Estelle

I saw her in August 2000 during the Edinburgh festival. She danced in "Serenade" and "Dances at a gathering" (I'm not sure of the color, but I think it was mauve), I remember finding her very graceful, elegant and "perfumed", if this makes any sense.

I have seen that video (and appreciate it very much), but don't remember the plot well enough to summarize it without mistakes... Alexandra? BW, I do have some problems getting past the first page of that page too; it probably is because it requires a plugin which is not installed on all systems... Actually, "Napoli" was mentioned recently, in he "Giselle from Hell" thread, in a post by Alexandra (who is a Bournonville specialist): http://www.balletalert.com/~atom/forum/sho...15&pagenumber=5 There is a "Bournonville archive" which used to be on this site and now is on the site of Dance View: http://www.danceview.org/archives/bournonville.html It includes a long article by Alexandra "Bournonville in Hell" (published in 1998, and dealing with the way the Bournonville repertory has been performed by the Royal Danish Ballet since Bournonville's death in 1879) and some interviews of Danish dancers by Katharine Kanter.

It took me sometime to really notice Manuel Legris, at first I found him a bit too modest and not very impressive... and now he's my favorite dancer.

Actually, I have had the opportunity to talk with someone from San Francisco who was involved in the organization of such an exchange, and I wasn't aware before that it really required so much work from many people, and it took several years to be organized. So it's not something easy to do- but I think it's worth doing.

When thinking about it, I realize that sometimes making the distinction between technique and personality isn't so easy- especially as one's personality has quite an influence on the way one works and one displays one's technique... For example, I think the extremely clean and precise technique of Manuel Legris has some link with his gracious, modest stage personality- it's hard to know what I like most in all that!

When thinking about it, I realize that sometimes making the distinction between technique and personality isn't so easy- especially as one's personality has quite an influence on the way one works and one displays one's technique... For example, I think the extremely clean and precise technique of Manuel Legris has some link with his gracious, modest stage personality- it's hard to know what I like most in all that!

Drew, your post really is fascinating! I find that the historical/ social approach and psychological one can both be interesting, as long as they don't pretend to be the one and only interpretation of a work and are not too simplistic... And sometimes the psychological comments sound a bit too much like "regarder par le petit bout de la lorgnette" (argh, I'm getting too sleepy to be able to translate that). That thread reminded me of some debates about a writer I'm interested in, Georges Perec. Perec died in 1982, aged 46, and since then some of his works have become rather famous and there is an association dedicated to his memory, and a monthly seminar about his works, plus a lot of biographies, essays, etc. And much has been written about the influence of some elements of his biography on his works, and especially the tragic death of his parents when he was a little child (both were Jews from Poland, his father was killed as a soldier in 1940, his mother was sent to a death camp in 1942, when he was six). Indeed one of his novels includes an autobiographical part (and a reflection about memories), and there are some "hidden" biographical details in some works- for example the date of the deportation of his mother appears several times as a number in some works. That's interesting, but my problem is that there are some people who seem to spend their entire life looking for such things, and interpreting every detail of Perec's works by his biography. It becomes so reductive- and really Perec's works stand by their own, even when one doesn't know at all his biography. I wish he hadn't died so young, not only he would probably have written a lot of interesting things, but also there wouldn't have been so many narrow interpretation of his works...

Drew, your post really is fascinating! I find that the historical/ social approach and psychological one can both be interesting, as long as they don't pretend to be the one and only interpretation of a work and are not too simplistic... And sometimes the psychological comments sound a bit too much like "regarder par le petit bout de la lorgnette" (argh, I'm getting too sleepy to be able to translate that). That thread reminded me of some debates about a writer I'm interested in, Georges Perec. Perec died in 1982, aged 46, and since then some of his works have become rather famous and there is an association dedicated to his memory, and a monthly seminar about his works, plus a lot of biographies, essays, etc. And much has been written about the influence of some elements of his biography on his works, and especially the tragic death of his parents when he was a little child (both were Jews from Poland, his father was killed as a soldier in 1940, his mother was sent to a death camp in 1942, when he was six). Indeed one of his novels includes an autobiographical part (and a reflection about memories), and there are some "hidden" biographical details in some works- for example the date of the deportation of his mother appears several times as a number in some works. That's interesting, but my problem is that there are some people who seem to spend their entire life looking for such things, and interpreting every detail of Perec's works by his biography. It becomes so reductive- and really Perec's works stand by their own, even when one doesn't know at all his biography. I wish he hadn't died so young, not only he would probably have written a lot of interesting things, but also there wouldn't have been so many narrow interpretation of his works...

