vicarious

"The Christmas Sweater" by Glen Beck. Very depressing. I've stopped half way, PTSD

There needs to be new ballets that appeal to all ages, especially children.

Savannah Ballet Theater has been doing a Narnia ballet.

Ha, Ha I should have checked if it had been done. Well, at least I know I'm on the right track.

Here’s a link to my post when we previously discussed this subject. That post focussed mostly on children’s books. http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...st&p=183900 Here’s another direction to go in. Regional folk tales coupled with living regional composers. This is a French- Canadian folktale. There are other versions. One has a bit of Cinderella twist, in that you may dance on the eve of Lent but not after mid-night or the devil will have your soul. I’ve also listed a French-Canadian Composer. There is also a Hispanic version of this tale. I got this summary of the story from http://cfmb.icaap.org/content/27.3/BV27-3art2.pdf Story: The Devil at the Dance “The story of Rose Latulippe, a young girl risks her soul and salvation through her constant flirtations and coquettish behavior, which comes to the fore at a dance to celebrate the beginning of the Lenten season. A young, handsome stranger catches her eye, and she totally falls under his sway. Only an innocent child and an elderly grandmother holding a crucifix know him for what he truly is, and it is only because Rose's fiance notices that the stranger's horse has coals for eyes and the steam beneath his hooves in the snow, plus the stranger's refusal to remove his hat and gloves, that eventually his true identity is revealed. The local priest intervenes to save Rose by tricking the devil, making him believe that Rose has given herself over to the Church, and the stranger eventually flees, though not before punching a great hole in the wall of the house where the dance is being held. The story hinges upon a the appearance of the devil in human guise to punish unseemly or haughty behavior on the part of a young girl, who was often described as very beautiful but very vain and proud, to the consternation of all her friends and family, and who tempted the very wrath of God Himself. Even the very end of the tale is often left into question, with a number of different endings suggested by the storyteller, including Rose's punishment by the devil, her salvation and eventual reform to better behavior, her salvation only to become a member of a religious order, or her punishment by never marrying her intended sweetheart and remaining a maiden the remaining days of her life.” Composer: Linda Bouchard French-Canadian, has composed for Washington Ballet http://www.composersforum.com/member_profile.cfm?oid=2180 Cast: Rose, fiance, Rose’s father, grandmother, innocent child, Corps before Rose sees the Devil, couple dancers, contra dancers, Priest, Nun corps,

For most things I perfer audio books. I have to rest often and they allow my eyes to also rest. I primarily listen to fiction but I've also listened to non-fiction on parenting and self-help. I do not enjoy listening to religious materials however, because I don't have time to ponder what I'm "reading" so with that I stick to written material.

First let me say, I don't know what I'm talking about. Just discovering here. Yes, I saw a couple of Pavlova videos on youtube. This may be heresy but I prefer Plisetkaya or Makarova. I didn't believe Pavlova's character, but maybe it was just the film quality. The other two though different from each other as well as Pavalova, left me with a feeling about the swan as well as the dancing. They weren't dancing as a swan they were showing me the swan's heart and mind. I do prefer Pavalova and Makarova's bourrees over Plisetkaya's. Theirs are tighter. Plisetkaya has a longer stride. I don't know what the time signature for the bourrees would be but it seems like Plisetkaya is doing a series of say a dotted sixteenth followed by a thirty-second. Where as the other two are doing all thirty seconds. Does what I'm saying making any sense?

I hate the idea of it. If I knew a dancer had one, I think I'd be watching all performance to see if I could catch a glimpse. I think just knowing it was there would be a distraction. For the balding- a #2 comb on the clippers.

