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

[Coated]

I felt the Dawson piece was a waste of talented dancers, rather than the other way around, but then we all have our own opinions. Personally, I found the dragging and manhandling unpleasant to watch and very negative towards the female body. I doubt that there is a dancer out there that could make me think differently. The ballet is now known as 'Pass the Parcel' in my house.

 

There are bits of Human Season I like, I think the opening display of 4 couple is gorgeous.

[SwissBalletFan]

The ballet is now known as 'Pass the Parcel' in my house.

 

There are bits of Human Season I like, I think the opening display of 4 couple is gorgeous.

Don't you remove a layer at each time the music stops? Now that might add more spice to the choreography

[bridiem]

I felt the Dawson piece was a waste of talented dancers, rather than the other way around, but then we all have our own opinions. Personally, I found the dragging and manhandling unpleasant to watch and very negative towards the female body. I doubt that there is a dancer out there that could make me think differently. The ballet is now known as 'Pass the Parcel' in my house.

 

There are bits of Human Season I like, I think the opening display of 4 couple is gorgeous.

 

Yes, I thought some of it was beautiful too (even though I was very disinclined to like it after the tweet/comment outrage). But I also did grow weary of all the extreme extensions and the endless manhandling of the women - it was like a game with the aim of finding the maximum number of ways of lifting/passing/dragging/pulling/swinging/sliding/sweeping them, with some of it looking downright risky to no good purpose. But there were also lovely moments. If the dancers were aware of what has been said, I'm surprised they performed the work at all this evening. As it was, I felt very sorry for them and full of admiration for their skill, artistry and professionalism.

 

I didn't find this programme a good balance - following The Human Seasons with After the Rain meant (almost) more of the same for the first half of the second work, which did no favours to either. But the pas de deux for Yanowsky and Reece was heart-stoppingly beautiful and danced with graceful simplicity (on his part) and deeply moving sophistication (on her part). Never to be forgotten. I find this a slightly strange work, though - not really a work of two halves but of two thirds. I could understand if, like in MacMillan's Concerto, another group section followed the pas de deux. As it is, it just stops (though very beautifully).

 

I thought Flight Pattern was terrific and danced with incredible power and commitment. Really clever use of the large group, indeed like migrating birds as much as migrant refugees. I loved the music, and the anguished singing as Kirsten McNally walked away with her armful of dead children (as I understood it) reduced me to tears. As if she was offering up ALL the innocent children who have died - as refugees, or of starvation, or of poverty, or of illness - over all the ages. Which gave point to the frantic, furious final solo danced so passionately by Marcelino Sambé. The work got a great reception, as was fitting.

 

If this bill had opened with (say) Scènes de Ballet, it would have been much more satisfying and would have showed the full range and incredible adaptability of these wonderful dancers.

[Bruce]

The 19 March David Dawson tweet re critics & his work, subsequently deleted without explanation...

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Twitter. My original Tweet is at:

https://twitter.com/DanceTabs/status/844459318825177088

[Ian Macmillan]

Nice one, Bruce - I couldn't find a copy again yesterday after finding it had been deleted.  Does #respectgoesbothways look a little odd after his assistant's rant, I wonder?

[billboyd]

Tweets - instant reactions - can be unwise.   He - wisely - deleted it.

 

I think David Dawson had every reason to be 'upset' after reading Hanna Weibye's review.

 

Tim Couchman's post under Hanna Weibye's review is another matter....

[ninamargaret]

Really annoyed at having to miss seeing this last night, a horrible bug has left me with the most spectacular cough and no way could I inflict that on fellow theatregoers. But he to read everyone's views.

[zxDaveM]

its a shame this ruccus broken out in the public domain - I really liked the piece, but can understand why others perhaps didn't (the parts I enjoyed were greater than the smaller number of parts that I didn't). There are very few works that are perfect - I could cheerfully dump chunks of R&J, or the whore-house scenes in Manon (where there is section of pass-the-Manon) or Mayerling, the 'ugly' sisters in Cinderella, etc etc. So advice to connections would simply have been to keep heads down, and make something better next time. Wayne McGregor does that after making something that's less than popular...

