Boring choreography: That is certainly what you don't expect from Mark Morris but that is certainly what you get, sight gags aside, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where Mr. Morris's sitcom, "The Hard Nut," had its American premiere on Friday night.
Look at a current aspect of the international dance scene that hovers on intellectual bankruptcy and you find retellings of the ballet classics like Mats Ek's "Giselle," set in an insane asylum, and now, Mr. Morris's conceptual "Nutcracker" that begins in a vaguely 1960's suburban American living room.
And this:
The jokes in this production, in Mr. Burns's hostility-ridden world of uglies, are mainly associated with bodily functions. Drosselmeier, the usual godfather, kisses the hand of the heroine's sister and then wipes his lips while she smells her hands and makes a face. The suspicion that Mr. Morris as a party guest in Act I is headed for the bathroom proves true when he returns, toilet paper stuck to his shoe.
And this:
There is nothing sacred about "The Nutcracker" as a ballet and Mr. Morris does not trash Tchaikovsky's glistening score. But he does trivialize it; unlike Peter Sellars, with whom he has worked and whose opera productions have similar provocative updatings, he manages, choreographically, to miss the musical climaxes consistently by a mile. The whole thing sounds better on paper than it looks onstage.
You may want to read the entire review written by Anna Kisselgoff when the production debuted in the U.S. Anna stood at the barre.
What’s a reader to conclude about the cultural guidance that The New York Times gives its national readership when it flip-flops on something as basic as The Nutcracker? Macaulay’s reviews are little more than a telling of his tastes. If all he has to offer is his taste, he should be reviewing restaurants. When it comes to ballet, we need a critic with more sophisticated and fundamental knowledge.
14 responses to “Ballet Cop on the Beat: Times to remember”
Haglund,
I wonder if it’s possible to have a rational discussion about weight and ballerinas. So much to say, so many pitfalls.
I’ll add but one comment. Although one must have low body fat to accomplish certain athletic feats (did you watch your football yesterday?), there’s NO question that standards for ballerinas have gone crazy.
For example, and this is only one: Danilova in her prime weighed 115 pounds. At 5’5″, a modern day Danilova would be told to lose 10 pounds and come back at the next audition, honey.
Haglund,
I wonder if it’s possible to have a rational discussion about weight and ballerinas. So much to say, so many pitfalls.
I’ll add but one comment. Although one must have low body fat to accomplish certain athletic feats (did you watch your football yesterday?), there’s NO question that standards for ballerinas have gone crazy.
For example, and this is only one: Danilova in her prime weighed 115 pounds. At 5’5″, a modern day Danilova would be told to lose 10 pounds and come back at the next audition, honey.
Hi Diana!!
Your mention of football reminds me of reading that at one point in his career, Emmit Smith – former running back for the Cowboys and Dancing With the Stars winner – had a body fat count of only 2%. That’s almost dangerous since your body does require some fat in order for organs to function properly.
If you look at old pictures of Maria Tallchief, she was not waif-like. Nor was Melissa Hayden. Waif-ism has been a preference of some male critics and some male directors. It keeps the little ballerinas like little girls – harmless, obedient, and dependent on big daddy for praise.
It’s the unfortunate state of dance criticism at the New York Times that the critics think that what they say is God’s truth. They throw around words like best, worst, most, ever, least, first, only, never frequently and think that it defines them as definitive critics. LOL.
Jenifer Ringer is in no way overweight and is dancing beautifully.
Hi Diana!!
Your mention of football reminds me of reading that at one point in his career, Emmit Smith – former running back for the Cowboys and Dancing With the Stars winner – had a body fat count of only 2%. That’s almost dangerous since your body does require some fat in order for organs to function properly.
If you look at old pictures of Maria Tallchief, she was not waif-like. Nor was Melissa Hayden. Waif-ism has been a preference of some male critics and some male directors. It keeps the little ballerinas like little girls – harmless, obedient, and dependent on big daddy for praise.
It’s the unfortunate state of dance criticism at the New York Times that the critics think that what they say is God’s truth. They throw around words like best, worst, most, ever, least, first, only, never frequently and think that it defines them as definitive critics. LOL.
Jenifer Ringer is in no way overweight and is dancing beautifully.
Hi Haglund!!
Re: waifishness. And Mia Slavenksa and Gabriela Komleeva and a whole slew of dancers with great techniques were not waifs. They were slender but not skinny.
