Rudolph Nureyev Merle Park 'Nutcracker' Grand Pas de Deux

[MozartTheGenius]

her technique is impeccable!! She did such an amazing job creating the role of Clara

[nickwallacesmith]

@MozartTheGenius - yes, merle park is one of my favourite's in the role - and the strength and delicacy and calm precision here is just breath-taking. cheers

[pointemeout]

ugh. and that ending. PUNISHING

[nickwallacesmith]

@pointemeout - absolutely - so not what what i'd be able to do, ever ever. cheers from sydney

[ilovefacebookandebay]

Wow,Fantastic. Sorry, i`ve been neglecting to look at your channel recently.More interested in finding clips of Professor Brian Cox to drool over.LOL!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ilovefacebookandebay - glad to have you back! have you seen Professor Brian Cox's doco 'BBC – The Big Bang Machine'?

[pointemeout]

I must admit that his technique is at such a level of greatness that it's truly hard to believe that he's not a fucking computer-made graphic. She is lovely, but he simply had no true equal. Gracie Mille

[nickwallacesmith]

hi pointemeout - LOL - well put! glad you like it too!

[thecurledfreckle]

Oh fantastic! Just fantastic!

[nickwallacesmith]

@thecurledfreckle - isn't it - i find it hard to find words to describe it and my feelings seeing it. i feel very lucky to have seen it on-stage as a kid. cheers!

[alejimenez76]

despues de esto que venga el armagedon si quiere!!!!! dios miooooooooooooo!!!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

@alejimenez76 sí, es aterradoramente buena!

[theonlypeggers]

I could watch this over and over again. It is exactly perfect. There are none better, so far. I feel blessed to have seen this performance as a young girl. Made my over all standards pretty high. Thank you Rudolph!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi theonlypeggers - i do watch it over and over - i find it quite compulsive to do so - LOL! i saw it as a kid too at the garden and feel so lucky to have done so. cheers

[Mamymiche]

c'est sublime ! Il n'y a pas de mots. Ca a l'air si facile dansé par eux, c'est du grand art.

[nickwallacesmith]

bonjour Mamymiche Oui exactement il n'ya pas de mots - c'est juste pour regarder et d'émerveillement!

[veeerooniicaaa]

Beautiful !

[nickwallacesmith]

hi veeerooniicaaa - verry!

[karenina56]

My eye is untrained in all but figure skating and yoga. But that last pose of him holding her, long, and the slow and studied way he let her go from that difficult hold just knocked me out. It was exquisite.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi karenina56 - yes, the last pose is lovely for me for it's originality - i haven't seen anything like it before in a ballet. cheers

[DenisRichey]

Супер!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

@DenisRichey - да, это здорово, не так ли!

[jacsan65]

That jump was totally amazing. I have never seen something so amazing in a ballet performance.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi jacsan65 - yes, it's a performance i can watch over and over - there're so many amazing things in it.

[jinpitakki33]

BRILLIANT. absolutely amazing!

but far out, pointe shoes were pretty awful back then...

[nickwallacesmith]

hi jinpitakki33 - and merle had what some people called sickle feet - the foot bent to one side out spoiling the line down from the leg - and she her big boxy shoes, big blocks at the point. but this is champagne, yes?

[JetteForHer]

Nureyev was divine.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi JetteForHer - yep, i love him and merle in this - such good theatre drama in the grand manner.

[znarf541]

The more I watch Nureyev, the more I realize that although he was often sloppy compared to modern dancers, he was often brilliant and breathtaking, and their equal in many respects...

[nickwallacesmith]

hi znarf541 - i used to see him a lot on stage and as much as the technique it was the sensual swagger that made a serious connection with the audience - and the connection with fonteyn was special - he's said that rather than try to project into the auditorium he gave it to margot.

