10 replies to this topic

[silvy]

I thought it might be interesting to hear news from you regarding the above. I mean, which dancer would you liked the most as Kitri (either in a live performance or on video)?

Silvy

[Ennovy]

Probably SFBs' Yuan Yuan Tan?   :rolleyes:

[djb]

My favorite Kitri of all time was Maya Plisetskaya.  I saw her live in the full-length ballet in the '60s.  For dancers these days, I like Lorena Feijoo of San Francisco Ballet.  In one of the performances I saw her in, I liked her as much as Plisetskaya.

[BalletNut]

I saw Tan as Kitri. She did a good job, but I thought she was miscast. I'd rather have seen Feijoo.  Just an opinion, of course.

I like the videos of Tatiana Terekhova and Nina Ananiashvili. Unfortunately, I'm a bit young to have seen Plisetskaya!  

[glebb]

Loved Kirkland and Makarova as Kitri.  Saw Gelsey at the premiere and Natasha soon after the birth of her child.  They were both very wonderful.

[Mel Johnson]

I sort of end up between camps, as far as generations go.  My favorite remains Ekaterina Maximova, dancing with, natch, Vladimir Vasiliev.

[nysusan]

On tape - Plisetskaya and Ninella Kurgapkina, the excerpts I've seen of them are amazing! Live, my favorite so far is Irina Dvorovenko. Guess I just like those russians!

[tempusfugit]

Ballet Nut, I'm also too young to have seen Plisetskaya, but what a ballerina! even on video she is incandescent. I DID see Terekhova and Anianashvili live in Don Q;
both terrific (Terekhova used to do triple fouettes in the coda, among other things)
I also admired Cynthia Gregory as Kitri. IMO this particular part is only suited to overwhelmingly brilliant technicians (not that any of the dancers above were ONLY technicians-- this was among their other attributes--) who enjoy showy firework displays; it's imperative that the tricks be tossed off.

[perky]

I vote for Ekaterina Maximova.
On the tape I have of her, she dances Kitri with a joyous, impish flair and her beautiful legs and feet move as if the floor were on fire.
The blond adonis who dances with her is not so shabby either!

[djb]

I remember Maximova and Vladimir "Adonis" Vasiliev in the 3rd act pas de deux, but not in any other part of the ballet, which probably means they only performed the pas de deux in the performance I saw.  Oddly enough, I know I saw Plisetskaya in the complete ballet, but I don't remember anything about her performance in the third act.  That's OK, because I really only like the first act, anyway.  I guess that's why I didn't think of Maximova when listing my favorites.  I imagine she would be wonderful in the first act, though.

I also like Kurgapkina very much in the first act on video, even though it was filmed at the end of her career.

[russianptaylor]

My favorite Kitri is Paloma Herrera