innopac

Thank you, Leonid, for writing. I will see if I can persuade my public library to buy the book.

This might interest some of you... "I saw the Parisian La Sylphide only once," wrote Bournonville, "and my only good impression was Mme. Taglioni's extraordinary skill. And the fantastic scenery and machinery, both absolutely unobtainable for our own stage. Although I found the ballet very nice, I felt it would be better if I tried to do it in my own way. Besides, the score was too expensive [to obtain for Copenhagen], and James in the French version was only a pedestal for the 'prima donna'! The ballet's beautiful and poetical thought is that in pursuing an imagined happiness, he loses true happiness. This absolutely wonderful, poetical thought absolutely disappeared in the French version because we all looked at the virtuosity of the female dancers. The King's Ballet Master: A Biography of Denmark's August Bournonville by Walter Terry. page 42-3

Thank you, Leonid. I was thinking it was the journalist's error. Do you recommend the book at all?

In this review of the new biography of Diaghilev Luke Jennings writes the following: "By then, Diaghilev was part of an upper-crust homosexual coterie whose mores Scheijen describes in diverting detail. The clique included the designers Alexandre Benois and Leon Bakst, and writer Walter Nouvel. They liked to cruise for sex in St Petersburg's Tauride Gardens, boasting of their conquests (mostly hard-up students and cadets), and swapping partners." I am reading Alexandre Benois memoirs and perhaps I have missed something but "cruising for sex" and "swapping partners" doesn't seem to fit. Has anyone read a biography of Benois? What I am wondering is does Scheijen say this about Benois in the new biography or has Jennings just generalized from the activities of some of Diaghilev's associates and included Benois name without substantiation?

The Biggest Dancer in the World / Dante's Inferno (1966) "Controversial British director Ken Russell helms this pair of made-for-TV documentary films, including The Biggest Dancer in the World, a loving exploration of the colorful career of outspoken American dance star Isadora Duncan. Dante's Inferno is a close look at the stormy relationship between poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his chronically ill wife, Elizabeth Siddal. Vivian Pickles, Oliver Reed and Judith Paris star." This dvd is listed on netflix. It is part of a 3 disc set called Ken Russell at the BBC (2008) which is for sale on Amazon. I was disappointed -- both Duncan and Rossetti were larger than life but I would have preferred documentaries where one gains a greater understanding of the subject.

"There are arguments that a black ballerina wouldn’t suit the corps de ballet ( the members of a ballet company who dance together as a group) as the dancers should all appear as one. 'As long as they’re unified, the costumes are the same and they’re around the same height who, in 2009, is really going to stare at a brown face and say it stands out? It’s not even about race, it’s just ridiculous.' she [Ballet Black’s founder Cassa Pancho] says." Here is the link to article. Link to website of Ballet Black.

"Wim Wenders has decided to forge ahead with Pina, his 3D dance film about legendary choreographer Pina Bausch, who died last month." Here is the link.

I enjoyed very much the optimism and idealism... the faith in the future... and the wonder at so much that we are blase about today. Excelsior may not be a Petipa ballet but it does take one back to another time. And I was interested to find, when searching, the following comment about Manzotti’s Excelsior and Amor: "These productions are closer to big shows than to traditional ballets, yet in spite of their artificial glitter, they had a real connection with princely entertainments of the sixteenth century, like the 1581 Ballet comique de la Reine." "Ballet: Incarnation of Allegory" by Marie-Francoise Christout and Fernando Bassan Dance Chronicle, Vol. 18, No. 3 (1995), pp. 427-435.

Excelsior is on youtube. A PAL version of the dvd is also available for sale. It would be interesting to know how much of the present version was true to the original. I did find this comment.... Book Review "Two Balletic Sensations: Excelsior and the Ballet of the Nuns" by George Dorris Dance Chronicle, Vol. 23, No. 3 (2000), pp. 329-337 In a book review of Excelsior: Documenti i Saggi/Documents and Essays by Flavia Pappacena George Dorris writes that there are extensive historical records, written and visual, for the ballet Excelsior. "This essay leads to another in which Pappacena analyzes the structure of the ballet in terms of both technique and dramatic action. Much of this analysis is possible because around 1883 Cammarano prepared an elaborate set of notes, including detailed color-keyed diagrams of various ensembles, from which much of the ballet can be reconstructed. In addition to this remarkable document, which is reproduced in part in both color and black and white, the Theatre Museum at La Scala also possesses notes by Cecchetti that seem to reflect a slightly different version, at least in some numbers, and yet a third set by Eugenio Casati that uses French terms. Pappacena's contributions end with a discussion of Caramba's 1908 version, for which there are extensive visual records, including his costume designs, photographs, and the 1913 film by Luca Comerio based on this production. "

On the web I can see that the film has been criticized for being too long and slow. I saw it on dvd and there was an interview with Tavernier and Noiret which was worth watching. Tavernier had to fight for this film. For me it was almost like a documentary. It felt so real.

I recommend Life and Nothing But, a film by Bertrand Tavernier which takes place after World War I. There is a Major (Philippe Noiret) who is trying to count and identify the thousands of dead soldiers, a young woman who mourns her missing lover, a wealthy woman who is traveling the countryside trying to find her missing husband, an officer who must choose an appropriate body for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a sculptor who suddenly has more than enough work creating memorials in every town.... It is a fascinating film and so relevant to today... I thought it was brilliant.

