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Nina G.

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Everything posted by Nina G.

  1. Nina G.
    I am rather surprised not to have seen a review (or did I miss something??) by a Ballet critic on Miss Hayward's debut as the Sugar Plum, it has been so uncharacteristically quite. Normally we get a few reviews, at least one by Mark Monahan, who attended the School's Matinee of "Fille" when Miss Hayward danced Lise. I guess I'll have to wait until 24th to see it for myself.
  2. Nina G.
    I just can't wait for 27th December, Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball as Sugar Plum and her Prince. Wrap them up in Xmas paper and that's my Xmas gift taken care of! I agree, the dancers who currently REALLY stand out for me are those who have trained throughout the RBS system.
  3. Nina G.
    I think I just got carried away as soon as I read the word "Sugar Plum"
  4. Nina G.
    It's a leap for four dancers who will be debuting as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Season: Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Claire Calvert. It's a *very* big one for Francesca Hayward in a pure classical tutu role. Besides Bluebird pd2 I have not yet seen her dance a prominent tutu role. I have seen Yasmine Naghdi as Rose Fairy in "Nutcracker" last year and recently as Mathilde Kschessinska in "Anastasia", Claire Calvert as the Lilac Fairy and Beatriz Stix Brunell in one of the Fairy Variations a few years ago.
  5. Nina G.
    What's so depressing? A difference of opinion?
  6. Nina G.
    I'd give your comment 10 Likes Sim if I could. Well said and summed up!!
  7. Nina G.
    His new work is a complete bore, I nearly fell asleep. I have seen much better Contemporary dance creations. We get the opinions of the audience and the critics but I have always wondered what the dancers are thinking of McGregor's work, and how it must feel to be dancing such extreme movements with a highly classically trained body. Do they really enjoy it? Bar a few such as Underwood, Watson, Cuthbertson, Cowley,...(McGregor's predictable selection of dancers who seem to enjoy it) I really wonder about the others. McGregor to me is simply an emperor in new clothes. His early works were intriguing and highly creative but his more recent works really bore me: they feel empty and have become so repetitive. McGregor's limitations in creating new movements are hidden behind a veil of so-called intellectualism. I have nothing against that, on the contrary, but when it is to hide a lack of depth and creativity it all becomes repetitive and arrogant, using intellectualism as a justification for his limited range of creating movement. But hey, I don't get it do I? I assume anyone who considers McGregor's recent creations as boring will be looked upon as not understanding his work...He just hasn't evolved but I guess he's a useful "instrument" in getting the young to walk into the ROH and see a dance piece. They may as well go to Sadler's Wells for that.
  8. Nina G.
    ...so it's really potluck for any dancer, giving an outstanding performance, to be seen (or not) by the dance critics (who mainly attend Opening Nights anyhow, bar a few exceptions). Shouldn't it be renamed "Opening Nights" National Dance Awards?
  9. Nina G.
    Barely any critic was invited to attend their outstanding performance, sadly...Such a shame! I am truly surprised Miss Naghdi did not receive an award for her performance in the Outstanding Female (Classical) category. She moved so many of us...Perhaps there should be an Audience Award category
  10. Nina G.
    How fascinating and so interesting to read you Floss. Thank you very much for writing at such great length. At my grand old age I still say: Never too old to learn!
  11. Nina G.
    Older dancers also tend to recuperate far slower from injury, even a minor injury, and they often dance in great pain, as I recall Carlos Acosta saying just before he retired.
  12. Nina G.
    Very smooth process for me too. I was nervous there wouldn't be any tickets left for YasmineNaghdi/Matthew Ball Sleeping Beauty but I got my ticket in the end! Also seeing this couple in the Nutcracker on 27th. Much to look forward to.
  13. Nina G.
    I usually do not agree with Mark Monahan either ( he is a superficial reviewer imo ) but - although a bit over the top - I agree it was a very lovely performance.
  14. Nina G.
    A most wonderful evening indeed, oh how I love La Fille mal gardee! Such a cheerful and colourful ballet; it has it all, from love to drama. The whole company looked great, and Sambe and Hayward made a lovely couple. As they are young dancers the coupling was as effective and emotional as the Naghdi/Ball coupling we witnessed in R&J. I find myself more and more booking tickets to see the younger talent in the company and I can't wait to see Naghdi and Hayward in their upcoming Sugar Plum and Aurora debut.
