BW

Great suggestion Leigh! There's a veritable wellspring of information here just waiting to be tapped!

Initially looks do "matter"...just as in real life - or in off stage life ;) - one is going to be initially attracted to, repelled by, or even left with that nondescript feeling, by what someone looks like. Now for most of us, once the first few seconds tick by, and the individual opens his or her mouth the this initial image usually fades into the background and one would hope that one was more interested in content than appearance. Nevertheless, I have to admit that in ballet I really do look at the dancers' faces. When the curtain parts, and I've pulled out my auto focus, extra wide view binoculars, I scan the dancers to get a good look at "who" they are...from corps to principals...it doesn't matter to me. I just want to see their faces - there's something important about this to me...maybe it's along the lines of "the eyes being the window to one's soul"...? As for beauty - well, there are many opinions on that one aren't there? One person's "gamine" - as Giannina mentioned - might be considered unattractive in a ballet sense, while others would swoon for such a young lady - look at Audrey Hepburn, or several of Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech ballerinas. Although I may be more attracted to a certain "type" in either male or female dancers, I can still be lured into falling for another due to their portrayal of their character or, what I perceive to be, their vituosity as a dancer. To me, Janie Taylor and Jennifer Ringer couldn't be more dissimilar, yet they both have that certain something that can draw me to their performances...and it's not just their steps. The same goes for such disparate male dancers as Peter Boal and Angel Corella, or Carlos Acosta and Guillaume Graffin... I guess I'm just a "fool" for a personality that shines through. ;)

Jaana and Old Fashioned, please let us know about the two versions of Cinderella that you both are going to see - or in your case, Old Fashioned, that you hope to see! I've never seen Cinderella...though I may have seen it on a video at some point? Sometimes I think my imagination may have tricked me into believing I ever saw it at all...must have been due to reading the story all those times... By the way, Jaana, I am really glad you did ask this question here on Discovering Ballet and that several of the board's more knowledgeable members responded so quickly as well. Again, please do write a follow-up to this post once you've been to your performances of Cinderella, OK? Just think of it as your "first draft" forum. ;) I promise we're a good audience.

I missed the television version... but I, too, saw Contact in "real" life and loved it as did my daughter... And I would guess that the husband's vile essence in the "Did you move?" scene would probably have lost it's razor's edge with the removal of his favorite word... Agreed that in many movies, etc., it's totally unnecessary... Often, one person's view of something as "art" is another's need for censorship.

I'm not a musician by any means... however, I am sure I have heard that there is a certain set of notes, chords or ? that is known to elicit an emotional response within most human beings? Naturally, I am not suggesting that this is THE reason or, even, A reason for this response of thrills and chills that you're talking about ronny...nevertheless, I wonder if there are any musicians in the house who might speak to this. I'm sure I heard a program on NPR about this - they specifically spoke about a certain well known piece that Andre Bocelli(sp??) sings...it's an Italian piece, quite familiar, but the name escapes me... Sorry for the aside! Back to the thrills and chills and moments of recognition while watching a ballet - I think it can be similar to the feeling one gets when one meets someone and says "Oh, you too?" in one's mind...it's a meeting of something deep...perhaps of souls? I guess that is what, in some ways, Mel was refering to...something touches you...and you become one with it...?

Many thanks, Leigh. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to see a Joffrey performance.

OK, here are some questions I've always wondered about: 1. Why is the company in Chicago - wasn't it at one time in NYC? 2. Why is the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and not Chicago? 3. Do they have schools in other cities as well - such as San Antonio, or are these places just for their summer programs? 4. Do they ever perform in NYC, anymore? 5. Who is the Artistic Director? 6. Is there a specific "style" of ballet that they perform...I've heard that their school in NYC has a very different style of ballet that they teach...is this true? Thanks!

I hadn't looked at this thread since our resident Saratogian - reporter at large - initially posted. I think that Allegro_brill has shown us an especially touching aspect of the life of a professional dancer. Many thanks.

I hear George W. Bush removes the obstructions to his own thought-work by consecutively moving his feet while upon his treadmill. ;)

I just finished "reading" that one!:rolleyes: Very funny... I wondered if English were his second language? Figured it was a Greek word, but just couldn't the appropriate dictionary.;)

Thanks Manhattnik and dirac - I feel vindicated in re my own reactions. ;)

FF, would you mind giving me the definition of "telos"? I loved your remarks but know I'm missing a key ingredient in my "decoding" of your message. ;)

Adrian it is! I do recall seeing Joan C. in her earlier days, but most of my memories are of her when she was a bit tougher looking...and I have to admit that "Mommy Dearest" does come to mind, at times. I think I'll stick with Claudette Colbert!

