Lukayev

I've heard from a few reviews of recent performances and the views of dancers today that sometimes, a 180 degree extension just looks grotesque and, to me, would probably be scary to see over and over again throughout a ballet. While I believe that a few here and there would keep the audience riveted and drawn to the ballet, once a dancer starts (to quote someone.. I forget who) to look like she's using the suitors in the Rose Adagio as a fire hydrant, if she were a dog, then.. :eek: it just isn't so breathtaking as much as groaning. So, here lies my question..

When do you think that those knee-in-armpit extensions add or take away from the ballet? Overused, under-used.. which ballets? Neo-classical, classical, I don't know, this is an abstract-ish question. I'm looking forward to feedback.

Ta!

Luka

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: Lukayev ]

I've seen more mad scenes where the hair was made to tumble down out of Giselle's bun, in all its unplaited, tangled glory. There are some where her hair is still left in its original place, not mussed up in the least bit. Now, I'm thinking that if a person's distraught, then the course of action that at least *I* would take would be to tug my hair and bellow out in a terrible, lion-like rage. Of course, these are the mid-1800's when Paris Opera presented it, right? I'm not too keen on chronological stuffs. So the ladies were probably taught to keep their emotions to themselves and simmer down until they were cool enough to forget the situation. I could be wrong, though. So if leaving the hair up was the original version, then I'm sort of for the 'keeping with the times' thing. But if Giselle just unleashed her long locks and strewed them about her face when she lay in a heap on the ground, then I think it would've added a bit more to the drama, regardless of production era.

Ta,

Luka.

Gee, Mr. Mel, I wish that I could've seen that Giselle.. I've never had the opportunity to go see a live performance of that beautiful work, because Honolulu City Ballet broke up in 1986, a year before I was born, and to make things even worse for my regret, their farewell performances included Giselle.. aww! But the performance reviews on the board will insatiate my appetite until I manage to get into USAIBC in 2002 and tour around the companies in Jackson.

Sincerely,

Luka

I've been wondering about this for the longest time -- when I purchased Ballet Favorites with Galina Mezentseva and Konstantin Zaklinsky as the leads, his Albrecht fled off stage with the scarlet cape behind him catching the wind. A very dramatic moment indeed - perhaps he's too heartbroken to even see the lifeless body of sweet Giselle, or maybe he's just another cad giving a big show so suspicion will be removed from him. I don't know; I've only been around for fourteen years and the ballet has been performing for a good many years more than that. Baryshnikov remarked in his book on the ballets he's performed that he prefers his Albrecht to stay on stage, and hold Giselle one last time as a sign of an unwillingness to part and grief washing over the both of them. I rather prefer that version; if he wasn't a womanizing upper class citizen, then he'd be genuinely shocked and saddened within his heart.

Ah, but see, my own words have given me an idea. If he is shocked, then certainly he'd run off and find himself a quiet glen to recuperate and gather his thoughts.. or would he? Love is just another one of those mysterious things, so enigmatic and within itself... some poets may say their love is so evident, so bold, and yet.. to paraphrase the oft said "The littlest actions have the biggest meaning", perhaps "The biggest actions could have the smallest, most underlying details that no one at the time even bothers with but when they get home and hang up their coat, they remember and then become puzzled".

Just another question..

Luka

[ 04-23-2001: Message edited by: Lukayev ]

In your opinion, who portrayed that image of suffering, pain, and beauty all at once the best? For me, it's tied between Moiseyeva and Makarova. I haven't had the chance to view Plisetskaya's (though I've heard often that it was/is heralded as the greatest).

Sometimes, for me anyway, it's a little too easy to overact, and I'll not be able to manage those boneless arms. When I overexert my arm carriage, my shoulders may rise and the blades may stick out from my back. So for a young girl's sake (I'm to perform D. Swan at our Spring Concert, and if I can find a tape, I could learn) -- who never left the stage without a single dry eye in the audience?

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"When I get onto stage, I think, I'm dancing on my grave."

[This message has been edited by Lukayev (edited March 23, 2001).]

That's an interesting tidbit of info, Yvonne - I'll be glad to keep the board posted on events of ballet on Oahu.. just as a first sort of 'update', Ballet Hawaii is performing its annual Spring performance on Mothers' Day, and I'll be performing 'Dying Swan', Marie Taglioni in 'Pas de Quatre', and the Stepsister in 'Cinderella'. For the evening portion, I'll be in the Black Swan variation from Swan Lake as well. Just a shameless post, for those of you out there.

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"When I get onto stage, I think, I'm dancing on my grave."

Long have I been searching for a message board where I could truly be meeted with replies of my currently favourite dancer - Angel Corella.

He and Ashley Tuttle, both principals of ABT, came last winter in December to dance in my school (Ballet Hawaii) production of the Nutcracker. This event is a yearly thing and is preceded by our Sugarplum Gala, which I just delight in attending, because it also serves as an opportune time to speak with actual principals and soloists of ABT, NYCB, and Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech.

Getting back to my awe, I had the chance to attend a class taught by Michael Vernon, a frequent visitor to our studio and former director of the Eglevsky Ballet. In the class though, and somewhat off to the left but always centerstage was - Angel. He pirouetted like he was on an upright axis, six, seven, eight revolutions.. it was amazing just to see him in rehearsal clothes and fresh off the airplane! What was particularly amazing was that while I felt that this was an 'on' day, Mr. Corella started his own pirouettes before and finished after me. The same for jumps (i.e., grand allegro - that sent a few people staggering backwards).

Needless to say, his three performances as the Cavelier were awe-inspiring and breathtaking. A little Marzipan lamb tugged on my Spanish Chocolate tutu and whispered, "Did he jump off a ladder?" Certainly, from the gasps we could hear on stage, it appeared as if he did jump off the top rung of a ladder, only to make his landing quieter than the pouncing cat or the floating feather.

It seems rather awkward for me, a girl of barely fourteen years, to be posting on the same thread as balletomanes who were lucky enough to see the some of the greatest dancers of all time live, on stage. However, I'll proceed with full gusto and express my regrets on being born several decades too late to see..

Altynai Asylmuratova, when she was younger, such as in this video I managed to purchase. She is in Le Corsaire, as I believe, Medora with Yevgeny Neff as Conrad. Her catlike elegance and impeccable fleetfooted technique is matched by her stellar grace and natural beauty. A Kirov prima in her own right, it saddened me to see on an Internet newsletter that someone had said it was time for the veterans of Asylmuratova's generation to move on and make room for younger virtuosos, such as Vishneva and Lopatkina.

I don't know about you, but I think that veterans like Asylmuratova and even Makhalina and Ruzimatov are vital to a company's success. From a younger dancer's standpoint, having a ballet mistress or a much more experienced performer teaching you a role is like some sacred ritual. It's like handing down a story from one generation to the next. A collection of variations from 19th century ballets being taught to younger students is like passing on stories of the Bible, at least to me.

So, to recap what I managed to draw out and make painful, I am truly jealous and most regretful that I had been born too late to see the dancers x - the household-known names, the balletomane's muse, the stars of the Golden Age.

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"When I get onto stage, I think, I'm dancing on my grave."