rkoretzky

I've been very interested in seeing ABT's new super couple and had hoped to make it to Saturday's matinee but it just wasn't meant to be. I did see them in "Theme and Variations" last week. I have to say that I fell in love with Michelle Wiles, and was less impressed with David Halberg. He has gorgeous feet and uses them beautifully--never less then fully arched and pointed, feather landings...but I was very unsatisfied with his upper body. I saw stiffness through his shoulders and a rigid port de bras, which conflicted sharply with the lovely clarity in his footwork. Michelle Wiles showed me great potential, but I wonder why she would be scheduled in debuts of not one, but two demanding principal roles in full length ballets. Why not devote time to perfecting one role? I think I will be seeing their Swan Lake on the June 16 matinee. Related question: I am puzzled by the "everyone does everything" casting at ABT. Is everyone suited to Odette/Odile, Raymonda, Swanhilda, Juliet et al? I don't think so. And one more question: are most people of the opinion that Raymonda will be staying in the rep for next year's Met season? I'd like to see it and it just didn't work for me to get there this year.

Full length Apollo. Or am I also thinking of an ABT of the past?

Do readers have a preference regarding the "full-length" Apollo, versus the truncated version? I do. After much thought, I would always prefer to see the entire ballet. I recall a conversation that I had, with a member of this board, whose favorite Balanchine ballet is Apollo--he mentioned that he loves the "sunburst" ending of the shorter version. I agree that it is a magnificent tableau, albeit only as part of the choreography in the longer ballet--instead of a stunning conclusion. BUT. The prologue, early variation, and conclusion give a context to the piece. It all makes so much more sense when you see the whole story unfolding. The music is so glorious--Suzanne Farrell did mention in her talk at the dance museum last Friday that she wondered why Mr B would want to cut any part of the score. Did ABT ever have Apollo in their rep? It seems to me that they did--this question is brought about by the "what Balanchine ballet should aBT do next?" I'd love to see them do a full Apollo. And parenthetically, have any of you seen NYCB do the full length? I seem to think that I have--at SPAC, during the 1993 Balanchine celebration. But I am perfectly willing to admit to being incorrect on this. The memory isn't what it used to be....

Two wonderful young adult novels: 1. The Devil's Arithmetic (Jane Yolen) crosses a contemporary teenage girl (at a Passover seder) with an ancestor in Hitler's Germany. 2. Another Shore (Nancy Bond), crosses a contemporary teenage girl spending the summer at Louisbourg Fort in Nova Scotia with a young girl of that era. This title is especially interesting for the window into Canadian history--seldom afforded to those of us in the States--and possibly the UK too? I give both of those titles my highest recommendation. In fact, a few years ago when I visited Louisbourg I spent lots of time discussing the Bond title with all the kids I encountered there. Librarians never rest when reading is concerned! Eh, Juliet?

Tuck Everlasting! (Natalie Babbitt)

That little piece in Sunday's NYT magazine has caused quite a stir here. And even though I would love to place the blame right at SPAC's feet, I'm not sure this was their doing. I have heard that the information came from the Chamber of Commerce, and that they are saying they mentioned NYCB, but that the writer (who is not a member of the Times' staff--the disclaimer at the bottom of the ad clearly states that the Times' travel writing staff had nothing to do with this piece) left that information out. The piece is not signed, so how to check on that? It is certainly very odd that NYCB was left out, in this year when there has been so much controversy and press about them. In fact, the Times has ignored this story, except for the one article when SPAC first announced. That is odd too. People have very short memories. Now that NYCB is restored for '05, I fear that people will lose interest and that our effort will lose momentum. This board seems to have lost interest, too--after so many posts in February there are few comments now. We can really use your support here and I don't mean financial, although Save the Ballet is now incorporated and able to take donations and all would be appreciated. Please don't forget about us.

