17 replies to this topic

[Susanne]

I have been reading about different ballet styles and syllabuses. From what I have understood Bournonville is quite different from other styles seen on the ballet stage in the world. No matter how much you read and watch pictures of the style you will only get a small idea of how it might look like on stage.

Therefore I was wondering if anyone know of any website that might provide small sample video-clips or illustrating animations on the Bournonville style?

I have visited the bournonville.com site which was very informative, but still only with pictures and words.

Thanks in advance!

[Alexandra]

Susane, there may be one, but I don't know of it.  You might write to Bournonville.com and suggest it -- it's something they might want to do, in preparation for the upcoming Bournonville Festival.

[Giannina]

There's a video called "Bournonville Ballet Technique; Fifty Enchainements".  You can find it at:

http://www.dancehori....com/instr.html

Giannina

[aspirant]

The Royal Danish Ballet is in the process now of documenting all of the Bournonville Schools on video tape to share with the world.  Plans are to have it done by the festival in 2005.

[Helene]

Are there any commercially available tapes of performances that are considered the gold standard of Bournonville technique and style?

[Jack Reed]

FWIW, there's a tiny, 224K, five-second clip here:

http://www2a.biglobe...et/movieV2.html

This Japanese site is almost entirely in Japanese, so I leave it to others to figure out exactly what and who this is.

[Alexandra]

It's a bit of the Flower Festival pas de deux.  It's too small on my screen to see the dancers, but I don't think they're Danes.

[carbro]

As a warning to others with 56k modems, my attempt to view this clip severed my internet connection.

As an inquiry to those who've seen it, is the image clear enough, the selection long enough to keep trying?  I trust your judgment.  Thanks.

[Alexandra]

I have broadband and had no problems -- but thanks for the warning.  The clip is only about 10 seconds long and the viewing area tiny.

[djb]

Bournonville selections appear on some videos of excerpts.  Rose Gad, who demonstrates in the above-mentioned video of classroom combinations, performs a pas de deux from "La Sylphide" with Alexander Kulpin on "Nina Ananiashvili and International Stars, Vol. 2."  She also performs the pas de deux as a youngster in the video entitled "Erik Bruhn Prize."  I don't remember the name of her partner in that one.  I wasn't really impressed by either of the men, but Rose Gad was lovely in both videos.

Does anyone know how Fernando Bujones' performances of Bournonville rated?  I know I thought they were very impressive, but is he considered to be a great example of Bournonville style?  He performs some Bournonville on the video "Fernando Bujones:  Winning at Varna," if you happen to have that one.

[Paul Parish]

I LOVE the 50 Enchainements -- Rose Gad is jst an exquisite thing, and johann kobborg is elegant, manly, modest, clean, honest --

But those are etudes ,like Chopin's -- they aren't like hte dances in hte ballets,which you must see.

I've got an old commercial tape of Napoli -- is it still in print, I don't know. And I BELIEVE there's a commercialtape of the production of La Sylphide which has been shown on Bravo or A&E, which is one of hte very best films of a ballet I've ver seeen. I really recommend it.

Napoli has a weird section, where Gennaro rescues his girl from Neptune's grotto to the music of "O Sanctissima" -- well, it's weird to me, since we sang htat hymn a lot in MAy when I was a kid and i loved it, but it's strange to find it turning up in a ballet. I gues it's no weirder than seeing someone hold up a crucifix in a vampire ovie, but Virgin-Mary magic is just not something I've run into in the theater much...... It's so Pio Nono....

Still, the performances in Napoli are wonderful, it's a loveable ballet, and  the way Bournonville builds a fiesta has got to be seen to be believed. It's a little like WHo Cares, the last act -- first there's lots of wonderful shaggy dancing, and then there's even more wonderful, dancving on top of that....

[carbro]

Thank you, Alexandra.  Regretfully I'll let it ride.

The Napoli with Villumsen as Gennaro and Hindberg as Teresina is out of print.  Now and then it pops up  on e-bay.  I regret that I did not put in a bid when it was available at a reasonable price.  It's since shot up.

Then there was the LaSylphide with Jeppesen as Sylph and Villumsen as James.  I don't know if that was ever available in the US-friendly format (NTSC?).

A most thoughtful and generous friend gave me the Enchainments.  That is fascinating.  And the dancers (particularly, I think, Gad) are amazing.  I am so grateful.

[Mel Johnson]

djb, on Dec 29 2003, 01:56 AM, said:

Does anyone know how Fernando Bujones' performances of Bournonville rated?  I know I thought they were very impressive, but is he considered to be a great example of Bournonville style?  He performs some Bournonville on the video "Fernando Bujones:  Winning at Varna," if you happen to have that one.

At Varna, Bujones had been under almost continuous supervision by Stanley Williams.  His work there was serviceably Bournonvillian, but later, he fell into the trap that a lot of dancers do, and began incorporating "his own ideas", thus becoming less and less properly an interpreter of the first Mr. B.

[djb]

Thanks.  Was there ever any video of Bruhn performing Bournonville?  That would be worth spending money on.  I remember the amazing stop-action photographs of him that were in a slim book about...??? maybe Bournonville, maybe just Bruhn, I don't know.  He looked perfect at every stage of a step.

[Victoria Leigh]

Bruhn performs the Pas de Deux from Act II of La Sylphide on the DVD/video from the Bell Telephone Hour program. It's Nureyev and Bruhn, Their complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances, 1961-1967.