Historic Postcards

[rg]

the link below goes to a selection of imperial and soviet ballet cards showing duets, trios and groups of dancers posed especially for the camera (or in some cases, so-caught by the camera's lens).

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p...636&uid=1471587

[Solor]

I tried to look at the pix, but found nothing. It promted me to submit a password. I registered though......mrlopez2681

would like to see your album!

[rg]

sorry, solor, i open certain albums, selectively.

this one, called GROUPINGS, was open but then was superceded by other albums. however i shall now 'open' it again for your perusal. i hope you won't be disappointed.

if it remains 'closed' please let me know.

[Dale]

Thank you for reopening these pictures. I love that in the studio groupings, there's always one dancer lying on the floor I also want to see the ballet "The Gold Fish."

A question - the picture of Faust reminded me that there is a snip of that ballet in the 1924 film Phantom of the Opera. Does anybody know if that was the Paris Opera dancing? If now, who? William von Wymetal, a film choreographer I have never heard of, is listed on imdb as the stager.

[carbro]

I'm grateful, too.

I don't know how I missed these beauts in November.

[rg]

i don't have any confirmation of my hunch that the 'ballet on stage' scenes and the 'auditorium' of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA are actual shots of the garnier and of the Paris Opera troupe in the 1920s. the movie was essentially made on sound stages in hollywood, but i feel the makers of the movie might well have chosen to amplify and authenticate their movie w/ location shots from the garnier itself. (something tells me there weren't that many 'real' ballet dancers in hollywood during that time.)

my guess is that the ballet shown on the stage is clustine's SUITE DE DANSE, or a take on it.

(similarly i feel the footage of dances on stage in the later benoit levy film LE MORT DU CYGNGE w/ chauvire and charrat, shows a scene from leo staats' choreography for FAUST at the paris opera.

still i don't think these hunches of mine are confirmed (or, necessarily, denied) anywhere.

someone thought the petrograd scene might depict a scene from boito's MEPHISTOPHELES but the writing on the card definitely says FAUST, so i think it's a russian staging of 'the walpurgis nacht.'

as ever so many questions, so few definite answers.

[Dale]

rg, thank you. Your answer was perfect and helpful.

[rg]

re: GOLDFISH - i've now moved another card showing this ballet to this 'album' - it shows geltzer and tikhomirov in a pas de duex from the gorsky/minkus ballet, perhaps w/ references to the earlier version by saint-leon.