A beautiful variation

[MCBallet]

I think this is a really beautiful example of ballet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCu5cKYh78

[Marga]

I agree. Iana Salenko's version of this way-overdone variation is indeed a "a really beautiful example of ballet". It is so refreshing to see this showstopper piece performed in an artistic, balletic style, rather than in the acrobatic way that so many 13-18 year olds enjoy executing (pun intended) it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[bart]

I also agree -- especially with Marga's reasons for liking this so much. The simple leotard and background really exposed the dancing.

There's one little bit that fascinated me: a simple movement from wide fourth position (arms in a wide, embracing, foreward leaning 2nd) ... then, a slow perfect ronde de jambe to the front. I could watch beautifully executed movements like that for hours.

YouTube is filled with so many vanity variations and pas de deux, dancers in costume huffing and pufifng and thrusting their way through the steps/steps/steps. It's nice to see it done las Salenko does it: simply and with purity and with great respect for the movement.

MCBallet, what was it about the dancing that attracted you to this particular clip?

[MCBallet]

I also agree -- especially with Marga's reasons for liking this so much. The simple leotard and background really exposed the dancing.

There's one little bit that fascinated me: a simple movement from wide fourth position (arms in a wide, embracing, foreward leaning 2nd) ... then, a slow perfect ronde de jambe to the front. I could watch beautifully executed movements like that for hours.

YouTube is filled with so many vanity variations and pas de deux, dancers in costume huffing and pufifng and thrusting their way through the steps/steps/steps. It's nice to see it done las Salenko does it: simply and with purity and with great respect for the movement.

MCBallet, what was it about the dancing that attracted you to this particular clip?

The clean and knowledgeable execution of the ballet technique is stellar, unaffected, and purely tasteful.

[Mel Johnson]

Choosing practice clothes telegraphed the idea of what this presentation was going to be about. The dancer (and her coach) had apparently decided that this performance was going to be more about the choreographic material, and less-than-usual about the virtuosity of the dancer. While wise in this instance, it's a risky ploy. All of the technical problems are out there to view, and while they are present, they're nothing that a little more classtime can't fix. One thing that did worry me a bit was the Makarova-like knee on the front leg in the fourth position allongé which is pushed rather forward of the turnout of the foot. That can lead to some painful problems later on. But I do agree that a lot of young dancers take material that can already speak for itself, and gussy it up with a lot of "fancy" stuff that actually detracts from the performance. Ockham's Razor has been deftly applied here.

[Hans]

Beautifully done, very tasteful. If she were a professional dancer I would wish for a lot more "gypsy" flavor--it was rather careful for my taste, but appropriate for a student.

[cubanmiamiboy]

mmm...beautiful indeed. Still, the absence of a costume doesn't do it 100 % for me. I guess it is not a common practice within CNB, where EVERY danced piece follows the most strict and conservative approach...including costumes. I don't know....i don't get to understand "Esmeralda" without the dancer LOOKING like Esmeralda...

[bart]

Cristian, this probably comes from what we became accustomed to, in our early days. I started at NYCB when the leotard ballet -- and the re-costuming of previously over-costumed pieces -- was well underway. The simple practice costume is, to me and (I think) people of my time and place, what the traditional costuming is to you, having grown up in the Cuban/Russian theatrical tradition.

Choosing practice clothes telegraphed the idea of what this presentation was going to be about. The dancer (and her coach) had apparently decided that this performance was going to be more about the choreographic material, and less-than-usual about the virtuosity of the dancer. While wise in this instance, it's a risky ploy. All of the technical problems are out there to view, and while they are present, they're nothing that a little more classtime can't fix.

Thanks, for this insight -- as well as for your close attention to details that I, for one, could not have seen on my own. It's possible that she and coach wished to set her apart as a way of making one look closer. In a world of brightly colored tutus, to be simple can also be a way of calling attention to yourself.

[Solnishka79]

Very, Very nice to see a young dancer perform this variation with control and precision. I am so tired of seeing this variation performed at competitions (or on youtube) as if it were a gymnastic exhibition with legs flailing, arms whacking, no placement, etc. It makes my eyes tired. Brava!

[chrisk217]

Beautifully done, very tasteful. If she were a professional dancer I would wish for a lot more "gypsy" flavor--it was rather careful for my taste, but appropriate for a student.