  15. Nina G.
    It was indeed a frustrating experience, worse ever. Such a shame. My ROH screen kept freezing up and it returned to Charlotte MacMillan and B/W photo...
  16. Nina G.
    http://worldballetday.com/session/the-royal-ballet/ In rehearsal we'll get to see: Natalia Osipova - Anastasia Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov - La Fille mal gardee Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball - The Sleeping Beauty and New Charlotte Edmunds with Reece Clark and Gina Storm-Jensen
  17. Nina G.
    Unusual indeed but let's just wait and see if Mr Monahan will attend other programmed Schools'Matinees this Season :)
  18. Nina G.
    The ES is...well, just the ES. A London free daily I grab on entry at a tube station, flick through and leave behind for the next bored-looking passenger. As Quintus said I'd like to know how those who contributed to this non-sensical list define "influential".
  19. Nina G.
    Does anyone know who will dance what at this Gala? I would love to go.
  20. Nina G.
    Another dancer collaborating in a music video: World-renowned pianist Maksim Mvrica with Royal ballerina Yasmine Naghdi
  21. Nina G.
    Yes! Thank you very much for correcting me Bangorballetboy.
  22. Nina G.
    Akane Takada, just like Yuhui Choe, is a superb technician, and her Giselle was indeed a bit of a surprise but most performances leave me emotionally unaffected. When I attend the ballet I want to be emotionally dragged into the characters and the story. Technical beautiful dancing is not enough to satisfy me. As to why Yuhui Choe stayed on? With a few much younger potential Principals now in the same rank as Yuhui Choe reality must dawn on her but maybe she is just happy to dance Principal roles as a First Soloist. Perhaps, just as Iona Loots did years ago, Yuhui Choe should have moved to BRB where no doubt she would have become a Principal. Staying on at the RB is a choice she made. I agree Francesca Hayward is more Lesley Collier than Alina Cojocaru, really delightful, a pleasure to watch but without the layers Cojocaru possessed, and her performance as Juliet and The Girl in The Invitation did not leave a similar emotional mark on me as Yasmine Naghdi's performance did of those roles. Naghdi is an entirely different dancer: more lyrical and physically very suited to the tutu classical ballets (I saw her stunning performance as Rose Fairy in the Live Cinema relay). Laura Capella describes Naghdi as the "Quite Fighter" and "Queen of the Brits", Mr O'Hare commented: "She has such an ease of technique that you don't even notice. It allows her to give herself over to the character" (Mr O'Hare's quoted comment here is not visible via this link, it is in the hard copy of Dance Magazine USA). http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/magazine/rise-yasmine-naghdi/
  23. Nina G.
    I don't think they'd do anything about obnoxious behaviour during the intervals. The ROH is going out of their way to attract all layers of our society, rightly so, but some of those layers lack social education and good manners. They are a reflection of what has become of our society today: total disrespect for others, totally selfish and very rude (in manners and vocabulary). Mind you, I have encountered rude so-called "upper class" ladies at ROH too!
  24. Nina G.
    How disgraceful! Did you not tell the ushers? Whenever I am confronted with a badly behaved, selfish audience member at ROH (I have stopped going to many theatres and cinemas precisely for such reason) I do not confront them personally. I go to the ushers and ask them to intervene. The ROH must ensure to effectively monitor badly behaved patrons and deal with them accordingly or it will get worse and worse; if not it will start putting off people like myself from attending on a regular basis. A zero tolerance policy against such bad, rude, selfish behaviour-that spoils it all for paying members of the audience- must be in place if ROH wants to keep their loyal patrons!
  25. Nina G.
    I just cannot stand the rhythmic clapping. It is a cultural thing yes, very Russian, and it turns ballet into a cheap circus spectacle. I have attended a few performances and as other posters have said, give me the RB, BRB and ENB anytime. Bolshoi dancers are technically superb dancers but I do not like their flashy/showy style, milking the audience for applause at any given time, and their lack of ability to combine dancing with emotion. I know that's the typical Bolshoi style... I just go in order to watch the dancers 'technic but there it stops for me.
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