[Fonty]

I agree it is not very nice to read a review that is highly critical of your work.  It must be very upsetting.  But Mr Dawson is not a youngster in his twenties, and this can't be the first time people have made unfavourable comments about a piece he has created, surely?  This is obviously a case where it would have been better to sleep on it first, rather than reacting immediately.  

 

I've not seen Human Seasons. Would it have looked better in a different triple bill?  Is this a case of unfortunate programming?  

[Sim]

Really annoyed at having to miss seeing this last night, a horrible bug has left me with the most spectacular cough and no way could I inflict that on fellow theatregoers. But he to read everyone's views.

I wish everyone were as considerate as you are, Ninamargaret!!  I wish you better very soon!

[alison]

The thread discussing the premiere performances is here: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/5284-royal-ballet-chromahuman-seasonsrite-of-spring-2013/?hl=%22human+seasons%22  It seems to have excited rather less interest than this one , but people's reactions to The Human Seasons seem similar in both.

[Bruce]

Nice one, Bruce - I couldn't find a copy again yesterday after finding it had been deleted.  Does #respectgoesbothways look a little odd after his assistant's rant, I wonder?

Thanks Ian: Once a tweet is deleted finding a copy is practically impossible. I had an inkling he might reverse up and so took a screen grab.

 

I loath it when people try and massage the past and much general discussion is thrown out of context. I saw all this back in the early days of running the original forum, which is why I moved to rapidly reduce posters ability to edit their posts - I think it was 15 minutes in my day. That really forced posters to clarify and post again if their view changed. When things go on the public record both writers and readers/responders have rights I think.

 

Dawson of course can change his view on things and the way to handle this would have been a new tweet expressing the change of heart etc.

 

I'd note that Dawson's Twitter stream includes a fair number of appreciate tweets that were garnered as a response to his now deleted tweet. That seems rather disingenuous really.

Edited March 22, 2017 by Bruce

[billboyd]

He deleted it, Bruce  Get over it.

 

(Yesterday you told me to 'get over' a posting)

[Bruce]

He deleted it, Bruce  Get over it.

 

(Yesterday you told me to 'get over' a posting)

 

No - the public record is important.

[Fonty]

The thread discussing the premiere performances is here: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/5284-royal-ballet-chromahuman-seasonsrite-of-spring-2013/?hl=%22human+seasons%22  It seems to have excited rather less interest than this one , but people's reactions to The Human Seasons seem similar in both.

 

Thanks Alison. 

 

As the original reaction doesn't seem to have been brimming with enthusiasm, I wonder why it was put on again.  

[capybara]

I now feel more ready to express some thoughts about Flight Pattern which truly merits being the focus of this thread.

 

I suspect that I haven’t seen the piece from the best vantage point in terms of the early mass movement and patterns created later – that is, higher up than the Stalls Circle. Nevertheless, the early part of the ballet captures for me the feeling of people moving inexorably towards a goal but not being certain what that goal really is or, if and when they reach it, what it will imply for them and their lives. The ‘break out’ groups, individuals and pairs (all superb) express this uncertainty, anguish and, perhaps, hope very vividly - and their activity captures the reality of a refugee ‘line’ where all is not uniform all of the time. Their short sequences also provide energetic dance as distinct from sombre movement - a  juxtaposition which is helpful, also, in terms of the work's overall balance.

 

Although the stage remains one tone, the moment when the light falls on Kristen McNally’s hunched back changes the mood movingly and reminds us that each refugee is a unique human being and each one has their own particular anguish. The grief-stricken soliloquy from Marcelino Sambe at the close is searing in its intensity – achingly sad but also having the effect (for me) of lifting the work artistically. It confirms Marcelino as an artist of very considerable range and depth.

