Buddy
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Posts posted by Buddy
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300 YEARS OF RUSSIAN BALLET EXHIBITION
This looks very fine. I’ll put it here because it’s in St. Petersburg. I wish that I could see it.
https://disk.yandex.ru/d/xJ-OJkUC_ci5mQ
https://xn--80adikfa3bedh6e5eg.xn--p1ai/
(thanks to a friend for this)
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This one I would consider to be ‘Lyrical’ and I like it very much. It’s much less athletic, without the extreme body motions of “Lyrical Jazz” and has a very lovely, gentle, almost ballet-like feeling.
Added:
For me, in style of dance, it has a resemblance to what Ruth St. Denis was doing over a hundred years ago. This would be a much more culturally accurate example.
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As an aside, in regard to what’s called “Lyrical Jazz,” which I consider somewhat a teenage girl phenomenon, and not ‘Lyrical,’ as I’m trying to define it, I do find these two “Lyrical Jazz” type performances to be a very charming comparison. In a way they could almost be the same person.
From the United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvHpfsfRtN8
From China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fny9canjUWE
(the person posting this seems to have free access to film these classes and performances, so I will post this)
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I think that this performance is quite fine and very artistically interesting. The video has 400k views in twelve years.
This first viewer comment below the video by B gives some insight.
“Chinese Classical dance is, undoubtedly, a kind of reconstructive dance which was established during 20th century. It employs the body training method of ballet. Most of the movements come from Kongfu and Chinese Opera, as well as some historical artwork….
(This is not an ‘official’ posting but since the Taoli World Dance Competition, China does post these (this is an old one) I’ll post it as well)
I like this one also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oq86KJ6_9A&t=59s
(posted by Taoli World Dance Competition, China)
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The front of the Opera de Paris, which I consider to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, will undergo restauration and be completely cleaned and visible by the time of the Olympic games in Paris. It should be a beautiful sight.
“The facade, which overlooks the avenue de l'Opéra, has not been visible for several weeks, due to the erection of scaffolding and the preparation of the site. The Palais Garnier, both a historic monument and one of the two stages of the Paris Opera, will have its main facade undergoing restauration until the end of 2024, for 7.2 million euros, according to a press release published Monday.
It "suffers from pollution, significant thermal shocks and the wear of materials that have led to structural disorders", specifies the Opera, estimating the work necessary "to guarantee the durability of the monument and the safety of people, for the next decades”.”
(Thanks to Haydn at Dansomanie for this information)
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After watching the Maria Khoreva video from my previous post another one appeared so I took a look.
Maria Khoreva — “Ballet Dancer Answers Awkward Questions About Ballet Dancers”
Actually there wasn’t anything really that “awkward,” but instead there were a couple of recounts that I thought were rather charming and somewhat insightful. One was when she was dancing George Balanchine’s Serenade and her hair started to come undone way ahead of time. She felt that it had ruined the entire performance until other Mariinsky dancers told her that George Balanchine would have loved it -- a rather interesting understanding on their part. And as an inspiration for some of us, another question was if she would want to dance when she got old ? She said not on stage, but yes for sure and she cited Twyla Tharp and her Vaganova instructor, Lyudmila Kovaleva, both in their eighties and still dancing, at times better than the dancers that they’re presenting.
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Maria Khoreva has returned after being out with an injury. She performed the Don Quixote Grand pas de deux (Duet), Saturday, with Yevgeny Konovalov and may be doing it again this Saturday as part of another Divertissement. Here she is describing it. As has usually been the case, she seems like a very dedicated, charming and sympathetic individual. In addition, she’s extremely talented.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZe3HhaopDY&t=47s
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A Possible ‘Lyrical’ Program on Video
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers — “Let’s Face The Music And Dance”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UY1seXdnIc&t=278s
Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse — “Dancing in the Dark”
(not officially posted)
Christopher Wheeldon — “After The Rain”
(Start at 14:10) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D316-KMBU8
Twyla Tharp — “Waiting at The Station” (excerpt or something similar)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgDkxoJCVd0
Mikhail Fokine — “The Swan” (on half pointe?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf9AqDajr_0&t=39s
George Balanchine — “Der Rosenkavalier” from “Vienna Waltzes”
(not officially posted)
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Question:
Would George Balanchine’s Absolutely Magnificent and Delightful “Der Rosenkavalier” from “Vienna Waltzes” look anything like it does if he hadn’t seen Fred Astaire and a lot of Hollywood/Broadway Musicals ? Not that it necessarily matters because it’s a stand alone Masterpiece that he would have made brilliant anyway.
