Gergory is one of the most amazing, musical, radiant, fabulous, and beautiful dancers of all time. She is so beautiful in this role and every other role she performed. The transitions from each step to the next are so smooth and nature looking, the balances are rock-on and the endings seemed to go on forever. Such a spectacular dancer and actress. And so technical too.... I could go on forever!!!
I love "old school"! Where is it written that a dancer has to hold her leg at 180° or that every move has to be over extended! This is old school ballet at its finest: not over extended or throwing one's leg over one's ear--just pure natural artistry! Love it! I wish the dancers of today could dance like this!
I, for one, swoon from bravura technique. Cynthia was among the first exponents but Balanchine demanded 195 degrees or more and his masterworks are the standard today. Superhuman displays. Brava!
@@casteretpollux so true. Many dancers lack musicality and rhythm- it should be part of the training. Cynthia was one of my favorite ballerinas of all time. And my brother got to partner her in Swan Lake when he was Rothbart for ABT.
Cynthia and Margot Fonteyn danced the best rose adagios! Even if they didn't have the crazy extensions like today's dancers, the artistry and pure emotion they brought to their performances is unmatched!
Thanks for posting. I have the same second generation copy. Much as I preferred Van Hamel overall (one of the great under-sung ballerinas of her time), I have never seen anything like Cynthia's Rose. She's working, but she looks so much like she's saying "I could stay up here all day if I want to in attitude, but now I just happen to want to extend slowly into arabesque and stay there for a while." I like a lot of younger dancers, but BIG extensions do not equal artistry.This is artistry
minissa2009 your other comment on another video brought me here and I see exactly what you mean. Definitely with every movement , she takes her time and makes it so graceful and artistic. Those balances are the best I've seen too, such control.
I love how after those opening developpés a la seconde, she rolls down through her whole foot, instead of hopping down. Exquisite control and unbelievable strength. Cynthia Gregory made it look all so easy, and she made us believe she was really a glad-young, dewey eyed sixteen year old.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. It seems there's not very much video available of Gregory in her prime (or at all, really) which is a shame. I didn't see this Aurora back when it was broadcast, but only about ten years ago off a crappy VHS copy, and I thought, "holy crap!" It doesn't get much better than this, or any better than this, really. And look at her arms!
Back in the day I didn't appreciate Gregory as well as I should have. She was sharing the New York stage with the likes of Kirkland, Makarova and Van Hamel, and, over at NYCB, Merrill Ashley was an even more stupendous technician. A few years ago I saw this video and realized she was a tremendous artist in her own right; this is one of the best Rose Adagios I've ever seen, despite the degraded video quality.
I think Gregory's Raymonda was beyond perfection. I don't think I breathed when she danced. Just thinking about it now makes me sit straighter and slows my breath. So regal, the epitome of elegance.
WOW!!!! Such exuberance! such joy in the balances!! I'm in tears writing this! She sparkled! The most joyous Rose Adagio I've ever seen! Cynthia Gregory has been a long time favorite of mine, but after seeing this... Incredible! The daring of her balances, the control as she rolls down of pointe in ecarte, and the pure joy of her approach. She makes this technical monster of an adage look effortless and radiant! BRAVA!!! This is quality ballet! Thank you SO MUCH to estnyc for posting!!
Once again, every time I have watched another dansuese even try to dance this part, no one can match Gregory's performance here. It exhibits such mastery, perfection, control, grace, confidence, and so much more that no other can even come to close to matching this one. She is a legend, as was Dame Alicia Markova. The students at the Maple Conservatory in CA are BLESSED to have such a wonderful teacher. I wish during my days with Joffrey, I had had her as my coach. She is a legend!
Current ballerinas who employ ear-whacking extensions in the Rose Adagio quite mistake the matter. Cynthia Gregory reminds us of the point of it all - youthful charm, innocent aristocracy and effortless virtuosity,
No it’s not necessarily the case that high extensions will compromise “virtuosity.” In her age there were plenty of dancers who simply cannot do what she can do, doesn’t matter how low they raise their legs.