IF Kevin McKenzie is indeed referring to ABT as "America's National Company" (or some such sentiment), to my mind that shows a high degree of hubris. I have always considered ABT a European style company that just happens to be based in the US of America. Their repetoire certainly reflects the Europe of past centuries, at least the part of their repetoire that they do very well. NOT a criticism. I love spectacle--but that is European sensibility and culture. As someone who has spent over 25 years closely watching NYCB, I would be much more likely to give that appellation to them, although even that gives me hesitation. This country is just too vast and varied to have a national ballet, or a national symphony (although there is one that has that name, it does NOT qualify and that's all I shall say about that.), or even a national opera, although perhaps the Met would argue with me about that. NOTE PLEASE: This is not a criticism of ABT, nor an endorsement of NYCB. I do prefer NYCB, in terms of both repetoire and style, but find lots to admire and enjoy across the plaza. As for the roster, thank you Leigh, for bringing this up! I notice this every time I read an ABT program, and it always brings a bit of humor...But ABT is not the only company that is in this situation. Look at the roster of the Royal Ballet. One of the reasons that there is so much excitement in London over Lauren Cuthbertson is that she is a Brit--born, raised, trained. I predict that she will be a principal soon, and well-deserved imo. I saw her Lilac Fairy and it was magnificent. But she will also be an English girl in a company of dancers who are Italian, Brazilian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, a few others (sorry, too lazy to go back to the website) and Darcey Bussell--who may be nearing the end of her career. Now I am not sure about this--but given that the company IS called the Royal, and that there is a much closer relationhip there between the goverment and the arts....maybe the RB IS the national ballet (although there is one of those too). In any case, I think there will be some pressure to promote Cuthbertson as a home-grown product.

Seconding the above post. I was fortunate to see Marquez and Putrov in RB's "Sleeping Beauty" last month. I don't have too much to comment on re his performance, other than that he got the job done....because I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She is a tiny, frail looking dancer with legs of steel and amazing strength. I will say that Putrov had the qualities that I look for in a partner in "spectacle" ballet--ballon, elevation, and light landings. Looking forward to seeing more of Ms. Marquez...guesting with ABT this spring in Bayadere.

Cargill: Did you see Elizabeth Walker's "Man I Love" at wall-to-wall? Utterly exquisite.

Well we've won the battle, but there is still a war to fight. I am proud, proud, proud of my small city and what we have accomplished here. I am also grateful to everyone from this board and from the dance world at large who supported us in fighting the good fight. We're not finished yet. I don't believe that we will ultimately prevail unless we continue with our hard work. The bottom line is that the SPAC board and management are still looking at hard numbers. They want a season attendance of 70,000 to 75,000. I am no mathematician, but I figure that averages out to between 3,300 and 3,500 per performance, based on a 21 performance schedule. Considering that the State Theater has a seating capacity of 2,600, we are expected to sell out the home theater AND THEN SOME (almost half as much again) for every performance for three weeks, with an area population of about 1 million, as opposed to the --what-- 10 million in the NY metropolitan area? A tall order. Assemblymember Tedisco summed it up nicely in expressing disappointment that SPAC has only committed to one more season. Saratoga cannot go through this every year; NYCB will not--they will find another summer home and it will not be difficult. So we still have a long road ahead. Ultimately, a change in SPAC administration and board would be all to the good--how can that change be effected however? Troubling too--that only 9 board members showed up for the meeting, another 7 participated by phone--Peter recused himself, which still leaves 6 board members who did not involve themselves with this process? Where were they? Who are they? Bottom line: I'm proud, happy, and still very concerned.

Jack, does Edward Villela still give pre-pref talks before every performance during the South Florida season? I saw MCB in Giselle in Naples last month, and was very happy with the ballet, but very unhappy to be told that Eddie no longer does the talks. To my mind, that was one of the wonderful things about MCB that set them apart from so many other companies--the concept of the AD personally introducing each program, taking questions from the audience, etc. And I just re-read your post: which Robbins is MCB adding next season?

