As someone who has an interest in adult ballet (on/off) in my late 40s these deconstructions are fascinating! It allows me to appreciate it all even more even though I'll never perform it.
I clicked this so fast. Balanchine's Waltz is the BEST rendition. There's absolutely no contest. The patterns, the canons (the moment at 15:16 is, I kid you not, the moment that made me love ballet - it's so simply but my goodness), the fluffiness of the dresses. The fifty million jetes en tournant/tour jetes.... They make it look so easy.
Thank you so much for this! Balanchine's is my favorite Flowers because it's all DANCING, no posing and mucking around in place, just all-out dance and energy and amazing patterns. Ashley's performance here is also the best. I loved seeing you break down and explain what makes her interpretation and technique so stellar.
The swelling of the music in this piece and how Ashley plays with it is just so amazing to watch, thank you so much for taking us through this! Would love to see the grand pas breakdown or even the very underappreciated Marizpan piece!
Yes to Marzipan!!!! Let’s give it the credit it deserves! I’ve also noticed very new members of the company get assigned the leading role for that. Would love to learn more!
this deconstructed series is amazing!! It can - somehow - make ballet even more magical and mesmerizing! Everytime I get more and more passionate about this art
Thank you for this analysis! I have never had the exact words to explain how she holds that extra millisecond and the impact it makes. It makes it exciting. 28:08 the flower opening is such perfection.
This series of ballet deconstructed is great! Balanchine famously said that "see the music, hear the dance". I feel I appreciate what he meant more now.
Thank You Kathryn for this analysis. Your commentary enables me to see so much more. I have seen NYCB's Nutcracker many times and never ever tired of it.
Agreed. Ashley Bauder is unique in Dew Drop and one of my personal favorites in this role. She is athletic, dynamic, and her face radiates through rafters!! But, as Kathryn said, for you dancers out there, don't try to be a second rate somebody else. Be YOU! I love this version of Dew. I show it to my daughter to inspire her. Great stuff.
Would love to see your commentary on Arabian 😊 I think you did one on your own performance with Mobile several years ago, but the creativity different companies take with that role is always so interesting to me
Thank you so much - these are really fun and I gain an appreciation for ALL the dancers. The slow motion with analysis really makes me appreciate the magical combination of athleticism and artistry in ballet. Your personal history with the dance makes it all the more interesting and authentic. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for doing Snow and Waltz of the Flowers!!! I absolutely love these deconstructed videos as I always learn something new and interesting. SPF Grand Pas would be awesome to see next. I'm a big fan of Spanish as well but I know its a bit short so maybe not the best for one of these but in any case keep em' coming :)
Love this! I’ve gotten to see Ashley Bouder in numerous roles at NYCB throughout the years and she is always just so stunning and spritey! Just so quick and so technical but just always make it look so easy!
I love this! I feel like I learn something new about ballet with your ballet deconstructed videos. I’m also so glad you got to cover Ashley’s technique since she is just so musical and has clean technique. I would love for you to do Marzipan next since that is just all technique 🤣👍🏻
This is amazing! I've binged all of your Nutcracker deconstructions. I'd take a while show commentary. I love learning all about the reasoning behind the choreography
Thank you so much for this! Absolutely love this version and the slow motion on Ashley Boulder is amazing! I love Tyler Peck and Morgan Fairchild’s versions, but Ashley Boulder is, to me, the ultimate Dewdrop! So great to see the corps and Demis broken down to show how much of a marathon Flowers is. Thank you again ❤
my ballet directors were principals at miami city ballet (very famous balanchine company) and i can see similarities in certain parts of the choreography it’s so fun to spot these! you did wonderfully with this, thank you!
Thank you so much for this informative, intelligent and insightful commentary. As a life long dancer, i learn so much from you-most of all , appreciating, (with more knowledge) how difficult this beautiful art is. Looking forward to future videos!
When I first watched Ashley Bouder in this piece, I thought there must be some video editing going on. So crisp, yet so fast! Especially the 5th positions you were pointing out in her fourth (or third?) entrance. Simply amazing.
