Tetsuya Kumakawa & Leanne Benjamin -Tchaikovsky 'Nutcracker' Pas de Deux

The 'Pas de Deux' from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" Ballet was performed at the Royal Opera House in 1993 during a special gala evening devoted to excerpts from the operas and ballets of the great Russian composer. Leanne Benjamin and Tetsuya Kumakawa were the two soloists in this performance, dancing together for the opening Intrada and closing Coda, with Kumakawa dancing the 1st Variation (Tarantella) and Benjamin the 2nd (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy).

[@lynnelloyd658]

Kumakawa takes my breath away.

[@vikkifenlon6741]

This is so beautiful it always takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes!

[@stevetutty2818]

Just so rich and beautiful and that feeling it’s great to be alive!

[@alisonmerle1528]

i love this so much.

[@tigereyes5]

Beautiful! They are both amazing. And this is the best version of the male variation that I have seen!

[@elizzy8754]

tigereyes5 I think this is the version usually performed in Russia; the other well-known version is the Nureyev choreography (Paris Opera Ballet). Yes, I like this one better; Nureyev's version is very spectacular and a wonderful use of the music but not very sympathetic to the ballerina IMHO.

[@sandramedeirosgerhardt7862]

+Wendy Reymond I agree with you, the Mariinky Ballet showed it like that. I loved the male variation.

[@sharonkeogh7036]

This is not the Russian version but The Royal Ballet's By Peter Wright

[@pavlaki1]

Peter Wright would have been using the Sergeyev notations handed down, plus he was an avid follower of Vera Volkova, the contemporary of Vaganova. Having said that, I much prefer his 'interpretation' of the choreography.

[@cristianrey1032]

@@pavlaki1 The male variation is not notated in Stepanov. Sir Peter Wright basically followed the pas as it has been performed in London since it was staged by Sergueev for Markova in the late 30's, with the extra help of Mme Karsavina, who reinforced what had been passed down from Markova to Fonteyn/Somes. Russia performs Vainonen for the Mariinsky and Grigorovitch for the Bolshoi, both choreos completely disengaged from any notations or links to Petipa. Same with Nureyev.

[@movingpicutres99]

Thank you!

[@puckjuh1993]

Both are absolutely amazing!! Such a gorgeous performance! I hope to see Tetsuya live one day, but unfortunately that isn't really within the realms of possibility. :( Anyways, thank you so much for sharing this!

[@Jules-1770]

For 1993, this was ahead of its time.

[@LuizFilipeLucchiari]

Saiu do eixo 6:50 voltou no eixo e finalizou a pirueta. Nível de profissionalismo.

[@nancyayers6355]

It was particularly great to watch this, because they finally danced the way it was originally meant to - with the wonderful and dramatic ending!

[@afonso_garcia]

BRAAVOOOOOOOO

[@noriue5426]

ロココ調のヘアスタイルと衣装がとても合っています。若く才能あるお二人。

[@adam28xx]

Google translate: "Rococo hairstyles and outfits match very well. Two young and talented people."

[@glaucodilieto]

I don't know if this was recorded by pointing a camera at the telly but it's so badly cropped at the top and bottom, you never see their feet. Makes such a beautiful performance quite painful to watch. Shame. You used to be able to find the Miyako Yoshida / Jonathan Cope version on YT, sadly it's been deleted. Bring it back!

[@adam28xx]

It's all to do with the "cropping" options on You Tube! ... However, you make a very good point, so it's been put back to the original TV ratio which at the time was not "wide-screen." This means you get black bars at either side but maybe that doesn't matter, as you now get the full picture. And isn't Tchaikovsky's music, based solely on a descending scale, simply marvellous!

[@glaucodilieto]

Ah, so much better! Thanks for that, we really don't mind the black bars...

[@hughburnage3493]

Miyako Yoshida and Steven McRae was the best

[@dinashulman7902]

Нет исполнителя этого балета"Щелкунчик"лучше,чем Николай Цискаридзе.После исполнения этой партии Николаем,никого не воспринимаешь.

[@reanimato1]

Странный комментарий. Причем здесь Н.М.Цискаридзе? Это другая хореография, другая школа. Различие стилей и интерпретаций делает балет еще более интересным. Вообще не пойму зачем Вы смотрите балет, имея образ мышления спортивного болельщика. Может, Вам переключится на футбол?..

[@daryakiryushko2246]

Gymnasts.

[@ぐりぐりコロ]

この頃の熊川はん、カズレーザーに見えるな

[@1225rosechoco]

Very beautiful woman but not so technical

[@Veritech]

10:55 They are out of sync.

[@jorgejure7673]

They were so good in later years that this looks like a school performance . Mr Kumakawa could do much better than this … well a historic document

[@afonso_garcia]

ぶらぼー

[@hinapi24]

なんか、上手くいってない、、、？

[@adam28xx]

This translates as: "Somehow, it's not working ...?" ... What does this mean exacty, as it's working for everyone else.