Sunpacy

"The "Diane & Acteon Pas de Deux" was added to diversify Petipa's 1886 revision of "La Esmeralda"." Is this true? The D&A pas as we know it today was an Agripina Vaganova creation Vaganova in 1886 was around 7 years old. Esmeralda is a ballet created by Perrot in the romantic era. Petipa recreated as he did with many other romantic ballets and he add the Esmeralda Pas de deux with music I think by Drigo Later in 1900 Petipa already dead Vaganova added the Diana and Acteon pas de deux which was took from another Petipa ballet and add solo for the man

It is time that communities take action about what is going on with the art organizations. Some problems are related with very unusual years. From the 9/11 catastrophic events, the tsunami, Katrina etc. Corporations consider money for art a vanity, so art are dying but also ballet companies are doing a bad job creatively the level of the product are really bad, horrible versions of the classics and lack of creativity in the contemporary side so people are not going to shows either. But all of us we should l call every representative and demand more art funding in your area. (Cleveland Ballet was hold by two boards one in OH and another in San Jose California the OH board quits but that happened few years ago). No only the problem are in the companies that folded, also ballet companies around the country are cutting short season, reducing company members and repeating repertoire because they lost a lot of funding.

Hi, this issue, very American I might say, is very interesting. I say very American because we live here in a complex society in which we have all the time be very careful to do not offend anyone. I was principal dancer for ten years in good regional company in the south east and according with the administrative staff was easy promote me because I am Hispanic. Sounded odd to me at the time I was just arrived in the US. At the same time in the company it was a black dancer that I will confess was very demanding and hard to work with. But the management refuses to let him go because the company was affraid to be accuse of discrimination. It sounded very odd to me at the time. I believe in the world of ballet or in any of such of specific profession we should just use what we need for our vision regarless anything, sexual orientation, color, etc. I direct a company that preety much have a little bit of everything and anybody will dance what the company needs. I refuses to believe of an artistic director that have issues about colors I don't believe that is possible. If it are less blacks today on the stage are less white too. 70% of my colleges from the time I was a dancer quit ballet went back to college and got a"REAL JOB". I believe this happend because ballet pays really bad and today isn't enough good artisitc directors who inspired you to dance no matter what, they are all "Good managers" they spend more time with sponsors having executive lunchs that in the studio developing young people, they left there dancers with assistants who don't have the depth of the artist to keep dancers motivated so blacks and whites are quitting. And those spots are taking by Asian or Hispanic like me whom the bad American pay is 6 times more than what in our countries can get. We know what bad pay really is.

it would take a good 20-30 years for society to feel its full benefit. For now, we're stuck in the world we live in. It is not that much time in the context in how valuable is the mission. And anyway believe it will take less because when the wheels move the momentum help you. In the 80s. Ballet was very popular Baryshnikov making ballet movies and companies were doing very good actually it was more exposure, well we have to get that kind the exposure back plus education. I am doing it in my town with a lot of success and my company are growing fast. Even with some unpopular desitions because we are not related with some kind of sponsorship we don't agree with their philosophy. For me it was a disgrace what NYIBC did. and I know that if the were working a little bit harder they could find a better sponsor in that area. Yes I enjoy being here

I forgot to tell you it was a very "Legato" way to tell me if I don't like it I should leave.

I didn't know it was one I apologize It is not the point. The point is that an event like NYIBC shouldn't be associated with Mc Donald’s or any other fast food chains for that matter, we are trying here to among many other thing incentive health and healthy habits, eat in Mc Donald’s which by the way the salads are pure sugar is not a healthy one. being free is to spend money is kind a not the point either. We live in democracy and you are free to drive a convertible Mercedes Benz now sometime freedom is not enough to drive a Mercedes. The point one more time is the only food provided by the competition was Mc Donald’s that was bad enough. But you are the DANCERS WERE FREE TO EAT AT WENDY'S TOO Yes 10 of thousands of restaurants but let talk about a South American dancers were a regular salary is around 450 dollars a month fly to US spend three weeks in one of the most expensive cities in the world and the only food provided is McD I don't think the Silver Medalist from Cuba could do much with the few dollars he brought from Cuba. Well we will need a lot of time to expose different ways to raise money, but I believe the mission of artist today is education, that is the only way we will get money. One of the main reasons why we don't have any much sponsorship is because people know very little about ballet, without exposure wont be money.(when was the last time you saw a ballet on TV?) Is that a valid question?

You may consider this a standard discussion on this board, and you have the option of not participating if it doesn't meet your standards. I promise you I am not that arrogant to believe something does not meet my standards, it just in Messages Boards always (Like we say in Spanish) people detour for the small roads. It is not about my standards or me it’s just is what happened in Messages Boards that's all.

As usual in Message boards people never follows the story line and debate about the original subject they leave messajes that sound more like personal psicotherapy than friendly debate. This topic was about NYIBC and the Mc Donald's Sponsorship the gave to the compatitors vouchers to eat in Mc D every day for the lenght of the event I believe that is pretty stupid.

Kylian who is for me the choreographer of the XX century (I hope the Balanchineans don't kill me for saying this) goes beyond any dance format it's not a classical repertoire but it's not a modern. it is Just Kylian. A man who his dance vocabulary is so rich that so far isn't a style in which we can place it yet. Time will say what Kylian is. The same happended with Mozart in his time. Kylian isn't discover yet, historian will do.

If you don't like the idea of taking money from oil companies and tobacco companies, this is not the career for you. The ever decreasing amount of government funding, and the decrease in private giving after 9/11 and the stock market decline makes money from sources that diminish health necessary for survival. Both those comments are from the new moral of the world we are living today. I believe are much more ways to get support for the arts, we just need to be more creative and combative too. But associate yourself with what is exactly opposite for what you stand for beside to be an incoherent paradox is also the beginning of your end. The support of the arts has decline no question about it 9/11 and the Tsunami disaster affected private donation. Government doesn’t actually have a cultural policy or any interest that their people being expose to the arts, that’s way isn’t support by the government. If the artist wants to survive we have to come up with something better that sleeping with the enemy.

In the recent and just ended edition of the New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC) happened something that really bothers me a lot. One of the sponsors of the competition was Mc Donald’s fast food chain. The day for a competitor was class 9:30 am until 11 AM. Then 3 hours of rehearsal 1-hour lunch and the 2 more hours of rehearsal. The hour lunch consist in Boucher to eat in MC Donald’s. I don't know if anybody watched the movie Super size me, which by the way open a huge debate about the food industry and American way to eat. Mc Donald’s actually recommend don't eat everyday in their restaurants because the star of the movie Super size me goes to a Mc Donald’s diet for 30 days and almost had a liver failure. So the athletes of NYIBC had three weeks Mc Donald’s Diet. I understand the NYIBC need sponsors but with that excuse they will accept money from Budweiser and Phillips Morris and the dancer will get free beer y and cigarettes? Because one beer a day or one cigarette an day isn't worse that One Mc Donald meal a day. Anyway I believe if we are all here to promote ballet we should be consistent with he idea that ballet should be associated with healthy behavior, and no promote or change that behavior for money. I run a ballet studio and fight really hard with my students to change their feeding habits when one of their goals is participate in a competition like NYIBC and they promote Mc Donald I believe is a shame.