About Style and Aesthetics - Baryshnikov and Godunov

[California]

26 minutes ago, lmspear said:

This comment brought Charles Askegard to mind.  I remember he was 6'4" and danced with ABT under Baryshnikov and NYCB, under Martins. Where does he fit into this picture? I can't offer an opinion on him, he didn't stay in my long term memory.🥺

Aran Bell is 6'3" -- doesn't seem to be hurting his performances.

https://pointemagazine.com/catherine-hurlin-aran-bell-abt/#gsc.tab=0

[On Pointe]

3 hours ago, California said:

Aran Bell is 6'3" -- doesn't seem to be hurting his performances.

https://pointemagazine.com/catherine-hurlin-aran-bell-abt/#gsc.tab=0

Aran Bell is young.  Physical therapy for ballet is more advanced now than when D'Amboise and Martins were dancing.  But moving a big body will always be hard.  Russell Janzen is also 6'3" and he recently retired at the age of 34.  Here's what he said in the New York Times:

"Ballet is punishing on most every body, but at 6-foot-3 I am not compact. My height and length can look impressive onstage, but my body doesn’t always absorb the impact of dancing and partnering well, making me — and my spine especially — susceptible to injury and strain."

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/arts/dance/dancer-retirement-new-york-city-ballet.html

 

[Meliss]

I think Baryshnikov, with his 5.6 inches, had more injuries than Godunov with 6.2.

[Meliss]

Sania Davlekamova, ballet critic 1979. "The concept of two schools -Leningrad and Moscow - is now retrospective. Nevertheless, Moscow expression and catchy effects prevail in male modern dance. The art of A. Godunov is determined by the laws of Harmony. Energy is ennobled by purity of form, but grace is devoid of willlessness... Motorism, accentuation has been defeated by dancing, the most important property, but it is not so common now in ballet, especially in men's dance. Godunov's expressive impulse and the sophistication of the academic canon live in harmony. The beauty of the lines, the completeness of the form with the most virtuosic technique in all the "registers" - this is his dance, which reveals the synthesis of two historical ballet styles..."