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Royal Ballet: Asphodel Meadows / The Two Pigeons / RBS: The Cunning Little Vixen, 2019


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K Dawnstar,

With the benefit of hindsight Monica Mason's  failure to sign up Muntagirov seems incredibly ill-judged but you have to remember that he was not the only talented dancer to have come out of the school, if I recall correctly Polunin gradated in the sane year, Of course one can never be certain about management decisions on recruitment except to say that if the director has any concern for the morale and the good will of company members they will  generally be as much concerned with the needs of a company in its entirety as they are about individual dancers and their potential. Basically a company the size of the Royal Ballet, which has ninety plus dancers; a broad active repertory  and an even bigger back catalogue can not have too many dancers being fast tracked at the same time  without upsetting the company's delicately balanced eco-system and running the real risk of putting a lot of noses out of joint. Management has to strike a balance between those who have served their time in the ranks, working their way up through minor supporting roles who are now ready for leading ones and the exceptionally talented inexperienced youngster. An Artistic Director who loses sight of the need to reward the hardworking versatile dancers who are the backbone of any company with juicy roles is storing up trouble for the organisation he or she is leading. Appearing only to use experienced company members who are ready for leading roles themselves  as the supporting cast for big name guest stars and a few favoured company members can have an awful effect on company morale in a very short space of time. The best way to send company morale through the floor is to make casting decisions involving company members which seem to be at the expense of equally talented mature dancers with greater experience and stylistic suitability for the roles being cast. Side-lining experienced dancers and favouring young inexperienced ones who were not ready for the roles with which they were entrusted plus accusations of casting decisions being made for sexual favours  led to Ross Stretton's early departure as director.

 

Now to the question about why the company did not recruit Muntagirov when he graduated. At that time, perhaps because of the problems which ignoring seniority had caused, the company was run on a far more hierarchical basis than it is at present. Seniority really counted when it came to casting. The company had a large number  of big name dancers in its ranks all of whom expected three or four performances in leading roles in a run of a ballet like  Romeo and Juliet. At the point at which Muntagirov and Polunin graduated the Royal Ballet was already in the process of launching the careers of Steven McRae and Zachary Farouk. As McRae and Farouk are only a couple of years older than Muntagirov and Polunin the company would have struggled to accommodate two more dancers who were going to demand  fast tracking.  As  it is Mason signed up Polunin while Wayne Eagling was able to outbid anyone else who was interested in securing Muntagirov's services by offering  him Albrecht in his first year with ENB, ironically almost certainly because the company's repertory in any one year is so limited with the result that giving a young talented dancer a couple of performances of Giselle was going to be far less disruptive of the company's delicate eco system than  allocating the same dancer performances in a company which  mounts twelve different programmes in a season where the fans of each Principal dancer will expect to see their favourite appear across as wide a range of the repertory as possible. 

 

My earlier comment about the opera and ballet audiences interest in a wide range of repertory was comparing the relative interest of opera and ballet audiences in really unfamiliar repertory. I was not talking about the umpteenth new productions of an established opera which while it may not have been seen in London for twenty or more years  gets regular outings at one or more of the truly major opera houses of the world. I am not talking about staging operas such as Le Conte Ory which enjoy a sort of half-life on the outer fringes of the standard  repertory receiving the occasional airing at a summer opera festivals. I am talking about staging works like Janacek's Osud or Rossini's Ermione both of which were famously failures at their premieres ; staging works by composers who are no longer fashionable such as Mayerbeer and his  L'Africaine or going right back to the origins of opera and putting together performing editions of works by composers like Cavalli. I really don't think that there is a balletic equivalent of that sort of repertory or rather the balletic equivalent of that sort of repertory would consist  of half of the major choreographic works of the twentieth century  rather  than works which belong to an earlier period. The average ballet goer seems to be far more satisfied with a remarkably limited repertory  than the average opera would be. Even a work like Two Pigeons still counts as a rarity which is to be approached with caution if ticket sales are anything to go by.  I am far from convinced that people would rush to buy tickets if Kevin were to stage a Fonteyn themed programme at the beginning of the 2019 -20 season  consisting of Birthday Offering last staged in 2012, and Daphnis and Chloe and  A Wedding Bouquet both of which were last seen in 2004. Is the problem that Kevin's obvious lack of interest in the historical repertory is contagious or is it something else? It is easy to naively assume that the artistic director of a company with a  repertory as extensive as the Royal Ballet's is, will ensure that the company's audience sees a full range of  the repertory and that ballets which are neglected deserve that fate. Is it simply that his enthusiasm for new works  has blinded him  to the strengths of the entire Ashton  output and works of great choreographers like Tudor and Nijinska or is it simply that he has dubious taste ? Perhaps it is simply that he is far too trusting of the abilities of those he commissions.  I admit I still find it difficult to understand how he ever let Acosta's Carmen reach the stage .  

