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I agree with so many posters that didn't enjoy the Rojo performance. For me the balance used her, she didn't use the balance. I'm a person who loves to see the balances and isn't happy unless the arms go up to fifth. That said, If you can balance like Rojo you should have options. She could have been super musical and gracious, but she chose to just balance. It would have been different if she had been able to smile and nod to the poor prince who had his hand out (that is asking for a bit much but you know what I mean). Much is lost if you don't in some way acknowledge each prince. I'm a big fan of technique but the reason to have it is to be able to have more choices. Rojo didn't use it that way. This was more of a balancing act for its own sake.

I too was curious. One of the girls was named Angelic (or something like that) but all 3 girls in front at the barre from stage left to right were definitely promising. I don't think the name of the far stage left girl was mentioned. Were they given assigned places at the barre before hand? Aside from Silas and Joe there was another blond young man that I noticed for his nice jump. It would be interesting to know how many from that class were NYCB bound, how many were other company bound, and how many were nice dancers who would do something else.

Synopsis of what I saw. Film - Wonderful despite some brief technical difficulties - a very appreciative audience. Lunch in the Atruim, across the street 2 PM Matinee - Walpurgisnacht - Loved Maria Kowroski. There is a wit and style to her performances that I love. I am starting to get Pereira. I thought she did her variations well and (importantly for me) when she did the attitude step that went bad the first time, worse the second time, she fixed and did best the third time. That ability to keep one's head, not panic and just fix during performance is something I admire (Cynthia Gregory was a great example of this). Pazcoguin and Dronovoa were very enjoyable (I particularly enjoy Pazcoguin) Duo Concertant - Thought Hyltin & Fairchild superb. As an aside in the curtain speeches I was moved by Fairchild's statement that when he stands by the piano and listens, he thinks of all those who stood there before him. 4 T's - Have to admit that seeing Bart Cook in the film made it hard to buy Marcovici's performance. Overall the company looked good. I loved Theresa Reichlen in the Forth Variation - so strong and clean. Cortege - Just fun. I think Mearns was not totally comfortable with the replacement of Stafford by Askegard, she fudged a little in the partnering. Never the less she is always fun to watch, and gave a fine performance. Ana Sophia Scheller was delightful in her variation. Krohn looked great, Suozzi seemed to be trying so hard to cover space that he got unmusical. Corps member Lauren King continues to look great in everything, I hope a promotion is in the works. Didn't attend the panel discussion (hope to hear a report from someone else). We just had to take a walk and get some air. On stage class - totally enjoyable. A few dancers stood out. I wish I know more of their names, so that I can follow them. One more thing that I thought was lovely. At the first intermission of the matinee (and probably the evening) one could pick up a shot of vodka to toast George. What a great thing to be able to walk around seeing different groups and couples toasting to George. My husband & I also did so. A great event - Congrats for NYCB and Peter Martins for doing it.

My husband and I are going to the film at 10:30, the matinee & the class taught by Peter Martins. Should be fun. All the talk about restaurants had made me realize that we have to come up with a food plan! Hopefully all restaurants in the Lincoln Center area will benefit.

Apart from our different reactions to Black Swan as a horror movie (and I would say I appreciated it more than I liked it), I don't think we're that far apart otherwise. I would agree with you that the movie was sold under somewhat false pretenses. It's not a movie about ballet, and could have taken place in any high-stakes environment. And Portman's training was also oversold for publicity purposes (although I admire her for making the attempt.) Agreed, and thank you miliosr for the discussion. Your statements made me examine my own ideas and opinions.

I understand and respect where you're coming from but, again, I'm coming at it from a horror/psychological thriller direction. So, from that direction, the actual quality of Portman's dancing almost disappears since it is her increasingly deranged state which captures interest. As for the layperson's ability to judge, I wonder if everyone in the audience even picked up on the fact that Natalie Portman had a dance double in Sarah Lane. I was looking for Lane but, if you weren't, the rapid crosscutting (and the promotional hype) could fool you. Which, at the end of the day, gets us back to the proposition that Black Swan is no more about dance than Dario Argento's Suspiria is about life at a ballet academy -- unless your ballet academy is run by a coven of witches. I understand what you are saying, but for me the really big disappointment was that the movie didn't work for me from a horror/psycho thriller direction. Having loved Pi, Requiem for a Dream and Fountain, I felt that this screenplay was really weak, and the ending very unsatisfying. My complaint about the hype is the hype of training and weight loss - the sacrifices made by the actresses, as if that made the movie better. It has been put out there a lot, that the dance double hadn't been used much because Portman could do it herself. The hype of the movie itself conflates the ballet aspect of the movie with the horror/phycho drama of it. If not why not the continual talk about the weight loss/training.

I just want to say that the adequacy of ballet technique was probably lost on the average layperson, because Portman never dances with other dancers. In class we had shots of her and other people, but that's it. Even the average layperson would have been able to pick you the non-dancer from a group of dancers. This was a wise decision on the part of the director, but everyone should just admit that the training/starving thing didn't make her look like a dancer. Also, during the "black swan" performance we had no idea if it was good or bad until the audience went wild. The performance itself would give us that info. This isn't much of a comment about the movie (which I didn't like), as much as about the layperson's experience in judging dance. For what it's worth my favorite pick for best actress was/is jennifer lawrence in Winter's Bone

I saw Kajiya in Ballo and thought the same thing.

Wasn't Murphy supposed to do Theme with Halberg on the 1st night? It's now Y. Kajiya. Maybe I'm wrong.

I saw it and it was pretty funny. I also heard the opinion expressed that this movie is perfect for a cult following & midnight showings in which people come in costumes and speak the lines - I can see that. When I thought about my dislike of the movie I realized that I would have enjoyed it more if I thought of it more as real camp. My prediction is that Portman will win an Oscar because of all the publicity around her training and weight loss!

