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Anna Pavlova performing "California Poppy", 1916


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Fascinating. The choreography on the Pavlova video is credited to Fokine; that on the McKerrow video to Pavlova herself. Does anyone know the story here?

Another question: at the end, the Poppy seems to fadie (or go to sleep?) by drawing her petals tightly around her. Pavlova actually seems to be alluding to her dying swan, though McKerrow does not. Do California poppies actually do something similar at night, or when they are dying? Or is this poetic license?

I can understand how most audiences were so enchanted by the fluidity, delicacy, and sincerity of Pavlova's performance. (Especially given the rather low level of "ballet" dancing available to them in most parts of the world.) Thanks, Cristian, for letting us share hint of what made Pavlova so adored..

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And then there are those fascinating broken wrists and some angular, very contemporary positions and movements that make Pavlova's performance a real departure from Petipa's times. Even the way that Pavlova falls on the floor is way less romanticized than that of McKerrow. In McKerrow's performance one can see the modern trending to blend all performances and characters into the XIX Century coding. One of the first things I showed my friend when I started getting him into the ballet world was exactly Pavlova's video of the Dying Swan followed by Alonso's clip of the Love Duet, so he could see the stylistic differences. I believe that that blending trend is the reason behind the confusion among many people when they think that La Mort du Cygne is a fragment of Swan Lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUYtaWQ06j4

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Fascinating. The choreography on the Pavlova video is credited to Fokine; that on the McKerrow video to Pavlova herself. Does anyone know the story here?

Another question: at the end, the Poppy seems to fadie (or go to sleep?) by drawing her petals tightly around her. Pavlova actually seems to be alluding to her dying swan, though McKerrow does not. Do California poppies actually do something similar at night, or when they are dying? Or is this poetic license?

I can understand how most audiences were so enchanted by the fluidity, delicacy, and sincerity of Pavlova's performance. (Especially given the rather low level of "ballet" dancing available to them in most parts of the world.) Thanks, Cristian, for letting us share hint of what made Pavlova so adored..

The choreography is by Anna Pavlova and the first performance was given in 1915 at the Cort Theatre San Francisco.

Bart, I grew Californian Poppies from seed in the garden of Ivy House when curating the Anna Pavlova Memorial Museum. Californian Poppies close as the sun goes down and open with the sun in the morning.

Although the music is not synchronised, it lifts the performance and to my mind enchances the experience of Pavlova's movements.

I am so glad that you posted the video Cristian. Thank you,

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