Great letter by Paul Parish. "But it is academic dance, and it's not just a pun to say there are principles of academic freedom involved. Is Ketinoa's channel protected under principles of academic freedom? Or rather, should it be? The dance world has languished so long without libraries, and the rise of video was just beginning to allow dance to be studied like literature, so you could study it and quote accurately, and the autodidact or amateur outside the academy was becoming almost as well informed as some professors. Though it was happening outside a university setting, the growth of serious dance culture was happening in the West rather like the scientific societies of the 18th century, when professional procedures had not yet been codified but people were making collections and study was becoming possible on an unprecedented scale -- and Ketinoa's channel was at the top of the heap for providing the core commentaries and syllabi."

Sorry... to clarify, does anyone think that production of Giselle, with those dancers, will be released on dvd?

Does anyone know if this Giselle with Lopatkina will be released on dvd? Or roughly when it was filmed? Youtube clip of Giselle with Lopatkina and Korsuntsev.

What I did find very interesting were the passages about the difficulties Dantzig had to face at the Paris Opera as a visiting choreographer. And I am glad I read the book for the following passage alone. It is from the Afterword and is especially poignant when one thinks about these two men, Balanchine and Nureyev. Nureyev has already gone down in history, dance history; of that I became aware when he made his last appearance on stage at the Paris Opera, and during the following days, as I saw the deep awe of those beholding him. Even then, there was an unbridgeable distance; we staying, he poised for departure. Wonderment and awe. The same feeling came over me as I was watching class in the studios of New York City Ballet. Stanley Williams was teaching a group of very young dancers from the company, children almost. The class had been going on for quite a while and the barre-exercises were over, when all at once, Balanchine entered the studio. Williams halted the class. I saw the young dancers looking at their illustrious choreographer and artistic director, their uneasy reaction--and to my surprise, some girls even giggling nervously. Balanchine himself did not seem to notice, moving laboriously, occasionally supporting himself at the barre. He did not take the shortest route across the studio to the central position next to Williams; instead he shuffled along the walls, around the young dancers. The two men spoke together for a moment, then Balanchine watched the class for a short while, leaning on the barre, afterwards retracing his laboured way back. Suddenly the atmosphere in the studio became uneasy, embarrassed even. Only when Balanchine had reached the door did one of the boys in the class open it for the visibly ailing choreographer. When he had disappeared, I saw two girls in a corner crying. At that moment, I could clearly sense how age and fame can cause immense inaccessibility and solitude as well. Toward the end, solitude surrounded Rudolf as well; he already seemed to be drifting away, like one who had fallen by the wayside, a wanderer now.

From the article: "The truth is that almost the last place you look as a musician is towards the conductor. There simply isn't time. The notes fly past and the brain is in overdrive, busy processing vast amounts of information on the page. Your entire physical being is occupied, focused on the music and your instrument, the wash of sound, the interweaving voices of your colleagues. The conductor remains, for the most part, in your peripheral vision. Occasionally, with luck, you might spare him a glance. You look up at the pertinent moments – at the start and finish, for example – much in the same way that you would check a speedometer or rear mirror while driving. To assume that the conductor is largely responsible for the music is a bit like believing an air-traffic controller should take most of the credit for a Red Arrows display." This statement is really surprising. It is hard to believe that the writer is actually a musician. I would like to see a full orchestra play Rite of Spring without a conductor ;)

Is it possible to epitomise a role and drive it to perfection? Yes, Maximova in Anyuta.

I have started reading this book and am finding it slightly disturbing. If it is written by a colleague that is one thing but if it is written by a friend, as the reviews say, I would have hoped for more signs of friendship... affection perhaps and, at the very least, a sign of an attempt by Dantzig to try and understand Nureyev.... Has anyone else felt uncomfortable about this biography?

inbflat.net

Giselle ou Les Wilis: notation by Henri Justamant from the 1860s. Author: Coralli, Jean & Jules Perrot Published: 2008 A reproduction of a handwritten transcription of the ballet by the ballet master Henri Justamant, chief choreographer at the Paris Opera during the 1868 - 1869 season, documenting the choreography in figure and floor pattern notations and in accompanying texts (in French). This is the earliest known surviving record of the ballet's choreography, and thus of great historical importance. Paperback [5624-PB] £ 80.00 Dance Books

I was wondering what internet resources you find most helpful in learning more about ballet. My current favorites are: http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com/Links.html http://www.ballerinagallery.com/links.htm http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazine/index.htm http://www.dancer.com/dance-links/index.php http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

It was Ketinoa.

It doesn't sound like russianballet is a new incarnation.... Here is a nine part video of Mezentseva (1/9 35th Mezentseva Birthday Semenov Kirov Mariinsky Class Zaklinsky Kulik Pankova Vaziev Vorontsova) from russianballetvideo with the following text: THIS IS A YOUTUBE FIRST. NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Eat your heart out Ketinoa. Even you did not have a 90 minute Kirov company class and focusing primarily on the birthday girl.

This is probably a silly question but I am puzzled by the use of the word vulgar when describing dancers. What is meant by it? For example Raissa Struchkova and Timofeyeva have been described as vulgar ballerinas which puzzles me. Is this only a matter of taste?

Perhaps this closure is driven by personal politics within the Balanchine Trust. On the web Ketinoa said, "First of all, I danced for and spoke to Balanchine during classes and rehearsals in NYCB, so yes i have danced."