Cheap Don Quixote / Baryshnikov, Harvey, American Ballet Theatre (DVD) (Brian Large) Price

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Customer Reviews of Don Quixote / Baryshnikov, Harvey, American Ballet Theatre

Leaves You Smiling and Happy
This ballet is fun to watch! I've watched it many, many times, and I've never failed to be uplifted by this performance. It is showey, and full of life and joy. One rather unusual feature is the playing of some of the closing music during the final curtain calls. This adds much life to what is frequently a rather dull time, watching the dancers take their bows. The music adds a final sparkle that brings the whole performance to a close with verve and life. As some of the reviewers have pointed out, it may not be perfect, but it provides an evening of sheer enjoyment, and is a great way to introduce your non-ballet friends to something they may have a better than average chance of enjoying.

Don Quixote - sheer technical excitement
The DVD version of Baryshnikov's 'Don Quixote' is a must-have for balletomanes, and even new ballet audiences. Not only does it involve the wonderful lyric side of the ballet, it also has sheer flair and virtuosity displayed in Baryshnikov & Harvey's dancing.

Cynthia Harvey is a wonderful Kitri, with her childish playfulness and flair for turns. Her characterisation is perfect and the execution of the choreography is mostly accurate. Important solos to note are: her entrance, her variation in Act One, and then her Dryad variation in Act Two. Her variation in the Grand Pas (Act Three) is a little bit tired and not always timed accurately. To a certain extent, it's the choreography to blame. The Ballerina benchmark of 32 fouettes is pulled off accurately in the finale (with Harvey rarely moving off the same point), however, Harvey does not gain much momentum and almost appears that she is dragging.

Baryshnikov, as always, is wonderful. He is a charismatic Basil, portrayed beautifully with his lyricism and virtuosity. His pirouettes and tour en'lairs are amazing, and he has added extra moves that are quasi-contemporary (which is good to see). His variations are always a delight to watch (particularly Act 3 Grand Pas). Baryshnikov set a benchmark for male dancers of his time, and although most male dancers can now pull off what he was able to do, it is all attributed back to him.

The choreography of the production is reasonably good, however, it is sometimes hyperactive and difficult to watch. The Corps are sometimes distracting with their facial expressions and constant talking. Baryshnikov's own virtuosity set the tempo for his choreography, and thus, some dancers might not have pulled it off as he had at first imagined. One disappointment was the Grand Pas de deux in Act Three. It was seldom stylish for the traditionalist, however, was still satisfying to watch.

Overall, it is a very nice ballet to have in the collection when all you want to watch is the athleticism of dancers. The choreography is good, the dancing is wonderful and the costumes/scenery is great! Buy it now!