This Los Angeles Times article by Jennifer Fisher is about three choreographers working to make dance more accessible - <P><A HREF="http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Search-X!ArticleDetail-13216,00.html?search_area=Articles&channel=Search" TARGET=_blank>La Danserie</A><P>

Patrick Frantz, one of the choreographers says, "Balanchine made a few masterpieces, then he should have stopped," Frantz says, citing "The Four Temperaments" as an example of ballet in which "steps are just black and white notes, nothing of color. That to me is not dancing, that to me is just gymnastics."<P>Hmm....

Los Angeles Times review by Lewis Segal, Dance Critic of La Danserie:<P><A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/cgi-bin/slwebcli?DBLIST=lt00&DOCNUM=112719&DBPUB=20001216gSBKTuyT&QDesc=%27Re-Percussions%27%20Performances%20Flag%20at%20Finish" TARGET=_blank>Re-Percussions' Performance Flags at Finish</A><P>

This quote about "Four Temperaments" was a bit uninformed, in my opinion. Black and white notes, pullllleeezzz! Four Temperaments displays four very different moods, indeed the entire piece is built on the premise of the four "humors" or bodily moods as was believed in the Middle ages. Plegmatic, Melancholic, etc.<BR>Furthermore,anyone who intimates that Balanchine's work is like "gymnastics" I don't believe knows Balanchine's work very well. What about the high drama of "Prodigal Son, the dark moods of "La Valse", the poignanacy of "Davidsbundlertanze", the saucy, tongue-in-cheek of "Western Symphony"...well,I could go on, but I think you get the picture.Balanchine was a master like Picasso, who's work covered many periods, eras and points of view. We cannot evaluate a genius of this caliber by a cursory dismissal on one work.<P>[This message has been edited by trina (edited December 16, 2000).]<p>[This message has been edited by trina (edited December 16, 2000).]

You got that right, Trina!