I've always loved Claudette Colbert - "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable is a great one too. :cool:I do remember "Midnight" but haven't seen it since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Yes, Don Ameche was quite good and very funny. My childhood in New York was punctuated regularly by Million Dollar Movie which I believe was on every afternoon... Joan Crawford, ah yes...used to get her confused with Victor Mature all the time - must have been the chin...or was it the shoulder pads? ;) Which reminds me, there is an exhibit right now, or was, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC that is devoted to a famous clothing designer, whose name escapes me at the moment, and Joan C. often wore his creations.

I don't know how many of you all remember to take a look at the "Links" section of Ballet Talk but you really should remember to check it out. Today there one of the hyperlinks is to an article in New Jersey's Star-Ledger which gives an overview of dance history. True, it's not anywhere near as complete as Robert Greskovic's wonderful book Ballet 101: The Complete Guide To Learning and Loving the Ballet but it may whet your appetites. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/ind...09382984985.xml "BALLET 101 -- Learning the language of dance" by Robert Johnson August 23, 2002

Thanks Manhattnik! I hope you send it in as a letter to the editor.

Thanks Manhattnik! I hope you send it in as a letter to the editor.

Silly me. When I read it, I read right over that first part and noticed more of her comments on different body types and the abilities of the performers, etc. And then of course the part about Tobias. I must have my own internal editor. To imply that "ballet is genuinely over" is absurd.

Silly me. When I read it, I read right over that first part and noticed more of her comments on different body types and the abilities of the performers, etc. And then of course the part about Tobias. I must have my own internal editor. To imply that "ballet is genuinely over" is absurd.

Just picked this up from a link that'd already been posted elsewhere on the board: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0234/zimmer.php "Attitude With Altitude and Horsepower to Spare Trocks Transcendent" by Elizabeth Zimmer August 21 - 27, 2002 It's a nice, entertaining Trockadero article but the last line is what got me. "I was out of the country earlier this month when New York magazine saw fit to terminate the column of Tobi Tobias, a stellar dance critic whose writing has graced its pages since 1980. We will make room for her here."

Just picked this up from a link that'd already been posted elsewhere on the board: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0234/zimmer.php "Attitude With Altitude and Horsepower to Spare Trocks Transcendent" by Elizabeth Zimmer August 21 - 27, 2002 It's a nice, entertaining Trockadero article but the last line is what got me. "I was out of the country earlier this month when New York magazine saw fit to terminate the column of Tobi Tobias, a stellar dance critic whose writing has graced its pages since 1980. We will make room for her here."

Mel, I love that expression "geezer pop"! ;) Speaking of "The Long and Winding Road", I believe Stanton Welch choreographed a ballet to that last year for ABT's Studio Company. And just for the record, I saw them perform it out here in the hinterlands of Westchester County at Purchase College and quite enjoyed it. I hope for both ABT's and George Harrison's sakes they're successful with this new "Beatle" related ballet.

Just FYI, there are a couple of interesting articles in this new issue. There is one on page 50, in their Fall Preview 2002 section, by Alexandra Tomalonis about what's coming up in Washington DC! And, on page 35, you will see "Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's Choreoplan Making A Ballet on The Dancers of Tomorrow" - a journal by Kathryn Posin who along with Leigh Witchel, Charles Maple and Laszlo Berdo participated in the Choreoplan in October of last year. There is also a piece by Clive Barnes about NYCB and ABT and their very different heritages based upon "their" choreographers... with a real push for ABT to continue performing Ashton's and Tudor's ballets.

One of my favorite parts is the look that passes between partners at the end of a pas de deux or during it - in a particularly difficult move. I love to see the expressions of mutual triumph in a job well done! :)

It does sound as though they are pandering to a different type of audience...and in my New Englander's view, it is not in the best of taste. The NYCB's winter program came a while ago and I have to admit that the back photo did remind me a bit of some sort of underwear ad - you know the sullen, "sexy" young things that stand there. :rolleyes: I'd better go take another look at it so I can be fair in my review of it. ;) I was not fair. I take it back. The back photo is not as bad as I had recalled..it's more like a "Gap" ad. ;) The front cover, on the other hand, is a photo of Maria Kowroski that is quite beautiful. I never read the notes on the inside but just did and it there was nothing "untoward" in there at all. ;)