Nina G.

Similar to notsoballetlover and Jamesrhblack. I have decided after many years reading the Forum and enjoying it not to post my thoughts anymore, this is likely to be my last one too; especially after that "Snowflake, - no not another..." debate which frankly annoyed me greatly so I stopped reading it. Personally I felt communicating on the Forum became increasingly unpleasant compared to many years ago. I belong to a different generation and we communicated very differently. Many many thanks to the wonderful moderators who always do their utmost best to keep this Forum a civilised communication platform.

On social media DanceTours also announced the http://www.royalelegancenight.com taking place in Tokyo with Royal Ballet dancers Lauren Cuthbertson, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Naghdi, Matthew Ball, Akane Takada, Ryoichi Hirano, Ricardo Cervera, Alexander Campbell and Joseph Sissens. Can't figure out the date. I don't know if this runs alongside the WBForum?

ROH Summer Season 2018 Friends booking went really smooth and I got what I wanted: a Nunez/Muntagirov performance and two Naghdi/Kish performances.

The "problem" is that there is now a considerable amount of talent lower down the principal rank. I remember those years at the RB that there was not that much to be excited about in the First Soloist/Soloist rank or in the Corps de ballet. One would go to the RB to only see a particular principal full stop and I would book a performance solely to see Alina Cojocaru dancing with Kobborg, or Tamara with Acosta or Guillem with Cope etc., not to see a particular Soloist or First Soloist. However I have done so in the last few of years. Whatever talent there was in the lower ranks in the "olden days" they were made to wait until they reached the right rank and deserved /earned the right to dance a particular role. This too has changed now. Mr O'Hare cannot possibly give a go to all of his most talented dancers below the principal rank whenever they perform a ballet. Patience is a virtue. There are after all his principals who need to be kept happy and busy too.

I think that may be the reason why. Wasn't she twice absent for a great length of time for reasons of injury and/or illness. I recall her return to the stage after her illness was much celebrated and covered in the press. I assume another reason why the two youngest Principals do get a bit more coverage is that the ROH nowadays does a lot of Outreach work , ROH encourages new families to attend (via the Taylor Family Foundation) with the purpose of cultivating a new generation of ballet goers, there is now also the facility of social media interaction, there is the Student Ambassador programme, all this also to encourage youngsters to take up ballet training.

Agreed, and to dance two debuts in a matter of 72 hours is no mean feat for any Principal let alone for a dancer who is only months into being a First Soloist.

The Royal Ballet has four British, White Lodge trained, Principals: Edward Watson (made Principal in 2005), Lauren Cuthbertson (made Principal in 2008), Francesca Hayward (made Principal in 2016), Yasmine Naghdi (made Principal in 2017). There was a gap of eight years between the promotion of the last British, White Lodge trained Principal and the next one. Much has been written about it in the press asking "Why so few"? Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi rightly got press coverage when they were promoted to Principal, and their British training was rightly celebrated. Akane Takada, when promoted to Principal in 2016 was a little overshadowed press wise because of Hayward's simultaneous promotion. On the other hand Takada got press and tv coverage in her home country Japan, so did Hirano and they often appear in Japanese dance magazines. Japan is rightly proud of their Royal Ballet stars. As Brits we have every right to be proud of our home grown athletes, dancers, actors, singers,..., and their achievements should be highlighted and celebrated in order to encourage a new and younger generation of British talent to succeed. British athletes winning at the Olympics became celebrated sports heroes, as were our British tennis players Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and Andy Murray. That is not to say there are no other great non-British athletes, dancers, actors, singers. I also love Fumi Kaneko (but she has been injured quite a lot so I haven't been able to see all that much of her), and Beatriz Stix-Brunell (who was fully trusted into the limelight very early on in her career), as well as several other youngsters in the lower ranks. What sets RB Principals Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward apart besides their exceptional acting talent, individual dance style and technic, is the fact that they are homegrown talent and that, considering the scarcity of British trained dancers reaching the rank of Principal at the RB, is one of the many reasons why. We now have three out of eight female RB Principals who are British, one out of eight male RB Principals (that makes 25% of Principals who are British). Out of how many children starting their training at the many ballet schools in Britain will succeed in becoming a Principal in the Royal Company? Over a period of thirteen years Britain produced four Royal Ballet Principals. In comparison, Wimbledon produced (in that same time frame) 1 British male winner, no female winner at all. Is all of this important? Yes? No? It depends on your perspective. To some it is of no importance at all, to others it is. Personally I love it when the Brits succeed in sports, in the arts, in ballet, in fashion,... but that is not to say I do not admire or appreciate non-British talent.

The more I admired them, to have to dance such an important debut without much of a practice run; at least the Hayward/Campbell cast got two audience runs (the General and a School's Matinee) before dancing their debut, and Campbell is already a very experienced dancer compared to young Matthew Ball.

