World's Young Ballet / Moscow International Competition, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ludmila Semenyaka, Anna Pavlova

This documentary is a wonderful example of trends in ballet in 1969. The first Moscow International Ballet Competition drew young dancers from around the world. Foremost among them was the outstanding Mikhail Baryshnikov, then of the Kirov Ballet, who won a gold medal. Russian ballet companies are the most often represented, but dancers from Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, Cuba, the US and other countries are featured. A pleasant surprise for me was seeing Helgi Tomassen, formerly of the Harkness Ballet and New York City Ballet and now Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet, winning a silver medal with his clean, effortless dancing. Many of the competitors went on to become leading dancers with their respective companies.Between the dancing segments, the camera follows the dancers as they tour Moscow and go on a side trip to [then] Leningrad, where they watch a class at the Vaganova Institute, the school of the Kirov Ballet.The comments on the dancing and choreography (apparently taken from the judges) are very revealing: in the late '60s, Russians still had not been exposed to much dance from the West, and some of the required modern choreography seemed to leave the judges either confused, or impressed (all out of proportion) by its supposed innovation. But the excellence of the dancing and the glimpse of ballet history is what makes this video stand out.A later (1981) Moscow competition was documented in "Holiday of Ballet." Two other videos about ballet competitions are "Bujones: Winning at Varna" and "Erik Bruhn Prize."

This is a fascinating documentary of what the New York Times called an "exquisite blend of anxiety and esthetics", the first Moscow International Ballet Competition. We are privileged to see astoundingly talented young dancers, such as Hideo Fukagawa, the so-dubbed "Flying Japanese". He is a young man who seemed to be made from some kind of antigravity material, so light, elastic and graceful were his airborne leaps. Baryshnikov is phenomenal. You can see him dance Vestris, which he later performed at Wolftrap. Sadly, the Wolftrap audience did not understand what he was doing, and laughed at him. Here there was no question of the seriousness of his dancing and his gifted acting abilities.The men seemed to be particularly brilliant in this competition, some of whom possessed extraordinary power, elegance and style, not to mention great physical beauty. There was an embarrassment of riches at this competition, a condition of abundance that would fade in the future as fewer and fewer dancers made the expensive pilgrimage to Moscow.It must have been a challenge for the judges to decide who were supreme among these (mostly) great dancers. A who's who of the dance greats of this era, we see among the judges Plisetskaya, Ulanova, and Alonso.Included is a stunning clip of Anna Pavlova dancing with a fan in an outdoor setting. It is brief, but gives us a glimpse of the magnitude of her art.This is a DVD that I have watched several times, and will continue to view. The dancing of some of the contestants is gorgeous, and I don't know of any other opportunities to see them.

The dancing is nothing short of spectacular. There is a wonderful clip of Pavlova dancing as well. The fact that it in b/w really takes nothing away from this documentary. Well narrated, with backstage activity included. Mesmerizing. A MUST have.

I loved this DVD, it is an historic film, whith features we would hardly ever watch separadetly. The narrator says curious things about ballet, the performers, and the tecniques and variations of the dances. i truly recomended as a record of the youth of our favorite dancers. Don't miss it!

Love it. Thank you!

Beautiful ballet dvd. O.K.

A must for anyone with a thorough interest in ballet - its stars and its development.

I was thrilled to discover this DVD, which provides very rare footages of Ludmila Semenyaka and Anna Pavlova. Ludmila's youthful exuberance is absolutely infectious. I especially love how she had her personal "nook" by the stage where she observed the competitors. Her demeanors reminded me of a kitten, graceful but a little goofy at the same time. I'm not even going to try describing Anna Pavlova's art, you just have to buy this DVD and see for yourself. :o)

This is an an old recording but it is well worth having for it contains some gems you just won't find anywhere else. It is based around a competition in Moscow and also includes some vintage footage of very young extremely talented young dancers Baryshnikov and even younger Ludmila Semenyaka and you can see why they were the stars of tomorrow back then. Even so young their talent was just heads above their competitors and even someone who knows very little about the technics of classical ballet (me) could see why they became the stars of the future. There is lots of rare footage, in fact its a bit of who's who of Russian classical ballet dancers starting out. There is also a clip of the legendary Anna Pavlova the first time I have ever seen her. Well worth the money its black and white because it was made in 1969 but you won't notice or care, you'll be too mezmorised by the contents to even think about it.

Love dvd ♥

Wonderful competitionIt’s should be restored

It's not great as a movie, but the dancing is top-notch and it is very varied. I was very impressed, especially by Baryshnikov and Semenyaka, but by nearly all others too. The first half is classical dancing, the second half is modern, and I loved both. I never minded the video being black and white, if anything, it added a dramatic dimension.This boasts an extract from something danced by Pavlova, but it's only a few seconds of slowed-down film in which you don't see much.

Ce documentaire en noir et blanc exige de comprendre un peu l'anglais (pas de sous-titres) si l'on veut savoir exactement qui sont les gens filmés. Mais ne pas connaître la langue n'est guère gênant, car la caméra se contente de filmer, sans jamais les interviewer, les danseurs ou les membres du jury.On voit donc de nombreuses scènes dansées (par Baryshnikov entre autres, l'un des six danseurs gratifiés d'une médaille d'or cette année-là), et quelques images des répétitions, des coulisses ou de visites touristiques. C'est en fait un assemblage d'images comme on en voyait au cinéma dans les « actualités », avec un commentaire ajouté a posteriori, mais nullement un documentaire moderne allant au fond des choses.Malgré tout, les passionnés de ballet seront intéressés de voir en action de nombreux noms connus, et aussi l'extraordinaire niveau technique exigé si l'on veut briller dans ce genre de compétition, où les jeunes danseurs se forgent une réputation.