ESSENTIAL BALLET - DVD Movie

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At Covent Garden, Larisa Lezhina and the great Faroukh Ruzimatov in "Diana and Actaeon" make a dazzling case for the best of Soviet ballet. Altynai Asylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklinsky, while not exactly in their element, bring superhuman intensity to Antony Tudor's "Leaves Are Fading."

On a very special occasion in Red Square, Yekaterina Maximova and her husband, Vladimir Vasiliev, dance an "Aniuta" duet that alone is worth the price of the DVD. Ruzimatov and the spry Margarita Kulik sparkle in the "Corsaire" pas de deux, Nina Ananiashvili and Alexei Fadeyechev -- both in heartbreakingly beautiful form -- dance the grand pas from Act 3 of "The Sleeping Beauty." And, yes, Maya Plisetskaya steals the show as only she can do with her version of Fokine's "Dying Swan." Don't miss this one.-Octavio Roca, San Francisco Chronicle

28 of 30 found the following review helpful:

no feetApr 24, 2003

You will want to stand up for most of this one. Alas, it will do no good. The simpletons have cut off the feet in over half of the Covent Garden Performance. When will they ever learn feet require at least one meter of stage perspective.
The Red Square portion is somewhat better in this regard. However, the outdoor staging is quite distracting.
In my opinion, the Kirov Ballet Company is a near perfect human endeavor and deserves better. These recordings will become the standard by which future dancers will be judged.

19 of 23 found the following review helpful:

Great dancing of some of ballet's greatest scenesMay 18, 2003
By R. Nicholson
A magnificent DVD! Simply breathtaking !

This DVD features excerpts from performances of the Kirov Ballet at Covent Garden and an open-air concert from Red Square in Moscow.

It is difficult to know were to start: there are so many exquisite performances on this disc. I will pick out a few (really, you could mention all of them)

The beauty, grace and sensitivity of Julia Makhalina as Odette(with Andris Liepa) in the Adagio from "Swan Lake".

The obvious joy and subtle sadness, coupled with the incredible dancing skill of Altynai Asylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklinsky in " The Leaves Are Fading "; music by Antonin Dvorak.

The unbelievable athletic abilities of Farukh Ruzimatov in his Pas de deux with Larisa Lezhina from Drigo's "Diana and Actaeon".

And then there were the young dancers from the Vaganova Ballet Academy doing a wonderful job on Minkus's "Paquita: Polonaise and Mazurka" and also a credible rendition of the Dance of the Mirlitons from Tchaikovsky's " The Nutcracker"

Overall, I personally enjoyed the Covent Garden section a little more and yet my favorite piece is probably the Pas de deux from the Act II of Giselle (Adam) by Carole Arbo and Kader Belarbi; the smoothness, the height of the lifts, the glides, the quiet touches and the grace of both performers is simply hard to believe.

As a bonus there is a short commentary on the history of ballet by Ruth Leon in the accompanying booklet that is interesting reading.

All in all, some great performances of the greatest ballet scenes you'll ever find on one disc. Highly recommended!

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

A common man's point of view.Oct 03, 2009
By Richard Rawls "Richard Ardle Rawls"
It's time for a new review of this ballet DVD, ESSENTIAL BALLET by the KIROV Ballet, NOT repeat, NOT, the American Ballet Theatre. The information on the product description is incorrect. (PS, I see they have corrected the discription of this "title" and no longer say it is performed by the ABT). The picture in the description IS of the KIROV BALLET. It is a very, very good mixed bill program with half of it performed at Covent Garden in London, England, with Princess Diana in attendence. She is shown during the performance, so that is a bonus for those of you who love HER.

The London performance includes: The Polonaise (no dancing) from EUGENE ONEGIN, the Polonaise and Mazurka from PAQUITA by children from the Vaganova Ballet Academy (fabulous), the Adagio from SWAN LAKE, the
adagio from THE LEAVES ARE FADING, the RUSSIAN DANCE from SWAN LAKE, the dance of the Mirlitons from THE NUTCRACKER by three adorable children from the Vaganova Ballet Acamemy, the pas de deux from DIANA AND ACTAEON, and the grand pas de deux from PAQUITA. One reviewer complained about the feet being cut out of the picture. Disregard that statement, please. Not one scene had the feet out of the picture, except during close-ups, of which there were only a few. It was well shot by the camera crew, who get the shots they are told to get by the producer (or the button pusher as I call them). Years and years ago I was a cameraman in a TV studio, so I know a bit about it. The camera operator does NOT choose how the picture is framed or at what angle it is shot. After the performance, Princess Diana is shown talking to the dancers backstage, but there is no dialogue.

The second half of the program includes dancers from the Kirov Ballet AND the Bolshoi Ballet. It is done at a later date from Red Square in Moscow on an outdoor stage. Again someone complained about the conditions during the taping. During the evening fog rolled in and onto the stage, but it did not distract hardly at all. It was well lit, and for an outdoor event the sound quality was good. The Moscow performance includes: the pas de deux from THE SLEEPING BEAUTY w/Nina Ananiashvili, the pas de deux from LA CORSAIRE, the pas de deux from act II of GISELLE, the pas de deux from ANIUTA w/Yekaterina Maximova and her husband Vladimir Vasiliev, the pas de deux from the FIREBIRD (the prince and the Firebird), THE DYING SWAN w/the fabulous Maya Plisetskaya, and closed with the grand pas de deux from DON QUIXOTE w/Nina Ananiashvili and company. Would you believe some reviewer even complained about Maya Plisetskaya dancing as she approached the age of seventy? I can tell you no one in Moscow complained. She is dearly loved by the Moscowvites, and most people the world over who know anything at all about her. If you can find this DVD, do yourself a huge favor and get it, but be sure and confirm from the dealer that it is the Kirov version and not the ABT version. They are two seperate DVDs, both of which are called ESSENTIAL BALLET.

Good viewing.......Richard.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Very good with bits of different ballets!Mar 20, 2005
By Amy
I thought Odette was a wonderful dancer.The Leaves in The Leaves are Fading were brilliant and I love the choreography. Diana and Actaeon were excellent and the costumes for the corps de ballet were very pretty. Paquita was beautiful with all the corps de ballet in tutus and in lovely colours, Olga Chenchikova's pirouettes were amazing and all of it very well danced. Anuita was quite modern but very nice and with lovely music. The Sleeping Beauty,Le Corsaire, Giselle and the others were all good but I didn't like The Firebirds dance of costume. The lighting and filming were fine and the DVD was very enjoyable. On the whole I think it is Essential Ballet and worth getting and keeping.

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