Nina G.

5 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Lovely photo in the main section of today's Sunday Times (17th September 2017) of Yasmine Naghdi and Xander Parish in the Sylvia pas de deux.

Made a quick trip to my local newsagent.  Gorgeous photo, and what a handsome couple they are! Such a shame Miss Naghdi is not given a go this time around. I understand senior Principals Osipova, Nunez and Cuthbertson have priority over her but surely she could have been given a Matinee...Now we'll have to wait 3 or 4 years I guess before Sylvia returns  

7 hours ago, Fonty said:

Am I missing something here?  Is there something special about her being a Londoner?

 

As far as I am concerned, it is far more interesting that we now have two new female principals who have come right the way through the RB school from White Lodge, to join the two existing ones.  

Fonty, I agree with you but I can't imagine Evening Standard readers getting excited about a headline reading: " Former Junior Associate and ex-White Lodger has been promoted to Principal at The Royal Ballet"              WE know it is a big achievement for a White Lodger to become a Principal but the ES readers' attention will be grabbed far more easily by "First Londoner in over 25 years to become a Principal at The Royal Ballet"  

27 minutes ago, capybara said:

I think that they are speaking of Yasmine having been born in the UK.  

The Evening Standard article: "Yasmine is the first Principal dancer from London in more than 25 years" and the article in The Times: " She is the first Londoner to become a Principal dancer at the Royal Ballet since Darcey Bussell in 1989"

1 hour ago, aileen said:

Is this the first year that the RB has not taken any students from the RBS straight into the company? Is this the shape of things to come ie that promising dancers will join the Aud Jebsen programme before being taken into the company?

I think so, looking at the Promotions 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

No student/graduate from the Royal Ballet School was given a contract to join the Company this Season.

Six dancers do join as "Aud Jebsen" dancers giving them a year of experience to work alongside the corps de ballet. Some may be lucky to be offered a contract by the of Season but this is not guaranteed. 

Well what a great news to wake up too!

Absolutely thrilled to see Mr Kevin O'Hare has promoted Yasmine Naghdi to Principal of The Royal Ballet. She full deserves it. In a matter of 1 season she jumped from Soloist to First Soloist to Principal. Her Juliet, Rose Fairy, Mathilde Kschessinska, Sugar Plum Fairy, Aurora, Symphonic Variations,...to name just a few, were nothing short of stunning. Mr O'Hare clearly recognises her outstanding classical talent, as well as her beautiful musicality and dramatic talent, and he nurtured her in a matter of a few years all the way to the top. 

Also delighted for Matthew Ball, Marcelino Sambe, Reece Clark, Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Benjamin Ella, each one outstanding in their own right. Congrats to the new Principal Character Artists, and corps dancers for their promotion to First Artist.

The Royal Ballet truly gave us many amazing performances this Season, giving me great joy in this somber world. Wishing all the dancers a wonderful holiday, thank you all for your hard work, and thank you Mr'O'Hare for driving the company to new and great heights. Wishing you a wonderful holiday too!

1 hour ago, Springbourne3 said:

The company are up to their last Brisbane tour performance of the season now - so hopefully all promotions will be revealed imminently.....there maybe some surprises I think...

Fingers crossed...I hope it will be announced this coming Monday. Many companies have already made their announcement; the Royal Ballet is making us wait far too long.

Surely all the dancers had their meeting with Mr O'Hare before departing on Tour. It seems like an endless wait this time around   Tour finishes this weekend so I hope they don't make us wait much longer!!!!!! 

39 minutes ago, Yaffa said:

In the comments on the ROH announcement about joiners http://www.roh.org.uk/news/new-dancers-to-join-the-royal-ballet-for-201718-season, Chris Shipman has just replied to a question about the promotions saying: "Information will be released in due course after the completion of the Company's tour to Australia."

Thanks Yaffa. So now we know, it will be after 9th July.

Well...when will the RB announce the promotions to their audience and fans here in the UK?

I must admit I am really curious to find out who has been promoted after such a wonderful Season.

What are they waiting for?

Is this part of the official RB Tour or is this totally separate? What will be performed there and who are the dancers?

37 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

And I'm wondering where Melissa Hamilton may fit into all this? If she is back in the company, I suppose it could be argued that having been an "acting" Principal at Dresden, she may also have a claim to be promoted?

 

I'm not saying I particularly agree with this scenario, but....

As far as I know, in order for a dancer to be considered for promotion, they have to have danced a full Season with the company.

