Gelsey is So BRILLIANT and she has such a DELICATE QUALITY when she dances. She Radiantly SPARKLES in her Precise execution of the Choreography.🌹 And, Misha, is, of course, PERFECTION! 💙 💙 Who could ask for a more beautiful ballet partnership? ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS!!🌟🌟🌟
this was the golden era of classical ballet, is so sad watching young people now try to lift the legs higher without understanding what dance is. She is so beautiful and the whole ABT is perfect
Balanchine's choreography is internal and external perfection ... aesthetic beauty - in every movement ... dancers and ballerinas - were artists, not gymnasts and acrobats (
Where is the artistry today? . The young dancers think if they lift there leg to 90 degrees that’s makes them a good if not great dancer. It is so untrue!!!
@@lorakarlash248 Yes, what you say is so, overall! However, despite this general truth - Balanchine did make life very difficult for the young star (Kirkland), at times demanding a perfection that was not reasonable - or even, safe. It was an exceptional burden for Gelsey to happen to have been caught between the attentions of the old Balanchine and the young Baryshnikov- both of whom cut very deep wounds into her soul.
She makes every single movement seem full of meaning, momentous, important. Like a 'language" of movement. Don't know how she does it. At the same time she appears so vulnerable somehow. A beautifully sensitive performance (performer). Of course Baryshnikov is as stylish as always, and the corps de b is great too. A++ work of art all round.
For me, Gelsey is the most outstanding in this ballet...She had the ability to be poignantly beautiful and sensitive, and also brilliant and exciting when called for. A TRUE ARTIST...Always have adored her dancing...and am so happy to see this posted...
No one has or will ever dance like Gelsey. She is truly a gift and was way ahead of her time. I could watch this performance forever and nothing could compare to its beauty. She truly left her mark on ballet history as the Greatest American Ballerina.
wowo2007~ Yes, l've watched this ballet from other places on YT, even from Russia, and they all look slower, and or sloppier than this one! Eveybody's up to speed here, especially Gelsey. n Mikhail! What gives? :)
Balanchine and Tchaikovsky; a match made in heaven. And surely also Kirkland and Baryshnikov. And oh, that sweeping grand polonaise that ends this wonderful ballet .
Here I am in 2020, in stunned and joyful silence. What a performance by all the dancers and orchestra. So many comments boil down to, “Gelsey, Gelsey, Gelsey!” I couldn’t agree more. What an artist.
I have adored this performance since it aired may '78. I watched it on our betamax for years til the machine broke. This is such an exquisite and beautiful performance by Gelsey Kirkland. Baryshnikov was not bad either. Thank you so much I only had to wait 25 years to enjoy my favorite ballet performance again!
I think that there will never be a performance of this caliber ever again. All dancers were awesome as the tempo was quick and the change of epalmains, angles, port de bras are lightning fast.Of course Gelsey is right at home with this and is brilliant, but Baryshnikov was always on tempo, Gelsey was off a few times, but who cares considering the agility of BOTH of them, even though he appeared more modest than Gelsey did.His technique and expressivity also awedome; I never saw a pas de bourre as lusciously done as he does it at the slower tempo This performance inspires the awe that Heidegger spoke of as waning in our modern technological societies. Thanks to whoever uploaded this performance! What a joy!
Wow. I remember watching Gelsey on PBS every year when they aired The Nutcracker. I was just a kid then and never fully realized what a truly special dancer she is. In those days I only cared about technique and really didn't care about artistic ability. What a delight it is to discover ballet through a new lens. This is a spectacular piece by two remarkable artists.
Gelsey Kirkland is still my favorite Ballet dancer, I first saw her when I was 10 or 11 in the Nutcracker on PBS and was captivated and since then I have always compared others to her and still no one else compares.
I waited seven hours on line to get tickets for this season. Way before the box office even opened there was a line outside the NYS Theater. ABT was such a hot ticket then, with Baryshnikov and Makarova. I treasure those years.
for Balanchine ballets - dancers should be beautiful, and slender, and high and highly professional, as well as stage partners. Miniature Makarova looked better with a tall, slender, brilliant dancer Alexander Godunov.
