Right now I'm all about The Royal Ballet's historic visit to Cuba! Of course, Carlos Acosta was welcomed back home with open arms. The entire run was completely sold out, so screens were erected outside of the theater so that those who could not get tickets could also watch, the performances went on in a non-air conditioned theater and went from 8:30 to past midnight and not a soul left. Tickets cost the equivalent of 21 cents, so this was not a money making mission for the Royal Ballet but rather a chance to dance for a knowledgeable and extremely appreciative audience. There is nothing better in the worl right now than this story and nothing more beautiful than this picture of Cubans seated to watch a night of ballet under the stars. I wish I could have been there.




Short news story on the Royal Ballet's visit to Cuba:


Watch CBS Videos Online





You can see more gorgeous photos of the performances and of the dancers coming out to take a bow for the audience seated outside the theater (how awesome is that??) here.

A wise woman once told me, "Don't bother fucking a man who can't dance, you're just wasting your time." and damned if it isn't the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No matter how hot a guy is, if he makes a damn fool of himself on the dance floor, he's not getting in my pants and I'm going to do my damnedest to get as far away from him as possible. I can't have people thinking I hang with guys who can't move. I am turned on by all types of dance so it really doesn't matter where a guy's dance strength lies, if he can move, I know he's got game but it's always a plus if he can salsa.

Fact: My father gets angry at people who can't dance when they have the nerve to dance at weddings or parties. Yes, my father CAN DANCE.

This is made ten times better by the fact that I found it via a Tweet by the adorable Daniil Simkin who can dance with me any day!

The beauteous Veronika Part on Letterman, wearing Christian Cota. Like a pro, she showed up at the stage door in a totally different outfit and changed before her appearance. I sort of wish she stuck with her "outside" look because while she looked like a vision in Cota, she was so chic in that sleek black, sleeveless top, high heels and what James Wolcott referred to as "the trimmest black jeans I've seen since Patti Smith". Still, that dress was made for her and if Mr. Cota would like to donate his services to ABT or any other ballet company, I'm sure they would be most appreciated!




Of course, James Wolcott of Vanity Fair could barely contain himself. Here's a small snippet (go read the whole thing, you think you fangirl (insert your fandom object here) hard? Ya got nothing on Wolcott.):

.....I was worried about whether Veronika's visit would truly come off or devolve into the dangling conversation that Paul Simon eulogized so movingly, but the worry evaporated as soon as she walked on stage as if straight from the M.G.M. studio. That teal dress, a Christian Cota creation, enhanced her classic Hollywood glamour, her laugh was charming and disarming and everything else that ends in "arming," and Dave couldn't have been more gracious. I loved hearing Veronika describe leaping to the mat at the end of Swan Lake, and the privilege of watching her lace up her ballet shoes did more to convey the elegance and ceremonial power of dance than the too-fleeting clips that were shown. Then she rose into arabesque, and it was as if her body was a wand blessing the Ed Sullivan Theater. She is the daughter of us all, and yet our queen.

That's his way of saying that Ms. Part is one hell of a GQMF


Ms. Part's Letterman appearance even broke through the pop culture arbiter of Entertainment Weekly. And, yes, there was a time when ballet dancers regularly appeared on NETWORK TELEVISION and many of those appearances happened at the Ed Sullivan Theater, so that's really bringing classiness back to the place where it was so often celebrated. Not for nothing, of course that means NYC too!

Tony Mendez got his wish! The lovely, lyrical Veronika Part will be a guest on Thursday's (tomorrow night) Late Show With David Letterman. Tony Mendez is Letterman's cue card guy but he's also a a former dancer and a huge ABT fan! I'm wondering if Ms. Part is really the best choice for a representative of ABT since her English isn't that great and there are plenty of other dancers who could probably role with Letterman's wit a lot better (David Hallberg) but I also know that Letterman is always respectful of guests with actual talent so it should be an interesting interview.



I hope the interview goes well and that this means that there will be more dancers from different companies showing up on talk shows not just to perform but to talk about themselves and the incredible work that they do.

How did that beautiful little boy NOT WIN Britain's Got Talent?????? Gah! I usually hate little kid singers but that kid is a fucking treasure.

Nicole Bobek has been arrested on suspicions of having a significant role in a meth ring. Nicole was an exquisite skater...when she was on, if she fell early in a skate, and that happened often, you knew that the rest of her program was going to fall apart quickly. Nicole had a home life that made Tonya Harding's upbringing seem practically Disney-esque but her artistry on ice was undeniable, Michelle Kwan took inspiration from Nicole's spiral and modified it into her own signature move but I maintain that Nicole Bobek still had the best spiral of all time. Ultimately, Michelle's almost superhuman consistency steamrolled over Nicole's wobbly performances and, as with so many flash in the pan figure skaters, she was quickly forgotten but meth, man that's just about the bottom of the barrel.

