Ballets: Movies: Giselle in 3D on the big screen

[EricaHart]

About to buy my ticket for this, it's for 1 day only--July 12th.

 

http://www.fathomevents.com/performingarts...nt/giselle.aspx

[JLNH]

Finally, a 3D movie that does something other than explode!

 

I'm out of town for this one; I've added my name to the mailing list and will hopefully hear about future broadcasts.

[Victoria Leigh]

Thank you for telling us about this, EricaHart! I discovered that it is playing very near where I live, and will plan to be there!

[LauraR]

It's also playing near me and my dd would love to go! Thank you for the link. She asked if anyone knows who is dancing Giselle?

[EAC]

According to their promotional information:

The ballet stars Natalia Osipova as Giselle and Leonid Sarafanov as Count Albert.

 

I was surprised to see that this is also at a theater close to me. Now I just have to clear my schedule on Tuesday!

Thanks for the link.

[ballet_dad_]

Thank you for posting about Giselle in 3D and it will be interesting to hear if the 3D experience was worth the ticket price.

[Doubleturn]

A went to see this a few weeks ago in UK. I don't think the 3D really adds anything and gave a strange perspective to the stage at times - it seemed that people at the back were bigger than those at the front!

 

However apart from that, the dancing was magnificent and it is certainly well worth going to see. Natalia Osipova not only danced like a dream, but her acting in close ups was heart-breakingly realistic. Leonid Sarafanov was not overshadowed though, and his technique was as clean as it comes - entrechats to die for in Act 2.

[Victoria Leigh]

Thank you for that info, Doubleturn! I am going to see it Tuesday.

 

FYI - I'm not sure if it was the cause or not, but while I was at that website and clicking on the Buy Tickets tab, my computer freaked out and I started getting a ton of constant warnings and threats of spyware, malware, viruses, etc. After that, I could not open any web pages. I shut down, then booted and ran a scan, with McAffee, which fixed 5 things, but those warnings from a different security source, Windows actually, kept coming and would not quit. They showed 27 files involved. So, I gave up and quit on that computer and got out the laptop for now. Not quite sure what to do about the desktop beyond calling the Geeks, which is an expense I really don't need right now!

 

PS - I went to the theatre yesterday and bought the tickets.

[GTLS Designs]

A couple Ballet Teachers, and myself, will be seeing the matinee.... since we have to teach in the evening I'm really excited; Giselle is my favorite full length.

[EricaHart]

Thank you for that info, Doubleturn! I am going to see it Tuesday.

 

FYI - I'm not sure if it was the cause or not, but while I was at that website and clicking on the Buy Tickets tab, my computer freaked out and I started getting a ton of constant warnings and threats of spyware, malware, viruses, etc. After that, I could not open any web pages. I shut down, then booted and ran a scan, with McAffee, which fixed 5 things, but those warnings from a different security source, Windows actually, kept coming and would not quit. They showed 27 files involved. So, I gave up and quit on that computer and got out the laptop for now. Not quite sure what to do about the desktop beyond calling the Geeks, which is an expense I really don't need right now!

 

PS - I went to the theatre yesterday and bought the tickets.

 

Strange... after I entered my zip code and hit to buy the tickets, it forwarded me to the website of the theatre near me. So the viruses and junk may have been from the website of your local theatre. I had no issues with the site, and got my tickets and everything. Very sorry I gave that link now if it somehow did infect your computer.

 

I'm excited to see this and am giving up previous plans to see it. I love Giselle... only seen it performed by 1 company (I think it's called Balleto De Scala), but I've seen that video numerous times.

Edited July 11, 2011 by EricaHart

[Victoria Leigh]

Erica, I think you may be right about it being the site of my theatre, since it did happen when I was trying to buy the tickets.

[vrsfanatic]

I will be attending as well! Very excited. I have never seen 3D before.

[EricaHart]

I have never seen 3D before.

 

I've seen a few things in 3D. This is a new kind of 3D... not the old fashioned kind with red and blue lens glasses. They have grayish lenses and the 3D is MUCH more realistic. In some movies it just makes thing look weird. But I saw the 3D Hannah Montana concert (Don't make fun of me, lol, I used to be a huge fan of Miley Cyrus... now she's... meh, dressing too provocatively and stuff) but at times it felt like I was really at a real concert. In fact both me and the person I was with thought that all the arms in the air were people IN the theatre. I was thinking "come on people, put your hands down so I can see!". It took me a minute to realize that no, those were hands at the actual concert, lol.

[EricaHart]

Short version of my review: I loved it.

 

Long version:

This wasn't advertised well enough. I don't watch TV (seriously, my TV hasn't even been plugged in in over a year) so I don't know for sure that there were no commercials advertising it... but *everybody* I told about this special event was very surprised to hear about it.

 

The movie theatre was only had about 15 people seeing Giselle at the 7:30 showing... and besides myself, every person there was very elderly. I don't mean to sound agist... but I was pretty disappointed that there weren't any other 20-somethings there, and I know there are plenty of young ballet lovers in my area because I've met a bunch of them. Being that this was a 1 time event, and only in 1 theatre near here, I expected it to be packed with people of all ages and genders.

 

People were talking and muttering through the whole thing... maybe they were explaining the storyline to each other... but this isn't a normal movie where you get surprised by the plot as it unfolds... they should have come to the theatre knowing the basic storyline so as not to be so distracting through the whole thing (but I suppose I was the only one who was distracted since nearly everybody was chatting with each other).

 

When the curtain fell at the end of act 1... some people started getting up to leave!! I think they honestly thought it was over, lol, I was thinking "the best parts haven't even begun!"

 

However I'm a little confused... in the performance of Giselle I had previously seen... in act 2, I thought they were ghosts. In fact they had blacklights on the dancers creating a very ghostly effect on everything white. However, in the performance I saw today, I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be angels. They all had halos and wings (except Giselle). Very weird... do different performances get to interpret them as ghosts or angels as whichever one they prefer?

 

I loved the 3D effect of it all, by the way. The whole thing was amazing.

[Victoria Leigh]

I loved a lot of the dancing, and everything that Ossipova did except her à la seconde extensions But she was a very beautiful Giselle! He was excellent in the second act where he got to show his technique. The articulation of the feet by all the dancers was excellent. The only problems I had with the production itself were Giselle's entrance and exit in Act 2, the moment in Act 2 where she leans from on high in the wings to scatter flowers to Albrecht and you could see the mechanism that was supporting and moving her forward and back, and the flower wreaths on the heads of the male peasants. Yuck.

 

As far as the 3D, I thought it did nothing for the production and it would have been better without it. Act 2 was very dark, and the glasses just made it darker. It just did not add anything to the production except a bit of depth to the set.

 

The dancers in the second act are Wilis, Erica, which are "shades" or "spirits", not ghosts or angels. They are young women who died before they were wed, and come back to haunt the forrest at night and kill people like Hilarion and Albrecht. They kill Hilarion, but Giselle manages to save the life of Albrecht, who is then left alone to mourn her death.

 

On the whole I liked it very much, but really did not need the 3D. I have a question though, about some of the musical phrasing, which I found different. I was not certain whether it was a choice, or that sometimes they were a teeny bit late on some things, especially at the beginninsgs of sections, including some of Osipova's.