Giannina

I still love them. Maaaany years ago we were in Vienna and went to the place where the Lipizzaners reside and perform. All that was there were some very old and tired looking horses. I asked our guide where the rest of them were and he told us they were performing in the USA!!! Giannina

Not only is it a beautiful ballet but the costumes that Natalya gets to wear (in Royal Ballet's production, not sure of the others) are out of this world. Giannina

siu was mentioning vertigo and theater seating. I suffer from acrophobia and sometimes have problems with seating; I wonder how many of us do and what we do to protect ourselves, and what stories we can tell on ourselves. As siu said the Cerritos Performing Arts Center is narrow; as a result I cannot sit anywhere higher than their lowest balcony because the theater's narrowness adds to the illusion of height and sets me off. In some theaters, notably Orange County Performing Arts Center, there are seats in the stratosphere that I can tolerate but I can’t get TO or FROM them because of the rake and openness of the aisles and steps leading to them. A story. Unbeknownst to me my ex-daughter-in-law suffered mildly from acrophobia. I took her and my daughter to see “Cats” at OCPAC with seats in the 2nd tier. As my daughter and I walked merrily to our seats, I turned around, and lo...no daughter in-in-law. A quick look around and I found her plastered to the theater's wall with a "deer in the headlights" look on her face as she battled to regain her breath and balance in the open balcony. Giannina

Just have to add that Lew Christensen was one of my teachers when I took ballet at San Francisco Ballet (I was lousy). He was wonderful; I'll never forget him. He may not have made a dancer out of this clutz but he sure taught me a lot about ballet; I'll be forever indebted. Giannina

I'm like Andre Yew and Maxi3D: much as I'd love to see this company I don't think I have another Don Q in me! Giannina

Nope. Wish I had. Giannina

Hated Swan Lake; now I love it. Reason? I grew up. Liked Le Corsaire, now I don't. Reason? Saw it about 5 times in 7 days! I'm that rare bird that no longer enjoys the Shades scene. Hard to believe, I know, but true. Used to like only Rubies of Jewels but have slowly come to like all three parts, Diamonds being the latest addition after seeing Kirov, of all people, dance it this year. Giannina

Ballet "Trivial Pursuit"; that sounds delicious. Alexandra, remember when you used to make up those ballet quizes? You could dig all of those up (oh, lost archives....well just remember them), add a gazillion more, and you've got it. The trick would be finding someone to play it with you. Giannina

I think it's a "royal" shame I couldn't see it. Green green green. Giannina

rg: what are the "thoughts"? Giannina

SFBallet in Los Angeles, Saturday matinee, Oct. 11. Don Quixote starring Vanessa Zahorian and Vadim Solomakha. It's really not fair for me to review this ballet cuz: 1. I had a lousy, expensive seat and I couldn't see a darn thing. Had to move. 2. Saw ABT's DQ just a few weeks ago and that was an EVENT for me. 3. My hand hurt. Don't ask, but you can say "Awwww!" The ballet didn't sparkle. Lots of people, activity, pretty costumes, etc., but not much oomph. Capable dancing by the stars but.... I hope someone with a more open mind will step forward and review. Giannina

San Francisco Ballet at LA's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Friday evening, Oct. 10: an enjoyable mixed bill. The evening began with Allegro Brillante. I'd never seen this before so have no reference of comparison. Lorena Feijoo and Zachary Hench starred. Feijoo's role seems very demanding, and though she's very good she did not quite dazzle. The pas de deux's were a tad off, appearing underrehearsed. None the less I liked the ballet very much and look forward to seeing it again and watching the choreography more closely. Concerto Grosso followed; a ballet for 5 men. Nijinski, Nureyev, Baryshnikov. Martins, and Dowell could have been dancing and I still wouldn't have enjoy this ballet...just not my cup of tea. The audience loved it. Polyphonia was the third offering and I enjoy this very much. The music for the opening and closing is too atonal for me; the rest passed mustard. All the couples were excellent: Katita Waldo and Yuri Possokhov (my personal favorites, mostly because of Waldo whom I've always liked), Feijoo and Gonzalo Garcia, Julie Diana and Ruben Martin, and Kristin Long and Guennadi Nedviguine. Long and Nedviguine excelled in the slower, more romantic pdd of the ballet The evening ended with Elite Syncopations. I was sitting in the 3rd row Orchestra and one should not see this ballet from 3rd row Orchestra; Balcony would be much better so that one could get a view of all the activity going on. This ballet is great fun, and there's something for everyone to like and/or dislike. It's colorful, jazzy, and a great way to end the evening. Julia Diana stood out; she and Damian Smith in the concert waltz (Bethena) were beautiful. Maffre and Sofranko were in the tall/short pdd; funny, as always, even though Sofranko wasn't quite short enough. In truth, the star of the evening was the music. Concerto Grosso has violin, voila and cello soloists and each selection is of note. Polyphonia features a pianist and he was simply terrific (Michael McGraw). Elite Syncopations has a jazz band on stage (led by Michael McGraw) and they're as much fun to watch as the dancers. Nice evening. Giannina

I know it's because of Ballet Alert that I realize how little I know about ballet, at the same time thoroughly enjoying the process of being educated ....that I've had the privilege of meeting, both on-line and in person, some fabulous people. Thanks, Alexandra! Giannina

