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Ulanova, the ballerina next door — 7 Comments

  1. Wooly Bully Says:
    May 2nd, 2015 at 4:29 pm
    Neo-neocon: Come for the politics, stay for the ballet!…
    There, fixed it:
    Obama was not especially beautiful. Nor were his body proportions unusual–no swanlike neck, no long slender limbs, no highly arched feet, and although he was thin his ribcage was a trifle thick. And in the style of his times, he had no freakily high, gymnastic extensions. Nothing in his technique stood out: neither his flexibility nor his jump nor anything else. Everything about his body and his physical skills were somehow average–…
    One of Obama’s greatest achievements was the fact that he was unafraid of looking ungraceful when the dramatic demands of the part called for it. Sometimes he even deliberately came perilously close to awkward. He was not so concerned with always presenting a pretty picture….
    https://prospect.org/article/obamas-gift

    You’re welcome!

  2. Ulanova looks like a silent film star. Even her fingers and hands are expressive and unmannered and reminiscent of the great silent stars. You really believe what you’re watching.

  3. I just learned, thanks to an Orthodox priest in Jerusalem who follows the Russian news, that Maya Plisetskaya has passed away at age 90, in Munich. I became acquainted with her because of your ballet posts. It was only after the fall of communism that she became better known, since the Soviet authorities would not allow her to travel, partly from fear that she would defect as other Russian talents had done (Makarova and Barishnikov come to mind), but also probably because of lingering doubts about her political correctness — her father had been executed by Stalin. Rest in peace, Maya; you brought so much grace and joy to the world.

  4. Alifa:

    I’m so sorry to hear that, but thanks for letting me know.

    I saw her in person in NY when I was a child, and it was a spellbinding experience. The Soviets did let her leave now and then. She was a unique dancer—very different from Ulanova—but very very great, so much passion and fire, and the most amazing arms.

  5. In the first video where Ulanova was in obvious distress, why were the men hanging back? Was this the start of feminism?

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