CriticalDance Forum

The Observer's critics list the over-rated from their various art forms:

Jann Parry's dance

Michael Flatley
His shows were vainglorious vehicles for his limited talents.

The Nutcracker
Obligatory over Christmas, but no production stands repeated viewing. Tchaikovsky's tingling score is betrayed by a silly scenario with an anticlimactic ending.

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Any further suggestions?

It's a Wonderful Life A Norman Rockwell cover come to life -- didn't the other characters ever get tired of Jimmy Stewart being turned up to 10 all the time?

The Prodigal Son (Balanchine) Even Balanchine thought it was an "awful ballet", according to Edward Villela, writing about Balanchine's reaction upon learning that Villela wanted to set it on his company.

Canon in D Major (Pachelbel) 'Nuff said.

Aw gee! I love "The Prodigal Son". Still 'an all, the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things.

By omission, are you stating that you don't love It's A Wonderful Life and the Pachelbel Canon? You curmudgeon!

I admit, Stuart, I remembered that you like PS when I wrote that! But Jann Parry trod on one of my favorite movies (A Man For All Seasons) and on The Nutcracker, which I've always found bears lots of repeated viewing (but that was the old SFB production, now gone - snf!), so I lashed out in my pain!

Actually, djb, I think I'm in the minority on "The Prodigal Son" and you're in the majority.

Top of my list would be:

"Coppelia" - an extraordinary emasculation of a powerful original story, leaving a sugary pudding. Mauro Bigonzetti's new version for La Scala and Estonian National Ballet takes it back to the original story's dark tragedy, thank goodness.

"Le Corsaire" - as misguided a narrative as you could hope to see with no emotional interest. Like Fry's Turkish Delight chocolate bar, it promises to be "Full of Eastern Promise". It ain't.

To be fair, both works are saved from the abyss by fine choreogrphy in places. But I expect more than a series of Gala pieces from a great work of dance art.

Michael Flatley, of course--so egregious he had to be a PBS superstar.

Alexander Godunov and Wayne Eagling, both kings of the overrated. Godunov with his bent knees, turn-in, and that ridiculous long hair, and Eagling with the worst feet I've ever seen on a ballet dancer. I guess Godunov had that Fabio sex appeal thing going, and Eagling could do about 39 pirouettes or something. So what. I don't even know if I've spelled their names correctly, and I don't care!

Darcy Kistler, one of the most overrated ballerinas of all time. I'd rather have seen just about any corps girl given a principal role.

Peter Martins for turning Balanchine's company into a pretentious parody of what it once was.

I know this will probably be viewed by some as total sacrilege, but I have never cared much for "Swan Lake". I would pick "Sleeping Beauty" over it any day...even "Nutcracker" I have been disappointed lately in several of the productions that I have seen because they have eliminated a lot of the fourth act, which is my favorite act mainly because of the score. I'm not quite sure why I feel this way...maybe I need counseling!

I like Swan Lake. And Pachelbel's Canon. And Le Corsaire.
Can't stand It's a Wonderful Life.

I agree with those who call Copellia (sp?) over-rated. It's one of the dumbest stories around. True, looked at objectively the stories in some other ballets, including Swan Lake, may be absurd, but those ballets have another, underlying story, which is serious. As a comic ballet, I much prefer La Fille Mal Gardee which I find hilarious.

I may get smacked but I consider Mark Morris overrated. I've seen only a couple of his productions but from what I've seen he just doesn't float my boat.

I used to think Four Temperaments was over-rated until I saw SFB perform it at Stern Grove (featuring the incomparable Muriel Maffre). Now I just think it's one of those pieces that just don't work on video.

Swan Lake (except Matthew Bourne's), I don't think I ever was able to sit through the whole thing without feeling tortured.
Field of Dreams what a boring movie, I've been told it's because I'm a girl that I don't appreciate it!
Flatley, never saw enough to comment, but what little I did see (on TV) made me not want to see more.