48 replies to this topic

[bart]

Thank you so much, pmeja, for the Gregory clip.

aurora, on 21 August 2010 - 02:04 PM, said:

one of my favorite clips ever, if only because the beauty of Gregory as Aurora was so unexpected to me. She is such a mature adult dancer that her triumph as a 16 year old princess was priceless. Also, the balances!

Aurora, Gina:  I'm with you on this.  "Unexpected" is a key word.  I had completely forgotten that Gregory could project such joyous abandon (while maintaining her technique).

Gregory's performance reminded me that there is an element of "balance" in arabesque which several of the other dances on this thread have either underplayed or fudged --   a clearly articulated descent from pointe.  Gregory's are gorgeous.

[richard53dog]

cubanmiamiboy, on 21 August 2010 - 02:34 PM, said:

Ah...just as Spessivtseva with the set of fish dives in the Adagio, added for her when she danced the role in Diaghilev's production...(at least according to Danilova's memoirs...). Well...isn't that also something we all expect nowadays...? I've also noticed the Russians omit them too in their productions...

Yes, I think the two additions had a lot of similarities. Both caught on and you almost always see both the au courrone as well as the fish dives in
Western productions. And the Russians seem to feel the need to mostly ignore both.

[vipa]

One of the things that I loved about Cynthia Gregory was the way she used balances for musical phrasing throughout her dancing (not just in Rose A, but in general).  She didn't just balance in just the big "ta da" moments but really used her ability to balance.   For me she showed what pointe work was all about.  But that's another topic. Thanks for posting her Rose Adagio.

[4mrdncr]

OMG! Yes, thank you for posting Cynthia Gregory's "Rose Adagio".  I've seen a lot of RAs but this was perfection to me: technique, phrasing, grace, strength, and the ability to convey both the exuberance of youth with an awareness of the 'royalty' (shy dignity, politeness, knowledge of protocol?) of a princess'.  I'm sorry I never saw her do it live, but luckily I have many memories of Ms. Gregory in other performances. I don't think I ever found fault with any of them. She was a beautiful dancer, with such strong technique; but she never allowed it to overshadow her artistry.  Thanks again for this view.