innopac

The Balanchine Trust is not being very long sighted.... As a friend of mine just wrote, "YouTube doesn't compare with a vhs or a dvd and certainly not to a live performance. What is the matter with the Balanchine Trust anyway? Do they want to make sure that his work dies a slow death from lack of exposure? And why deny us all the other pieces just because of them? Crazy."

This is such a loss. The wonderful resource that Ketinoa created has been removed because of the Balanchine Trust. See following article. The YouTube Ketinoa channel contained over 1300 videos of Mariinsky & Bolshoi ballets, including extracts of rehearsals, Vaganova Academy examinations, class syllabus, new and vintage performances. Steering clear from the issue of who owns the copyright, this channel served as a film archive accessible to anyone wishing to further educate themselves or simply to enjoy great ballet extracts, with user comments largely praising its content. Last month this channel was suspended because it was found to contain a small subset of copyright protected videos featuring ballets by Balanchine. The claim was submitted on behalf of the Balanchine Trust, the body in charge of protecting the legacy of that choreographer. Assuming the channel owner received a notification asking for immediate removal of the offending videos, if he/she complied then the account could be re-activated, provided offending videos were not re-uploaded. But YouTube could also have pre-emptively suspended the account without notice to protect itself from any potential lawsuit, in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (US), which seems to have been the case with the Ketinoa channel, based on claims by ongoing campaigns to save it (see first link in this paragraph).

An antidote for me was Nureyev: Aspects of the Dancer by John Percival which I have just read. I realize this book was done while Nureyev was alive, was read by Nureyev before publication and was written before Nureyev became ill (with the psychological and physical implications of that). However, Percival's writing brings alive the excitement at seeing Nureyev dance. And one is left with respect for - and in awe of - Nureyev's total involvement with his art. The chapter I will treasure was the chapter called Close-ups which describes Nureyev at work.

Thank you, Amy, for the citation. It is a fascinating article. Above all, Russian bells must never be tuned to either a major or a minor chord. "The voice of a bell is understood as just that," he [Father Roman is the head bell ringer at the Danilov Monastery] said. "Not a note, not a chord, but a voice." Whereas Western European bells are tuned on a lathe to produce familiar major and minor chords, a Russian bell is prized for its individual, untuned voice, produced by an overlay of numerous partial frequencies, with only approximate relations to traditional pitches....--a feature that gave the Lowell Klappermeisters' performances the denatured effect of music played on a touch-tone telephone. Where Western European bells play melodies, Russian bell ringing consists of rhythmic layered peals.

This is interesting about how the tuning of the bells of the Orthodox Church differs from the tuning of the bells of western carillons. Moreover, because Russians consider bells to be rhythm rather than melody instruments, precise melodic tuning is not so important (or even desirable) as it would be in bells made for a carillon, for example. This is the main difference between Russian and European bells. European bells are precise, machine-tuned instruments, scientifically designed to fit into large carillons, which really are grand metallic pianos. Russian bells are cast for a tone, but not refined after they come forth from the mould. and The sound of a bell used in one of these installations needs to be as disciplined and correct as a soldier in formation. No note should "jump out" of the spectrum and result in disharmony. But because Russian bells are rhythm instruments (drums), a certain amount of disharmony is tolerable and, indeed, even interesting. That's the main difference, right there— in the fact that Russian bells are played like drums, and European bells like pianos. A definite musical phrase flows from the peal of several Russian bells when they are rung in a particular way: the slowly tolling boom of the big bell is sprinkled by a quick clangor of the mid-sized ones, all according to a pattern, which repeats itself even as it evolves. But the line is not a melody line, except perhaps in a very rudimentary way. and from a second article European bells are designed to suppress certain harmonics, and to enhance others in a way that's generally fit for carillons— which are essentially giant pianos. Russian bells, on the other hand, are cast for specific tones— and they achieve them— but they are more like drums, not melody instruments. For this reason, a certain "funkiness" is valued. Actually, what is valued generally in Orthodoxy is the "personal voice" of a thing, rather than its conformity to abstract production standards. That's what a bishop whose church has European bells was getting at when we were talking with him recently—"They're good," he said, "but their tuning is a little too precise for the Orthodox tradition." What does all this mean, in terms of practical acoustics? Russian bells are cast for a tone, and finished when cast and not machine-tuned on a lathe, like their Western counterparts. Each has a particular, distinctive voice. That's why it can be said that you never forget the bells of your village, no matter how long you're away. It's the distinctive, personal voice that makes a Russian bell an Orthodox bell.

