The Flames of Paris. Boris Asafiev. Bolshoi. July 3, 2008.

[Leonnidik]

Her interpretation is vibrant and fine. As for the 5th, it is the most important position and the least respected,especially where take -offs and landings are involved.

[mrlopez2681]

it is to bad that dancers today are so preoccupied with technique that they dont even notice the DANCING. Who cares about her preperations?

[russianballetvideo]

Wonderful comment. Who cares about preparations? Actually, i do. I woudl prefer to see a dancer have no preparaion , like Alexandrova does here, rather than see all these non-Russian dancers wait an hour in their prepared pose befrore doing their pirouettes. Non-Russian dancers tend to do pirouettes much longer than Russians. Alexandrova immediately attacks her pirouettes which is much more exciting than watching a boring slow preparation to 4th position and then watch them stay in 4th position

[russianballetvideo]

Continue

Then the audience has to endure the non-Russian dancer thinking about how to do the turn while they are staying in 4th position. Just attack like Alexandrova and stop boring the audience, you non-Russian dancers.

[mrlopez2681]

She reminds me of Preobrajenskaya, the prima of the Imperial Ballet - just like Preo., Alexandrova does not have the modern "ideal" body, but one can tell that she has achieved everything through hard work & a natural ability to dance.

[mrlopez2681]

Indeed! i should clarify ... I didn't intend for my comment to suggest that I don't find her preperations important (or in general). What I love about this is the fact that she DANCES so well & marries technique with it beautfully - this is, after all, as it should be. The little "imperfections", if want to call them that, really don't matter a damn when one can perform like this!! :)

[russianballetvideo]

I think that oen of the many differerences between Russian training and other countries, is that the Russians look at the overall impression. A Russian dancer doing many consecutive piroettes in fifth position may never come close to a perfect fifth position, but they will execute the turns perfectly and with brilliant speed. A non-Russian may overemphasize the perfect fifth position and do everything so slowly to execute that perfect fifth. I would rather see the slightly imperfect brilliance.

[russianballetvideo]

She may not have the ideal body in today's anorexic hysteria, but the talent is definitely not lacking.

[dancekitty135]

nice, but her preparations for pirouettes are a bit frightening...

[bajaderkaaa]

Ok, but I don't like her costume...It's like not for this ballet!