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Natalia Osipova: triple bill, London, June 2016


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Here are rehearsal pictures from Natalia Osipova's show at Sadlers Wells, with newly commissioned contemporary pieces from Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Russell Maliphant and Arthur Pita, which runs from 29th June to 3rd July 2016

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Qutb (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui): James O'Hara, Natalia Osipova, Jason Kittelberger
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Silent Echo (Russell Maliphant): Sergei Polunin
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Run Mary, Run (Arthur Pita): Natalia Osipova, Sergei Polunin
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Set from DanceTabs: Natalia Osipova at Sadlers Wells
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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I was at the performance and I'm still in a bit of a state of shock. How is it possible to be given two such tremendous performers to work with, and to produce what I saw last night? The only saving grace was seeing and being reminded of what a sensational dancer Polunin is, which was evident briefly in the second work which did produce a few moments of interest and enjoyment. Osipova, unbelievably, was made to look less than ordinary throughout. She is a magnificent classical ballerina, but she is clearly not a contemporary dancer, and what she was given to do last night simply emphasized that. I found Qutb tedious, repetitive, poorly lit and poorly danced, though I did quite like some of the music (for a while). Silent Echo included a good solo for Polunin, who made absolutely the most of what he was given to do, and some interesting moments between Osipova and Polunin - circling each other but not touching (yet). But much of it was also tedious. As for Run Mary, Run - words (almost) fail me. All I can say is that there was almost no dance content and what there was I found infantile, that the 'storytelling' was crass and the costumes horrible. I had to make a real effort to stop myself from heckling (which I have, I hasten to add, never done at a dance performance in my life). All the works look under-rehearsed, the performance started late and the intervals were long. An absolute crying shame of an evening. 

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I was at the performance and I'm still in a bit of a state of shock. How is it possible to be given two such tremendous performers to work with, and to produce what I saw last night? The only saving grace was seeing and being reminded of what a sensational dancer Polunin is, which was evident briefly in the second work which did produce a few moments of interest and enjoyment. Osipova, unbelievably, was made to look less than ordinary throughout. She is a magnificent classical ballerina, but she is clearly not a contemporary dancer, and what she was given to do last night simply emphasized that. I found Qutb tedious, repetitive, poorly lit and poorly danced, though I did quite like some of the music (for a while). Silent Echo included a good solo for Polunin, who made absolutely the most of what he was given to do, and some interesting moments between Osipova and Polunin - circling each other but not touching (yet). But much of it was also tedious. As for Run Mary, Run - words (almost) fail me. All I can say is that there was almost no dance content and what there was I found infantile, that the 'storytelling' was crass and the costumes horrible. I had to make a real effort to stop myself from heckling (which I have, I hasten to add, never done at a dance performance in my life). All the works look under-rehearsed, the performance started late and the intervals were long. An absolute crying shame of an evening. 

 

 

Every word spot on. 

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Oh dear what a shame. I cannot make any of these performances anyway this time round and was thinking of September instead but maybe won't be such a big thing to miss.

Still a shame though as presumably the dancers must have believed in it.

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It is worth seeing. Think the reviews will be mixed. All three choreographers delivered on what they do, and all dancers responded to the max. The Sidi had some jaw-dropping moments; the Maliphant sublime; the Pita pitch perfect as spiked dessert.

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I was at the performance and I'm still in a bit of a state of shock. How is it possible to be given two such tremendous performers to work with, and to produce what I saw last night? The only saving grace was seeing and being reminded of what a sensational dancer Polunin is, which was evident briefly in the second work which did produce a few moments of interest and enjoyment. Osipova, unbelievably, was made to look less than ordinary throughout. She is a magnificent classical ballerina, but she is clearly not a contemporary dancer, and what she was given to do last night simply emphasized that. I found Qutb tedious, repetitive, poorly lit and poorly danced, though I did quite like some of the music (for a while). Silent Echo included a good solo for Polunin, who made absolutely the most of what he was given to do, and some interesting moments between Osipova and Polunin - circling each other but not touching (yet). But much of it was also tedious. As for Run Mary, Run - words (almost) fail me. All I can say is that there was almost no dance content and what there was I found infantile, that the 'storytelling' was crass and the costumes horrible. I had to make a real effort to stop myself from heckling (which I have, I hasten to add, never done at a dance performance in my life). All the works look under-rehearsed, the performance started late and the intervals were long. An absolute crying shame of an evening. 

