HappyTurk

Will there be a DVD for the last Don Quixote cinema showing with Takada and Campbell?

I could watch Raymonda ACT III on a perpetual loop and it would never grow tiresome. The music, choreography, and the very Slavic essence of the ballet -- ahh, I get chills thinking about it! A Month in a Country would be a fine yearly choice for me too. I suppose I could also add Giselle which I love dearly. But I feel that would kind of ruin the spark for me if it were to make a yearly appearance. The one ballet I would absolutely detest seeing every year or every 2 years would be Swan Lake.

I wish! But if there is a live relay/dvd for the next staging, I guarantee they won't have it. Nunez will probably be given it considering she has danced the role before. Cuthbertson has danced it too before (I think?)...but we know Nunez will be picked over her. Anyways, sorry to direct us off the main topic! Just had to add my two cents while I'm perusing the forum updates. Ha!

Is Nunez the only one who has danced Coppelia amongst those who were cast? I'm thinking that's why she was given the relay, although I do think Hayward would have been a fine (better) choice. She is great in these kind of roles.

Okay, finally got around to seeing the screening and I have to say I have very mixed feelings about the performances -- enthralled yet dissapointed. So, first let's start with the positives! Aside from the stupendous (!!!) Gary Avis (who I could not praise enough), the stand-out performers were surprisingly Nicol Edmonds, Benjamin Ella, and Beatriz Stix-Brunnel (even though they had "limited" roles)! My goodness, charisma just oozes out of these three so readily! Nicol Edmonds was so perfectly aloof yet dangerously charming; Benjamin Ella has such a grandiose presence that I felt myself constantly peering at him in the first act in captivation. I need to see him as Romeo and Albrecht asap! He would be so compelling. And last but not least, the wonderful Beatriz Stix-Brunnel who I may have underestimated at times. In short, she had so much captivating allure (which was aided by her temptous eyes and smile) that it truly showed what a deeply committed (and versatile) actress she is and could become. In fact, I was desperately hoping she would have been cast as Juliet as the minutes progressed! I can definitely see why many in here were smitten by her performance as Juliet -- such charisma! KOH must cast all three of these dancers in more principal roles asap! Okay, now onto the negatives of which will mostly be directed at Yasmine Naghdi (apologies to her as I admire her discipline as a dancer). Now perhaps because I was already smitten by the grandiose charisma/presence of the aforementioned dancers and had very high expectations of her Juliet because of those who raved about her Juliet in the past, I was quite disappointed by her overall performance. At times I felt she was aware of the audience (understandably first-time nerves!), and never fully engrossed herself into the character to the point where it felt like I was watching a very tragic, borderline ugly/gritty love story. There was no sheer abandonment and I felt she never acted through her body but rather her face (which I feel is not how MacMillan's choreography is intended to be danced as). Too many plastique poses and restrained, cautious dancing especially in the bedroom pas de deux; and I felt her interpretation of Juliet rarely changed as the ballet progressed (it was quite static) -- which made it impossible for me to experience a whirlwind catharsis of emotions. And as a result, this undercutted the rapture between Ball and herself (from my perspective). Ball, however, was a great Romeo. He is clearly a more introverted person and thus takes a more introspective approach but I thought his portrayal was very compelling and got more gritty as the ballet progressed. Okay! Cue the pitch-forks now! 😀 And apologies for my liberal use of exclamation points. Clearly, I was excited about some of these performances

Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. Certainly, I believe he will be a principal at the Royal Ballet in the near future (perhaps it will take two years?) But I do think he has room to develop his presence (which isn't a surprise considering he is quite young).

I personally see Bracewell being promoted first. I'm not yet sold on Corrales' artistic presence. So I think he needs a bit more time developing it.

Perhaps for the RB but certainly not for the ballet in general (although in terms of the three recordings, Asylmuratova is superior to both Rojo and Nunez combined).