Would "Symphony in C" considered as a revision as "Palais de Cristal"?

I think that "Discovering ballet" is more explicit, especially for people whose primary language is not English: I didn't understand the meaning of the "101" in "Ballet 101" until it was explained to me, as there is no such numbering system in French schools/ universities...

I first saw "Petrouchka" in the POB video you mention (with Mongne, Loudières and Guizerix). I liked it, but was a bit disturbed by the music at first (I was not familiar at all with Stravinsky at all then). Then I saw a second video, filmed in the 1970s at the POB, with Nureyev, Pontois and Jude (and Peretti as the charlatan)- and, silly me, let my parents convince me that since I already had a copy of "Petrouchka", they could record something else over once I had seen it-,now the probability to see it again on the French TV is about zero, and I feel like beating myself when I think about it! I saw it live only twice, both times with the POB: once in 1997, with Belarbi, Muret and Bridard, and once in 2001, with Hilaire, Maurin and Guizerix. When I saw in 1997, it was a re-discovery for me, and I really was charmed. I can't really explain why- except that I really, really love the Benois designs (indeed it's hard to find designs as great as those of the Ballets Russes era), the liveliness of it all, the myriad of little details which make that there are new things to notice each time... I was a bit less enthusiastic with the second performance, perhaps because I liked Hilaire less than Belarbi (his acting looked a bit excessive to me) and on the whole the atmosphere was less convincing- but it still was my favorite work of the evening. And I hope to be able to see it next October at the Chatelet by the Kirov. About Sleeping Beauty: it's a bit funny to think that the Bluebird became the Charlatan!

Maybe it has changed very recently, but as far as I know, Bart still is ballet master- something like "ma^itre de ballet associé à la direction de la danse". However, he seems to be more and more absent to stage his own choreographies elsewhere (especially in Berlin). There are several other ballet masters or repetiteurs, I don't have the list here but it includes Fabrice Bourgeois (former sujet, husband of Fanny Gaida), Clotilde Vayer (former premiere danseuse). I don't remember if Aleth Francillon and Viviane Descoutures are still there. Also, Jean Guizerix (former principal) was ballet master for a while, but left. Alexandra, I think that the man you are thinking about is Eugene Poliakov (the present version of "Giselle" was staged by Bart and Poliakov). I haven't seen that "Coppélia", and what I've read about it doesn't make me feel like seeing it... I hope that the "traditional" version hasn't been abandoned completeley except for the POB school (which danced it last season). I agree about the qualities of Myriam Ould-Braham and Fanny Fiat. Ould-Braham was promoted as coryphee at the last competition, but the fact that Fiat was not even ranked among the six first was a surprise to me. A few words in defence of Lionel Delanoe (I can't do the umlaut with that keyboard): a few seasons ago, he suffered from a very serious back injury during a performance. From what I've read, he couldn't even walk at first, and it was thought for a while that his career would have to stop (he's about 35 now). It is good to see that he has recovered, but he's more fragile, and somehow his dance isn't really what it used to be. Well, perhaps casting him in that role was a bad decision from the direction, but he deserves some indulgence (and, as Romoli, he has made a lot for the company, saving a lot of performances...)

That article is interesting. The fact that dancing works with very different styles increases the risk of injuries is something that I've often heard (and for example Claude Bessy often complains about it). But I hadn't realized before that having more invited choreographers (instead of resident choreographers) could have an influence too, as they are more likely to choose always the same soloists... Also, I think that the tendancy to have shorter and shorter careers might have an influence (and might create a vicious circle): the dancers know that they will have to stop early, and so it's more difficult for them to say "no" to an offer to dance yet another ballet... even though it might jeopardize their careers.

Well, in France the improvements in train systems make it easier for people outside Paris to come and see POB performances, that's a kind of progress More seriously, there isn't that much to be enthusiastic about, but seeing the Ballet de Toulouse last sunday was great. I wished they had more money and could program longer seasons with a larger repertory, but at least it shows that in eight years, a good director with serious artistic choices can build a company which is now one of the best ones in France (well, there are not to many competitors actually ) from basically nothing. Also, reading about the upcoming Massine- Lifar program next season by the Ballet de Bordeaux was good: that's a part of the repertory which is so neglected that it's great to see that Charles Jude, at least, is interested in it. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Kirov next fall (and hoping that more foreign companies will come to Paris). "Hurlevent" wasn't flawless, but the POB's home choreographers need encouragement (and also Jean-Guillaume Bart's works look promising). "Don Quixote" will be filmed at the Paris Opera, I hope that it will be shown on a general TV (and not a cable one, as not many people have cable) and who knows, perhaps it will bring ballet to new people, and convince some of them to attend live performances. The POB- SFB exchange last season was very interesting, I wish there were more company involved in such exchanges (each one performing in the other's home theater), it would enable the audience to have a more diverse choice, and be less expensive than usual touring. Sorry to be Paris-centered...

