Giannina

I think there was a forum devoted to this tape but I can't find it. I recently bought the tape "Firestone Dances", filmed in 1962 and 1963, and it's very interesting. Of note is Kirsten Simone and Henning Kronstam dancing the pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty. Kronstam is very young; such a treat to see him. Also of great interest are Jacques d'Amboise and, particularly, Melissa Hayden dancing the "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux". I've seen snippets of Hayden but this tape shows her talent and speed. Her solos are wonderful; they are danced faster than I've ever seen them danced and Hayden is a whirling dervish. She does trip up briefly in the second solo but by that time you'll forgive her anything. At the end of the first part of the pas de deux there's a fish-dive-type of move/lift; d'Amboise and Hayden perform that move slooooooly, showing strength and beauty. Great stuff. Giannina

I saw Darcey Bussell in "Cinderella" this Jan. and she balanced forever. Spine tingling. Giannina

Airs stars Lisa Rinehart, Kristine Soleri, Anna Spelman, Christine Spizzao, Peter Fonesca, Johan Renvall, and Thomas Titone. Jardin stars Leslie Browne, Robert La Fosse, Michael Owen, Martine Van Hamel, plus those dancing the roles of Friends and Relations. Black Swan is with Cynthia Gregory and Fernando Bujones. As I recall this is sensational; those 2 together always were. R&J is with Makarova and McKenzie. Gottschalk stars Elaine Kudo, Susan Jaffe, Robert La Fosse, Dierdre Carberry, Lisa Lockwood, Christine Spizzo, Kristine Soleri, Gil Boggs, Johan Renvall. Giannina

Leslie Browne's younger sister is named Giannina. Don't see too many of those!! Giannina

Darcey Bussell. Giannina

Jan. 14th: Cinderella with Bussell and Cope. For some reason I thought I was seeing Cojocaru and Kobborg and was surprised to find Bussell and Cope. I was not too happy, but was I ever wrong; it was one of those evenings of ballet when you sail out of the theater in a blissful reverie. Bussell immediately showed that she’s in superb shape. Her balances were especially strong; her arabesques perfectly sustained, her pirouettes centered and smooth as silk. I’ve never seen her dance better. The step-sisters were most enjoyable. Philip Mosley did a good job of being Ashton-esque. No one matches Helpmann’s interpretation and Alastair Marriott was no exception; he was OK, and less broad than others I’ve seen (no pun intended). Vanessa Palmer was the Fairy Godmother; except for a strange working leg in her arabesques she was lovely in Ashton’s gorgeous choreography and Prokofiev’s sublime music for her. Winter stood out; again great choreography, and maybe that helps make all the Winters look good. The "gallumping" step-sisters interlude and exit was terrific; that bit is so funny and it actually brings a tear to my eye as I thoroughly enjoy their silliness. The 2nd Act pdd was simply sublime. The supported pirouettes were perfect (except for one); Cope is such a good partner. There was the dreaded piece of debris on stage; so distracting, especially during the pdd. The switching-personality scene at midnight is a PUZZLE; how did they do that? One moment you see the princess; the next moment the servant appears from nowhere and the princess is gone! Wonderful sets and a wonderful night. Jan. 21: La Fille Mal Gardee. I going to hide behind the doting mothers amendment. Still enjoyable: after all it was Ashton! Jan. 25: Yanowsky and Bolle in Swan lake. Great sets for Act I and II. Martin Harvey danced the pas de trois and looked like a doofus in that beret. Gillian Revie was excellent in pas de trois; her pirouettes were wonderful. There are baby swans!: students dressed like the older dancers. They looked just like them except smaller and not on pointe. I loved them, and what a wonderful opportunity for them. They were very good, as were the 2 girls/students who danced with drunken tutor in Act I. Yanowsky makes a great Act II entrance with a grand jete that lasts forever. She’s a wonderful technician and a beautiful woman, but she’s a bit steely, almost a Myrtha with feathers. Not much of a sign of surrender to Sigfried. Being so tall she makes a strong statement. The Act III castle set looks like it would belong to Rothbart rather than Sigfried: eerie. There's a distracting mirror that reflects the dancers, and there are changing colors in the background as dictated by mood and costumes. The 6 Princess’s aren’t on pointe and have boring dresses; I wouldn't marry them either. Rothbart and Odile arrive with 2 dwarves who are dressed in frilly black costumes and masked as skeletons. Little boys! They are absolute darlings and steal every scene. Yanowsky was shaky as Odile. Wobbly on an unsupported arabesque pose, and seemingly dizzy after her circular pirouettes around stage (she stumbled to one side at her final pose). I therefore feared for her fouettes and had my hand over my mouth because I tend to gasp loudly at errors. She made it. Odile’s reliance on Rothbart for advice during the pdd made her less a siren and more a puppet. I didn’t pay too much attention to the ethnic dances because I was watching Rothbart and the Munchkins! The black swans’ costumes in Act IV muddied up the waters; again, no pun intended. It was one of the better Act IV’s I’ve seen. Palmer’s arabesques were much better than in Cinderella. A beautiful boat at the end as Odette and Sigfried sail off in heavenly peace. 3 hours long; my husband was actually getting worried about me. Well behaved audiences at all the ballets: they applauded only at the appropriate times, tho they did cave during the fouettes and started applauding at around #27. I'm so used to the constant clamor that it almost seemed rudely silent. Giannina

