ballet (also starring: ballet on dvd)

Also our company has a Mongolian dude who's got mad hops. Dude can jump like three feet in the air and swizzle-stick his legs at the same time. Usually I snicker at the old ladies who gasp, but this time I gasped along with them.

Also, it's free for me to go.

Amateurist, are you buying a gift?

i like ballet but there isn't a ballet company around here, so i figure i'd buy some videos. so i'd like some suggestions. how are those collections of balanchine dances?

More traditionally, I've always been partial to Swan Lake, but I don't have a favorite DVD of that.

With the story ballets (and the others), the company that's putting it on matters. You've got your Moscow-London-New York axis, and will generally do well by those. But what has allowed me to appreciate ballet so much more is getting to know, and like, particular dancers. On a first dvd purchase that's obviously not going to be the easiest thing to figure out. Perhaps do some research, see if someone catches your eye, watch a minute of something on youtube? It took me a while to admit, but with a form as physical as this, looks do matter. I want to watch the most attractive, evocative, emotive dancers. That's where I feel so so lucky: I see the same corps over and over, and I have my favorites (look up Carla Körbes; she's my favorite of our bunch). Finding a dancer or dancers you like might help access ballet more.

As far more modern stuff goes, Balanchine is the name to start with. He is pretty much the choreographer of the 20th century, the man who moved all of us out of classical ballet to a modern approach. You know all that 'modern dance' that is so easy to make fun of: I have a feeling he was the original groundbreaker, and then there were so many (good and bad) copycats, that the style became easy to make fun of. I don't know which of his pieces are best, but his is the name to start with.

I'm a neophyte myself, only been into it for about a year, and would love to hear an expert take this up. Do we have one?

but i'm glad am started this thread.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000TWMNY/qid=1149955530/sr=1-33/ref=sr_1_33/102-4038687-7472927?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130

It's tough to recommend specific Balanchine because his choreography covers such a wide range. It might be worth checking out this documentary, because it shows clips of lots of his ballets, so you can see which appeal to you:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00019G8BA/102-4038687-7472927?v=glance&n=130

This is from the '80s, but it's a good sampling of the different types of ballet: romantic (Les Sylphides), classical (Sylvia, Paquita), and modern (MacMillan). The filming leaves much to be desired, but the dancing is stellar, with all the big stars of the day. There are probably more contemporary collections available, but I remember I really liked this one, back in my dancing days (before I was all old and out of shape like I am now!):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008AORF/qid=1149955678/sr=1-59/ref=sr_1_59/102-4038687-7472927?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130

Hope this helps! Enjoy!

Learn me how to go to a ballet. (Thinking of going to see Firebird this week.)

Ooh you should!

firebird's great

how to do it:

couple drinks with dinner before
sit back
have a smoke and a quick glass of champagne at intermission
sit back again
clap

re-reading i realize how much more i like mixed reps now compared to before

s/d modern choreographers

Do I need to dress up? A former ilxor sez to go naked. Also I am probably going to have a backpack (coming directly from work).

Do I not need to worry about spoilers?

I kind of like to know the general plot of a ballet before I see it, but YMMV, of course.

If you aren't following something, you can always look at the program at intermission; often there is a description of the plot there.

What do I like about ballet? The ballerinas. Always crush material for me.

I will be watching Swan Lake this weekend.

Whether you need to dress up or not really depends on where and who you're watching, I guess. May need to dress up if it's the kind of venue that requires a dress code, or if it's a really famous/prestigious ballet company. Again, ymmv.

is it a small town or big city company, lee?

cuz like if u were going to the Tacoma ballet then jorts and birkenstocks would be a-ok

Night Journey on the Criterion Martha Graham disc is fantastic.

s/d modern choreographers

search: wheeldon, duato, strohman, william forsythe

yeah re: dressing up, i have seen people at the Met in jeans, and people at the Met in fancy cocktail dresses. it's really a crapshoot.

how to do it:

couple drinks with dinner before
sit back
have a smoke and a quick glass of champagne at intermission
sit back again
clap

i like to clap at intermission, too.

yo i like STREB she is COOL though not ballet

did i ever tell y'all how i was taken to the ballet last fall and saw two really AWESOME pieces (one to philip glass music inspired by chuck close's work) and then after intermission it was deMille's lizzy borden ballet and i was like 'waht way to kill the night dudes!'

yeah, i crossed off all the lizzie borden programs

i mean, i understand diverse programming but geeze, way to ruin the evening!

