cubanmiamiboy

The ever omnipresent Somova... If anything, she certainly has made the whole ballet world take a closer look of the Mariinsky...(What about that saying of "There's no such thing as bad publicity...?)

Let me try to get a "translation" for the English phonetic... It would be something like VEE-ENNE-SI (all together, sans the separation, of course, and the G should sound, but one can't really hear it, so it is usually omitted in the pronunciation..) The REAL pronunciation would be more like VEE-ANG-SI. We usually just call her "V".

Kirkland, Villella...

I finally bought the Makarova-Misha "Giselle"-(thanks rg! for the Ebay hint! )-thinking that perhaps I had to watch an entire ballet so I could appreciate all the praising that Makarova has had. Sadly, I ended up on Vipa's side...I couldn't "see" her greatness...And then, it is not totally about technique. I own many, MANY Giselles, some of its ballerinas with a lesser level of technique at the time of the recording than Makarova...(e.g-Seymour)-and still, Lynn did it waaay more for me... Ditto with the clips I've seen of Natasha in Swan Lake. They leave me cold...

This is from Petipa's original libretto...(from Jack Anderson's "The Nutcracker Ballet) Act II Divertissements 9-First Dance Chocolate, Spanish Dance. 3/4 from 64 to 80 bars. 10-Second Dance Coffee. Arabian. The Kingdom of Yemen. (Coffee Mocha) Eastern Dance from 24 to 32 bars of cloying and bewitching music 11-Third Dance Tea. allegretto of the Chinese type, little bells, etc: 48 bars. 12-Fourth Dance. Trepak, for the end of the dance, turning on the floor.(Obrouchky) Quick 2/4. 64 bars. 13-Fifth Dance. Dance of the Flutes. Tempo Polka, 64 to 90 bars. They dance, playing on little pipes made of reed, with bobbles on the ends. 14-Sixth Dance Dance of the 32 Buffoons, with Mere Cigogne and her little children climbing out of her skirts and the head. 64 bars, 2/4 accentuaded rythm, not fast, which combines with 48 bars, 3/4 for the entrance of Mere Cigogne and her children jumping out of her skirt. Then 2/4 becoming much quicker, from 32 to 48 bars. At the end a group with Mere Cigogne in the middle of the Bufoons. A Grand Ballabile! ...then, Petipa's notes proceed with the Valse des Fleurs FOR 36 DANSEURS AND 36 DANSEUSES, dressed like flowers who carry a large bouquet and present it to the Prince and his Bride, followed by the Grand PDD-(complete with the two variations and Coda)-and the final Grandiose Andante.

It is the beginning of Nutcracker season for those of us in the thick of things! OMG...that's true...where the year went...?

I love "off season" Nutcracker discussions...! Who dances this "missing" variation...?-(which character..?) Which act...?

Ah...Giannina just diversified this list a little by adding Wheldon... (I wonder is Miss Tharp will ever make an entrance... )

This is an interesting thread. So many choices..! Let's see...a couple of Petipa's-(three actually, if one counts Giselle's final version, which seems to come from him)-one Fokine, one Grigorovich, one Ashton, one Bournonville and many, MANY Balanchine's... I wonder if more names will come up...

Wow...and it HAD to be Miss. Valdes...the most controversial ballerina the Cuban Company has ever had...Love her or hate her-(and I've been in both sides at different times)-she DEFINITELY personifies the Cuban spirit...chaotic, contradictory, extreme, but NEVER boring... Here's a mix of her Kitri. Entrance, Solo with Toreadores, Dulcinea's variation, PDD variation and PDD Coda. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEfknMnP66s...feature=related

http://wp.dogandponyshowwebsite.com/wp-con..._swayze_7_0.jpg http://blogue.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/0...rick-swayze.jpg http://www.poster.net/swayze-patrick/swayz...yze-6202346.jpg

Of course...Giselle...

When I was im High School me and some friends put on a dancing show mimicking some of Dirty Dancing's choreography. Swayze was our idol. RIP, Patrick Swayze.

I own that recording with the Orchestra symphonique de Montreal, and think the Tchai Pas very good. yep, Rosa...that one.

In the Dutoit's full SL...

These PRIMAS didn't believe in the "Less is best" mantra back then...Nowadays there's a general "anti-divismo" feeling among the ballet scene, which I firmly believe is taking a lot of excitement out of the whole picture. Is sort of a boring homogenization phenomenon that is killing a big part of the magic. I, for once, don't get it nor do I like it, although I've come to accept it...

...right now, in my local Starbucks, just as I write... Ah, such a simple, beautiful tune... Not much else to add...still listening...

