Dancers of New York's Golden Age

[Ari]

We've already done a poll on ballerinas you've never seen, but what about the men? Someone suggested a poll on great male dancers you've never seen. The trouble is, there are too many of them to fit into a poll format, and how do you put Nijinsky and Baryshnikov in the same poll? Everyone would have liked to see Nijinsky, and many have seen Baryshnikov. So, how about restricting the poll to a certain place and time?

The 1940s, 50s, and 60s were a golden age for ballet lovers living in or near New York City. You could see just about every major company, and lots of smaller ones. And those companies had some pretty incredible dancers. Which of the following dancers would you most like to have seen? (You can vote even if you saw some of them.) The poll format limits us to six choices, but if we left out some you'd like to have seen, by all means mention them.

[Alexandra]

Thanks for posting this, Ari!

I voted for Hugh Laing, because I don't have any sense of what he was like as a dancer. I saw Nureyev, not in the '60s, but enough to know what he was like, and have seen both he and Bruhn on tape. I've seen bits of film of Eglevsky and Youskevitch and Villella -- but Laing remains a msytery to me. I've only seen him in "Brigadoon" and I don't think that's a fair measure!

[atm711]

I saw them all---and voted for Hugh Laing. He was not like any of those listed. He is irreplaceable. If you're wishing for technique--you won't find too much of it. He was not about technique. When he was on the stage, all eyes were on him. I saw him in all of his Tudor roles, but my one regret is having missed the one time he danced 'Giselle' with Toumanova.

[Victoria Leigh]

I voted for Hugh Laing because he is the only one of that group that I did not see on stage, and because he danced all of the Tudor works However, there is no one who tops Bruhn, in my opinion!

[Mel Johnson]

I saw all of these guys dance, one way or another. Laing I only saw dance on film and for real, I only saw him as a photographer, Eglevsky and Youskevitch only as teachers, but the other three I saw "live" onstage.

[carbro]

I have seen all except Laing and Eglevsky. I voted for Youskevitch because I saw him -- partnering Alonso in Giselle adage at an ABT gala (forget which year, but some of you must have been there). What a partnership was that! The electricity filled the house. A veteran balleto remarked that in the '50s, they were like that at every performance. Whew!

[Farrell Fan]

It's too bad the poll format is restricted to six choices because Jacques d'Amboise certainly belongs on this list. The true golden age of NYCB coincided with when he and Villella were both at the peak of their art. Fortunately I saw them both many times. I never saw Laing, Eglevsky, or Youskevitch in person. Of the three, I've decided to vote for Eglevsky because nobody's voted for him yet.

[Drew]

I suppose I should not vote,since I've seen three of the dancers -- Villella, Nureyev, and Bruhn -- and even so, the one I most want to go back in time to see is, well, Bruhn. Actually I only saw him in classical roles when I was young (please imagine very young)but I still feel as though those performances shape my ballet ideals.

Otherwise, I would say Yousketvitch (especially having read Manhattnik's recent descriptions of tapes of his dancing).

By the by, the very first time I posted on Ballet Talk, after lurking for who knows how long, was to talk about Erik Bruhn.

[Drew]

I know it's bad etiquette to follow one's own post, but when I returned to the thread I saw that something like four of us were posting at the same time and saying some related things.

More particularly, when I saw Farrell fan mention D'Amboise, I thought I would add another missing name to the discussion, a dancer I have dreamed of seeing: Jean Babilee. (Please imagine the accent over the first e!) Actually, I did see his late-career appearance with Bejart (more accents), and that was mesmerising...

Victoria Leigh: you very graciously say that "Bruhn was the tops in my opinion." This is a point of dogma for me (more bad etiquette I know) -- Bruhn was the tops.

[Alexandra]

Drew, although we've certainly talked about Bruhn, I'm not sure we've ever had a discussion devoted specifically to him, and he certainly deserves one. I've posted a topic in Dancers, Erik Bruhn, so if you'd lilke to talk about him, please follow me there.

http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...=&threadid=8966

[atm711]

Drew, you are so right about Babilee....I saw him when he guest-starred with Ballet Theatre (I don't remember the year) and he performed the 'Bluebird PDD' and 'Le Juene Homme'. I was most anxious to see him, having read about him in Richard Buckles magazine "Ballet". (The photos of him and Leslie Caron in "Oedipus and the Sphinx" are still lodged in my head). He was the Nureyev/Baryshnikov of his day (he resembled them in his build). He was admired for his elevation and batterie---so you can only imagine his 'Bluebird'! I saw Baryshnikov also in 'LeJuene Homme'--but felt at the time it did not have the same dramatic impact of Babilee's.