Buddy

This is a very nice and interesting interview with Leslie Caron. She talks about her career and is very complimentary about Leanne Cope. I share her enthusiasm. “In a recent e-mail interview, Caron, now 83, told me how impressed she was with Cope…. “What appealed to me when I met her was her freshness, her open attitude,” Caron wrote. “She was complimentary about our film and about the immense work that it represented. Not every newcomer is like that. She radiates real enthusiasm and a healthy ‘no neurosis’ openness about the discipline demanded in that profession.” “In a reflection of the kinds of things many said about Caron herself 60 years ago, she added, “I could also see that she has all the physical qualities to become a star: charming good looks, a very good ballet technique, beautiful feet, long arms, and above all, the gracious neck bearing of English ballet dancers. I think she’ll thrive with leaps and bounds.” Not long after she made those remarks, Cope was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical. About herself, it is mentioned, “Caron virtually blushed when I asked her to repeat the lavish praise Renoir [“Jean Renoir. The French director and screenwriter”] once bestowed upon her. “He wrote in his book that his father (impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir) would have painted me not once, not twice, but all his life.” “Caron is one of the very few people who can say they danced with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. But acting, she said, has given her the most satisfaction.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/10/leslie-caron-looks-back-the-an-american-in-paris-and-gigi-screen-siren.html (thanks to Bruce Wall at Balletco for finding this) Added comment: Dirac, I just noticed that you already referred to this interview at the Writings on Ballet topic. Thank you.

I'd love to see Oxana Skorik added to that list. The ladies listed above can also be carried over based on the current casting of Cinderella which will be seen in California after Costa Mesa, Orange County. I'd really like to see Alina Somova's Cinderella. Yekaterina Kondaurova will probably get the 'zany' stepmother again, but it would be great to see her given a chance at Cinderella, herself.

Raymonda will be at the Sergerstrom Center for The Arts, Costa Mesa, September 24-27, six performances. http://www.scfta.org/Events/Detail.aspx?id=13142

Please let me add Nadezhda Batoeva to my list. I'm just discovering her Cinderella on the internet and I'm enjoying it very much. I saw her Don Quixote in Saint Petersburg and I really liked her aliveness. It works very well here. Also I'm seeing subtleties in the videos that I didn't notice in Saint Petersburg. I look forward to seeing her again live to make the comparison. On the DQ video alongside Oxana Skorik, whom I love for her long lines and expansive expression among many other things, Nadezhda Batoeva seems more contained, but within this is an equally compelling interest (especially in ’bringing it all together’ highlights), loveliness, excitement and vibrancy.

I've now watched the complete set of video clips featuring Yevgenia Obraztsova from her Mariinsky days. They've changed my perception of what she was doing but it remains an excellent interpretation. What I first saw as quietly graceful then becomes bouncy abandon including some rather deep theatrical expression. It’s quite a combination along with her lyrical flow. She’s also precious. It does show me more than ever how many ways this role can be so successfully presented. Whether intended or not it may be one of this work’s greatest strengths. Again I’ll say that it's the person and the performance of Cinderella that will account for the success and this will be concentrated in the half hour or more of her solos and duets. They are almost a ballet within a ballet and could probably be presented very well on their own. Almost all the video clips that I’ve watched do just that with the initial court duet being the most recorded. There is a Mezzo recording that hints at Diana Vishneva’s initial and magnificent abandon. Although the prince may be a supportive role it was Igor Kolb who made what Diana Vishneva did possible. She literally might have landed on the stage or in the audience if it weren’t for him. She was incredibly all over the place. I even considered making a special trip to New York to see what she would do next because I was certain that she could sustain this for only so long. From ongoing video accounts she has now moved into a much more artistic and theatrical extension. It’s quite excellent and certainly worth seeing, keeping in mind as she said in a recent interview, that she never wants to be the same from one day to the next. I’ve always been fascinated with Alina Somova’s takes considering the role to have been passed on to her. I’ve also seen Daria Pavlenko’s court duet with her husband and ongoing Cinderella prince of princes, Alexander Sergeyev. Although her interpretation can be scrutinized, it definitely shows what an extra dimension her beautiful dance can add. Now I’ve watched Yevgenia Obraztsova and can see all the more possibilities. So I’m probably more inclined than ever to have another look and see what unexpected but delightful surprises might occur along with the expected and delightful.

