Rating: 
Summary: Viewer from Rydal, PA is commenting on another performance
Review: I agree with the viewer from Rydal, PA about the excellent performance he/she discusses, but this American Ballet Theater DVD version is another altogether; completely different casts.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful dancing, great camera work; superb overall
Review: I am a big FAN of ballet, but not a CRITIC; thus, I'm not qualified to analyze this performance down to every minute detail as some of the other very erudite reviewers have done. Dance--especially ballet--is far and away my favorite form of performance art, and I loved ABT's "Le Corsaire" for overall presentation, great artistry, lively dancing, and excellent editing.The Dancing. "Le Corsaire" is a full-length ballet story that centers on a beautiful slave (Medora, danced by Julie Kent) who becomes the object of desire of more than a couple of pirates (principal characters danced by Ethan Stiefel, Angel Corella, Joaquin De Luz and Vladimir Malakhov). It's a theme we're all familiar with (I dare say, perhaps in real life also), so the inbuilt intrigue is enough to keep viewers interested throughout the story. The dancing in this performance (staged in Southern California in 1999) is absolutely awesome from a technical standpoint, and there are many moments that caused me to marvel. Principal dancers Corella, Paloma Herrera and Malakhov put on truly amazing displays of athleticism, balance and fluidity. Same with Julie Kent, who still looks like my ideal ballerina in terms of beauty and grace. Even the corps shines, especially in Act III. I must admit [picky comment] I was a tad underwhelmed by Ethan Stiefel, not because of his dancing, but because he seemed to be miscast: his slight build and boyish looks just didn't convey what I expected from a pirate. This little "flaw" was not enough to detract from the performance. The Interludes. Prior to each act there is commentary by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and interviews (more like sound bites) with dancers and backstage personnel that are supposed to provide insight into what is portrayed as a confusing (I'm not certain why) storyline. Although it's a mildly interesting added dimension to hear the characters speak behind the scenes, much of the cast comes across as a little goofy and/or tongue-tied. I watched the first time; in the future I'll likely skip these parts. The Visuals. I have to say that this ballet DVD showcases some of the best camera work and editing I've ever experienced for a dance performance. Edits betwen full stage and individual character views are timely and allocated perfectly. Thankfully, the common mistake (seen so often on television these days) of zooming in on a performer's face--while missing the body's attitude and movement--virtually never surfaces on this disc. There are a couple of distracting instances where the conductor's baton flicks into the bottom of the picture, and where some standing audience members obscure the dancers at curtain call time. Still, 99% of the time the camera is looking exactly where my eyes want to go, and that scores big points in watching a great performance like this.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful dancing, great camera work; superb overall
Review: I am a big FAN of ballet, but not a CRITIC; thus, I'm not qualified to analyze this performance down to every minute detail as some of the other very erudite reviewers have done. Dance--especially ballet--is far and away my favorite form of performance art, and I loved ABT's "Le Corsaire" for overall presentation, great artistry, lively dancing, and excellent editing. The Dancing. "Le Corsaire" is a full-length ballet story that centers on a beautiful slave (Medora, danced by Julie Kent) who becomes the object of desire of more than a couple of pirates (principal characters danced by Ethan Stiefel, Angel Corella, Joaquin De Luz and Vladimir Malakhov). It's a theme we're all familiar with (I dare say, perhaps in real life also), so the inbuilt intrigue is enough to keep viewers interested throughout the story. The dancing in this performance (staged in Southern California in 1999) is absolutely awesome from a technical standpoint, and there are many moments that caused me to marvel. Principal dancers Corella, Paloma Herrera and Malakhov put on truly amazing displays of athleticism, balance and fluidity. Same with Julie Kent, who still looks like my ideal ballerina in terms of beauty and grace. Even the corps shines, especially in Act III. I must admit [picky comment] I was a tad underwhelmed by Ethan Stiefel, not because of his dancing, but because he seemed to be miscast: his slight build and boyish looks just didn't convey what I expected from a pirate. This little "flaw" was not enough to detract from the performance. The Interludes. Prior to each act there is commentary by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and interviews (more like sound bites) with dancers and backstage personnel that are supposed to provide insight into what is portrayed as a confusing (I'm not certain why) storyline. Although it's a mildly interesting added dimension to hear the characters speak behind the scenes, much of the cast comes across as a little goofy and/or tongue-tied. I watched the first time; in the future I'll likely skip these parts. The Visuals. I have to say that this ballet DVD showcases some of the best camera work and editing I've ever experienced for a dance performance. Edits betwen full stage and individual character views are timely and allocated perfectly. Thankfully, the common mistake (seen so often on television these days) of zooming in on a performer's face--while missing the body's attitude and movement--virtually never surfaces on this disc. There are a couple of distracting instances where the conductor's baton flicks into the bottom of the picture, and where some standing audience members obscure the dancers at curtain call time. Still, 99% of the time the camera is looking exactly where my eyes want to go, and that scores big points in watching a great performance like this.
