Ballet!!

Ok, so after seeing a most amazing performance of "Giselle" this week, I finally am starting a thread on ballet!

After all, skating and ballet are really related - Mao is taking ballet classes and watching ballet, and she was supposed to be a ballerina. Similarly, there are a bunch of famous ballerinas who started out as skaters/wanted to be skaters (Diana Vishneva, Polina Semionova, Nina Ananiashvili to name a few).

So, let's discuss!

Favorite ballets? Favorite music? Favorite dancers?
Does/did anyone take ballet?

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I'll start..

When I was 3 or 4, I saw Lionel Richie's music video for "Ballerina Girl," and decided that I HAD to learn ballet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz8yg9MYf8Q

So I took ballet for about 6-7 years before quitting (pointe shoes were painful!) and now, many years later, I've been taking classes for fun. And I've been watching a LOT of ballet.

But only the classics - I'm not familiar with the newer works/shorter pieces at all! :sweatdrops:

Among the classics that I've seen, my favorites are probably "Giselle" and "Romeo & Juliet." I love the music from "Swan Lake," but the story is unsatisfying for me.

Currently, I am totally in love with Diana Vishneva (a Russian ballerina who dances with both the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, and also with American Ballet Theater in New York).

I have not seen that many ballerinas, but she is certainly the best I have ever seen, and according to some critics, she is the best (or one of the best in the world).

I like her for many of the reasons I like Mao - she has superhuman technique, but more than that, she is able to make it look effortless. And like with Mao, it is like the music moves through her body; it propels her. And outside of performances, she seems like a genuinely bubbly person.

Here are some of my favorite clips:
Diana Vishneva - "Giselle" Variation (performance w/ the Mariinsky in March)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQubV298HjM

More from the above performance of "Giselle" with Marcelo Gomes (from American Ballet Theater), starting around 0:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eec-WXFn1a4
If any of the Russian speakers are reading this and would be so kind to translate what they saying in the clip, I would really appreciate it!!!

Clip from "Don Quixote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouelaX5mrlY
You'll notice there are Japanese subtitles - apparently she is pretty popular in Japan, but I'm not exactly sure why!

Here's a clip I posted under one of the music threads I think. My favorite Pas de deux that I've seen - Romeo & Juliet (Macmillan version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXrLCF_YKNc
Julie Kent is another of my favorite dancers, and Roberto Bolle is simply gorgeous!

Know very little about ballet, but once I watched a tv-program about Mariinsky and Diana Vishneva and kinda fell in love (a quiet, unpretentious type) with her from the first sight.
So, thanks for the links, Batsuchan!
Diana is saying that she tries to bring joy to her audience and to herself and that her partner is great, and she's ready to dance one more "Giselle" just for his sake.
The rest is difficult to translate not being in the context of everything (who are those people, what are they talking about), but anyway, overall all of them are saying some general stuff - nothing maybe that very interesting.

I have unfortunately never done ballet myself, but it is something that I really love to watch!

My favorites right now are "Giselle" (it makes me cry...), "Don Quixote" and "The Nutcracker". I love the music from "Gaîté Parisienne" (that translates to "A Gay Parisian"), and I assume that it would be considered a newer ballet...it was written in the late 1930's.

Batsuchan, I love how you were first inspired by a Lionel Richie song!
I knew I liked him for a reason.

My favorite dancer is Natalia Bessmertnova. Natalia always had this very innocent look about her, but she really knew what she was doing. For many, many years, she was the ballerina of the Bolshoi ballet. She kept dancing for most of her life, up until she was almost 50
Sadly though, she passed away last year, and she stopped dancing years back so I never got a chance to see her perform live. She was wonderful at pas de deux, but I think her variations really stand out : D

Natalia as Giselle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTeDTkMaupY
Natalia as Raymonda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2kkU0s7bLI

Ahhh! Vishneva is amazing @__@ I love her Kitri. I will have to watch more of her. Thank you for the recommendations!

Batsuchan, do you see local or traveling companies?

Okay, since you guys asked, I think I'll let my hair down. I am a very versatile performer (can do jazz, ballet, tap and/or whatever is called for with theatre shows/concerts/musicales/operas. My basic (which is supposed to be the basis for all forms of dancing) is ballet.

I started ballet when I was about 11 or 12 years old, very late starter. I'm very asthmatic that my parents thought it would be good for my heart to take up ballet. To everybody's surprise, I was excellent in it, very natural. I didn't find it difficult at all because I loved it from the sight of the bars, mirrors and the piano(live music for classes), the ballet students and their pretty pink ballet bags, and I was so mesmerized by the air of discipline and respect in every corner of the studio.

