47 replies to this topic

[Estelle]

Unfortunately, it seems that the video isn't available any longer (it says "an error occurred").

[Helene]

Unfortunately, it seems that the video isn't available any longer (it says "an error occurred").

I was just able to access it. I'm not sure why.

[bart]

Thanks, California, for reminding us about the Balanchine documentary. As a result of your post, I plan on re-watching this during the week.

Re combining different dancers and making a single video: I'd LOVE to see someone do this with the Verdy Tchai PDD intercut with Verdy as ABT's first Miss Julie. Now THAT should be educational.

[kfw]

Darcey Bussell and Zoltan Solymosi's version was lovely, with every step "arriving with the beat".

Here is the opening of their version: Tchaikovsky Pas de deux

[dirac]

I thought I had read somewhere that Balanchine's original cast was supposed to include Diana Adams, not Verdy, but Adams couldn't do it.

IIRC, Violette Verdy mentions this on the DVD where she coaches Malakhov and Illman in the pdd.

From a post by tempusfugit early in this thread:

Tchaik Pas was begun, interestingly, on Diana Adams! Adams suffered a foot injury and the ballet was finished on Violette Verdy. {trivia for the day}

[vipa]

Darcey Bussell and Zoltan Solymosi's version was lovely, with every step "arriving with the beat".

Here is the opening of their version: Tchaikovsky Pas de deux

Thank you. One wonderful thing about it, besides just the beauty of it, is that it looks like it felt good! - like it was a pleasure to do.

[4mrdncr]

Unfortunately, it seems that the video isn't available any longer (it says "an error occurred").

I was just able to access it. I'm not sure why.

Not anymore, it was withdrawn "according to a copyright claim by the George Balanchine Trust" per YouTube's announcement at the top of the page.

[California]

. . .
Not anymore, it was withdrawn "according to a copyright claim by the George Balanchine Trust" per YouTube's announcement at the top of the page.

Fortunately, you can still legitimately buy that one, as it's included on the DVD for the Balanchine documentary, originally aired on PBS:
http://www.amazon.co...78652541&sr=8-1

The complete Baryshnikov-McBride version is available on the "Choreography by Balanchine" DVD:
http://www.amazon.co.../ref=pd_sim_d_2

I don't mind at all paying for an approved, commercial release of a copyrighted work. As others have noted, intellectual property is involved and the creators deserve compensation. My frustration is that a great deal of material is not available for legitimate purchase anywhere. I wish the Balanchine Trust would find more ways to release important work so people who don't live in/near New York could see more of that repertory. Theme and Variations and Symphony in 3 Movements are high on my "wish list," if the Trust would just sell those on commercial releases somehow.

[Ray]

I don't mind at all paying for an approved, commercial release of a copyrighted work. As others have noted, intellectual property is involved and the creators deserve compensation. My frustration is that a great deal of material is not available for legitimate purchase anywhere. I wish the Balanchine Trust would find more ways to release important work so people who don't live in/near New York could see more of that repertory. Theme and Variations and Symphony in 3 Movements are high on my "wish list," if the Trust would just sell those on commercial releases somehow.

I just wish the Trust would think a bit more strategically about electronic distribution as a vital part of their mission to preserve. I think it's awfully shortsighted to think it's enough just to disseminate the work through live performances. You have to get people IN to those performances; you also have to allow people to meditate on what they've seen (as any playgoer or music listener can do) by being able to watch it again (perhaps compare it to other performances) on video. I KNOW ABOUT THE COST ISSUES, but I'm not convinced that the Trust considers that widespread electronic dissemination is important enough for them to fight for.

[Mel Johnson]

The mills of the gods grind slow, but exceeding fine. The Balanchine Machine works fast, but often the results seem coarse, especially in the sense of "community". However, look at their responsibility - a great part of their raison d'etre is to protect the heritage and future of the Balanchine oeuvre, and they're not him, although they employ a great number of highly talented and intelligent people. Balanchine himself proved very generous about getting his work into the world. They need a genius on his level to decide how to protect the rights of the Balanchine Estate et al., while ensuring that sufficient material stays in the world and the public consciousness. It's the same in the teaching wing of the organization; they have to find somebody to organize the "Balanchine Method" into an actual teachable school, and that person has to be another genius as great as Balanchine to formulate a curriculum which can be used and accredited in places in addition to the School of American Ballet. That's not an easy task. Much of what is the Balanchine heritage is held by people who worked directly with him, and with his work, but the method of passing it on is "He said to me...." It's a lot like shooting with a smoothbore musket. The last bounce of the bullet down the barrel determines the direction of travel. Ballet is based on the Oral Tradition, but trying to control what that does makes herding cats look like a walk in the park!

[rg]

has it been said, if so, apologies for the duplication, that the performance of TCHAIKOVSKY PAS DE DEUX w/ Bussell & Zolymosi is seeming still available on DVD? the title of the video is GALA TRIBUTE TO TCHAIKOVSKY.
also is the pas de deux compilation with Los Angeles Ballet (and guests), marketed as on video as PAS DE DEUX still available? on that video McBride dances opposite Reid Olson from 1984.

[California]

I just wish the Trust would think a bit more strategically about electronic distribution as a vital part of their mission to preserve. I think it's awfully shortsighted to think it's enough just to disseminate the work through live performances. You have to get people IN to those performances; you also have to allow people to meditate on what they've seen (as any playgoer or music listener can do) by being able to watch it again (perhaps compare it to other performances) on video. I KNOW ABOUT THE COST ISSUES, but I'm not convinced that the Trust considers that widespread electronic dissemination is important enough for them to fight for.

Amen. I understand that for older recordings, they don't have all the necessary permissions for all the creative people involved, and it can be difficult if not impossible to go back and get those now. But that should be easier for recent performances. E.g., the Bringing Balanchine Home DVD has brief clips of things like Serenade, Western Symphony, and Symphony in 3 Movements , made when they visited the Mariinsky a few years ago. Surely they actually have tape of the complete performances. They control the company and the choreography. If they don't think there's enough of a market to release the complete works on DVD, then sell it on iTunes streaming video. They'll make some money, while avoiding the costs of producing, warehousing, and distributing the physical media of DVD. At least they've released a few things to educational libraries and archives, so they have some insight into the value of dissemination for educational purposes, but those are not for sale to the public.

And it would be nice if the Robbins Trust considered the same approach. Wouldn't it be great to buy a download at iTunes of Dances at a Gathering and Glass Pieces? I'd happily pay for those, too.

I suppose the Trusts worry that people would buy the downloads and then post them on YouTube, but they seem to be awfully good at pouncing quickly to get unauthorized postings taken down and that could continue.

[Ray]

I suppose the Trusts worry that people would buy the downloads and then post them on YouTube, but they seem to be awfully good at pouncing quickly to get unauthorized postings taken down and that could continue.

There are some great models out there for controlled YouTube postings, where "control" doesn't equate to suppression.

[cinnamonswirl]

Unfortunately, it seems that the video isn't available any longer (it says "an error occurred").

I was just able to access it. I'm not sure why.

Not anymore, it was withdrawn "according to a copyright claim by the George Balanchine Trust" per YouTube's announcement at the top of the page.

Anyone else think someone from the Trust reads this forum? I've noticed a number of clips that were on YT for a long time, but were deleted shortly after being mentioned on BT.

[Dale]

Yes, they read the forum. I don't think it's a coincidence that videos touted here get taken down soon after.