Wow! Thank you for the inside exposition of what's going on in this dance. I'm learning so much from you. Greetings from a student of the Eugene Ballet Academy in Eugene, Oregon! 😃
I would love to hear someone guest star and commentate on one of your performances! I can imagine the amount of compliments they would have to say technicality wise and performance wise!!❤❤❤
Snow is my favourite so you already answered my wish with that one! But I fell in love with the sugar pas de deux watching your first vlogmas so i would love to see you break that down 💕
This is so awesome, thank you. I trained at Ballet Chicago under Daniel Duell so obviously this was our Nutcracker. I remember learning snow and flowers for the first time and coming out of rehearsals feeling like I just ran a 10k uphill in rainforest. 😂😂😂
Balanchine grand pas is one of the amazing version also one of the amazing pas de deux that ever down. He took out the traditional male solo but made the male role to do way harder (in my opinion) also for the female dancer to do very precisely jumps and promenade during pas. I saw one in the studio 5 there were different version I believe Wendy was talking about. Amazing you all!! Love the explanation and the deconstruction! Thank you!!!
If you had asked me I would have said Ashley was 5’8”. She has such an impressive stage presence. This is another breakdown that will require a second or third view. I took a quick look at some other companies performing this dance and realized dances aren’t choreographed the same way. Please keep these breakdowns coming.
I love your enthusiasm for Bouder and your pointing out old friends and colleagues. Could you deconstruct Tchaikovsky PDD with my two favorite performances? Tiler Peck/Joaquin De Luz and Marianela Nuñez/Reece Clarke.
I love this deconstruction of Flowers! I’m also a huge fan of Ashley Bouder, so thank you for taking the time to do this, Katie. I am in awe of how difficult this must be. Ashley makes it look easy. 🩰
Just a side note, your Giselle interpretation was magical and I would love to see a rewritten version directed or written by you! You could write some of the music!!! Just a thought ❤ Love the Analysis videos btw ❤
After everything Ashley has been through lately I really appreciate your appreciation and adoration of her dancing, her talent, her musicality and all the things that make her an outstanding dancer!
Kathryn can you make a deconstruction/reaction video to ABT's Ratmansky version of Sleeping Beauty? On TH-cam there are clips of Sarah Lane dancing that. Since Aurora is one of your best known roles I think it would be very interesting for you to look at that. It's based closely on Petipa's original choreography, and it's very different to the versions we consider classical today.
Would love to see you comment on many parts of Nutcracker! But obviously Sugarplum and variations etc. But even the divertissements could be fun to hear about! Thank you!
The "famous entrance" that you're talking about is a reference to Aurora's entrance towards the end of Act 1 Sleeping Beauty where she does those rond de jambe leaps before she gets her finger pricked.
Its not really where any of the tricky dancing happens but id love for you to break down party scene. Ive always wondered how specifically its choreographed and what its like working with the kids. The toy soldier was always my favorite part of the whole ballet.
Hi Katie, would you ever consider doing a toddler ballet class video? My little one loves watching you and trying to do the steps, but she doesn't have the coordination, of course. We're looking at starting lessons next year, but she wants something NOW. :) Is that something you'd be willing to do?
I will say- that’s not my skill set! Teaching little little ones is a whole different thing that I can’t pretend to do! But maybe I can bring someone on here who would know what to do!
She's almost giving me Wayne Sleep vibes in her positions and not landing until she actually lands. That doesn't make sense really,but she is in the air right up to the last split second, rather than lowering her landing gear early.
the clickbait title would have been "How is Ashley so clean" XD No but for real it's amazing and all the dancers are great! Thank you for making these videos~!
I would so love you to do a commentary or something on the Royal Ballet Nutcracker because these variations are so different - this is the Royal Ballet's Dance of the Reed Flutes. No Dewdrop or anything for us. It would be so cool to hear your thoughts on the similarities and differences between the NYCB and RB versions.
Why do I get the feeling that Balanchine had popped into Radio City the day before he choreographed Flowers. It has the look of a Rockettes routine! Don’t slam me for it…I love them too. His musicality was superb although why did he have to make it so hard on his dancers?
