Jump to content

Nina G.

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    957

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Nina G.

  1. Nina G.
    https://www.danceeast.co.uk/performances/wild-space/ Wild Space will perform Terra Incognita at the beautiful Abbey Hall in Eye (Suffolk) with five dancers: Emma Hawes of The National Ballet of Canada, Yasmine Naghdi, First Soloist of The Royal Ballet, Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas of The Royal Danish Ballet and Martin ten Kortenaar of The Dutch National Ballet. The performance will be accompanied by live violinists Jonathan Morton from the Scottish Ensemble and Clio Gould from The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I sadly can't get to Eye but if any Forum member is planning to attend it would be so lovely to hear about "Terra Incognita".
  2. Nina G.
    I don't know where else to put this link but I just spotted this lovely article about recently promoted Miss Naghdi http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/magazine/rise-yasmine-naghdi/
  3. Nina G.
    Glad you said it and you are not alone zxDaveM. I am getting very cross myself about this whole scenario. I want to have more opportunity to watch her major debuts; Miss Naghdi deserves better then being constantly tucked away in School's Matinees the public and critics can't attend! I'll have to postpone visiting my family until well after 28th December now in order to see Miss Naghdi on 27th December as Sugar Plum Fairy. We DO notice indeed.
  4. Nina G.
    If Mr O'Hare has the intention to restore SB to its former glory and finesse ( beautifully summed up in one of Floss's erudite posts) then I am not at all surprised Naghdi and Hayward have been selected as the only two new Auroras (they were also cast to dance the Principal role in The Invitation, coincidence or not?). As both dancers fully trained at The Royal Ballet School since early childhood, they have an exquisite, clean and strong classical technic, they are certainly familiar with Ashton's style as I always understood the School incorporates it in the training (fast foot work and a very particular use of the upper body), as well as the Cecchetti method of training. This all results in a great ease of dancing combined with a very clean classical technic (and they both have also proven to be great dance actresses!).
  5. Nina G.
    Ohhhhh my dream has come true. Yasmine Naghdi & Matthew Ball as Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund. What a treat, on top of Naghdi/Ball as The Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker Prince! Lovely to note Campbell is partnering Hayward. I feel an expensive season is coming up PS. Also dreaming of Naghdi being partnered by Bonelli one day (I think they'd look amazing as a dance couple too).
  6. Nina G.
    Yuhui Choe is probably 10 years older than the two recently promoted First Soloists-in-the-running-for-Principal Floss is referring to. They have far more dancing years ahead of them. I feel if it was meant to happen for Miss Choe it would have happened already... She is technically a joy to watch but I never connect with her emotionally as I do with some others.
  7. Nina G.
    Two very fine casts indeed and as The Girl both Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward have given us outstanding performances. It is very rare that two different casts bring equal weight to a ballet. There wasn't a weak link in any of them. I bought a last minute ticket to attend the Matinee yesterday. Olivia Cowley was very impressive as the wronged wife, one of her best roles. I really loved her portrayal. David Donnelly and Thomas Whitehead were excellent male partners. Whitehead was great as the cold and distant husband but I would have preferred him to soften his attitude towards The Girl: he looked so threatening from the start and any young girl would have been frightened by such a man. Naghdi however was not deterred by his cold and threatening look, instead she persisted in her attempt to dance with him... and as such unknowingly seduces him. I saw something new in Naghdi's interpretation as she no longer portrayed a totally innocent Girl. She became obviously aware of the husband's special attraction to her. Her acting was finely balanced between a totally innocent Girl and the Girl who was going to "seduce" him yet unaware of what the result could be. The transition Naghdi made of being a child and her cousin's object of affection, to finding herself attracted to an older man was very well portrayed. When she finds herself completely alone with the man she "flirts", at which point the stereotypical question is raised: "Wasn't she asking for it?" The brutality of the rape and Naghdi finding herself laying alone on the floor brought tears to my eyes. Later on - staring at the naked statues - she finds herself alone again. Naghdi's loneliness, emptiness was very palpable. The harsh and cold look she gets from the woman who protects her husband after the rape also enforced the Girl's total loneliness; her body and face now frozen as she realises she will never be the same again. During her curtain call, a woman sitting in front of me, shouted out "amazing". That one word summed it all up. "The Invitation" is certainly one of my Season 2015-16 highlights.
