Fonty Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvn2iiBrojw And here is Fonteyn and Nureyev indoing the same bit in Giselle (or at least the only bit I had time to look for). I much prefer the speed with which Fonteyn does her jumps and beats. Am I the only person who thinks that by doing that section so slowly Osipova looks slightly ungainly, as though she is bounding on a trampoline? Amazing elevation, but she reminds me more of a basketball player about to do a slam dunk. Sorry if I am offending anyone, but I don't think it enhances the choreography at all IMO. Edited January 4, 2016 by Fonty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Glad you liked it Lin, I think Osipova dances Giselle exquisitely and I agree about technique being subservient to create beauty. There is a strange myth around at the moment that Russian training doesn't produce fast footwork, it does, and this is an excellent example. As a ballet-watching newbie I was very privileged to see Altynai Assylmuratova dancing Kitri in 1986. I have never forgotten her deft, sparkling and incredibly fast footwork. I don't think I've seen anyone else dance as fast! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I think they are just different and some of Osipova's beats are quick too!! I love Osipova's elevation but then not many can really match her in this respect. I would say that Fonteyns Giselle is a much softer interpretation as a whole which I also like.....swings and roundabouts I suppose. But anyway getting waylaid as this is Sugar Plum thread! Haven't watched Osipova on that clip yet and never saw Fonteyn do this role. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I prefer the traditional version of the choreography to that shown in the Russian clips. I think it was on Makarova's Ballerina programme years ago that there was a clip of Alicia Markova rehearsing a London Festival Ballet dancer (Janette Mulligan?) and I just loved that version without the shoulder lifts, even more than Sir Peter Wright's very similar choreography. It was probably for Peter Schaufuss' production, whose snowflakes are still my absolute favourite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Having watched the clip of Osipova in Sugar Plum I think this is taken just a bit too slow for my liking for this role. The very music and instruments for this little variation should make it a really "extra sparkling" piece so needs to be played quicker than in that clip for me to get to the heart of the fairy like quality of Sugar Plum!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 But anyway getting waylaid as this is Sugar Plum thread! Haven't watched Osipova on that clip yet and never saw Fonteyn do this role. Sorry, I thought I was posting on the thread regarding how much everything has slowed down. Some of the threads have commmon themes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Sorry, I thought I was posting on the thread regarding how much everything has slowed down. Some of the threads have commmon themes! Fonty, there hasn't been a specific thread about slowed down performances but it has been mentioned on several now. It is not entirely O/T here given that the SPF variations cover various speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvn2iiBrojw And here is Fonteyn and Nureyev indoing the same bit in Giselle (or at least the only bit I had time to look for). I much prefer the speed with which Fonteyn does her jumps and beats. Am I the only person who thinks that by doing that section so slowly Osipova looks slightly ungainly, as though she is bounding on a trampoline? Amazing elevation, but she reminds me more of a basketball player about to do a slam dunk. Sorry if I am offending anyone, but I don't think it enhances the choreography at all IMO. I do like the speed of the Fonteyn-Nureyev pas de deux, although I didn't think Osipova looked ungainly. For me the worst part of the current production is those dresses in Act 2 which are so limp they look as though they could use some starch or fairy dust or something. Not only do they give an unflattering shape to the dancers, but they seem heavy on account of just hanging there like sheets, and that's not a look that Act 2 of Giselle needs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterankles Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Replying to post 30: 'Baby lungs' = 'small lungs' - giving abiity to breathe... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I do like the speed of the Fonteyn-Nureyev pas de deux, although I didn't think Osipova looked ungainly. For me the worst part of the current production is those dresses in Act 2 which are so limp they look as though they could use some starch or fairy dust or something. Not only do they give an unflattering shape to the dancers, but they seem heavy on account of just hanging there like sheets, and that's not a look that Act 2 of Giselle needs. "Hanging there like sheets." Isn't that the point? I thought they were meant to be shrouds.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 "Hanging there like sheets." Isn't that the point? I thought they were meant to be shrouds.... Oh interesting observation James. I had never realised that but it makes perfect sense. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Just to say thanks for that clip of Fonteyn in Giselle Fonty...brought back some memories! I will never forget the thrill of seeing her do Giselle for the first time after immersing myself as a 12 year old in those photos of her in the William Chappell book. Things have slowed down to suit different techniques I suppose If you are doing higher jumps and longer held extensions etc then perhaps you need a tad more time .....but where jetes are concerned sometimes a faster forward projection can be just as effective....a lower jump but moving much faster across the stage. With some variations.....like Sugar Plum....its not so good to slow the music down too much or it can spoil the feel of the role....sparkling fairy feet with oozles of charm is what is required here...I think. I'm not sure Osipova suits this role that well. I rather like the fairy that Lema posted .....sorry dancers name eludes me ....begins with K I think. She looks right in the role but the music could still,be a touch faster......even though it's fiendishly difficult to do!