I'm going to cling to this image because there ws no other skater who could strike a pose like Nicole.

Last night's SYTYCD: no mention of the passing of Pina Bausch = BIG FAT FAIL, especially on the side of so called "cotemporary choreographer" Mia Michaels (you wish you were a quarter as good Pina).

If you have never seen the original choreography by the GREAT Bob Fosse for 'Rich Man's Frug' from Sweet Charity....do so, here:





Brilliant!!! If this was all he did, he'd be a genius. I want to marry this!!! Sooo deceptively simple. The point is that all of these people at this nightclub are so rich and connected that they have their own stylized form of dance that no one else is privy to and not knowing it clearly paints you as an outsider.

As for ( the pas de deux )

If you live in the Tri-State area and enjoyed the pas de deux, you have a chance to see the entire ballet performed by the best in the world next week when ABT closes out its' Summer Season at the Met with, Romeo and Juliet. The following week, they will be performing in Los Angeles!

I have an insane dream that someday, I will get to see Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky perform R&J!!!! I'd happily fly to Europe to see this happen.

Just back from Sylvia and it's official, Mom wants to adopt Daniil Simkin!



My mother has a great eye for dancers, she was the first person to point out Stella Abrera's stellar port de bras while Stella was still a Corps member (at City Center no less!) and she went nuts for Herman Cornejo when he first joined ABT. Keep an eye on Simkin!

PS: beautiful ballet! Stella and Misty were fab and Veronika Part as well, it was almost an embarrasment of gorgeous female dancers!!! As always, no character on stage or screen enters to better music than Sylvia does (danced by Michele Wiles who is so suited to this role!).

Nina Ananiashvili retired from ballet last Saturday and while I could not be there, I have seen other dancers retire and it is always a woderful spectacle of flowers and other dancers coming out to pay tribute. I think that only opera allows its' greats this wonderful swan (ha!) song out into the next phase of their lives. I barely know ABT without her.

NY Times writes up her last performance along with a lovely slideshow.

With a lot of work, you go from this



to this






I love pictures of dancers with their children, it was not so long ago that a ballerina's career was considered over and done with once she got pregnant, happily that has changed. I don't doubt that it's still a difficult balance but it's possible and how wonderful to have a mother who has been Odile/Odette, Aurora, Giselle, Carmen, a Sylph, Medora, Sylvia, Kitri, Cinderella, Firebird.....

( Nina as Odette in Russia My absolute favorite pic of her )

Nina, brava and thank you!

I watched The Princess Protection Program on the Disney channel for two reasons: I think Selena Gomez is adorable and it was filmed in Puerto Rico which was subbing for a fictional country called Costa Luna and.....Louisiana. Not one person in the entire film even attempted a Louisiana accent, so it was a lot like True Blood in that respect. The best part was a night scene early on where the sound engineer must have fallen asleep during post production because the singing of the coquis was out of control.....and Louisiana most certainly does not have coquis.

A coqui is a small tree frog that is found in the Virgin Islands and it makes this sound all night long, hence the name 'coqui'. You either learn to ignore it, love it or you move somewhere else. It's a beloved symbol of noisiness in Puerto Rico. Hell, Menudo sang a song about it! By the way, click on that at your own risk, I'm not responsible if you never get that "OOOOH! Coqui!" out of your head.

Never mistake 'coqui' for 'coquito'. One is a harmless, slightly annoying tree frog, the other one is an alcoholic beverage that I've seen knock hardened drinkers on their ass after one glass.

I have to admit, a part of me would have loved to have seen a wee bit of this busted out at Lincoln Center last night.

Veronika Part and Roberto Bolle did the impossible: they made me believe in Swan Lake. I didn't want it to end!!!!

A few weeks ago, I read a review of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and the writer said that she felt like "God was in the theater". At this Swan Lake, I felt like the souls of great movie icons were in the house, especially Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. More when I can breath!

There was also Stella Abrera and Misty Copeland in da hizzy!!!!

Got my hair done, you're welcome world.

I need this movie like I need air, from all reports it's a totally cliche free romantic comedy! Starring these two cuties who aren't dating in real life but totally should be.








PS: when I typed the title to this entry, I mistakenly typed '500 Days of Cummer' which would absolutely be the title of the inevitable porn remake.

The lady dancing in Prince's newest video is American Ballet Theater's very own Misty Copeland!!!!! According to Misty, Prince called her himself to request that she star in the video. I saw her dance last week in Paul Taylor's Airs and she was fantastic, really bringing the openess of Paul Taylor's dancers as well as the refinement of an ABT dancer.



( Prince Video W/ Misty )


This picture of her knocked my socks off:



Here is a short news clip on Misty and two other ABT dancers Craig Slastein and Daniil Simkin. Ok, I had no idea that Craig studied under Mia Michaels.....that raises her about two points in my book but it does not mean I like her. I saw Daniil in Sylphide last week and he is just a little troublemaker in the very best way, in other words, if he needs a spanking, I volunteer to do the work.

