev back on stage. In my humble opinion... ~Ian~ www.ianpoulis.com

Hey guys, You have got to see this movie One Last Dance. We've waited 18+ years to see it and it is exactly what dance is all about. It's taken all the stereotypes and showed them for what they really are and not a caricature of what they are like in those "other dance movies". Desmond Richardson and Rasta Thomas are two fo the main company dancers while Patrick Swayze, George de la Pena and Lisa Neimi show the youngsters what dance means to them. Amazing. Made me cry and inspired. Please check this movie out. It needs to be seen and they put so much heart and soul into it. The story has to be told. You will see choreography from Doug Varone, Alonzo King, Patsy Swayze and Dwight Roden. They reall sunk there teeth into the story and dialogue is almost non-existent because the dance tells it all. Wow! ~Ian~

Interesting. I was hoping Tudor was on the list but he wasn't. I kind of like to make my characters real people rather than cartoon images for lack of a better word.

When I saw ABT in Chicago last year do the same Swan Lake, it was once again the pas de trois that stole the show. What is to be done with this production? It is interesting to see that the supporting parts overpowered the principals in this ballet, same goes for when I saw it in Chicago. Is it possibly a casting issue?

Crassus = Desmond Richardson!

Is it me or does anybody else find the end of Swan Lake really silly when they throw themselves off the rock into the unknown? I always find myself chuckling.

Correction... After seeing Marcelo Gomes as Rothbart last night on Swan Lake, I feel he could be a great Crassus or Spartacus. Just need to find him a viable counterpart. I had only seen Gomes as the slave in Corsaire and never saw him in such a role of raw power. This was really a treat to see. So I stand corrected. ~Ian~ www.ianpoulis.com

you might wanna check this amazing website that has been recently releasing stuff that we havent seen for years... www.arthaus-musik.de There is a link for english on there so don't have a cow. ~Ian~

I think it also has to do with nature and nurture. With the rough life we hear about in Russia and Eastern Europe I think that helps shape the type of temperment we like to see in the tragic heroes such as Spartacus or Ivan the Terrible. With the rough life comes the rustic body that I think we need to see in these bravura roles. I really do not see Malakhov, although he is an amazing classical dancer, as the man that would free the slaves. And even though Correno could possibly do all the steps as pure and classical as they could be, his schooling was meant for Don Q or Giselle. I could be wrong since I have never seen him in a role created by Grigorovich, but I do not see any of the leading men as the calibre of dancer such as Mukhamedov or Vasiliev. (It is amazing how their legacies are still looked on as being the top of the game even today.) Bolshoi is going to be at The Met from July18-30. And they will be perfoming Sparatcus the first weekend they are there.

ABT and Spartacus I don't think should ever happen unless Kevin McKenzie decides to do his own version. While many of the leading male dancers in the company are amazing, IMO I don't see any of them as a Grigorovich Spartacus. Desmond Richardson however or Carlos Acosta may bring an interesting take on the role that I wouldn't mind seeing, but I do not see any other leading men in the company that could be as powerful as Mukhamedov or Vasiliev.

ATM711 Those jumps that Ogulcan Borova was exectuing across the floor are called 540's. Meaning he does a revolution and a half in the air. Hope that clears some things up! ~Later~