Comments for Ballet

Comment on Capezio Women’s Short Sleeve Leotard,Black,Large by AML

AML — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:51 +0000

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Definitely check for your correct size!, October 26, 2010

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This review is from: Capezio Women's Short Sleeve Leotard (Apparel)

I bought this leotard for a halloween costume and I will give Amazon credit for delivering it in like 3 days. I ordered a large which is my normal size in clothes and swimwear. I tried it on immediately and it is so tight I almost can't breath in it. The front is lined for modestly, I think that plus the fact that the fabric is like a cotton lycra not a poly makes it almost unstretchable. I got in it and unfortunately will be wearing it on Friday since I don't have time to receive another one, but just make sure you order the correct size.

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Comment on Capezio Women’s Short Sleeve Leotard,Black,Large by Mallory Farrington

Mallory Farrington — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:57:52 +0000

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Pretty Good, November 2, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Capezio Women's Short Sleeve Leotard (Apparel)

This was my second leotard, I outgrew my first one and had to buy a new one which has a shelf lining. I wanted a cotton one so I picked this one. I DID NOT BUY THIS ON AMAZON, I bought this from DiscountDance.com, but the material is the same from both sites. this leotard has good material, it is tight once you first try it on but it will become more comfortable once you wear it once or twice. I have this in pink small, I am 5'1' and it fits. The size chart isn't exactly correct so I would suggest you buy a size larger. I wear this once a week and it hasn't changed a bit. I had this for about a year now and it is still in a very good condition as good as new, the color wouldn't come off no matter how many times you wash it and it won't shrink. I RECOMEND YOU BUY THIS PRODUCT !!! IT IS AWESOME!!!

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Comment on Capezio Women’s Gliss Pointe Shoe,European Pink,7.5 M US by Margaret Anderson

Margaret Anderson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:46:45 +0000

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

quick service, although a misunderstanding on shoe size, overall excellent, September 6, 2009

Margaret Anderson -

This review is from: Capezio Women's 102 Glisse Pointe Shoe (Apparel)

purchased this item for my 11 year old just starting in point class, excellent quality very helpful on the phone.

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Comment on The Royal Ballet: Tchaikovsky- The Sleeping Beauty Reviews by CWJ "Ballet Fan"

CWJ "Ballet Fan" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:31:08 +0000

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

It's Worth Having, November 7, 2008

CWJ "Ballet Fan" (Owings Mills, MD United States) -

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This review is from: The Royal Ballet: Tchaikovsky- The Sleeping Beauty (DVD)

I thought a lot before I bought this production. I actually saw it live at the Kennedy Center during the summer before this was recorded and I was so disappointed. I had waited so long to see the Royal Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty live.
I ought to say here I'm one of probably a few who actually like the Anthony Dowell 1993 production. I think Viviana Durante was amazing and Dowell himself as Carabosse gave the performance of the ages. I wasn't that nuts about the scenery but thought the costumes (especially those in Act 3) were great.
I think the company was just having an off day when I saw the live production. It was a very hot summer day and, to be kind, maybe the heat and humidity was getting to them all. The whole group lacked energy, Sarah Lamb was uninspiring as Aurora. There was nothing between her and her Prince and the Elizabeth McGorian's Carabosse (she normally plays the Queen) looked and acted like she was a little annoyed because she hadn't been invited to a tea party.
Though I suspect Durante with her steely toed performance is much more comparable to Fonteyn, I like this performance and Cojocaru a lot. In fact I like the whole cast a lot and Sarah Lamb is very good as Blue Bird. Cuts in the music don't disturb me too much since almost all the companies take liberties in that area.
Like one of the other reviewers I'm also a fan of the Kirov version with Asylmuratova (and her husband Zaklinsky) but it was recorded at the Bolshoi Theatre and is so dark in places. (Have others noticed that this is often the case with performances recorded at the Bolshoi?) So far it is only on VHS and I've wondered if it will ever come out on DVD because of the quality of the recording.
Anyway, for Sleeping Beauty fans it's well worth having. Since so little of the original production is available today (Act 3 on the "Evening With The Royal Ballet" DVD, a severely cut black and white version filmed for American TV and bits on the Margot DVD) this is the best chance to get an idea of what the original was like.

