Jane S Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) I guess everyone who goes to see the RDB dancers will pick out their own favourites, so rather than go through the whole list I thought I'd just say a bit about two who will soon be retiring and, at the other end of the company, two you've probably never seen before. The seniors: Diana Cuni is in her last year with the company – catch her now! She's known as a Bournonville specialist, remarkable particularly for her speed about the stage and her footwork and as I wrote about her recently, she's the one above all the others who seems to know the secret of perpetual motion. Gudrun Bojesen probably has only one more year before retirement. She's the company's leading ballerina, beautiful in Bournonville and also heart-rending in dramatic roles like Giselle and the Lady of the Camellias. She's very Danish on stage – gentle, completely unshowy – and I shall miss her badly when she goes. The juniors: Andreas Kaas, 21, looked to be embarking on a fairly well-trodden Danish career path – Gurn in La Sylphide, the young hero of Kermessen in Bruges, the Erik Bruhn prize in Canada (against competition including James Hay) – when John Neumeier picked him out to dance Armand in Camellias, with the even younger Ida Praetorius. He's quite slightly built and I was astonished at how well he coped with such a demanding role, which includes a lot of partnering – excellent signs for the future. He's also becoming known for his amazing feet – David Hallberg, watch out. (Kaas is pronounced like 'coast' without the t – so I'm told.) Sebastian Haynes is really breaking the normal career pattern - I doubt ever before has a dancer done Madge in La Sylphide and the hero, Junker Ove, of A Folk Tale in the season he turned 20. He has a really strong stage presence and it's anyone's guess where he'll go from here – but it will definitely be up! Eva Kistrup sees far more of the company than I do and regualrly posts interviews with the dancers: here are some of the most recent Susanne Grinder http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2014/12/queen-of-hearts.html Gregory Dean http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2014/03/raenessance-man.html#more Sebastian Haynes http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2014/11/the-chameleon.html Andreas Kaas http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2014/10/lucky-boy.html#more Edited January 6, 2015 by Jane S 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I've adored Diana Cuni since I saw her at the Bournonville Festival in 2005 and this is probably my last opportunity to see her. Gudrun Bojesen is just sublime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Is it the same cast at each performance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Not quite. This was the last I heard: Subject of course to change, casting for the RDB Dancers at the Peacock Theatre on 9th and 10th January will be as follows:A Folk Tale pas de septSusanne Grinder/Amy Watson/Femke Slot/Kizzy MatiakisGregory Dean/Marcin Kupinski/Sebastian Haynes(Andreas Kaas replaces Kupinski 10th mat)Flower Festival at Genzano pas de deuxDiana Cuni /Alban LendorfJockey DanceAndreas Kaas/Sebastian HaynesLa Sylphide (Sylph/James/Madge)9th Gudrun Bojesen/Ulrik Birkkjær/Sorella Englund10th mat Susanne Grinder/Gregory Dean/Sebastian Haynes10th eve Gudrun Bojesen/Gregory Dean/Sorella EnglundLe Conservatoire pas de troisGudrun Bojesen/Diana Cuni/Ulrik Birkkjær (Watson replaces Cuni 10th mat)NapoliPas de six:Susanne Grinder/Amy Watson/Femke Slot/Kizzy Matiakis/Andreas Kaas/Sebastian Haynes(Cuni replaces Watson 10th mat)Solos and Tarantella: the company 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Sounds marvellous, either way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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