So, on my first day of ballet, after my Beginner's Class, the directress of the studio and the dance masters gave me full scholarship. I was always the example, like the dance master would say in the middle of the class, "Please Juliet come in front and show them how to do it." And of course, jealousy was in it (which I found out 20 years later when I saw this senior student at that time) and recognized me and told me that everybody was very jealous because the dance master was always saying, "Come to the front Juliet and show them.

I love Ballet that on the following weeks, aside from the Beginner's Class, I would take also the Intermediate Class and the Advance Class(where all the pros attend). So, every time I go for ballet class, I would get so excited because I was able to take all the classes within that day. My ballet classes would be 2x/week. During the weekday, I took all three classes, then on the weekend, I took 2 classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon(where all the pros attend).

So,. that's enough for today, to be continued........

summervie - thanks for the summary!! Ah, you are a Vishneva-fan too, that makes me happy! She is amazing!

juliet - that is quite a resume!! Impressive!! I wish I could be that good at ballet.

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

Natalia as Giselle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTeDTkMaupY
Natalia as Raymonda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2kkU0s7bLI

Ahhh! Vishneva is amazing @__@ I love her Kitri. I will have to watch more of her. Thank you for the recommendations!

Batsuchan, do you see local or traveling companies?

I'm glad you enjoyed the clips!

Here's more from 'Don Quixote.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4-uMdtpTK0
I can't believe how she can just balance her arabesques so perfectly after she leaps, and her fouttes at 3:40 - they are RIDICULOUS! And while opening and closing the fan! And then to do all those last fouttes without opening her arms at all. My god!!

Thanks for the clips MaoMaoRevolution! You can't beat the Russian ballerinas, in my opinion...

I'm supposed to see the current Bolshoi phenom, Natalia Osipova (another Natalia!) this week; I'm excited!

Well, having said that, I guess I might as well come clean - I see pretty much only the local companies - which are American Ballet Theater and occasionally New York City Ballet. But next time the Mariinsky or Bolshoi tour here, I'm definitely going!

Here's another young ballerina I have my eye on - Polina Semionova (another Russian!), who currently dances with the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin.

She was in a music video:

Demo (Letzer Tag):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-u99OnkF7g

I hope I get to see her live one day!

Batsuchan wrote:

Here's another young ballerina I have my eye on - Polina Semionova (another Russian!), who currently dances with the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin.

She was in a music video:

Demo (Letzer Tag):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-u99OnkF7g

I hope I get to see her live one day!

Oh my god! Is that Herbert Groenemeyer??
I love his music, but never knew about this video This woman is simply beautiful!

And thanks so much for opening those forum, i love to talk about ballet!!
I cant dance ballet, but love to watch it! My favorites are also Giselle, the Nutcracker and Swan Lake, but also 12 dancing princesses, what i watched as i was little

I also tried to buy a little figure of a pretty ballerina in porcelain or stuff, but failed, i sadly cant find anyone over here (germany)
Do somebody know, where i can buy those figures?

Btw, im collecting pictures of ballerinas, can somebody share yours? Like this?
http://www.lindapaul.com/giselle_au_nuit_ballet_dancer.JPG

Haidogirl wrote:

Oh my god! Is that Herbert Groenemeyer??
I love his music, but never knew about this video This woman is simply beautiful!

Yes, apparently it is Herbert Goenemeyer!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

I don't have any illustrations of ballerinas, but Gene Schiavone has a lot of photographs!
http://www.geneschiavone.com/gallery/v/Principal-Dancers/

And here's one of more ballerina I really want to see - Evgenia Obraztsova of the Mariinsky ballet. She reminds me of Mao in that she is absolutely adorable and has a smile that lights up the room.

Here she is doing the Don Quixote pas de deux with her equally adorable husband (!), Vladimir Shklyarov:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxSWzLpj1s

That one-handed lift with her in vertical split is just

I don't really like the Mariinsky version of R&J (I prefer the MacMillan choreo), but I would definitely go and see the two of them doing it!

Batsuchan wrote:

I'm glad you enjoyed the clips!
Here's more from 'Don Quixote.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4-uMdtpTK0
I can't believe how she can just balance her arabesques so perfectly after she leaps, and her fouttes at 3:40 - they are RIDICULOUS! And while opening and closing the fan! And then to do all those last fouttes without opening her arms at all. My god!!

