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I haven't posted in a while, and I thought I should make at least one post over summer break. For starters, happy birthday, America!
My motive for posting: my dance studio is closed the entire week of the 4th of July, so I've gotten pretty desperate and started watching tons of YouTube ballet videos of amazing dancers, some of whom I'd never heard of before. And so, I thought I'd share some of said videos with my beloved followers. If you aren't following yet, that doesn't mean you aren't beloved, but please feel free to click the pretty little 'follow' button at the top right of the blog! Under (or somewhere near) each video, I will introduce the dancer(s) and try to explain what sets them apart from so many others of their profession.
**Note: I know not everyone will agree with me--you might hate some of the dancers I like, you might not agree with my ramblings below--that's ok! I know everyone looks for something different in a dancer, and these are just my personal thoughts and likes.
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Even if you're not a huge ballet fan, you've probably seen or heard of some of the 'big' ballets: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Carmen, La Bayadère, El Corsario, and possibly La Sylphide and Talisman, all of which were choreographed by Marius Petipa, a Frenchman. While the success and appeal of a performance can rely largely on the choreography of the piece (without Petipa, the world of dance would be an abyss) and on the dancer's technique (can you tendu?), each dancer (hopefully) brings something unique to their role. In an ideal performance, each dancer is an animated person dancing and expressing themselves on a stage, not merely a moving corpse doing 'piroettes' and 'grande jetés' so they can get their next paycheck from their company or get a promotion.
Personally, I would much rather see a dancer portraying their character well, sending a message to the audience, AND enjoying themselves than see a 'perfect' dancer who has the same expressiveness as my desk. This isn't to say that dancers don't need to have the best possible technique (there's no such thing as 'perfect'), but if a dancer sacrifices the artistry of the ballet for a 'perfect' arabesque at 175°, then I'd rather go see a not-so-acrobatic dancer hold an arabesque at 45° and still be beautiful and expressive.
Sadly, from comments I've seen on YouTube and other places, I think more and more people forget the artistic nature of dance and see it merely as a sport. People compare modern-day dancers to Baryshnikov or Anna Pavlova, often claiming that dancers can now jump higher, do more turns, bourée en pointe longer, or have higher extensions. However, people forget to take into consideration Baryshnikov's stage presence or Pavlova's grace, and, accordingly, many people don't seem to care that so many dancers forget to actually 'dance.'
What do I think makes a great dancer? Everyone values different things in a dancer, but to me, a great dancer is someone who uses the body God gave them to the maximum of its ability, not out of desire for physical perfection, but out of love for the ballet and out of love for the audience. Such dancers will never be 'perfect,' since they constantly strive to give more to the audience each show. We all love to see a dancer do a ridiculous number of turns or an amazing arabesque penchée, but unless a dancer offers to the audience a performance both physical and emotional, their performance is little more than circus tricks. Therefore, a great dancer is someone who dances well with amazing, nearly-flawless technique and who does so artistically.
If my ramblings haven't bored/annoyed you or if you just skipped over a majority of the text above to watch the videos, then please enjoy :)
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Mikhail Baryshnikov
Don Quixote
Don Quixote
What is there to say? Most everyone has heard his name before--he trained at the Vaganova school of ballet in Russia, joined the Kirov ballet, and then defected to the US while on tour. The clips above are from a performance of Don Quixote with ABT after he defected. Aren't we lucky he did?? Not that it needs stating, but Baryshnikov has all the qualities of a great dancer. While dancing, he's having a conversation with the audience and with the other dancers on stage. His technique is as flawless as possible, but he never sacrifices the artistry of dancing in order to maintain it. In addition, he has a rare musicality that very few dancers have. Even when he turns mid-air, he turns right with the music.
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Ekaterina Kondaurova
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WjqLi9xyrw
(The video above won't imbed, but please please please watch it!!!)
Dying Swan
Until I went on my YouTube dance-video spree, I had never heard of Kondaurova. Now that I have, I can't imagine why she's not as well-known as Baryshnikov (or is she, and I just totally missed something?). In the first video, also from Don Quixote, her shoes hitting the floor actually seem to be a part of the variation (as someone else mentioned in the comments). It adds a sharpness to her dancing, and makes the audience fully aware that she's graceful but isn't going to blow away with the wind. She has an amazing musicality much like Baryshnikov--maybe it's a Russian thing--and nearly flawless technique. In the second video, The Dying Swan, she is the opposite of her role in Don Quixote. She's fragile, a swan close to death, and isn't afraid of being so in front of an audience. Her grace combines with her fragility to fully bring to life the Dying Swan.
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Ángel Corella
La Bayadère
Le Corsaire
We Got it Good
ROLEX Commercial
Swan Lake
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Marianela Nuñez
La Bayadère
La Bayadère
Once again, the video would not imbed, but please, please, PLEASE watch it if you have time!
Nuñez was born in Argentina, and now dances with the Royal Ballet. She's very expressive, and I think most people would agree that she has very good technique. She has beautiful arms! My goal for the next month once dance starts back up is to make my arms look somewhat like hers instead of fried chicken wings. There's a light 'airiness' about her dancing that makes it seem like she's always hovering slightly above the ground, and for the most part, she stays in character and plays her roles well. There might be a slight exception when she turns--during her preparation and her first few pirouettes, you can almost see her thinking about doing the turn instead of just letting it happen. However, after the first few turns, she comes back into character and ends them en pointe with amazing control.
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These aren't the only the amazing dancers I'd like to blog about, but I know we all have hamburgers to go eat and fireworks to watch. The rest (including Gillian Murphy) will have to wait for another post. Please leave comments! Let me know if you agree/disagree with my dance philosophy and who your great dancer picks are.
Cheers and Happy 4th!
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*NOTE: None of the videos are mine, nor is the flag photo above, which is why I have included the links to these. I do not claim any ownership of them and do not intend to infringe on any copyrights.