My daughter is learning the Dying Swan and as a result I've gotten curious about it. I've done a bit of reading and watching. There seem to be a number of ideas on what the character of the dying swan is. I've read that Maya Plisetskaya danced it as an "old swan hanging on resisting death." The video I saw of her seemed more like a classy middle aged woman who is bound and determined to beat cancer but finally dies fighting. After reading the story of Pavlova on her death bed I thought the swan would have more of a peaceful resignation and acceptance of death. When I read the article about De Valois and the Dying Swan, I thought of a purely innocent, late adolescent that has become a tragic victim of circumstances (the current). The video I saw of Makarova seemed young and tragic. What other ways has the swan been depicted? Some lines from Tennyson's poem get me thinking about the character also are "joy hidden in sorrow," "low and full and clear," "prevailing in weakness," "awful jubilant voice", and "loudly did it lament." Now for the story. In your own story was the swan shot, caught by the current, dying of old age, injured or something else? If the swan were a woman now, who would she be? What would be her story? A teenager dying in a hospital after being in a car accident? An elderly woman on her death bed who had lived a full life? What do you think? By the way was the story about Pavlova on her death bed asking for her tutu and the music true? Why did she name her swan Jack?

Ethan Stiefel started in gymnastics.

Angelina Armeiskya did teach during the Bossov SI several years ago. I know it was before 2003.

What happened to Prayer? DD's teacher was explaining that when she learned this part (I'm not sure where in the USSR) it was called Sunrise (not Dawn, that was also taught) and she was like Mother Nature calling up the powers of nature for the day. I also noticed it wasn't in the 1993 Kirov video. Was this omitted because of keeping the video time down? Or are both of these changes the result of Communism?

Though the US is a very wealthy country now it wasn’t a comparatively short time ago. This is a very young society. American pioneers for the most part didn’t have time for cultural things because of building homes, farms and industries. For the majority of the population a man was praised not for cultural sensitivity but for his work ethic and ability to protect and provide for his family. Even as most immigrants have come to this country, with rich cultural art heritage, the arts have had a lower priority because trying to get established took priority and working physically hard at manual labor was praised in men. As a family or community gets more secure they can persue the arts more. The Puritan religion also plays a part in this, because that society comparatively wasn’t that long ago. Currently there are religious groups that don’t allow dancing by males or females. Modesty beliefs also factor in here. There are of course exceptions to this. The Mormon culture is one. As the Mormon pioneers traveled west they were encourage after walking all day to have a dance after supper, if the group was well, to keep their spirits up. The first building in the Utah territory was a Cultural Hall. It was to be a temporary place for worship until church buildings could be built, but primarily as a place to have community meetings and dances. From this culture sprang the Christensen Brothers (descendants of Mormon pioneers). At Brigham Young University, while the dress code for girls is quite strict on leotard styles for modesty reasons, the boys are required to wear tights.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Huh? Are you saying parts of these ballets were missing for decades and have been found? Is there a thread about this?

Thanks for the suggestion Bart. I just ordered it instead of Balanchine's 101 stories. Wow, that book has 688 pages. That's sure to have alot of info.

I do in my own ballet novice way. We have the Random House Stories of the Ballet picture book. It has ten ballet stories in it. I've also read other children's books or watched a video of the story or ballet. Not exactly a study of the ballet but I have the basics of the story line. Or I have dd fill me in before hand. I think I might get a copy of 101 Great Ballets sometime soon. Maybe I'll carry a copy of a synopsis of the next ballet I go to in case I'm sitting next to some lost soul. Someone in the family usually fills my husband in before we go. We I recommend a performance to friends I usually give them a quick summary at the same time. Both to whet their appetite and so that their not clueless if they decide to go.

I was shocked when I read this article in the Morning Sentinel particularly this quote QUOTE What we mean is that the department shouldn't accede to the considerable persuasive skills of the Bossov Ballet Theatre's director, Col. Michael Wyly. Col. Wyly has aimed his verbal Howitzers at the department's policy of not allowing highway signs for cultural centers or tourist attractions that draw less than 5,000 people. This is a very unkind and inacurrate portrayal of Mr. Wyly. He is a dignified and respectful man. One thing to note is that the Morning Sentinel offices are literaly across thestreet in Waterville from where Mr. Bossov previously taught. I'm curious to know who wrote this article. By contrast the article in the Portland paper was unbiased. The howitzer remark may simply be a slam on his military service rather than his personality either way it was inappropriate. For those of you interrested in military subjects as well as ballet here's an article that mentions Col. Wyly's career. http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/cowan_proceedings.htm

If there is a balcony, first row center. If there isn't then back row center. I like the whole picture. I once saw Moscow Ballet from the first row of the orcestra pit. I could only see their feet half the time and I got sweat dripped on me. That was toooo close.

