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OTHER MEDIA interest... There was also a full page article in the Winter 2006-2007 issue of "Dance International". The grammer was a little iffy, there was an egregious photo flip (Corella & Vishneva in R&J), but the info about the new company and school was presented. There was also mention of an "American Friends of...(?) the ACF? or Angel Corella?" etc. to generate foreign 'investment/interest' in the company, but I have never seen any other info regarding such an organization---or an english version of the entire AC website, not just the audition registration form. Of course I am still astonished that no American media print outlets have written anything...not even a few lines in small print on a back page; puzzling. At least online, there is CarolinaM and PsFs to keep us informed and of course Jesus Vallinas / Fotoescena's beautiful photographs too. How can I possibly express my thanks for posting the comments/articles/links, and express my best wishes to all for the future of this endeavor.

I do watch Charlie Rose' show pretty frequently, and am ever grateful I received the "heads-up" in time to view the program last Friday despite all--my local PBS station has been pre-empting CR for stupid pledge programs this past week. As usual, I was astonished by the lack of research his staff does when ballet is the topic, which leaves CR asking foolish questions, or not asking more relevant ones, or forgetting simple facts like the first 'Hollywood' film Baryshnikov did was "Turning Point" for which he (MB) was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar (!), and director Herbert Ross' wife Nora Kaye was a former ABT dancer. Also, it was good to hear about Pushkin's influence, but I think far too much time was spent on Russia, and not enough on the future developments, collaborations, educational projects at the new BDF Arts Center. RE: Baryshnikov's tenure as AD of ABT, and his successes or failures, the fact that he promoted many corps members who went on to fame (if not always fortune): e.g. Susan Jaffe (also given an hour-long interview on CR), Cheryl Yeager, Robert LaFosse, Cynthia Harvey, Elaine Kudo etc. etc. etc.--were never mentioned in the interview, (or Charles France either). And I always thought their success was something he could be proud of too. I didn't know the school was closed specifically at his request, I had always thought there were monetary issues too.

MY ORIGINAL POST: Last November, I went to a concert by our local Symphony Orchestra thematically concerned with "Russian' music/composers. Both Tchaikovsky's Black Swan pdd, and a VERY extensive selection from Prokofiev's R&J (doing most of the major plot points by excerpting from ALL three orchestral suites Prokofiev had originally created for concert performance.) Knowing of this program ahead of time, I had contacted the conductor and orchestra staff to insure that they were played at correct dance(able) tempos. (b) REPLY QUOTE: (b) I strongly doubt the conductor specifically adjusted his tempos at your personal request. MY ANSWER: Well maybe in your world, but in mine he took my concerns in hand, and was VERY aware of how that can affect us former dancers and accomodated it, as I said, probably based on his previous experience in Vienna, rather than personally doing so for me, but he DID do it. How do I know? Because I spoke with him and the Orchestra's ED after the performance. Since I do not live in NYC or Boston, my local symphony orchestra's administrators (AD, ED, staff) have always been friendly, interested, perfectly willing to speak with concert attendees and reply promptly to all my emails.

I remember first noting Lisa Rinehart in an early 80's ABT program for her gorgeous extension. I also remember her in the corps and I think some soloist roles, but never as an onstage partner with Baryshnikov. What I do remember from that period is American actress Jessica Lange sitting on the aisle stairs in the balcony of Shrine Auditorium in L.A. to watch Mischa dance. (Do not know why she didn't have a reserved seat. Not sure if Alexandra was born yet.) And Jackie Bissett waiting for Alexander Gudonov--who was very shy of crowds. It's great if partners understand how the other thinks, moves, and approaches a role/performance, but in the end passion and energy come from the underlying adrenalin of a live performance, and acting ability; the rest is the practicality of work. As Julie Kent once noted in the ABT Ballet Book, (paraphrasing): "You can never recreate the energy of a [live] stage performance in the studio. That's why rehearsing a kiss, you just feel silly." Another ABT dancer, when asked how they were able to dance with someone they didn't get along with replied, "Good acting." So there.

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. I do watch Mr. Rose's program most nights, but lately my local PBS station has been pre-empting for ubiquitous pre-taped Pledge programs not half as interesting!

The "Big" Symphony Orchestra vs. the (small or less professional?) Ballet Orchestra... For twenty years I have tried to find a recording of Swan Lake that was complete, with the full beautiful sound produced by a major orchestra. (In fact, I've always loved Tchaikovsky because he uses almost every instrument in his scores.) So currently I have 3 versions by 3 different Symphony Orchestras, and I can never listen to any of them without every muscle cringing because the tempos are either undanceable (usually too fast) or vary from piece to piece/variation to variation, destroying any continuity of action. :blush: My trade-off for wanting to hear a particular variation not usually performed, or to hear it in the context of the original Act in which it appeared. At least I knew the Vienna orchestra soundtrack of the Nureyev/Fonteyn SL was correct tempo since they had to dance to it. Or, I assumed the same for my Bolshoi recording of R&J. Last November, I went to a concert by our local Symphony Orchestra thematically concerned with "Russian' music/composers. Both Tchaikovsky's Black Swan pdd, and a VERY extensive selection from Prokofiev's R&J (doing most of the major plot points by excerpting from ALL three orchestral suites Prokofiev had originally created for concert performance.) Knowing of this program ahead of time, I had contacted the conductor and orchestra staff to insure that they were played at correct dance(able) tempos. And luckily our conductor had worked previously for several years in Vienna (with the State Opera Orchestra I believe) and so had conducted numerous ballet performances and understood my concern. I was satisfied by the results when I attended the concert. Smaller ballet companies are usually relegated to using pre-recorded music, or a "pick-up" orchestra, but I also remember larger companies doing the same. For example, I remember ABT bringing it's conductor on tour to Los Angeles, but not their orchestra, and so having to rely on the same "pick-up" of experienced (or not) instrumentalists. I believe the Joffrey did the same, or used mostly recorded music for many pieces. If those orchestra players had also worked in the film industry, at least they should have been experienced with quick tempo changes. (Which always makes me wonder why no one thinks to use film composers to produce new ballet scores since they are so experienced with variations in length and tempi and conveying dramatic info thru music. Though Goldenthal's score for Othello is not my favorite.) I also remember the L.A.Philarmonic complaining (c. mid '80's) about having to share the Music Center/Dorothy Chandler Pavillion dressing rooms with visiting dance companies and having to endure "smelly tights drying in the bathrooms". One of the reasons I think those dance companies were very glad to decamp to the OCPAC when it finally became available. And now the OCPAC, too, has constructed a separate concert hall, so their OC Orchestra doesn't have to share the space either. Of course I recently witnessed an orchestra's unaccostumed speed forcing a dancer to compensate it mid-performance of a variation. It made me wonder if there had been a rehearsal before-hand, or any opportunity for the dancer(s) to "fine-tune" this with the orchestra. BTW: Does anyone remember a famous female dancer (?) stopping mid-performance (or hopefully just a dress-rehearsal) of Don Q (?)to stalk off the stage because the tempo was wrong? I definately remember the "diva" attitude, but understood her frustration, and the controversey it produced. (Maybe that was the last time journalistic complaints about ballet orchestras 'reached a crescendo'.) Q: Why is it always the horns? The woodwinds might have problems occasionally, but the horns?

SO TRUE. And would have been a big help when I survived blizzards, sleep deprivation, and spent two weeks salary to fly 3000 miles + to see something other than the back of someone's head.

In the interest of "full disclosure" I work for a nonprofit; I also have an MBA in non-profit (arts) administration. And despite that, experience, and awards/recognition from peers for my work, have several times found myself making 10-20K less than the stated range for my position and community. (ie. I don't expect to get paid what a major company/larger city pays). A lot depends on how knowledgeable you and management are about those ranges, and what you're willing to negotiate and/or settle for to secure the position. Benefits (insurance) and cost of living (housing/food/transportation) can also be packaged with a salary so that the actual monetary amount is less. McKenzie's salary (yes, I too have looked at a lot of 990's--and filled them out) is not surprising to me or overly compensated compared to others I've seen. There is also a federal law governing NPO's that prevents more than 1/3 of revenue being used for overhead--the other 2/3 must be put back into the organization. But of course there are loopholes, and many are willing to jump through them. Like most of society, there are good people who do the majority of the work (and are underpaid) and bad, who take all the credit (and are grossly overpaid.) I also work in a desired industry with a new batch of "youngsters" dying for a break and willing to take NO pay, or ludicrously minimal pay to do it, and so depressing the salaries for the rest of us. The same thing definitely occurs in the dance world. As stated above, the opposite happens as well when a "star" is created and expects to get a comparable "star" salary, leaving less in the pot for the "crew". BUT I must say, I will always admire those "stars" who took their money and created foundations, and scholarships, and studios/schools and companies for dancers--often in lesser metropolises, or smaller states, or even countries that had no such organization(s) before. ALWAYS always, how grateful I and all dancers must be to them. Appropos this, however, I do have one question: Why do I rarely see such creations by the WOMEN of the ballet world? They coach, teach, stage, and only a very very few have created companies or schools in their names--WHY? Is it because, like most women, they were paid less than their male counterparts over the course of their careers and so saved up less to create these foundations/schools/companies? Or they're so grateful to finally get paid decently, they just take the money and run when it's over? JUST a thought.

