John-Michael

On an old (I think out of print) Kirov Giselle video from the 80s the traditional female variation is replaced in the peasant pas de deux. Does anyone have any idea as to whom the composer might be?

Can anyone tell me who choreographed Aurora's solo in the Kirov vision scene? If it's by Lopukov (it does begin with the same phrase -- a grand battement a la seconde tombe that begins his Lilac fairy solo), did Sergeyev take the notation for the solo West with him and was it ever used in the RB version before Ashton's became standard? Or did they use the Gold Fairy variation that Petipa had sustituted in '89?

I'd vote for Fonteyn, Shearer, Farrel, McBride, Makhalina, Lezhina, and Kent. Actually, although I listed virtually all Western dancers I guess I really think the Russian companies have more beauties in their company rosters. I've always thought that two of the more minor soloists in the Kirov Don Quixote video -- from the tavern scene, the Oriental dancer and Mercedes -- were extremely beautiful, although I guess they're not stars.

I think the format seems a little less out of place in the Kirov reconstruction without Gamazatti and Solor dancing. Not only do the interpolations not match up stylistically but I don't think the rajah's daughter would dance for the pleasure of her guests at her own engagement party.

Makes a lot of sense to me. I always thought that the last act of Sleeping Beauty was a ballet a entree, especially with it being set in a faux Louis XIV court, and the fairy tale characters were courtiers in a court spectacle. If the scene in La Bayadere is a ballet a entree, it somehow seems a little out of place in ancient India but then so do waltzes and point shoes.

I've always wondered... who are the people in the character dance in the betrothal scene supposed to be? Or are they just generic ballet exotica characters?

Hi! In his 1841 review of the music for Giselle, Escudier congragulated Adam on the fact that his only borrowings were 3 bars from the Hunting Chourus from Euryanthe and 6 bars from a romance by Mlle. Puget. Thus far, I don't think any critics have idientified the latter borrowing. There's a collection of Puget songs in the library of Texas Christian University. If any one reading this is near the university and can read music, could he or she possibly find the song in question that corresponds to the borrowing in Giselle? Then we'd know where it fits into the score and its relevance to the story. Many thanks.

I seem to remember Ballerina being a lot like a typical trash novel... simple-minded but lively writing, soap opera romance, dysfunctional families, and lots of backstabbing and conniving.

Hi! I'm interested in finding the libretto of Gorsky's revival of Don Quixote and how this differed from Petipa's 1869/1871 production. Can anyone tell me where I can find either of these libretti? Thakns!

Hi! I see that NYCB is performing Harlequinade this winter. Is that a staging of Millions d' Harlequin or an entirely new ballet by Balanchine using the original score and libretto? The choreography is credited to Balanchine but I seem to remember reading somewhere that it's a revised version of the original choreography. Thanks!

The one synopsis that I found of a touring company of The Black Crook lists a grand ballet of the nations as one of the dancing sections... very Petipa-like. But it also ends with a series of "living pictures" illustrating various conditions of life, emotions, vices, and virtues. I guess they were probably tableaux as opposed to dances or mime but it seems somehow rather charming and elegant if it were handled nicely. It's one of the cool things about pre-20th century theater that they didn't seem as obsessed with unity as we are today. If such a semi-afterpiece is only tenuously related to the play, it still could build upon themes that the play introduced and create quite a pleasant spectacle... sort of a desert after the main dish. I'm not a theater scholar but what I've read seems to indicate that our contemporary ballets, operas, plays, concerts, etc. are rather staid, homogeneous affairs compared to earlier productions and that we've been brainwashed into believing that the earlier productions were somehow less "advanced." But I babble.

Thanks for the info! From the pictures I've sen it looks as if it were quite an... interesting (?) production. Oddly enough, a book I have on burlesque has a relatively large section on it although it really doesn't seem like much of a burlesque show to me. The rather voluptuous (fat) dancers looks as if they could have stepped out of an old-time burlesque show, though.

Hi! I've been trying to find info on the internet and in books about The Black Crook and can find very little. Does anyone know if the musical has ever been recorded and/or if it's possible to find a libretto, especially with a list of the original ballet scenes? From what little I've been able to glean, the score and dances seem to have changed in subsequent revivals. Honestly, I can't imagine why The Black Crook is so ignored and dismissed as tasteless. One would think that such a seminal attempt to integrate ballet into popular musical theater would be so ignored and it couldn't have been that bad if it were revived in 1929 and made into at least one silent film... whatever it's defects it certainly captured the public imagination. I also wonder as well what type of dancers would have been used in the post 1860 revivals... what was the level of dance training in 19th century America? Were there any professional companies not attached to opera houses? Thanks!

