Naghdi - Hayward - Hamilton in the Spectator

[Geoff]

Three short interviews just published here, perhaps of interest:
https://life.spectator.co.uk/2017/11/dancing-queens-meet-britains-next-great-ballerinas/

Edited December 2, 2017 by Ian Macmillan
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[Fiz]

Thank you. I enjoyed that.

[zxDaveM]

Of MUCH interest! :-)

[Fonty]

I am thinking about the title of the piece.

 

Exactly when in their career does a dancer become "great"?  Who decides whether they are "great", or merely "good"?  And will all 3 of them be equally great?  Isn't it likely than one with be "greater" than the others? 

 

[zxDaveM]

 

well, time will tell I suppose - but for me, two of them are great now, and I prefer watching them to some of the more recognised Principals at ROH

[Nina G.]

Thank you for posting the link Geoff. I very much enjoyed reading the article.

We rarely hear the dancers speak so it was really fascinating to read what (especially) the two newest and youngest Royal Ballet Principals had to say. I believe Naghdi and Hayward are the same age; they were in the same class at The Royal Ballet School. I knew of first soloist Melissa Hamilton's story from previous interviews.

I am really looking forward to Naghdi's and Hayward's "Giselle" debut but first we'll be treated to their Sugar Plum Fairy!

[zxDaveM]

me too Nina - that Fri/Sat in Feb will light up the winter! :-)

[Nina G.]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

I am thinking about the title of the piece.

 

Exactly when in their career does a dancer become "great"?  Who decides whether they are "great", or merely "good"?  And will all 3 of them be equally great?  Isn't it likely than one with be "greater" than the others? 

 

 

To me a ballerina (or a dancer) is great when not only she possesses an impeccable and strong classical technic but is also able to move me (to tears sometimes) and able to correctly interpret choreographic steps.  A ballerina (or a dancer) is great when she possesses great artistry, has the ability to communicate with her audience, and is able to dance consistently at the highest classical level. Greatness is subjective in any art form. Some people said Fonteyn was great others felt she was not so great and that there were other principals who were greater.

 

PS. I wish the Press for once would learn that a dancer is not a ballerina until she has attained Principal status (how often do we not read in the press about a 15 or 12 or 5 year old ballerina )

[penelopesimpson]

Great description, Nina G.  Hayward and Naghdi have it in spades, as does Cojocaru.  

[Nicola H]

5 hours ago, Nina G. said:

 

To me a ballerina (or a dancer) is great when not only she possesses an impeccable and strong classical technic but is also able to move me (to tears sometimes) and able to correctly interpret choreographic steps.  A ballerina (or a dancer) is great when she possesses great artistry, has the ability to communicate with her audience, and is able to dance consistently at the highest classical level. Greatness is subjective in any art form. Some people said Fonteyn was great others felt she was not so great and that there were other principals who were greater.

 

PS. I wish the Press for once would learn that a dancer is not a ballerina until she has attained Principal status (how often do we not read in the press about a 15 or 12 or 5 year old ballerina )

ah  ballerina   vs Ballerina  and  to a degree academic in the English speaking world as Ballerina is not a  rank / grade  within  English speaking companies.  there is't  even consistency  in the English names of the ranks 

e.g.  Northern's First Soloist(s)  are considered  'Leading artists'   along with the Leading  Soloists and the the 2 Premier Dancers   - Northern having  4  ranks of soloist ( Leading , First , <plain> and Junior ) AND Coryphees  compared to  the royal ballet having a larger number of  dancers  ranked as principals ( even  disregarding those  who a guest principals)  and only  2 ranks of  soloist 

[SwissBalletFan]

1 hour ago, Nicola H said:

ah  ballerina   vs Ballerina  and  to a degree academic in the English speaking world as Ballerina is not a  rank / grade  within  English speaking companies.  there is't  even consistency  in the English names of the ranks 

e.g.  Northern's First Soloist(s)  are considered  'Leading artists'   along with the Leading  Soloists and the the 2 Premier Dancers   - Northern having  4  ranks of soloist ( Leading , First , <plain> and Junior ) AND Coryphees  compared to  the royal ballet having a larger number of  dancers  ranked as principals ( even  disregarding those  who a guest principals)  and only  2 ranks of  soloist 

To be honest, I think this level of detail remains interesting only to those who have a deep knowledge of ballet. The same as most of the audience wouldn't know the name of the ballerina/dancer, nor would they care.

