If it ain't Baroque…
dance
See the music, hear the dance
“See the music, hear the dance,” says Balanchine. This is important.
I took a choreography course as an elective in grad school. It was not a wholly successful venture, as we performed our own works and I am not always entirely at home with being Under Scrutiny, but I do think I improved my skills.
We always talked through our pieces, about what was working and what wasn’t, and the professor gave some insight into her own struggles. One such issue was her sometimes frustration with finding a piece of music she desperately wanted to choreograph but being unable to see her way to any steps. A student had set her final dance to such a score – a piano piece by Debussy – and the professor expressed her admiration at the student’s ability to pick up on layers on the music to fuel her steps. “Those are layers I never would have noticed as right to highlight.”
The best dances are those that do not exist outside their music. The dull ones – you know the ones I mean, I’m sure – have choreography that may impress with tricks and spins but have little or no relation to the music being played in the background. It’s just a beat, or a collection of lyrics meant to do all the work of explaining the purpose of the dance so that the dancer and choreographer don’t have to bother with it (there are rare exceptions to this).
On the flip side, to go back to Balanchine, he didn’t want to choreograph to Beethoven because he felt Beethoven’s music needed no further augmentation. Similarly, there are dances that are created without music at all.
If they want to play, music and dance must do more than play nice with each other. They must complement each other, and find the new layers.
Thoughts?
For more on this, you might be interested in my interview with Shannon Schwait of CityDance.
Next thing you’ll tell me it’s a pah de doo
Okay. I’ve already told you about my Rimsky-Korsakow thing. If you haven’t seen it, Mr. Clayton provided an excellent comment shedding a little light on the issue. It’s all about transliteration, he says; it’s how many languages and alphabets the composer has been filtered through before he gets to us that determines the spelling.
Well fine. Then who came up with this one? General Tsao?
Tschaikovsky? Tschaikovsky? PETER? ILYITCH? Did he decide to incorporate a tribute to eczema while filing for British citizenship? It’s PIOTR, dammit! PIOTR! ILYICH! TCHAIKOVSKY! I’m going back to bed.
The pits
As I mentioned yesterday, I spent my Saturday in New York City with some fellow ballerinas. We did the requisite NYC wandering, but our main objective was to see the New York City Ballet perform a series of short works, including The Steadfast Tin Soldier (which I didn’t like because NO ONE MELTED), Le Tombeau de Couperin (which I loved, at least in part because RAVEL!), a Tchaikovsky pas de deux (more on that Friday, kinda), and The Concert (hilarious at the beginning, WTF at the end).
But this is not a post about ballet. This is a post about the pit.
The New York City Ballet performs with a pit orchestra, an increasingly rare luxury in these hard economic times. I’ve never played in a pit, myself, but I can only imagine it’s a very different experience from playing in a regular concert — and not just because no one can see you. Even if your work has been recorded to CD, when someone plays that CD it’s all about you and your music. In the pit, you become secondary, do you not? Important, yes, but not the focus. The conductor doesn’t even get to fully control the nuances of the piece, constantly adjusting to suit the dancers/actors/what have you.
I thought of this particularly because of the Tchaikovsky, the lost pas de deux from Swan Lake. It featured a violin solo, and I wondered — what’s it like soloing in the pit? Of course you still don’t want to make a mistake, but the eyes aren’t on you; hell, most of the audience can’t even see you. Are you still nervous? Do you play it your way, or are you more inclined to play traditionally, to keep things consistent for the dancer? Does it even matter if you snag a solo or not?
And conductors, how do you feel answering to dancers? Does it add an extra layer of difficulty, dividing your attention between the musicians and the performers on stage? Have you ever had a dancer ask for a truly ridiculous adjustment? Have the music and the dancing ever separated, and if so, how did you get it back? Did you get it back?
In short, does playing in the pit take the pressure off, or is it the pit of despair?*
Have you hugged your piano today?
I had an eventful Saturday — I drove up to NYC with some folks from my ballet studio to see the New York City Ballet present a collection of short works, among other things. More on this tomorrow, but for your Monday video I wanted to share a Jerome Robbins piece we saw entitled The Concert. The first scene will be particularly funny for my musically-minded readership, but I would encourage you to watch the whole thing if you have the time (if you can explain the butterflies to me, I would be deeply grateful).
Not Without My Concert Roundup
But first! A personal plea.
The nonprofit arm of my ballet studio, Performing Arts Repertory Company, is in a DC-area fundraising competition. For November 9 only, Give To The Max will track how much money is donated to PARC, as well as how many individuals donate. Depending on our ranking in both categories, we could win additional funds, which would go toward dance scholarships, workshops, and education and outreach programs, among other things. A noble cause — so you want to help, right? Donate now, before you forget — it’s tax-deductible!
I give you this concert recap in thanks for your donation. If you didn’t donate, I hope you feel really guilty right now.
- The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra likes to be in America — this week’s concert features Copland‘s Appalachian Spring, in addition to Old American Songs. A solid work, one people will come out for, except in this case what I’m sure they’re actually coming for is Gershwin‘s An American in Paris overture. Edward Collins‘ Tragic overture is also in the mix. Marin Alsop to conduct, William Sharp to baritonate; November 10 & 13 at the Meyerhoff. [See it!]
- This week at the National Symphony Orchestra it’s The Return of Leonard Slatkin! On the conductor’s docket: Clyne, a Rachmaninoff symphony, and a Saint-Saen cello concerto performed by Gautier Capucon. November 10-12. [See it!]
Updated to add: Got this from Benevolent Dictator Jamie:
Emerson String Quartet
Baird Auditorium
Natural History Museum
November 19 at 6 PMThis concert offers an exclusive opportunity to hear the quartet
perform in an intimate setting with excellent acoustics.Metro Stop: Federal Triangle
Walk south on 12th Street, and cross Constitution Avenue to the Natural History
Museum on the left. (NOT on the National Mall side.)Ticket prices for students: $10*
Rush tickets are available for purchase starting at
5:30 p.m. on November 19th at the door.
*Valid student ID required when purchasing and redeeming tickets. Two tickets per student ID, per concert. No refunds or exchanges available. Subject to availability.
The dying-est swan
You know how there’s this really famous ballet solo to “The Swan” from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals? Well, this isn’t it.
(By way of explanation: Les Ballets Trockedero.)
I’ve got no strings to hold me down
Okay, let’s say you’re a joyless curmudgeon and Rodgers and Hammerstein just isn’t your thing. Looks like your entire weekend is free. Do you mind if I suggest an alternative? An alternative I’m in? An original ballet version of Pinocchio? At the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, Maryland? Two showings at 3:30 and 7:30 pm? Tickets max out at like twelve bucks a pop? Here’s the Facebook event? I’m a marionette? Twice? (I demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty.)
Whether you can come or not, I’ve dreamed up a little exercise for you. Below you will find two lists. One represents a very small selection of scenes from the Ballet Academy‘s production of Pinocchio. The other lists all the corresponding music for the show. The music has been shuffled, and it is YOUR job to figure out which piece goes with which scene. I’ve provide YouTube links for the music to help. I’ll set aside two tickets to the showing of your choice if you can match them all. Not that I think anyone’ll take me up on it, but the offer stands!
Regardless, I’m challenging your ability to feel the music — can you tell what each piece has been matched to represent? GO!
The Scenes
- Pinocchio has a run-in with the police
- Stromboli’s puppet show: Tux and Gown
- Stromboli’s puppet show: Strongman
- Stromboli’s puppet show: White Corps ballerinas
- Pleasure Island: The donkey boys are put through their paces
The Music
- “Marionettes” from Scenes de ballet, by Glazunov
- Overture to Fra Diavolo, by Meyerbeer
- Armen’s Variation, by Khachaturian
- “Schottische” from Souvenirs, by Barber
- Poupee Valsante, by Kreisler & Rupp
See, there are only five! It’ll be easy! Just remember: always let your conscience be your guide.
Carrots love ballet!
Or so says the sign at the bubble tea place at my local mall (really. It does). However, I don’t recall seeing any carrots in the below. I suspect they might be lying to me, although if the number of classical-music-plus-food videos previously featured is any indication, food does generally love classical music.
Doce Ballet from Maira Fridman on Vimeo.
And speaking of ballet, a personal note: my ballet studio is currently in the running for a $5,000 grant in the Pepsi Refresh program, but we need daily votes over the course of the month of May to actually win the money. If you would be willing to go vote for us, I would be deeply appreciative. And if you would be willing to sign up for a daily reminder email, I’d be more deeply appreciative still — just email me and let me know you’re in.
