One of the very greatest dancers you’ve probably never heard about
I’m puzzled by the near-obscurity into which Fernando Bujones has fallen.
Barishnikov and Nureyev are household words, even for a lot of people who know nothing else about ballet. Likewise, Nijinsky, who danced a hundred years ago.
But Bujones, one of the greatest male dancers of all time, and probably the greatest American male dancer ever? Crickets, relatively speaking.
I saw Bujones dance in person many many times. Bujones had the misfortune to die young, at the age of 50 in 2005, but that was after he had had a full dance career. So his relative obscurity is somewhat puzzling.
There are surprisingly few films/videos of Bujones, although he danced during the 70s through the 90s. His career (which began in his teen years; he was a prodigy who was offered a job at the age of 14 by Balanchine) also coincided with that of Barishnikov, who defected to the West around the same time Bujones won the Gold Medal at Varna in 1974. Barishnikov caught the attention of the public while Bujones never really did.
Bujones was born in Cuba but came to this country at a very young age. He had many sterling qualities as a dancer, but I think the most important was his tremendous ballon, the definition of which is an effect that makes it “seem as though a dancer effortlessly becomes airborne, floats in the air, and lands softly.” Neat trick, eh? And try doing it over and over, while maintaining a perfect line, pointed feet, and not seeming to be making a whole lot of effort or to breathe all that heavily?
Sadly, many of the videos of Bujones are blurry. But I offer you a few that show just a glimpse of the gifts I’m talking about. Here he is as James, the hero (or perhaps anti-hero) of one of the oldest ballets in existence, “La Sylphide.” He has the challenge here of dancing in a kilt (in this case, you may be relieved to hear, with underwear). I think this short clip is a great example of the extraordinary quality of Bujones’ ballon:
I said that dancers have to look as though they’re not exhausted. But in this next clip from the finale of “Giselle,” Bujones has to achieve the next trick of seeming both energetic and exhausted, sequentially and even simultaneously. The plot involves the eponymous heroine Giselle’s betrayal in the first act by Prince Albrecht, played here by Bujones. This is the second act, in which he goes to her grave (she has died of a broken heart at the end of Act I) and he is set upon by Wilis, spirits of women who are determined to dance him to his death. But Giselle herself has a love that transcends the grave and the betrayal, and she is set on saving him from his fate.
In this excerpt Albrecht has already been under the spell of the Wilis and is forced to dance, against his will, and is both spellbound and exhausted. At the very beginning of the segment I’ve cued up, there is a series of entrechats (the step where he jumps vertically, with beats) that is absolutely phenomenal. A sequence like that has the effect of turning one’s legs and feet into the equivalent of lead weights. (By the way, looking at videos of Barishnikov doing the same ballet, he does a different type of step that’s not quite as exhausting, although I can’t remember which is the original choreography, Bujones’ version or Barishnikov’s). Giselle appears at around 1:20; before that we just see the Wilis, commanding him to dance till he dies:
Goo lord. Even when the knees were up to it I couldn’t get that high without an exaggerated crouch and swinging my arms…..
Magic.
A virtuoso indeed. Thanks, Neo.
It took me a while to find it. I figured it was something that a dancing philistine like myself would be impressed by. It is apparently called Tour de Reins or barrel turns, “a crowd pleaser” according to this clip (about 2/3’s in).
I had seen Fernando Bujones a few times at the ABT in the 70’s and was always impressed. Later I saw Baryshnikov do the barrel turns and was super impressed. Later still, I saw Bujones do the same set of barrel turns and I thought it was just as good. I’m guessing he was taller than Baryshnikov, which always changes the nature of acrobatics.
Neo, you are a treasure. In this time of political and civil turmoil, who else would post impeccably researched and reasoned political commentary on one hand; then turn about and write about dance with equal enthusiasm?