[ballerinarori]

i love the way they work together, 3:07 is absolutely stunning! the end is so cool!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ballerinarori - yes it is stunning - though sometimes in performance it was a bit chancy at this point. but the overall experience in the audience was transporting and exhilarating, cheers

[tenorbear60]

The entrance into those fish dives.... I've never seen anything like that. Amazing. I love how Nureyev amid all the spectacular acrobatics comes back to the absolute basics: balances, pressing the floor with the foot, arabesques. He was the ultimate ballet dancer.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi tenorbear60 - yes with all the pyrotechnics there's still that great kirov schooling and corect way of going about things! the placement of the body is just so right!

[oneill9875]

@tenorbear60 I agree! This is a performance you will never ever see again,the power of the music and the dancers interpretation is absolutely stunning!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi oneill9875 - yes, and ninette de valois who was not one to be easily impressed said it was the best thing she had seen in years.

[MozartGirl1756]

They make it look so easy and effortless!!! The choreography is stunning!

Why oh why do they make it look so easy when it's clearly not?



[nickwallacesmith]

hi MozartGirl1756 - i think so the audience feels comfortable - margot fonteyn once said if the public knew how painful and difficult dancing was, only those who loved bull fights would watch!

[sbberner]

What fish dives! Wow. What a partner! Love the choreography too. He is so strong but doesn't look it and also makes it look effortless, which is the point. I've seen many a more muscular man tremble and hoist like a sack of potatoes, but not Rudolph!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi sbberner - yep, it's a show piece 'par excellance' - dame ninette de valois said of this choreography it was the best she'd seen in years - though she was suspicious it was partly 'lifted' from a kirov production. whatever, it's so in a grand manner that perfectly suits the music - saw rudolph do it in the early 70s as a kid in london - faint memories but very positive ones

[MozartTheGenius]

Merle Park <3 This was absolutely AMAZING!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi MozartTheGenius - yes, amazing - and ninette de valois, foiunder of the royal ballet, said it was some of the best choreography she'd seen in years - good choreography really helps a dancer - love merle park in 'la fille mal gardee' - a soubriette role

[Dancermaniac47]

that jump at 3:05 is stunning - absolutely amazing

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Dancermaniac47 - the one where merle park turns while in the air? yes, real chamopagne - and you hold your breath that it comes off! 

[xIrenchy]

GOOSEBUMPS

[nickwallacesmith]

hi xIrenchy - all up my arms - you are right!

[RichmondRussia]

Роскошество Русского Балета.

[nickwallacesmith]

@RichmondRussia - Да, одним из ярких моментов C19 русского классического балета

[danbytheriver]

Brilliant nutcracker pas de deux. best one ever!!! now compare that to the boring old number the Royal ballet do each year . Not exciting at all .. Nureyev's version makes the man look real strong and there is great chemistry between him and the girl. If you want to see how it is done today..42 years later watch the Paris Opera version.. brilliant .. I think the Royal's behind the curve on this one

[coracleman]

nick - agreed. There's that punch of the dramatic - all those lifts, punctuated by the stunning technique - mindblowing! Very precise and yet very emotional. Russian to the core.

coracle woman

[coracleman]

still the best - Nureyev and Park are technically brilliant - MP has such grace and lightness, her arm and leg movements are fluid and elegant. and Nureyev is never less than superb. Wow!

coraclewoman

[nickwallacesmith]

hi coracleman - i agree - it'sd the very russian sense of drama that the nureyev/kirov choreography - nureyev said it was 'a russian production' underscoring a possible amalgum

[Hankleberg]

so many crazy lifts

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Hankleberg - and i've always found the last pose (nureyev in arabesque supporting park horizontal on his raised leg) very contrived to be interesting but in fact very awkward

[Hankleberg]

@nickwallacesmith Yes. I never said they look "nice" but they do seem difficult. There must be no way to hold that last pose and look relaxed, supporting the weight of two people on one leg.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Hankleberg - yes there is no way to comfortably to hold that pose - i've always thought it's definitely been a problem with the choreography

[zzindorf]

If only all ballet today were so classical. And yet, I think Nina Stroganova and Vladimir Dokoudovsky danced it more perfectly.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi zzindorf - thanks for the pointer to Nina Stroganova and Vladimir Dokoudovsky - i'm off to You Tube search them now

[zzindorf]

@nickwallacesmith I wish they were on YouTube, but you can find photos online and in books on the DeBasil Ballets Russes. I made pages for Nina on myspace and facebook. The New York Conservatory of Dance has info on Vladimir. He made some films of them, but they have not been released. They are in the collection of the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library Dance Collection.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi zzindorf - yes, sadly i found there was nothing on you tube - thanks for the references to facebook - and to the films held in the lincoln centre - i think you can go in a request to see such films - but not copy them or take them away

[iROCKThis4life]

whoa.....(Speech less)..

