© Warner Music Vision The following ballets feature on the DVDs... Tzigane Divertimento No. 15 The Four Temperaments Rubies Emeralds Diamonds Stravinsky Violin Concerto Chaconne Prodigal Son Ballo della Regina The Steadfast Tin Soldier Elegie Tchaikovsky pas de deux recent New York CB reviews more Philip Bichard reviews

The eleven George Balanchine ballets included on these two DVDs are all danced by New York City Ballet and were first broadcast on television in America in 1978-1979 and then released on four VHS tapes in 1995-1996. The original broadcasts did much to spread the word about ballet, and about Balanchine’s particular take on ballet, to that large country. Today, re-released on two modern DVDs as part of the centennial celebrations, they serve an entirely different purpose – to show us both what once was, and also how it is supposed to be. Evangelizing on his part has now become reverence on ours.

Other than the convenience and relative longevity of the format, there would be little reason to upgrade for someone who already owned them on VHS. There are no special features on the discs; presumably the quarter-century that has elapsed since the recordings had some bearing on that. However, they are packed with dance – around 100 minutes on each DVD, and the liner notes by Merrill Brockway are informative and enjoyable, so their value for money is not in question.

The performances are all made (“reconceived”, even) specifically for television, with the usual advantages and disadvantages that come with the territory: the lack of the “one time only” live atmosphere, but with the ability to really show off the ballets as they should be seen in this medium – effectively, everything here comes with the official Mr. B seal of approval and this, combined with the era in which they were made, makes them a unique repository of “how it should be”, something to reference against every time your local company attempts to measure up.

Despite being recorded in 1977 the picture quality is usually remarkably good, though clearly (forgive the pun) not to quite the same standard as a modern day release and some parts are slightly fuzzy. The sound quality has perhaps lasted less well, with the strings of the unseen New York City Ballet Orchestra coming over as slightly “screechy”. The producers and directors, Merrill Brockway and Emile Ardolino, partly due to close collaboration with Balanchine, have treated the ballets with respect and avoided too much in the way of distracting cuts, slow-motion, fades, zooms and the like. This is not to say the treatment is static or flat, but what televisual techniques are utilised generally support the viewer in their desire to watch the dance closely without being made aware of a restless director – for example, the camera will pan across the studio to follow a sweeping movement; thus we get the experience of movement but without losing the detail of a full-length shot. Indeed, Balanchine approved of the suggestion during Tzigane that the corps of gypsies appear on stage in the flick on a frame – in live stage performances he had been exhorting the men to sprint as quickly as possible from the wings to their starting positions; now, with a quick edit, he could finally realise his vision of the gypsies appearing from nowhere as he could always see in the music.

Disc 1 opens with the unusual Tzigane, with a long solo for Suzanne Farrell as a gypsy beauty who ensnares a besotted Peter Martins before the rest of the troupe then join in for a knees-up. The Andante from Divertimento No. 15 gets us back on course, a lovely 9-minute piece with which Balanchine was content after the first take. “That’s very nice. Let’s have some schnapps.”

A sublime performance of The Four Temperaments is next, with the large-scale Choleric movement being adapted by Balanchine to work better on the small screen, although many of these changes were subsequently kept for the stage version anyway.
 

Sadly missing Rubies, despite the pas de deux with Robert Weiss and Patricia McBride being originally broadcast, the Emeralds and Diamonds pas de deux shown here remind us of just what genius is capable. The depth to be found in Emeralds rewards repeated viewings and Farrell and Martins are again featured in the Diamonds duet to great effect.

Finally, Disc 1 is rounded off with another masterpiece, the Stravinsky Violin Concerto, again adapted to work better on the different dimensions of the television screen. This is a perfect ballet for watching mid-winter - send the family out to the movies, close the curtains, light a fire, pour a glass of mulled wine, sit back and gorge yourself on 35 minutes of unadulterated, shameless, pleasure.

Volume 2 has a more eclectic mix of ballets. It opens with Chaconne, chosen by Balanchine to showcase Martins and Farrell, which it does to great effect in a sensational pas de deux, as well as integrating them into a group scene. Farrell embodies the sharpness and speed of movement so associated with Balanchine, without ever being hurried, while Martins shows off his regal bearing, creamy beats and elegant turns.

Prodigal Son is a ballet based on Russian Alexander Pushkin’s The Postmaster and was first created by a young Balanchine for Ballets Russes just before Diaghilev’s death in 1929. It is performed here by a young Mikhail Baryshnikov, who had only been with NYCB for a year. These two Russians found themselves in the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, USA, where this recording was made. Life is often fateful and, watching this performance by Baryshnikov, one can only wonder if this coming-together was somehow pre-ordained.

The pace is urgent, the mood unsettling, the movements sharp and always logical. Baryshnikov gives a remarkable portrayal of desperate rebellion turning into simple desperation. Significantly, the final crawl to his father, prostration and redemptive embrace, are not in any way played for the camera. It makes for uncomfortable, and profoundly moving, viewing.

Balanchine complained that Prokofiev wasn’t flexible. “He would not change anything that he wrote. He was a bastard; so I had to invent to fill the music.” This performance is not immune to these shortcomings, and the spark between Baryshnikov and Siren Karin von Aroldingen is lacking slightly, but in the end one can only admire the final overall result.

Ballo della Regina features some devilishly tricky footwork for Merrill Ashley and virtuosic beaten jumps for both her and her partner Robert Weiss, set amidst some lyrical corps work. As with most of Balanchine’s work one can clearly see the music given form and the NYCB dancers, while passive of face, are eloquent in movement.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier is an odd little ballet – think Nutcracker in 10 minutes. Patricia McBride is the paper doll ballerina and Mikhail Baryshnikov the one-legged tin soldier. Except he has two legs of course. Anyway, soldier meets girl, girl preens, soldier falls in love with girl, girl gets blown up a chimney, boy is heartbroken. Usual story.

Elégie portrays a man (Sean Lavery) finding his ideal muse (Karin von Aroldingen) amongst a group of beautiful women. She stays a while but eventually leaves him alone. It is noteworthy for the dancers all being barefoot, the girls’ hair being worn down and Lavery’s 1970’s tight white trousers.

The final piece is the glittering Tchaikovsky pas de deux. It is set to music originally intended for Petipa’s use in Swan Lake but he disliked it and his loss was Balanchine’s gain when, in 1953, he was able to use it to devise a party piece for a principal couple, amending the choreography each time to suit each pair of dancers. In this performance Balanchine extended Baryshnikov’s favoured turns a la seconde with a jump at the centre of alternate rotations. The spectacular result is simply the centrepiece of a spectacular ballet – to cock a snoot at this piece for being flashy is entirely to miss the point. It is far more enjoyable to simply admire Patricia McBride’s diamond-edged footwork including entrechats skimmed millimetres from the floor, or wonder how Baryshnikov’s twelfth consecutive double cabriole can look as easy and elegant as the first. A 10-minute concoction of lyrical movement and exquisite excitement.

As well as a generous sprinkling of well-known masterworks, the discs also serve as a treasure trove of famous names at their best – a series of ballets featuring Patricia McBride, Merrill Ashley, Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins would leave most viewers happy, but add in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s extraordinary performances in Prodigal Son and Tchaikovsky pas de deux and one is left feeling quite overwhelmed.

Choreography by Balanchine, volumes 1 and 2, are widely available from suppliers such as DanceBooks and Amazon.