Love the Bournanville flavor - speed, direction changes - in the variations. Some of that seems to have been lost along the way.

I haven't seen this posted yet - sorry if I'm wrong. NYCB is having a Jan. 22 celebration of Balanchine's birth. Some events are free others not. I've gotten tickets to the 10:30 showing of the Balanchine documentary (free but you need a ticket), a matinee performance (tickets are on sale) and an onstage class of SAB students taught by Peter Martins (free but you need a ticket). I didn't purchase tickets to the evening performance. http://www.nycballet.com/ticketing/2011/balanchine.html If you are interested. Moderators feel free to totally remove if this is old news.

Can't answer your question directly, but the stage hands union has always been very strong (looking into the history is an interesting exercise). Wages, overtime and who does what is very prescribed. I tend to be a pro union person - but there are some unions that have gotten deals that are IMO too generous. Not the fault of the unions - someone was at the other side of the bargaining table. I digress - but your question is a good one.

I agree that the rep is disappointing, but what a great thing. World class dancers with live music visiting those smaller venues is such a good move. The live music aspect is so wonderful. Good for Peter Martins. I think he has really grown in his job (boy that sounded pretentious). I just thing that this is a good move and that the company looks much, much better now than it has in a while.

I for one am disappointed that Sarah Lane isn't featured more. ABT casting is all over the place in some respects. I can't see any sense to it in terms of development of the women. Copeland gets something, Boylsten (forgive sp) gets something. Lane is used for Theme (because she can do it?} I guess I just don't understand casting at ABT. NYCB is a easier to figure out!!

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned. Brian Lehrer (the wonderful wnyc radio host) had a fun segment asking dancers to call in with opinions on Black Swan. It was aired on Jan. 4. Here's the link. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2011/jan/04/dancers-black-swan/ Love to know what you all think

I did love it, and have noted all of your suggestions. I'm entering a new world - thank you for your help

Thank you Helene, what a great idea. I just signed up to receive emails about the broadcasts.

My husband and I saw it last week and LOVED IT. True confession - I had never been to the opera before. I'm a big ballet fan and go to many music concerts each year; I've heard recordings of opera singers and attended some vocal concerts but I never attended an opera. I have been talking about going to the opera for years without actually doing it. My 20 something son (a musician) gave me and my husband tickets to Pelleas & Melisande at the Met for Christmas. I am in danger of becoming a big opera fan. Seriously if any of you BTers have recommendations of operas to see - either the Met or NYC Opera please fire away. I'm a newbie with a wide range of musical tastes. I know this is a ballet board, so if there is another site I should be going to please let me know. Pelleas & Melisande really whet my appetite.

Once, a journalist asked Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones if the Stones were truly the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world. He replied simply that, "On any given Saturday night, any band is the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world." Great Keith Richards quote. I love Mearns in so many roles. Kudo's to Martins for giving her opportunities. A problem that I have with ABT is that so many artists languish because of lack of opportunity. Of course some of this is determined by rep and the need to sell tickets. IMO I don't think we have to declare anyone the "great American ballerina of our era." I guess I'm just not comfortable with that idea. Bouder is untouchable in some roles. Her technique will push female dancers in much the way Merrill Ashley did in her day. Tiler Peck is a great artist. At ABT Murphy has transformed her self from super turner to artist. What would Murphy be if she had to opportunity to develop in the NYCB rep? Another story. Yes, Mearns has a more unconventional body and to some extent approach (as Farrell and before her Kent had) but to give her the "crown" is too simplistic. Alastair Macaulay is very prone to these pronouncements, I wish he would refrain. Was the "Great American Ballerina" of a past generation Farrell? or was it Kirkland or Gregory or did you make a point to go see McBride in some roles even if you would not have given her the crown?

I've read many reviews of the movie (I didn't like the movie), but I started to think about the ballet. To my way of thinking the white swan is the passionate one. She falls in love with the prince and yes desires "pure love" but is the one who falls in love. The Black Swan is the calculating one who is out to seduce and trick the prince. We don't have any knowledge of her internal life, other than she is carrying out Rothbart's will. For my money (which was wasted on this movie ticket) we would have had a much more interesting movie if the Portman character was a loving creature (not an ambitious, frigid, being) who turned into a manipulative cold hearted creature.

Forgive me if this has already been posted, powers that be feel free to remove. NYCB is having a Sat. with George event on Jan 22. Tickets are required for all events, but some are free. You can order online http://www.nycballet.com/ticketing/2011/balanchine.html I've already gotten tickets for a couple of free events and paid for tickets to the 2 PM show.

Got a Nook as a gift. I had my doubts at first, but am loving it. My husband preloaded the nook with 2 books that he knew that I wanted to read. Reading in this device is very easy on the eyes, because you can adjust background light and font as well as font size. My favorite feature is that you can borrow ebooks from the NYPL. You go to the very extensive ebooks selection on the nypl web site and using your library card, you can borrow books for 7, 14 or 21 days. They download to your Nook. Right now I am reading (on the nook) Louise Erdrich's book The Master Butcher's Singing Club. I love her writing.

Thank you all for your reviews. Please keep them coming, I won't be able to see a performance so I rely on you. It sounds like Murphy/Halberg were divine. A few questions if I may - What is being done to the Merlitons/Marzipan music? I may have missed something, but I don't think it's been mentioned. What makes Chinese (or tea) special, as a couple of you have mentioned it. Is there any sign of Misty Copeland? She had been cast in many things for a time, but not recently. Thank you all again.

I saw it too and agree