Buddy

I saw someone do something like this at the Mariinsky Festival in April and was very impressed. It might have been her in Sylvia. I looked through all my very sketchy notes, but can't find anything for the moment. At the Festival's New Choreographers matinee she did a physical feat that was quite amazing. Her partner was sitting on a very small chair and she leaped up onto the edges of it. Added: Her partner may have been ready to artfully catch her if it didn't work, but he never touched her as she remained upright standing above him.

Kathleen and sandik, thank you once again for your very interesting replies. Kathleen, thanks especially for the beautiful videos. Some of this is totally new to me and there’s so much to absorb, appreciate and enjoy. Would you have anything from Japan? Please post and/or discuss more of your favorites, if you care to, because they are indeed Enchanting. I’m appreciating very much the pure dance and personal depth of the Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy performance. At the moment I’m also very much appreciating the dance solo of Paris Opera Ballet's Gil Isoart in Lully's Atys (originally posted by kbarber and referred to by Kathleen). At that topic Stage Right relates her Baroque dance class experience: “….it took a great deal of ankle control, an extremely resilient and controlled use of pile, a very specific coordination between head, arms and body. (Hands too!). Not to mention the musical issues….. But this clip is probably the most expressive use of Baroque dancing that I've ever seen.” I’m also very captivated by the Expressiveness of this performance. For me it looks very personal and relates beautifully to the Yang LiPing video clip (second video, page 1) in quality of dance and depth and nature of personal poetry.

Kathleen and sandik, I guess the internet gods are following this discussion because I just found this. It’s an overview of a French production combining Chinese classical and 16th century European Baroque dance, featuring the Han Tang Yuefu Dance Company (references posted by Kathleen) and a group of French ‘renaissance’ performing artists, Doulce Mémoire (Sweet Memory). I’ve watched it once and only partially understood the narrative in french. The production probably explains itself, one of the beauties of dance and music, but if I hear anything particularly interesting I’ll try to post it. The production is quite lovely. Mémoire des vents du sud (Memory of The Southern Wind Instruments)

Since we are still looking at dance from China this might be interesting. From my very limited knowledge of this history, ‘classical’ dance-singing sort of disappeared, being absorbed into Chinese Opera. This is an example of Chinese Opera today. It might be more dance/music theater with mainly music at the end, but you do get a sense of dance permeating everything. I can’t tell you a thing about this work’s authenticity, but it does have a beautiful charm. Xian Tang Dynasty Opera

Thanks, abatt. And now would anyone like directions on how to get to Lincoln Center. First you go left or maybe it's right and then....

Thanks, Cristian. No, it's indeed Hee Seo who will probably dance Gamzatti (and not Myrta). Vadim is doing Solor. By the way, Hee Seo danced Giselle at this year's Mariinsky Festival. After my complete deflation because of Olga Esina having to cancel out, having seen very little of Hee Seo before I was very pleasantly surprised with how beautifully she did. Her dancing was great and her sense of poetic drama was exceptional. Hopefully this will be equally apparent tonight. Added: Eek ! Correction made to correction. Heo Seo will probably dance Gamzatti. Am I starting to get it right. Added Added: With Hee Seo's depth of interpretation, Cristian, it could be a lot more than a "bad girl exchange." Like Simone Messmer did several years ago, this could be a Gamzatti of many sublime dimensions.

Olga Smirnova (Bolshoi) will debut tonight in La Bayadère with Vadim Muntagirov and Hee Seo as Gamzatti. This could be a great chance for many New Yorkers to get a first look at this remarkable young artist and it could be a great performance overall. http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=5/1/2014 (thanks to Amelia at Balletco for this reminder) Edited: Hee Seo portrays Gamzatti, not Myrta.

