Estelle

Thanks for the link, cygneblanc ! What do you think of the next season ? The "Major Choreographer's Season" name sounds a bit odd to me... Could you imagine a season called "A Minor Choreographer's Season" ? The POB web site doesn't seem to have been updated yet, but announces that some videos about the next season will be put online tomorrow. I'm looking forward to knowing the content of the "Roland Petit" program, and also which Balanchine work will be performed (the pairing with Brown and Bausch sounds a bit odd, to say the least. It reminds me of a program including "Liebeslieder Walzer", Brown's "Glacial Decoy" and two recent works by Kelemenis and Preljocaj: there seemed to be no logic at all in that program, and unfortunately "Liebeslieder Walzer" was received quite tepidly by much of the audience, who had come mostly to see modern dance works...)

Thanks, Nanarina ! Here's a link to the interview (in French): http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/scene/aurel...ile_848691.html and to the fashion photographs: http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/diapo-photo/...ent_848577.html

Two days ago, I watched on TV a "Ballets Russes" quadruple bill filmed at the Paris Opera, and my 2 1/2 years old daughter watched the beginning of it with me ("Pétrouchka" and "Le Spectre de la Rose") before nap time. Actually, I didn't even expect her to be interested in it (it was her first exposure to ballet), but she seemed to enjoy it quite a lot, complained that "it's not interesting" when at some moments the camera filmed the orchestra instead of the stage, and vigorously complained when my husband took her to bed for her nap (well, anyway I wouldn't have shown her "L'Après-midi d'un faune"...) Of course, she's much too young to attend any ballet performance (or probably any performance of any kind, except things aimed especially at very young children), and while I enjoyed quite a lot her comments (she thought that Pétrouchka was sad because "he was not with his mommy and daddy", liked the Moor because "oh look at him, he's a clown, he has funny blue clothes", and enjoyed very much the bear and the other animals in the crowd scenes of "Pétrouchka", but hoped in vain that maybe there would be also a penguin... ) but it made me look forward to bringing her to the ballet someday. So do you have some anecdotes about your own first time to the ballet as a little child (I have no such personal experience, having seen my first ballet performance at 17), or about those of your children, relatives, friends, etc. ? Which ballets are best suited for such a experience in your opinion ? And which are definitely not ? I do remember an example of a program definitely unsuited for children: one of the first POB performances I attended, in the mid 1990s, included Antony Tudor's "Lilac Garden", Paul Taylor's "Speaking in Tongues" and Kenneth MacMillan's "The song of the earth". Close to me and my dad, there was a family with two children who were probably about 7-9, and who spent the whole evening asking questions ("what does this mean ?" "who is this ?") and complaining ("I don't understand", "I'm bored", "I want to leave"...) I guess that unfortunately, the parents didn't care to get some information about the content of the program before buying tickets (even for adults, it wouldn't be the easiest program)...

Thanks for the link, cygneblanc ! Did you see some performances of that program at the Paris Opera this season ? I had posted a link about that TV broadcast there: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=30895

Thanks ! I guess it probably isn't exactly the same program: the youtube videos include Russian subtitles, so I guess it was shown on a Russian TV channel before it was shown in France (it was not shown in France before Jan 1 on TV, as far as I know). Finally, my marvellous husband had enabled me to see it online on Jan 1 (not on TV and with a bad quality image, but it was better than nothing), and fortunately a friend of mine could record it for me.

This program will be shown today (Jan 1) on the French TV, on France 3 at 1:50 PM (French time, so it's in 20 minutes). It will also be shown this night at 3:25 AM (but often the timetables during the nights are not very exact). I'm definitely not lucky about it: I have a TV problem at home and won't be able to see it :(

Well, that was not a lucky evening for me. It took me one hour to get there by bus and metro, but it was sold out. The lady just before me managed to get a last minute ticket, and so did the gentleman just after me (in no shortage of chutzpah ). So I only could get back home under the rain, feeling jealous of the lucky people who were able to see José Martinez, Nicolas Le Riche and others... At least it shows that there is indeed an audience for such a program (even though the tickets were quite expensive: 22 euros).

