LiLing

I think the choice of Millepied may indicate a desire to continue Mme. Lefevre's policy of introducing modern and post modern work, Cunningham, Brown etc. while maintaining the classical repertoire, Millepied's own work however, is not modern dance. Millepied, like Forsythe, works from a base of the academic classical ballet vocabulary. Some consider their work part of the evolution of contemporary ballet, as Balanchine is seen. Others see distortion and pollution. Chacun à son goût but modern dance it is not.

Millepied's background doesn't augur well for his maintenance of the classics, but then there are others on staff for that. I guess all we can do now is hold our breath and hope for the best!

As for-pay- per view, or live streaming, AGMA would require negotiation over compensation for the dancers for anything that isn't in their current contract.. This could be one of the problems. And of course dealing with the musicians union is even thornier.

I certainly hope it is NOT Ratmansky! He is too valuable to the dance world as a choreographer to divert a large chunk of his time and energy to administration.

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion."

Martha Graham

I just finished reading this book. It is very poorly written. I don't know anything about the process of publishing a book, but shouldn't an editor correct grammar and sentences that make no sense?

Jerome Robbins is well known for abusing dancers, and we have all heard stories of his out of control temper. I was still shocked by Ms Bocher's experience. She was only fourteen when she joined NYCB, and became a target of his sadistic attacks.

While I can understand the author's motivation for writing this book, it makes me sad to see one more negative book about life in the professional dance world.

I am no fan of Martins' choreography, but I thought he handled the question about the hostile reviews of the McCartney ballet very well. Balanchine got negative reviews for early works that became classics. He had occasional flops later on as well. PAMTGG anybody? Martha Graham liked to tell insecure young choreographers to go to the library and read her early (horrible) reviews.

Choreographers have to take risks and try new things. Sometimes there are flat out failures. Sometimes critics need time to catch up and change their minds. I'm not defending Ocean's Kingdom, but rather Mr. Martins' point that an artist has to be true to himself, regardless of the criticism.

I think you need to bring a certain amount of life experience to appreciate some of the Tudor repertoire. Years ago, after I had recently lost someone in a community disaster, I saw a performance of Dark Elegies that brought me to tears. There was also what I saw as a shamelessly vulgar hard sell performance of DQ pdd. with long balances ignoring the music etc.

The next morning in the dressingroom for a mixed professional class, I overheard a teenage dancer raving to her friend about the fabulous performance by ----- in DQ. "and they did this boring ballet in ugly costumes by Antony Tudor."

When the American Dance Festival was located at Connecticut College, the Cunningham Co. was in residence, performing and teaching classes. We students of course idolized the dancers. Remy, the only man in the company besides Merce, zipped around campus on a little baby blue moped. I regularly found myself sharing the whirlpool with Remy in the physical therapy facility, located some distance from the main campus buildings. He joked and kept me from feeling sorry for myself and my poor aching tendons. Best of all he gave me a ride back to the cafeteria. I, a lowly student, was the envy of the school!

Remy was indeed a polymath. His wit, zany imagination and gifts in visual and performing arts all came together in The Paper Bag Players, the extraordinary children's theatre company he started with Judith Martin. The company, founded in 1958, is still providing children with the joy of live imaginative theatre. A lasting legacy from Remy Charlip.

I have taken one of Ms Diller's sayings as my housekeeping motto.

"You clean the damn house, and six months later you have to do it all over again!"

Loved her. RIP

I think the greatest athletes in the Olympics are the horses. The sheer number of different skills and level of difficulty for eventing is amazing. Compare them to track and field. Humans practice for years jumping the exact same hurdles the exact same distance apart. Equestrian jumping courses are different every time. The numerous jumps are different hights, different widths, and made of varied materials. They add all kinds of visuals to distract them, and....the horses see the course for the first time in the competion! Not to mention they also do dressage, very complicated "dancing" which has no relation to what a horse does naturally. I am in awe.

For a perfect summer read I recommend Frank Langella's Dropped Names. he knew such an amazing variety of people personally or professionally, and writes about them with great insight. Even with those he describes negitively, he isn't mean spirited or judgmental. He is a very observant actor studying humans in all their foibles. I found it very entertaining.

Yes, eliminate the music and hooky "dance" movement in the women's floor event. Even more annoying are the cutesy poo twitches on the beam. I do think this is a gender issue. Let these wonderful women athletes be powerful and aggressive with no apologies.

While I"m on the subject, why are the men in beach volleyball wearing baggy shorts and T-shirts? If the women are wearing bikinis, the men should be wearing little Speedos!

For next season we get a new director at the RB, Kevin O'Hare, and I suspect he will have a different management style. Let's hope he can build bridges with the prodigal Polunin and perhaps lure Putrov back too, he's certainly needed. To invite Ratmansky to choreograph and now Osipova to dance means Mr O' Hare really has his finger on the pulse of what is happening in the ballet world, after all those years of dreariness within the Royal Ballet could things be about to change?

Well, at least he has his finger on the pulse of what is happening at ABT.

I don't think it is just a question of whether or not the training in college departments is rigorous enough to turn out professional dancers. Age is also a factor. How open are artistic directors of ballet companies to hiring a twenty-two year old with no professional experience?

I saw A Month in the Country the season it premiered with Lynn Seymour as an unforgettable Natalia. I would love to see Part in that role!