Actually I've seen more "stars" castings in mixed bills than in full-length works, because often in full-length works there are two etoiles in the main roles and they never dance the others. Perhaps a consequence of having so few female principals now (and not so many male principals) is that many roles are danced by the premieres danseuses, and they actually perform more than the etoiles, doing several roles in alternance (perhaps not very good for the coaching). I've never seen "Etudes": it was last performed around 1994 or 1995, and that was before I could attend POB performances regularly. Now, as Lifar's works, I wait for it to come back on stage every year, and it just doesn't happen. The photographs I've seen the most feature three etoiles (two males and one female), but perhaps that's just a particular part of the ballet. ("Suite en blanc" has got nice casts, too: the only performance I saw featured, in 1996, at least Jude, Platel, Guérin, Maurin, Le Riche, Letestu and Gaida. Ah, to be able to travel back into time...)

I agree that Lynette's article is very well written and interesting. The situation in London sounds quite different from that in Paris: looking at the figures for the last two POB seasons, there were quite a lot of "modern" mixed bill that sold well, for example this season Ek's Giselle was 96% full (for 9 performances), last season the Forsythe and Kylian mixed bills were 100% full... As somebody pointed out, at the Paris Opera, the prices sometimes are lower for modern works, but not always: the prices for the Kylian mixed bill were nearly the same as the highest prices (which apply for "the classics"), with the top seats at 54 euros instead of 60. However, another factor is that the *number* of performances generally is lower than for classical works. Probably there is a larger modern dance audience in France (especially in Paris)... For example, companies like those of Pina Bausch or Merce Cunningham regularly perform in sold out theaters. Also the POB prices are quite lower, in general, than those at the ROH, which might have an influence too.

Well, actually I hadn't planned to see "Don Quichotte" at first, as I don't really care for Minkus and found the only "Don Q" I saw (by another company, years ago) quite boring, and also the tickets for such "classics" generally are a bit expensive and hard to get (they sell out quickly)... But seeing the casts, I might try to attend it. Seeing Dupont, Legris, Moussin, Bart, Gillot, Osta, Bélingard, Didière and Fiat and Cozette in the same evening (for example) can't be such a bad experience! Here's a link for the casts page: http://www.opera-de-paris.fr/0102/f_sp/distrib_376.html (But of course, there will probably be quite a lot of lastminute changes...) By the way, in April there will also be the POB school program, with Balanchine's "Western Symphony" and a version of "La Fille Mal Gardée", Claude Bessy herself will dance the role of Lise's mother on some performances (there are rumors that the other cast would be Carole Arbo- good to hear, as her farewell performance last season had been shamefully done, it seems that at least Ms Bessy recognizes her talent more than the direction...)

The casts for the upcoming performances of "Don Quixote" at the Paris Opera have been published, and it includes Diana Vishneva as a guest dancer in the role of Kitri. She will perform on May 18 and 20, partnered by José Martinez as Basilio. The other Kitris will be the principals Agnès Letestu (with Nicolas Le Riche), Aurélie Dupont (with Manuel Legris), Elisabeth Maurin (with Jérémie Bélingard), and the premières danseuses Clairemarie Osta (with Benjamin Pech), Marie-Agnès Gillot (with José Martinez) and Laetitia Pujol (with Manuel Legris). The role of the Queen of the Dryades will be danced by Gillot, Delphine Moussin, Emilie Cozette and Isabelle Ciaravola, that of Espada by Jean-Guillaume Bart, Karl Paquette, Lionel Delanoë, and Yann Saïz, that of Cupid by Pujol, Osta, Nolwenn Daniel, Fanny Fiat, Mélanie Hurel and Myriam Ould- Braham. Actually there is an awful lot of different casts for 15 performances, and some people will have to rehearse quite a lot to dance two or three different roles once or twice each... It is interesting to note that the première danseuse Nathalie Riqué, who has been absent for several seasons for health problems, is announced to dance the "street dancer" on April 28, May 2, 4 and 8 (alternating with Moussin, Averty, Gillot and Gernez).