Thanks, mussel. So glad that Raymonda will make it to Costa Mesa and there'll also be a chance to see Cinderella in next door Los Angeles. Since Costa Mesa is fully booked for October but empty in September except for the 27th and LA is open for the end of September, it would seem that the Mariinsky will be heading north to finish in Berkeley the beginning of October.

My quick opinion about Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella is that, like his Bright Stream, it's very dependent on who dances the female lead. It was created around Diana Vishneva and she was brilliant in it about eight years ago as a 'bravura' ballet phenomena. I do believe that the work has been slightly changed. I would generally consider this Cinderella to be an expressively agile or 'sunshiny' role. Video clips that I've watched over the years have shown Alina Somova to be outstanding. I would think of dancers such as the theatrically remarkable Yekaterina Kondaurova (who's been given the high profile stepmother role), the lovable Anastasia Kolegova and the very young, equally lovable and theatrically versatile Yekaterina Chebykina. Another clip that I've just started watching shows how a much more quiet, graceful and lyrical approach might succeed as danced by former Mariinsky ballerina, Yevgenia Obraztsova.

Thanks, again, Amour. I was able to find the first half of “Hipsters” on the internet and liked it well enough to order the dvd. As with my second viewing of “An American in Paris” I’ll have to wait, this time a week or more as I’m in Europe. It’s charming so far. There hasn’t been any ballet but the last part had a fine “Grease” style routine. It’s consistent with my feeling that folks in Russia can dance anything. It has a definite ‘Russian’ feel overall. I’ve been to Saint Petersburg eleven years in a row to see the Mariinsky Ballet Festival and this so touches my heart. It expresses my happiness and well wishes to anywhere in the world that is hopefully emerging from a bad dream. The same uplifting sentiment and fine artistic expression found in the concept of “An American in Paris” is also present here. Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts about the NYC performances. I'll have to wait until the middle of June for mine and I'm hoping that they'll be fine ones.

Thanks, Amour, for your response. I’m so glad that you are enjoying it as much as you are. I’ve probably watched it about 20 times as well. I really like this kind of thing because it combines the best of two worlds, the fine arts and pure enjoyment. As you mentioned, this work by Maxim Petrov contains first class ballet dancing. It also has a wonderful sense of whimsey and lightheartedness that is handled with great naturalness and facility. It’s world class, worthy of Broadway, Hollywood and Lincoln Center. Check out his work from last year's Mariinsky Festival, “Cinema”, on the internet. It’s a Chaplinesque affair. For ‘artistic’ content and pure inventiveness you might like it even better. Thanks for mentioning Hipsters. I’ll try to get a look at it as soon as possible. I also think that the “An American in Paris” that I and Meunier Fan saw in Paris has many of the same wonderful qualities. As I said in a previous post, my feeling at the time was that with some fine tuning it could be absolutely great ! In my other posts I’ve tried to express why. My Paris experience and my hopes for this production do coincide with the positive NYC response of the large majority of posters across the internet and the press that I’ve read and I’ve followed them rather thoroughly. Of course everyone doesn’t react the same. What works best for you may not work best for me. From my experience, even if it’s not great at the moment, it could be. My feelings remain highly positive but the test will be in June when I’ll get a chance to see it for the second time. In any case, this type of artistry and entertainment has such a wealth of enrichment and pleasure, that no matter what our opinions of this moment’s “An American in Paris” might be, it is certainly keeping alive the dream of its essence and the awareness of its potential as well as causing enthusiastic interest. I’ve read Brian Seibert’s New York Times review along with probably most of the others. I think that’s it’s very well written, perceptive, sensitive and heartfelt. I’ve even read it twice and put it near the top of my stack of reviews. He does make a lot of very positive statements about what he saw including, “….the abundance of high-quality dancing, which has been mostly absent on Broadway in recent years, is worth celebrating.” I won’t go into his other positive appraisals as this topic is probably intended more for our posters’ opinions. I would add a couple of his comments that refer more to the art form in general. He says that musicals with their song and dance are a wonderful way of expressing love. He also writes, “The other main source of the dance vocabulary is Hollywood dance musicals of the golden age. This “American in Paris” is a dance show because the boy can win the girl only through dance.”

