World's Young Ballet / Moscow International Competition, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ludmila Semenyaka, Anna Pavlova (1975)

"Some of the most exquisite dancing ever to be seen anywhere…" –SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

This fascinating look at world of international ballet competitions features a young Mikhail Baryshnikov competing –and winning –in Moscow in 1969. The Moscow International Competition of Ballet Artists at the Bolshoi Theater attracts young dancers from around the world to compete for gold and silver medals, much like the Olympics. In this acclaimed film of the 1969 Competition, Baryshnikov performs an excerpt from La Bayadere and a solo from an original ballet by Leonid Jakobson entitled Vestris. Also featured in this historic documentary is a young Ludmila Semenyaka performing a scene from Act III of Giselle, as well as a modern jazz dance piece entitled We.

There is also a rare and remarkable film clips of the legendary Anna Pavlova in performance, the first such film ever to be seen on home video. Judges for the Competition were in a veritable "who’s who" of other Russian dance stars, including Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya and Yuri Grigorovich. Also on the jury were Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian and dancers Agnes DeMille and Alicia Alonso.

Highlights of the film include excerpts from Swan Lake, War and Peace, Spatacus and Le Corsaire. For a look at Baryshnikov at the beginning of his glorious career, and at the heartbreak and joy of young dancers trying to make their mark, this behind-the-scenes DVD keepsake has it all!

Rare Opportunity

This is a fascinating documentary of what the New York Times called an "exquisite blend of anxiety and esthetics", the first Moscow International Ballet Competition. We are privileged to see astoundingly talented young dancers, such as Hideo Fukagawa, the so-dubbed "Flying Japanese". He is a young man who seemed to be made from some kind of antigravity material, so light, elastic and graceful were his airborne leaps. Baryshnikov is phenomenal. You can see him dance Vestris, which he later performed at Wolftrap. Sadly, the Wolftrap audience did not understand what he was doing, and laughed at him. Here there was no question of the seriousness of his dancing and his gifted acting abilities.

The men seemed to be particularly brilliant in this competition, some of whom were possessed of extraordinary power, elegance and style, not to mention great physical beauty. There was an embarrassment of riches at this competition, a condition of abundance that would fade in the future as fewer and fewer dancers made the expensive pilgrimage to Moscow.

It must have been a challenge for the judges to decide who were supreme among these (mostly) great dancers. A who's who of the dance greats of this era, we see among the judges Plisetskaya, Ulanova, and Alonso.

Included is a stunning clip of Anna Pavlova dancing with a fan in an outdoor setting. It is brief, but gives us a glimpse of the magnitude of her art.

This is a DVD that I have watched several times, and will continue to view. The dancing of some of the contestants is gorgeous, and I don't know of any other opportunities to see them. April 13, 2008

historical ballet

A must for anyone with a thorough interest in ballet - its stars and its development. August 17, 2007

San Francisco Chronicles writer need some clarification

in this historic documentary is a young Ludmila Semenyaka performing a scene from Act III of Giselle, as well as a modern jazz dance piece entitled We. (GISELLE HAVE ONLY 2 Acts)

Also on the jury were Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian (KHACHATURIAN IS ARMENEAN) February 6, 2007

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