Just in case it hasn't been posted yet: a complete video of John Neumeier's "La dame aux camélias" (The lady of the camellias) is available freely on the web site of the French public channel France 3: http://programmes.france3.fr/musique-class...me-aux-camelias The video is a bit small... but weel, it's better than nothing ! The main roles are performed by Agnès Letestu and Stéphane Bullion.

http://www.operadeparis.fr/cns11/live/onp/...ang=fr#news1561 The Dec 22 performance of the "Ballets Russes" quadruple bill (Massine's "Le Tricorne", Fokine's "Petrouchka" and "Le spectre de la Rose" and Nijinsky's "Afternoon of a faun") will be shown live in about 90 French cinemas (starting at 7:30 PM), and also in a few cinemas in Belgium and Switzerland. I hope to be able to see it in Lyon (but have no idea whether there still are some available seats...) That program will also be shown later on the French public TV channel France 3 on Jan 1st. Edited to add: it seems that it will also be shown in some UK cinemas, e.g. http://magazine.brighton.co.uk/Theatre-&am...pera/30_66_3039 but I haven't found a complete list yet.

Err, Bart, you mistyped "Béjart" instead of "Petit". I haven't seen that ballet, but it seems to me that it would be quite difficult to show the complexity of Proust characters in a ballet...

Thanks for your review, Jane ! Is this new production meant to replace the traditional one, or will both coexist in the repertory ?

Thanks for the results, Leigh ! I haven't seen Josua Hoffalt in a long while, but have good memories of his performances. (Err, didn't he post in the forum many years ago, when a he was a POB student ?) It seems that almost all the men who were promoted this year are fairly young. If I remember correctly, Mickael Lafon was featured in a documentary about the POB school about ten years ago... cygneblanc, silvermash, what do you think of those promotions ? Do you think the new premiers danseurs could be considered as potential étoiles ? They are quite younger than the present premiers danseurs (who are approximately: 29 (Bullion and Carbone), 32 (Paquette), 34 (Thibault), 37 (Duquenne), and 38 (Phavorin and Bridard)).

Nice to meet another Fforde fan Now I'm going to start soon "The big over easy" (by Fforde too) in the "nursery crimes" series. I'm reading it in English (it hasn't been translated into French yet), but am a bit afraid of missing many of the puns and references...

Thanks for your comments, cygneblanc (and good luck for your work !) Are there some male dancers whom you'd like to see promoted ?

cygneblanc, will you attend the men's competition today ? I'm looking forward to your reaction (and also to your comments about the women's competition). silvermash: indeed, the fact that she didn't study at the POB school might cause some of the criticism (but that's a whole different matter than citizenship... and for example, there are some étoiles like Emilie Cozette or Jérémie Bélingard who are French and former POB students and whose promotion was much criticized...) One thing which makes me feel really sad is the fact that sujet Fanny Fiat left the company this year. I don't even know if she will continue dancing... I hadn't seen her that often, but had always loved her performances. Unfortunately, she didn't seem very appreciated by the company's direction.

Première danseuse Eleonora Abbagnato (Italian) was promoted to première danseuse very quickly (in 2001, aged 23, in a period when there were far fewer available positions of première danseuse than now), and at some time she was expected to be promoted to étoile, but since then it seems that the POB direction is less interested in her, and I have no idea if she will be promoted to étoile someday (she's 31, which used to be considered a bit "old" to be promoted to étoile, but with the recent "late" promotions of Delphine Moussin at 36 and Isabelle Ciaravola at 37, who knows...) She took a one-year leave one season ago. I don't think that the fans reactions is related to the fact that she is a foreigner. There have been indeed several foreign principals: at least José Martinez (Spanish, promoted in 1997), Peter Van Dijk (German, promoted in 1955), Marjorie Tallchief (American, promoted in 1955)... I think that Serge Peretti was Italian (he was born in Venice), but maybe he had both citizenships. The criticisms I've read were about her dancing, not her citizenship. cinnamonswirl: besides Abbagnato (Italian), Carbone (Italian), Martinez (Spanish), and Pagliero, there also is Simon Valastro (Italian, sujet), Miho Fujii (Japanese, quadrille), Sophie Parcen (Hungarian, quadrille) and Francesco Vantaggio (Italian, quadrille). However, since they have been living in France for quite a lot of time, maybe some of them now have both citizenships, or have switched to French citizenship, I don't know... And until recently, there was Kim Young Geol (Korean, sujet), and but I think he left the company recently.

