Most feminine, beautiful, breathtaking ballet l've ever seen, along with such a gorgeous piece of composition. lt was the ballet that got me to really take notice of the art. When l am sad, l watch it again, and marvel at how wonderful God was to give His creation the ability to covey such beauty! l have a _wonderful_ Lord, and Saviour! :D
There's an essential Balanchine-ness that's missing from this performance. These dancers are afraid to take risks, push off balance, really fall to the floor, really run across the stage. They dance a little behind the beat rather than on the beat or even ahead of the beat as Balanchine wanted. The performance is elegant and beautiful but also static and, at times, rigid.
Erin Matthiessen I agree. Not taking anything away from this company and these incredible dancers, but it’s missing energy and spontaneity. Spontaneity as in this is the first time they’ve ever danced it and anything could happen. There’s no sense of that, it’s a little too measured for me.
The speed, attack, daring and off-kilter velocity simply isn't there. Interestingly they played the music at the correct tempo, rare for Russian companies when they do Balanchine, but all that serves to do is highlight how incapable they are of dancing it properly. The dancers all look extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.
@@levondelite4072 The most beautiful performance of Serenade that I have ever seen, with these dancers from Balanchine's alma mater, now known as the Vaganova Academy, and his first theatre, now known as the Mariinsky Theatre. If Balanchine had been able to see these dancers behind the Iron Curtain, I think he would have been in seventh heaven. They learned to dance with the same precision and technique that he learned, and they had the body images he sought after in America. Their technique allowed them to perform his choreography with beauty and fluidity, without having to resort to jerky staccato movements to accomplish the difficult choreography.
@@normamimosa5991 Wrong. Balanchine schooling is markedly different from Vaganova. He never studied under Vaganova himself and both deviated significantly from the Johanssen-Cecchetti method they had studied. From the réleve technique they favoured (spring vs roll-up) to the shift of the body's weight to the forefoot, hip and back placement in attitude and arabesque, the port de bras and épaulement, Balanchine's method is antiethical to the Mariinsky's, as anyone who has studied Vaganova's "Basic Principles of Classical Ballet" would know. Indeed, he considered Kirov dancers old-fashioned and boring. I disagree with him, but that's moot point. If you prefer Balanchine as performed by Vaganova dancers that's fine. Two of the finest performances of "Diamonds" and "Ballet Imperial" by non-Balanchine dancers I've seen were danced by two Mariinsky ballerinas. It was their musicality and willingness to adapt to the Balanchine aesthetic that made the difference, not their willowy forms and high extensions, which many of Balanchine's greatest dancers didn't have, anyway.
@@normamimosa5991 Balanchine was a revolutionary - and this is what he was revolting against, Norma, dearie - if *this* is the best Balanchine you've ever seen, either you don't have a clue about Balanchine or you're accompanied to dance performances by a seeing eye dog
They look hesitant, if not afraid. The finale should be awe-inspiring. This looked unaquainted with grief. No excitement to the suspensions in the waltz, where she should melt from arabesque to retiree [actually, to coupe back] at the last moment. Many other risks not taken, but these were the most disappointing to me.
Beautiful fluidity never seen at NYCB. No risks? On the contrary, each step executed to perfection with the element of risk masked by the beauty of flowing movement.
Exquisite. An interpretation of early Balanchine by dancers who have a complete understanding of the culture and customs that formed his early thinking; a young dancer becoming whom he would. The liberation of Balanchine's choreography is even more telling when performed by Russian dancers. Noisy? The better to hear what Balanchine was hearing. That same "noise" was as accurate and nuanced as the orchestra: both superior; noise and all. This is the Kirov: where Ballet grew up. Historically, Serenade is "Ballet as in her early 20's." Even in a chronological contex, the everyday life experiences of this ensemble flow from the pointes through the port au bras effervescently. There's a lot of perspective in each step. A kind of like the psyche of balletic freedom rooted deep in ballet history.
A.Hayes You have captured the Essence. This Kirov version resonates with me the most of all the others, right speed, mellow, there Is also a gentleness. Bolshoi Is good too AND the 3 min.of the Tbilisi ballet are great, also so clean AND precise. But the Kirov resonates the most with me AND your explanatión confirmed it.
@@oliviakirby1409 That is an absurd comment. Balanchine's technique was their technique. These dancers are from Balanchine's alma mater, now called the Vaganova Academy, and from his theatre, now called the Mariinsky Theatre.
