canbelto

I have now seen both Nureyev's 1966 film of Swan Lake and his final version choreographed for the POB. And I was shocked at how different the two productions were. Nureyev's 1966 version seemed to be very self-consciously "different." Different musical arrangements (for the Black Swan pdd especially), different choreography (6 cygnets instead of 4, an allegro ending to the Love Duet, no pas de trois in the first act), different production values (the garish costumes and a year's worth of eyeshadow on Nureyev, Siegfried drowning). It was like the rebellious 60s version of Swan Lake. Nureyev's final version for the POB, however, is essentially an extremely traditional production. It was as if he decided all his new ideas in 1966 were bad, and it was better to go back to Petipa/Ivanov. All the traditional musical numbers are used. He listened to Margot Fonteyn and restored the mime, especially in the second act. Pas de trois? Back. The production is very understated and classy. The ending is still tragic, but it's much more effective than the 1966 drowning -- Odette jumps back in the lake, and Siegfried lies lifeless, and Rothbart emerges from the lake, victorious. A heart-wrenching conclusion. The only "different" thing about this Swan Lake is of course some extra solos for Siegfried. But the core of the Petipa/Ivanov Swan Lake is firmly retained, something I can't say about many recent productions (the McKenzie version, the Martins version, even the Grigorivich production). I much prefer this to the Bourmeister production that the POB had been dancing before the Nureyev version. Nureyev's is much more traditional, much closer, I think, to Petipa/Ivanov.

There's also a vintage Elite Syncopations, filmed I would guess around the 1970s, starring basically the entire RB company at the time. A nice video. I don't think it was ever commercially released, but it was an original BBC telecast, kind of like the Live from Lincoln Centers.

I've recently started trading with some people who are in Europe, and I've discovered a treasure trove of Ashton telecasts that are not being released, and most of them have been filmed in the past few years. What gives? I've gotten: 1. Fille mal gardee - Acosta, Nunez 2. Sylvia - Bussell, Bolle 3. Cinderella - Kobborg, Cojocaru 4. Ashton 100 - LOTS of ballets starring the entire company, essentially Then a friend sent me a historical film of Enigma Variations, filmed I would guess in the 1970s. Anyway, each of these videos has been excellent, and if they take the trouble to film it, why not release it?

I hope Vishneva doesn't leave the MT permanmently, to have someone like Alina Somova take her place ...

Wow this is an interesting interview. Thanks, Natalia. I personally hope Vishneva can work out her differences with the MT management.

Well Anton Walbrook was cast as Diaghilev in The Red Shoes. That was a thinly disguised movie about the Ballet Russes.

Ok, I'm having way too much fun. Going with the young Balanchine/Ballet Russes storyline, here's my trailer: Booming male voice: "There once was a boy, who loved ballet ..." Montage of Balanchine as a boy at the barre, to Balanchine looking, wide-eyed, at ballerinas at the Mariinsky, to Balanchine dancing in the Nutcracker. (Nutcracker music plays in the background.) Voiceover: "But who would have thought that this little boy was also a genius?" Montage of a young Balanchine playfully "choreographing" a little dance with his fellow Mariinsky students. Cuts to Balanchine as a young man, meeting Diaghilev for the first time. Diaghilev takes off his hat, turns around, and says (while smoking a pipe), "I want you to create ballets for my company." Cut to Balanchine meeting Stravinsky for the first time. Cut to Balanchine, musing, "I have always loved the Greek myths ..." Cut to rehearsals for Apollo. Voiceover: "But this genius's vision was still being controlled by one man." Menacing music in the background. Cut to Diaghilev, banging his cane, shouting, "This is *my* company, and you create what *I* want!" Balanchine replying, "But this is my ballet!" Cut to rehearsals with Serge Lifar, shouting, "This is not ballet! I will not dance!" Cut to wild applause as Balanchine steps onstage ... Menacing chords abruptly end, screen fadeous to black, and in huge letters, on the screen, "BALANCHINE. THE BALLET MASTER."

