cubanmiamiboy

The cygnets in Act II are white, so there isn't much reason for them to turn black in Act IV.

Totally agree...And then, is there any proof of the use of the black swans in the imperial days...any reference in the Sergueyev C.?

ok, to be honest, here is my confession: I'm Alicia Alonso.

I knew it!

yes...the Diva, the Prima...the One and Only...

Personally, i want to see the SL with monocromatic II and IV Acts ,as representatives of the "Ballet Blanc" concept...

It's coming!!!!

Good.

Mmm..These are some words, ah? (Ms. Rojo on her partnership with Corella)

"Let's say it was forgettable".

Sounds like bridge burning words.

Sounds terrible to me. Honestly printscess, i can't think of a worse term to define an individual, or a relationship, whatever its nature is...

ok, to be honest, here is my confession: I'm Alicia Alonso.

.

I know...i know...me, the diva..the Prima...the One and Only...

:

Enough, girl, enough ...get up...WHEEERE IS MY SWAAAAN COOOSTUME?!?!?!?! I WANT IT NOOOOWWWW!!!!!

I believe that this interpolation was included in a recording of the ballet by Algis Zuraitis and the Bolshoi Orchestra made sometime in the early 70s. I don't know if it's currently available anywhere.

Thank you, Mel, for your always helpful information. Will do some research to see if i can get this Bolshoi/Zuraitis recording somewhere.

Thank you also, Mr. G, for your detailed description of the telecast.

L'air d'esprit; chor: Gerald Arpino; mus: Adolphe Adam

Mmm, now i'm confused...music by Adam or by Minkus...?

if mem. serves some of the music interpolated into act 1 of the bavarian ballet's staging of GISELLE w/ nureyev and seymour uses some of this music.

will take a look at my old VHS, but yes, i always took noticed of the Giselle/Albrecht dancing of this production as longer than usual, but i thought that it was the Rudy's usual extra-steps approach on choreography ...(BTW, never came out on DVD...?)

a chart compliled by frank reis(sp?) for a DANCE MAGAZINE insert on GISELLE details some of this music's interpolations.

Will definitely try to search for it...

Again, thank you both , as always, for your valuable information!

Mmm..These are some words, ah? (Ms. Rojo on her partnership with Corella)

"Let's say it was forgettable".

I read somewhere that for his "Giselle" 1884 revival, Petipa comissioned Minkus to create the music for a new Act I Giselle/Albrecht PDD to be danced by Maria Gorshenkova. Is this PDD still preserved in any current production...?, I also read that in 1978 Gerald Arpino used this Minkus's rarely heard music for his ballet "L'air D'esprit" for the Joffrey. Anybody familiar with it...? Any advise on where to get this music...?

I can't imagine that the dance world would not be readers of this site.

True--and for all we know, you're Ashley Bouder!

I beg your pardon. How do you know I'm not Ashley Bouder?

Because everyone knows you're Jilanna. And I'm Una Kai.

Curses! my cover is blown!!

well i'm george balanchine.

ok, to be honest, here is my confession: I'm Alicia Alonso.

How many balletomanes have corresponded with a dancer? What have you written to them about.. aside perhaps the obvious praise of their dancing... ? Are the replies substantive or simply polite acknowledgments? Have your correspondences developed into considerable depth?... veered away from ballet? Or even resulted in something beyond correspondence? Do you think dancers like to correspond with the public or prefer more privacy? What was your experience? What would you like to say to a particular dancer if you could?

I wasn't sure about posting my only experience, but here it goes, as maybe a lesson for some of us...

