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A 'ballet/dance miscellany' thread

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Ondine

Ondine

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A thread with origins in 2002. A great deal of interest.

 

https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/4498-les-sylphides/

 

I think I remember reading that Baryshnikov brought with him the sllo he'd learned in Russia. There are, I believe, as many different versions of Les Sylphides as there are companies Fokine visited.

 

And Wiki.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Sylphides

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Jane S

Jane S

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The mention of Les Sylphides led me to find my DVD of the 1953 performance, with Markova, Elvin, Beriosova and John Field - it's lovely, even though they're dancing in a studio about the size of a shoebox. And it has the unique advantage of an introduction by Tamara Karsavina - unmissable, and the only time you're likely to hear someone saying "I danced it with Nijinsky".

 

I seem to remember it is one of the ballets that the RB got to dance too slowly and reverently and it could look a little dreary.

 

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Scheherezade

Scheherezade

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7 hours ago, Ondine said:

 


I saw this earlier and wondered briefly whether the RB might have moved on from its baffling aversion to its 20th century back catalogue.


No such luck. Which begs the question of why give every appearance of enthusiasm for works that it has absolutely no intention  of reviving?

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Ondine

Ondine

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1 hour ago, Jane S said:

Elvin

 

The gorgeous Violetta Elvin ( Prokhorova)! Lest we forget:

Elvin, said Margot Fonteyn, “influenced our dancing long after the 10 years she stayed with us”.

 

Created roles in Ashton ballets but retired far too young.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/jun/06/violetta-elvin-obituary

 

There's a lovely short tribute here (official link)

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Jane S said:

The mention of Les Sylphides led me to find my DVD of the 1953 performance, with Markova, Elvin, Beriosova and John Field

 

It's on the internet via John Hall but it's Vimeo and you have to log in.

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Ondine

Ondine

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8 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

Which begs the question of why give every appearance of enthusiasm for works that it has absolutely no intention  of reviving?

 

Quite. As with today's Insight into Nijinska, all that enthusiasm for the woman and her work and its importance. However, no revivals!

 

(As an aside, does anyone know if the parts of the Insight not broadcast via YouTube are on the ROH subscription service?)

 

 

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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24 minutes ago, Ondine said:

(As an aside, does anyone know if the parts of the Insight not broadcast via YouTube are on the ROH subscription service?)

 

 

Not yet but it usually takes a while for anything to appear on the stream. I'll keep an eye out for it. 

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Sophoife

Sophoife

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AusBallet did a triple bill back in 2011 with the umbrella title of British Liaisons.

 

It consisted of Checkmate, After the Rain and Concerto. I don't think I need to name the choreographers here 🤭

 

The general consensus at the time was that Checkmate suffered by comparison with the other two pieces. It is of course possible that its very stylised nature was harder for the company to adapt to.

 

My recollection of six performances with varied casts is that only one cast really "got it", whereas the Wheeldon and the Macmillan were more uniformly well-danced.

 

On a frivolous note, when I asked then-assistant AD Danilo Radojevic in about 2013 why we couldn't have something fun and light like Pineapple Poll, he said it was very dated, to which my response was "*cough*Checkmate*cough*".

 

 

Edited by Sophoife
Added coughs.
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Emeralds

Emeralds

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On 19/11/2023 at 08:30, Sophoife said:

AusBallet did a triple bill back in 2011 with the umbrella title of British Liaisons.

 

It consisted of Checkmate, After the Rain and Concerto. I don't think I need to name the choreographers here 🤭

 

The general consensus at the time was that Checkmate suffered by comparison with the other two pieces. It is of course possible that its very stylised nature was harder for the company to adapt to.

 

My recollection of six performances with varied casts is that only one cast really "got it", whereas the Wheeldon and the Macmillan were more uniformly well-danced.

 

On a frivolous note, when I asked then-assistant AD Danilo Radojevic in about 2013 why we couldn't have something fun and light like Pineapple Poll, he said it was very dated, to which my response was "*cough*Checkmate*cough*".

 

 

I would have thought Pineapple Poll, as a comedy like La Fille mal Gardee and Coppelia, was actually quite timeless. The gags are actually plausible (and nobody gets victimised or beaten up) and everything turns out well. Not to cast any aspersions on the accomplished Mr Radojevic, whom I remember as a popular principal dancer at ABT and Australian Ballet,  but has he actually seen Pineapple Poll performed in real life, eg by Birmingham Royal Ballet.....Am only asking because my guess is that his career with these two companies might not have given him much chance to see the hilarious and refreshing work, and might simply have heard it was an old, forgotten story ballet by Cranko from a long time ago.

