I wanted to talk a little bit about what I read in the BLOG section I mentioned before. For RBF's last shows in NYC, Forsythe came to rework some sections with us before the shows happened. He especially worked with us on the drama and skills of miming....somehow a lost art. Naturally with Forsythe, we exaggerated this and it became somehow funny as a joke on itself. While we were working on this part, he was saying how surprised he was that many young dancers in this generation do not know even the simple "normal" ballet gestures for miming.
I had to agree that it isn't taught as it should be...in most places. I certainly wasn't taught much because I wasn't trained in a large professional school attached to a company. I learned most gestures from watching performances, learning certain roles, and studying videos. It is becoming a lost part of the art in a sense that an untrained audience member may not understand it. I would hope that someone truly "speaking" while miming could convey the message without the audience being studied in the miming language. After all, the classical ballets do tell stories and these miming sections can be the most boring and confusing moments!
It is interesting to me, because several people on ballettalk mentioned that Forsythe doesn't perhaps like classical ballet, but I believe a part of him is totally in love with its' theatrical foundation and high drama. I myself would like to see more rave reviews of fantastic miming sections!
Just one opinion to throw out there. =)