bolshoi hands

[Paul Parish]

When I saw the Bolshoi Raymonda, I was struck by the company's style -- their legs look more turned-out at the hip than they used to, and the feet seem to go to and from point with les abruptness -- but the arms seem much the same as (say) Bessmertnova's, especially the hands. I realized as I continued to watch that I LOVE the Bolshoi port de bras. THe arm opens differently than the Petersburg arm -- does it not? and the fingers are not rounded but are allongee, very very long, and hte whole hand has the shape of a chalice, like a lily that's just begun to open.

THose of you who know, have I got this right? is this very vulgar of me? and more important, what is the ancestry of the Bolshoi port de bras?

[Alexandra]

and the fingers are separate; tree ranches could go through them. I've been watching the 1984 video of Bessmertnova (with her broken arabesque) and was struck by how the men, especially, are elegant and noble as DANCERS but could not be mistaken for courtiers, which is, to my eye, the Kirov standard. And there's something -- back to Paul's observations on hands -- that (pardon me, people who really know something about painting!) I've always though of as Mannerist.

[Michael]

As raw material for discussion I can add that, having seen Lopatkina but three times, I immediately thought of her (at that time) and continue to think of her as having the most beautiful hands in Ballet. It caught my eyes and stood in my memory in such a memorable fashion from the first moment. This perception from a ballet goer may be an example of what Paul is saying. I haven't seen the company enough myself to say more.