I've revised the trailer: Booming male voice: "In a world of beauty and passion.... there was a man... obsessed with women.... and one woman... who dared follow her heart" The opening notes of Swan Lake plays ... Snippet of young Suzanne trying on her ballet shoes. Cut to Suzanne running into her house saying, "Mother! I've been accepted!!!" Scene of Suzanne walking into class, meeting Mr. B for the first time. Mr. B turns around, and says, "Hello, dear." Voiceover: "With those two words, her life had changed forever." Cut to Balanchine whispering: "Dance for me, Suzanne" ... dancing ensues, audience applauds wildly. Camera takes a circular scan of the applauding audience and then back to Suzanne ... Voiceover: "What started out as love of art turned into passion for each other." Cut to Mr. B whispering, "I am Don Quixote, and you are my Dulcinea!" Cut to opening night of Don Quixote, with Mr. B and Suzanne exchanging loving looks at each other. Thunderous applause. Voiceover: "But with any great love comes great heartbreak." Cut to Mr. B saying, "I love you Suzanne," with Suzanne responding, "But you are a married man!" Cut to Suzanne tearfully pleading: "I want to be free...." Booming male voice: "Fate has brought them together... now love will tear them apart..." Frantic montage ensues, with shots of Suzanne looking wildly in each direction as Balanchine says: "Stay with me... I will make you a star..." Cut to Paul saying, "Marry me, Suzanne." Cut to Suzanne shouting "Let me go, let me go!!!!" Cut to Mr. B saying, "You are my Dulcinea. I cannot let you go." Booming voice: "What will she choose?" More thunderous Swan Lake music as tutu skirts twirls wildly and the pointe shoe hits the stage floor with a hard thud accompanied by the thunderous ending chords of the Swan Lake overture. Then (booming male voice again): "Balanchine... the ballet master... coming soon to a theater near you"

Chris, just wanted to say I found that so funny I practically spit out the coke I was drinking. To elongate the trailer a bit: Booming male voice: "In a world of beauty and passion.... there was a man... obsessed with women.... and one woman... who dared follow her heart" Snippet of young Suzanne trying on her ballet shoes, cut to Suzanne running into her house saying, "Mother! I've been accepted!!!" Scene of Suzanne walking into class, meeting Mr. B for the first time. "Hello, dear." Voiceover: "With those two words, her life had changed forever." Cut to Balanchine whispering: "Dance for me, Suzanne" ... dancing ensues, audience applauds wildly... Voiceover: "But with any great love comes great heartbreak." Cut to Suzanne saying: "I want to be free...." Booming male voice: "Fate has brought them together... now love will tear them apart..." Frantic montage ensues, with shots of Suzanne looking wildly in each direction as Balanchine says: "Stay with me... I will make you a star..." Cut to Paul saying, "Marry me, Suzanne." Cut to Suzanne shouting "Let me go, let me go!!!!" Cut to Mr. B saying, "You are my Dulcinea. I cannot let you go." Booming voice: "What will she choose?" Tutu skirt twirls wildly and pointe shoe hits the stage floor with a hard thud. Thunderous music.... then (booming male voice again): "Balanchine... the ballet master... coming soon to a theater near you"

I think the focus of Balanchine's early years would solve several problems: 1. More "real dancers" could be used, as scenes would inevitably focus on dancers dancing onstage (and Balanchine admiring them), as well as Balanchine rehearsing Apollo. Maybe Ethan Stiefel could be Serge Lifar. 2. Tones down the romance aspects. That's always a problem, because it would call for a ballerina would could also act extensively. The Red Shoes lucked out when they got Moira Shearer, but that's the exception rather than the rule. Remember Neve Campbell? If you focus on Balanchine's early years, maybe Alexandra Danilova would be in the film, but she could be a very supporting role. It'd be easy to get a ballerina to play her. Maybe Irina Dvorovenko? 3. Lots of colorful characters. As I said, Anthony Hopkins could be Diaghilev. Can't decide who would play Stravinsky. Balanchine and Farrell is certainly a story filled with more drama, but I think it'd be much harder to cast.

