50 replies to this topic

[Marianna]

djb, on Nov 18 2003, 04:27 PM, said:

I like documentaries, and I think Backstage at the Kirov is a wonderful onel

djb, i'm praying you will answer this one (even though I still owe you history behind Ulanova's and other dancers' names   )

I LOVE BALLET DOCUMENTARIES!  :jump:  

And, I've never heard of Backstage at the Kirov   .

May I ask where did you get this tape, and if possible - to completely overjoy me - how and where from, you believe, I could get it from?

A THOUSAND THANKS IN ADVANCE!      

[silvy]

Marianna, may I ask you where you obtained that copy of Swan Lake with Yevteyeva???????

silvy

[rg]

yevteyeva's partner in the kirov swanlake is jonny markovsky, husband, at the time, i THINK of alla ossipenko.
he was part of the kirov's summer season in london, when ossipenko also danced and which included kolpakova, sizova, soloviev, semenonv, and makarova, and oh yes the west's first look at baryshnikov. by the royal festival hall season's end, markarova had defected. this was 1970, and it was my good luck to have had this occasion as my initial look at the kirov live.

[rg]

BACKSTAGE AT THE KIROV still seems on the market from KULTUR but the eveteyeva swanlake seems deleted.but it pops up now and again on ebay.
if i see it i'll let you know.
or do a search of amazon it may be available used.
fyi:
http://www.kulturvid...=6&WebPage_ID=3

[silvy]

Oh, rg, I am green with envy of you having been able to see such a handful of kirov stars all together!!!!!

:grinning:  :yes:
Silvy

[Marianna]

Thank you again, rg - you seem to be an ocean of information about ballet and ballet-related issues!

Silvy , i guess, you should try e-bay or amazon.com as rg recommended - as I bought my Swan Lake with Yevteyeva and Markovski (THANK YOU AGAIN rg   ) when I was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia back in Aug. 2002. They've got lots of most incredible things sold there - right in a foyer of Mariinski and Alexandrinsky's theaters - for almost nothing! (it was actually rather sad to see all those elderly ladies, aparently retired long ago as Mariinsky personnel - selling ORIGINALS of all those precious (or should I say PRICELESS) BLACK AND WHITE photographs of the ballet legends - dating back to early XX cent.!! But you would love to find yourself there and just browse through their precious possessions - offered for sale to earn them pennies for bread.)

[djb]

Backstage at the Kirov focuses on Altynai Asylmuratova's debut in Swan Lake with her husband, Konstantin Zaklinsky, among scenes of other rehearsals and classes (both students and company members).  I think it's beautifully filmed and edited.  As rg said, it is available at kulturvideo.com, and also at amazon.com (the viewers' reviews at that site unanimously gave it top marks, the last time I looked).

The Yevteyeva Swan Lake is no longer available (new, that is).  Fortunately for me, a friend who had it made a copy for me.  I like her very much in the role, although I can't say I like the production in general.

[djb]

I just remembered that I thought the Yevteyeva Swan Lake is also worth having for Valery Panov's performance as the Jester.

[Balletmom]

I came across this dvd "Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet"

http://www.amazon.co...847905?v=glance

while scrolling through Amazon's ballet listings, and I wondered if anyone has any knowledge of it.  The concept sounds great, although it's not quite what I was originally looking for, and I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to purchase.  The price is not exactly cheap, and I would hate to purchase it if it ended up sitting on a shelf somewhere in my daughter's room.  Any opinions?

Thanks,
Balletmom

[Andre Yew]

Balletmom,

I've had the ballet dictionary DVD on order at Amazon since November 13, and it hasn't shipped yet, so I assume it's not yet available.

Another DVD to consider, though I don't know how appropriate it is for younger children, is the Nederlands Dans Theater's performances of Jiri Kylian's Black and White Ballets.   It shows how differently ballet-trained dancers can move, in contrast to the classical stuff, and was eye-opening for me in the expressiveness of Kylian's choreography --- the first time I saw it, I kept saying to myself over and over again, "I didn't know you could do that!"

Speaking of documentaries, I remember watching many (10 or 15?) years ago a documentary about a ballet company on tour on PBS.  I don't remember much about it except how much it conveyed how normal dancers actually were because in addition to showing rehearsals and performances, they also followed the dancers on their downtime shopping, going to the beach, etc.  This is a really vague description, but does anyone know what I'm talking about?

--Andre

[Watermill]

Andre, I pretty sure you're referring to the great documetatrian Frederick Wiseman's Ballet.  At one point it does follow ABT dancers on tour.  There is a beach scene where a male dancer flies a kite with all the choreographic flair one would expect.
This film is rarely shown on TV and is only available as a rental to groups or for  purchase by institutions.  I believe it is the finest "behind the scenes" look at the world of ballet ever made.

[Andre Yew]

Watermill,

Thanks for the pointer --- that sounds vaguely familiar.  It's too bad some of the best stuff is so tightly held.

--Andre

[Marc Haegeman]

The Evteyeva/Markovsky/Panov Swan Lake was released in Germany on DVD (in other words in PAL). I haven't seen it myself, but I was told that the transfer quality wasn't really top.
You can order it through Amazon.de http://www.amazon.de...6214399-2695254

VAI just announced the release of three historic Bolshoi ballet performances: Swan Lake with Plisetskaya/Fadeyechev, Romeo and Juliet with Ulanova/Zhdanov, and Spartacus with Vasiliev/Liepa/Bessmertnova/Timofeyeva.

More on: http://www.vaimusic....wReleases.shtml

[Andre Yew]

Here's another suggestion:  the Paris Opera Ballet's production of Don Quixote (with Nureyev's extra choreography, which is nice because there's more dancing for the guys) with Manuel Legris as Basilio, and Aurelie Dupont as Kitri.  I'd never seen the POB before, and was completely blown away!  Where do I start?  The precision of the corps, and their wonderful dancing, especially the men and their relaxed (in a good way) leg- and footwork.  Legris is also amazing --- he looks like he stepped out from a ballet textbook fully formed.  Beautiful feet and legs, good lines, control, wonderful turns, and stage presence, along with articulate textbook technique (how straight are those legs?).  The corps' upper bodies and arms don't quite have the same expressiveness as the Kirov, but their legs and feet make up for that.  Maybe I'm just taken by everything else, but every woman in the corps also is very pretty and fresh-faced.

This is out on DVD, published by TDK, with excellent picture and sound (in 5.1 surround as well), and intelligent indexing (the individual variations of the dances can be accessed directly).  I found it at Tower Records, so I'm guessing it's widely available in the US.

--Andre

[socalgal]

The DVD "Etoiles:  Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet"  is one that I just purchased.  It was recommended to me by another ballet mom.  It is a beautiful documentary, filmed in 1999, and captures the true essence of why dancers dance.  There are English subtitles as it is all spoken in French, with exception of a short conversation with choreographer Kylian who does speak English.  I am giving a copy of this to our BD for sure. These 'etoiles' are so inspiring and it truly gives you a real inside peak of a major international ballet company.  I give it  two !!!!!

(You can find this dvd on amazon.com)