vagansmom

How many of you have received phone calls from ABT asking you to buy a series subscription right now? I received a call this week, was told that they're calling everyone who ordered through the Internet last season because that option is no longer available. While I appreciated the call (although she called me at work) because I learned the spring schedule, it also seemed evident that ABT is feeling pressured to get some money flowing immediately.

I think that in a sense he's right but maybe not for the reasons intended. It's an inherently unfair statement. The importance of novels, movies, and ballet can't be compared to poetry in this fashion. Poetry is something immediately available to all, something that can be instantly quoted, a quick "sound bite". We all have bits and pieces of poetry floating throughout our brains, if only vestiges from grammar school. Anyone know the children's poem "Keep a Poem In Your Pocket"? In a sense, we all do have a line or two of a poem in our "pockets". So, yes, in times of great crisis or happiness, most of us could probably very quickly recite a bit of poetry to express what we're feeling. And in that sense, we DO turn to poetry SOONER than the other choices he mentioned. But that's only because of how instantaneously available it is to us. If I were going to argue as to the form of expression most people turn to in times of crisis, I'd agree with Joan Oliver Goldsmith, author of "How Can We Keep From Singing?" and say that people turn most often to song. I was reminded of this many times over in the first days and weeks following Sept. 11. We all feel a more insistent need, I think, to turn to whatever art form can express the very deep emotions we're feeling, or that can provide some welcome levity. For those of us familiar with the form, it's ballet.

Pushkin's poem was published as "Eugene Onegin", rather than simply "Onegin". I did a quick Google search to look for the verse-novel and found a translation by Alan D. Corre where, in a stanza about Olga, it goes on to say: "Now, pray permit, my reader dear, Her elder sister to appear. XXIV 'Tatiana' was her sister's name..." So, at least in that translation, Olga is clearly the younger sister. I also read a brief biography on Pushkin. Sadly, the end of his life strikingly paralleled that of Lensky. Pushkin wrote "Eugene Onegin" from 1823 - 31. He married Natalia Goncharova on February 18, 1831, in Moscow. In 1834 his wife met a man named d'Anthes who scandalously pursued Mme. Pushkina for two years. Pushkin challenged him to a duel several times but retracted the challenge when he heard that d'Anthes was really in love with Mme. Pushkina's sister. In fact, d'Anthes did marry the sister but continued to pursue Pushkin's wife. Pushkin again challenged d'Anthes to a duel which took place on January 27, 1837. D'Anthes fired first, and Pushkin was mortally wounded; he died two days later. So, to compare: Lensky is engaged to Olga Onegin flirts with Olga Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel Onegin kills Lensky in the duel Onegin later realizes that Olga's sister could've been the love of his life. Pushkin marries Natalia Goncharova d'Anthes flirts with Mme. Pushkina Pushkin challenges d'Anthes to a duel d'Anthes marries Mme. Pushkina's sister d'Anthes kills Pushkin in the duel. It makes me wonder if Pushkin would've chosen a different path had he never written "Eugene Onegin". Perhaps having lived with the events of that story for those 8 years while writing it, he then felt compelled to live out its ending?

Maybe they changed it for the ballet. Either that or the ABT program notes got it wrong. They read as follows: "...he meets his friend Lensky, about to marry a bourgeois young woman, Olga, whose younger sister, Tatiana, falls in love with the glamorous, cosmopolitan Onegin." In looking over the bulk of the program notes, though, it surelooks like they intend Olga to be the elder sister. She's engaged. Tatiana, on the other hand, is a "coltish girl", Onegin thinks she's "aflame with impetuous first love", he is irritated by her "outburst of adolescent love". I'd prefer, as mentioned in my comments in my first post here, to believe Olga as the younger sister. It was a stretch to think of Reyes's Olga as the elder one to Kent's Tatiana. However I suppose we all know that older sisters, by virtue of their age, aren't necessarily the wiser or more serious sibling. [ November 27, 2001: Message edited by: vagansmom ]

