American Ballet Theatre Now - Variety and Virtuosity (Dance in America) (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally, this thrilling gala performance is available on DVD! The transfer is crisp and the dances are nicely indexed so you can jump to your favorites...not that you'll want to skip even one of them. But I'm sure every balletomane will have her or his favorite. Mine is "Remanso", a pas de trois for men based on a Garcia Lorca poem. Taped in 1998, these performances feature many of ABTs upcoming stars (Corella, Carreno, Herrera, Stiefel) as well as seasoned veterans (Jaffe, Bocca, Hill, McKerrow). Angel Corella delivers breath-taking turns in his pas de deux with Paloma Herrera from "Don Quixote."
Although comprised of eight separate dance performances, each segment is intercut with fragments of backstage interviews with the dancers and artistic director Kevin McKenzie. Nothing momentous is revealed, but it's nice to hear the dancers express their enthusiasm for the works they perform and for the company that have the priviledge to dance for. Introduced by prima ballerina assoluta Natalia Makarava (looking great in a maroon silk and velvet gown by Gianfranco Ferre), it moves quickly and is the type of DVD you'll want to watch over and over. Far superior to ABTs other recent offering on DVD, "Le Corsaire," in which the dancers make fun of ballet (with justification) in between-the-acts interviews...and which is difficult to watch more than once.
I never understand why "fine art" DVDs offer so few "extras" (in this case, none). If you go to a live performance of a ballet, you get program notes on the music and choreography and short biographies of each principal dancer. Is that so difficult to transfer to a bonus material section on a DVD? Are there copyright issues? Anyway, don't let the absence of extras deter you, this DVD really delivers the goods. Buy it, watch it, love it.

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Variety and virtuosity are the key qualities of American Ballet Theatre's tradition. The company has long distinguished itself through its artistic eclecticism and its star power. In this dazzling program, leading American Ballet Theatre dancers are joined by guest artists to perform highlights from the company's 20th century repertoire, including romantic, classical and contemporary pieces as well as the premiere of a new piece by Nacho Duato.

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American Ballet Theatre at the Met - Mixed Bill (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)This eclectic program (Les Sylphides, Sylvia pas de deux, Kenneth MacMillan's Triad, and Paquita) is a beautiful slice of ABT's wide range of repertory and features sparkling performances from Baryshnikov, Cynthia Gregory, Fernando Bujones, Cynthia Harvey, Marianna Tcherkassky, Martine van Hamel, and many others. Although the taping itself is a little less engaging than I would like (ABT's 1998 tape, Variety and Virtuosity, is far superior in this aspect), this is still a wonderful addition to any ballet fan's collection.

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From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, this triple bill of ballets, with an additional glittering pas de deux, is a delightful introduction to the range and excitement of American Ballet Theatre’s repertory. The first piece is Les Sylphides in which Mikhail Baryshnikov is the poet surrounded by the drifting chorus of sylphs. The Sylvia Pas de deux is a sparkling duet for Martine van Hamel and Patrick Bissell, and it is followed by Triad, one of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s most poetic and sensitive short ballets. Finally, in a blaze of brilliant dancing, the Grand Pas from Paquita shows off the technical virtuosity of ABT’s dancers in a cascade of mock-Spanish bravura choreography staged by Natalia Makarova from the original Petipa version.

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Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake, as presented on PBS' Dance in America series, is a must-have for any serious ballet lover. The settings & costumes are fresh and new. The age-old story of love, betrayal, and redemption is set to Tchaikovsky's lush score with some new music and a new scene. Of course the cornerstone of any ballet is the dancing. Gillian Murphy is absolutely remarkable as Odette/Odile, soft and vulnerable as the Swan Queen in acts 2 & 4 and hard, brilliant, dazzling as Odile in act 3. Angel Corella's Prince Siegfried is a perfect match for her. He is a brilliant dancer and a good actor, although I would have liked to have seen what Ethan Stiefel could have done with the part. The chemistry between Murphy & Corella is palpable. However, I have an old VHS of Swan Lake with Natalia Markova & Ivan Nagy, and I must say there has never in my opinion been a danseur noble to compare with Nagy. He was Siegfried incarnate.
Herman Cornejo also shines in the small role of Benno, Siegfried's friend, and he and the two female dancers (whose names I confess I don't know) make the first act trio a joy to watch. Georgina Parkinson is just right as the queen mother, stern yet loving. Victor Barbee is wasted in the small role of the master of ceremonies. In his younger days, he was an outstanding Rothbart.
One very unexpected pleasure in this ballet was Marcelo Gomes, who did such a fine job in Le Corsair as the villainous pirate, as the human Rothbart. He was wisely given a dance with the four princesses in which he is so handsome and seductive that they are putty in his hands--and he has an effect on the queen as well! I give him a standing ovation. Brilliant!
Rothbart's dance and a prologue in which we see him seduce the human Odette are two welcome additions, although I wish the prologue had been a little longer.
I have two minor complaints. First of all, the princesses were generically costumed. None of them had an of the flavor of their native countries in their dress. This is, however, not really important, just something I noticed.
Secondly, however, I saw no need to have another dancer as the demon Rothbart complete with green skin and huge, curving horns. One Rothbarth would have been perfect; two is a joke.
I strongly recommend this DVD to any lover of Swan Lake. It's one you'll treasure.

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