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Violette Verdy


Estelle

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I've just seen a documentary about Violette Verdy, "Violette and Mr B", by Dominique Delouche. It was released last wednesday in France, but is shown only in one cinema in Paris. Delouche had already made several documentaries about some dancers (Chauvire, Vyroubova, Peretti, Loudières...)

I'm afraid it won't stay much on the screen, as we were only two people in the cinema (but it was at 10 PM)- pity, as it is very interesting. It includes interviews of Roland Petit (Verdy had created his "Le Loup" in 1950) and Jean-Pierre Bonnefous, and some footages of Verdy coaching various dancers in some works of Balanchine and Robbins: Elisabeth Maurin in "Emeralds" from "Jewels", Elisabeth Platel and Nicolas Le Riche in "In the Night", Isabelle Guérin in "Dances at a gathering", Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre in "Liebeslieder Walzer", Monique Loudières in "Sonatine" (excerpt from another Delouche documentary filmed in 1991) and Vladimir Malakhov and Margaret Illmann in "Tchaikovsky pas de deux".

It is impressive to think that Verdy created so many choreographic masterpieces (and she also premiered "La Source" and "Episodes")... The reharsal scenes are interesting, and Verdy seems to be a charming lady with a lot of humor and joyfulness; she recollects a lot of memories of her work with Balanchine and Robbins. There also are a few excerpts of videos of herself dancing some of the roles she coaches (for example in "Liebeslieder Walzer" with Nicholas Magallanes), but unfortunately the quality of the videos is so poor (it's very fuzzy and often accelerated) that it's even hard to recognize her. Also, I find that such documentaries often are a bit frustrating, because one would like to see also a performance of the ballet itself, and not only the rehearsals...

Has any poster of this board seen Verdy perform? I wonder if one could characterize her qualities as a dancer by the roles she premiered- surely she must have been a very elegant dancer with precise feet... Also, what was the rest of the repertory when she was with the NYCB? All the roles above seem to be in tutu ballets rather than leotard ones (except perhaps "Episodes"?), did she also dance some works like "Agon" or "The Four Temperaments"?

Also it made me think that if I was an artistic director looking for a theme for a program, a "homage to Verdy" (people don't need to be dead to get homages, don't they?) would be a good idea, with such a great repertory to choose from. If only "Liebeslieder walzer" could enter the POB repertory (the only French company dancing it was the Ballet de Toulouse a few seasons ago)...

[ December 22, 2001: Message edited by: Estelle ]

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Thanks for posting this, Estelle. The quicker it's out of the theater, the sooner it's on video? So we can hope. I once bought a copy of "Cinderella" with Leslie Caron just to see Verdy dance, and then when it came I wasn't even certain I recognized her on our little tv screen.

In "Balanchine's Ballerinas" Robert Tracey lists the following ballets as one in which Balanchine created roles for Verdy: Episodes (Part 2), Theme and Variations, Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux, The Figure in the Carpet, Liebeslieder Waltzer, Electronics, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jewels, Glinkiana, La Source, Pulcinella, Choral Variations on Bach's "Von Himmel Hoch, and Sonatine. In her interview she mentions Gounod Symphony, and Tracey notes that she debuted at NYCB in Divertimento #15.

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Estelle, I saw Violette dance quite a bit, and also had the great privilege of working with her and getting to know her. Needless to say, I adored her, both as a dancer and as a terrific person! She was beautiful, with a very clean and precise technique, lovely, very French, smile.gif articulation of the feet, wonderful lightness and speed, and a unique musicality. Her style when I knew her was still very French, and even when she danced Balanchine works I felt that she was different from all others in the company. Perhaps it was more her personality than her style, but to me she was always different, and I loved her!

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With the indispensable aid of "Repertory in Review," by Nancy Reynolds, to jog my memory (if only someone would reprint this wonderful book some day), I can confirm that Verdy did indeed dance "Agon" -- the second pas de trois.

Other works one might not associate with her include "Electronics" from 196l, one of Balanchine's attempts at choreographing to what was happening in music at the time, and Birgit Cullberg's "Medea" in which Verdy portrayed King Creon's daughter Creussa and did a Dance of Death. She was also a touching Firebird.

Incidentally, in the aforementioned book, Verdy is frequently quoted about her roles, to telling effect.

I'd love to see the film some day.

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a brochure, which i cannot now put my finger on, arrived recently announcing the showing of this film at nyc's french institute/alliance francaise, on, if mem. serves, march 26th. (or so) one of the screenings with be introduced by a discussion w/ the director, d.delouche and (i think) verdy herself. i can post particulars when i know them for certain.

i have not yet heard of the film's being released as a commercial cassette.