Gregory I saw many times live and she was always sublime. She was elegant and athletic. Her Swan Lake was both lyrical and a she hit every movement with such clarity. It was she was painting pictures as she moved.
@@casteretpollux I saw Fonteyn dance Aurora when the Royal Ballet came to New York--it must have been 1979 because the audience celebrated her 60th birthday, I think after the Sleeping Beauty performance I saw. Incredible scene with thousands of roses and bouquets and confetti raining down as she took innumerable curtain calls. She was, of course, past her prime, but what stood out to me was her ability to project the personality of the sixteen-year-old princess (at least to me, in the top tier of the Met!). Her actual dancing may not have equaled Gregory's superb technique in this video, especiallyl in the balances, but she was a sweet and lovely Aurora. Gregory and Fonteyn remain for me the quintessential Auroras. And Gregory and Makarova remain for me the best Odette/Odiles and Giselles, while Gregory is unrivaled as La Sylphide.
Cynthia Gregory was, and will always be, the Queen of Ballet to me, whatever wonders others may bring. She had a magnitude, elegance, grandeur & simply excellence to her dancing that was so unique. Wish someone would post the PBS ABT special from the early 70s, where she danced Black Swan; also included were big segments from RODEO w. Christine Sarry(?), from ETUDES, & I don't remember what else, except for little interviews w. DeMille & others. Glorious.
Oh, glory...the control as she comes down from the relevés... yes, the modern trend for longer and higher extensions can be impressive, but the control! She is rock solid, throughout all her balances. This is artistry.
Yes, the control is awesome. The quest for extension has also come at the expense of petite allegro, at which Ms Gregory also excelled. She is magisterial.
It's called LINE. Classical LINE, which that high extension distorts. I'm all for high legs, but not at the expense of beauty. and yes, she has great control and resistance on the way down. that's all the work!
bassavino Gregory once said on a radio interview that Balanchine once told her he was quite amazed that a ballerina as tall as her could move so quick .
Because she stayed with the music, she danced to express the music, not herself. And it's not about how long you take to reach the extension, it's about being able to hold it, no matter the height.
She's so musical....I remember ABT in San Francisco and I almost went out of my body with her Black Swan Pas De Deux with Bujones, his beautiful developpes and his totally gentlemanlike manner. What fireworks they produced. I recently saw in interview with her where she says they were exhausted at that performance and didn't know it would be so good.
Cynthia Gregory was the most underrated and overlooked ballerina of the 20th century. I don't think the ABT ever gave her enough credit or publicity. I remember this broadcast on TV. I still cannot believe this has never been made commercially available. Having seen her Swan Queen 3 times live, and Makarova live once, it is my impression that Gregory's Odette-Odille was much more moving. Cynthia's Swan Queen was right up there along with Maya Plissetskaya's & Margot Fonteyn's.
It's a crime I heard it's because of rights she also danced firebird and next year the full length bayadere release these incredible performance also 1981 marius petipa night
I still cannot get over how she so slowly unfolds from attitude, unsupported. I haven't seen that particular move done nearly so impressively by any other dancer.
YES! That exit was unworldly. She was my 1st Odette/Odile, w. ABT in Dallas (I was 10 or 11; I think they stayed 2 wks(!)). When that moment came, I thought there was some kind of trick, w. a heat source coming up from the orch. pit, creating that illusion of things wavering, that I'd seen when my dad would barbecue. That tiny moment, when Rothbart's power took her over, & then that incredible bourré off, blew my mind, & has stayed powerfully in my mind all these years. Magnificent dancer/artist
Sigh. Cynthia Gregory's Rose Adagio is perfection. To think that ABT had Gregory, Makarova, and Gelsey Kirkland in the same company at that time. We were so spoiled. No to mention Baryshnikov, Ted Kivett, Ivan Nagy, and Fernando Bujones. All at the same time.