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I think his surname was spelt differently: Faroque. Maybe someone can check?

I think he danced Solor in Bayadere with Cojocaru, possibly reached First Artist rank and then left. 

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2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

K Dawnstar,

With the benefit of hindsight Monica Mason's  failure to sign up Muntagirov seems incredibly ill-judged but you have to remember that he was not the only talented dancer to have come out of the school, if I recall correctly Polunin gradated in the sane year, Of course one can never be certain about management decisions on recruitment except to say that if the director has any concern for the morale and the good will of company members they will  generally be as much concerned with the needs of a company in its entirety as they are about individual dancers and their potential. Basically a company the size of the Royal Ballet, which has ninety plus dancers; a broad active repertory  and an even bigger back catalogue can not have too many dancers being fast tracked at the same time  without upsetting the company's delicately balanced eco-system and running the real risk of putting a lot of noses out of joint. Management has to strike a balance between those who have served their time in the ranks, working their way up through minor supporting roles who are now ready for leading ones and the exceptionally talented inexperienced youngster. An Artistic Director who loses sight of the need to reward the hardworking versatile dancers who are the backbone of any company with juicy roles is storing up trouble for the organisation he or she is leading. Appearing only to use experienced company members who are ready for leading roles themselves  as the supporting cast for big name guest stars and a few favoured company members can have an awful effect on company morale in a very short space of time. The best way to send company morale through the floor is to make casting decisions involving company members which seem to be at the expense of equally talented mature dancers with greater experience and stylistic suitability for the roles being cast. Side-lining experienced dancers and favouring young inexperienced ones who were not ready for the roles with which they were entrusted plus accusations of casting decisions being made for sexual favours  led to Ross Stretton's early departure as director.

 

Now to the question about why the company did not recruit Muntagirov when he graduated. At that time, perhaps because of the problems which ignoring seniority had caused, the company was run on a far more hierarchical basis than it is at present. Seniority really counted when it came to casting. The company had a large number  of big name dancers in its ranks all of whom expected three or four performances in leading roles in a run of a ballet like  Romeo and Juliet. At the point at which Muntagirov and Polunin graduated the Royal Ballet was already in the process of launching the careers of Steven McRae and Zachary Farouk. As McRae and Farouk are only a couple of years older than Muntagirov and Polunin the company would have struggled to accommodate two more dancers who were going to demand  fast tracking.  As  it is Mason signed up Polunin while Wayne Eagling was able to outbid anyone else who was interested in securing Muntagirov's services by offering  him Albrecht in his first year with ENB, ironically almost certainly because the company's repertory in any one year is so limited with the result that giving a young talented dancer a couple of performances of Giselle was going to be far less disruptive of the company's delicate eco system than  allocating the same dancer performances in a company which  mounts twelve different programmes in a season where the fans of each Principal dancer will expect to see their favourite appear across as wide a range of the repertory as possible. 

 

Polunin graduated in 2007. Muntagirov graduated two years later, in 2009.

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24 minutes ago, Darlex said:

I think his surname was spelt differently: Faroque. Maybe someone can check?

I think he danced Solor in Bayadere with Cojocaru, possibly reached First Artist rank and then left. 

 

I saw that performance, it was Zachary Farouk's debut, it was wonderful and I so wanted him to stay at he RB but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted a ballet career.

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I thought I read that Muntagirov was considered a very good dancer, but was very shy when he first graduated.  Consequently, he might have been a bit overshadowed if he had joined the ranks of the RB.  Going to ENB was probably the best thing he could have done in terms of his own career development.  How lucky we are that he did so and blossomed as a result.  Otherwise, he might still be doing some solo roles and possibly getting the occasional chance to spread his wings a little with the odd lead role.  

 

Anyway, back to 2P.  I bought a last minute ticket for Wednesday, and am very glad I did.  I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy Asphodel Meadows, never having seen it before.  I didn't like the music that much, but I have to say the time flew past.  I couldn't believe it when the curtain came down; I thought I had only been sitting there for 10 minutes.  I would be very happy to see it again but next time I will try to be closer to the stage, as it was very difficult to make out who was who from my seat in the rafters. 