Quiggin, thank you. I’ve read the article and it's very well written with some very good comments. Please let me digress for just a moment. It’s interesting how unrelated things somehow tie together. I watch the video clips from An American in Paris quite often. I was also just at the Mariinsky Festival in Saint Petersburg and my memories are quite strong. There have been a lot of references in the An American in Paris reviews to George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Strangely, one of the most impressive events at the Mariinsky Festival, for me, was one of the few that I didn’t see. I have since seen the video and have been watching it often interspersed with my viewing of this show. It’s a nearly twenty minute piece from the Young Choreographers evening by Maxim Petrov. So if Broadway at the moment is somewhat touching the soul of Balanchine/Robbins via Christopher Wheeldon, what’s new in Russia? What’s new is that Maxim Petrov has a wonderful, very 'unRussian', grasp of where some of Jerome Robbins more joyful successes are coming from. It feels Broadway. It’s almost ‘American’ at its best, if I can be allowed to say that. The one thing that’s definitely ‘Russian/Mariinsky’ is the excellence and interest of its dance. I’m convinced that folks in Russia can dance anything. The work is “Ballet No. 2” to A. Tsfasman’s score, by Maxim Petrov. It can easily be found on the internet. I’d really recommend taking a look. Go for the longest version. Try to hang in for the entirety. Finish it at another time if necessary. For me, it just grows in it’s delightfulness. Let me know what you think. Like Balanchine/Robbins/Wheeldon coming to Broadway, it’s another really nice worlds coming together sort of thing.

These comments talk about some of the ‘fine-tuning’ that I feel would make what I saw in Paris a classic work of the highest level of artistry and enjoyment. Dirac, thank you so much for the comprehensive list of reviews that you posted. I’ve read most of them. The consensus is overwhelming positive. One of the most interesting things that I’ve noticed from several influential and respected ‘critics’ is their admitted throwing their critical notebooks aside to rollick with joyful abandon at what they just saw. Another opinion that seems to permeate perhaps all the reviews is that this work has Class. There’s been a variety of opinion about the strong points of Robbie Fairchild and Leanne Cope. There is unanimous agreement that Robbie Fairchild’s dancing is exceptional and perhaps the highlight of everything. There’s a more divided opinion about their strengths as Broadway actors/singers. I feel that they both have a wonderful freshness and individuality. They might not fit the Broadway consensus for actor/dancer powerhouses, but they at least hang in there commendably well. This might actually be to their advantage. I’m personally enchanted by Leanne Cope and think that she has a wonderful singing voice. They’re both fresh and ’not part of the mold’. Above all, when it comes to fineness and artistic excitement of dance they would probably be hard to touch on Broadway. The acting/singing abilities of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire may not have been their strongest points by generally accepted Hollywood standards, but they both had dance, first, and their personal stage magic, second, that far eclipsed all that. So do Leanne Cope and Robbie Fairchild. Added: Here are several reviews that I particularly liked. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/theater/review-an-american-in-paris-a-romance-of-song-and-step.html?_r=0 http://www.wsj.com/articles/an-american-in-paris-review-not-since-robbins-1428946537 http://dancetabs.com/2015/04/an-american-in-paris-broadway-ballet/ [thanks to Dirac and Balletco for these]

I wasn't at this one, Dirac, but I'll offer a few thoughts anyway. In response to what Sidwich has mentioned, my feeling after seeing it in Paris was that with some fine tuning it could be absolutely great ! I definitely look forward to seeing what changes have been made since the Paris opening. According to posts from Meunier Fan there were a lot made before New York. I even wonder if some tweaking can still be done. Interesting thought to what Dirac just wrote. I could already see the movie of this production after having viewed the first video clip adverts. Up close shots at the best moments from several different evenings can do wonders compared to the effect from my one evening in the first balcony. A good editing job could produce some remarkable results. I'm so glad that such a large majority of posters, including the press, enjoyed it so much. We all need a place to dream and this could be a great one.

