BW

Having just reread Mr. Gottlieb's article, I have to say from my point of view his manner is, indeed, strident and often cruel. Why is it that criticism has to descend into personal attack? I don't see the purpose in his asides, nor do I agree with them. I do, however, agree with Ari's remarks: It is especially Gottlieb's asides that are unfortunate. The world is becoming smaller and smaller, in part, due to the Internet and I expect that, as Michael pointed out, there are many more pairs of eyes reading these pages than most might think!

Having just reread Mr. Gottlieb's article, I have to say from my point of view his manner is, indeed, strident and often cruel. Why is it that criticism has to descend into personal attack? I don't see the purpose in his asides, nor do I agree with them. I do, however, agree with Ari's remarks: It is especially Gottlieb's asides that are unfortunate. The world is becoming smaller and smaller, in part, due to the Internet and I expect that, as Michael pointed out, there are many more pairs of eyes reading these pages than most might think!

I am so surprised and so sad to learn this about Ms. Tracey. There is no doubt that she will surely be missed by many - by her fellow dancers and her audience, as well. Naturally I have no idea what her plans are but I will say that my daughter has absolutely loved having her as one of her main teachers at the NYSSSA program this summer. She is apprently an excellent teacher - wouldn't it be nice for the SAB students to benefit from her talents? If not, I hope it is Ms. Tracey's own choice not to teach there... If she does choose to teach, I certainly hope she publicizes where she will be.

As our Saratoga correspondent, rkoretzky writes - we finally met, at the #14 aisle, on Saturday night's performance. It was a pleasure to meet both our faithful "reporter" and her daughter as well! Sneds, and anyone else who has considered driving up but hasn't - Go! You'll not regret it. The atmosphere at SPAC is wonderful and I have to say that I've never seen the dancers look so happy! Was it just my perception or, for the dancers, does being out of doors in such a beautifully serene location infuse them all with more enthusiasm and energy than ever? I thought everyone looked marvelous and danced beautifully. If I knew them all by name, I'd list them individually and thank them for giving us a wonderful introduction to NYCB's summer season. I had never seen Serenade before and my husband and I fell in love with it - so much so that on our way out of town we stopped in the bookstore and bought a great recording to listen to on our way home driving down the Taconic parkway - great road in the good weather and the music just helped us replay the performance in our minds. Serenade has tremendous power and beauty and, by the way, Yvonne Borree was wonderful - so light - so fast - I loved seeing her perform. Luckily, I never take Fancy Free's "sexism" to heart and, instead, just choose to think of it as an old James Cagney, or possibly Gene Kelly, era movie and enjoy the sailors' "maleness" and the laughable way they characterize themselves... Which by the way, is all mime - isn't it? I kept thinking about all the comments on Ballet Talk about not getting the mime in La Bayadere...and thinking how Fancy Free is one giant mime - with a lot of dancing for sure... Maybe since it's so "American" in its nature, it's just so instilled in us that we don't realize it and don't have to think? Who knows - but in my opinion Benjamin Millepied was a knockout! Enjoyed Peter Martins' Jeu De Cartes - thought the costumes were great - especially the corps' - didn't mind the Millepied's or Hubbe's but do have to say that, if I had to choose one to wear (God forbid!), I'd choose Damian Woetzel's as the more sophisticated one! As for the choreography, I do not have enough of a background to decode it in any particular way, however, we thought everyone's dancing was excellent and marveled at the speed in which the four principals often shot across the stage! Janie Taylor looked great as the sought after Queen of Hearts, and her suitors ;) were definitely showing their stuff on Saturday night, too! One of the things I really noticed was that all of the dancers looked as though they were having fun - and that made me enjoy the performance even more. A good time was had by all. Wish we were still up there!

Good question NO7, and I'm hoping it will elicit some learned comments! The whole idea of permanent and exclusive partners seems unusual in the US, I agree.

I received another rave review of Haiku today - this one from my daughter who is up there attending NYSSSA's program. She said via Instant Message that it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen! That Aesha Ash was incredibly good and really wowed them! :DAnd, I've also been told that we "have to" go see it! Raymonda V. and Fancy Free were also thought to be good too. So there is another person who really enjoyed last night's performances!

