Stars Of The Kirov Ballet Dance To American Jazz, September 27, 2007
By J. M WILINSKY (teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This DVD features two Russian documentaries from 1991. The great Kirov dancer, Faroukh Ruzimatov, is featured in both along with his fellow men and women dancers, dancing to the music of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as the Leningrad Jazz Ensemble and others. The first film includes interviews with the participants, primarily Faroukh, and also performances by the Leningrad Jazz Ensemble. We are also shown a segment from Faroukh's performance of the Don Quixote ballet. The second film is essentially all dancing. The choreography for both films are by Nikolai Tagunov and all aspects of classical ballet technique are utilized, including pointework and partnering. The image quality and sound are good, but not as great as you might expect for films from 1991. But this is the way the actual films are--it is not the fault of Immortal Studies, who have produced this DVD. Another strange aspect of this DVD (which is Immortal's doing) is that after the first film, the DVD will actually go into stop mode. It must then be put back into play mode and when the menu comes up, the second film may then be chosen. This is not a big problem; just a little strange. So, if you are a fan of Faroukh Ruzimatov and the Kirov Ballet, these films provide a great opportunity to see them at their best, up close.