[nickwallacesmith]

hi iROCKThis4life - the very word!

[zellagro]

Sereg alösz pat enmet exszcellenz! Drab eégem ez batalöz ej nurehegelert Amikor ém mez kris sa´c dereget! Eine wunderbare Aufführung. Seitdem ich sehr jung war hab´ich dieses bestimmten "Gladeszs de zwöt" aufbewahren.

Since I was very young I grew up enjoying particularly this pas de deux in Budapest.

Egy piex, ami nekem rezeg a szívem mélyén!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi zellagro - yes, it is so beautiful in a russian way - i was lucky enough to see Rudolph Nureyev Merle Park dance this PDD in london as a kid - i was blowled over by the performance! best, and merry xmas, nick

[erinykim]

this is so beautiful i could cry.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi erinykim - yes it is truly lovely! glad you like it too!

[cheesinnn]

who choreographed this?

[nickwallacesmith]

@cheesinnn - nureyev - he called it a russian production and ninette de valois thought some of the choreography may have been from the Kirov version of his era there

[Caligulalia]

There is just so much "everything" into this I cannot even put it into words.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Caligulalia - sometimes it's enough to just enjoy something, best, nick

[helensjoy]

Merle had the best feet in ballet in her time.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi helensjoy - yes, though she had what people used to describe as a sickle foot - slightly bent out of perpendicular at the ankle - hidden in most film.

[lizytayathotmaildot]

The choreogaphy is equisite simple, clean.. I love the powerful and deliberately slow poses. The beautiful pauses just grab you (just like in music). They dance as mirror images of each other. They are like the lead instruments in the symphony. When the music gets louder and more dramatic Nureyev starts flipping Merle like in an ice skater. Wow!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi lizytayathotmaildot - what i particularly like is the way nureyev brings the male dancer up in parallel with the ballerina - rather than just act as a 'porteur' as was usually the case in these C19 ballets. the slow deliberateness of the choreography seems to build with the music - theatrical yes, but it works, for me

[Qbendanny]

It looks like an Assaf Messerer production.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Qbendanny - in 'the perfect partnership - fonteyn and nureyev' de valois said she loved it more than anything she'd seen in years and that she thought much of it might have been lifted out of a russian production - so maybe the Messerer one - i don't know it - is it generally available?

[Qbendanny]

@nickwallacesmith - Actually I confess I was being sarcastic and mocking it. I dislike it intensely. This Pas' is dreamlike and the music tells it to you. I love the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo version that Markova danced with Dolin and Igor.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Qbendanny - i was very interested to hear about the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo version with Markova and Dolin and Igor - do you know if there is footage of this around? what can you say about what made this performance so good - i'd be interested to hear

[L33TRedNinja]

The Nutcracker will always be my favorite ballet.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi L33TRedNinja - yes, there is something endlessly magical about it!

[cgordonjr]

Outstanding performance of Nureyev and Park! Magnificent! Thank you for sharing.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi cgordonjr - i lke this footage so much i couldn't help but share - and i've watched it many a time, let me tell you - but dancers tell me they love this performance too - so we are justified! best, nick

[pinkawareness]

WOW OMG this is by far the hardest and the coolest and one of the most beautilful versions i've ever seen. And the MUSIC is as always...WOW

[nickwallacesmith]

@pinkawareness - the best i've seen - quite spectacular in the real sense of thw word!

[Marcelosopro]

Perfeito!!! Chega realmente a nos emocionar....

[nickwallacesmith]

@Marcelosopro - Sim, é maravilhoso - e eu tive a sorte de ver alguns dos seus desempenhos quando eu morava em Londres, como uma criança - feliz que você gostou!

