Nina Ananiashvili and the International All-Stars of Dance, Vol. 2

Nina Ananiashvili & International Stars, Vol. 1&2 have been available for several years, and to date only four people have taken the time to review them. That seems strange in view of the fact that they are so wonderful, and represent some of the most talented dancers in ballet. I wanted to view them several times before commenting on them, so here we go on Vol, 2 which in my own opinion is better than Vol. 1., though it is 17 minutes shorter at 124 minutes. Again, filmed live in 1993 at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Japan, sound (stereo), color and lighting are very good. Video format is 4:3 full screen w/good resolution.As in Vol.1,..... Nina Ananiashvili and the International All-Stars of Dance, Vol. 1 .....Vol.2 opens with a complete mini ballet called Pas de Quatre, (which "annoys the crap" out of Ivy Lin), but to me is quite beautiful w/music by Cesare Pugni. There are four more mini ballets (I don't know this for sure), Satanella, Sonny, Grand pas Classique, and The Talisman. Then there were exerpts from Raymonda, La Bayadere (spelled La Bayaderka here), Giselle, and Don Quixote. The closing for Don Quixote was the grandest spectacle of stars I have ever seen on stage at one time. Six Basils and six Kitris all performing the final coda together, with two more men coming on stage to give Nina Ananiashvili her final triumphant lift. What a closing! Then guess what? My DVD (disc) went haywire and I couldn't see the final credits which were almost as spectacular as the final coda. The Japanese certainly know how to show their appreciation for a good performance. I like to be a good audience and sit through all the curtain calls, sometimes clapping sometimes crying and clapping. I'm glad they end with Don Quixote and not the (sniff, sniff) Dying Swan.Speaking of closings, you may or may not know that Nina Ananiashvili has retired. At least from the American Ballet Theatre stage. Whether or not she has retired from the stage for good I do not know. If you want to see how the American public adored her, go to YouTube and type in Nina Ananiashvili, retirement and you will find two amateur videos showing her final curtain calls from Swan Lake. Just fabulous.I had to sack groceries for 6 1/2 hours to get enough money to buy both these DVDs but they are worth every penny, believe me......Richard.

The opening "Pas de Quartre" is 17 minutes of heavenly dancing by Nina Ananiashivili, Rose Gad, Tatyana Terekova, and Darci Kistler. The charming music of Cesare Pugni is the perfect complement to this celebration of femininity. Ananiashvili is especially captivating and the muse of ballet shows even in her eyes. "Satanella" (music also by Pugni) follows with the nicely-paired Inna Dorofeeva and Vadim Pisarev. She is innocently girlish; he is playfully impish, and they both dance flawlessly. "Sunny" is a solo piece with Andris Liepa and is one of the few non-classical selections. Elisabeth Platel and Nicolas Le Riche from the Paris Opera Ballet perform Auber's "Grand pas Classique." He gets a face full of tutu as he lets Platel down from a lift, but their dancing (especially hers) is inspirational. Aleksei Fadeechev makes his first appearance with Ananiashvili in "Raymonda." They are often partnered (as in "Swan Lake" and "Don Quixote") and work well together. He is as strong as an ox and takes good care of my sweetheart on the lifts. Zhanna Ayupova and Igor Zelensky perform variations from the Kingdom of the Shades act of "Bayadere." Both offered strong, well-received performances. Tatyana Terekova returns in a performance of "The Talisman" with Yury Posokhov. Their attire was questionable, but their dancing was not. Rose Gad is "Giselle" and saves Alexander Kolpin from the Wilis with her irresistible steps. Finally, the entire ensemble participated in the Grand Pas from "Don Quixote." The orchestra could hardly keep up with Ananiashvili's fouettes and I half expected her to elevate. The impish Pisarev was at the center of a ballet joke to close out the festivities. Dancers and audience were equally exhilarated, and a good time was had by all.

Arguably the most complete and versatile ballerina of the 20th century. Filmed at the time people were more interested in the quality of the dancing, expression, acting and depth than who lifted the legs higher; this is a program that reminds what Theatrical Dance Suppose to be. There’s no ballerina today like Nina Ananiashvili. The Russian companies at the time of the taping of the program seen here were indeed unrivaled in the world

Great choice of fantastic dancing. Almost completely Russian cast - the two dancers of the Paris ballet arealso extraordinary good - at a Tokio visit in Japan 1993. Highly to recommend, especially for fans of ballet.Almost incredible! AAA+++

This DVD together with Vol 1 represent the apex (peak) of Classical Ballet.Best two DVDs a ballet fan can have on his/hers collection. Bravo!!!