Re Emmitt Smith and 2% body fat….color me skeptical. He surely had a low body fat percentage but I can’t see even a muscular back like him being THAT low.
I did read somewhere that Roy Jones, Jr. (boxer) went down to 4% – his normal body fat was 11%.
And guess what, after bragging that he’d gone down to 4% he lost the fight. He didn’t need to lose all that weight.
Boxing, horse racing (the jockeys, obviously, not the horses), football and ballet all have weight manias now that are worse than ever.
If you look at pictures of many of the great old boxers, you are surprised at how unmuscular they are. Of course, they didn’t have steroids.
Diana
PS Have you seen the board at the NY State, excuse me, Koch Theater? Nuts is almost all sold out. While I’m happy for NYCB I’m gnashing my teeth.
PPS Have you noticed that there is a slew of short running backs in the NFL? Darren Sproles (5’6″); Wes Welker (5’7″) Danny Woodhead (listed at 5’9″ but I don’t believe it) and someone whose name I didn’t catch last night playing for Minnesota who is 5’6″. WOW! The NFL! Us shrimps rule!
Hi Haglund!!
Re: waifishness. And Mia Slavenksa and Gabriela Komleeva and a whole slew of dancers with great techniques were not waifs. They were slender but not skinny.
Re Emmitt Smith and 2% body fat….color me skeptical. He surely had a low body fat percentage but I can’t see even a muscular back like him being THAT low.
I did read somewhere that Roy Jones, Jr. (boxer) went down to 4% – his normal body fat was 11%.
And guess what, after bragging that he’d gone down to 4% he lost the fight. He didn’t need to lose all that weight.
Boxing, horse racing (the jockeys, obviously, not the horses), football and ballet all have weight manias now that are worse than ever.
If you look at pictures of many of the great old boxers, you are surprised at how unmuscular they are. Of course, they didn’t have steroids.
Diana
PS Have you seen the board at the NY State, excuse me, Koch Theater? Nuts is almost all sold out. While I’m happy for NYCB I’m gnashing my teeth.
PPS Have you noticed that there is a slew of short running backs in the NFL? Darren Sproles (5’6″); Wes Welker (5’7″) Danny Woodhead (listed at 5’9″ but I don’t believe it) and someone whose name I didn’t catch last night playing for Minnesota who is 5’6″. WOW! The NFL! Us shrimps rule!
PPPS
A friend just sent me this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101213/us_yblog_thelookout/sugar-plum-fairy-doesnt-want-apology-from-critic-who-called-her-fat
Anybody who calls Jenifer overweight is clearly out of his or her mind.
Disgusting.
I’d say more but you run a family blog, here.
PPPS
A friend just sent me this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101213/us_yblog_thelookout/sugar-plum-fairy-doesnt-want-apology-from-critic-who-called-her-fat
Anybody who calls Jenifer overweight is clearly out of his or her mind.
Disgusting.
I’d say more but you run a family blog, here.
And let’s not forget about Spud Webb who played for over a decade in the NBA even though he was only 5’7″. He won the slam-dunk contest as well.
It only goes to show: if you’re good enough, you’ll get hired regardless of your physical type.
And let’s not forget about Spud Webb who played for over a decade in the NBA even though he was only 5’7″. He won the slam-dunk contest as well.
It only goes to show: if you’re good enough, you’ll get hired regardless of your physical type.
And Muggsy Bogues?
Back to ballerinas, the parameters are narrower than for sports because it’s not dependent on objective results, but still….I’m gratified at the response to that asinine review. Anybody who calls Jenifer overweight has issues.
Another point, MacAulay whined about people didn’t criticize him for taking a swipe at two danseurs’ weight. If the obsession with weight and the eating disorders were as rife among them as they are among contemporary female dancers, then they would have. This guy seems to be completely unaware of context. I guess he must be pretty isolated in his bubble of privilege.
And Muggsy Bogues?
Back to ballerinas, the parameters are narrower than for sports because it’s not dependent on objective results, but still….I’m gratified at the response to that asinine review. Anybody who calls Jenifer overweight has issues.
Another point, MacAulay whined about people didn’t criticize him for taking a swipe at two danseurs’ weight. If the obsession with weight and the eating disorders were as rife among them as they are among contemporary female dancers, then they would have. This guy seems to be completely unaware of context. I guess he must be pretty isolated in his bubble of privilege.
You nailed it, Diana.
You nailed it, Diana.