Saturday, December 15, 2012

One of Uncle Dick's Favorites





A look at Maya Plisetskaya in her famed rendition of Carmen. The expression is everything.  What she lacks in extension and flexibility, she makes up for in total command of the the performance. Maya was one of Uncle Dick's favorite people to name drop at random moments in the late '90s and early '00s when it was unclear if he was trying to prove how utterly cultured, sophisticated and intelligent he was or was clearly just rambling due to blunt trauma to the head.



This documentary features almost no clips of her dancing, yet watching her speak with her arms and facial expressions is mesmerizing.

2 comments:

  1. Maya is unlike any other ballerina. Her dramatic expression of Carmen is pitch-perfect - every facial expression, every foot placement. She displays the unattainable nature of Carmen's character while simultaneously showing us a woman who is passionate and sensual. I find that more recent representations, including those of Vishneva and Lopatkina, give us a Carmen who is a bit too regal, making it harder to believe such a woman could succumb to reckless infatuation and passion. Plisetskaya's genius as a dancer and actress gives us both.

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  2. My favorite Odile! Thanks for featuring her. You need to watch her in the Black Swan pas de deux. You know the prince doesn't stand a chance when she spears him with her glance. Such wonderful, unapologetic malice.

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