Mr. Balanchine choreographed so naturally to the music. If you break down the steps nothing here is uniquely difficult. They are steps we did every day in class, it is just how they were put together. The magic of Mr Balanchine is that when you danced his ballets you couldn't even imagine doing any other steps as the steps and the music became one and so natural. I you were a soloist or principal and he thought that you were really having a difficult time with a particular step he would sometimes alter them so that you looked good. This is a long piece, so of course it will be tiring, but it was absolutely exhilarating to dance. I agree with Kathryn, Demi's was a total Puff. Really fun to dance but totally exhausting! and Rockettes..no not at all. But do remember Balanchine knew how to entertain, and did in his earlier years in the United States choreograph for Hollywood musicals. He was a master of patterns, which is also so evident here. As a dancer who did corps and Demis in Waltz of the Flowers this was a dream to dance, and as a "tall girl" this was part of your indoctrination into being a dancer in NYCB. We were groomed for this as students at SAB to be able to dance something like this.
@@kathryn_morgan Balanchine’s best! I remember being in the corp growing up (our leads wore the rubies costume and danced on pointe though, it was pretty cool ngl)
would love to see sugar/grand pas next! this kind of video is beyond fascinating to watch and listen to
Ooh I should do that!
yes please!!!
Yeeees, Sugar and the pas would be awesome ❤🎉
YESSSS!!!!
god you’re so right about how ashley always feels so LIFTED. it’s crazy and so specific to her style.
The corps never seems to get enough credit, I love these sorts of explanations!
As someone who has an interest in adult ballet (on/off) in my late 40s these deconstructions are fascinating! It allows me to appreciate it all even more even though I'll never perform it.
I’m so glad! ❤️
Your warning against imitating someone is so on point(e) and applies to all the performing arts.
Yes absolutely!
I clicked this so fast. Balanchine's Waltz is the BEST rendition. There's absolutely no contest. The patterns, the canons (the moment at 15:16 is, I kid you not, the moment that made me love ballet - it's so simply but my goodness), the fluffiness of the dresses. The fifty million jetes en tournant/tour jetes.... They make it look so easy.
Agreed! It’s so beautiful!
Thank you so much for this! Balanchine's is my favorite Flowers because it's all DANCING, no posing and mucking around in place, just all-out dance and energy and amazing patterns. Ashley's performance here is also the best. I loved seeing you break down and explain what makes her interpretation and technique so stellar.
Yes, so true! And thank you!
The swelling of the music in this piece and how Ashley plays with it is just so amazing to watch, thank you so much for taking us through this! Would love to see the grand pas breakdown or even the very underappreciated Marizpan piece!
Yes to Marzipan!!!! Let’s give it the credit it deserves! I’ve also noticed very new members of the company get assigned the leading role for that. Would love to learn more!
this deconstructed series is amazing!! It can - somehow - make ballet even more magical and mesmerizing! Everytime I get more and more passionate about this art
Your point about being Sugar Plum, hearing flowers, and saying “I’m next” is so real 😂
Thank you for this analysis! I have never had the exact words to explain how she holds that extra millisecond and the impact it makes. It makes it exciting. 28:08 the flower opening is such perfection.
This series of ballet deconstructed is great! Balanchine famously said that "see the music, hear the dance". I feel I appreciate what he meant more now.
Yes!
Please do more of this series!!! It's so interesting and fun! Ashley was just magnificent in this role, miss seeing her at NYCB.
Thank You Kathryn for this analysis. Your commentary enables me to see so much more. I have seen NYCB's Nutcracker many times and never ever tired of it.
My pleasure! And thank you!
when i saw this post i did a backflip i love these deconstruction videos! especially with balanchines works 🥰
This is one of my favourite dances! I love the nutcracker but the waltz of the flowers is by far my favourite part! 🌸
Me too!
Agreed. Ashley Bauder is unique in Dew Drop and one of my personal favorites in this role. She is athletic, dynamic, and her face radiates through rafters!! But, as Kathryn said, for you dancers out there, don't try to be a second rate somebody else. Be YOU! I love this version of Dew. I show it to my daughter to inspire her. Great stuff.
