cubanmiamiboy

(Excuse me for getting a little for a minute ) Absolutely, Jose Luis...He was cousin of my great grand father, who was Perez de Villa-Amil Paskey-(Perez de Villa-Amil from Genaro's same tree, Paskey from England. I inherited the last name from my mom's side, and she got it from her father and grandfather, who was Genaro's relative. I have a whole researching I did years ago of him, when I was still living in Cuba. Of course, when I came to America,I lost it, due to the fact that here one only carry the father's last name, not the mother's. (In Cuba a person is born and die with both last names, and women don't change theirs when getting married. One is to carry both last names during your lifetime, by law...)

...when you're with close friends-( all guilty of your same obsession)- and you all end up mocking Alonso's/Giselle's entrance choreography which you all know by heart...( and not Albrecht's BUT Giselle's ). Edited to add: Another popular alternative is also Alonso's Black Swan coda...

("tremble")..

Hola Jose Luis!! It's wonderful to have another Spaniard among us-(Ole para la Madre Patria!! ). Yes, it seems like the love for classical music has been the common lied-motif for many of us to the introduction to ballet. At some point I would even love to open a poll to see how many of us got to be used to the score of Swan Lake way before watching the ballet, for instance. In any case, I should say that I'm very happy to see Corella's efforts to revive classical ballet in Spain, and el Teatro Real looks truly beautiful after all the renovations...a proper house for the Company. http://www.teatro-real.es/Inside%20the%20T...hoto%20Gallery# Oh, and watch for Adyaris Almeida. This cubanita is pure is FIRE when she's up to it, and very pleasant to watch. Also, I would like to know...what ever happened to Victor Ullate's Company...? BIENVENIDO !!

Access to all sorts of painkillers W/O prescription is a widely common practice. About ethics on cosmetic surgery performed on celebrities...well, that's a very controversial issue. Just look at Miss Wildenstein. I guess the top rule is "No rules".

Josefina Mendez-(RIP)-used to hold her poses like that...but it was only her...I've never seen this in anybody else...Usually the ballerinas try to curve their body and legs close to their heads as much as they can...But the vertical position looks interesting as well...

I had the privilege to speak to Mr. Franklin when he recently came here to receive some sort of Life Achievement Prize. He was totally charming and a fast responder, and he spoke briefly with me during Intermezzo. I remember asking him about Danilova, to which he laughed and told me that at first he had been scared to dance with her because "I was very young and she was..SOMETHING!"-(meaning her personality), but that later on they paired really good and that she was a great human being. I also had his autograph. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUNG BOY!! (Edited to add: I've always been very fond of the Ballet Russes/early Ballet Theater era, so by getting to talk to Mr. Franklin, I felt very honored to have been able to connect with such an important member of this past. He is a living treasure, and I had the same feeling as when I spoke to Mme. Alonso at one point during a book signing in Havana. Both are SO clever and they definitely project this special charm and glamour from that ballet past that I so love...Sometimes I wonder if we are talking full advantage of them while they are still with us...same with other that are still around, Zoritch, etc...)

Hope you're all having a great time today...I'm heading to the beach to watch the fireworks... DON'T OVEREAT!! http://www.ballet.co.uk/images/sfbs/et-sta...le-pink_500.jpg

that sucks...

Ha, Letterman...can't forget those old Madonna interviews in which she would not only totally disregard his questions but the whole pre-concieved show plan. Good job, M !

Among all the ballerinas, I never thought about Part doing this type of show...(isn't it always told about her being shy and all...?)

