By the way I have good news for my Mexican followers and friends. As it is planned I will be very probably performing in Guadalajara on September 26. Stay tuned for updates and news concerning that show.

Anyway I’ll write again, I just don’t know when

Bye and wish me a good flight!

…shows on different countries I am stopping by at my parents place in Frankfurt, Germany, as I currently am. Since my last post one month ago I’ve been around quite a lot. I’ve been to Seoul in Korea, Taipei in Taiwan and to Astana in Kazakhstan. Tomorrow I’m leaving for 4 performances in Italy: Roma, Florence, Treviso and Acqui.

After all that I will relax and enjoy myself in Varna, Bulgaria for two weeks watching the competition and swimming in the black sea. I repeat, I will not dance in Varna, not in the competition, nor in the gala.

PS: Photo was taken by the New York based dance photographer Eduardo Patino

Another flight. A lot of time to spend as useful as possible.
Well, I am in the plane from Franfurt to Korea and actually I kinda get really used to fly these days lol. Some twenty hours ago I was in St. Petersburg Russia dancing Les Bourgeois in an Openair gala performance. Performance went fine, but for the first time I experienced what the people call the white nights in Russia.

White Nights

First what comes to my mind is of course the infamous hollywood-cold war-anti-soviet-kitchy-love story-movie ‚White Nights‘ with our beloved Mikhail Baryshnikov, which probably saw a lot of people not because of the wonderful story, but because of the actors playing in it.
Anyway here is the probably most famous excerpt of the movie:

When it’s bright in the night the night(-life) itself feels different, more alive (I know this sounds weird). But anyway I think I just got a small ‚touch‘ what the White nights are about.
Anyway of course this night I didn’t sleep due to the fact that I was picked up at 3:30 in the morning which was 1:30am in Frankfurt (where I travelled from the day before.) I flied back to Frankfurt, where I slept and repacked my things. And now I am back in the plane flying to Seoul where I will be performing in two Galas and staying almost for a week.

Somehow flying becomes for me to be something special, something more and more useful. I can feel how I can use my time every time better and better with things I still have to do or want to do. I learn how to keep my efficiency up on a high level and it feels good therefore.
This is one thing I admire flying for and what brings me to talk about dance.
The same thing happens with my dancing. Every time I perform a step, every time I execute an exercise, or I perform a variation or an excerpt, it leads my body to heighten its efficiency. Well of course not every time. I was a little exaggerating. There are days the body cannot improve anything, some days it just has to keep the current status of shape, of control, of efficiency. I don’t think any dancers likes these days, since these days are unproductive.

Anyway I’m gone to watch another episode of House M.D. … anyway I’ll write again soon!

Dear readers and followers. I am on the road. After being to Toronto (it went ok), Malaga (good experience with my new partner Maria Kochetkova), I am sitting in the plane from Kazan, Russia back to Frankfurt.

Kazan was a great experience for me (except the horrible hotel with no broadband Internet connection…wahhh!) . First of all I danced the second full Don Quixote performance of my life there. It went great and I am happy for this. Furthermore I was able to dance two more galas there dancing Les Bourgeois and Don Quixote PDD. I am normally a person becoming better and better if I dance in the same conditions, so I especially liked the feeling of familiarity after the first performance. Furthermore I was able to watch some performances in the Nureyev Festival (which gave me a lot), like Gracheva - Uvarov in La Bayadere and Osipova - Merkuriev in Giselle. I met so many old friends… .

Anyway now I am staying for 3 days in Frankfurt to regenerate my body & mind. After this I am off for one day and a show of Les Bourgeois in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 31 and from there I am flying with a stop in Frankfurt (to eat my mothers‘ pelmeni one more time) to Seoul, Korea. I am kinda worried about Korea… I am definately coming, but I am not sure with who I will be dancing with…anyway it is not your problem.

That should be enough for now. I am sorry for not keeping you updated so often, but I’ll try to do it more often than I did in the last days…

By the way. I am working on a new design for my blog. It will take some time…

Dear readers, followers and friends. It is now finally official. As of fall 2008 I am joining American Ballet Theatre as a soloist.

