garybruce

After reading Villella's and Kirkland's autobiographies consecutively this past month, what struck me was that both agreed on Balanchine's main faults--he used company classes as laboratories for his choreography rather than as warm-up sessions, which caused them physical damage, and he did not provide much in the way of explanation to his principal dancers on how to dance his ballets, which forced them to seek outside counsel. His evaluation of dancers as non-thinking instruments of his intellect in itself must be demoralizing to work with on a daily basis. So Villella and Kirkland sought out other teachers for class and coaches for artistic development--just to find a way of dancing choreography they were told had no meaning. As for Kirkland's crack-up with drugs, I found it not untypical of people whose talents aren't supported by a tough enough psyche in dealing with the on-going stress of high profile jobs. I've known brilliant engineers, scientists, marketers and others whose talents could not deal with the daily challenge of performing at their peak without a mistake. They, too, resorted to alcohol and other drugs to get through their career, and many didn't. In short, I didn't find her collapse into anexoria and drug addiction isolated to the ballet world.

Not just the Little Drummer Boy but the segment from The Odd Couple, which I'll see this week when I receive Year Four of the comedy series (the episode is called Last Tango in Newark). If memory serves, he does a solo lasting 3-5 minutes.

I managed to locate two clips of Villella dancing on TV shows--one is on You Tube dated 1969, when he danced for three minutes on the Perry Como Christmas show (type in Perry Commo and Hollywood Palace). The other is when he danced on The Odd Couple in 1973, fourth season, second episode, entitled, "Last Tango in Newark." The segment is not on You Tube but part of the DVD set of the comedy series. Otherwise, we must make do with our memories.

Now that is tantalizing. The print I've seen is terribly washed out. From http://www.filmlinc.com/archive/wrt/progra...midsummer04.htm it would seem they've done a good job re-saturating the color, although the resolution of course is not great. Still, one could spend quite a while meditating on the frame given at the site.... Which means that one day perhaps we'll all be able to buy it on DVD!

You're missing the best version, made in 1977 on film (available on DVD) with Vladimir Valisiev as Spartacus, a younger Bessmertnova, and Maris Liepa as Crassus, the latter giving one of the great ballet performances of the century (I'm not being hyperbolic). I'm surprised no one here recommended it to you. As for understanding the ballet, realize the Soviets made this as a piece of political propaganda, using the Spartacus led revolt of gladiators and slaves against the Imperial Roman State as an allegory of blah, blah... Everything follows from that concept.

Finally watched the POB production. It's beautiful but cold--perhaps due to camera work that kept cutting in Act II to 45 degree perspective shots, squishing the Willis. On top of which, the director was switching camera angles so often that I never gained an organic perspective of the action. For example, the director kept alternating "you're on-stage" shots with these long and middle distance views. And I found the dancing overall to be unexciting.

I think you've misplaced your anxiety

I recently tried to learn from the publisher's site whether they'd named a new pub date. Nada. I did not send an inquiry, but anyone so motivated could. Carbro, I just found "Ballet and Balanchine" by Arlene Croce being offered for sale at $50 on two Australian websites--www.chaos.com and www.holisticpage.com.au. Pub date is listed on both sites as March 15, 2008. But I could find it nowhere else... This sounds bizarre, especially because no publisher is listed on either site for the book. What are they offering for sale?

Some of the editorial members of BT might want to invest time in discovering what happened to this given the prominence of subject and writer. Speaking of Mr. B, I emailed the Trust to see whether they plan on having the two videos of Balanchine in Celebration turned into DVD's.

Not entirely off point, does anyone know what happened to the filmed version of Giselle with Fonteyn and Nureyev by the BBC in 1962? Kavanaugh in her book claims that the BBC filmed them in studio, and three Act II excerpts from this taping can be found on You Tube and in the video bio of Fonteyn, totaling 8 minutes+. I found the excerpts to be superb and can imagine what the complete Fonteyn-Nureyev version is probably like--if only it would be released. I cannot understand at this point what legal objections could remain to a commercial release.

Terrific recommendation. I put in an order and am only sorry to see it's 200 pages long. It sounds like she had a dramatic life--from Russia to Europe to the US.

