Raymonda Pas de Deux, w: Melissa Hayden and Jacques d'Amboise (1969)

Here is a rehearsal of Raymonda Variations Pas de Deux danced by the great American ballerina Melissa Hayden and the incomparable Jacques d'Amboise. They don't make 'em like this any more.

[@giuliorenzobighin8165]

Ottime pose figurali mantenute nell'ensemble ed ottimi quelli che con un mio neologismo mi piace chiamare convoli aerei ed elanisti della ballerina ottimamente indotti e tenuti dal partner. Ottima la sensibile impressione di facilità esecutiva d'acchito e di levità fluente fatta tensione elanista e motile sorprendente nella ballerina.Eccezzionale assistenza induttiva da parte del partner. MOLTO BRAVI E CONVINCENTI.BIGHIN GIULIO RENZO. 😊😊😊

[@jamesbarton1969]

Balanchine's guys like D'Amboise and Ludlow always do incredible partnering without ever making it look incredible to any but a trained eye. Bravo. Beautiful piece.

[@brendadufaur37]

It's SO beautiful. You don't want to take your eyes off of her. I love the lighting, the black and white. Everything. The choreography is wonderful.

[@jcliff26]

This was not the stage lighting for a performance. This was in rehearsal clothes filmed on a bare stage purely for archival purposes.

[@hermajesty52]

Brought a tear to my eye. Heartbreakingly beautiful. Now I understand the whole Hayden mystique.

[@judegarcia6657]

Just mesmerizing. The choreography is beautifully interpreted by the dancers.

[@susannevollmer2347]

Watching Melissa Haydens arms shows in a great way what that mean: Balanchine arms and hands. The video brings me in a melancholic mood.

[@pomrenoir]

Wow. . . . This just stopped my heart while I watched it. They were both so lovely. Thank you for posting it, John. Something so terribly intense and American in the urgency and daring in the movement and expressiveness and how they became "one" during that. Also wonderful to see this version again. No--they don't make 'em like this anymore.

[@rochelgrundman9936]

This is the magic! The choreography. The score. Mr. Balanchine’s dancers. They are the music! Iconic. Precious! Ohhh my heart is sighing in a romantic swoon for ballet as it was and is forever a treat preserved in marvelous clips like these. Thank you John. Marvelous. Simply marvelous ❤

[@susanlondoner3509]

Amazing!

[@susannevollmer2347]

Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous. Exciting to watch - so perfect done. Why dont they dance it anymore? Perhaps this saison again?Thank you so much for uploading, John! 💞 RIP Melissa RIP Jaques.

[@rochelgrundman9936]

That connection the dancers had with Mr.B’s understanding of music and choreography was what made his company unique and magical! The audiences didn’t realize why the performances were so enjoyable but that was the reason. His dancers were the human emotion-filled extension of the music. Magic!

[@Marta44339]

Wonderful! Two great dancers in one of the best excerpts I've seen on KZbin. Thank you.

[@kathymyers7279]

I have never seen anything like this dancing before.❤❤

[@jcliff26]

This was the NYCBALLET in Balanchine’s years. I’ve posted many films from that period when I was a principal dancer in that company. You should read my autobiography BALANCHINE’S APPRENTICE.

[@toeknee1965]

JUST WOW!!!!!

[@simaraft7373]

Oh my my my what a lovely gorgeous treat! I think you deserve to go to heaven for finding and sharing these gems! How are you Alex? I'm in Iran living through a grotesque revolution. Let's talk via email

[@simaraft7373]

Oops sorry John I thought Alex had posted this! Thank YOU. I just watched again and savored all over. They are both totally brilliant

[@hae-jungaliciakoh18]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@navegante1ful]

Waw!

[@tkoran]

Wow! Beautiful Melissa Hayden! Love her! I saw her retirement performance in "Midsummer" back in '73. I am just eating up these posts! Thank you so much! Where do you get these? Loved seeing your LA Ballet back in '79 too with Johnna Kirkland.

[@sanniepstein4835]

All lovely, but 2:11 really reaches me.

[@judithwalker9694]

I was going to post the same move. Amazing. This is my first time seeing her. She's fantastic - would it to be wrong to say she seems almost Russian in her style? What speaking arms and what wonderful quickness and clarity, and musicality to boot! I have to see more of her!

[@genlyai5055]

@@judithwalker9694 Great NYCB ballerina, who danced until she was fifty or very close to it. Later a famous and highly demanding, lol, teacher and coach at the NC School of the Arts (as it then was).

[@user-pl7sq2co9d]

ピアノのみ、が、気持ち良い…。

[@raymonda5476]

Interesting to see this. But I much prefer Grigorovich’s choreography for Raymonda, particularly as danced by Ludmilla Semenyaka. This pas de deux is supposed to express love between the two dancers.

[@jcliff26]

In the full story ballet there’s a love story but this is an abstract ballet showing off the artistry of two dancers. Grigorovitch’s choreography (after Petipa) is very simplistic and for me, very boring. I love Semenyaka, but not his version of the music.

[@genlyai5055]

That's purely Semenyaka. Grigorovich's choreography, as it usually was, is stultifying. A great ballerina (Semenyaka) elevating the humdrum by her artistry is not great choreography.

[@susannevollmer2347]

@@jcliff26 In the whole Raimonda could be more tension!