fendrock

This past weekend, I attended the repertory bill at the Boston Ballet, as well as the Christopher Marlowe drama, "Dido, Queen of Carthage" at the American Repertory Theatre. Although both audiences appeared to be comprised of "older" people, there were by far more men at the theatre. I just asked my husband, an MIT grad, why he prefers theater to the ballet (he is happy to go to the theater, will only go to the ballet -- student performances-- to see his daughter perform.) He said ballet was "too subtle." Maybe men used to go to the ballet because it was expected of them -- now it's socially acceptable to go only if it interests you (or your wife insists).

Thanks, its the mom. I thought I would recognize Kathleen Breen Combes, but I guess I was wrong.

No, Karine Seneca wasn't listed in the program. By process of elimination, it seems it must have been either Melissa Hough or Dalay Parrondo.

Personally, I really enjoyed the Lucinda Childs piece. I loved the music, and found the constant movement delightful. I like ensemble dancing, and found this a good one to watch. Certainly not too demanding -- more like watching a sparkling stream, perhaps. I would say the Kylian pieces left me perplexed. I really wondered what the dancers thought about it. I had the sense that Sarabande contained lots of symbolism that I didn't understand. Kylian also seemed to be experimenting with different elements of dance that we don't always consider -- costumes, for example. The men "danced" with their shirts pulled over their heads or their pants around their ankles. The women plucked at their leotards. Ball gowns were suspended over the male dancers heads. The driving drum used in Falling Angels created a kind of primitive appeal. I liked the way Kylain played a bit with the expressions on the dancers' faces. As for the exposure of the dancers' physiques in Sarabande/Falling Angels -- the man sitting next to me commented, "I have more body fat than all of the dancers on the stage put together!" This was the second time I'd seen the Forsythe. It is enjoyable to watch. I was exhausted from concentrating on Sarabande/Falling Angels, however, so I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as the first time I saw it. The swaggering attitude makes a good combo with the steps. By the way, can someone tell me who the featured woman dancer was in "In the middle" at the Saturday matinee? the one wearing the long-sleeved green leotard? (not April Ball)

My daughter (a suburban girl) is dancing in an Urban Nutcracker this season, which got me thinking about alternative Nutcrackers. For example -- how about a Suburban Nutcracker? Clara (who is called Greer in this version) arrives at the Land of Sweets in a mini van, and is picked up by her mother at the end. Coffee has been rechoreographed as Starbucks, and Twizzlers dance the part of Candy Canes. Any other creative new ideas?

What about Teaching Classical Ballet, by John White?

Yes, she dances with each man separately as well as with them together. The piece ends with her on the floor in the same position in which she started.

I've provided my review of the new Peter Martins piece under the Boston Ballet thread. This piece was slow, rather than fast. Not much full out dancing in it, and the woman tended to be carried around by the man more than actually dance with him. Interesting that the critics' reviews are mixed: Boston critic finds it a flop New York Times mentions standing ovation (A side note in regards to the NY Times review -- how can one "pungently" conduct an orchestra?)

My daughter and I attended the Saturday matinee. Divertimento No. 15 appeared very well executed to these (untrained) eyes. Lia Cirio, in Boston Ballet II last year and since promoted to the corps, was one of the featured dancers. I always enjoy Sabi Varga and his very long limbs. Next was Peter Martins new work, Distant Light. We saw Pollyana Ribeiro with Mindaugas Bauzys, Christopher Budzynski and Raul Salamanca. The piece began with the female dancer writhing on her back, then rising, appearing to me as a someone awaking from a dream. She then danced with each of the three men in turn, with many lifts and poses. At one point, she was balanced over the shoulder of the man as he danced across the floor. The men danced together briefly. Ribeiro was on stage for virtually the entire 30 minutes. The piece ended with the woman, alone, returning to her writhing position on the floor. I especially enjoyed the part where Ribeiro danced with Bauzys, as the movement was more extensive and fluid. Another interesting bit was where Ribeiro was spinning in the center of the group of men, and the “centrifugal force” moved them out from her. The costumes were a bit Flintstone-ish, perhaps forming the basis of my (13-year old) daughter’s interpretation of the piece – “It’s the stone age, and the men are fighting over the last woman on earth.” I found the violin music plaintive, in contrast to the Boston Globe, which found it “whining.” The piece was very well received by the audience, which gave it a standing ovation. Last was Balanchine’s Rubies. This was the first time I had seen this piece. In my view, this piece is very hard to “pull off,” as it is a combination of Stravinsky music, ballet, other types of dance (jazz, chorus line) and other movement (jumping rope, crouching to start a race, jogging). Perhaps a tongue-in-cheek or bemused approach is necessary, which I felt was present with the leads (Romi Beppu and Jared Redick). But the female soloist (Sacha Wakelin) played it straight, as did the corps. I was left with the feeling that the corps wasn’t feeling the music the way I would have wished. The performance was very well attended, especially in comparison to repertory performances of the past two years.

I was watching the movie "Honey" (young woman wants to make it as a hip-hop star...) with my daughter this past weekend, and one of the dance scences included moves which looked very much like ballet. The connection is definitely there... sandik, I was very intrigued with your story about tapping the pointe shoe on the head -- what is the basis of this impulse, I wonder?

