Apr 27, 2004 11:17:57 PM
Tonight I went to McCaw Hall to watch the first of PNB's movie series about Balanchine. They played two movies with a total of three ballets. The first, "From Silence to Sound," featured excerpts from "La Valse" from 1951 with Tanaquil LeClercq and Nicholas Magallanes as well as excerpts from "La Source," with Violette Verdy and Edward Villella (1968). Both movies suffered horribly from not showing any more than the pas de deux movements, but considering that they were shot on a hand-held camera that could barely contain two dancers at the same time, I guess we're lucky to have what we've got. In between the ballets, there were crudely taped video conversations between Violette and Dianne Chilgren, the pianist who figured out how to set the score to these previously silent movies (not that the music wasn't known).
When the movie was over, Dianne herself came out to answer questions. She played for Mr. Balanchine's company "back in they day" (although I'm not sure how far back), and came to PNB apparently some time in the late 80's or so at Kent and Francia's invitation. She had the best dish of the night; when she was company pianist, Mr. B. apparently had her play show tunes for company class because he couldn't abide having classical music played at the wrong tempo ... and apparently it mostly isn't upbeat enough for dance class.
The second half of the evening was a movie version of Western Symphony tapes in France back in 1954. It was really a hoot watching all of those dancers tricked out as cowboys and dance hall girls. The dancing was very lively - lots of heel scooting and fun can-can style ankle twirls for the girls. The movie includes a "Scherzo" movement that apparently has been dropped from most performances of this piece. Jaques D'Amboise was really spectacular - very high kicks, lively, good action, very much "in the role." This movie also captured one of Tanaquil's last performances, as she apparently caught polio a month later. I found her very gamine, with very long legs and flashing eyes - truly a character, a standout among the other dancers.
Afterwards I caught up with what I was sure was one of PNB's ballerinas, and indeed, it was Miss Jodie Thomas, extremely petite in person and even more lovely. She was with Casey Herd, whom I did not recognize (alas). When I said to him, "Well, of course I didn't recognize you, it's not like you wear your glasses on stage!" they both guffawed. He's quite handsome in person, much better looking that the photo in the program. We talked about the sloppy dancing of the dancers in the video (they agreed technique had improved greatly in the intervening 50 years) and they told me how fun it was for them to see Francia Russell dancing in "Western Symphony."
I asked what the most fun dances were they had done in the last two years, and Jodie said Casey really liked Artifact 2, by William Forsythe. (She also said she'd been laid up most of the year because of her back ... at only 27! So sad. And they marvelled at Patricia Barker's incredible physical constitution - 20 years of dancing? Wow.) I told them I was really hoping to see Ballet Frankfurt in California in June, and passed on to them the news (from the Ballet Frankfurt website) that the company is supposed to be revitalized as a shared endeavor of Frankfurt and Dresden ... so not entirely lost. So I think I held my own, hmm? Anyway, they said to say hi if I came back next Tuesday.
Yes, if you're wondering, I am a ballet geek. Too bad I can't find someone who's a geek like me to go do this extra-geeky stuff with ...
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Posted by webcowgirl @ Apr 27, 2004 11:17:57 PM [Link]
Apr 19, 2004 5:42:37 PM
Despite the tentworm invasion, I'm pleased to say that my first roses of the year have bloomed. It's the Cecille Brunner that's throwing out poofy pink, strongly scented flowers. It seems to be fairly happy with its spot on a south-west facing planter box at the bottom of the hill my house sits on. It's happily throwing shoots up the top of the hill, and the bindweed is actually holding it in place (I think the bindweed is probably going to be forcibly detached in a month or so). I think it probably needs some fertilizer, though, as my bush's blooms don't look all that much like the pictures on the label that came with it.
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Posted by webcowgirl @ Apr 19, 2004 5:42:37 PM [Link]
Apr 15, 2004 6:44:32 PM
Yesterday I had an exciting revelation: after about two years of searching in Seattle for some place that sells *my very favorite gum* I discovered that the 7-11 on Pine and Madison has it. Yep, for the low, low (cough!) price of only $1 a pack I bought myself three packs of Sugarless Peppermint Bubbleyum. There is now hope for the world! I'm also excited I didn't have to fall prey to the highway robbery of the online candy sites that seem to have no compunction about charging $12 to ship one box of gum. (Give me a break!)
