Hallmark Movies ❤️ comfort & joy

[Imzadi]

So I had to go look up the average age of a prima ballerina and I found this (from a dancer):
The term Prima Ballerina implies more than just ability. Since it means “first amongst female dancers” there can only be one Prima Ballerina at any given time. The term also implies a great degree of accomplishment and accumulated knowledge. This accomplishment generally comes through years of experience performing premier roles in all aspects of the repertoire. When a company names a dancer their Prima Ballerina, it is usually done so as a formal recognition of her many years dancing at the highest possible level as well as the contributions her work has made to the overall advancement of the art. For this reason, she tends to be amongst the older dancers in the company. Occasionally, some very talented younger dancers with less experience might perform the same roles as she, but they won’t be granted this rare title of rank and praise until they have proven that they too have the staying power in addition to their talent and skill.

I've only known a few women in my lifetime who were formally granted the title Prima Ballerina. In each case they were in their mid to late 30’s when this happened.


Others posting on the same forum said mid to late 20s is typical for prima ballerina status.

Interesting. My limited knowledge of ballet comes from watching the NYC Ballet and American Ballet Theatre during the George Balanchine era when he'd pluck a ballerina of out the corp de ballet (who dance in a group) and make them a star by having them dance solo and later star in choreography he created specifically for them. I'm thinking of Gelsey Kirkland and Suzanne Farrell.

Researching, Gelsey Kirkland was promoted to soloist at age 16, and as a principal dancer at age 20. Wiki says she was a prima ballerina at about age 23 for ABT. Suzanne Farrell, who was most notably Balanchine's muse towards the end of his life, was the youngest principal dancer at NYCB at age 19.

I never really paid attention to the title or knew there is a distinction between the term principal dancer versus prima ballerina before. I still haven't found an article that says when Farrell moved from being just a principal dancer to being known as the prima ballerina that she is known as.

Misty Copeland became the first African American principal dancer for ABT at age 33. While some articles refer to her as a prima ballerina, the articles I find quoting ABT and by more credible sources only refer to her as a principal dancer.

More research shows: "A Principal dancer is almost always the highest rank in a ballet company. (Etoile in France is higher.) Both male and female dancers hold the rank of Principal dancer. Prima ballerina means “first” ballerina. That would be the top ranked principal female dancer in the company."

Apparently while a Prima Ballerina is always a principal dancer, not all principal dancers are bestowed the title and recognition of Prima Ballerina. Many people, like me don't realize there is a difference.


Thanks PrincessShmoo, for teaching something new about ballet. I stand corrected.

(I'm still not going to watch Amy Acker again as I don't like her. )

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks PrincessShmoo, for teaching something new about ballet. I stand corrected.

(I'm still not going to watch Amy Acker again as I don't like her. )

Well, I learned the same thing, so we both are smarter. I didn't know all the details before.

Actually, I didn't particularly like Amy Aker in that movie when I first saw it. She's grown on me a little (in this movie) mostly because of the ballet aspect, not so much her.

 

[Allison]

The third installment in the trilogy, The Wedding Veil Legacy, premieres on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. In this film, Tracy (Sweeney) meets Nick (Victor Webster), a restaurateur, who helps her save an original draft of The New Colossus and in return she agrees to help him with his restaurant. As they grow closer, Tracy gets cold feet.

Interesting as Victor Webster was also on Days of Our Lives.

 

[elgerber]

Well, I learned the same thing, so we both are smarter. I didn't know all the details before.

Actually, I didn't particularly like Amy Aker in that movie when I first saw it. She's grown on me a little (in this movie) mostly because of the ballet aspect, not so much her.

I like her in non Hallmark movies so it’s ok for me

 

[Kennywood]

Aren't the The Wedding Veil trilogy movies simply "Sisterhood of the Traveling Wedding Veil"?

 

[elgerber]

Aren't the The Wedding Veil trilogy movies simply "Sisterhood of the Traveling Wedding Veil"?

I didn't watch yet, but this is my thought also.

 

[RangerPooh]

Aren't the The Wedding Veil trilogy movies simply "Sisterhood of the Traveling Wedding Veil"?

This was my thought when I saw the commercial and heard the premise.

