GISELLE (Ulanova-Fadeyechev, Bolshoi 1956) - 6 of 6

[millriv]

Possibly the greatest Giselle of the 20th century.Too bad this is not a complete performance and I have been unable to locate any (especially her 2nd act entrance). Only one other dancer captures the emotional qualities of this greatest of artists: Altynai Asylmuratova. Perhaps I should download her (pirated) Giselle??? It is truly a revelation and done in her final year of dancing.

[siempremarisol]

@lomi1987 she was a great actress too

[TZEITEL10]

@lomi1987 Should that read possessed,not omitted?

[zamyrabyrd]

@TZEITEL10 I think he meant "emitted".- I like the word "breeze" though.

[pook880]

Aside from her great artistic performance, what's really amazing is that Ulanova is 46 years old when she performed Giselle in this video.

[TZEITEL10]

@pook880 I think that she is remarkable considering her age when this was shot,i know nothing about the technical aspect of Ballet so i can only give an humble opinion, i think the fact that Galina;s portrayal of Giselle is seen as the benchmark,that says a lot .even after her death.

I don't know her partner ,i am not familiar with his work but he is clearly powerful.

[cucharesx]

Just Magnificent!

[tenduewoman]

How old was Ulanova when she performed this?

[GutterGlamourr]

Something about her torso bothers me a lot. Like her legs and arms are the only things with movement, not her torso, and it just doesn't look natural

[millriv]

Ulanova was probaby the greatest Giselle who ever lived. Unfortunately there is no complete Giselle which shows the change from automatom-spirit to the near-human one shown. The only other Giselle that captures this so fully is Altynai Asylmuratova whose masterpiece of Giselle was never filmed commercially.

[kabardinka1]

while I love Ulanova and it's a very different era, quite honestly I think Fracci was better. And I think Bessmertnova was better as well. It would be interesting to see Ulanova dance it when she was really in her prime and not in her 40s. And while I think Fedeyechev was a good partner, he wasn't the most passionate (or clean) dancer

[younglemeshevist]

@kabardinka1 In addition to being in her 40's (46) she performed it very late at night, a couple of hours after the premiere. The show was filmed all  the night through and the mad scene was performed at 8a.m. British filmmakers had no other day to film it. I imagine it was a terrible stress for all the dancers.

I think she is brilliant here. Fadeyechev was a fine actor too.

[cucharesx]

@kabardinka1

How ignorant and stupid..Fadeyachev the partner of Ulanova and Plesetskya wasn't good enough for you.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[kabardinka1]

Fadeyachev was famous as a partner, not as a solo dancer. Wonderful in partnering them in a pas, but his variations aren't nearly as good as other men like Erik Bruhn, Sergeyev or Igor Youskevitch. He put on weight in the 50s and wasn't the same. So, no, just because he was the designated cavalier of famous ballerinas doesn't make him the best. Good partner... not an especially good dancer. I would say the same thing about many of Fonteyn's partners before Nureyev.

[cucharesx]

@kabardinka1 If you look at the solo he does in the clip.The first double cabriolles are impecpable. then he goes back to the same corner and comes out w/ the best double air tour i've ever seen.the second one into attitude isn't as clean but then he does lots of lovely male dancing.(the plie ,the weight)In the coda he does a simply wonderful series of cabriole into arabesque the plie is elastic it is classical dance at it's most pure.

.

[kabardinka1]

@cucharesx Yes, he does the jumps, steps and the turns, but the way he links them together is just very sloppy and (even compared to some of his predecessors like Chabukiani and sergeyev) his feet and turnout just aren't very impressive. Considering he's only 5 years older than Nureyev, I find him to be very leaden and, for want of a better word, old fashioned. There are a lot of videos around with him in it and I never find myself dying to see more of him.

[cucharesx]

@kabardinka1

That you would compare him to Sergeyev is proof you have no

eye.Fedeyechev was a GREAT classical dancer.All the others you mention are

Character dancers.Chabukiani as Sigfried? Get a grip.

His feet and turnout?This male dancing not chicks.

[unsatura]

wht's pure? graceful? no one notices the desperation in ulanova's giselle? she's from a time before the gisellatis pendemic. a very human giselle, brings to fore that it is a tragedy of class conflict and female identity

[musiccritic1910]

Paraohrasing the words of Dostoyevsky about "Don Quixote" I can say that if everything on Earth would vanish the art of Galina Ulanova would bring the life again...perhaps that is exactly what would happen....

[bigposercroise]

Just a technical detail: I was thinking about the simple leaps done by the women, and that they look higher than today. Ballet is visual, and is supposed to give an illusion of greater height. With the modern split in a leap, it doesn't look like it goes up, but the leaps by Ulanova form an arc in the air, and look like they are flying. What great art, but also technical genius. Also, it is easy to see what is meant by the gestures, and they have great feeling.

[unsatura]

you can arc but u don't have to. it's a artistic note, not a tech one.

[etoiledelkirov]

adore her

[swanningaround]

Ulanova's dancing is so beautiful. It takes your breath away.

[galya51]

This is not Hilarion collapsing, but Albrecht, The Willis have allready disposed of Hillarion.

[AnyaAngie]

It always moves me so much when HHilarion just COLLAPSES, poor thing. Sad, sad tale.

[jock100000]

I don't have the superlatives in my vocabulary to express how I feel about these 6 gems !!Ballet gold - thats all I'll say !!At least now I know who Miss Bessmertnova modelled herself on .Pure genius , and thanks for posting this !

[swanningaround]

What a great performance. Two great dancers. I would loved to have seen them. Is this not art at its best?

[musiccritic1910]

Totally agree!!!!