"Making an Entrance"

[bart]

"Making an entrance" -- the phrase suggests something that grabs and holds the eye, the imagination, the memory.

What are some of the ballet entrances that have satisfied you the most?

To qualify, an entrance can come at any point in the ballet. It doesn't even have to be the first time a character or characters appear. The only rule: the dancers really do have to ENTER. They can't be on stage when the lights go up.

My votes so far go to:

-- the long, hypnotically repetitive entrance of the corps in the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene in Petipa's La Bayadere;

-- the entrance of the girl in white, borne aloft by four men and attended by a fifth, in "The Unanswered Question" portion of Balanchine's Ivesiana.

[vipa]

"Making an entrance" -- the phrase suggests something that grabs and holds the eye, the imagination, the memory.

What are some of the ballet entrances that have satisfied you the most?

To qualify, an entrance can come at any point in the ballet. It doesn't even have to be the first time a character or characters appear. The only rule: the dancers really do have to ENTER. They can't be on stage when the lights go up.

My votes so far go to:

-- the long, hypnotically repetitive entrance of the corps in the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene in Petipa's La Bayadere;

-- the entrance of the girl in white, borne aloft by four men and attended by a fifth, in "The Unanswered Question" portion of Balanchine's Ivesiana.

Does Aurora's entrance in Sleeping Beauty count? The music builds so perfectly to that.

[kfw]

the entrance of the girl in white, borne aloft by four men and attended by a fifth, in "The Unanswered Question" portion of Balanchine's Ivesiana.

Yes!

And I always love watching the Muses come onstage in Apollo.

[carbro]

Great topic, bart! Thanks!

I nominate Odette's grand jete in Act II. I've seen some Odettes bouree on then pique into arabesque and failli through, missing the point that this bird in fight has just become human. As with Aurora's first entrance, it also happens as Tchaikovsky's score has built an almost unbearable tension of anticipation. (Perhaps the best example of Tchaikovsky's mastery of this device in ballet is at the very beginning of Nutcracker, before the scrim rises on the salon for the Stahlbaum children -- and us -- to get a first look at the fully dressed Christmas tree.)

I love the second ballerina's entrance in the central movement of Concerto Barocco, the simple but powerful diagonal of sou-sous, tombe repeated several times and opposing the movements of the corps as well as the other ballerina. It is the climax of the ballet, the only moment when the full corps and all three principals are on stage.

[cubanmiamiboy]

...of course, Giselle's entrance...! -(am I getting to repetitive with my only answer to a certain numer of questions...? :blush: )

[vrsfanatic]

I second Kingsom of the Shades and would like to add Act III Bayadere entrance of Solar and Gamzatti in the Pas d'action, Act I Raymonda, Raymonda's entrance and while not an entrance but a remarkable and breathtaking beginning, Serenade.

[sandik]

Does Aurora's entrance in Sleeping Beauty count? The music builds so perfectly to that.

This is a tricky one, since there are several different versions depending on the production you see. Here at PNB she walks in quickly just in time for her first pose, but I've always regretted not seeing the entrance that went with the Oliver Messell set for the post WWII Royal Ballet. Every review or commentary about that production that I've read talks about how Aurora is framed for a moment in an opening in the set, and then enters fully in time for her first actual step.

I agree, though, that the score builds anticipation masterfully -- you'd really have to be a dud to not make an impression with musical support like that!

[Paul Parish]

"And I always love watching the Muses come onstage in Apollo."

You SAID it - that's the first thing that came to mind when I saw this wonderful topic.

Next comes the entrance of hte swan corps-- their music is so exciting, hteir steps are perfect..... ANd i like it when htey come in FAST, like the old Royal Ballet version, in a rush, like birds coming in to land

And hte boy in Rubies, when he enters with that scrub-board action in the arms.

And the entrance of the "cart" girls in Fille mal gardee -- not of the actual cart, but hte parade of dancers pretending to be a cart, as everybody goes off to the picnic.

[atm711]

Oh, yes---Hugh Laing walking on in 'Pillar of Fire'----that was a not-to-be-forgotten entrance. :blush:

[Mme. Hermine]

Nureyev as Florimund making his entrance in Act 2 of Sleeping Beauty! :blush:

[Rosa]

I second Odette's grand jete and the swan maidens' entrance in Act II. And Sergei Filin making his entrance by sliding down the staircase banister in Act II of Posokhov's Cinderella!!