The Saratoga contingent was there in four-fold force. We got up at 5 am to get down to the city in time, and were rewarded with front-row seats. We had taken the precaution of becoming members of Symphony Space: at $25 each it seemed a small price to pay for the security of getting in after driving such a distance. It was a good thing, one of our group went out for food and had trouble getting back in--was only successful when she waved our membership card. It could be that she was the young one of our group--my college age daughter, but it any case it was well worth the expense, to be part of a fantastic day. One of us had to return home early--the other three stayed for the entire 12 hours. Two of us never left the theater from 11 am to 11 pm! I did get out of my seat a few times--one of my "potty breaks" was during the David Hayes segment. I am sure he has wonderful tales to tell, but his disorganized presentation, jumping from topic to topic in mid-sentence left me very annoyed. I was also annoyed by Anna Kisselgoff's presentation style--and found that segment didn't hold my interest. I have to put in a plug for Saratoga Springs' own Professor Charles Joseph, surely one of the world's experts on the Stravinsky/Balanchine relationship, who was given short shrift, in favor of the guy next to him plugging a concert that he was conducting that very evening at NYU. Chuck is a gentleman, too polite to interrupt, but it was the audience's loss that he wasn't given more of an opportunity to speak. Aside from those small issues, and the aforementioned technical glitches, the day was well-organized, comprehensive, a wonderful mix of the theoretical (speaking) and the practical (dancing), a rare opportunity to glimpse seldom-seen personages as well as footage....just marvelous. Some impressions from me: In the first segment, the Suki Shorer class demonstration: Suki made a reference to the students' heels. In several of the young ladies, their heels never fully touched the floor, even in demi-plie. Even though Suki assured the audience that "this was fine with Balanchine, and it is fine with me"--I don't like it. I think it is a bad habit--and that if it perfomance the heels don't touch in order to increase ballon--OK, but in class perfect technique should be the goal. Joan Brady, in her book "Once a Dancer" speaks extensively of this heel issue, and states that the trick only works once the dancer is fully trained in returning heels to the floor. I agree with Joan, and while I would never argue about Balanchine with Suki Shorer, wonder if it was truly "fine with Mr. B'. The DTH Apollo: for the most part, very very well done. I missed the visual interaction between Apollo and the muses that I have come to expect, being accustomed to the Peter Boal model. Rasta is a magnificent dancer and I loved his interpretation of Apollo's solo segments, but I found that during the muses' variations he never looked at any of them, he was staring out into the audience. So how could he choose? Andrea (Calliope) and Polyhymnia (Kellye) both had huge grins on their faces. gorgeous dancers, but the grins were inappopriate and distracting. I LOVE the full length Apollo, and feel that with the addition of the Prologue, the entire ballet makes sense, as a story (yes I know Balanchine didn't do stories!), and choreographically, since so much of the choreography that is later developed is first stated in the prologue. Who Cares: ELIZABETH WALKER!!! Exquisite in "The Man I Love". Why, oh why don't we see more of this lovely dancer? I had never seen her dance like this before--then I realized I had never really seen her dance! A short variation in "Donizetti", even third movement Barber--never gave me the chance to really see her before. We crashed at the Quality Inn and went to Peter Boal on Sunday. What a weekend!

More info please. I can't find the "bad news" to which you allude. Another hint--ok?

A quick update, after last night's meeting of the Save the Ballet group. The Fill the Seats campaign is in full swing. Anyone who comes to SPAC--please sign the pledge to buy 2 additional tickets this season. You can sign up online at: savetheballet.com FYI, this effort is NOT being made to excuse SPAC from responsibility for fund-raising. Government officials and local individuals continue to hold the SPAC board accountable. So by signing this pledge, you are not removing the onus from SPAC. You are merely showing your support for the continuation of NYCB at SPAC, and agreeing to show up!

Carla Korbes

BA Friends: I just got home last night. You wouldn't believe the excitement in this place. Everyone is talking about these developments. Prevailing opinion is that we will triumph. Thanks so much to everyone who sent letters and emails, or signed petitions. Please keep the pressure on--nothing is certain yet. And please come here this summer and experience our magic. I am on a committee to celebrate the Balanchine Centennial in Saratoga. I will post information on our activities as things are finalized. If you want as complete a story as you can find in the news media, log on to the Albany Times-Union website-- www.timesunuion.com Don't bother with the Saratogian.

Wow! What a difference a few days makes! I've been on vacation, and in sporadic internet contact---wish in a way that I had been home to be a part of all of this... going home tomorrow--from sunny Florida to frigid NY--but happy to be able to help with this marvelous groundswell. A brief answer to the above question: when I first came to Saratoga in 1978 we were at the end of a wonderful era of modern and small ballet companies performing at the Spa Little Theater (on the SPAC grounds) and four weeks of NYCB at SPAC. We had Merce, Taylor, Graham, Hubbard...just to name a few. We had Ailey at the small, and then for one season at the big theater. We had two years of MCB in the 90s. So we have had other companies, but NYCB has always been the cornerstone of the SPAC dance world, just as it was envisioned, and as it should always be. I say--restore NYCB AND hold Chesbrough to the three other companies as well!

It is my fervent hope that this unhappy situation doesn't become an NYCB vs PO battle. I love both, with all my heart, and both are the permanent legacies of Mr. Balanchine and Mr. Ormandy, who collaborated on the design, construction and indeed every aspect of the original plan. Indeed the fans of the PO might well remember the old quote about Nazi Germany, the gist being that if one doesn't protest when others are in jeopardy, "they" will come for you next. Ballet Alerters, don't let this issue die.

