ViolinConcerto

Think it was Ricky Weiss. The Nureyev seemed as if he was channeling Martha Graham.

Albert's earlier piece to Cage music, "Haiku," also used parts of several disparate compositions: Quartet, for percussion, 1935: I Moderato, II Very Slow ; III Axial Asymmetry - Slow; IV Fast (performed by Essential Music); Seven Haiku, 1951, 1952 (for solo prepared piano); and A Room, 1943 (for solo prepared piano) .

There were two really ludicrous ballets (which SHOULD be an oxymoron!) in the first American Music Festival for NYCB back in 1988 I believe. I am not totally positive of the titles, composers or choreographers, but have pretty distinct mental images. One had lots of Clown-themed images (like Emmet Kelley), red noses and all. I think some carried briefcases. Big, big backdrop, several scenes, and a large-ish corps. Heather Watts may have been a principal. The second one featured Judy Fugate, coming in from stage left (I believe), doing a sideways bouree (I obviously don't know step names, because there must be one for that), arms outstretched to the side, and things looking generally as if they were underwater. It was soon after those two huge flops that Peter Martins deemed that future Diamond Project ballets basically be leotard ballets, with limited if any sets.

I just saw it for the second time, and it more than holds up. It is such a glorious film. I had less patience for people laughing at the make-up or outfits that the dancers wore in the contemporary sections.....you try putting on lipstick when you're 90!! Waiting to go in, on the line (it was totally sold out before the showing -- I bought tickets online this time), I heard more than one person say they had danced with one or more of the Ballets Russes companies, which was great. I suppose if all the former B.R. corps de ballets members come, they'll have sold out houses for a long time! I am hoping that the DVD will have more interviews, more back-stories, more, more, more!!

Thanks all of you, for the insight and images!

There's a reason my second favorite word is "ooops!" Sorry, folks. Farrell Fan is correct, and I was also very surprised to read what Stephanie said as well. She sounds really content, and as if she has constructed a very interesting life for herself.

The current "Ballet News" interview with Stephanie Saland has some very inteeresting comments by Stephanie about Gelsey. Stephanie looked up to Gelsey as a mentor. Read it!

Thank you so much for the updates. Well, she had mentioned that as an interest in the "dancer of the week" profile. It is so interesting to see what happens to dancers after they leave...even when it feels premature from an audience point of view.

Thanks for the casting list. I am so very, very relieved to see that Carrie Lee Riggins did not leave.

I love the chickens, too!! And I think they set the whole ballet up in the right mood: FUN!

from Today's NY Times: And here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/arts/17arts.html

I would love to hear how Eva Natanya is doing recently at the Royal. She was not only a lovely dancer, but judging from the "Dancer of the Week" profile on her when she was at NYCB, a truly interesting and fine person.

I would love to see Albert Evans do Theme & Variations. Some of my ballet pals would love to see him do Apollo. I'm not sure about that, he might be too strong (in character) for that, since Apollo has just been born. I wouldn't mind seeing Rasta Thomas do it -- again!!

Well, in that case we would have no Christopher Wheeldon at all! Seeing the chickens in "La Fille" on TV when he was about 7 was what got him interested in ballet!!!

I love Savion as well, but have come to the conclusion that he is a percussionist, rather than a dancer. He does go "deeeeep" into the music to uncover and reveal the embedded rhythms, but it is without concern for line or shape or composition. After I first saw him, when he was a kid, I thought, "hooray, we're going to have our very own Fred Astaire," but it was not to be......and I guess that's only right, as "That was then and this is Now." But I still could use a little top hat, white tie and tails, or at least the contemporary, ELEGANT equivalent.

Please don't let Daniel Ulbricht hear you! There's a wonderful piece about him in the New Ballet Review.

Very, very sad. Here is the link to the NYTimes obit: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/arts/dan...X+ITdP35nsCgPdw If it doesn't work, just go to NYTimes.com >arts >all headlines and it should be there.

Aesha got her first review (well, "mention" is more accurate) of her work in King's new production "Morocco." here's the link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...DDGDCFJC721.DTL

Yes, they were at the Joyce last Spring, (as was a spectacular Cambodian group), but this year they have one or two dates at the Skirball Center throught WMI. Also, that was a personal sigh of gratitude as WMI has presented so much Asian dance in the past year or so. An "in the round" (nearly) performance of Balinese dance and music was presented at the Rose Theater/Jazz at Lincoln Center that really gave a feeling for how dance exists within village life in Bali.

Ms. Mydtskov is (was?) the mother of former NYCB dancer, Jeppe Mydtskov. I THINK she was the official photograher for the Royal Danish Ballet.