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I only saw Verdy dance once, in Tschaikovsky pas de Deux as a guest for London Festival BAllet and it is somehting I have never forgotten. It was so musical, so lilting, and so joyful. I have never been able to forget it during a performance, so am always disappointed when I see it again! There was a brief film clip of her at Lynn Garafola's exhibit on the NYCB at the New York Historical Society dancing the pas de trois from Agon and her arms were so lovely, she ended with an elegant little trill through her whole body, which I have never seen anyone else do. I think the homage to Verdy evening is a wonderful idea, and she should coach it!

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I can't add much to what's already been said about Verdy -- she was piquant, charming, refined and musical in a very different way from any other NYCB dancer. Although she did dance Agon, she most frequently was seen in certain roles best suited for her gifts, such as La Source, Tchai Pas, etc. I think of her as more being in the company than of the company. But Balanchine was clearly aware of her gifts, and never hesitant about using them properly.

Of NYCB's current principals, only Ringer approaches Verdy's qualities. I found it, well, interesting that at ABT Kevin McKenzie cast Dvorovenko in two roles long associated with Verdy -- Tchaikovsky Pas and the Sylvia Pas. It is hard to imagine a dancer more different from Verdy!

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as a footnote to much already noted here, perhaps the balanchine role most indelibly connect to verdy is the "first" ballerina in "emeralds" (she created the work for balanchine with mimi paul as the "second" ballerina of this "jewels" segment). especially in the solo that finds v.v. working her arms and in particular her wrists as part of the choreography's mesmerizing fluidity, verdy was incomparable. the late david daniel, a close follower/historian of both verdy's and farrell's careers, put it best when he described the solo as putting one in mind of a woman trying on and admiring her bracelets in private reverie (emerald ones, no doubt!). (i may be paraphrasing d.daniel a little crudely, as w/ so many of his apercus, he rarely got around to putting them on paper in final, published form, so much of what he said, almost all of it trenchant and utterly fascinating [even at its most fanciful], is now left only in the memories of him.) he had numerous conversations and official interviews w/ verdy, one of the finest was on the subject of nureyev, about whom d.d. was preparing a book (which i don't think ever got published, alas). the interview was published tho' and while the subject is nureyev, the voice is unmistakably verdy's (and daniel's):

Ballet review. Brooklyn, N. Y. v 5, no 2, 1975-1976, p 45-53: Conversation with Violette Verdy excerpted from Nureyev observed, a book of interviews and photographs by David Daniel to be published next year.

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Indeed, I think the choreographer himself agreed that no one else ever really replaced her. I think this because of the way he rearranged "Emeralds" after her retirement. It was his practice - and not only his, of course - generally to put lesser variations before greater, so as to set us up for what was to come, rather than to disappoint us by making a later dance anticlimactic; and when Verdy retired, he reversed the order of the solo variations, so that nowadays the "Verdy" variation precedes the "Paul" variation. (He also then added the new last movement to music for the death of Melisand I still find unneccessary if masterful.)

Maybe a reminiscence of one of her and Villella's curtain calls would be appropriate. It was after a performance of "Tchaikovsky pas de deux" thay had made a specialty of, with, for example, her coming gradually to rest reclining in the air, thanks to Villella's beautifully coordinated support, in the coda, to the noisy delight of the audience. She got a large bouquet to cradle while she took her first bows, and then, while Villella was taking his, she turned aside and teased one stem out of the bunch. We knew what her next move would be, of course, except that instead of giving one flower to her partner, she laid the bouquet in his arms and darted off with the single flower. Villella blushed. A moment later, taking a solo bow - they usually got about seven for this ballet, as I recall - she found her bouquet laid quickly on her arms again by an arm reaching out between the halves of the curtain. It was unusual at Balanchine's NYCB for the length of the applause to approach the length of the ballet...

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On Verdy and Agon - she is in fact in the earliest complete recording extant, the one described earlier in this thread. It was filmed from the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1960. Although Hayden originated the role, she was doing something else at the time and Verdy did the filming. According to Hayden, she taught Verdy the role late on night in a free studio. I wrote at length on this in the Fall '97 issue of Ballet Review.

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Following Balanchine by Robert Garis devotes a lot of space to Verdy.

Mary, Miami City Ballet brought Verdy in when staging Jewels. Villella had McBride coach Rubies, Verdy work on Emeralds and Farrell coach Diamonds. All three were feted at the premiere. I would love such a program devoted to an individual Balanchine dancer done at New York City Ballet, but I don't see it happening. Maybe somewhere else.

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Thanks for those very interesting replies!

