Cultured cat

 

Cultured cat

Recently, we watched a recording of English National Ballet dancing Derek Deane’s production of ‘Swan Lake.’  It was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 2024. It was wonderful to see it danced ‘in the round’ and the camera work was phenomenal.

There were sixty ‘swans’ and they caught Herschel’s attention. If he could have joined them, he would have done. He also enjoyed the evil sorcerer Rothbart’s frenetic flight around the stage in his splendid costume. He looked like a huge, threatening bird of prey.

Rothbart and Odette

Superlative dancing, glorious costumes, and Tchaikovsky’s music created a superb production and one we highly recommend.

Fouetté

 

Fouetté

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I woke up with this word on my mind. I have no idea why as I haven’t been watching ballet recently and have never studied it in great depth.

The word comes from the French fouetter, meaning to flog or whip.

A fouetté or ‘fouetté rond de jamb en tournant’, to give it its full name, is a movement in ballet in which the dancer stands on one foot and moves the free leg in a whipping motion in front or behind the body while spinning. It is an extremely difficult move to perfect and takes determination and hours of practice.

Most professional ballet dancers train for about six hours a day for six days of the week and are judged to be among the fittest of all athletes. The nature of their work means that their bones are strengthened as well as their muscles, because dancing is a weight-bearing occupation.  After eight to ten years of training, a professional ballet dancer’s life as a performer does not usually last beyond the age of thirty-five. There are exceptions, of course.

The ballets in which thirty-two fouettés can be seen are Swan Lake, in the pas de deux of the Black Swan, and the wedding pas de deux in Don Quixote.

Crow Lake

Swans are graceful and elegant so it is appropriate that they have a ballet dedicated to them. Other birds, too, inspire poetry and music, crows among them.

Now, crows would be the first to admit that they do not have musical voices –far-reaching, attention-seeking, interesting, yes, but not musical. That is not to say that they do not appreciate the finer things in life – a cordon bleu meal, a night at the opera, glorious architecture, stunning art and ballet. We did not realise this – perhaps you, too, are ignorant of their sensitive nature.

The two crows who greet us each day in the forest (their names are Bill and Beatrice, by the way) noticed our scepticism about their aesthetic tastes and resolved to persuade us of their artistic leanings. We were treated to an impromptu performance of their latest oeuvre. Unfortunately they were still working on the choreography for their pas de deux so I can only show you stills from their solos. I think you will agree that their footwork is faultless. 

The photos were taken in poor light at sunset.

petit jeté(small jump)

petit jeté(small jump)

beginning of pirouette

petit saut (small jump)

 en pointe

completion of chassé 

échappé

For comparison I have downloaded a YouTube clip of Gillian Murphy, Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre, dancing Odile.