You remind us that there are aspects to life beyond the political and contentious. In recent months I have re-discovered my passion-although more pedestrian than yours– in fishing. A couple of times a week, I rise at 4:30, join the unfortunates who every day have to it endure the SoCal traffic, even at such an hour, proceed to the bay, and spend several hours in my kayak. During those hours I never once give a thought to politics, or other element beyond my control, such as Wall Street. Well, to be honest, the fish are beyond my control; but, they are honest adversaries.
I hope you will forgive me for not sharing your passion for dance, because, I do applaud it.
(Over the past year or so, now that her own brood had flown the nest, my daughter has taken in as roomers a couple of young women, or occasionally men, from around the country who are enrolled in an intense dance program. Charming young people who are deeply committed to achieving their aspirations.)
Could it simply be that he was not Russian?
Well, that seems as a logical consequence of our time.
When a group enjoys some advantages and quotas, people use to discount merits. Take, for example, NK.Jemisin, black woman, who is the only scifi writer in history to have won three consecutive Hugo awards. Anyone who is not a leftist will think of her as just an above average (though not too much) scifi writer.
Bujones was too old to take advantage of quotas, but too young to avoid being discounted. Worst case scenario, and not the only one. Another example: Lalo Schifrin, Argentinian that moved to US in the 60s, best known for the Mission Impossible theme. He was a damn genius and probably the best one using jazz in soundtracks (Henry Mancini, perhaps, but that’s it). I haven’t seen any other composer being able to blend jazz and images so perfectly that it doesn’t fee like the music is a cool jazzy track playing in the background, but as a integral part of the movie. Nowadays, completely forgotten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkqF0EED6AA
Yann:
Ballet is actually one of the few remaining meritocracies, for the most part. You cannot fake it. Technique and charisma are the thing, and artistry used to be a big deal, too.
You’ll notice the moderator maintains no tag for ‘Girl Singers’. Alas, how little they are with us here at Chez Neoneocon. Nor is there a ‘Latin Music’ tab. Instead, Neo-neocon contemplates ballet. Mary Ellen Moylan and Tanaquil Le Clerq are long retired. What’s left is philanthropy for male homosexuals with some swag tossed at the girls.
THIS, is dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5QrGD0oUgY
I agree, but that doesn’t change it. Once you get used to discount merit to certain groups because your brain has observed a certain pattern, it’s automatic, and probably subconscious (which is the old way to say how a neural network works).
All the clips are terrif — thanks, you guys!
Let me nominate also Elmer Bernstein. E.g.,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI9Or8rE_Dc
Oh, Mancini indeed: Peter Gunn !!!!! James Bond !!! Some better than others, however. There’s one of them that always struck me as outstanding, but I’m not sure which one ….
I have just seen a 60 Minutes interview of Gelsey Kirkland. ( I read her book Dancing on My Grave many years ago.)
Interesting interview. It was given after she had gotten off drugs and returned to the stage, but the interviewer said that she was dancing with the Royal Ballet in London, and that no American manager wanted anything to do with her.
I have been a fan of figure skating since 1994 (Lillehammer Olympics), and along the way it struck me that in the name of Art skaters and dancers dreadfully abuse and damage their bodies, which after all means themselves; and to wonder whether this is really even morally proper for people to do to themselves. After all, this is real physical damage.
The results can be so beautiful and awe-inspiring to watch, but the price the artists pay…. I wouldn’t begin to have the grit to do it.
[By the way, I saw the movie The Turning Point (Leslie Browne, Baryshnikov, Shirley Maclaine, Anne Bancroft). Miss Kirkland was supposed to play the young ballerina, Amelia, but in the interview she says she purposely starved herself so she could get out of it. “Amelia had nothing between her ears.” She didn’t want to portray herself that way. Good for her!]
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Anyhow, the interview includes several clips of Miss Kirkland’s dancing, and OMG, how fabulously beautiful it was. That’s why I wanted to leave this comment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcTDFMSZM6M
Julie near Chicago:
You may be interested in this post of mine about the movie “The Turning Point” and me.