 

When I saw the 2P during the last run, I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I should have done, which is why I hesitated about going this time.   However, I am so glad I went.  I still think that perhaps the Young Girl is made a little bit too sweet and dainty - a bit too balletic, for want of a better word.  I never saw Seymour, but I don't think sweet and dainty were ever her style.  I read a description of the girl as being naive.  I always think of her as just being an ordinary girl getting a bit irritated with her boyfriend.  Suddenly, a much more sophisticated vamp appears on the scene, who effortlessly entices him away, and she doesn't quite know how to compete.   If she is played as being too young and innocent, it is almost as if we are venturing into Giselle territory. 

 

However, that is just a minor thing, because overall  I absolutely loved it.  What was different this time?  Well, it seemed to me that the company seemed much more comfortable with it, and the gypsy scenes were performed with such liveliness and skill, as if they were all having a wonderful time and really enjoying it.  

 

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2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

I am far from convinced that people would rush to buy tickets if Kevin were to stage a Fonteyn themed programme at the beginning of the 2019 -20 season  consisting of Birthday Offering last staged in 2012, and Daphnis and Chloe and  A Wedding Bouquet 

 

I certainly wouldn't be queuing for those. When I saw them in 2004 and the former in 2012, they looked really dated. Birthday Offering wouldn't be too bad if they revamped the costumes I suppose, but for me, I can't think of a redeeming quality in the other two. Other Ashton short works (like Scene de Ballet and Symphonic Variations) are so timeless, they could have been made yesterday. 

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2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

K Dawnstar,

With the benefit of hindsight Monica Mason's  failure to sign up Muntagirov seems incredibly ill-judged but you have to remember that he was not the only talented dancer to have come out of the school

 

You seem not to be giving Muntagirov any say in this, FLOSS.  According to his Ballet Association talk (which I missed, unfortunately), he had been intending to return to Russia, and the implication was that it was Wayne Eagling who diverted him.  Possibly Monica Mason might not have got a look-in anyway.

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29 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I certainly wouldn't be queuing for those. When I saw them in 2004 and the former in 2012, they looked really dated. Birthday Offering wouldn't be too bad if they revamped the costumes I suppose, but for me, I can't think of a redeeming quality in the other two. Other Ashton short works (like Scene de Ballet and Symphonic Variations) are so timeless, they could have been made yesterday. 

I certainly would be queuing for a triple bill of Birthday Offering/A Wedding Bouquet/Daphnis and Choe. 

 

I am always intrigued when people say that things are or look dated: many works of art paintings in museums look of their time, but are still fascinating and enjoyable to look at. 

Mozart isn't techno or hip hop, but I would still go to a concert where they play his music. The same goes for films. I am happy to watch a good old black and white film: who can resist Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Marlene Dietrich? 

 

And I just in case you are wondering I am not stuck in the past either! I do enjoy things that were made yesterday as well. 

 

What I see with Daphnis and Chloe is a ballet with a simple story, set to the most irresistible score, with beautiful choreography for principals and corps. I don't need it to be updated in any way.

 

I think A Wedding Bouquet is a whacky work of genius. It tugs at the emotions :I want to laugh and cry at the same time. Okay, it looks like it is set a hundred years ago, it is, what's the problem with that?  It deals with human emotions and situations :rejection, deception, love etc.

And, it references so many other ballets, which I think is fun for the regular ballet goer.

 

 

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Thanks to those who have replied to my query about Muntagirov.

 

Given how much I enjoyed Two Pigeons, I'd certainly be interested in any Ashton triple bill that was put on. As I don't know anything about the 3 pieces named I don't know if I'd like them or not but I'd give them a go & hope I would.

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I think the difficulty with *some* Ashton works (am a huge fan of Symphonic, Rhapsody, Monotones and Fille before anyone accuses me of being a 'hater') is not that the settings or costumes are dated, it is that they are "period pieces" without sufficient heft or universality (whether through characterisation, narrative or musical choices) to strike a chord of recognition in modern viewers.  

 

I went on Tuesday, despite having been bored by Pigeons at the last revival, because I wanted to see the new Scarlett RBS piece.  That I found extremely dull and ordinary.  I remain completely baffled as to the continual commissioning of Scarlett - once you've seen the running on the spot (caucus race nicked from Wheeldon in Alice, foxes this time), and corps twirling on pointe (lab assistants in Frankenstein, random insects here) and the story told by being L-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y T-e-d-i-o-u-s-l-y acted out scene by scene, you seem to have reached the end of his very limited imagination. 

