Giannina

Great story, Mel. Especially love the "heels down", technique freak that I am. Giannina

An interesting article in this morning's Los Angeles Times about the sale of some rare ballet books. Find it at: http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/ CALENDAR/t000071955.html://http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CA...t000071955.html Giannina [This message has been edited by alexandra (edited September 04, 1999).]

May I get down on my knees and thank all of you for your posts on "Sleeping Beauty". These reviews are the best that have been written by our contributors to date. They are so full of detail...costumes, music, mime, color, dancing, personalities, history...I almost feel as if I've been there (that's a BIG "almost".) I'm eagerly look forward to the reviews to come. Giannina

Wow, Alexandra; what a terrific article; thank you so much for posting it. Who were the 2 men you felt had the qualifications for a balletmaster? Giannina

I've seen "Onegin" once on stage, I have the tape with Augustyn and Allemann, and I've seen Makarova, on tape, in the 2 big pas de deux's (dream scene and the final confrontatiion); thus I know little about the ballet. What I liked most was the lovely choreography for the 5 major roles: Onegin, Tatiana, Olga, Lensky and Gremin. I felt the dancers in those roles had a wonderful opportunity to shine. I find Cranko's choreography repetitive; this proves to be a distraction for me. As for the above mentioned 2 big pas de deux's: there is something upsetting about them for me and I can't put my finger on it; I'm uncomfortable when presented with that choreography and that music. The dream scene is supposed to be eerie, but for me it goes behond that. No one else mentions it so I'll have to assume it's something personal. I therefore give "Onegin" a spooky thumbs-up. Giannina

Alexandra...in a post on the Dancers thread you were talking about Bussell's book and said, "don't take everything she says about her roles as gospel". I recently finished reading her book and wondered what you meant. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited April 17, 1999).]

atm711, I remember John Kriza. I was very young (pre- and/or early teens) when he was dancing with Ballet Theatre and they'd visit San Francisco. My favorite ballet at the time was "Fancy Free" (I still love it) and it was a treat when he was in it. He seemed more dashing than the others, especially Youskovich (spelling). I still have some programs from those old Ballet Theatre productions, and it was fun to watch the kids from San Francisco Ballet school (where I studied...in vain) enter the corps of Ballet Theatre. Giannina

atm711....Tell us more, pleeeease!! Giannina

Ooops; forgot a book. Obviously it didn't make much of an impression. With great eagerness I read "The Ballet Called Swan Lake" by Cyril Beaumont, since his book "The Ballet Called Giselle" is one of my favorites. "....Swan Lake" did not measure up. All the explainations of steps and gestures given in "...Giselle" that made the ballet come alive for me were missing in "...Swan Lake". Rats! Giannina

Paquita and I must have been on the same wave length; I was just about ready to "talk" about some books I've read (my treasure trove from Christmas.) I finished "Inside Ballet Technique" by Valerie Grieg yesterday (mentioned by Lugo) and found it fascinating. I would not limit it to advanced teachers and dancers; there's a wealth of information in there that serves a double purpose: explains the physical aspect of ballet, and makes you realize how incredibly difficult ballet is. David, if you haven't read a book like this I would recommend it as you help your daughter make possible career decisions. I began my reading with "The Romantic Ballet in Paris" by Ivor Guest; I was inspired (by Alexandra) to read this when I couldn't come up with one answer to the Quiz on POB. Finding the book was the biggest challenge; reading it was an education. It covers a mere 30 years of ballet history, starting with 1827; though the book is crammed with dates and a lot of French terms/names it moves swiftly, a tribute to Guest. Ballet in those days was something quite different than today. "Romeo & Juliet, the Love Story in Dance" by Nancy Ellison was a lot of pretty pictures and nothing more. "Dance Writings and Poetry" by Edwin Denby was beyond me, as I mentioned in another post. Some of his articles were of great interest, but many more concerned facets of ballet that I don't understand. Maybe some day. Darcey Bussell's "Life in Dance" was light reading; interesting though she wrote more about celebrity life than I wanted to know. "Frederick Ashton and His Ballets" by David Vaughan was excellent. I wish I had read it before I read "Secret Muses" by Julie Kavanagh; the former concentrates on his choreography (with tons of photos) and would have made a good introduction to the 2nd, which is broader and covers not only his life but the lives (and gossip) of those with whom he worked. I'm now whizzing through "Let's Go On" by Wayne Johnson, a book celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pacific Northwest Ballet. This caught my eye mostly because of Olivier's posts; informative. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited April 03, 1999).]

