I read her book: "BALLET IS THE BEST EXERCISE". I took a few tips from it. Not just for the ladies. She really is America's Prima Ballerina Absolutta. I hope she continues to teach. She should be more well-known than she is. A medalist like Natalia Makarova.
This reminds me of the solos of Leslie Browne at the end of The Turning Point. I understand that for the Turning Point, they originally wanted Cynthia Gregory to do it, but she couldn't and then they chose Leslie Browne. The two girls look a lot alike and dance alike, too! They are both wonderful.
Wrong , Gelsey Kirkland was originally cast in the part the of Leslie Brown opposite Barysnikov . Misha would have never been tall enough to partner Cynthia who was almost 6 feet on point !
Jim Schmitt The solo Leslie Browne (or Emilia) danced was Kitri's fan variation from Act III of 'Don Q'. The reason why this one reminds you of the latter is because both ballets were gashtly re-orchestrated by John Lanchbery. I swear it makes my blood boil when critics - both at the time this was filmed and now - trash Minkus' scores because of these awful orchestrations. Minkus is best played by the Mariinsky and Paris Opera ballet orchestras.
