Baryshnikov - Live at Wolf Trap (1976)

Baryshnikov's American Television debut! This 1976 live performance showcases the incredible Mikhail Baryshnikov, at the peak of his talents, shortly after arriving in the west. The DVD features Baryshnikov in solos and pas de deux with a variety of ballerinas, including Gelsey Kirkland, his first great U.S. partner. The program also includes Misha's spectacular leaps and spins in Don Quixote. This is the live event Baryshnikov's fans have been waiting for!

Baryshnikov at the Wolf Trap...a DVD featuring one of the best, at his best

Another historical gem from Kultur; this DVD features Mikhail Baryshnikov's 1976 American debut at the Wolf Trap Theatre.

Because this was 'live recording', the disc is quite short; it is only 50 minutes long. However it is filled with an exhibition of talent and grace that could only be Baryshnikov. There are four Baryshnikov pieces featured on this DVD; two Pas de Deuxs with Gesley Kirkland, one with Marianna Tcherkassky and a solo dance.

This disc features Baryshnikov at is prime, and while watching him, you begin to understand the fervor around his arrival to the west. His spins and leaps appear to happen in slow motion...virtually effortless; his 'hang-time' could easily be compared to that of basketball's Michael Jordan.

The only minor concern about this disc is from a technical point of view; age has made the film somewhat grainy and the sound is in mono. However this is a small price to pay to be able to see one of the best, at his best.

One other observations, when watching Gesley Kirkland in the two dances she performed with Mikhail I noticed two things, first, that she appeared somewhat shaky (nervous perhaps?...who could blame her) and second, how incredible thin she was (every bone, every muscle defined). Then during the credits there was a note, written by Gesley, warning young girls of the the dangers of anorexia and how it could affect their performance in ballet. I thought this was an incredibly thoughtful, honest and revealing gesture on her part.

Conclusion:
An archival treasure... featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov's at his American debut. A must have for any ballet lover. 5 Stars

February 8, 2008

Misha and Gelsey are AWESOME!

I have had this video on VHS (!) for awhile now and it's nice it is now on DVD. I agree with other reviews...Gelsey Kirkland is awesome in this video. The Don Q pas is spectacular and her dancing (and of course Misha's) is one of the best videos I have seen on both of them! At definite for any Misha and ballet lover!! October 24, 2007

Some Fine Dnacing, some missing dances

To start with, with the exception of "Le Spectre de la Rose", Baryshnikov and Kirkland aquit themselves well on this DVD.
"Coppelia" pas de deux is a joy, ABT's production has always been, and the pas de deux from "Don Quixote" is done in innimitable style.

"Vestris", Jakobson's solo for Baryshnikov, is a wonderful work and makes the DVD truely worth owning, if for no other reason than this ballet will never bee seen live onstage again, as only Baryshnikov has ever danced it, and it is a small jewel of virtuosity, both in dancing and acting.

"Le Spectre de la Rose" is alas, poor. I danced it better, and so did a lot of other dancers. Being Baryshnikov does not guarentee that the ballet will be well performed - one must be intimately familiar with the style of the work, which Mischa clearly was not - that said, it was on the whole a poor and inaccurate production, and I remember my mentor, Nikolai "Pappa" Beriosoff, who was Fokine's assistant, lamenting this production at the time.

But the big question is: Why is "Push Comes to Shove" missing on this DVD? It is one of the best performed sections of the original show and the live braodcast, one which I often return to in my library in preference to the version taped several years later in "Baryshnikov dances Tharp". Was it that Miss Tharp refused to grant the rights for this DVD? If so, it is a crying shame, as it is great example of her work when the performance was still new and fresh, and a rare record of several of ABT's stars.

So, if you want to see Kirkland and Baryshnikov dancing at their height, if you want to see one of the now "lost" ballets performed by it's originator, then please buy this, but please also mourn the missing ballet on this DVD and maybe write to the publishers and express your discontnet - even write to Miss Tharp about it. It is a small jewel and should be preserved and seen. April 17, 2006

Baryshnikov in three different roles

Three numbers make up this video. The first is "Le Spectre de la Rose", Fokin's choreographic bonbon originally created by the mythic Vaslav Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina. Baryshnikov`s dancing is academic, in the sense that he dances "correctly", but without emotion. His partnering is merely elegant, when it should be rapturous. There are other interpretations on video, and Nureyev's and Farukh Ruzimatov's are warmer and more passionate than Mr. Baryshnikov's. Unfortunately, the public applauds at the wrong places. About two minutes before the end there`s a pause in the music - a false "ending", in fact - and the audience bursts in applause, so the first bars of the incoming music are lost. A pity...

"Vestris" is a solo created by Leonid Jacobson for Baryshnikov in 1968. There's a black and white documentary showing an almost adolescent Baryshnikov getting a gold medal at an international competition in Moscow after having danced this piece. Vestris was a celebrated XVIII century dancer, and the coreography - rather "modern" by Soviet standards - alternates Vestris's recollections and actual solos, as he remembers his past life and career. In my opinion this is the best part of the video. Baryshnikov has to perform as a dancer, doing delicate court dances, and as an actor, conveying Vestris's inner anguishes.The two roles - dancer or actor - are separated by a pause in the music and a sort of pantomime: Mr. Baryshnikov makes a movement around his face, as if he were removing a mask. The audience, not understanding, laughs...

The final number is a pas de deux from "Coppelia", coreographed by Arthur de Saint-Léon in 1870. It is, perhaps, Baryshnikov's best performance as a "classical" dancer on this video. As it is a formal pas de deux, his elegant reserve is well-suited to the choreography. His partnering is discrete in the adagio but adequately brilliant in the variation.

There are set only for the first number - sparse and insignificant - and costumes are conventional January 20, 2005

Baryshnikov in three different roles

Three numbers make up this video. The first is "Le Spectre de la Rose", Fokin's choreographic bonbon originally created by the mythic Vaslav Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina. Baryshnikov's dancing is academic, in the sense that he dances "correctly", but without emotion. His partnering is merely elegant, when it should be rapturous. There are other interpretations on video, and Nureyev's and Farukh Ruzimatov's are warmer and more passionate than Mr. Baryshnikov's. Unfortunately, the public applauds at the wrong places. About two minutes before the end there's a pause in the music - a false "ending", in fact - and the audience bursts in applause, so the first bars of the incoming music are lost. A pity...

"Vestris" is a solo created by Leonid Jacobson for Baryshnikov in 1968. There's a black and white documentary showing an almost adolescent Baryshnikov getting a gold medal at an international competition in Moscow after having danced this piece. Vestris was a celebrated XVIII century dancer, and the coreography - rather "modern" by Soviet standards - alternates Vestris's recollections and actual solos, as he remembers his past life and career. In my opinion this is the best part of the video. Baryshnikov has to perform as a dancer, doing delicate court dances, and as an actor, conveying Vestris's inner anguishes.The two roles - dancer or actor - are separated by a pause in the music and a sort of pantomime: Mr. Baryshnikov makes a circular movement with his hand around his face, as if he were removing a mask. The audience, not understanding it, laughs...

The final number is a pas de deux from "Coppelia", coreographed by Arthur de Saint-Léon in 1870. It is, perhaps, Baryshnikov's best performance as a "classical" dancer on this video. As it is a formal pas de deux, his elegant reserve is well-suited to the choreography. His partnering is discrete in the adagio but adequately brilliant in the male variation.

Only "Le Spectre de la Rose" has sets - sparse and insignificant - and costumes are quite conventional January 19, 2005

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