I'm so excited I can hardly think. I'M GOING TO NEW YORK FOR THE BALLET!!! Not Kirov (wedding, remember?) but in May. I need advice on which weekend offers the best program, and I need it fast. If I go the weekend of May 8 I see ABT's "Romeo and Juliet" and NYCB "Swan Lake". I was excited about "Swan Lake" til Kevin Ng nixed it. Just how bad was it, Kevin? On the weekend of May 29 I get "Giselle" and Durante (well, that's Ed's choice) plus a mixed bag at NYCB: Sat. mat.... Allegro Brillante Andantino Mozartiana Aurora's Wedding Sun... Theme and Variations Serenade Diamonds Dale; how do you feel about these choices? Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Did I mention I was excited?! Giannina

For me "Swan Lake" is the ultimate test for the ballerina. She's in a tutu so there's no place to hide sloppy technique. This is where she "shows me what's she's got", and if she is one of the best she will never look better. It takes my breath away just thinking about it. Giannina

I like doing it but my system is like yours: hunt thru a stack of programs. I do clip all newspaper reviews of the ballets and put them in the programs; that helps me remember how good or bad the ballet was. Sometimes I'll put notes on the program to remind me of a particularly memorable performance. Over the years I've amassed BOXES of programs, and finding something is next to impossible. On the plus side, going through the programs produces some of life's sweetest memories. Giannina

Cargill pretty much states how I feel about these criticisms that elude me. I'm more like what Leigh doesn't want to be: my ballet training making me fixate on feet or knees. I don't mind other aspects being brought into a criticism/review; I just don't want the point stretched to the extreme that we leave the ballet and enter something else. I'd have to go back to Denby's book and find some of his references and I'm too lazy to do that, but at one point he was comparing the philosophical outlook of a choreographer at the time he made a ballet and finding this philosophy in the choreography. You lose me there. I think Leigh's fanciful example of "semaphore port des bras" would also strike me as being a stretch; that's just looking too deeply into a simple movement. But I'm willing to be educated; maybe Denby offers me too much all at once. Giannina

Ooops; forgot to say which of Kirkland's performances I saw. I saw her initially in "La Sylphide" and lastly in "Giselle"; there were probably others in between but I don't remember them.

Congratulations, pdance! Kirkland was wonderful. She was one of the first ballerinas my husband ever saw and she was his favorite. Unfortunately we also saw her as her life was falling apart, and though the differences were obvious she remaimed something special. I never think of her without thinking of Patrick Bissell; he partnered Cynthia Harvey in the most beautiful "Giselle" I've seen. What a loss.

Katharyn said that a classical company needs to add modern dance to its repetroire as a means of keeping balanced and versitile. I've heard some dancers say the same thing...that they like the added challenge. I, however, feel cheated if I pay to see classical ballet at one of the major ballet companys and get a sampling of modern dance. Had I wanted modern I would have gone elsewhere. Giannina

Alexandra mentioned Eliot Felt, and this subject had made me think of him. Alexandra said he did not grow up in ballet; didn't he dance with ABT or is that not enough to qualify as a neoclassicist? Anyway, when he first started choreographing I liked some of the things he did. There was "Dances from Intermezzo" which was lyrical and lovely. My favorite was a couple of scenes from "Half Time" (I think this qualifies as one of those ballets we're embarrassed to admit we like). A dance called "Red, White and Blue" (on point) danced by Michaela Huhes is a riotous depiction of a ditzy cheerleader. It's sexy, funny, jazzy, but Hughes's technique is still balletic and she's beautifully turned out. In 1984 I sat through an evening of Feld that was so bad I developed a killer headache and was ready to leave after the 2nd selection. My husband convinced me to stay and we were treated to "The Jig Is Up", a rolicking spash of Highland Fling. I was sorry to see that Feld did not live up to the promise I thought he showed in his early endeavors. Giannina

Alexandra...that was a wonderful post! Giannina

I've been thinking about this question for 2 days, wondering why my love of ballet revolves around point work and the dancing rules of classical ballet. The answer is because that's what I was taught (in my ballet classes) and that's what I understand; I even know what it feels like to dance ballet. I know nothing about modern dance and therefore cannot tell if what I'm seeing is good or bad. The only not-on-point ballets I can think of that I like are "Fancy Free" and "Green Table". I don't like Tharp or Forsythe even though their ballets are on point; they break too many "rules". I know this attitude severely limits me but I'm stuck with it. Giannina

