Manhattnik

I was thinking it might be fun to start a topic on "Giselle from Hell." You're an up-and-coming choreographer/artistic-director. You have a big ballet company, all the stars at in the world at your disposal, a huge budget, a desire to impress the world with your vast imagination and innovation. And no taste at all. How would you reset Giselle to show off your special talents? Don't feel constrained to use the Adam score. Change the period and location at will. Who needs a conventional male/female romance. I'd say you could make Hilarion the hero of the ballet, but Vasiliev's done that already. (Anyone ever notice how in some productions it's the very cross that Hilarion ties together in the beginning of Act II which later saves Albrecht?)

I was thinking it might be fun to start a topic on "Giselle from Hell." You're an up-and-coming choreographer/artistic-director. You have a big ballet company, all the stars at in the world at your disposal, a huge budget, a desire to impress the world with your vast imagination and innovation. And no taste at all. How would you reset Giselle to show off your special talents? Don't feel constrained to use the Adam score. Change the period and location at will. Who needs a conventional male/female romance. I'd say you could make Hilarion the hero of the ballet, but Vasiliev's done that already. (Anyone ever notice how in some productions it's the very cross that Hilarion ties together in the beginning of Act II which later saves Albrecht?)

I rather like those soft-focus Kolnik pictures for NYCB. I have his first poster, of Danna McBrearty and Eva Natanya (ethnically diverse?) backstage (I think) in their costumes for Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3, and I think they look beautiful. Angelic, even, While I think his recent one of dancers in costumes from Brahms-Schoenberg, with one in a pretty first postition in the bough of a tree, was a bit much, I've enjoyed his others of dancers in recognizable NYC locations (although not landmarks, as with their recent poster series -- one of which immortalizes Damian Woetzel in that Prodigal Son leap in front of the Ugliest Statue in the World at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine). I rather like the one of Rachel Rutherford and I forget who else holding up one of the Central Park walls. The ads and posters are clever and pretty ways of reinforcing the comany's connection to NYC (in more than just its name) and I like them fine.

I certainly miss all the big names mentioned here. I'd certainly add Martine van Hamel to the list, and Helgi Tomasson, two personal favorites. But I also find that, when looking at videos of the "good old days," it's often the sight soloists and corps dancers that hit me like a Proustean epiphany.

Let's just say (for the sake of argument) that there is some tormented soul out there that REALLY believes that the world "missed the message" that Hitler brought us. That HItler was IN FACT the Messiah, and we didn't recognize him. "Attention! This audition is for singing Hitlers. Dancing Hitlers are the studio next door!" --- Zero Mostel (The Producers

Let's just say (for the sake of argument) that there is some tormented soul out there that REALLY believes that the world "missed the message" that Hitler brought us. That HItler was IN FACT the Messiah, and we didn't recognize him. "Attention! This audition is for singing Hitlers. Dancing Hitlers are the studio next door!" --- Zero Mostel (The Producers) [This message has been edited by Manhattnik (edited February 18, 2001).]

