Snow White

[Amy Reusch]

There's a rather remarkable looking Snow White being presented by the Estonian Ballet if the clips on the unmentionable video website provide enough of a view to judge... choreographed by Gyula Harangozó.

I don't know how well the choreography would stand up without the fabulous set and staging, but it certainly looks like it would hold itself well for a "family ballet" evening.

Has anyone on this forum seen it live? Does the company tour much? There don't seem to be any photos of the work yet on the company's website: http://www.estballet.com but in the video it looks to have high production values. I am surprised not to have heard much of the production. Is this because of geographic isolation, is Estonia cultivating a secret treasure?

Ooops... I went back to check the video out again and see it's of the Hungarian National Ballet... apparently Estonia is also presenting it.

And I'm not saying it's transcendent choreography, but it looks pretty good for fitting the "family" bill... what else is usually on that menu? Cinderella, Nutcracker, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee, Sleeping Beauty and what else?

[4mrdncr]

Uh, hello, but I've danced in a several classical three act "Snow White" performances, both in Japan and America many years ago. I think Japan used Humperdink's music? In the States, we used Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, which of course has a similar story, but also transposed it slightly: e.g. forest animals variations were done to SB's Act 1 fairys' variations etc.. And the music for the dwarves also had the pinging of the triangle in the orchestra to remind me of the beginning of Disney's "High-Ho" in the mine etc.. It was a fun performance, and there are many times that I've listened or watched SB productions and remembered Snow White.

[Joseph]

I somehow found this site...

It is like Disney World!; but I think it is cool!

Good for children anyway!

[annamicro]

I'm glad Dansuer85 brought up "Alice in Wonderland," because I would choose David Del Tredici for the music.  I loved his music for "Alice," and I think if he did "Snow White," it wouldn't be too sugery.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Alice in Wonderland has a balett sounds great

to bad i can´t see it but when it will be put up in Sweden or Denmark i would love to see it

Not Sweden or Denmark, anyway English National Ballet has in its repertoire Derek Deane's Alice in Wonderland. The music is a mix of Tchaikovsky's works.

[annamicro]

Uh, hello, but I've danced in a several classical three act "Snow White" performances, both in Japan and America many years ago. I think Japan used Humperdink's music? In the States, we used Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty,

There is also the the Aragon-Cué "Blancanieves" (Snow White in Spanish), danced a few times by Tamara Rojo and available as DVD.

I don't know if they are plannig to propose again the full ballet, but Tamara is still dancing the pdd in some galas.

[Joseph]

Music suggestions? ? ? ?

I know there are several composers (ie Delibes, Minkus, etc.) which have nice danceable scores from other ballets. But does anyone know of music they would like seen into a ballet, in particular a Snow White???

Can be more twentieth / twenty first century too! (ie. Philip Glass, etc.)

[Mel Johnson]

It would probably be helpful if the composer were not from the Terribly Serious Concert Composers, but rather from light music. This thing would have to sell tickets, and would be unlikely to succeed if it tried to educate the audience in music at the same time it tried to present good choreography.

[diane]

"... unlikely to succeed if it tried to educate the audience in music at the same time it tried to present good choreography."

I lke that.

Happens all the time, doesn't it?

-d-

[Mel Johnson]

There's a reason why the old ballets with staying power are built on a model like "five minutes plot, twenty minutes divertissement, three minutes summary, curtain" for each act.

One of the surest ways to make a production fail is for it to proclaim itself High Art. The only thing worse is to be perceived by the audience as "good for you". "Good for you" is sort of the prune juice of show bizness. Trying to teach the audience too much about too many things at one go is a good way to be perceived as "good for you".

[papeetepatrick]

But they still might be able to do it without using Alan Mencken. Mightn't Del Tredici compose it within the salable model of plot, divertissment, etc. without making anyone think think they were getting too much High Art or Carob Drink? Couldn't it still be for the whole family without posturing as Important? I'm not sure Snow White is as likely as Alice to lead anyone to fear subtleties. Oh well, Janet Maslin said Mencken's Beauty and the Beast music was 'suave', and that didn't ruin it for anyone (since that wasn't quite accurate anyway.) Time for Alan to go into his 'classical period', so can leave legacy, as when Clint Eastwood left nightmare things like 'The Gauntlet' and the Dirty Harry movies behind and became 'Unforgiven' auteur. People have been talking about how ABT SB has Burger King in it, so the trend may already be to junk food.

[volcanohunter]

There is a score by Bogdan Pawlowski, titled Królewna Śnieżka i siedmiu krasnoludków in Polish. At one time the ballet was very popular in Eastern Europe and often alternated with The Nutcracker in the weekend matinee slot. I once saw a 19-year-old Irina Dvorovenko in the lead at the opera house in Kiev.

[Mel Johnson]

I really think you'd need somebody to act like Petipa in teaching a composer of whatever eminence how to write for ballet. Having a choreographic script between libretto and score would help immensely. Tchaikovsky hated them, but they seemed to work all right for Beauty and Nutcracker.

But between Burger King and the Eggless, No-salt, Low-cholesterol Spinach Quiche enriched with multivitamins, there is a vast gulf. There are hundreds of fit musicians in there. And we've seen what happens to Burger King in ABT's production.

[papeetepatrick]

I really think you'd need somebody to act like Petipa in teaching a composer of whatever eminence how to write for ballet.

That sounds like it ought to happen in all cases, although probably is fairly rare. I wonder how often it does by now. Also wonder why I have a harder time wanting to see a Snow White ballet than the other fairy tales--could be the Disney aspect sticks more because of the songs. I don't think think of the Disney cartoons of Pinocchoi, Peter Pan and Cinderella in the same way, although if there are ballets about Donald Duck and Bambi--and I've no doubt there will be--I may balk still more.

Andre Previn if he was up to it, or maybe Glass could give a perpetual-motion Snow White that will recall the "Whistle While You Work" with renewed relevance for the lunch-at-one's-desk and 14-hour work-day life-styles.

[Mel Johnson]

I have to agree with you that the practice of writing a choreographic script is pretty rare. We have to be sympathetic to the composers, as choreographers often expect them to come preloaded with how to write for all types of theater. Most of them don't get much exposure to writing for original ballets, and for a full-evening work, there's even less. A film studio wouldn't think of tasking a composer for a score without some sort of script involved. Ballet producers should do no less.