I think the college vs career issue is undergoing a sea change. Many dancers are thinking ahead about second careers, and working toward degrees while performing in companies. Some companies are even encouraging and facilitating this. At NYCB I know Jenifer Ringer has earned her degree, and Teresa Reichlen is enrolled in the general studies program at Columbia.

Congratulations to Michaela! I am so happy DTH is coming back. I loved that company.

I voted neutral, with the reservation that I don't agree with some of Mme. Lefevre's choices. I do think she is doing a good job of maintaining the conpany's classical repertoire, while adding contemporary works. Speaking of the Catholic Church, I just wish her taste in choreographers was more um, Catholic.

Pherank

....I tried to explain to people that it was't the Creative Director's place to tell off the Conductor in front of the ballet company and rehearsal staff....

It isn't a matter of telling the conductor off. It is a collaboration between the conductor, dancers and those in charge of the rehearsal:stager, choreographer, rehearsal director, artistic director. For the Berlin Philharmonic the conductor is totally in charge and free to interpret the score. Conducting for dance requires a very different mind set. Usually the conductor will come to a studio rehearsal to watch a run through to whatever the dancers have been rehearsing to, a recording, or, as with Paquita, a piano reduction of the score. If a recording, there may be a discussion of some changes in tempi at that time. When the company gets into the theater for an orchestra rehearsal there may be stops and starts to make adjustments. While it is the conductor's job to protect the integrity of the music, the adjustments dancers want/need are usually very subtle in musical terms so it is important to make the change in rehearsal. "A little faster" for a series of jumps can come out so fast they can't get off the ground. "A little slower" and they may be spending the extra time squatting in plie.

The best conductors for dance are a very special breed. They have one eye on the stage and are very sensitive to what is happening. The great Robert Irving was known for taking the overall tempo up a notch for premiers because he said he knew the dancers would be exceptionally nervous.

The orchestra sounded dreadful in Paquita and tempos were still off. I am an enthusiastic advocate for live music, but in this case, maybe the company would be better off using caned music!

<P>

Polyphonyfan.as I read your list I found that I could hear just about every piece you mention. Some melodies came instantly; others took a little time to locate and retrieve. I thought of a time a few years ago when, during a performance of Carmen, I could hear the distinct sound of humming coming from the balcony. It was a spontaneous, and possibly unconscious, sing-along to the Habanera, another haunting auditory icon. What is it about these &quot;hauntiing&quot; melodies that makes them stick in the mind and makes so many of us want to sing along? In other words, what qualities do they share? All are extremely cantabile. Each can be hummed or vocalized rather easily, whether or not your have any musical training. Most are &quot;romantic&quot; in feel (or at least amenable to romantic interpretations in performance) -- with longish but not over-long flowing lines that permit the use of rubato phrasing and even a touch of schmalz. (A smaller category are especially sprightly, with a pronounced rhythm.) Another question that has been puzzling me: why have only two of us so far mentioned the Berceuse from Firebird. It has a very long melodic line; it is quite complex rhythmically, is romantic in a touching, eery way, and is very beautiful. I often find myself thinking of it and recalling the chroeography (Balanchine&#39;s version). Perhaps the length of the line, and the complexity of the rhythm within the line, are the problems?

Maybe also because it is't seen very often, which may change now that ABT has one.Most of mine have already been mentioned. I think I can hum the entire Tchaikovsky Serenade in CM, and most of Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet

I'll add:

The ballerina's music in Petrushka

The percussive section in Rite of Spring

Bach double violin concerto in Dm ( Concerto Barocco)

Gift to be Simple theme in Appalachian Spring

A section from Billy the Kid I think may be called buckaroo holiday?

Spartacus, Phrygia's theme, haunts me, and I don't even like it! And speaking of being haunted by music you don't like, Bolero, it pounds in my brain! Bejart's choreography probably added to my distaste.

Birdsall, I think you are absolutely right about American dancers not feeling they represent their contry/culture, however,in my experience that does not translate into less motivation to excel. If anything, the lack of state supported schools, and companies in the US makes it much harder to pursue a dance career, so those who make it are usually passionately motivated. American dancers have the reputation of being very high energy and hard working.

As for the preceived caution vs go for broke performing that has a lot to do with the kind of coaching the dancer's receive, as well as the artistic directors taste in dancers.

In comparing Russian Companies with ABT, Abatt's friend is right. The co. is a melting pot,without a uniform corps, but it is American in name only. How many of the principals in this Spring season are American?

My thoughts too Helene. It seemed the conductor was ignoring the dancer's and stagers tempo concerns, and the Dr. wasn't stepping up. What is the point of having him come to rehearsal? Same with the costume fitting schedule.

I hope this is just staged for TV, and not the way this co. normally functions.

Simon:

Here is the NYC library site. Type Balanchine videos into search and you will get a long list. Most are followed by the notation

"in-library use only, in some locations". They are all at the Lincoln Center Branch.

www.nypl.org

Well, this is not a documentary. It is a reality show, and by now we know they are edited to fit what the network thinks makes good TV. That means conflict, tension, villains! The first episode presented a group of people full of stress and insecurity in what looked like a miserable work environment.

I am so tired of all the books and films in recent years that paint such a negative picture of dance as a profession. The few snippets of dance were enjoyable and I like the idea of a general audience being shown what it looks like up close in practice clothes. Real people can do this, not just fantastic creatures on a stage.

I hope coming episodes will show a lot more dancing.