volcanohunter

Unfortunately I haven't, but he'd probably be perfect for the role.

Here's something from the realm of fun facts. Today Nina Ananiashvili became godmother to Nikoloz Saakashvili, son of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. The godfather is Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko. Here's a photo of the christening: news.yahoo.com/photo/061123/481/20762625b8834529bf788d711fbde1f1/print

Alberta Ballet has launched a contest for tickets to its production of The Nutcracker in Edmonton and Calgary. Note that the web site states, "All entries valid regardless of correctness!" www.albertaballet.com No word on whether tickets are up for grabs in Vancouver, Victoria and Spokane also.

Ami, the only clips I have of Almeida are from the 1985 telecast of the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker. She dances Columbine in act 1 and the dance of the mirlitons in act 2, though telling the dancers apart in that selection is difficult since all of them are wearing identical caramel-coloured wigs. That film also features Jonathan Cope as the Mouse King and in the Arabian dance. It may not offer much of a glimpse of Almeida, but it's worth seeing for Lesley Collier's magnificent Sugar Plum Fairy and the incredible stylistic unity she shares with Anthony Dowell, something sadly absent from the performance of Miyako Yoshida and Cope 15 years later. Not that I blame Cope. Originally he was to have danced in that broadcast with Darcey Bussell, but she became injured. Why the Royal Ballet decided to replace one of its tallest ballerinas with one of its smallest is beyond me. (Call me funny, but I often resent seeing tall male dancers "wasted" on little ballerinas.) On balance I definitely prefer the older performance. Yoshida is no Collier. If you plan to go clip hunting, it would be worth investigating whether Ashton's Ondine was filmed when it was revived in 1988 with Almeida in the title role. Now that's something I'd love to see.

This discussion began on the Darcey Bussell thread, but I would also love to hear what other posters remember about Maria Almeida, a fabulously gifted dancer with a frustratingly brief career. I saw Maria Almeida dance Aurora not long before her self-imposed early retirement. Suffice it to say she was the finest Aurora I've seen. I never saw Gelsey Kirkland's Aurora, but I imagine that the experience must have been very similar. Edward Villella once described Kirkland as having "steel-like legs that are doing the most fantastic technical feats while the upper body is soft and lovely as though nothing were going on underneath." Almeida managed the same in Sleeping Beauty. She had wonderfully gracious classical style, in the best tradition of the Royal Ballet. Naturally she had gorgeous feet and fabulous extensions, but in her case, and this is pretty rare nowadays, I never found myself admiring them for their own sake. Her port de bras were exquisite, which is not a given these days either. She radiated femininity and serenity, so her princess was entirely believable. I have often found the vision scene a little frustrating, its static formality failing to live up to Tchaikovsky's ecstatic music, but Almeida was the sort of dancer who could make the poetry of the scene really come alive. I wish I could remember more details, but it was one of those rare performances that were so enchanting that my analytical brain shut down and I let myself be carried away by the rapture of it all. I can tell you it was the only time I wept during the Rose Adagio. I don't know whether there are many films of Maria Almeida in the BBC archives, but I would dearly love to be able to see more of her. It's still a bit mystifying that a dancer who was so talented should have walked away from it all. Jonathan Cope, who knows her better than anyone, and who's obviously partial, said in an interview last spring, "She had everything, aesthetically, technically, artistically and was the greatest loss to the ballet world ever. God had given her everything but he hadn’t given her the desire and she doesn’t feel the need to get up and dance. She is perfectly happy now." No doubt this is very frustrating for all those with lots of desire and less talent!

Unfortunately, the only time I saw Bussell perform live was early in her career and at the time I found her dancing a little bit gauche. Her Lilac Fairy compared unfavourably with Maria Almeida's Aurora, much in the same way that her Gamzatti on video seemed crass when compared to Asylmuratova's Nikiya. (I agree with beck hen there.) But like FauxPas I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to see Bussell as her career developed. She's obviously extremely gifted, and I'm sure that choreographers and the Royal Ballet's management found ways to put her talents to excellent use.

I wonder if there aren't some theatrical politics involved here. Both Dupont and Osta are well represented on video, but prior to Emeralds, I believe Pujol was seen only as the White Cat in Sleeping Beauty. On the other hand, this reasoning doesn't make sense from the male perspective, as Nicolas Le Riche has been filmed more often than the other male etoiles, though not in classical roles. I'm worried that Pujol will look puny next to him. Why not pair her with Benjamin Pech instead, as he only has a Bluebird to his video credit? Personally, I would have liked to see Delphine Moussin as Giselle, but as she's injured, that's a moot point.

