There are so few videos of Lynn Seymour dancing in her prime. She was an elusive wild child of the ballet. Almost in the same vein as Gelsey Kirkland. There is a rawness to how she moves, a vitality that won't be stifled. It is no surprise that Kenneth MacMillan choreographed his most famous ballet Romeo & Juliet on her. It is also saddening to think that what would have been her big splash of a debut in a ballet made just for her was ruined by the Fonteyn/Nureyev juggernaut. She was not the first wonderful ballerina to be cast in shadow by these two super stars.
Eventually she became a regular partner of Nureyev. I happened upon a very fuzzy, but very great clip of their partnership in Sleeping Beauty. Their dancing is economical, dramatic and very much at tempo. No overly delayed musical pauses to pose like pretty pictures. In the solo, Seymour does slow the tempo down for the traveling coupe steps. But she hasn't done this to show off her extra precious style. She immediately goes back to tempo then even faster in the ending pirouettes. So the slow down is done for contrast.
Nureyev, of course, is perfect as always.
I really wish we had more video of Seymour dancing.
