zxDaveM Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Was at the rehearsal for the Ardani 25 Gala at the London Coliseum, July 2015.We got to photograph 2 of the 3 pieces (Tristesse and Zeitgeist), and here are some of the results:Tristesse (Gomes): Joaquin de Luz, Friedemann Vogel, Denis Matvienko, Marcelo Gomes© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrZeitgeist (Marriott): Donald Thom, Marcelino Sambe, Tomas Mock© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrZeitgeist (Marriott): Natalia Osipova, Edward Watson© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSee more...Set from DanceTabs: Ardani 25 Dance Gala Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 A terrific triple bill! Superb dancing - and 'acting'! Very well done! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mshovelt Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I got a last minute ticket to this and I am so glad I did. All three pieces were excellent - a really enjoyable triple bill. The first piece, Zeitgeist, was the second ballet I have seen choreographed by Alastair Marriott and starring Natalia Osipova - Connectome was the first - and I have really enjoyed both. Marriott's choreography just really seems to suit Osipova and she just seems to be having a great time. I am sure I felt my pulse rate actually elevate when she dashed onto the stage. Edward Watson was also brilliant, as was Marcelino Sambe. My enjoyment of this piece was enhanced by the fact that I absolutely love the music: Philip Glass's Violin Concerto; if only it was performed live... :-) The second, Tristesse, was quite different but no less good. Choreographed by and starring Marcelo Gomes, and featuring some wonderful on-stage piano (a combination of pieces by Chopin), it had some fantastic individual dances with really fun and interesting choreography. Great dancing and acting by all four men (I don't have their names to hand); both funny and touching. The last, Facada, was frankly disturbing and somewhat macabre, though still absolutely captivating. Osipova, jilted at the altar by Ivan Vasiliev, cries buckets then sets out for revenge, ultimately murdering Vasiliev and then dancing on his grave! As you would expect from these two, fantastic dancing and natural on-stage chemistry. All accompanied by some fantastic live guitar from Frank Moon. I enjoyed every second. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 It made a nice change to have a dance "gala" without any traditional gala fare Tickets were still available for tonight, last time I looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 A few more pictures from the Gala. Natalia Osipova and Edward Watson in Zeitgeist Natalia Osipova in Zeitgeist Friedemannn Vogel, Joaquim De Luz, Denis Matvienko and Marcelo Gomez in Tristesse More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk To see Facada go to August 2014 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Does anyone know what the approximate running time of the performance is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 This was really more of a triple bill than a Gala, although with some of the world's top dancers. When I saw Facada last time I thought it was the best item, this time I much preferred the other two ballets, especially Zeitgeist, very similar to Connectome, 3 supporting men instead of 4, and Natalia Osipova and Edward Watson excelling again in the pdd, I really like Alistair Marriott's choreography for them, they push themselves to the limit! The 3 soloists had good choreography too, the lighting varied but at least it did come up sometimes. Tristesse is another "piano" ballet where a group of dancers gather around a pianist, a bit of a cliche but it's a treat to see 4 such dancers, and the emotions in the solo's and pdd are varied. Facada had lost its surprises, best seeing this for the first time, but Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova put so much into this, especially in the very physical pdd near the end. Running time was about 2 hours 15 minutes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Fluid and emotive PDD for Osipova/ Watson and choreography for the soloists in Zeitgeist, and beautifully performed. I would love to see Zeitgeist again and enjoyed it much more than Connectome. Vogel stood out for me in Tristesse with his springiness and elegance of movement. Façade - macabre, humorous and fun, and with superb acting and live music. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Fluid and emotive PDD for Osipova/ Watson and choreography for the soloists in Zeitgeist, and beautifully performed. I would love to see Zeitgeist again and enjoyed it much more than Connectome. Vogel stood out for me in Tristesse with his springiness and elegance of movement. Me too. And me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Facada amazing - enjoyed it even more than last year. Tristesse very good - I'd seen Gomes two days before in Car Man - amazing quartet of dancers. Zeitgeist was Connectome "light", but danced with total commitment (possibly more than the choreography actually deserved...) and energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 (edited) Has Gomes already started his performances in Car Man? I thought that his first performance was on 28 July. Edited July 19, 2015 by aileen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Has Gomes already started his performances in Car Man? I thought that his first performance was on 28 July. Maybe he covered for someone else? On the Bourne website it says his first show is the 22nd. http://new-adventures.net/the-car-man/news/car-man-principal-cast-announced-for-week-1-at-sadlers-wells 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 (edited) Fluid and emotive PDD for Osipova/ Watson and choreography for the soloists in Zeitgeist, and beautifully performed. I would love to see Zeitgeist again and enjoyed it much more than Connectome. Vogel stood out for me in Tristesse with his springiness and elegance of movement. Façade - macabre, humorous and fun, and with superb acting and live music. Vogel was - as he always is - the personification of elegance in Gomes' Tristesse; but, for me at least, it was the exactitude of De Luz's stunningly spirited placement that - as ever with this fine artist who I have had the privilege to see with PA Ballet, ABT and NYCB (but sadly one not well known on London stages) that sang the loudest for me. It wasn't I think simply the rarity of his sighting in London that