Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Joy Womack


Recommended Posts

I don't know. I still think there's enough phenomenal talent out there that doesn't come with a history of negativity toward employers. If I were an AD, I wouldn't want to have to deal with her personality. She's not the big name draw that would make an AD be willing to put up with certain behaviors. 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, vagansmom said:

I don't know. I still think there's enough phenomenal talent out there that doesn't come with a history of negativity toward employers. If I were an AD, I wouldn't want to have to deal with her personality. She's not the big name draw that would make an AD be willing to put up with certain behaviors. 

I agree vagansmom. Also, she doesn't have a background in handling the variety of ballets American companies do now. I know she does a contemporary work in competitions, but she's been focusing on the classics as done by the Russians. There is nothing wrong with that, if that's what she wants but It might be hard for an AD to picture her doing Balanchine, Forsythe, Wheeldon, Peck etc. I've never gotten any indication that she wants to explore or can be adaptable in that way.

Link to comment
11 hours ago, Jayne said:

For her own future employment (in or out of ballet) I think she needs to take down the vlog.  And maybe take a year off dance.  

Ditto.  One  trait of hers that has bothered me since her student days, is a lack of gratitude or even recognition of the role others had in nurturing her talent. According to Joy, her teachers all recognized a remarkable talent and loved her, but were in no way responsible for her achievements.  But I don't recall seeing any quotes from professionals in the field, including her teachers, that confirmed these claims. This is the impression I formed from the coverage of her time at the Bolshoi Academy.  She projected a sense of entitlement beyond reason.  As the years have gone by and prima ballerina status has eluded her it actually seems she was delusional.  As a professional dancer it's obvious that she hasn't learned how to play well with others. 

Edited by lmspear
Link to comment
39 minutes ago, Nzoia said:

I often read criticisms of Russians performing Balanchine, so I did a little research and came across Pierre Lacotte's thoughts about Uliana Lopatkina in Balanchine.  He described it as "totally amazing."  Jean-Guillaume, a former principal with the POB, described how, as he watched Lopatkina's extraordinary performance in Diamonds, he almost forgot that he was her partner.  Uliana Lopatkina is probably the most lyrical, classical dancer of our time.  It is no surprise that Evgenia Obraztsova is probably Pierre Lacotte's main muse.  A reason for that is her proficiency at very fast, difficult petit allegro, together with her classical repertoire.  (She's also amazing in modern pieces.)

I think that Pierre Lacotte's or Jean-Guillaume's opinion on Balanchine style is like Kevin McKenzie's opinion on Royal Danish Ballet style because ABT performs "La Sylphide" and "Etudes."

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Nzoia said:

Ironically, the NYCB had to re-introduce the classics into its repertoire to prevent it from gong bankrupt.  

 

Not to get off-topic but I'd be curious to learn more about this.  Or at least get some clarification on what classical ballets had to be re-introduced. 

Link to comment

NYCB was saved by adding classics? I agree that they are box office gold but NYCB's golden goose is Mr B's 1954 Nutcracker.

 

NYCB was saved by it's amazing stable of exciting dancers: Tiler Peck, Sara Mearns, etc.  

 

I would go further on the Lacotte comparison: it's like asking Pina Bausch to judge the proficiency of Bolshoi dancing Bournonville, rather than asking a Danish stager.  

 

If Edward Villella or Allegra Kent says a Russian company is dancing Balanchine well, that I would believe.  

 

Back to Joy Womack -- she does have injuries, and time off will help heal them.  I suspect she is on her parents' ACA health insurance as a 23 year old.  So treatment getting covered is possible.  But I really think a year off to get perspective would be healthy.  

 

I do like the idea of a social media advisor.  It worked well for Misty Copeland.  Anyway, Atlanta Ballet is hiring!  Maybe she would do well under Gennadi's tenure.  They have similar Moscow training. 

Edited by Jayne
Link to comment

In addition to Atlanta Ballet, few other big companies were hiring during this past season--ENB, Berlin State Ballet, Bavarian State Ballet. I wonder if she auditioned in any of these places. 

Edited by Dreamer
Link to comment
5 hours ago, Nzoia said:

We'll have to disagree on that one.  I could create a similar response negating the opinions of all the commentators on You Tube and ballet sites who negate Russian dancers' ability to perform Balanchine exquisitely.  I would certainly put a whole lot more weight on what Pierre Lacotte has to say.  Also, the NYCB and its dancers have changed considerably since Balanchine's time at the company.

 

At the risk of going off topic, just the other day Robert Gottlieb, who is no stranger to Balanchine and New York City Ballet, wrote that the Bolshoi's "Rubies" were the worst he'd seen in half a century (i.e., ever).

