Product: Russian Ballet : The Glorious Tradition - Vol 1 [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
A Sampling of Russian Ballet from 1971-1991
This is one of many showcases of Russian ballet available on video, and the usual suspects show up: Baryshnikov, Semenyaka, Vetrov, Pavlova (Nadezhda), Gordeeyev, Gracheva, etc. As usual, the production values vary from piece to piece, the dancing is excellent, and you see many of the same ballets, but probably danced by somebody different than on your other tapes. This is nothing new.So how do you choose which of these tapes to buy (besides buying them all)? Because of the occasional rare bits. In this tape, there are two such rare bits. The first is an performance of the ubiquitous Don Quixote pas de deux, danced by Baryshnikov and Semenyaka, but it's rare because they're so young in it! The other is a solo for Ekaterina Maximova simply called "Mazurka." The choreography is a bit precious, but Maximova has great charm and exquisite legs and feet. I love her dancing because she has the precise technique that the Bolshoi dancers currently embrace while retaining the very free upper body movements that were the hallmark of older generations.Some of the aforementioned showcases of Russian ballet are "The Magic of the Kirov," "Classic Ballet Night," "Kirov Soloists - Invitation to the Dance," "Classic Kirov Performances," "The Magic of the Bolshoi" and the remaining volumes of this "Glorious Tradition" series.