There is a ballet school in Chicago that is encouraging choreography this summer. One of our young Alertniks has been giving us an excellent description of the course she is taking - you all might enjoy reading her posts. It's in the Ballet Moms and Dads section and it's called "My Summer Choreography Workshop" http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...47243#post47243 I have to think that one of the best ways to encourage choreography is to introduce people to it at a young age - before fear and trembling sets in! ;) But seriously, exposure and involvement make all the difference, don't you think?

Since I didn't see this current Bayadere, I can't comment on their mime, however when I did see The Bolshoi 's version about two years ago - I loved it and can't recall ever being annoyed or bored.:confused: Was this version completely different? It seems that people found much of it incomprehensible or peculiar - especially the "wildlife".

Good points Calliope! My own perceptions, which are based on real life experiences, are very limited, indeed! I have only seen NYCB and ABT out of this group. I am looking forward to SFB's visiting City Center, though. If I were able to make it to all these other locales, I'd love to attend their performances - from The Joffrey to Washington's, to Colorado's too! Here is my favorite part of your post: Ain't it the truth!

I was reading the Quotable Quotes this morning and thought this one quite apropos! I've taken an excerpt from the whole piece which Katharine Kanter so nicely posted. To read more: http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...15&pagenumber=1

I was reading the Quotable Quotes this morning and thought this one quite apropos! I've taken an excerpt from the whole piece which Katharine Kanter so nicely posted. To read more: http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...15&pagenumber=1

rkoretzky, thanks so much for your beautifully written review - and what a wonderful treat to have our own "Alertnik" residing in Saratoga! Plus, I can live vicariously through your eyes since I don't hear much from my daughter these days. Your description of Serenade - makes me so wish I'd been there.

Thanks Mel, you paint a great picture: the Past Perfect Participle, no less!?!:eek: ;) I can't wait to call the box office!

OK, I'll stick my cyber neck out and jump in here: ABT SFB NYCB Boston Ballet Houston Ballet PNB Washington Ballet and Miami City Ballet to name the first few that come to mind.... I would have also thought that Pennsylvania Ballet should have made the list as well until I read that they were making a come back...which makes me wonder where they're coming back from. As for Joffrey in Chicago, I'm sorry to say that I don't know much about them currently in the top seeded sense. Naturally I only know what I read here on Ballet Talk! ;)

I asked this question once before in passing but wondered if anyone else might have any pointers. The one time:eek: I attended my legs almost had to be surgically removed due to the extreme lack of leg room. I believe it may have been Morris Neighbor who suggested 'the row of seats behind the wide cross-aisle in what used to be called the balcony; it now separates the "Grand Tier" from the "Mezzanine."' Since I've become a great ABT fan, and since Alexandra recently posted the upcoming performances by SFB at City Center, I realize I am going to have to start frequenting the place. Now, I assume the section that was suggested earlier costs about as much as the orchestra seats do... Do orchestra seats give one enough leg room, as well? And are there any cheap seats that aren't made for shorter people?;)

Wow! Thanks Alexandra - what a great chance for us Easterner's to see SFB without paying for a plane ticket!.

hermom, We'll be there on the 26th too and it is a great choice to attend! As our daughter is also attending NYSSSA this summer, if you'd like to meet at SPAC please let me know by posting here. By the way, it's never too late to enjoy ballet! I had only seen one, before our daughter was born and began to dance and now I'm hooked!

Bobbi, sounds as though you are going to have quite a time with the Kirov! Sadly, I will not be there on those dates, but I bet there are some others from here who will. Let us know how the performances are, OK? rkoretzky and Farrell Fan, I envy you for your time up there...of course, rhkoretzky you actually live in that lovely area! Maybe next year, we can plan ahead for a nice gathering of the clan.;)

Thanks rkoretzky, we'll be there on the night of the 13th. I'm a little confused at your description of where to look for you and/or your daughter...Upper corner of the house, right? Maybe it will make more sense to me once I am there. Looking forward to our first visit to SPAC. Saratoga Springs is very pretty - just dropped off our daughter at Skidmore for NYSSSA's ballet program and had a chance to wonder around a little bit on Broadway. Love those huge houses with the wrap around front porches!