But, no, I don’t think that it would have. The Fred Astaire timing, change of styles, posturing, rhythms, extended arms….
Does Suzanne Farrell even resemble Fred Astaire at times until she morphs into Ginger Rogers for some of the earlier partnered back bent swoons…?
Even a tribute to Fred Astaire ? Will we ever know ?
To be continued probably….
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Charming video clip from La Personne Online Magazine filmed at the Bolshoi in 2018. Does anyone know anything more about it ?
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2 hours ago, Quiggin said:
Looking down from the 4th ring single-file side seats was like reading the dance notations or blueprints – or looking into a doll house. But there was something thrilling about the direct view.
Quiggin, you might also enjoy this.
New York City Ballet to Display Visual Art Installation, That Resembles Ballerinas
….which might segue to this.
Dancing with The Stairs
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/20/arts/dance/stair-dancing.html
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I think that in the “Anne of Green Gables” ballet one of the biggest challenges is to take some of the most charming spoken wordings that I’ve ever read and translate them into a wordless presentation. Here’s one of Anne’s remarks.
"That's Barry's pond," said Matthew.
Anne — “Oh, I don't like that name, either. I shall call it--let me see--
the Lake of Shining Waters.”
The book is loaded with such lovely comments. In the documentary you can see how they quite successfully create imagery that conveys the feelings of such ideas rather than trying somehow to literally recreate them.
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Deleted. Posted at wrong place . Sorry.
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“Anne of Green Gables – The Ballet”
The making of the ballet — A Small Company with A Big Heart
This is a very nice and interesting documentary about the creation of a ballet of the classic “Anne of Green Gables” by a small ballet company in Canada that tours throughout the country. The Artistic Director has been awarded the Order of Canada for his work over the years.
It’s very interesting to see the work involved and feel the warmth and talent of those who put it together and those who perform it. A highlight for me is the constant presence of the vibrant young dancer, perfectly cast as Anne. You don’t get to see much of the actual production, but what you do see is quite fine. The entire production might be delightful. If I were ever near where it was being performed I would certainly like to take a look.
https://canadasballetjorgen.ca/repertoire/anne-of-green-gables-the-ballet/
Here's a typical trailer.
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An interesting thing to add to the equation is Fred Astaire as the choreographer and from my constant viewing of “Let’s Face The Music and Dance” a darn good one.
“The Astaire-Pan collaboration, involving 17 of Astaire's 31 musical films and three of his four television specials, is widely accepted as one of the most important forces in dance choreography of 20th-century film and television musicals. Astaire called [Hermes Pan] his "idea man," and while he generally choreographed his own routines, he greatly valued the assistance of Pan not just as a critic, but also as a rehearsal partner for the purposes of fine-tuning a routine.”
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What might be most ‘amazing,’ for me here, is how she’s able to combine Grace and Expression, Subtlety and Drama, Oxana Skorik and Olga Smirnova, as well as I’ve ever seen.
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To describe her performance of Giselle might be like trying to describe a Breath of Air. Her performance is as flawless in its representation as it is vital.
Emanating from her face and carried through her entire physical being, each motion, each construction draws you in and takes you on her voyage of the heart, mind and soul.
That she choses to use elements of physical extremes can be debated. That her overall statement is fashioned of otherwise magnificent artistry and intent can allow us perhaps to see, experience and journey with something very, very special.
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I don’t want to minimise the importance and interest of the current discussion, but I would like to get back to Eva Sergeyenkova for a moment. I’m watching the videos of her performance and I continue to feel that she’s Remarkable ! I’ll probably discuss this further at her own “Dancers” topic, but what I’d really like to suggest is that you take a look at her duet. It’s the longest of the videos posted and can be easily found on the internet. I deeply feel that it speaks for itself.