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Posted by webcowgirl @ Apr 15, 2004 6:44:32 PM [Link]
Apr 14, 2004 10:01:20 AM
I like the idea of keeping track of when the different things in the garden flower or otherwise do something noteworthy, such as drop their leaves or produce fruit. It reminds me of The Gossamer Years, where instead of saying "It's spring," she's say "The cherry blossoms are falling." I also think that keeping track over the years of these garden events makes a good way to see the effects of climactic changes. At any rate, in addition to the lilacs and clematis going into flower this week, the tent worms are back. Yuck.
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Posted by webcowgirl @ Apr 14, 2004 10:01:20 AM [Link]
Apr 1, 2004 10:14:59 PM
This is the list of shows we saw on our third visit to the Dennis Nyback animation festival at the Little Theater on 19th. It was advertized as "Cult, Oddball, and Rubber Hose Toons," and promised work from forgotten studios (like Ub Iwerks) and starting forgotten characters (such as Willie Whopper). Of course, it's already been a week since I saw them and my memory is getting a little fuzzy, but maybe someone who is doing research on animation will be happy to see just a little info about these old cartoons.
In his pre-show discussion, Dennis said the Hayes (production?) code had a very chilling effect on cartoons. For example, Molly Moo Cow was forced to start wearing a skirt ... and I think Betty Boops skirts got a whole lot longer.
1. "It's a Bird" - Lowell Thomas Tall Story. This was a hysterical stop-motion animation feature about a man who works in a junkyard who hunts and captures a metal-eating bird.
2. "Dizzy Dishes" - Max Fleischer (1930) the first Betty Boop cartoon! "Bimbo" stars as a dog waiter in a restaurant that has a crush on Betty, the girl-puppy nightclub singer. He angers a very hungry customer. Very surreal.
3. "Mysterious Mouse" - Max Fleischer. Bimbo is a creepy mouse who haunts the house Betty (puppy ears) Boop lives in. Features Betty being scared out of her shirt.
4. "One of these days" - Max Wise Flies
5. "Popeye in Goonland" - Popeye, in search of his Pappy, winds up in Goonland, where loin-cloth wearing giants have imprisoned his dad. This was supposedly the basis for the Robin Williams "Popeye."
6. Willie Whopper in "Jungle Jitters" - Ub Eye Works. A fat little kid daydreams about washing up on the shores of a tropical island, where a topless wahine falls in love with him. They are both captured by cannibals, but with help from a kind elephant they escape.
7."Freddie the Freshman" - Ub Iwerks. Freddie the Freshman is a raccoon (or actually cat fur) coat wearing freshman in college. Of course, he plays football. I think there might have been some Hasidic crows watching the game.
8. "Technocracked" - a Flip cartoon by UB Iwerks.
9. "The Busy Bus" - with Felix the Cat (1934). Felix drives a bus full of crazy people, including a lady who has to keep stopping to let her puppy pee.
10. "Black Duck" - Paul Terry (1929). A black duck is chased out of a flock of white ducks by a duck herder who finds his call irritating. The evil bar owner decides to sneak off the ducks and start killing them to serve at his bar. (The people in the bar were really trashed - something I'd never seen in a cartoon before!) Of coures the black duck saves them all. Low quality animation but an interesting story.
11. Sunshine Makers - Amity Van Buren. A completely psychedelic movie about a bunch of sunshine mining gnomes who get into a battle with the dark cloaked baddies ("We're happy when we're sad, we're always feeling bad") who spend most of the movie hiding from sunshine bombs. The movie ends with the dark guys having sunshine poured down their throats so they were forced to be happy. A good metaphor, I think, for being forced to conform in a society that does not like to see people show anything but a positive face.
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Posted by webcowgirl @ Apr 1, 2004 10:14:59 PM [Link]