rg Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 the photocard scanned here has only a faint rubber-stamped marking on the back noting Riga. i suppose the picture documents a staging of the Grand Pas Classique from PAQUITA - with the danseur dressed in full costume as Lucien. there's no telling, if my PAQUITA hunch is correct, if it shows a scene from the full ballet or just the Grand Pas, w/ the lone male dancer costumed as as the narrative's hero. the women are somewhat lacking in classical rigor, but, overall, the moment looks very much like one from the 'pas' as it's come down to us to this day. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Interesting shot! You have to wonder if the cavalry dolman and the Hessian boots cramped the danseur's style in both partnering and dancing his variation, or are the boots just puttees with ballet slippers worn underneath? Link to comment
rg Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 i wondered similarly, Mel, about the costuming and the choreography for the danseur in the Gr. Pas. perhaps he wears his 'full regalia' only for the opening scene and then takes off the more cumbersome aspects of the costume? or maybe this staging limits him strictly to a 'porteur' position... Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 In many stagings of the grand pas we see today, Lucien isn't even onstage for the entire entree, so any number of possibilities present themselves. Did anybody do a revival of a complete Paquita after the advent of ballet stage photography? And I wonder about the backmark. Postal regulations regarding postcards varied vastly internationally. It was once customary to stamp a mail item with both the sending AND receiving post offices. Postcards, when they first came out were supposed to be enclosed in a letter envelope, but some countries, including the US, made a special wrapper for the pictorial goodie. Often the card got stamped, not just the canceled postage! Link to comment
rg Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 sorry, Mel, i wasn't clear. the postcard is unused, the only markings are the result of a single? rubber-stamp - not esp. clear - but here's what i make out: << Prosos-Foto ED. KRAUIZ Riga, Marila lela 78. Tel. 4-7-8-7 >> [any number of the letters indicated above are so light i could be misreading them] Link to comment
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