One time i posted a comment on a dancer, (not in BT), wich wasn't favorable, but not disrespectful -(will omite her name). On that same site were , literally, hundreds of postings praising her dancing, and i guess i was the first one to dare to have an opposite view. Mine was basically a comparisson of my last recent experience of seeing her to what i'd seen almost 10 years ago, when she had just started as a professional dancer. Days after, i was surprised to see her screen name in my inbox (i knew it from her web site). It was a short and polite e-mail in which she seemed hurt by my comment, and asked me the basis on which i disliked her dancing. I wrote her back right away, exlpaining that i didn't dislike her at all, (i even screamed and whistle on her last performance), but i just happened to had seen her since her very begginings so i was making an experience-based comparisson, (not favorable, true), but, as i said earlier, always in a respectful way. I tried to be concise and sincere. She didn't answer me back. From that time on, i learned a lesson: to refrain myself from speaking out loud, unless i'm Clive Barnes.

A very young and struggling company that needs lots of support from all uf us miamians...Keep up the good work!!! Specific days of the performances still to be announced.

http://www.miamihispanicballet.com/cuban_about.html

From the Sadler's Wells official site, this is the information about Carlos Acosta's upcoming London performance with guests artists from Ballet Nacional de Cuba:

Sadler's Wells.

Rosebery Ave. EC1R Islington.

23 Oct. 2007 and 28 Oct. 2007

Carlos Acosta with Guest Artists from Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

Programme:

"Le Corsaire" - chor. Alicia Alonso after M.Petipa

"El río y el bosque" ("The river and the forest")-chor. Alberto Mendez

"Muñecos" ("Toys")-chor. Alberto Mendez

"Paso a tres" ("Pas de trois")- chor. Alberto Méndez

Plus additional choreography by Carlos Acosta , featuring live music by Aldo Lopez Gavilan and his band .

Carlos Acosta is one of ballet’s superstars, known for his extraordinary athleticism and remarkable technical virtuosity. Now, for the very first time in London, he will join forces with guest dancers from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, in a programme of classical ballet which has a distinctly Cuban feel.

From the age of nine Acosta trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba. Inspired by Alicia Alonso's Ballet Nacional de Cuba he went on to become the greatest ballet dancer of his generation; and a national hero in Cuba.

The Ballet Nacional de Cuba is renowned for its unparalleled technique. Watching Carlos Acosta dance with artists from this remarkable company, including Viengsay Valdes, Anette Delgado and Javier Torres, promises to be a breathtaking experience, not to be missed.

Press Reviews:

"Technical fireworks with brilliant charm and awesome ease...":

THE TELEGRAPH on Ballet Nacional de Cuba

"Cuba has consistently produced wonderful classical dancers... bringing a joyful flair to ballet which is comparable to the Brazilian genius for football..."

THE OBSERVER on Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Carlos-Ac...h-Guest-Artists

I hope that we can have some attendants from BT to report back.

BTW, do they use Karinska's originals...?

No, and the new costumes are ok but not as rich (they look much cheaper).

I love Karinska's...Also, the POB's Lacroix were very tasteful...

BTW, do they use Karinska's originals...?

Rojo has meanwhile been asked to prepare a scheme for a state-funded Royal Ballet of Spain, in conjunction with the University of King Juan Carlos I in Madrid. [ ... ] According to Rojo: "The uniersity already has good facilities -- a theatre, dance studios -- so we're looking at establishing a professional company, if the government is able to find the money."

Well, Corella did it, Bocca has Boccatango, so why not Tamara...In my opinion, the more the better, so two thumbs up and good luck, Ms. Rojo! BTW, wouldn't it be wonderful if she could, somehow ,try and revive some pre-Russia, Spain-originated Petipa's ballets...?...any notations ...?

Among the Symposium highlights are the keynote lecture by Elizabeth Souritz, Russia's most distinguished living dance historian, analyzing the differences between ballet in late nineteenth-century Moscow and St. Petersburg through the career of the choreographer Alexei Bogdanov, a paper by Sjeng Scheijen of Leiden University that draws on major new research for his forthcoming biography of Serge Diaghilev, Tim Scholl's discussion of Soviet ballet debates of the 1920s, and a presentation by Robert Greskovic featuring images from his well-known postcard collection of Russian dancers. Papers on Balanchine's correspondence with the Russian émigré community, his muse Lydia Ivanova, Akim Volynsky, the designers Sonia Delaunay and Natalia Goncharova, the ideologies of the Soviet ballerina, Russian dancers in Hollywood, the "thaw" of the late 1950s and its impact on "symphonic" ballet, Petipa performance traditions in Russia and the West, and the original happy ending of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet will round out the program.