Never again a dancer who chew every note of music in such level of detail as Gelsey did, or imbue so much imagination in every moment. Extreme, self-torturing honesty. Through her movement I can see all Tchaikovsky's notes...Cantabile...Molto brillante.. I always come back to this video to remind myself why I love ballet.
Making this video available for everyone to see is making up for the lack of a commercial release. Seeing Baryshnikov at the top of his abilities and the one-of-a-kind Gelsey is bringing this amazing ballet close to heaven if not beyond. The definite take on 'Theme.' Brilliant. Thank you
Barashnikov does not meet ballet standards. Michael is too small, short body proportions, there are no elongated lines in the classics, which are laid down in the choreography of Balanchine.
I get the chills every time when she pops her leg up at the perfect timing on beat with the drum as soon as the pas de deux is over! It look like she's playing the music with her body!
@@denisebahous685 everybody knows that Baryshnikov is a prodigy but a lot of people had forgotten about Gelsey Kirkland ! if Baryshnikov chose her as his partner, it is for a good reason : she was as good as him !
I love this ballett and like seing it again! A beautiful team with great stars! ABT dancers with no prpblems dancing Balanchine style.Great Gelsey and Baryshnikov! Adorable done!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💐
I've always loved this music,, and the choreography for this is brilliant. I was surprised how wonderful young Barishnikov and Kirkland were, especially her. I saw one slight flub; but she had a personal quality that just lit up the material. i also thought the costumes were gorgeous. Thanks ABT & Baja0270.
Are you serious?!? You are crazy. This is a quite ordinary choreography, with mooves from cabare. That's not even close to greatness as Swan Lake or La Bayadere or Nutcracker Don Quixote La Vivandiere etc.
@@staslurik it was executed beautifully and it was hard even though it wasn’t as hard as those. It’s still hard and takes a lot of practice. Simplicity is often harder. You can’t deny that.
@@staslurik Balanchine is not classic ballet, he is Neo-classic ballet. I've seen principal dancers at major companies from Europe come and take Balanchine technique class in NYC and they are not moving quickly and dont have the the technical base for moving quickly in the Balanchine style, it is a learned skill and they are not taught to dance that way in Europe. NYC is a fast fast fast city, there is no denying that and Balanchine embraced it, and it showed in his ballet technique.
Thank goodness for this record of these artists and performances… I still close my eyes when this ballet is performed and see Gelsey as resplendent as in this and numerous other ballets. Thoroughly spoiled and utterly grateful
love love love love love love love - did I say love? this is one of my all-time treasures on VHS tape with a not very good picture, but I love love love it anyway. I was actually at this performance - it was amazing. Those great days at ABT! thank you for posting this.
Go Mischa Go! Gorgeous form as always. I think I actually was in the State Theater for this performance...it doesn't look like the Met where ABT always performed. Those were the days, my friend.
@mithrilmoon1 My definition of a Balanchine ballerina is not necessarily that they danced under Balanchine or Balanchine trained, but someone who can capture Mr B's hallmark style when they dance his work...hence i called her a Balanchine ballerina. I feel like when she danced his ballets even after defecting from City Ballet that she still strived to perform as he would have wanted, which made her a true artist. Watching her dance is such an inspiration. So glad to have this video on here!
To the person who thinks the music is repetitious......the music is supposed to be "repetitious." It is structured as variations on one particular theme hence "Theme and Variations." It is a well-known music convention. And, it is brilliant.
The attack in petite allergo is mind blowing ,its as though the music is trying to catch up to her , she is otherworldly , wish I could see her in more balanchine choreography...
she was sooo fast, she almost tripped, but, honestly, this is quite inhumane technically speaking ..... and her artistry is so lively and unique, that the little mishaps are almost diverting also !
@@tarantellalarouge7632 She said it in the interview afterwards, she wasn't practiced in Balanchine at that particular time, the Balanchine tehchnique quickness takes daily practice, she wasn't really dancing Balanchine ballets at ABT, but boy did she deliver here, her artistry and exuberance impressively glowed even when she almost tripped up step in the first solo.
