The Traveling Ballerina Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 So browsing Marquee TV, I discovered that Gene Kelly choreographed a ballet! Here's a short article I wrote covering a bit about the history and my thoughts about Pas de Dieux. Has anyone else seen this piece? Link to comment
pherank Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 On 11/6/2020 at 4:51 AM, The Traveling Ballerina said: So browsing Marquee TV, I discovered that Gene Kelly choreographed a ballet! Here's a short article I wrote covering a bit about the history and my thoughts about Pas de Dieux. Has anyone else seen this piece? Interesting discovery. I'm afraid I don't have Marquee TV and won't likely have the money to subscribe right now. Some of those sets look rather similar to Robbins' Fancy Free settings. Link to comment
dirac Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 This, is great, Traveling Ballerina. I will watch it if I can. It would not surprise me if the piece is disappointing as ballet. Kelly wasn't trained as one and his body wasn't ideal for it. (He did study under Berenice Holmes in the 30s, who was Adolph Bolm's Polyhymnia.) Kelly himself wasn't satisfied with it; he thought the pas de deux was fine but wasn't happy with his work for the ensemble. From your article: Quote But I’m not sure the same can be said for the legend’s place in the ballet canon. Although it must be noted that at the time he was widely recognized for his work so much so that he received the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government. Kelly was an enthusiastic proselytizer for dance and ballet as well as a performer, so his influence went beyond his work as a perfomer, choreographer, and director. As you write, he loved France and it's nice to know the sentiment was mutual. Link to comment
The Traveling Ballerina Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 15 hours ago, pherank said: Some of those sets look rather similar to Robbins' Fancy Free settings. Yes, the second movement is definitely Fancy Free-esque! Link to comment
The Traveling Ballerina Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 8 hours ago, dirac said: This, is great, Traveling Ballerina. I will watch it if I can. In my opinion, it's not a must-see by any means in respect to ballet choreography. But as a historical nugget, why not? Link to comment
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