Beside this I am currently in Toronto for the Gala Stars of the 21st Century.
Everything is fine and I will get back to my blog when I have some more time

From Wikipedia:

“Le Spectre de la Rose is a ballet of the Ballets Russes based on a choreographic poem by Théophile Gautier. The music, by Carl Maria von Weber, was taken from his short piece Invitation to the Dance. Choreography was by Michel Fokine and set and costume design by Léon Bakst. It premiered on April 19, 1911 by the Ballets Russes in the Théâtre de Monte Carlo.

The story is about a debutante who falls asleep after her first ball. She dreams that she is dancing with the rose that she had been holding in her hand. Her dream ends when the rose escapes through the window. The dancers at the original performance were Vaslav Nijinsky as the Rose and Tamara Karsavina as the Girl. …”

Youtube was a great help. I was able to watch so many great dancers performing that piece. I could see, compare and decide what I like and what I don’t like in every performance. You get a couple of clips right beside here, so you can get an idea about the piece:

Manuel Legris:

Baryshnikov:

Nureyev:

Ruzimatov:

These are just a few and there are even more on Youtube to watch.

This piece of dance is pretty delicate to dance since it’s pretty different from what I’ve done. It’s far more important how you move and involve your arms and hands.
What is really dangerous is that all the big names of ballet history (starting with Nijinsky) danced that piece already and as an audience it is really tempting to just be lazy and start comparing. Who is jumping higher, who is doing which version etc…, but in the end please keep in mind there is no perfection possible in any art form and therefore comparison is useless.
I don’t know how about you, but for me it’s important if a performance/photo/painting/show, plainly said any art piece, gives something or not. This giving may be private or public, strong or weak, delicate or bold, but if you’re satisfied with this ‘present’ please be satisfied. There is no need for comparison.

Oups, I got kinda drawn away from my main subject, but whatever…just my two cents ;-).

If everything goes right I will be able to perform it the first time in Taipei on June 20th and 21st.

I am sorry again that I was gone from blogging for some time. Last weeks have been nice. I was working on La Spectre with my mother and sorting out a lot in my life besides ballet. One thing is sure now. I am leaving Vienna as my residence and the ballet company as of May.
…
Here is a list of my performances in the months of May and June:

• May 04th - Stars of the 21st Century in Toronto, Canada
• May 14th - Hommage a Rudolf Nureyev Gala in Malaga, Spain
• May 20th - Full Don Quixote in Kasan, Russia
• May 23rd & 24th - Gala in honor of Rudolf Nureyev in Kasan, Russia
• June 1st - Full Don Quixote in St. Peterburg, Russia at the Mikhailovsky Theatre (Maly Opera)
• June 4th & 5th - World Ballet Stars in Seoul, Korea
• June 20th & 21st - World Ballet Star Gala in Taipei, Taiwan (premiere of ‘La Spectre de la Rose’)

I am preparing another post about ‘La Spectre de la Rose’ in the moment. Stay tuned!

Anyway I was reading an article some days ago I found on the another dancers’ blog, TheWinger.com . It’s a great blog from contributors around the globe.

David Hallberg, Principal with ABT (who I’ve met recently in NY for the first time at the gala) mentioned and presented this article in Newsweek , which was written by his collegue Sascha Radetsky. I would like to share it especially with my male readers:

© Nathan Perkel for Newsweek

My business attire is a pair of tights. All right, there it is. I wear makeup onstage, and some of my colleagues are gay. Can we move on now? Can we leave behind the tired male-ballet-dancer stigma—that ballet is not a masculine pursuit—in order to move toward an appreciation of the athleticism and artistry involved in this line of work?

On an average day at the job, I handle lithe, lovely women, engage in duels and delight in the experience of an exotic locale. I move like a gymnast or martial artist and embody the vilest of pimps or the most chivalrous and passionate of lovers. I constantly expand the borders of my physical capabilities, and I hone my mind to a quick-learning, focused edge. Come 8 p.m., I’ll fuse dynamic movement and storytelling with the grandeur of a full live orchestra.