Just after seeing the film, I learnt that two days before Verdy herself had been there for a talk after a screening of the film. That's frustrating, as it surely would have been very interesting! frown.gif

Robert, I had a look at the web site of the Alliance Française at http://www.fiaf.org and it says that the film will actually be shown on March 26 (US premiere), at 12:30, 3:30; 6:30 and 9PM, and that the 6:30 PM screening will be followedby a talk with Violette Verdy and Dominique Delouche. I hope that some of the members of this board will attend it- and that they will post some comments!

The Emeralds solo is the first rehearsal filmed in the documentary, with Elisabeth Maurin- she insists a lot on the hands movements, with comments like "it is as if you were discovering your own hands and wrists" or something like that.

What a lovely work- I hope that the POB will dance it again soon... (Also I wish they would add "La Source" to the repertory; it would be especially appropriate as it is on the same score as Staats' "Soir de Fête"- but it seems that direction prefers to comission lousy new ballets by contemporary choreographers... frown.gif )

Jack, the anecdote about the bouquet is lovely. smile.gif

What is Verdy doing now? I remember there was an interview of her on this site about her teaching in an American university, but couldn't find the link. She had been the POB director of dance around 1978-80, after Raymond Franchetti and before Rosella Hightower. From what I have read, her directorship was shortened because of some problem of strikes of the dancers, which wasn't really her fault; I don't know how good a director she was considered, but anyway she didn't have much time to make personal decisions (but she added "Tchaikosvky pas de deux" to the repertory).

I've read that in the early 1980s she was the artistic director of the Boston Ballet, how did it work?

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dirac, have you seen the glimpses of Verdy's "Emeralds" in the pictures on pp. 184-5 and 187 of B. H. Haggin's book, "Ballet Chronicle"? Maybe you would like the more extensive sequences from films of her in "Tchaikovsky pas de Deux" and "Giselle", both with Villella, in that book.

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Violette Verdy was my first Giselle, Odette/Odile, La Sylphide, and Aurora.

I even got to see some of her choreography when she made a solo that she danced at a gala for the celebration of my teacher's 80th birthday.

She gave me a scholarship to SAB and I lived at her apt with her mother the summer of 1970. Madame Guillerm showed me home movies of Violette dancing.

In 1975 when I moved to NYC from the Miami, there was upon my arrival at JFK airport, a mix up with my accomodations. I called Violette and she invited me to stay at her place until my situation was remedied.

What a lady!

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Thanks for the link, Alexandra. That's a very interesting interviews, and the students there are very lucky to have such a bright professor. I wonder about the careers of the alumni of that university?

glebb, lucky you to have been so close to Ms Verdy. When did she dance "La Sylphide", "Swan Lake", "The sleeping beauty" and "La Sylphide", was it when she danced with ABT? It's interesting to see that she had such a varied repertory: creating roles for Roland Petit at the beginning of her career, then dancing the classics for the ABT and the Balanchine and Robbins repertory for the NYCB... I hope that someday she'll publish her autobiography.

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Estelle, It was in Miami before Miami City Ballet existed, that I saw the full lengths performed by Ms Verdy.

Thomas Armour, a former Ballet Russe dancer, directed a civic company called The Miami Ballet. He produced a full length every year and brought in such greats as Ben Stevenson and Frederick Franklin to stage the ballets. His ballet Mistress, Martha Mahr - teacher of Lourdes Lopez, staged GISELLE AND SWAN LAKE.

In GISELLE, SWAN LAKE AND LA SYLPHIDE, Ms Verdy's partner was Edward Villella, and in SLEEPING BEAUTY, her prince was Peter Martins.

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Guest IUdancer

Hi everyone,

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I might try to revive it because Violette Verdy has told me that the video of "Violette et Mr. B" should be available in the States relatively soon. Being the gracious woman she is, she insisted on lending me her personal copy of the film to view so that I wouldn't have to wait for it to come out, and I just finished watching it about half an hour ago - all I can say is that it was really fascinating to watch. She still has such an amazing command of movement and space... a really special dancer, but I guess you all knew that already! If you can, try to get your hands on this video.

Lauren

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Just viewed Violette et Mr. B., and I just have to say, I've fallen in love all over again. :) Verdy has such intelligence, such heart, such imagination, such wit and an open, joy-filled and generous spirit. Can anyone resist her?

I was spellbound watching the poor quality (home movie?) performance films of her in Emeralds, Liebeslieder, Dances at a Gathering and Sonatine with piano accompaniment overlaid. As she teaches the (mostly) POB dancers her roles, her love of dancing them just oozes from her. One of my regrets remains that the beginning of my career as a balletomane overlapped with the close of hers as a dancer. :nopity: But hey, it could have been worse, and I could have missed her altogether!

It was also fun seeing scenes showing the studios of the Palais Garnier, which I saw just the night before on the Degas documentary!

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