NIGHT or DAY When I was dancing it was all about doing the choreography perfectly, or ulcers because I wasn't. Now...Day or night it's: Hear music and immediately start choreographing it. Sometimes with me dancing it, sometimes with other (more famous/experienced) dancers in mind, sometimes just by drawing figures on paper as 'aides memoires'. Then, yes, I come back to the reality of my environment/life with a thump. But for those moments I was free.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for answering my query. It has been bothering me for almost as long. I saw it performed in Vermont in c.1999-2000. There was a good lecture-discussion with the company afterwards about it, and it's similarities to "Lilac Garden". I especially enjoyed the corps' choreography as a sort of "Greek Chorus" upstage 'commenting' on the principals' actions downstage.

I saw and perused both books, which were on sale at the ROH store, and in Borders, when I was in London last week. Interesting thing about the Pilates book, the warm-up was basic Pilates, however the latter half of the book was essentially a complete ballet barre done while lying supine with her feet pressed against the wall. Not quite Pilates, but still a good workout, though modified for aging bodies not classically trained? Anyways, maybe Borders or amazon.uk will have them available sooner than the U.S. debut dates if you're interested.

Numerous, and so hard to delineate when they are all good in my mind, but here goes... GISELLE: 1)Yes, when the hunting horn sounds and is returned for ALBRECHT's reaction: resigned, sad, shocked, because he's truly in love, or frustrated, or upset he's been discovered as a cold-hearted cad? That determines in many ways how Giselle responds to the shock. 2) When she grabs the sword, and the music reflects the tension of her family, village, and suddenly attentive (and concerned?) lover(s). 3) Act 2 Baryshnikov & Gelsey in L.A.--(she wrote about the performance in her book, and yes, she was high--I know because I was backstage afterwards and remember.)--But ever after, that is the performance I compare all others to--esp. the pique arabesque lifts in the Grand Pas: timed completely different than every version I've seen since. The 'angel lifts' too for timing--I saw them done perfect last summer, and not so good in the matinee immediately before. Such a difference. 4) When Giselle reaches for Albrecht as she is pulled back towards the grave at the end, the last slow farewell, and Albrecht's last moment--the tension is always, "How will he play it?" TCHAIKOVSKY: NUTCRACKER's final pdd music. (Not the variations or coda); so much emotion & poignancy in contrast to all the fluff that went before. SLEEPING BEAUTY: The Rose Adagio, opening and of course the 4 promenade arabesques. The overture. Putting everyone to sleep. SWAN LAKE: Act2: Odette's entrance and port de bras. The moment when Siegfried reaches Odette, and gently lifts her (hands) at the start of the pdd Adagio. The croise fouette fondu arabesques shortly therafter. And all the times she is in croise arabesque in his arms--someone once had a very good point about that pdd: throughout most of it, Odette is facing AWAY from Siegfried; her back to him, which makes those close moments that much more important since she has to communicate trust and awakening love without a face to face. The cygnets of course! How synchronous? How will they do the pas de chats? Two-footed, Cecchetti? Act3: When the swan appears in the window, and no one notices (or only Rothbart/Odile et.al. do and try to prevent Siegfried et.al. from seeing her.) Act4: The moment Siegfried bursts on scene and goes to each huddled circle of swans looking for Odette. (Sadly cut from ABT's current version), the final discovery, and her stricken questioning of his actions. R&J (mostly Macmillan, but some Cranko) The moment they meet at the ball, perfectly punctuated by Prokofiev. Macmillan's Balcony pdd from beginning to end. The Bedroom pdd ditto. The moment Juliet sits at the end of the bed while the music roils around her. Romeo's final moments after taking the poison. Juliet's final moments pulling herself across the bier to reach one last time for Romeo before succumbing at THE best final note in all of ballet scores. Cranko's--the moment Juliet's funeral cortege enters and lowers her into the tomb. CONTEMPORARY WORKS... When the curtain opens on that velvety starfield in Round of Angels, Mahler's Adagietto begins, and I can forget. The opening phalanx of Clear, and the synergy between choreography and dancer so apparent when it's danced by its creator(s). Every time I think, what a gift. Theme & Variations--always the questions a) Who is deemed strong (technically brilliant) enough to do it? (b) How perfect will they be? And their supporting corps too? In the middle, somewhat elevated... sheer invention, sheer tension. The opening (cadenza?) of the Beethoven Emperor Concerto, and Ballet (BC/Vancouver's?) couple's entrance and strip down. (I wish someone could tell me what company performs it--all I remember is that they were from BC, Canada.)