  8. Nina G.
    Mr O'Hare seems to have promoted Miss Hayward based on her performances of some of the great MacMillan roles Tabitha. She danced Manon, Juliet, The Girl and some of the Ashton repertoire. It would however be unthinkable in Russia for a dancer to be promoted to Principal without having danced successfully most if not all of the great tutu Classics; same for the Paris Opera Ballet.
  9. Nina G.
    Congratulations to all 16 dancers who have been promoted! Delighted for Alexander Campbell who has been outstanding in every performance I have seen him dance. Akane Takada's promotion I felt was in the pipeline so not really surprised there although I have my reservations about her (great technician yes but...). Surprised about the fast promotion for Francesca Hayward - not that she doesn't deserve it - but she hasn't yet danced any of the great classical tutu rules? I always thought that was a prerequisite to becoming a Principal. I guess she got promoted because of the MacMillan roles she danced so wonderfully. Never guessed Hirano would become a Principal. Absolutely thrilled for Yasmine Naghdi to First Soloist. Together with Beatriz Stix-Brunell, who is also lovely, they each in their own way have given the audience great performances this season and I feel they could be the next two new female Principals. Matthew Ball surely deserved it and I hope we will see him more often partnered with Yasmine Naghdi. Delighted for Mayara Magri too, my eyes often get drawn to her whenever I see her on stage, and Tierney Heap. The youngsters promoted to First Artist deserve it too.
  10. Nina G.
    Back to Royal Ballet Promotion Predictions As every year I have made my list and I can't wait to find out how many dancers on my list I got right and will receive a Promotion.
  11. Nina G.
    Japanese fans should not miss THE most FABULOUS Giselle pas-de-six cast danced by Yuhui Choe/Yasmine Naghdi/Francesca Hayward respectively partnered by Alexander Campbel/Marcelino Sambe/Lucca Acri. They are simply outstanding!
  12. Nina G.
    I have seen the Muntagirov/Hayward/Avis/Yanowsky and Donnelly/Naghdi/Whitehead/Cowley cast and as other posters have said both casts were equally outstanding and they each bring a different "flavour" to "The Invitation". "The Invitation" is a magnificent MacMillan heritage work, sandwiched between a new contemporary work (Obsidian Tear) and a neo-classical Wheeldon ballet "Within the Golden Hour". This Triple Bill shows all the unique strengths of The Royal Ballet: its choreographers, its amazing dancers and its Heritage Works. We see established dancers such as Watson, Yanowsky, Avis, Muntagirov as well as the amazing young talent coming up through the ranks. Mr O'Hare is building a very fine company indeed and it seems is a great nurturer of his superlative young dancers. Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward were both outstanding as "The Girl", following in the footsteps of Lynn Seymour, Sarah Wildor and Leanne Benjamin. I had never seen this ballet before and absolutely loved it! Hayward next to the tall Avis and Muntagirov really looked like a little girl. She was lovely throughout. Yasmine Naghdi brought a more balletic feel to the role, she has the facility/ability to use her line as well as her feet to "speak" and has shown herself this Season to be a wonderful MacMillan role interpreter. Her acting in "Romeo & Juliet" and now again as "The Girl" makes me long to see more of her in the great MacMillan ballets such as Manon and Mayerling. Yanowsky is Yanowsky what more can I say: superb! but Olivia Cowley was equally wonderful as "The Wife". "Within the Golden Hour" is a golden Wheeldon ballet and the best I have seen. Loved it. This is a great Triple Bill to end the season, it has it all. Bravo Mr. O'Hare and bravo to all the dancers!
  13. Nina G.
    I think the various ranks (or different grades as you call it) are very useful. The skills, technic,... of a Soloist or First Soloist and ultimately a Principal are on a much higher level than those of a Corps de Ballet member and that is rewarded within the ranking system, also resulting in a higher salary. Some dancers are more ambitious, they work harder, they are more talented, they have a better technic, more stage presence, they are under more pressure at times taking over roles at very short notice without much of a rehearsal (not every dancer is capable of doing so) and their talent needs to be rewarded via promotion to a higher rank. The ranking system is there to recognise their seniority, talent and years of experience.
  14. Nina G.
    Yes, a First Artist or Coryphee (a term used in France, Russia,..) is a leading or senior/more experienced Corps de Ballet member. Usually an Artist showing potential will after 2,3,4 sometimes more years become a First Artist. They will start getting opportunities to dance minor soloist roles, usually in a group of 3 or 4 soloists. The same for Soloists: the best Soloists will gradually get opportunities to dance Principal roles, followed by promotion to First Soloist.
