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Editorial Reviews
This superb collection of thrilling pas de deux, from many of the best-loved classical ballets features some of the most celebrated partnerships of our time including Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in Le Corsaire, Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell in A Month in the Country, and many others.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
109 of 111 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This DVD is a collection of 15 Pas de deux covering a time span of 31 years. (1965-1996). It includes such well know ballet stars as Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Makhalina, and Asylmuratova to mention a few.
The entire compilation tries to focus on presenting the performers when they were in their prime. For instance the segment featuring Nureyev and Fonteyn was recorded in 1965 and although the picture is a little grainy, it is more than adequate to give us a glimpse of what these artists could do when they were at their best.
Some of my favorite pieces were...
- Spring Waters with Maria Bylova and Leonid Nikonov; with their fast paced,energetic leaps and lifts.
- Romeo and Juliet (balcony scene) with Alessandra Ferri and Wayne Eagling; an early example of Ferri's acting and interpretation skills that we would continue to see develop, in the years to follow.
- Swan Lake (Black Swan scene) with Julia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky; Makhalina show us (as Odile) just how poised, incredibly flexible and talented she really is in this role. She is simply stunning.
-and last but not least the Don Quixote pas de deux with Cynthia Harvey and Mikhail Baryshnikov. This features some of Baryshnikov's world famous leaps and spins. Enough said!
There were a couple of segments that I didn't enjoy as some of the others; but that would to be expected in a "sampling" of a series of pas de deux. Also a couple of dancers and choreographers were featured multiple times(3); this I found a little puzzling on a relatively short, one disc recording.
An enjoyable DVD and although the video quality my change a bit from one performance to the next, you still have to feel grateful just being able to watch and appreciate some of the greatest dancers of the last century.
88 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The choice of the dances and the dancers is quite good, starting form the legendary Fonteyn-Nureyev partnership, extending to the creative and touching White Swan Pas de Deux of Cooper and Ambler. Incomparable masters such as Makarova, Baryshnikov and Dowell, had naturally to be present in this video when it is named daringly "Great Pas de Deux" but one wonders why a pas de deux from the wonderful Maya Plisetskaya is not there. Of course when excellence or greatness is mentioned in dance, there is one great choreography and dancing which the video is lacking: "Grand Pas Classique" from Sylvie Guillem and Manuel leGris, demonstrating the best of the classical technique, with the ideal image of a dancer and partnership. Instead of including two dances from the Prince of the Pagodas with Darcey Bussell both, a pas de deux from Paloma Herrera-Angel Corella or another great one from "Mayerling" by Viviana Durante and Irek Mukhamedov could have been chosen. It would be appropriate here to say that the choice of Bessmertnova-Mukhamedov pas de deux from "Spartacus" is excellent, and another legendary dancing and partnership I believe. And again, the choice of the Wedding Pas de Deux from "Sleeping Beauty" does not seem correct with the elderly Kolpakova in the role of the teenager Aurora. As to conclude, this video is a nice compilation of the great dancing of our age, but lacking maybe the above-stated fine-tuning and some contemporary choreographies, but very good regarding the presentation of the works and dancers, and is a pleasure to watch.
86 of 95 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The choices were okay, not great. I found the picture on the video cover misleading. The particular pas de deux featured from the Prince of the Pagodas is not actually included in the video so I don't know why it is on the cover. The choice of dancers and ballets leaves a lot to be desired. I have seen better performances of some of the ballets by other dancers. Overall, this collection feels more like a promotional video than one of historical or artistic significance. The collection includes: "Spring Waters" Bylova and Nikonov. "Le Corsaire" Fonteyn and Nureyev. "The Prince of the Pagodas" Bussell and Cope. "Swan Lake" Cooper and Ambler. "Romeo and Juliet" Ferri and Eagling. "Nutcracker" Collier and Dowell. "Manon" Penney and Dowell. "Swan Lake" Makhalina and Zelensky. "A Month in the Country" Makarova and Dowell. "Le Corsaire" Asylmuratova and Neff. "Spartacus" Mukhamedov and Bessmertova. "The Sleeping Beauty" Kolpakova and Berezhnoi. "Don Quixote" Havey and Baryshnikov.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Pas De Deux
It's great dancing, I love classic ballet, but the pieces are too old, nothing from recent performances. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Creative Wiz
Pas de Deux in Ballet
The numerous Pas de De Deux of this DVD are (most of them) marvealous, i believe the selection was made with care. It also compiles dances from 1950's to nowdays. Read more
Published 14 months ago by gabimorluq
a good night out at the ballet
very nice collection, great dancers, good film. a good teaching and inspiring tool. for anyone who loves dance
Published on February 22, 2010 by Patricia A. Arceneaux
Great Pas De Deus
One of the best presentations I have ever seen. Can we get more like it?Excellent
Published on February 8, 2009 by Patrick L. O'harra
Visually stunning - great moments in ballet
The great thing about this DVD is the variety of performances, all of exceptional quality, by great dancers. Read more
Published on January 6, 2009 by Marilyn Beech
FINE FOR THE INEXPERIENCED VIEWER
I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THIS DVD FOR THE EXPERIENCED VIEWER OF LIVE OR DVD PERFORMANCES OF BALLET. IT IS A COMPENDIUM MOST SUITED TO THE PERSON OF ANY AGE WHO HAS NOT BEEN MUCH... Read more
Published on August 8, 2008 by drkhimxz
Very nice visually.
I am in no way an expert on ballet, but enjoy watching performances for the beauty and grace of the dancers as well as the humorous portions of some. Read more
Published on July 14, 2008 by Lorraine P. Zigman
dancing good, audio bad
No doubt, the dancing is superb. However, most ballets were recorded some time ago; consequently the audio is generally not very good. One selection is awful: The Nutcracker. Read more
Published on December 22, 2007 by Klaus Lang
Great Pas De Deux
This was a beautiful gathering of some of the greatest dancers of the last century. It was wonderful.
Published on May 9, 2007 by Ballet Aficionado
I expected more...
It is hard to explain why, but I was disappointed with this DVD. For some reason, every time I want to watch a ballet performance, I choose one of my other ballet DVDs (such as... Read more
Published on April 16, 2007 by Funny girl
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