@@dennischiapello7243 You are so right Dennis, Martine Van Hamel was another wonderful ballerina during that era. I had the pleasure of seeing her dance many times. I loved her in La Bayadere
Not really. I played in a ballet orchestra. There are times when the music must be served, and times when you bend the music for the dancer. Any conductor who wants to last in the busniess understands this. I had the good fortune to play for David LaMarche, Leslie Dunner, Stanlet Sussman, and Dwitght Oltman, to name a few. There was mutual respect between dancers and musicians. Oh, and in the early years of Cleveland Ballet Miss Gregory was a guest artist. She is also a lovely human being.
I am old enough to say that I never missed a performance of her Auroras and Odette/Odiles. And I saw her farewell performance where she was buried up to her tutu in flowers. When she was on, her balances were astonishing, defying the laws of physics. Ah, to turn the clock back.
Those were the days, all right. I saw ABT all the time back then. And Cynthia Gregory was the best Black Swan in the business. She was a lovely Aurora too!
Cynthia Gregory was an exceptional artist and I had the privilege of seeing her a number of times. I've long wondered if this Sleeping Beauty would ever surface as I remember it as spectacular. My memory was correct...!
My most unforgettable night in any theatre was Cynthia Gregory & Ivan Nagy in the SB performance a few days before this one. I lucked into a seat in the middle of the sixth row, and didn't pick up my opera glasses until Gregory was acknowledging the thunderous ovation after the Rose Adagio. I could not detect even the tiniest droplet of perspiration on that regal forehead.
I have Cynthia Gregory's point slippers! She was amazing! My father worked with her at the Kennedy Center. I was an aspiring ballerina at the time. She makes dance look so effortless. I still have to shoes next to all my other slippers.
Gregory I saw many times live and she was always sublime. She was elegant and athletic. Her Swan Lake was both lyrical and a she hit every movement with such clarity. It was she was painting pictures as she moved.
@estnyc Cynthia's Aurora is the most beautiful I've ever seen so far. She has a particular grace that I've seen a few other dancers. Perfect in the role of the girl Aurora, perfect technical mastery. I've seen her recent photos, she has a face very beautiful and sweet. Thank you for this video.
Gilmar Sampaio Alas, Novikova is not even within bowing distance of Cynthia Gregory in this ballet. Gregory at her best was unrivaled, and this was one of the best performances of her entire career-broadcast “live” on PBS (from the Metropolitan Opera House) in 1978.
Gilmar Sampaio saw it, I’d have to agree with boychick, not even close. Too athletic and “jerky” movements. There are better Russian dancers than that. But overall at least in this particular sequence with the balancing, I haven’t seen anybody beating Cynthia Gregory.
I've watched this clip so many times now, I can't get enough. The relaxed and perfect classicism in Gregory's dancing is so lovely. The balances are breathtaking but the beautifully controlled roll down through her foot after each extension has me awestruck. To see dancing of this caliber again would be wonderful. And I'm not in the circles that say it can't be done anymore. It can be, there are dancers out there who still know the old style and strive for it. They just aren't being chosen by the powers in charge now. THEY are dumbing down ballet by choosing less than sterling talent.
Brava! She has everything: the purity you expect to see in one of the standards. The elegance of simplicity you expect of a princess. Control out the wasoo (I would take control out the wasoo any day over extension out the wasoo as so many young dancers want to emphasize). I agree with the comments about the roll-downs. And look how artfully everything she does is woven together with the next phrase and all makes sense within the story. The softness you would expect of a 16 year-old princess. Yet the exuberance of her coming-out party. Above all, true gracefulness, the likes of which you rarely see in today's ballerinas. An athlete is an athlete. An artist can blend the technique with story-telling, and with bringing a character to life, and can meld the quality of movement with the story and character. That's what I think is so special here and which is so often missing in today's dancer-athletes. Did I leave out that Cynthia Gregory, whom I saw in Miami with Bujones, is Always musical. They don't make them like that any more, do they?