Once again, Nina Ananiashvili of the Bolshoi delivers beautiful, strong, lyrical dancing and, in this volume, very flashy pyrotechnics (probably the fastest 32 fouttes on record!). Tatyana Terekhova, the blond powerhouse from the Kirov, appears twice. She dances with Yuri Possokhov (now a principal dancer of the San Francisco Ballet), whose high, soaring, effortless jumps are breathtaking. Vadim Pisarev of the Dusseldorf Ballet performs a Gopak, the athletic Ukrainian men's dance, with energy and style to match the best performances I've seen.In a completely different vein, Rose Gad and Alexander Kulpin of the Royal Danish Ballet beautifully perform a pas de deux from La Sylphide, in the simple, refined, airy Bournonville style.The cast also includes Faroukh Ruzimatov, Aleksei Fadeeyechev and Inna Dorofeeva.Although this video was produced by the same crew that produced Volume 3, I thought the camera work was not quite as good in this tape (several times a shot cut off the end of a dancer's phrase), and it seemed that every second of the curtain calls was recorded, which I found boring. Volume 3 is a better sampling of very clean, classical dancing, but if you want flash, this is the tape to get.

Nina Ananiashvilli took with her ,to Tokyo, some of the greatest dancers ,in 1991 and 1993.I cannot think of anything more enjoyable than these 2 volume DVD!The famous Pas de quatre(music by Cesare Pugni),choreographed by Perrot for his wife,Carlotta Grisi,Maria Taglioni,Fanny Cerrito and Lucille Grahn (it would have been a Pas de Cinq ,should Fanny Essler not be engaged in a tournée);Auber's Grand pas classique danced by a young but already amazing Nicholas Le Riche (and étoile Platel);Le spectre de la rose,created by Fokine for Nijinsky and Karsavina,music by Auber,danced here by great Ruzimatov and Nina,along with The Talisman(Drigo/Petipa),danced by the still beautiful Terekhova and Posokhov and Satanella(Pugni/Petipa)danced by a virtuoso Pisarev and enchanting Dorofeeva are some of the great Pas de Deux displayed in these 2 DVD but there is plenty of dazzling dancing as in Giselle,or in Lake or in Bournonvilles's Flower Festival of Genzano!!!A must in a good ballet collection to watch over and over again.

When I see her dancing my heart says to me: 'thank heaven too'!

En 1991, la grande Nina Ananiashvili faisait une tournée au Japon avec quelques couples de danseurs, et cela forme le contenu du premier DVD de la série. En 1992, elle donna au Japon d'inoubliables interprétations de « Don Quichotte » et du « Lac des Cygnes ». En 1993 enfin, retour pour le présent spectacle à la formule du gala. Les danseurs, qui étaient une dizaine en 1991, sont cette fois-ci une quinzaine, de sorte que le rôle de chacun est nettement plus limité. (On retrouve avec plaisir presque tous les participants de la première tournée.)Comme les danseurs proviennent de compagnies différentes, on a pour l'essentiel un succession de pas de deux. Certains sont classiques, extraits de la « Bayadère », de « Giselle » (avec la danoise Rose Gad, très bonne) ou de « Raymonda » (remarquablement dansé par Ananiashvili). Dans cette succession un peu monotone, on découvre quand même des raretés : des pas de deux de « Satenella » et du « Talisman » (deux ballets oubliés de Marius Petipa) et le « Grand pas classique » de Victor Gsovski, créé en 1946 dans un style délibérément archaïque, et très brillamment dansé par Élisabeth Platel et Nicolas Le Riche, qui donnent une belle leçon de technique et de virtuosité.Les danseurs des différentes troupes (Bolchoï, Kirov, Paris, New York, Copenhague, Düsseldorf) ne se mélangent qu'au début et à la fin de la soirée. Le morceau d'introduction est en effet le célèbre « Pas de quatre », créé en 1945 pour les quatre meilleures danseuses de l'époque, et donné ici avec une immense élégance par Ananiashvili, Darci Kistler, Rose Gad et Tatyana Terekhova. Enfin, la conclusion du spectacle est le « Grand pas » final de Don Quichotte, donné dans une version un peu humoristique qui intercale des solos supplémentaires et multiplie les codas, pour permettre à tous les danseurs de faire assaut de virtuosité. Les garçons rivalisent dans les sauts spectaculaires (Nicolas Le Riche, Vadim Pisarev, Igor Zelensky, Alexis Fadeyechev...), et les filles dans les pointes et les pirouettes.En bref, c'est agréable à voir, et même à revoir par petits morceaux.

娘のバレエのバリエーションを覚えるのに、購入しました。早い対応で良かったです。