I think, Joe, that you'd better get your own ballet knowledge updated before you go being ugly about someone else. Petipa and Stalin? You've got to be kidding.
Your post was both nasty and ill informed about what you suppose my ballet knowledge to be - you are basing your opinions on the fact that I don't care for someone you happen to like. I stated very frankly that liking Balanchine is a matter of taste. I believe last time I looked, we were free to have individual preferences. I don't care much for Balanchine. That's neither a crime nor a lack of taste on my part-it's simply a preference. I totally give Balanchine his due-if you read my previous posts you'll see that I stated that. Also, if you read my post, I did say that "I believe" that Balanchine's support was politically motivated as a cold war ploy-it is a favorite theory of mine, but that's all I said it was. A theory for heaven's sake- not written in stone! No need to attack me for it. I honestly think it's a pretty entertaining idea. And yes, though I have not seen the Bolshoi at the Met, I have seen the Kirov twice at the London Colesium on two different tours, (Romeo and Juliet once, Fountain of Bakhisherai (boy did I garble that word!)) plus I've seen them live three additional times in various American cities. I've regularly attended the US International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS and there met and conversed with Vladimir Vassiliev and his wife Maximova several times. I have seen soloists and principals of the Bolshoi, however,several times on a special tour they had a few years ago. Ditto with Paris Opera Ballet. I have a speaking relationship with the great Kirov ballerina Irina Kolpakova and have friendships with dancers at Boston Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Houston Ballet, and Ballet Arizona. If you'd like specifics and a whole lot more, PM me. I hope that satisfies your curiosity.
Also, there were a lot of politics associated with Ballet during the mid 20th century. Tons of them. For example, the Bolshoi's great Maya Plisetskaya's father was executed by Stalin, and she was therefore never allowed to tour because they KNEW she'd defect. No politics in ballet? Are you kidding? What about Nureyev, Makarova, Goudonov? Their defections caused much political fallout durng this Cold War of which I speak! Nureyev was shadowed by the KGB for the rest of his life and was only allowed back into Russia to see his family when he was dying of AIDS. The US government was under duress to fork over Baryshnikov! Are you old enough to remember that? I am!
YOUR historical perspective seems to be stuck in the first half of the 20th century. Where did all this 30's Ballet Russe stuff and Alonzo have to do with what we're talking about ?I'm speaking of the Cold War...I don't know how old you are, but you might or might not remember that. It happened after WWII until Reagan. I lived through it, and well, we just didn't have video recorders back then so I could tape the Ed Sullivan show, just certain that some day I'd need to whip that bad boy out and wave it around a figure skating chat site. Do you even remember the Ed Sullivan show? Those boos weren't last year or even ten years ago. They happened in the 60's.....and of course that doesn't happen nowdays. Rude people in theatres simply bring their six month old or cell phones!
Of course companies all over the world perform Balanchine. Not as much as they did about 10 years ago. After Eastern Europe opened up, all those companies were curious and wanted to perform western ballets. I think that's great.
Do you even KNOW any "real" ballet dancers?
And by the way.....Petipa was dead and buried long before Stalin's time. Seems your knowledge of ballet history is pretty funky. Petipa's work was in the last half of the 19th century. I can't believe you're criticizing my knowledge and you said something like that.
And I am not stuck in Swan Lake. I much prefer to be stuck in La Bayadere. Makarova produced that great ballet for the Royal Ballet about 15 years ago-a great production. But she had to cut much of the character dances....western trained dancers just couldn't handle them stylistically. A recent version of "La Corsaire" choreographed by the Kirov's Eldar Aliev was drastically cut down because he didn't think American audiences could grasp something that complex. Oh-I know that because I have a best friend who worked for him.
I hope you have a lovely evening.
) She absolutely needs ballet training to become more aware and in control of her line and carriage.