Okay, go for it, but it has to be really Enchanting ! The Han Tang Yuefu Music and Dance Ensemble is a very good start. Thank you! I’ve watched a large number of videos of dance from China, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. It’s something that I’ve been searching for. It’s absolutely lovely and certainly worth appreciating for its subtle detail (“To my western-trained eyes, it looked like a style entirely grounded in subtle micro-adjustments of the head, hands, and posture.” — Kathleen). These dances certainly show a refinement worthy of the ‘high art’ status that other forms, such as ballet, command. I believe that the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) was considered possibly the high point in Chinese artistic culture and dance in particular, although I’ve read that singing was always combined and dance was not considered separately. Kathleen, thanks very much for the videos. The last group does indeed show the use of the lower body (in particular the end of videos 1 and 2 and the beginning of video 3). At first glance I actually prefer seeing the dancers in bluejeans. It’s more interesting. Also for a culture that’s seems sexually conservative, I’ve hardly ever seen bare legs in a dance, these dances, in their subtle way, can get pretty sensual. I hardly know a thing about Baroque dance, so maybe someone could get into this a little more. I believe that choreographers, like George Balanchine, understand these kinds of dance quite well. Diane, I’m 100% with you in wishing to see dance as healthy a pursuit as possible. Dance would seen like a natural for promoting good health and I can’t see any reason why the choreography couldn’t be brilliant. Perhaps you could mention some examples of this. Fred Astaire? Savion Glover claims that he can tap-dance for hours and not even get a blister. Certainly worth thinking about. I’m also a big fan of the idea of letting dancers, from little children beginners to adult professionals, choreograph for themselves and contribute as much as possible to the creation of a work. I know very little about formal dance technique, but I’d love to float ideas to dancers and let them create from this. I’m sure we all would.

"Dansomanie" Added: Although written in french and about dance in France primarily, it has perhaps the best overall coverage of dance in Russia (outside Russia), although as Helene says, it might not be quotable here because of forum guidelines and because it's not an official source, which is understandable.

It’s interesting, sandik, that I see dancers, such as ballet dancers, turning themselves into works of art for a performance. On the other hand I see someone like a true Geisha from Japan as turning her Entire Life into a work of art. “Life intervenes” differently. “ Where Should Dance Go ? “ Diane and Kathleen, I had most of this written before your posts, but will certainly look at them and try to respond as soon as I can. Thank you both very much for what looks to be very interesting comments and points of view. Sandik, thank you very much for your response and interest. I agree with much of your analysis and do appreciate it. I especially agree with you about the importance of the upper body, especially the hands, in Far Eastern dance. Interestingly the upper body is also what I pay the most attention to in ballet along with flow and total body shape or line. I would have agreed with you about the minimizing of the lower body until I saw Kathleen’s post stating that a great deal is actually going on there. I’ll certainly read all this more carefully and look at the videos as soon as possible. I chose the Yang LiPing video that I posted above because I thought that it had a more ‘universal’ quality to it and folks such as ourselves could relate to it more easily. From an interview that I read she seems quite aware of ‘Western’ modern dance and probably has many similarities, but she also has a sometimes different conceptual outlook. She views her art as being an essentially joyful one in message. Also the roots of her art, as in much Far Eastern dance, seems to focus on the simple life, natural beauty and the beauty of nature. Your mention of Ruth St. Denis is also related to what I think about a lot. From the little that I know about her, she took very natural dance style and attempted to give it the graceful aura that we associate for instance with ballet. As I’ve said before, I’d love to see much more of this sort of thing.

One of the reasons that I like the Yang LiPing performance so much is that it’s rich in artistry, yet doesn’t require great physical exertion or extreme use of the body. So many fine dancers retire when their artistry is at its height and getting better because the physical demands becomes too great. Dance styles like this one could give artists’ careers at least another ten years. I’ll let you in on a little secret, known only to me and about a billion folks in China. Yang LiPing was probably over fifty when this video was filmed! Yet, if you saw her on stage you would think that she was in her twenties. (She has recently announced her retirement in her mid-fifties.) Another thing that is very interesting is that Yang LiPing probably does most or all of her own choreography and in fact has choreographed entire shows. What she does is extremely personal and it's worth noting the value of an artist creating for the person that she or he understands the best, her or himself. This is a video that I like very much. It’s Wendy Whelan with Craig Hall, choreographed by Chris Wheeldon. There’s a lot of ballet in it and it’s very physically challenging. It’s also immensely dreamlike and beautiful. With Wendy Whelan retiring from ballet this year, but continuing to dance, I hope that she carries this immense loveliness with her and that it encourages many other artists to do the same. (video posted by the venue’s site)

So I guess I’ll respond to the last sentence of my post immediately above. The video clip of Yang LiPing (second one above) is probably the most beautiful and enchanting non-ballet dance performance that I’ve seen. If anyone would like to mention or post a non-ballet performance that has had a similar effect, I’d really like to hear about it. I think that this is an area of dance that is wide open to future development and I’d love to see it happen.