Yes, the ABT longer length costumes are visible in the dustjacket cover photo of their large 50th Anniversary commemorative book and archival pictures from earlier inside the volume. I had wondered when the switch was made to the classical short tutu, and I believe in my Nagy/Makarova video (c.1977?) they are short.

Well I was VERY jetlagged, but glad to know I wasn't blind. I always thought the inclusion (intrusion?) of black costumed swans (however little or much) in ActIV of Swan Lake, were Rothbart's evil intentions made manifest...but again, since they always seem to be dancing the same choreography as the majority white swan corps, I also thought it a distraction to no purpose. RE: Baryshnikov's choice for Swan Lake costumes mid-'80's...Yes, I was referring to the longer length, which, as I said, appeared shortly after the RB had switched. By "feathered" I meant how the tulle was layered and cut to effect a look of feathered edges etc. NOT a literal use of feathers which can detach and litter a stage creating hazards for unfortunate dancers. (Something that always seems to be a problem with Rothbart's various costomes. Speaking of which, I know the RB Rothbart was supposed to be an owl, but he reminded me more of an overstuffed muskrat because it was SO padded, I have not idea how he moved in it.)

WORKS IN PROGRESS I try again... In "Sinatra Suite" (having MUCH experience with it) I tend to look at execution of specific choreography first, and only then the addition of interpretive detail--in short, technique first, then aesthetics. I noted which steps I saw done well, and which I did not. (For specifics of what I look for in the execution, see my reviews from last October--sorry don't know how to link well.) And of course, NO ONE yet at ABT has equalled Baryshnikov's perfection, technical and otherwise, in the role--or for that matter, Elaine Kudo's too. It could be the gravitas and experience of age, which both had when they did it, that made their's a much more "mature" rendition; maybe lending it the "charisma" which everyone still thinks is lacking in this younger generation's version. I don't expect this younger generation to have the "world-weary" "devil-may care" attitude down yet. The closest approximation is a smoothness in phrasing and flow, a "sleekness". I do consider ABT's current attempts a "work in progress" with details that each dancer brings to SS improving with time and practice. And so, I keep watching and hope once the steps are finally smoothed out, the rest will fall into place. RE: La Bayadere--the manic aspect was directly caused by the conductor rushing the tempo (esp. in Solor's variation) and so forcing Corella to keep up. At one point, I saw him deliberately skip the first jump (a saute de basque?) in a sequence so he could move forward faster to remain in phrase through the rest. (Yes, he WAS aware AND surprised by the faster-than-expected pace and did his best to accomodate it.) Despite the rushing, his technique never wavered. As for the rest, he just does it different than others, not necessarily better or worse, just different. And to me that means a unique use of epaulement and extended line, expressive grace, and an ability to project beyond the footlights and draw in an audience's focus. I haven't seen the full-length in almost 20 years so I still have much to see of others' interpretations. (Which was also why the corps' failures were so shocking to me!) RE: RB's "Swan Lake" First... ABT's upper management (and a Patron Tour Group?) were sitting two rows in front of me. ABT's Exec. Director left after Act3. Carlos Acosta was also very prominently in attendance at the ABT performances I saw. He also seemed to be catching up with his compatriot Jose Manuel Carreno et.al. STAGING: I had forgotten RB had updated their medieval setting to a 'Faberge Egg': think minamalist with lots of glittering snaking gold wires, NOT Hermitage opulance; and an over abundant use of black in the ballroom scene: all ethnic variations (as the supposed minions & accomplices of Rothbart et.al.?) wore it. Also, after seeing Lloyd-Weber's "Phantom", I thought the ballroom finale's smoke fx, grand guignole red lights, and Odile gloating aloft over all, a little too much 'over the top'. I also NEVER saw a lake indicated in any set backdrops, just blankness, which made me wonder where the swans were appearing/disappearing. I did like Act I's setting and 19th c. Russian costuming very much, (though again was puzzled by a lack of a visible lake). The swans wore the longer, "feathered" skirts (reminding me of Bourne's mens coulottes) rather than straight tutus--Baryshnikov tried to copy this at ABT shortly after RB introduced them, but it didn't work. ActIV also incorporates 6 swans with black bottoms/white tops, whose significance, since they never dance any different than the rest of the corps, I can never really understand. MUSIC: Unlike ABT, most of the ActIV music was present, though RB chooses the "happy" corps music (sorry for my lack of correct musical terminology--the piece begins in a more 'major' key, then progresses into the sadder 'minor' keys) as opposed to ABT's sadder version. DANCING:(Marquez/Putrov)...O/O: As usual these days, Odile shown brightly, and Odette was simply okay. Marquez' arms were more lyrical/swan than most at ABT now--but NOT Gregory or Makarova; sometimes reminded me in spots of Plisetskaya's strength if not hyperextension. No multiples in the fouettes. Acting was minimal, not exactly a lack of chemistry, just kind of flat--and that is one of the faults of this Siegfried. I wish I could have seen Putrov in "Pierrot Lunaire" or other works he's more acclaimed in. His Siegfried was so subdued, I sometimes forgot he was there. His partnering was very studied--where was the stage presence that seizes the space, projects across the footlights, and presents his ballerina? Overall, I kept thinking "steps not story" and wished I was seeing others dance. RE: Ansanelli--yes I tried to look out for her, yes I still saw that long, lean extension, speed, and sure battu of NYCB, which sometimes looked a little odd with the other RB dancers, but I could see her working to match their style. And the inherent Cecchetti in the RB style helps her in that. She was good, and stood out (to me), I hoped others noticed, and was very glad I saw her. I promise not to write more.