I do find that season quite disappointing. A lot of the works which are programmed have been shown recently: "Jewels", "Paquita", "Manon", "Other Dances" and "The Cage" in 2000-2001, "Giselle", "Casanova", "Appartement" in 1999-2000, "Sylvia" and "Swan Lake" in 1999-1998, "Swan Lake", "Giselle", "Casanova, "L'Arlésienne" and "Manon" in 1997-98... And the NDT has already been invited in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. I'm glad to see that "Paquita" and "Jewels" are back, as it had been for me some of the highlights of the previous season. But I am quite sad to see that, once again, much of the POB's repertory is getting completely neglected: no Lifar ("Suite en blanc" was last danced in 1996, his other works in 1990, except a few ones in galas or by the POB school), no "Palais de Cristal", no "Etudes", no Tudor, no Massine... The only people intereste din maintaining the Lifar repertory are Claude Bessy, who staged some works for the POB school, and Charles Jude, who regularly programs some Lifar in Bordeaux. Also, being a Balanchine fan, it is disappointing to see that only "Jewels" will be danced- in the last few seasons, the diet has been somewhat meagre (only "Prodigal son" and "Stravinsky violin concerto" this season). And among the four world premieres, two at most (Béjart and Bart) can qualify as ballet. Some other news: a new law has been passed a few days ago, modifying the retirement system at the Paris Opera. So far, female dancers retired at 40 and male dancers at 45. Now the "normal" retirement age is 40 for everybody, but the direction may authorize some to retire at 42. Moreover, there will be a transitional period for the dancers who are now 36 or older: those who are 39 or older will still retire at 45, those between 36 and 39 will retire within 6 years. We'll have to wait to know the effects of that measure, but for me it is a bit worrying to have the feeling that the company wishes to get rid of its senior dancers... Some dancers like Didière or Queval, who are now in their late 30s or early 40s, are cast very often, as there are many roles for them (Aurora's father, Don Quixote, a lot of "evil guys"), and forcing them to retire earlier would create a void. Actually, for the present production of Coppélia by Patrice Bart, the former soloist (and now assistant ballet master) Fabrice Bourgeois, now about 47, is back on stage for one of the main roles! The POB site includes some press information. For example, there is some information about the budget (income about 150 million euros, which includes 90 million euros of subsidies, the subsidy per seat is about 105 euros) and the audience (average age: 44- I wonder how they calculate it? - total number of viewers in 2000-2001: 725000, filling rate 95%, for the ballet the lowest rates were 71% for Gallotta's "Nosferatu" in Bastille and 90% for "The Nutcracker" and the highest ones are 100% for 7 of the programs; for the present season, so far it ranges from 71% for the opera-ballet homage to Kochno to 99% for "Notre-Dame de Paris" and the december mixed bill).

The next POB season was announced on Monday during a press conference, and the POB web site has been updated today. There will be a total of 170 performances (126 in Garnier, 44 in Bastille- it probably includes the performances by guest companies?). The season will include: -a mixed bill with Roland Petit's "Passacaille" (created in 1994 for the POB), "L'Arlésienne" (1974), and Jerome Robbins' "The Cage" (1951) and "Other Dances" (1976) Garnier, Sept 25- Oct 5 -Rudolf Nureyev's "Swan Lake" Bastille, Sept 27- Oct 30 -Angelin Preljocaj's "Casanova" (1998) Garnier, Oct 17- 26 -John Neumeier's "Sylvia" (1997) Bastille, Dec 20- Jan 14 -a mixed bill with a world premiere by Edouard Lock, and Jiri Kylian's "Bella Figura" (1995) Garnier, Nov 15- 23 -"Paquita" (Pierre Lacotte after Petipa) Garnier, Dec 18- Feb 1 -POB school demonstrations Garnier, Jan 19, 25, 26 -"Jewels" (George Balanchine, 1967) Garnier, Feb 8- Mar 6 -a mixed bill with a world premiere by Saburo Teshigawara and Mats Ek's "Appartement" (2000) Garnier, Feb 26- Mar 14 -POB school program: "Péchés de jeunesse" (Jean-Guillaume Bart, 2000) "Jeu de cartes" (Janine Charrat, 1945) "Mouvements" (Claude Bessy, 1980) Garnier, April 5, 7, 11, 12 -a world premiere by Patrice Bart, "La petite danseuse de Degas", on some original music by Denis Levaillant Garnier, April 25- May 9 -a "Young dancers" program Garnier, May 21- 25 -a Maurice Béjart mixed bill, including a world premiere, "The Firebird" (1970), "Webern Opus V" (1976), "Le Mandarin merveilleux" (1992, new in the repertory) Bastille, May 13- June 19 -Kenneth MacMillan's "Manon" (1974) Garnier, June 12-27 -"Giselle" Garnier, July 4- 15 There will be two guest companies at the Palais Garnier: the Hamburg Ballet with John Neumeier's "Nijinsky" (Jan 8- 12) and the Nederlands Dans Theater with a Kylian- Inger- Lightfoot mixed bill (May 13-17). Some special events: -a "homage to Nureyev" on Jan 20, with the Défilé and a program to be announced (and very expensive seats...) -the premiere of "Paquita" will be a special AROP evening (not available for "normal" audience). The premiere of "La petite danseuse de Degas" will also be a special private evening. -the premiere of "Jewels" will include the Défilé and "Allegro Brillante" (with more expensive tickets)

Well, after the performance of "Rubies" that I saw yesterday in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, I heard a lady "that was so beautiful, but what a bizarre music"...