I received the following reply from PBS in response to my email suggesting they turn this into a commercial DVD in time for the Tudor Centennial this autumn. "Your suggestion to release GREAT PERFORMANCES - DANCE IN AMERICA: A TUDOR EVENING on DVD has been noted in a report to the appropriate staff for their review." Hopefully, someone in authority will say, "why didn't I think of that!" Given the lack of Tudor work available on any visual medium, I have high hopes this will come to pass.

To answer your first question, Katalina, my DVD cover states it is the 152 minute version filmed in 1974. I cannot answer your second as I have not yet viewed it.

After reading up on Tudor a bit more, I returned to your comments in regards to his Romeo and Juliet, given that Tudor's version of RJ comes to just one act. What could generate a major investment of resources in a one act ballet?

Chris, you might propose that to WNET/PBS as well--it's obviously significantly less costly to covert film or video to digital than to start from scratch if the original film is in good shape. Not to mention showing the documentary and all three ballets again during the October celebration and offering a DVD of all four pieces during a membership drive. Here goes another email...

Thanks, Dale--just placed an order for it.

Bless your memory (or PC database) for that information, RG. I have emailed PBS/WNET and asked them to consider turning that 1990 Evening with ABT (Tudor documentary plus performances of Dark Elegies and Jardin aux Lilas) into a commercial DVD--to tie in with the ABT program at City Center in October. Can other BT members try and do likewise?

I see that ABT is having a two week tribute to Tudor ballets this October at New York City Center, though not all of them--mostly Lilac Garden, Leaves are Fading, and Pillar of Fire. They're not going to perform Dark Elegies, for reasons unknown. So I looked for it on Google and found nothing--ditto for You Tube. All I could find of Tudor's entire output was Lilac Garden on an ABT DVD and a pas de deux from Leaves on another ABT DVD. Perhaps ABT will put the entire Leaves are Fading and Pillar of Fire on DVD from their work at City Center. (Crosses fingers) But why McKenzie would schedule Tharp and Balanchine to run along the Tudor works at City Center instead of more Tudor is beyond me, especially Dark Elegies and Romeo and Juliet.

Have you had a look at it? Inquiring minds want to know...

My disregard for mime as drama is that, from what I've seen of it, it's second rate when compared with the spoken word, and in classical ballets is rarely designed to support dance choreography. In my experience, ballet mime is usually executed poorly and is inadequate to what the story requires for conveying meaning (La Fille would be the exception, but then, it's an early ballet and the mime is thoroughly integrated into the choreography). So...now you've piqued my curiosity to see Napoli again.

I've just ordered the RDB La Sylphide on DVD and look forward to seeing it. It's still interesting that the Danes have Napoli and Sylphide on DVD but not A Folk Tale--even with their Queen's personal involvement in the ballet's production! Your advise about mime is well taken. I just have to adjust my frame of reference--as I did when first encountering Balanchine's works, which happen to "leave out" story, plot, set design and frequently costumes.

Many thanks for the description and the links. I wasn't aware that the Danes have a different take on what constitutes ballet. It appears they rank mime acting as more valuable than classical dance within a larger theatrical concept, something Diaghilev brought to the West and encompassing in equal measure costumes, set design, music, mime, and dancing.

Given all that admiration, Alexandra, why wouldn't the Danes want it on video to promote the ballet, their company and Danish achievement in the arts? I've always been fascinated by the refusal to film the best works out of purist notions (you can't properly put a three-dimensional work in a two-dimensional form), marketing (if the public sees the movie they won't go to the theater) or elitism (only balletomanes should see it and they'll go the theater). I saw the Danes perform Napoli at Lincoln Center in 1986 and was disappointed--two acts of mime and one act of dance. I thought its dance architecture to be lopsided and non-classical. Is Folk Tale more classical in style?

Has the Royal Danish Ballet ever filmed their version of A Folk Tale? I've heard it to be one of the pillars of their repertoire, but am unable to locate anything on video.

I went to Wikipedia to look up Marius Petipa's bio and found the last sentence of the detailed article to be: "Currently the scholar and ballet historian Roland John Wiley is working on a full biography of Marius Petipa." Is this news to anyone here?