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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

http://rutt.smugmug.com/photos/67943110-L.jpg
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.

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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.

[DwightMcCann]

Utterly stunning, rutt! I cannot even see the trampoline used in the first three to get those people airborne! Gorgeous colors ... several remind me of paintings. If I had to make a negative criticism it would be of the overcrop on the left of the last image. But these are beautiful ... I have finally started looking into RAW, starting with using RSP. I am only now reading their workflow recommendations for use with the product, so I have a long way to go.

[rutt]

Thanks Dwight. Your praise is very meaningful to me. That last shot, well yes. I had to straighten it and then I lost a little bit of the left. I got the same shot in the two subsequent rehearsals, but this one had the best timing for the composition of the bride & groom walking into that door. What I wish I'd done in retrospect is use a lens wide enough for the entire stage and then cropped into a pano format. I had two bodies with me, so this would have been pretty easy. Instead, I had the 85 on the other body, which I did use, but it wasn't really wide enough. Les Noces, in particular, has a lot going on and uses the whole stage beautifully. Next time, (next week for Carmen) I will put a wider lens on that second body and see if anything good comes of it.

Utterly stunning, rutt! I cannot even see the trampoline used in the first three to get those people airborne! Gorgeous colors ... several remind me of paintings. If I had to make a negative criticism it would be of the overcrop on the left of the last image. But these are beautiful ... I have finally started looking into RAW, starting with using RSP. I am only now reading their workflow recommendations for use with the product, so I have a long way to go.

[DwightMcCann]

I guess that's why I have so many fast primes in my equipment budget, and sometimes I don't think two bodies is enough (although it is about all one can work with, of course). I have a couple of concerts in the pipeline so I'm busy.

[SYS]

Wow, these are indeed stunning!! It's hard to believe that you could capture these so sharply focused with only f/2.0. Were you using AI Servo mode?

[René Damkot]

All I can say is 'Amazing'.... Specially the 'solo' images. On the overviews there are a few that would have benefitted from a bit more DoF (the russian ballet pic and the last one), Apart from that: Stunning!

[rutt]

Wow, these are indeed stunning!! It's hard to believe that you could capture these so sharply focused with only f/2.0. Were you using AI Servo mode?

I switch back and forth from single shot to AI Servo mode (or whatever that second option is.) I was pretty far back, which helps DOF and I'm pretty careful about sharpening (and do a lot of post work) and that helps the illusion of sharpness. If the light were a little better, I'd stop down a bit to get more sharpness from this lens, but it does seem to have given me a great starting point.

[neil_r]

Wow, these are wonderful, excellent photographs and pretty impresive ballet.

N

[CyberDyneSystems]

Your timing and ability to freeze the moment just amazes me!

[SuzyView]

With no flash, too. Wonderful! The "in air" action shots are truly magic!

[xepherys]

Oooooo, these are nice pictures.

[tony fanning]

Great work!!!#3 is awesome.

[98photo]

Number 2 and 3 are my favorites, absolutely amazing shots! The 4th one is great also, the colors are fantastic in it!
Great job!

[jgbeam]

Utterly stunning, rutt! I cannot even see the trampoline used in the first three to get those people airborne!

I think he cloned out the fly lines, myself. Not even olympic gymnasts get that high!

As usual, brilliant photography, not to mention the dancing. I wish I had access to such talented dancers.

Jim