I saw ABT's Onegin last June. Their sets and costumes are on loan from the Nat'l Ballet of Canada. I happened to love them - thought they were just right for the period. The cast I saw had Julie Kent as Tatiana and Xiomara Reyes as Olga. Olga is, in fact, the elder sister. To me, Olga seemed more of a flirty younger sister sort than Tatiana. I thought it was perhaps a matter of casting. Reyes's dancing is light-hearted and my overall impression of her Olga personality was that she was adorable. Which made her seem so young. Kent's Tatiana, on the other hand, although she too did an admirable job, still came off appearing older than Olga. In the end, I thought that the two dancers, taken together, were miscast. Each would have been fine, I thought, in her role had there been a different dancer in the other role. [ November 26, 2001: Message edited by: vagansmom ]

...what would it be? Why?

Oh dear. You've all reminded me of an event from around 8 years ago which I heard about, but luckily wasn't witness to. My daughter, at about age 9 or 10, went off to a Boston Ballet performance with her friend and her parents. These girls were thrilled to be in attendance and knew the Nutcracker intimately, having been in productions since they were 6. They were sitting directly behind Bruce Marks, then AD of BB. The two girls, according to the parents (who themselves are dancers and know Marks a little, thank goodness), critiqued the performance from start to finish, comparing it to their own pre-professional school's student production. Of course these loyal little girls found that Boston Ballet just didn't measure up whatsoever. I'd give anything to know the thoughts going through Marks' head throughout that performance. Wonder if it's too late to apologize? [ November 02, 2001: Message edited by: vagansmom ]

I read the original Hoffman story long before I ever saw a Nutcracker. I remember wondering why it was such a holiday favorite!

Emily trained at my daughter's studio and I had the privilege of watching her grow up. I'm delighted to hear that audiences are appreciating her professional artistry as much as we did while watching her develop as a dancer. Everything you stated about her was true even way back when. And she's a genuinely good, kind person as well.

My first thought is to try to contact someone like Jacques D'Amboise who's done so much work with schoolkids from all backgrounds. He might know of specific programs needing donations.

I'm with Giannina. I never did pay to see any of that stuff - in fact, I've always avoided it. I know that lots of people have seen such movies and TV as entertainment but to me they've always been depictions of my nightmares and I generally like to avoid nightmares. As for right now, I've hit the point of wanting nothing but gentility. That awful first day, when I wasn't sure if my son was alive (he was in the subway under the first tower at the time of the attack), I couldn't watch or listen to the news because of my great fear. For four hours of waiting to hear from him, I played a Fonteyn/Nureyev video over and over again to keep my sanity. I'm finding that everything is more beautiful now- the sunshine, trees, the smell of the air, classical music I'm playing all day long...I realize that I'm trying to cloak myself in as much beauty as I can for as long as possible. [ 09-21-2001: Message edited by: vagansmom ]

This comment, I believe, isn't so tangential that it doesn't belong here. I was struck last night by the sight of the members of Congress singing a bit from "God Bless America". It was the fact that they chose SINGING as their way of expressing their deep emotion that moved me.

Now that it's a day later, I'm wondering how many of us actually slept well last night. I tossed and turned all night long, reliving the day's events. My son lives and works in NYC and often in the WTC where he does computer wiring and setups. His office is in a building a couple blocks away. It was hours before I heard from him. As everyone knows, the phones were down. I finally got his email. Like so many of you New Yorkers, he saw far more than he could reasonably handle. I worry for all of you who have these images to deal with. We're still waiting to hear about the safety of a dozen parents from my daughter's school and several of my former students' parents. They all work in the WTC. My son said that many people don't begin work in those offices till about 9:30 am. Hopefully, lots hadn't yet arrived.

