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vagansmom

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Posts posted by vagansmom

  1. I think Peter Martins had closed eyes when it came to diversity. For example, his image of a male principal dancer was himself: Tall and blond. He stereotyped certain looks in certain roles, bypassing many capable dancers. Partnering had to be a male with a female. Once he left, there was a substantial shift. Lots more needs to be done, but it does look like community outreach is starting to work. 

  2. If the floors were built for opera, they are not sprung floors. Harlequin floors are terrific. My husband is an Irish step dance teacher and we use Harlequin floors. There is a Harlequin floor that is meant for traveling; it is thinner, therefore lighter. I wonder how many dancers are wearing Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. They are a lot noisier than the others. 

  3. I think it is way too soon to think Jaffe's tenure is a return to the "McKenzie directorship," although I do sympathize with the frustration and disappointment in the changes. We really don't know what has caused them: illnesses and/or injuries could be playing a part. Maybe a dancer has asked to be removed (!) to a family circumstance...we just don't know. 

  4. Chloe's mom has probably had a major influence on her career and that's a very lucky and wonderful thing for Chloe who, to me, seems like a very talented, deserving dancer. She has been lucky to have a mom who can guide and perhaps teach or at least help her polish her technique through the years. Are you implying it's an unfair advantage? To my mind, as long as a dancer is deserving in her own right, it doesn't matter how she reached that point. If you often read the bios of dancers as do I, you will find that many started out in their (usually) mothers' studios. 

  5. Thank you, canbelto, for your lovely article about Sterling Hyltin. I have treasured her the same as you. Her epaulement is absolutely beautiful. Hyltin's arms float; I don't think anyone in NYCB has arms as beautifully graceful as hers. Her musicality and artistry is superb. 

    I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for her last performance. Way back last spring, I had scheduled a month with my daughter's family in North North Carolina to babysit my grandson. I wish it had been taped.

    Thank you so much for posting the farewell to Hyltin. I cried through it all. Who is the woman that she bowed down on her knee to?

    Hyltin has been such a treasure for this company. Her gorgeous dancing, her professionalism no matter what her disappointments are, her graciousness, her warmth and sunnyness place her as the perfect mentor to young dancers.

    As to her future, any company, within and without the ballet world, would be thrilled to have her in their midst. 

  6. Re Aron Bell: I found the quote about a possible injury on the thread about Romeo and Juliet. I hope very much that Bell has other commitments and not an injury. JuliaJ posted, "Bell was also great, very boyish, and was technically strong although maybe a bit more careful than usual. There have been mysterious reports of him being injured this season, and I saw no clear evidence of that, although I've seen him give more "wow!" performances in the past. 

  7. I am so happy (and jealous) to hear the report about Sterling Hyltin in Mozartiana. She has been my favorite NYCB dancer for many years now. I wish I could have been there. I'm on the CT/MA border and I was afraid to risk it due to the storm. Needed to be home to hold down the fort. I also delighted in the report about Megan Fairchild's dancing. She is indeed a wonder. I think you're right about her making the hardest steps appear easy so that many people don't realize the complexity of what she's doing. Such a very high level of mastery!

  8. I remember watching Liberace  several times on the Ed Sullivan show, a hugely popular show watched weekly by families all over the USA. I just looked it up. He was on the show 6 times between 1954 and 1970. I think I remember reading about him in TV Guide too when I was a child. I thought he was funny. My mom always commented on his being a fine pianist.

  9. I well remember that period too. But in late 1996 and early 1997, Alexandra Ansanelli burst on the scene with her glorious musicality. I was smitten. A few years later, the very large crop of well-trained dancers who were now graduating from prestigious ballet schools began showing up on the NYCB stage. Ashley Bouder was the first, followed by so many of NYCB's current principal dancers. I think we owe it all to a combination of the yuppie years when many people were making making money hand-over-fist and could afford to send their children to the best ballet schools and to all the new schools popping up that were/are run by former Balanchine dancers. Ballet schools had their highest attendance during those years before soccer started to replace ballet as a childhood activity. So there were plenty of very well-trained dancers to choose from. 

  10. 10 hours ago, Helene said:

    If he had real friends, they would have, at minimum, advised him that his relationship with her was dangerous to him...

    We don't know that they didn't do any of this. We don't know what they said or didn't say to Finley beyond the moments with the pictures. I have had a really hard time with the posts about their relationships and the lawsuits because all we really know is what can be proven by text. There's so much more that exists only in the memories of the individuals involved. And memory itself is subject to interference.

     

  11. That's interesting, Juliaj. I thought they weren't a good pair either, but I preferred Reichlin's movement quality to that of Mearns who looked too grounded to my taste for that ballet. I also thought the area in her shoulders and neck looked too stiff as compared to those of Reichlin. Her legs didn't fully define each step. Overall, I feel Mearns didn't complete all the movements, but streamlined them so they all looked alike. Reichlin, on the other hand, completed each step. I'm not a dancer, so I don't quite know how to express this. 

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