Balanchine

Balanchine
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
Release Date: 2004-02-17
Actor&Actress: George Balanchine
Sales Rank: 50804

Customer Review Summary (Average Rating : 4.5 / 5.0)
・Tribute to Balanchine's work
・Wonderful Balanchine
・fabulous archives of Balanchine
・WONDERFUL
・A good introduction to Balanchine's work

List Price:
$29.99
Lowest New Price:
$13.99
Lowest Used Price:
$13.98

Editorial Review
As seen on public television. Regarded as the "father of American ballet," George Balanchine's legacy lives on in his prolific body of choreographic work. Creating over 450 works, Balanchine is, arguably, the foremost contemporary choreographer of the 20th century. Through rare archival audio and video footage, interviews, film, and photographs, this program traces Balanchine's life from his youth at the Maryinsky Theater, through his work for Hollywood and Broadway, to his ultimate creation of the New York City Ballet. ?It also focuses on the themes of his work and his thoughts on dancemaking, using interviews with the choreographer himself. Features selections of his vast repertory of ballets, including Chaconne, Agon, Symphony in C, Serenade, Apollo, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others.

---

Customer Reviews
Tribute to Balanchine's work
5 / 5.0
This documentary is must see for anyone and everyone who loves classical and modern ballet choreographed by the master choreographer George Balanchine. It is as much story about his life as it is story about Balanchine'e relationship with composer Stravinsky who arranged many of the modern pieces Balanchine created. It is also a story about creation of the two biggest ballet houses in the United States: American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.



In the course of the documentary there are pieces of some of the most memorable works Balanchine created performed by American prima ballerinas who were his muses, wives and treasure of american ballet history.



Being that ballet is visual art and in a sense pagan since there is no way to "memorize" each movement - one can only improvise on creations of others or create new pieces, this documentary is important document to the legacy of one man's work that created performing art with american tradition.


Wonderful Balanchine
5 / 5.0
This is an exceptional video. I used it in a class I was doing about dance and it was enjoyed by all. The biography on balanchine was very informative and the dancing was very beautiful. I have seen many performances of ballets corographed by Balanchine and enjoyed being able to watch him dance and work with the dancers.


fabulous archives of Balanchine
5 / 5.0
Balanchine's legacy is passed on through this beautiful historical documentary about one of ballet's greatest choreographers. The scope of his work is amazing.


WONDERFUL
4 / 5.0
Tons of rare and wonderful dance footage from his ballets spanning four decades and featuring many of his greatest dancers, primarily Suzanne Farrell, his queen. Fascinating, tons of info and beautiful music, definetly an interesting watch even if you're not a ballet fan. Many of Balanchine's dancers are featured in ballets throughout, but none of them are interviewed except Balanchine himself. Instead, the focus is more on the ballets themselves by the narrator. I'm assuming no other interviews besides Balanchine were added because of time limit, but I would have been interested to hear what his dancers had to say about him and their dancing, or how certain dancers inspired him and why, especially his favorite and most impassioned ballerina, Suzanne Farrell. Though there was extensive dance footage of Farrell throughout, I would have loved it if they had interviewed her too (but you can read her book or see her documentary, etc.) and perhaps some other dancers as well. But aside from the lack of dancer interviews, this movie is without question an abolute MUST SEE for fans of Balanchine, ballet, or art lovers in general.


A good introduction to Balanchine's work
4 / 5.0
Since I knew little about either the life or the work of Balanchine, I really enjoyed this documentary. I had no idea he was so instrumental in bringing ballet to the United States. My main complaint was that the film was too short. We found out almost nothing about the dancers Balanchine worked with, and we saw only snippets of the ballets. I thought it particularly odd that although Suzanne Farrell appeared in dozens of clips, more than any other ballerina, nothing at all was said about her.

---

In association with Amazon with Product Advertising API.