Yup, you are right it was Lane, Kajiya and Seo as the 3 Shades, and I wrote my comment(s) without having my program in front of me--not a good thing to do. Of the three above...I thought Lane sparkled--(ie. stage presence/projection)--the most, Kajiya had the best line, and Seo graceful. But my brain was still rather tired, so best to trust others' POV's as I was still distracted by the corps and almost missed an entrance at one point trying to figure out my binocular setting. Thanks for picking up the mistake, I love Stella, but lets give credit where due.

ABT in LONDON, For better or worse. After spending nearly 24hrs in a snowed-in, shut-down, cold, dark empty airport and getting delayed, bumped, cancelled and otherwise several times, I finally made it to London in time to see ABT Saturday night and twice on Sunday. And see the RB Swan Lake on Friday night despite my major jetlag. The last time I saw ABT do Symphonie Concertante (yes, during Baryshnikov's tenure) I saw it seven times, and thought "please god, not again for a long time". My wish was granted. Now I've seen it twice more, and though I do like the creativity and invention evident in the corps choreography and patterns, and that "dialogue" between the violin & viola, it was still hard to stay awake. Stella Abrerra danced violin(?) once opposite Gillian Murphy, and once opposite Veronika Part (Abrerra filling in for Michele Wiles, which was not the most filicitous physical pairing). Both times, she danced beautifully, a striking physical embodiment of the more attenuated violin line vs the more s(t)olid viola line. As the viola, I was more impressed by Gillian's rendition than Veronika's which was still a little tentative. Again, the choreography in the adagio was interesting, but reminiscent of much Balanchine (T&V without the punch), and except for Les Sylphides, I cannot think of another ballet that shows off its women so exquisitely while leaving the man with so little to do. I kept thinking of a sugary marzipan statues and Royal Doulton figurines. I woke up quickly for Sinatra Suite, but readers of my previous posts re ABT's 2006 City Center season will know why. And this was the chance to see Misty Copeland finally in the female lead. Corella only performed it once at City Center; now, after performing it three more times (twice in Paris, and opening night in London), he has definately relaxed more in the role and some things have improved, while others still need work. His innate extended line & epaulement were smoother and leaner; the chaines and pirouettes tighter, faster and more controlled, that fouette attitude arabesque still brushed the floor before punching the sky (though not as deep as in NY), and he negotiated that tricky fast falling hop over the inside leg into a full stop successfully and rather uniquely. The contrast in steps between classical purity and Tharpian contemporary was also tantalizingly visible if not as delineated as it should have been. But there were still problems with the slides--and I don't think it was floors this time since Ethan did a perfect one in Fancy Free later; maybe shoes?--which abruptly broke the flow in the solo. Corella's musicality, though, and the " charm and physical wit" Clement Crisp noted, did help to redeem it. Misty had a beautiful extension and a way of adding "snap" to the choreography to 'punctuate' it. She also worked smoothly within Corella's partnering so overall, it was nice to see her do SS, and I wish her many more times in the role. But no one yet (except maybe Sarah Lane with Corella last October) has managed the develope attitude devant fouette turn at all! Why?! Is it because they're to the left? And in the pop-up splits, I think her partner had to literally pull her up. In conclusion...it's getting there but still needs work. Herman Cornejo in Spectre de la Rose was great as usual. In addition to the perfection of his