Very interesting, Neo — Thank you! Gosh, I’m going to have to watch the movie again (I have it on VHS somewhere). No doubt I can pick you out by relying on instinct. LOL
I had no idea Baryshnikov is so short!
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Neo — I’d be awfully interested to know your opinions on Miss Kirkland, Suzanne Farrell, and Allegra Kent as dancers. And any others, of course!
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By the way, there are several clips of Mr. Bujones dancing:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Fernando+Bujones%22
Also lots of clips of Gelsey Kirkland at YT.
Julie near Chicago:
On Farrell.
Kirkland.
I haven’t seen Allegra Kent that much. But between Kirkland and Farrell, I’ll take the transcendent Farrell. No one like her, or even remotely like her. Kirkland was great, but always seemed tense to me. Tremendously skillful, but the spiritual quality wasn’t quite there.
My favorites (and if you do a search on the blog, you’ll find I’ve written about most of them): Natalia Makarova, Carla Fracci, Anthony Dowell, Lynn Seymour, Violette Verdy, Edward Villella, Bujones, Barishnikov, probably a few more I can’t recall at the moment.
Thanks very much, Neo. I will enjoy reading those, and the others too. :>)
Back, ‘way back, in the day when sportswriters were educated, a congregation of them awarded Villella the best athlete ever award. Not merely for his skills but that he had to look GOOD doing it every day and a matinee in Saturday.
Back, ‘way back, in the day when sportswriters were educated,
There was no such day.
Richard Aubrey:
Villilla really was—and is—an excellent athlete. See this.
But Bujones, one of the greatest male dancers of all time, and probably the greatest American male dancer ever? Crickets, relatively speaking.
You answered your own question..
Not russian, erased…
Given all the publishing houses, film houses, social influence and so on and huge numbers, they dont deem it “interesting” enough to talk about, print about, etc.
ie. erased socially…
Barishnikov – Russian born in latvia, defected soviet latvia [changer]
Nureyev – Russian
Nijinsky – Russian
but where did Frederic Franklin go to?
Ballet Legend Frederic Franklin to be honored on Oct 14th
Here is a family friends photo of him
http://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Scheherezade-600×732.jpg
My most favorite friend photographer of the family: Maurice Seymour
Also Russian, but left at the turn of the century because of dislike of Jews in russia
[Him and his brother got their start with Amos and Andy taking shots]
he explained a lot of this for me…
not that you would care of his words, as i have tried!!
Seymour on Ballet: 101 Photographs
Maurice Seymour
Published by Pellegrini & Cudahy
a dear friend of my father, and family…
you would not know much of the ballet of this period if it wasnt for him
I nearly married his daughter , sister was great friends with
we were two arts and sciences families… me bronx science
it was Maurice that tricked us into a Buffet clarinet at “Ponte” who was a famous broadway music man
he loved chess and did have an eye for ladies (boy do i have stories)
oh, if you are tired of looking at his ballet shots, he also did head shots for lots of very famous people through the ages, and even tons of very famous but forgotten burlesque dancers.. like “Camille”…
anyway, if you over emphasise russia, and push down USA
you get to push pop in hegelian fashion and erase the contributions of key people
but then you create a memory of a world that never existed and so, replaces reality for most
in this way, you can also see the same treatment of:
Irina Baronova?
Maria Tallchief?
Jack Cole? (modern dance)
Paula Tennyson?
Ruth Ann Koesun?
all kind of erased cause no one will talk about them, as with tons of other things!!
especially if your from a small no account place…
Barishnikov is from Latvia, a country known for its arts and Ballet before Soviets.
and then you have my favorite friend who died, odetta…
but i was surprised… as neo did not mention where her name was from
Maurice Seymour. Mia as Odette in “Swan Lake”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pbssocal/15095260610
and then say… who is Mia?
anyone remember Margot Fontayne?
a lot more than Mia Slavenska… erased…
she is:
a Croatian-born American prima ballerina. She formed the Slavenska Ballette Variante and, later, the Theatre Ballette. In 1954, she became the prima ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.