 

After that, it was a relief to get to Pigeons, which at least had a coherent dramatic structure.  Of course Ashton's choreography, particularly for the corps in the gypsy scene, stood up very strongly against Scarlett's work but I still found the piece overall far too twee and generally irritating to enjoy.   Grown women pecking around like infantile birds are not expressing a universal emotion in the way that Lise is in Fille, or the lead ballerina in Rhapsody.  Ashton's great works are in an entirely different class to Scarlett's work so far, but that doesn't mean that his whole output has to be uncritically received.

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To me that's all part of the bird symbolism that's used throughout the ballet, in respect of both women and men. i.e. birds (and people) being trapped, discontented, sharp, silly, beautiful, petulant, hesitant, fearful, seeking freedom, seeking a partner, flying away, coming home, coming together, sharp wings/elbows, soft wings/arms, etc etc. These are not 'just' real people, they're telling universal truths (in a stylised, balletic form). Even for someone like me who is a bit bird-phobic, I find it very effective, very amusing at times, and very moving.

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24 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Oh come on now................ Talent will out!

 

I did use the word "might", Capybara. 🙂  Who knows what might have happened if Polunin had stayed, for example?

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2 hours ago, Lindsay said:

I think the difficulty with *some* Ashton works (am a huge fan of Symphonic, Rhapsody, Monotones and Fille before anyone accuses me of being a 'hater') is not that the settings or costumes are dated, it is that they are "period pieces" without sufficient heft or universality (whether through characterisation, narrative or musical choices) to strike a chord of recognition in modern viewers.  

 

I went on Tuesday, despite having been bored by Pigeons at the last revival, because I wanted to see the new Scarlett RBS piece.  That I found extremely dull and ordinary.  I remain completely baffled as to the continual commissioning of Scarlett - once you've seen the running on the spot (caucus race nicked from Wheeldon in Alice, foxes this time), and corps twirling on pointe (lab assistants in Frankenstein, random insects here) and the story told by being L-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y T-e-d-i-o-u-s-l-y acted out scene by scene, you seem to have reached the end of his very limited imagination. 

 

After that, it was a relief to get to Pigeons, which at least had a coherent dramatic structure.  Of course Ashton's choreography, particularly for the corps in the gypsy scene, stood up very strongly against Scarlett's work but I still found the piece overall far too twee and generally irritating to enjoy.   Grown women pecking around like infantile birds are not expressing a universal emotion in the way that Lise is in Fille, or the lead ballerina in Rhapsody.  Ashton's great works are in an entirely different class to Scarlett's work so far, but that doesn't mean that his whole output has to be uncritically received.

I don’t think that because someone loves 2 Pigeons, it necessarily means he/she is uncritical about the entire Ashton oeuvre. I love 2 Pigeons and many other Ashton works, and I consider Ashton one of the great choreographers of all time, but I disliked Varii Capricci ( even though I loved its original cast), and while Jazz Calendar is a lot of fun in spots, I find some of it uninspired. (For that matter, I love Balanchine, too, but PAMTGG was one of the worst ballets I’ve ever seen, and I really dislike Variations for a Door and a Sigh.)

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I can't think of any choreographer,  composer, author, artist whose entire output I enjoy. Ashton choreographed many ballets ranging from masterpieces through to 'occasion' pieces and pieces like Jazz Calendar which was very much of its time. I personally disliked  Persephone, but each to his own! I would hate to lose pieces like 2Pigeons because they are seen by some as being old fashioned - they're part of our ballet history and apart from being enjoyable are great vehicles for dancers to display their many talents. Many of our modern ballets only seem to need athletes -no skill in interpretation or emotion needed!

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2 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Please excuse ignorance, but what is PAMTGG?

In this case, ignorance may be bliss. PAMTGG was a ballet choreographed by Balanchine in the early 1970’s. Its title was an acronym for a commercial jingle then in  use by an airline then in business: “PanAm makes the going great.” Here’s a link to a review:  https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/18/archives/dance-balanchine-offers-pamtgg-work-based-on-jingle-given-by-city.html

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13 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Please excuse ignorance, but what is PAMTGG?

This is PAMTGG. (ETA same link as nowvoyager posted while I was writing this!)