The Telegraph (Mark Monahan) and the Guardian (Judith Mackrell) gave column space to the Hayward/Campbell cast so I doubt they'd be that generous giving the Naghdi/Ball cast column space too. Jann Parry also reviewed the Hayward/Campbell cast. Perhaps a Naghdi/Ball review will appear in one of the weekend papers? Would be great if the critics could alternate publishing a cast review whenever they dance the same role. (after all we got plenty of audience reviews here on the Forum, no need to allocate column space ).

I have seen Tamara Rojo make a terrible slip and fall, remaining a few seconds down on stage, I have seen Carlos Acosta drop Marianella Nunez in "Fille" during that famous one-handed lift, I have seen so many of the greats slip, trip, fall, stumble, etc. it's not even worth mentioning. What matters is how they carry on as if nothing has happened and I feel strongly a tiny mishap or a bit of initial nervousness should not be highlighted when reviewing a dancer's performance. It is of no importance.

Thanks for those GIFS Aliceinwoolfland. Timmie, to analyse and observe Yasmine Naghdi's and Francesca Hayward's style of dancing, and their technic is just fascinating. It is in no way, and of no use, to compare them in any sense of the word, both are very talented ballerinas and unique in their own right. They each give their audience great pleasure in varying ways. Some will of course be more moved by Hayward, others will be more moved and connected to Naghdi. Appreciating the Art of Ballet is a very personal matter after all. What is interesting to know is that they trained alongside each other since the age of 10, they were in the same class at The Royal Ballet School, they had the same teachers who trained them until they entered The Royal Ballet. Isn't it highly unusual to get two Principals out of the same RBS class? How did their teachers shape them to become what they are now (and they are just at the start of their career as a Principal)? What is clear however is that they are both very musical dancers with a beautiful use of their upper-body - very typical for the English style of dancing - as well as fine actresses. I think their individual purity/clarity of dancing as well as their style of dancing, is the result of having received a complete training throughout the RBS. Comparisons have been made before in the press: http://dancetabs.com/2017/12/royal-ballet-the-nutcracker-london-4/ Jan Parry writes: "When Hayward dances alongside Yasmine Naghdi, the leading Rose Fairy, the contrast in their styles is captivating. Naghdi is diamond sharp, accentuating each pose, while Hayward is pearly, flowing without pausing". https://britishballetnowandthen.wordpress.com/tag/giselle/ "Yasmine Naghdi, who plays the piano, is perhaps unsurprisingly known for the musicality of her dancing. Kadeem Hosein evocatively describes how she “gathered up the harp’s music and sent it spilling off the tips of her fingers” when dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy. With her generous port de bras and luscious lines, "she has an amplitude that seems to fill the stage, and the poses that she strikes etch themselves on the memory". The fleet-footed Francesca Hayward has also been noted for her musical sensitivity. Her coach Lesley Collier, herself known for her musicality, declares “you can feel the music travelling through her” (qtd. in Mackrell). Speed of footwork is combined with a wonderful continuity of movement as she barely reaches a position before moving on to the next, thereby creating a seamless flow. This quality is enhanced by the pliancy of her upper body and “hands and arms as light and sensitive as butterflies” (Ismene Brown). Both principals have danced the same roles as Juliet, Aurora, Sugar Plum, Giselle and The Girl in the "Invitation", and captured their audience for varying reasons in a special way. We have only seen Naghdi perform in "Symphonic Variations", "Monotones", "Onegin"(Olga), Mathilde K. in "Anastasia", whereas Hayward only in "Rhaposody", "Manon", "Clara", "Alice", "Fille" thus each also different roles in order to develop their art. They clearly have a different technic and physical range abilities but when looking at the GIFS above they are capable of executing the same steps and movements in total synchronisation! I saw that performance in the cinema and their Pas de Deux blew me away, as if I was seeing double all of a sudden! Naghdi seems to be more flexible and capable of higher extensions (as seen in Act 2 Giselle) , she also has longer limbs, whereas Hayward is shorter but has slightly faster footwork and a lighter jump. I am greatly looking forward to following their future career at the RB. PS. and also many other upcoming great dancers lower down the ranks!!

Well, exactly the same happened when Naghdi/Ball made their "Romeo&Juliet" debut as well as other debuts. The critics seem to be given tickets by the RB Press to attend Hayward/Campbell's/Golding (R&J) performances but not to theirs, or perhaps on Saturday's the critics simply vanish into the country side

I really have no intention to get into any further argument but may I ask you what makes you think it is untrue? What if everything is NOT fake?

Goodness me, how sad. I do not see any reason why dancers would invent what they stated in this article. This really changed my perception of Tamara Rojo. How is this possible in a 21st century ballet company?