 

In recent times I have had to resort to the Serenity Prayer in journalistic approaches to Ballet, a corps dancer called a 'prima ballerina', anything involving Sergei Polunin as 'the bad boy of ballet', etc etc.. Ballet is an interest of mine, and something I continually like to learn about, but I would rather encourage press to write about the art, even if they also must write with their audience in mind, which is of course what gets the word out about ballet, to those that know nothing about it.

[alison]

"Having joined the company as an 18-year-old in 2011, within a year [Hayward] was being fast-tracked into some of dance’s top female roles: Juliet, Alice, Lise, Titania."

 

Really?  Can't say that's how I remember it.

[Tony Newcombe]

Quite. Her debut as Titania was in June this year.

 

[Nina G.]

and Hayward's Juliet debut was in 2015, Lise in October 2016.

 

If I remember correctly she danced Clara two years after she joined the Company, and Alice in her 3rd Season.

 

None of the roles Emma Byrnes mentioned in her article came within a year  

 

Edited December 3, 2017 by Nina G.

[bridiem]

49 minutes ago, Nina G. said:

and Hayward's Juliet debut was in 2015, Lise in October 2016.

 

If I remember correctly she danced Clara two years after she joined the Company, and Alice in her 3rd Season.

 

None of the roles Emma Byrnes mentioned in her article came within a year  

 

 

I was surprised when I read that, but I thought my memory must have been at fault. That's really bad reporting!

[Fonty]

I forgot to say when I posted that I really enjoyed reading the article, apart from my quibble about the title.  Shame that one or two facts weren't checked for accuracy, but it is still great to see these three being written about in a national newspaper.  

[capybara]

Francesca Hayward's first wonderful Alice was in December 2014/January 2015 (with Muntagirov). This was nearer to 4 years after she joined the RB in Spring 2011 by which time she was a Soloist.

And, of course, Melissa Hamilton took two seasons' leave of absence, not just last year.

 

It is great to see more coverage for ballet and its stars but the three lovely artists featured in this article really do deserve more accurate treatment.

[bridiem]

36 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

It is great to see more coverage for ballet and its stars but the three lovely artists featured in this article really do deserve more accurate treatment.

 

Yes - and the part re Francesca Hayward's rise feeds what is largely a ballet myth, i.e. that really talented dancers go into companies and within a year are 'stars'. Which happens very rarely and does a disservice to all the dancers who develop into stars by years of hard work, development, learning, and increasing artistry. She clearly had/has star quality, but that doesn't always come to fruition. (And this is the Spectator after all, not a tabloid newspaper where you might expect the coverage to be superficial and so possibly inaccurate. With apologies to journalists on tabloids who do try to report accurately, of course.)

Edited December 3, 2017 by bridiem

[Ian Macmillan]

The Spectator piece was, however, in a 'Life' section and not in the Dance section and written by one of their knowledgeable contributing critics.

[Nina G.]

"Yes - and the part re Francesca Hayward's rise feeds what is largely a ballet myth, i.e. that really talented dancers go into companies and within a year are 'stars'. Which happens very rarely and does a disservice to all the dancers who develop into stars by years of hard work, development, learning, and increasing artistry. "

 

Indeed this myth should not be fed to young dancers or ballet students. It took time for both Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward (albeit relatively fast).

Francesca Hayward did not dance any full length classical (tutu) role (Aurora) until she was a Principal, Yasmine Naghdi danced her first full length classical role (also Aurora) when she was still a First Soloist. Same goes for both dancing Sugar Plum. 

(but Naghdi danced Rose Fairy in previous seasons leading up to Aurora). Naghdi danced her first Juliet as a Soloist whilst Hayward was just appointed First Soloist (I think).They both danced several featured roles on their way up to Principal rank: Naghdi danced Olga in "Onegin" when still a corps de ballet member and if my memory serves me right she was still only a First Artist when dancing "Symphonic Variations" alongside Marianella and Vadim (amongst many other roles). Hayward got Clara, followed by Alice, Rhapsody and Manon (amongst other roles).

