Thanks for watching yall ❤ If u wanna see our commentary on the Prix de Lausanne 2024 classical variations, feel free to check it out here! 🎉 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7Rjqk3sV9l8.html
Fun fact about crystal - she is a double title holder and has been every season since she was a mini. She doubled titled in 2019 and was the first person to win the title for radix and tda the same season. She won 3 nationals titles that year. Winning at radix and tda in the same year was collectively referred to as "pulling a crystal" until they changed the rules.
Thank you for sharing Paloma doing the Wheeldon variation to the Joni Mitchell song. I needed to see this. Having only seen others do this so far and wondering why anyone would choose such a boring variation that seemed simple. When Paloma does it, I got it and totally understood it. It needed the right dancer and she was THAT dancer.
What I like about Crystal is that she is soo good in literally every style. Like she can do tap, hiphop, jazz, ballroom, ballet etc. But she has something extra special when doing contemporary❤. It is so fluid and strong
Paloma from Argentina was my favourite from the start. In the practice sessions of this piece she absolutely stood out from the group with her sheer mastery and ease, a joy to watch. I thought she let go in that session even more than on stage… perfection!
Paloma was my favorite as well! A few years ago I was watching the practice sessions, and one boy really stood out. I'm just a casual fan who has never danced so I don't know much, but I thought he had something special. It was Shale Wagman! ❤
that's so true! i actually noticed this when i traveled to NYC for an english program. the first-world doesn't know how to let loose! it's so weird that people don't really -dance- at the club, they just kinda... jump? move awkwardly? it was so funny. they looked weird at us when my cousin and i would actually move our hips and legs.
@@bagelized I mean, fair, but I was just pointing out a cultural difference. Nothing wrong with that. It was just really impactful to me as a latinamerican person to see how awkward people felt while dancing.
It's not just because they are from the same place, but I see Marianela in Paloma. Same charisma and twinkle in their eye. The Wheeldon girls' variation was my favourite. So whimsical and magical.
Is advantageous for dancers to be cross-trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, (perhaps even exposure to folk, social, cultural, ballroom dance styles). Sometimes Dancers strictly trained in only Ballet find difficulty in letting go, breaking form when choreography may require a departure from classical-only training. The Contemporary choreography & performances at Lausanne were brilliant.
I can see companies like Alvin Alley, Dance Theater of Harlem, NYC Ballet and Joffrey paying special attention to these contemporary variations as they need dancers that can do both well. And honestly any company that does a lot of Balanchine requires an understanding of contemporary movement as well.
Steven McRae from the Royal Ballet says the same thing that dancers should be well-rounded. (I hope that is the correct expression!) He's the one who played the tap dancer in Alice in Wonderland. ❤
I love watching contemporary dance because you can feel the controlled 'abandonment' of a dancer. It's like running with such freedom after shedding off the corset or tuxedo of classical ballet. There's a beautiful 'wildness' to it.
I prefer contemporary to classical dance. Some time ago I saw Pixel in Austria. A fantastic performance utilizing augmented reality. Paloma with You Turn Me On I'm a Radio is perfection.
Paloma and Martinho's bodies seemed to be channelling the music and emotion - just amazing! All the dancers were wonderful, but those two had the edge for me.
Round of applause - make that two rounds of applause! - to you two, for explaining and making me understand and indeed appreciate contemporary dance, finally .... Thanks!
Thanks for making this contemporary commentary! I really admire when a dancer can make the variation feel like it isn't choreographed - like it's an expression of the story that's just happening in that moment. For me Ari, Paloma, and Martinho all really nailed that, which was so interesting to see in three such different styles of choreography.
I think maybe I have a more classical ballet personality; but this was truly wonderful dancing. I'm so glad you did this. The ones that grabbed me the most were Jenson Blight and Paloma Livellara Vidart; but everyone did a beautiful job, and the choreography was stunning.
I love watching the contemporary category because the dancers perform full pieces - even though some are incredibly short. It feels more complete to me. I would love to see a split screen of the 2 contemporary winners. Paloma owned the Wheeldon piece! Thank you for doing this review.