Watched it, enjoyed it. One thing that annoyed me was the main male character's accent. Not sure if it's his real accent or a fake one, but I cringed hearing him speak. His acting was otherwise fine. Loved the friendship

Spoiler : I also thought that it was dumb that it took them until the end of the movie to realize that the veil might be the same as the one in the painting. Saw that coming from a mile away.

 

[Allison]

This was my thought when I saw the commercial and heard the premise.

Watched it, enjoyed it. One thing that annoyed me was the main male character's accent. Not sure if it's his real accent or a fake one, but I cringed hearing him speak. His acting was otherwise fine. Loved the friendship

He is from Canada.

 

[PollyannaMom]

RE: The Wedding Veil Trilogy

This was my thought when I saw the commercial and heard the premise.

Watched it, enjoyed it. One thing that annoyed me was the main male character's accent. Not sure if it's his real accent or a fake one, but I cringed hearing him speak. His acting was otherwise fine. Loved the friendship

Spoiler : I also thought that it was dumb that it took them until the end of the movie to realize that the veil might be the same as the one in the painting. Saw that coming from a mile away.

Ditto on all counts! - I just watched it this morning and felt the same way. - Toward the end it was like he was turning on and off a fake Boston accent he copied from watching old JFK speeches! I also guessed the thing in your spoiler much earlier, and was a little frustrated at how long the "classic Hallmark misunderstanding" lasted.

But I still couldn't help but like the movie enough to want to watch the next one! (And I loved The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so that part was OK with me too.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This was my thought when I saw the commercial and heard the premise.

Watched it, enjoyed it. One thing that annoyed me was the main male character's accent. Not sure if it's his real accent or a fake one, but I cringed hearing him speak. His acting was otherwise fine. Loved the friendship

Spoiler : I also thought that it was dumb that it took them until the end of the movie to realize that the veil might be the same as the one in the painting. Saw that coming from a mile away.

I didn't notice the accent until about 1/2 way through. He's from Canada, so I'm not sure where it's coming from. It has sort of a muddled Australian sound. And, yes, it was distracting.

 

[RangerPooh]

He is from Canada.

I didn't notice the accent until about 1/2 way through. He's from Canada, so I'm not sure where it's coming from. It has sort of a muddled Australian sound. And, yes, it was distracting.

The accent that I picked up was that he was trying to sound like someone from New Jersey or Boston, not Canadian. I'm fine with the Canadian accent, but it was what he was trying to convey that didn't sit well with me. Like @PollyannaMom said, it seemed to come and go without consistency.

 

[Imzadi]

One thing that annoyed me was the main male character's accent. Not sure if it's his real accent or a fake one, but I cringed hearing him speak.

Ditto on all counts! - I just watched it this morning and felt the same way. - Toward the end it was like he was turning on and off a fake Boston accent he copied from watching old JFK speeches! I also guessed the thing in your spoiler much earlier, and was a little frustrated at how long the "classic Hallmark misunderstanding" lasted.

Yes, that fake Boston accent was so weird. In the beginning of the movie he didn't have the accent. But when they were back in Boston for a while, suddenly he started putting it on. But, it wasn't consistently there even when he was trying to do it. Why did he bother? And why didn't he watch some Ben Affleck & Matt Damon movies if he wanted to copy a Boston accent?

And yes, I too, guessed the spoiler long before we found out.

 

[Imzadi]

I liked the movie well enough to see the other two upcoming installments.

The one thing I didn't like, beyond the fake Boston accent that kept coming and going, was how the male lead character was doing some Jekyll and Hyde routine with the female. Too bad the accent didn't come at the same times he was warm and friendly, and go when he was practically rude and dismissive and then disappear. He really could have had split personalities.

 

[PollyannaMom]

The one thing I didn't like, beyond the fake Boston accent that kept coming and going, was how the male lead character was doing some Jekyll and Hyde routine with the female...

I know what you mean. I think I tied that up with "the misunderstanding". - He would feel so comfortable around her, and all would be great, then something would jolt him into remembering

Spoiler

that he thought she was engaged

and he would force himself to back off. I know it's a classic Hallmark movie plot device, but I agree with you, he went back and forth too many times. But still:

I liked the movie well enough to see the other two upcoming installments.