I am going to the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. It has "Arts" in its name so I suppose I'll be dusting off my embroidered ascot?

tehresa, you bring up a question: do most shows have like a headliner and an opening act? Some band called Mendelssohn Symphony is also playing, I originally thought they were providing accompaniment in lieu of the Stravinsky score, but instead I will get extra bang for my buck?

Mendelssohn was a composer and that is another ballet to one of his symphonies that will be shown that evening (i just read the synopsis of the performance online). hard to say about the attire - also work at a center for the performing arts and people show up in jeans all the time. i wouldn't worry about being TOO dressy. go business casual and you'll be safe?

Yay Firebird! ^_^

The Mendelssohn Symphony was kind of inconsistent -- I think that I saw some of the dancers lose their balances -- but one guy at the end was so good that I could tell how much control he had even though he was going real fast.

As for The Firebird itself, the gooey mushy stuff between the prince and princess was kind of dull, and I kept wondering how this troupe would compare to Danny Tidwell. But the best parts had either the Firebird herself -- loved how she floated and fluttered on her toes, just like a bird omg!!! -- and Kastchei's (boo!) bestiary of guards and monsters. They had that loose-limbed thing going that actually reminded me of Wade Robson routines. Awesome costumes, too! (Especially Firebird's skin tight number, tee hee!)

at bk phil concert the other night there was this amazing dance company who did a piece to a suite of bach music that was pretty mind-blowing.

complexionsdance.org

they also did a new version of pulcinella that was pretty tight.

is there a good rite of spring on dvd?

there was a documentary (possibly pbs?) about recreating nijinski's choreography that's really great.

Going here on Tuesday.

Are you talking about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Score-Revolutions-Stravinskys-Spring/dp/B000JBWWTW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1210048254&sr=8-2";>this Michael Tilson Thomas special</a>? I actually caught a snippet of that, which was what got me interested in ballet in the first place.

i think this is it

http://tinyurl.com/6lk35p

sorry that site doesn't actually give a lot of info

http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/441400

http://i33.tinypic.com/2vb3blc.jpg

Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova, Act III, Adagio, Spartacus.

http://i35.tinypic.com/2ic8so6.jpg

It saddens me to say, but I think I now lack the attention span to follow a full opera or ballet from start to finish. That wasn't always true, but now, even when I'm enthused near the beginning, my thoughts are drifting by intermission.

There's a local station here that plays a bunch of classical and opera videos, with the occasional ballet solo thrown in. Maximova and Vasiliev's duet from Spartacus came on a while ago, and although I'd seen it before, this time it sucked me in and melted my cynical 2009 heart. It just ruined me. Lately I've been stuck at a pointless job and feeling disconnected from everything, wondering what the fuck I'm supposed to be doing, and really witnessing the most petty aspects of humanity close up, everyday. This duet, in contrast, is so otherworldly that I can barely draw the lines between my own existence and theirs. It's just stunning. They need to update that Voyager Golden Record that Carl Sagan and friends sent out to space, and throw on a dvd player and a video of this dance. It's humanity at its most beautiful.

I couldn't find any video clips of Maximova and Vasiliev performing it back in their prime (late 60s), and I don't want to cheapen it by showing someone else do it.

if you do i'd love to see it

i just watched center stage bc i own the dvd lol

i am such a sucker for this shit

i realized i love this movie bc they use rach 2 in it. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 rach 2 for all time!!!!!!

btw rach 2 played by cecile licad live made me want to play piano as a five year old, but if it makes me appreciate ballet more as a 27-year old, then :D :D :D

cooper nielson aka ethan stiefel came to a ballet performance at my former workplace. it was kinda neat to see him irl!

Great post on Mark Eitzel's blog about a visit to the ballet:

as if our lives were beautiful movements danced by beautiful people

went to see "la danse" last night, the new documentary about the paris opera ballet. stunning stuff. i highly recommend it. it's playing a few nights here in boston at the brattle & coolidge. in nyc it's at the film forum, i think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6MEEYLTfs&feature=player_embedded

so sad i missed this at TIFF. looks amazing.

