Cynthia Harvey

[Fraildove]

Hi All,

So I was watching Cynthia Harvy in Don Q , and noticed somthing that was to me, pecular (sp?). In the movie/video she seemed to be wearing split soled pointe shoes before i even knew they existed. could it be a 3/4 skived outer sole, or was it actually split? Anyone else notice this?

Also, i realized that I know very little about her career. She is fun to watch, a real spitfire whom i am sure was beautiful in other classical roles. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rachel

[rg]

can't speak about the shoes, never noticed the fine points (pardon the pun!) you mention.

on the factual front: CH spent a good bit of time in london during dowell's early royal ballet directorship days - she danced gamzatti opposite his solor in makarova's staging of LA BAYADERE - her performance was recorded in the 'live from lincoln center' telecast mentioned elsewhere on this site.

i believe she is married, perhaps to an englishman, she's been teaching both here in the states and in england, i think. sometimes ABT's summer intensive in nyc and otherwise around town if memory serves.

i saw her briefly, in passing, on a street in the upper westside of manhattan just recently, maybe around labor day.

she is co-author, with k.laws in his 'physics/dance' book and video. as follows:

Physics, dance and the pas de deux / Presto! Productions ; producer, Catherine O'Brien ; authors, Cynthia Harvey and Kenneth Laws.

New York, NY : Schirmer Books, c1994.

videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col.

For a complete recording of Natalia Makarova's Swan lake, an excerpt from which appears in this recording, see *MGZIA 4-533 Natalia Makarova's Swan lake.

Narrators: Cynthia Harvey and Kenneth Laws.

Dancers: Julie Kent and Benjamin Pierce of American Ballet Theatre, with Abi Stafford (child dancer).

Dancers in the Black swan pas de deux: Evelyn Hart, Peter Schaufuss, and members of London Festival Ballet.

Videographer and editor, Ron Wyman.

Balance -- Motion in a curved path -- Grand jeté -- Conservation of rotational momentum -- Fouetté turns -- Turns in the air -- Vertical jumps and the effects of body size -- Supported fouetté turn -- A partnered turn from arabesque -- Vertical lifts -- Black swan pas de deux [entrée and adagio] from Natalia Makarova's Swan lake.

Analysis and demonstration of the physical principles underlying some typical ballet steps, and movements used in partnering. In conclusion, the Black swan pas de deux from Natalia Makarova's Swan lake is screened, and selected sequences replayed (some in slow motion) and analyzed.

Video accompanying the book Physics, dance and the pas de deux, by Kenneth Laws and Cynthia Harvey

her starring role btw in baryshnikov's DON QUIXOTE was an almost last minute substitution when gelsey kirkland was unavailable for the filming, at that point i don't think CH danced kitri more than a few times.

you can also see CH on some david howard ballet class tapes as well as in two different roles on the tape listed below:

American Ballet Theatre at the Met / WNET/13 ; director, Brian Large.

U.S.: WNET, 1984.

(85 min.) : sd., col.

Danced by members of American Ballet Theatre.

Les sylphides / choreography, Mikhail Fokin ; music, Chopin ; scenery, Alexandre Benois ; danced by Marianna Tcherkassky, Cynthia Harvey, Cheryl Yeager, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and ensemble.

Triad / choreography, Kenneth MacMillan ; music, Sergei Prokofiev ; danced by Amanda McKerrow, Robert La Fosse, and Johan Renvall, with John Gardner, John Turjoman, and Craig Wright

Paquita / choreography, staged by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa ; music, Ludwig Minkus, orchestrated by John Lanchbery ; costumes, Theoni V. Aldredge ; danced by Cynthia Gregory and Fernando Bujones, with Leslie Browne, Susan Jaffe, Cynthia Harvey, Deirdre Carberry, and ensemble.

Videotaped in performance at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, in 1984. Telecast on February 22, 1985 on the Dance in America series by WNET/13, New York.

[Guest soretoes]

Cynthia Harvey was in NYC this past summer. She was teaching at STEP's for Nancy Bielski for three weeks! She teaches as a guest with the Royal Ballet School in England for their summer courses and does ABT intensive in NYC - Generally guests when she is not teaching in England where she lives. She brought her little son to the studio. He looks around 4 or 5yrs old.

Classes were packed! One day there was around 70 in class.

As for her shoes, I don't think they could be split soled. Maybe she just took out the nails at the back and scraped the sole to make them less thick with a sharp exacto knife.

Soretoes.x

[Victoria Leigh]

Thank you for that information, soretoes, and welcome to Ballet Alert! Online