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DVD Review: The Bolshoi Ballet HD Collection – The Sleeping Beauty

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by Vicki Crain

sleeping beauty balletAmerican Ballet Theater principal dancer David Hallberg made international news in the fall of 2011 when he was asked to join the illustrious Bolshoi Ballet as a premiere danseur, the first American ever invited to join the company. One of his first performances in Russia’s newly renovated Moscow Theatre was also filmed for live cinema simulcasts around the globe. This updated version of Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty features new choreography by Yuri Grigorovich with The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s famous score.

According to Sergei L. Loiko of The Los Angeles Times, who covered the performance from Moscow, seven cameras filmed the Sunday performance that had the estimated audience of 1,750 in the theater giving a rousing standing ovation. Gorgeous shots of the ornate theater and behind-the-scenes takes from conductor’s view in the orchestra pit create the sense that you are there. Nobody does grandeur quite like the Bolshoi and the lavish sets and costumes, as well as the enormous cast of dancers, are on full golden display here. Even the dramatic tension of the story was heightened by the ultra-slow tempo of the music.

Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova (Princess Aurora) handpicked Hallberg to be her Prince Désiré. With long, lean limbs, high-arched feet and exquisite lines and extensions, these two are a match made in ballet heaven. Zakharova’s beautiful, relaxed upper body port de bras are at times defied by the sheer height of her extensions. Her full-split developé a la secondé makes The Rose Adage, albeit extremely slow, inherently more exciting to watch. Hallberg’s entrance solo in Act II is exciting and brilliantly executed. As he finishes, there is a millisecond pause/glitch in the dvd before the audience erupts in applause, as if even the film crew knew they were witnessing history. Bravura solos and effortless partnering make this pair irresistible to watch.

Classic storytelling with technically dazzling dancing make this dvd  a must-see. Standouts in the stellar cast are Nina Kaptosova and Artem Ovcharenko as Princess Florine and the Bluebird, Maria Allash and her liquid bourrees as the Lilac Fairy and Alexey Loparevich (in drag) as the evil fairy Carabosse.

Run time: 138 minutes

BIO: Reviewer Vicki Crain is the voice behind Rogue Ballerina, an excellent blog that covers the Chicago-area dance scene. Check out her site for interviews, previews, reviews and more, and follow her on Twitter at @rogueballerina

In A Class Of Her Own: Tutu Maker, Toya Dubin

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photo of ballet dancer in tutu
Toya Dubin, wearing the “Jewel Box Tutu”

Today we have something really different to share with readers…

Meet Toya Dubin, dancer…and tutu-maker. This teenager is in a class of her own, and knows more about tutus than most!

What is your dance background?

I began dancing at the age of three in my hometown, Miami, Florida at a studio called In Motion.  The appeal of graceful movement was irresistible, the idea that I could make myself a fairy or princess even more exciting.  I took a modern class there with a disciple of Isadora Duncan, and remember never wanting class to be over.  Since then, my love for ballet has outstripped that for any other form of dance.  However, I have studied jazz as well as Zena Rommett Floor barre technique.  I really enjoy ballet classes with Elena Kunikova, Lisa Lockwood, and  Fabrice Herrault at Steps on Broadway.   Over the years I have studied Balanchine, Vaganova, Russian, and Checetti styles of ballet, along with some Fosse, and Limón modern dance.

What are you currently doing in dance?

At the moment, I dance with the Orange County Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction of Alicia Lovely and Carol Purcell, and have performed in their production of The Nutcracker since the age of eight.  I also dance with the American Youth Ballet, under the tutelage of Albert Davydov, and  performed  in their Nutcracker this year.  In addition, I study at Ballet Arts Studio, in Beacon, with Alessandra James.

How did your love of costumes come about?

I cannot distinguish a moment in my life in which costumes or being fabulous didn’t hold endless fascination for me.  From the moment I learned to undress and redress myself, a minimum of fifteen clothing changes occurred per day.  On a hike up Mount Marcy at nine years old I covered my eyelids in glitter and outfitted a friend and myself in fake pearls because, as I told everyone who laughed at us, “A girl must always be fabulous.  No matter where.”

This idea has taken root in my mind.  Fabulousness to me, is the expression of a person’s innermost aesthetic.  In my own life that may involve oodles of rhinestones, but for the characters I bring to life that may not be their breed of fabulousness.  The challenge of discovering what brings a different character to life is the ultimate challenge in my opinion, and from ballet I have learned that the most satisfying feeling is to stretch a little further than I thought I could.  Succeeding in realizing a character’s personality and expressing that through their clothes is like that perfect triple pirouette you whip off in class one day.

