What ballet performance has left the biggest impression on you. Was it the choreography? Dancers? What made it magical and why? <P>I have so many, but I think for me it had to be the Royal Ballet doing Romeo and Julliet with Sibley and Dowell at the SF Opera House in the late 60's. I had gone every night and seen every cast including Fonteyn and Nureyev, but this pairing was so perfect. They were both gorgeous, technique superb, and they made me believe that they were really in love. You can't beat the story and the production was magic. <P>[Stuart's note: After some discussions, I've moved the bulk of this thread here from the<BR> 'Fun' forum with a couple of posts used to set up similar threads in the 'Modern' and<BR> 'Other' dance forums]<p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited August 01, 2000).]

Great question. I feel I'm "too young" to reply to this question. I'll give it a shot though.<p>How about Evelyn Cisneros in Rubies in her farewell performance? I can't say it was absolutely the best Rubies performance I've seen but it being her farewell and with real-life husband Stephen Legate as her partner, I felt an emotional attachment to this performance. As I've said before, it was almost a voyeuristic experience, like watching a young couple at play in their living room.

[Note from Stuart - I've copied the first part of this message to start a similar topic in 'Other Dance']<P>CATS!!!!!Oh my goodness CATS!!!!! That would have to be it! The whole show is intense dancing adn it'd so baeultifly done and 100% is given all the time to some really hard moves and i think that ti is just so wonderful! ......Also when I do the nutcraker every yr. I get to see all of the aspects of what the dancers go through and it is a truly wonderfull experience! <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited August 01, 2000).]

Unfortunately, the one performance that keeps going over and over again in my head is the one I saw recently in Toronto. I don't know the names of the National Ballet of Canada dancers as I left my program north of the border but the image I have is one of a stylish pdd accompanied by a dancer in a blue monkey outfit, swaying his arms like a chimp. I guess I have James Kudelka to thank.

The wonderful and outrageous tu tu's made out of furnace filters for Australian Ballet.<BR>What a treat to watch the dancing and the unique costumes.<BR>The marvelous large oborginal lead dancer in the Australian Ballet's Rite of Spring.<BR>bek<P>------------------<BR>bek

Great topic, Lucy. I agree with you about Dowell and Sibley. When I was a kid in Atlanta, I saw them do "Romeo" and will never forget it. My most memorable viewing, however, was of Gelsey Kirkland in "Theme and Variations." It was when she was still with City Ballet, and I had never seen her. I snoozed through the first three movements of Tchaikovsky Suite #3, and then the lights bumped up and there was Gelsey being partnered by Helgi Thomasson. I literally could not believe the technique, stretch, musicality, lyricism, artistry, and speed of this woman. I can never watch the ballet again without her ghost center stage. In my opinion, perhaps the greatest ballerina ever.

An amazing description, joe. Unfortunately, I have never seen Gelsey Kirkland dance and I can only imagine the effect she had on ballet fans. You mentioned Helgi Tomasson. What did you think of his performance that night? I'm curious as I have heard a few people rant and rave about him but only a few -- it didn't seem like he made a very strong impression on most people. Or am I wrong?

JOe, I have only seen Gelsey in class, in the 70's in New York. I can only say I have never seen a human being work as hard, ever. She worked with a fierce concentration-did jumping with the men, did adagios on pointe-the "whole 9 yds." Sadly, I have never seen her perform live. Helgi Tomasson I saw perform with NYCB--a incredibly clean and precise technician, but not a "fireball" performer, in my opinion.

Helgi joined New York City Ballet after the Harkness Ballet folded and there was a period of about five years when he was at his peak...unbelievably clean pyrotechnical dancing. He was the first dancer to my knowledge to execute consecutive double pirouettes from fifth position into double tours in that fiendishly difficult male variation in Balanchine's "Theme and Variations." Even Misha didn't do that, although several dancers in ABT and NYCB do now (Damien Woetzel, Angel Corella). Helgi injured his back in the mid-70's and never quite regained his previous stature. He was never as charismatic as some other virtuosi, but his purity made him stand out.

Thanks, Joe, for the input on Helgi. I had always wondered why his name isn't as "revered" as some others I keep hearing a lot more about.

Surely, others must have memories of unforgettable performances.

Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell in "Giselle" at Met. Opera House, NYC in late 70's. ...pretty unforgettable....hmmm...I'll have to think more on this one..havent' thought about this type of thing for a while...

This is not along the lines of what many people are saying, but I must say, seeing Andrea Boardman and Derek Reid of Les GRands Ballets Canadiens in Nacho Duatos Cor Perdut really left an impact on me. I wish I'd been able to see the 'great' dancers of the past, Bruhn, Fracci, Kirkland, Farrell, Nureyav, Makorova.. the list goes on and on, but I wasn't there. But something about Cor PErdut performed by Doardman and Reid really struck me. They were so fluent and effotless in the movement, and conveyed a passion for dance that was absolutely amazing to me. It made me re-realize why I love dance so much, and for me, that was an unforgettable performance.<P>pidge

Thanks for sharing that Pidge. I must confess I haven't seen much of Duato. I wish I could catch more of his works.

I must first of all state, that as a young dancer, my favorite couple was Erik Bruhn and Carla Fracci. I saw them dance so many times, usually "Giselle" or "La Sylphide", and every performance that they graced the stage was "magical". As a dance student in Washington DC, my friends and I figured out ways to gain access to the backstage areas of the Kennedy Center. We used to haunt all the professional dancers performing there, no matter what the company was. While standing on the side of the stage watching Ms. Fracci perform 'Jardin aux Lilas' during an ABT appearance at the Kennedy Center, I was near tears simply being able to witness such beautiful artistry at such close proximity. After the curtain calls, she exited stage left , where I was standing, walked up to me and handed me her flowers. She thanked me for being such a devoted fan ( and all that time I thought I was being inconspicuous). I was, of course, speechless, but it was an experience I will never forget. She was as beautiful in person and whe was on stage.<P>Cheryl B.<BR>