Four ‘Don Quixote’ solos - Baryshnikov (1969), Vasiliev (1969), Lavrovsky (1974), Mukamedov (1988)

Here are four great Russian dancers performing the same solo for ‘Don Quixote’: [1] Mikhail Baryshnikov (1969) [2] Vladimir Vasiliev (1969, 1972) [3] Mikhail Lavrovsky (1974) [4] Irek Mukamedov (1988) Question is, of course, which do you like best and why? Enrico, we know you answer already but would love to hear you expand on it, really. The dancers are obviously not at the same stage of their careers and each have a number of different performances preserved on film. So judging just on these performances alone does not make sense. I’d just like to make four points. Firstly, I’d forgotten what a good turner Mikhail Lavrovsky was – the rapidity and security within the perpendicular of some turns were truly breath-taking. Secondly, I was surprised at the degree of variation there was in the tempi across the performances – I shouldn’t have been surprised as this is normal, but I was. Thirdly, I was taken by the elegance of the phrasing of the youngish Vladimir Vasiliev – a real delight. Lastly, I was struck by the degree of variation there was in the chore between these four Russian performances. Enjoy and please comment!