Iana Salenko is not a student. She was 22 and dancing in the Kiev Opera at the time of this variation. Soon after she moved to the Berlin Staatsballett where she is now a first soloist (the highest rank there).

[Hans]

Well in that case I wish she would dance it more like Esmeralda and less like Aurora.

Still, her technique is quite beautiful and very impressive.

Also, this does not appear to be a performance to me--it looks more like a stage rehearsal given that she is wearing little warm-up shorts.

[bart]

lIt's certainly interesting to compare different dancers (at different stages of their career) in this brief variation.

For instance: Natalia Osipova (filmed when still a 17-year old student) does approach it more "like Esmeralda," it seems.

Then there's Agnes Letestu whose Esmeralda has spent several years in a Young Lady's Academy for Former Street Dancers:

Salenko seems to have snatched this choreography from its dramatic context and turned it into something quite abstrast, pure, and innocent.

[Hans]

Can't say I'm a fan of Osipova's tacky approach, although given her age at the time, I suppose I must blame her coaches.

Not so big on Letestu either, but I enjoy Tamara Rojo's interpretation. The dramatic flair is there but not to the point of excess, and she uses her technique in service of the variation, not the other way 'round.

What really interests me, though, is the idea of taking a variation out of context and turning it into something else entirely--is that really a good idea, and what does it do to the variation? The music of this Esmeralda variation implies something dramatic and mysterious. Does "abstract, pure, and innocent" work with that?

I recall that in character dance classes, my teacher would tell us that when we did a gypsy-style dance, we had to do it with pure emotion, as if no one was watching and that even if someone was, we didn't care what we looked like. Thus, although one must always be beautiful in ballet, I feel that during this variation, as classical as it is, one must dance with a bit of abandon, not kicking oneself in the head because it pleases the audience but rather with an energy that reaches to the highest balcony and beyond.

Salenko's dancing is very beautiful, and I would love to see more of her, but this particular video leaves something to be desired, in my opinion. I will say that as it seems to be a rehearsal rather than a performance, I cannot entirely fault her for not being very dramatic.

[bart]

Here's the Tamara Rojo version. It's definitely more "Spanish," or at least the 19th century ballet version of Spanish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5x1HBQ_t5Y

The version of the music that she and Osipova uses seems more exagerrated as to dynamics and phrasing than the relatively dainty version used by Salenko. But Rojo seems to add movement -- especially upper body movement -- that brings out whatever genuine Spanish feeling and content the music contains.

What really interests me, though, is the idea of taking a variation out of context and turning it into something else entirely--is that really a good idea, and what does it do to the variation? The music of this Esmeralda variation implies something dramatic and mysterious. Does "abstract, pure, and innocent" work with that?

These are fascinating questions, Hans. I have no problem with it, as an exercise in pure dance that can be seen with fresh eyes. It would be interesting to hear what others think about this.

I recall that in character dance classes, my teacher would tell us that when we did a gypsy-style dance, we had to do it with pure emotion, as if no one was watching and that even if someone was, we didn't care what we looked like. Thus, although one must always be beautiful in ballet, I feel that during this variation, as classical as it is, one must dance with a bit of abandon, not kicking oneself in the head because it pleases the audience but rather with an energy that reaches to the highest balcony and beyond.

I an certainly understand this if the variation is performed as part of the complete ballet. Is it necessary, however, to dance the "character" normally associated with the part? I'm not, for instance, entirely convinced that the music by itself -- despite it's Spanish references -- is all that abandoned, let alone mysterious.

[Mel Johnson]

It's tough, in a Stanislavskian way, to build a character of a Gypsy from the time of Louis XIII. To my knowledge, there's no anthropologically-useful primary source account of how they acted and what exactly they did, except move around from place to place, always being "the outsiders". And the music is difficult in a contextual way. When the Russian companies would tour the "Diana and Acteon" pas de deux, they would credit Drigo with the music, except that he was simply the latest one to massage the old Pugni score before the Revolution. Pugni, in his turn, had a liking for lifting favorite tunes from light opera and other popular entertainment and plopping it into his ballet scores. If somebody were to do a musical dissection of the score, as has been done somewhat by ABT with Corsaire, I think we'd see a whole lot of composers that we never knew were there. It's still another example of my "used car" analogy for classical variations. It helps a lot to know who had it before you!

[UnaChiquitita]

I think this is a really beautiful example of ballet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCu5cKYh78

Does anyone know from what part of the ballet this variation comes?