Sarah Kaufman's sympathetic article, footnoted above, is a behind the scenes overview with an emphasis on ballet. “ “The biggest challenge was being courageous and sticking to my guns,” he [Christopher Wheeldon] says. “ “I didn’t think about whether it was going to be palatable for a Broadway audience,” Wheeldon continues. “I just thought, if we did it right and everything was integrated into an artistic whole, that the audience would go with us. “ “There was no better way to learn the craft of musical theater than being in ‘West Side Story Suite,’ ” Wheeldon says. “Jerry [Jerome Robbins] taught us to develop a character and not just be the obedient silent ballet dancer.” “But all three of these ballet transplants — Wheeldon, Cope and Fairchild — feel certain that their show will prompt a reassessment of their art form. “Wheeldon says he has faith in ballet’s ability to touch a broad public…. “ And a quick reminder of a higher ground. Stuart Oken, the producer: “ “It’s too expensive and it takes too many years to not have some dream in the middle of the vision. Christopher gave us that ability. We could dream through his eyes.” “

Tomorrow is the official beginning for New York City. I got my ticket a month ago for when I return to the US in June. This article is mainly a quick look at one of the backup performers. It also gives some insight into the importance of dance to this production. “The charge is led by three musicals currently on the boards. Gigi and On the Town – both choreographed by Joshua Bergasse – burst with athletic energy and complex routines, while the third, An American in Paris, uses the fluidity, elegance, and pristine lines of ballet. “Even cast members who have sometimes relied more on their acting and singing are upping their dance antes. “ “The audition started with a ballet sequence across the floor with basic skills like jumps with beats, chaine turns, and arabesques, followed by a jazz combination. It was clear the dancing was the star in this show." “ https://www.tdf.org/stages/article/1173/not-everyone-can-dance-like-this I've said it before and I'll say it again. Based on what I saw at the preview opening in Paris, this event has so much going for it. It begins with the immense aura of the movie. Then, for me, it continues with the enchantment and very fine talent of Leanne Cope and the magnificent and inventive sets by Bob Crawley. Of course a major underpinning is the artistic excellence of Robbie Fairchild’s dancing along with his theatrical and boyishly innocent attraction. The Broadway veterans add much to the solidity. The overall creation and direction of Christopher Wheeldon give it an artistic fineness, making it something very special and one of a kind. Added: Here's a lengthy article by Sarah Kaufman at The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/christopher-wheeldon-bringing-ballet-to-broadway/2015/04/10/0720959e-dbd3-11e4-a500-1c5bb1d8ff6a_story.html [thanks again Balletco]

I find a nice undercurrent in this article from Variety. It mainly describes the involvement of Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet. Jean-Luc Choplin, its director general, makes the very interesting observation, “In France there is a big wall between culture and entertainment, and my fight has been to tear down that wall.” The article also makes the point that the business of 'showbiz' or Broadway is business. The producers and their investors want to make money. Yet the undercurrent is how nice it would be if something of artistic enrichment is also the reward. For one thing the Theatre du Chatelet is apparently a nonprofit organization (government funded?). And from the American producer, Stuart Oken’s, point of view. “It’s not yet certain, of course, that “American in Paris” will earn the kind of word of mouth and critical praise that will keep building sales momentum. The Stateside producers, for their part, believe they’ve put together a sophisticated, beautiful show. “It’ll be interesting to see if the word ‘beautiful’ translates on Broadway to ‘you have to go,’” Oken admitted. “I think now I will be very busy with New Yorkers,” he joked, but was quick to add that he’d only strike up a new partnership for the right project. “I’m not sure I would do something more commercial than ‘An American in Paris,’” he noted. “It has to be kind of high class in a sense. Popular, but sophisticated.” http://variety.com/2015/legit/news/american-in-paris-musical-broadway-ballet-1201468786/ [thanks once again to Bruce Wall at Balletco for this posting this article]

According to The New York Times ArtsBeat, April 10: “Among the other new shows, the dance-heavy musical “An American in Paris,” based on the 1951 film, looks especially healthy….” It earned nearly 1 million dollars from its first eight preview performances. http://artsbeat.blog...ox-office/?_r=1 (thanks to Bruce at Balletco for this find)

Please delete this duplication by mistake.

