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The Royal Ballet: The Human Seasons / After the Rain / Flight Pattern, March 2017


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I was wondering that, too, and hoping that if he was it wouldn't be severe enough to affect his Mayerlings.  Yet he appeared in the gala on Sunday night?

Doesn't bear thinking about, especially bearing in mind the number of people I had to assassinate to get tickets for his performances!

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Ed Watson was dancing on Sunday but doesn't mean I suppose that he is nursing some injury.....his leg was in one of those boot thing's not that long ago and the part on Sunday didn't require much or even any jumping I seem to remember.

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Was at the Friends rehearsal on Tuesday - here are some photos of this marvelous (to my eyes anyway) triple bill.
 
33088473680_178b05e4f2_z.jpg
Human Seasons: Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Mayara Magri, Calvin Richardson, David Donnelly
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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After the Rain: Claire Calvert
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Flight Pattern: company dancers
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Set from DanceTabs: RB - Human Seasons/After the Rain/Flight Pattern
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

By kind permission of the Royal Opera House

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Yes it was actually a better triple than I thought. Flight Pattern was a wonderful mix of the cerebral and emotional. At times sparse, never melodramatic, sometimes overwhelming and hypnotically engaging throughout. I felt proud that the RB had engaged Pite, proud of the dancers and indeed of all involved. Privileged to have seen it.

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Everything that POLUNIN's most embarrassingly wasn't, THIS triple bill - and most especially FLIGHTPATH - makes the soul escalate with pride.  Even if some of the balletic motifs of the first two works are similar - this bill most definitely - like Shakespeare - explores community.  The RB has every reason to feel appreciative of their life enriching and august ensemble - as do we.  Sambe is a star in whatever he appears.  His humane ebullience demands such.  Oh, and that middle turn - and direct stare out front - by Kristen McNally's all consuming but nonetheless flushed mother figure - even now - monopolises my mind's eye.  The ROH Orchestra - again under the brilliant baton of Maestro Kessels - was an object of honour.  They literally stood out ... for ALL the right reasons and were blessedly entirely DESERVING of the concerted cheers.  

 

So looking forward to seeing this treat again.  Second cast tomorrow.  Can't wait.  

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Agree. A beautifully danced evening. I liked Human Seasons but would like it even better if it were 10 minutes shorter. In After The Rain, Nela and Thiago were so emotionally involved in their pdd, so expressive and just downright and deeply beautiful that it brought a tear to my eye. I was also impressed with Mayara Magri more than holding her own next to the principal and first soloist women with whom she was sharing the stage in Human Seasons.

 

Flight Pattern....wow, stunning! So imaginatively constructed, so very moving in every way. A true ensemble piece and the 'junior' dancers all did themselves and the company proud. How lovely and original to see Kristen McNally chosen for the lead role. She was utterly convincing as a bereft mother, and the scene where she receives all the dead 'babies' in her arms was heartbreaking. Marcellino Sambe was truly amazing in this piece and in Human Seasons...remembering his Colas and Bluebird as well this season, I would hope that he is a prime candidate for promotion this year.

 

I loved the set design and the music. I was sitting in the amphi and all of the patterns had a wonderful clarity and perspective from up there. Tomorrow night I am SCS standing so it will be interesting to see the difference.

 

Very well done to all involved....THIS is how to produce something original that has many interesting things to say, things that are relevant to the world as it sadly is right now. Saying these things in this way, however, mitigates some of the misery and reminds us of the beauty that exists in the world. For that reason alone, Crystal Pite and the RB deserve our deepest gratitude.

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Totally agree, Sim, with your views - Kristen McNally has such a distinctive stage presence, and it was lovely to see her get 'top billing' for a change. Can't wait to see Flight Pattern again - a real achievement to take that subject matter and treat it so sensitively - sometimes I find this sort of thing a bit worthy and squirm-inducing, but this was genuinely moving. A quick question re Human Seasons - was it me, or were there a few slips. Sarah apart, which can happen to everyone, as there were quite a few sliding movements in the choreography, I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, or if the floor was a bit skippy? Not a criticism but just curious?

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Totally agree, Sim, with your views - Kristen McNally has such a distinctive stage presence, and it was lovely to see her get 'top billing' for a change. Can't wait to see Flight Pattern again - a real achievement to take that subject matter and treat it so sensitively - sometimes I find this sort of thing a bit worthy and squirm-inducing, but this was genuinely moving. A quick question re Human Seasons - was it me, or were there a few slips. Sarah apart, which can happen to everyone, as there were quite a few sliding movements in the choreography, I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, or if the floor was a bit skippy? Not a criticism but just curious?

 

 I wondered this too - I definitely saw a small slip from Sambe in his early solo, and feel sure I saw a couple of others early on. After that it seemed to stop - maybe people were being more cautious after Sarah Lamb's slip?

 

I have to say I thought it was an excellent evening that only got better as it went on. I wasn't completely drawn in by The Human Seasons, but definitely appreciated some very beautiful moments and enjoyed the partnership of Lamb/Sambe very much. I also thought Clare Calvert was brilliant in her section with all the men. She is such a strong stage presence.

