Grand Pas de Quatre: Evdokimova Thesmar Fracci Alonso (1)

[AmpleAmputee1]

Thank you so much for posting this!! I have this on a videotape somewhere...

[Mrturytury1]

The person who casted this Grand Pas de Quattre must be of great taste.... I have

seen many Grand Pas de Quattre danced by very good ballerinas like Mia Slavenska,Melissa Hayden and Nora Kaye and of course Mme Alicia Alonso and I

have to say this casting is outstanding in beauty... Fracci is Cerrito without any

doubt, Mlle Thesmar is charming in her impersonation of Mlle Grisi and Miss Evdokimova is impeccable in Mme Grahn....But Mme Alonso is unique in the

role of Mme Taglioni... Bravo!!!

[aircat29]

@Mrturytury1 I agree totally! this is the best Pas de Quatre ever!!

[AvalonMorley]

One correction: Eva Evdokimova was with the ballet of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (also called simply the Berlin Ballet, when touring in the USA) at the time. I don't believe she ever danced w. the Staatsballett Berlin, but might well be wrong about that. The Deutsche Oper was in West Berlin & the Staatsballett in East. She was transcendent. Incredible what Alonso achieved over her life, & so much of it done practically blind, & to such an age! Love, honor, & health to her. Thanks for this!

[AvalonMorley]

Lovely to see, & this looks closest of any I've found online, to the version taught & coached for many years by Nathalie Krassovska, who was Grahn in the Ballet Russe de M. C.'s premiere of Dolin's recreation. She danced it for many years, w. ballerinas including Markova, Danilova, & Slavenska, among others (including, I think, Alonso).

Great cast here, but they really mess up the sparkling allegro footwork at the end; so thrilling when done well, but not here. No applause, & normally there is.

[aircat29]

@AvalonMorley Alonso was in 1943 at ABT and before at Caravans Ballet an before this...well she is foundress of latinamerican ballet!!!

[mcmgmm]

They're so fabulous. But the Grand pas the quatre is soooo camp and cheesey!

[wendyverdades]

Goddesses are real.

[55werther]

¡¡¡MARAVILLOSAS!!! TREMENDAMENTE ESQUISITAS. QUE CUARTETO DE

JERARQUIA. ¡¡¡SEÑORAS Y SEÑORES ESTO ES DANZA!!! Y DE LA MEJOR.

[mandydancerful]

That was so beautiful!Thank you for sharing this!

[AuthenticNavyPeaCoat]

What makes me choke up everytime I watch Alonso is knowing she was almost completely blind at this point. I marvel at her technique in light of this fact when she was at her peak as Giselle and Black Swan (check out her vid -- she does 7 pirouettes!). I know PdQ has become a characture of a ballet -- the Trocks rock at it -- but Taglioni is a fitting role for Alsonso as the grande dame of ballet. Thxs for posting!

[Jenesaisquoi1000]

Four of the greatest ballerinas of all times!!!!!

[kuvanozo]

Yo estaba en el gran teatro Garcia Lorca de la Habana ese dia, que orgullo despues de tantos años ver este ballet por esas grandes del la danza.

[sophiebombon]

Alicia Alonso impresiona que todavía aquí con 60 años baile tan extraordinariamente bien, con un cuido de la técnica y estilo romántico impecables. Alicia es la danza.

[vstasov]

Many thanks for this spectacular bit of archiving. Magnificent!

[nesundorma61]

Magnifico, festival cervantino de Guadalajara es unica pieza y es patrimonio de este mundo

[burreiro17]

ballet at its purest form!!!! i think we need to watch pieces like this when we go too modern

[nadopera90]

you must see the "gran pas de quatre" of "les ballets trockadero"!! it is fantastic!!!

brave!!

[talmadge1926]

yes i agree. And i love the recording of the music they use. The general temp has an authentic ring to it and the coreography has more of the period i feel.

[Flaflaronio]

I wonder who would be cast if they staged that now

[swanningaround]

You are joking. They could not cast this now. These four ladies are the best of the best. All are national and international institutions.

[JediLongOne]

Probably:

Diana Vishneva

Aurelie Dupont

Svetlana Zakharova

Sylvie Guillem

[wildlyattractive]

those are absolutely not those 4 ballerinas!

[odile77]

good one! I would just change Zakharova for Alexandrova or Gracheva, I do like Zakharova but I looove Alexandrova and Gracheva.

[Lucylives08]

definitely gracheva!

and i feel like they would also have to have a more diverse cast , perhaps an english ballerina or italian to replace one russian and one french

[kuvanozo]

@JediLongOne They are not those dancing, this was in Great Theater Garcia Lorca of Havana, that I was there, in the decade of the 80 and the balilarinas are the first absolute dancing Alicia Alonso, Eva Evdokinova, Carla Fracci and Chislaine Thesmar.

[JediLongOne]

I know that. I can racognise the Goddess of Ballet that is Alicia Alonso when I see her. I was responding to Flaflaronio, who wondered who they would cast if they decided to put a Grand Pas de Quatre together at the present time.

[tutugirl4life]

What a lovely cast!

[foropera]

Thats really amazing to be able to watch Madame Alonso dancing at last. And in 1980, that's quite remarquable!!! I thought she was already retired at that time! And the 4 altogether, that's unique.

[cbojorquez]

Yo tengo el libro sobre la presentación de estas cuatro prima ballerinas en el festival Cervantino de Guanajuato. Es un placer tener la oportunidad de por fin ver la grabación, muchas gracias por subirlo.

[quintajoya]

This Pass de Quatre was never danced in La Habana, this was Festival de Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1980. Existio mucha expectativa en Cuba de que las cuatro lo bailarian en Cuba, pero eso nunca sucedio. Bailaron Giselle y La Sylfide, pero esto no. La coreografia de Pass de Quatre que se baila en Cuba es por supuesto la de Alicia, engrandecida por las Cuatro Joyas, no la de Anton Dolin, la cual es un poco aburrida y demanda muy poco de las bailarinas, solo estilo.

[aircat29]

there was maybe the best performance ever danced...an authentic Degas...the 4 biggest dancer of this time.

nunca hubo ni habrá mas glorioso cuarteto,verdaderamente las 4 mas grandes de su tiempo.

[mannyalfonso2003]

I was there,at Teatro Garcia Lorca in Havana, during the Celebration of the Festival de Ballet, a few years before I came to New York. They were wonderful. I still can feel their presence on the stage. The audience went bananas. I was a teenager, hypnotized by the beauty and grace of these divas.

[aircat29]

But this "GALA" is in Guanajuato , mexico,whatever they're magic!!

[midas45]

IMHO this is the best version of this Balletic creampuff ... and it's a delight to watch .. I never get tired of it.

[qbendanny1]

The famous lithograph come to life.Alonso and Fracci especially in character.

[actor001]

THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU!!!!!!

[balletprince87]

Very Romantic!looks like watching Grisi and Taglioni more than one century ago....