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In the 80s the Spanish TV broadcasted two series of ballet programmes leaded one, by Makarova (in Spanish titled 'Bailarina'), and the other by Schauffus ('Bailarín'). I was very young and I cannot remember more details, except its exceptional quality. I have tried to find them out a lot of times, but I don't know how they were called in English or whether they have been published (either VHS, DVD or whatever). Any clue?

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i believe there has been a thread on these televisionseries shows.

makarova's 4-part series was called BALLERINA, dated 1987

schaufuss's, also 4-parts, was called DANCER, dated 1984

neither one has been released commercially so far as i know.

makarova's series was telecast at least once or more after the initial run; i'm not sure about schaufuss's.

there was also an acompanying book published by mary clarke and clement crisp called BALLERINA to go along with makarova's series.

here is the NYPL cat. entry on the makarova series:

Ballerina [videorecording] / a BBC-TV production in association with Arts and Entertainment Network and RM Arts ; directed by Derek Bailey ; produced by Derek Bailey and Julia Matheson ; written and presented by Natalia Makarova.

Imprint U.K. : BBC-TV, c1987.

Prod cntry U.K.

Note Telecast by the Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E).

Credits Program consultant, Clement Crisp.

Summary Documentary in two parts: The making of a ballerina (cassettes 1 & 2) and The great tradition (cassettes 3 & 4).

Contents Cassette 1 (ca. 91 min. total). The making of a ballerina. [introduction]. Interviewees: Maurice Béjart, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Maya Plisetskaya. Dance excerpts: The dying swan / danced by Anna Pavlova -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Margot Fonteyn -- Don Quixote / danced by Maya Plisetskaya -- Swan lake. Act II, pas de deux / chor., Lev Ivanov ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy.

[Different types of ballerina]. Examples illustrated by dance excerpts: Romantic: La sylphide / danced by Carla Fracci and Gheorghe Iancu -- Virtuoso: Paquita / danced by Cynthia Harvey -- Dramatic: Romeo and Juliet / chor., Kenneth MacMillan ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- Classical: Grand pas classique / chor., Victor Gsovsky ; danced by Sylvie Guillem.

[Physical requirements of a ballerina ; pointe shoes]. Interviewee: Bernard Kohler. Dance excerpt: Don Quixote pas de deux / danced by Natalia Makarova and Peter Schaufuss.

[schools and styles]. Examples of ballet classes and ballerinas from different countries. Interviewees: Kirsten Ralov, Lis Jeppesen. Russia: Vaganova School -- Raymonda / danced by Natalia Makarova -- The little humpbacked horse / danced by Maya Plisetskaya. U.S.: School of American Ballet, class taught by Alexandra Danilova -- Don Quixote / danced by Susan Jaffe. England: Royal Ballet School, class taught by Galina Samsova -- Cinderella / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Antoinette Sibley. Denmark: Royal Danish Ballet School, class taught by Kirsten Ralov -- Royal Danish Ballet, company class -- Konservatoriet / chor., August Bournonville ; danced by Lis Jeppesen. France: Paris Opéra Ballet School, class taught by Christiane Vaussard -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Isabelle Guérin.

[The importance of versatility]. Virginia Johnson of Dance Theatre of Harlem dances excerpts from Holberg suite (chor., Arthur Mitchell), Othello (chor., John Butler), Fall River legend (chor., Agnes de Mille), and A streetcar named desire (chor., Valerie Bettis), the last with Lowell Smith.

[Partnering]. Interviewees: Maya Plisetskaya, Marcia Haydée. Dance excerpts: Manon / chor., Kenneth MacMillan ; rehearsal ; danced by Natalia Makarova and male ensemble from the Royal Ballet -- Black swan pas de deux / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- Black swan pas de deux / performance ; danced by Makarova and Dowell -- Swan lake. Act II pas de deux / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Alexander Sombart -- Swan lake. Act II pas de deux / performance ; danced by Makarova and Ivan Nagy -- Thaïs / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell -- Marguerite and Armand / chor., Ashton ; danced by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev -- The lady with the little dog [The lady with a lapdog] / chor., Plisetskaya ; danced by Plisetskaya and Boris Efimov -- The taming of the shrew / chor., John Cranko ; danced by Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun -- Onegin / chor., Cranko ; danced by Makarova and Reid Anderson. Continued on cassette 2.