Thanks, sandik, for your ongoing thoughts and the added video reference. You have proposed some very interesting ideas. Yes, I would say that there are similarities between Lil’ Buck, who recently appeared with the New York City Ballet, and the JabbaWockeeZ. You’ve used several expressions that are like buzzwords here. One is “popular dance form.” I think that the focus of Ballet Alert! is on dance as an art form, even a ‘high art form.’ How this interrelates with “popular dance form,” now and into the future, is certainly worth considering here. Your quote above refers directly to this. Two other expressions that you used, “hypnotic quality” and “excited,” go to the core of my examples. I tend to view them as almost polar opposites in my appreciation of dance, but it certainly doesn’t have to be seen that way. I introduced the JabbaWockeeZ for that reason. My love is for the enchantment or “hypnotic quality” and yet the JabbaWockeeZ’s ‘excitement’ and interest, for me, can’t be denied. I alluded to their artistry, but you zeroed in (relating it to ballet) and I think that this is very relevant — the convergence of ‘fine art’ and popular culture. If you have a chance, or the interest, could you tell me what you think of the Yang LiPing performance, the second video, and how you might relate this to ballet.

Thanks, diane and sandik, for your comments. I didn’t want to limit discussion to these two types of dance. If anyone has any thoughts about future or desirable changes and directions in dance or any favorite groups or styles, please post them. Sandik, the Jabbawockeez are considered to be one of the more artistic, even poetic, of the “dance crew” groups today. They are also extremely good. Their creativity, synchronization, dance prowess and variety, style, charisma, etc., make them a very popular group. I consider them to be special, but my experience with this area of dance is pretty limited. I think that you are probably right that this type of ‘street dance’ (I’m not sure what the name for their style would be) is sort of today’s tap dance. My reason for signaling them out is that they represent change, point to the future, are excellent and I really like them. If anyone hasn’t taken a look at the second video, the dancer from China, Yang LiPing, I would definitely recommend it. She’s one of a kind. Her roots are from the folk dance of China, but her dreamlike interpretation is completely her own. She’s one of the most famous dancers in China. She represents a lyrical style, that for me, has much of the enchantment of ballet, yet is quite different. In this video she also represents an added possibility for the future of lyrically beautiful dance that transcends cultural distinctions. It’s the Naturalness and relaxed physicality that make it special as well as the lyrical loveliness, poetic expression and enchantment.

Do you have any thoughts or favorites ? With physical challenges being more and more common in dance, as a Naturalist and Etherealist Lover at heart I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this sort of thing. Yet I can’t seem to ever get away from these guys. The Space Age Gene Kellys ? At least see the first one through to the end. (most of these videos are available at the artists’ or venues’ own sites)

I was still hoping for Marcelo Gomes or Rolando Sarabia. Perhaps in a later run after some singing lessons if necessary. Congratulations to Robert Fairchild, who apparently does sing, and a Gold Star to you, vipa !

Thanks, Helene. You're up early! I forgot about my question from the post above. Just bought a ticket for opening night. Orchestra is already sold out.

Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope will be the leads in the November 22 debut in Paris ! http://chatelet-theatre.com/2014-2015/spectacles (thanks very much to Josephine at Balletco for finding this) In reference to our ongoing discussion about whether this will be ballet or musical, it has indicated on the internet that the Royal Ballet’s Leanne Cope also has an excellent singing voice.

Great to hear all these compliments for Simone Messmer. Simone Messmer — Last October: “We’re getting used to all this new space, and I see the Golden Gate Bridge from my window. There are a couple of little beaches that are nearby. We went to Rodeo Beach the other day and watched a family of dolphins jump around. Who does that on a Sunday afternoon? It was great!” http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/second-act-simone-messmer-returns-to-the-new-york-stage-with-sf-ballet/#1 Seemed perfect for an artist like herself. Hopefully she’ll find it at her new home along with a lot more.

I lost track of this series, probably because I won’t be able to be there, but would surely like to be. The past will not guarantee the future, but continuity is worth considering. I just wrote this at the NYC performances topic, but in case you missed it, I truly believe that it’s worth repeating here. Last year at the Mariinsky Festival Svetlana Zakharova’s Giselle (with the Bolshoi’s Vladislav Lantrov) was possibly the best performance of *Anything* that I’ve ever seen ! The reason is that she had ever aspect totally mastered. In this performance her take was also different from any other that I’ve seen, in that her Giselle was not really naive. She seemed more of a Goddess, a Goddess of Love, and, for me, it worked magnificently as did her entire performance. Hopefully Ekaterina Krysanova will appear because this is something that she could excel in. Although she has exceptional ‘virtuosa’ qualities, her dreamlike portrayals of lovely innocence are perhaps her most beautiful moments. I’ve only seen Anna Nikulina once (Swan Lake), but I was impressed enough by some of her very fine qualities, that her’s is one of the very few performances (Swan Lake) of the NYC series that I’ve bought a ticket to. (It’s not that I don’t want to see more, but my stay is limited.) These same qualities of enchanting loveliness would make her an exceptional Giselle. David? Well David is David! One of the very best!

