Giannina

That surprised me too, but it certainly was inovative. There was a group majorettes who were doing "moves" with balletic influences; they certainly stood out from the rest. Hmmm.

Igor Youskevitch = he'll stab your kevitch.

entrechats = kitty kitty kitty!

Among others, John Cranko.

Sort of a plie on words, right?

Cojocaru/Kobborg and Tapper/Coppen in Onegin Our balcony "box seats" in Palaise Garnier

I got my Christmas wish: Monica Mason!! Giannina

I'm with Juliet about liking them but not wanting to make them (that's so darn funny, Juliet!) and Alexandra in wanting to see them move. I really like it. Of course this could be because I'm in the midst of my yearly tape/DVD Nutcracker marathon and I'm slightly blotto. Giannina

As a teenager I was a student at SFBallet (a lousy student) and saw several years of rehearsals for Nuts and performances of same. It was pig heaven for a ballet student. Little did I know it was history in the making. As a side light....Lew Christensen was my favorite ballet teacher of all time. Giannina

After I read the book I got out my tape of "Carmen" with Kronstam as the toreodor. What was utterly amazing was that I recognized him, not as the toreodor but as Henning Kronstam! Such was the power and beauty of the book. Giannina

There was a change in story line explaining The Shades. Every production I've seen has them as Solar's opium induced delirium, a dazed multiplication of Nikiya. In this case it was just Solar's dream. Giannina

Look who's talking! Steve, I know you went. NextStage? Ok, I went. I went on the one night one shouldn't have gone: Tues. night (opening night); had to trade my Sat. night subscription ticket. It was a disaster. The following night was apparently sublime. The review in the L.A.Times pretty much said it all. I was very disappointed that the only role in which I saw Alexandrova was as one of the lead Shades. The following night she danced Gamzatti and the review said she was wonderful. Such is my fate. Giannina

Nice: Cojocaru Naughty: Durante

I’ve had the rare pleasure of reading Alexandra's book, “Henning Kronstam; Portrait of a Danish Dancer” and it is wonderful. The book is crammed with information; with Alexandra's writing style I never felt I was plowing my way through an encyclopedia. The narrative flowed and my interest did not waver. Kronstam emerges a fascinating man. He was a silent Dane not given to letting others know much about him. An artistic genius, his style was all but lost in the era of the Ballet Boom and the following changes in the art. The book tells about his exciting entrance to Royal Danish Ballet, his dancing career, his dramatic excellence, the dancers of his era, and the nurturing of the Bournonville tradition. It continues with his career as artistic director and ballet master, and his influence on the dancers fortunate enough to be coached by him (there are many insightful quotes by his protégé’s). He was a man of great detail and it is fascinating to read about those tiny details he’d add or subtract from a ballet in order to make it perfect. I highly recommend to book. Giannina

You GAVE that ticket away?! Ohmygosh, Lolly; you're the best friend I've ever met, and I hope you're appreciated. Giannina

Try BookFinder.com Giannina

Green, green, green! Giannina

For both publications write to: Dance View or Ballet Alert P.O. Box 34435 Martin Luther King Station Washington, DC 20043 Bellet Alert is $25/year (6 issues) Dance View is $30/year (4 issues) Giannina

For both publications write to: Dance View or Ballet Alert P.O. Box 34435 Martin Luther King Station Washington, DC 20043 Bellet Alert is $25/year (6 issues) Dance View is $30/year (4 issues) Giannina

Finally....Paris Opera Ballet in Paris. The best part about the performance Wednesday, Oct. 3 was meeting Estelle. We shared an evening at Opera Bastille...a modern and rather stark building. Our seats were 2nd row orchestra, a pleasant surprise for both of us. Of course a behemoth sat in front of me but with artful dodging I saw Agnes Letestu and Jose Martinez in Swan Lake. It's a long ballet with only one intermission; this is the way it should be and I wish all Swan Lakes were thus. (I'll have to admit it's a killer if you have jet lab, which I did in spades.) I have a few qualms with Letestu which have nothing to do with her dancing; putting them aside I found her performance lovely, in parts brilliant. Great feet. The Tutor is also Rothbart, and as Rothbart he does a lot of running with cape flowing behind him....so Nureyev-ish. On Thurs, Oct. 4 my husband, Frank, and I saw a performance at Palaise Garnier. The best part about the performance Thursday was the Opera House. We'd seen the lobby 2 years previously, a wonder of staircases and sculptures and chandeliers and grandeur. Our seats were in the balcony and we were flabbergasted to find that all balcony seats are boxes! Six arm chairs, one armless chair, and a small settee per box with room to move about. The line of site can be a problem but we (Frank) moved around and eventually solved the problem. The program opened with Roland Petit's Passacaille; I did not care for it. Next was Jerome Robbin's The Cage with Laure Muret. This ballet is a favorite of mine and though it lacked a bit I did enjoy it. This was followed by Robbins' Other Dances with Isabelle Guerin and Manuel Legris, both wonderful dancers. I can't rid myself of the Baryshnikov influence in this ballet; I feel it was choreographed for his style and is therefore flashy and smacks of Broadway. It would do better without it. None the less it's a lovely piece. The program ended with Petit's L'Arlesienne. It was slow in starting and I was already shutting myself down, but it became beautiful and moving. The star is the male dancer, in this case Jeremie Belingard as the tortured Frederi; wonderful dancing and acting. Two great evenings. Of note. Big note. The Paris audience does not abuse applause. The wait until the appropriate moment to show their approval. In fact, they went through the entire ballet L'Arlesienne, with has several dramatic solos and duets, without any applause at all, almost an abuse at the other extreme but still preferable to drowning the evening with noise. Giannina