No one gets to the top without putting in the hard work, without talent, without the greatest of determination,...

 

 

Edited December 3, 2017 by Ian Macmillan
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[alison]

5 hours ago, Ian Macmillan said:

The Spectator piece was, however, in a 'Life' section and not in the Dance section and written by one of their knowledgeable contributing critics.

 

No, but we can surely still expect the facts to be (more or less) correct?

[akh]

On 12/2/2017 at 18:06, penelopesimpson said:

Great description, Nina G.  Hayward and Naghdi have it in spades, as does Cojocaru.  

As does Marianela Nunez, always a joy to watch and evoke an emotional response in me.

[betterankles]

But don't forget Vadim Muntagirov really was fast tracked -  the Poet in Les Sylphides on joining the company, Albrecht in Giselle within three months, and then in London, AND first night of Swan Lake at the Albert Hall before the end of his first season as a professional!

He certainly did not reap any harm from this.  Indeed had he remained in the corps de ballet for a couple of years, he would have lost out on heaps of wonderful experience.

There are exceptions to every rule...

[capybara]

45 minutes ago, betterankles said:

But don't forget Vadim Muntagirov really was fast tracked.

 

Yes he was and weren't we lucky  - but he did dance in the corps also for his first couple of years. And Cesar Corrales, also at ENB but under different management, was made a Principal at 20 but, unlike Vadim, was never really in the corps.

 

To a less obvious extent, Rina Kanehara and Francesca Velicu (ENB too) are also getting leading roles at a very young age (Sugar Plum currently) and Rina, who danced it last year, is exquisite.

 

The approach at the RB and BRB seems to be more cautious and most young dancers go through every rung of the ladder. This has its advantages also as they gain a lot of stage experience.

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by capybara
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[Sim]

16 hours ago, Ian Macmillan said:

The Spectator piece was, however, in a 'Life' section and not in the Dance section and written by one of their knowledgeable contributing critics.

All the more reason for a responsible journalist to say to his/her editor "actually, this isn't my speciality so can someone please re-check what I've written and ensure that i have got my facts straight'.  I am sure that the press office at the ROH would have been glad to help.  

[MAB]

Generally speaking opportunities come earlier for male dancers anyway.  Rudolf Nureyev started his career dancing leading roles though in Russia they don't hang around when talent is evident.  My first sighting of the glorious Victoria Tereshkina was as an eighteen year old Gamzatti and even at that tender age it was a star being born.  I've always found young dancers relish the challenges, their youth makes them fearless.

[alison]

Depending, of course, on whether the male dancer has more or less finished developing physically.  Not everyone is like Vasiliev at 17 ...

[penelopesimpson]

8 hours ago, akh said:

As does Marianela Nunez, always a joy to watch and evoke an emotional response in me.

I understand that she has 'it,' I've just never found it.  The role I liked her in best of all was last Season's Mayerling.  She is clearly exquisite but never touches my heart strings.

Edited December 4, 2017 by penelopesimpson

[LinMM]

She was gorgeous in Fille with Acosta definitely moved me then and as Giselle.

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

I understand that she has 'it,' I've just never found it.  The role I liked her in best of all was last Season's Mayerling.  She is clearly exquisite but never touches my heart strings.

 

She was wonderful in Giselle when I saw it at the cinema, but generally I agree with you.  She is very accomplished in every role, but something is missing for me.  

[Fiz]

I feel the same way, Fonty.

[betterankles]

Regarding Vadim, he was a peasant in Giselle for perhaps a couple of months.  Definitely not two years doing corps work....

[Lizbie1]

On 03/12/2017 at 00:14, alison said:

"Having joined the company as an 18-year-old in 2011, within a year [Hayward] was being fast-tracked into some of dance’s top female roles: Juliet, Alice, Lise, Titania."

 

Really?  Can't say that's how I remember it.

 

Sorry, very late to this but I read it as the fast-tracking having happened within the year rather than the top roles themselves. It could have been better phrased, though.