vagansmom

Thank you, pmja, you wiped away the fog! That's right. I think that Healey's character dances in the Nutcracker (but of course), maybe as Clara? just before she dies. A real tear jerker. But I do remember that Healey had a lovely musicality.

While the floor may be part of the answer, I don't believe it's the whole story. Like Felursus, I also saw ABT's "Swan Lake" at the Met and the corps did NOT sound like cattle.

Did Katherine Healey have the lead role in a movie about a dying young ballet student? She would've been a young teen, I think, at the time. Don't remember the movie name at all but I DO remember that besides being a great actress, she also was a lovely dancer for one so young.

I bought my copy years ago at KMart of all places!

I'm wondering if Xiomara (spelling?) Reyes at ABT would be categorized as a soubrette?

So was Audrey Hepburn.

Kathleen, Thank you for taking the time to write that post. You've really helped me to formulate a response to my well-meaning friends when they denigrate ballet. Your points about the "oppressions" of ballet being visible as compared to those of other arts may be very helpful.

Kathleen, Thank you for taking the time to write that post. You've really helped me to formulate a response to my well-meaning friends when they denigrate ballet. Your points about the "oppressions" of ballet being visible as compared to those of other arts may be very helpful.

I LOVE your take on it, Major Mel. Hmm, Presentism - I look forward to bringing that up next time my friends disparage the classics. I've thought a lot on this subject. It's interesting to me that ballet is judged on a PC scale by the very same people - my co-teachers- in a Montessori school- who strongly believe in presenting our students with a classical education. Our literature and cultural curriculum is heavily laced with Greek and Roman mythology. That's acceptable and laudable. Same with Shakespeare. Our elementary school kids perform Shakespeare plays throughout the year. We encourage it. We take our kids into the city for symphonies twice a year. The music teacher introduces them to opera. But ballet? "It's degrading to women." "It's passe" ...even when the ballets are based on the very same myths and the very same Shakespeare stories. :confused: Scratching my head on this one.

I LOVE your take on it, Major Mel. Hmm, Presentism - I look forward to bringing that up next time my friends disparage the classics. I've thought a lot on this subject. It's interesting to me that ballet is judged on a PC scale by the very same people - my co-teachers- in a Montessori school- who strongly believe in presenting our students with a classical education. Our literature and cultural curriculum is heavily laced with Greek and Roman mythology. That's acceptable and laudable. Same with Shakespeare. Our elementary school kids perform Shakespeare plays throughout the year. We encourage it. We take our kids into the city for symphonies twice a year. The music teacher introduces them to opera. But ballet? "It's degrading to women." "It's passe" ...even when the ballets are based on the very same myths and the very same Shakespeare stories. :confused: Scratching my head on this one.

What did Balanchine want that company to be after his death? Did he want a museum that preserved his choreography? And how does one know when the new Choreographer comes along? What if someone thinks s/he's The One but no one else thinks so? How does Martins see himself?

What did Balanchine want that company to be after his death? Did he want a museum that preserved his choreography? And how does one know when the new Choreographer comes along? What if someone thinks s/he's The One but no one else thinks so? How does Martins see himself?

A gift certificate for a massage!

Nutmeg Ballet will be presenting their spring program, a mixed bill of both classical and contemporary ballet, this weekend - Friday, May 17 @ 8:00 pm and Saturday, May 18 @2:00 and 8:00 pm. in Waterbury, CT in the Main Theater at the Northwestern Valley Regional Community College. Among the dances being presented are variations from "Paquita", staged by Elena Tchernichova and Alexei Tchernichov, and "A Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra", choreographed by Scott Thyberg. MOMIX will be performing some excerpts from their own repertoire. Additionally, "NutMix", as choreographed by Moses Pendleton with some of the Nutmeg dancers, will be presented.

I was delighted to read in that article that Barry Hughson was honored with a choreography award. I've loved his choreography for many years. Barry is a graduate of Nutmeg Ballet who went on to dance with the Washington Ballet before coming home to the Torrington area where he began what's now a very successful after-school arts program for children. He's now the head of the Warner Theater in Torrington, CT and a frequent teacher/choreographer for Nutmeg Ballet. My daughter's performed in many of his dances over the years.

