JerryS

Hello: What would be the name of the steps by Nureyev in: Nureyev - Don Quixote - Entrance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvHOtZ_qdLM at: 0:47-0:48 jumping step to his left BTW, what dance is that, is there a name for it? 0:58 he jumps ahead with feet underneath him 1:36 he goes in a large circle, are those jetes en tour? 1:38 and 1:41 jumps during the same motion 1:48 he knees in front of Lucette; how's that stance called? Thanks.

Hello: I wonder if ballet terminology can be used to describe the tap dancing by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at: 4:26-4:36 in "Dancing Cheek to Cheek," in "Top Hat" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYHZh-xnqhE Anyway, I'm curious to compare both ballet and tap dancing terminology for what they're doing here. I mean, Baryshnikov tapped danced in movies, thus ... Thanks.

Thank you, Hans, I was indeed looking for a video with this step:-)

Hi: Cojocaru and Kobborg in FF http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B31LC_htB4E How does one call the high lateral cross-over stepping which Kobborg does at 7:21-7:22? Thanks

BTW, asking the costume specialists here, I'm curious about what Kobborg's wearing in period language: cravat/neckerchief/bandanna, shirt, knee-long breeches, belt/cammerbund (doubt that?), white hoses/socks (tights today?) were/are these the right words?

There's a special slowness in Tallchief's interpretation which is especially enchanting. I think she asked the orchestra to tempo it down a bit. She really takes her time to enjoy it all. She was towards the end of her career (she retired just three years later, in 1965, I've just learned).

I'm not sure we're talking about the same torso and head tilt, but watch Soloviev at about 1:15-1:29: The great Yuri Soloviev and Alla Sizova (wonder about the year?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr25NoQtWRE Now, that's a tilt! Call it a bell tolling! Kobborg, a Dane, is doing much less. Nureyev, just a bit less. Also, how about Soloviev at 1:16-1:19! (Double ronde de jambe saute, I believe. Peaking at 1:18). Now, that's what I would call high! Nureyev is even higher with the working leg and higher than the hip, I think!

Thank you, Hans.

Great mis-en-scene, the stage is quite small though, and crowded. That doesn't work in their favor. But that crowd is acting great, they seem to have been well stimulated for the occasion:-)

In terms of arms, even better is Sizova from those in this thread, IMHO, but her and Soloviev are at a terrible disantantage because of the quality of the tape, but I would encourage anyone to muster the patience and to strain their eyes:-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr25NoQtWRE She's expressing a certain ethereality that none of the others have, perhaps because of the diaphanous dress.

Thank you, gentlemen. Any way to describe the particular position of the legs (I imagine several varieties are possible for each?): 3:49 - Fouetté sauté en dedans: how to say his working leg is fully extended and pretty high from the hip? 4:05 - Pirouette en dedans: how to describe this particular flexion in his working knee, or alternately, the particular position of the working leg? 5:43 - Double tour en l'air: how to describe that the legs are straight, parallel and vertical (are all the tours executed this way? I doubt, but I don't know.)? Thanks.

Again, back to our moutons/muttons:-) In FF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B31LC_htB4E what are the technical names for the steps at: 3:43, seems a sissonne en place 3:48-49, that looks like a jump/saut 4:05 what kind of pirouette is that? 5:43 what kind of saut-pirouette is that, on two legs? 6:11, is that a developpe? Thanks.

Thanks for mentioning the name of that step and the timing, Helene.

Fine, if that's just their own words. I just had the feeling that somehow they were reciting something at times.

I think the older dancers are reciting something, from time to time, don't they?

I think it's just that I know how to run in slowmo my QuickTime:)But thanks.

Great indeed. She's definitely one of the best in the role, long lines, extension, great musicality. For once, the orchestra didn't run too fast through the female parts, as in Cojocaru's, who didn't have enough stress in some of the points, IMHO.

Appreciated.

Thanks for pointing it to us. Definitely a gem. BTW, would you know what poem are they using in relation to "Swan Lake?"

You're writing great, Paul, and are clearly putting feel into it. Keep it going. This is the commentary we need in this art. I hope that from time to time you're able to publish your opinions on a for-fee basis.

Gentlemen, Paul and Hans, Your great definitions, together with the ABT dictionary files, in slowmo, have clarified for me the issue of grand jete vs. grand sissonne:-) Thanks a lot. BTW, the grand jete at the ABT dictionary site is executed by Vladimir Malakhov. He looks great in it.

Hans, the above, together with the QuickTime file I downloaded from the ABT dictionary and I viewed in slowmo, is all I needed to clear the waters:-) I was right in my assumptions and thank for the confirmation. Now, there are some details on that dégagé. If you look at the ABT dictionary in slow motion at the jeté battu, the dancer seems to be advancing first the left leg in a small dégagé to probably gain a larger base in something similar to a fourth, and only then starts what you seem to be describing in the above. Another detail: Should the two legs touch each other in the air for a very short time? They seem to, in the ABT dictionary.

Interesting. However, with the advent of videotaping, perhaps the things will improve.

Paul and Hans, you may be right, you know those books, and I've heard about them, and I certainly know about Vaganova, but I've just invested $30 in Grammaire de la danse classique par Genevieve Guillot Directrice de l'ecole de danse du Theatre National de l'Opera 1969, 300p (in French, of course) :-) which is very detailed in terms of text, but doesn't have enough pics. Also, we're in this age of multimedia, I prefer to use slow motion in QuickTime if I am getting my hands on the .mov files:-) But thanks for the suggestion. I might be getting there.

Thank you, Peggy, for sharing this personal memento with us. When I looked first at Maria Tallchief in this piece I wasn't too impressed. She doesn't have, perhaps, what I believe could be called a perfect ballet body (a bit generous on the hip side) and those teeth may be ... well a little on the too-expressive side. However, after comparing her with Cojocaru, Sizova, and the others mentioned in this thread, and looking back at the DVD, she radiates a special something in that piece, a special warmth, which surpasses some of them (perhaps it's the honest feeling for her partner?), and with Nureyev, as a couple, is in a winning position. It might be this warmth that endeared her to ballet lovers, I don't know, I don't have a longue acquaintance with her art in particular.