PREVIEW of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes - Act Three of 'Swan Lake' (1954)

[ilovefacebookandebay]

Lovely dancing by Margot.But with the exception of his Entrechats, Michael Somes looks really awful.!! No flexibility and bent knees throughout. I know it was a different time and different standard of training, but he wouldn`t get into the Royal Ballet School at age 11 nowadays dancing like that, and yet he he was a Premier Danseur. Kind of makes you wonder what the standard will be like in another 50 years compared to today? We already have 6 o`clock legs, so the mind boggles.!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ilovefacebookandebay - yes, i agree about michael somes, he was almost a 'porteur' in C19 terms - like the early male dancers of mariinsky and bolshoi whose only job was to support the ballerina and then dance a little. nureyev frightened the horses and standards at the royal soared of course. the 6 o'clock look doesn't appeal to me - not aesthetically, though i love great technique put to the right service. and the future ... i wonder how lousy dancers of today will seem!

[theamazingsoter]

Oh wow, this is wonderful! And all this time I thought this version of Odile's variation with the double rond de jambé into développé, the echappés and the manége of soutenus were Nureyev's invention, as this is the choreography still danced by Paris Opera ballerinas in his production. I've never seen any other dancer perform this version as beautifully as Margot, and I agree with Pearlaceous about her characterization - fascinating approach!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi theamazingsoter - in a related way, when Nureyev danced 'Swan Lake' in the early days at CG he introduced a variation for the prince that was widely criticised but Ashton piped up that it had been taken from an older Mariinsky production!

[merrymuskrat]

Nice to see MF in her prime. Shame Nureyev didn't come along a bit earlier tho'. Somes seems to be "marking" his part, btw.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi merrymuskrat - absolutely - the legendary partnership would have been more legendary. and he would have brought out the more passionate Fonteyn earlier in her career - good for expanding her expressiveness. yes, somes seems to be walking through it - the partner's dilemma. cheers!

[merrymuskrat]

Lovely to see MF in her prime. It's a shame Nureyev didn't come along a little earlier, but there you go. Somes seems to be "marking" his part in places. All eyes on MF in this one.

[BernardProfitendieu]

she reminds me of (a young) QUeen Elizabeth here. Never noticed that before. I like how Odette makes her appearance early, but is foiled by the dastardly Odile instead of just showing up too late to do any good as in most productions.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Bernard - you are right - maybe, like the great urban myth of Eddy, the Duke of Clarence being Jack the Ripper, we could start another that the young queen had a night job? and yes, the performance is full of those subtleties of expression you mention - i liked those myriad of shades in the close-ups with von Rothbart where she reacts to various propositions he's making.

[jengirl2]

You have wonderful videos. Thank you for posting them!!

[nickwallacesmith]

@jengirl2 - glad you're liking watching them, cheers from sydney!

[jessDance00]

i could totally sense the difficulty they had in executing pirouettes but looking at margo's fouettes i still loved it so much,, margo is one of my favourites and i love how she performed this pas de deux so differently from all the other versions i've seen .. thanks so much for the upload nick!

[Pearlaceous]

Margot is fascinating, seductive and glamorous rather than evil stereotype - love the bit where she shields Siegfried's eyes so he can't see Odette! LOL! Gorgeous legs and just look at those fouettes! Go Margot! Love it!

[nickwallacesmith]

@Pearlaceous - exactly, not the evil stereotype - and yes the detail in the characterisation and drama is wonderful, as you point out, when 'she shields Siegfried's eyes so he can't see Odette'. and yes her legs were great at that point. i noticed a break in the filming of the fouettes - she never liked them and when i saw her had settle for a decent 26 - sensible choice - the ballet doesn't succeed or fail on doing 32. glad you like it!

[merluzasfritas]

Many thanks for uploading this clip, you actually made my day!. I wonder.... Is there any Siegfried in this world who can resist falling in love with this Odile???!!!!

[Firestarjude]

I love the bit at the beginning when she is rude to Siegfried and Rothbart scolds her! Thank you for not referring to this as the "Black Swan" pas de deux--Odile is never a swan in the first place, so there is no reason to call it that.