 

Of course, we all have our own interpretations of what Flight Pattern portrays – and that is one of its many strengths. I’m not sure how I would have dressed it, but groups of refugees do not, surely, wear heavy trench coats reminiscent of WWII? Also, when one watches footage of refugees on the move, there are always (I think) many more men than women. But what a wonderful opportunity for so many RB dancers to work with a choreographer of this calibre as part of a large team.

Edited March 22, 2017 by capybara

[Bruce]

I now feel more ready to express some thoughts about Flight Pattern which truly merits being the focus of this thread.

 

 

Yes, yes, yes - a 5 star piece.

[Geoff]

He deleted it, Bruce  Get over it.

This is an important point, of current significance well beyond the world of ballet. A recent court case showed that just because Katie Hopkins deleted a tweet within two hours of posting it, this was not enough to save her from an expensive libel action, which she lost ten days ago.

 

I have the link to the (rather interesting) judgement if anyone would like it. It may be reversed on appeal but for the time being, a deleted tweet is still a tweet.

[Jillykins]

Really enjoyed last night, agree with Bridiems rs, so won't repeat. The dancers in Seasons were totally committed and gave an excellent performance. I am enjoying seeing Sambe develop technique and dramatic quality. Thanks to this thread I watched more critically than usual and I think this enhanced my enjoyment.

 

The start of After Rain felt a bit like more of the same however the p de d of Yanowsky and Clarke was truly moving. Possibly because ait was the last time I will see Yanowski. Reminded me of the spark we saw in first Fonteyn|Nureyev performances.

 

Flight Pattern lived up to expectations. Dramatic, riveting and some thing special. Wonderful company that can tackle, successfully so many styles of dance. Teamwork by corps and principals. Main dancers and corps working as one. I am glad we were in amphi because floor patterns were so well choreographed, however I missed McNally and Sambe facial expressions. However their bodies told the story so well. Evening made memorable by good health news after a tough year. A night to count my blessings in so many ways!

[BMC]

Excellent news, Jillykins, must have been a very special evening for you in every respect.

[Sim]

Jillykins, I am so glad you enjoyed the evening, and even more glad that you have had some good news after your tough year.  I hope you will keep on enjoying all the dance performances you can!  Very best wishes to you.  xx

[alison]

Me too!

[FLOSS]

It must be difficult for a choreographer who, I assume, has pursued a successful career elsewhere to come to Covent Garden to find that his or her new offering is not appreciated by the critics. But this is not the ballet's initial season and so this critical response seems somewhat unusual. Did it get lost sandwiched between its companion pieces in 2013? Did no one comment on it or did their comments get lost in the editing process? As a general rule London critics say what they really think about new dance works. Critics not holding back is nothing new and it has never been confined to the works of outside choreographers or the most cutting edge either. We tend to have a rosy view of the past or no view at all and it is very easy to assume that as the works of Ashton and MacMillan are now part of the international repertory that their new works were always greeted with enthusiasm. I believe that the only Ashton ballet to be received with almost universal approbation was Fille while MacMillan's Manon did well to survive its initial season and only did so because the paying public persisted in buying tickets.Comments on Manon both here and in the US were scathing.

 

At one time it was only the critics whose opinion the choreographer had to contend with but now the choreographer can find out what some of the paying public think about their efforts too. I should have thought that rejection was a danger that any choreographer runs with a new work and that in the end they learn to live with it, or not, as the case may be. It is said that Ashton was physically sick before a first night Somehow I can't imagine either Ashton or MacMillan  responding to adverse criticism by tweeting but I can imagine other people doing it for them. 

 

At last night's performance of The Human Seasons the dancers did everything that they could with the choreography but if the ballet was intended to engage me intellectually or move me emotionally it failed to do so. I assume that the choreographer would have arranged to have his ballet better lit if he had wanted to engage my interest in anything more than the accurate and efficient reproduction of his choreography.

