42 replies to this topic

[JerryS]

Gentlemen, Paul and Hans,

Your great definitions, together with the ABT dictionary files, in slowmo, have clarified for me the issue of
grand jete vs. grand sissonne:-)

Thanks a lot.

BTW, the grand jete at the ABT dictionary site is executed by Vladimir Malakhov. He looks great in it.

[JerryS]

Paul Parish, on Jul 26 2009, 03:18 AM, said:

It's a brilliant performance, with the characteristic Danish modesty and sweetly engaging head positions that somehow soften and tone down all hte sharpness in the legs -- his footwork is very clean and fast, and indeed some of the small steps are so quick I had to look hard to see which foot was in front. Entrechats with odd numbers end on one foot, and all of them in this dance do land on one foot.

The main characteristic of this dance is the clever alternation between steps which begin with a spring (sissonnes, entrechats) and those which begin with a brush (jete, glissade, assemble) -- this produces the fascinating laciness of the very quick steps -- and of course, the careful placing of BIG steps like the big plants in a garden, few and far between. the very big steps come at the beginning and end of the dance, with the only other big steps at the beginning of the second phrase. A long pirouette counts as a big step even though it does not leave the ground.

You're writing great, Paul, and are clearly putting feel into it.
Keep it going. This is the commentary we need in this art.
I hope that from time to time you're able to publish your opinions on a for-fee basis.

[JerryS]

carbro, on Jul 26 2009, 12:42 AM, said:

And welcome to BalletTalk!  

Appreciated.

[Paul Parish]

Danish National Treasure


Thomas Lund and Gudrun Bojesun in FF at the inauguration of the new theater in Copenhagen...

They're so proud of these dancers, it brings tears to my eyes.

[JerryS]

Great indeed.

She's definitely one of the best in the role, long lines, extension, great musicality. For once, the orchestra didn't run too fast through the female parts, as in Cojocaru's, who didn't have enough stress in some of the points, IMHO.

[Helene]

Another work from Bournonville, the "William Tell Pas de Deux".  The piece is fiendishly difficult, given the amount of times the dancers cannot use their arms, but must hold them folded and parallel to the floor.  I particularly love Diana Cuni's passe releve sequence starting at 1'30", and I love everything that Thomas Lund does.



At the very end, the first bows are to the Royal Box.

[JerryS]

Thanks for mentioning the name of that step and the timing, Helene.

[JerryS]

Again,  back to our moutons/muttons:-)

In FF:

what are the technical names for the steps at:
3:43, seems a sissonne en place
3:48-49, that looks like a jump/saut
4:05 what kind of pirouette is that?
5:43 what kind of saut-pirouette is that, on two legs?
6:11, is that a developpe?

Thanks.

[Hans]

3:43 - Yes, that is a sissonne
3:49 - Fouetté sauté en dedans
4:05 - Pirouette en dedans
5:43 - Double tour en l'air
6:11 - Pirouette terminé en écarté devant

[Ray]

3:43:  a sissonne (that leads him to the fouette, below)
3:48-49:  fouette en l'air (other term?  grand fouette?  dancers usually just call this fouette for short, and it's never confused with fouettes (as in fouette turns))--unlike the related tour jete, this one keeps you on the same leg.  
4:05 pirouette en dedans
5:43 double tour
6:11 develope a la seconde, out of a pirouette

Edited to add:  listen to Hans, whose post came after mine--he's far more precise.

[Hans]

I just watched the Bojesen/Blangstrup performance that Helene linked to earlier in this thread (Bojesen is delightful--that soft port de bras combined with the speedy legs!) and noticed that Blangstrup does not do pirouette terminé en écarté devant in his 2nd variation but rather, from 4th, he does a quick little turn in plié and then a battement fondu at 90º in écarté devant.

[carbro]

but can't resist.

I love Bojesen's performance, too.  As Hans noted, the quick, light feet and soft arms, but also her musicality and charm, all values I expect from a Bournonville work, are vividly displayed here.

[JerryS]

Hans said:

3:49 - Fouetté sauté en dedans
4:05 - Pirouette en dedans
5:43 - Double tour en l'air

Thank you, gentlemen.

Any way to describe the particular position of the legs (I imagine several varieties are possible for
each?):

3:49 - Fouetté sauté en dedans: how to say his working leg is fully extended and pretty high from the hip?
4:05 - Pirouette en dedans: how to describe this particular flexion in his working knee, or alternately, the particular position of the working leg?
5:43 - Double tour en l'air: how to describe that the legs are straight, parallel and vertical (are all the tours executed this way? I doubt, but I don't know.)?

Thanks.

[JerryS]

carbro, on Jul 27 2009, 04:11 PM, said:

but can't resist.

I love Bojesen's performance, too.  As Hans noted, the quick, light feet and soft arms, but also her musicality and charm, all values I expect from a Bournonville work, are vividly displayed here.

In terms of arms, even better is Sizova from those in this thread, IMHO, but her and Soloviev are at a terrible disantantage because of the quality of the tape, but I would encourage anyone to muster the patience and to strain their eyes:-)



She's expressing a certain ethereality  that none of the others have, perhaps because of the diaphanous dress.

[JerryS]

Paul Parish, on Jul 26 2009, 08:21 PM, said:

Danish National Treasure


Thomas Lund and Gudrun Bojesun in FF at the inauguration of the new theater in Copenhagen...

They're so proud of these dancers, it brings tears to my eyes.

Great mis-en-scene, the stage is quite small though, and crowded. That doesn't work in their favor. But that crowd is acting great, they seem to have been well stimulated for the occasion:-)