Giannina

I'm getting the willies reading all this! Giannina

It was easy to be bowled over by Angel Corella at first sight, and I was. Cheryl Yaeger impressed me when she was in ABT's corps and it was fun to watch her progress to principal dancer. Her career was too short and her repertoire somewhat limited. Giannina

Of course I miss Makarova. And I agree with those who miss Kirkland and Bissell. The career I've missed, and that I regret the most, is Guillem's. If I'm not mistaken she has travelled to the West Coast only once (with "Cinderella), and for me her entire career has been a series of magazine articles. (She will come this year with "Giselle".) Giannina

Oh, Mary; you're something else again!! Giannina

I haven't seen Alexandra Ferri much lately but I always thought she was a very good actress, most notably in R&J and Manon. As always, when a topic like this surfaces I think first of Makarova, my all time favorite ballerina. She acted with fervor but my reaction to her emoting was, "There's Makarova acting" rather than "There's Giselle". Giannina

Your review is so welcome, Estelle. You are a much appreciated window to the world of POB. I have seen Guerin once or twice (once on tape) and have always been impressed by her; such a loss that I couldn't have witnessed more of her career. Or, for that matter, the careers of so many POB dancers. Giannina

Leigh, thank you for the review. It was a wonderful sketch of the dancers, new and old; and for those of us rarely able to see NYCB it is an invaluable progress report. The bit about Askegard's "pray-pah-rah-cion" was classic! Giannina

Green green green! Giannina

Chazin-Bennahaum's book is called "The Ballets of Antony Tudor". Giannina

I thought of Alsymuratova as Scarlett. Giannina

Yikes...I make a mistake and before I can redeem myself 20 posts have been submitted. Great topic. Yes, I meant Patrick Bissell. Thanks for standing up for me, Alexandra. The fact that I am a Makarova person shows you how impressive I found Harvey's performance. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited July 26, 2000).]

The best Giselle I ever saw was ABT's Cynthia Harvey (with Ted Bissell). Not only did she display superlative technique but she simply wafted as a Willie with moves and nuances I've seen from no other Giselle. Perfection! Giannina

Leigh....any chance of another diary? Please? Giannina

Good news! In the Bolshoi program booklet last night there WAS an announcement asking patrons in the balcony to please not sit forward as they will block the view of those behind them. Bad news! It was on the last page, hidden among the "For Your Information" tidbits. But it's progress. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited June 28, 2000).]

Most people know my pet peeve is applause during the performance. I won't even start on that subject; I'm tense just mentioning it. However, there are others. The people who lean forward in their seats; this blocks the view of those behind them for several rows. At one performance a man seated 2 rows ahead of me did this and I was so @#$%&!! angry that I told the person directly in front of me to ask the man to sit back, which she did (probably as annoyed as I) and it worked. I've also had my come-uppance. A lady snuck into the seat in front of me, which irked me (OK, I've done it too). What made me angrier was that she wore a rather large hat. One insult was bad enough but 2 were more than I could handle so I politely asked her to remove her hat. She did, and unleashed the wildest, long bouffant head of hair I've ever seen...much larger than the hat! How I wished I had the nerve to ask her to put her hat back on. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited June 26, 2000).]

The first "ballet history book" I read was "Ballet, an Illustrated History" by Mary Clarke and Clement Crisp. It was full of fascinating information yet an easy history book to read. Giannina

Estelle....be sure to tell us which books you bought! Giannina

Of all the Balanchine biographies I've read I liked Garis's the least. Can't remember why now, and I could very well be in the minority. Liked Taper and Mason on Balanchine; also "Ballets of Antony Tudor". Green, green, green.... Giannina P.S. Who's in Berkeley: Alexandra or Estelle? [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited May 09, 2000).]

Gorgeous costumes, Juliet. Manhattnik, thanks for the review and for bringing Juliet's costumes to our attention. Giannina P.S. I'm having computers nightmares. Downloaded a file with a virus. The message started with "Hey, you!" If you get one of those, ignore it; horrible stuff!

Applause during ballets is a pet peeve of mine...don't even get me started. Suffice it to say Jerome Robbins was my kind of guy! Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited February 24, 2000).]

Me too, Marc. Why was she considered technically weak? I can go with the mannered. I'm not sure what over-stretched means. Giannina

Alexandra...please tell me what it was about not-top-of-the-line Fonteyn that you prefer over Makarova. Cargill found Makarova's Swan Lake "woozy"; the word is probably self-explanation but I'm not positive what it means. (I saw Fonteyn in her prime but I don't remember it; plus I really wanted to see Shearer and was miffed that I didn't!) Giannina

The more I read on this board the more I realize how little I know about ballet in spite of my years of devotion. I wish I could see Liebeslieder the way Leigh sees it. For me it's a beautiful ballet; for Leigh it's an experience. Maybe when I grow up.... Giannina

I've gotta add my thanks for that great review, Manhattnik! Even if you'd written nothing but your impression of Lacarra it would still be considered terrific. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited February 16, 2000).]

That happened recently when San Francisco Ballet visited So. Calif. Not only was there no announcement but hardly anyone noticed the change (it was written up in our reviews)! Years ago Cynthia Gregory was dancing Don Q in L.A. Looooong intermission between Acts II and III; Gregory was injured. 3 soloists danced the 3rd act pas de deux, each doing either her specialty or as much as she knew! There's a video of La Bayadere that started with Makarova and ended with Tcherkassky. Giannina