Thursday night I attended San Francisco Ballet's mixed bill: "Paquita", Yuri Possokhov's "Damned", and Mark Morris's "Sandpaper Ballet". One of the best reasons for seeing "Sandpaper Ballet" is seeing "Damned" right before it. "Damned" is just about the most depressing ballet I've ever seen (Medea and all that). The audience was almost too stunned to applaud at the final curtain. And then....knowing Mark Morris's ballets, you fear something else dreadfully heavy is coming. Surprise! This is a piece of fluff to Leroy Anderson's music, and even the strains of that oh so familiar music (if you're over the age of 40 you're humming) soothes you. The ballet is a series of corps works, all very "up", all happy, all lots of fun, and you do leave the theater with a smile and a lilt running through your head. Saturday night "Othello" was presented. I went in fully expecting not to like it and came out surprised at how much I did. Othello: YuriPossokhov Iago: Parish Maynard Cassio: Gonzalo Garcia Desdemona: Yuan Yuan Tan Emilia: Katita Waldo Bianca: Lorena Feijoo Choreography: Lar Lubovitch Composer: Elliot Goldenthal Scenic design: George Tsypin Costume Design: Ann Hould-Ward Lighting Design: Pat Collins The first act is a dazzler. The sets are magnificent and huge. You are introduced to Lubovitch's style of choreography. And drama! This is a very dramatic ballet, both in dance and action. Possokhov is a large man but light and graceful when dancing. In contrast, standard-sized Parish Maynard seems almost emaciated. There is nothing small about his acting ability; he eats the scenery, showing us a man consumed with hate and bitter frustration. Jeez! Yuan Yuan Tan is Othello's fragile devoted wife, her tiny build lending to the characterization, plus making the multiple sweeping lifts more dramatic. However, I found no chemistry between these two; they were passionate because the choreography was. For me Act II was the least interesting, mostly because the center figure, Emilia, was not on point. The act was full of plot intrigue so there was much to see. Act III returned to the heated drama. The final pdd between Othello and Desdemona was beautiful but unsettling because you knew what was to come. And it did. And 2 more deaths within seconds. And the curtain came down....bang! San Francisco Ballet is jarring us to the bone. Wonderful stuff, and I can't imagine a better cast. Giannina

I didn't mean to suggest that Heather Watts isn't masterful; quite the contrary. I have a tape of a young Heather Watts in "The Cage" and she's wonderful. Giannina

Thanks, Estelle!! I agree about "Other Dances" having the potential for being great. "The Cage" is a favorite of mine and I wish I knew more about the leads; however the choreography almost carries itself unless the lead is not masterful (think Heather Watts). Can't wait! Giannina

I'm kinda intrigued. It so happens that I was recently thinkiing about Swan Lake and tutus and how stilted it sometimes looks. (Whoa! That bullet came close. Gotta hunker down in this trench.) I'm not sure Australia's new Swan Lake is an answer but I'd like to see a stirred up production. Now I must admit that the phrase "the choreography pays homage to Petipa and Ivanov" sent chills down my spine, and the lack of peasants (or any non-royals, as I understand it) does make one take pause. And where the heck DID they put that black swan pdd? But oh, my; that dress! If nothing else I want to see that dress. Giannina

I've read it too and, like Alexandra, found it fascinating. With each teacher you're saying, "Ooooh, that's the right way!", and then you go to the next one and say, "No, that's even better!". Of course all of them are "the right way" and there's so much food for thought. Giannina