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TMP is coming to the Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in 2010. I've not heard a whole lot about this new company. What is their core repertory, and those who've seen their dance, what are your thoughts about the dancers, the choreo, the dances' subject matter/story lines, etc.?

I am reading "Ballet To The Corps", an autobio of Marie Pacquett, who danced with Joffrey and ABT in the 50's and 60's. It's a great read, and I hate to get to the end, so I try to read only a bit at a time....like savoring chocolate cake. And I also enjoyed reading "Ballet Is A Contact Sport". Does anyone know of other books written from a corp member's perspective of the professional ballet career?

This was one of the articles from Monday, January 12. Does anyone know if this will be shown in the U.S.? I live in California and would very much like to see this film. Anyway, let me know too if it is already on DVD.

Any dates set for its B'way production?

How much ballet-related material does the movie include?

Is this the title of the film?

My sister and I both looked like the shorter ones when we were around 9 years of age. The little one, with the purple eye shadow, reminded me so much of my sister when she was in 3rd grade; except her eyes were rounder.

Pas de chat -- Father of Instant Messaging

Thanks! I should start making vacation plans for March 2009. It's been years since I've visited the Seattle area. Is West Side only a ballet suite? Is there no full-length version?

Where can I find DVD or VHS performance of West Side Story ballet? Amazon doesn't seem to have it. Does anyone know if any of the U.S. companies will be performing it this year? I think I just missed a recent performance (was it by NYCB in Saratoga Springs???)

I recently listened to "Song of India" by Rimsky. Beautiful, soothing music indeed. I imagined a soulful adagio danced to it. Does anyone know if it has indeed been danced to? I'd be interested in watching that video.

I believe that this was a close-set interview, not with studio audience; nor was the content impromptu. I don't know that this was a live broadcast, either. Working with these conditions, the eventual quality of the interview would've been significantly influenced by all involved: the interviewee, the interviewer, the director, the producer, the wardrobe department....everyone involved to produce the end product. If indeed interviewees are out of their element, then there are at least two ways to handle it: Refuse an on-camera interview or get themselves into their element as much as they could, by every means that they could. The show's on- and off-stage staff could improve/assist the interviewee by coaching, going through questions that are likely to be asked and practicing with mock interviews, trying different wardrobes to see which complements the interviewee's body and personality the most, the list goes on. Just as in a live performance, the performers (interviewee and interviewer, alike) put their best foot forward, and in this case, there is even more opportunity to present a polished interview because the session could be reviewed and the weaker segments of the conversation re-taken. I have seen other programs and documentaries where dancers were interviewed, and they were more comfortable and polished than Allegra Kent was. For one thing, Allegra's, (too secretary-like) attire, body language and facial expressions worked against her. In contrast, other dancers appeared comfortable in their skin, not to mention their clothes, and engaged the interviewer quite well. It didn't strike me that the questions asked of any of these dancers were hard questions in any sense; rather, the questions sought to elicit recollections of the dancers' experiences. So it would be very much unlike an interview with say, a political figure, who might be asked double-bladed or veiled questions. To me, this interview was in a sense, also a performance; and better preparations could have been made to improve its quality. Education or lack of it, mental disorder or none, gift of conversation or natural reserve/reticence, these could be enhanced with practice and preparation. Perhaps what I saw was the result of lack of sufficient practice and preparation on the part of all involved. Unfortunately, the weight of that rock falls on the star of the show -- the interviewee.

I first learned of Allegra from the book, Dance Is A Contact Sport, and having seen the small clip at the end of the Charlie Rose interview, she must have been indeed just so enthralling and enchanting. Her physical grace though, does not carry to intellectual fluidity. I found the quality of her comments, and even her demeanor, in that interview, as vapid, rather unpolished. Sad really. I wonder if it was the lack of social interaction with people outside NYCB/ballet world, or perhaps not having engaged in other meaningful pursuits besides ballet that might have limited her capacity to actively engage a serious conversation?