pleiades

I would want to do Natalia Makarova's part from The River (assuming of course I could dance the way she did!), anything in Return to the Strange Land by Jiri Kylian, and Liebeslieder Waltz

A teacher of mine, formerly of the Royal Ballet, once chastised someone in class for noisy pointe shoes, saying that noisy shoes detracted and distracted and that it was the dancer's responsibility to ensure that didn't happen.

There was an ABT dancer - Gail Israel who had a great jump.

In the 1970 ABT picture program she can be seen hanging in the air in a gorgeous split - pictured in Le Combat.

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I have that program from a trip to ABT (I think on tour to the west coast) I use to look at the picture and, in my then adolescent and adoring way, want to "be" her.

so glad to know it's not just me. I do it constantly while driving, to, dare I say it, all kinds of music.

I think these suggestions are terrific. May I add one more. . . because elementary and middle school kids are surrounded by popular music and 'street' dancing, it might be really interesting to take some of the more popular hiphop movements and show how they can be treated balletically. I'm thinking for example, of a number of turns that are really turned in soutenous, and so on. . .

An aside to the pointe shoe suggestion. . . the kindergardners at my son's school do a 'shoe study' every year which includes collecting different kinds of unusual shoes. I gave them a pair of old pointe shoes which have inspired much conversation.

The grudge comes out of the woodwork. . .

Apologies in advance -- my response is not necessarily technical and I don't have the specific knowledge of dancers that those in NY or who follow the company do but. . .

First off, I picked the Wednesday program -- Who Cares, Agon, Symphony in C -- especially because it was a complete Balanchine bill. Choreographically I was thrilled. Thrilled may even be an understatement. It had been years (NYCB when I was a teen) since I had seen either NYCB or Balanchine's choreography live and I am awed by his brilliance.

Now the grudgy part. I thought that the corps looked ragged and that technically, with few exceptions, the company was not as strong as I would have liked or expected. In fact I bumped into a number of friends at intermission and to a person, the first words were always about the feet, and not in a complimentary way. It felt to me, especially during "Who Cares" that the company was performing perfunctorily -- there was no soul and no sense of "dancing." The sole exception was the petit allegro throughout the evening which was lightning quick and sharp.

Ashley Bouder was terrific however -- she inhabited her part and captivated the audience.

The men as a whole I thought were very weak, with the clear exception of Jock Soto and Benjamin Millepied. In fact Millepied was the only one who had the jumps and turns I expect from a male principal. I just wish he were not so physically slight.

Symphony in C I thought was the best performed piece of the night -- my companion for the evening thought it might have something to do with the fact that the music is more classical -- the kind of music that those who have studied ballet all their lives are trained to dance to and count. Perhaps there's something to that.

As one who's always loved children's literature, particularly fantasy, may I add. . .

Edward Eager (Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle, etc.) -- he was inspired by E. Nesbit

The Wizard of Oz and sequels (so obvious that we tend to forget them)

Ursula LeGuin's books, many for children

The Borrowers (Mary Norton)

The Gnomobile (Upton Sinclair, made into a movie years ago by Disney)

All four Mary Poppins books

The Rose and the Ring by Thackeray (that Thackeray!)

Plus there are all sorts of new series out, the names of which escape me, but which my almost 11year old son absolutely loves

Those are the ones which come to mind at the moment

Watch the little girls struggling to stay awake out for a big evening with mommy and/or daddy

Watch the teenagers trying to pretend they don't know their parents and stand in a perfect fifth

Just people watch -- it's one of my favorite places to do so.

Jane Krakowski dances, as does Cynthia Gibb (she was in the television series Fame, just turned 40)

Thanks for the explanation.

I am talking about Susan Jones. Thank you for clarifying that.

Also, as I read the program insert last night -- didn't save it, I wish I had -- I recall it said that the ballet had it's premiere with Nureyev and Fonteyn in 1965.

While watching the ABT Romeo and Juliet I felt as though Romeo got to do significantly more dancing than Juliet. Is this traditional, or was it possibly because this was originally choreographed for Nureyev and Fonteyn -- he being in his prime and she a good deal older?

Or is it another reason entirely?

Also, the role of the nurse is a non-dancing role -- how is that traditionally cast? Last night it looked to be played by a non-dancer, but one who was listedin the credits (although not as a member of the company)

Thanks

Amy, your mother is not alone -- years ago I took my mother to the Stuttgart and we picked the program based on her love for The Green Table. Recently she too lamented that none of the companies we have access to were performing the ballet.

I just found a review in of all places, Dance View Times, and the reviewer -- Mindy Aloff -- was as curious as I was.

I hope that link came throughReview

Yes, that's absolutely it. thank you so much. If I come up with anything on wherabouts I'll add it to this thread.

And Major Mel, better pas de chats over the rice paddys than chasses.

Last night one of our local PBS affiliates ran a short film from 1972 called, I want to say, A Life In Dance following the Degas and the Dance piece. I found it fascinating, but was especially curious about what happened to the dancers profiled in the film. It was a moment frozen in time and I wonder what's happened to them since then.

Unfortunately, I don't remember names, so it would take someone like oh say Major Mel, who clearly knows everything! to have seen the film and remember who was featured.

If anyone can help I'd be grateful.

Saw it last night and enjoyed it. Toni Bentley had a fairly critical commentary in yesterday's LA Times. I am curious about The Blue Snake though.

thank you very much.

I'm currently reading, and loving!, the Henning Kronstam biography and there are a number of intriguing points in it. One of them is that someone, oh God, now I don't remember who, taught the Royal Danish Ballet dancers to spot.

That got me thinking, what did they do before? Who invented spotting, and how did the notion of spotting spread and become incorporated into technique?

I too had heard that the scouring of the shire was left out of the film and regret it greatly. In the books it always seems to feel to me like a 'cooldown' -- a graceful way to transition out of th epic saga and into the end.

I'm looking forward to this movie both with excitement and sadness. I first read the books when I was 12, have reread them many, many times since. I think Peter Jackson et al have done a phenomenal job and while I'm truly excited about seeing the movie I'm also very sad, knowing that this wonderful experience will now come to an end. It's the same way I feel everytime I reach the end when I read the trilogy.

Dr. Scholl's Cinderella -- the shoe doesn't quite fit so there's an extra variation while they insert padding

Matchlight charcoal's Pillar of Fire

Aspartames Astarte (say that 10 times fast)

This thread is wonderful! Amy, thank you so much for raising the issue of epaulment -- it's something that I constantly wonder about in the context of body position and presentation.

One of the more frustrating things as an one who came to ballet as an adult is that we don't seem to have those body positions 'drilled' into us to the same extent as children do. Consequently I struggle to remember which arms go with efface for example, rather than feeling able to create the movement and a feeling as an organic whole.

Hope that makes sense.

would you talk a bit about what I know technically as efface and croise -- my interest is the emotional qualities that dancers and/or choreographers associate with each?

Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading avidly, and anticipating the rest!