accounted for this however. Well, not entirely. There was the certain asset of the dazzlingly easy manner with which he made the choreography originally created for the inspiring Herman Cornjeo very much his own. (The others, I believe, had originated their assignments.) De Luz has a small coterie of NYCB dancers who he performs with to raise money for children, hospitals, etc. I know they were in Rome this year as I debated going but it was on the same evening as the Russian Icons Gala in March. It would be wonderful indeed if they might give a performance in London at some not too distant juncture. Hopefully if it was but a one off they might be able to find an audience. Although that too I fear is not certain. A Coliseum staff member reported that the actual sales for the Saturday evening performance of the Ardani Gala (so called) were at twenty percent. That fact speaks for itself. There was, I know, a fairly healthy element of 'paper' amongst those present. I thought Osipova's theatrically blossomed in Facada this time and its through-line was somehow more persuasive now. Certainly she, Vasiliev and a delightfully camp Elisabeth McGorian appeared to be having a wonderful time in the performing of the Pita piece. Edited July 19, 2015 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrylights Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I absolutely enjoyed last night's performance, it was such a delight. I have been waiting for a chance to see Marcelo Gomes and thought he was fabulous. As a bit of a newcomer to ballet it was also my first time seeing Ivan Vasiliev. My husband and I could not get over how few people were there - in the upper circle the ushers encouraged everyone to move forward due to the lack of attendance before the ballet began. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Well, apart from hardcore fans of the dancers featured, many people are a bit wary of this type of fare, myself included, based on previous bad experiences with short programmes (and sometimes excessively long intervals), unsatisfying choreography and frequent cast changes. I'm glad that people enjoyed this particular programme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Well, apart from hardcore fans of the dancers featured, many people are a bit wary of this type of fare, myself included, based on previous bad experiences with short programmes (and sometimes excessively long intervals), unsatisfying choreography and frequent cast changes. I'm glad that people enjoyed this particular programme. I completely agree. I took a chance on this one and it was actually OK. It really wasn't better than OK, though; I am really surprised how many very positive reports there are. The Marriott was extraordinarily dull and derivative and set to such predictable music (Philip Glass's violin concerto being used again). Yes it is thrilling to see Osipova performing some spectacular jumps and hyper extensions (they were Connectome's only saving graces), but to me it was choreographic drivel. The Gomes was more original and interesting and it was great to have a chance to see these super dancers who appear in London far too little. I thought Facada was more effective when first shown, but it may just be that it is rather insubstantial and just doesn't bear repeated viewing. Vasiliev made much less impact on me this time and I had forgotten how little he does in it. The lack of audience members made the whole thing rather low energy - the dress circle was half empty at best and the bar area almost deserted in the intervals. Tickets were terribly expensive for what you got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 That's weird: when I looked up my area for the Friday night performance, it showed my middle-of-row seat and all the seats between that and the gangway as taken. Yet only one other person occupied any of those seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Friday seemed reasonably busy I thought. I enjoyed the performances, especially the chance to see the dancers in Tristesse. Having seen Facada last year I was really looking forward to seeing it again. I love the black humour and thought that Osipova was truly mad and scary in her dance on the grave. She was fierce! The two Russians next to me were totally unmoved though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Loved it. Highly entertaining from start to finish and nice to see the young RB dancers getting featured roles in the excellent Marriot work. I prefer to see gala fare of this sort than tired old 'showpiece' pdd's. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Scroll down the Standard's Londoner's Diary for gossipy featurette including a picture of Osipova and Gomes at a post-show celebration. There is also news that Bryan Ferry has hired Osipova and Watson for his next video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I had a rather pleasant Sat night at the gala after getting some last minute tickets when it became clear that it's not the usual gala format. Was it the best ballet I've seen this year? No. But it was great to see a surfeit of outstanding male dancers on stage having a bit of a lark, for me Facada with its awesome grave dancing is standing up well to a second viewing and Zeitgeist is quite watchable though I shan't comment on the costumes. Osipova looked like she is having fun, and I loved seeing what I call her 'Sod it, I'm doing it' face when she throws herself into a ballet wholeheartedly whilst throwing caution to the wind. I really like the Osipova / Watson partnership as well, so I'm all for summershows that include both. I was quite impressed with Luz's beautiful mix of delicate yet strong quick fire dancing. Vogel was an utter joy to watch, I was going to go with 'light footed' , 'great lift' and elegant, but Duck's 'springiness' is just a perfect description of both his dancing and his hair. But best of all: Gomes waggling his finger. That was the most expressive waggle I've seen. Despite my severe childhood dislike for all things Carmen, I'm now seeing Car Man. So is my visiting cousin, she just doesn't know it yet... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Vogel was an utter joy to watch, I was going to go with 'light footed' , 'great lift' and elegant, but Duck's 'springiness' is just a perfect description of both his dancing and his hair. I like "light footed", "great lift" and "elegant" as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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