17 replies to this topic

[cubanmiamiboy]

So here is part of my efforts to get more balanchinized.  This question came to me after reading a certain passage on Farrell's book, in which she starts describing her view of "Diamonds".  She said that D. "...was the only tutu ballet Balanchine ever made on me", and then she mentions "Ballet Imperial" and "Theme and Variations" as the only other two examples of tutu works . Now, i know that appart from  Theme and Variationshttp://www.ballet.co..._flying_500.jpg
and Ballet Imperial:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an24795607-v,
there are all the Raymonda choreograhies (Pas de Dix, RV, Cortege Hongrois http://www.nycballet...es/cortege.jpg)
One of my favoites Bourree Fantasque
http://balletbooksto...ic/lecler01.jpg
Silvia PDD
http://www.kcdance.c...7_4921a_g_p.jpg
plus Apollo, in its earliest incarnation:http://cache.viewima...55A1E4F32AD3138,
Symphony in C
http://www.ballet.co...e_still_500.jpg,
Tarantella:
http://www.nycballet...otes/tarant.gif,
Stars and Stripes
http://www.ballet-da...b-dth-stars.jpg
Swan Lake:
http://www.nycballet.../swanlake-b.jpg
and Waltz Academy
http://balletbooksto...ic/alonso03.jpg
...but i know-(or suppose)-that there should have been more, which are either lost or were later re fashioned into a tutu-free work-(like "Apollo").
I'm sure many of you will know of some of this choreographies.  Can i have some names...?
Thanks in advance:

[Helene]

Some others off the top of my head:

Le Palais de Cristal/Symphony in C
Gounod Symphony
various Raymondas:  Pas de Dix, Raymonda Variations, Cortege Hongrois
Caracole/Divertimento No. 15
A Steadfast Tin Soldier
Divertimento on Baiser de la Fee

Hybrid tutu:
Stars and Stripes


Romantic tutus:
Liebeslieder Walzer, Part 2
Emeralds

[rg]

this list will grow and grow.
Farrell's point was to discuss the ballets which Balanchine made for her specifically, in which she was costumed in a tutu.
in Balanchine's canon overall the presence of the tutu is not that rare.

[bart]

cubanmiamiboy, on Jul 21 2008, 12:59 AM, said:

So here is part of my efforts to get more balanchinized.

Cristian, I love that phrase:  "balanchinzed."   Great topic, too.

Here are two a related questions for the experts.  Imagine that Petipa himself returned to the theater to observe Balanchine's work as they are performed today.

Which of Balanchine's tutu ballets is closest in form  and style to the Petipa ballets with which Balanchine grew up at the Maryinsky?  A similar question might be asked about Balanchine's classical pas de deux.  

P.S.:  Cristian, the photos are marvellous.  Thank you.  I could not get access to the Cortege Hongrois or the Apollo.

[kfw]

bart, on Jul 21 2008, 09:05 AM, said:

P.S.:  Cristian, the photos are marvellous.  Thank you.  I could not get access to the Cortege Hongrois or the Apollo.

You might try refreshing the page with the Apollo shot -- that worked for me. Thanks, Christian!

[Mel Johnson]

In addition to the Raymonda series, there's also a Delibes one:

Sylvia pas de deux
Pas de Deux and Divertissement
La Source.

Petipa would understand the structure of much of what Balanchine did, but the latter worked in a more musically demanding way, which would allow him to take symphonies and multi-movement works on successfully.  Petipa was most often able to get music made to order.

[rg]

Petipa-homage? ballets:
THEME AND VARIATIONS
MINKUS PAS DE TROIS
GLINKA PAS DE TROIS
PAS DE DIX (Balanchine told B.Weisberger - if i've got this correctly - that she could take his name off the Penna. B. staging of this suite of Raymonda dances, b/c it was really mostly Petipa anyway.)
HARLEQUINADE (for the mime as well as the classical choreography, including the skittering Alouettes)

[bart]

Mel and rg, many thanks.  I've always wondered.  I'll look at these more closely now -- and with a new agenda.  

[rg]

with regard to the tutus themselves, leafing thru t.bentley's COSTUMES BY KARINSKA (see below) should show just what the tutus looked like in their day, as conceived by Karinska.

Costumes by Karinska / Toni Bentley ; foreword by Edward Gorey.
New York, N.Y. : H.N. Abrams, c1995.
192 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index

[carbro]

Farrell/Bentley must have hoped we'd infer "Classical" tutus with that remark, because I can think of two roles Balanchine choreo'd on Farrell which have Romantic tutus:  the Rondo from Brahms-Schoenberg, and Mozartiana (1981).  There may be more.

Mozartiana may be ambiguous because 1) it was not Balanchine's first staging of Mozartiana; and 2) the costumes for the little girls and corps women were not designed for Mozartiana but "borrowed" from Harlequinade.  In fact, Farrell wore a short tutu in the first performances (thru the first year?) of Mozartiana until the ballerina's skirt was lengthened and darkened with an added layer or two of black netting.

[canbelto]

La Valse has romantic tutus.
Nutcracker is full of tutus.
Western Symphony too.

[rg]

If mem. serves the change from the satin & velvet, shorter ter-arutunian tutu for Farrell in MOZARTIANA was shown only in the first perf. during which SF sustained an injury, which meant the cancellation of all other NYC perfs. for the ballet for the duration of the Tchaikovsky Fest.
When the ballet returned to rep. in Saratoga two months later?, if i recall correctly, the longer, black-tulle-over-white replaced it.
i'm not sure the tutus were borrowed directly from HARELQUINADE, i think they were all based on a similar scheme that both Balanchine and Ter-Arutunian thought suitable to the Mozart/Tchaikovsky world of the ballet's music.
(i once asked Farrell about the change of her tutu, b/c I preferred the first version. in no uncertain terms she told me she didn't.)

[carbro]

rg, on Jul 21 2008, 05:38 PM, said:

i once asked Farrell about the change of her tutu, b/c I preferred the first version. in no uncertain terms she told me she didn't.

I didn't dislike Mozartiana Tutu #1, but I think the ballet looks better with MT#2.

Thanks for clarifying about the costuming of the other women.  I'll take a closer look next time NYCB does Harlequinade.  Here's hoping that there will be a next time, it's done so rarely.

NYCB has shifted costumes from ballet to ballet in other instances (and I realize we're veering OT here).  The turquoise and ivory costumes used in some late NYCB mounting of Ballet Imperial (before it was redone as Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto) have clad younger dancers in Theme & Variations.  Maybe not (but possibly) the same actual costumes, but definitely the same design.

[rg]

indeed recycling costumes is a tradition at NYCB.
the ribbon-skirt costume for Farrell in TZIGANE is recycled from J.Clifford's KODALY DANCES, if mem. serves.
at the dress reh. for SYM. in 3 MOV. Balanchine tried to recycle the skirts for  CLARINADE (i only knew this b/c e.gorey who got me into the dress reh. recognized the skirts - i'd never seen CLARINADE.)
the corps de ballet of DIVERTIMENTO FROM LE BAISER DE LA FEE is dressed so far as i can tell in the costumes from ROMA - another ballet i didn't see but which is familiar from photos.
the gorgeous original GOUNOD SYMPHONY tutus which were rebuilt for the post-Balanchine revival ended up dressing a ballet by Robert LaFosse for S.A.B.
there are no doubt numerous other examples but these surface now.

[EAW]

Remember that Donizetti Variations was originally a tutu ballet, also.  When SAB performed it that way instead of in the current peasanty costumes a la Bournonville, it was possible to see - literally - more of the scintillating, witty legwork.