Spine tingling as opposed to thrills from the sheer beauty of the choreography; interesting thought. In "Swan Lake" when Odette turn from human to swan; always thrilling, but done by the right dancer it can be electrifying. In "Eugene Onegin" when the heroine finds the hero in the mirror: there's something about the actual idea being presented and the music at that moment that is disturbingly eerie to me. In "Green Table" when Death finally faces the Profiteer; every time I see it I think, "Gotcha!" In "Fancy Free" when the sailor dances the duet with the girl: here is a guy on leave, maybe going overseas to whatever awaits him, and he has a lovely girl in his arms for this pleasant moment and she is attentive to him; such poignancy as they share an innocent intimacy. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited 02-11-99).]

Alexandra...Russian National Ballet is in Cerritos this weekend with "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty". I'm seeing 2 of the former and one of the latter. Giannina [This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited 02-10-99).]

Be sure to catch Steve Keeley's excellent (as always) "Le Corsaire" review on a.a.b. Giannina

OK, I was wrong....but not entirely. The final performance of "Le Corsaire" was the best I saw but it was still a bit "too much". Cast: Ethan Stiefel as Conrad, Angel Corella as Ali, Vladimir Malakhov as Lankendem, Julie Kent as Medora, and Paloma Herrera as Gulnare. This was my first look at Malakhov and he did not disappoint; the same qualities I found and liked in Belotserkovsky. Corella set the house afire. He had all the splashy moves, including the multiple pirouette that descended and arose from a plie position. The audience went crazy. Too much. Herrera was beautiful but I now definitely miss "arms and legs all over the place"; I hardly recognized her style. The evening belonged to Kent and Stiefel. Stiefel immediately established himself with giant split leaps with a hesitation at the top of the leap; he was wonderful throughout the performance. Kent was beautiful. One thing I particularly notice about her (and I'm at a loss for words here because I do not know the ballet terms): when she does a develope forward...has her leg elevated 90 degrees in front of her...and "presents her foot" as I once read Balanchine said, she presents a most beautiful foot. That sounds silly but that position is perfection. She has a series of pirouettes in the first act which start with a single pirouette with the leg coming too and moving while in that position; I darn near cried it was so beautiful. Alexandra, you asked if the audience liked "Le Corsaire". I think so. They applauded everything enthusiastically (don't get me started). The last performance was a full house, very unusual in So. Calif.; part may have been due to the fact that the ballet was being taped for TV. One last thought. Those triple pirouettes I saw at the rehearsal were indeed called for in the performance. All the dancers did them, but whoever that first girl was (and I think it was Gillian Murphy) did them without a hitch: not a wobble and in a straight line!! Giannina

I've seen "Le Corsaire" 3 times in 5 days. I'm either over-exposed or tonight's performance was uninspiring. I think tonight's performance was uninspiring. Susan Jaffe was Medora, Guiseppe Picone was Conrad, Yan Chen was Gulnare, Keith Roberts was Lankendem, and Marcelo Gomes was Ali. Chen was the only one who drew my attention, but she was in total contrast to Ashley Tuttle on Thurs. night and I preferred Tuttle. Chen was crisp, lively, young, whereas Tuttle was grand and expansive, giving the role maturity (I'm at a loss for adjectives here). Comparing all these performances in such a short time has been very interesting. At the same time I'm reading Edwin Denby's "Dance Writings and Poetry" from which I'm getting the idea "less is more". As I said Robert's Ali was understated. Tonight Gomes had the flashier steps and had the audience in the palm of his hands....except me; I preferred Roberts. Tomorrow it's Corella in the same role (yes, I'm going); I've already commented on his portrayal at rehearsal and in my present frame of mind I'm not going to like him. Belotserkovsky danced Lenkendem at the rehearsal and I preferred him to John Selya and Roberts. Belotserkovsky has a forward facing preparation for his double tours en l'air, a deeper plie ending to a particular jump in the 1st act, and a suppleness to his introductory side kicks (don't know the ballet term), all of which lent to the exotic evil air of his character. Tomorrow's performance has everyone, and I mean everyone, in it. It's being taped over 3 days (same cast) for a PBS broadcast. I think it's going to be too much...we'll see. Giannina