Cassette 2 (ca. 5 min.). Onegin, continued. End credits for The making of a ballerina.

Cassette 3 (ca. 92 min. total). The great tradition. [introduction]. Interviewee: Maurice Béjart. Dance excerpts: The blue angel / chor., Roland Petit ; rehearsal ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Jean-Pierre Aviotte, supervised by Roland Petit -- Wien, Wien, nur du allein / chor., Béjart ; rehearsal ; danced by Marcia Haydée and Jorge Donn, supervised by Béjart -- Other dances / chor., Jerome Robbins ; rehearsal ; danced by Makarova, supervised by Robbins.

[Great ballerina roles of the past: Odette, Aurora, Giselle]. Interviewee: Antony Tudor. Dance excerpts: Swan lake / danced by Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Margot Fonteyn -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Elisabeth Platel -- Giselle / danced by Galina Ulanova -- Giselle / danced by Alicia Markova -- Giselle / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Alexander Sombart -- Giselle / danced by Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

[Characterization]. Interviewee: Kenneth MacMillan. Dance excerpts: Manon / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Natalia Makarova (Manon), Derek Rencher (Monsieur G.M.), Stephen Jeffries (Lescaut) -- Romeo and Juliet / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Makarova.

[John Cranko and his choreography]. Interviewee: Carla Fracci. Dance excerpts: Romeo and Juliet / chor., Cranko ; danced by Fracci and Gheorghe Iancu -- Onegin / chor., Cranko ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Reid Anderson.

[ballerinas as links to the past]. Interviewees: Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova. Makarova rehearses London Festival Ballet Theatre in La bayadère. Danilova teaches a variation from Paquita to students of the School of American Ballet. Markova rehearses the Sugarplum Fairy variation and the grand pas de deux from The nutcracker with Janette Mulligan and Martin James of London Festival Ballet. Dance excerpt: Giselle / danced by Markova.

[Three great ballerinas of the past: Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spessivtzeva]. Interviewees: Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor. Reminiscences by the two choreographers, illustrated with b&w footage of Pavlova in various roles, including The dying swan, and Spessivtseva in Giselle.

[ballerinas of the future]. Interviewee: Maurice Béjart. Dance excerpts: La bayadère / danced by Cecilia Kerche and Fernando Bujones -- Royal Danish Ballet in company class -- Amleth [Hamlet] / chor., John Neumeier ; danced by Mette Bodtcher (Ophelia) -- Mouvement, rythme, etude / chor., Béjart ; danced by Sylvie Guillem and Eric Vu-An. Re-recorded in full on cassette 4.

Cassette 4 (ca. 7 min.). Mouvement, rythme, etude. End credits for The great tradition.

and here's how the NYPL has the schaufuss series listed:

Dancer [videorecording] / a BBC-TV production in association with RM Arts ; directed by Derek Bailey ; produced by Derek Bailey and Julia Matheson.

Imprint U.K. : BBC-TV, c1984.

Prod cntry U.K. Note This recording is a slightly abridged version of the series. Each of the four programs runs for ca. 48 min. rather than an hour, as in the original.

Segment titles and additional data from promotional brochure.

Credits Program consultant, Clement Crisp.

Note [Host/interviewee:] Peter Schaufuss.

Summary Documentary on various aspects of the lives and careers of male ballet dancers. This series was first telecast by the BBC in the U.K. in October-November 1984.

Contents Cassette 1 (ca. 48 min.). A proper job. Discussion of the athletic and artistic challenges facing the male dancer ; training male dancers at the schools of the Royal Ballet, the Paris Opéra Ballet (including a class taught by Alexandre Kalioujny), and the Royal Danish Ballet. Interviewees: Barbara Fewster, Fernando Bujones, Maurice Béjart. Dance excerpts: Le corsaire / danced by Peter Schaufuss -- La ventana / chor., August Bournonville ; danced by Frank Andersen -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Anthony Dowell -- Enigma variations / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Dowell -- Don Quixote pas de deux / danced by Schaufuss -- A song for you / danced by Patrick Dupond -- La ventana / danced by Bjarne Hecht -- Swan lake / danced by Fernando Bujones -- Oiseaux tristes / chor. and danced by Jean Guizerix -- Macbeth / chor. and danced by Vladimir Vasiliev -- Rite of spring / chor., Béjart ; danced by Ballet du XXe Siècle.

