Nadezhda

I'm sorry to be replying to this thread so late. I was away for vacation. Oh, it's absolutely true - love conquers all. It's striving to achieve that feeling of blissful happines in one's life that makes ballet so enchanting. There is almost always a happy ending. Well, happy in some way. (ie. Even though Giselle cannot be united with Albert in flesh, she still gets the chance to convey the message about love to him and that is, in my opinion the whole point of this particular ballet.) Were there no happy ending, I cannot imagine why one would still go to see a ballet more than once. ;) A bit of exaggeration there, but really - the wish things always turned out as well as they do in ballet (again, speaking of the classics) makes me want to go and see a story I already know by heart once more.

Oh, ronny, thank you for your remarks. I'm glad that I managed to put it down in an understandable way. I thank you for asking such a wonderful question, since I had to think a lot before actually replying (if I wanted the post to make any sense). What strikes me as amusingly-amazing here is, that classical ballets are always about love, betrayal and hate. But these three have contributed to some of the most amazing plots in existence. Moreover, the plots are almost always so strikingly simillar - have you never thought that La Bayadere's Nikiya is a bird of the same feather as Giselle? They both die for their love, none of them wants to confess their love at first, they're both courted by men of higher rank, they become spirits, shades, a personification of feminine grace and forgiveness... But despite the plots being so simillar, they always, always, always move me - reach for the part deep inside me, make me empathyze. And I think (no logic or sense here) that this empathy for a creature (Giselle, Nikiya, ...) being awakened in you is exactly what makes me want to see more ballet. For once I feel I undestand what this world is all about - it's love, betrayal and hate/trust. I know the plots were written at least 200 years ago, but they strike me as so contemporary and still alive, that it is almost not comprehensible. I have a feeling, the world's not changed at all in 200 years. Sure, we have computers, internet, fancy cars and McDonalds behind every corner, but what makes people cringe, cry and empathyze hasn't changed. It's love, betrayal and hate. It's the plot of a classical ballet.

Simply, I give myself the pleasure of entertaining all my senses and spoil my imagination. I love the classical plots (I mostly watch classics) and the entanglements around love and heart matters. I also try to compare the qualities of different dancers in different roles. I guess it's completly irrational otherwise - I cannot explain why I love it.

Allegro, I think the guy you're talking about is Solor, the soldier of some kind (I think his rank is higher than only a soldier, but am not sure). He is the leading male dancer in La Bayadere.

Also in Romeo and Juliet I like the moment in the very beginning of the lover's pas de dux, when they are standing at a distance, looking at each other. In most performances I've seen both of the lovers make these lovely deep breaths as to create the atmosphere. I cannot really describe it, but it makes the moment, prepares you for the pas de deux, the story.

Thank you Tatsu! I was searcnihg a bit on the internet, but didn't find the link you provided. I haven't seen Ledovskaya in Don Quihote, but I'd love to.

Has anyone heard about this dancer? She's been trained in Moscow and now dances with Lithuanian National Ballet. I've seen her in Romeo and Juliet and thought she was lovely. Very emotional. Does anybody know if there is a photo gallery or does anyone have a picture of her? Thank you for your input.

Thank you Svenia for your input. I think I'm not going to purchase the video/DVD as well, since I have some ballet class music at home and I exercise to that music in my own tempo. The exercises are made quite clear in the book, so I don't think there's any real need for me to be given more instructions (however - they can't hurt!) . But the 30 minute bonus material sounds very interesting! I'd love to see those dancers in rehearsal, class etc.

Thank you Paul for writing exactly how I feel about dance. The first few paragraphs are so very true for me. I dance, simply, because it is my natural way of moving. I dance because this is a very powerful way to convey all the feeling and emotions inside me. I dance, because that is when I feel complete despite the many technical flaws I make.

So, if I wanted to have the music from Paquita, where should I look for it? Under M for Minkus or under D for Deldevez? Or is the music they use nowadays a mixture of both? I've been looking for a CD with the music from Paquita for a long time, but perhaps I was looking at the wrong place. Don't tell me to ask the sales person: they don't know anything about classical music, not to speak of ballet music! :eek:

I noticed that some of the exercises you described here are not in the book. I own the book, but not the video or DVD. So, is the video/DVD workout a bit different? In which sections? Can anyone who has both: the book and the video compare them and tell me is it worth buying the video on top of what I already have? Thank you in advance.

I have a copy of Paris Opera Ballet's La Bayadere and I love it. (I own the version where Isabelle Guerin dances Nikiya and Elizabeth Platel dances Gamzatti.) It's one of the Petipa ballets and somehow, despite the obvious difference in stroy, I find it remarkably similar to Swan Lake. Especially the Shades Act (in some producitions this is Act II, but on the video it is Act III.) seems to me so much like the Swan corps variations - the same white tutus, difficult combinations for the female corps... Maybe it's just me. Anyway - ronny, I personally think you might give La Bayadere a try. Let us know what you've got and how you liked it!

In my opinion mime should be taught in variations class. Maybe it isn't so very interesting as all those tricks (triple and quadrouple pirouettes, fouettes...) but it certainly helps train a better dancer. Maybe I can now understand why so very few dancers can move us emotionally. For example: there are only a few dancers who could dance Giselle convincingly in both acts. And not because they were technically uncapable. I am fortunate enough to be very curious and to be reading lots of books about ballet and I'm learning little by little what all those gestures mean. And it is not at all surprizing that I can usually guess what they mean and then only check them with the book. I think it's high time the prejudice ballet mime is boring vanished. I am also fortunate enough to have a very thoughtful teacher who (even though I take little classes) tries her best to educate us in good dancers. She would sometimes even discuss issues in ballet like the mime, ballet aesthetics and other. Quite unlike most of teachers, I think. If I become a coreographer I will bring back the mime.

After reading Mr. Johnson's reply in the "Ballet" section, in a thread about the faries and mortals I noticed it was said that in most performanced the mime sections are cut out. I'm wondering why this happens. I think mime in ballet is a way to help the message to get through to the observer. It is a most natural way to convey your thoughts and feelings, though somewhat stylised. (In my opinion this stilization is the cause why people say they cannot understand mime.) If it is natural then it can be concluded that people could understand it. So, why are they cutting it out? Is it found uninteresting? In my opinion this is an aesthetic issue. Ballet mime has always been a special part of ballet aesthetic, so isn't ballet loosing something when this vital part of communication between the dancers and the dancers and public is cut out? Please, share your opinion on that.

I have obviously never seen NYCB except on TV. But I do own their book of exercises and I cannot say that any of the dancers in it look unnaturally thin. In addition to what Ms. Leigh has said I would like to mention that education of young people in the area of eating disorders is better than it was. Despite the (still) too obvious craze for a very thin body, people are aware that eating disorders exist. More is said about this topic, educational films are made etc. I think that because of the education people are exposed to from the early years on (In my school we first talked about eating disorders when I was 13 years old.) it is easier to recognize the ones that have eating disorders and they are sent to see their doctor sooner so that something can still be done. I can only thank god it is so.