Description
Dancing for Mr B - Six Balanchine Ballerinas / Moylan, Tallchief, Ashley, Kistler, Hayden, Kent / ) / Digital Classic DVD / 2008 DVD
Total PLaytime: 90 Minutes
Region 0 NTSC
Made in Europe
UPC 5051083036252
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : Yes
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 Ounces
- Item model number : D4407
- Director : George Balanchine
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Classical
- Run time : 1 hour and 22 minutes
- Release date : September 30, 2008
- Actors : Maria Tallchief
- Language : Unqualified
- Studio : Kultur Video
- Number of discs : 1
Even after the death of the great choreographer and ballet master George Balanchine, the legacy of his beautiful ballets and the striving for perfection, which he instilled in his dancers lives on. This documentary celebrates six of Balanchine's ballerinas, Mary Ellen Moylan, Maria Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Allegra Kent, Merrill Ashley and Darci Kistler, and shows them keeping alive the ballets and the inspiration they learned from him. For all of them Balanchine was the single most powerful influence in their lives.
George Balanchine born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; January 22, 1904 was an ethnic Georgian, Russian-American ballet choreographer who was one of the most influential 20th-century choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its artistic director for more than 35 years. His choreography is characterized by plotless ballets with minimal costume and décor, performed to classical and neoclassical music.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Balanchine took the standards and technique from his time at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement that he had adopted during his tenure on Broadway and in Hollywood, creating his signature "neoclassical style".
He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with leading composers of his time like Igor Stravinsky. Balanchine was invited to America in 1933 by a young arts patron named Lincoln Kirstein, and together they founded the School of American Ballet in 1934 as well as the New York City Ballet in 1948.