Suzanne needs to be an actress who is very young but projects a lot of maturity. I'd say Scarlett Johanssen, but Scarlett doesn't look like Suzanne at all -- way too, uh, bosomy. I could see her slimming down a lot though. I think SJ was terrific in "Lost in Translation" -- she made a relationship that could be been skeezy from the outside very understandable and touching. My other thought is Claire Danes -- again, very young, but able to project maturity. She even has the heart-shaped face. She just needs to grow out her hair. In her younger days, Gwyneth Paltrow would have been perfect: tall, blond, willowy, slightly aloof. But she's too old now to be believable as an 18-year old who's plucked from the SAB. But actually I think a better storyline arc might be Balanchine as a student/dancer at the MT. His travails, and his joining the Ballet Russes. Anthony Hopkins could play Diaghilev. And the movie would end with Balanchine's triumph at the opening night of "Apollo."

That is depressing indeed! I hope Vishneva will not become the Asylmuratova of the MT, meaning more appreciated worldwide than at home.

From the horse's mouth on her website, Diana emphatically states that she is just guesting with the Bolshoi, but will remain in the MT, and (even better news) will be touring with the MT in October.

A really good friend gave me a beautiful book by Keith Money covering Margot Fonteyn's career from its very earliest days as a teenager to about 1974. This wonderful book allows me to see, just in pictures, how Fonteyn "grew" into roles. One of the great things Money did was compare her in the same role over time. He points out how steady her famously pure classical line remained. But the book also showed how Fonteyn matured as an artist. In her early 20s, she was of course very beautiful, but as she aged, her face became infinitely more expressive. One example is Giselle: when she was in her 40s she no longer looked as girlish, but her face expressed so much more. Another good example is Alessandra Ferri. I've seen her Juliet in three different incarnations: the early video with Wayne Eagling, the later video with Angel Corella, and finally live at the ABT two years ago. By the time I saw her she wasn't a little girl anymore, but her dancing expressed everything from fear to joy to anguish, and I'll never forget it.

Recently I purchased "La Sylphide" and "Picasso and Dance," and watched both tonight. La Sylphide was more wonderful than I expected. I'd never seen anything but excerpts but the entire ballet is extremely charming, so much so that now I want to see Lacotte's reconstruction. But Picasso and Dance is one of the most disappointing purchases I've ever made. Le Train Bleu was a short charmer, nicely parodying the Great Gatsby-type lifestyle, with a lovely, lilting score by Milhaud. Not much dancing involved. In fact, Nicholas Riche's role, originated by Anton Dolin, involves more muscle flexing than actual dancing. But it's fun, it's cute. And it's always great to see the criminally undervideotaped Elisabeth Maurin. Le Tricorne? Maybe I'm missing something, but I found it one of the most disappointing ballets I've ever seen. The choreography was so repetitive that a 40 minute ballet seemed like it was literally hours long. Balanchine said, "Put a man and woman onstage and already there's a story." Well Le Tricorne has a man and a woman onstage, as well as a third party, and a "storyline," but somehow, there's no story. There is only so much skirt sashaying and foot stomping one can take before it starts to get dull. I can't believe this was one of Massine's most famous works, according to the documentary included in this dvd. This was an eagerly anticipated purchase, as I really wanted to see some of the lesser-known Ballet Russes works. But I was very, very disappointed.

I think the second act pdd in "Midsummer's Night Dream" is best danced by mature dancers. After all the very youthful frolicking of the first act, the second act pdd seems to be Balanchine's statement about a mature, healthy marriage. "You need to be very serious and really love each other." I think to have young 'uns dance this looks odd.