If I remember correctly, this year the competition for men won't be on the same day (it will take place tomorrow).

Thanks, cygneblanc ! Did you attend the competition ? I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

That's getting quite off-topic, but for those who are interested, I've found a link with a lot of explanation about the pension system at the Paris Opera, which was reformed in 2008: http://www.coach-retraite.com/retraite-ope...-paris,d90.html It's interesting to notice that the system is said to have started in 1698 So, for the dancers: -the minimal age to get a pension is 40 (and for example 50 for the singers) -the maximal age to retire is 42, but with the authorization of the direction, the dancers can remain active until July 31st after their 42nd birthday -the maximum value of the pension depends of the average salary of the last 3 years in the company -to get the maximum value of the pension (75% of the average salary above), the dancer must have worked at least 150 trimesters, so 37,5 years (it will gradually be increased to 40 years in 2012). Of course, it is totally impossible for a dancer to have worked for such a long time, so they never get the maximum pension... Without the decote system, the value of the pension would be proportional to the number of years of work. For example, in 2012, a dancer who would have worked for 20 years (half of the "compulsory" 20 years) would get 37,5% of the average salary of his/her last 3 years with the company. -it is possible to get another job and still receive a pension, with some limitations -there is a "decote" system starting in 2010, but it will evolve gradually until 2024. I wonder if it means that more dancers will choose to retire before 2010 (there was a similar phenomenon for other jobs: that system was meant to force people to retire at a later age, but in fact an unexpected consequence was that at first, more people retired earlier just before the reform was applied...) If I understand correctly, in the case of the dancers, a percentage (up to 1,25% in 2019) will be deduced for each missing trimester between the retirement age and the age of 45 (but I don't So, for a dancer retiring at 42 after 2019: 12 trimesters will be missing, so it means that the theoretical value of the pension computed above will be reduced of 15%. Actually, the system sounds a bit odd for the dancers, as none of them could stay until 45 anyway... I don't know whether it means that their pensions will be significantly lower than what they used to get before the reform. But well, anyway, I guess that all of them plan to find another job at 40 or 42 after leaving the company...

As far as I know, in France the legal age is 60, not 65. But it is true that one can start to receive a pension at 60 (however, before the latest reforms of the pension system, the pension was more or less proportional to the number of years of work, while now, there is a "decote" system such that if you haven't worked enough years- about 41 years now-, the value of the pension will be reduced quite a lot, unless you retire after a given age, which generally is 65 for most jobs...) The pension system for the POB is very special, and I don't know how it works, for example, for the people who leave the company before turning 40... Also, the dancers can leave at 40, but the value of their pension will of course be lower than what they would get if they left at 42. I found the following page about the pension system at the POB: http://www.info-retraite.fr/?id=517 If I understand correctly, now the people working at the Paris Opera need to have worked for 40 years to get a full pension (75% of the last salary), and there will be a "decote" system from 2010. But there is no explanation of the way it will work for the dancers, who have much shorter careers (and a much lower retirement age, as they can't leave after 42) that the other categories of Paris Opera workers (singers, musicians...) If it works similarly to other jobs, I guess it means that any dancer retiring before 42 will get a much lower pension (because of the "decote" system) than those retiring at 42. That discussion is very interesting for me, but a bit frustrating too: there was a cinema in my town showing that film, but I haven't manage to see it so far because of schedule problems, and I'm not sure at all that it will be shown next week... :-(