I’m sorry this is off topic but just wanted to thank you for this channel. Watching your channel when you guys first started so piqued my interest in ballet ( and other dance too) bc just a little knowledge about it transformed my interest and my experience in the audience. Now I go as often as I can to watch the San Francisco ballet and I just saw their Swan Lake last night and was so happy! Thank you for making ballet accessible - truly a game changer for me - and I’m so happy to see how much your channel has grown and I’m thrilled I’ve got so many videos to catch up on. You guys are doing wonderful things and I wish you the best!! ❤🩰🥳👏👏👏
@@oxoelfoxo there are "standards" but they change pretty regularly to make it fair to the dancers, otherwise there'll be some people who practice the same dances for ages before the comp, none of the dances this year were on the list last year so it does change a lot
I don't know if Révolution (QC, Canada) is available in the US, but i would really suggest watching some of the performance. Notably in Contemporain Gabrielle Boudreau winner of season 5. ❤ I know it's in French, but i find that dancing is a universal langages🥰 There is also 1 performance from Sean Wathen without music and only his breathing (he dance a mix of breakdance and contemporain)
I just had to comment of the professional look of your videos, as well as how you both hold yourself. The background and even the watermark in the corner of your videos is so clean and much appreciated. Amazing commentary, I enjoy your videos very much. Thank you!
So I actually watched the contemporary competition as well and Im so glad yall did a video on this as well. The "Do You Care" piece has to be my favorite by far for so many reasons. That piece is just so breathtaking and mesmerizing all wrapped up in one. I may focus more on classical ballet but contemporary ballet will always have a special place in my heart. Last year I was in a showcase and I did a improve contemporary dance to Stand Up by Cynthia Erivo from the movie Harriet.
I'm working on strengthening my joints in hopes of dancing ballet and contemporary again and seeing these performances has motivated me! During all the do you care performances i found myself moving my head and arms because the music is so beautiful. that variation is absolutely up my alley!
Thank u for introducing me to Prix De Lausanne! After your last video, I ran to watch the contemporary variations because it's my fav style of dancing and I LOVED the "Do you care" and "Tout va bien?" combos. I wasn't quite enjoying the Joni Mitchell one until I saw Paloma (and this isn't because I'm Argentinian hahaha), it's just that with that kind of choreography you have to go for it a 100% like you said, and I thought she was one of the only ones who managed to do it. Also, she's charming. I adored Crystal too 💜
i find contemporary dance very awkward, because i imagine myself in the dancer's situation, and cant picture being able to move without having a precise list of steps that i can pick to choreograph from, but i love seeing the more athletic side of the movements, and how they play with having more freedom than classical ballet, or a specific type of dancing that has more rules, if that makes sense can't wait to see how the prix de Lausanne dancers did!! it'll make me appreciate contemporary dance more
It was wonderful to see my fellow Portuguese, Martino and also see João Pedro my fellow Brazilian. But Paloma took my breath away. She truly danced like nobody’s watching!🇵🇹🇧🇷🇺🇦🇷🇺🇷🇴🩰🫶🏻 47:57
All of these dancers are just so articulate and versatile, it's so special to see how in classical they appear to have an afinity or certain skill for that in particular, but watching them in another medium, they happen to be equally talented. Totally looking forward to seeing you guys dance sometime soon! I really like how you two include a ton of male dancers, too. I'm a male dancer (but more adage-ish) and I don't see a lot of people analyze them like you do! You guys are so entertaining and really pay attention to how you highlight the skills of each dancer. Xx Also loved Paloma and Crystal. Crystal's spinal mobility and fluid movement was so great, and Paloma was just so contagious, as you two said.
I was looking forward to this video, and I ended up enjoying it so much more than I had expected! I appreciate so much your explanations of the dances and the dancers. I had looked up both Crystal's and Paloma's contemporary dances after watching your classical video and I loved both of them! But I also loved everybody you showed us! What did I learn? I was kind of surprised that the choreographed contemporary dances were not for a specific gender. I guess because the classical variations are very clear about men dance THIS and women dance THAT. Questions: 1. Is the choice of costumes (?) up to the dancer or is it suggested by the choreographer or the dancer's coach? (Do they bring a coach? Probably not.) What would be an example of an inappropriate costume for contemporary? I was very surprised by the chap who wore the suit and tie! I suppose one does not normally combine the concepts of a high art form, like contemporary dance, with businessmen at work! 👔 I guess, if the interpretation of the choreography is up to the dancer, the dancer could wear pretty much any costume as long as it fits with the emotions they're trying to express or story they are trying to tell? 2. What about shoes or socks or bare feet? Is that up to the dancer? The girl, who was your honorable mention, had the only costume that looked specifically sporty, like something one can buy from Lululemon (for running, not for yoga). I felt that it very much matched the type of fierce energy she exuded. That was a very different vibe from the other female dancer, who chose the same choreography. As for Paloma, it almost looked like she was wearing pajamas, which definitely fit in with the idea of her dancing in her kitchen along to some music she is enjoying. 🕊️🎼🎧 Whoever edited this video put in a heck of a lot of effort! You two are so charming because you are genuinely enthusiastic! I absolutely love this video and I'm going to watch it again right now! 🙏🩰🌧️🦌🦢🧡🌛
This is so inspiring!!! I often avoid contemporary repertoire (for ballet, for opera, and for music in general). Especially after watching Like Chocolate in Water last year and I thought to myself "well thats 3 hours of my life wasted. I'd rather go to dentist or do my tax than this" 😆(among some other contemporary stuff, single eye? I think it's called single eye). But I'm very surprised that I really enjoyed watching them dance in this video! I start to think maybe I should still occasionally give contemporary pieces a chance!
