Houston Ballet principal Connor Walsh getting early practice as a leading man. Photo courtesy Connor Walsh
It's that time of year again—recital season! And not so long ago, some of your favorite ballet dancers were having their own recital experiences: dancing, discovering, bowing, laughing, receiving after-show flowers, making memories, and, of course, having their pictures taken! For this week's #TBT, we gathered recital photos—and the stories behind them—from five of our favorite dancers.
Gillian Murphy, American Ballet Theatre
Murphy gets ready for her role as "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Photo courtesy Gillian Murphy.
"This photo was taken by my mom when I was 11, waiting in the dressing room (the band room of West Florence High School in South Carolina) before I went onstage as 'Mary' for a recital piece featuring 3-year-olds as little lambs.I had so much fun being the teacher's assistant in the baby ballet class each week, particularly because my little sister Tessa [pictured below] was one of the 3-year-olds. I remember feeling quite grown up at the time because I was dancing in the older kids' recital piece later in the program, but in this moment I was just looking forward to leading my little lambs onstage in their number."
At just 16 years old, the Bolshoi Ballet's Maria Alexandrova already had the makings of a great artist. In this variation from Coppélia, she portrays the carefree Swanilda with blithe, youthful ease.
When she bounds on stage in her perky pink tutu, you immediately notice her legs–they just go on forever. In the first sequence of steps she keeps her jetés and développés low, but then the phrase repeats and she lets her gorgeous extensions fly. She sails through Italian fouettés and whirls around in piqués en manège that get faster and faster. While she nails all the virtuosic movement, Alexandrova also pays beautiful attention to detail throughout the variation. Even the simplest steps become something exciting, like her precise pas de bourrées beginning at 1:03 that sing with musicality.
Swanilda has been one of Alexandrova's signature roles throughout her career. For a fun side by side, watch her perform the same variation almost 20 years later in this video. Although Alexandrova formally retired from the Bolshoi in February, she still performs frequently in Moscow and internationally as a guest artist. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!
Alicia Alonso in "Giselle." Photo by Frank Alvarez, Courtesy Dance Magazine Archives.
Over the years, many companies have premiered works or made their U.S. debut at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and some of the world's most famous ballet dancers have performed there. This week I will give some more insights from the Pillow's extensive archives into the dancers that have graced this world famous festival's stage. Click on the links below to watch video footage of their performances.
Alonso and Bruhn performing "Giselle" in 1955. Photo Courtesy Dance Magazine Archives.
The dance world lost a legend this past week, when choreographer Trisha Brown passed away at age 80. A leader of postmodern dance, her work had dancers doing everything from walking on the walls of New York City's Whitney Museum to signaling to one another across Soho rooftops.
Trisha Brown, photo by Lois Greenfield, via Dance Magazine
Ballet dancers don't often get to try their hand at Brown's liquid movement, but in 2013, the Paris Opéra Ballet performed her 1979 Glacial Decoy—the first work she made for a proscenium stage. It was restaged by Lisa Kraus, a former member of Brown's company; and Carolyn Lucas, the co-associate artistic director of Trisha Brown Dance Company.
The fascinating rehearsal process was captured in Marie-Hélène Rebois' documentary, In the Steps of Trisha Brown. The excerpt above shows a portion of their performance.
For ballet dancers, Brown's more pedestrian choreography can be a challenge, and it's a far cry from tutus and pointe shoes. But the POB dancers tackle the movement—danced in silence, with projected slides behind them—with confidence. Dressed in sheer, flowing white gowns, they let the weight and impulse of each movement propel them, like a current running through their bodies. Brown's choreography brings out a whole new side of them.
For a glimpse of what rehearsals were like, check out the clip below:
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There’s nothing like watching two masters at work. In this clip from 1985, two of American Ballet Theatre’s most legendary stars, Cynthia Gregory and the late Fernando Bujones, make sparks fly in the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake. Bujones can’t help but be mesmerized by Gregory’s deliciously seductive allure. Watch how she doesn’t let him escape her spell at 3:23, effortlessly sailing out of her attitude promenade to zero back in on her prey. We can all take a lesson from their expert musical phrasing, as well as Bujones' clean simplicity during his variation's bravura moments.
Gregory and Bujones in Swan Lake. Photo by MIRA, Courtesy Dance Magazine Archives.