This Season has been a tremendous success and ALL the dancers have contributed to it.

Mr O'Hare, since becoming the AD, has consistently built up the Company from the bottom upwards with a wealth of talent that has come out of The Royal Ballet School. The result is there for all to see: the Company has never looked better and unified in style, and it is a most exciting time for us - the audience - to see all those young and superbly talented dancers rapidly climbing the ranks. EVERY dancer does contribute to this success but... there are some who do stand out. I have never enjoyed a Season more than this one (I am not too sure about next Season, certainly not about the first half but we shall see...). 

It is very clear who are the dancers who consistently stood out and also improved throughout this Season: Matthew Ball, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Reece Clark, Marcelino Sambe, David Yudes, James Hay, young Sissons (recently impressed), Calvin Richardson, Isabella Gasparini, and last but certainly not least Yasmine Naghdi.

Based on all the roles danced this Season my (wish) list is:

to Principal: Yasmine Naghdi - the repertoire she has danced over the past seven Seasons is very wide and varied, she has danced to great acclaim full-length dramatic MacMillan roles such as Juliet, and The Invitation, she has performed in some of the finest Ashton ballets (Monotones and Symphonic Variations), has danced some of the greatest Classical roles such as Rose Fairy, Sugar Plum Fairy and Aurora, and in Anastasia as Mathilde Kschessinska, she was stunning in Balanchine's virtuoso role/Tarantella, besides dancing the principal role in Jewels/Emeralds, just to name a few. To me she has shown her versatility as a dramatic as well as classical dancer. Naghdi is one of the finest and purest Classical dancer amongst the current First Soloists and Soloists.

to First Soloist: Marcelino Sambe and Matthew Ball, both for obvious reasons (Ball greatly impressed showing his acting abilities as well as technical abilities), and Sambe is outstanding in his own way.

to Soloist: the gorgeous Reece Clark and wonderful Anna Rose O'Sullivan: both dancers impressed in a variety of roles this Season.

to First Artist: David Yudes, Calvin Richardson, maybe Joseph Sissons (still very young yet outstanding at this level), perhaps Gina Storm-Jensen (has potential and with a bit more time could grow into a more secure dancer).

Wishing them all the best on Tour in Australia, and afterwards a well deserved rest!

2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Hi John - sorry if what I said was confusing. Yasmine was, in my mind, initially dancing in both casts as, in addition to being in the first line-up, she appeared in both the General and last Saturday afternoon in place of Mayara Magri. Mayara took her rightful place in SV on the 8th June and is, no doubt, scheduled to appear tonight as well.

Yasmine Naghdi was in the 1st cast only but at Stage door last week I heard that she'd danced five SV's in a row: two Thursday stage rehearsals (one in which she had to replace Magri) , the Friday General rehearsal (replacing Magri), followed straight after by the Opening Night, and again the following day in the afternoon performance (replacing Magri). Worse than running a marathon I guess!!!  

Last night we were treated to an amazing array of most glorious dancers in the company.

From Steven McRae and Akane Takada in "The Dream", to Marianella Nunez, Yasmine Naghdi, Yuhui Choe, Vadim Muntagirov, James Hay, Tristan Dyer in "Symphonic Variations", and Zenaida Yanowsky and Guest Principal Roberto Bolle in "M&A". I can't add much to what has already been said in Sim's post.

I loved Akane Takada too in The Dream. 

Nunez/Naghdi/Choe  and Muntagirov/Hay/Dyer are the veritable SV dream cast, all were exceptional and together they turned SV into a visual feast of true perfection. I saw this cast two years ago and it simply amazed me to see how Miss Naghdi has matured in this very short space of time, she has grown into such an incredible confidant dancer, she gives me the greatest pleasure whenever I am lucky enough to see her on the stage. (that's not to say I didn't enjoy the glorious Nunez or Choe!)

"M&A"- a very emotional affair it was.

What a wonderful evening to end this amazing Season and I wish all The Royal Ballet dancers a successful Tour in Australia. 

6 hours ago, Josephine said:

 

Some information about the Symphonic Variations cast is given in this Instagram (public) post by the photographer Dolly Brown: https://www.instagram.com/p/BUwAFgIgtZl/

So looking forward to this Triple Bill, incl. my ab favourite "Symphonic Variations" with such an amazing Opening Night cast! What a way to end a most successful Season 2016-17

I heard Opening Night cast Symphonic Variations is Marianella Nunez, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Naghdi, Yuhui Choe, James Hay and Tristan Dyer. 

