If there ever was a ballet deserving of being made fun of, surely this is it. Perhaps you have seen Olympic gold medalist figure skater Scott Hamilton’s ballet parody routine; it is based off of the grand pas de deux from “Don Quixote.” I get a big laugh out of Hamilton’s piece, because in my opinion, “Don Quixote” is most overrated. The grand pas de deux, with all of its leaping, may make for a good excerpt piece on a ballet highlights video, but the complete ballet is a disappointment.

The book “Don Quixote” was completed by Spanish author Cervantes in 1615. The “World Book” provides this brief general overview of the novel: “Don Quixote is a simple-minded country gentleman who has read so many books of chivalry that he imagines himself a knight. He sets out to reform the world. He mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies. Sancho Panza, an ignorant country fellow, is his squire. Panza thinks only about eating and sleeping. Don Quixote thinks about ideals.” Although many consider Cervantes’ novel to be among the world’s greatest, the characters of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza translate very, very poorly onto the ballet stage. They come across as a couple of buffoons that make the television character Ally McBeal look like a normally adjusted person. Cervantes novel is quite long, and the ballet is based on just one tiny part of it, called “Kitri’s Wedding.” Cervantes’ novel also inspired a popular musical called “Man From La Mancha.” Perhaps you have heard of the famous song “The Impossible Dream.” The ballet gets some extra name recognition by riding along on the coattails of the famous book and musical, but don’t be fooled–this is an overrated ballet.

World-renowned dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev had this to say about Don Quixote’s character: “At first, I hated him quite a lot. I didn’t understand for a long time. I was on the side of the people. To me he was just a clown. And then I read the book! There is so much there, but in a ballet you can only skim the surface….It really is largely a lot of dances and great zest and comic spirit…and yet, everybody seems to think of this ballet as kind of foolish.”(1)

The great Ballet Master George Balanchine had this to say about “Don Quixote” (with its original choreography by Maurius Petipa): “The Petipa ballet, with music by Minkus, was in the repertory of the Maryinsky when I was a boy (I danced in this production in 1916, when I was twelve), but it was not a serious work and not one of my favorites.”(2) Some people might interpret the word “serious” as indicative of a comedy, but the meaning depends on which definition of “serious” you use. So, you need to understand the context of the quote. After making the statement, Balanchine then proceeds to tell about his production of “Don Quixote” for the New York City Ballet, where he threw out the music by Minkus, had a new score written by Nicolas Nabokov, rewrote the libretto (story). and then worked up his own new choreography. Therefore, here is what I believe that Balanchine meant by “not a serious work”: namely, a work not appealing to the connoisseur.

This particular video is of some historical importance because it is a Mikhail Baryshnikov production. Basically, that means the choreography was reworked to showcase his talents, using the original music and libretto. Many of the lessor known dances have been edited out, and there are thirty minutes of cuts compared to the Kirov version. Out of the four versions of “Don Quixote” available on Amazon.com, the most popular (as of the date of this review) is the Kirov version. It also happens to be the best value. I personally rate the Kirov version one star higher because the Kirov is an overall superior ballet company compared to American Ballet Theatre, even with Baryshnikov dancing the part of Basilio. There is no doubt that Baryshnikov is a great dancer, but even he can’t save this ballet–it is highly overrated! Instead, you may wish to consider the Kirov version, or find a ballet highlights film containing only the grand pas de deux.

Notes: (1) Laura Bell, “Show” (1971), quoted in George Balanchine and Francis Mason, “101 Stories of the Great Ballets” (1975; reprint, New York: Doubleday, an Anchor Book Edition, 1989), pp. 118-119. (2) Balanchine and Mason, p. 120.
Rating: 2 / 5

This is athletic ballet at it’s best! Baryshnikov is a bit beyond his prime, but still incredible! Patrick Bissell is not yet dead, and exceptional.
Rating: 5 / 5

This particular ballet is what hooked me on ballet. I had watched Swan Lake and was so bored that I fell asleep. Swan Lake reminds me of the philosophy “the Emperor has no clothes”. I was ready to swear off ballet until I rented Don Quixote from my local library. I fell in love with GOOD ballet as danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Cynthina Harvey. They are magnificent. Now it’s true, I may have only felt this way because I had been renting some really lousy ballets like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Giselle danced by some not so terrific ballet dancers.

“Don Quixote” allows for lots of solos and duos choreographed by the world’s best ballet dancer at the time. His version of Don Quixote is not one of a buffoon but a man who is mentally ill and he treats his character with great respect. I cannot find anywhere in the ballet where Mikhail show him as a buffoon. Sancho, yes, Don Quixote, no. I am in fact, right now reading the original Don Quixote. Cervantes shows Sancho as a buffoon and Don Quixote as mentally not all there. Mikhail loves to read and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he has read Cervantes and incorporated the personality of these two characters into his “Don Quixote” ballet.

If you want to see a serious ballet, then this ballet is not for you. Mikhail makes you smile if not down right laugh at times. This ballet IS Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has surrounded himself with the very talented ABT ballet dancers and choreographs dances that make you go “bravo!” He graciously brings out the very best in them and definitely gives you the impression that he enjoys dancing with them.

Ludwig Minkus is one of my favorite composers as his music is light and humable not discordant and noisy. I found myself wanting to dance to it instead of turning it off. I thought his music was wonderful but if you want serious, discordant music, then “Don Quixote” is not for you. I recommend for you “Cinderella” with music by Sergei Prokofiev. That was one horrible ballet for me. My nerves were a mess by the time I finished listening to it. It was very discordsnt.

To end this long review, if you like Mikhail Baryshnikov, you are going to thoroughly enjoy “Don Quixote”. It’s Mikhail at his most talented. It’s not just his dancing which is terrific, but also his personality and artistic creation that shines. Well worth having for your ballet collection.

Also please don’t miss “Baryshnikov Dances Sinatra”. His apache type dance with Elaine Kudo is great. It makes me laugh out loud every time I watch the DVD. This DVD also contains “Push comes to Shove”. A ballet written for Mikhail that shows his feelings that dancing is suppose to be fun.

Gloria Hutson
Rating: 5 / 5