Ulanova vs. all the other Juliets
Galina Ulanova was one of the most famous Russian dancers of the Soviet era. I saw her in person when I was very very young and she was close to 50 and nearing the end of her dancing days. She … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Dance
Nervous intensity
Speaking of the ballet “Agon” – and we were – I noticed this quote from the man cast in the original, Arthur Mitchell, about the qualities of his partner Diana Adams: Diana’s nervous intensity made the whole pas de deux … Continue reading →
Agon: no contest, no struggle
“Agon” is the name of a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine, with music by Stravinsky. It premiered in 1957 and was revolutionary at the time, but nowadays it doesn’t seem so strange. It featured a pas de deux between a … Continue reading →
The sublime Suzanne Farrell in 1966: “Concerto Barocco”
This is a rare treat, a video featuring Suzanne Farrell of the New York City Ballet in Balanchine’s great work “Concerto Barocco” to the music of Bach. Farrell was about 21 years old in this performance, and she was a … Continue reading →
Spicing up Dancing With the Stars
I’ve watched Dancing With the Stars for a season or two a few years ago, and haven’t viewed it in ages. But I’m well aware of the brouhaha around the fact that execrable dancer Sean Spicer, former press secretary of … Continue reading →
No wheels involved
I’ve posted clips of the Russian folk dance company known as the Moiseyev before. A signature move in a few of their dances is a quick scurry of the feet that gives the illusion of the dancer being on wheels … Continue reading →
Osipova: the turning machine
Everyone up for a palate cleanser? I am. I’m not one for mere technical feats, however amazing. But Osipova’s turns here are so amazing they made me gasp, and it takes a lot to do that because I’ve seen a … Continue reading →
Baryshnikov shows what “ballon” means
It’s the illusion the dancer gives of pausing for a moment at the top of the jump and hovering in the air. This is from a film, probably made some time in the 1980s:
Continue reading →Is it racist to say…
…that the Chinese are really really really good at this sort of thing? I can’t say I like it better than the original version, but I’m certainly in awe of it:
Continue reading →Intermezzo
[NOTE: This is a revised version of a previous post.] Some time ago I was taking a walk, listening on my iPod to some ballet music, and I suddenly wondered—for no particular reason—whether the Eliot Feld ballet “Intermezzo” might have … Continue reading →
How to do an entrechat quatre
In the dance of the little swans thread, commenter “Paul in Boston” asked: What’s the step where they all jump in the air together and “clap” their feet 4 times. How do they do that? I’ll let these pictures (videos) … Continue reading →
Swans, little and big
The dance of the little swans (“cygnets”) from the ballet “Swan Lake” is famous for its precision. It’s not one of those great moments in ballet artistry, but it’s a triumph of technique and synchrony among the four swans who … Continue reading →