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Most impressive visual moment in ballet


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In Stephen Baynes' Swan Lake, the moment at the end when the boat stops, and the figure stoops and picks up what we then see to be poor drowned Siegfried. Visually arresting and I catch my breath every time - the first time I hadn't realised that when he disappeared he'd thrown himself in.

 

In the Aus Ballet's ubiquitous Graeme Murphy Swan Lake, when the framework of the asylum ("sanatorium") withdraws and we see:

 

 

murphy-swan-lake1.jpg

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Many to choose from but my favourites are 

1- the xmas tree enlarging in the nutcracker with the music building and the glitter!

2- the corp de ballet in act 2 of giselle when they enter then do the crossing arabesque! 

 

Gets me every time!

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Like Duck, Act 2 of the Winter's Tale - the tree, the brilliant colours, the sheer exuberance of the dancing.

 

I always find the scene in Romeo and Juliet where they are standing completely still at opposite sides of the stage just staring at each other, whilst the Dance of the Knights continues between them, a pretty powerful moment.

 

The last moments of Within the Golden Hour when the curtain closes on the dancers still all moving together like cogs in a machine.

 

The final Pas de deux in the Two Pigeons especially when the second pigeon flies in.

 

Plenty more but I could be up all night listing them!

 

Someone mentioned the curtain going up on Vertiginous Thrill with Muntagirov and McRae both standing there - unfortunately when I saw it I had a very tall man sitting in front of me, whose head completely obscured Steven McRae, so for several moments I thought Vadim was alone on stage!

Edited by Balletfanp
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That reminds me of the moment in R&J when Lady Capulet and Lady Montagu are obliged to be 'reconciled' to each other - the slow, grand curtsies down and then the contemptuous sweeping away of their gowns before they stalk up to the Prince of Verona. Brilliant.

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Not sure if these have been mentioned but curtain up on Symphonic Variations is wonderful.  Clara's recognition that she has her necklace from the Sugar Plum Fairy and has indeed saved Hans Peter always gets me (and how good it is to see in the Nutcracker casting that Francesca will continue dancing Clara as well as Sugar Plum Fairy).

But I have to agree with one of Bridiem's choices earlier on - the closing of Song of the Earth is utterly sublime.

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I realised after writing my post that I had missed adding the curtain up on Symphonic Variations - thanks for the reminder. Like a burst of sunshine on a group of classical statues.

 

Also, when I saw Jewels, there was an audible "Oooh!" from the audience when the curtain went up on Diamonds.

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On 6/29/2017 at 01:31, Jan McNulty said:

Yes, I remember The Planets. Some of it was gorgeously other-worldly.

Particularly Venus with Bryony Brind.

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Can I have the appearance of the rubber snake in Bayadere? ;)

 

 OK, as we've already had the Woolf Works arm waves I'll go for the Khan Giselle, where the Wilis interlace their sticks around a hapless Hilarion.  Also, Frida and Diego's pdd in Broken Wings, watched by the skeletons.

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On 30/06/2017 at 10:31, bridiem said:

That reminds me of the moment in R&J when Lady Capulet and Lady Montagu are obliged to be 'reconciled' to each other - the slow, grand curtsies down and then the contemptuous sweeping away of their gowns before they stalk up to the Prince of Verona. Brilliant.

That part always reminds me of two cats sizing each other up! 

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The swans rising up through the dry ice on an apparently empty stage in the BRB's Swan Lake always draws a gasp from the audience.  Although not a D Deane fan, the sight of 60 swans in perfect formation in the round at the Royal Albert Hall last summer in ENB's Swan Lake, they seemed so powerful against one poor little man! The Shades, usually in the Russian productions, coming down three steep ramps like a curl of smoke.  The 'column' of heads in Les Noces, don't know how else to describe it.  The curtain rising on the RB's last act of Romeo and Juliet, with a tiny Juliet lying on the tomb in the huge sepulchre set with those massive stone cherubs overlooking her, and those chilling strings....

Edited by cavycapers
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On ‎27‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 20:12, Lizbie1 said:

call me old-fashioned but I'm a sucker for a stage full of dancers being revealed behind a gauze.

 

Yes, the Mariinsky Bayadere always used to start the Kingdome of Shades act behind gauze. Then when they were all on the ground they ran into their positions and the gauze lifted to see them in beautiful rows in position perfectly balanced en pointe. That was amazing but I'm not sure they still do it now. I've a feeling the gauze lifts when they're scurrying into position which removes all the magic. We'll soon be able to see anyway.

 

Keeping with the Mariinsky I still vividly remember my first viewing of their Corsaire in Birmingham in 1990. I was just transfixed as I've never before seen such colour and spectacle in ballet. The overture (by far the best Corsaire overture there is) combined with the shipwreck of the Corsaires was terrific. it counts as one of my all time favourite ballet scenes ever and when a few years later I was attending a rehearsal and something went wrong with the opening and they had to do the entire scene again that was the highlight of my day!

