ABT - Veronika Part - Swan Lake

[Buddy]

Edited to say right from the start:

Having now watched all of Veronika Part's dance segments

This is one extraordinary video !

 

Maybe many of you have received the same message. 

"Today, as a small token of appreciation for your continued generosity,  we bring you this private link with access to American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake."

I purchased the recent Ratmansky at City Center, which may be why I received this. I also gave a donation last March.

In any case - I've yet to see a video that comes close to capturing the magic of Veronika Part, especially her Swan Lake, but this maybe comes the closest.

I've only watched the White Swan duet, twice, but it's enough to really recommend this video. For a donation it's well worth it. It's available until April 30.

Veronika Part and James Whiteside -- Swan Lake

August 29, 2014 Queensland Performing Arts Centre Brisbane, Australia

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Buddy

[nanushka]

Oh my! Exciting news that this video exists. I miss seeing her dance so very much. I hope this video makes its way onto YouTube at some point.

Is the whole ballet included in the video?

Edited March 29, 2021 by nanushka

[Buddy]

7 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Oh my! Exciting news that this video exists. I miss seeing her dance so very much. I hope this video makes its way onto YouTube at some point.

Is the whole ballet included in the video?

It runs for a little over two hours, Nanushka. I fast forwarded to the end and it all seems to be there.

[nanushka]

13 minutes ago, Buddy said:

It runs for a little over two hours, Nanushka. I fast forwarded to the end and it all seems to be there.

Great. Thanks for sharing the news of this!

[California]

The Part Swan Lake is one of four things available at "ABT on Demand" to ABT supporters above a certain level. Log into their site. Then Support==>ABT On Demand. Four full-evening programs: the 2007 Ferri-Bolle Manon they released last year, the ABT program at Vail in 2019, and Lady of the Camellias from 2010 with Kent, Bolle, Hallberg, and Murphy. You also see a lot of "Ballet Banter" and ABT at 75 at the Guggenheim-Works and Process.  I have no idea if they dole out different things for different supporter levels. Not clear how that works.

Edited March 30, 2021 by California

[Buddy]

24 minutes ago, California said:

The Part Swan Lake is one of four things available at "ABT on Demand" to ABT supporters above a certain level. Log into their site. Then Support==>ABT On Demand. Four full-evening programs: the 2007 Ferri-Bolle Manon they released last year, the ABT program at Vail in 2019, and Lady of the Camellias from 2010 with Kent, Bolle, Hallberg, and Murphy. You also see a lot of "Ballet Banter" and ABT at 75 at the Guggenheim-Works and Process.  I have no idea if they dole out different things for different supporter levels. Not clear how that works.

Thanks, California.

I've now see all of her dancing through the opening White Swan/Odette Act.

This is pretty darn good stuff so far. Highly recommended !

[Buddy]

I've now finished watching all of her dance segments.

* ! Excellent ! *

     At times 

* ! Amazing  ! *

 

[canbelto]

Did anyone find the aspect ratio of the video odd? It seems as if the dancers look artificially elongated. 

[nysusan]

36 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Did anyone find the aspect ratio of the video odd? It seems as if the dancers look artificially elongated. 

Absolutely, that was the first thing I noticed. While so grateful to be able to watch Part's O/O (and Lane with Gorak and Brandt in the pdt) the elongated look of all of the dancers was very disconcerting.

[Buddy]

Going into Day II.

I've seen her perform this live five or six times. I've written pages about it, some of it can probably be seen at her topic. Much of this was done to keep what I saw as alive as possible for as long as possible.

Now that I have this in front of me, I just sit there -- Spellbound

In Awe.

 

[Buddy]

No matter what we think or write, above all, this performance speaks for itself.

The only person performing now that I know of who has done comparably is the Bolshoi's Olga Smirnova, and both these artists come from the same Vaganova/Mariinsky beginnings. Veronika Part is probably the more sensitive and refined, Olga Smirnova the more intellectual with much promising development to look forward to. 

I've also seen Gillian Murphy in about as many of these as I have Veronika Part. I've often compared them very favorably. Veronika Part, I would say, stands out in her completeness.

The one person who could command the stage at the same level, but in a completely different way at ABT in this performance, was Marcelo Gomes.

Ulyana Lopatkina, from the Mariinsky, might have been the finest Odette/Odile in pure beauty of dance.  

The person who commanded this role, for me, but again in another quite different way, was the legendary Galina Ulanova. Her's is a more transcendental world, but in terms of compelling poetry of presence I would say that Veronika Part is very comparable.  

[Buddy]

Having watched all her performance a few times I've settled in, as I usually do, to the famous White Swan duet, which is in Act I or Act II depending on the production. This duet usually follows the same structure as the one developed in Russia which has been refined for almost a century. This speaks to the fineness of this duet, which for me, represents the essence of ballet.

I had the pleasure of being at a reception in St. Petersburg where Veronika Part was present after having made one of her rare performances there. She's a very beautiful woman, but one who's also very modest and unaffected as are almost all the ballet artists that I've encountered. The reason that I mention this is to note the remarkable difference when she takes to the stage. On stage she becomes a larger than life goddess and her range of character is amazing. The transformation is mind boggling.

Her 'charaterization,' I believe, is the heart of her performing greatness. To state it simply, although the effect far transcends this - it's her face and its expression that are the reason for this. All her other abilities, such as her remarkable dance motion, are used to support this. But this is where the essence is. This is where the meaning and the greatness are.

Her mental agility is also quite remarkable. In contrast to some great stage artists, when the curtain calls arrive at the end, she's radiantly back to earth.

I've also been watching a video of the young Galina Ulanova performing the duet. The most noticeable quality is her almost transcendent purity. She literally seems to float at times and her presence does the same. Veronica Part, on the other hand, is more expressive and dramatic, but still has transcendence. Her amazing ability, it seems to me, is to be able to transform, to merge seamlessly and instantly, transcendence and compellingly embracing drama. She not only seems to live the character but also to elevate it to something with an all encompassing significance and emotional poetry.    

[volcanohunter]

On 3/30/2021 at 1:02 PM, nysusan said:

Absolutely, that was the first thing I noticed. While so grateful to be able to watch Part's O/O (and Lane with Gorak and Brandt in the pdt) the elongated look of all of the dancers was very disconcerting.

That's very unfortunate, and it's a shame this wasn't fixed. What's disconcerting is not so much that dancers appear seven feet tall, but that their limbs seem to lengthen and shorten as they move through space. I've encountered the aspect ratio problem at ballet-in-cinema screenings more than once, although usually the dancers were stretched sideways in those cases. 

[Buddy]

On 3/30/2021 at 12:02 PM, nysusan said:

Absolutely, that was the first thing I noticed. While so grateful to be able to watch Part's O/O (and Lane with Gorak and Brandt in the pdt) the elongated look of all of the dancers was very disconcerting.

Advise: Attach your computer to my television, which flattens everything, and the world should be round again. 🙂 

But still...."so grateful to be able to watch Part's O/O."