Feels a little unreal we get another of these so soon! Thank you! 😍
something about "saute, pas de courou, and bye" made me laugh
Saaame 😂😂😂
Would love to see your commentary on Arabian 😊 I think you did one on your own performance with Mobile several years ago, but the creativity different companies take with that role is always so interesting to me
Thank you so much - these are really fun and I gain an appreciation for ALL the dancers. The slow motion with analysis really makes me appreciate the magical combination of athleticism and artistry in ballet. Your personal history with the dance makes it all the more interesting and authentic. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for doing Snow and Waltz of the Flowers!!! I absolutely love these deconstructed videos as I always learn something new and interesting. SPF Grand Pas would be awesome to see next. I'm a big fan of Spanish as well but I know its a bit short so maybe not the best for one of these but in any case keep em' coming :)
Love this! I’ve gotten to see Ashley Bouder in numerous roles at NYCB throughout the years and she is always just so stunning and spritey! Just so quick and so technical but just always make it look so easy!
I love this series so so much. I learn so much and come away loving and appreciating whatever ballet you are speaking of that much more.
These commentaries are fabulous!!
I love this! I feel like I learn something new about ballet with your ballet deconstructed videos. I’m also so glad you got to cover Ashley’s technique since she is just so musical and has clean technique. I would love for you to do Marzipan next since that is just all technique 🤣👍🏻
Your hair is so gorgeous! You look so young and pretty!!
Thank you so much!
This is amazing! I've binged all of your Nutcracker deconstructions. I'd take a while show commentary. I love learning all about the reasoning behind the choreography
Thank you so much for this! Absolutely love this version and the slow motion on Ashley Boulder is amazing! I love Tyler Peck and Morgan Fairchild’s versions, but Ashley Boulder is, to me, the ultimate Dewdrop! So great to see the corps and Demis broken down to show how much of a marathon Flowers is. Thank you again ❤
Yes I agree! And thank you! ❤️
@@kathryn_morgan I hate autocorrect and am not going to repost Ashley’s name again 😂🤣
Love Waltz of the flowers! Balanchine’s has got to be my favorite version. Loved getting to dance Dew Drop for you💕🌸
Ugh, the flowers are my favorite. So delightful
Thankyou for serving us , such a treat! Can you do a section of Serenade?
my ballet directors were principals at miami city ballet (very famous balanchine company) and i can see similarities in certain parts of the choreography it’s so fun to spot these! you did wonderfully with this, thank you!
The demi soloists are spot on! Gorgeous. 💕
Yes they are!
I love these videos. Thank you for making them.
Thank you so much for this informative, intelligent and insightful commentary. As a life long dancer, i learn so much from you-most of all , appreciating, (with more knowledge) how difficult this beautiful art is. Looking forward to future videos!
The canon sections are absolutely beautiful to watch 😍 Thanks for breaking down this beautiful masterpiece ❤
When I first watched Ashley Bouder in this piece, I thought there must be some video editing going on. So crisp, yet so fast! Especially the 5th positions you were pointing out in her fourth (or third?) entrance. Simply amazing.
Yes! I agree ❤️
these are so fun and add so much to my appreciation of ballet!!!
Just finished some ballet rehearsing and am sitting down for my meal ❤ what a lovely video to watch for it!
My first go to ballet when I need to see artistry in action. This was very informative, thank you Kathryn.
I love these deconstructed videos!!!
Wow! Thank you for the inside exposition of what's going on in this dance. I'm learning so much from you. Greetings from a student of the Eugene Ballet Academy in Eugene, Oregon! 😃
I would love to hear someone guest star and commentate on one of your performances! I can imagine the amount of compliments they would have to say technicality wise and performance wise!!❤❤❤
Awww ❤️
Wow I’m obsessed with these breakdowns!!! ❤❤❤
Love iy!!!!! This is so true Demi flowers are excruciating I can t thank you enough ❤❤❤❤❤
Snow is my favourite so you already answered my wish with that one! But I fell in love with the sugar pas de deux watching your first vlogmas so i would love to see you break that down 💕
Love this Nutcracker deconstructed. Favorite music to dance to at each level.
