That pas de deux: a few telling moments
Commenter “AesopFan” had this to say about a very short passage within the “Agon” pas de deux we discussed a while ago:
There is a small section that I noticed has different movements in the two samples.
The woman, in front, slips backwards between the man’s legs, lifts her legs in a wide V, then he pulls her up again…
I liked the original much better, although I don’t know that I have the words to say why. Both are very expressive and fluid, but the first seemed more connected.
Well, I believe I can tell you why you thought the original was more connected.
But first watch the passage in the original, and then in the newer production. It’s very short, just a few seconds really. You can even set it to slow motion if you’d like, and if you want to make it full screen go right ahead. But don’t blink, or you may miss it:
So, why would AesopFan feel them to be more connected in the original version? Because they are more connected.
In the first few seconds of the first clip, as the woman (Diana Adams) slides downward towards a seated position, she holds her torso – her back and her head – against Arthur Mitchell’s torso (his front). She seems a bit stuck to him in some way and slightly reluctant to move. There is resistance to getting down on the floor. She appears conflicted; perhaps with a “should I stay or should I go?” feeling. But the woman in the other couple (Maria Kowroski) is just moving quickly and effortlessly downwards. Although she’s holding onto his arms, she’s otherwise doing it totally on her own. We have no idea why she’s going downwards, or what the relationship might be between these two people.
Then, after each woman goes backwards into a split while reclining on her back, Diana Adams performs her split with some resistance and less ease, whereas Kowroski is once again merely showing us how tremendously flexible she is.
But it’s the next part that’s more telling. Each man leans waaaayy back to grab his partner’s hands and hoist her up onto her feet again. But by the time Mitchell reaches back, most of Adams’ body is still reclining, so that the backwards-leaning Mitchell really is pulling her right off the floor, propelling her forward with his power. They are connected, and she is somewhat dependent on him – although she seems somewhat desirous of being pulled.
In contrast, Kowroski is almost completely autonomous. She gets up mostly under her own steam. Why is her partner even bothering to lean all the way back? She does lean on him just a bit as she gets up, using him rather like the armrests on a chair. That’s about all he seems to be to her. The entire sequence has lost or changed its meaning because of the slight change in movement and emphasis. Why are they going down and up again; why should we care? But we don’t know what’s missing unless we’ve seen it done differently, and even then it goes so quickly and smoothly that a viewer might have trouble, just as AesopFan did, explaining why he or she feels a bit flat about it.
And that’s just a few seconds’ worth of the pas de deux. The entire ballet is like that. The differences are small but profound, and the feelings they evoke in the audience are different. I suspect it not only reflects differences in dance, dance directors, and dancers themselves, as well as what audiences have come to expect, but it expresses a difference in the idea of relationships between men and women in 1957 (when the piece was first performed) and now.
“I suspect it not only reflects differences in dance, dance directors, and dancers themselves, as well as what audiences have come to expect, but it expresses a difference in the idea of relationships between men and women in 1957 (when the piece was first performed) and now.” – Neo
Hmm.
I’m seeing a connection with the Doris Lessing post, the parts about feminism.
“Lessing, who became a feminist icon with the books The Grass is Singing and The Golden Notebook, said a “lazy and insidious” culture had taken hold within feminism that revelled in flailing men.”
Next time, I’ll bring the Jell-o.
Oh my; thanks to AesopFan for pointing that out and to Neo for defining the difference so well. Now I see it too. Never a great one for ballet, I realize there is much more to see than just the physicality. The original puts the “deux” into the “pas de”.
In watching the two clips I noticed that in the earlier clip, immediately after the woman slides behind the man, he simply drops to his knees… he remains closer to her physically as he begins to reach back. As he pulls her up, they remain physically close… intimately so. It creates a sense in me that they are also emotionally close/connected.
In the later clip, the man steps out before going to his knees and reaching back. It creates a LOT more air between them. Thus it kills the sense of physical intimacy that I feel when watching it.
This is way outside my wheelhouse. I would never have seen this without a guide to show me what to begin watching for. Thank you.
Although new to this site, it is already apparent that AesopFan is deeply contemplative (in a good way).
Just so his head doesn’t swell up too much, LOL, he’s pretty verbose too 🙂
Men and women, gentlemen and ladies, were equal and complementary. There was an active effort to normalize this favorable juxtaposition of the sexes. Today, we are misaligned, competitive, even confrontational. The tenor change from the classic to contemporary productions, reflected by proximity, synchronization, and faith, epitomizes our progress.
“She seems a bit stuck to him in some way and slightly reluctant to move. There is resistance to getting down on the floor. She appears conflicted; perhaps with a ‘should I stay or should I go?’ feeling.” — Neo
If you start that video a few seconds earlier than Neo’s start spot you can see it a bit better. There is definitely a pause after she plants her feet spread wide. Given her muscular build, it looks like a very powerful stance to me and possibly a visual statement.
Then its looks like she is trying to overcome a little stiction on the soles of her shoes. You can see her thigh muscles flex and twitch a little and her hips wiggle just a tiny bit; then the feet begin to slide.
Watched both again. Adams does not plant her heels until just before the slide, and apparently the heels stick. Kowroski plants her heels immediately, pauses, then lifts her heels an instant before the slide. So her slide is a toe slide. The Adams maneuver is much more muscular.
I hear a Monkees’ song now as I see the second, Kowroski clip:
“I … I … I … I … I’m
not your stepping
stone.”
He’s there to be stepped on, as she moves thru high society.
Tom – haven’t thought of that song in years!
It was one of my favorites.
Actually, I thought most of their music was pretty good, even if it was a made-for-tv band.
JimNorCal on February 2, 2020 at 12:48 pm said:
Although new to this site, it is already apparent that AesopFan is …pretty verbose too ?
* * *
It’s mostly long excerpts posted late at night.
And occasional rants
But thanks for the notice!
I love this site. Neo, thanks for introducing the finer things into this old, broken down rugby player’s life.
Please don’t mistake this as a bid for sympathy. I made my choices and they are catching up to me. You know what makes me laugh every time I look in the mirror? I have to use a walker just to get to the mirror. And then I laugh at myself.
Do you know what you find out when you use a walker? Just how badly you need shoulder replacement surgery.
But that’s all spilled milk. The relevant point, I believe, is that A) I watch the clip with the sound off and B) is I watch the clip with the sound on.
The ballet this woman is describing seems to have nothing to do with what I am seeing. She is describing an evolving relationship, challenging the male dancer; (working from memory so this may not be an exact quote) “If he knows everything about me will he still be there at the end.”
What I am seeing is a well rehearsed scenario where all the challenges have been worked out. It’s not evolving; it has evolved. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Maybe this bothers no one else but me.