Cassette 2 (ca. 48 min.). Double work. Discussion of partnering (illustrated by partnering classes at the Royal Ballet School), traditional and contemporary roles of the male dancer, equality of the sexes in August Bournonville's choreography, notable partnerships. Dance excerpts: Spring waters / chor., Asaf Messerer ; danced by Desmond Kelly and Galina Samsova -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Peter Schaufuss and Antoinette Sibley -- Mayerling / chor., Kenneth MacMillan ; danced by David Wall and Wendy Ellis -- Kermesse in Bruges / chor., Bournonville ; danced by Schaufuss and Lis Jeppesen -- Giselle / danced by Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasilev -- Grand pas classique / chor., Victor Gsovsky ; danced by Noëlla Pontois and Fernando Bujones -- Romeo and Juliet / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev -- The loves of Franz [Les amours de Franz] / chor., Roland Petit ; danced by Dominique Khalfouni and Denys Ganio -- Agon / chor., George Balanchine ; danced by Allegra Kent and Arthur Mitchell.

Cassette 3 (ca. 48 min.). New moves. Discussion of five contemporary choreographers, who are seen rehearsing their works. Robert Cohan is also seen teaching company class to members of London Contemporary Dance Theatre. Interviewees: Kenneth MacMillan, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, Robert Cohan, Glen Tetley (voiceover only). Dance excerpts: La ventana / danced by Frank Andersen, Lis Jeppesen, and the Royal Danish Ballet -- Orpheus / chor., MacMillan ; danced in rehearsal by Schaufuss and Alessandra Ferri, and Stephen Jefferies and Jennifer Penney ; danced in performance by Schaufuss and Penney -- Notre-Dame de Paris / chor., Petit ; danced by Richard Cragun -- Mass for the future [Messe pour le temps futur] / chor., Béjart ; danced by Michel Gascard, Patrice Touron, Grazia Galante, and other members of the Ballet du XXe Siècle -- Class / chor., Cohan ; danced by Patrick Harding-Irmer and other members of London Contemporary Dance Theatre -- Sphinx / chor., Tetley ; danced by Schaufuss and Elisabetta Terabust.

Cassette 4 (ca. 48 min.). Peter Schaufuss in profile. Schaufuss is seen in his dual roles as dancer and producer in various countries ; this segment also includes views of company classes at the Royal Danish Ballet and Royal Ballet. Interviewees: Peter Schaufuss, Frank Schaufuss, Niels Bjørn Larsen, Kenneth MacMillan, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart. Dance excerpts: Don Quixote pas de deux / danced by Schaufuss and Elisabetta Terabust -- Napoli / chor., Schaufuss after Bournonville ; danced by the National Ballet of Canada -- The shepherdess and the chimney sweep / recorded for Danish television, 1960 ; chor., Harald Lander (?) ; danced by Schaufuss and unidentified ballerina -- two solos danced by Schaufuss, possibly Flower festival at Genzano and Le corsaire -- La fille mal gardée / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Schaufuss with the Royal Ballet -- Orpheus / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Schaufuss and the Royal Ballet -- Phantom of the opera [Fantôme de l'Opéra] / chor., Petit ; danced by Schaufuss -- Song of the wayfarer [Chant du compagnon errant] / chor., Béjart ; danced in rehearsal by Schaufuss and Patrice Touron -- A folk tale / chor., Schaufuss after Bournonville ; danced in rehearsal by Schaufuss and Eva Evdokimova -- La sylphide / chor., Schaufuss after Bournonville ; danced by Schaufuss and Evdokimova ; followed by a brief speech by Dame Alicia Markova.

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I am absolutely impressed!!!! Thank you, rg!

Unfortunately I do not leave in the US. Some weeks ago I wrote to the Archive Department of Radio Televisión Española asking for a copy of the series. They don't sell, lend, etc. anything broadcasted. I know that this has been discussed in another thread but I think that if I am paying taxes to support Spanish TV, I mean the official (this particular channel is public) there is no reason to hide interesting stuff, is an insult to the taxpayers.

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They don't sell, lend, etc. anything broadcasted. I know that this has been discussed in another thread but I think that if I am paying taxes to support Spanish TV, I mean the official (this particular channel is public) there is no reason to hide interesting stuff, is an insult to the taxpayers.