I think children like to do things, so I would envision a demonstration that starts with some catchy music, and then ask the kids to do some sort of movements to the music. Then, it would be great to show how these simple movements are extended through the ballet form. Also might be fun to do something about "dancing like an Egyptian" (which I believe is based on hierogrylphics which attempted to show full movement), and explain how turnout is related to the same concept.(..or scratch that if there is no relation -- I just attempted to try and look up the history behind/purpose of turnout and only tracked down -- "allows the body to move more easily in more directions"). It would also be neat if one of the kids could "partner" a dancer on pointe -- I don't know how feasible this is, but I'm imagining asking a boy to hold out his hand and have the demo dancer show how his support enables her to balance. It's interesting to think how many ways these could be approached -- through music, through themes like balance, ballet as "sport" (muscles used in ballet versus other sports), familiar themes (from literature, especially) and so on.

Thanks for all the great information. Thursday's links point to a Boston Phoenix article on the new work, "Distant Light." The music is Tālā gaisma ("Distant Light"), Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’s 1997 concerto for violin and string orchestra. Apparently Martins spent three weeks in Boston to complete the approx. 30 minutes of choreography. I'll let you know how it looked to this far from ballet-savvy viewer....

I'll be attending the Boston Ballet soon and will see new work choreographed by Martins. What are your views on Martins as a choreographer? How does his work differ from other modern choreographers whose works are performed frequently (Forsythe, Morris, Wheeldon, etc.)?

Didn't Katherine Hartsell also dance one of the student parts in Mozartiana last season? -- although a web search also reveals that she was a student at the National Ballet School at age 15...

Did any of these come from the Boston Ballet School? Also, I read a profile on a BB II dancer Lia Cirio (now in the corps, I believe) in Dance Magazine this month.

I thought they were pointe shoes for those of us who've never taken a ballet class.

I just finished reading this book. What I disliked most about her story is the way she spent all her time comparing herself to others. I can't remember a single passage about her enjoyment of learning a role and dancing it on stage, topics which frequently form a large portion of dancer autobiographies. What I think it did evoke well is all the "stuff" that comes with pre-professional training to be a dancer -- the competition, self-doubt, less than supportive teachers, anxiety about moving up to the next class, etc. I think much of her rage stems from wanting to dance, but not having the emotional resources to deal with all that "stuff." She contrasts her experience with that of Suki Schorer, who navigated all this terrain much more successfully.

Several years ago, my daughter and I listened to a book on tape of "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" while commuting to ballet and I LOVED that book. The question about walking out on a movie got me thinking. While it may be true that if you stick with a book it will be worth it (I, too, was glued to Middlemarch at the end), I find that bad movies are bad all the way through.

Vagansmom, I think you are so right about parents grieving for the life their child didn't have. You are also right about how difficult it is for parents to accept the grief that they feel. It seems our society is quick to judge parents who are seen as overinvolved with their children (the "ballet mom," etc.). These strong emotions can be seen as "inappropriate," because, after all, our children have to live their own lives, right? Even if I support and accept my children's choices, I think I still have to deal with some sort of phantom "what my child's life should have been like."

I'm reading "Testament of Youth," an autobiography by Vera Brittain, who worked as a volunteer nurse during World War I. I also recently read a very interesting article in the March issue of The Atlantic, "How Serfdom Saved the Women's Movement -- Dispatches from the Nanny Wars." Thinking of this article, I was highly entertained by a quote from Vera Brittain's book, especially as she considered herself a feminist. She has just arrived home from London late at night, and is highly miffed because:

A local Boston area paper, the MetroWest Daily News, ran an article several weeks ago (February 8, 2004) about a survey spearheaded by the Performing Arts Research Coalition. According to this article, the survey yielded some surprising results: It looks like you can find more details at http://www.operaamerica.org/parc/

Does anyone know how the capacity of these venues compares to that of the Wang? I also wonder how they will handle different sets for two different venues -- although it's good they already know now that they need to plan for that.

I'm wondering if you took class with Sabatino Verlezza or Barbara Allegra of the Dancing Wheels company, which I believe is based in Ohio? I know they both danced with O'Donnell, and might be able to tell you how best to train more in this technique

I think you are right, Leigh. Your observation is quite insightful about the American attitude of what it takes to accomplish something. Actually, I think becoming a ballet dancer requires more natural gifts and facility than becoming a president. The dancer has no equivalent of a speech writer, political strategists, teleprompter, etc. Of course, the movie is a fantasy; it's fun to dream about making it big against all odds -- the equivalent of playing the lottery and hoping you will win. But Americans find it difficult to accept that such depictions are just that -- fantasy.

I watched Flashdance this weekend, and was left aghast at its portrayal of the dance world: - she's a welder by day, bar dancer by night, wants to get into the local ballet company - she’s eighteen and has never had any kind of dance lesson - she sends in an application (and is told to list her years and places of training) for an “invitation only” audition to the repertory company - her boyfriend calls someone on the board and asks him to arrange an audition for her as a favor -- the favor is granted and our bar dancer/welder auditions - she wears jazz shoes, a high cut leotard and bare legs to the audition, where she auditions alone before a panel of five judges in a room without a barre in it - the panel of judges LOVES her routine, which looks like a cross between an aerobics workout and a jazz exercise Anyone else have similar silly portraits to share?