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Eva Sergeyenkova debuted tonight as Giselle and a group of video clips have been posted. From what I’ve been able to see she did Wonderfully ! Also of interest, and somewhat of a surprise, is the little that I can see of Alyona Kovalyova who danced as Myrtha two performances in a row. It may have been a debut for her as well. She surprises me with her very effective drama. Eva Sergeyenkova surprises me with the extent of her sensitivity and gracefulness. Both artists seem to very impressively enter the other’s area of artistic fineness. Seen together they make a remarkable combination and a fascinating comparison.
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Video clips have been posted of her debut as Giselle today.
She’s Outstanding ! I’m not particularly a fan of extreme flexibility, etc., but her overall presentation is Remarkable !
She’s probably destined to be one of the greats, if she isn’t already.
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I’ve been watching parts of George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?”, mainly focussing on the Sean Lavery-Patricia McBride duet, which has the strongest literal resemblance to Fred Astaire. I’ve now watched the entire work and I think that it’s Brilliant (probably Genius) and Delightful ! ‘High Art’ meets Entertainment at its best.
To the extent that Fred Astaire influenced the entire Broadway-Hollywood world of musicals, his influence on George Balanchine is probably present throughout. As for a literal Astaire resemblance, this can be seen most in the Sean Lavery-Patricia McBride duet, the opening duet, in the presence of Sean Lavery. From then on elements of Fred Astaire’s dance style remain very noticeable in Sean Lavery’s performance, but tend to build into a brilliant George Balanchine representation of the entire Broadway-Hollywood musical scene. By the way, facially in the duet, Patricia McBride reminds me most of Judy Garland.
Once again, from another topic….
'Lyrical'
Swan Lake Meets Fred Astaire 😊
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“Who Cares?” ( I Do 😊 )
I’d like to clarify somewhat the things that I wrote so enthusiastically about “Who Cares?” and George Balanchine & Sean Lavery in particular. What I was glued to at the time was the brilliant, opening duet to “The Man I Love" danced by Sean Lavery and Patricia McBride. All my enthusiasm remains the same and descriptively unchanged for this particular six minutes, Not having watched the group dancing completely and the duets-solos several times, this segment could be the key one, but I’m not familiar enough with the entirety to be certain. This duet, for me, remains the center of all that I wrote. I think that this six minutes is absolutely brilliant, perhaps genius, for the reasons that I suggested. The entire work seems exceptional as well, but for different reasons.
What once again makes it so special is the way that Sean Lavery ‘becomes’ Fred Astaire. In his other duets and solo, there is excellence, but the Astaire characterisation is much less evident. It might be that George Balanchine wanted to make this the unmistakeable opening statement (and tribute) and then move on.
The Patricia McBride dancer is much harder to pin down. She’s an idealised Hollywood goddess, who contrasts beautifully with Sean Lavery’s Fred Astaire, and I do see some charming elements of Ginger Rogers trying to emerge from this perfection, but overall she’s a Balanchine dance goddess.
I do feel that this “The Man I Love" duet is going to be another of my ballet favorites and does highlight the genius of George Balanchine. I also have to say that Sean Lavery’s interpretation is brilliant.
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Mention was made elsewhere of George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” as one example. I wrote this response and would like to post it again to highlight what a genius, I feel more than ever, that George Balanchine was.
"I think that if there’s any doubt that George Balanchine was a genius, “Who Cares?” alone would prove that he was. In one performance, Sean Lavery, the male performer in all the duets, has a remarkable resemblance to Fred Astaire in his dancing. The three women, as is usual I guess with George Balanchine, have the most prominent presentations. They could be seen as a highly crafted combination of Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse and perhaps others. Sean Lavery, as Fred Astaire, is dressed in black, which fades him into the background, and lets the women dominate. Yet, regarding him carefully, in an almost concealed but brilliant manner, he has all the presence, charism, appearance and dominating qualities of Fred Astaire. The interaction of Sean Lavery-Fred Astaire and the three women is Remarkable !"
Lyrical Dance
in Modern, Contemporary, and Other Dance
Posted
Here’s another very lovely one. It does have athleticism, but it’s much more restrained than in many similar performances. I think that it’s a very beautiful effort at fusion of styles with some elegant lines and motions. The pleasant white background also helps a lot. It makes a nice comparison to the previously posted video, where the dancer has, perhaps, a more tangible inner expression and sense of poetic restraint.