Wow, what a delight...i surely envy those who will be taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Among all the topics, "The Ideologies of the Soviet Ballerina" sounds really interesting...Mr. Greskovic, as usual, thank you for providing the world with your wonderful collection! Please, i would love to read some reports from those who can attend...

Thank you all for your advice. Overall, i see a good vibe around the NYCB production among the posters. I'll report my experience once i'm back from NY.

"Ballet is important and significant...yes.But first of all, it is a pleasure"

George Balanchine

I wasn't sure where to post this, so please, move it if needed.

I just made up my mind to go and spend a week New York from 12/30 to 01/06 (Yeah, New Year's Eve!), and i found this performance announced at the Lincoln Center Website. I'm dying to see "Jewels" live, because the only reference i have is the elegant approach, (as somebody stated somewhere), of the POB on DVD, and since i'll be seeing the Villela-MCB full lenght version soon, it's going to be interesting to see this more "new yorker" approach, (perhaps closer to Balanchine..?), of the NYCB. What's the general opinion about this version..? I would appreciate a lot any background i could get by the very helpful BT experts...

thank you

Sure, emotions imply relationships and storyline and we may want to force more logic to what we are seeing. But really... it's all fantasy. I can't cry for what a character is experiencing as others do... I could cry perhaps because it is so beautiful.

Interesting...In my case, the percentage of "dance" vs. "acting", (and i guess we're getting into another popular thread out there), varies depending on how do i classifiy the work. "Giselle" and "Swan Lake" are, no doubt, plenty of fantasy, but their main storyline is extremely human and very tangible. I cry too, but when from "Giselle" ( i know, it's "Swan Lake") i do it because, with some ballerinas, i throw myself into the story until i can feel the pain of a real sick woman being laughed at and unable to cope with reality to the point of madness and death. I've seen real women out there getting their life as destroyed and misserable as her, and believe it or not, i do find myself thinking on how people now in plenty XXI Century , way far from the times and lands of swan-maidens and willis, still fall insanely in love to the point of ruining their lives, and sometimes even commiting suicide...

One of Eleanor d'Antuono's partners, a guest, was Cuba's Jorge Esquivel. They danced Giselle.

Jorge Esquivel .What a wonderful underestimated dancer! . He was mostly known for being everyone's partner during the 60's, 70's and 80's at NBC, including all those Varna winners and particulary Mme. Alonso's until his defection. Now he is a demi-character dancer at SFB.

Thanks to all for recalling those earlier days, and not letting them dim in our aging memories now.

Well said...

Coaching involving motivation, a give-and-take of disscussion between the young dancer and a mentor, and learning the appropriate movement and mime vocabulary: all would have to be of tremendous help.In the absence of such support, it must be very tempting to the young dancer simply to pick a plausible interpretation from Column A or Column B and hope that it works. Thus the generic, arbitrary, and unsatisfying play-acting we sometimes see.

This is so true, bart...actually, your words reminded me those of Lorena Feijoo, principal dancer at SFB on this subject...:

"I have always appreciated what I learned in Cuba. Especially now when we don't have time for anything. They say 'Giselle' and we have to put it together in a week. I can do this because of what I learned there. My training engrained in me a style that is not only technique but a real focus on the details. For me it was fascinating to see Alicia Alonso give the same importance to the mime as to the dance steps."

http://www.archives.scene4.com/june-2005/h...honigjun05.html

Surely he'd be saddened and moved by her tale, but during the White Swan pas de deux, he's comforting her and getting her to trust him, to open up and to help heal her sadness. If he looks like the harbinger of Doom, it doesn't make any sense that she'd put her hope in him.

True, but i've always felt that he's telling her more like a "oh, that's so sad... let's cry together" type of thing...