Diana Vishneva

[Guest stumbleine_]

Is it true that she is arque (or bow-legged)?? This interests me very much because I am arque!

 

 

So if you have any information (or pictures), please post!

 

 

--Sarah

Edited July 27, 2004 by stumbleine_

[hinakogo]

I think she is Hyperextended and not bowlegged. I do know that bow leggedness and hiperextention is different. I know VAGANOVA ballet academy dont take people with bad legs lol. they only take people with perfect body. or almost perfect!

[vrsfanatic]

From first hand knowledge of working with Diana Vishneva and other students of the Vaganova Academy, when they were in the school, Ms. Vishneva is indeed bowlegged and hyperextended. There are varying degrees of bowlegged and hyperextended. She is slightly bowlegged. As for the "perfect" body in Vaganova Academy, there are varying degrees of this ideal.

[mohnurka]

vrsfanatic, what other students did you work with at the Vaganova? It's just very interesting to know.

[vrsfanatic]

I was a ballet teacher studying pedagogy at the Vaganova Academy from 1993-95. The school has too many students for me to name them all. As a teacher studying pedagogy I was privledged to observe all classes held in the school.

[Meggy]

I just recently saw Diana Vishneva dance Swan Lake with the Kirov at the Wang Center in Boston. I couldn't tell you if she was bowlegged or hyperextended -- all I know is that she was spectacular!

[Mel Johnson]

That's because she has worked for a long time, and has turned her hyperextension and bowleggedness to her advantage. It's a long, long, process having a lot to do with rotation of the femur in the hipjoint, and core strength.

 

Arqué is not an imperfection. Neither is hyperextension. They are both merely varieties from the straight-up-and-down views. Jean-Georges Noverre, writing in 1760, said that in his entire dancing career, he had only seen one or two perfectly straight-legged dancers.

[Meggy]

Thanks for your expertise, Mr. Johnson. I have hyperextended and bowlegged legs -- it's comforting to know that these characteristics are not debilitating!

 

Vishneva was splendid; I've been wanting to see her ever since I read the big article they had on her in Dance Magazine a few months ago, and went wild when I saw her name on the program! She blew me away. What artistry. ::sigh::

[Mazenderan]

Not sure if this is the best place to comment, but I didn't want to create another Vishneva thread if this one was still usable.

 

I'm not remotely well-versed in stylistic differences or analysis of choreography, etc, but am trying to learn to watch with a more critical eye. I had read that Diana Vishneva is regarded as wonderful and wandered off to Youtube to look at some clips. The only thing was, I didn't really like the bits I watched. I thought the technique looked flawless, but I thought that a couple of bits looked a bit frantic and a bit too 'gymnastic'. The parts of watched were Nikiya's death in La Bayadere, and her Prix de Lausanne performance as Carmen. They just left me a bit cold - especially Carmen .

 

So, what should I be looking for? What am I not recognising/appreciating?

[Clara 76]

Well, the Prix de Lausanne was dated 1994. That would be 15 years ago.

 

But at any rate, to each his own. In that particular performance of Nikiya, I'm not particularly fond of the continuous arching of her back and I find her back leg to not be as expressive in her grand jetés as it could be. In her Carmen, I can see how that particular performance (The one where she's wearing a red tunic-type garment?) might be perceived as a bit superficial.

 

However, I know that people rave about her, so I'd guess then that those 2 videos are not the best examples of her work.

 

Try our sister site, Ballet Talk, where they have dissected her performances in detail!! It is rather fascinating to see that people are either completely taken with her, or rather lukewarm. Over there, you'll see some refer to her as one of the "greats", and others as a more superficial talent.

[Hans]

The Prix de Lausanne was a very long time ago indeed! Vishneva has matured quite a bit since then, and probably also since the performances of Bayadère, which were also some years ago. I saw her as Kitri when the Mariinsky Ballet brought Don Quixote to the Kennedy Center and was quite taken with her performance. Lively acting, great comic timing, and very poised, controlled dancing in the dream sequence contrasting with more fiery technical displays during the grand pas de deux and the famous Act I variation. There are some clips of her online dancing Dulcinea's variation and also performing the coda from the grand pas de deux, and I would recommend watching these. However, keep in mind that it is impossible to form a true opinion of a dancer based solely on video, as it gives a distorted idea of what she is like in performance.

[Clara 76]

I'm glad to hear it, Hans! Thank you for responding!

[b1]

There is a series of 7 videos of Vishneva in company class on youtube. She is exquisite. Her phrasing of music is lovely, her completion of movement is fluid and continual. In the same video is Alina Somova with incredible flexibility. I didn't enjoy her nearly as much as Vishneva. It is more the quality of her movement that really impresses me.

[Clara 76]

I just went and checked them out!! I also watched Master Class clips.....does anyone have any idea when they were filmed in relation to the other clips?

 

Such a difference between the clips that it makes me curious about her artistic progression...

[Ballerina.girl16]

What is bow leggedness? Im not quite sure.