Well, we were discussing Swan Lake because of Stix-Brunnel's lack of a debut role in the major roles this Autumn which then lended itself to a discussion on whether that is because she will be debuting in other major roles later on. And as with O'Sullivan, Hayward seems (to me) to be a dancer who is a great fit for Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Giselle -- but most certainly not Swan Lake or even La Bayadere and Don Quixote. I could go more into detail but I feel like my comments may spark an argument and this isn't the appropriate thread for this topic anyways. So, I'll stop here!

I suppose then we'll have to sit tight and wait for the promotion news!

Oh wow. Well, if this run mirrors that, I'm afraid there will be little room for many debuts which will be a bummer.

Didn't each principal get 4 shows the last run? Maybe they'll do the same again (especially considering Lamb, Cuthbertson, and Osipova were all left out from Coppelia. And then since Nunez and Takada also had 4 shows last time, I imagine they'll do the same. Naghdi might be given 3 like last time which leaves 2 shows left)? For some reason, I don't think Hayward will be making a debut (I've already stated my reasons why in the past). But I'm certain Kaneko will (perhaps that can explain why she only got 1 Aurora). I doubt Calvert will based on how she has been cast lately.

I suppose then that if the 2018 run had a similar number of shows, I imagine the only debut this run might be Kaneko.

Stix Brunell could be making a debut in Swan Lake or perhaps also performing one of the prominent leads in Onegin. Maybe that can explain the lack of a debut in Coppelia? Is she performing Aurora?

Yes he has! Hopefully now he won't be so overlooked. I do think he should be publicized more by the RB. He is a very regal and elegant dancer.

Seeing that Soares is now a guest artist, will he continue to be so after his performance of Onegin (which very well could be his send off performance)? Or is he now a guest artist merely for that performance?

On another note, is there a reason Hirano isn't being cast as some of the main leads this Autumn? *Edit* For a second I thought I only saw his name for SB but he has a main lead in Concerto. Never mind! I need my eyes checked.

I too have never seen the great chemistry that others believe them to have. He has a rather reserved (less extroverted) spirit that I think he would do better with others. Nunez has very extroverted dancing, on the other hand, which is great for sunny characters (although I admit she isn't my favorite dancer because of her port de bras).

I imagine she was referring to dancers at the Bolshoi as she has discussed many times how the harsh dancing atmosphere and politics at the Bolshoi is what drove her to come to the RB.

I would say a combination of things. For one, I think Mcrae has often been paired up with Takada for height reasons as I don't think they have chemistry at all. Ball does have chemistry with Naghdi as does Nunez and Muntagirov (although the former is much more prominent to me). The problem is just that it seems as though there isn't very much flexibility/diversity when it comes to casting in the classics especially for Nunez and Muntagirov. I would love him to be paired with other ballerinas much more frequently in the classics as he is 99 percent of the time paired up with Nunez in those. Yes, he does often pair up with Lamb in the MacMillan repertoire but rarely the classics. I think that is the issue I have.

I remember many thought they had great chemistry in Rubies too. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be paired together for the next run!

Yes you can tell he is a very selfless dancer! But to be frank, I've always preferred the "unique" dancers that go against the grain (which others might be put off by) i.e. Sylvie Guillem, Seymour, Watson, Osipova, McRae etc. But that goes for the arts in general! I'm not one for normality. Haha. I would even add Morera in this catgeory at times as well as Yanowsky (hence why the only female principal dancers I like at the RB are the ones I've mentioned just now including Cuthbertson who isn't in my "unique" category but is nevertheless a fabulous dance actress).

I personally adore Muntagirov's stellar technique but I might be in the minority that has always preferred McRae's projection and charisma. I don't know why but for some reason Muntagirov has never "clicked" for me on an artistic level. But perhaps he will in the future! He is still quite young and has room to grow.

I think Ball and Muntagirov and even McRae have great chemistry with Osipova. The only issue is that all three are on the reserve for Naghdi, Nunez, and Takada respectively. So the issue is availability. And quite personally, I have never understood the McRae/Takada pairing.

I figured she wasn't cast because she isn't available due to her projects.