---I think the name that Perky was looking for might be George Platt Lyons, but not sure. Also, Roger Wood in England photographed their first two tours (1951, 1952) there and published a little book on it. That was very good. For the Souvenir Book in 1972 or so, there were WONDERFUL photographs by Michael Avedon, who is now affiliated with the company as a make-up and hair artist. The images he took, which include Patricia McBride, Helgi Tomasson, Gelsey Kirland, and Peter Martins, are stunning. Many of those images were used to form the silhouettes on tee shirts/sweats now sold at the gift bar (I got one in 1975 and another in the 1980's when the images were single, with no "shadow effect"). Personally, I did not care for Mitchell or Migdol.

I saw Nrityagram last Spring and already have tickets for their next performance. They were technically excellent, choreographically complex, with a sophisticated visual intelligence behind their production. I see as much Asian (especially Indian) dance as I can, having spent about a year in India many years ago, because I loved So. Indian dance, and Nrityagram is one of the best companies I have seen. (Odissi is probably the most visually interesting form for Western eyes.) Thank goodness for world Music Institute here in NYC!

I, too was inspired by Swope.... I like what Paul K. does, very much. Some of his non-ballet photos are very interesting. I also love many images by Costas, who is an interesting person -- was a mathematics teacher for many years. When I started to read this forum, I was trying to remember the name of a Russian photographer who made a wonderful image of Balanchine. Back in the late 80's early 90's I found some blank greeting cards with this photo pasted on the front. I bought only two of them and (fool that I was) gave them to my 2 favorite NYCB dancers. So-----thanks to Google, here is his name and a portion of his bio for all of you from eBay (where else??). He sometimes still sells images on B'way, outside, near Lincoln Center! "Vladimir Bliokh, world renowned premier Ballet & Dance photographer, was the official photographer of the Bolshoi & the Kirov Ballet for NOVOSTI Press Agency (APN) in Moscow, Russia where he worked from 1960 till 1976 before he left to the United States. He lives and works in New York City for the past 28 years.Vladimir began photography at the age of 10. As a teenager in the 50's, he also was a student at the Bolshoi Academy of Ballet."

I saw the film last night, and just loved it. I hope I can see it again soon -- or get a DVD if one should be available. I didn't focus on the stylistic issues, but was more interested in the personal stories and the historical view. The writers carefully untangled the strands of all the companies called Ballets Russes travelling around the world, and explained the influence all the dancers and choreographers had on our current world of ballet. The strength of character of each dancer comes through so intensely, and how very important and formative this period was in their lives impressed me tremendously. The story of beautiful Raven Wilkinson, and the racism she endured was sad; the incident where the KKK actually came up on stage to try to find her, and no one moved a muscle was especially powerful. (There are other posts on Raven Wilkinson here, -- I don't know how to link to them in a "quick reply" -- and the recent interviews with Aesha Ash show that the situation has not changed as much as we would hope.) Raven tired of the battle after 5 seasons with Ballets Russes and they said in the film that she was never hired again in the US, though she worked in the Dutch National Ballet for many years. (added 11/1) How sad. The many references to how very helpful and supportive Danilova was pleased me -- too often one hears very "catty" stories about those days. The rivalries are clearly described too! But the main thrill of the film was seeing the dancers in the present time compared with photos and actual footage of them dancing in the various Ballets Russes Companies. There were a few factual errors (they said Massine was the first to choreograph to a Symphony, when Fyodor Lopukhov had done it in 1923; and they said that deBasil was, in fact, a Colonel, and I am not sure that G. Blanchine said "Ballet is woman" while he was still in Europe for example), but none of consequence. And, did anyone else, when seeing the costume for the "Coq d'Or" wonder if that's where Balanchine got the idea for that unwieldly gold costume he used for (maybe) one season on Kyra Nichols in Firebird in the late 70's?? Go see it if you are in New York now....take a look at the film's website to see where else it will play. Everyone there was moved, if not a bit teary-eyed.

My "Google Alert" led me to a very interesting article about Aesha, now dancing with Alonzo King in San Francisco. I for one was sorry to see her go, (she was my mother's favorite female dancer) and felt that she had been under-used. Albert Evans' piece to the John Cage music ("Haiku") showed what she was capable of doing. I hope you'll follow the link to this information. The article traces not just her physical journey from New York to Switzerland (with Bejart) to San Francisco, but her internal struggles with being the only African-American woman in NYCB. I was sad to read that she had become discouraged, and wish her well in her new endeavors. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...ype=performance if the link doesn't work, send me a message, or go to SFGate.com and search.