Ballet styles over time

[atm711]

Our verision of Lindy, which we called the Bop, was in fact pretty much straight 6-count shag, toe-heel toe heel rock-step --

But what ABOUT "Danses COncertantes"? What did that ballet look like? I;'ve never seen it, only read about it.

We tried mighty hard for the Harlem version---much jumping and high kicking.

The closest ballet today to the old 'Danses Concertantes' is 'Rubies'. It was Balanchine at his jazziest best. Imagine Danilova in those small jazzy thrusts; not a picture many people may have of her. It is amazing when I recall the talent in that early production---Ruthanna Boris, Maria Tallchief, MaryEllen Moylan. I often think it is a shame that when Danilova finally got back to Balanchine she was near the end of her career, andher technique was not up to the other works that Balanchine did for the Company, which is why she was not in most of them---except for the Sleepwalker and I always thought she was miscast in this. Jack Anderson in his book "The One and Only: The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" describes the ballet well. One thought while I am still on memory lane---the old Russian Tea Room on West 57 Street in NYC had a very large painting of Danilova and Franklin in their yellow Berman costumes from the ballet.

[Paul Parish]

Bart, it is so cool that you can Lindy.

And atm, i'm having a LOT of fun picturing your Savoy style.

It's still necessary to watch out before kicking your neighbors; the cool place to lindy in SF is, by the way, called the Doghouse. Older dancers are revered. If you ever come out here, you MUST go to the Doghouse Saturday night, you'll have no end of partners.

Bart, you reminded me how sweet it was to recognize a lindy partnering move in "Square Dance," which FB did really well htis year.... It happens several times in hte first movement, that when after dacning round the corps couples get together and stand still, framing the ballerina, they'll stand side by side, and she'll put her hand on his near shoulder -- then he'll gently pick up her hand , and move it behind his head and place it on his far shoulder -- they don't snuggle up or anything, it's all decorous, but it's intimate in a sweet gentle way, and it has an effect on me FAR greater than the scale of the movement -- I go "AW" inside every time they do it.

Also, actually, I like both your candidates for ballerina who looks like the royal princesses - -especially since Princess Ann most certainly did adopt Markova's hair-do.... but I was thinking actually of Fonteyn, whose features to me look a LOT like theirs -- Princess Margaret's eyes are almost exactly the same. Fonteyn looks like their lucky cousin who got to have a "real" life and go on the stage and wear more interesting clothes.

[Marga]

but I was thinking actually of Fonteyn, whose features to me look a LOT like theirs -- Princess Margaret's eyes are almost exactly the same. Fonteyn looks like their lucky cousin who got to have a "real" life and go on the stage and wear more interesting clothes.

Paul, Margot Fonteyn was my first, gut-reaction, response. But, I thought, hey! that's too easy -- and so I went digging further into my brain! She certainly does resemble the Royals, and she could easily be their very elegant cousin who always behaved royally, in interviews and the TV shows she hosted.

atm -- Has the Russian Tea Room become the "Rush In Tee Room", now that is is owned by the USGA (United States Golf Association). I remember how aghast I was a few years ago when news of the sale came out. What is being done with the property? Is it still a restaurant? Talk about ballet styles! Another era ended. Where do ballet people hang out now?

As for Treefrog's original question, I think if such a video could be conjured up, many of us would be able to ballpark the time periods of the dancing. What an interesting experiment it would be!

[atm711]

atm -- Has the Russian Tea Room become the "Rush In Tee Room",Where do ballet people hang out now?

Well put, Marga. I patronized the place when it really was the RUSSIAN Tea Room and I could only afford the cheapest dinner on the menu which was something called 'shashlik'---something my southern-european-american background had never heard of. Alas, my hanging out days are long over.