I took ballet lessons for two years back when I was six and seven - from a nun! She was the only person who ever slapped me across the face and that was in response to my missing an entrance (stage fright) when I was supposed to lead the group out doing "ballet walks". Needless to say, when our 3 year old daughter wanted ballet lessons, I said no. Told her it wasn't allowed till the age of 5. One and a half years later, she came out of nursery school with her eyes blazing because she discovered that a 4 year old friend took ballet lessons. My lie was now obvious. I signed her up thinking it would be an asset to her Irish dancing (we own a studio). It's 11 years later, she's taken lessons at the same pre-professional school all these years, (quit Irish dance) and taught me volumes about ballet. I couldn't imagine life without it. We're just far enough away from NY to make it difficult to attend ballets but we manage 3 or 4 a year (ABT and NYCB). We used to see the Hartford Ballet regularly (I'm still mourning their demise - it's just not the same). So, most of the ballet I see live is in the form of student productions. But that, too, has its appeal since I've watched so many of these youngsters grow up and go on to ballet careers. And every now and then we get to see them dance professionally.

Several years ago the dancer who won the Artistry Award at the NY Int'l Ballet Competition performed MOMIX's "The Bird" as her modern piece. That dance was widely recognized as a real stand-out piece, showing her ability to perform complicated modern choreography. Actually she later toured a bit with MOMIX before signing a contract with the Joffrey Ballet.

I suspect you ARE referring to the summer intensives. This summer ABT's held them in NYC, Alabama, Michigan, Texas and California. And Joffrey's got their NYC, Mid-west (don't remember which state - is it in Chicago where their company is?) and San Antonio, Texas locations. Confusing if you're just entering into the summer intensive search. [ 08-22-2001: Message edited by: vagansmom ]

Thank you, everybody. I'm glad to know that this particular performance wasn't during her peak. It must be difficult to be an artist and have, captured on film, a performance that makes you wince. I wish I could've seen her during her prime. While I know that videos never do justice to the real performance, I'd still be interested in any recommendations any of you can make.

I'm back to playing Baroque recorders. Have played lots of Palestrina/Tallis/Byrd in a consort over the years. Also transposing music from classical guitar (can no longer play due to arthritis) to the fretted dulcimer. I've been trying to play Baroque pieces on it. We own an Irish step dance school. I spent a long time on the phone yesterday with an 82 year old woman who's offering us a free dance hall if we'll teach her and her friends step-dancing. They're all over 75-I love it! And they'll bring dessert, she tells me. Finally, I spend as much time in the garden as I can. It's mostly a rocky hill but is now shaping into some semblance of my dreams for it. I've been delighted to have hummingbirds visiting it daily now.The season is too short.

Can someone explain to me why she is considered a great Russian ballerina? I recently read in a book about Nureyev that Fonteyn, when she first saw Kolpakova, was shaken. She felt that if K. were in the West, she'd be a genuine threat to her own supremacy of the time. Reading this, I looked forward to viewing a performance of Kolpakova. My daughter just got a "Great Pas de Deux" video which includes K. dancing in "Sleeping Beauty" with Sergei Berezhnoi. I was sorely disappointed! Granted, I'm a neophyte when it comes to understanding the details of ballet. There may be some quality she had IN HER DAY that was unusual but because I'm not familiar enough with ballet history, I'm not seeing it. I DO know that I love what little I've seen of Fonteyn, for instance. In this Kolpakova/Berezhnoi pas de deux, I found her to have an excessively stiff upper body. Her head, neck, shoulders and back weren't the least bit expressive. And she had a set amateurish smile (reminded me of your "ballerina polish" thread) plastered on her face the whole time which made me feel almost as though she weren't really "there" but going through the motions. I don't know where, in her career, to place this dance. Was it early on? Late in her career? Was she nursing an injury?

