PORTRAIT OF GISELLE, A, PT. 2 (TV)
Summary
Continued from T89:0253. Part two of two. In this documentary, Sir Anton Dolin -- dancer, choreographer, and a leading authority on classical ballet -- interviews eight prima ballerinas who have performed the role of Giselle. Each one offers personal insights and discusses the demands of the role, considered the supreme test for a classical ballerina. Filmed excerpts from each dancer's performance show various interpretations of the role. This part focuses on Act Two. Highlights include the following: Dame Alicia Markova recalls the first time she saw Giselle, with Pavlova in the title role; Natalia Makarova talks about her first public performance of Giselle in London in 1961; Carla Fracci explains her struggle to get the ballet performed in Italy; and Alicia Alonso discusses the making of the movie Giselle. Dolin also reminisces with Olga Spessivtzeva, who danced the role of Giselle for the first time in the 1920's, and with Tamara Karsavina. Also included are old photos of the dancers and rare film footage of Spessivtzeva dancing the famous "mad scene" in Act I, at London's Savoy Theatre in 1932. Interspersed throughout the program are shots of Dolin rehearsing the ballet with Patricia McBride and Helgi Tomasson.
Details
- NETWORK: A&E
- DATE: March 28, 1984 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:37:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T89:0254
- GENRE: Arts documentaries; Dance
- SUBJECT HEADING: Ballet; Biography
- SERIES RUN: A&E - TV, 1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jack Healy … Executive Producer
- Joseph Wishy … Developed by, Producer
- Muriel Balash … Director
- Faubion Bowers … Writer
- Martha Johnson … Instrumentalist
- Yvette Chauvire … Dancer
- Carla Fracci … Dancer
- Tamara Karsavina … Dancer
- Natalia Makarova … Dancer
- Dame Alicia Markova … Dancer
- Patricia McBride … Dancer
- Olga Spessivtzeva … Dancer
- Galina Ulanova … Dancer
- Helgi Tomasson … Dancer
- Alicia Alonso … Dancer
- Sir Anton Dolin … Special Guest
- Alexandre Godunov
- Azari Plisetsky
- Rudolf Nureyev
- Cyril Atanassoff
- Erik Bruhn