M.Baryshnikov - G.Kirkland - Don Quixote - Coda 2/2

August 29, 2007 8:42 AM

M.Baryshnikov - G.Kirkland - Don Quixote - Coda 2/2.
posted by chunking express (18 comments total)

The first minute is particularly amazing.
posted by chunking express at 8:44 AM on August 29, 2007

Sorry, borked link --

I am assuming you were linking to This Youtube Link, since it has the same title as your post.

Wow.
posted by cavalier at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2007

Might check your link there. Perhaps this?
posted by darksasami at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2007

The url contained a malformed video id
posted by ZippityBuddha at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2007

>>The url contained a malformed video id.

I'm getting this message when I click on the link. Damn, I love Baryshnikov and Kirkland too. Kirkland was the first Clara I saw in The Nutcracker.
posted by spec80 at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2007

Error, Will Robinson! The link is missing an 's' at the end of the URL.
Here.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2007

Now that's synchronization!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:49 AM on August 29, 2007

Metafilter team assemble!
posted by cavalier at 8:50 AM on August 29, 2007

Well, now we know: it takes precisely four minutes to compose a single-link youtube post.
posted by darksasami at 8:51 AM on August 29, 2007

Fixed!
posted by cortex at 8:56 AM on August 29, 2007

Damn, the only thing worse than a single link you tube post is one that doesn't even link to you tube I suppose. And darksasami, as we supposed to be grueling for days on our posts here, because I haven't been doing that.

Baryshnikov is awesome.
posted by chunking express at 9:16 AM on August 29, 2007

thanks chunking.
posted by vronsky at 10:02 AM on August 29, 2007

That's a pretty big space to dominate with just your body. A ballerina I knew (who danced with Baryshnikov) described performing in Russia on a huge stage, and said "I felt like the salt shaker at thanksgiving dinner."
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:18 AM on August 29, 2007

All through it all I could think was how sick and unhappy she was which the public never knew. Then I read the text at the end. I almost never finish the youtube links, but thank you for this one.
posted by nax at 5:08 PM on August 29, 2007

I didn't know any of the history. I thought it was quite interesting. They both give amazing performances.
posted by chunking express at 7:29 PM on August 29, 2007

I worshiped Kirkland as a teen, not for the anorexia, but for how she described preparing for a role, analyzing each step in terms of the character and music. To sum it up with a MeFi clichè:

Gelsey Kirkland: Overanalyzing a plate of uneaten beans.

For those who are interested, compare and contrast with the Angel Corella/Paloma Herrera version some two decades later. I personally prerfer Baryshnikov/Kirkland's artistry, but Corella & Herrera put on an impressive performance as well.
posted by romakimmy at 5:51 AM on August 30, 2007

Kirkland's fouetté rond de jambe en tournant is one of the finest examples of movement ever seen on the stage. Of course Misha is a god, but everyone has known that for decades.

What happened with Kirkland happened with regularity in the dance world, and probably still does. I gave up on ballet when I was so thin that my periods stopped and the director said I still wasn't thin enough.

As I'm shaped more like Mary Lou Retton than G. Kirkland...I realized I was never going to be a prima, no matter how hard I worked. Ballet is cruel if you're a girl. Beautiful, but cruel.
posted by dejah420 at 8:56 AM on August 30, 2007

I worshipped Kirkland as a teenager and now, as an adult, all I can see (in spite of her artistry) is a very sick woman up there.

Misha, well, Misha is amazing.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 8:43 PM on August 31, 2007