🙌🙌🙌 Incredible! 🥰💕 Thank you SO much for doing this! Wow! 🤩🩰💐
This is so awesome, thank you. I trained at Ballet Chicago under Daniel Duell so obviously this was our Nutcracker. I remember learning snow and flowers for the first time and coming out of rehearsals feeling like I just ran a 10k uphill in rainforest. 😂😂😂
Balanchine grand pas is one of the amazing version also one of the amazing pas de deux that ever down. He took out the traditional male solo but made the male role to do way harder (in my opinion) also for the female dancer to do very precisely jumps and promenade during pas. I saw one in the studio 5 there were different version I believe Wendy was talking about. Amazing you all!! Love the explanation and the deconstruction! Thank you!!!
I really love this dance, its one of my favorites and this cast its stuning❤
You are so right, Ashley's rubatos are terrific. Marianela Nunez is also a queen of rubato.
Plz do the grand pas de duex!! I am sugar plum this year and would love your insight on the dances!! Love all your videos!!💜
I will add that to the list! ❤️
If you had asked me I would have said Ashley was 5’8”. She has such an impressive stage presence. This is another breakdown that will require a second or third view. I took a quick look at some other companies performing this dance and realized dances aren’t choreographed the same way. Please keep these breakdowns coming.
Yes! I’d say Ashley is around 5’4”. She’s gorgeous!
@ she definitely commands the stage.
I love your enthusiasm for Bouder and your pointing out old friends and colleagues. Could you deconstruct Tchaikovsky PDD with my two favorite performances? Tiler Peck/Joaquin De Luz and Marianela Nuñez/Reece Clarke.
Ooh yes! Brilliant. I will definitely do that!
the movement of these skirts is to die for
This was sooo good 😍😍😍 love these videos Katie ❤
YAYY!!! Gosh, I was waiting for this video! :)
Basically -- all of the roles!❤❤
I love this deconstruction of Flowers! I’m also a huge fan of Ashley Bouder, so thank you for taking the time to do this, Katie. I am in awe of how difficult this must be. Ashley makes it look easy.
🩰
🩷🩷🩷
Just a side note, your Giselle interpretation was magical and I would love to see a rewritten version directed or written by you! You could write some of the music!!! Just a thought ❤ Love the Analysis videos btw ❤
Awww thank you!
This was amazing!!
I love your videos and the Nutcracker. I would love to see you one day do a class for Nutcracker like you did for Swan lake.
LOOOOOVE your "ballets explained" videos - Yes please, let's travel to the Land of Sweets next time :)
Love this kind of video. I learn a lot
I love these types of videos also love that color on you 💜
Thank you!
After everything Ashley has been through lately I really appreciate your appreciation and adoration of her dancing, her talent, her musicality and all the things that make her an outstanding dancer!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Loved this thank you!
thank you for this video, it's so interesting
Kathryn can you make a deconstruction/reaction video to ABT's Ratmansky version of Sleeping Beauty? On TH-cam there are clips of Sarah Lane dancing that. Since Aurora is one of your best known roles I think it would be very interesting for you to look at that. It's based closely on Petipa's original choreography, and it's very different to the versions we consider classical today.
Thank you for these! I feel like Marzipan would be another good one to do - so hard and so underappreciated! I'd love to hear your insights
Oh SO under appreciated. I should totally do that!
Would love to see you comment on many parts of Nutcracker! But obviously Sugarplum and variations etc. But even the divertissements could be fun to hear about! Thank you!
Not sure if you have done marzipan but would love to see it if you haven't!
A lot of people are requesting that, so I will!
That was such an impressive performance, dance y'all😄!
The "famous entrance" that you're talking about is a reference to Aurora's entrance towards the end of Act 1 Sleeping Beauty where she does those rond de jambe leaps before she gets her finger pricked.
this was just an ashley bouder STAN post hehehe. But she is amazing af
She needs to be cast more! I miss her!
Bouder is phenomenal so I love the appreciation!!
I agree!
Its not really where any of the tricky dancing happens but id love for you to break down party scene. Ive always wondered how specifically its choreographed and what its like working with the kids. The toy soldier was always my favorite part of the whole ballet.
Omg I ABSOLUTELY should! What a brilliant idea!
