A lot of chatter, lately, amongst dance geeks on Facebook about the great classical ballet pose the “fishdive” which, according to pundits was not part of the original Petipa choreography (way too athletic and upside down for that era) but seems to have been introduced in the 1946 version of “The Sleeping Beauty.”
This notwithstanding, a lovely version was recently on view at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where Marcelo Gomes and Diana Vishneva, among other leading-role casts, propeled the world premiere of American Ballet Theatre’s stellar new staging of “Beauty” by choreographer Alexei Ratmansky.
We love the Gomes-Vishneva dive. But we’re admittedly more than intrigued by a fabulous update by Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Two of the troupe’s former dancers, Natalia Alonso & Gary Jeter II, go fishing here.
FB friend John Clifford explains that it is not considered a “lift”: “It’s a “dive” because you don’t lift the girl. The weight of gravity takes her down to your arm and supported by your thigh.”
Further clarification from FB’er, Howard Sayette: “The dive is repeated three times, and actually, its harder to make lifting her out of it look smooth and easy than the dive itself.”
In other words, it’s the reeling in of the big catch, just like in the sports world, that’s the challenge. Kudos to all.