Rating:
Summary: Great American Ballet
Review: I noticed a few reviews of ballet videos on Amazon recommending certain videos/dvds as representations of "professional" productions. In other words, certain ballet videos/dvds can and should(?) be used to show youngsters what the real world of ballet is all about. I use the question mark in my previous sentence to emphasize the uncertainty some persons might have about the idea of encouraging professional ballet dancing...however, I am writing here to assure any novice--expert ballet goer that the ABT version of Le Corsaire(1999) is as close to a great contemporary ballet experience as person can get today (on tape/dvd; of course live is the true experience). So, what does this mean? Get this video/dvd!! If you love ballet for what it should be today (i.e. virtuoso performances, grace, heartbreaking beauty, stunning costumes, aptly conducted music) then this is the end all be all of American ballet (and I contend that American ballet is the end all be all of ballet in the world today),don't miss it. This is American ballet at its best and if you are an aspiring ballet dancer or a seasoned dancer, you can't miss this! This performance has something to teach every viewer about the ultimate in professional American ballet. I chose to not address the performances of any certain dancer in this production because I don't feel personal performance comparison should be a matter for rating this video/dvd. Sure, there might be other productions that offer better performances in certain roles (although I contend here too that one is hard pressed to argue otherwise), but none the less this video/dvd is a complete package that is unparalleled in the limited ballet video/dvd market. Don't miss it!!
Rating:
Summary: Great American Ballet
Review: I noticed a few reviews of ballet videos on Amazon recommending certain videos/dvds as representations of "professional" productions. In other words, certain ballet videos/dvds can and should(?) be used to show youngsters what the real world of ballet is all about. I use the question mark in my previous sentence to emphasize the uncertainty some persons might have about the idea of encouraging professional ballet dancing...however, I am writing here to assure any novice--expert ballet goer that the ABT version of Le Corsaire(1999) is as close to a great contemporary ballet experience as person can get today (on tape/dvd; of course live is the true experience). So, what does this mean? Get this video/dvd!! If you love ballet for what it should be today (i.e. virtuoso performances, grace, heartbreaking beauty, stunning costumes, aptly conducted music) then this is the end all be all of American ballet (and I contend that American ballet is the end all be all of ballet in the world today),don't miss it. This is American ballet at its best and if you are an aspiring ballet dancer or a seasoned dancer, you can't miss this! This performance has something to teach every viewer about the ultimate in professional American ballet. I chose to not address the performances of any certain dancer in this production because I don't feel personal performance comparison should be a matter for rating this video/dvd. Sure, there might be other productions that offer better performances in certain roles (although I contend here too that one is hard pressed to argue otherwise), but none the less this video/dvd is a complete package that is unparalleled in the limited ballet video/dvd market. Don't miss it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Some excellent, dancing, reductive PC and insipid production
Review: Some very fine dancing from the dancers when the soloists can get free from the Soviet rechoreographing and replotting and a really visually insipid American production -- which recalls Coney-Island side-shows (as in On the Town, for example). Sets, lighting and (especially) the intermission/interval "interviews" are cringe-making and naive. Pity they can't be deleted. "Atmosphere" is sqeaky-clean, phoney and abjectly PC -- would you ever believe that these girls were supposed to be "slaves"!? Orientals are seen as drivelling idiots. Orchestral music is finely played. But the whole cheerful, jaunty production has no confidence in what it is doing, which it ought to have even if the Byronic "plot" is admittedly fustian. The comments of the staff show that that they're quite willing to snort and send the whole thing up. This production trivializes everything it touches and reduces the ballet to a series of individual excellent performances. Alas, for the ballet see the Kirov production instead. Petipa was a genius. The audience loved the production.
Rating:
Summary: Generic Virtuosity
Review: The best thing about this production is what it looks like -- the quality of DV tape is now so close to film that the color saturation and absolute lack of bleeding, even when the dancers are moving their fastest, is quite impressive. It is an exceptionally good-looking production.
The ensemble work is often ragged, but all the major dancing (except that of Paloma Herrera as Gulnara) is first rate -- but at the same time, it is also exceedingly alike. The reworking of Petipa's choreography and the actual dancing never defines the characters, except for the exotic flavors given to Joaquin de Luz's Brabanto. No matter who the character is, or the nature of the emotion - they all dance the same. It is all dance, just dance - no characterization at all.
