Customer Reviews

Backstage at Kirov [VHS]

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From the opening sequence of swans waiting to go onstage to the closing shot of a young ballerina just after her triumphant debut in Swan Lake, this documentary is masterfully conceived and filmed. Amid scenes of corps de ballet rehearsals, classes, coaching sessions and backstage preparations, the focus is the upcoming debut of Altynai Asylmuratova as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.

There is something fascinating here for everyone: for dancers, a chance to compare training methods and styles; for balletomanes, scenes of past, present and future great dancers; and for people new to ballet, an illuminating look at the hard work it takes to become a great dancer.

For a sense of continuity, also see "Children of Theatre Street," a 1978 documentary about students at the Kirov (there's a very brief shot of Asylmuratova as a student, sitting at a desk, then looking at the camera), and "The Leningrad Legend," a documentary about Makarova's first return to the Kirov after her defection many years before (Asylmuratova has become the Kirov's prima ballerina, and several of her former classmates are also rising stars of the company).

You'll not find a more revealing, intimate, insider's view of the training and rehearsal process at the illustrious Kirov Ballet. Filmed in 1984, "Backstage at the Kirov" follows a very young Altynai Assylmuratova as she prepares for her first performance as the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake." We see her giggling her way through rehearsals, being immaculately coached by a former Swan Queen on the finest details of interpretation and working with her husband, who will dance with her on opening night. We see a revealing one-on-one interview in which she discusses her setbacks (a severe injury), her fears and her dreams. In the performance sequences, we find one of the world's greatest ballet companies perform original Petipa choreography with, we imagine, the same passion and attention to detail as in the premiere staging of "Swan Lake". We gain enviable insight into the respect for tradition and reverence for the art for which the Russian ballet companies are best known. This video is an excellent choice for students of the dance, balletomanes and anyone interested in the care and cultivation of the European classical arts.

The Kirov Ballet even during the height of the cold war was known as a ballet company with uncomprimising standards of excellence, a world-famous training school (the Vaganova Academy) and a distinctive style of dancing that is instantly recognizable for balletomanes. (Namely, an extremely fluid, flexible upper body.)
This behind the scenes look at the Kirov is fascinating. First of all, you see that being one of the world's top ballet companies comes with a cost: the balletmasters are strict drill sergeants, painstakingly criticizing the corps for every bent leg or unpowdered face. It's a little cringeworthy to see a ballet instructor berate a young academy student so mercilessly, or the corps getting a tongue-lashing during an intermission of Swan Lake. We also see the pecking order of the ballet company: prima ballerina Galina Mezentseva behaves with a confidence and hauteur that the giggly, chatty corps girls lack.
The documentary focuses in particular on the absolutely lovely Altynai Asylmuratova, who's a corps member who's being groomed for starring roles. (She would go on to become a world-famous ballerina.) Her husband is a soloist, and Altynai is 21 and already dancing with incredible grace and beauty. There are interviews with Altynai and she's adorable, both on and off-stage. She smiles and giggles almost constantly. She seems down-to-earth and sweet, and candid: the instructors talk about the importance of daily class, and Altynai admits she hates attending class. She wants to sleep in.
The only criticism I have is that after all the preparation we see for Altynai's Swan Lake, there's frustrating little footage of the actual performance. I could spend the rest of my life watching Altynai dance and at 80 minutes the directors certainly could have included more of Altynai's Odette/Odile.

Beautifully photographed, luscious details of the world of backstage ballet life in Russia. Every sequence in the film has been thought through carefully, the visual style integrated throughout. Its a unique vision of ballet, a film made with great love and attention to every nuance. Its rare to get an authentic and original vision like this. And in a time when documentary films have been reduced to stock footage wallpapered over endless narration--the so called educational film--its refreshing to see a documentary that is worthy of the genre.

Director Derek Hart takes us where we've never been and shows us what we've never seen backstage at St. Petersburg's famed Kirov Ballet--arguably the best classical ballet troupe in the world. The company was responsible after all for producing Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker -- as well as Baryshnikov, Makarova, Nureyev, Pavlova and Nijinsky.

This is not just a behind the scenes look at a ballet company. Hart's choreography of the camera on stage with the dancers in Act 2 of Swan Lake is an inspired evolution of Busby Berkeley's filming techniques of the 30s and 40s musicals he is associated with. Want to know what its like to fly across the huge Kirov stage like a world class ballerina? Buy this film and find out.

This film was shot in 1981 and shows what life is like for the professional dancers(and some of the students) at the Kirov Ballet. It is the only documentary that shows us both Konstatin Zaklinsky and his wife, Altynai Asylmuratova, rehearsing together and separately for the principal parts of Swan Lake. Other dancers are also shown, such as Galina Mezentseva. Many classroom scenes are presented and they are very interesting and exciting, showing very difficult combinations and dancers getting very exhausted and laughing about it. I especially enjoyed seeing what happens to Zaklinsky practicing when he gets too tired and falls out of many of his pirouettes; he musters one last bit of energy and completes his pirouettes successfully and throws in the towel. It would be nice to see this and similar videos go to dvd, but it may not happen, so try to get this before it becomes unavailable!