 

I am in Paris doing a project and was really sorry that I was going to have to miss this.  (Happily I can catch up with the last performance in September. Your words have made me feel better bridiem ... That and the fact that I'm getting to see NYCB every night.  The first programme (which I've seen twice now) just re-confirms - if ever such was necessary - what a genius Balanchine was.  4Ts and Symphony in 3 Movements look newer than new ... as does Apollo with the altered beginning.  So many wonderful new dancers who London has never seen and sadly now won't until after Peter Martins departs this life.  Taylor Stanley, Joseph Gordon and Anthony Huxley dance with all the thrill of Cesar Corales and elegance of Matthew Ball.  The audience last night just wouldn't let them go.  They brought the curtain up eight times at the end.  I'm sure they're doing the same for Osipova and Polunin given that both are as rightfully and hugely cherished in London as NYCB is in Paris.  If anyone is coming to Paris between now and 17th July there are plenty of day seats on the sides at 10 Euros and students can get the best seats remaining at 15 Euros ... which even with a diminished pound after the results of the referendum vote is an excellent deal.  Must dash back to work, but again thank you for all of your wonderful reviews.  As ever they are a gift. 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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I've got tickets for tomorrow, and from the look of the rehearsal pictures I was worried that the consensus would be an overall feeling of disappointment. Silent Echo looks like the one I'll enjoy most, but with regards to Run Mary, Run - I'm afraid I trivially find it very hard to look past the fact that someone decided to put Natalia in a lime green mini and a beehive. There would have to be some pretty spectacular dancing for me to overlook that aesthetic mistake.

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I agree completely with Bridies, the choreography was generally a disappointment as much as to see Osipova in this context. The only quality moments there were thank to Polunin, which has proven again to be a real artist, complete and versatile well as exquisitely and absurdly humble (his name wasn't even on the bill, despite his presence was essential).

Someone even talk to follow in Sylvie Guillem footsteps and for me this it's exactly the point: Osipova has worked very hard on this performance (and this is the least, considering the title of the show), but there are things you cannot "build"; you cannot just put in a blender many excellent ingredients to create something good, I'm sorry. So, yes, yesterday I saw the spirit of Sylvie, but in the other half of the couple .

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No more shocks please, just heard about Boris Johnson, think I'll still go as I thought Natalia Osipova was a good contemporary dancer in Arthur Pita's Facada, might just miss that last ballet!

 

...the last one is the Pita one

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I thought that this may create some discussion. Here are some more pictures from the rehearsal.

 

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Jason Kittelberger, Natalia Osipova and James O'Hara in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Qutb
 
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Sergei Polunin and Natalia Osipova in Russell Maliphant's Silent Echo
 
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Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin in Arthur Pita's Run Mary Run

 

More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk

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Prior Disclosure: I love Arthur Pita's dance theatre pieces and expect them to be more theatrical than dance oriented

 

Overall, I probably had a much better experience with the Osipova programme than other posters and I left with a big smile on my face.

 

The first piece didn't do a lot for me. I'm probably not a fan of Cherkaoui's and for me Qutb fell into what I categorise as 'Meditative Gymnastics'.

 

My interest perked up in Maliphant's Silent Echo. In terms of choreography, it wasn't the most exciting Maliphant with the exception of Polunin's Solo which felt like a calling card for classical Polunin. The piece didn't feel polished yet, but there was a raw energy underlying the performance that edged it into a exciting piece to watch. It really helped that the great lightening design really seemed to fit the dancing, enhancing movements rather than trying to steal the show.

 

Pita seems to have become Osipova's slightly macabre unofficial biographer. I assume that the demise of the male in both Run Mary Run and Facada are Pita's addition to Osipova's story seeing that both Vassiliev and Polunin appear to be alive and well.

 

To me, RMR was an artistically brave and ultimately successful performance piece, sharing (ok, at times oversharing) intense personal emotions, contextualising recent history and criticisms, and a very public declaration of love - russian style, slightly mad and beautiful, melodramatic, deeply felt and emotionally honest.

 

I loved the opening sequence of two hands performing their own ballet, reaching up through the soil. Whether there was a particular value to playing the story backwards I don't know, but it was well done and dramaturgically very clear. The story on stage was about the attraction of being a bad boy, and being with a bad boy, the realisation of going to far and the declaration of undying love irregardless. The untold story seemed to say they have found a centre with each other that allowed Osipova to loosen up and Polunin to grow up (strictly my interpretation).

 

It probably helped that I have no problems with funky beehives and 60's clothing, or Polunin smouldering so hard in a James Dean outfit that there must be some scorchmarks on the stage. The stage truly loves that boy, every move seems interesting, every look or half smile is somehow magnified.