I was surprised by your post because it has corrected a misconception I had of SAB training. My dd was taking classes with someone who had been trained at SAB and was told "Keep your head perfectly still and look only at the bun in front of you. This is how we were taught at SAB." Previously dd had been working with David Howard videos. That school worked hard to get her to keep her head forward during barre instead of moving it like on the videos. We switched to a Russian school so now epaulement is definately being taught and encouraged.

I think core strength is crucial for smoothing this out. Some young students I've seen look very rigid because they don't have the muscle strength to manipulate thier torso and some others sway and wobble like grasses in the wind because they don't have the muscle control.

Here's a huge list of my favorite fairy tales I read to my kids. A few of which have already been made into ballets. Papa Gatto http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031677073...glance&n=283155 This one I have thought about a lot for a ballet. It is basically an Italian Cinderella. Many cultures have a Cinderella story. I saw a movie of an Appalacian Cinderella story titled "Ashpet" Mufaro’s beautiful Daughter’s http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068804045...glance&n=283155 An African Cinderella Flower-Fairies http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/072324839...=books&v=glance Amherst Ballet in Massachusettes did a ballet production baised on this book. Complete with matching costumes. The Little Match Girl http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014230188...glance&n=283155 This one was done in Conneticutt see the link below. http://www.chancelopera.com/bbOTHER%20OPERAS/MatchDREAM.html 4599263?n=2986&s=books&v=glance Seven Chinese Brothers http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059042057...=books&v=glance This would be a men's ballet. I love this story of how the brother's worked together. older Brother Younger Brother http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014055334...=books&v=glance Where the Wild Things Are has already been done http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004WJM...v=glance&n=5174 Legend of the Blue bonnet http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069811359...=books&v=glance I just read this Native American tale when I was substitute teaching. Lots of emotion. Tatterhood http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031657334...glance&n=283155 My daughter danced around the house with a wooden spoon for years after we got this book. Stone soup http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068987836...glance&n=283155 The Rough Face Girl http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069811626...=books&v=glance A Native American Cinderella The People could fly http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037582405...=books&v=glance Reading Rainbow did a episode depicting this African American story. The talking eggs http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080370619...=books&v=glance A Cajun Cinderella

Carbro suggested I post about the ballets the kids and I see. Here's the latest. Bossov Ballet celebrated their 10-year anniversary this past week with a gala performance. DD was in the performance so we didn't watch it together per se. DS was with my husband and I though. After the performance he asked if next time he could come early (during warm-up) with his sister so he could "feel the whole thing". DD was in the Dream Scene from Sleeping Beauty and the girls did well particularly with knowing a ballet critic, Nina Alovert, was in the audience. I especially enjoyed Andrei Bossov's choreography. "Maple Leaf Rag" was light hearted and fun to watch. My husband (who should have persued dance) really connected with the dancer and the choreography and said "That could have been me." "Bolero" blew me away. The choreography builds right along to the music until the dancers are ripping the pins out of their hair and dancing wildly. Talk about "whipping up the audience." All typical ballet comportment (a nifty word I picked up on this site) escaped me and I was screaming almost as much as clapping. During the intermission I wanted to tell everybody those are High School girls, but that was already in the program. "A Few Ballroom Dances" was funny, poignant, and powerful. Mr. Bossov danced in this piece. At the end he was alone on stage, dancing even after the story's dance hall had closed, oblivious to not having a partner. It was so perfect to see Mr. Bossov living just for the dance. Again I was screaming and clapping but also crying because of the knowledge that my children can train under this man.