Nadia Nerina

[atm711]

Are there any videos of Nadia Nerina?

[rg]

alas, for a dancer who was filmed rather often in her day, for example in specially arranged television versions of COPPELIA, PETROUCHKA, FIREBIRD, & GISELLE, all under the good direction of dancer-turned-tv-director margaret dale, none of these has been released commercially and some (all?) have been 'wiped' as the english say, from the BBC archives.

unless i'm forgetting something, somewhere, i fear that no nerina footage is on the commercial market.

wish i could say something more encouraging...

[Jane Simpson]

Both Petrouchka and Giselle still exist - I've seen them in the last few years at the National Film Theatre, and the Petrouchka is one of the best-televised ballets I've ever seen. There's also, of course, the film of the original cast of La Fille mal Gardee, of which there are copies still around in various places - but again, not available commercially.

[grace]

not much use to you, i'm sure, but there IS a tiny snippet of nerina, in 'her' jumping solo from fille, commercially available. i believe it was in one of the makarova BALLERINA series of programs, that i saw it.

the reason i particularly remember it, is because it was the ONLY footage of nerina that i had ever seen, and of course, because it was nerina in the solo that people refer to as hers. i could look up which program in the series, if you REALLY want to know!?

[rg]

a perhaps somewhat longer excerpt from this bbc film of FILLE MAL GARDEE w/ nerina is also on FREDERICK ASHTON: A REAL CHOREOGRAPHER, which has been shown on US tv - the old CBS Cable if mem serves?

i've tried to search the n.y.p.l. dance collection for which BALLERINA episode includes the nerina clip and see that the bbc series is not in the collection's catalogue, so i can't help w/ which show (there were 4, i think) includes the nerina snippet.

[Dale]

The NYPL is tricky. When they re-did their catalogue, some of the cross-referencing was taken out. Here's the listing (which is not commercially available and I don't see Nerina listed in it):

Ballerina [videorecording] / a BBC-TV production in association with Arts and Entertainment Network and RM Arts ; directed by Derek Bailey ; produced by Derek Bailey and Julia Matheson ; written and presented by Natalia Makarova.

Imprint U.K. : BBC-TV, c1987.

LOCATION CALL # STATUS

PerfArts-Dance *MGZIA 4-5506

Location PerfArts-Dance

Prod cntry U.K.

Descript 4 videocassettes (195 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences NTSC ; 1/2 in. (VHS)

Note Telecast by the Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E).

Credits Program consultant, Clement Crisp.

Summary Documentary in two parts: The making of a ballerina (cassettes 1 & 2) and The great tradition (cassettes 3 & 4).

Contents Cassette 1 (ca. 91 min. total). The making of a ballerina. [introduction]. Interviewees: Maurice B?jart, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Maya Plisetskaya. Dance excerpts: The dying swan / danced by Anna Pavlova -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Margot Fonteyn -- Don Quixote / danced by Maya Plisetskaya -- Swan lake. Act II, pas de deux / chor., Lev Ivanov ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy.

[Different types of ballerina]. Examples illustrated by dance excerpts: Romantic: La sylphide / danced by Carla Fracci and Gheorghe Iancu -- Virtuoso: Paquita / danced by Cynthia Harvey -- Dramatic: Romeo and Juliet / chor., Kenneth MacMillan ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- Classical: Grand pas classique / chor., Victor Gsovsky ; danced by Sylvie Guillem.

[Physical requirements of a ballerina ; pointe shoes]. Interviewee: Bernard Kohler. Dance excerpt: Don Quixote pas de deux / danced by Natalia Makarova and Peter Schaufuss.

[schools and styles]. Examples of ballet classes and ballerinas from different countries. Interviewees: Kirsten Ralov, Lis Jeppesen. Russia: Vaganova School -- Raymonda / danced by Natalia Makarova -- The little humpbacked horse / danced by Maya Plisetskaya. U.S.: School of American Ballet, class taught by Alexandra Danilova -- Don Quixote / danced by Susan Jaffe. England: Royal Ballet School, class taught by Galina Samsova -- Cinderella / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Antoinette Sibley. Denmark: Royal Danish Ballet School, class taught by Kirsten Ralov -- Royal Danish Ballet, company class -- Konservatoriet / chor., August Bournonville ; danced by Lis Jeppesen. France: Paris Op?ra Ballet School, class taught by Christiane Vaussard -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Isabelle Gu?rin.

[The importance of versatility]. Virginia Johnson of Dance Theatre of Harlem dances excerpts from Holberg suite (chor., Arthur Mitchell), Othello (chor., John Butler), Fall River legend (chor., Agnes de Mille), and A streetcar named desire (chor., Valerie Bettis), the last with Lowell Smith.

[Partnering]. Interviewees: Maya Plisetskaya, Marcia Hayd?e. Dance excerpts: Manon / chor., Kenneth MacMillan ; rehearsal ; danced by Natalia Makarova and male ensemble from the Royal Ballet -- Black swan pas de deux / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- Black swan pas de deux / performance ; danced by Makarova and Dowell -- Swan lake. Act II pas de deux / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Alexander Sombart -- Swan lake. Act II pas de deux / performance ; danced by Makarova and Ivan Nagy -- Tha?s / chor., Frederick Ashton ; danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell -- Marguerite and Armand / chor., Ashton ; danced by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev -- The lady with the little dog [The lady with a lapdog] / chor., Plisetskaya ; danced by Plisetskaya and Boris Efimov -- The taming of the shrew / chor., John Cranko ; danced by Marcia Hayd?e and Richard Cragun -- Onegin / chor., Cranko ; danced by Makarova and Reid Anderson. Continued on cassette 2.