What is the difference between a narrative ballet a la Petipa and a Soviet era choreodrama? I haven't had the pleasure of seeing any choreodramas but the pictures and music that I've seen and heard from them seem relatively traditional.

Do temple dancers take vows of chastisty, sort of like vestal virgins? If such were the case, could Nikyia be "sinful" for loving Solor and thus possibly prone to vengeance?

This is a slightly bizarro question but has anyone noted the similarity between vampires and wilis? Giselle possibly commits suicide and becomes a wili, the wilis are afraid of the cross over Giselle's grave and rise from tombs at night, and sort of drain the life force from people. I'm just wondering if there's any folkloric conncection between vampires and wilis and if anyone might know if there have been any articles or productions of Giselle that have commented on any such connection? I'm sure the similarities are tenuous at best but it's one that's intrigued me for years and I've never seen it mentioned in any of the ballet or vampire books that I've read. Despite the sweetness of the music, libretto, and dancing, I've always thought that there is a strong hint of the ghoulish and sinister in the ballet that seems to go unnoticed.

Thanks for the replies! I haven't posted or even logged in for a long time so it's fun to be back.

Hi! Can anyone tell me if there are any webpages that have photo collections of Russian ballet productions from the pre-Soviet era. Thanks!

I've seen the Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker for the second year. The sets and costumes are lavish and there are some good performances (frankly, the cast I saw last year was a lot better) but the choreography and libretto could use some serious tweaking. Pretty much it turns into a revue with a group of gorgeously costumed dancers parading around the stage striking the same poses interminably. In the waltz of the snowflakes the dancers hardly even moved. The dancer I saw as "Masha" was quite good... beautiful line and strong turns... but seemed limited by the small stage and repetitiveness of the choreopgraphy. Maybe this has something to do with their touring... if the choreography is too complex they might have trouble adapting it to so many different stages. Still, it's a nice enough production with well-trained dancers, a few of whom were well beyond the merely competent level. As far as the "message of peace, love, and harmony" it wasn't that much different from last year's production (other than the inclusion of the Dove... looking more as if she were a butterfly and obviously tacked on since she basically had no role in the story or dancing to do... and some distracting animal "puppets" in the character dances). I think it had more to do with marketing the ballet to a country on the verge of war than with any political statement. Incidentally, does anyone know if Moscow Ballet is a more or less phantom company only organized to perform The Nutcracker?

There is a Richard Bonygne cd of LE CORSAIRE in which the original score of Delibes is used for the Jardin Animee scene. In the ABT version everything is by Delibes (although reorchestrated) except for the two variations which I'm pretty sure are by Minkus. As for the pas de trois, the adagio and third variation are by Adam and the remainder by Drigo.

No, unfortunately they don't list the dansers. But it seems a lot of times the small divirtissement companies come there are one or two excellent dancers and the rest are mediocre with one or two clinkers.

Hi! Has anyone heard of a touring company called Ballet Stars of Moscow? The dancers are supposedly culled from the Bolshoi, Moscow Classical Ballet, and Stanislavsky Theatre Ballet and, for better or for worse, they're coming to a theater near me. This is their 7th tour of the US and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if they're good or not.

Do you know anywhere that I can get the ESMERALDA CD? I tried Amazon but received an e-mail after I placed my order saying that it was "unavailable." I haven't heard much Pugni but Pas de Quatre and the so-called Fascination pas de deux are quite lovely and leave me wanting to hear more.

Actually, I saw Moscow Ballet's performance of THE NUTCRACKER last Christmas. I found them to be superior to the average Russian touring company and the dancers that played "Masha" and the prince to be comparable to dancers at ABT and NYCB. Gorgeous sets and costumes as well. The only problem with the production was the choreopgraphy that was mediocre at best. The pas de deux, I should add, was quite beautiful and patterned after the Ivanov version. All in all I would highly recommend their NUTCRACKER and I plan to attend when they return to my area this year.

Well, I seem to remember Gauthier saying that ballet dancers should be beautiful. Figuratively true if not literally true. Of course, he also made the comment that it's a woman's first duty to be beautiful or something to that effect which is kind of a nice idea but also rather mean.