Can I tell you how important to me it was that you uploaded this? Back in 1978 I bought my very first VCR recorder. I recorded this performance live. I had never seen Gregory before and, although a music major graduate, was unfamiliar with this complete ballet. When I saw this Rose Adagio I was so blown away by the sheer physicality and beauty of it, the video became my more cherished "saves."---That is, until I accidentally erased it! Ahhhhh!!! Thank you for giving it back to me!!!!
I think the reason she was not designated as such is because there is no process in the US by which a ballerina can receive that title. However, many of her colleagues both male and female referred to her as a prima ballerina assoluta,most notably Rudolf Nureyev.
Rudolf Nureyev was quoted in sayinvg that Cynthia Gregory was Americas prima ballerina Assoluta ...I think this was after she premiered in his version of Raymonda .
I saw Cynthia Gregory's Sleeping Beauty many times. I was a huge fan. And I still am. We must not forget her White Swan. Her 2nd act exit full face to the audience, eyes lifted to the balcony was the best! Today all the ballerinas I've seen exit back to the audience, but Gregory's exit still remains in my mind as the most dramatic and beautiful. Surely there's a video of it, but I can't seem to find it.
Ottima impressione di naturalezza esecutiva d'acchito da parte di entrambi ed ottimo il convolo elanista ed aereo della ballerina come metafora vittoriosa della levità e bellezza .MOLTO bravi Tutti anche per la cura dell'ambientazione.Bighin GIULIO RENZO
I know. It is 'sick' how she just flows from one movement to the next. Nothing is rushed, This is totally a class in control, technique and above all beautiful artistry.
She was wonderful, but can we appreciate dancers of past without tearing down dancers of today? They all used to be dancers of today, it is ALWAYS today, just different today.
Why should we accept mediocrity? This video clearly shows a devolution in the art and how it is performed by today's dancers. Do you know why Gregory gets those exquisite roll downs through the foot and perfect balance? Because she is not using over extensions of the leg. Pushing the leg up to the ear (the Russians are the worst practitioners), pushes the hip off the plumb line. So the dancer over indulging for a two second impressive, pretty picture gives up body integrity and plasticity of movement. This horrible practice could be stopped this second. The audience didn't ask for it. So the pushing of it is due to the ballet industry.
@minissa2009 At the time I was more of a fan of Van Hamel's than Gregory's, but this video makes me wish I'd paid a bit more attention to her. You described perfectly the effect of her amazing control. Even blurry and degraded, this is still the finest Rose Adagio video I've seen anywhere.
@franceseattle Like you I adored her in Swan Lake many times...I HAD to go back again and again, often begging for an extra ticket outside the Met. It was mad joy to experience her performances. She was electrifying. At the end when she was pulled back by Rothbart after desperately trying to resist, literally floating toward her fate, as through a magnetic force-field...unforgettable. The only one to rival her in that role at the time was Makarova, who was absolutely thrilling and magnificent in her own way. I feel so fortunate to have seen them both at a wonderful period at the ABT. Thank you Cynthia, and Natalia! Bravissima forever!.
Agreed. Makarova was different and great in the role, Cynthia gave you everything you expected in the 3rd act. I remember 5 pirouettes at one point and her exit in the 2nd Act was terrific as well. A diva!
Cynthia Gregory was the most underrated and overlooked ballerina of the 20th century. I don't think the ABT ever gave her enough credit or publicity. I remember this broadcast on TV. I still cannot believe this has never been made commercially available. Having seen her Swan Queen 3 times live, and Makarova live once, it is my impression that Gregory's Odette-Odille was much more moving. Cynthia's Swan Queen was right up there along with Maya Plissetskaya's & Margot Fonteyn's.
