jllaney

The music Baryshnikov uses in the Coppelia variation is the mazurka from La Source. The only copy I know of is the Naxos recording. It's quick(aren't they always), but it's danceable. Now if we can just figure out how Baryshnikov does 5 & 6 turns without any effort!

For the female princpal it seems like Swan Lake wins(or loses). I get tired just watching the poor girl stay on her toe for so long. And for the guys, in a one act I would say Spectre is pretty tough. Fifteen minutes of jumping while the girl sleeps...how unfair is that? In a full length ballet Spartacus must be tough. I've never seen it live but that must be a heck-of-a-lot of jumping for two and a half hours. Swan Lake is hard for the guy for another reason. The variations aren't terrible but all the lifts add up after a while, especially if you're a smaller guy. By the time the fouth act rolls around, you really are looking for a cliff to jump off of. I think I read that Baryshnikov said Theme and Variation was his most taxing piece. If he did say it, that would have to put it at the top of the list for me.

My vote is for..........all of them!!! All of the ballerinas I've danced with and watched seem like radiance and beauty personified. That's the nature of what they do. And I, for one, celebrate it. Having said that- Roberta Marquez at the RB seems cuter than most.

Does anyone have a copy of the Fedatov Swan Lake on CD that they would be willing to sell (highly unlikely) [snip] it? It is out of print and it seems more likely I'll strike oil before I find a copy of it. Thanks in advance. jllaney@yahoo.com

The version to have is the one recorder by Viktor Fedotov. He was the conductor for the Kirov for many years if that tells you about his qualifications. It's paced well and is a joy to listen to. You can buy it on Amazon for $12

Ivan Putrov! It's not only the heigth, it's the way he makes it look effortless.

It may be true that men have more latitude to change their variations or codas but there are certain moments in ballet that are indelible. If Prince Desire doesn't do a double tour-soutenu combination in his variation, then I'm asking for my money back. The Black Swan fouettes are in a catergory by themselves. Even some of my non-ballet friends know of them. When that seminal moment arrives in the Black Swan Coda and Odile launches into the fouettes we say "Ah! Here come the fouettes. Let's count" or if she doesn't do them then we say "What will she do instead?" The point is that you notice if she does or doesn't do them. I also think it's important to judge the art on the level it's meant to entertain. If I go see the Bismark high school ballet club do Swan Lake, I'm ok if the ballerina opts against the fouettes. I don't need to see her break her ankle for my entertainment. But if you advertise yourself as City Ballet, or ABT, or The Royal Ballet then we're talking about world-class ballerinas and world-class standards. I don't think it's too much to ask Miranda Weese to do the fouettes. It may not be fair that some women turn better than others but that lack of homoginy is what makes ballet so beautiful. We all have our strengths. And it may be true that the fouettes are there because Legnani could do them and no one else could but I have to believe that if Petipa didn't think that they advanced the plot or added to the seduction of Siegfried or do any of the things that we associate them with, then he could have/would have taken them out.

So after much research and sleepless nights I've finally come up with the solution. A reviewer on Amazon named Adam has a wonderful list of ballet cd's to own. I'm sure he must be a member on this site and I thank him eternally. He mentioned that Vato Kahi and the Georgian Festival Orchestra has a CD of exerpts and that the performance version of the black swan pas is included. It's $4 on Amazon so I bought it and he's totally right. The andante is slow and danceable and Siegfied's variation is PERFECT! Odile's variation and the coda are oddly missing(go figure) but those's are readily available on other CDs. Thanks for all your help.

Could anyone recommend a danceable CD version of Siegfried's Black Swan variation? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.