A Tape Entitled "firestone Dances"

[silvy]

I saw the above tape in amazon.com, but there is not much information about it.

Is anyone able to give me more details (i.e., dancers, ballets danced there)

thank you!!!!!

silvy

[Giannina]

I'm with you in that I've never seen it before, but the fact that Kronstam is in it makes it extremely interesting. rg? Alexandra?

Giannina

[Dale]

I have it in a closet but out of memory it has Hayden and D'Amboise in Tchaik. Pas de Deux and D'Amboise's version of the Don Q. Grand pas, Tallchief in a romantic pas de deux, with corp and partner, Nureyev in Gayne solo, and Kronstam and Simone in the Sleeping Beauty. The performances aren't perfect. I gather the studio wasn't the best for dance but I found it is worth having just to see a little bit of the older dancers. I think there also is some other dancing, like Spanish dancing on it too.

[Dale]

Here's the credits from the NYPL:

Firestone dances, 1962-1963 [videorecording] / produced by Video Artists International in association with New England Conservatory of Music, as part of Voice of Firestone classic performances ; production coordinator, Allan Altman.

Imprint Fort Lee, N.J. : Video Artists International, c1995, 1962-1963.

LOCATION CALL # STATUS

PerfArts-Dance *MGZIA 4-2702

Location PerfArts-Dance

Prod cntry U.S.

Descript 1 videocassette (50 min.) : sd., b&w NTSC ; 1/2 in. (VHS)

Note Additional program information from wrapper.

Contents Andalusian dances (ca. 5 min.) / telecast on December 2, 1962 ; danced by the Ballet Español Ximenes-Vargas.

Variations after Degas (ca. 6 min.) / telecast on October 14, 1962 ; choreography attributed on frame to James Starbuck, possibly by Robert Pagent ; music, Claude Debussy ; danced by Maria Tallchief and six women.

Caprice (ca. 6 min.) / telecast on April 14, 1963 ; choreography, Robert Pagent ; music, Rossini, arranged by Benjamin Britten ; danced by Maria Tallchief, Oleg Tupine, and corps de ballet.

The sleeping beauty: Act III, prince's variation (ca. 2 min.) / telecast on June 2, 1963 ; choreography, uncredited [after Petipa?] ; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky ; danced by Rudolf Nureyev.

Gayane: male variation (ca. 2 min.) / telecast on June 2, 1963 ; choreography, uncredited ; music, Aram Khachaturian ; danced by Rudolf Nureyev.

The sleeping beauty: Act III, grand pas de deux (ca.. 9 min.) / telecast on June 9, 1963 ; choreography, uncredited [after Petipa?] ; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky ; danced by Kirsten Simone and Henning Kronstam.

Pas de quatre: Cerrito's variation (ca. 3 min.) / telecast on November 18, 1962 ; choreography, Jules Perrot ; music, Cesare Pugni ; danced by Carla Fracci.

Pas de deux [Tchaikovsky pas de deux] (ca. 3 min.) / telecast on December 16, 1962 ; choreography, George Balanchine ; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky ; danced by Melissa Hayden and Jacques d'Amboise.

Don Quixote: pas de deux (ca. 7 min.) / telecast on March 10, 1963 ; choreography, Jacques d'Amboise after Marius Petipa ; music, L. Minkus ; danced by Melissa Hayden and Jacques d'Amboise.

Note Originally telecast live on the Voice of Firestone series, 1962-1963.

[Alexandra]

The Nureyev Gayaneh is worth the price of the tape for me. He is right off the plane -- messy hair and all -- and I've never seen anyone else dance like this. The zest, the delight he takes in the movement -- it's before he got tamed; the Prince in Sleeping Beauty is a bit raw, but he was only 23.

It's the only video available now of Kronstam as a classical dancer (there were televised performances but he was in his 40s.) The studio (I'm sure for all the dancers) was tiny -- I saw the rehearsal tapes of this -- and the floor was waxed. What I wrote in my book I'll repeat here -- if I'd seen this tape 10 years ago, I wouldn't have given the Danes a second glance, but when I knew what to look for I was fascinated. She's very pure -- just a bit bland. And there are two things to watch in Kronstam -- first, the arms, the way they cross his chest, with a continual flow of movement. It's very rare to see that now. And secondly, the way he's doing the pas de deux in context -- it's not a concert number. He was the Romantic Prince, but he's not using that as a star persona; Florimund is a classical Prince, and that's how he dances him.

There's also Carla Fracci very young, and Tallchief in a specialy made, very negligible (but blessedly competent) piece. I have to say I wasn't wowed by Hayden and D'Amboise. But this is TV, and it's not fair to judge.

I do hope rg will see this one and give his take on it