Melissa

Jeannie,

I totally agree with you about Elvis' great performance last night. He's seldom been more charismatic and I loved his footwork sequences.

Can't wait to see his Bruce Lee program Thursday night.

Excellent topic, Leigh. One role that springs to mind is Margot Fonteyn's Marguerite in 'Marguerite & Armand. Others are Natalia Makarova's Giselle, Alessandra Ferri's Juliet.

Yagudin was great last night. His jumps and jump combination were terrific and the footwork sequence is the best I've ever seen from a male skater -- very fast, inventive and intricate. And I liked the panache with which he scooped up some ice and threw it into the air. He's the guy to beat, and he looks pretty unbeatable unless something(s) go very wrong for him on Thursday night.

Goebel's quad was gorgeous -- now I know why he's called the Quad King. But he really needs to work on his artistry. I don't think he'll win a medal on technical prowess alone.

Feel free to throw tomatoes at me, but I didn't care about Todd Eldredge's performance. He's a good jumper and an excellent spinner, but from an artistic standpoint the guy is empty. He's got no personality on the ice.

Alexandra,

I miss Dick Button terribly. And, dirac, I loved your quote about Surya Bonaly. LOL! What's great about Dick is that he has very high standards and he calls a spade and spade. How I'd love to hear his opinion about last night's competition.

I'm still in shock about what happened last night in the pairs'competition. B&S had a beautiful program, but Anton's inability to complete the first side-by-side jump was a major error and Yelena had to fight for a couple of her landings.

S&P, on the other hand, skated flawlessly and their presentation was much more relaxed. And their program had the same degree of difficulty as the Russians.

When the ordinals came up putting S&P in second place, I was stunned. Will Olympic judges in pairs' competition *ever* allow a non-Russian team on the top of the podium? After what happened last night, I'm more doubtful than ever. Just before the medals ceremony I found myself in complete agreement with Sandra Bezic's statement that, 'I'm embarrased for our sport.'

There are several recordings of the complete 'Cinderella' score and the suites as well. I'd highy recommend the recording of the complete ballet that Andre Previn did with the London Symphony Orchestra in the late '70's. It's absolutely beautiful in every respect. Here's a link to Tower Records' website and their listing for the CD. Enjoy :-)!

http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1105160

Saturday's short program was wonderful. It was great to see B&S skate so beautifully. Salle/Pelletier were the highlight of the evening: technically strong and their tango program had great humor and panache. I really rooting for them to take the gold. The Chinese team who are currently in third place have come a long way artistically and, aside, from their out of sync side-by-side spins, their technique was excellent. I gasped at the height of their throw triple jump - WOW! All in all, it should be quite a horse race tonight.

In terms of NBC's coverage, I wish that they would let the tv audience know what music the athletes are skating to. ABC always includes the music's title, even it if is awful.

Siren,

Sandra Bezic will do commentary for the pairs competition.

I just learned that Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze will be in the pairs competition. They weren't at the European championship due to injury, so how did they qualify for the Olympics?

Jeannie,

"I happen to be one who can handle Button's comments with laughter so I'll miss him this time.]"

I feel the same way about Dick. His frankness is awfully funny, and I respect him for calling a spade a spade. The man just has very high standards.

I find it hard to choose whom to root for in the ladies' competition. Sasha Cohen is very talented technically and artistically, and interprets her music well. There's also an attack to her skating that's striking. But I love Michelle Kwan too. Her performances at Nationals were wonderful and she has a maturity that Sasha doesn't quite have yet. In any event, the ladies' competition will be quite a horse race, and it would be great if Michelle, Sasha and Sarah sweep the medals.

I don't know what's going on with the men's competition. But I won't be rooting for Todd Eldredge whose skating has never appealed to me. His skating has always been about technique at the expense of artistry. And I totally agree with the comment about his wretched taste in music.

In the pair's, I'm with Salle/Pelletier all the way. They have a complete package: technique, artistry and chemistry. I wish they would perform their exquisite Tristan & Isolde long program, but the Love Story program is wonderful too.

Leonid Massine's diabolical slipper maker in The Red Shoes is my favorite.

Undoubtedly this topic has already been discussed, but I thought I'd bring it up anyway. Who do you think was the best dancer from a technical/artistic standpoint and as a partner, Nureyev or Baryshnikov?

Cargill & Manhattanik,

It was Gomes I saw dance Theme with Herrera and he was wonderful -- elegant and stong as could be.

Last Summer I saw Theme at ABT starring Paloma Herrera. Technically she was excellent, but aside from that she's didn't do much for me. To me she's bland. It's such a hair raising ballet -- just one treacherous and marvelous thing after another. I was very impressed by the corps' performance.

The only other Theme I've seen was at NYCB's televised Balanchine Celebration about 10 years ago with Darci Kistler and Igor Zelensky. He was very good, but looked like the last place in the world he wanted to be was on that stage.

In the early '80s, I saw on the A&E network filmed performances of NYCB in La Valse and Serenade. Sara Leland starred as The Girl in White and the first ballerina in each ballet respectively, and Merrill Ashley was also in both casts. Does anyone know if these performances are available on video or can be seen at the Lincoln Center Library?

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if Glazunov, Balakiriev and Glinka were possible outcomes on the questionnaire?

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if Glazunov, Balakiriev and Glinka were possible outcomes on the questionnaire?

Here's mine, in no particular order:

1) Nutcracker

2) Jewels (Emeralds & Diamonds only)

3) Vienna Waltzes (Der Rosenkavalier only)

4) La Valse

5) Symphony in C

6) Theme & Variations

7) Liebeslieder Waltzes

8) Apollo

9) Serenade

10) Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

In the Ashton production, which is the only one I've seen, the dances are all variations.

There are numerous recordings of 'Cinderella' available. The entire score is gorgeous, so I urge you to buy the complete version. The recording by Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra is very beautiful and it's the one I own. Here's the link for the CD set on the Tower Records website. Enjoy :-).

http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1105160

I'm also not a big fan of ice dancing. But I fondly remember when Torvill & Dean broke new ground in the sport with their 'Bolero' program at the Sarajevo Olympics and their 2nd Olympic run at Lillehammer in '94. What a raw deal they got that time around.

The 'Four Seasons' is featured in Act I. In the Ashton staging of the ballet, it consists of solos for 4 ballerinas (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) and features some of the most beautiful music in Prokofiev's score. What else would you like to know?

I'm Sergei Rachmaninoff!

I'm Sergei Rachmaninoff!

Has anyone seen Sale/Pelletier in their long program set to 'Tristan & Isolde'? It's absolutely beautiful and it's too bad they're not doing it in Salt Lake City, even though the 'Love Story' program is wonderful. I hope they take the Gold.

I'm surprised nobody's yet mentioned the exquisite Swiss skater, Lucinda Ruhe (sp?). She turned professional a year or two ago because she didn't have the jumps of Slutskaya or Kwan. But her spinning ability is breathtaking. Her speed, artistry, inventiveness and ability to remain in one spot on the ice during her very difficult spins is incomparable. I urge all skating fans here to watch Lucinda Ruhe at the first opportunity.

The beautiful tribute to the late Tanaquil LeClerq sponsored by NYCB last Winter. What a wonderful evening it was. And, to top it off, I was sitting a mere 10 feet away from Jacques D'Amboise!!