balon, his curling flowing arm movements were always enhanced without being exploited. He so embodied the music, one could actually see that sensuous full-blown rose drifting and floating across the room within the waltz. Xiomara's delicacy and restraint, and short-lived but excited glow when she half-awakes, were a wonderful accompaniment. I also admired how gels & lighting were used to compensate for missing set elements. Unfortunately, the Shade scene of La Bayadere does not seem to have been the best choice to bring on this tour. The problems seen by the french audiences were not fixed by the time I saw it a week later. In fact it was almost comically disastrous. Ragged lines, major imbalances staggers and hops by some coming down the ramp; unfortunately still visible in the first row once the corps was on a level stage again. I felt like I was watching a school production. Where were the ballet mistresses and coaches?! Where symetry is so paramount, no dancer with stiffness or injury (however slight) should have been performing. Even during the curtain call, mishaps occurred when one corps member missed her position in line and had to jump over to the next not once, but twice before bowing. (The audiance luckily didn't laugh, maybe they were as shocked as I was.) And the principals? Once again, Corella saved the day (or night?). Blazingly fast and soaring in the allegro; flowing, graceful, expressive in the adagios; and attentive in the partnering. At one point, the conductor got a little excited with the tempo, and forced an even faster pace, which worried me (for safety as well as aesthetic reasons), but Corella was able to compensate with aplomb. And he acted so well, that even though his partner was sort of "flat" emotionally, one could feel the 'tragedy, pathos, and yearning' in his every movement and reaction to her--even in the balcony where I was sitting. It's not just his technique that claims attention, it's the ability to project across the footlights to draw the audience into the performance (despite the corps' mishaps). Paloma was studious, and correct, and negotiated the scarf scene and everything else smoothly if not emotively. Maybe she needs the full-length's backstory to reach the same emotive level of her partner in excerpt. Paloma then immediately followed this, by filling in for Michele Wiles in "Drink...". As was noted elsewhere, in contemporary roles like this, and "...Upper Room" she has no problem, and credit must be given for stepping in on short notice so well. In Black Swan pdd that evening, again, Paloma handled things well and threw in the usual doubles (and maybe a triple?) in the fouettes. I did wonder though, if her (left?) side was a little stiff as I saw many times where her leg didn't quite reach the usual 180 height/extension she's capable of doing. I don't think many others noticed any difference or any affect on an otherwise fine performance. Corella performed as usual: wonderful nuance in the pdd both in dance and acting; over-rotating the variation's pirouettes so he was late on the arabesque, but compensating with that floating grand jete; and crossing half the stage in the entrance grand jete of the coda. (I still think others do a more technically difficult variation, but Corella's does have its moments.) Also in the coda, I might have lost count, but the total of his turns (including both a la secondes and pirouettes) was about 24. It was great to see Ethan again in Fancy Free, he was missed. I wished I had had more opportunities to see him perform on this tour. And Jose Manuel Carreno still owns that 3rd sailor's role and rumba(?). Green Table (it's amazing I flew all the way to London--and survived blizzards and delays--and still have not seen David Hallberg as Death!?) and "...Upper Room" I've reviewed previously, seen many times previously (both by Joffrey and ABT respectively), and don't need to say more.