Mashinka, I don't really pay attention to such technical things if they don't effect the flow and my enjoyment of the performance. She did step out at the end of the Odile fouettes but continued beautifully. If the technical aspects, which I didn't notice, effected your enjoyment, then I can understand that and am sorry. For me she did just beautifully ! I even waited at the stage door, something I seldom do and with a plane to catch the next day, to tell her so.

I think that you'll have to admit that the audience was very enthusiastic, Mashinka. Her's was a highly poetic rendering, a one of a kind. I thought that it was great !

Before the discussion gets morphed back to where it should be I just returned from Evegenia Obraztsova's London Swan Lake this evening and she was Magnificent ! She was Precious ! One of the most beautiful Swan Lakes that I've ever seen.

Thank you very much, sjmiller. This is by far the most complete look at the behind the scenes that I've come across (approx. 1 hr. 10 min.) It's also, once again, a very sympathetic glance. From an artistic point of view, Christopher Wheeldon said in a recent interview that this is a musical with limited ballet content except for the famous dance sequence and a few other things. Yet he says in this broadcast and is enthusiastically supported by Rob Fisher (score adaptation and arrangement), that there will be an overall flow to the entire work. I felt some of this when I saw it in Paris and would have liked very much to have seen it again to look at this more carefully. This might well offer the best insight into Christopher Wheeldon as we know him. In response to a quote posted at the end of November…. “For the time being, however, Wheeldon is content with being a “lucky visitor” in musical theatre. “I hope they’ll let me stay,” he says with a laugh.”, dirac’s comment, “He might well mean that.” seems to have a prophetic ring. Once again in this broadcast he states that he’s a guest to Broadway and hopes they’ll let him stay, to which the producer of the stage show responds that he’ll be doing many more (if my memory is reasonably accurate). So if it isn’t the ballet ‘miracle’ that some of us were hoping for it might still be infused with the Christopher Wheeldon ‘magic’. And maybe the ballet connection may not be strong, but it still might be first class entertain and artistry anyway. Who could fault that. From what I saw in Paris it has a great deal going for it.

Very nice interview. Thank you, Dale. My wish for as long as I've known about her is to see her perform Swan Lake at a Mariinsky Festival. I'm glad to hear her say that she feels that she is at the top of her career, so maybe it'll still happen and I'll still keep hoping for it.

Francis Carlin, The Financial Times “…. I would beg, borrow or steal to see it all again.” http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/92c0cf4c-8444-11e4-bae9-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl (thanks to Balletco Forum for this source)

Apparently the official opening, December 10, was a least as successful as the enthusiastically received preview opening that I attended, November 22. The title of this review from Grazia sums up *All* the reactions that I’ve seen on the internet from France. "UN AMÉRICAIN À PARIS" ENCHANTE LE CHÂTELET http://www.grazia.fr/culture/news/l-adaptation-d-un-americain-a-paris-enchante-le-chatelet-719580 (thanks to Dansomanie for this source) [Grazia(Italian for Grace) is an Italian magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, United Kingdom….In Italy, the magazine had a circulation of 382,000 copies in the first half of 2011.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazia

Meunier fan, what you've described is essentially what I recall seeing at the preview opening. So I wonder how much of the beginning was actually changed, perhaps only Brandon Uranowitz's very brief opening dialogue, that I kind of liked. In any case I think that trimming back some of Act I is perhaps a good idea, in particular, some of the postwar heaviness and maybe some of the Act I dialogue and cast performance. I do have to say that there seemed to be a lot of subtle, good stuff (pacing and staging) happening, and I really would like to have seen it again to watch for this more carefully. And once again, I have to say that I wish this production all the success possible. So much of it is so fine !