It would be interesting to know how dancers have influenced costuming over the years. In The Divine Virginia: A Biography of Virginia Zucchi by Ivor Guest and there is a wonderful story about how when Zucchi went to Russia she commanded the wardrobe mistress to cut her costume shorter as she was use to the shorter skirts of the Italian fashion at the time. The wardrobe mistress refused... The issue had to be referred to higher authority, but the answer came back that the length of the skirt was regulated by Imperial control. Virginia said nothing, but on the evening of her debut she took matters into her own hands and cut her skirts well above her knees. "I will have my skirts short," she insisted. "i will not dance in a costume fit for a grandmother." Not surprisingly, the shorter length was welcomed by most of the balletomanes, and as time went by Virginia felt emboldened to cut her skirts shorter and shorter until finally the Italian fashion quietly imposed itself. page 83-4

I am curious. In one of today's links it mentions a work by Mark Morris, "his only work performed in silence" -- “Behemoth” (1990).... How common are ballets without music? Do you enjoy watching them or are they more a curiosity? How are they to dance? Why do choreographers choose to create movement without music? This 1948 article from TIME mentions David Lichine's ballet The Creation, another silent ballet. Lichine is quoted as saying: What was the point of a ballet without music? Said Lichine, "I have tried to show the public what goes on in my mind when I am creating a new ballet . . . The problems of getting people to dance without music are tantalizingly difficult . . . instead of dancing by ear they have to dance by eye ... I will not create another one ... I love music and I hate silence."

Wow! Thanks!

A short clip of Mark Morris talking about his choreography's relation to music and why he believes in only using live music.

Bart, you mentioned Zelda Fitzgerald in your post. I hadn't realized she had loved dance so much.... Blog on Zelda Fitzgerald.

I got a sense of what you meant by this when watching the second half of the Bussell documentary on classicaltv.com. There is a segment where Bussell is rehearsing with Zelensky and things don't go right. What struck me was that good partnering skills must include the ability to intelligently resolve conflict quickly within stressful situations with people you may not know very well. I would imagine that during lifts the ballerina would need to accommodate the man more than she might normally be use to doing.

Classical TV as been mentioned in the Links and in a couple posts. The free documentaries (about an hour long) are excellent. There are also extensive program notes. I have watched two so far: Kurt Jooss. A Commitment to Dance. By Annette von Wangenheim "The colourful life and distinctive dance style of the seminal choreographer Kurt Jooss (1901-79) are explored in a film that contains a wealth of archive material, including home-movie footage." Keeping Dance Alive. A Portrait of the Choreographer Mats Ek. By Regina Heidecke "Mats Ek, one of Europe's most creative and influential dance-makers, acclaimed for the theatricality and immediacy of his work. In this documentary he talks about his varied career." At the moment on the Dance Channel there are nine programs. Two of these are pay per view. One is "THE BALLETS RUSSES AT THE MARIINSKY". Although watching on a television screen is easier on the eyes than watching on the computer you can restart the program and then skip ahead to where you had stopped before. And although I haven't checked I doubt very much if these programs are available on dvd. I hope they expand their offerings -- a wonderful resource.

This might interest you... Here is a quote from an article by Sanjoy Roy, "Step-by-step guide to dance: Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Rosas". The Guardian. Tuesday 8 September 2009. Steve Reich's "jaw dropped" when he saw De Keersmaeker's work for the first time. He had known of her since the early 80s ("some woman with a very long name") but hadn't seen any of her work until a performance of Fase in 1999. "Of all the choreography done to my music," he said, "this was by far the best thing I'd seen … it was all analogous to the music. On an emotional and psychological level I felt I'd learned something about my own work."