Thanks for the clips MaoMaoRevolution! You can't beat the Russian ballerinas, in my opinion...

I'm supposed to see the current Bolshoi phenom, Natalia Osipova (another Natalia!) this week; I'm excited!

Well, having said that, I guess I might as well come clean - I see pretty much only the local companies - which are American Ballet Theater and occasionally New York City Ballet. But next time the Mariinsky or Bolshoi tour here, I'm definitely going!

I really agree Russian ballet is just top-notch. And of the ballet world, that means Russian ballerinas are at the very pointy tippy top. I've never seen one live myself, though!
I actually just saw a local ballet on Saturday called "Graduation Ball." It's one of the more modern ones from the 1940s, but it takes place in the 1840s. It's about a ball at an all-girls boarding school and local young military cadets are invited to come...thus the madness ensues xD

And-- That Vishneva doesn't miss a single beat, does she!? Thank you for the video...that was amazing. It must be hard since that Don Quixote variation has so much fast-paced choreography, and she has to remember when to open and close the fan! She may be one of my favorites now, after you introduced her, Batsuchan :3

If you go to see Natalia this week let me know how it was!!!

Me too, I can only see the American Ballet Theater mainly! I'll have to go and see more this season, though! I am praying that Bolshoi comes nearby!!

And to Evgenia Obraztsova!!! It's incredible to me that someone can have enough strength to do such a perfect vertical split without any assistance from their hand or anything.

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

And-- That Vishneva doesn't miss a single beat, does she!? Thank you for the video...that was amazing. It must be hard since that Don Quixote variation has so much fast-paced choreography, and she has to remember when to open and close the fan! She may be one of my favorites now, after you introduced her, Batsuchan :3

Woohoo! Woohoo! Yay, I'm glad she's won you over. She is simply AMAZING - I am seeing her this week in "Swan Lake," and I cannot wait!!

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

If you go to see Natalia this week let me know how it was!!!

Soo, unfortunately I think my expectations were WAY too high going into the ballet, which was "La Sylphide." It's not as technically demanding as "Giselle," and I guess I kept waiting to be super-impressed, and it never happened. She was a beautiful dancer though and some of her jete leaps were amazing - so high! But I do wish I got to see her in a full-length ballet.

Though I will only admit this to you guys - something about her expression bugged me a little bit - she seemed to be overexaggerating the facial emotions but not really feeling it (kinda like Yu-Na, in my opinion)...but everyone else around me seemed to love it, so maybe I was overly harsh...
I saw Diana Vishneva in the audience - THAT was exciting!
Actually I saw her outside first, so I walked behind her - I think she might be my height or maybe slightly taller, which puts her just slightly taller than Mao, I'm guessing.

Mao, why don't you try to befriend Vishneva! I would be very amused! She wanted to be a figure-skater as a child, after all!

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

Me too, I can only see the American Ballet Theater mainly! I'll have to go and see more this season, though! I am praying that Bolshoi comes nearby!!

Oh wow! Cool! I definitely recommend trying to see "Romeo & Juliet" on July 6th! I saw Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes do the Balcony pas de deux at the gala a few weeks back, and it was wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

*****
Now, I've spent a lot of time on the ballerinas, so I thought I'd finally highlight some of the guys.

Here's Daniil Simkin. He's a wunderkind. That's all I can say - I've seen him about 5 times, and every time, he's stolen the show. His jumps are so big and effortless, and he turns like he's on skates or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvMOvsXZXY4

Can I give some ballet terms - I hope you guys don't mind.
The turns that have been referred to -FOUETTES
The vertical split - An ARABESQUE in PENCHEE

Diana Vishneva is known to be a very expressive Modern Ballerina with all the classical ballet techniques intact.

You're lucky to have seen her dance, Batsuchan.

juliet wrote:

Can I give some ballet terms - I hope you guys don't mind.
The turns that have been referred to -FOUETTES
The vertical split - An ARABESQUE in PENCHEE

Diana Vishneva is known to be a very expressive Modern Ballerina with all the classical ballet techniques intact.

You're lucky to have seen her dance, Batsuchan.

Thanks for your comments, juliet! Please keep the ballet terms coming, it's quite enlightening!

If it's a side split where the torso stays upright (like how Mao does her I-spin), is that still considered a penchee arabesque? My impression was it was only when you lean forward... Like in the Act I Giselle variation..