It is a peculiar review. It's almost as though the reviewer went into the show with a preconceived take on the performance and was determined to make it fit regardless of what she saw. I'm guessing you didn't see a sudden explosion of confidence, bart.

What was so awful about it? Do tell.

A single day spent driving through the streets of Rome would convince most Americans that they are actually among the most hung-up people on earth

I would hope that ABT wouldn't limit itself to just one program. You'd have to present more familiar works like Lilac Garden, Dark Elegies, Pillar of Fire and The Leaves Are Fading, but also ballets seen less frequently like Judgment of Paris, Undertow and Dim Lustre. Definitely Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps the Royal Ballet could be persuaded to take Shadowplay on tour. Ditto for the Royal Swedish Ballet with Echoing of Trumpets. Does anyone out there think a revival of Tiller in the Fields is worth attempting? I never saw it, which is why I ask.

For TV viewers in Canada, Artv is broadcasting the Paris Opera production of Rameau's opera Les Boréades, which features choreography by Edouard Lock performed by La La La Human Steps. Take it or leave it. Air times: Monday, 20 November at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, 24 November at 1:00 a.m. ET Saturday, 25 November at 5:00 a.m. ET www.artv.ca/emissions/fiche.asp?numero=1984 For Bell ExpressVu customers, a free preview of Artv is running until December 15, which would allow you to catch a rebroadcast of the St. Petersburg 300th anniversary gala on December 12.

I certainly never meant to suggest that all American dancers are necessarily poor actors. Obviously ABT does have American principals, as do companies abroad, but for some reason or other they are a minority in companies that are heavy on narrative ballets. I mean, there must be a reason why 72% of ABT's principals, 78% of San Francisco Ballet's principals and 82% of Boston Ballet's principal are not American. (I'll be the first to state that this sample is not scientific.) Perhaps it's because Americans are used to being self-effacing. One thing I do remember about that NYCB broadcast of Swan Lake was part of the conversation between Beverly Sills and Darci Kistler where Sills asked about a hypothetical scenario in which Kistler found herself at odds with a choreographer. Without hesitation Kistler replied that she would defer to the choreographer. Certainly this is not always the case. In a South Bank Show program about Sylvie Guillem it was implied politely by others and more bluntly by herself that she never hit it off with Kenneth MacMillan because she was not willing to defer to him in this way, at least not until he gave her a convincing reason. Perhaps this difference in approach is why American dancers sometimes strike me as having less dramatic teeth. Or maybe Americans are simply less demonstrative by nature. I have definitely seen dancers looking embarrassed in certain works. I've never seen an American look comfortable doing Spectre de la Rose, for example, whereas dancers like Manuel Legris have no inhibitions about that ballet's, um, flowery mannerisms. I've also seen many Sugar Plum Fairies that were less than regal, Kitris that were less than fiery and Giselles who weren't completely heartbreaking. The acting in The Nutcracker is minimal at best, particularly for the adults, so I wouldn't count on that providing good training for a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. Sure, all Americans are familiar with Romeo and Juliet. But can we honestly say that American actors put Shakespeare's play across as convincingly as their English colleagues? This sort of thing requires specialized training and practice. I don't see how narrative ballet is any different. I'm sorry to sound like a self-hating American!

Sorry to keep discussing this when the intended topic is Romeo & Juliet, but I'm a bit confused. Why not stage Don Q for the NYCB, Mariinsky, NBoC and any number of other interested companies?

Is the problem that Suzanne Farrell holds the rights to Don Quixote? Perhaps the solution for New Yorkers is to head north to see the National Ballet of Canada's production the ballet in the third week of June. I'm guessing it would be an effective way to purge Martins' R&J from their systems. www.ballet.ca/performance.php?0607_season/balanchine

By the way, thanks to Dale, carbro, Mme. Hermine, BalletNut and rg for racking their brains on my behalf.

In case Eifman is thinking about it, I'd suggest a final scene in which the ghost of Kirstein rises from his grave a la "Don Giovanni" to demand the repentance of Peter Martins.

Ooh, now there's an idea. Boris Eifman does the life story of Lincoln Kirstein...

Unfortunately, no. But her style was very authentic, so if I had to venture a guess I'd say it was a NYCB dancer. Has anyone ever seen a film of the ballet performed by another company (other than ABT)? To be honest, I've never seen Lopez's performance from 1984-85. I can't say there was a great resemblance between the mystery dancer and her performance at the 1993 Balanchine Celebration. The dancer looked more like Heléne Alexopoulos if anything, but I don't even know if Alexopoulos performed that particular solo. Still, if Lopez was recorded twice, that tips the scales in her favour.

Perhaps I should provide a bit more context. In about 1992 I remember watching a program on Ukrainian state television about American musical theatre, specifically dancing. Among the clips from film musicals, which were familiar to me, they also included the "Stairway" solo, presumably to illustrate the influence of musical theatre on other forms of dance. (This was a long time ago, so please excuse me if I don't remember the exact details!) Of course I was surprised to see this particular clip because I didn't recognize it either from that 1971 Radio-Canada/CBC program or the later Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine (or whatever it was called) program from PBS. This was a live performance, the dancer was a brunette and, as I mentioned earlier, her epaulement was marvellous. Conceivably, the performance could have come from their own archives. I'm pretty sure that NYCB performed in Kiev during its 1972 tour of the USSR. Perhaps Who Cares? was part of the tour rep. To be honest, the quality of the recording seemed too good to have been made by Soviet TV cameras, but you never know. It does make me wonder whether there aren't other hidden treasures in television archives of the fSU. On the other hand, the recording could have been made during some other tour. Which also makes me wonder about hidden treasures in the archives of, let's say, French, German or Japanese TV.

I'm sure it wasn't Karin von Aroldingen as I've also seen the film of her performing that solo. This was a live performance. Is it possible that the ballet was taped during one of NYCB's tours of Europe?

I wonder if someone can identify another performance of Who Cares? Years ago I remember seeing a fabulous rendition of "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise" on television, but I didn't recognize the performance. It wasn't the CBC recording with Karin von Aroldingen, it wasn't the PBS recording with ABT and it couldn't have been the Balanchine Celebration performance with Lourdes Lopez since the recording in question predated it. All I can tell you is that the performance was recorded on stage rather than a TV studio and the dancer had the most marvellous epaulement. Any ideas?

Unlike some, I don't object to the music. There is a particularly wonderful moment in the balcony scene in which Prokofiev manages to convey the idea that "the earth moved" more convincingly than in any other piece of music I've ever heard. I have grave doubts about the ability of most NYCB dancers to put this sort of ballet across dramatically. It's not that I think that American dancers are inherently incapable of acting, it's just that they often don't know how. Years ago I remember reading an interview with Simon Callow in which he was asked whether, as an actor, he found the acting abilities (or lack of them) of singers frustrating to deal with when staging operas. He said that in his experience singers were not hostile to the idea of acting, but most of them had simply never been trained to do it. I don't think it's a coincidence that ABT, whose bread and butter is full-length narrative ballets, has a roster of principals made up predominantly of foreigners. When watching American dancers perform narrative ballets, particularly of the fairy-tale variety, I often get the feeling that they're vaguely embarrassed to be portraying a fairy queen, pirate or bluebird. Europeans and South Americans don't seem to have the same sort of hang-ups. I think it's unreasonable to ask dancers who are usually asked to make the projection of their personalities secondary to the projection of choreography and who are discouraged from "emoting" in plotless ballets to suddenly produce fully realized, flesh-and-blood characters on stage. I have even greater doubts about Martins' ability to choreograph a piece like this. I wouldn't go so far as to say that his production of "Swan Lake" is the worst I've ever seen (I'd give that booby prize to James Kudelka's production for the National Ballet of Canada), but I tried watching it again just the other day and didn't make it past the second act. Sure, there was lots of dancing--too much, I'd say--but there was absolutely no dramatic focus. And what could possibly be gained by presenting a new "Romeo & Juliet" in the same season ABT will be performing its production? I can only see NYCB's ballerinas suffering in comparison with the likes of Alessandra Ferri and Martins suffering in comparison with MacMillan (though personally I prefer the Cranko and Neumeier versions of R&J). I really don't see the point of NYCB transforming itself into a pale imitation of ABT.

I hope you wil share your impressions of the production with us, Azulynn. Those of us far from Paris have to live vicariously through posters like you.

Why?!!! Oh, the horror, the horror of it all...