 

I am beginning to resent choreographers who make me work hard to see what is happening on stage and deliver very little for my efforts.The opening section of After the Rain which is slick rather than interesting falls into that category and it does little for me.It is the second part which turns the work into something special and last night's cast, Yanowsky and Clarke were wonderful in it.In Flight Patterns variable lighting levels  are used to considerable purpose and artistic effect. It continues to intrigue me

Edited March 22, 2017 by FLOSS

[MAB]

Good point from FLOSS, I remember buying a job lot of old ballet books from Ebay and being shocked after reading a critical dismissal of Symphonic Variations.

 

I haven't commented on this programme as raging toothache sent me home after Human Seasons, but liked it better first time around.  Sorry. 

[Lindsay]

From what I recall/can easily google, reviews for the first run of Human Seasons were lukewarm Floss.  It was on the programme that elicited Luke Jennings' critical comments on female dancers being manipulated and "spatchcocked" but, since Chroma was then on as part of the same triple bill, McGregor took a big share of the 'flak' that time around.

 

I think the very positive response to the Pite and the inevitable comparison may be what is most galling for Dawson and his team.  Of course they both danced at Frankfurt in the Forsythe days so there is a common 'heritage' there.   

[Beryl H]

I'll have to look at Human Seasons more carefully on Friday, can't remember any of the controversial moves except a woman being thrown around a lot, probably I watch a dancer or couple I like through opera-glasses and miss the others. Really surprised it has caused such trouble for everyone though.

 

Friday has a one-off chance to see Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Eric Underwood in the After The Rain pdd, or so I assume from the cast list, looking forward.

[Vanartus]

I'm really sad that "it's got to this" with the Human Seasons' affair. I think the Arts Desk critic was over-harsh, and did have a vindictive tone to say the least. I was both glad and surprised at the piece being given a second airing - I didn't think it would have been given the chance. There are bits I really liked about it, but it was too long. And it meandered. But it didn't deserve the extremes of negativity. I was amazed at the audacity of some of the moves, and did think about the ramifications of some of the choreography. It is a good opening work, possibly it would have been better placed before a narrative piece. However I am disturbed not so much by Dawson's reaction, but rather by the person who staged the work...his contribution to the debacle has not helped.

[Lizbie1]

I think the Arts Desk critic was over-harsh, and did have a vindictive tone to say the least.

 

It was strongly worded but I didn't hear any vindictiveness.  I think, rather, that there was frustration that certain choreographers continue to display their female dancers in ways which can be seen - and are seen by many, including me - as demeaning. This criticism, which isn't new, has tended to be shrugged off by choreographers, who simply say that the dancers are happy, as if audience and critics' perceptions aren't valid as well (and that's leaving aside questions about the power balance between choreographer and dancer).

 

While it's unfortunate that Dawson has reason to feel that he has been singled out for stronger criticism than others, it's my strong opinion that this reviewer's point needs to be made again and again until choreographers and ADs start taking it seriously.

[Ian Macmillan]

The Human Seasons brouhaha has been picked up by the US Dance Magazine:

 

http://dancemagazine.com/views/artists-respond-reviews/

[alison]

 

Is Edward Watson injured?  Anybody know?

 

Recovered from a stress fracture, according to his Twitter account.

[Ian Macmillan]

As you'll see from today's Links, the Couchman/Dawson/Human Seasons business has been picked up by the Telegraph.  Nothing new - other than at the end, where it is said that David Dawson has issued a conciliatory statement addressed to the RB dancers and Kevin O'Hare.  I'm not aware of it having appeared online anywhere.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/23/royal-ballet-choreographer-appears-ridicule-stars/

[billboyd]

This is not a good story.

 

It is such a pity it has been printed.

[bridiem]

This is not a good story.

 

It is such a pity it has been printed.

 

Well, it happened - that's the real pity. And if it gives people the opportunity to express support for the dancers concerned, perhaps it's a good thing that it's been reported.