[einar05]

I think I have seen this 100 times at least.It is so totally oustanding, both Nureyev and Merle Park.Best I have ever seen and WOW and the tecnical level very difficult.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi einar05 - yes, it's the stamina needed to continue to execute extended section of such difficult choreography!

[funkydancer1]

the best version of this dance i have ever seen in my life. i always watch videos of this same dance and there are some parts of it that i like but there's always something about it that's off. this one is amazing in every possible way. and i think my mouth was open the whole time. haha

[nickwallacesmith]

hi funkydancer1 - i tink it's the best version i've seen too - it builds so beautiful ... and finishes like champagne

[cheesinnn]

this is the most technically difficult pas i've ever seen. my mouth was open the whole time. i'm just...idk..just..wow. is all i can really say.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi cheesinnn - ninette de valois was interviewed abut the work and said it was the most satisfying thing she'd seen in years - though she wasn't sure how much nureyev had 'lifted straight from the kirov production' - but does it matter - champagne choreography and execution

[saraht931]

WOW!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi saraht931 - very WOW

[66jjma]

J'adore le Casse-Noisette de Noureev et ce pas de deux truffé de difficultés est une pure merveille!

[nickwallacesmith]

bonjour 66jjma - et la danse est si bien contrôlé!

[iskenderuna]

That is mind-boggling!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi iskenderuna - in an interview on a film about fonteyn and nureyev and speaking of the choreography, dame ninette de valois said 'it's the most exciting thing i'd seen in years' - though she added she didn't know how much nureyev had 'pinched' from the kirov version!

[fromUrals]

They're dancing like two robots here

[iwantwatermellon]

Beautiful video. Thank you.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi iwantwatermellon - glad you liked it!

[CrazyAboutBallet]

this was amazing and everytime i watch it, it pushes me to work harder! hopefully one day i will be there! :) one day

[nickwallacesmith]

hi CrazyAboutBallet - inspiration is what it is all about - you are right!

[kathieeex15]

this is what i have always wanted to be able to do, i'm 15 and i have been doing ballet for 3 and a half months now.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi kathieeex15

it's film like this that often inspires people to take up dance or to make even great efforts at their current study - hope you have great success, best, nick

[danbytheriver]

If you see Nureyev in this clip and then scoot over to the POB version with Jérémie Bélingard and you'll see what separates the men from the boys. Nureyev is solid.. the beggining bit in this movemnet is so hard.. one has to be completly on ones leg.. or else.. take a look at the POB version with Jérémie Bélingard .. you'll see what I mean

[nickwallacesmith]

hi danbytheriver

see what you mean bout Jérémie Bélingard - and at times a bit earth-bound - though he's quite lyrically fluid in the way he puts steps together

and i've seen nureyev is so many roles which for me are now indelibly stamped with his way of going baout them

[umbdude]

@danbytheriver

That beginning part was pretty insane. I don't know much about ballet and I can tell it's ultra difficult. But they both moved in perfect unison, it's so beautiful and unbelievable.

[danbytheriver]

To think this was danced so many years ago..and to see the strength this man has on demi point in arabesque. The same version he staged for the Paris Opera and the principal dancing the same roll wobbled his way through.check out Jérémie Bélingard. As good as he is,he's no Nureyev ..

[nickwallacesmith]

hello danbytheriver - you are right, it was - 1968

[nanarinauk]

What is missing in the POB version is the musical arrangement and conductor keeping to the correct tempo. Compare the 1968 version at the ROH, the music works to help the dancers, with distinct pauses and phrasing to fit the choreography allowing the dancers time to reach their positions which make the Pas de deux spacular. Jeremie and Myriua do not have this privillage I am sorry to say.

[danbytheriver]

The Nureyev version is to date the greatest . All others pale in comparison

[nickwallacesmith]

hi danbytheriver

it is - ninette de valois said it was one of the most satisfying things she'd seen in years and she was hard tp please!

[fishyfish4444]

This is so hard. It makes other versions look so easy. I wonder what the specific rehearsal process was for this work with these two great artists.

