Divine Dancers - The Prague Ballet Gala (2006)

YK’s 2-Cents: 

Just watched this on the local free-to-air channel Okto.


It's a live recording of the 1st Prague Ballet Gala at the Prague State Opera back in 11 January 2006.

I've visited Prague in 2005, and have actually stood in front of the theatre to admire Opera, but thanks to this recording, I get to catch frequent glimpses of the gorgeous Rococo interior.


To someone like me who only appreciates ballet for its beautiful body language, the evening's program offered a diverse and wide range of musical compositions; a perfect blend of classical and modern choreographies; good balance of male and female dancers; a dancer in his 50s and another as young as mid-teen; dancers from different ballet companies across Europe; and dancers of different European nationalities (see if you can spot the half Vietnamese).  It also gave the feel of a documentary - the dancers provided commentary during their rehearsal or while behind the curtains just before or after the dance. 


The program:


1. Manon 
Choreographer: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Jules Massenet
Dancers: Polina Semionova (as Manon), Igor Zelensky 

Oh, so sensual ...


2. Wie lange noch?
Choreographer: Krzysztof Pastor
Song: composed by Kurt Weill
Dancers: Natalie Hoffmann, Altin Kaftira (Dutch National Ballet)

3. Mémoire
Choreographer: Julien Lestel
Music: Serge Rachmaninov
Dancer: Delphine Baey 

4. My Way 
Choreographer: Stephan Thoss
Song: My Way - Frank Sinatra (lyrics by Paul Anka)
Dancers: Daniil Simkin (teenage son), Dimitri Simkin (father)

Another favorite, like, how often do one get to watch 2 males perform pas de deux? 
The perfect synchrony between father and son in this dance alone is enough reason to order the DVD.


5. La Fille du Pharaon
Choreographer: Pierre Lacotte
Music: Cesare Pugni
Dancers: Maria 'Masha' Alexandrova  (as Princess Aspicia) and Sergei Filin  (as Taor) 
(The Bolshoi)

Another one of my favorites - what a piece of art - not just the dance, but also perfectly sculpted from head to toe Filin!  What presence, what star quality from both dancers!!


6. The Moor's Pavane
Choreographer: José Limón
Music: Henry Purcell
Dancers: Charles Jude (The Moor), Stephanie Roublot (Desdemona), Jean Jacques Herment (Iago), Viviana Franciosi (Emilia)

A 20 min ballet based on the Shakespeare tragedy 'Othello'.  Charles Jude got top billing in this gala.  However this dance is certainly not my favorite.  Jude's make-up was so heavy that he came across as having only one expression throughout the dance.


7. Who Cares?
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Music: The Man I Love - George Gershwin
Dancers: Natalie Hoffmann, Altin Kaftira (Dutch National Ballet)

This is a different footage - from Pompei Viva 2010 - with performance from Mathilde Froustey.  I've included it to complete the mood and to give a feel of the diversity in this gala.


8. The Sleeping Beauty - Excerpt/Grand Pas de Deux 
Choreographer: Charles Jude after Rudolph Nureyev/Marius Petipa
Music: Peter Tchaikovsky
Dancers: Oksana Kutcheruk, Roman Mikhalev


9. Amsterdam
Song: Jacques Brel
Choreographer: Ben van Cauwenbergh
Dancers: Dmitri Simkin, Marek Tuma

10. Les Bourgeois 
Choreographer: Ben van Cauwenbergh
Song: Jacques Brel 
Dancer: Daniil Simkin

This was recorded at Helsinki, a different programme, but same dance.

11. Raymonda - Excerpt/Adagio, Act II 
Choreographer: Marius Petipa
Music: Alexander Glazunov
Dancers: Maria 'Masha' Alexandrova, Sergei Filin (The Bolshoi)