Boston Ballet, An Evening of Russian Ballet

rutt

If you live near Boston, I suggest you go see this show. It's only playing through Sunday, so you have to be on your toes, but I think you will find it worthwhile, even if you don't think you like ballet.


Christopher Budzynski in Gopak from Taras Bulba
Canon 5d with 135 f/2.0
1/250 @ f/2.0
ISO 1600

The first two acts are all classic Russian Ballets, very romantic, very athletic, very ebullient.


Lorna Feijoo
Canon 5D with 135 f/2.0
1/640 @ f/2.2
ISO 1600


Tai Jimenez & Yury Yanoswsky in Spring Waters
Canon 5D with 135 f2.0
1/500 @ f/2.0
ISO 1600

I've watched The Dying Swan progress though studio rehearsals. The dancers call it The Dead Duck which I think is probably sour grapes on the part of those who didn't get the role.


Karine Seneca
Canon 5D with 135 f/2.0
1/100th @ f/2.0
ISO 1000

The final act is also a Russian Ballet, but it's something completely different, Les Noces with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Bronislava Nijinska.


Canon 5D with 135 f/2.0
1/320 @ f/2.0
ISO 1600

This is an angry ballet first presented by the Ballet Ruse in Paris just after the end of World War I. It portrays a Russian peasant wedding, presumably an arranged and loveless marriage. The music is fantastic, but it must have sounded like noise nearly a century ago. There are 4 pianos, a large chorus, and an orchestra, so there is a lot of sound.


Canon 5D with 135 f/2.0
1/640 @ f/2.0
ISO 1600

The dancing must have also been challenging to understand when it was first performed. It's definitely classical ballet, but the romance is gone, the technique stylized and almost mechanical. The message is that this marriage is a rite over which the participants have little control. They are trapped in their roles.


Canon 5D with 70-200 f/2.8L @ 153mm
1/100th @ f/2.8
ISO 1000

The best thing about this program was to see Les Noces set against the background of its tradition. I loved seeing how it broke the rules, back in the days when there still were lots of rules to break.

Anyway, go to this if you can. It's a great introduction to non-Nutcracker ballet.

MarkM6

Awesome shots!
Wow... unreal! Awesome. I always wanted the 135L

DoctorIt

Every time you post your ballet photos, I swear these dancers are part cat! Great stuff, as usual.

rainforest1155

This really looks breath-taking and I would definately go to see this after seeing your sneak peak, but too bad I'm on the other side of the world.

Spasiba for your presentation,
Sebastian

vandana

You seem to get better everytime with these ballet shots - if there's still room to go ! these are awesome ! Love the last shot, now especially with some more info into it.
I think # 1 or 2 will be great for the challenge too.

Vandana

pathfinder

Here to a guy who really is using the 135L like it was designed for:slurp

These are great stuff, John,

I can see how you are struggling with noise in the darker solid colored areas of the images in some of them. Very dark on stage outside the lights.

I am amazed at how high they can jump from a solid surface. Incredible.

The DOF on the 5th image might have been a little greater - shot at f2, you might have tried f2.8 and got sharper faces in the foreground, even though the emphasis is on the central figure further back. A nit at best though.

I envy your access to this kind of production. Great stuff here for a book:):

saurora

It's so fun to watch your photography progress with each new ballet posting. You are really beginning to nail them, Rutt!!! They are just wonderful. Neat to see it on stage after viewing the rehearsals, too.

ian408

Jeez John! These are fantastic. And you know I'm probably not a ballet
fan

You've really managed to catch the emotion and athleticism of the
performance. Your post work is very good as well.

Thanks again for sharing.

ginger_55

Wonderful photos, Rutt!

And that last "set", for Les Noces: outstanding, well.........I think that is a ballet I would like!

ginger (wonderful shots, just...........as everyone says!)

But, hey, I think "The Dead Duck" is very apt and would heighten my enjoyment, smile.

rutt

Thank you, everyone. Pathfinder, you are very right about noise in the dark areas, but I have a new trick, one I invented all by myself.

These images all benefit a lot from being conventionally USM sharpened. It's night and day. Take my word for it. But sharpening ISO 1600 shots with large very dark areas, well, it's a real fight with noise.

So here's what I did with these. I made a duplicate image and converted to CMYK. Then I steepened the curve for the black channel and used Filter: Blur: Surface Blur on it. Meanwhile, back at the original image, I sharpened as usual, but in a duplicate layer. Finally I used the black channel from the duplicate image as a layer mask for the sharpening layer. Look ma, no sharpening noise!

§imone

:heh @ the 'Dead Duck' comment, oh how true. Though fellow dancers acknowledge the principal dancer's technique etc, it can also bring out the worst in some.

I do like the Tai Jimenez & Yury Yanoswsky in Spring Waters shot. For it shows how every muscle in the body works during dance etc.

Yvette Marie

I am totally
enthralled... entranced... IMPRESSED!

These are awesome.

Yvette