You can also just say 'consider the sourec', that's cool...ho ho ho... No, no, no, Patrick...I wasn't referring at all to your post... I just suddenly remembered that too often told story of the boxer/dancer-(which I'm sure you know pretty well, as well as the rest of the ballet fans in America), and I was just not sure that it would be correct for me even to mention it here-(hence sounding "politically incorrect", as this is a frequently used phrase within this board)- due to the likeness of the subject within the ballet world...(me included...) Oh, and a despective glance to the bad guys would be-(just be imaginative, because I don't have the right emoticon, ok...?)-sort of plus

Go for it!!...and don't worry...I'll be backing you up... and BTW, now that I remember, I've always found the perpetual story-telling of the boy-raised-in-tough-Queens-turned-boxer-turned-dancer-so-there-you-see-that-not-all-of-us-are-part-of-the-bunch-of-sissies kind of...-(hum-how should I say it so it doesn't sound politically incorrect...)-way too forced...(or worn off...?..)

...meaning they don't consider her white...? (Oh, God, that old terminology mix-up...That's why when asked about my race, I always answer "Caucasian", getting VERY often that "uuh...?" look which precedes the most of the times the question..."But aren't you hispanic...?" to which I answer..."Did you ask me for my race,my ethnicity or my skin color...?"). Miss Mendez is a Caucasian Hispanic female. About colors, I'm not sure...that would be more difficult to determine. In spanish we woujld call her "Triguena"-(a Caucasian person with a darker skin tone). Oops, sorry about all this...As usual, I'm , so back to Mr. Jackson...

Exactly, Patrick...and of course the list could on and on forever if trying to name all the excellent black performers of the time. I just named some names that would totally fit in the "pop" category-(even if they had their roots deep into R&B). Considering that the phenomenon took place for more than a year, it surprises me that it even took place in the first place, considering how far the last segregation signs were already...(or maybe not that far...?)

(How did you get that word...? )

Ok, I digged a bit and found this... "MTV executives have always denied that there was any kind of prohibition against African American artists in the channel's early days, while Walter Yetnikoff, who was the head of Jackson's record label at the time, has always insisted there was. Yetnikoff wrote in his autobiography, "Howling at the Moon," that "I screamed bloody murder when MTV refused to air his videos. They argued that their format, white rock, excluded Michael's music. I argued they were racist (jerks) -- and I'd trumpet it to the world if they didn't relent... With added pressure from Quincy Jones, they caved in, and in doing so the MTV color line came crashing down." http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.s...mtv_impact.html My question was aimed at trying to determine if the general population-(Americans...MTV viewers or not...youngsters or not)-did take notice of the "all-white" factor of the channel...

I don't buy that at all. Did someone say that or is this just an interpretation of a different set of words that someone else said? Frankly, I doubt this rugby coach, and certainly most his players, would agree to "femininity = inferior". I, on the other side, think that yes, the prevalent feeling regarding toughness, speed, power, strength and the like is commonly identified, CONSCIOUSLY AND/OR UNCOUNSCIOUSLY, with the male gender as matters of its supremacy/superiority. Not that everyone agrees with that, IMO...

So how did the american public received the obvious absence of the active black pop icons of those times during that gap...? (I'm thinking about Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Donna Summer or even Janet Jackson, whose first album dates from that same year, 1982). Did MTV had anything to say about it...?

One of the few men in which I've seen this hyper-extended/hyper-curved arch/instep is Taras Domitro-(ex Alonso's dancer, now Principal with SFB). He is, in general, extremely flexible. He was recently highly praised for his overly curved cambrees of his "Melancholic". http://oberon481.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c...e5ea4970c-800wi http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media/alter...4250-300140.jpg http://www.almamater.cu/sitio%20nuevo/siti...-Taras--peq.jpg

Ah, THOSE electronic devices at the theaters... The whole situation wakens up some REALLY bad/primal instincts on me...Grrrr!!! I WISH I could have the freedom to act according to them

Far from it, Simon...This have led to one VERY interesting thread/discussion

Personally I've had some stupid questions/remarks thrown at me regarding ballet... Honestly, I don't really care WHATSOEVER to clarify ANYTHING that borders stupidity... I'm better off letting the subject's question rudely unanswered or clearly ignored. Believe me, they DO GET the message... Or maybe a despective look can go with it...