Still have my VHS copy of the McKenzie/Makarova R&J with the wardrobe malfunction mentioned. Will have to review again soon. Kevin McKenzie, in an interview last year, actually mentioned that "wardrobe malfunction"--yes he knew he'd forgotten to take them off, but 'the dance must go on' and the rest is history. Besides a previous post where I described how I sprayed the corps with 'bobby pins' during a turn sequence (as my bun also descended to a blob at the nape of my neck--I could only hope it looked like Romantic style instead) I once had to wear gold-rimmed bifocals as a dwarf (besides 2 other roles in the ballet--small company, small numbers) in an outreach production of "Snow White" done to Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty score. since I didn't wear glasses then, it took a lot of practice to dance without looking through them. So I persevered in Act 1-2, but by the last Act conveniently forgot to wear them. Of course several people commented on this afterward--including confused children wondering where "Doc" had gone. I wonder if everyone still stitches the knot of their pointe shoe ribbons so they don't unravel ever? I think the elastics have improved greatly to compensate.

Why does no one remember that Odile is supposed to be the "image of Odette" ie. look like her? The "evil twin" incarnate who wears black for the same reason the 'evil cowboy' wore a black hat, and the good cowboy a white hat. So some swan-arm movements, and even a white costume would be apropos. AND... Rothbart shows up at the ball TOO EARLY for Odette to be transformed yet to human form, so that that weeping Odette in the window is not some figment of Siegfried's imagination, but the poor swan vainly trying to attract his attention in the window--which is why almost concurrently with that image, and musically in the score, Odile imitates Odette's 'swan arms' to capture Siegfried's attention. In an RB version I saw, Siegfried is actually 'transfixed/frozen' by Rothbart so he doesn't see what's happening at the window. RE: The 32 Yes it's a tradition passed down from Legnani (sp?) days, and I do like traditions. Multiples work if they enhance the musical accent, but not to excess, not as a gymnastic exercize, and not as a gloat at the audiance to "look at me, look at me, the great dancer" instead of a mesmerizing act of centrifigal force like a whirlpool or "black hole" drawing Siegfried and the Court's attention and attraction to her. I too remembe Plisetskaya and being surprised she avoided them, and guessing why that was so, and not missing them. When I was at Tokyo Ballet, O/O was performed by two different dancers, because each had strengths they wanted to show off and weaknesses they wanted to avoid. I didn't see too much a problem because it was better to see them do well, than not when performing a difficult step, but it did negate the "twin" aspect of the plot I mentioned above.

Many of the "russian" gala fare mentioned above were recently performed at a Boston Ballet gala on Sept. 25, 2006. Both "Gopak" and "Spring Waters" were done by them before. I think they also did that "Moscovite Waltz" mentioned above (would have to doublecheck program, which I don't have in front of me now). In addition, they did the usual excerpt from "Raymonda", and Forsythe's "In the Middle..." pdd. But the one I had forgotten, not having seen it in nearly 10 years, was Edward(?) Stierle's (sp?) "Lachrymosa" to Mozart; a distillation of many emotions in a short powerful solo, and the music helped too.

I've always believed the donor is subsidising, in part, the dancer's salary (and possibly including at least partial payment of benefits, since that is such a big chunk of salaries these days.) There is also the cost of legal contracts, immigration/visas etc., in short: administration costs/overhead. So yes, having a 'well-endowed' individual contribute towards the costs necessary to retain a dancer would be of great benefit to a company and allow more dancers to join it's ranks. And speaking of endowments, what about all those 'professorships' and 'chairs' at universities? Donors by many years of precedent have had their names 'plastered' physically or not all over structures and program guides as a way to promote the process and the person(s) involved. To see the financial picture of any non-profit corporation, look at its IRS 990 Form which all npo's must legally file each year. If you read it correctly, it will show not only where the money came in, but also where it was spent and by whom. I was a little surprised, and gladdened in a way, to see that salaries have greatly improved since those dim days when I danced. (If you do discover any personal info in the form, however, please remember to protect others' privacy, as I'm not sure the data-entry clerks are as cognizant of the legalities as they should be.)