Just wondering what plans anyone had for summer performances? In NYC, we have the Kirov in town and I believe their curtain rises on Monday. Is anyone planning to attend any of their performances? We'll be there on July 17th at 8pm for Don Quixote. La Bayadere was tempting to me - because I love the Kingdom of the Shades but on the advice of a learned friend , we chose the fun of Don Q. instead - plus I've never seen it besides on a video. If any other Ballet Alertniks decide to attend, perhaps we could meet between Acts? It can be fun to put some faces to the cyber names.;)

Thanks for that insight, Katharine. I think I must have been born from another time, as I've never found it - mime- confusing, but, rather, helpful. However, I do think you're right about the Marcel Marceau type of mime which I am sure I will offend some by saying that I've often found quite annoying...Now, Hilarion kissing Giselle's every step would be another thing all together! Maybe it's a left brain, right brain kind of thing.;)

About the mime not "carrying well" on a bigger stage - it comes in quite handy, to bring along a pair of extra wide field of view binoculars! Interestingly enough, one of the reviews in today's NYT stated that Ms. Ananiashvili and Mr. Correno didn't have much of a rapport - through my trusty binoculars they certainly did! ;) I will say that over acting in mime is terrible - and sometimes the more "humorous" roles can be tricky to carry off well...perhaps that's the mime that people love to hate?

I have to say "Amen!" to Doris's remarks. Just came off a great season with ABT at the Met in NYC! As a matter of fact, this is something I often miss in NYCB's performances - and wonder if the "neoclassical" just doesn't go in for it? Don't know if that's even the correct word to use...but I do, sometimes, feel that many of the ballets I see at the NY State Theater are missing the human emotion..although, I am sure, many would say that their dancing is the expression.

We also attended Thursday evening's Giselle with Nina Ananiashvili as Giselle, Jose Manuel Carreño as Albrecht, Gennadi Saveliev as Hilarion....Michele Wiles as Myrta and her two main "assistants" were Xiomara Reyes, and Elizabeth Gaither. It was a fantastic evening at the Metropolitan Opera House! ! Since I'm not too good at the technical ballet descriptions, I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the performance - Ms. Ananiashvili is an incredibly wonderful dancer who transformed herself from the ingenue whom Albrecht stumbled upon, to the literally, heartbroken woman whose mind could not stand the reality of his betrayal. To me, her dancing was above reproach and her ability to reach out to the audience as Giselle was superb. As for Jose Manuel Carreño, he was, in my opinion, totally believable as one of ABT's "dreamboats" in his seduction of the young, naive, country girl as well as in his immediate remorse as he watched Giselle lose her mind and abandon her life as she danced - in the famous "mad scene". My favorite part of the ballet was, however, in Act II - where poor Hilarion is danced to death by The Wilis - which Gennadi Saveliev did quite well, I might add - and the scene during which Giselle is finally brought into the circle of the dead "unwed" is the beginning of the best part to me. Michele Wiles performed in a seemingly very out of character role as Myrta, where she appeared cold and heartless towards her new initiate's pleadings... Yet, ultimately, true love conquered all and the heartbroken Albrecht is granted his second chance at life through love... and although Giselle must return to her grave, she does so knowing that their love was real. Seriously, I loved it - and I thought both Ms. Ananiashvili's and Mr. Carreño's acting abilities were right on par with their phenomenal dancing! So, this was the culmination for my season with ABT at the Met - we started with The Dream, moved on to the Tchaikovsky Spectacular, towards Le Corsaire to end with Thursday's Giselle....and a fine season it was! Plus, I had the extra added attraction of meeting several Alertniks at the The Dream as well as during the intermission at Thursday night's Giselle!

Thank you Leigh, I really enjoyed reading your essay - what a beautiful trip you just gave me. I regret not seeing Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream this year:(, however your discussion has revived it in my memory and, for that, I am truly thankful. I did see ABT perform Ashton's The Dream this season, and can draw upon my own recent memories - and your descriptions - to see the two choreographer's different approaches much better now, in my mind's eye, thanks to you. I only wish I could have seen the two versions back to back. I have always been a fan of Shakespeare's and this play is one of my favorites. It's interesting that so many have used it as a jumping off point - including Woody Allen... All the world's a stage... and it's a good thing, isn't it?