Throughout, there is a smarmy, superior and condescending attitude taken towards the work -- it's a campy joke only worthy for the many opportunities it provides for virtuoso dancing (so actually says the company director in an interview). This heavy handed editorializing -- elbowing one in the ribs, face making and wiggling of eyebrows -- is particularly annoying in Ethan Stiefel's title role. He comes across as a real idiot - as most of the 20 something dancers do in the painfully stupid interviews they give before the acts.
The three Odalisques are wonderfully danced (the best dancing here) and except for the cement mixer - earthbound Herrera, the other performances are impressively flashy.
In every way, save the Odalisques (both sets are about equally wonderful), the Kirov production of Le Corsaire is a vast improvement. All the Kirov dancers are at least as good technically -- but more importantly -- they bring a real sense of dignity and classical style to their roles. Yelena Pankova's Gulnara here absolutely vaporizes Herrera's performance. Pankova (via the choreographers and director) individualizes Gulnara with seemingly weightless leaps and ethereal steps -- she is a very different character from Altynai Asylmuratova's more classically choreographed Medora. In the ABT production, nothing differentiates between the two characters -- they are given exactly the same kind of dances to do and perform them in exactly the same way...generic virtuosity.
That said, I would never part with this ABT performance either. It is beautiful, the music is wonderful, the choreography is great (of course) and the virtuosity is often thrilling. Additionally, the music and even story are so vastly different between the two productions that they are virtually two different ballets (the three Odalisques are at the beginning in the ABT, and in the last act in the Kirov).
Get them both if you can, but the Kirov is much the better of the two.
Rating:
Summary: IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: The dancing is technically excellent taken by itself.
The interviews and comments of the performers came across to me as being silly, childish, immature and detracted from their real talent--DANCING. Giggling and supposed "cutsie" facial expressions were a severe detraction and reflected adversely on their total performance. Bad judgement of someone involved in the production of this DVD.
Louis and Janet Schlom
Rating:
Summary: Le Corsaire the Best!
Review: There is only one thing to say! It's the best
Rating:
Summary: Only the male soloists pull any weight here!
Review: This ballet was staged for the first time in Paris in 1856 to choreography by Joseph Mazalier. It was great success, mostly due to the exotic setting of the plot being, I believe, somewhere in the Middle East, and its beuatiful score by Adolphe Adam. The ballet was staged for the Russian Czar's Imperial Ballet in St Petersburg in 1858 by Jules Perrot, cheif choreographer at the Paris Opera. The ballet was revised several times afterward by the great choreographer Marius Petipa (Creator of "La Bayadere, "The Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake", "Nutcracker") who by the time the ballet had come to Russia, was chief ballet master and choreographer of the Imperial Ballet. He consistantly reworked the choreography and usic adding music by many composers other than Adam: Cesare Pugni, Prince Oldenbourg, Leo Delibes, Leon Minkus, and Ricardo Drigo. The ballet was unkown out side of Russia untill the famous dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union in 1962. For himself and his partner Margot Fonteyn, he staged the "Corsaire Pas De Deux". This number, although not by Adolphe Adam but added in by Petipa in 1899 to music of Ricardo Drigo, has become the ultimate virtuoso peice to show off technique and flash. But the full length work was not staged in the west for many years. In the mid 90's, it was staged for the Boston Ballet by the great Russian ballerina Natalia Dudinskaya and later, that version was staged for American Ballet Theatre. Here we have ABT performing in California, with Ethan Stiefel as Conrad, Julie Kent as Medora, Vladimir Malakhov as Lankendem, Paloma Herrera as Gulnare, and Angel Correla as the slave Ali. They woman are awful....Julie Kent dances as though shes afraid of falling with her overly simplistic style. Paloma Herrera is unpolished and overly expressive in her port de bras.....her interpretation of the Pas D'Sclave was pretty boring. Infact all of the female dancers in this ballet look odd and under polished. On the other hand the male dancers were awesome to say the least....it is almost ironic to think that this ballet, which was originally created to showcase a great ballerinas is now in this film dominated by men. HA HA! The pas de odalisques was a dissaponitment, for the style of these soloists is not all that great and they are under coached. Despite the triple pirouettes of the final soloist in the pas (which the audience thinks is amazing) she was the worst. The scene 'Le Jardin Anime' is not that great either, with Julie Kent performing a variation from "Don Quixote" instead of the traditional one and the corps was a mess. The sets and costumes are pretty good, though the 'captain hook' costumes of the males look pretty stupid when their supposed to be Mid-Eastern corsaires, not to mention the cross-bones flag on top of the pirate ship in the last scene. This performance was made into a pretty big deal in the dance world when it came out a few years back.....but its not all its cracked up to be. It does not hold a candle to the Kirov's version (see my review of it) which I recommend anyone thinking of purchasing this film should get instead. But both together make great companions. Ill give this one two stars, being that it is a second place perfomance.
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