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STorevna

Inactive Member
  • Posts

    10
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Registration Profile Information

  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    dancer, college student
  • City**
    Tulsa/White City
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    OK, USA
  1. So is this a reconstruction of Petipa's 1899 revival? It certainly looks like it is straight out of a performance for the Tsar! Such Imperial splendor!
  2. There is a 2 CD set oferred here http://fairy.ol.shopserve.jp/SHOP/4560219320062.html it has the score for Le Corsaire as was performed by the Bolshoi Ballet for Grigorovich's production of 1994, with music revised by Sotnikov. It is a marvelous set, with all of the traditional 19th century additions and superbly conducted. Heres the page transalted through google http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...%2589%26hl%3Den
  3. This CD has been re-released. Heres the link on amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Version-...0965&sr=8-1
  4. thanks you for this link. interesting that Stravinsky reorchesreated some fo the music - it would be very interesting to hear. I wonder why it was done in the first place? Are there any modern production styled on this one?
  5. The Drigo score was lovely, I thought - perfect for ballet, and is anything but "yard music" - Drigo simply did not compose in this way. People tend to forget that he was not a specialist, and that he composed in the manner that was in vogue. From what Ive studied on Petipa, it is that he preferred music of that sort over symphonic complexity. Drigo's music is, however, not nearly as simple as Minkus' music was. The style of the period, as far as choreography goes, was far different from today - I dont think the music was to blame for the choregraphy, at all. Early retirement? They are not performing "Le Reveil de Flore" anymore?
  6. well thank you for that. that is very interesting! --Sasha
  7. thank you RG for this. A freind of mine saw the revival of le corsaire in Munich and brought me a program - I translated a few passages with the help of babelfish and a few other online translation sites - its amazing how many different composers make up the score. Does anyone know where the Ali character originated? Beaumont's complete book of ballets includes the scenario for le corsaire, but no character named Ali is mentioned. My ballet teacher told me the character was called the Rhab long ago in Russia, but didnt know anything else. I have yet to encounter a place in the program that explains this part of the history of teh ballet, but maybe I havnt seen it yet. --Sasha Torevna
  8. no carbro, it was another african-american dancer with a much darker complextion... here is a link to photo of him from the Vaganova web page - http://www.ubacademy.org/Gallery1/images/A...%20Corsaire.jpg --Sasha
  9. A little of of the discussion here, but I just wanted to add a little comment about an african-american dancer I saw a film clip of recently - he was a graduate of the Vaganova School in Washington DC, and he was dancing the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux. I was knocked out by this dancer - he was extremely limber and passionate, and had an incredible sense of balance and grace. He would perfom multiple pirouettes and come out of them in a developpe into a la seconde, while still in releve. It seemed as though he was completely off of his center, but somehow he managed to retain his balance quite effortlessly, almost as though defying gravity! He did this all throughout his performance in his jumps, tours, etc. Unlike many dancers I see nowadays, many of whom seem to be very much preoccupied with the hieght of their legs, how many turns they can squeeze in, or all things technical, he was really DANCING! Although there were in fact a few things on the techincal side he needed to work on (i.e. lazy feet in his double saut de basque during the turns around the stage), the fact that he was so lost in the actual DANCING made up for it! Not to sound to poetic, but it seemed as though he was trying to transform himself through the balletic movements into something more than just merely a ballet dancer. I have seen this Pas de deux danced many times, but he was truly something else!!!! Unfortunately I have seen in performance and have personally known only a small few of ballet dancers in my life, so few of them take up ballet - I truly believe that people of this particular race are somehow genetically disposed to have incredible musicality and gift for movement - they were all amazing dancers, and when such a person becomes a ballet dancer, that gift for movement is exploited to the highest level. The dancer (I wish I could remember his name) I mentioned in this post is an example of this. --Sasha Torevna
  10. Yes I have seen the company! I saw their Swan Lake last month, as well as Legends in Motion, and of course Nutcracker in December. I was most disappointed with their Nutcracker, which is set in 1930s Paris. The first act takes place at the Palais Garnier during a ballet class. I noticed that many of their best dancers were actually in the corps! They had some very good male dancers as well. Swan Lake was very nice. The Ballerina, who was Rene Olivier I believe, was excellent, particularly as the Black Swan, and astounded the audience with her quintuple pirouette during her solo, which was right on the music. Alfonso Martin performed as the Prince, and he was a wonderful partner, and had brilliant entrechat sixes and double tours. The Pas de Trois, was certainly the best part of the performance - the ballerinas were very athletic, almost like rhythmic gymnists. Unfortunately I seemed to have misplaced the program, and I cant remember the names of the dancers. The orchestra's conductor was very good, but their was a violinist who was much louder and had much more vibrato than his/her fellow musicians. I also remember hearing this violinist when I saw Nutcracker in December. During the performance I remembered the scene from the beginning of the movie "Red Dragon" with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector - where he serves the "out of tune" flautist to the chairpersons of the orchestra! The orchestra was quite small for both Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Both scores were written for very large orchestras, but nonetheless the music did not suffer. During the Snowflake waltz in Nutcracker I was very suprised that they actually allowed a spotlight to be shown on the boys choir, which was standing on a dais erected at the the left side of the auditorium. It was very distracting from the stage. Unfortunately I have to wait to see anther performance until November, when they will perform Oklahoma! Suite. --Sasha Torevna
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