Live stream of Pacific Northwest Ballet in a couple hours today (also tomorrow): http://www.ustream.tv/channel/worksandprocess

is Pina (win wenders doc) any good?

What's the Joffrey's reputation nowadays? Worth going to see them?

don't know much of anything about the subject of this thread but these two go together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmgaKGSxQVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl8XfeXVz04

http://vimeo.com/66721776

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyC4X6aGn_M

Saw this last night, was floored:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EetjgQUdrfI

Is anyone going to see the new Wayne McGregor / Steve Reich piece?

http://www.roh.org.uk/mixed-programmes/chroma-new-wayne-mcgregor-carbon-life

Also looking forward to seeing Osipova in the revival of Woolf Works:

http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/woolf-works-by-wayne-mcgregor

The McGregor programme was so much fun! Life gives limited opportunities to see Steve Reich and Brody Dalle on the same stage within ten minutes of each other.

Chroma is marvellous, I'd never seen it before. It's liquid and punchy at the same time.

The new piece with Reich was nothing hugely special and dipped close to trenchant commentary a bit but carried attention.

Carbon Life is odd - a collaboration with Dalle, Mark Ronson, Sam Sparro, Rose from the Pipettes and others, who were there performing live. It started off a little busy but thinned out into an excellent set of pairs. The music was surprisingly good too.

I probably only see four or five contemporary dance things a year but should make more effort. As far as vfm goes you can't really beat decent seats for £10.

Didn't expect to find another McGregor fan here! Shari, are you still posting/into ballet?

Still posting, yes. I haven’t seen much recently though. I need to start going again.

My last ex-boyfriend was very, very much into ballet, studying it at a high school for the arts and dancing professionally for a few years. One of his heroes was Mikhail Baryshnikov and another was George Balanchine; in fact, one of his main mentors and someone he was very close to was a ballet instructor who studied directly under Balanchine. I really wish I could remember said instructor's name; he died not all that long ago and I remember my ex being very devastated by that loss. Anyway, my ex's interest in ballet lent itself greatly to his love of Russia/Russian culture, because in Russia it's considered very manly to be a male ballet dancer; my ex was originally from rural Maine and the exact opposite was the case where he came from. Anyway, all I know about ballet is due to that prior relationship and I'm glad he expanded my horizons in that direction.

The thing with Balanchine, especially with respect to ballet in the US, is that he's pretty central to its development (I will mention as an aside that SF Ballet, which I love and go to several times a year, is actually the first ballet company in the country), and because of the difficulty in notating dance, a lot of the American repertory that has been has come straight from people who've learned the specific choreography from Balanchine himself. So it becomes like Gregg Popovich's coaching tree: since Balanchine is so influential AND because his creative output spanned such a long time, ballet still has a lot of people who've interacted with him personally.

And that's the last I'll ever talk about Balanchine, because I actually don't care for the neoclassical stuff. Contemporary is my jam, 100%.

a lot of the American repertory that has *survived*

Fair enough! I don't know much else, but I did manage to figure out the name of my last ex's beloved mentor: Samuel Kurkjian. Does this name ring a bell to you?

Oh, and you've got an awesome memory, remembering my Spurs fandom and name-checking Coach Pop like that.

Die Toteninsel by Liam Scarlett was awesome! Doomy underworld intensity never let up, my inner Goth was duly thrilled. Shostakovich score was great, too.

Die Toteninsel by Liam Scarlett was awesome! Doomy underworld intensity never let up, my inner Goth was duly thrilled. Shostakovich score was great, too.

And a much better introduction to Shostakovich than the Shostakovich Trilogy was.

Nearly 4 years since I attended any performances, and I went in back-to-back weeks to the new works festival, and largely speaking it's been a total triumph. However, one work in particular deserves highlighting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7_wzxaUWU

I was completely riveted from curtain to curtain, and I never wanted it to end.

Broken Wings, aka the Frida Kahlo ballet, is astounding. The choreography, the makeup, the costumes, the music, it's such a sensory feast, if you have the chance to see it, absolutely do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNrBioYAHiU