BW

Just thought I'd bump this thread back up to the top for a bit of air - and for the benefit of those who have never seen it.

I'm going to try again to get to this article - I tried registering three times and each time it said something had "already been taken"...as in my name! I will persevere.

Sue, I do understand your reasons and they're all 100% valid. I'm sure there are many in your situation... however there are those who live within easy limits of major metropolitan areas that don't avail themselves of the many and varied offerings - and these are the situations that are so mind boggling to me. And yes, thank goodness for videos and DVDs. Whatever methods are available! :yes:

Ah, pedagogy. Alas, me thinks this sort of opportunity does not present itself often enough. How can we improve the situation as parents of ballet students, as audience members, as dancers and teachers and arts administrators - as ballet lovers?

koshka, according to our last year's summer intensive survey, ABT/OC does have a performance. I suggest you give them a call ASAP! :grinning:

I'm sorry that this discussion has withered on the vine a bit, as it's an extremely worthwhile topic. Although your post, Michael, speaks more about the arts, in general, and their social underpinnings - and as to the touchstones upon which "we" base our opinions as to what is "good" etc. - I do think that you and Alexandra are getting at the same issues. What astounds me is that so many of the families I know who have aspiring ballet students don't ever take them to see ballet performed! Or, often, if they do it's always the same company or they attend so infrequently they can't begin to learn what the differences are between good, better or "best" ;) - from mediocre and even straight out bad. To draw on the analogy of literature or poetry, I think one would be hard pressed to find a good writer who was not an avid reader from his or her youth - so how can one possibly expect a dancer to grow into an artist, let a lone a "technician", if they never attend performances? :rolleyes: This however, is another topic for another time, perhaps.

Funny Face - I'm sorry that your reply has been languishing here for a while... My guess is that people are away, as I was, and that it might be sort of buried here in this forum. I am thinking it might be better served if it had its own thread and had a title that might catch the eye of readers interested in the path of a dancer returning to college or something along these lines? Am I correct that you are a former professional ballet dancer who had been enrolled in college at one point, before your dance career, and now have returned? If you're interested in pursuing this, let me know and we'll figure out where to go from here. I am sure that others would be interested in your experiences and also very interested to learn more about the university that you speak of in your last paragraphs, as well. I'll wait to hear from you! :yes:

If you check out the links forum for Monday, August 10th, and scroll down to Ari's last post, there is a handy article about the Oregon Ballet Theater and the changes within. This is a hint - I'd like to hear more about this company in the future. :yes: One of the new apprentices was a student at Ballet Academy East in NYC until this summer.

As I was browsing the Links section today, I came across this post by Ari about a new book that's coming out in October by Jennifer Fisher called Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World, click on this link and scroll down until you see the post. Perhaps it will make a nice Christmas present? :grinning:

Thanks so much for the article - please let us know if you read anymore on the subject, too!

Not any longer...and has not been for some time. The exact date of the change is something I don't know. I do know that the two entities still share the same building but that there are changes coming. There are many that are quite interested in this and eager to learn more as soon as possible, that I do know.

I have been told that the Pennsylvania Ballet is planning on a new school of their own "soon". If anyone has any insight or if the newspapers in Philadelphia run any stories, please be sure to post!

It's wonderful to read some detailed reports on the PA Ballet - thank you socalgal and Doris R! I wonder if you might have read Francis Mason's interview with Christopher Wheeldon in the Spring 2003 issue of "Ballet Review"? There's a discussion between the two of them on pages 60 and 61 about his doing a Swan Lake for them... Wheeldon says he's not sure how much of it he'll choreograph and how much he'll take from elsewhere, admitting that for him "the ultimate production, which is the Ashton production for the Royal Ballet" is one he'd like to draw from...such as the "white acts" but he seems to be concerned that "the Pennsylvania Ballet will not have enough swans to do that." To which Francis Mason responds: I'm looking forward to hearing more from you all on this upcoming season, and I hope to make it down for at least one performance this fall. Thanks again.

Thank you Alexandra - I'm taking my issue on vacation and am looking forward to reading it! :cool2:

On the Links forum, I finally got around to reading some of this past week's posts: click on this and scroll down until you come to "the cruelest profession" by Toby Tobias Read on, enjoy it and see what you think.

What a nice new thread. We're heading down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina this weekend for some R & R with a bunch of old friends..a house on the dunes right on the water...a long, white beach that stretches out seemingly forever and great swimming, too. Doris R and Giannina, your trips sound absolutely wonderful! But dirac, please - don't remind me of "Jaws"! :shhh:

Good question Susanne - about the American obsession/tradition of Nutcracker productions. Though I am sure that others, more knowledgeable than I, will respond to your question - here are two old threads that do talk a bit about the American take on this ballet, the general history and its various incarnations. A Nutcracker history - U.S. style? and More thoughts on Nuts P.S. And thank you for telling us about your first "real" live ballet staged by Dame Beryl!

Ozzie Oz, if you click on your own name you will come to a new page and on that page you will see, on the upper left hand corner, an option to Find all posts by yourself or "this member". :sweating:

To read Old Fashioned's report click on this link to her review!

Treefrog, or anyone else with an interest in the educational trajectory of a choreographer, I was reading the Links forum's post for the past few days and came across this article that Ari had posted from the "Houston Chronicle", written by Molly Glentzer, on July 16, titled: High school students stay busy creating new ballets: I think you'll find it encouraging to read about this sort of program. Does anyone have any experience with this particular program, or another like it?

I've just noticed a new sticky that I thought I'd post on here - it explains the mission or purpose of Ballet Alert! and I figured that just maybe some might have missed it.

Grace, I have no idea...naturally I assume they do a ballet class as their company class... My question was an attempt to delve into the possibility that "comfort zones" might come into play in some part. I am a mere audience member and never have had the opportunity to see Dance Theater of Harlem perform . What I was asking was more along the lines of whether or not these dancers (and/or many others) are well versed in what some might call "classical ballet"? I just know that there's often a big disagreement as to who is trained "classically" these days, that's all...and wondered if that is what the author was driving at.

Alexandra, do you think it has anything to do with this: What I am refering to is about the cast's being able to dance it "with unselfconscious conviction" - is that part of the reason the classical pieces aren't working...or am I putting the cart before the horse here? I suppose if the classical technique were taught, it would be understood, and have become an integral part of these dancers... and, then, they would be able to perform the other pieces "unselfconsciously"??

Marga, as Leigh noted, Judith Fugate and Medhi Bahiri's company is now called Ballet NY.

Dear Treefrog, although I have not read "The Nanny Diaries" - I would have to guess that there really are people in existence in NYC like that... From what I've heard about the book, and the interview I heard on NPR a while back, I have to say they exist in other places as well. When my own daughter was little, I was often the only mother at the playground in our suburban town and the stories I heard from the local "nannies" were quite something! :green: Hmm, just think, a new generation E for entitlement?