Degas wishes everyone a happy Labor Day, and speaking of labor, did all of you catch the outrageous New York Times article today about our tiny dancers making not so tiny payments to enter dance competitions!  I have questioned the virtue of dance competitions in my discussion of the documentary First Position which at least ended with participants going to well known schools and companies to further a chance at a dance career.  What do 12 year olds get out of a rendition of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", a Beyonce inspired performance that apparently took place at a California DANCE competition in 2010.  Mr. Sharenow of Lifetime brushes a broad stroke when he paints critics of these events as "classist"!  Really!  Lets just agree to take out the dance in dance competitions.  Calling all dance lovers, please put your foot down and stop this pollution of a wonderful art form.

By the way, Degas is busy painting and preparing for a show this coming weekend, September 8 and 9 in Greenwich Village, NYC.  (12-6).  A bientot!

First things first...First Position

Degas is late to the party, having just watched the documentary First Position.  Glad to see that it was an honest look at the life of a dancer and did not focus on broken hearts and social clicks that so far  appear to be the themes of newcomer tv series Bunheads (ABC Family) and Breaking Pointe (the CW).   To be fair, the latter did follow real dancers in a real company (Ballet West), but just not the artsy part.  So Degas ponders, now that the Olympics are foremost in the minds of many Americans huddling indoors to escape an incredibly hot summer, can Americans appreciate the artsy side of dance or do they see it as just another athletic competition.  Which brings me back to the First Position and its journey following six young dancers competing for ballet scholarships at the Youth America Grand Prix, the largest competition of its kind.  The stories of each dancer are compelling and admirable.  There is no doubt that they are all dedicated and talented.  But Degas doesn't see the artsy side.  There is little if any discussion in the film about the artistic challenges for a dancer as an artist: the chosen line;  sense of musicality; or choice of technical style and its impact on one's artistic career.
Degas has observed brilliant dancers that simply could not hear let alone feel the music.  Or dancers that were classically trained and mistakenly chose to pursue choreography that begs for the spontaneity of a jazz musician.  Lets not forget the dancer with the amazing fouettes and triple pirouettes that fails to find the artistic mask a dramatic dance role requires.

So todays ballet competitions are really an olympic sport and spectators cheer on the contestants.  Oh my how they turn and how high they jump!  Is that Gabby Douglas, she moves just like her, isn't it amazing.

Economics of Ballet

http://ballettothepeople.com/2012/07/14/is-the-future-of-ballet-permanently-in-the-red/#comment-311


The economics of ballet?  Ugh!!  I have just entered into the back and forth on Eddie Villella's departure from Miami and the inherent tensions between artists and their benefactors.  Please, can we just enjoy the artistic vision and let the deep pockets exit stage left when they feel they have had enough.  There is no way around this one.   Didn't you recognize Rome's "It Girl" on Michelangelo's ceiling with all those other heavenly creatures?   Money talks and great artist do what they need to do to get their vision out there, even if that means putting your patron in the picture (once in awhile).   At the end of the day, er uh century, we remember Michelangelo and we remember Villella and his contributions to dance in New York and Miami.   That is the power of great art and I say it trumps great money.

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Enchante Mesdames and Messieurs,

Do you feel good?  Life is beautiful at the Paris Opera Ballet's Giselle which Degas thoroughly enjoyed last Friday, Friday the 13th no less.  It was a journey into Grimm fairy land with the beautiful Aurelie Dupont and the handsome Mathieu Ganio in the lead roles.  The Paris Opera is of course different from our companies because the dancers live and breath Paris Opera from their first tendu to their final reverance.  The wealth of shared experiences creates a uniform style which perfectly suited Giselle.

Oh my, what comportment these dancers hold and how we are carried away by their magic to enter the haunting world of the Wilis in an exquisite Act II.  We all know that Giselle has lost her two timing lover and died with a broken heart.  Giselle has entered the realm of Wilis betrayed by their betrothed and they taunt her to engage in their deadly revenge on bad dudes.  Aurelie gives us a spirit that is not of this earth (that comportment again) and beautifully protects her prince from the Wilis with only glimpses of the young girl she once was.  Who cannot visualize a deceased loved one answering our earthly plea.  We know our love is not really present.

Shame on Alastair Macauley in his New York Times review commenting the dancers are not inhabiting their role and demonstrate "Brechtian alienation."   Otherworldliness is precisely the point of this company's interpretation and removes us from the familiar so we can enter a world of our dreams, which often are disturbing quite frankly. The technical proficiency of the Paris Opera Ballet frees them to convey such artistic mastery and they keep their efforts beautifully hidden.

 Life is disappointing?...Forget it!  Here life is beautiful...The girls are beautiful...Even the orchestra is beautiful.  So Alastair, just go to the Cabaret.  Now that's Brecht.