Odette/Odile was considered Gregory’s signature role; this month, she’s passing on her expertise at Nevada Ballet Theatre, where she's staging the full-length Swan Lake. Those sure are some lucky dancers.
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Monica Mason in 1978. Photo by Anthony Crickmay via the Victoria and Albert Musuem.
Dame Monica Mason, The Royal Ballet’s former artistic director, has likely stood before a corps of white-tutu−clad dancers thousands of times. In this Giselle clip from a Bavarian State Ballet performance filmed in 1979, she leads the wilis not as their director, but as their queen. Though Mason is a natural Myrta, she offsets her undeniably commanding stage presence with softness. Shaping air with the fullness of her arms, swirling weightlessly in a torrent of tulle, Mason is the perfect reigning figure of her ghostly realm. (And a shout out to the corps and soloist dancers’ solid variations and pattern work!)
Mason directed The Royal from 2002−2012, but she’s been a figure in English ballet since 1958, when she received her company contract at 16 years old. From originating roles in Kenneth MacMillan’s ballets as a dancer to commissioning new choreographers as director (the name Wayne McGregor ring a bell?), Mason has helped shepherd The Royal into the contemporary era. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!
Mason in 2011. Photo by Johan Persson via ROH.
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Susan Jaffe. Photo by Daniel Sorine via Redbubble.
Kitri’s Act I variation in Don Quixote is short—but not exactly sweet. Though this clip from a 90s documentary lacks the ballet’s usual setting of matadors milling around a Spanish plaza, former American Ballet Theatre principal Susan Jaffe doesn’t need scenery to draw her audience in. Kitri’s power moves are all about passion, and they require a certain abandon. Jaffe delivers. From the moment she snaps her fingers in her preparation to that crowd-pleasing diagonal of consecutive pirouettes, she’s all fire and spice.
Since retiring in 2002, Jaffe has been a major player in the ballet world, choreographing, teaching, judging, serving on boards and receiving awards. She’s currently the Dean of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and she firmly believes that a ballerina’s magic lies in the depth of her artistry, not the height of her extensions. (We 100 percent agree. Though, admittedly, both are nice!) Happy #ThrowbackThursday.
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Sofiane Sylve in Forsythe's Pas/Parts. Photo by Erik Tomasson via After Dark SF.
Remember in the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty when Aurora’s fairy godmothers fight over which dress is best, pink or blue? Watching Petipa’s ballet, you might face a similar conflict: Do you prefer the young, spirited Aurora decked in rose pink from Act I? Or the cool yet lovely dream princess from Act II? In this clip from a 2003 Dutch National Ballet performance, San Francisco Ballet principal Sofiane Sylve embodies the silver radiance of her lunar setting. Her ice-blue tutu barely flares as she sails effortlessly in each attitude turn. Her grace and control are so refined that, if Sylve really were dancing in a mist-filled dream, she wouldn’t disturb a single vapor.
Before joining SFB in 2008, Sylve danced at Dutch National Ballet and later New York City Ballet. In a 2012 Dance Magazine interview with former NYCB star Allegra Kent, Sylve said that she fell in love with ballet for its “relationship with the music.” I’d say that she does that sacred relationship justice. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!
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Anna Pavlova. Photo by Herman Mishki via NYPL.
Anna Pavlova may be best known for someone else’s choreographic work (Michel Fokine’s The Dying Swan), but she, too, was a choreographer. Similar to the famous solo, Pavlova’s dances often emulated nature—like in Dragonfly and Californian Poppy. In this clip of the latter, circa 1916, Pavlova’s “poppy” flutters through space on a string of bourrées. She uses the weight of her port de bras and épaulement as impetus for each swirl. Blossoming, joyous, and alive, Pavlova’s grace also reflects a petal’s delicate fragility.
While the music in this clip has been dubbed in, a more complete silent clip of the dance shows Pavlova folding to the ground after gathering the skirt around her. Her motionless finish recalls the dying swan. Yet, gardening aficionados know that poppies close their petals at night, re-blooming each morning. If it weren’t for the dusk, Pavlova might just keep on swirling for eternity. Of course, in our imaginations, she does.
Fun Fact:
Photo via State Symbols USA.
The poppy was named California’s official state flower in 1903. Pavlova often took inspiration from her travels and, since she visited San Francisco, it seems likely that the flower inspired the lovely dance. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!
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