The link to this beautifully done video was posted on BT4D's. (The video is part of an online portfolio for the artist/dancer Kristin Sloan.) Recreating a Tutu's splendor: http://kristinsloan.com/#/portfolio/recrea...ork_city_ballet

Here is something Robert Helpmann wrote about Ashton. This is from Helpmann's 'The Choreographer at Work', n.p., n.d. [RBS Archives.] [Ashton] plans his ballets very little beforehand. They grow directly out of rehearsal and the experimental use of the dancers at his disposal. This method is tiring for the dancers but infinitely rewarding in the insight it gives into a great choreographer’s process of creation.... Very often he will ask the dancers themselves to dance extemporal to the music trying to express in their movement the feeling and plastic response the music arouses in them. Occasionally one of these movements will give him the key to the dance he wishes to create. More often, as he watches, the realisation that there is something wrong with the dancers’ reaction will suddenly give spurt to his own inspiration. And from this flash of inspiration a whole passage of dance exquisitely reflecting the music perfect in its sculptural form will emerge. Robert Helpmann: A Servant of Art by Anna Bemrose (2008) page 61

"The Dancer" [Dansaren] is a beautiful film that, for me evokes, some of the mystery of ballet. Although I understand your criticism, Marga, I feel that this film was created as a work of art. There is much about the reality of what it means to be a ballet dancer but Feuer has also tried to express the intangible. As Rick Whitaker writes in his review "The style of the film is lyric-documentary." and "The Dancer is a film of breathtaking chaos, ordered and shaped by Feuer's musical, choreogaphic imagination." (Dance Magazine, Dec, 1995) There are also clips of the ballerina, Anneli Alhanko. And, although nothing to do with ballet, I enjoyed Erland Josephson's role in the film. He is an actor I like very much.

I just discovered this youtube for . I also hadn't realized that the author, Selma Lagerlof, whose book this ballet is based on, was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1909).

A friend alerted me to the following description of Auguste Vestris taken from: Letters of a Russian Traveler 1789-1790: An account of a young Russian gentleman’s tour through Germany, Switzerland, France and England. by N M Karamzin. pages 171-3 The passage below was written when Karamzin, a young man of 22, arrived in Lyon. 9 March 1790. “We arrived at the theater at five o’clock, and bought tickets for the parterre. The boxes, parquet, and gallery were crowded, for Vestris [Auguste], the foremost dancer of Paris, had promised to delight the Lyon public for the last time with his nimble feet. The place hummed all around us like a beehive...." "Vestris, dressed as a shepherd, bounded like a wanton buck. The music began again -- all the dramatic heroes scampered off -- the curtain rose -- the ballet began. Vestris appeared, and thunderous applause rang out in every corner of the theater. The art of his dancing is truly amazing. His mind seems to be in his feet, despite all the theories of the physiologists who seek it in the brain. What a figure! What agility! What balance! Never did I imagine that a dancer could afford me so much pleasure! Thus, every art which attains perfection is pleasing to our soul! The applause of the enraptured Frenchmen drowned out the music. In the attitude of a passionate lover whose soul is merged with the soul of his beloved, Vestris withdrew from the audience's sight. He kissed his shepherdess and flung himself on a bench to rest. Again a comedy in one act, a very empty one, was performed. After this a new ballet began. Vestris appeared again, and again there was thunderous applause with each movement of his feet." [Karamzin then goes on to describe how the audience persuades Vestris to give an extra performance the following night.] "The enthusiasm was so great that I think the flighty French could, at that moment, have proclaimed Vestris their dictator."

Thank you so much. I was also wondering if you know how Grigorovitch choreographed and worked to create his ballets?

A "sticky" of ballet books is a wonderful idea. Or maybe two - one for biographies/autobiographies and one for everything else? Perhaps Sander0's idea would get more discussion if the thread was moved to the Forum "Writings on Ballet"?

The documentary, , (with English subtitles) is now on youtube.

I just watched Salesman (1968) directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin. This documentary follows four door to door salesman as they try to sell Bibles to working class families. In speaking of the Maysles film shortly after it opened, Arthur Miller wrote: '' 'Salesman' is an adventure into the American dream where hope is a sale and a sale is confirmation of existence itself. It seems to me to penetrate deeply the men who make the wheels go round in a form of cinema that has never been used in quite this way.' Fred Pezzulli

Thank you so much for responding. Jurgita Dronina is on youtube so you have given me some weekend watching ;)

Thank you!

I am puzzled. Under European Ballet Companies it looks like there should be 17 topics for the Royal Swedish Ballet. Do the topics disappear if they are too old? Thanks.