I checked and the next one isn't until February 12th!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Second, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has a new movie, too, North to Home on Sunday at 9pm ET, with a quaduple dose of Hallmark stars: Kimberley Sustad, Lyndsy Fonseca, Erica Durance and Barbara Niven.

The movie is directed by Hallmark actress, now director, Ali Liebert. Ali starred in the Christmas movie A Gift to Remember and it's sequel. It's the one about a book store clerk who accidentally mows down a pedestrian as she was riding bicycle and he loses his memory from the crash. She helps him regain his memory. This is Ali's first time directing a Hallmark movie.

Ali has been BFFs with Kimberley Sustad for years. They found themselves at auditions for the same roles and often, one would get the lead and the other cast as her best friend. Now, Ali got to direct her BFF.

In North to Home the mother, Suzanne (Barbara Niven) is excited to spend her birthday with her three adopted daughters—Posy (Lyndsy Fonseca), Hannah (Erica Durance) and Beth (Kimberley Sustad). It will be the first time the three sisters have been together in years. This seems like a great time for a family reunion, but the sisters are each wrestling with unique challenges that threaten to derail this special occasion. Workaholic Hannah is hiding a life–changing secret. Beth, a stay–at–home–mom, is in the midst of a personal crisis after getting a once-in-a-lifetime offer to go back to work.

Posy, who is the youngest of the three, is feeling pressure from her parents to take over the family restaurant. She feels a sense of obligation, but her heart is drawn to a life as a mountain climber. She’s also falling for a handsome new neighbor which is only adding to her stress.

Under the weight of these issues, and some hidden resentments, Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect birthday soon unravel. But will the sisters’ bond be strong enough to survive this time together?

North to Home is on again:
Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. ET
Friday, Jan. 14 at 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. ET
Thursday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. ET
Monday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. ET

I didn't dvr this one because I really can't stand Erica Durance. Tell me if her role is smaller and I'll be able to FF her most of the time...

 

[Imzadi]

I checked and the next one isn't until February 12th!

I had originally thought Hallmark would do all 3 movies in January and have a strong January. But, they are stretching them out.

 

[Imzadi]

I didn't dvr this one because I really can't stand Erica Durance. Tell me if her role is smaller and I'll be able to FF her most of the time...

Will do. Or I'll post her part in a Spoiler so you can read it to know what is going on in that part of the story, if her part is really big. I haven't gotten around to that movie yet.

 

[disney4us2002]

At least we all agree about Kevin McGarry's off-again, on-again BAD Boston accent! I did enjoy the movie and I'm sure I'll watch the next two but I would've preferred to see a bit more of their romance BEFORE a wedding. It seemed slow and then it was just over.

I also agree about the spoiler of the found art. Duh, that was too obvious.

I also watched the sister movie and enjoyed it. I don't have any feelings one way or the other about ED though. Her role is pretty big but I found her character likeable.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I truly pray each of you had a Merry Christmas! I am so sorry to have been pretty AWOL from this thread. This coming Christmas season I won't be DVR-ing more movies than I can watch! I look very forward to participating a ton more. I finally did watch Christmas Connection. Have any of you seen it and did the movie (or did my recording cut off) really end at the park/skating rink? Both my dad and I thought for sure there'd be at least 2 extra scenes such as Jonathan and Sidney attending a Christmas Eve worship service and then Christmas morning where the daughter Leah would be thrilled to see Sidney was back and going to be with her dad. It was like so much build up to just end! Anyway, hug and Happy New Year prayers to each of you!

 

[elgerber]

I truly pray each of you had a Merry Christmas! I am so sorry to have been pretty AWOL from this thread. This coming Christmas season I won't be DVR-ing more movies than I can watch! I look very forward to participating a ton more. I finally did watch Christmas Connection. Have any of you seen it and did the movie (or did my recording cut off) really end at the park/skating rink? Both my dad and I thought for sure there'd be at least 2 extra scenes such as Jonathan and Sidney attending a Christmas Eve worship service and then Christmas morning where the daughter Leah would be thrilled to see Sidney was back and going to be with her dad. It was like so much build up to just end! Anyway, hug and Happy New Year prayers to each of you!

I can try to remember to check. I really really love that movie. Tom Everett Scott really elevated it.
on a different note and not a Christmas movie, I watched and old one of hers today,Undercover Bridesmaid. Wow. What a stinker that was!