GREAT PERFORMANCES: LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: LA BAYADERE {TAPE 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Continued from T:77351. Tape two of two. One in this series on the performing arts. In this program -- one in a series of live broadcasts from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City -- the American Ballet Theatre performs "La Bayadre" at the Metropolitan Opera House in a full-length production staged by dancer Natalia Makarova. The ballet resumes, but due to an injury, Makarova is replaced by Marianna Tcherkassky. Act II begins in Solor's tent. Distraught over the death of Nikiya, Solor smokes opium and falls into a drug-induced haze where he is confronted by visions of Nikiya -- first one and then many. Solor imagines he joins Nikiya in the Kingdom of the Shades, but upon awakening he is faced with his upcoming marriage to Gamzatti. A second intermission follows Act II where Lindstrom interviews Anthony Dowell, covering the following topics: the nerves of changing partners mid-performance, particularly since the program is being recorded for television; Makarova's insertion of the smoking opium scene, which makes sense of the otherwise abstract "Shades" section and provides a context for the rest of the action; the relatively easier task of dancing a role versus dancing just steps; the role of Solor, the tendency of the role to verge into "silent movie" territory, and the need to use mime judiciously; Makarova as a choreographer who, like Frederick Ashton, allows the dancer to contribute to the process; Dowell's transition from the Royal Ballet to American Ballet Theatre; nervous tension in performance and its effect on stamina; the appeal of acting and Dowell's possible future in contemporary dance. Then Lindstorm interviews Natalia Makarova, covering the following topics: the knee injury that made it just "too painful to continue" after the first act; why Makarova wanted to choreograph a full ballet; the great tradition of Petipa in Russia, Makarova's performance of part of the ballet with the Kirov, her research, and her desire to present this work in full; ballet training in Russia versus the United States, particularly the emphasis on expressive arms in the former; Makarova's two-year-old son; and working on set design, costume, and music with Pierluigi Samaritani, Theoni Aldredge, and John Lanchbery respectively. When asked why women don't do more choreography and whether she plans to choreograph more in the future, Makarova is noncommittal in both responses. Lastly, prompted by Lindstrom, Makarova previews the final act and claims that the ballet is not "old-fashioned," but can be "beautiful" if "danced with sincerity and sensitivity." Act III opens at the Sacred Temple with the wedding festivities, beginning with the dance of the Bronze Idol and including a ritual candle dance that the bayadres perform around the wedding couple. A vision of Nikiya, which only Solor sees, intrudes, continuously interrupting Gamzatti and Solor's pas de deux. An ill omen arrives in the form of a basket of flowers much like the one that contained the fatal viper that killed Nikiya. When the High Brahmin attempts to unite Solor and Gamzatti, the gods intervene, destroying the temple. In the final scene, Nikiya leads Solor into paradise. As the cast takes their bows, Bookspan gives more details about the history of Petipa and "La Bayadre." In the final moments, Makarova comes out to join her colleagues on stage.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Edward John Noble Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: May 28, 1980 9:28 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:31:12
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:77352
- GENRE: Dance
- SUBJECT HEADING: Ballet
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1973-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- John Goberman … Producer
- Mona Kligman … Associate Producer
- Kirk Browning … Director
- Alan Skog … Associate Director
- Natalia Makarova … Director, Choreographer, "La Bayadere"
- Lucia Chase … Director, American Ballet Theatre
- Oliver Smith … Director, American Ballet Theatre
- Pierluigi Samaritani … Production (Misc.), Scenery by
- Theoni V. Aldredge … Production (Misc.), Costumes designed by
- Toshiro Ogawa … Production (Misc.), Lighting by
- Tobi Tobias … Writer
- Ludwig Minkus … Music by
- John Lanchbery … Conductor, Music (Misc. Credit), Specially arranged by, Music Director
- Israel Chorberg … Music (Misc. Credit), Concertmaster
- American Ballet Theatre Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- American Ballet Theatre … Dance Company
- Anthony Dowell … Cast, Solor, Dancer
- Natalia Makarova … Cast, Nikiya (Act I), Dancer
- Alexander Minz … Cast, High Brahmin, Dancer
- Marianna Tcherkassky … Cast, Nikiya (Acts II & III), Dancer
- Victor Barbee … Cast, Rajah Dugmanta, Dancer
- de Ribere, Lisa … Dancer
- Kristine Elliott … Dancer
- Cynthia Harvey … Cast, Gamzatti, Dancer
- Lise Houlton … Dancer
- Yoko Ichino … Dancer
- Marie Johansson … Dancer
- Charles Maple … Dancer
- Ruth Mayer … Dancer
- Hilda Morales … Dancer
- Gregory Osborne … Dancer
- Michael Owen … Dancer
- Danilo Radojevic … Cast, Head Fakir/Bronze Idol, Dancer
- Richard Schafer … Dancer
- Janet Shibata … Dancer
- Frank Smith … Dancer
- Christine Spizzo … Dancer
- Pia Lindstrom … Host
- Martin Bookspan … Announcer
- Frederick Ashton