This has been a very thoughtful and insightful discussion that has done much to assuage my frustration after first reading Segal's article while I was in LA last year. I agree with much of what Leonid and Bart recently posted especially the point about educating the general populace and younger generations--which brings me back to my own experiences... FUNDRAISING Having much experience with NPO's and fundraising, development directors in the last decade or so all seemed to be focused on declining audience attendance and greying/aging/dying patrons. In short, unless the younger generations were 'educated' to appreciate and understand (and hopefully fund) the arts, they would indeed become irrelevant to that younger generation. And so there were myriads of outreach plans and strategies--some effective, some laughable--to attract and educate the young. Surveys of these audiences showed they were intimidated by a lack of knowledge and fear of looking foolish, and by the need to "dress up" to attend a performance. To counter this, the Phoenix Symphony/Philharmonic? Orchestra invited people to attend in jeans instead of suits, programed more "pops' to entice as well, and held "pre-performance talks" to 'educate' attendees. An "education" effort which of course has also been applied at many ballet companies. Apropos this, I also agreed with (Helene's?) post that attitudes towards male dancers also needs to change. All of which brings me to the next point (no pun intended)... MEDIA Slice and dice it how you will, commercial media wants that 18-49 demographic's eyeballs and purses and will do anything to attract them. So they research what's "cool" to the young, and then create images, characters, programs to mirror that. And since companies hire young researchers to research/infiltrate the young--everything gets skewed further and further south in age and "lowest common denominator" tastes. (A good analysis of this is a PBS documentary "The Merchants of Cool" and "The Persuaders".) Concurrently, if there is no (fine)arts training in schools, younger generations--including the ones now researching tastes and running the media centers--are not exposed to those arts or interested in them. This trend was most noticeable to me in the decline of the major newsmagazines grammatical syntax, vocabulary, length of articles, and focus on less and less "hard news" in favor of 'entertainment' enticements. So we are left with only ONE public television station doing dance performances/docs on a regular basis, and no cable companies left to do it that I can see. Which brings me back to that education/outreach element.... OUTREACH (for who?) I live in a small state 2-3 hours to drive across its length, 1hr to drive top to bottom. Yes, it does have a major nationally known ballet company, that on occasion tours, and prides itself on the fact that it has opened 2-3 "outreach" schools outside the metropolitan area in which it is based. Yet, those outreach schools are only about 20 miles away from the central hub--anything beyond is forgotten. They never tour their state, only outside. This had a direct affect upon me and my dance training. I grew up in Japan, where we had a rigourous school schedule that included culture/arts classes and fieldtrips 3x/week. I danced professionally and so saw and did even more. Then my family moved back to the States, and it took a year to find even the most basic level of that training again. I traveled 1+hrs each way to attend class/rehearse/dance with an "adjunct" branch of a smaller company. That famous big city company never bothered to notify us about "summer intensives" or "scholarships" or academic training. And when that small company's 'adjunct' facility closed, so did my opportunity to continue in professional ballet. My parents just couldn't agree to a 2+ hr commute each way, at MUCH more expense, and still make sure I attended high school with a 4.0 average. So...outreach is important, but make sure it's not just to those next door--inner city youth have many programs available that seek to expose & enlighten them, but not rural that I've seen. And MONEY is a factor that explains a lot of the demographics of most US ballet companies--and why those not part of that homogenous mix come from countries that have state supported arts training, or are again from the proximity of an inner city outreach effort by a school/company or other concerned NPO. And once you examine the money issue...you open the pandora's box of "elitist" again. Sorry this is so long, needed to say it.

Taking a chance, going to London for their weekend. Will report what I see. Thanks for posting French links, I've been trying to google french reviews all week without any luck. (How I wish I had access to Nexis)

CAST CHANGE I believe Angel Corella and Marcelo Gomes swapped performance dates in order to allow Mr. Corella to oversee the scheduled auditions for his new company in Madrid/Barcelona starting March 24th. Since the audition schedule has been known for some weeks now, I wonder what took ABT so long to post the change?

I assume the gala is a promotional event for the invited media, but primarily a fund-raiser, and so restricted to those with deeper pockets than the more general populace of balletomanes. Does anyone know what works will be performed yet? My last check of the Teatro Real and AFC websites were uninformative besides the fact that, as was noted by PsFs, it's being squeezed in between opera performances. And, I assume, Mr. Corella is still planning to return in time to dance the following night(s) in London with ABT since no changes to that schedule have been noted. Chicago, however, still doesn't make sense if he's to conduct auditions in Spain as planned. I still marvel at his focus, determination, and energy to make it all happen. And wonder how much he learned watching Julio Bocca, Vladimir Malakov, and other dancers/danseurs from other companies do the same.