"Giselle" ABT 1977 Part 9 (Act II Grand Pas de Deux)

[Pearlaceous]

Perfection.

[mariinskylover9]

i couldn't take my eyes off of this video<3 love it

[pridenprejudice2004]

Proving that extension up to your ears does not equal artistry and style.

[chamuda610]

I prefer Gelsey Kirkland, but my god, this is a very close second! Stunning chemistry between Misha and Natasha! 

[LadyFan05]

I loved the way he lifted her and carried her around like that, like she was as light as a child! ^_^  That audience was kinda dumb, though, with their mini-bursts of applause before the actual one. It's like they don't know when to clap! LOL

[Gamzatti5]

Sinceramente a mí si me gusta mucho como baila Svetlana Zakharova y Bolle pero esta interpretación se me hizo perfecta. Hay mucho sentimiento y transmite mucho. Me encantó!

[zushixilaiyi]

The two legends! needless to say.

30 years later, she has been become a teacher, choreographer and director, one of her student Svetlana Zakharova with R. Bolle in Teatro alla Scala did the almost identical PDD routine,with all due respect, will not do the video response , just check my upload.

[jinpitakki33]

Also, i never actually realised how tiny Baryshnikov was until i saw a video of him teaching a masterclass. OMG HE'S TINY. BUT HIS JUMPS ARE ENORMOUS. Truly amazing

[philipc67]

@jinpitakki33 No, he is not a tall man, rather shortish and muscular. I ran into him at the Cuban National Gallery in Havana a few years ago, yes he is short. He really was an astonishing dancer, those jumps! More athletic than artistic I'd say. Fernando Bujones had a much more romantic look, body-wise.

[jinpitakki33]

these 2 really made me cry. They're both exquisite. And i agree with what many people have said, ballet today is all about technical competition rather than artistry. Everybody gets their legs up past their heads these days so it's nothing special anymore - the ones who actually have something is the ones that can become their role. Makarova and Baryshnikov both achieved that - technically perfect and absolutely enthralling.

[ballerinarori]

I have never understood how the guys lift the girls and hold them. I mean, how much do the girls weigh? on average? I think this pas de deux is beautiful. I did notice that Giselle has to put a lot of effort into the jumps and it looks a little akward.

[slipnsliderable]

@ballerinarori It's just using the momentum from the ballerina's jump to get you both into position to maintain the lift; notice how Baryshnikov' arms are locked once she's in place. Of course it does take extreme upper arm strength as well, haha

[ballerinarori]

@slipnsliderable Yeah, I have to do lifts with a guy at my studio and he explained it. Do you happen to know how to say Alina Cojocaru's last name because I don't want to make a fool of myself when I talk about her?

[julheckert]

I can't imagine it gets any better than that. They were both at the young height of their prowess. Perfectly paired. In perfect humble service to the choreography and the music. They were the movement. Beautiful.

[iamhot06]

What I noticed between the male and female dancers is that it looks as if the ballerinas have to put a lot of effort in their jumping, whereas the male ballet dancers look effortless and weightless in their leaps. But I guess that is because male ballet dancers don't do the same work as the ballerinas so therefore they show their skills in leaping. Just a thought. :)

[littlejunkie10]

This is unbelievable! They are both technically brilliant but yet it's not a show off, this is so touching like silk. I haven't seen this kind of interpretation anymore.

[Bwwbe]

amazing, best interpretation!

[algd1234]

baryshnikov truly is one of a kind, everything that he does is to perfection!

[55werther]

Obra cumbre del romanticismo. Haci, en la cumbre de su arte, estan ellos dos;

Mackarova, en una actuacion definitivamente Gloriosa; Baryshnikov, en una

de interptretaciones de las mejores. ¡¡¡Version de Joya. Para Recordar!!!.

[uclmu2008]

I just love the murmur that goes through the audience after the jump at 8:13!

[mags102755]

stunning

[corujadatorre]

this dance, a poem made of music and motion ... will always thrill

[paulwien65]

there are really fine beautiful giselle´s here on you tube...Lopatkina and Zhakarova and cojocaro as well...

brilliant and good in her own interpretation...but ....but for me makarova and barishnikov are the best couple in this adagio i ever saw her departures from the earth brings always tears in my eyes such beauty inmusic and dance thank for posting..

[fishyfish4444]

What cold possibly be more difficult that this adagio. Pointe shoes make it an even greater nightmare! Of course, it cannot be Giselle's problem.

[pepercat17]

ok how does giselle get the queen to back off? really shes the queen. the others follow her to the t (also haha i find this funny) she didnt stop them from killing the other guy hahaha

[mermew]

@pepercat17 Giselle doesn't get Myrta to "back off". In the story Giselle saves Albrecht by dancing FOR HIM as much as she can; thus, he survives the night until the break of dawn sends the Wilis back into the spirit realm.

[claudiamiami100]

oh yes, van hamel was one of the best !!!! an irreplaceable Mirta, absolutelly amazing!!!

[kdub10009]

One of the greatest 'Giselle' casts ever assembled. Van Hamel was probably the best Myrta I ever saw.

[snowgirl1052]

Thankyou for posting this. Its beautiful. I love Act II of Giselle. Makarova is my favorite giselle, and I love watching Barynsnikov--his turns are so fast and accurate, as if he is a human drill!