[nickwallacesmith]

you are absolutely right - i was looking at a documentary today - merle park was describing rudolph's extraordinarily intense and unrelenting rehearsals - never happy

[fishyfish4444]

nickwallacesmith,

Yes, all rehearsals must produce perfect work. I was referring to the other issues, of any nature, that may be present in a rehearsal. I wonder if Merle Park, valued and appreciated ballerina at the Royal, was accustomed to Mr. Nureyev's specific "rehearsal process."

[nickwallacesmith]

yes, i understand the notion of the rehearsal process you refer to - i was just extending on what you said.

though nureyev would be the last to think that his endless rehearsals produced 'perfect work' - he was so self-critical - and would point out flaws in performances that others were declaring perfect

[laconstancita]

perfecto, emocionante, insuperable

[nickwallacesmith]

hi laconstancita

exactly!

au revoir, nick

[SPACETIMEBEAUTY]

To think that this was danced 41 years ago,- it's absolutely beautiful!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey spacetimebeauty

nearly half a century!

and champagne still!

best, nick

[SPACETIMEBEAUTY]

@nickwallacesmith Hey Nick, thanks for posting..:-))

[nickwallacesmith]

hi

fourwayscottage

so problem - one of my favorite dance videos - hard not to post it!

ninette de valois has said in a documentary that it was one of the best things she'd seen in years

i kinda agree with her

best, nick

[fourwayscottage]

AAAA. 050940Z FEB 2010 Very very lovely indeed...Thank you for posting.......AR.

[Jacquelyn87]

i think they are doing way too much...clara is a child who is learning to dance its over complicated and you can see that in the performance

[nickwallacesmith]

hey jebustillos

exactly!

take care, nick

[jebustillos]

This is the very meaning of humanity, a perfect and harmonious combination of music and dance, an artistic expression which trascends semantics!

[nickwallacesmith]

cos i saw him a lot over a number of years i was really upset in a way i didn't expect when he died - the world was colder and less beautiful - sounds silly but it's the way i felt

best nicj

[balletnut]

Whilst Dame Merle was fabulous here, as she always is, so was the incomparable Rudi.

What would we have done without his genius? Nearly everything he did was perfect. R.I.P.

[fishyfish4444]

This is the hardest version I have ever seen.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi mioieiingura

yes it is endlessly watchable!

and yes merle park has a delicacy and strength so suited to the role - i treasure having seen them perform it when i was a kid in london

the final lift, while spectacular, i find a bit awkward - it's the choreography that doesn't quite work - not the execution

PS your english is perfect - my romanian lousy (no-existent)

[mioieiingura]

I think I`ve replayed this vid for like 20 times. I can`t get enough of it! Stunning!Absolutely stunning!Rudolph is brilliant...Dame Merle is at times like a dove in flight and at times like a flowing piece of ice, cold but warm at the same time (if one can imagine). Agreed with ILOSSH, the setting and backdrop aren`t the best. Hope my english isn`t so bad, so you can all understand what I want to say. Best wishes from Romania!

P.S i`ve allmost forgot...thank you Nick for sharing this!

[antontango]

She is not a good partner for him. Should be a bit shorter. She blocks him. Not a good match.

[nickwallacesmith]

hey ai51inn

glad to be able to share!

best, nick

[ai51inn]

I love this - thank you for sharing this on Youtube

[Sailorstayfree]

she is madame de Balois?

[nickwallacesmith]

hey coracleman

i totally agree with you about baryshnikov - i loved him in a series of 'Giselles' he did with Natalia Makarova

Merle Park first became known in roles as Swanhilda in 'Coppélia' and Lise in 'La Fille Mal Gardée'

and then she grew into the standard classical ballerina roles of Clara in 'The Nutcracker', Aurora in 'The Sleeping Beauty' and Odette/Odile in 'Swan Lake'

so a career in which she really developed her range

[coracleman]

nickwallallacesmith - no doubt of it, Baryshnikov's Bayadere solo is up there with the greats. I think Merle Park's iron delicacy was what led to her casting in soubrette roles but she also handled the bigger parts with ease - Giselle being one of her most famous I think?