Also, just the tea, or a good wishes. I heard something. But REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that Ashely is gonna get her farewell!!! ❤❤❤❤❤
I’m in this one this year!!!!
i would love to see one on marzipan!! 🙏
Oooh yes!
"Core strength gives you freedom."
Hold up, Katie, I gotta go do some situps.
Hi Katie, would you ever consider doing a toddler ballet class video? My little one loves watching you and trying to do the steps, but she doesn't have the coordination, of course. We're looking at starting lessons next year, but she wants something NOW. :) Is that something you'd be willing to do?
I will say- that’s not my skill set! Teaching little little ones is a whole different thing that I can’t pretend to do! But maybe I can bring someone on here who would know what to do!
She's almost giving me Wayne Sleep vibes in her positions and not landing until she actually lands. That doesn't make sense really,but she is in the air right up to the last split second, rather than lowering her landing gear early.
Yes exactly!
Grande Allegro is my favorite.
Huge Lauren King fan here - she is fantastic here as a demi! Ashley is so much fun as Dewdrop - loved this video. :D
YESSS! Love Lauren!
What is a demiflower?
I love to watch these videos. 🩷🩷 thank you KM.
Me, too! 💕
the clickbait title would have been "How is Ashley so clean" XD No but for real it's amazing and all the dancers are great! Thank you for making these videos~!
Totally!
I would so love you to do a commentary or something on the Royal Ballet Nutcracker because these variations are so different - this is the Royal Ballet's Dance of the Reed Flutes. No Dewdrop or anything for us. It would be so cool to hear your thoughts on the similarities and differences between the NYCB and RB versions.
Marianella and Vadim perform the sugar plum grand pas de duex! Magic!
Would be cool, yes!
Why do I get the feeling that Balanchine had popped into Radio City the day before he choreographed Flowers. It has the look of a Rockettes routine! Don’t slam me for it…I love them too. His musicality was superb although why did he have to make it so hard on his dancers?
Mr. Balanchine choreographed so naturally to the music. If you break down the steps nothing here is uniquely difficult. They are steps we did every day in class, it is just how they were put together. The magic of Mr Balanchine is that when you danced his ballets you couldn't even imagine doing any other steps as the steps and the music became one and so natural. I you were a soloist or principal and he thought that you were really having a difficult time with a particular step he would sometimes alter them so that you looked good. This is a long piece, so of course it will be tiring, but it was absolutely exhilarating to dance. I agree with Kathryn, Demi's was a total Puff. Really fun to dance but totally exhausting! and Rockettes..no not at all. But do remember Balanchine knew how to entertain, and did in his earlier years in the United States choreograph for Hollywood musicals. He was a master of patterns, which is also so evident here. As a dancer who did corps and Demis in Waltz of the Flowers this was a dream to dance, and as a "tall girl" this was part of your indoctrination into being a dancer in NYCB. We were groomed for this as students at SAB to be able to dance something like this.
Would love to see a Giselle Act 2 corps deconstruction
Hi Kathryn, why don't you make a ballet deconstructed of the Pas de quatre ofthe 4 cygnets? Cheers from Italy
It's 8 cygnes, that's wh, why we don't move it on point. Anyway. 😂
We had 10 guys doing little cygno (on point shoes), but that was in the 1960es.
I would love to see you dissect marzipan and candy cane.
Sugarplum next?! Or Marzipan??
If you went into the detail of technique in Marzipan that would be cool!
Oh yes. I definitely should do Marzipan. So. Difficult.
Put it on a T-shirt: "Meanwhile, the demis are still doing grand allegro" 😂
Hahaha totally! And so true!
Do candy canes next! Everyone always forgets that dance!
Oooh I should!
@@kathryn_morgan Balanchine’s best! I remember being in the corp growing up (our leads wore the rubies costume and danced on pointe though, it was pretty cool ngl)
"there's always a waltz before something big" - now need a tshirt that says WALTZ BEFORE CHAOS 😆
Yesssss
Brilliant!
How much do the flower costumes weigh? They move like they're heavier than romantic tutus.
They aren’t too bad! Maybe 3-5 pounds at most. They are pretty light. The Spanish ones are HEAVY.