It was very, very gratifying to see the State Theater completely sold out for an all-Balanchine evening. It reminded me of the glory days of the Seventies, when this would often be the case. It was great to see so many young people (not old farts like me), actually seeming to have a great time and talk about the ballets, rather than just rush numbly for the nearest taxis and subway. Given this, it was a little disturbing that Peter Martins didn't decide to present the best casts for the various ballets. What did Suzanne Farrell call Concerto Barocco? Nineteen minutes of salvation? It's a heavenly ballet, and I thought Wendy Whelan and Jennie Somogyi were heavenly together. They are quite different in many respects, but nontheless complementary, at least to my eyes, Whelan with her extended legato phrasing and shape, and Somogyi with her more tightly held muscularity and attack. I admired the corp girls' brio, but there were places where I would've liked to see a bit more crispness and more-careful alignment. Yvonne Borree's debut in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, with Damian Woetzel, was much like her recent debut in Donizetti Variations, and too many other of her performances -- a nice beginning (believe me, I root for this woman; I want to see her do well), but then Something Happens, and her poise goes out the window. There were moments in her solo and the coda where her upper body and arms were clenched so tightly (she could only move her arms, it seemed, by flinging them wildly about -- not very pretty to say the least, particularly in her rather unfortunate fouettes) that I could feel my own neck tendons about to snap, sympathetically, in two. And when she's so unbearably tight, her renditions of the steps become more and more sketchy. It was quite painful to see. In Squeaky Door, excuse me, Variations pour une porte et un soupir (forgive me if I've mangled the French), Helen Alexopolous was quite the vampy door, complete with Louise Brooks wig, while Tom Gold's floppy, squirmy Sigh looked like an escapee from a nightmare Dr. Seuss might've had at one time. I remembered this ballet, with its burbleling and screeching Musique Concrete score to be long, pretentious and silly. I still think it's overly long, but there was something about the very dated quality of its avante-gardness (it brought to mind Diaghilev) which was fascinating and revealing about Balanchine. I couldn't help but notice at the following intermission a patroness descending the stairs and telling her family how much better this ballet was than Eddie Villella in "Windmill." In Chaconne, Margaret Tracey gave a clean, respectful and well-phrased rendition of the choreography, and Nilas Martins was, well, a good partner. Not much poetry here, I'm afraid. And the ensemble sections were still strangely flat. This ballet used to buiidl in tension and energy almost like the fourth movement of Symphony in C, and now it's more like a pretty procession. I did like many individual performances, and I particularly liked Jason Fowler in the pas de trois, as the guy dancing while playing an imaginary lute. Unlike some other men recently pushed by Martins, Fowler has a classical purity and elegance which left me imagining he might do as well playing a lyre as well. On the whole, I liked the evening, and so, apparently, did the audience. Just think how well an all-Balanchine subscription series or two would do! I could think of a few reasons, though, why the current management might not want such a subscription series to happen.

I love Dances. I'm sorry I missed it this season. I'll never forget the performance NYCB gave at the Robbins memorial in 1998 -- just hearbreaking.

I imagine that close on the heels of the Ratty-Practice-Clothes Barbie we'll have the Eating-Disorder Barbie, with accessories best left to the imagination.

Was this Darci's first Duo of the season? I seem to remember having seen her do it already, but it may be my memory playing tricks on me.

Glebb, don't forget Jazz Calendar.

The Dance Research Collection in NYC has available for viewing (but only in the library) a half-hour video of bits of Kirkland and Baryshnikov dancing Giselle. They were filmed in early 1975 at the New York State Theater, I believe, on a camera snuck in by an usher. The film was later retrofitted with a piano accompaniment. (There's other Gelsey footage available, including bits of Theme and Variations and La Sylphide.) These performances were when Gelsey was at the peak of her powers. The Giselle excerpts are just stunning, despite the breaks in the action and odd angles (shot from Fourth Ring) and blurriness. I had to re-evaluate in my mind what makes a great Giselle, and bump all my other remembered "best" performances down a notch or two. The commercial videos of Kirkland don't do her justice. These amateur clips show exactly what all the fuss was about.

I have no doubts Kirkland must have been a major PITA to work with. But the results, at least for herself, were worth it. I've been spending some time recently at the Dance Research Collection looking at the fragmentary films of her taken, on the sly, by a camera-wielding usher at the New York State Theater (and elsewhere). It's truly an education, and while I saw Kirkland many times back when, I've come away even more astonished by her seamless blend of technique and artistry. I'm going to try to post something in more detail about it soon. Any ballet fans visiting NYC might consider putting a trip to the Research Collection on their itineraries.

Among men, I always thought that Helgi Tomasson had remarkable placement.