Last night's Giselle with Osipova was breathtaking. I have a write up coming soon but allow me to let a real master of ballet explain it to you. From Christopher Wheeldon's own Tweet:

Last night Osipova, Hallberg at The Met. A ballet performance worth the history books !

The icon is totes appropriate btw, I wanted to hug every person I passed on my way out of the theater and be all "OMG!!!! We just SAW THAT".

Johnny Weir has a Twitter. I don't know if I should be amused or disturbed at his choice of background picture:



He's missing either his nose or his mouth so I'm going with dismused which I just made up.

I was going to do this post as a 'guess who' and post the following two Tweets:

My premiere is today! Japan embassy in the morning, then hair and MAC makeup, then movie, then after party, then 7am flight to Colorado :(



Dreaming of Chanel's Paris-Moscou collection. Weeds premiere was great. It was a beautiful day in Weirland. :) Sladkix snov!

Then I realized it was just too easy and, yes, I would have blakned out the 'Weir' in Weirland.

Congratulations to all three of the Billy Elliots on their win! David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik...I think these young men are going to have a great impact in helping to make ballet "cool" for young boys in this country.

NY Times piece on Veronkia Part. If she gets on Letterman....a real, live ballet dancer on a national talk show who is not named Barishnakov?! Tony Mendez I love you!!!!!

Tuesday night I attended the All Profokiev program at ABT which consisted of three ballets: The Prodigal Son, Desir and a new ballet On the Dnieper. The program as reviewed on Monday's performance would seem to be rather weak but I think that was mainly based on the casting because the performances the dancers I got to see were all pitch perfect. This review says it all but if you want ( two cents and yes, I can bring The Exorcist to a ballet metaphor )

Reason #6776 why I need to go to Russia: a new ballet based on the film Immortal Beloved about Beethoven is going to be performed by the National Ballet of Novosibirisk. This ballet is being choreographed by Edwaard Liang and it looks like something that allows male dancers to really shine.




Looking foward to Giselle on Saturday where I will get to see Natalia Osipova and Ms. Part!!!!! It's almost like being in Russia.


Why not do a ballet based on The Exorcist?

Here I thought I was just going to be seeing a fantastic performance of Giselle next Saturday with Natalia Osipova of the Bolshoi guest dancing with ABT, it turns out I'll be seeing the newly crowned HBIC of Ballet as Ms. Osipova was just awarded Best Ballerina by The Benois de la Danse in Moscow and, yes, a dance award from Russia actually means something (unlike certain misogynistic and homophobic American tv show judges). The other winner of the award was Kristy Martin for her role in 'Manon', she dances with the Australian Ballet of Melbourne When it comes to ballet awards, you do need to bring it because if the panel does not feel like anyone is worth the win, they are more than happy NOT TO GIVE OUT AN AWARD PERIOD.

Congrats to NYCB Ballet resident hottie, Joaquin de Luz for winning best male dancer along with Bolshoi flyer Ivan Vasiliev.

Natalia performing a variation from 'Esmeralda'....she's seventeen here and already incredibly captivating.



This lady doesn't need a misogynist like Mia Michaels (and what the fuck was up with that shit?) to tell her she can dance, she's got a dance award from motherfuckin' Moscow in her back pocket and that's worth ten thousand cheap ass SYTYCD wins.

I was actually going to title this post 'Who Knew Mia Michaels was a Supernatural Fan?' but come to think of it, I should have figured that out last year.

The most beautiful mash up in the whole world?

Chanel/Karl Lagerfeld/Elena Glurdjidze (Principal Dancer for the English National Ballet) that's what!

Lagerfeld was overseeing a final fitting of a costume he designed for Elena and she gave an impromptu performance of 'The Dying Swan' (which has NOTHING TO DO WITH SWAN LAKE) which Lagerfeld filmed in black and white. When she comes down those stairs, those iconic Chanel stairs, I got fucking goosebumps!!!! You can watch it here on You Tube but I highly suggest going to the Chanel site and watching it there in much better quality.

Please note: This You Tube version does not use the music from 'La Cygne', it's something altogether different and that totally ruins the effect. Watch it at the Chanel site.



You can see a better photo of the costume at WWD.

A quick rundown of 'The Dying Swan' choreographed by Michel Fokine: swan is injured either by the ravages of old age or a hunter's arrow and is slowly dying. Is she going down without a fight? No. Is she going to make her death as elegant and memorable as possible? Hell yeah. This is danced to the music 'Le Cygne' which was composed by Camille Saint-Saëns. This is the same Camille that Johnny Weir famously named his glove for when he skated a program to this music as his short program at the Torino Olympics.....the glove which was then parodied in Blades of Glory.

This ballet was originally choreographed for the great Anna Pavlova. One of my very first dolls was a Madame Alexander doll of Anna Pavlova complete with lovely satin ballet shoes.