[bart]

Not technically an entrance, though it marks the beginning of dancing for a character who previously had been standing, more or less still, and looking down at the stage:

Gelsey Kirkland's headlong, almost reckless rush down the staircase from the balcony before the start of the Romeo and Juliet pdd (with Dowell).

I learned about this in an earlier thread and cherish it> It occurs about 1:50 mins into the clip:

This can, of course, be quite ordinary in the hands of lesser dancers.

atm711, since there are probably not many of us who were privileged to see Laing in Pillar of Fire, can you describe what it was that makes you select that particular entrance.

[duffster]

I have always enjoyed Kitri's entrance in Act one in Don Q, I was fortunate to see Maximova perform it . It was so amazing to me at the time- I was only twelve, Ican't forget it. Also the great Margot in Sleeping Beauty, when she finished her entrance, she literally stopped one performance that we did in Chicago- the audience would not stop yelling Bravo. I remember being impressed with Anthony Dowell's entrance as the prince in Act1 of Swan Lake. I wonder,if these entrances become more important because of the artistry of the dancer.

[canbelto]

Giselle's entrance in Act 2 (as a Wili), if done well, is still the most electrifying moment in all of ballet. But it has to be done well. I've seen ballerinas make absolutely nothing of the moment.

[carbro]

It may not always be Giselle's fault, though, canbelto. We need to see Myrtha pull her from the grave, and if Myrtha makes a weak impression, pfffft.

[PeggyR]

I second Odette's grand jete ...

Thirded, although if Odette's pointe shoes clunk when she lands -- so much for being a creature of the air. And her preening shouldn't look like she's scratching ear mites.

[atm711]

atm711, since there are probably not many of us who were privileged to see Laing in Pillar of Fire, can you describe what it was that makes you select that particular entrance.

Well I guess by its very nature--an entrance should make you sit up and give it all your attention. It was not flamboyant, say as in a Nureyev entrance, Laing's entrance caught you unaware and although Laing could not impress with technique--he had all the stage dynamism of a Nureyev.

[bart]

I was talking to a friend today who was a loyal fan of Ballet Theater in the day. She actually remembers Laing's EXIT in Pillar of Fire: sauntering slowly, self-confidently, sexily. She even remembers that he was wearing tight trousers and a green jacket!

[papeetepatrick]

Nureyev as Florimund making his entrance in Act 2 of Sleeping Beauty!

Oh yes. In fact, almost any entrance he made, but you make me remember his SB I saw with RB in 1973--and even when he was in repose at one point, I remember the magnetism still sustained moment to moment, almost with the same charged sensation as the entrance.

If SB Aurora entrance counts, I'd include that, although I didn't think Bouder's entrance I saw recently as electrifying as she became within minutes and sustained to the end. Sizova's 'entrance' on film is another thing, but then i don't have any objectivity when it comes to Sizova. I sing her praises to anybody who will listen at the risk of being a nuisance. I always claim she even might be the one dancer who ever inadvertently upstaged Nureyev, which she seemed to do in that old class film of 'Le Corsaire'.

Suzanne Farrell's entrance in 'Nijinsky Clown de Dieu', it was up some kind of catwalk thing at the Palais des Sports, I believe we had to look back at herm and she then proceeded onto the stage, but that first moment had been stunning in itself.

[leonid17]

The entrance of The Hostess in "Les Biches" . Startling, hilarious and completely arrived. Especially when performed by Svetlana Beriosova or Deanne Bergsma.

[Mme. Hermine]

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

[Hans]

I want that hat.

[leonid17]

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

Now that is what I call a, "just you look at me" entrance and your'e right to include it. There was always a frisson of excitement amongst audiences before Rudolf Nureyev came on and a swell of applause as he arrived centre stage.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

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

I vote for the dead critter!

Although that clown-car carriage full of countesses does run a close second ...

[bart]

[T]hat clown-car carriage full of countesses does run a close second ...

I had the same thought, Kathleen.

It's a poor court that can afford only one small carriage. This year's budget blown on ostrich plumes?