That's correct, Yasmine told me at Stage Door when I asked her, that she and Matthew Ball had only had the Pre-General closed rehearsal leading up to their debut. I didn't detect any nerves from her, maybe it took her a moment to really get into the role after a three week gap.

THANK YOU so much Don Q Fan for these lovely memorable photos! I was sitting too far away to take photos during the curtain call. The photo with flowers was the very first batch the ushers delivered on stage, so many more followed. She clearly has many adoring fans. I picked up the courage to go and meet Yasmine Naghdi at the Stage Door, we did not have to wait all that long, and she was still in her Giselle hairdo and in full make-up. She must have been exhausted but she spent time talking to everyone waiting at the Stage Door to meet her, she patiently posed with many who asked to have her photo taken, and signed the programmes. She is so friendly and kind, first time I met her personally and able to have a brief chat with her, and I was so moved.

I very much felt that too. Yasmine's Giselle in Act II took charge of destiny: instead of accepting Myrtha's authority SHE took charge and told Myrtha to "back off", she was clearly dismissive of Myrtha's interference, she was not going to be intimidated by Myrtha. Fumi Kaneko reacted so well to this reversal of authority and clearly showed she was intimidated by Giselle. Whilst the Willies are unforgiving to men, Yasmine's Giselle showed genuine compassion, forgiveness, and intact love for Albrecht.

A lot of big statement "Bloomsbury-style" flowers for Yasmine Naghdi this afternoon, and what I found very touching was (after she gave a rose to her Albrecht) was the gorgeous rose she gave to Conductor Koen Kessels. He even kissed the rose!

It pains me too to think "WHEN will we be seeing the Naghdi/Ball partnership again..?". Naghdi is clearly more mature, she is a Principal after all, but goodness me how rapidly Matthew Ball is improving! His acting was very credible and more and more authoritative. Together they are just heartbreaking to watch, beautiful, and oh how much I'd love to see them together in Swan Lake! Yasmine Naghdi was the embodiment of the Romantic ballerina. In Act 1 she personified Giselle clearly setting herself apart from the rest of the villagers (she is supposed to be after all a child conceived from an aristocratic fling...). Naghdi's Giselle in Act 1 was joyful and light, truly believing Albrecht is love with her. Naghdi's development of character throughout Act 1 - culminating in her very believable Mad Scene - was impressive. In Act 2 she showed all her technical skills, her amazing control of balance, her high extensions, and above all her special lyrical talent. At no point did she ever show off, she fully controlled her technic, and her characterisation as a ghostly Giselle was so very moving: even in death she was sweet and kind to her Albrecht, fully forgiving him and showing him her love. Matthew Ball was a wonderful young Albrecht, I found his acting very much improved. The Naghdi/Ball partnership is one to really value and I can only imagine what these two will deliver in a few years time! I only wish they had another one or two performances during this run in order to further develop their character. A very emotional afternoon with two beautiful young artists! The Corps and the Pas de Six dancers also deserve a lot of credit. What an amazing company the RB is right now!

I will write something once I have recovered from this afternoon's most stunning performance, my mind is simply numb with all the beauty delivered by Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball. The steady flow of huge bouquets delivered on stage, one after the other , didn't seem to end! Fans must have spent thousands....I have rarely witnessed such a "waterfall" of flowers at any debut.

I am going to see the debut of Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball tomorrow, so I may bump into some of you at meeting point near the escalator . So very much looking forward to their debut!

I like to dress up a bit too, it makes going to the ROH feel extra special. I have seen Russian ballet fans dressing up to the nines! It's up to every individual really.

There isn't such a thing as ROH friendly dressing LinMM, everyone wears what they want, there really is NO dress code at all. I have seen youngsters (and the not so young too) in trainers, torn jeans, very casually dressed, ...it really doesn't matter what you wear when you are at the ROH.

I don't think so as many dancers have stated in their interview: "When we have a performance in the evening we finish rehearsing at 5:30pm allowing us to rest, eat, warm-up again and prepare for the evening performance. On non-performance day dancers rehearse up to 6:30pm".

Did the RB Press Office tweet to their followers that the Radio5 interview was going to be broadcast? Did they post it on IG? I think it is the age group of the younger RB dancers (and ENB,NB,BRB,SB) between the age of 20 to 25 who should be involved in Social Media interaction with the youngsters out there and help break the barrier (ballet by many is still perceived as elitist, unknown to many what it is all about, although much progress has been made in recent years). As Yasmine Naghdi explained: "ballet classes/training assist in getting rid of excess energy in children, helps them to focus, it teaches them much needed self-discipline and the drive to succeed, it builds mental strength, and to not be afraid of being (nicely) ambitieus in order to achieve ones dream.