When she takes to the air she becomes something of exceptional beauty, this expressively elegant young dancer.


It was in a festive mood that I boarded the train to see another day of the world famous dance competition in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was a beautiful, sunshiny day, and above the magnificent snow covered mountains the clear blue sky was filled with brightly colored passenger balloons. The town was having a balloon festival.

It was getting quite dark the evening before, when suddenly the mountainside was lit up by a long line of towering, beautifully colorful passenger balloons. They were perched on a ledge just above the town. There they would stay in festive monumentality, as it is normally much too unpredictable to fly and land a passenger balloon at night.

Then out of the sky came these amazing flying objects with brightly colored flares. They were hand gliders suspended from their illuminated crescent shaped sails, who had launched themselves from the very top of the mountain. As they sailed through the nighttime sky they were a sight of almost hypnotic beauty.

Waves of arching fireworks lit up the sky.

Then a long line of brightly colored lights wound its way gracefully down the side of the mountain. It was actually a line of automobiles descending a curving mountain road, but all that was visible was single, large, colored lights mounted on top of each car.

It was a clear, calm night. There was a bright crescent moon and just below the moon was a brilliant starlike object, the planet Jupiter. It was a magnificent nighttime display of natural beauty.

As I just mentioned, the large balloons never take off and land at night because it is much too unpredictable.

Then I looked in the direction of the moon and noticed that the town's own balloon with its brightly colored stripes, was actually lifting into the air ! Because it was such a clear, calm night it was possible to do this. It would be the first time here that this was ever attempted !

The balloon lifted higher and higher. At the moments when its flame ignited the gas that controlled its elevation, the huge balloon would become illuminated.

Lifting higher and higher into the nighttime sky it would appear brightly lit and then disappear. It must have lifted a couple thousand feet, directly towards the moon. From the ground it seemed as if this enchanted object had actually joined the magnificent grouping of the crescent moon and the brilliant, starlike planet Jupiter.

It was a really a most magnificent and enchanting display of nighttime wonder.



So now it's the last day of the Lausanne dance competition and one elegantly graceful dancer after another performs a solo.

Then one young lady launches herself magnificently into the air.


Rafaelle Queiroz Rodrigues


(I hope that I got her name in the right order, because the program lists last names first without any punctuation)

This wonderfully graceful young lady took to the air with an almost literal 'Gazelle-like' Beauty. It was one of the most beautiful air born displays of such grace that I have witnessed. Her limbs reached out in sculptural splendor. I could see a resemblance to the Mariinsky Ballet Principal Dancer, Alina Somova, who is also capable of such air born, Gazelle-like splendor.

Some of the other dancers at Lausanne also attempted to reach out for that extra degree of sculptural expression and hopefully they will be aided and encouraged in their development by the school and company directors who were present.

Rafaelle sailed through the air in the most beautifully designed, long reaching, linear manner.

Hopefully the video of this performance, Gamzatti from "La Bayadere", will capture its essence.


An atmosphere of Air Born Wonder was one of the many pleasant sensations that filled my week -- a week of festive joy and heart touching artistic expression.


[some typo corrections made]

This is a highlighted summary of what I wrote above--'several days of outstanding beauty'.



*A Dancer of Air Born Splendor and A Festival in The Sky*



*She Takes To The Air*

*Something of Exceptional Loveliness*

*This Expressively Elegant Young Dancer*



the day before

*The Beautiful Sunshiny Sky--The Magnificent Snow Covered Mountains*

*A Festival of Brightly Colored Passenger Balloons*


the evening before

*The Mountainside Lit Up*

with

*A Long Line of Towering Beautifully Colorful Balloons*

seated on a ledge


out of the dark sky appeared

*A Group of Breathtaking Hand Gliders*

*Suspended from Huge Crescent Sails--Carrying Brightly Colored Flares*

waves of arching fireworks lit up the surrounding sky



*A Long Line of Brightly Colored Lights*

wound its way gracefully down the side of the mountain



*A Bright Crescent Moon--Shone Magnificently*

and just below was

*The Brilliant Starlike Planet Jupiter*


*One Brightly Colored Balloon*

*Lifted Into The Nighttime Sky*

lifting higher and higher it would appear brightly lit and then disappear

*A Couple Thousand Feet Above*

directly towards the moon


From the ground it seemed as if

*This Enchanted Object*

had actually

*Joined The Magnificent Grouping of The Crescent Moon and The Starlike Planet Jupiter*




today one elegantly graceful dancer after another performed a solo

then one young lady launched herself superbly

*She Took To The Air*

with

*Absolute Gazelle-Like Beauty*

her limbs reaching out in sculptural splendor



it was

*An Atmosphere of Air Born Wonder*

that filled my week with

*Festive Joy and Heart Touching Artistic Expression*

She is a lovely dancer.
Do you know if she has gotten a job?