Continuing with my tape-to-DVD transfers I had a most unusual time watching Swan Lake and Giselle. Bourne's Swan Lake and Ek's Giselle. Bourne's SL is not my favorite but Cooper is wonderful in it. And, unlike other SL's I cry at the end of this one every time I see it. I don't know why. Ek's Giselle is alarming! I recalled being shocked by it the first time I watched it but still liking it. I now remember why I was shocked, and even though it's a bit too...shall we say..."earthy" for me I liked it even more. I don't understand much of it; unfortunately some of it I understand all too well! The dancing by the leads is superb; strong technique and long lines. At first I thought the choreography was modern but soon realized it's very balletic. I then wondered why Ek hadn't done it on pointe but it was quickly obvious that it would be impossible to do on pointe. I found it surprising that the camera was often aimed away from the main action on stage; when Albrecht's nudity in the final scene was carefully "minimized" I realized why! We tape these programs for a reason. Watch them! (No, silly; not for the nudity, for the dancing.) Giannina

What about the dancers who can't act worth a whit? They've studied for years and are extremely accomplished, but actors they aren't. That's a heck of a problem for them as well as for the ballet world. They're out there and they're criticized for the lack of acting ability; it seems unfair that the 2nd art form is dumped on them when all they want to do it dance. You can't limit them to non-story ballets. I prefer the story ballets. It lends a magic to the performance, and the evening is a cohesive unit rather than the sum of parts. And of course, the better the acting the better the ballet. In truth I go to ballet to see the dancing; give me a good acting job and it's a bonus. Giannina

If blogs had been started sooner I would have started one for these impressions. I have been transferring my VCR tapes to DVD’s and have watched quite a few of them in the process. It has been a wonderful, eye opening experience. I’ve mentioned a few: the perfection of Loscavio in “Who Cares” and Merrill Ashley in “Four Temperaments”; there are many others which I’ve already forgotten, darn it. There’s Bocca portraying Romeo as a teenager in love and acting goofy, as teenage boys do. There’s McBride and Bart Cook in “Union Jack” reminding you that ballet can be fun and light hearted; no one is more light hearted than Cook. Much to my surprise I have enjoyed 2 ballets that I’ve always...well...I don’t like using the word “hate” but it comes to mind: Forsyth’s “In The Middle Somewhat Elevated” and Balanchine’s “Western Symphony”. I am not a fan of Forsyth’s choreography but I watched Guillem in “In the Middle……” and paid attention to the classicism of Forsyth’s choreography. It’s there, just very askew. I loved it! I found it beautiful and exciting! The music to the ballet is percussion sounds. I wondered how the dancers could dance to sound rather than tones, and then heard Forsyth “singing”/mimicking the “music” by grunts and “ah’s” and various other noises. It was addictive, and the sounds did indeed become music. Having barely recovered from that I watched “Western….”. Now I just plain old don’t like this ballet AT ALL, including the black pointe shoes and black tights, but this time…... Robert LaFosse was so enjoyable as the clueless cowpoke meeting the hard as nails saloon girl (dead-pan Saland). The major deciding factor was Peter Boal in the final pdd. What a wonderful dancer he is. I’ve seen dancers who perfectly perform complicated steps seemingly with time to spare. With Boal I got the impression he wasn’t going to be able to finish the step within the framework of the allowed music, and then at the last possible mini-second he completes the step right on the music’s beat and it’s perfect. I was in tears during a ballet I really don’t like. The moral of the story is: watch your taped ballets every now and then. Your eye and your taste change and it’s like a whole new set of ballets. I really do love ballet! Giannina

She was in the latest issue of People magazine. I was Xmas shopping for my son-in-law and was on the Road and Track web site. The rep and I started "chatting" and when I mentioned ballet she admitted she knew nothing about ballet but wanted the real story on Volochokova! Giannina

What a loss. I always thought his dancing was overlooked because of the popularity of Kelly and Astaire. He was extremely talented. Giannina

That's a very scarey discription of the storm, Medora. Thanks (I think!) for sharing that with us. So glad you are OK and once more have power. I'm in earthquake country; I've always felt I'd take a quake to a hurricane, and now I'm dead sure of it. Giannina

I have no imagination at all, but... Cojocaru: rich,silky smooth vanilla that goes with everything. Giannina

Coincidentally I watched this tape only yesterday and I must say I agree with Paul: Loscavio was a revelation. I couldn't believe it was she; had to wait for the credits to roll. Giannina

"The Balanchine Celebration, Part Two" features selections from "Who Cares", including The Man I Love, I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise, Embraceable You, Fascinatin'Rhythm, Who Cares, My One and Only, Liza, and I Got Rhythm. Giannina

Aaagh! That's not what I want to hear having just received my tickets to Royal Ballet to see her, among others, in Feb.! And if that changes all the casting......well, I don't even want to think about it. It's not easy (or cheap) being a ballet-goer. Giannina

Ohmygosh I forgot! I don't think I'll be able to make it so guess I just pushed it out of my mind. But if the situation arises I'll go. I like the idea of compare and contrast....the more the better! I'm too old for all this. Giannina

I'm looking through all the "clickable smilies" and I can't find a green face shaking his head "no". The extent of my organizational prowess is: we'll meet at the first intermission, and then at a bar after the performance! Count me in. Giannina