For Vasiliev, I really recommend the film "The Humpacked Little Horse" that he made with Maya Plisetskaya in the early 60s. The story is slight, the music (by Plisetskaya's husband Schedrin) is tuneful but unmemorable, but casting doesn't get any better than it does in this film. Plisetskaya is so glamorous, and Vasiliev at this point is able to seem like a totally guileless country boy who somehow would make People's 50 Most Beautiful.

From what I've seen, Sylvie Guillem. Despite her famous sky-high extensions, there's something very earthbound about her. I can't really explain it except that when I watch her dance (and I have some videos plus I've seen her live) I feel somehow that she's glued to the stage. I've seen her jump, but nevertheless, the jumps don't seem to take off the way the best jumpers can just literally seem to propel themselves into the air and fly. With her ultra-lean body, sometimes I feel like I'm watching a broom dance. A very beautiful, glamorous broom that can twist itself into all sorts of positions, but strangely earthbound nevertheless.

For emotional impact, nothing like Giselle, with Albrecht standing or kneeling, with only the flower petals to remind him of his night. In fact, from the time the bell rings to the end of the ballet, I think those are the most heartbreaking moments in all of classical ballet. A great Giselle will really make it unforgettable. I think my favorite is Alicia Alonso: before descending into her grave, she does a beautiful penchee and allows Albrecht to kiss her hand for the last time. I get chills. I also love the pictures of Fonteyn and Nureyev, where she has her arms around him in a tight hug, eyes closed, as if she literally wanted to hold him forever. Natalia Makarova also did it beautifully -- the way she boureed in circles around Albrecht, each circle being farther away, and finally descended into her grave. And then there's Alina Cojocaru -- she gently lifts Albrecht's arm, as if to say, "You're alive." It's so heartbreaking yet life affirming. For geometric spectacle, I love Symphony in C. I also love Vienna Waltzes, with the swirling gowns. And I love Who Cares?, with everyone dancing happily onstage. I love how Balanchine doesn't make everyone dance uniformly -- he makes it kind of like a real dance party, with everyone just doing their own happy dance. Puts a huge smile on my face. And call me cheesy, but I love Balanchine's Nutcracker, when Marie and the Prince are lifted into their little snowsled and leave the Kingdom of the Sweets. The Two Pigeons is also incredibly lovely -- the second pigeon flies into the garret, as a symbol of the lovers reconciling.

Natalia, Have you heard any more information about the mysterious "Gergiev Swan Lake?" If there's a Kirov production that should also be filmed, it should be their Giselle. One film survives with Mezentseva, but now there's Vishneva and a whole bunch of young ballerinas that would be beautiful.

Found more beauties: Balanchine with his original 'Jewels' Verdy, McBride, and Farrell all in one picture. Now that's a rarity. This whole site has some great historical photos related to ballets. I particularly love the page of "Spectre a la Rose" for that incredibly beautiful photo of Karsavina and Nijinsky.

Yes, Julia Roberts, and Meg Ryan too. Although Ryan now wants to move away from the cutesy romantic comedy genre, but it's really too late.

I also love this series of photos Marc Haegmann took of the Mariinsky R&J featuring Evgenia Obratsova. She looks gorgeous! She looks like the Kirov version of Alina Cojocaru. You know, totally enchanting, weightless, ethereal ballerinas. Also love this photo of Allegra Kent's penchee. Now that was a 6o'clock before anyone did 6 o'clocks! Looking back now, she really started a trend. Of all the photos of Maya Plisetskaya's incredible grande jete, this is the best! Wow! And anyone know what Diana Adams was dancing in this photo? She certainly looks very sultry, in a way that is very unique among ballerinas of her time.

Had Rock Hudson not died of AIDS, he might have been another actor in that group. Good-looking, studio-based actors who didn't make many memorable films. Hudson except for Giant was most noted for making those frothy romantic comedies with Doris Day, another huge star in her day who nowadays is remembered more for being "Doris Day" than for any of the films she made. (Pillow Talk being an exception.)

For those who want to see, here's a picture of the original Apollo, Serge Lifar. He doesn't look anything like Peter Martins.