Jump to content

annamk

Members
  • Posts

    1,267
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by annamk

  1. I can’t find anywhere a complete list of performers and the programme. Am I missing something or do the organisers not publish it and so we just have the bits above that forum members have found online.
  2. Lots of varied opinions on here and it seems I changed my own mind from the Thursday to the Sat matinees ! Rotunda - I liked the music much more yesterday. I wouldn't want to see it on repeat but enjoyed it nonetheless. The practice costumes didn't bother me. Having seen what Roman Meija can do in Tiler Peck's programme it was disappointing that there was so little sense of what an exciting dancer he can be. Duo Concertante - as on Thursday, super and the highlight. Gustave Le Gray No. 1 - ok - ish. Interesting that it was danced by 4 women yesterday. Love Letter (on shuffle) - what happened between Thursday and Saturday ........ I went from quite enjoying this to finding it unbearable. Hated most of the costumes, hated the volume of some of the music and the "rap" sections. Unoriginal, derivative.
  3. Playlist wasn't James Blake music. Blake Works 1 was and prior to seeing that at Paris Opera Ballet, like you Anne, I had no previous awareness of James Blake but I loved it. Very danceable.
  4. @Bruce Wall I just wanted to clarify, do you mean this NYCB London visit was set up pre pandemic and Rotunda was commissioned by Sadlers Wells, and then was to be followed by Paris Opera Ballet ?
  5. I enjoyed this more than my lowish expectations (because of the programme choices) although the bigger part of the pleasure was in seeing the dancers of NYCB rather than the programme itself. Rotunda - I muddled this up with another Justin Peck I'd seen and was expecting a sneaker ballet so it was a positive surprise to find it was danced in ballet shoes and more neo classical in style. I didn't much like the music and overall I agree with @zxDaveM above that it was just not particularly memorable but the dancers were wonderful. I've seen Duo Concertante before and it's not one of my favourite Balanchine works but it was brilliantly danced. I quite enjoyed the Pam Tanowitz, unlike most of her other work I've seen at the RoH recently. It's her usual quirky choreography - the costumes were fabulous. I can see why Kyle Abraham's Love Letter (on shuffle) was programmed last. If you like James Blake music, funky costumes and lighting it will send you out on a high. It was not entirely contemporary in dance style unlike what I've seen of Abraham at the RoH. I did enjoy it, maybe because it reminded me so much of Forsythe's Blake Works I. Perhaps it was just the music, I'm not sure. Very much hope that this sold out run will mean that NYCB come back very soon for a longer stay and with more programming variety. I'd love to see some Ratmansky, Robbins and more Balanchine.
  6. Thank you for posting this clip, it's utterly heart-rending.
  7. A friend and I went to Birmingham for the first night of Sleeping Beauty, Neither of us had seen this Peter Wright production before and we were interested to compare it with the Royal Ballet version, being the one we are most familiar with. We loved the muted colour palette of the costumes and the staging which were very different to the some of vibrant colours seen at Covent Garden. The simple stage scenery is very attractive. The choreography and story telling are mostly familiar with relatively minor differences here and there: - we noted the absence of knitting ladies (a plus); - the Lilac fairy is a non dancing role (also a plus), this worked particularly effectively in the contrast between Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy in the scene leading up to the awakening; - there is no interminably meandering chariot to transport the Prince and the Lilac fairy through the forest to the castle in which Aurora lies sleeping, this whole scene was dispatched much more swiftly and was by the far the better for it; - Florestan and his sisters have become a pd4. So to the performances. Due to injury the opening night honours went to First Soloist Yu Kurihara and Principal Lachlan Monnaghan, both ex Royal Ballet School. I remember him from the graduate show in which he really impressed me although the last time I saw him I was slightly underwhelmed. My friend remembered Yu Kurihara from the school but I’ve not seen her dance before. Further up this thread @Pas de Quatre wrote some words about Yu’s debut in Southampton and I agree with them. Yu was absolutely delightful, confident, technically very good, particularly in the difficult solo which follows the Rose Adagio, she has a beautiful jump and a charming stage presence. Lachlan Monaghan gave a quality performance: he's unshowy, light on his feet, his solos were neat, his tours particularly well executed with tidy landings and he was a most warm, generous and secure partner. They had a lovely chemistry together. The overall standard of dancing was very good indeed, we were impressed by many of the soloists and corps - Reina Fuchigami’s Fairy of the Song, Riku Ito and Shuailun Wu in the pd4 to single out a few. Philip Ellis conducted the Royal Ballet Sinfonia at a terrific pace - it was truly thrilling to hear and it really added to the drama and the joy of the evening. I highly recommend catching this beautiful production at Sadlers Wells if Birmingham is not an option.
  8. I agree with @Sim last night was a tremendous performance. I think it was the best thing I've seen either Lauren Cuthbertson or Matt Ball do. This is a partnership that absolutely works: they are an ideal match, not only physically but equally in their nuanced, detailed, powerful acting. They give themselves so completely to their characters that together they become more than the sum of them as individuals. A shout out too for Thomas Whitehead's jailor; a mini masterclass in playing, but not overplaying, an entirely revolting character.
  9. Gosh @capybara that is a rather unkind comment given all that Dame Darcey Bussell has done to promote ballet to the wider public. It is well known that she suffers from dyslexia, surely audiences these days are more sympathetic these days to disabilities, not everyone has to be a pitch perfect presenter. As for her getting in the way of the current generation I don't understand your point at all.
  10. Personally I really don't care what nationality a dancer is, (it's not football where I will have my flag out cheering on my home team); nationality simply doesn't inform my response to the artistic qualities of a dancer, whether it does for the British media or other fans here I couldn't say.
  11. I hadn't noticed this interview so thank you for highlighting it. I really enjoyed listening to her.
  12. I see your point but I think it's more difficult than pensioning off your "missing names" - I look at Leanne Benjamin who didn't retire until she was 48 and some of the performances in the latter part of her career were truly astonishing - a completely convincing Juliet in her late 40's; and - Lauren Cuthbertson will be 40 this year but her Manon (at the rehearsal) was one of the best things I've seen her do and one of the most memorable performances of Manon I've seen; - Alina Cojocaru at 42 is still bringing her unique artistry to roles; - when ticket sales are slow retiring Marienela Nunez or Natalia Osipova might not be an appealing prospect to the powers that be. It seems to me that the following a dancer generates is more about them and less about the RoH putting them in the limelight. Some artists are unique: the audience know it when they see it and once they've seen it they return time and time again. For myself, I only had to see Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru together once and I was hooked, I wouldn't miss a performance; same with young Natalia Osipova, same with Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell. Maybe there need to be more performances, or maybe time for a rethink when it comes to casting every principal dancer in every principal role regardless of suitability. It's all very difficult .... I wouldn't care to be in Kevin O'Hare's shoes.
×
×
  • Create New...