I guess SPAC is already off NYCB's radar screen, since Megan's Swanhilda debut was actually 7 months ago when she nailed 4 performances, including 2 on the same day. Or maybe "debut" only refers to the state theater? guess I am a little bit obsessed at the moment............

Send letters to The Saratogian by e-mail at letters@saratogian.com To be considered for publication, letters should be no longer than 300 words, and must include an address. Please also include a daytime phone number for verfication. All letters will be edited for length and clarity. Speaking outs should be no more than 500 words long, and follow the same guidelines as the letters. For more information, call Managing Editor Barbara Lombardo at 518-583-8711. For snail mail, send to: Letters to the Editor The Saratogian 20 Lake avenue Saratoga springs, NY 12866 for letters to the SPAC board: Saratoga Performing Arts Center Avenue of the Pines Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Sorry--because I am not home, I don't have access to information about board members. I can post all of that when I get home. Meanwhile, letters could be addressed to the SPAC Big Wheel: Herb Chesbrough. The SPAC phone number is 518-584-9330, I think, I am relying on my memory. One more thing: I have been a SPAC member at the Sustaining level (fairly high level) for over 20 years. No more. I heard rumors about this and have no renewed my membership for this year, nor will I. Any BAers who are also SPAC members might consider using some of that leverage.

GLAD TO DO SO!!! Please write letters. I'll post a link right away, for snail mail and email correspondance. Also, re today's Saratogian article--that's three restaurants and one hotel that I shall boycott. I'll not give any business to Doc's, Wheatfield's, High Rock or the Prime Hotel--and won't step inside after I have personally informed management of each. In bad timing, (well good for me, but bad for this effort), I am currently on vacation in Florida, and about to leave tomorrow for a short cruise--so I am somewhat unavailable until the end of February. But rest assured--things will be done in Saratoga. Whether anything can be reversed remains to be seen, but the Powers that Be will know what is thought of this decision. On a personal note, I am heartbroken. You all know of my feelings about NYCB and SPAC and their longstanding relationship. Please help us in Saratoga to fight this.

This year, as ballet companies all over the world pay tribute to Mr. Balanchine, and as the centennial of his birth is celebrated everywhere, his company is thrown out of the theater that he helped to build. I am ashamed to be an employee of that place.

Truly sorry to hear about the Raymonda disaster, as that was one program I had circled in my brochure as a 'wanna see'. Just a thought about the Harrison piece. I've seen it twice--first at the Met and then (reluctantly) at City Center. I swear to you that it didn't even look like the same work the second time, and yet the casting was similar, the costumes and music identical. The difference was the theater. I left the Met after the first time very disappointed. After the second viewing, about 5 months later, if I wasn't in love with the work, I will say that I enjoyed it and found myself emotionally moved by it. I believe the difference lies with the setting. It is just lost in the Met Opera House, and my guess is that is also the case at the Kennedy Center Opera House. On the smaller City Center stage, in a smaller theater where those of us who are cheapskates aren't miles from the stage and breathing through oxygen masks, there is a sense of intimacy--even, dare I say it? charm, and a definite feeling of engagement that was just not present at the Met. I'm glad I saw it the second time, and did so at my daughter's urging. She had seen it at City Center when it premiered in fall 02. I now have a positive memory of it. I am baffled as to why it has now shown up in every ABT season, and do not plan to see it at the Met this spring. Do I think it is a Work of High Art? Nah. Was it an enjoyable experience in the smaller theater? Yup.

Happily breathless? Oh my yes. Until the sickening feeling upon realization that something BAD had happened. Truly, I've seen many Hippolytas who have been thrilling (and some less so), but I had never seen a woman tear the stage up the way that she did. Rock solid fouttes, standing leg riveted in place, soaring grand jetes, the straightest legs I have ever seen in a ballerina, all with a lovely port de bras and queenly carriage. Fabulous! I was eagerly waiting for the second act. Poor Pascale van Kipnis--having to jump into that role under those circumstances. She handled herself well, as did Jennifer Tinsley taking over for her--but the whole incident cast such a pall that the magnificence of the first act was sadly diminished. I'm done now with winter season, not by choice, but by family obligations and, well, work. Have to show up there sometimes! The times that I managed to get to the state theater were last minute decisions, based on a lucky set of circumstances. What I am saying is that I didn't really plan much, therefore missed out on connecting with BA people. I'd like to try to change that for spring season, and Carbro--I'd love to meet you. It seems that we have some common perspectives. Let's give it a try. And--I'll start my annual rant now. Everyone--come to Saratoga! It's fantastic.