 

I have never been treated to the Nunez/Soares PDD in After the Rain before, so to those who are feeling a bit of fatigue for this peace, just a reminder that there are plenty of people for whom this is still a new treat :) From overheard discussions on the way down from the amphi afterwards, plenty of people felt this was the highlight of the evening.

 

Flight Pattern - well I was so utterly absorbed that I genuinely didn't believe it could be over when it was over. Very powerful, and amazing use of the corps to create shape, atmosphere, emotion, with little individual accents here and there - so subtle yet striking. Kristen McNally is so expressive with her whole body. What a talent. Sambe continues to astound, and great to see him in a more dramatic role here. 

 

Can't wait to see it again.

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Saw the second cast tonight of HUMAN SEASONS.  Human Seasons itself - ably danced - especially by the provocative combination of Naghdi and Ball - began to show its seams on closer examination - but AFTER THE RAIN came alive in a very different fashion than the evening before in the haunting and haunted PDD so glowingly etched by Yanowsky and her truly phenomenal partner, Clarke.  

 

The evening, however, (as it did yesterday) came alive in - and ultimately belonged to - the trails of its FLIGHT PATTERN.  After a second viewing I am convinced this will be a universal masterwork encroaching as it does on everything from man's desolation of man to our capacity for cathartic release.  Who knows this may well be Pite's SERENADE - and Sambe and McNally - indeed all - will cherish the fact that they were able to make history by being in its premiere - especially as time begins to unfold its many chapters for them.  

 

I so hope other major companies are (or will be) allowed to adopt FLIGHT PATTERN into their repertory.  Pite has every right - and deserves the joy - of sharing the enormity of her talents with our world.  It is a hungry one ... and this stunning achievement will help I'm certain make it more appreciative.  They ought to be.  You could have heard a pin drop tonight.  Indeed, a collective breath at the end - and by that I'm not referring to Sambe's heart-felt and earth enrupting treatise on the frustration of doubt and meaningless..  Pite's language is unique and clear.  (What I mean is that it is unique and clear ENOUGH):  It is strong.  The focus is refreshingly un-fussy.  The narrative IS not only strictly clear but inviting at the same time.  It beckons you into a legion of tales and makes you feel that you belong.  Moreover, it doesn't bite off more than it can chew.  

 

Best of all: It is alive.  

 

A privilege in deed!

Edited by Bruce Wall
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The current Triple Bill makes a lovely change after the long but very successful run of The Sleeping Beauty. 

 

The Royal Ballet is going from strength to strength with an abundance of talent amongst the new generation of dancers. What a fine company this is.The dancers have shown their incredible talents in the highly classical SB and now again in neo-classical and contemporary work. How versatile they all are!

 

The evening for me belonged to three outstanding couples:

Naghdi and Ball in Human Seasons, Yanowsky and Clark in After the Rain, McNally and Sambe in Flight Pattern. 

 

Naghdi/Ball showed such tenderness in their pas de deux, it melted my heart. It is her physicality, purity of movement and beauty of line, combined with Ball's gorgeous looks and strong dancing that made Human Seasons memorable.They bring beauty, youth and freshness to every role they dance.

 

Yanowsky/Clark were equally beautiful to watch. I must admit they brought tears to my eyes knowing that Yanowsky is soon to leave, the end of her career is near...and here we see the stunning young Clark (is he really only a First Artist?) - at the beginning of what will certainly be a glorious career - dancing with the amazing Yanowsky at the end of her career. A very emotional duet.

 

McNally/Sambe: all the dancers in Flight Pattern had their heart in this piece, and bravo to all of them. Sambe's performance was impressive, "screaming out loud" with his body as never seen before. The faces of the dancers are barely distinguishable but the one who really caught my eyes was Isabella Gasparini.

 

Thank you to all the dancers for giving it their all, it was a wonderful evening indeed.

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Ed Watson was dancing on Sunday but doesn't mean I suppose that he is nursing some injury.....his leg was in one of those boot thing's not that long ago and the part on Sunday didn't require much or even any jumping I seem to remember.

Don't​ think it involved much of anything imho????

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I agree with NinaG's post above.  Three pieces, three stand-out couples.  Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball brought an emotional intensity to the Human Seasons pdd that knocked me for six.  The best I have ever seen this danced.  As this partnership develops, I am anticipating many more performances such as this one.  They are both very special alone, but together they take it to another level.  Stunning stuff.  Oh, and not forgetting all the other RB dancers on the stage as well.  I am so excited for the future of the company;  I have been watching them for almost 40 years and I can't remember a time where there was such talent from the corps right up to the principals.  I hope that Gailene Stock is up there somewhere, looking down and feeling really proud of the flowers that have bloomed from the seeds she planted.  And huge kudos to Kevin O'Hare, who is so rightly developing the dancers he already has in the company.  

 

I feel the same way NinaG does about the Zen/Reece performance.  Again, so emotional to watch this great dancer in her final performances, partnering a young dancer at the start of his career.  Why oh why couldn't he have been around for her 15 years ago??!!  I can just imagine what a lovely partnership they might have made.  