Im an expert on the erased…
I am one of them…
[all of the ballet people here were photographed by Maurice Seymour… my family will remember him always!]
Artfldgr:
Of course to me, they’re all famous, because I used to follow ballet so closely and saw most of the prominent dancers of the twentieth century (especially from mid-century on).
But, speaking more generally of ballet fans, Tallchief still has a certain cachet, perhaps because of the Native American angle. Suzanne Farrell and Gelsey Kirkland are still very famous and both are American. The Russian element definitely enhanced fame, however, particularly for defectors (Makarova, Barishnikov, and Nureyev were all defectors). Defectors made a big splash, and they were all extremely fine dancers as well. Very few dancers who remained in Russia became international stars with the exception of two, Ulanova and Plisetskaya, Fonteyn is also still quite famous in the ballet world and perhaps even beyond, although that may be because of her long partnership with Nureyev.
By the way, I knew Mia Slavenska when I was a child. Perhaps “knew” is too strong a word. But I used to take class with her—in a rather small class given by a man named Vincenzo Celli in Manhattan. The class was VERY eclectic in terms of who attended—obviously, if I was there as a child and Slavenska was taking the same class. Her daughter Maria, who was a few years older than I and at the time not a talented dancer, also took the class. I wasn’t sure that memory was correct (the name of the daughter), but checking Wiki just now I see that she did have a daughter named Maria.
Celli was quite the character.
Fascinating piece about Villella, Neo. Is it still true that male dancers are sort of assumed to be homosexual? I’d have thought that Baryshnikov might have challenged that assumption some … not to mention the male lead in the movie Center Stage. [I did think riding onto stage in the movie’s main number was a bit over the top, but then again I didn’t think that movie was intended to celebrate Great Classical Ballet. LOL Then there was also the guy who did the gymnastics and came sliding down the rope in A Chorus Line (not my all-time favorite movie ever, although that particular routine was fun to watch).]
Tallchief & Nureyev — Flower Festival in Genzano — 1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17GMUkiIuVo
Bujones & Makarova — The Black Swan, Pas de Deux, Pt. 1 — 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPth_TiVGE4
Fonteyn & Nureyev, Swan Lake — 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDIGDim_1xs
Somebody’s Top 15 Male Dancers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRMqK71i3fs
Julie near Chicago:
There is a perception that male ballet dancers are gay because a much higher percentage of them are than you would expect by chance. I don’t know the figures (I’m not sure anyone’s done a study) but I would say at least half. However, the ones who are heterosexual really have their pick of a bevy of gorgeous female dancers, the vast majority of whom are heterosexual (although often exhausted).
I don’t know the figures (I’m not sure anyone’s done a study) but I would say at least half.
John Derbyshire was told about 15 years ago by someone working in the industry that the share of men in the audience who were homosexual was about 25%; the share of male dancers, 50%;’ and the share of choreographers, 100%. (Balanchine the obvious exception).
Ballet has to have a lot of rich patrons (and matrons), tax free status and high social status in order to continue to exist. My favorite dance – belly dance – has none of these things, it only has fanatic individuals who carry it on despite a lot of social stigma (you…Strippers!). Take a look at Youtube sites like ‘TommyG’, ‘Good King Ruggish,’ and ‘Warner Park Linden’ in order to look at a dance form that is almost completely ignored by ‘The Enlightened’ and yet manages to thrive and entertain.
Ballet has to have a lot of rich patrons (and matrons), tax free status and high social status in order to continue to exist.
Remember Roy Halston Frowick, the fashion designer? (Always referred to as ‘Halston’ in public print). Guy had lots of friends, among them Lauren Bacall, who called him ‘Halstie baby’. Homosexual men know how to build relationships with women who’ve got style and cash flow. Not sure how that works.