Wow - sounds like hers would a be a great biography! I'm grateful to you for following up on this topic, Alexandra. I remember that I., my neighbor, said that one of their frequent guest teachers was a Russian ballerina, Tatiana ______. I'm sorry - I don't recall her last name and there are loads of Tatianas! I'll ask her when I see her again. In fact, I think I'm going to ask if I can formally interview her on tape. But it's painful for her to discuss that period in her life. I remember one time she told me that there was a German movie producer or director who, at the time of the war, was just becoming known. He pursued her amorously but she didn't care for him. He later married another ballet dancer, a good friend of hers, and went on to movie fame in Germany. I believe he then fell ill with Altzheimer's and his wife has been caring for him. Several years ago, I. went back to Germany for a 50th. anniversary reunion of the ballet dancers in her company. It's interesting that the subject of German National ballet dancers is such a difficult and sensitive one while the same isn't true of Russian dancers. I've been trying to understand exactly where the differences lie and I keep coming back to the subsequent guilt felt by Germans who benefited from the Nazi party. Although there were many Russian dancers who also benefited under their Communist system, Hitler's crimes were so heinous in their massive organization alone that it's unsettling to even consider that any group of individuals benefited from that system. My neighbor, while recalling her dancing years, is constantly qualifying her experience in the context of what else was occurring in Germany at the time. She doesn't feel as though she can look back with enjoyment on those years.

One group of dancers that's never, to my knowledge, been documented in book are the ballet dancers of Nazi Germany. There's an old woman who lives nearby me. She's always taken an interest in my daughter's dancing and one day told me she was a ballet dancer in the (don't know the official name) time of Hitler. As a child, she was chosen in school (17 girls chosen out of thousands) to take ballet lessons, akin to the Soviet system. She continued dancing on into her 20's. She has all kinds of guilty feelings resulting from having received special privileges as an Aryan dancer for Germany. But what she comes back to over and over again in conversation is how much she just wanted to dance! They danced through WW2 just as in the stories of the British dancers, they scrounged for food, rushed to air raid shelters and some were later systematically raped when Russian soldiers (but not the Americans - they were "respectful of the women" according to her) arrived. I.'s stories are hair-raising and when my daughter was younger, I'd have to shush her. But her stories continue to spill over. I once took I. to my daughter's studio which was then housed in an old Victorian building. She wept walking through the halls because she said "it smells the same". Recently I've begun plying her with questions because I'm realizing that she has a story to tell that might possibly have not been previously told, at least not outside of Germany. It's a difficult story because of the political machine that created and sustained it. But these dancers were the same as dancers anywhere in their love and sacrifice and their desire to continue dancing no matter what happened around them. I'd love to know if those dancing years are documented anywhere.

I had the same reaction as samba38 when reading Tallchief's autobiography. I felt like I was back in high school with gossipy teens sniping at each other's looks and talents. It would be nice to read a biography of her to get a more balanced impression. To some degree, I felt the same while reading Edward Villella's autobiography although it was more tolerable in that dept. A good bio of him might be nice also if one isn't already available.

Oooh, good question. After reading Valerie Panov's autobiography, I'd like to read a biography of Irina Kolpakova. I think that the difficulties of having been the "People's Ballerina" of the USSR might make a very interesting read (along with her great dance history, of course). A Tanaquil LeClerc biography would be very interesting as well. Because her dancing career was cut short, I'd like to know more about how she dealt with spending the bulk of her life in a wheelchair. Oooh, Jacques D'Amboise, Robert Helpmann, Ninette de Valois (is there already one about her?), Gelsey Kirkland (I agree, autobiographies notwithstanding), I could probably come up with another dozen names easily but these sprang quickly to mind.

Many years ago I attended a concert given by Andre Segovia, the legendary classical guitar player. It was February and many people had the sniffles or were coughing. Segovia was quite elderly at that time. He made countless mistakes. Several times he seemed to forget where he was in a piece and had to start all over again. About halfway through the performance, he suddenly stopped playing, and stood up facing the audience. With dramatic flare, he whisked out his handkerchief, coughed gently into it, glared out at the crowd and put the handkerchief away. No one dared to cough, sneeze or sniff for the rest of the performance. He must've felt badly because at the very end of the evening, Segovia again faced the audience, apologized for playing poorly and asked that people not hold it against him. He didn't, however, apologize for the coughing lesson. Wonder what he would've done in this cell phone era?

I'm looking for any videos with footage of Eleanor D'Antuono.