Thanks for the review, Kevin. I saw Legris in "Rubies" twice (once with Isabelle Guérin and once with Delphine Moussin), and I think that it's a role that suits him perfectly. Dale, thanks for the quotes about "Rubies". Have "Emeralds" and "Diamonds" ever been performed alone too, or is "Rubies" the only part which can be performed separately? Actually, I preferred it when I saw it inside the whole ballet, it provided a good contrast with the other two parts.

I've read that Glushak danced with NYCB too, in the corps de ballet. Also, from the program notes, she staged "Rubies" and "Who Cares" herself (nobody is listed as the stager of "The Prodigal Son"). The list of Balanchine works she staged in Toulouse includes at least the three above plus, as far as I know, "Scotch Symphony", "Allegro Brillante", "Raymonda variations", "Liebeslieder Walzer", "Stars and stripes" (I wonder how that one was received by the audience...), and "Tarantella pas de deux". So it's more the tutu ballets than the black-and-white leotard ones. She also staged some works from the ABT repertory like Tudor's "Lilac garden" and "Dark elegies", Agnès De Mille's "Rodéo" and Enrique Martinez's "Coppélia". It's a bit curious to have such a American-flavored repertory (they also danced Tanner's "Ancient airs and dances" and Martins' "Fearful symmetries") in Toulouse, but as there was no indigenous repertory to start with, it probably was a wise choice to start with what she knew well. The audience was positive, especially for "Who Cares".

On March 18, the Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse performed a Balanchine triple bill en matinee at the Théâtre Alexandre Dumas of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a western suburb of Paris (Dumas lived there for several years). The Ballet du Capitole has a long history, but in the early 1990s, it performed mostly in operas and operettas, plus a few ballet performances with POB guests in the soloist roles. In 1994, Nicolas Joel, the new director of the Théâtre du Capitole (which has its own orchestra and stages operas, concerts and ballets) chose Nanette Glushak (former NYCB and ABT dancer) to be the new director od the company, and she still is in charge (which is something quite rare in the French regional companies). Her husband, Michel Rahn, is the ballet master of the company (which has now 35 dancers). Glushak has added quite a lot of works to the repertory of the company, and especially a lot of Balanchine works. The mixed bill I saw included "Rubies", "The Prodigal Son" and "Who Cares?", which had respectively entered the company's repertory in 1996, 1994 and 1996. Having read many positive reviews of the company, I was looking forward to finally seeing one of their performances (they don't tour much in France), and was not disappointed by what I saw. The whole program was very well danced, with a corps de ballet in excellent shape and with much enthusiasm, and I especially admired the petite, joyful Magali Guerry in "Rubies" and "Who Cares", and two young male soloists, Breno Bittencourt as the Prodigal Son and Luca Masala (Sonja, I saw that he was listed on the Munich Ballet web site?) in "Who Cares?". "Rubies" was an opportunity for the female corps de ballet to shine, while the males were featured as the strange companions of the "Prodigal Son", and the ten couples in "Who Cares" all were praiseworthy. I regret that only the soloists were listed in the program notes, as it would have been interesting to know a bit more about the rest of the company. The only negative point of the evening was that there were some technical problems with the taped music, so that for the first part of the evening, the music came from the left part of the room only. The theater was full (with quite a lot of children) and the program was very successful, especially "Who Cares?" (and I heard a lot of enthusiastic comments when going out). I do hope that the Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse will perform more often in the region of Paris, and that Nanette Glushak will continue her good work with the company.

Jane, what about meeting when you next go to Paris? Calliope, yes, the POB performs at both theatres; more often at Garnier, but also at Bastille. Bastille is larger and has a larger stage, so in general they perform full-length classics there. There also are operas in both theatres. Having two ballets performed in the same period in the two theaters, as in May, has been more and more common in the last few seasons, but one problem is that it often leads to a high injury rate and to casting problems (especially when there are soloists alternating between two very different styles). I've never taken stalls seats at Garnier (a bit too expensive for me ) so can't offer much advice about it.