Dentist and taxes 🤣🤣 we were the same way once, coming from a very strictly classical background, but we were very happy to realize the unique beauty of the contemporary dance styles ✨✨. So happy to help open ur mind to appreciate it too 😎😎
Props given, as requested, to the subtitling. 'Angry violin music' to '*higher* angry violin music' had me giggling, and 'MarioKart mode activated' got a surprised squawk laugh out of me. 😆
26:12 I have done many forms of dance with varying levels of amount of time/proficiency attained and I can attest that resistance is key. Especially in the dance forms I do now (traditional Japanese dance and traditional Ryukyu dance) it is like THE quality that is required (that and core strength, which I think is also universal to all forms of dance). And even outside of dance, in tea ceremony we are taught to lift heavy things with an air of lightness and light things with an air of heaviness, which I think is another way to phrase it.
Your commentary is so delightful and informative. What about some “then and now” pieces on former Prix winners?? Obviously I can see that people like Vadim and Marcelino (I mostly watch Royal Ballet) have changed immensely, but it would be really interesting to know exactly how and why! Or maybe it would be easier with more recent winners like Antonio Casalinho since the then-now distance isn’t as great. (Apologies if you’ve already done this…haven’t completely devoured all your content yet…working on it!)
So I went down a rabbit hole looking at other dancers doing the same contemporary choreography and it's interesting how they would all wear the same or very similar looking costumes. I can understand wearing and identical costume when you're doing a classical piece when there's a really established character and it makes sense to dress as that character, but it's interesting that in contemporary people still wear very similar clothing, even if there isn't a very specific character attached to the choreography
Thank you so much for such an informative, fun video! I learnt a lot (also from your video on the classical variations). Coming from a fellow ballet nerd and enthusiast, I am just curious if you know how the competitors learn the contemporary variations? Does the Prix supply a video for the competitors to learn visually, or is there an instructional video or do they have lessons with the choreographer. It's not like ballet where you have well known choreography and a logical flow of steps. I was just wondering how they do it for contemporary, that's all. Would be great if you could shed some light! Thanks again!!
How on earth is anyone supposed to judge this?? My favourite dancer was whichever one was on stage at that moment 😭 I can see why Paloma won audience favourite though, like you said she really took you somewhere else. It felt like you were at home not at a competition and as an audience member that is so inviting and inclusive
I don't envy the judges at this competition. I honestly don't know how they do it. It all seems so subjective to me. For example, yes, Martinho has some impressive moves but, honestly, overall I enjoyed Taichi's and Crystal's interpretation of that piece a lot more.
i just wanna say, if SIBELIUS music is protected by copyright, it means we're living in the darkest timeline. like, how is he gonna claim ownership over his work? talking through a ouija board??????
Hello to all ballet fans ! Sorry if my comment comes out of nowhere but since at 02.55 you featured Sangwon Park, I would like to tell you my story. I don't understand anything about ballet but since so many people seem to love it, I decided to give it go. (btw my favorite movie : Billy Elliot. Every ballet fan would *love* this movie) So I began to watch TV reports about dancers, look at rehersals, then I end up following the Prix de Lausanne on YT I love the dancers, their beauty, their skills, their discipline, their dedication to their art, but I still don't watch ballet...😒 and one day I saw this : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-riT8c_L1t6w.html I was deeply moved, and enthusiastic at the same time. I just thought this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. I watched it several times, and, as time went on, I went back to watch it again and again, wanting it to never end… What do you think ? am I just weird ? Did you ever feel that ? Allways or never ?
frankly...she seemed very tight and stiff in class...and wobbly. I have no idea if it was nerves but there was a definitely an unsureness in her technique here and there and her performances were not on the same level of musicality and artistry compared to the prize winners. I'm sure she'll do great in her future but maybe should focus on other stuff in her training.
But WHY do they wear pajamas? I get that it's not classical ballet and tutus are not appropriate but can we perhaps choose something other than the shloppy fast fashion shirts and basic shorts? They're artists, at least try to look like you didn't just roll out of bed...