Yes, Vincent, i see it like you. this is the real thing, yes clear, precise, mellow, simpler, very pure classical, romantic ballet. it has also the Russian soulfulness. I also like the white clothing!! This is my favorite version, only unfortunately the quality of the video could use a deserved improvement, .The Bolshoi production is also very good. There is one more good one, from Novosibirsk theatre!!! for comparisons
@@oliviakirby1409 Completely agree. I have seen NYCB perform this many times and there is no comparison. The Russians have a very difficult time with the speed of which his ballet's need to be performed at. Anyone who knows this ballet can see many of the steps were changed for accommodation.
@@karennoble1168 The white clothing is just strange. One of the signature aspects of this ballet are the blue leo's and tutus. Plus they messed with the tempo for the end of the third movement (really the fourth but Balanchine switched the Finale and the Elegie).
@@ashleym9251 No, Russians don't have a "very difficult time with the speed". They do it exactly as prescribed by the creator of this music - Tchaikovsky. He set the tempo for this piece and they stick to it precisely. If you play it faster (and that's what NYCB does) you get Chuck Berry's rock-n-roll instead.
Sorry to say they completely missed the point of the opening scene. It is about normal women becoming ballet dancers. They are meant to be standing absolutely in parallel and suddenly in unison turn out. Here they are 1/2 turned out already. Likewise their arms at first at too "balletic". They should think they are blocking the sun with straight arms. I can't watch the rest...
@@kathymyers7279 Kathy, i think Kirsten means the quality of the video recording, scratches, coughing, a clap of one person in the middle, weird equipment? noises. This wonderful, precise, so classy, my favorite production would deserve a very professional recording, preferably without audience.
Apparently Balanchine knew how to teach the softer plie landings so audience will not hear the gallop or maybe theatre has not good acoustics for ballet.
Well by now we know Russian culture is truly dead. I mean how can they play homosexual music in the empire of Vlad? that girl falling to the floor is a reference to the Ukraine ?
lmao considering this was choreographed in the 1940s in the United States, no, I don’t think Balanchine had a crystal ball for the Russian geopolitical situation of 2022 🙄
@@elizabethreillygleason4978i was talking about their utter hypocrisy. This is a performance during the reign of Vlad the Paranoid Pig-eyed. The Lgbtqi hating ( Tschaikowsky we promote as Russian culture) hypocrisy of dancing while you are killing your neighbours and poisoning your rivals and all the while Russian ballet pretends they dance in a vacuum. It s sick because art should be true. And in no way can art in present day Russia still be considered true
@@МихаилЗаозернов Yup, REAL Russian Culture is deeply and completely homosexual. And Russians political and (now also) moral culture is deeply hypocritical and more enslaved than historic serfdom. How many more school and theater shootings do you need to realize maybe present day Russia is principally known for killing murdering and enslaving other people........and some of those people have family and will take revenge? Happy Navalny day, go watch Swan Lake and pretend everything is fine in Russia. You can always put on the blindfold again when you leave the theater.
@@МихаилЗаозернов But you are right GAY culture IS Immortal. Long after Putin is worm food : Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergej Diaghilev and Rudolph Nurejew will be the true gay geniuses of Russian culture. We love the Russian gay culture.
![X JAPAN - YOSHIKI - Good Bye (Brilliant piano song)[HD]](/img/n.gif)
Most feminine, beautiful, breathtaking ballet l've ever seen, along with such a gorgeous piece of composition. lt was the ballet that got me to really take notice of the art. When l am sad, l watch it again, and marvel at how wonderful God was to give His creation the ability to covey such beauty! l have a _wonderful_ Lord, and Saviour! :D
There's an essential Balanchine-ness that's missing from this performance. These dancers are afraid to take risks, push off balance, really fall to the floor, really run across the stage. They dance a little behind the beat rather than on the beat or even ahead of the beat as Balanchine wanted. The performance is elegant and beautiful but also static and, at times, rigid.
Erin Matthiessen I agree. Not taking anything away from this company and these incredible dancers, but it’s missing energy and spontaneity. Spontaneity as in this is the first time they’ve ever danced it and anything could happen. There’s no sense of that, it’s a little too measured for me.
