The other Pavlova…
…is Nadezhda, a Russian ballet dancer who burst onto the scene in the 70s dancing with the Perm Ballet and then the Bolshoi, and who revolutionized the “look” of ballet. I remember the first photos I saw of Pavlova, she of the extraordinarily hyperextended legs and exaggerated extensions.
Nadezhda was an excellent dancer, strong and expressive. But to me her line seemed somewhat distorted and gymnastic rather than balletic, the type of thing that had been frowned on previously as circus-like.
But she was a sensation, and the beginning of what I call “extreme ballet,” a trend that has persisted to this day and has replaced the more classic and restrained lines, and the emphasis on expression, of the dancers of my youth (not that Pavlova wasn’t also in my youth, but it was a relative youth by that time).
Here she is in rehearsal clothes, and you can see the exaggerated curve of her hyperextended legs and her large, dramatically arched feet:
It almost seems impossible that she can hold her balance so well, because the sway of her legs (both of them, but especially the supporting one) would tend to throw her torso off-center and make it hard to find a balancing point over her hips. But somehow she did it, and the effect was electric.
[NOTE: I have hyperextended legs, too, so I can attest to how hard they are to manage. But mine are fairly mild compared to Pavlova’s.]
ADDENDUM: You might want to see a demonstration of how Pavlova’s hyperextensioned legs worked in motion, and also of her style. Here’s a clip from 1977. Pay particular attention to her supporting leg:
I call photoshopped. Nobody, but NOBODY, has legs like that.
vanderleun:
I assure you that I remember the photos from the 70s.
And you can go to YouTube and see the videos. I’ve added one just now to the post—go to the ADDENDUM and you’ll see it. Phenomenal.
Also, here’s a little clip of Pavlova as a student.
That reverse knee lock seems almost grotesque. It got my attention away from the rest of the performance. How do you live/walk/climb stairs?
Richard Aubrey:
Simple. You bend your knees when you climb stairs—that is, you bend them the usual ways.
I had ballet teachers who taught people with hyperextension not to lock their knees the way she does. It was thought to strain the knee and throw off the balance. But I’ve seen dancers who use their hyperextension more fully, as did Pavlova, and many of them seem to do okay. I don’t know what proportion fall by the wayside, though.
I’d be interested to know if she had knee trouble later in her career – that seems like a very stressful position to hold and with practice and performance, she would have done it a lot.
I know nothing about dance but do enjoy your dance postings.
This one was disturbing. I agree with Richard Aubrey that at minimum, watching her supporting leg was distracting.
Thanks for another glimpse of ballet.