OK, just had to add my pet peeve about ballet videos. Facial close-ups. Why would anyone zero in on a facial close-up while the dancers are DANCING? There are plenty of other opportunities, and even if there aren't I want to see dancing forcryingoutloud. Like you, Solor, I've had this happen in favorite spots of ballets and I'm reduced to weeping. Sorry; I couldn't resist. Now I'm upset just writing about it. Giannina

kfw...I haven't seen the other Dancer's Dream DVD's but now I'm itching to do so. In the one about R&J you get comments and impressions from the coach (a Nureyev-Juliet) and the dancers. You watch the rehearsals and then see that segment on stage quickly afterwards. The dancing is superb, and seeing it makes me all the more upset the POB might venture in a direction less classical. Giannina

I posted a snippet about "Romeo and Juliet" in this same series; great! Giannina

I've started going thru my glut of Christmas DVD's. First was "Dancer's Dream....Romeo and Juliet" which tells of the rehearsal and production of Nureyev's R&J. Terrific! I now want to get the DVD with the same cast. There's a DVD shown on Amazon; the picture on it is the picture from the DVD starring Legris and Loudieres (which I have) rather than Legris and Maurin. Does anyone know for sure if there's a production with Maurin as Juliet? Giannina

Sarah Wildor. Alas, she no longer dances with Royal Ballet. Giannina

<<Oh dear...well, at least it wasn't 'Romeo & Juliet'! >> Yes, there IS that!! Giannina

Raymonda was about the same. A very long first act...almost an hour. Then 2 more acts. I went yesterday afternoon (Sunday) and didn't care for it much except the last act which is glorious. Took my 13 year old grandson: his first ballet. Bad choice. Giannina

The only comparison I can recall is this. As a wedding present 47 years ago (1957) a friend gave us tickets to "The Music Man" in the best seats in the house: $5/each. I told hubby, "Ohmygosh, what an extravagant gift!!" Giannina

Somebody SAY something!! Giannina

Thanks one and all for your help. Invaluable. Raymonda it is at the Sunday matinee. Unfortunately it's the most popular date of the series and we're up in the boondocks. That's why God made binoculars. Giannina

Are Raymonda and Don Q the ballets or is this physical theater too? Giannina

Thanks for the quick response, Natalia. That's the worst news I've had in ages! Not only am I a classicist but I'm also a prude. What to do, what to do? Giannina

Natalia...and others who have seen it: When you say "theatrical performance, not necessarily a ballet" do you mean there's not the usual amount of dancing in the "perforance"? Lotsa mime? Modern ballet rather than classical? All of the above? Those tickets aren't cheap, and I don't want to fly to San Francisco to see minimal dancing. Thanks for any info anyone can give me. Giannina

"Askegard partnered her with complete adoration." What a wonderful way to discribe a perfect partnership. I've seen Askegard and Kowroski several times and have always liked the 2 of them together. "Complete adoration" is the way I would discribe Hubbe's treatment of Borree in Stravinski Violin Concerto. Giannina

I finally made it back to OCPAC and NYCB. What a difference. Serenade is always lovely. Stars and Stripes is always Stars and Stripes. But that Stravinsky Violin Concerto: tonight it was superlative. I haven't seen it for quite a while and I was amazed all over again by how beautiful it is. Jock Soto has always been the ideal partner but tonight Nikolaj Hobbe was every bit his equal. He and Yvonne Borree danced as one; their movements, not just dance movements but body movements, perfectly matched, and his support of her so secure. The finale is nothing but pure joy; I get the feeling the dancers are having one heck of a good time. The audience was raucous, and they applauded everything. Giannina How do you pronounce "Nikolaj Hubbe"? I'm saying "nick-oh-lah heub"; am I close?

I should, shouldn't I? I had fully intended to go tonight and see the same performance twice, but after last night I decided to let the casting make the decision for me. Now it's too late; don't want to drive out there just to exchange the ticket. I'd buy a ticket for Sun. but I have another committment. More of an explanation than you wanted, eh? I could go on even further! Giannina

Aagh; can't find my program but I'm pretty sure Tewsley danced. I agree with much that art076 said except the enthusiasm for Emeralds. I usually love this section but last night it did nothing for me. Tho Ansanelli didn't sparkle in Rubies (excuse the unintentional pun) her pirouettes were a marvel; I doubt she did many that weren't perfectly balanced triples. Whelan was great, but all is all I was disappointed. I have subscription tickets for both Thurs. and Sat. For the first time EVER the performances are the same. If the casts are the same for both nights I may just skip tonight; that's how "blah" I found last night's performance. Giannina

<<Onegin:"Killed?" Second:"No, died from the heartattack ..." >> My laugh for the day! Giannina

The women's rhythmic gymnastics is the place for our "beloved" hyperextensions! Here the possessors of this unique talent can demonstrate it to the fullest extent and look terrific as they simultaneously toss balls, sticks (forget the names of those things) and loooong ribbons. It's obvious that these athletes have ballet training; they have beautifully arched feet, can perform multiple pirouettes (I've seen strings of fouettes) and leaps. Now the leaps. Those grand jetes in which the legs span a lot more than 180 degrees may score a gazillion points in gymnastics but to me they are ungainly and leave me cold. But better in gymnastics than in the middle of Swan Lake. Giannina