Has anyone either seen or danced in the Nureyev version of R+J. We are rehearsing the Macmillan R+J at the moment for performance later on in the season. What are the differences/similarities between the two-I didn't want to ask anyone in the company for fear of looking stupid!(I should have done my homework-I know the MAcmillan version very well but know nothing about the Nureyev production except that he choreographed it!

Nureyev choreographed a version in 1977 for London Festival Ballet. I don't think I have ever seen it.

Ballet Girl, I am going to move this to the Ballet Forum, I think you will get more responses there.....

English National Ballet, the successor to London Festival Ballet, are reviving the Nureyev version this year and I am looking forward to seeing it. Here is a brief note about it from the ENB site:<P>*********************************<P><B>Rudolf Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet</B><P>In this magnificent staging of Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev’s powerful and dramatic score and Shakespeare’s tragic story are brilliantly combined with Nureyev’s inventive choreography and Frigerio’s vivid designs. This passionate and intensely theatrical production sees the deeply intoxicating love affair between Romeo and Juliet set against a rich and fast-moving backdrop of Renaissance Verona, which blazes with energy. <P>********************************<P>Jane Pritchard is one of the leading archivists in the UK and has two pieces on the ENB site about 'Romeo and Juliet' covering the history of the stage and dance productions:<P><A HREF="http://www.ballet.org.uk/reference/notes/romeojuliet/design.html" TARGET=_blank><B>From Page to Stage</B></A> <P><A HREF="http://www.ballet.org.uk/reference/notes/romeojuliet/shakespeareluhrmann.html" TARGET=_blank><B>From William Shakespeare to Baz Luhrmann</B></A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited January 16, 2002).]

I saw Nureyev's R&J at the MET a long time ago.<P>Sorry, I can't remember a lot about it, but I do remember some kind of long carnival dance with banners or ribbons in Act II.<P>I also remember Juliet dancing to the music of Lady Capulet's lament, on the death of Tybalt.

A video is available of the MacMillan (sp?) choreography of R & J with Fonteyn & Nureyev in title roles. Do you have it available in your class?

POB has a video/DVD of Nureyev's R&J as well. I've seen the video and admittedly I didn't like it a great deal. I think it's psychologically over-complex (well it's Nureyev!) The dancing itself made me feel very uncomfortable - crammed with too many steps I thought, and a lot of them looked like lots of classroom steps hemmed together. It doesn't 'breathe' and the choreography doesn't seem as integrated with the Prokofiev music as the MacMillan version. <P>But that's just a personal opinion. I've become so familiar with MacMillan's choreography it's a little hard for me to accept other versions. <P>Is this the same one as the ENB ballet? Maybe they'll change my mind come March!<p>[This message has been edited by sylvia (edited January 18, 2002).]

The only other version of Romeo and Juliet that I have seen that I like just about as much as MacMillan, is the Russian version choreographed by Lavrovsky.<P>I have a tape of it with Ulanova and Zhdanov, and it is really quite wonderful.

Indeed, Ulanova's Juliet remains the incarnation of spiritual love - Shakespeare's power without any naturalistic colouring.<BR>There was another "R & J" production at the Bolshoi, by Grigorovich, which was shown in London at the Coliseum and Albert Hall. Videos of this production (with Natalia Bessmertnova and Mikhail Lavrovsky) still can be found in London shops.

As I recall, Fonteyn spoke of Ulanova's Juliet quite eloquently while she was preparing to dance the role herself.<P>Going further back into my memory, she said that she found it especially difficult to bring the meaning she wanted to Juliet's run - when she runs from her bedroom to the priest. <P>Fonteyn said she watched Ulanova's run over and over and couldn't understand why Ulanova's was so successful, whilst Fonteyn felt that her own effort was missing something. And then she figured it out. Ulanova was not simply running - she was running TO something, not away from something.<P>Whenever I see that run done by any ballerina I try to see the meaning behind that run. Is the ballerina saying something with that run or simply moving quickly?

Does anyone know if there is a video of Cranko's R&J? I keep hearing great things about it, but haven't seen it.

I have six tapes of the complete (various choreographers) R & J - but not one Cranko version.<P>Very recently I went through all 362 ballet tapes available at Amazon - and I don't recall seeing his version. I would have ordered it if I had.<p>[This message has been edited by Basheva (edited January 19, 2002).]

Cranko's version is really wonderful.<P>I am partial because I have danced corps, Benvolio, and Mercutio in his version.<P>There is a film of Stuttgart BAllet in Cranko's R&J with Marcia and Ricky. It is quite old and I don't know that it is for sale.

Dear Basheva, here is a piece from Fonteyn's "Autobiography" where she describes Ulanova's run:<BR>"The most breathtaking moment came when, despairing, Juliet threw her cloak round her shoulders and ran across the stage, 'leaving everything behind'. Fred had told me a thousand times he wished I had seen the way Pavlova ran across the stage, 'leaving everything behind'. I never could understand, even from his impersonations, how it was achieved. Curiously enough, running and walking are more difficult to master in ballet than many of the complicated steps. Now at last I saw. A few moments later, Ulanova left Friar Laurence with swift steps depicting glowing hope. The contrast was striking.

Thank you Pokrovsky - that is most interesting.<P>Obviously my memory was faulty in that I remembered her saying 'running to something' - when she actually said 'leaving everything behind.' Ulanova does both, she runs from her bedroom 'leaving everything behind.' And then she runs 'to something' when she returns home from visiting the priest.<P>In the end I think it is the same. She gives meaning to the run - it isn't simply quick movement. Ulanova saw those runs as an opportunity to deepen the emotion of the story.<P>Thanks again, Pokrovsky, for refreshing my memory.