Kirkland was one of Balanchine's greatest, it is too bad they didn't get along. Kirkland is a fantastic dancer, we won't see her like again for a long time.
Norma Mimosa LOL. B frickin S. I've seen your Russians do this piece. Most of them can't get their sorry behinds off the floor in leaps if the music isn't slowed down to turtle speed. Show me one Russian who can dance at the real tempo (shown in this clip) and fully articulate the pas de chats that Kirkland hits every time. You can't. Because they can't. They need to stay away from Balanchine. So do you since you don't know what your watching.
HAHA THATS RIIIIGHTTTT!!!! LOL but it's funny that the Russian lover doesn't know GELSEY WAS TRAINED BY ONLY RUSSIANS!!! Balanchine once said most American teachers (at the time) were horrible and if they were medicine they would poison everyone...so for everyone who thinks that she didn't have the technique your wrong she was one of the greats.... And will always be the greats... Even if ballet has evolved SVETA HAS NOTHING ON GELSEY
+Norma Mimosa yes technique evolved since her time ,but l saw her live at her time ,with misha in don q and bayaderka shadows act and she was a marvelous dancer and would be a top one also today .baryshnikov would be the best also today .
+Kerry Takashi Did you see the video with Somova trying to do Gelsey's part? It's a pretty pathetic imitation of dancing Balanchine... really a mess. The current crop of Russians have lots of extension but they just can't do fast footwork to save their souls. (well, maybe Sarafanov excepted... he's amazing).
It is totally true. There hasn't been anybody like her since and probably before: just in a class of her own. And I would include all the other greats in that statement. In retrospect, the greatest ballerina who ever danced, dancing with probably the greatest male dancer who ever danced. Just wow.
With all my due respect for Kirkland and Baryshnikov and many other great dancers..... But I am old enough to have seen the original cast of this ballet performing.... Mme Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch and they were superb and made for each other......What a team work!!!!!
Gelsey Kirkland is soooo beautiful! I'm reading her biography for a 2nd time. (the 1st time being in 1994) I love the carriage of her upper body-so strong yet expressive. Yay for her!
Wow! What a treat to see this performance in full. Kirkland looks like American ballet royalty - speed, precision, delicacy, and beautiful shading. Baryshnikov is terrific too, as are the ABT dancers at a cracking pace! Thanks for posting. I will come back often to study this.
Gelsey put herself through all that pain. She didn't have to abuse drugs and she didn't have to starve her body. Dancing 8 hours a day rehearsals and dancing full length ballets during season is enough exercise. A dancer's body is a machine. It is their instrument. It makes no sense to abuse or neglect your instrument.
I think Gelsey Kirkland is one of the finest American ballerinas of all - I watch her work over and over again, and each time, I learn something new, catch another fine detail, and am inspired.
She was technically PERFECT, so lyrical, so musical; her petite allegro was lightning quick, so clean and sharp. Her port de bras so supple and beautiful. She appeared weightless and seem to float in the air. She was not of this world, she was ethereal and absolutely exquisite! Baryshnikov could have any dancer in the world as his partner. He chose Gelsey because, he said, "she was the best." They both were!
Not just *American* - she was (is) one of the *world's* greatest ballerinas. There's no question about that. And she was *asked* to dance all over the world. Remember that she first danced THEME & VARIATIONS when she was *16* years old, as a principal!! That in itself is amazing.
не очень пропорциональная в сложении балерина, слишком маленькие , с Барышниковым смотрят как подростки ot very proportional ballerina, too small, with Baryshnikov look like teenagers
It was Ms. Kirkland's appearance on "L.A. Law" that turned me into a ballet lover. Before that night I hadn't given the artform much thought. When I saw that show, something inside me clicked & I've never been the same.
is this true ..Gelsey on .La Law....What , why where when ...I am doing a google search as we speak......and here it is - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v1agn_I10rw.html
love,love,love it.... they are both amazing and i love her interview in the end, i can totally relate to what she says being a dancer myself.... BRAVO!!!!!!
@baja0270 Thank you so very much for uploading this performance. I remember it as though it were yesterday, and it rates as one of my all time favorites. Kirkland and Baryshnikov were amazing. Gelsey was always very special, extremely gifted, and it is so very nice to see her giving one of her all time best performances.