coraclewoman

[nickwallacesmith]

hey coracleman

yes, Baryshnikov expressiveness is controlled but palpable - in terms of just technique and line his early (1969) bayadere solo still knocks my sox off!

i loved merle in this role - and in sleeping beauty - she started in soubriette roles but i think was successful in the big ballerina ones too

[nickwallacesmith]

hey mozart girl

yeah, athletic and dramatic like the russians were first seen to be in the 1950s and 1960s when they began touring outside russia again

best, nick

[coracleman]

yes, nickwallacesmith, I do. Baryshnikov also has that controlled passion, Both he and nureyev also have a superb line... merle park has such delicacy in this role too - like a siamese cat!

coraclewoman

[nickwallacesmith]

hi MozartGirl1756

isn't it - i saw them perform it in london as a kid and, 'live', the one arm support seemed even more extraordinary!

[MozartGirl1756]

It must be!!! =D

[MozartGirl1756]

The lift at 3:07 was amazing!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey coracleman

it's a seductive combination isn't it!

baryishnikov has something of this too don't you think?

best, nick

[coracleman]

I love the fact that this has both passion and precision... fabulous!

coraclewoman

[nickwallacesmith]

yes, it is - as ninette de valois, founder of the royal ballet, said it was 'the most exciting choreography i'd seen for years - i loved it'

good to hear from you

nick

[jenbuns]

This choreography is amazing! Thank you for posting this!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey dance4tap

hope the performance goes well!!

[dance4tap]

Thank you for post this video. It's really inspiring for someone who is preparing to do her first Sugar Plum!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey ILOSSH

yes, you're right - to me it looks a bit like the outside of an old-fashioned chocolate box - and a bit removed from any kind aspect of story - tho the nutcracker story has always puzzled people - some give it a psycho-analytical interpretation - i think it may have been a 'piece d'occasion' for xmas without too much angst about truth to the real world - don't you think?

best

nick

[ILOSSH]

i dont really like the setting and backdrop... i think that version of the royal ballet's production with the black backdrop and spotlight is more in the mood. over here it seems that all the theatre lights are on. its not moody or romantic enough

[nickwallacesmith]

hi MonaAllegra

they were pretty great together - particularly in this version of the 'nutcracker'

the excitement at the end of this pas de deux was more than palpable

[MonaAllegra]

So Grand, so graceful. Nureyev was born to dance the Prince. Ms. Park is absolutely beautiful. Another perfect partnership?

[nickwallacesmith]

hey Bagoponies

i've been looking for this choreography to post for such a long time - an pretty chirpy to have found this piece - glad you like it

best

nick

[Bagoponies]

Absolutely mesmerising - it does not get any better than this!

I made a poor quality tape of this years ago from TV - thanks so much for putting it on YouTube

[nickwallacesmith]

hi morinoroba

yes, it's the equality between the dancers - choreography-wise - that, apart from everything else, is so engaging bout this pas de deux

and the choreography itself so exquisitely realizes the music - perfect

CYA

nick

[morinoroba]

Their presence are equivalent！I think, it's wonderful things. I really like Nureyev's performance,because he is never simply role of support. Thank you this video！

[nickwallacesmith]

hey BWclara2005

yes, it is one of the most exciting bits of choreography i'd seen for years - as de valois said

glad you enjoyed it!

nick

[BWclara2005]

Incredible! I've never seen any choreography like this before! Great video! Thanks for sharing!!

[BWclara2005]

Incredible! I've never seen any choreography like this before! Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey dashpoet

there is a wonderful flow in movement thru the positions in the choreography - seems natural and right - petipa-ish!

[dashpoet]

Just extraordinary, fluid light.

[nickwallacesmith]

yep, it was pretty electrifying - saw them do it in london in the 70's and treasure the memory

[superdooperstupor]

Thank you for your service to humankind.

We will never see such daring and magic like this Pas de Deux again.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi everyone

just managed to resolve the issue of the video stopping half way though - it was a titanic struggle - but i won!

so enjoy!