I do consider myself *extremely* lucky to have seen Vishneva dance. I hope I get to see her many, many times more!

One more thing I had meant to add earlier - Vishneva's first starring role was actually Kitri in "Don Quixote." In fact, she starred in this ballet when she was 16-17 years old, still just a student at the Vaganova Academy! She was so good that the director of the Mariinsky (Kirov) insisted she try the starring role. Of course, this is completely unheard of, almost ludicrous! (Kinda like Mao Asada winning 2005 GPF! )

Fouettes are practiced in daily advance/company classes - 32 of them on demi-pointe and en pointe.

When a ballet dancer(male or female) does a turn on one supporting leg and the other leg's foot is pointing/touching the knee of the supporting/turning leg (RETIRE or PASSE) - that is a PIROUETTE. Retire is pronounced as RE-TI-RAY
Some can do single, double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, etc..
Pirouettes can be done EN DEHOR or/and EN DEDAN
EN DEHOR - pirouette on the left supporting leg with right leg on
PASSE or RETIRE to your right.
This is called a Right EN DEHOR PIROUETTE.

EN DEDAN - pirouette on the left supporting leg but this time to
your left by swinging the right leg to your side (A LA
SECON) like a swinging door and when you turn
bring in the right leg into a PASSE.
This is called a Right EN DEDAN PIROUETTE.

I do hope when you watch a ballet, this will help with the PIROUETTES.

A PENCHEE is holding a position with tilting the body as the leg goes higher. Can be done with the leg A LA SECON (to the side), in ARABESQUE, or in any direction of the leg

Thank you very much for the explanation, juliet!

I know the season ended long ago~
But what was your favorite this year? :3

OMG!!! The craziest thing happened today!!

One of the soloists in ABT (so a professional ballet dancer, and one of the better soloists, in my opinion) showed up in my ballet class today!

Stella Abrera was there!
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=19

Although at first I wasn't sure it was her, because why would she come to a beginning ballet class? Anyhow, she was extremely graceful and beautiful, just a pleasure to watch!

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

I know the season ended long ago~
But what was your favorite this year? :3

Ahh, well, that is a tough question!! Well, I will name my top 4, how about that?

1) The opening night gala (I didn't go to the party, just the show) was absolutely amazing because Michelle Obama spoke, and there were a ton of celebrities in their fancy gowns.
(See pics here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/arts/dance/20gala.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=vishneva%20gomes&st=cse )

It was also fabulous because I got to see almost all of the principals, and it was the first time I saw Diana Vishneva live. Needless to say, she immediately won me over.

2) "Giselle" is one of my favorite ballets, and it was mind-boggling to see Vishneva do it. Act I was good, but I've seen youtube clips of her other performances, and I thought she was better elsewhere. Act II was something else entirely - I just could not believe some of the things she did, how weightless, how effortless, how ghost-like she danced.

3) I thought that couldn't be topped, until I saw "Swan Lake." On the whole, "Swan Lake" is a mixed bag for me - I find some of the group dance scenes a little boring. But what a difference a partner makes! Diana Vishneva (yep, I went to see like all of her performances) and Marcelo Gomes have amazing chemistry, and when they did the White Swan pas de deux, I swear I have never heard the theater that quiet. Normally there's always someone coughing or sneezing or fidgeting in their seat, but that night there was UTTER SILENCE. We were completely and absolutely riveted. That was a performance I would never forget.

4) "Romeo and Juliet" with Roberto Bolle and Irina Dvorovenko. Well, normally I watch the ballerina more closely than the danseur, but Roberto Bolle was the PERFECT Romeo. Perfect! I was nearly drooling in my seat. He's gorgeous, and a fabulous dancer, and he and Irina had fanatastic chemistry. MaoMaoRevolution, you have to see him if you can.

And you definitely have to see Diana Vishneva! My friend who went to "Swan Lake" knows a professional dancer, and when he found out we saw Vishenva in "Swan Lake," he said something like "you should be honored that you saw her." And I totally feel that way!

Ahh, I can't wait for ballet to start next season!!! Thankfully it's almost time for skating season. Unlike most of the people here I was not feeling the withdrawal so much because I had ballet season to distract me.

ETA Oh, and I forgot to mention that Nina Ananiashvili danced to "Masquerade Waltz" as a special piece for the gala, and that was great. She wore red and black, and it got comical at the end. That's actually what made me think that Mao could do "Masquerade Waltz" with a happy feeling.