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Comment on The Royal Ballet: Tchaikovsky- The Sleeping Beauty Reviews by Ivy Lin

Ivy Lin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:46:10 +0000

69 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

Probably the first-choice video of Sleepng Beauty, August 25, 2008

Ivy Lin (NY NY) -

This review is from: The Royal Ballet: Tchaikovsky- The Sleeping Beauty (DVD)

This release of "Sleeping Beauty," a filmed performance by the Royal Ballet, was eagerly anticipated by myself after I watched the telecast. I think, all things considered, that this is the best Sleeping Beauty DVD on the market. Other videos might have finer individual performances (Margot Fonteyn, Yuri Soloviev, Alla Sizova) but those videos are all severely abridged versions of the ballet, and the video quality is not high. This "Sleeping Beauty" has a fine cast, great video quality, and an excellent production.

I'll go over several aspects of this video:

1. The production - The Royal Ballet has always prided itself on its production of Sleeping Beauty. The famous 1946 Oliver Messel production made Margot Fonteyn an international star. Over the years, replacements for the Messel production were never very successful. In the early 1990s a production by Anthony Dowell was released on video. Viviana Durante was an excellent Aurora, but the sets and costumes were terrible and much criticized. This video is a replica of sorts of the Messel production, although the costumes have not been replicated, and the Garland Dance was choreographed by the up and coming Christopher Wheeldon. I don't like the overly pastelish, glittery costumes of the fairies, but these criticisms are mainly for the Prologue, and the sets have a grand simplicity.

2. The choreography of the Royal Ballet's production has always been its strong point. I remember an interview with the formidable Ninette di Valois when she took care to explain the difference between "production," which she says is wont to change a lot, with "choreography," which is much more constant. The Royal Ballet's choreography is was heavily based on Diaghilev's 1921 production for the Ballet Russes and Petipa assistant Sergeyev's original notations, and it preserves much of the crucial mime of the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse. Unlike Nureyev's production for the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet's choreography has no gratuitous interpolated solos for the Prince. The famous fishdives in the Grand pas de deux that Diaghilev added to the 1921 Ballet Russes production are here as well.

3. The dancers - Alina Cojocaru in the title role gives a performance for the ages. Cojocaru is not a stereotypical ballerina. Her face makes her look eternally girlish rather than conventionally beautiful. She lacks the large eyes and high cheekbones of most ballerinas. She is extremely thin, but has short, extremely wide feet without much of an arch. Her strength is in her technique and her personality. Her feet look weak, but she is incredibly strong as a dancer. In Act 1 it's hard to expect anything more from an Aurora. Her jump is airy and light, her turns fast and secure, and she zips through the Rose Adagio with long-held balances and barely a wobble. In the Vision Scene she transforms herself effortlessly into a wispy, otherworldy creature. She has a bubbly, sweet stage presence that's apparent even in the Regal Act 3 wedding scene. Cojocaru was born in Romania and trained in the Russian style at the Kiev Ballet before she joined the Royal Ballet. Her dancing style combines the best of both worlds, having the crisp solidity usually associated with the British style along with the soft Romantic port te bras, expansiveness, and delicacy of the Russian school.

Her partner was supposed to be her offstage boyfriend Johan Kobborg, but Kobborg was injured, and Frederico Bonelli danced in his place. But the last-minute substitution is not reflected in the performance. Bonelli is princely and handsome, and he partners Cojocaru very well, especially in the Wedding grand pas de deux. They are much better matched than the tiny Viviana Durante and the extremely tall Zoltan Solymosi in the 1993 video.

Marianela Nunez is herself an acclaimed Aurora, but she gives the Lilac Fairy a sweetness and graciousness that is most welcome. This fairy is never remote, always benevolent. I agree that at times she seems a little too human, but I can't complain. Her variation in the Prologue is much superior to Benazir Hussein, in the Dowell production video.

It's a sign of the top-down quality of the video's cast that the Florine (Sarah Lamb) is also a principal dancer and acclaimed Aurora. The divertissements in Act 3 are very well-danced.

4. The video quality - very high. The sound is well balanced, the close-ups are well placed so as not to distract from the overall dancing.

Overall, Opus Arte has released yet another treasurable video from the Royal Ballet. (Fille Mal Gardee and Sylvia are also highly recommended.)

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Comment on African American Girl’s BALLET DANCER, PERSONALIZED DOOR SIGN by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:21:17 +0000

Cute Door Sign, July 11, 2011

Ballardr -

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This review is from: African American Girl's BALLET DANCER, PERSONALIZED DOOR SIGN

I received this order so quick I was shock! The personalized door sign is soooooo cute and nice. My soon to be 3 year old loves it! It's a great added piece to her ballet dance theme bedroom. I'm so glad I happened to wonder across this while searching for a door sign.

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Comment on MBI Sport and Hobby Postbound Album 12-Inch-by-12-Inch, Dance/Ballet by J. Arena

J. Arena — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:02:27 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Great purchase for the price!, June 11, 2008

J. Arena (Williamsburg, VA) -

This review is from: MBI Sport and Hobby Postbound Album 12-Inch-by-12-Inch, Dance/Ballet (Kitchen)

This is an adorable little 12" square scrapbook to commemorate your own Tiny Dancer's dancing school achievements for the year. I can't imagine a more appropriate gift for Mom and daughter to work on together, adding in their own special touches to make it their own.

For very little money, you can create and save some wonderful memories to be cherished, perhaps for generations to come.

What a wonderful little book!

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Comment on Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet by yan ek

yan ek — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:29:33 +0000

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

misjudged, December 24, 2010

yan ek (Long Beach, CA USA) -

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This review is from: Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet (Hardcover)

From everything I heard and read prior to receiving and reading this book for myself I expected to be irritated by it. It is extremely well written and some obscure details the author brings out with great clarity. I enjoyed everything except the epilogue and even that is not as bad as what I'd feared. The author clearly thinks that the present moment in ballet is the final death knell. Print matter is supposed to be dead, the theatre is supposed to be dead, classical music is supposed to be dead... It is just too facile an assumption. Some of the points I agree with but cannot see them in such dire terms. Dancers have become universal in their technique and lots of "cookie cutter" dancers are manufactured. Some of this is very regrettable but it is the world we live in now. Globalization is not restricted in dance or anywhere else. Choreography certainly is not at the low ebb she suggests. There will not BE another Balanchine or Ashton. Get over it. So many interesting choreographers are working just now it is impossible to see enough to actually judge. Someone else will come up that grabs everyone's attention and for awhile everyone will love them and then think after that nothing they do is any good any longer. That is our fault as critics in not allowing them to develop freely and being patient in their choreographic life. Everyone wants the next great ballet!!! Great choreographers makes bad ballet sometimes but if even one is good that is enough.

When Balanchine, Ashton,Tudor and the other great lions of dance were creating it was a rare opportunity that the major voices in dance were invited in to make ballets for other companies. Balanchine created only a handful of works outside NYCB and the same is true for Ashton and the Royal. Tudor left Rambert and London and devoted himself to life in New York. Times are different now as evidenced by Christopher Wheeldon and Morphoses or Ratmansky. ABT now does the same Balanchine ballets that they once looked at from a distance. Kylian works are everywhere, done mostly to profit the choreographer rather than enrich a dancers or an audience's experience. Everyone complained in times past that ballet was not run by good business principals and now, more and more, it is and that seems to please few as well. It would be wisest to be patient and offer patronage and support when one can and let the art form take its own course. In any case who made Ms. Homans the voice of authority because she is published?

The actual danger of this book is that someone might not know enough to think for themselves and let the author tell them ballet is dead. More people will go to dance performances than will read this book. When this changes, then worry. Go out and see a ballet.

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Comment on Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet by Ivy Lin

Ivy Lin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:56:39 +0000

129 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

A good history of ballet with a sour aftertaste, December 6, 2010

Ivy Lin (NY NY) -

This review is from: Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet (Hardcover)

Jennifer Homan's book is really two separate books in one. The first is a long, fairly comprehensive history book about ballet. Even if more seasoned balletomanes are already familiar with the basic storyline, Homans is still an excellent historian with a sharp eye for detail. The book is best when talking about the history of ballet: as a court dance in the French royal court, Marie Taglioni's dancing on the tips of her toes to give her an eternally ethereal look, the great era of Petipa at the Mariinsky Ballet, and of course, the giant of 20th century ballet, George Balanchine. Homans is a real historian -- every page is filled with interesting but somewhat arcane facts that shows that she has indeed done her research. What I like about her book is that she doesn't just focus on the big names (Louis XIV, Bournonville, Petipa, Ivanov, Diaghelev, Balanchine, Ashton). Her book is filled with tidbits on the lesser-known figures of ballet. For instance, she devotes quite a bit of space to Ivan Vsevolovsky, the man mainly responsible for bringing together Peter Tchaikovksy and Marius Petipa. Homans also includes a very funny section on the excesses of the Italian spectacle warhorse, Excelsior, which was a huge popular hit but "all but killed Italian ballet." Her description of Excelsior: "boasted a cast of more than five hundred, including twelve horses, two cows, and an elephant." Homans is also careful to link ballet to society at the time, pointing out, for instance, that Marie Taglioni had such a hoarde of Victoria-female admirers because she was plain, demure, yet able to transmit the romantic yearning that females felt into her dancing.

Part of the joy of the book is the exquisitely chosen pictures and thoughtfully written captions. She shows us the original "five positions" in Louis XIV's court. She includes the original notations of the Italian spectacle ballet Excelsior. She compares the original Mariinsky snowflakes with the Snowflakes Balanchine made for his Nutcracker. By the caption, Homans writes: "The similarities are striking, Balanchine made one important addition: his snowflakes are crowned, emphasizing their Imperial lineage." For this careful, loving overview of the history of ballet, "Apollo's Angels" is to be treasured.

The second part of the book is a lengthy epilogue in which Homans declares that "ballet is dead." Even though this part if obviously much shorter than the first part, its tone is so different from the previous part of the book that it might as well be a separate book. Homans' careful, academic study on ballet is thrown out the window for Homans' theory that ballet is dead. Not just going through a dry spot choreographically, but dead. Homans decries the lack of exciting choreographers on the horizon (has she seen Ratmansky's work, one wonders). Not just that, but Homans declares of today's performers: "For performers, things are no easier. Committed and well-trained dancers are still in good supply, but very few are exciting or interesting enough to draw or hold an audience. Technically conservative, their dancing is opaque and flat, emotionally dimmed. And although many can perform astonishing stunts, the overall level of technique has fallen. Today's dancers are more brittle and unsubtle, with fewer half-tones than their predecessors." Moreover, Homans declares that ballet is out of step with today's culture: "Today we no longer believe in ballet's ideals. We are skeptical of elitism and skill, which seem to us exclusionary and divisive. Those privileged enough to obtain specialized training, so this thinking goes, should not be elevated above those with limited access to knowledge or art. We want to expand and include: we are all dancers now. Ballet's fine manners and implicitly aristocratic airs, its white swans, regal splendor, and beautiful women on pointe (pedestals), seem woefully outmoded, the province of dead white men and society ladies in long-ago places."

The arguments are familiar: today's dancers are losing their links with great choreographers and pedagogues. There has been no real great choreographer since Balanchine's death. Yet such a long, bitter epilogue after such a loving history of ballet leaves a sour taste in one's mouth, even if I can agree with some of her points. First of all, I hate to think that such a painstakingly researched book was just to prove a point that ballet is dead. Second of all, I dislike declaring any art form dead. Wasn't it the great works of Marius Petipa in Russia that rescued ballet from the excesses of Italian ballet? It seems narrow-minded, knee-jerk conservative, and somehow deeply mean to declare an art form dead. The author assumes that if people enjoy ballet today, they are somehow ignorant, and that kind of elitist attitude doesn't help anybody. The other issue is that somehow I wonder if the epilogue was tacked on to sell more books, as a lengthy history book about ballet... Read more

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Comment on Capezio Women’s Teknik Shoe,Black,8 B US by EmberEverdeen

EmberEverdeen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:48:10 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Really good, June 27, 2011

EmberEverdeen -

This review is from: Capezio Women's 200 Teknik Ballet Shoe (Apparel)

Im 16 and I just started ballet. I had my mom order these for me because they looked like good ballet shoes, and they are. These are probly the best I could have hoped for. My only caviot with them is I had to pull the draw string really tight so the shoe wouldnt bunch up when I went up onto demi point or pointed my toes so I ended up having to tape the back of my heels so it wouldnt leave an indent in them(which hurts) But other than that one little thing they fit great, work really well, and fit me in my normal street shoe size.

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