This is a perennial topic of discussion around the dance world, and will get even more play as web-based video continues to grow. The difficulty isn't with the broadcaster, but with the original contracts that the artists making the film/video signed off on. Just as an author is paid based on the projected sales/circulation of their writing, the dancers and technicians who work on a dance program are paid based on the intended distribution of the final product. A project in the US for the public broadcast series "Dance in America" will probably be shown on television only two or three times, and then put away. Some of them are available for purchase, but most are not, and in order to change that, the producers would have to go back and have all the original participants sign new contracts to permit the change.

A project that was originally intended for a wider distribution, possibly including video sales, will have to say that explicitly in the contract.

It's very unfortunate, since it severely limits access to film/video materials, but this is the way that the copyright laws in the US are written.

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The difficulty isn't with the broadcaster, but with the original contracts that the artists making the film/video signed off on. Just as an author is paid based on the projected sales/circulation of their writing, the dancers and technicians who work on a dance program are paid based on the intended distribution of the final product.
This has got to be one of most self-defeating practices around. All it does is to encourage people to tape off TV and to make pirated copies, when commercial distribution could reach a far wider audience, especially as the DVD's make their way into library collections.

Peter Gelb and the Metropolitan Opera unions had the right idea in creating contracts that allow live broadcasts and archival broadcasts to be aired on Sirius network by subscription, where a cut of actual earning, not projected earnings, is paid.

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The difficulty isn't with the broadcaster, but with the original contracts that the artists making the film/video signed off on. Just as an author is paid based on the projected sales/circulation of their writing, the dancers and technicians who work on a dance program are paid based on the intended distribution of the final product.

This has got to be one of most self-defeating practices around. All it does is to encourage people to tape off TV and to make pirated copies,

Speaking as a pirate queen (all within Fair Use!) I totally agree.

when commercial distribution could reach a far wider audience, especially as the DVD's make their way into library collections.

It's only been recently, though, that people seem to have figured this out. There was a certain amount of arts programming that was created with general distribution in mind when laserdisks were developed (my sister still has her player and I've got a couple things that I bought specifically for that) but for some reason, the broadcast people didn't really think in terms of retail sales. Even after PBS began to coin money from selling its Masterpiece Theater and Mystery programming in the 90's, it took them quite awhile to wise up to the possibilities for performing arts. Which left Corinth and Kultur to try and mine European sources for most of their start-up catalogs.

I think things are improving right now, at least in terms of historical stuff -- the Bell Telephone and Firestone programs have done pretty well, and I have the impression that the Ballet Russe film is doing quite well in DVD -- perhaps this will leverage more access for the future. The dog work, though, would be to go back and renegotiate rights for the programs they've already got in their vaults. Fortunately, the Balanchine Dance in America shows from the Nashville years seem to be trickling along, but as always, I'm a greedy girl -- I want more!

Peter Gelb and the Metropolitan Opera unions had the right idea in creating contracts that allow live broadcasts and archival broadcasts to be aired on Sirius network by subscription, where a cut of actual earning, not projected earnings, is paid.

Let's hope that they're paving a road, not striding forward into the wilderness with no one following behind.

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Peter Gelb and the Metropolitan Opera unions had the right idea in creating contracts that allow live broadcasts and archival broadcasts to be aired on Sirius network by subscription, where a cut of actual earning, not projected earnings, is paid.

Let's hope that they're paving a road, not striding forward into the wilderness with no one following behind.

I hope so too. It's amazing how fast they got the rights to archival broadcasts.

Think too that Gelb is having current operas played in movie theaters around the county.

I hope a lot of this work sticks and other performing arts companies can do other innovative things .

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Think too that Gelb is having current operas played in movie theaters around the county.
Yes. There will be 6 live Saturday matinee performances transmmitted from Lincoln Center dirctectly to movie houses in the US, Canada, and the UK. The schedule is as follows:

-- Magic Flute -- Dec. 30 (abridged, one-act, family-friendly version of the Taymor productiion, in English)

-- I Puritani -- Jan 6 -- with Netrebko

-- The First Emperor -- Jan. 13. with Domingo, Futral

-- Eugene Onegin -- Feb. 24 -- with Fleming, Hvorostovskky, Vargas -- conducted by Gergiev

-- Barber of Seville -- March 24 -- with DiDonato, Florez

-- Il Trittico, April 28 -- Il Tabarro (Guleghina, LIcitra, Pons), Suor Angelica (Frittoli, Murphy, Blythe; Gianni Schicchi (Mykytenko, Giordano, Corbelli)

These are the same dates as the live radio transmissions, so there should be a very large international audience sharing the experience in real time.

