Greetings,
As an opera aficionado for many years, I started last year to become interested in ballet. I have now seen several ballets with ABT and with City Ballet. In the area of the vocal art I am able to pick "good' from "great" (or "terrible"). I note that the LEVEL of ballet is higher consistently than that of opera performing. (Well,you cannot be a klutz on the stage). The audiences, including many very young children, are more attentive (and SILENT) and the atmosphere is charged with a certain enthusiasm that to me is reminiscent of the "olden days" of opera.
I am slowly becoming more astute in picking out some of the special steps,moves,over-all choreography. I am often assisted (as I was the other night at Giselle with Nina Ananiashvili)by the audience that "tells me what is great by applause".(Imagine doing that on a high C!!!)
I have a long way to go, but I must say that little by little I am growing more and more enthusiastic, and i hope I can read the opinions of all you EXPERTS and learn from you.This is a reverse of what I do in my opera sites, where I am the one to turn others on to the great singers, and so appreciate what it means to learn from others.
I will be reading and hope to enjoy this incredibly professional forum. Maybe in 50 years I will be able to distinguish a Makarova from a contestant on "So you think you can dance."
Thanks for listening!!!!!!

I LOVE your closing line!!

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Makvala; we're very happy to have you with us. You have an artistic nature and I'm sure you'll learn quickly about the ins and outs of ballet. Enjoy what you see without worrying too much about whether it was stellar or not; it's still beautiful, especially if you go to ABT and NYCB. We hope the site gives you all the information you need.

Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Makvala. It's wonderful to encounter someone who is crossing over and so open to another art form.

And -- please! -- feel free to report on what you see and to share your responses with us all.. Not everyone on Ballet Talk (and I'm speaking for myself here) is an expert. But almost everyone seems quite willing to learn as well as "teach."

An attentive eye -- and a good memory for what you see -- are a wonderful way to start.

Hi Makvala, and welcome to Ballet Talk. I don't remember how long it takes to be able to start pm's, but I'd like to know the names of some of the opera sites you use. If you would mention them here (if that's allowed), please do, as I'd be interested in taking a look at some of them. Enjoy your adventure in learning about ballet, which this site is very good at assisting.

Mods, please specify if this is okay, and also if an email can somehow be gotten to someone who doesn't yet have pm's.

Hi, Makvala!
Glad to have you over here. BTW, Florida Grand Opera announced their upcoming program already, and i will be going. I hope to get some tips from you!

A New Member becomes a full Member when s/he has ten substantive posts to her/his credit. Patrick, if you are willing (pm me) I will send Makvala your e-mail and ask him to send you the info. Okay?

Vat is a PM???????

Makvala, PM stands for Personal Message. The board software allows full Members to contact one another with messages which are not visible to anyone else on the board.