Word: ballerina
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...film is a close approximation of the original. It is divided, in a manner that seems a little artificial for a motion picture, into a prologue, three acts, and an epilogue. In the prologue Hoffmann, a student in an ancient German university city, tells of his love for the ballerina Stella. Later, in Luther's Tavern, he falls into a reverie and tells his fellow students the three tales of his "folly of love...
Counterpointed with this theme is the love affair of one young man of the family with a dancer in Jouvet's troupe. Gaby Morlay plays the young man in a bright and cheerful way; Lumilla Teherina is as alluring as only a ballerina can be. But in spite of the excellence of the acting, top honors must go to the script. It wanders from light comedy to near-tragedy a little too easily for comfort, but it handles both moods well. Especially adept is the dialogue, which consists mainly to flip but meaningful Gallic sentiments on life and love...
...which lacks Europe's state-supported ballet schools and its longstanding ballet tradition, is supposed to be a dim spot for the production of topflight classical ballerinas. Last week, watching Oklahoma-born Maria Tallchief dance with the vigorous young New York City Ballet Company, balletomanes could smile at that one. Combining gusto with flawless technique, Maria's performance in Firebird already ranks as one of the finest in present-day ballet; her other specialties, e.g., the Balanchine-Bizet Symphony in C, her Pas de Deux from Sylvia, and Divertimento, are danced with the style and confidence...
...Nijinsky. In 1942 she moved East, joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There she was spotted by Choreographer George Balanchine, who began casting her in his ballets, later married her. When he and Lincoln Kinstein organized the City Center company in 1948, he brought Maria along as prima ballerina. Since then, with Russian-trained Balanchine to supply the polish, she has been shining more brightly each season...
Maria is America's ranking classical ballerina, but she lives the role American-style, without fits of backstage temperament or expensive habits. "We're a group of young, everyday Americans who all get on,"she says of the troupe. Separated from Balanchine since last fall, she now shares a three-room apartment with Dancer Vida Brown, another troupe member, does her share of the housework and shoping. For relaxation she likes a good game of poker. Otherwise, says Maria, "I just like to dance...