5/4/18 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Maya Plisetskaya Dances Bolero, And The Dying Swan

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Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, danced Maurice Bejart’s Bolero set to the famous Ravel score in 1975. Plisetskaya created a stunning theatrical experience. What makes the piece so compelling is that although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by dozens of other dancers mirroring her movement, the first and only focus is on the prima ballerina herself.  Continue reading

10/25/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Sylvie Guillem- Mademoiselle Non (1993)

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Sylvie Guillem joined the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera at age fifteen. A dance superstar whose breathtaking technique ranks her beside the likes of Nureyev and Baryshnikov the program centers on film of Guillem rehearsing and performing a range of pieces, both contemporary and classical, which display her astonishing virtuosity. Continue reading

9/24/17 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: Maya Plisetskaya Dances Bolero (Choreography by Maurice Béjart) And The Dying Swan

It is Saturday
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Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, danced Maurice Bejart’s Bolero set to the famous Ravel score in 1975. Plisetskaya created a stunning theatrical experience. What makes the piece so compelling is that although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by dozens of other dancers mirroring her movement, the first and only focus is on the prima ballerina herself.  Continue reading

(Repost) 11/27/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Sylvie Guillem- Boléro

Shall We Dance

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One of Maurice Bejart’s most noted works, Bolero shows a woman dancing hypnotically on a tabletop. Sylvie Guillem performed its sinuous caressing and beckoning movements as if she were making incantatory gestures as a high priestess of an erotic ritual. Men seated motionless on chairs at the sides of the stage fall under her spell and slowly come to life. As Ravel’s familiar score mounts to a mighty climax, they dance around the table and at last jump on it to join the woman. The ballet is a remarkable image of awakening desire. Continue reading

9/18/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Maurice Béjart- La Sacre du printemps (1970)

Shall We Dance

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Le Sacre du printemps (1959) is a milestone in the history of dance, and  choreographer Maurice Béjart approached the work with great courage. His version full of new meanings, physicality and sensuality became a universally recognized success.  “Human love, in its physical appearance, symbolizes the act by which God creates the cosmos, and the joy it brings. Let this ballet be bare of all picturesque artifice, let it be the hymn to the union between man and woman at its deepest level, between heaven and earth, the dance of life and death, let it be as eternal as spring!” – Maurice Bejart Continue reading

5/4/15 O&A Dance: Un Mémoire Maya Plisetskaya (1925- 2015)

 By Walter Rutledge

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Maya Plisetskaya one of the most acclaimed ballerinas of the 20th Century has died of a heart attack in Germany at the age of 89. Known as both a superlative technical and dramatic performer, Plisetskaya was a mainstay in Russian ballet for more than five decades. Mikhail Chvydkoi, a former Russian culture minister, described Plisetskaya as a dancer who “was anchored in the Russian tradition but always tried to explore new horizons”. Continue reading

1/23/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Maya Plisetskaya Dances Bolero (Choreography by Maurice Béjart) And The Dying Swan

Shall We Dancemed_1408733786_image

Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, danced Maurice Bejart’s Bolero set to the famous Ravel score in 1975. Plisetskaya created a stunning theatrical experience. What makes the piece so compelling is that although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by dozens of other dancers mirroring her movement, the first and only focus is on the prima ballerina herself.  Continue reading

(REPOST) O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Maurice Bejart: Bolero featuring Jorge Donn

Shall We Dance

Maurice Bejart choreographed Bolero in 1960 for the Ballet du XXe Siècle (Ballet of the Twentieth Century). In Bolero Béjart returns to the spirit of his 1959 Rite of Spring, by negating the easy choices of a picturesque exterior in favor of a stripped down simplicity. He gives the central role, the Melody, to a solo dancer and the ensemble is described as the Rhythm. Argentinian dancer Jorge Donn was best known for his work with Bejart. His theatricality and androgynous attack epitomized the 80’s.

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