Courtney Lavine

[mira]

Here is a recent interview with Courtney Lavine:

https://theyoungartistfeature.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/interview-courtney-lavine-american-ballet-theatre-dancer-2/

[kaskait]

You can see a tiny snippet of her dancing Cinderella in Sleeping Beauty at this Guggenheim works & process, mark 1:20:35

https://youtu.be/zyHAdKI3XKc

Here is to hoping she won't be partially shelved like Abrera and Lane by ABT.

[Tapfan]

Am I the only person who cringes whenever the characters of Puss and Boots dance in most productions of Sleeping Beauty?

The hip action that strains to look playfully naughty, always looks like dancing that was composed by someone who's heard about but never actually seen any popular social dance beginning with the twist.

Geez it makes my teeth hurt with faux cuteness.

As to Courtney Lavine, she is thin but she's not that diffrent in body type than many other dancers. She's not exactly some unicorn against whom all other black female ballet dancers should be measured. There are other black classical dancers who are thin, musical, well-trained, charismatic and elegant.

Dara Holmes and Ashley Murphy come to mind.

[kaskait]

Yes, Puss and Boots is a creepy little number. But it was made by Victorians. Victorians were a creepy bunch. This dance is probably their idea of sexy.

[sandik]

But it was made by Victorians. Victorians were a creepy bunch.

indeed!

[dirac]

indeed!

I dissent. The Victorians did have their creepy side, as do we all (and a lot of the furniture was awful), but they also get an undeserved bad rap.

[kaskait]

I dissent. The Victorians did have their creepy side, as do we all (and a lot of the furniture was awful), but they also get an undeserved bad rap.

They used to put skirts on furniture just on the off chance someone would get sexy thoughts about a sofa leg. CREEPY!

[dirac]

Yes, I'm aware of that, kaskait. They were also people of great creative energy. And if you want really creepy, just take a look around some of the darker corners of the web these days. Makes Jack the Ripper look like Mister Rogers.

[Drew]

The skirts on the legs of table business--if true (ahem)--would show the Victorians to be people of some wit.

Puss 'n Boots has never struck me as one of Petipa's greatest inventions, but audiences rather like it and it seems to have inspired Ashton's goats in Sylvia which I find a genuinely terrific number.

But in the meanwhile perhaps I will get to see Lavine take on the Cinderella divertissement. I have tickets for four Sleeping Beauties and am hoping to see a huge range of the company's dancers in featured parts.

[macnellie]

the skirts (ahem) are called "modesty panels."

[sandik]

Puss 'n Boots has never struck me as one of Petipa's greatest inventions, but audiences rather like it and it seems to have inspired Ashton's goats in Sylvia which I find a genuinely terrific number.

Now that you mention it, I wonder about the chickens in Fille...

[Drew]

the skirts (ahem) are called "modesty panels."

With apologies to Courtney Lavine (who in photos has very lovely legs indeed) for hijacking the thread...I had never heard this expression before and I was curious. When I looked it up I found variants of the following:

"A thin screen of wood or metal that is attached to the front of a desk, organ, or similar items. The panel provides privacy for the person seated at the desk or organ, as it covers the upper part of the legs and cabling, and also provides structural support for the four legs of the furniture." (From Wikipedia)

Which is something a little different than showing concern someone would get (as Kaskait wrote) "sexy thoughts about a sofa leg."

Of course, I'm sure the Victorians were as fetishistic as any other group of people...which is to say, pretty fetishistic. (Since this discussion began with Puss 'n Boots...it should be said the internet has exposed an underbelly of contemporary cat fetishism that future generations may find very peculiar--unless they, too, have cats . )

[dirac]

My cat, who often peers over my shoulder as I type, objects strongly. The internet is only giving the magnificent tribe of the tiger their due importance.

I think "modesty panels" mean something different from the legends about Victorian prudery. My understanding is that it's not at all clear that covering furniture legs was actually a common Victorian practice (and it applied, allegedly, to piano legs and such, not sofas).

With apologies to Courtney Lavine (who in photos has very lovely legs indeed) for hijacking the thread.

I apologize, also. And any discussion of "piano legs" is in no way applicable to Ms. Lavine.