If you go to this page on the Met's website, youl'll be directed to "a theater near you." http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/bro.../hd_events.aspx

After entering my zip code, I located the closest theater, and was then able to buy and print out tickets ($18 each) through Fandango.com. Just to be on the safe side, I plan to pick them up ahead of time.

Note that they are starting with something very accessible and marketable. Why couldn't ABT start this off for ballet with Swan Lake or the Nutcracker? Or NYCB with the Balanchine Nutcracker?

Any other suggestions?

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Yes. There will be 6 live Saturday matinee performances transmmitted from Lincoln Center dirctectly to movie houses in the US, Canada, and the UK. The schedule is as follows:

-- Magic Flute -- Dec. 30 (abridged, one-act, family-friendly version of the Taymor productiion, in English) -- with

If you go to this page on the Met's website, youl'll be directed to "a theater near you." http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/bro.../hd_events.aspx

After entering my zip code, I located the closest theater, and was then able to buy and print out tickets ($18 each) through Fandango.com. Just to be on the safe side, I plan to pick them up ahead of time.

Ok, I live in Seattle, which is not New York of San Francisco, but isn't a slouchy opera town. The closest 'theater near me' is in Springfield, Oregon. Not only is that almost 300 miles away, but it's a much smaller town -- does anyone know how they chose the theaters?

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The closest 'theater near me' is in Springfield, Oregon. Not only is that almost 300 miles away, but it's a much smaller town -- does anyone know how they chose the theaters?
Good question. My theater is in one of the western suburbs, not normally a place known for high culture. It's a multiplex, so I have know idea of how large the theater will be.
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Ok, I live in Seattle, which is not New York of San Francisco, but isn't a slouchy opera town. The closest 'theater near me' is in Springfield, Oregon. Not only is that almost 300 miles away, but it's a much smaller town -- does anyone know how they chose the theaters?

This has puzzled me too. Here in NJ there is only one theater showing the operas. It's not all that far but then NJ is so small geographically that I don't think you could start driving from any point and still be in the state 300 miles later(unless you got lost alot!) :flowers:

We do have the option of going into Manhattan, at least some of the operas are being shown in Union Square.

Going back to the theater selection, I wonder if it had to do with finding cinemas that were willing to give up

4 or so hours on something that the management may see as a loss, particularly when they could possibly squeeze in 2 showings of a popular saturday afternoon feature .

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Going back to the theater selection, I wonder if it had to do with finding cinemas that were willing to give up

4 or so hours on something that the management may see as a loss, particularly when they could possibly squeeze in 2 showings of a popular saturday afternoon feature .

I'm sure that's part of it, but I'm still very curious to know more about how the theaters were selected/volunteered themselves...

Does anyone know how we might find out?

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I'm sure that's part of it, but I'm still very curious to know more about how the theaters were selected/volunteered themselves...

Does anyone know how we might find out?

I've been following this discussion closely on Opera-L, which has a lot of opera insiders, and there has been no definitive answer, just a lot of reasoned speculation. Unless the Met decides to address this, perhaps because of criticism, we may never know.

It's very disappointing the Magic Flute won't be shown in the Puget Sound area. On the other hand, there will be local viewings of the other operas in the Seattle area:

I Puritani (January 6): Auburn Stadium 11

The First Emperor (January 13), Eugene Onegin (February 24), Barber of Seville (March 24), and Il Trittico (April 28): Auburn Stadium 11, Bella Botega (Redmond)

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It's very disappointing the Magic Flute won't be shown in the Puget Sound area. On the other hand, there will be local viewings of the other operas in the Seattle area:

I Puritani (January 6): Auburn Stadium 11

The First Emperor (January 13), Eugene Onegin (February 24), Barber of Seville (March 24), and Il Trittico (April 28): Auburn Stadium 11, Bella Botega (Redmond)

I didn't realize that there were changes from opera to opera -- many thanks for pointing this out!

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