 

And on the subject of dated versus timeless ballets, I can remember seven years ago complaining to Danilo Radojevic (then associate AD at Australian Ballet) that I'd been begging for Les Patineurs for years, to which his reply was that he and the AD felt it was too dated. My response was "Checkmate?" said on a cough (they'd just done it and it had gone down a bit like a lead balloon). I suppose dated is in the eye of the beholder.

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4 hours ago, Lindsay said:

I remain completely baffled as to the continual commissioning of Scarlett ..... 

 

Yep, me too. Far too much money invested in a mediocre choreographic talent which has been masked by expensive, lavish productions. Hopefully, the dire ticket sales for this revival of Frankenstein will at least ensure that doesn't see the light of day again.

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30 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

Yep, me too. Far too much money invested in a mediocre choreographic talent which has been masked by expensive, lavish productions. Hopefully, the dire ticket sales for this revival of Frankenstein will at least ensure that doesn't see the light of day again.

 

Well I will reserve judgement about Frankenstein until I've seen it again. But I do think that Asphodel Meadows is the best thing he's ever done; which is not really as it should be. He clearly does have talent, and a sense of visual drama which I like; but he also too often has flawed judgement which mars the end product.

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  • alison changed the title to Royal Ballet: Asphodel Meadows / The Two Pigeons / RBS: The Cunning Little Vixen, 2019

Another example of a “professional “ critic not knowing their stuff:  Mark Monahan in The Telegraph casts aspersions on the standard of dancing at the RBS, saying it’s worrying that not one of the 21 finalists in this year’s Prix de Lausanne hailed from the school.  That, Mr Monahan, is because they aren’t allowed to enter, NOT because they aren’t good enough.  A bit of research wouldn’t go amiss before making such implications.  😤😤

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Yes indeed Sim. This is not the first time Mr Monahan's reviews raise an eyebrow or two. His reviews are often in contrast with what the audience has experienced. He is prejudiced, no doubt, and occasionally uninformed.

His last review illustrates that his pedantic fault-finding is in total contrast with what the audience experienced: when loud cheers and applause start well before curtain down it shows how much the audience enjoyed it. His nitpicking is totally irrelevant to the immense joy the dancers gave their audience. (and don't get me started about Emma Byrne, the ES so-called ballet "critic"!). I don't care a hoot about those reviewers, what matters to me is the pleasure I get from watching the dancers' performance.

 

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10 hours ago, Sim said:

Another example of a “professional “ critic not knowing their stuff:  Mark Monahan in The Telegraph casts aspersions on the standard of dancing at the RBS, saying it’s worrying that not one of the 21 finalists in this year’s Prix de Lausanne hailed from the school.  That, Mr Monahan, is because they aren’t allowed to enter, NOT because they aren’t good enough.  A bit of research wouldn’t go amiss before making such implications.  😤😤

 

I didn't know that they were no longer allowed to enter, Sim.  When was that rule brought in?  I can think of at least two ex female RB principals who entered and achieved success.  

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7 hours ago, Xandra Newman said:

Yes indeed Sim. This is not the first time Mr Monahan's reviews raise an eyebrow or two. His reviews are often in contrast with what the audience has experienced. He is prejudiced, no doubt, and occasionally uninformed.

His last review illustrates that his pedantic fault-finding is in total contrast with what the audience experienced: when loud cheers and applause start well before curtain down it shows how much the audience enjoyed it. His nitpicking is totally irrelevant to the immense joy the dancers gave their audience. (and don't get me started about Emma Byrne, the ES so-called ballet "critic"!). I don't care a hoot about those reviewers, what matters to me is the pleasure I get from watching the dancers' performance.

 

 

Leaving aside the RB/Prix comment I find Mark Monahan's review interesting and worth reading. I'm not sure why you conclude he is prejudiced, pedantic fault-finding and nit-picking ? He's just giving his opinion so what does it matter if he isn't as enthusiastic as some of the audience ? 

 

I saw the Naghdi/Hay/Kaneko Pigeons this afternoon and I'm in the (small) camp of those who weren't bowled over by Naghdi's Young Girl. Her portrayal had its good moments but in places I found her exaggerated, not all her details were as sharp as Takada and I have also seen better comic timing. Kaneko's Gypsy Girl was terrific but I agree with Monahan when he says "she lacked the lip-smacking, lock-up-your-husbands quality that Laura Morera brought"  Very happy to see the oh so elegant Hay's pitch perfect Young Man and Yudes mighty fine Gypsy Boy. 

 

The attractions of The Cunning Young Vixen just passed me by. It would have been better in the school end of year show. 

 

Disappointing to see so many empty seats in the stalls. 

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