Alicia Alonso in Black Swan Pas de Deux (vaimusic.com)

[MsRisingphoenix]

you know the funny part of this is? I bet all the people posting the hater comments and don't even dance!!!!! lol I think she's off axis because of the shoes themselves, you they make pointe shoe more stable now than they did way back in the 50's & 60's.

[theamazingsoter]

@MsRisingphoenix She was partially blind here, yet she managed to do all those amazing pirouettes and fouettés... never mind about the haters (or should I say ignorami?) - sometimes it's better to just ignore the comments of such idiots.

[jubah]

the male dancer is actually quite good too!

[MrTurytury]

This film was taken in 1968 by Eduardo Manet at Cubanacan Studios and I am one of dancers appearing in the back, at the end of Alicia's Black Swan.....

She was 48 years old and almost blind; at that age most dancers are already

retired....Maya Plisetskaya, Margot Fonteyn, Lupe Serrano, Maria Tallchief , Yvette

Chauvire and many others could not dance with such a brilliant technique as

Mme Alonso did at that time.....

She always was a legend and she will be forever and ever.....!!!!!!

Bravo!!!!

[madrid117]

viva cuba , viva alicia

[fayebrown88]

To those talking about the axis...it called balance and the Cubans own it. You are an idiot if you think this is 2011 it's the 1950's and she was amazing. I bet you guys thought Black Swan was amazing...Stupidos

[jessDance00]

Alicia alonso was partially blind and though she did those 6 pirouettes at the begining .. WOW!!!!!!!!!!

[nicktesla45]

With all that Make-up she looks like a queer in dragg. She dances like a Beginner compared to Gillian Murphy ! Hey , She's Cuban , should'nt she be smoking a Cuban cigar too ?! ha ha ha ha ha

[CMGGOttawa]

@nicktesla45 The answer you deserve is a sounded raspberry. Beyond any doubt, you are a half-witted ignoramus. All what you are achieving with such ill-intentioned comments is to nourish your mediocrity. She was the absolute best of her time. I know this reply is a waste of my time and you do not even deserve a reply, but, you better stop distilling your vile jalousie and hatred. Cubans are and will be the finest dancers on the world. That is reality, as you, a POISONOUS STINKY VIPER.

[Logitechdis]

a 7 personas les falla el craneo

[BiscuitOfMaple]

wait a minute... eight pirouettes? how?

[CMGGOttawa]

Beyond any doubt, she was the best of her time. One hardly sees nowadays such a performance. It seems to me that her technique remains unbeaten. The fouettes are paradigmatic. Her limpid and impressing technique are a statement of an epoch in which a prima ballerina considered the perfection of her act a matter of honor. Why should we conform to the random spinning of a Tamara Rojo or any other automat?

[nicktesla45]

@CMGGOttawa That is Bullshit ! She can't even keep a straight axis while doing pirouetes, She goes all over the dance floor . She has no natural balance. She was Never first class like Makarova or Maximova .

[aculladelasestrellas]

¡La Vaquita fue uno de sus grandes aportes al ballet! Muy pocas bailarinas logran hacer ese desplazamiento en punta hacia atrás, ¡realmente virtuoso!

[ZuziJavi]

@aculladelasestrellas siiii la vakita le queda super :)

[vnjatvz]

five turns in point twice!

[acuariosilvita]

Que gran bailarina!!

Que bueno conocerla,recien vi una entrevista en CNN.

[sancrisnn]

WOW

[MrKLT1945]

Fabulous Grand Pirouette alone worth the posting. AA so strong and assured and feminine. In Havana the students learn to pirouette with EYES SHUT! And they all have feet like daggers, even the lowliest corps member!

[teenovels]

oops! i mean dances lol

[teenovels]

i saw her on the cover of the newspapper today, she says she is not going to have a successor to take over her compeny, and she is going to keep teaching, no matter how old she gets! i must say i think alicia shows us all what ballet is really about, not giving up :) and never doubting yourself! fact ballet is probably what has kept her in such good health! she makes me cry when ever she sings!

[haleymathiot]

GAH SHE DOES THEM ALL TOE HOPS!!! i love it.

[ondinedancer]

OMG! she is jumping on pointe, going backwards and doing penché, no wonder why she is prima ballerina!

[danzzeshorty]

woaah nice turns!!:)

she's lovely!!

[CharlotteMcArdle1]

wow.

[biscaynejc]

Funny to read comments like these, Don't you know that at that time there were glorious dancers such as Alicia Markova. Don't you know that Alicia Alonso was named among the greatest dancers in the world? To say her name is mention a legend in the arts. A superb artist, a very complete dancer and a lady with majestic abilities in the dance. She was so athletic that you guys would not believe it. Her don Quijote, her Giselle, her Coppelia, her swan Lake was astonishing, that was Alicia!

[MrKLT1945]

Was she almost blind by then? Never liked famous p d d out of context, they never work. This is still of a high standard tho' esp. considering the age of most of it! Those were the days - women, not stick insects like many of them are today.

[ondinedancer]

@MrKLT1945

stick insects, haha, good one! and you are right some of today ballerinas are scary skinny, but I think the trend is changing again. Sofiane Sylve for example or Tamara rojo and even Maria alexandrova, she is really athletic

[17emmarose]

all i can say is WOW. no other words can be explained

[ROMAYATENEA]

toda torsida! que horror! orrible, no me gusta!

[HollielillieYume]

@ROMAYATENEA para su información, Alicia Alonso es uno de los más grandes bailarines de todos los tiempos! Hay mucha gente que admiro muchísimo, incluyéndome a mí!

[kurichka]

@ROMAYATENEA jajaj me hace gracia tu comentario. Estás juzgando la danza de hace décadas con los parámetros de hoy en día.

