David Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Just now, bangorballetboy said: I think this has come about from a misunderstanding - the reference to male and female there in the Wiki extract is just the gender equivalences of the surnames, rather than a translation. Lord, Master, Noble all the same sort of thing! True O Sage - my dementia is even further advanced than I had realised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Well, the final performance of Jewels tonight and what a fantastic one. Kevin O'Hare came onstage at the start to announce that Akane Takada had had a back spasm, and that Steven McRae and Sarah Lamb would be replacing her and Alexander Campbell. I had seen Takada and Campbell at the last performance I attended, so I was happy enough to see McRae and Lamb. I'm not McRae's biggest fan but I have to say he was amazing in Rubies - those chainées moving offstage! Lamb also brilliant although a couple of slips - slippery stage? And Tierney Heap shone - she excels in roles like this. I'm never really sold on Emeralds, although I love the music, but Francesca Hayward in particular was beautiful, melting dancing and such musicality. And Diamonds - what can I say? I don't know if Lauren read that horrible review in the Standard, but she had upped her game considerably tonight from when I saw her a couple of weeks ago - lovely and vibrant performance tonight. As for Vadim - I hadn't intended to see Jewels again but just couldn't resist seeing him dance this again. He was made to dance it. Every time I think he can't get any better, he proves me wrong. Tonight's performance was sublime. Such elegance , presence and technique! All of a sudden, the other male dancers' landings sounded heavy in comparison - how does he land so softly?? Wonderful. And for me, Olivia Cowley stands out for her beautiful arms in particular and her lovely face and stage persona. But everyone danced beautifully tonight. A fitting end to the run. I do wish Akane a speedy recovery. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Just to be clear, that horrible review was in the Express, not the Standard.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Yes, sorry, I stand corrected - writing very late! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Balletfanp, you took the words out of mouth. I couldn't resist seeing Muntagirov in this one more time either, and he did not disappoint. Every step is so crystal clear, every jump so perfecly placed, every gesture so pure, so elegant, yet his presence so solid; his solos both exciting and perfect, his partnering so thoughtful and yet discreet. He leaves me utterly speechless in the interval ( unusual for me.) I agree Lauren Cuthbertson seemed more vibrant- but then i think the person who found her 'dull'was mising a lot anyway: she is not Nunez, true, but has so much of her own quieter charm. I was so sorry to hear about Akane Takada. But, thrilled to see McRae/ Lamb once more and they were dazzling again- really, the evening showed off perfectly how he, and Muntagirov, both seemed made for their roles. Emeralds gets more enchanting with every viewing, especially the beautiful arms. What can one say- a truly wonderful 'chain' of performances, and please, please bring us more Balanchine, Mr O'Hare. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Mary said: Balletfanp, you took the words out of mouth. . What can one say- a truly wonderful 'chain' of performances, and please, please bring us more Balanchine, Mr O'Hare. I agree with everything that has been said about last night's performance of this true masterwork. Can I just add a note of acclaim for Calvin Richardson in the Emeralds PDT last night - so ably abetted by the shimmering O'Sullivan and Stock. This is another young man who has 'potential principal' written ALL over him. Given the precision of his placement; the instinctive cunning of his musicality I would go so far as to say that this is a 'Muntagirov in the waiting'. How wonderful for the younger dancers - most especially the fine apprentices (not to mention the audiences) - to have such vivid role models to learn from and/or aspire towards. Such can only feed - much as Balanchine's own magical canon - the visceral joy for us all. Edited April 22, 2017 by Bruce Wall 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 McRae was pretty good in Diamonds too on Thursday evening. Emeralds not so great, really miss Benjamin and Rojo in that act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 20 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said: I agree with everything that has been said about last night's performance of this true masterwork. Can I just add a note of acclaim for Calvin Richardson in the Emeralds PDT last night - so ably abetted by the shimmering O'Sullivan and Stock. This is another young man who has 'potential principal' written ALL over him. Given the precision of his placement; the instinctive cunning of his musicality I would go so far as to say that this is a 'Muntagirov in the waiting'. How wonderful for the younger dancers - most especially the fine apprentices (not to mention the audiences) - to have such vivid role models to learn from and/or aspire towards. Such can only feed - much as Balanchine's own magical canon - the visceral joy of us all. Indeed, I meant to say, Calvin Richardson was really superb- he shone: great stage presence and the all important very precise feet. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 All the posters about last night have beaten me to it. Way back in this thread I was a somewhat reluctant participant at the Jewels party but I have really enjoyed a run of shows which has been enhanced by some truly wonderful performances: Nagdhi; Choe; Morera; Hayward; Hay; Richardson; O'Sullivan; Gasparini in Emeralds pretty much everyone in Rubies but a special mention for Benjamin Ella, now firing on all cylinders, and 'super-sub' Leo Dixon among the supporting (unlisted) men Muntagirov and Nunez in Diamonds, alas not together, and the first cast 'backing quartet' of Calvert; Nagdhi; Stix-Brunell; Heap As importantly, the Company as a whole glistened throughout. Huge thanks to everyone 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) I have thoroughly enjoyed all the performances of Jewels which I have attended. Each one of them has shown us the company as it is and given us glimpses of what the future holds. While it is true that some performances by individual dancers have been better than others the quality of each performance of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds have all been remarkably high and dancers at every level in the company have contributed to that in a way that I don't think that anyone would have thought was possible even ten tears ago. There are senior dancers who I miss in some roles but for me those absences have been fully compensated by watching young dancers mature and develop their command of the stage from performance to performance.I don't intend to single out too many dancers for special mention but I think I have to mention Matthew Ball as a prime example of this visible growth in maturity.He and Naghdi have grown into their roles in Emeralds over a matter of weeks so that they now own them.Many other dancers in their early twenties who we have seen during the last few weeks have achieved this or have come very close to doing so. The active life of a dancer is incredibly short and just at the age when actors and singers are getting into their stride as performers dancers retire, but it has always been like that. So while I miss some dancers in these ballets the prospect of what the future holds is too much to resist. The work in progress,in some ways, has been even more interesting than the finished product. I can't help feeling that next season which at present looks rather dull is going to be transformed when the casting is announced as there are so many dancers who are worth looking out for and making a special effort to see. It is such a shame that these performances have not sold as well as they might have been expected to as this may mean that it is some time before Jewels is revived. I hope that this is not the case. For those who thought that Jewels was brought back too quickly after its last revival it seems to me from what we saw on stage that the timing was absolutely right as far as the development of the company is concerned. At the moment it is as important for Kevin to revive ballets so that the younger dancers can perform major roles as it is to please the audience by performing a wide ranging repertory. With any luck he will get the balance right between dancer development and audience pleasing and if that means for example that Sleeping Beauty is revived in 2018,the Petipa bicentennial year, I shall not complain. As Vaziev said you don't gain mastery of the great classical roles by dancing them once or twice every three years. Edited April 22, 2017 by FLOSS 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 1 hour ago, FLOSS said: . At the moment it is as important for Kevin to revive ballets so that the younger dancers can perform major roles as it is to please the audience by performing a wide ranging repertory. With any luck he will get the balance right between dancer development and audience pleasing I agree but a Director also has to bear in mind the need to challenge and thereby further develop his/her Principals/senior Soloists. No easy task to plan the rep. with so many considerations in mind. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 And maybe they can look at publicity as well. I don't think I have seen a single poster for Jewels on the tube, or not one that stood out anyway. I am genuinely interested to know why anything by McGregor seems to generate packed, enthusiastic audiences, even for a new work. Are these people only interested in his works, and wouldn't contemplate a pure classical ballet such as Jewels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Just when I wondered if I would enjoy Jewels again so soon, it got better! So pleased I saw this Emeralds cast, Yuhui Choe was like a Degas dancer, enchanting, and really enjoyed the pas de trois I had hoped to see, agree with comments about Calvin Richardson, another star in the making! Although I was looking forward to seeing Akane Takada again, I was pleasantly surprised by the cast change and it gave me a chance to see Steven McRae's incredibly fast chainees properly, and then Vadim Muntagirov and Lauren Cuthbertson in Diamonds brought this run of Jewels to a fitting end, Kevin O'Hare must be very proud of his dancers! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 12 hours ago, FLOSS said: It is such a shame that these performances have not sold as well as they might have been expected to as this may mean that it is some time before Jewels is revived. Some people have speculated that the unusually large number of performances might hint at a gap in the schedule needing to be filled - putting this together with what I commented on as being a very large number of performances of the Dawson/Wheeldon/Pite bill, I can't help thinking that may have been the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 17 hours ago, Fonty said: And maybe they can look at publicity as well. I don't think I have seen a single poster for Jewels on the tube, or not one that stood out anyway. I've seen plenty of them on the tube (Lamb & McRae). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 On 18/04/2017 at 17:17, Alice Shortcake said: Although I didn't think the set was in the same league as those used in the POB and Mariinsky productions of Jewels, it was servicable enough...with the exception of the curly-wurly alien life form hovering over Emeralds! Well, I *like* the Emeralds chandelier. Whereas I'm afraid I always think the ones in Diamonds look like giant versions of cheap Accessorize earrings... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 2 hours ago, RuthE said: Well, I *like* the Emeralds chandelier. Whereas I'm afraid I always think the ones in Diamonds look like giant versions of cheap Accessorize earrings... To me the Emeralds chandeliers look like Tiffany lamps. Wrong jeweller, no doubt, but that's the reference for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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