Chapter Forty-Three of Keeping Score In America: Divinely Theatrical Perfection By Michael Moriarty I don't think I've ever been quite as impressed by a pas de deux in my life as by this. I don't think I've been as repeatedly impressed by anything in the performing arts as by this breathtaking duet. Why? And what should I know about dance in general that might recommend reading this article? I was married, for many years, to a prima ballerina for the Robert Joffrey Ballet Company. I not only saw their ballets every season but attended a few classes and dress rehearsals as well. In addition, and even after my wife and I had separated, I attended George Balanchine's New York City Ballet. I've seen Nureyev in Paris, Baryshnikov in New York. In addition and since the age of 10, 1952, and my first grade school comedy sketch and until the year 2006, at the age of 65, I've been in the theater, film and television as a performer. As I proclaimed immediately upon seeing this virtual treasure of Dance, "Elegance! Craft! Style! Erotics! Command! Beauty! Simplicity! Breathtaking allure! The Curtain Call Almost As Divine and Style-Setting As The Dance Itself! What's Not To Adore?!" I still declare, "She is the empress of deadly sirens!" "The human being can, at times, be so painfully beautiful!!!!" In short, "A godlike artistry!" The despicable oversight for me is that I cannot, at the site I found this video on, find the name of anyone but the man who put it there. Why did he not honor the dancers enough to include their names?! Without the genius of human beings such as this pair of divinely possessed angels, the video and videos in general are meaningless!
What makes this pair so special in my mind? Two: The choreography alone is now an indelible memory! Three: Their performance of it, however, belongs among the gods of dance!! Nijinsky? Yes. Baryshnikov? Yes. Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham? Yes. To flawlessly portray two human souls, both aflame with love and lust?! It is as much an acting achievement as it is a dancer's. And one really doesn't know from this video how handsome the male dancer is until the close-ups during the curtain call. The depth of homage, in this curtain call, that these two pay to one another and then the audience?! Bestowed with theatrically flawless panache. The entire theme of a woman's complete and utter surrender to her man is continued in the choreography of their curtain call. He, the dancing Pygmalion, is ever in complete command! His creation, the divine goddess in blue, awakes at his touch from a statue's semi-death. He displays her to us in simultaneously the most dramatically arrogant and shamelessly possessive pride. They both pass through various stages of ecstasy, she in surrender, he in god-like ownership! As complete a rendering of Man's most complex relationship: two, infinitely seasoned lovers! Divinely theatrical perfection! Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty.
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