 

So yes, perhaps RMR is light on actual dancing, but it is a great piece of theatre for people who like that sort of thing.

Edited by Coated
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So, there were some dancers other than Osipova and Polunin in this programme?

 

Why don't you think that Osipova is a contemporary dancer, Bridiem?

 

There were just two other dancers, in the first piece - named at the top of this thread. They were fine, but the spotlight was very much on Osipova and Polunin.

 

I think Osipova is light and slight and gravitates towards the light. For me, contemporary dancers have to have a more earthy, more 'down' quality. They use the floor in a different way and move in a different way. (Which is actually one of the reasons I don't like the Royal dancers doing so much McGregor work. Even when they do it very well, it's not what their bodies are trained for.)

Edited by bridiem
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How disappointing... interedtng to hear essentially that she is very much a classical dancer. Makes me wonder if this more contemporary foray will leave her refocused on classical, or do you think outside influences (ie Polunin) have taken her in this new direction? He's tried his hand (rightly or wrongly) at some different things since leaving the RB..... Speaking of which, can't be long now till the docu-movie about him...

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Agree with every word that bridiem posted. I attended the second night and was gobsmackingly underwhelmed, to the extent of bored. 'Qutb' consisted mainly of Osipova and two male dancers undulating to a tribal rhythm without much thought or finesse, resulting in thirty minutes of manic writhing. 'Silent Echo' was perhaps the best of the sorry lot and Polunin does seem to bring out the best in Osipova. Maliphant seemed the only choreographer that somewhat understood what makes both dancers so fiery and spectacular, best demonstrated by Polunin's solo. Although Osipova is the headliner, the audience around me would agree that Polunin was the star.

 

As for 'Run Mary Run', I have scarcely enough words to describe the mind numbing tedium. Gimmicky, crass, disjointed and so hindering as to preclude the dancers from emoting, it elicited laughs unintentionally at solemn moments, as the recorded lines became increasingly saccharine. I am shocked at how Pita has managed to completely obscure the prodigious talent at his fingertips.

 

I say this all as an ardent admirer of Osipova in classical dance. She is not untalented in contemporary medium; however, for all her great acting ability and fantastic flexibility, she is not able to become a 'canvas' in the way contemporary repertoire requires. Her presence in all three pieces seemed similar and joined whereas, on the other hand, Polunin has the sanguineness to approach each piece new. She has the hunger, but her approach unveils more exertion than art.

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I was still hesitating about buying a ticket ( they are v expensive too..)-and it isn't often Ballet Forum SAVES me any money :-) - but this time, thanks......

 

What a terrible shame about the waste of  Polunin though, I would so love to see him dance on stage again.

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The Times gives it 4 stars and apart from not finding the first ballet very interesting, is full of enthusiasm for Silent Echo and Run, Mary, Run, as I liked the black humour of Facada I might also like this one, suspect I will find the (non) lighting of Michael Hulls in Silent Echo to be a drawback though.

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Sorry but it seems to me the same old story, the ballerina who arrived at a certain point in her career, and experimented new ways in contemporary dance, ways, however, that rarely are really new; as Cat said, not all can be Sylvie Guilleme. The pieces were "commissioned" by her, while Polunin who has already known and appreciated Maliphant for example, has always said that classical dance is his own language also appreciating the expressive possibilities of contemporary dance; then personally I have no doubt about who did what just to support the partner.

I'm sorry to sound bad, but it seemed to me from the beginning the pretentious attempt of a ballerina, in my very humble opinion, too pampered by the public, although she has never done anything but Natalia Osipova on stage regardless the role, the ballet , the plot ...

The demonstration that a big name on the bill doesn't make a great show, while a great artist on the stage is great also without his name on the bill.

Edited by Lilian88
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How does this programme compare to the one with Vassiliev last year?

 

If the programme was under-rehearsed that was probably because Osipova has very recently been performing in Japan and SLC has been busy with Royal Ballet of Flanders which only finished its season in Belgium on Saturday (and now appears to be on tour in Brazil - without its AD?).

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The Times gives it 4 stars and apart from not finding the first ballet very interesting, is full of enthusiasm for Silent Echo and Run, Mary, Run, as I liked the black humour of Facada I might also like this one, suspect I will find the (non) lighting of Michael Hulls in Silent Echo to be a drawback though.

That's a good point.

 

However, I usually  listen to the consensus on Ballet Forum...!

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Thank you! I have been following the forum for some time now, I like the debates! However, since English is not my native language, I don't understand some expressions... and sometimes they are important. I hope not to bother you very often with this kind of question.

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