I love Por Una Cabeza too,
usethis2. But, like
yhma fan and
mary01, I love the boldness and desperation in this Bells of Moscow performance. Maybe I read too much symbolism into the program, but it sure does make it more interesting to watch. One of the reasons I like Mao so much is because she is so artistic and athletic in her movements that it reminds of a beautiful moving painting or like a writer making words, sounds and meanings flow gracefully and poetically across a page or through one's mind.
Here is a great message that
bebece posted about Rachmaninoff's composition of Bells of Moscow that goes into more detail. Thanks to bebece for this fascinating but disturbing post.
bebece's post: http://www.maoasadaforum.com/t1282p330-mao-post-sochi-news-and-articles page 23
i just hear this Bell of Moscow that apparently play by Rachmaninoff himself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOx710drHnw
and in the user comment some one wrote this
" Rachmaninoff wrote this piece about a dream he had. He dreamed that he was at a funeral, thus the sombre, emotional first section of the piece. As he got up and walked over to the coffin he saw himself in it, at that point he became agitated and started screaming to himself, this is where the music gets very fast and very loud, and this is where the amazing marvelous step sequence begins, frantic movement dramatic and fierce. By the end he accepts his own fate as the music calms down again for the ending."
so naturally i start to compare this with mao program
hahahahaha so now it make sense that she has movement that looks like slapping her self, i guest it sort of movement to wake her self, like pinch your self to know its dream or not.
the end of bebece's post
My thoughts:
I also thought the contrast between the "passionate flower" (the red rose of youth) and the "desperation of impending death" (the black rose) is why I like Mao's Bells of Moscow costume and program so much. I think this contrast makes it one of Mao's most beautiful and bold ones, as
mary 01 said. I also began to see Mao's fan spiral as if she were lying down in a coffin because she leans her arms and back so far behind her and lifts her legs so high as if through levitation, which is unique to Mao's fan spiral. Her snarling peek a boo pose through black gloves during her arabesque shows her defiance against death like she is looking through the crack in a lid of a coffin that is about to close. Then as previously mentioned, there is her black gloved hand held like a dark halo over her head in the picturesque flexibility of her I spin.
Finally, her desperate step sequence shows a final act of frantic resistance against the dark hand of fate coming her way with pirouettes, peek a boo poses, sliding side steps, and more open mouthed expressions displaying desperation, which she turns towards the sky with her block glove cupped against her chest in her final one handed Biellmann spin. Then, she looks upward and holds her hands high in her final pose. While you may feel this final pose is anti-climatic
krunchi, to me it shows how she surrenders to fate in the final moments of the performance just as Rachmaninoff did when he dreamed he had become the person trapped but still alive in the coffin. Spooky and a bit kooky but with a lot of emotional intensity and artistic symbolism. Mao performing to Tarasova's choreography often creates performances with a classic and timeless feel that have great authenticity.
In addition to the transcendent beauty, desperation, and incredible expressions and step sequence, the fact that Mao was so youthful but still mature enough to portray this contrast is why I still think of this as one of Mao's most perfect performances in terms of her character fitting the spirit of the music. Though I really like the version that Mao skates too, I prefer the piano version of this song because it is more dynamic in terms of altering speed, mood and has more subtlety and greater depth of emotion. It sounds best to me when Rachmaninoff plays it himself, but the fast part in the piano is a little out of sync with the choreography in the step sequence.
Trophee Eric Bombard with piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPL33zP1Etw
Worlds version without piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvEfCaDMz9k
One thing that haunts me more than this program though is how I horrified I will be if Mao continues to be underscored like she was at the end of last season and in this program at Worlds in 2010, not to mention quite a few other times that come to my mind.
Does anyone remember her wearing a green dress on ice?
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