-d-

Hi, Diane.

My answer is no. I'm really not sure if Rafaelle Queiroz Rodrigues has found a job.

She is almost 19 years old so I imagine that she is more interested in a company than a school.

You probably know much more about her than I do. I am guessing that you are familiar with her from her studies at the Akademie des Tanzes in Mannheim. Maybe you could tell us some more of your impressions about her. I watched about 80 different dancers, that I had never seen before, so I can't really give you too much in the way of details. As you can see I was extremely impressed with her beautiful jumping ability. I sense that I am not alone in this feeling, as two of the collections of dance photos from the competition that I have seen on the internet show her jumping. In one collection she is the only dancer shown jumping.

The prize winners have one month to chose a school or company. The competition will announce their choices on the internet. Rafaelle Queiroz Rodrigues was a finalist but not a prize winner. The competition does pride itself on giving all the dancers a chance to be seen and interviewed by the visiting directors from different famous schools and companies. It was stated that 45 non prize winning dancers have found placement in this manner in the last five years.

If any non prize winning dancers do find placement through the competition it might also be announced towards the end of the month or perhaps you can ask the competition over the internet.

Thanks.

I will see what I can find out from here.

It would be so nice if all the students looking for a job would get one.

Are you based in CH, or do you travel there often?

-d-

Diane, I have lived in a small mountain town in Switzerland (CH) for over 20 years on a six month basis. I spend the other six months each year essentially back in the United States where my father, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren live.

I got 'hooked' on ballet about four years ago when the Mariinsky came to Detroit and performed "La Bayadere." I went back the next day and saw it again ! I am still trying to find out who the second Nikiya was.

Since then I've been going to about every ballet performance that I can. This includes four trips to the Mariinsky Festival in Saint Petersburg, which is one of the highlights of my year.

I definitely agree with you that it would be great if all the wonderful dancers like Rafaelle Queiroz Rodrigues could get the placements that they desire. They are so talented that it is a 'Privilege' to be able to watch them.

Please tell us some more about Rafaelle Queiroz Rodrigues and your own interest in dance, if you care to.

Buddy,
I saw two Bayaderes in Detroit in 2003, Oct 29, 7:30 pm and Nov.1, 8 pm.

If those are your dates, pm me and I'll let you know the casts.

John C

Hi John,

It was the last performance of that series, a Sunday.

Diana Vishneva was listed, but it wasn't her. Irma Nioradze was the first Nikiya that I saw.

I guess I can't help you.

We saw the opening night Wed Oct. 29 with Nioradze and Sarafanov
(Gamzatti was Elvira Tarasova) and Sat Nov 1 with Sofia Gumerova
and Igor Kolb (Gamzatti was Irina Golub).

Buddy, that is great that you are able to travel around and see many things - and lots of ballets!


I have been in Europe for many many years - over 30. I was a professional ballet dancer, now married, teaching ballet, and with nearly grown (dancing) children.


Times are hard for young dancers. Companies are cutting back, and otherwise only hire "experienced" dancers. There is only one way to get experienced - and that is to be hired.

Good luck in finding your Nikiya!

-d-

Sounds lovely, Diane. Thanks for telling us this.

Let's see where this season's competition dancers go and hope for their future success and happiness.

Diane and/or jpc, as modern dance is part of the Lausanne competition's program, how important do you think this is for a ballet student and how important do you think that it should be ?

Very important.
Almost all companies nowadays use some form of modern dance in their repertoire.
Many choreographers - esp. in Europe, as far as I can see - also employ improvisation techniques to arrive at their finished choreographies.
These techniques have to be studied; it is not enough to just be confronted with them first-time in a company setting.
Of course, classical technique is usually needed - or at least required at audition - and that has to be very strong. (including partner work, and more and more also forms of "acrobatic" work)
In order to learn all of these things, the students would need to be dancing very long every day - and then the injuries rise.
A difficult situation, to say the least.


-d-

Do you think that the European scene is very different from the United States ?

"....usually needed...."

Somewhere I read that ballet by far dominates the dance world. If so is it necessary for a ballet dancer to 'highly develope' an alternative dance style.