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I love that clip of Fonteyn in Giselle too, and she is beautiful in a similar way in Les Sylphides (it is on Youtube but I don't have time to look for it and post a link now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'm not sure Osipova suits this role that well. Having seemingly been one of the few people on this board who saw her do it with the RB, I think you might be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 BTW, I don't think there's anything wrong with gargouillades per se, provided that they are executed properly. Which presupposes that they have been coached properly, of course. Actually, that reminds me of something else I was going to ask. (I haven't had a chance to watch any of these videos) There's a step in the Nutcracker pdd which is a sort of supported pas de chat, with the Cavalier holding SPF of the ground. I'm sure I'm used to seeing it as a pas de chat, with one leg plié-ing first before the other one does, so that it's a sort of travelling movement, but when Lauren Cuthbertson performed it the other day she pliéd both legs more or less simultaneously. Which is usual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I think they all do the step like Lauren does it in the RB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) "Hanging there like sheets." Isn't that the point? I thought they were meant to be shrouds.... The problem is that they don't look like shrouds, they look like normal Act 2 costumes that have gone limp. The women in Act 2 are supposed to look ethereal and otherworld-ish, and not to be too hampered by earthly things like gravity, and I don't think those costumes are helpful in that respect. Edited January 5, 2016 by Melody 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Alison re Osipova in this role - I saw her in 2013 at roh and thought that she looked more comfortable in the Russian version above. Could be the effect of a different partner perhaps as well. With respect to historic clips my favourite is the youthful and radiant Ekaterina Maximova from 1958 on YouTube. So charming that I have watched it numerous times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 In response to an earlier question about Fonteyn, I can't find a clip of the solo, but here is the grand pdd with Michael Somes, dated 1958: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmp0QyTb-fU&list=PLYDXn3BlwllN3132mr7-tuzUQKAJTEabz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPalmer Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Hello all. It is a long time since I wrote anything on here, so please forgive my breaking the silence. But as the topic is about the choreography of the Nutcracker through the ages, I thought I would just put in a brief mention of the current production offered by the Staatsballet in Berlin, which I was glad to see on New Year's Day at the Staatsoper. This is another of Yuri Burlaka's historical adaptations which he has prepared from the Stepanov notations of the the imperial productions held at Harvard and even includes reconstructions of the original sets and costumes from the 1892 production. The first act is a bit of a bore, though the pas de deux for the toy prince and princess (better known as Harlequin and Columbine in London) was pretty. The second act is something else however and absolutely splendid! The GPDD is pretty much exactly as we see in the two Wright productions in the UK, though it does also include the travelling "reika" upon which the ballerina is pulled across the stage by the Prince Coqueluche, and which used to be part of the RB production before the House closure. It looked rather clunky and the ballerina appeared terrified, which is, I imagine why Wright chose to remove it from the RB production - though Paul Arrowsmith (if he is still around on the forum) should be able to give us Wright's definitive reason. Kind regards and a Happy New Year to everyone! Ian Palmer 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Happy New Year Ian!! It's lovely to hear from you and I hope you will continue to contribute from time to time. We miss your erudition. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome back Ian, and thanks for mentioning this Berlin production, I would love to see it on the stage as I have the Blu-Ray and find it fascinating, I've never seen Nutcracker look so grand and classical, beautiful Waltz of the Flowers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I'm not going to name names because I don't want to get into an argument, but I think that very few SPFs have it all, for me (particularly when they are dancing the dual role of Clara/SPF). My preference is for a SPF who is delicate and crystalline but is gracious and lyrical as well, which probably sounds like a contradiction. A couple of SPF GPDDs this year were marred by some (IMO) unnecessarily 'sharp'/abrupt movements which were rather jarring for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveclassics Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 How lovely to hear from you again, Ian. I'm delighted to learn you are still an ardent balletomane - please do post again, particularly about productions few of us are lucky enought to see. Happy New Year, Linda 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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