Thanks so so much for posting this. Gelsey is breathtaking here and the interview at the end was icing on the cake. I wish they would release more from this golden era on DVD
This is simply one of THE greatest performances of this ballet by a ballerina *ever*. Even Makarova couldn't do this as well (tho to be fair she wasn't trained in this Balanchine tradition). I never saw Alonso do it, for whom it was made, but she was a demon also - legendary. Gelsey had a checkered career, but this was one of her triumphs.
indeed. They look feather like and thier bodies are just made for each other, both petite and they seem to melt into each other. This is one of the loveliest pas de deux i have ever seen. So graceful and looks effortless which is in itself and incredible achievment, There has never been anyone like them since thier incredible pairing. Pure magic.
Hah, hah! You're *wrong* - Mr. B. gave this ballet to Kirkland to dance when she was *16* years old. Can you imagine? She was beyond brilliant. I wish I'd been around to see THAT. Phenomenal.
God, they had some kind of... Dammit, Misha is stealing the whole from her and it doesn't even look like he's trying. Misha was just pure magic dust whenever, wherever. He could partner anyone and they just meshed. I say he and Gelsey had the best. They just naturally belonged together like two beings from the same plane somehow. When they worked best together. No wonder she fell in love with him. No wonder their work together is still considered their best work. --Remembering, Dane Youssef
finally an interview with Gelsey! I've been looking everywhere :) She answers so truthfully and put a lot of thought into her answers. Thanks for uploading.
Natalia Makarova attempted Theme & Variations a few times in her career, and not very successfully, as she herself admitted. The speed and brilliance required were beyond her. I believe her. Few ballerinas surpassed Kirkland in the speed and clarity with which she could dance Balanchine.
Beautiful love to see Baryshnikov dancing Balanchine I actually prefer to watch him dancing the Balanchine Ballets over Kirkland's performance which is almost too perfect and classical as if she was still giving Balanchine the bird (as she does in her book) by purposefully not incorporating any of the Balanchine style..LOL . But still technically superb by the two stars Bravo to both and thanks for posting this lovely clip.
How wonderful to see this superb performance with Gelsey and Misha, one of my all time favourites, and also the added bonus of the charming, intelligent and modest interview Gelsey gives straight after the show. I found it particularly moving to hear Gelsey speak of her genuine admiration for Makarova. I also found it a life changing experience the first time I saw Makarova in London in 1970, dancing with the Kirov just before she defected. How amazing it was in the 70’s and 80’s to have these 2 miraculous ballerinas, unsurpassed in so many of the roles they danced. There is no one approaching them today. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder if the rest of this performance is available?
I watched Ms. Kirkland's shift from Balanchine to a more traditional approach as I was lucky enough to be a frequent ballet goer at that time. What always struck me in the performances I saw was her astonishing sense of clarity and musicality. In Theme and Variations I think she was an ideal interpreter, as she bridged the stylistic hybridization with her background with Balanchine, yet was able to be more classical at the same time, combining the best of both worlds. Wasn't it Alonso and Youskevitch that Balanchine challenged at Ballet Theater with this ballet originally? I am sure that is what those two would have brought to the roles, classicism with a hunger for a more contemporary challenge... that velocity! One of my all time favorites!
+Walter Kennedy --A friend of mine who danced with Ballets Russes often told me that there were steps in this ballet that Alonso and Youskevitch danced so beautifully and romantically that she found it hard to watch GK and MB's interpretation. Of course, the original costumes were different.
Wonderful video ! It is unfortunate though that the technology was not advanced enough so we could have enjoyed a performance by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch, the stars for whom the ballet was originally choreographed.
This is probably one of the most challenging ballets to dance. She did a wonderful job. Far better than Zakharova would be able to manage, she is so slow and this has a good deal of petite allegro to adagio transition that most modern Russian and American dancers are unable to do properly. The French and Royal Ballet manage it pretty well I have noticed.
According to Gelsey's autobiography, this should be their last performance at ABT before Misha left for NYCB, and they had a good fight in that afternoon's rehearsal :DDD