[IcySasha]

she's very mechanical

[JediLongOne]

Her partner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­! Oh... My... GOD!!!!!!! DOUBLE double en l'aire!!!!!!! This man has forever ruined my ability to appreciate other Sigfreids... Their all wimps compared to this guy!!!!!!

[toastertastic]

I love Alicia Alonso so much.

[LaurenStar111]

3:00 :O take a look!

[SupahhAnjuu]

i like the black swan much more (:

[dancerwitpassionify]

@KarnaNicole94 I KNOW!! I have similar legs to her and I've always thought they were unnattractive, but shes beautiful!!!

[misslollypopgirly]

holy shit her life was hard!! because of her eyes she was forced to lay in bed for an entire year blindfolded and was not allowed to move at all!! For a hole year!!

[littlejunkie10]

clean and strong technique! amazing!

thanks for sharing this clip.

[Jodec1994]

Wow...Thats hard with open eyes. Think of how it would be if you were blind! Great job Alicia! :)

[ClaudB89]

Lovely, but I think why I get annoyed is her hands. She bends them inward at the wrist instead of lifting through her entire hand. Other than that, yes, brillant!

[paulrob555]

holy shit she's amazing

[dancer2664]

even by todays standards she is still technically brilliant.... i mean, those turns!!!!

[GumaroArmando]

yes for the back leg in toe hops! steady as a rock!

[deritpeehs]

alicia's legs look so strong. and she has long limbs but strong and uses them so well. not too "sharp" but not too "flowery".

[gabe20061]

2:19 <-- Amazing. 

[eloisefig]

Anyone know her turning secrets?

I took from her daughter once. She had good turning tips too.

[iluvmuzamil]

Stunning

Minus the guys leotards...

[RainingSilence]

5 pirouettes. Almost blind.

WOW

[demolitionxxvampire]

She's such an inspiration. <3 beautiful.

[kyothu]

@joeinparis the black swan was his daughter? But her dance was great :)

[gymgirlnina]

alicia alonso is partly blind and has to dance within her mind!

[saammyy21]

did you know that Alicia Alonso is partly blind?

[dancergirl2251]

beautiful pirroutes but her fouttes had no flair to them...

[teenovels]

@dancergirl2251 ya the fouettes didnt have alot of flair, but you must remember that she is almost blind!

[MrTurytury]

Sus pirouettes a la seconde impecables y la maestria de sus puntas asi como la

expresion de su rostro.... Que elegancia, cuanta nobleza en sus movimientos....

Alicia eres inolvidable en cada una de tus personificaciones!!!!!

Hay otras grandes de la danza; pero tu siempre estaras entre ellas...eres una

estrella mas........

[tanaramclean]

Prima ballerina assoluta! Amazing

[venturedance]

She is just amazing!!



[mochabubble]

For the idiot who said Murphy was better, you obviously don't understand who this wonderful lady is. You can't even begin to compare the two because Alicia Alonso is on a whole different level.

[mochabubble]

@mochabubble Oh and Murphy isn't even close to being the top Odette/Odile today either.

[dualpoletech]

OMG did anyone count the piruettes in the second portion. ""30"" I know of no other ballerina in the world that has done that. Not even Margo Fontaine.

[cooperneely]

@dualpoletech there are actually a lot of dancers nowadays that can pull off 30 or more. However, it was very impressive for the fact that she was practically blind....

[BalletBabyBoy]

Magnificent! None like this anymore :(...Also see the great Lupe Serrano

[americangalbasseyfan]

Oh. This is a rare find at YouTube.  Very Good.

[KarmaNicole94]

It's nice to see a ballerina with curves.

[Smlltwndreams]

@KarmaNicole94

What Prima Ballerina doesn't!

[SuperCubanforever]

@KarmaNicole94 well she's cuban and not because i'm cuban. but cuban gurls are curvy

[milimilonga23]

@SuperCubanforever that's true and venezuelan girls too!!

[SuperCubanforever]

@milimilonga23 oh huh you can bet they do 2.

[haleymathiot]

@KarmaNicole94 sigh. back in the day. Balanchine ruined it for all us curvy ballerinas...

[antontango]

What lines that woman had!

[aharz1]

strong and controled and probably excellent in her time, but , watching Gillian Murphy do this dance shows just how much better Murphy is.

[jennycorgan2006]

Murphy baila con mucha tecnica y cero corazon. Una verdadera bailarina tiene las dos cosas. Ademas es imposible comparar a dos bailarinas de distintas epocas.

[charlyangel0386]

Alicia Alonso, Prima Ballerina Absoluta, nobody have been best than she, search in google if you like, she have been and she will be the best for ever

[havenization]

strong like Ox.

[jumashumba]

She dances pretty well, but she is incomparable to Maximova. Maximova was the genius of ballet.

[o2010o]

wow

[MsEurogirl]

Russians are the best in ballet,

And opera too,

Best in the WORLD!!!!

THANKS!!!

[jennycorgan2006]

No way!!!!!!!!!!!!! El fuego de las bailarinas cubanas es incomparable e inigualable. Eso ninguna rusa lo va a tener jamas.

[pediatrapaola]

possible nobody note how good azari is?

[alexstarballerina]

dangg. and i thought she was gonna be bad. aahhah

[pediatrapaola]

azari good

[drpestwick]

bella bella bella .......what technique!!!!!!!!!

[alejandroguanaguana]

bella alicia mestra de maestra.

[Margosher]

А партнёр- Азарий Плисецкий, младший брат Майи Плисецкой. Он 10 лет работал на Кубе балетмейстером и танцевал с Алисией Алонсо.

[memole891]

^O^ uao!

[sagalat]

Just beautiful...Bravissima!