Yes, I’m proud of my profession. Yet I find myself slightly guarded when I tell people what I do. Like some sort of incurable blight, the male-dancer stereotype has taken root and metastasized in our cultural consciousness. Pioneers like Baryshnikov or Nureyev might have opened some minds, but their days have long passed, and despite the noble efforts of a handful of current ballet leaders to expose fresh audiences to our art form, a whole new generation looks at male dancing with skewed vision. Some of my peers are foreigners; in many other countries male dancers are held in higher esteem. I studied in Russia for a year and always marveled at the way Russians celebrated their artists, whether their medium was dance, music or the written word. But I’m American, and I want to live in my own country, as a dancer, with some respect.

The most irritating aspect of the male-dancer stereotype is the underlying insinuation that we in some way lack strength of character or a courageous spirit. Male and female, all dancers undergo strenuous training from a very young age, and constantly wrestle with injuries and fatigue. But male dancers must possess a special type of will and fortitude if they are to become professionals, for, like fish swimming upstream, we have to fight through the current of thinly veiled contempt that much of society harbors for our chosen path. In our culture, girls are encouraged to take ballet; boys receive no such endorsement, except of course from ballet teachers or exceptionally supportive parents. The boy who perseveres in dance must have a genuine hunger for it, must be uniquely motivated and dedicated, and must develop a truly thick skin.

I started taking ballet when I was 5. My open-minded parents thought it was a good way to channel my rambunctious behavior. A few years later I was hooked. I loved the physicality and, of course, the girls, but I also learned that not everyone recognized the value of dance the way I did. I don’t remember the first fight I got into for being a kid who took ballet, but I remember fighting a lot before I realized that maybe I should keep my extracurricular activities to myself. But ballet was rewarding enough to be worth a fat lip or a black eye, and I emerged from my years of dance training more focused than ever. My background is not unusual among my American colleagues—they share similar stories of discouragement, harassment and even violence. But these experiences served to harden resolve and develop courage, and I know I can always count on several of my dancer buddies for steadfast support—they got my back! Ironically, the stereotype of the sissy male dancer has given rise to a male dancer who is anything but.

It’s frustrating that I feel obliged to extol the virtues and describe the rigors of my profession. I’d just like to make it known that the path of the male dancer isn’t necessarily easy—as with any truly worthwhile endeavor—but the rewards can be limitless. I feel lucky to have discovered a vocation that has allowed me to glimpse the great depth of human potential, both physical and mental, and has given me the opportunity to bring joy to so many people in so many places. I feel there is honor in the arts, in the world of dance, in the realm of male ballet dancing.

Exposure to ballet is all that is needed to open minds, for the combination of athletic movement, ardent drama and beautiful music can instill a profound appreciation in an audience. But for you out there who still feel compelled to malign male dancers with half-truths and petty stereotypes, well, maybe we need to step outside. I’ll leave my tights on.

Radetsky lives in New York City.

© 2008

I find the article both interesting to read and enlightening about the situation of a (young) male dancer in our society.
Luckily I was not in such a demanding situation. I had the luck of being trained and supported fully by my parents and surroundings. I never got into a fight in school with someone because I do ballet. Maybe it was because almost no one in my academic school (untill the very end) knew I did ballet. I rather kept quiet about my other activities out of school. In the very end it was just too obvious since I missed weeks being on ballet competitions, so slowly most of my friends knew about that. By this time most of the people around me were pretty much grown up and open minded, so there were practically no conflicts.
In my childhood I somehow didn’t mind not speaking or mentioning ballet to other people. Why should I bother them, making problems, letting them have prejudices? As Sascha has put it, ‘Yes, I’m proud of my profession.’ That’s pretty much it. It gives me so much personally, that I don’t have the urge to force it to people. If you like it, great! If you don’t, I really don’t mind, since people and therefore tastes are different.
In the end you cannot and will not be able to please all.

I will perform on the

• 9^th of August 2008 at the Sunport Theater Takamatsu
  and on
• 12^th of August 2008 at the Youport Theater Tokyo

My performance will consist of my two contemporary numbers “Les Bourgeois” and “Moorhuhn”

Get yourself some tickets