Link to comment

But to be fair... The Bolshoi hasn't danced Agon in years, but when John Clifford staged the ballet for the company in 2004, he identified a number of its dancers as "thoroughly Balanchinean": Nina Kaptsova, Anastasia Yatsenko, Ekaterina Shipulina, Yan Godovsky, Gennadi Yanin and Ruslan Skvortsov.

http://2004.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2004/18n/n18n-s25.shtml

 

Of course stylistically sensitive and highly adaptable dancers will be found in every corner of the globe, but they are rare, and no school produces universal dancers with any sort of regularity. And although I've heard it often enough from some old-school ballet teachers, it certainly isn't true that a ballet dancer can perform any modern work. (Even when this assertion is qualified with a statement such as "they may have trouble with the style..." Well now.) No, not by a long shot.

Link to comment
6 hours ago, Jayne said:

 

 

Back to Joy Womack -- she does have injuries, and time off will help heal them.  I suspect she is on her parents' ACA health insurance as a 23 year old.  So treatment getting covered is possible.  But I really think a year off to get perspective would be healthy.  

 

I do like the idea of a social media advisor.  It worked well for Misty Copeland.  Anyway, Atlanta Ballet is hiring!  Maybe she would do well under Gennadi's tenure.  They have similar Moscow training. 

 

Over the winter, she showed a video at a clinic, which I believe is run by her mother where she underwent some bizarre treatments, including one involving stem cells.  "Body Hacking" is what she called it. I do hope she uses this down time to allow her body to heal rather than trying experimental quick fixes

 

 

Link to comment

I think the difference between Misty Copeland and Joy Womack is that Copeland appears to have more social communication skills. She knew enough to hire a good PR person and to follow the advice.  As dancers go, however, I'd much rather have to watch Womack in a performance than Copeland. Neither have the musicality I need to see in order to enjoy a performance and both are too earth-bound for me. But Misty scales down the technique whereas Womack doesn't.

 

That poses an interesting question: Ignoring everything but their dancing, who do you think makes a better ABT principal?

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Nzoia said:

Found out about this when researching the financial trials and tribulations of the NYCB.  The internet is such an amazing tool.  We are so lucky.

Aside from Balanchine's Nutcracker, a full length that was and continues to be a money maker at NYCB is Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream. Fact is that "story ballets" typically sell well in most companies and to some degree support other works.  

Link to comment

Balanchine had planned to do Sleeping Beauty when he felt he had the right cast.  He reportedly had found it -- Kistler as Aurora -- but he was too ill by then.

 

Martins' full length story ballets:

Sleeping Beauty -- 1991 (announced in 1987)

Swan Lake -- 1996

Romeo + Juliet -- 2007

 

What am I missing? 

 

Balanchine's full length story ballet:

Nutcracker -- 1954

A Midsummer Night's Dream -- 1962  They fit it onto the stage at City Center.

Coppelia -- 1974 First two acts staged with Danilova.

 

Harlequinade (1965) is a two-acter.

 

I know that financial issues were cited for two major corps layoffs during Martins' tenure, and during the last, he took a pay cut.  This was in 2009 when NYCB had amassed a $7m operating deficit after the US experienced one of the biggest financial catastrophe's in US history, and if "Swan Lake" was the antidote for that, there would be a lot more ballet fans.  

 

However, when I googled New York City Ballet bankruptcy, no results came up. 

 

Link to comment

But you know, the current mix of full-length and mixed bill ballets is, to me, a strength of the company. To me, the company is so good at both. I just checked my choices for my upcoming subscription for 2017-2018 and I see that without thinking much about it I selected two full-length ballets (R&J and SL), one pure Balanchine classics mixed bill,and one new choreographers evening. For me this is the perfect mix and it plays to all the strengths of the company. To me, no other company can match this. I'm starting to salivate already for September's schedule.

Link to comment
24 minutes ago, Nzoia said:

 

It was Martins who had to start focusing on the classical ballets to save the company.

There is some evidence that Balanchine's 1951 one-act Swan Lake was produced for financial reasons. It would take me awhile to find the source on this, but originally Balanchine was going to omit the four little swans and Kirstein objected, as that's what ticket-buyers want to see, so it stayed in.

 

Note in the contemporary summary that they mention producing this version in hopes they could do something more daring later.  To me, that means they needed to survive for a better day and this was one way to help ensure that.

https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/s/swan-lake-(balanchine).aspx

 

His Nutcracker was in 1954 and there is quite a bit of historical evidence that he knew he needed a money-maker to bring in revenue to support the rest of the repertoire.