Thanks so much, FauxPas, for posting this. I’ve been following several sites daily for months waiting for the castings. I called up the ticket office immediately and got the ones that I really wanted, which are Olga Smirnova’s and Svetlana Zakharova’s Swan Lakes (twice for each! and one for Anna Nikulina. There are others that I would really like to see, but its a special trip and I'm limited in what I can do). Olga Smirnova is already great, in my mind, and she’s just beginning. I’ve only seen her once on stage so I’m really looking forward to NYC. Also as I’ve mentioned, Svetlana Zakharova’s Giselle at last year’s Mariinsky Festival was possibly the finest performance of *Anything* that I’ve ever seen ! I haven’t looked at them recently, but Clement Crisp wrote a series of rave reviews about the Bolshoi’s London performances last summer, which you might enjoy. I was not there, but based on my past Bolshoi experiences and internet videos, I tended to agree with him completely. I recall him highly praising Olga Smirnova, Semyon Chudin, Svetlana Zakharova and Kristina Krysanova. Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin — Diamonds http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3c117712-04c2-11e3-9ffd-00144feab7de.html#axzz2c3jHuZhR Svetlana Zakharova — Swan Lake http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/93b2ac4e-f8fa-11e2-86e1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz31m7udlFT Kristina Krysanova — Sleeping Beauty http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/ef9011a6-fe8a-11e2-97dc-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2bJrUHNSS Added: Ekaterina Shipulina, who’s been around for awhile, quite honestly surprised me with the youthful solidity and lovely excellence of her Kitri (from Don Quixote, which she'll dance in NYC) several years ago. I don’t think that I’d seen her perform as well before (stage or video). I may still try to see her in Swan Lake. In addition, several years ago Maria Alexandrova (who'll dance as Kitri and whom I've also often seen) danced Raymonda as a guest with the Paris Opera Ballet and gave one of the most 'magically' enchanting dance performances that I've ever seen. [a few words changed in last sentence] [and correction made in last paragraph, Ekaterina Shipulina danced Kitri, not Nikiya]

I’m sure that Simone Messmer will be very missed in San Francisco as I’m sure she is in New York. Hopefully some company will give her the prominence that many of us feel that she deserves, and Everybody will get a chance to see a lot more of her.

Thanks for these comments, Swanilda. I’ve been to Saint Petersburg ten years in a row, but I’ve never been to Moscow. Each year I hope to make the trip. I waited for the fast train to be put in place and for the Bolshoi to reopen. Since then I’ve been waiting for a performance that ties in with the Mariinsky Festival. Hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure it will. And I agree with you totally. "And the Bolshoi is really an incredibly good company to see.” Added comment: ​You can now get a three year tourist visa making visits much easier and itineraries completely flexible. And, by the way, having been inside for various performances, I'm coming to like the new Mariinsky Theatre very much. The public spaces, although essentially streamlined modern, are absolutely beautiful. The extensive use of wood in the auditorium gives a very warm feeling. The use of decoration is lovely. The translucent amber-like wall in the lobby is vibrant and magnificent. Visibility seems fine. Acoustics seem fine. And the auditorium is indeed comfortable and homey, which is exactly what the architects' previous performing arts centers have been praised for.

Every time that I see Simone Messmer she impresses me immensely, Josette. The last time that I saw her in a reasonably significant role was much too long ago as Gamzatti (La Bayadere) with ABT. Her character, her dancing, the sensual use of her costume, her makeup — she was a representation like no other. She once said in an interview that what you see is who she is. To me that means -- fascinating. Had they given her Giselle recently, instead of Myrta, I would seriously have considered the trip to San Francisco. Maria Kochetkova and the fine reports that I’ve read here about Mathilde Froustey would have cinched it.

When a real life Mona Lisa stands in front of the painted one, I find it to be quite an experience. Something similar can be said about the ballet. When the artists actually become the Living work of art, it can really be quite an experience.