GTL Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) This evening’s first night Nutcracker at the London Coliseum was very well received by the audience, Daria and Vadim were absolutely radiant, and at the curtain call, Tamara Rojo appeared on stage to announce the Vadim’s promotion to the highest rank in the company for a dancer, “lead principal”. Edited December 13, 2012 by Grand Tier Left 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Goodness me, at 22! How fantastic for Vadim. Does this mean he's higher than the Senior Principals? Has Tamara introduced another rank, or is he a Senior by another name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Does this mean he's higher than the Senior Principals? Has Tamara introduced another rank, or is he a Senior by another name? ENB have tweeted that Lead Principal is the new name for the Senior Principal position. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Thanks BBB. Would perhaps have been a bit odd referring to someone so young as "Senior"! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 There's a nice piece about Vadim's promotion on the Ballet News website. I hope that Vadim doesn't go the same way as Sergei Polunin. I do feel that one of the problems for dancers like Vadim and SP, who are singled out as teenagers, is that they miss out on the cameraderie of the corps and possibly become a bit isolated within the company. Given the nature of the training and the job, I imagine that most dancers have few friends outside the dance world. Dancers who have come from abroad have no old friends from home or school who they can fall back on (or, rather, those friends are not easily available to them, although social media does help). Very young dancers are probably not going to socialise much with older principals who are more mature and may be married with families. They are therefore at risk of loneliness in what is already a very tough world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I had exactly the same thought last night, aileen. Even though Sergei and Vadim were described last night on Twitter as "different as opera and rap" (in personality, I presume), they are both young men who trained away from home in what could have been a harsh and highly disciplined environment, and the worry for me is whether Senior/Lead Principal at 22 could be too much, too young? Could there be another Sergei type rebellion? I know it worked for Darcey, but in some personalities, there could always be the chance of waking up and thinking "Well what next? What is there to aim for?" Still, Vadim seems a steady young man, who radiates real joy when dancing with Daria. Hopefully he will continue to be so happy in his work, and enjoy his new rank for many years to come. Hopefully I am worrying needlessly. :-) What I would observe is that ENB seems to be quite a social company where the dancers make real and lasting friendships, so perhaps Vadim does get to mix with the other dancers, regardless of rank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 ENB does seem to be quite a sociable company, perhaps as a result of all the touring it does; the dancers really spend a lot of time together. Tamara herself has said that the touring makes the company more close-knit. The more restricted repertoire at ENB has probably benefitted Vadim, at least up to now, in that he has been able to get really comfortable in his roles, which will have given him a lot of confidence. He has also had the benefit of a regular and very supportive partner in Daria. The challenge for Tamara will be keeping him once Daria hangs up her pointe shoes. It's been so lovely to see this mutually beneficial partnership thrive. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 It strikes me that there may be many users of this site who have not yet seen Vadim dance. I urge you to remedy that situation and book for one of the following ENB performances at the Coliseum: Tonight: Nutcracker with Daria 26th Dec matinee: Nutcracker with Daria 28th Dec: Nutcracker with Daria 5th Jan: Nutcracker with Daria 9th Jan: Beauty with Tamara 13th Jan matinee: Beauty with Tamara 19th Jan: Beauty with Tamara You will not be disappointed. Vadim is in demand all over the world now. Catch him and treasure him while you can. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 capybara, your last sentence is a bit ominous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Aileen: I think your point about touring binding a company together has much to be said for it. I've been with my wife on a number of occasions with colleagues in the RB Touring Company from the late 50s/early 60s and, to watch and listen to them, the 50 year gap since they were together simply melts away. (Just as it does in my case with colleagues from my early RAF squadrons of a similar era, I might add.) It was clearly a powerful experience and I'd imagine, and hope, that today's ENB dancers feel the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 capybara, your last sentence is a bit ominous. I'm sure he's not going anywhere yet, Aileen! I just want to urge people to see him NOW! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Congrats to Vadim!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Vadim's on-stage promotion is now on Youtube (thanks to Balletfriends on Twitter). You can see what a modest young man he is: Daria has to push him forward to accept the applause for his promotion and he acknowledges the whole company. (Btw, Tamara really rocks the killer heels). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quoCN4omj_s&feature=youtu.be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks, Janet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim b Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Yes - it clearly was inevitable with his talents and charisma. And he and Daria worked their magic again this afternoon to a fresh and appreciative Boxing Day audience - no less amazing because the house was pretty full despite the serious disruption of public transport and the two Principals appeared as fresh and energetic as daisies despite having flown to Cape Town and back to guest with the company there within the past week!! Simply magical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Ah, but there's no jetlag London > South Africa and back, is there? It always amazes me that anyone takes the risk of booking the theatre in London on Boxing Day - do they all drive up there, or something? There are rarely any trains, and if the Tube strike did go ahead ... (sorry, I'm a bit out of touch at the moment) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim b Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Well it's a long story and you're too young to have a bus pass - didn't buy our tix till 1230 on the day - it's a risk but there's always Friday & capybara is right IMO - you have to see them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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