The other ballerina who got promoted just a few days ago to the top Company's rank is Sadaise Arencibia. Miss Arencibia's story is an interesting one. I had the opportunity to see her dancing ever since she got first accepted in the Company's Corps, and back then she stood out for her beautiful line, hyperextended limbs and ethereal figure. She is a tall dancer, and always projected a very delicate aura. Time passed by and then she didn't seem to progress that much, staying behind for a while while other dancers got promoted. But now, as I've seen for a little while, she got back on track, and has worked hard to be in her current position. She definitely needs to work a little more in some roles. Another thing is that she is sort of an unexpected dancer..you know...that type which you never know what kind of night she will put on, which I guess adds to her allure to a certain extent. Anyway, here she is...just freshly promoted to Primera Bailarina. CONGRATULATIONS, SADAISE!!! Enjoy! Sleeping Beauty-(with Elier Bourzac, CNB Principal) Act III PDD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCY5IPIVXk Giselle-(with Jose M. Carreno, ABT Principal) Act II solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i61GVq2m8A Don Quijote-(with Miguel Angel Blanco, Joffrey B. Principal) Act III PDD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_O5iWCUX50...feature=related Sylvia PDD-(with Octavio Martin, CNB Principal) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdMqEaZlkb4...&playnext=1

...and with Maximiliano Guerra-( )-in "Prologue for a Tragedy" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkXg2-7lAEc

This is beautiful: A "Massine Series"...finally...

Mme. has spoken, and Miss Correa has just escalated to her well deserved new position of Primera Bailarina-(the highest position within the Cuban ranks, surpassing that of Principal Dancer) CONGRATULATIONS YOLY...YOU DESERVED IT !!!!!! Sleeping Beauty Act I Aurora's solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5PDdTZu5o Chopiniana Mazurka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEzk7iGl5Ok...feature=related Coppelia Swanilda's Entree-(Debut, 2003) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Godu7o5XRew Swan Lake Love Duet, Act II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKE0r0UFqXg...feature=related Act II solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Jg5Z2IWHo...feature=related Black Swan PDD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AXgfJw7dMY Don Quijote Kitri's Entree, Act I (with Taras Domitro, SFB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2aOGYQH7Xw...feature=related Kitri's variation Act I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q6saQGPmBA...feature=related Act III PDD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f72gT9CrACE...feature=related La Esmeralda-(with Yoel Carreno, CNB) PDD (I) PDD (II)

True...

Borrowed from the Youtube OP, here's another set of his rare clips. The info below also belongs to him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYeAHewsoSU...feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4juVodrA_E...feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL1pgb7qv8c...feature=related Enjoy! "Here is Pyotr Gusev's staging of extracts from Jules Perrot's "La Naïade et le pêcheur" ("The Naiad & the Fisherman"), a.k.a. "Ondine, ou la Naïade". This performance was filmed at the Kremlin Palace of the Congresses in 1989, with Nina Speranskaya as the Naiad Ondine, Maria Bylova as Giannina, & Stanislav Chazov as the Fisherman Mattéo." HISTORY "The celebrated 19th century ballet "La Naïade et le pêcheur" began life under the title "Ondine, ou La Naïade" in a staging by the Balletmaster Jules Perrot for Her Majesty's Theatre in London during the heyday of the Romantic Ballet, premiering on June 22, 1843. The ballet featured Fanny Cerrito in the role of the naiad Ondine with Perrot himself as the fisherman Mattéo. The music was composed by Perrot's favorite collaborator, the prolific Cesare Pugni. When the London music publisher Ollivier brought out Pugni's full-length score for "Ondine, ou La Naïade" in piano reduction, the composer dedicated his score to The Duchess of Cambridge Princess Augusta, grandmother of Queen Mary. Perrot utilized Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's 1811 "Ondine" as the basis for his subject. Frederick Ashton would later create his own ballet adapatation of "Ondine" for the Royal Ballet. During his engagement as Balletmaster in St. Petersburg Perrot staged "Ondine, ou La Naïade" for the Imperial Ballet. Together, Perrot & Pugni (who had accompanied Perrot to Russia) staged the work in an elaborately expanded edition under the title "La Naïade et le pêcheur" ("The Naiad & the Fisherman"), which premiered on February 11/January 30, 1851 with Cerrito appearing in her role of the naiad Ondine. From then on, Perrot's "La Naïade et le pêcheur" would remain in the repertory of the Imperial Ballet at regular intervals via several revivals mounted years later by Marius Petipa. The last notable revival of the ballet during the Imperial era in Russia was staged by Cesare Pugni's grandson, the legendary character dancer & Balletmaster Alexander Shiryaev for the great Anna Pavlova. This revival premiered on December 7/20, 1903. For the excerpts shown in this performance, Pyotr Gusev used his vast knowledge of the Imperial Ballet's repertory at the turn of the 20th century. This performance gives us an extremely rare glimpse of the ballets of old with regard to choreography. How much of it is "authentic" I cannot say, but it certainly seems to be, for the most part, the real thing".