cubanmiamiboy

The blackfaces of Pharao's and Bayadere have it easy-(they are not important characters and can be easily un-blacked). Now...Flute's Monostatos is another story...😶

I have seen ABT dancers names being attached to little notes of "sponsored by Mr or Mrs So and So". Not sure when-(I would say in playbills)- but I am certain I have seen it.

But even ABT dancers are privately sponsored. It is printed in every playbill.

I saw one of her Gamzattis years ago with no other than Ivan Vasiliev. The whole of the betrothal scene-( which have some mirror jumping for both characters)- was an embarrassing affair for her.

Where did I read that Spessivtzeva had to had someone on the wings clapping to keep her on tempo, given that she had a tendency to get off it quite easy...?

Somova and Hallberg definitely make for a most handsome all blonde couple. Their performance might not be a technically fierce one a la Polunin/Osipova-(Somova was never there and Hallberg won't probably come back to it)- but they are definitely ver beautiful to watch, physically wise, with those gorgeous lines. Definitely worth it.

I usually hear that conductors adapt to the demands of dancers, although there are stories in which conductors have stood up against it. In an infamous one a Cuban ballerina was calling for an excruciatingly slow tempo in the white swan Adagio during rehearsal and the conductor stopped and, to the question of why he was going against her choice, he angrily screamed from the pit "because that's how Tchaikovsky composed it!!". There are segments that remain famously unchanged in ballet in certain companies. Kitri's variation with passes at the Bolshoi is one of them. I haven't seen one instance in which the tempo have slowed down by any ballerina there. It is famously fast, and I think Struchkova set the difficult bar for generations to come. @ 1:12

Wow...what a beautiful piece and performance. Thanks for the uploading.

True. They can be misleading. Edited to add: Thanks, canbelto for changing the title..

Mme. Collier yes, yes YES! Her Fee Dragee ought to be the quintessential mark of pure female classicism. I also treasure that video, because not knowing that the original pdd had survived in England, I truly missed it when I came to the States and started watching MCB Balanchine's. Then one day I bought the video by chance and VOILA' ! There it was the beautiful pdd just as I remembered it from Alonso's staging after Fedorova..! And danced nonetheless by the amazing Collier and Dowell. A real feast for the academic-loving eyes. Two thumbs up, Charlie! 🤗🤗🤗🤗

Which is why I thought of her right away. I find her dancing, if daring and exciting, beautifully and properly controlled and aligned at the same time. I am a huge fan of Osipova-( I nominated both on the "Today's rulers" thread)- but in regard to overall detail to proper classicism I don't see Osipova the way I see Peck.

But according to the title of this thread....😶

I second the above. That ribcage shift-(to the side in a la second or forward in atittude derriere a la Somova)- makes me cringe. I would say the few who qualify are those who put themselves far from position distortions and bizarre turns-(again...Somova's horrible "kick out" fouettes come to mind). I nominate Tiler Peck.

I did, Charlie. I was thinking of their Swan Lake while writing about Berlin's Nut. I didn't know it was commercially released! I own a good bootleg but it's time to change then. Thanks for the update!🤗

Agreeing to disagreeing here, dear Drew. Grigorovich treatment of the Nutcracker looks like an abomination to me. It is a shame that Russia has successfully got ridden of anything that resembles the original production. I can't stand the Mariinsky Vainonen's either. Sir Wright's Royal Ballet-( Collier/ Dowell-)- por a comprehensive link to the original libretto and the glorious original Pas de deux. A bootleg of Berlin's Medvedev/Burlaka for more Imperial "Petpaesque" feeling re libretto, costumes and scenery.