Staring Ethan Stiefel, Vladmir Malakoff, Angel Corella, Julie Kent and Palamo Herrara.

Live performance taped in Los Angeles 1997. Throughout this review I have made comparisons with the Kirov filmed version that I reviewed earlier.

The ABT version of Le Corsaire premiered at the Met in June of 1997 to an ecstatic reception by audience and critics alike. This Le Corsaire is not a restoration project on a long forgotten ballet but a deliberate send up of classical ballet. In the introduction to the video, Kevin McKenzie aptly describes Le Corsaire as a "rip-roaring tale full of politically incorrect attitudes and over-the-top theatrical values". It is not great ballet but it certainly is great fun.

Le Corsaire as a ballet suffers from the fact that it has no particularly great choreography or music. Consequently there can be no justification for recreating this ballet unless it has strong entertainment value. The ABT deliberately comic version is very successful in this respect. The Kirov version whilst fairly light hearted has little humour or irony. I do not think a Western company could get away with such a production given the absurd plot and both racial and sexist attitudes. The Kirov can get away with it because their history, nationality and tradition seems to buy it immunity from any critical assessment of their artistic values.

Compared with the Kirov version, the first scene (on the beach) has been eliminated and the action really begins in the slave market. Moreover there is considerable re-arrangement of the choreography and there is a more sensuous pas de deux in the second act (not the famous one but a briefer one when Conrad and Medora are alone). Otherwise it more or less follows the basic chronology of the Kirov version but with much more humour.

The Jardin Anime scene has been shortened and it is on a smaller scale. That is just as well as it looks exceptionally dated. Also the dance of the three Odalisques is transferred to the first act. This allows for a seriously politically incorrect scene to be realised! The three Odalisques become slave girls "for sale" dancing in order to be sold. A sort of " demonstration" you might say. When the Pasha does not buy them they leave the stage cowering in terror from the furious slave trader!! (that bit is not shown on the video!!!).

Perhaps the best thing about the ABT version is the incredible display of virtuosity from the male dancers. There are few ballet companies that field such talent as Vladmir Malakoff (slave trader), Ethan Stieffal (pirate chief and hero ) and Angel Corella (his slave) in one ballet. All of them consistently dazzle the audience with their gravity-defying leaps!

Julie Kent as Medora is a beautiful dancer. She must have the longest limbs of any dancer today. But she is has a surprisingly light and soft line for such a long-limbed dancer. She is delightful to watch especially in the pas de deux. However I think she could have been stronger in the acting department.

Palamo Herrara is very well cast as Gulnari. She is a very strong dancer yet can be surprisingly fleet-footed when necessary. Her character is stronger and more mischievous then Medora and Herrara plays this role to the hilt.

Another highlight was the amazing display of pirouettes by our very own Gillian Murphy (third Odalisque). She was born in England but that is probably as far as our claim to her goes. All the Odalisques were brilliant but the remarkable thing is that two of the dancers were corp de ballet members (Oksana Konobeyva and Ms Murphy). The Kirov used mostly principals. This is a great testament to the amazing depth of talent that currently exists in ABT. This is definitely a company on the move!

Overall the dancing is superb but are they better then the Kirov? Many New York papers think so (one distinguished paper made no bones about this after the first performance of Le Corsaire)! American trained dancers in my view are stronger and more precise. The line is straighter and they have more confidence in their steps. But they do not have the expressiveness and flamboyance of Kirov trained dancers. I think it is more a matter of taste as to which are the better dancers.

But compared to the Kirov version I preferred Asylmuratova to Julie Kent. But that is understandable because Asylmuratova is arguably the greatest dancer in the world. I thought the Palama Herrara was better cast then Yelana Pankova in the role of Gulnari. However I do think that the ABT men were far better then Kirov trio.

The sets and designs are from the Bolshoi Ballet. They are acceptable but add very little to the ballet. This is a shame because over-the-top designs would go well with the over-the-top dancing.

Camera angles and direction are adequate. There are not many close ups but the director rightly avoids too many panned out shots. Picture quality is acceptable but it could be better. The Kirov video production is far superior.

Overall I give this video a very strong recommendation by virtue of its production values and dancing. Nonetheless one should watch this ballet with caution. Despite the best attempts to make this ballet more palatable to a Western audience it should only be watched by those who are experienced ballet goers or those who like kitchy humour. Other people might get the wrong impression about ballet from this.

The video is only available in Dance Books in Cecil Court. It has not been added to their web site so contact them by calling +171 836 2314 . They have mail order service and will ship to anywhere in the world. There are plans to release the video in the USA next year.