What is it that you hope to do in this arena?  [Read more…]

On Dancing Barefoot…

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by Lucy Vurucic Riner

dancers on floor

There are not many things, about dance, that I am “old school” about.  I don’t have the old school teacher mentality when it comes to many things in my classroom.  Although we require our students to wear leotards, I have not put one on in about five years.  And when it comes to instruction I am 90% positive feedback and 10% mean in the “old school” sense.  The one old school thing about me is that I love my bare feet.  I don’t understand how, or really why, anyone would want to dance any other way?  How else can you be completely connected to the ground if you can’t truly feel it?

Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of modern dance friends that don’t love that skin to floor contact as much as I do.  And with contemporary dance becoming increasingly more popular (I’m still not really sure how to define it myself) it seems that the minute we realized that people like Petronio and Naharin were letting their dancers wear socks, many of us modern dancers jumped at the chance of creating pieces where socks were the obvious choice as part of the costume.  And while Ruth St. Denis and Doris Humphrey roll over in their graves every time one of us modern dancers puts on her socks or toe thongs (what an ingenious invention) we continue to find new ways to adorn our feet while we dance. [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: Luke Spalding

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ballet dancer practicing
Luke Spalding

Today’s Student Spotlight features Luke Spalding from Chicago Ballet Arts…

1. Can you tell readers how you became involved with dance?

I became involved in dance primarily through my older sister. I remember going to these little creative movement classes with her around Evanston before my mom learned about Chicago Ballet Arts. My sister started taking ballet there when I was in kindergarten and really liked it so when I got to first grade my parents signed me up and I have stuck with dance ever since.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class?

Grande allegro always has been the part of class I like best. It is just so fun and exhilarating to finally travel a lot and take up the entire room. Also I love the jumps that come with it that are unique to only that part of class. Flying through the air and reaching the extremes of motion is definitely a feeling that is unique to dance.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you?

The hardest part of dance definitely is the long hours that it entails. It is very challenging to find the balance and self-discipline to finish homework, attend class, and do any other activities or extra curriculars after going to school. Junior year has been especially hard academically, which has made it more difficult to attend as many dance classes as I would like to attend this year.

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

The advice that I would give to other dancers would be to really stick with it especially for other guys. I admit I really did not enjoy dancing after doing it for a couple years when I was in elementary school. I thought ballet class was extremely boring at times. But gradually I began to love dancing and to enjoy taking class in a different but better way than when I was little and starting out.

5. How has dance changed your life?

Dance has changed my life in so many ways. Going to summer intensives and dance events and performances allows one to meet so many passionate teachers and so many fellow dancers that are just so much fun to be around. In addition to the great people that you meet, dancing has made me very fit and extremely conscious of my body’s movements. It also has made me very conscious of my body’s aches and pains and has forced me to be able to deal with and avoid the injuries that are ever present in a dancer’s life.

Mercedes Smith – On Music And Ballet

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Living in Chicago I was excited when the Joffrey Ballet decided to do live music for their performances in the coming year. It got me thinking about what it must be like for those who play the music…

Enter Mercedes Smith – recently appointed Principal Flutist of the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. Mercedes has also served as Principal Flutist of the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras. I reached out to her for some thoughts on ballet, playing for dancers and what live music can bring to a performance.

Here’s what she had to say…

What has your exposure been to ballet thus far in your life?

Other than a few years of ballet when I was a small child, my first real experience with ballet was in 2004 when I was appointed Principal Flutist of the Houston Ballet Orchestra.  For the mixed repertory performances the orchestra often didn’t play on all three “acts” of the ballet, so I would sit in the audience and watch during those pieces.  Since I was was often sitting in on multiple rehearsals and performances of the same pieces, I was able to see different dancer’s interpretations of the same works and this really helped me to appreciate the art form.

As a musician, what do you feel live music can bring to a ballet?

Live music greatly enhances the experience both the audience and dancers have during a performance.  Having a live orchestra affords that the tempo of the music can be adjusted specifically for each dancer when necessary and is crucial for performance so that the dancers are able to fully express the meaning of the work as well as their own personal interpretation of that work.

If you have played ballet music before, what is your favorite piece and why? [Read more…]

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