These were the best matched ballet dancers of all time in my opinion. He had a sad life of addiction but in his dancing he put 100% athlete, technique, and masculine grace. For Makarova: the best dancer EVER.
Wow, I'd never seen this. Interesting to compare Maryinsky and Bolshoi styles in their dancing. She seemed very secure and confident dancing with him. He had been Plisetskaya's partner back in the Soviet Union.
Александр и Наталия - ярчайшие звезды мировой Классики! Alexander was the most prominent premier of the Bolshoi Theater, and a magnificent partner of all the star ballerinas of the first theater of the USSR, including being a constant partner of M. Plisetskaya for 8 years. Natalia was a soloist of the Kirov Theater, she was lucky enough to dance with the strongest dancers of the Kirov Theater
Wonderful. So glad there is this footage of Godunov at his peak. Unfortunately, the Hollywood lifestyle was his downfall. Makarova is - as ever - sublime. 💜💚💜💚💜💚💜
Godunov’s wonderful past and present were interrupted by his premature death (everything was going well for Sasha. He ended his stage career at 36 years old, (almost a ballet pension for a dancer-premier of the highest level) for the brightest world ballet star - leaving the stage at 36 years old is a conscious choice! Sasha left the stage in peak physical shape and in the prime of his life. Alexander left the stage, but not ballet, when he was already acting in Hollywood. Godunov is the only classical dancer in the world who was able to master 2 professions in a short period of his earthly life. And Godunov, in his 45 years, he accomplished a lot: childhood and youth (from 10 to 36 years old) - ballet. And at the age of 36, Sasha began to master a new profession, without using his stellar ballet background. Godunov starred in 7 films of different genres, + a documentary film was made about him by P. Rosen, (film about the Russian star of the Bolshoi Ballet)
Makarova was a wonder. She is 40 years old here. Godunov the year after his defection. He was a big celebrity at the time, somewhat forgotten today, it seems. He definitely was a man who went his own way in life. I wonder what his career here would have been had he defected earlier like Baryshnikov and Makarova. His defection was front page news for days as his wife didn't join him in defecting and there was an international blow up over whether she would be allowed to leave the US to return home to the USSR. In the end she was allowed to leave and they divorced.
yes, she was. i saw over the years in a number of countries: the UK, France ... even Australia with Baryshnikov in the 1970s. yes, Godunov was a celeb beyond the confines of the world of ballet - a celebrity increased by his relationship with Jacqueline Bisset.
@@JohnRaymondHall Godunov is the most versatile classical dancer of the 20th century. No one could perform such a range of ballet roles as he. Neither Baryshnikov nor Nureyev danced Spartacus or Ivan the Terrible. In America he danced in Raymonda, in The Moor's Pavane, in The Afternoon of a Faun, and so on. Godunov doesn't need any Jacqueline Bisset. I didn’t even know who she was and had difficulty remembering one of her roles.
@@yuliyacher67 I'm not on Baryshnikov's team (does he even have a team? he's a 76 year old man) and I can tell you that Godunov is no longer well known in the US. Fact. Sorry if you find facts to be "stubborn things"
Godunov had a wonderful career, and in the Union he was the best, and in ABT - Godunov was the brightest and most sought-after partner among the prima ballerinas. Alexander's short earthly journey is not a reason to consider life unhappy. He had fame, success, love, interesting work, recognition from colleagues, critics and a huge number of fans. The memory of the world's brightest ballet star is preserved in creative works both in ballet and in cinema (7 feature films + documentary film about the Russian star of the Bolshoi Ballet). For us, professionals and fans of ballet, Godunov is an indisputable star, the standard of a classical dancer.
Brilliant! Maya is one of the Greats, as is Sasha Godunov. So tragic that he died of alcoholism - I don't know if he was an alcoholic before he defected, but there's a high percentage of them in Hollywood!
i think two failed relationships after his marriage (Jacqueline Bisset and Elizabeth Montgomery) increased his drinking, and retirement from the stage led to his death. apparently he was very quiet in phone calls just before his death - suggesting suicide? very sad indeed
@@JohnRaymondHall Godunov did not drink anything, he was a happy and successful person. He loved women but he had no relationship with Elizabeth Montgomery. He didn't want to dance, he successfully taught. He didn't intend to die. He was poisoned because of money.
не повторяйте чушь...Причины смерти Годунова - неизвестны до сих пор.Godunov was in excellent physical shape, even after he left the stage in 1985... a month before his death, Godunov finished filming the film, was in a great mood... He maintained his physical shape with daily ballet class until his death. Premature early death of a young healthy person is a tragic event. But the version of accidental death and the version of crime cannot be ruled out. Do not repeat the widely circulated lies about alcohol... Godunov’s enemies and ill-wishers, envious people, spread misinformation in order to discredit the dancer’s good name. Plisetskaya knew how to choose partners. Godunov was Plisetskaya’s constant (strongest, most talented, brightest) partner for 8 years.
@@JohnRaymondHall "an affair with Montgomery" is a crude joke of the tabloid press. Alexander had other hobbies and likes, and until his death, Sasha remained on friendly terms with Jacqueline. there could be no depression. Shortly before his death, Godunov finished filming the film "Zone". Sasha was satisfied with the completed work, filming in Budapest, managed to visit his family and friends in Riga, and it was then, in April 1995, that he decided to move his mother and brother’s family from Riga to the USA... Godunun did not have time to carry out his plans (In May 1995, he gone(
It’s a shame that the true causes of A. Godunov’s death have not yet been investigated. A wonderful person, a magnificent dancer, the world’s brightest ballet star, a talented actor, a standard and example for professionals and younger generations of dancers.
Rare to find decent footage of Godunov. Love the enhanced sound. I think he “poses” much better than he dances. His physique is made for it. Based on videos I have seen, he appears to have been a very sweet man.
yes, i think a gentle man - and a tormented one. i only saw him once on stage - at La Scala on a Bolshoi tour in 'Anna Karenina'. you make an interesting point "he “poses” much better than he dances"
Agree that he poses better than he dances. I saw him in Bayadere and a couple of other ballets. Although he could be an exciting dancer, his technique was often lacking. Makarova here is just wonderful. Perhaps Kitri was against type for her, and she didn't do the fouettes, but she's convincing. And I love her in anything!
@@Marta44339 the word 'lumbering' sometimes comes to mind for his movement style. she was a little too 'oily' and smooth for Kitri - not enough Spanish fire. i saw her dance it with Baryshnikov in the 1970s not long after his defection
@@JohnRaymondHall Lumbering is it! I've seen the video of this PdD with Makarova & Baryshnikov, and how I envy you for having seen it! I would watch them both in anything. Thank you for your great posts.
@@Marta44339 i was lucky to see them as much as i did - included in the tour with Don Q was Act 2 of 'Giselle'. i saw quite a lot with Nureyev - in London and Paris
I wonder if someday people from Europe and America will understand that he was killed. Godunov was happy and successful. He loved women, taught, acted in films. Sasha was poisoned because of money.
Sadly, people are killed every day because of money. Navalny was killed so Putin and his pals can continue robbing the people of Russia with impudence and coldblooded disregard.
