http://www.boloproductions.com/page18.html

The clip of Yuri Vladimirov in Diana and Acteon is especially recommended for those who first saw the Bolshoi recently, and may wonder why the rest of us kept going on about their male dancers not being 'heroic' any more. (Vladimirov may not be the most elegant dancer you've ever seen, but his elevation is mind-boggling.)

The site itself is a bit strange. Basically it is promoting a firm which manufactures special flooring for dance, but which also seems to run some kind of ballet company.

I would love to know if anyone has any more info about them, or can identify any of the dancers who are not named in their clips.

Hope there is nothing illegal/improper about the site - will rely on Bruce, our arbiter in all things internet, to please tell me if they're doing something they shouldn't in copyright terms!

Natasha

Speaking of Bujones.....he certainly was one of the most elegant male dancers I ever saw. I have several tapes of him. I don't think he was ever really given his due.

Btw....you mentioned Edward Villela on the choreography quiz thread. It made me think back to when he was on the Carol Burnett show...must have been the early seventies. It was so funny; they did a sketch where she was in a tutu pretending to be a ballerina...she was too heavy for him to lift her, she kept forgetting her steps, etc. Then he got to do a proper solo later. Must be 30 years ago, I was a teenager, yet I can still see it in my mind's eye! He had that kind of effect...

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:3c92Ek5yNXsJ:www.orlandoballet.org/2004-5season.htm+bujones+2004&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

You are right - he was overshadowed by Baryshnikov. In my opinon, by Baryshnikov's fame (justified though it was) but not by true comparison. They were very different dancers and Bujones should have been honored according to his just talents. He left ABT because of this and it cut short what should have been a much longer career with a major company in major roles on the world's major stages. The same fate befell Cynthia Gregory.

I remember once he was due to dance here and I immediately bought tickets. However, the performance was cancelled due to dismal ticket sales. Only a couple of months later when Baryshnikov was coming - the people were lined up around the block to buy tickets. I thought that was very sad and Bujones deserved better. The problem is the audience at the time (and to an extent still) thinks that only dancers from Russia are "true" ballet dancers. We all know that's not true, but an uninformed audience doesn't agree.

Bujones is one of the most technically perfect dancers I have ever seen - and I always loved that mischievous smile.

As for Villella - he just exuded masculine power and purpose. I remember dimly that show with Carol Burnett and it was a hoot. He could get away with that kind of character. His dancing always had layers of character. And, as I have mentioned previously on this board, I have never seen anyone dance Tarentella (Balanchine) with quite the verve and punch that he did.

The difference between them was that Baryshnikov was not only a great dancer, but a great artist. Bujones was a fine technician with a very great ego.

I always understood that the reason he left ABT was that he demanded that they commission for him to star in a ballet by Maurice Bejart about Napoleon. ABT, quite rightly in my opinion, refused, so he walked out.

John.