 

Actually, that's now making me wish BRB can revive Pineapple Poll again-they have brilliant dancers for the roles, and we all need a few laughs and happy endings in these times. (Especially if RB aren't going to stage Fille!)

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Ondine

Ondine

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7 hours ago, Naomi M said:

Asami Maki Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty.

 

Gorgeous!

 

A bluebird who can actually fly 🙂and that waistcoat Vadim is wearing is sublime. Look at the embroidery on THAT! Phwoooar!

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Ondine

Ondine

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On 23/11/2023 at 09:10, Emeralds said:

I would have thought Pineapple Poll, as a comedy like La Fille mal Gardee and Coppelia, was actually quite timeless. The gags are actually plausible (and nobody gets victimised or beaten up) and everything turns out well.

 

It needs some very good dancers who can do the steps (!) and also have the required sense of irony, as well as a touch of pathos!

 

I'd have thought Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Steven McRae (as the Captain Belaye) were made for this.  Nela and Vadim!

 

And where IS Coppelia?  Bring it back!  (And Fille of course.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Naomi M

Naomi M

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Elizabeth McGorian was also supposed to guest as Carabosse and The Queen on different dates in Asami Maki Ballet’s Beauty but she had to withdraw because of hip injury. She had guested in this production previously. 
 

Some rehearsal photos.

 

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myrtle

myrtle

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42 minutes ago, Sim said:

Can someone please tell me what company this is and who choreographed it?  Medici TV posted it but gives no information on who it is. Whoever it is, I really like it!  Thanks.  

 

📸 Watch this video on Facebook https://fb.watch/oGfl8bXm1n/? 

 

 

Maybe I'm misreading the caption, but they seem to say Christian Spuck choreographed it and danced by Ballet Zurich?   When I click on your link on my phone, that's what I see.   

 

It does look amazing.   The costume is very effective.  

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Sim

Sim

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3 minutes ago, myrtle said:

 

 

Maybe I'm misreading the caption, but they seem to say Christian Spuck choreographed it and danced by Ballet Zurich?   When I click on your link on my phone, that's what I see.   

 

It does look amazing.   The costume is very effective.  

Thank you. I can’t see where it tells us that!

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Ondine

Ondine

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2 hours ago, Sim said:

Thank you. I can’t see where it tells us that!

 

Here it is. The info and link are on the FB comment which are part of the post with the video.

 

https://www.medici.tv/en/ballets/romeo-et-juliette-prokofiev-christian-spuck-ballett-zurich-philharmonia-zurich-michail-jurowski-opernhaus-zurich?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=_romeoandjuliet_ballet

 

 

RomeoJuliet.thumb.jpg.cc916a975ed0e7dc162a9adf7fe913c2.jpg

 

 

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Pas de Quatre

Pas de Quatre

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This season Christian Spuck has  moved to Berlin.  As a parting gift to Zurich his ballet R & J was streamed free. I caught it and enjoyed much of the production. His Dance of the Knights is the best part and there are lots of good things, including the duels and deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. It is contemporary choreography and at times I felt it didn't differentiate enough between the Montagues and Capulets and became a bit repetitive. Well worth watching though.

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Jane S

Jane S

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The French paper Le Figaro offers a 2hr 15 mins video:

 

'Guided tour with the star ballet dancers! Star Dorothée Gilbert takes Thibaut Gauthier and Riadh Bekir into the night at the Opéra Garnier. A new episode of Figaro La Nuit, absolutely unique, between the mazes of the legendary Parisian building, from the roofs to the basement, including the stage and the dressing rooms.'  (Google translation)

 

(Thanks to Dansomanie for the link)

 

 

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LinMM

LinMM

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A question in the final of Brain of Britain on Radio 4 this week ( I was doing the washing up!) “ What is the position called where a dancer stands on one leg with the other extended behind at a 90 degree angle” 

Im pretty sure most people on the Forum could have answered this one!! 
But nobody got it…..though  one contestant  offered “arabesque” so not a bad guess for a non ballet person I suppose. 

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LinMM

LinMM

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The answer was attitude ….and if you would have heard the question it was obviously attitude to anyone who knows anything about ballet. 
It might be me who has worded it badly!!  ….as they may have said that the raised leg was at a right angle to the body( as opposed to the standing leg) And they did mention the famous statue the classical pose was based on …Mercury I think!!! 


If anybody has BBC sounds you can listen to the question which was on Monday afternoon …at 3pm I think. 

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