Tamara Karsavina and Peter Vladimiroff - PDD from ’Sylvia’ (1925)

This is film of Tamara Karsavina and Peter Vladimiroff performing a pas de deux from ’Sylvia’. The choreography is by Samuil Andrianov. It comes from the German naturist documentary ’Wege zu Kraft und Schonheit’ (1925), variously known as ’Ways to Strength and Beauty’ and ’Path to the Power and Beauty’. The film was directed by Wilhelm Prager, with Nicholas Kaufman as the screenwriter. The aim of the piece was to contrast the hopeless of life in the cities in the 1920s with an idealised existence of the countryside. As well as various forms of physical exercise, there are examples of ballet and dance from various parts of the world. Happily the makers this naturist documentary decided to include a ballet sequence which has given us what is rare footage of the dancing of this great Ballets Russes ballerina, Tamara Karsavina. Serge de Diaghilev had forbidden any filming of his company with the result that many wonderful dancers, including Vaslav Nijinsky, were never recording for posterity. I have added some music from ’Sylvia’ to the silent film but it not right and is only added to give the atmosphere of the ballet. Chesterz2 kindly tells in a comment here that: “The choreography is by Samuil Andrianov, Karsavina’s partner at the Maryinsky. They first performed it together there in 1916. Karsavina included this pas de deux in most of her private tours throughout the 1920’s, with a variety of partners.“ Enjoy!