It's interesting that as a rule stepmothers have a much harder time and are given a lot more grief from their stepchildren than stepfathers, and such friction has contributed to the demise of a surprising number of second marriages. So without knowing the facts, the stats suggest Angela might well have a point. Gheorghiu certainly sounds as if she's capable of being a problem stepmother, though. Actually, if I understand correctly (my Italian is not good at all), here is what is said about children in the interview: "Ha pesato il fatto di non avere avuto figli? «L’avevamo deciso dall’inizio. In fondo avevamo già due figlie. Mia sorella morì nel ’96 e sua figlia, Johan­na, è cresciuta con me da quando ave­va 1 anno. L’ho adottata: da sola. Ro­berto è sempre stato contrario al­l’adozione. Era vedovo. Ha una figlia, Ornella, che ho sempre considerato mia figlia, dopo dieci anni ha saputo che non ero sua madre naturale. Mai dato un regalo o una carezza in più a Johanna. Da qualche tempo Ornella non mi chiama più mamma, sono sta­ti i parenti di Roberto...È stato un grande dolore»." Approximate translation: [From the journalist]: "Was the fact that you didn't have children together among the causes for the separation ? <<We had decided that together, from the beginning. In fact, we already had two daughters. My sister died in 1996 and her daughter, Johanna, has been raised by me since she was 1 year old. I have adopted her: I did that alone. Robert has always been against adoption . He was a widower. He had a daughter, Ornella, whom I have always considered as my daughter, after ten years [or is it: when she turned 10 ?] she knew that I wasn't her birth mother. I've never given more gifts or hugs to Johanna that to her. Some time ago, Ornella stopped calling me "Mamma", it is because of Roberto's relatives [i'm not sure of that part]... It has been very painful for me>>.

Next week, Mikhail Baryschnikov and Ana Laguna (modern dancer and wife of the Swedish chorographer Mats Ek) will perform some duos and solos at the Lyon Oper, with works by Ratmansky, Millepied and Ek. There was a short article in "Le Monde" introducing the performances, by Jean-Jack Queyranne, presidenf of the Conseil Régional: http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2009...#ens_id=1264236 It's not so common to see politicians paying attention to dance (well, I guess he wrote about it also because the Lyon Opera probably gets subsidies from the Region...) I've read that they have performed that program previously in the US. Did some people here see those performances ? I'm looking forward to attending it on Nov 13.

In the following discussion (by the way, what a wealth of information in our archives ;-) ), Dale wrote that: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...st&p=108370 and Manhattnik added:

You're right, Carbro. In the following discussion dating back from 2002 http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...ost&p=53982 Leigh posted that: Unfortunately, the link to the article doesn't work anymore.

"The Leopard" (translated in French as "Le guépard") is one of my mother's favorite books. I read it when I was a teen, but probably should read it again, as I would probably understand it differently now... Now I'm reading Julian Barnes' "Arthur and George", a novel about Arthur Conan Doyle and George Edalji (Edalji was a young lawyer of Indian descent whom Doyle defended as he was wrongly convicted), which I find quite enjoyable. Recently, I enjoyed a lot "First among sequels", the fifth and latest book of the "Thursday Next" novels. As the fourth previous books, it is a strange and funny mixture of sci fi, humor, detective story, references to English literature... The main character, Thursday Next, lives in a parallel universe in which England is a Republic, Wales is an independent Socialist country, Russia still has a czar, planes don't exist but cloning is a cheap commodity (and people can have cloned dodos as pets). Thursday Next works as a Literary detective (in that world, literature is far more popular as in ours), and there are a lot of travels inside the Book world, which has a "jurisfiction" system (one of my favorite moments of the third book was the moment when Miss Havisham from Dickens' "Great expectations" does an anger management session for the characters of "Wuthering Heights"). I've been too lazy to try to read this one in English and so have only read the French translation, but I suspect the translation robbed it of some of its charm, and hope to read it in English someday (the problem is that reading such a book in English takes me far more time than in French... And also there are quite a lot of puns that I don't get, for example it took me ages to realize there was a pun in the name "Yorrick Kaine" ! ) I would heartily recommend the series to any lover of 19th century English literature (there are quite a lot of references to Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, the Brontë family...) GWTW, best wishes for your pregnancy.