  15. Nina G.
    The last ballet of Season 2015-16, the Triple Bill "Obsidian Tear/The Invitation/Within the Golden Hour" opens next week and I am really looking forward to seeing both casts in Macmillan's "The Invitation". Promotion time must be hanging over the dancers' heads like a dagger by now and I wish them the very best! They are all great artists in their own right but some just do stand out far and above for various reasons. Wishing them all a happy and great end to the Season.
  16. Nina G.
    I have seen all Frankenstein casts and last night some dancers really brought tears to my eyes. I liked Hristov, a more reserved dancer, and little Ethan Bailey who coped very well in what must be a demanding role for such a little chap. He was lovely throughout the ballet. Naghdi's heartbreaking tenderness towards him looked so natural, an aspect of the role I did not see portrayed when danced by the other two Justine's (different dancers different interpretations). Naghdi's interpretation made the injustice of hanging sweet poor Justine all the more sorrowful and disturbing. I agree with Beryl H., Naghdi was the most heartbreaking Justine of them all. Overall I have enjoyed seeing the various casts, the audience clearly enjoyed the evening, and so did I (even with its short comings).
  17. Nina G.
    One can never win. If a company doesn't try they are criticised for not trying and if they try...well, some will be happy and others not. Whatever the divided opinions may be the RB has the most glorious dancers: dancers-actors/actresses as well as real ballerinas. Mr. O'Hare connects not only with the younger generation of dancers but also with the younger generation of ballet-goers, successfully (they are after all the future audience!)
  18. Nina G.
    Marquez is (was) THE Lise for me and I am certainly going to see her again, together with the wonderful Campbell!
  19. Nina G.
    This afternoon's cast was truly superb. Tristan Dyer was simply amazing. I loved everything about his characterisation and his dancing. Sarah Lamb most wonderful too. Kish as the Creature made me fully empathise with his character, he was a revelation as Duck said. There were moments I was a bit bored during the ballet: Act 1 is too long and the Tavern Scene is unnecessary or should be re-worked, but all credit to the Corps dancers. Some really wonderful Sarah Lamb-Tristan Dyer pd2's. I really felt sorry for poor "Justine" and Yasmine Naghdi gave a wonderful in-depth portrayal of her character, beautifully danced as was expected. It was truly moving when during the curtain call Naghdi took a flower out of her humongous bouquet and gave it to Master Guillem Cabrera Espinach ("Victor's Younger Brother"), especially so after Sarah Lamb had picked a rose out of her bouquet and had given it to Kish and Dyer. Young Espinach was clearly taken by Naghdi's thoughtful gesture. Overall I enjoyed this work much more then any other work I have seen by Scarlett (except Asphodel Meadows); he is still young and he needs time to grow as a Choreographer. There is much potential. Yes I do have a few points of "criticism" but this does not overshadow my enjoyment of "Frankenstein". Congratulations to ALL artists involved in creating this new work for the Royal Ballet. The applause was rapturous and clearly the audience did enjoy this Ballet; that's all what matters really, who cares about what the critics have to say as long as the audience enjoys it!
  20. Nina G.
    Hinkis, Hayward and Naghdi (all three cast as Justine) are hanged without a stunt girl in sight!!!! So I was told at the Stage Door.
  21. Nina G.
    Mr. Monahan should do his homework before writing his reviews. The cast sheet clearly shows generous support of many Private Donors, Supporters, Trusts, Syndicates and the American Friends of Covent Garden. Can Mr. Monahan prove that taxpayers money has been used creating Frankenstein? Can he back-up his statement with facts? He's clearly one of those young (if Frankenstein is the worst Ballet he has ever seen in his life he really can't be that old!) ill-informed critics who LOVE to use the tired cliche "...taxpayers money has been wasted...". Makes me yawn.
  22. Nina G.
    I agree Aileen, when I write about a performance or dancers I have seen I write as an "amateur critic" and it is indeed my personal opinion. I have a very Russian taste when it comes to liking dancers and I like the real ballerina look. I am not a professional critic. Disliking or liking a certain critic is again a matter of personal taste. A professional critic's review must be based on great in-depth subject knowledge and objective observation.
  23. Nina G.
    Not necessarily.
  24. Nina G.
    Mark Monahan...I never share his opinion, I find him to be very subjective and his personal taste transpires too much. He should learn to write in a far more objective way. I give him one star!
  25. Nina G.
    Well let's hope we get a Naghdi/Ball pairing up in Sleeping Beauty...besides their evening performance in Nutcracker (although someone hinted they'd dance at a Matinee too (?)
×
×
  • Create New...