11 replies to this topic

[volcanohunter]

I notice that a recent POB performance of Patrice Bart's La petite danseuse de Degas will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.K. on April 26. The cast includes Clairemarie Osta, Dorothée Gilbert, Mathieu Ganio, José Martinez, Benjamin Pech, Élisabeth Maurin, Stéphanie Romberg and Emmanuel Thibault.  Here's a brief clip:

http://culturebox.fr...er-sur-france-2

[Helene]

That's an incredible cast.  Has anyone seen the complete work?

[Natalia]

volcanohunter, on 04 April 2011 - 09:18 PM, said:

[size="2"]I notice that a recent POB performance of Patrice Bart's La petite danseuse de Degas will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.K. on April 26. ...

That's wonderful news...although even more wonderful would be the long-awaited announcement of a DVD release of the complete Nureyev Raymonda. Until then, my fuzzy old Pontois/Nureyev telecast vid will have to do.

Great cast on the Petite Danseuse, though. In the clip, that appears to be Thibault with the violin.

[Nanarina]

April 26th will soon be here, I am really looking forward to the DVD release of this Ballet. I nearly went to see it in Paris but could not make it as I had an operation on my eye.  Thank you for posting the clip.  I too would like to see a DVD of the full Raymonda, but with a decent cast. I have an oeriginal  Bolshoi version with Gedimas Taranda, which is wonderful.   I also saw it live when they came to London a few years ago.

[EvilNinjaX]

volcanohunter, on 04 April 2011 - 09:18 PM, said:

I notice that a recent POB performance of Patrice Bart's La petite danseuse de Degas will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.K. on April 26. The cast includes Clairemarie Osta, Dorothée Gilbert, Mathieu Ganio, José Martinez, Benjamin Pech, Élisabeth Maurin, Stéphanie Romberg and Emmanuel Thibault.  Here's a brief clip:

http://culturebox.fr...er-sur-france-2

That looks absolutely wonderful!  Is it fair to say it's like a Parisian version of Konservatoriet or is there more at work here?

thx
-goro-

[volcanohunter]

EvilNinjaX, on 06 April 2011 - 04:50 AM, said:

That looks absolutely wonderful!  Is it fair to say it's like a Parisian version of Konservatoriet or is there more at work here?

My understanding is that Bart's conception is a good deal darker. He is dealing with one of the seamier periods in the POB's history, a time when impoverished girls like Marie Van Goethem basically had three career prospects: laundress, dancer or prostitute, and when the distinction between dancer and prostitute wasn't always clear, as implied by the omnipresence of the abonnés in top hats and tails.

I expect that the documentary Degas and the Dance or the Private Life of a Masterpiece episode about The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen would make good companion pieces.

[traviata]

Helene, on 04 April 2011 - 10:18 PM, said:

That's an incredible cast.  Has anyone seen the complete work?

I haven't seen it, but absolutely every person I've talked about hated this ballet!

It seems the weeknesses are, first, the music, then, the fact that there is too few dancing in it (and more drama/theatrical things).

[Alymer]

I did see it and hated it.  A really dreary evening despite some excellent dancing.  And according to my recollection it wasn't very well received at the premiere.  I can't imagine why they revived it.

[volcanohunter]

The American release date is May 31.

[James]

I watched it last night and liked it very much although I thought it was rather difficult to get into it. The dancing is beautiful, very delicate and fully attuned to the music which is good contemporary learned music, not the repetitive garbled sounds that often try to pass as music.
This is not a festival of jetés and fouettés, I guess you could call it subdued compared with the athletic feats that you can often see nowadays. Then the whole piece had an undertone of despair as the little dancer is constantly surrounded by the abonnés, her mother with dubious motives, even the étoile looking a bit smug to me, hinting at a hard and competitive world.

It is also a real tribute to Degas' world, not only through the story. The set and costumes are taking full opportunity of the subject. I found the colors went right from a Degas painting, the dancing class more reminiscent of his earlier works, the cabaret part with its fan-shaped designs or the mother's reflection in her mirror with its gaudy colors recalling his later works.
So on the whole a beautiful ballet without instant appeal, colourful but un-glamourous.

[EvilNinjaX]

James, on 03 June 2011 - 07:44 AM, said:

I watched it last night and liked it very much although I thought it was rather difficult to get into it. The dancing is beautiful, very delicate and fully attuned to the music which is good contemporary learned music, not the repetitive garbled sounds that often try to pass as music.
This is not a festival of jetés and fouettés, I guess you could call it subdued compared with the athletic feats that you can often see nowadays. Then the whole piece had an undertone of despair as the little dancer is constantly surrounded by the abonnés, her mother with dubious motives, even the étoile looking a bit smug to me, hinting at a hard and competitive world.

It is also a real tribute to Degas' world, not only through the story. The set and costumes are taking full opportunity of the subject. I found the colors went right from a Degas painting, the dancing class more reminiscent of his earlier works, the cabaret part with its fan-shaped designs or the mother's reflection in her mirror with its gaudy colors recalling his later works.
So on the whole a beautiful ballet without instant appeal, colourful but un-glamourous.

I've watched a bit of it and like it.  I am drawn into the story that is unfolding and that is unusual, actually.




-goro-

[Birdsall]

I was hesitant to get this dvd and/or watch it, b/c I have heard bad things about it especially the music, but I guess since I expected unlistenable music, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed this ballet. I think the whole concept of trying to create a story about the Degas sculpture (the girl who was the model) is a touching idea. There are moments that don't work, but for the most part I find the whole thing a worthwhile venture.