Tamara Karsavina On Dancing in 'Giselle' with Vaslav Nijinsky in 1910

Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), the legendary prima ballerina of the Ballets Russes, was interviewed by Sir Anton Dolin around 1976 about dancing the title role in 'Giselle' in the Ballets Russes' Paris season of 1910. Her partner was Vaslav Nijinsky.
Dolin also spoke with other legendary Giselles, such as Alicia Alonso, Yvette Charivé, Carla Fracci, Tamara Karsavina Natalia Makarova, Dame Alicia Markova, Olga Spessivtzeva and Galina Ulanova, with these interviews all being gathered up into the 1982 Academy Award winning documentary 'A Portrait of Giselle'.
The other unique extended interview was with Olga Spessivtzeva, uploaded on this channel as 'Olga Spessivtzeva - In Conversation With Anton Dolin'.
I must say apart from everything else I love the sound of Tamara Karsavina's voice -- the deep resonant timbre and the beautiful and particular accents of rhythm and intonation.
Enjoy!

[@flightydancer]

Two very best dancers of that time! Must be pure magic!

[@JohnRaymondHall]

agreed - oh to have seen them dance!

[@user-il7rt6me1b]

Так здорово,что можно услышать голоса таких людей...Из прошлого

[@om7854]

I wish my dear late Polish friend had seen this. She so loved Ballet & often guided me to such interviews or programmes on BBCFour...

[@marianrose1259]

This is wonderful and thank you for sharing. Oh, to have danced with Nijinsky!✨🕯🌟💜🌟🕯✨

[@JohnRaymondHall]

pleasure! unexpected she says dancing with Dolin was more comfortable than with Nijinsky

[@MaritBech]

Fa sognare solo a sentirla a 91 anni figuriamoci vederla ballare !!! evviva , questi artisti sono il tesoro dell'umanità.

[@BytomGirl]

Thank you Alex.. she was so beautiful and delicate

[@JohnRaymondHall]

i agree completely! intelligent and modest in her opinions too.

[@BytomGirl]

She was, wonderful lady.

[@vincentmcgrath4179]

wonderful to have a video of someone from such a distant memory

[@michelez715]

Subtitles would have been such a help.

[@teresaduartesilva6449]

Thank you so much! I've just read Nijinsky biography by Lucy Moore (wonderful book), and since I'm looking for further information I've just found this video. Very tender.

[@JohnRaymondHall]

pleasure :) did you see the whole documentary i uploaded where this came from? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y16ph6R6mrF1r7s

[@phantom213]

Thank you so much! I wish I had a time travel machine to see them perform!😅

[@normajidahmohamedlop5828]

Thank you for posting this, John Hall. Keep it up.

[@JohnRaymondHall]

glad you liked it - i've started uploading more things - hope you'll like them too.

[@Quimlh]

Una leyenda

[@siegfried923]

I remember an interview of Karsarvina many years ago in the 70s I think and she demonstrated some arm movements from Les Sylphides and Firebird and although she was quite elderly none of the magic and the facial expression had gone- it was electrifying to watch I am sorry i can not remember who the interviewer was !

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi Siegfried you might be thinking of the footage i uploaded as 'Tamara Karsavina Talks of Performing in Le Prelude in 'Les Sylphides' with Pavlova and Nijinsky'? Karsavina demonstrates some porte de bras associate with 'Les Sylphides' you mention an interviewer so perhaps it was different footage you saw? cheers

[@siegfried923]

I have looked at the footage and it seems very similar perhaps it was shown on a programme with Melvyn Bragg or someone like that or the South Bank Show

[@siegfried923]

John With your great knowledge of the ballet -I was once coached by an American Dancer who was in the UK having treatment for a back injury at the spinal injury hospital due to an accident on stage in the USA Her name was Toni Clayden She taught me for a while and then returned to the states Have you heard of her we are talking the late 1960s early seventies

[@JohnRaymondHall]

Siegfried i wish i had a good knowledge of ballet, and i am not being modest here - to prove the point i had not heard of Toni Clayen, only Pauline Clayden: www.roh.org.uk/news/former-royal-ballet-dancer-pauline-clayden-turns-90 was there anything else you know about her to e able to search the internet - i've looked around and can find nothing :(

[@siegfried923]

No John and yes I have seen Pauline Clayden mentioned but alas I cannot even remember for definite which company Toni was with as it was in the late 60s and I was only in my teens and quite new to ballet

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi xanglat very happy to hear from you! yes, it is s wonderful film - and i've very pleased to have it on the channel again. cheers! :)

[@user-fd1vq3rz4g]

!!!!!!!!!!!!+++ Дуже дякую за відео !!!

[@JohnRaymondHall]

pleasure :)

[@JohnRaymondHall]

J - the caption was to indicate they talked about dancing in Paris, though as you say and is discussed in the footage there is talk of the first time in 1910 in Petersburg - i've changed the title to avoid confusion

[@casteretpollux]

Thankyou

[@JohnRaymondHall]

pleasure Katherine - so interesting to here her talk authoritatively about this legendary performance

[@louisnavarrete6221]

GREAT!

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi Louis yes, wonderful to hear this great ballerina chat about such legendary performances.

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi kikcta isn't it! i have watched it many more times than once - LOL :)

[@StevePhillips]

Interesting short interview

[@JohnRaymondHall]

+Steve Phillips yes, gives a tiny sense of being there.

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi itisitsits yes, me too! legends chatting don't come my way often! :)

[@DCFunBud]

Wonderful.

[@JohnRaymondHall]

isn't it!

[@kikcta]

this is extraordinary

[@GoldenAppleOfDiscord]

What did she say in reply when she was asked what Vaslav Nijinsky was like? It was around 1:47

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi GoldenAppleOfDiscord she says 'he was very docile and much liked by everybody' cheers

[@user-qh6ku7ey3q]

Перевод бы 😢

[@wwang6667]

感谢和崇拜

[@JohnRaymondHall]

我的荣幸

[@magdalenaberechowska7201]

What did she say about Kschessinska in 4:07?

[@JohnRaymondHall]

i've listening many times and sadly can't even guess - i hear 'she (Kschessinska) was very kind to me ... she was [sounds like 'born against' but obviously not that]. :)

[@Slava_Ra]

Magdalena Berechowska she says ‘when she wasn’t gone against’. It means that Kshessinskaya was very kind to you if you were not confronting her.

[@Kelly-dg5xl]

I wonder if there are videos of her dancing act 2 ?

[@JohnRaymondHall]

hi thenineteenth centuryballet after much much googling i suspect what i have uploaded is the extent of what is know to exist Karsavina appeared in a number of movies, such as 'The Old Wives' Tale', a 1921 British drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Fay Compton, Florence Turner and Henry Victor. It is based on the 1908 novel The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett. Cast Fay Compton - Sophie Barnes Florence Turner - Constance Barnes Henry Victor - Gerald Francis Lister - Cyril Povey Mary Brough - Mrs Barnes Joseph R. Tozer - Chirac Norman Page - Samuel Povey Drusilla Wills - Maggie Tamara Karsavina - Dancer can't find any evidence it has survived :(

[@mariaellis2882]

She’s so cute

[@JohnRaymondHall]

adorable, isn't she