The speed, attack, daring and off-kilter velocity simply isn't there. Interestingly they played the music at the correct tempo, rare for Russian companies when they do Balanchine, but all that serves to do is highlight how incapable they are of dancing it properly. The dancers all look extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.
@@levondelite4072 The most beautiful performance of Serenade that I have ever seen, with these dancers from Balanchine's alma mater, now known as the Vaganova Academy, and his first theatre, now known as the Mariinsky Theatre. If Balanchine had been able to see these dancers behind the Iron Curtain, I think he would have been in seventh heaven. They learned to dance with the same precision and technique that he learned, and they had the body images he sought after in America. Their technique allowed them to perform his choreography with beauty and fluidity, without having to resort to jerky staccato movements to accomplish the difficult choreography.
@@normamimosa5991 Wrong. Balanchine schooling is markedly different from Vaganova. He never studied under Vaganova himself and both deviated significantly from the Johanssen-Cecchetti method they had studied. From the réleve technique they favoured (spring vs roll-up) to the shift of the body's weight to the forefoot, hip and back placement in attitude and arabesque, the port de bras and épaulement, Balanchine's method is antiethical to the Mariinsky's, as anyone who has studied Vaganova's "Basic Principles of Classical Ballet" would know. Indeed, he considered Kirov dancers old-fashioned and boring. I disagree with him, but that's moot point.
If you prefer Balanchine as performed by Vaganova dancers that's fine. Two of the finest performances of "Diamonds" and "Ballet Imperial" by non-Balanchine dancers I've seen were danced by two Mariinsky ballerinas. It was their musicality and willingness to adapt to the Balanchine aesthetic that made the difference, not their willowy forms and high extensions, which many of Balanchine's greatest dancers didn't have, anyway.
@@normamimosa5991 Balanchine was a revolutionary - and this is what he was revolting against, Norma, dearie - if *this* is the best Balanchine you've ever seen, either you don't have a clue about Balanchine or you're accompanied to dance performances by a seeing eye dog
Wonderful . Congratlations
Magistral! Bravo! Bravo!
This presentation, and in white is my favorite one.
lovely. thank you
They look hesitant, if not afraid. The finale should be awe-inspiring. This looked unaquainted with grief. No excitement to the suspensions in the waltz, where she should melt from arabesque to retiree [actually, to coupe back] at the last moment. Many other risks not taken, but these were the most disappointing to me.
Beautiful fluidity never seen at NYCB. No risks? On the contrary, each step executed to perfection with the element of risk masked by the beauty of flowing movement.
Exquisite. An interpretation of early Balanchine by dancers who have a complete understanding of the culture and customs that formed his early thinking; a young dancer becoming whom he would. The liberation of Balanchine's choreography is even more telling when performed by Russian dancers. Noisy? The better to hear what Balanchine was hearing. That same "noise" was as accurate and nuanced as the orchestra: both superior; noise and all. This is the Kirov: where Ballet grew up. Historically, Serenade is "Ballet as in her early 20's." Even in a chronological contex, the everyday life experiences of this ensemble flow from the pointes through the port au bras effervescently. There's a lot of perspective in each step. A kind of like the psyche of balletic freedom rooted deep in ballet history.
Wow!
How well written and explained, A.Hayes. thank you.
A.Hayes
You have captured the Essence.
This Kirov version resonates with me the most of all the others, right speed, mellow, there Is also a gentleness.
Bolshoi Is good too AND the 3 min.of the Tbilisi ballet are great, also so clean AND precise.
But the Kirov resonates the most with me AND your explanatión confirmed it.
They are unable to dance it properly. They have absolutely no understanding of Balanchine technique.
@@oliviakirby1409 That is an absurd comment. Balanchine's technique was their technique. These dancers are from Balanchine's alma mater, now called the Vaganova Academy, and from his theatre, now called the Mariinsky Theatre.
C'est autre chose que le ballet de Balanchine,un autre monde ce dernier
Music is Tschaikovsky's Serenade in C for String Orchestra and Audience Noise.
Спасибо 🙏🏻
This looks so different from the NYCB. It is so precise.
Yes, Vincent, i see it like you.
this is the real thing, yes clear, precise, mellow, simpler, very pure classical, romantic ballet.
it has also the Russian soulfulness. I also like the white clothing!!
This is my favorite version, only unfortunately the quality of the video could use a deserved improvement, .The Bolshoi production is also very good. There is one more good one, from Novosibirsk theatre!!! for comparisons
You don't know what you're talking about. This is an awful version of Serenade, they are unable to dance it properly.