 

It was interesting to see Flight Pattern from a different perspective (i.e. stalls circle standing instead of amphi).  I must say that from a purely physical perspective, it is much better to see it from on high;  you miss a lot of the patterns watching 'from the flat'.  This said, it did nothing to detract from the power and raw emotion of the piece.  

 

As I said elsewhere last night, in my opinion the company is in such good shape that there is no longer any such thing as a 'second cast' or a 'B cast'.  Last night  was every bit as impressive from start to finish as opening night was.  Long may it continue.

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Highlight of the whole programme last night for me was the dancing of Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball in Human Seasons, how beautiful can they get? Wasn't keen on the ballet last time and still not really impressed by it, would like some longer pdd and solo's, luckily Naghdi and Ball seemed to have the longest pdd.

 

Beautiful performance too from Reece Clarke and Zenaida Yanowsky in the second section of After The Rain, but again this is not a favourite ballet, Claire Calvert has such a gorgeous quality to her dancing, hard to describe.

 

I was looking forward to seeing Flight Pattern, not sure about it yet (have 1 more chance), certainly very different, almost like moving installation art, there was human emotion from Kristen McNally and Marcelino Sambe of course but it also looked like birds forming and reforming, real mix of music, dancing and designs!

 

Didn't appreciate a 20 minute ballet in between intervals of 25 and 30 minutes, I expect it's the usual reason of needing time to set up Flight Pattern.

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I wish I could like the Human Seasons better, if only for the quality of the performances which the dancers cast in it have given. They have, I think, done all that is humanly possible with it. Naghdi and Ball were outstanding but, even their presence on the stage can't disguise the fact that there is something wrong with it as an effective dance work. I don't think that Mr Dawson did himself any favours in his choice of music for the piece but at the end of the day I think that there is often too much movement to cope with in a piece that is so atmospherically lit. Perhaps it's just me but sitting in the Amphi the dancer's costumes and low lighting levels often make it look as if the dancers are disappearing into the background while movement on the periphery of the stage distracts me from what is happening centre stage and it becomes unclear what the choreographer wants me to focus on. Perhaps a little bit of paring down and careful focusing on what he wants the audience to see would help.

 

I understand the need to get outside choreographers in to make new works for the company rather than buying in a work that has already been successful elsewhere.Being part of the creative process in making a new ballet is a great developmental opportunity for a company and the dancers involved. Outsiders  see established dancers in a new light and sometimes recognise things that are special in dancers who are otherwise overlooked by the home team of choreographers and those responsible for staging the company's core repertory. However making a new work is always a gamble as there is always the danger that the choreographer may not be firing on all cylinders when he/ she is making a bespoke dance work for a company. Perhaps Kevin should have selected an existing work that is highly regarded for a first sighting of a Dawson work on the Covent Garden stage.But perhaps not as I was not that impressed by A Million kisses to my skin or his Faun(e) either. 

 

I enjoyed After the Rain far more this time than I did when the company first danced it. I thought that both Heap and Calvert were excellent and that Yanowsky and Clarke made the pas de deux, which had been beautifully danced by Nunez and Soares, into something extraordinary.This performance made me more than a little sad that it is Bolle rather than Clarke who is due to partner Yanowsky in Marguerite and Armand at the end of the season. Having said that if Mr Clarke is not promoted at the end of the season there are likely to be a lot of people who are both astounded and disappointed.

 

I  have to say that the thought of another ballet about refugees did not exactly make my heart leap with joy and expectation. After Untouchable, the Khan Giselle and McGregor's work on the topic I was expecting yet another very serious.relevant,earnest dance work on a very serious,very relevant subject. Flight Patterns is an extraordinarily monumental and moving work although I am puzzled by solo at the end as it seems to reduce the impact of what has gone before. At last we seem to have someone who knows how to use large groups of dancers effectively. I did not get the feeling that I did with Untouchable that having got the dancers on stage the choreographer did not really know how to use them effectively on the Covent Garden stage nor of a dance work overwhelmed by the cleverness of its choreographer and designer which I did with McGregor's offering on the subject. 

Edited by FLOSS
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Thanks to all for these wonderful reviews! Can't wait to see it (next Tuesday).

 

 

Thanks to this wonderful Forum we do get reviews of the various casts. 

I really feel Schadenfreude for those First Night newspaper critics who do not get to see some of the most stunning dancers in the company. Their loss!  

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I  have to say that the thought of another ballet about refugees did not exactly make my heart leap with joy and expectation. After Untouchable, the Khan Giselle and McGregor's work on the topic I was expecting yet another very serious.relevant,earnest dance work on a very serious,very relevant subject. Flight Patterns is an extraordinarily monumental and moving work although I am puzzled by solo at the end as it seems to reduce the impact of what has gone before.

 

Yes, the ending of Flight Patterns, whilst a bravado piece of dancing, does seem a little out of place - the escape of frustration seems too vigorous somehow, after what went before. Still, its an utterly transfixing piece and I can't wait to see it again

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