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Jane S

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Everything posted by Jane S

  1. Well, the way the role was being cast when I last saw Mayerling a few years ago, I used to wonder if there was a lost Act 4 somewhere in which he was revealed as Rudolf's younger brother, stolen in infancy !
  2. Can anyone remember, did Gartside ever do Bratfisch? It would have been a perfect role for him.
  3. Casting for this has now been announced - the RB will be represented by Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe, who dance one Tchaikowsky pas de deux and two Tarantellas.
  4. This is his farewell tour, I believe, and tonight is his last performance at the Teatro Colon. He's 42. He left the RB in 2005 and I remember him mostly for two things: the complete surprise when he was cast as Siegfried at very short notice after having done nothing more prominent with the RB than a Gentleman in Act 2 of Manon, and his beautiful 'Ashtonian' arms, the best of any man in the company at the time.
  5. The Teatro Colon in Buenos Aries is livestreaming a performance of MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet tomorrow, with Lauren Cuthbertson and Inaki Urlezaga in the leads. It's at 17.00 in BA - 21.00 in London I think but better check. http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/en/en-vivo Anyone know if it can be seen in Europe? Thanks to Dansomanie for the link
  6. I doubt it - the book has 514 pages and is based on her doctrinal thesis (University of Cambridge)
  7. The two solos in act 1 were danced by two farmhands until the middle of the 20th century, when the second one was given to James (I've read that the change was made by Flemming Flindt around 1965.) You can still see the original casting in the film of the Rambert Sylphide. When the RDB came to London in the 1970s James had the 2nd solo but the first one was still danced by an unnamed character rather than by Gurn. Bournonville saw dancing as an expression of joy and therefore as you say the James of Act 1 couldn't possibly have danced. I asked Kobborg in an interview just before his RB production openind if he'd thought of reverting to the original but he was scathing about the possibility of any James agreeing to give up the solo. I don't think there's any particular reason to long to have Kobborg's production back - like everyone else he'd added little bits - the pas de six for Effie's friends for instance. The film of Lis Jeppesen and Nikolaj Hubbe gives the credit for 'original production' to Hans Brenaa and that would be a good place to start. I'm not entirely sure who came up with the Madge-was-a-Sylphide idea but it certainly wasn't Kobborg - possibly Sorella Englund early in the 1990s - but as we saw in the RB performances she doesn't always do it. Incidentally although Hubbe's current production puts a very different slant on the story I don't think he's altered the choreography at all.
  8. Dozens of pictures here (thanks to Dansomanie for the link)
  9. I think it's really interesting how few people have chosen pure dancing roles - for me, given the technique and physique to dance just one role, I wouldn't want to waste one second on acting or mime - I'd hope to find that rare moment that dancers sometimes talk about as the peak of their experience, when everything clicks and there's nothing but you and the music - and maybe a perfectly-attuned partner, to help you fly. I'd go for the Waltz in Serenade.
  10. I like the way you've put all the things I don't like into the same triple bill!
  11. It was said at the time that Makarova cut the number of the Shades because the stage/scenery didn't have enough space for 32 - don't know if that was actually true, though.
  12. Did he do Elgar? I must have missed that - but I remember him as an outstandingly good Jaeger, rivalling the role's creator.
  13. Sorry if I've missed this somewhere, but is Mathias Dingman injured or something?
  14. Where I was watching, the lighting seemed fine and the music sounded very good - but I did miss a lot of what the two presenters were saying. I don't think their was much applause in the cinema but what I assume was the surround sound from the transmission would have made it difficult to tell our applause from what we were hearing from the theatre! I was really disappointed that the camera higher up in the theatre was so little used, especially in the lakeside scenes - they could have shown us far more of the stage patterns in the corps dances for instance. I'm pleased to have seen it as I haven't seen a live performance of this production but for me there are far too many close-ups. Loved the last pas de deux for Odette and Siegfried. And cinema or live, some of the music is still painfully too slow!
  15. The gala programme was Susanne Grinder's last performance with the company - I gather it wasn't mentioned on stage but there are some lovely photographs and messages appearing on her Instagram page.
  16. Well, that's always a nice cheerful gala number. It looks as if each guest has brought something from their home repertoire - Dorothee Gilbert has just posted an Instagram picture of her rehearsing 'Auber' with Marcin Kupinski - will this be Grand Pas Classique? And that leaves Birkkjaer to do Stars and Stripes. Presumably there will be a Bournonville piece too - Emma Riis-Kofoed perhaps? I bet she didn't expect to end her first year in the company like this!
  17. It sounds as if it may be fun - the guest dancers are Lauren Lovette (NYCB) Semyon Chudin (Bolshoi) Reece Clarke (RB) Dorothee Gilbert (POB) Francesco Mura (POB) and it looks as if at least some of them are going to be dancing with an RDB dancer - those listed as taking part are Ida Praetorius J'aime Crandall Emma Riis-Kofoed Ulrik Birkkjær Marcin Kupinski So far all I've seen is that Praetorius and Chudin will do Sleeping Beaty Act 3 and Lovette will do Stars and Stripes... Also 3 of the RDB senior ladies - Grinder, Matiakis and Watson - do Bournonville's Three Graces and the programme ends with Holly Dorger, Andreas Kaas, Jon Axel Fransson and Jonathan Chmelensky in Etudes. (I think there has already been an open rehearsal so perhaps someone else can fill in the blanks)
  18. A little video on the theatre's Facebook page shows some of what Hubbe has been doing to 'get Denmark dancing' - he demonstrated some moves on an earlier video and challenged people to copy them and put up their own videos. https://da-dk.facebook.com/kglteater/videos/10155289097161455/
  19. The RDB Ballet Festival starts today, with a performance of Napoli (Ulrik Birkkjær, Amy Watson, Jonathan Chmelensky). And tomorrow is Bournonville Day, with an open company class, several films, discussions etc and a Bournonvilleana programme in the evening. Anyone who's going, please tell us about it! Nikolaj Hubbe has put a lot of effort into putting this over as a festival for Denmark and it will be interesting to know how it works out. (For RB fans: Reece Clarke is one of the guestd in the end-of-Festival Gala next weekend.)
  20. I'm mildly surprised to read about this as I'd have said that's what always used to happen - is this maybe a reinstatement from some time ago rather than an invention?
  21. Please tell me that amongst all this splendour they also took the Act 2 pas de deux a bit faster? (Better stil, a lot faster?)
  22. In my dreams, Suzanne Farrell's dress from the last scene in Vienna Waltzes - the ultimate balldress; for more everyday wear, I rather fancy the Hostess's dress from Les Biches - might need to pop a little cardie over it though, at my age. And the pearls as well, please.
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