[Allieballerina79]

Of course we see the absolutely amazing technique--but what blows my mind is the intense detail Marakova and Baryshnikov execute to display their interpretation of the story. Gisele really is slowly becoming a spirit during the pas. Her light and ghostly movements exhibit her departure from the earth, as though she is in a sort of purgatory. And he is aching for her not to leave him. The music definitely gets that across too--so beautiful! I'm such a bunhead.

[faroreswind48]

absolutely stunning!

[colts32315]

They are both amazing. Her style is perfect from her head down to her toes. Every placement of her feet is so supple. She takes care of every detail.

[camillapt4]

This is just amazing. I've been desperately trying to get hold of a copy of the entire baller - DVD ideally, but VHS would do if it never made it to digital. Can anyoone help?!!

[FancyEarings]

I hate it when people applaud in the middle of a variation, it makes me begin to feel like I'm watching an acrobatics show rather than a ballet, and I certainly don't want the two to be mixed up. Ballet is supposed to be more than 'how flexible you are' or 'how many turns you can spin', it's about the beauty and feelings - it tells a story.

But this was certainly the most enchanting act!

[mistercleopatra]

i dunno, i applaud mid-show - usually when someone is exceptionally beautiful. I do not care much for high extensions

[Andante735]

I hate it too.Apparently we are the only two here who share this opinion,which makes us the only two who have a proper understanding of the nature of this ART not SPECTATOR SPORTS.Ballet technique serves the art form not the other around Today's audience seem to have forgotten that..

[Andante735]

Classical ballet repertoire is telling a story with the body, not simply showing off technique-it's certainly exciting and appropriate,but not the whole picture.Even Balanchine,who created plotless works would not approve of this

[zlindmn]

I absolutely agree... I mean i'm in high school and I'm playing albrecht and I am not a big dancer and they way they have us doing it I think is just gorgeous even though it is more of a cutsy sort of way but beautiful at the same time since I can't really do anything that amazing

[yes4albert]

This is exquisite. I've been watching this performance for the last twenty years and it still takes my breath away.

[Andante735]

I absolutely HATE WHEN PEOPLE START APPLAUDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A VARIATION, HATE IT. Sorry, just had to say that.

[anniemihn]

The best thing that these magnificent dancers brought to us from Russia was not only the perfection in the technique, but the exquisite artistry of the interpretation. It was not WHAT they´re doing it, but WHY, as Misha put it once.

[merluzasfritas]

The way they touch each other, the way they look each other... that is so romantic, and that is the point, even if some people don´t get it.Misha and Natalia are not dancers, they are genious.

[Andante735]

There are alot of things people "don't get" these days, and this is as you say "genious". The other thing is that these two "got it". They found the heart of it, the core, and they responded to it on the stage. This is pure artistry, and it's gone.

[yes4albert]

I've enjoyed your comments. Sad but true. Same thing happened to opera. How could two supposedly impenetrable genres of supreme art have sunk to such mediocrity and lack of excellence in technique and interpretation? If balletomanes are suffering as much as the opera lovers these days, I have to ask...is it lack of discipline, commitment, guidance? Diva, ballerina. Have they forgotten that we know what those words mean?

Sorry to be negative, but I long for the sublime. What do you think?

[Andante735]

Thanks. This is a difficult question, and there's no single answer obviously. I'll start off my saying that I actually saw Makarova's Giselle. I was very young at the time, but it was a transcendent experience to say the least.

[Andante735]

As an avid opera lover, and a former dancer, I can honestly say the thing that sticks out in my mind is culture. There was a time when dancers and singers paid the utmost attention to their appearance off the stage. That might sound trite, but I truly believe it's a reflection of personly integrity and real artistry.

[Andante735]

In the case of ballet, what's happening is the evolution of technique, which is great, but it's not serving the art. So as a result, we have people who can churn-out triple foutee, 8 pirouette, assemble en tournant to reach the heavens, and there's nobody home.

[Andante735]

The mentoring is not there, we simply don't have giants like Balanchine, Ulanova, and the rest who shared their love and knowledge with young dancers. It's the same with Opera, although IMO it's lost, the art of singing is lost, and it's not coming back.

[medicinetime]

perfect - and not showy like svetlana zakharova and most of the russian ballerinas these days.

[pinklady80lately]

LOL, so true, i cannot watch russian ballets anymore, it bugs me, besides, some of them r really wierd...

[egomi24]

I agree, its all about, lets get my leg to my ear...

[Andante735]

It's also completely wrong and innapropriate to the Romantic Style. It works in Swan Lake, but not in Giselle. Someone should tell them that. If it was my company, I wouldn't permit it.

[SilverInsanity]

I find that there is a difference between "Let's see whose legs can go up higher!" and using them as a part of the choreography, and using them to move the story. Usually, what I see is "My legs must go up high 'cause it's modern," and not enough of "My legs are high because they reflect feeling."

[Andante735]

That's because Makarova served her art, and was intelligent enough to know that Giselle should be suspended in time, and void of emotion. Basically she's dead. Today's generation is more interested in pyrotechnics, and pushing the limits. I think technique should evolve, it has to be that way, but when artistry is sacrificed there's no real point in it.

[mermew]

@Andante735 I don't think in the story Giselle is supposed to be "dead" inside and "void of emotion". Giselle's love for Albrecht is what saves him. She dances FOR HIM as much as she can; thus, he survives the night until the break of dawn sends the Wilis back into the spirit realm.

[Andante735]

and if you really watch closely, she truly looks like a disembodied spirit.

[Andante735]

The Queen of all - one of the greatest Giselle of all time, and one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.