Thanks for the great review, Leigh. I'm just wondering, are those hops ever congenial for anybody? Martins never did them, and it was no great loss. It always looks like a trick, and not an especially pretty one.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, Whelan is a grand ballerina when she's buttering her toast. I thought she was magnificent in the Wheeldon. Wheeldon's got all-too-rare kinetic and spatial smarts -- when other choreographers decide they're going to do the obligatory leotards-and-tights hommage to Balanchine it looks perfunctory and formulaic. Remember, if you can stand it, Martins' Reliquary. Wheeldon understands that choreography is about making shapes in time and space, and his shapes are damn interesting. Yes, he's working on turf that's familiar to City Ballet audiences, but I thought what he did along those lines was witty, engrossing and moving. Let's face it, none of us would care a fig about Balanchine if, first and foremost, his ability to string steps together to create a larger whole wasn't downright fascinating (I know, that's an undertsatement). I'm not going to say Wheeldon's a nascent Balanchine, but he has assimilated an understanding of how dancers create shapes in space which shows, at least, that he's not only been paying attention, but has the facility to put to use what he's learned. And, while there are certainly situational and logistical allusions to other works, I don't think there's a single out-and-out quote. Even the girl-down-the-back bit refers to Episodes, but not exactly.

Actually, it's the one a few blocks to the north. I think a Starbuck's in the State Theater lobby would be great -- at least it would be less expensive.

I didn't have a problem with two piano ballets in a row. I had quite a relaxing time at Starbuck's until the first intermission. They make a really nice gingerbread latte.

A quick note about Christopher Wheeldon's new ballet, Polyphonia, which was premiered tonight at NYCB. In a nutshell, it was wonderful. I liked very much the way Wheeldon explored some of the choreographic trails Balanchine blazed with Agon, without looking derivative. Yes, it's a leotards-and-tights ballet (beautiful deep purple ones, by Holly Hynes). The various pieces for piano by Gyorgy Ligeti were pleasant enough, if not memorable, but the dance Wheeldon made to them was quite extraordinary. I'm still enthralled by the memory of the three scrumptuous duets for Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto. I'd gladly see this ballet many more times. More later.

What Guerin is really saying is, "I don't have an accent, it's all those funny furrin' people who have accents." My favorite comment on national styles is Denby's wonderful essay on the subject in Dancers, Buildings and People in the Streets. Regarding Levene's article, as I said in the other thread, she is completely wrong when she writes about the Balanchine Trust. Balanchine couldn't have cared less what happened to his ballets after his death, and certainly would've laughed at the idea of "Balanchine Police" running around the globe. Obvious boners like this one tend to lessen her credibility, at least in my eyes.

I don't know anything about the Conrad book, but I do know that Deborah Jowitt has been working hard and diligently on an "authorized" biography of Robbins, and has been given access to his personal papers and memorabilia. I would be quite surprised that the estate would give two writers such access at the same time, but stranger things have happened.

Hmm. A company where youngsters are pushed too hard, too fast, to the detriment of their careers? Good thing that couldn't happen here!

Hmm. A company where youngsters are pushed too hard, too fast, to the detriment of their careers? Good thing that couldn't happen here!

I recently saw a fuzzy video from the old 1950's broadcast of NYCB's Nutcracker (complete with old TV commercials -- what a trip!). There are many fine details (not the least of which is Balanchine's Drosselmeyer), but one I particularly liked was how there was no Cavalier at all, but rather the Sugar Plum Fairy was partnered by the four guys who'd danced the preceding character solos: Coffee (Arthur Mitchell, back then, before Balanchine made it a girl's dance to provide the dads in the audience with some eye candy), Tea, Candy Cane and Hot Chocolate. I'm also rather fond of Vainonen's version, with its rather absurd preponderence of five Cavaliers. [This message has been edited by Manhattnik (edited December 11, 2000).]

Leigh, thanks for the well thought review. I particularly liked the "limitless vista" part. While I can understand how a more sinister Mouse King might be appropriate, I'm loath to even contemplate such a change in NYCB's production. One way we learn to vanquish our own personal demons is by realizing how silly and ineffectual they really are, and perhaps this is the lesson Clara learns from defeating the Mouse King. I'm going on Friday, and perhaps before then. I feel quite negligent in that I haven't been to a single Nut yet.