@@oliviakirby1409 Completely agree. I have seen NYCB perform this many times and there is no comparison. The Russians have a very difficult time with the speed of which his ballet's need to be performed at. Anyone who knows this ballet can see many of the steps were changed for accommodation.
@@karennoble1168 The white clothing is just strange. One of the signature aspects of this ballet are the blue leo's and tutus. Plus they messed with the tempo for the end of the third movement (really the fourth but Balanchine switched the Finale and the Elegie).
@@ashleym9251 No, Russians don't have a "very difficult time with the speed". They do it exactly as prescribed by the creator of this music - Tchaikovsky. He set the tempo for this piece and they stick to it precisely. If you play it faster (and that's what NYCB does) you get Chuck Berry's rock-n-roll instead.
I came here for Denis Firsov. He partners well.
THe Dark Angel?
4:50
Does anyone know who taught this to them?
I don't know might have been Russell
Someone who should never have let them perform it like this.
o, and please, who were the dancers?
Sorry to say they completely missed the point of the opening scene. It is about normal women becoming ballet dancers. They are meant to be standing absolutely in parallel and suddenly in unison turn out. Here they are 1/2 turned out already. Likewise their arms at first at too "balletic". They should think they are blocking the sun with straight arms. I can't watch the rest...
This was mesmerizing! Do you happen to know who the four leads are?
no sorry
Meredith Yinting Hu could it be Ekaterina Osmolinka, Sofia Gumerova, not sure about the blonde or the men
@@ejc480 this screen is too blurry but i believe the blond beauty is Xenia Ostereikovskaya, one of the true heroines of the theater.
Bnesque thank you! She is indeed a beautiful dancer!
@@ejc480 no probs. Xenia deserves credit.
This is kind of bad, like ummmm what is this version and why do they not have their hair down
The original was hair up, it wasn't brought down in New York until the '60s
А почему должны? Запись 1973 года волосы-не распущены.
Too noisy - what a shame.
What do you mean?
@@kathymyers7279 Kathy, i think Kirsten means the quality of the video recording, scratches, coughing, a clap of one person in the middle, weird equipment? noises.
This wonderful, precise, so classy, my favorite production would deserve a very professional recording, preferably without audience.
Apparently Balanchine knew how to teach the softer plie landings so audience will not hear the gallop or maybe theatre has not good acoustics for ballet.
Truly the worst version I have ever seen.
So much better than NYCB! Balanchine's alma mater. He would have been ecstatic if he could have seen this.
Too Too Too fast!
No. This is the correct tempo. They're unable to dance it properly.
Actually it looks too slow to me - it’s missing all the drama, excitement and emotionality of NYCB. If this piece could ever be boring this is it.
Yes, slower, but choreography is not style.
Well by now we know Russian culture is truly dead. I mean how can they play homosexual music in the empire of Vlad? that girl falling to the floor is a reference to the Ukraine ?
lmao considering this was choreographed in the 1940s in the United States, no, I don’t think Balanchine had a crystal ball for the Russian geopolitical situation of 2022 🙄
@@elizabethreillygleason4978i was talking about their utter hypocrisy. This is a performance during the reign of Vlad the Paranoid Pig-eyed. The Lgbtqi hating ( Tschaikowsky we promote as Russian culture) hypocrisy of dancing while you are killing your neighbours and poisoning your rivals and all the while Russian ballet pretends they dance in a vacuum. It s sick because art should be true. And in no way can art in present day Russia still be considered true
Вы политизированы. Поскольку ищете то, чего нет. Русская культура бессмертна
@@МихаилЗаозернов Yup, REAL Russian Culture is deeply and completely homosexual. And Russians political and (now also) moral culture is deeply hypocritical and more enslaved than historic serfdom. How many more school and theater shootings do you need to realize maybe present day Russia is principally known for killing murdering and enslaving other people........and some of those people have family and will take revenge? Happy Navalny day, go watch Swan Lake and pretend everything is fine in Russia. You can always put on the blindfold again when you leave the theater.
@@МихаилЗаозернов But you are right GAY culture IS Immortal. Long after Putin is worm food :
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergej Diaghilev
and Rudolph Nurejew will be the true gay geniuses of Russian culture. We love the Russian gay culture.