Link to comment
40 minutes ago, Nzoia said:

 As you can probably gather, I am a fan of Russian Ballet.  They are the best, and in my view that is because of their training.  They ALWAYS stand out in class.  Both artistry and significant performance start in Year One.

 

As I said before Nzoia, it really boils down to individual taste. My favorite company is, and probably always will be, NYCB. I love the rep, the musicality, attack and sense of values. Others think differently and, as interesting as it is to hear other points of view, I can't imagine anyone's mind will be changed by a discussion. We are all lucky that there is so much out there to see and follow.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Nzoia said:

 

It was Martins who had to start focusing on the classical ballets to save the company.

My Google searches show no evidence that Martins has focused on classical ballets to save the company. Classical ballet is more than "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty":  I don't see a full-length "Paquita," "La Bayadere," or "Le Corsaire," for example, and there's no Romantic-filtered-through-and-"after"-Petipa "Giselle" on the NYCB list of ballets.   If you would share yours, I'd appreciate it.

 

He hasn't created a new full-length since the financial crisis, as far as I know.  Please let me know if I've missed any.

 

 

56 minutes ago, Nzoia said:

Love these ballet discussions, but not sure that I am comfortable comparing two dancers on public forums

I am putting on my Admin hat here:

 

Our rules and policies are here, including our policy against discussing the discussion:

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/34250-rules-rules-and-our-mission/

 

If you don't feel comfortable comparing two dancers on public forums, don't compare two dancers on public forums.  If you don't want to read others doing this, we're not for everyone.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, California said:

There is some evidence that Balanchine's 1951 one-act Swan Lake was produced for financial reasons. It would take me awhile to find the source on this, but originally Balanchine was going to omit the four little swans and Kirstein objected, as that's what ticket-buyers want to see, so it stayed in.

 

There's lots of evidence that many Balanchine ballets were produced for financial reasons, ie, to be popular fare to put butts in seats.  "Vienna Waltzes," "Western Symphony, "Jewels," and "Stars and Stripes" among them. 

Link to comment
1 minute ago, Helene said:

There's lots of evidence that many Balanchine ballets were produced for financial reasons, ie, to be popular fare to put butts in seats.  "Vienna Waltzes," "Western Symphony, "Jewels," and "Stars and Stripes" among them. 

No disagreement from me - and also no criticism of any company that looks at the bottom line in various ways so they can survive for another season. I thought the focus of this discussion was Balanchine reverting to Russian classics to bring in revenue and I think the 1951 Swan Lake was his first (for NYCB). That company was only 3 years old at that point and it's pretty clear they were struggling financially.

Link to comment

Sorry for the multiple posts in a row:  Ballet Alert! still only works for me on IE, which, in edit mode, has disabled the "enter" key.

 

According to the Balanchine Catalogue, there were a number of revisions to the one-act "Swan Lake," and, happily, audiences haven't boycotted because the dance of the four little swans was replaced by "Valse Bluette.":
 

Quote

Revisions:  New York City Ballet, changes from first years in repertory: 1956, traditional ending of pas de deux replaced by coda for corps de ballet (to Tchaikovsky's original score rather than the traditional Drigo interpolation); 1959, PAS DE TROIS omitted and new Prince's solo added to that music (Grand Waltz from Act II), replacing original Prince's solo to fourth variation of pas de six (Act III), traditional entrance of Swan Queen in coda rechoreographed; 1964, traditional Swan Queen solo replaced by new choreography (to Un Poco di Chopin, Op. 72, no. 15, 1893, orchestrated by Drigo) and subsequently changed several times, Prince's solo rechoreographed (to music from Act I pas de trois) and subsequently changed several times and often omitted, pas de quatre (DANCE OF THE FOUR CYGNETS) replaced by WALTZ BLUETTE for 12 Swans (to orchestrated version of Valse Bagatelle, Op. 72, no. 11 in E-flat), role of Benno omitted; 1980, traditional Swan Queen solo and entrance in coda restored.

 

Link to comment
40 minutes ago, California said:

I thought the focus of this discussion was Balanchine reverting to Russian classics to bring in revenue and I think the 1951 Swan Lake was his first (for NYCB). That company was only 3 years old at that point and it's pretty clear they were struggling financially.

Considering that they started as a secret society, it's pretty amazing they ever survived, Lincoln Kirstein's friends or not.

 

The irony was that the US was accustomed to a different definition of ballet, one that Ballet Theatre more emulated, which was the Ballets Russes model.  Was it the 1949 Sadler's Wells tour to NYC where Fonteyn made her big sensation in "Sleeping Beauty" to beginning of the path to Americans having a taste for the full-length classics?  Or did the Soviet company tours pre-date that?

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...