The other cast last night were as outstanding as the opening night cast. James Hay and Marcelino Sambe were amazing in Vertiginous. Having seen all three Tarantella casts it was Zucchetti and Naghdi who brought real Italian flair to Tarantella. Her speed and beautiful extensions were truly impressive and she gave Tarantella just the right amount of flirtiness, lending it a soft comical edge, which clearly amused the audience. Valentino was also an absolute delight to watch. To me this was Balanchine's Tarantella danced at its best and a roaring audience seemed to agree. I'll skip Strapless, although beautifully danced by Lauren Cuthbertson, this ballet does nothing for me.Laura Morera and Matthew Ball were gorgeous in Symphonic Dances, and there was much to enjoy in this new Scarlett ballet but I found the red too overpowering at times! The middle all male section, dancing with Morera, was stunning. In the mixed Non Allegro and Lento Assai, it was Yasmine Naghdi alongside Mayara Magri - dancing with corps dancers - who gave both sections its particular force and beauty.

On 4/9/2017 at 12:20, Yaffa said:

 

Some great talent in next year's Aud Jebsen Young Dancers - but does this mean none of them have been accepted to the RB on a full contract? 

That's correct Yaffa. The Aud Jebsen Young Dancers are not accepted by the RB on a full contract basis. They are simply given a year of experience to work alongside the RB dancers.  Once their year as an Aud Jebsen dancer is over they may be considered by the AD for acceptance on a full contract basis, if not they will have to find work in another company.

On 5/10/2017 at 21:01, balletyas said:

Yes of course and I would hope that Hayward will get both Manon as she did so brilliantly in before and I think she could do Giselle. Not so sure about Nagdhi for Manon  - although Ball would be perfect for DG.   She was rather wonderful as Juliet and I wonder when that will be back...

I'd love to see Naghdi as Manon. I strongly believe she would surprise us all over again... just as she did when she danced Juliet.

jmhopton and balletyas I was equally very disappointed Yasmine Naghdi will barely appear in anything during the Autumn/Winter. Only in "Farewell" and two "Sugar Plum Fairy" performances??? For a dancer who has been truly impressive this Season (and all previous Seasons) in various highly classical roles as well as in other roles, it did come as a surprise indeed. I can only hope we'll get to see her a lot more in the Spring/Summer (such a long wait  ).

I honestly hope she's not being sidelined as I wouldn't want to see her leave the RB.

1 hour ago, Sim said:

I must say I am very surprised that the ROH continues to provide her with any press tickets at all, especially the posh ones which she is obviously very happy to take, despite the awful people she always seems to sit near.  As Alison says, maybe she should come and stand or sit with us plebs, just to educate her about the real make-up of the average ROH audience.  If I were head of press, I would not be giving any tickets at all to someone who repeatedly insulted the audience, who pay good money in good faith that they can watch a performance without fear of being ridiculed, insulted, private conversations reported and reduced to cultural stereotypes.    If she or the 'magazine' are paying for her posh tickets, then I suppose there is not much that can be done about it.  

Her language is simple appalling and totally unacceptable! Shame on the magazine that published such a review! 

I have seen Jewels performed by the RB in previous Seasons but never have I enjoyed it as much as this Season. The various casts have all been interesting to watch but if I had to choose THE Jewels cast it would be made up by Emeralds: Naghdi/Ball as principal couple with Moreira, Rubies: Lamb/McRae (although I very much loved Takada/Campbell !!) with Heap, and Diamonds: Nunez/Muntagirov.

For me, each one of these dancers perfectly and totally captured the mood and style of Balanchine's Jewels. 

In this video we see Violette Verdy dance the 3 title roles and Naghdi/Lamb&Takada/Nunez just got it all right.

Lovely article on Miss Takada.

First time I saw her dance was in Life Fire Exercise. She was really impressive but she somehow "disappeared" thereafter. Now I know she was injured.

She deserves all the praise as she was outstanding in Rubies.

Good to see the RB Press directing the Times newspaper to focus on another very talented dancer, for a change. 

I really miss the Young British Dancer of the Year competition at the Linbury. It was such an exciting annual event. I used to attend together with my sister and we loved watching all those talented youngsters!  

We saw Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin, Yasmine Naghdi, Reece Clark and Francesca Hayward win this competition. 

I very much regretted having paid money to see this show. I honestly felt being taken for a ride and borderline insulted. Does he really think the audience will take just about anything he throws at us? Never again!