Buddy

I've briefly skipped around and this seems quite lovely. The highlight duet is at 1:31:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbU2zsZ1gyA

Thanks, kbarber.

Perm Opera Ballet Theatre La Fille mal gardée (Alexandre Gorski version) This may only be on for a day or two. I’ve just watched about twenty minutes and, for me, some parts work better than others. I am enjoying this portrayal of the Mother by a guy about the size of a football player, who can lift the men as high into the air as the women (18:40). I’ve also made a brief search for The Chicken Dance, one of the great moments in ballet, but can’t find it. Give it a try if you like. The company is loveable — and very good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcN1ffcVAng&feature=youtu.be

Thanks, Pherank. Could I also call attention to Sara Mearns’ wonderfully professional and ballet-lovely dancing throughout, that sails through the waving trees beyond, and Lori Belilove’s approaching Wagnerian but delightfully loving and captivating ‘dance-theatre’ approaching Kabuki at 53:50. And when all is said and done 😊

Another quick thought about the Isadora Duncan performance video. I mentioned the theme of relating to Nature, which is one that I think about a lot and apparently was very important to her as well. This is a brief but rather interesting discussion of that part of her approach from the beginning of the video. 11:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iPL8GtcQDE There are moments in the video when a dancer does capture this very well. She may be leaves blowing in the breeze or the breeze itself. She be making a connection with the woods behind her or she may do a certain spin that makes an ethereally beautiful expression of a current of air. Added: It's also interesting at times to turn off the music and see how this effects the natural imagery.

Getting back to the Isadora Duncan performance for a moment, watching each of the dancers is like seeing different parts of a puzzle, each one contributes to an overall image of Isadora Duncan. Also two themes are noticeable. One is the Greek (or cultural, artistic) Ideal and the other is Relating to Nature. An example from the dancer that I feel comes closest to my image of Isadora Duncan can be seen at 41:35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iPL8GtcQDE

That could very well be the case and I missed it, but I still feel the same way about the dancer being closest to my image of Isadora Duncan.

For me, there are a lot of very interesting things happening and to think about. The woman in orange with the sort of bundled-up blond hair is the one that fits my image of Isadora Duncan the most. She even slightly resembles the photo of Isadora Duncan behind Norton Owen during the discussion.

Here she be, by the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4zb84ogG4&feature=youtu.be

I enjoyed it too, BalanchineFan. I'm always glad to see what can be done outdoors, especially in nature settings. I like the dance styles chosen and it gives them a chance to loosen up. This in combination with their considerable dance ability is something that could possibly be further developed and brought to the NYCB stage.

You're welcome, ECat. Here's where to watch it and when. (Thanks to Sophia at Dansomanie)

From Ballet Black. Dépouillement (2015 re-staging) And a very pleasant....

Thanks, Fiddleback. What you say makes fine sense. I do feel that if you're going to the large effort of bringing all this outdoors, why not take full advantage of a magnificent setting and environment. And they could maybe save a lot of money on technical equipment, lighting for instance, although night time certainly reduces the air-conditioning costs and the desert stars are always magnificent. There are so many nice ways to approach artistic interaction with nature and this performance is a fine example.

I watched the entire video. The interaction of art and nature’s beauty is something that I think about a lot. There’s a lot of good stuff here. I hope that folks keep building on this. I would have chosen a time when you could see the natural surroundings more, sunset, but I’m sure that they had a reason or concept in mind. The idea, briefly mentioned at the beginning, of making the dancers abstractions, representations or integral parts of nature as well as illustrating their artistic identities is a very interesting one. The Cloud Gate Dance Theater’s “Moon Water” video (highly recommended) seen earlier at the ‘Free Streaming’ topic gets into this beautifully. It even eliminates the music at the end. Nice concept and a lot of beautiful dancing from Ballet Arizona.

Just a thought about things in general. As we are appreciating more and more the digital quality and reality that's emerging I look forward more and more to the live performances again. One idea that sort of interests me is that of more local, affordable, but still highest quality performances. I think one thing that we're realising with all the digital releases is how much unknown talent is out there.