Love your tagline in the description "those were the days" -- OMG, classical ballet will never see the luminaries of Gregory, Makarova, Kirkland dancing at the same time, ever again..., I haven't started on NYCB dancers too. Sigh. Yes, Sylivie Gilliem and Zakharova have vertical extensiions and perfect feet, but they're cold in comparison to the greats I never tire of watching. Thank you for posting this great piece of ballet!
Cynthia Gregory commands control, grace, style, and as the great Ballerina, Dame Alicia Markova said while teaching up until she 94 at the University of Cinncinati, said, "The stage is you kingdom, use it." Cynthia does this and much more; she was born on pointe; she is is perfection. There has been, aren't, and never will be a dancer like her again. She went on from 1991 to form Tranisition for Dancers, and is now an instructor at hte Marple Conservatory in CA. This cannot be matched.
The only person on the planet that I can think of that can do the rose adagio like this is Marianela Nuñez. But that’s in 2024. Gregory was banging this out in the 80’s. Now to be fair, I can do without the pirouettes brought to you by the number 4, but everything else is pretty much perfect.
Not really, in fact the poster is right on. Cynthia Gregory stands at 5'7". Rising to full pointe adds at least another six inches to that. Gregory was a tall dancer for her day and she admitted fully to having a complex about it - Arlene Croce described it as the "Big Girl Jitters".
What a heroic, monumental performance, with such grace, poise and expressive, generous port de bras. She blurred through a few moments, but this was her own.
Same here. That balance and grace are just amazing. Nobody can beat it. Everybody else it just feels like they are rushing and there is always a danger like: I can’t do this! Help!!
I would die to see her white swan , I ve seen her black swan in galas and on youtube but always felt short changed because I never got to see her white ...Her black swan is is the gold standard for me .
Her core control and balance, that she's seems to tease the audience with.... She brings those extensions to a point, that everyone strives for. She's always been my favorite.
From the NYT review of the performance I saw with CG & Ivan Nagy: "Tchaikovsky's miraculous score carried the ballerina to veritable heights of triumph...From the moment of her first run onstage, it was clear that the evening would be hers. She started at the top & only went upward...Light shone luminously through her dancing all evening...So radiant & so joyful, Aurora's name rang true as the essence of that dancing...The wedding pas de deux was marked by a glitter & clarity of movement that made the whole performance one big wave into crescendo. Rarely has she danced better." Anna Kisselgoff also raved about Nagy's "astonishingly gallant Prince" and added that the two leads visibly inspired the soloists to put "their best feet forward." Every single dancer on that stage seemed at the very top of their game & their pointe shoes that night. I have a framed photo of Gregory in Act I over my desk as I write this to remind me of that magical night. Those were indeed the days, Eric!
@edkearns You remind me that at intermission, when her interviewer mentioned her being 6 feet en pointe, she interrupted and said "Almost 6 feet - I'm very sensitive about that!" He was embarrassed and apologized, but she was quick to reassure him she was just teasing. Her whole manner during the interview was sweet and down-to-earth. She seemed not to have had a "diva" bone in her body.
As the great ballerina, Dame Alicia Markova, after retiring, and lived to be 94, was a professor of dance at the University of Cincinnati, and was training one danseuse and said, "The stage is your kingdom; use it." In 1986, the Director of Presentations at the Met at Lincoln Center, NYC, said, "The Met can intimidate a dancer..." Cynthia fulfills not only probably the great ballerina in the world and make the stage her "kingdom," but make it seem small. She is Dame Alicia's "kingdom." Gregory!!
The way she floats out of those balances in attitude ... wow. Thanks so much for posting this! There's not enough Cynthia Gregory on RU-vid, especially given how many of her performances were taped. Do you have any more from this broadcast?
@estnyc Perfect arabesque! I remember hearing my sisters' ballet saying that you should be able to balance a tea cup on your ankle if you're in perfect arabesque. How true.
Shame on me? I'm the one who posted this, silly. I wouldn't have gone through the trouble if I didn't think this was a fantastic performance. But remember, back then there were a lot of stupendous ballerinas dancing regularly in NYC.
