Quiggin Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Two intriguing glimpses at early Balanchine works that I found posted on the Jacob's Pillow Interactive website – "Apollo" as done by San Francisco Ballet in 1956 with Conrad Ludlow – and maybe how the 1937 version with Lew Christensen looked: http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/san-francisco-ballet/apollon-musagete-apollo/ "Shepherd's hornpipe" from "The Gods Go a-Begging". Choreographed by Balanchine just after "Apollo" in 1928, with Alexandra Danilova and Leon Woizikowsky. Here with Nora Kaye and Hugh Laing, who first danced the role in 1930. Very nice natural quality to the performances I think. http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/nora-kaye-hugh-laing/the-gods-go-a-begging/ Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the clips Quiggin. I often don't understand why some pieces are being kept "lost" given that video record exists of them. I loved the Kaye clip. Edited January 4, 2017 by cubanmiamiboy Link to comment
pherank Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Danilova describes The Gods on pages 100-101 of her autobiography (but there's too much for me to reproduce here). I'm always wondering where the film of Cotillion went to - a portion of it appears in the Balanchine American Masters program. 'The eminent critic Edwin Denby called "Cotillon" the glory of the company's repertory and wrote that "this piece profoundly affected the imagination of the young people of my generation." In her book "De Basil's Ballets Russes," Katherine Sorley Walker wrote: " 'Cotillon' has haunted the memory of everyone who saw it. Many feel that it should be revived." Balanchine himself was clearly not among those "many." "He talked about the ballet, but he never talked about bringing it back," recalls Barbara Horgan, the late choreographer's longtime assistant and the administrator of the George Balanchine Trust.' http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-30/entertainment/ca-3021_1_joffrey-ballet-robert-joffrey-lost-cotillon La Valse re-purposed some of the choreography, and perhaps there are bits and pieces reused elsewhere too, so that may be the reason why Balanchine was willing to let go. Link to comment
Quiggin Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Yes there was a nice spinning Kodachrome clip of "Cotillion" (Ann Barzel's photography?) in the Balanchine biography. Christian Bernard's designs were an important element the ballet, his gloved look to become "the New Look" in 1947. Arlene Croce somewhere has a discussion on the waltz ballets and on horse imagery in "Cotillion." Balanchine's choreography for Les Ballets 1933 Here is an uncredited video on the sets and costumes, with one or two clips. A very productive project for Balanchine. It includes: "Mozartiana" - Tchaikovsky - Christian Berard (borrowing a bit from Picasso saltimbanques of 1904/5). "Les Songes" - Milhaud - Andre Derain "Fastes" - Sauguet - Derain "L’Errante" - Schubert - Pavel Tchelitchew "Beethoven Waltzes" - arranged by Nicolas Nabokov - Emilio Terry Les Ballets 1933 materials begin about 6:30 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYkLE_fBbS0 And more Nora Kaye – in everyday life, from 8mm home movie footage of the late forties. Footage begins at 3:30 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU_1LsIPFXs Link to comment
sandik Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks for the link to the Les Ballets footage -- I hadn't seen this before. Link to comment
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