 

The wonderful fountains mentioned previously are also amazing, especially the central one which seems to rival the fountain in Geneva for height! One of the reasons I've always been disappointed with all the other Corsaires I've seen is none of them have fountains. Perhaps the Mariinsky don't do them now; difficult to know as they haven't performed it here since about 2000/2001. Every visit without it is a disappointment as it has significant differences to anyone else's, also there are always the memories of the supreme performances in the 90's; Altynai, Zaklinsky, Ruzimatov, Zelensky, Larissa Lezhnina to name just a few, plus the wonderful conducting of Viktor Fedotov; those were the days!!!

 

Some scenes from Onegin are also very special; The gallop across the stage which we see twice and the waltz steps where they lift both legs off the ground are both very simple moves but amazingly effective and memorable. Also the curtain rising on the last act.

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May I echo those last comments about the Kirov  (as it was them) with those early Le Corsairs in the late 89s/90s.  They really were something special.  I remember Terekhova with special affection, also Neff and Pankova.  I really love the DVD I have of the first cast.  Such fun and such sublime dancing.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Only just caught up with this but most of mine except one have been mentioned already.

But I love

the scene at the beginning of the second act of Macmillans concerto with the huge sun

the end of Song of the Earth

the end of the Firebird 

and now a new ending...Wolf works the final act right at the end as the waves of corps recede and she descends to the ground apparently boneless!!

Alain in Fille going back to get his umbrella ( especially Alexander Grant) 

songs of a wayfarer with Nureyev just the two dancers towards the end on the stage ...I think one represents Death( ever present for us all!) 

Nureyev walking and taking up 5th position on stage.....or running with a cloak!

and Snowflakes in Nutcracker with the lovely choir and snow falling never get tired of that.

 

probably more will occur later but these just off the top of my head.

 

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I too love the endings of Song of the Earth and Firebird, really wonderful.  The moment that Juliet sits on her bed as the music swells is another heart stopping moment.  There have been lots of mentions of Nutcracker - my favourite bit is Clara and Hans Peter's duet after the battle with the mouse king - such beautiful music and choreography. 

 

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Here are a few that haven't been mentioned:

 

1) the two circles of corps walking clockwise and counterclockwise in Balanchine's Ballet Imperial/Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #2. I've seen this beautiful ballet so many times and that moment always gets applause.

 

2) The Balanchine Nutcracker snowflakes - the whole scene.

 

3) The final moment in Giselle when she holds her two fingers up to pledge her love before leaving Albrecht forever. 

 

4) When the Pink Girl draws a rainbow in the sky in Dances at a Gathering. 

 

5) The opening of Rubies, with that lineup of showgirls with the Tall Girl standing center stage.

 

6) The sunburst in Apollo.

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My favourite visual moment involves  no dancing.

The end of Act 2 of Sylvia.

Sylvia prays for deliverance from  Orion.

Her prayer is answered.

Eros appears with and Orion's cave 'dissolves.'

He shows her a vision of Aminta standing on the steps of the temple, longing for her return.

As the vision fades, Eros summons the ship which arrives to take Sylvia home.

He leads her on board.

The curtain falls.

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My 2 faves are the running corps in Onegin Act1 led by Olga and Lensky and the curtain up on Diamonds. I agree with Serenade too and also the Dream Scene in DonQ often draws audible gasps from the audience. Lots of interesting suggestions though great to read!! 

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On ‎01‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 22:13, Quintus said:

Can I have the appearance of the rubber snake in Bayadere? ;)

 

Perhaps not the time it escaped from the basket early (last run at ROH, when it fell out of the basket right at the beginning of that sequence... think it was Roberta Marquez dancing Nikiya... no idea what she then died of :D )

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Oh how could I forget the swarm of waltzing couples at the end of Vienna Waltzes? Gorgeous.

 

Also love the second pigeon flyign into the garret with Two Pigeons.

 

The Bolshoi's Jardin de Anime scene is also gorgeous.

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Great thread - brings back a few memories.

Nobody's mentioned Alice in Wonderland - there are some great scenes in that - although more wizardry than dance. eg. Alice falling down the rabbit hole, but also the suit-shaped tutus are rather amusing...

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Another vote for the corps' diagonal leaps across the stage in Act 1 of Onegin, one of my favourite moments in this gorgeous ballet.

I'd also like to add :

-Juliet sitting absolutely still on her bed before rushing off to seek Friar Laurence's help

-Siegfried drowning in the waves at the end of Nureyev's Swan Lake for the Vienna State Opera

-The Prince facing the Shadow in Illusions like Swan Lake

-The final moments of the Grand PDDs in Sleeping Beauty and Sylvia

-The end bit of Myrtha's solo to surprisingly happy music

-The Russian dance of the Nutcracker and Cossacks in... the Nutcracker

- That amazing moment in Bright Stream when the Male Dancer swings the Ballerina orund and round.

 

I could go on.

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