Some of the teachers and dancers I know who attended said that a lot more work still needs to be done in organizing. Floors also were very slippery - that seems to have been a widespread opinion. Apparently there was a big contingent of really impressive Asian dancers that swept many of the awards.

I managed to catch most of it on video. Yes, some of those clips were new to me, esp. the ones of his recent dancing with White Oak Project. It'll be interesting to see what he does when he stops dancing completely. Wonder if it really WILL be in one or two years as he stated...

One has to add Heather Watts as a dancer who doesn't fit the image conjured up when thinking of Balanchinian dancers. Her overall shape never gave the impression of long and lean and her feet were just ordinary (something I loved about her). But what a dancer! Also adding my voice to the chorus who say that Darci Kistler IS long and lean - nothing plump or roundish about her. I've always kind of thought of her as a skinny tomboy.

One has to add Heather Watts as a dancer who doesn't fit the image conjured up when thinking of Balanchinian dancers. Her overall shape never gave the impression of long and lean and her feet were just ordinary (something I loved about her). But what a dancer! Also adding my voice to the chorus who say that Darci Kistler IS long and lean - nothing plump or roundish about her. I've always kind of thought of her as a skinny tomboy.

Ah, shoulders down. I'll admit- that's one of my biggest pet peeves. I have a really hard time sustaining attention when the dancer can't keep her (or his) shoulders down. They lose me entirely. It doesn't matter what else they can do technically if they can't do that.

Here in northwest CT, I'm exactly 2 and a half hours from both NYC and Boston. I make it into NY 3 or 4x a year to see ABT and NYCB and usually go up to Saratoga once or twice in the summer when NYCB is in residence. Before Hartford Ballet went out of business and then emerged as the very scaled down Dance CT, we saw them a lot. I still mourn their departure. Other than the ubiquitous "Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet", nobody heads up our way on tour. I DID see the Trocks though at the Shubert Theater in New Haven recently. We do get to see a lot of MOMIX and Pilobolus (yeah, I know, they're not ballet but I still love them) since their home base is nearby. And of course we see loads of student ballet productions. Nutmeg Ballet performs frequently and their spring bill often includes guest artists (Ethan Stiefel once), from various ballet companies. To otherwise keep connected to ballet, we subscribe to Dance View and BalletAlert! and Dance Magazine. And frequently check out "Breakfast with the Arts" on A&E in the hopes it'll include ballet.

I saw the Trocaderos perform at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, CT the beginning of April. The very next week Bravo ran their Trocks program. They danced Paquita at the live performance. I was disappointed to not see it once again on the Bravo program. Robert Carter (Olga Supphozova) danced the ballerina's role. My daughter, who's dancing the same part in her school's spring performance, said that she may as well just hang up her pointe shoes- "Olga" dances it much better! Re Fernando Medina Gallego, the program notes say that he was born in Madrid, trained at the Rudra Bejart School (Lausanne), and Escuela Victor Ullate (Madrid). He joined Trockadero in Dec. 1998 and has also performed with the Classical Ballet of Barcelona, Basler Ballet, Introdans, and the Ballet de L'Opera de Nice.

I took "ballet lessons" for a couple years as a child. A nun taught the classes after school. After she smacked me across the face for my stage fright, I spent the next 30 years despising ballet. As fate would have it, my daughter decided at the age of 3 it was something she just had to do. My experience firmly etched in my brain, I put her off for almost two years but she ultimately wore me down. I came to enjoy ballet in much the same way as many parents - from watching my own child move up through the ranks. As she's gained experience, so have I. Originally my love for ballet was contained within the realm of her ballet school - I loved watching the dancers grow up and into the roles every bit as much as I loved the dancing. Of course, it's now extended well outside the sphere of her school and I find myself craving it so much that I'll make the 2 and a half hour trek into NYC to see professional companies. Knowing the years and years of work makes me admire the dancing even more.

My sister just told me last night she's signing her daughter up for Irish dance lessons where she lives in another state. My sister's Italian, her daughter's adopted from Korea. This little girl can't wait to start her lessons!

I didn't get to see all the skating. But I did see Yagudin's long program which was skated with much more passion than at the Olympics. My only other comment is in defense of Sasha Cohen. You stated that she had a sassy, "in your face" quality. I maintain it was part of the choreography. I've seen her skate to other, more contemplative music. What I love so much about her skating is how she inhabits the music.