Cassette 2 (ca. 5 min.). Onegin, continued. End credits for The making of a ballerina.

Cassette 3 (ca. 92 min. total). The great tradition. [introduction]. Interviewee: Maurice B?jart. Dance excerpts: The blue angel / chor., Roland Petit ; rehearsal ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Jean-Pierre Aviotte, supervised by Roland Petit -- Wien, Wien, nur du allein / chor., B?jart ; rehearsal ; danced by Marcia Hayd?e and Jorge Donn, supervised by B?jart -- Other dances / chor., Jerome Robbins ; rehearsal ; danced by Makarova, supervised by Robbins.

[Great ballerina roles of the past: Odette, Aurora, Giselle]. Interviewee: Antony Tudor. Dance excerpts: Swan lake / danced by Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Margot Fonteyn -- The sleeping beauty / danced by Elisabeth Platel -- Giselle / danced by Galina Ulanova -- Giselle / danced by Alicia Markova -- Giselle / rehearsal ; danced by Makarova and Alexander Sombart -- Giselle / danced by Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

[Characterization]. Interviewee: Kenneth MacMillan. Dance excerpts: Manon / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Natalia Makarova (Manon), Derek Rencher (Monsieur G.M.), Stephen Jeffries (Lescaut) -- Romeo and Juliet / chor., MacMillan ; danced by Makarova.

[John Cranko and his choreography]. Interviewee: Carla Fracci. Dance excerpts: Romeo and Juliet / chor., Cranko ; danced by Fracci and Gheorghe Iancu -- Onegin / chor., Cranko ; danced by Natalia Makarova and Reid Anderson.

[ballerinas as links to the past]. Interviewees: Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova. Makarova rehearses London Festival Ballet Theatre in La bayad?re. Danilova teaches a variation from Paquita to students of the School of American Ballet. Markova rehearses the Sugarplum Fairy variation and the grand pas de deux from The nutcracker with Janette Mulligan and Martin James of London Festival Ballet. Dance excerpt: Giselle / danced by Markova.

[Three great ballerinas of the past: Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spessivtzeva]. Interviewees: Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor. Reminiscences by the two choreographers, illustrated with b&w footage of Pavlova in various roles, including The dying swan, and Spessivtseva in Giselle.

[ballerinas of the future]. Interviewee: Maurice B?jart. Dance excerpts: La bayad?re / danced by Cecilia Kerche and Fernando Bujones -- Royal Danish Ballet in company class -- Amleth [Hamlet] / chor., John Neumeier ; danced by Mette Bodtcher (Ophelia) -- Mouvement, rythme, etude / chor., B?jart ; danced by Sylvie Guillem and Eric Vu-An. Re-recorded in full on cassette 4.

Cassette 4 (ca. 7 min.). Mouvement, rythme, etude. End credits for The great tradition.

[rg]

well, dale, you have far better search skills than i do.

i still am not sure how to access this info so fully as you did but i suppose one day i'll get the hang of it.

thanks in the meantime for the rundown(s).

[Dale]

I don't have better research skills than you. I snagged the listing about a year ago, before they re-did their database. I found that I can't find things as I used to, such as the Antique Epigraphs that was shown on PBS. I couldn't find it under the ballet's title or under any of the ballerina's names. It was listed under the title of the broadcast: Choreography by Jerome Robbins with the New York City Ballet. I'm half embarrassed to say that I complained to NYPL.

[atm711]

I have the Makarova 'Ballerina' tape which I have just zapped through looking for Nerina---but she wasn't on it. I taped it off of A&E, and I noted on the tape that it was Parts 2, 3, and 4. From what you have written Dale, the only part I do not have is "The Importance of Versatility".

[grace]

WOW dale - that's SOME list! what is NYPL, please?

i'll go and have a look at my videos, as i DID make my own list of the contents of SOME of them. if it's not in BALLERINA, i may still be able to find it...maybe.

[Dale]

NYPL = New York Public Library, shorthand for us dance fans here for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the Lincoln Center branch, aka Dance Heaven with all the videos

[Dale]

Grace, maybe the clip you are thinking of was in "Dance of the century"

a multi-episode doc. on dance narrated by Lynn Seymour?

[grace]

good idea - so i just checked my own very detailed list for that series, and it appears NOT to be in there, either.

thanks for info above, and please: what is IN The jerome robbins collection? and is it just named after robbins, or is it his OWN collection? (thanks in advance!)

i just had a quick squizz at my BALLERINA videos list (can't find episode #1) - and it isn't in episode 2, 3 or 4 - so if it's not in 1, then i have named the wrong series. maybe someone else could check #1?

not that i don't trust the lists above, but just that there are so many little bits in these videos, and maybe the NYPL list only mentions the more 'significant' (as in 'lengthier') footage? what do you think?

[Dale]

Here's the website for the collection:

http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html

[grace]

thanks dale. i had a look:

The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library is the largest and most comprehensive archive in the world devoted to the documentation of dance.

wow. "you learn something new every day"! - and it's only 7 am...

i assume from the search you did, that some people can access some information online. how does THAT come about?

[Dale]

Just follow that link.

[grace]

thanks dale. btw atm711, i haven't forgotten you...could it have been in fonteyn's magic of dance series? - somehow that seems more likley than the other two...