Love your dance posts, Neo!

…but what struck me was that Plitsekskaya moved like the scarf. She seemed to have a reason for holding it, an identification with its unstudied grace – no reason for this thought, but I thought of “the lilies of the field,” blowing in a breeze.

The other three seemed to me to be holding a prop, as you said. I thought of Gerbera daisies.

Plisetskaya is definitely not worried about long lines – her head cranes forward as she looks with interest at her plaything, the scarf… making room for its billows as she steps on pointe.

The last modern dancer has a little of this – she makes the nicest shapes with the scarf, and uses its motion to motivate the swing of the hopping pirouette.

From this old folk dancing fan, thanks, Neo, for sharing the clips and your observations.

You’re welcome!

I think recent dancers and present-day audiences don’t even know what they lack. The dancers care almost solely about how high their leg rises – which makes an uglier line, is of zero interest, and has nothing to do with dance. The audiences cheer and applaud.

Yes, I would be the poorer for having not read your dance commentary nor attended the videos you have linked.

Then there’s my specific debt for introducing M. Plisetskaya. I was certainly impressed by the first three dancers, but then came Plisetskaya.

She was “being” ballet; they were “doing” ballet.

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