14 replies to this topic

[Alexandra]

I can't answer on Guerin; hope someone else can. The only ones I've ever seen are ones a friend taped for me off French TV.  

But Makhalina is on a video of the Kirov's "Swan Lake," I think, the Vinogradov production.  I will refrain from commenting on that production, since you only asked about the dancer!

I liked Makhalina very, very much when I first saw her about ten years ago -- Giselle, Lilac Fairy, and Medora in Corsaire.  She was all young and fresh and dewy and adorable; wobbly turns, but I didn't care.  I liked her less later on. I saw a Tchaikovsky pas de deux that was positively lewd. I offer that comment only to say that if she's hiding on one of those wonderful More Great Nights at the Kirov videos, I hope you see it.

alexandra

[Steve Keeley]

A couple of videos I haven't seen mentioned here:  Yulia Makhalina performs the Lilac Fairy on a video of the Kirov's "Sleeping Beauty" (leads are Larissa Lezhnina and Farukh Ruzimatov) from 1989.  It used to be available on the Philips label; KULTUR may have reissued it.  

Isabelle Guerin dances Terpsichore in Balanchine's "Apollo" on the Balanchine Celebration Part I video.

~Steve

[Natalia]

Did anyone mention Guerin's Nikiya in BAYADERE, on a commercially-available video in Europe & the UK?

Here are a couple more on Makhalina. She performs the title role in PAQUITA in the video titled "Mariinsky Ballet." Not sure if still available...my copy is on the now-defunct Home Vision label.  Makhalina can also be seen dancing the Medora Variation in the LE CORSAIRE "Jardin Anime" as part of the Kultur-label's video titled "Kirov Ballet in London."

If you have friends with Russian connections, you should ask about my favorite Makhalina video -- a docudrama on the life of Mathilde Kchessinskaya, in which Makhalina plays the title character & dances many MK gems, such as ESMERALDA pdd. Forget that MK was half the height of JM...it's still a wonderful show. - Jeannie

[Estelle]

Alexandra, is the "Swan Lake" video you mention the one with Zelensky as the Prince?
I loved the sets and costumes of that production (really gorgeous), and liked Zelensky, but I'm afraid I found Makhalina a bit too cold...

About Isabelle Guerin, the videos I've seen are:
-the Bayadere video Jeannie wrote about (with also Hilaire as Solor and Platel as Gamzatti)
-the Balanchine celebration "Apollo" Steve wrote about (pity that that Apollo isn't as good as his Terpsichore in my opinion...   )
-a video of Nureyev's "Cinderella" in which she plays one of the ugly sisters (not a big role, and I don't like much Nureyev's choreography, but it's an opportunity to see that she's as good in comical roles
as in more serious ones)- the other main roles are danced by Sylvie Guillem (Cinderella), Charles Jude (the Prince- really really cute   ), Monique Loudieres (the other evil sister), Nureyev himself (the producer), and Georges Piletta (the mother, in travesti)
-a video of Petit's "Notre-Dame de Paris" in which she dances Esmeralda (Legris is Phoebus, Hilaire is Frollo and Le Riche is Quasimodo)
I think that she's been filmed recently in Preljocaj's "Le Parc", but don't know if a video will be released or if it will just be shown on TV. Last year, her and Legris were filmed in Petit's "L'Arlesienne" for the French TV (and I missed it   ).

[Marc Haegeman]

Isabelle Guérin can de admired on the recent video of "Notre-Dame de Paris" (by Roland Petit), along with a magnificent male cast: Hilaire, Legris, and Le Riche.
Hopefully they'll release the performance of Guérin and Legris in "L'Arlésienne" (also by Petit), recently shown on French TV, on video as well.

As for Yulia Makhalina, yes that Kchessinskaya film is a indeed wonderful document, but if we start with those Russian-TV productions the list will be endless and these films are not commercially available anyway (and never will be).
The video of "Swan Lake" with Makhalina and Zelensky shows the traditional Sergeyev version, not Vinogradov's.

[Estelle]

Marc, I'm not so optimistic about the "L'Arlesienne" video.
It was part of a Staats/ Petit/ Massine program (with "Soir de fete" and "La symphonie fantastique"),
the three ballets were shown on TV, but I haven't heard about any plans to release a tape.
Perhaps it will be the same as for Nijinska's "Le train bleu" and Massine's "Le Tricorne" (filmed at the Paris Opera,
but never available on tape).

And also, I find it's a pity there's no available videos of the POB
in "La Sylphide", "Giselle" or "The Sleeping Beauty" (especially with dancers such as Platel, Guerin or Loudieres).

[Marc Haegeman]

You're probably right, Estelle -- just wishful thinking. The films are shown once or twice on TV and shelved. But like I said in another thread, we balletlovers are only a minority.

[Dale]

Makhalina dances the Dryaid queen in the Don Q. with the Kirov (I know I won't spell these names right) with Terekhova and Ruzimatov.  Pretty good except the camera work is too far away.

Dale

[Marc Haegeman]

The "Don Quixote"-video Dale mentioned dates from 1987. It's one of those fake live performances, meaning the film was shot without an audience and the applause (together with shots of the audience) was dubbed afterwards.

Otherwise it's essential watching, Savoye: it's complete, and it features Terekhova as Kitri, Ruzimatov as Basilio, Asylmuratova as Street Dancer, Makhalina as Queen of the Dryads, Chistyakova for the 4th Act variation. They sure don't make casts like this anymore...

It shows an extremely young Yulia Makhalina (before her "physical transformation") in one of her first solo roles. She told me once she did the part almost without any rehearsal time, covering for another dancer who fell ill or got injured. Hope you like her feet, Savoye.