tabitha

Sorry, I love Carlos, but this appointment of a famous name seems geared to generating as much publicity for BRB as possible. I know there were far more qualified applicants but sadly nowhere near as well known. He’s probably only second to Darcey in terms of being a household name and international star....

The other difficult thing to come to terms with is having all that money and still not being able to ‘fix’ the problem. Sometimes there are things that even money can’t buy. 

From my own experience, it was always the next treatment or another worldwide eminent consultant who might be able to help, even travelling to America where they have some groundbreaking medical treatments. 

It all cost thousands and subconsciously I thought if only I paid more money and found the ‘right’ consultant or treatment, then there had to be a solution!

Sadly we are still coming to terms with the fact that there are some structural body issues which cause physical problems in elite training that just can’t be overcome with medical science. Dreams shattered before they’ve truly begun when it’s not within your control, leaves an enduring sadness that nothing else quite ever makes up for! 

9 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

 

And yet Hamilton uses black, Latino and Asian actors to (successfully) portray the white founding fathers using rap and hip hop, neither of which could be said to represent either ethnic origins of the founding fathers or the time in which the musical was set.

I’m not familiar with Hamilton but white characters aren’t classed as a racial minority so can be played by anyone of any heritage - it’s called “colour-blind casting” but it only applies to black and minority ethnic (BAME) actors being cast in traditionally white character roles, whereas BAME characters have to be played by a BAME actor.

e.g. recently a west-end musical star banned from singing a song from ‘Dream Girls’ at the Albert Hall because she is white and not of African American heritage

Is there a rule now that one can only create art based strictly on factual accuracy and ones own racial heritage? How awfully joyless and restrictive life has become.

And what if ballet adopts the current theatre rule that only actors of the correct racial minority  heritage can play a part? That would mean only dancers of ‘oriental’ heritage could dance in La Bayadare. 

Don’t forget that the AD changed during Claudia’s time at RB. Different ADs view dancers differently. Whilst there was no doubt she was a favourite of Monica Mason’s, I’m not sure the same could be said of Kevin O’Hare. 

2 hours ago, Sadielou said:

I couldn't agree more. The biggest competition out there now seems to be between the Directors of the big worldwide schools as to who can snatch the best talent. They are all leaving their own students behind, whilst globe trotting to the various YAGP venues. Just recently the Director of the RBS has taught master classes and judged the YAGP competitions in Australia, Japan, China, Paris, Barcelona and will be at the NY finals in April not mention a recruiting stint at the Prix de Lausanne. If you look at the scholarship page on the YAGP website you can see which school has handed out scholarships and to who (and these are only the semi finals, finals still to come). Makes depressing reading. The Paris winner will be attending RBS US at just 14 yrs of age, so disheartening for those current Yr 9 students slogging away at WL. And yes of course these international students are looking at the bigger picture, fast track entrance to a top company., most are basically company ready  when they arrive.  Instead of chasing the finished article, why are these directors not recruiting world class teachers to teach the talent they already have. Surely it would be so much more satisfying to be able to show a graduating class of students that you can honestly say that you as a school have personally trained and nurtured since yr 7. 

Also a lot of competition winners are technically brilliant but not necessarily artistically developed. Seems such a shame that some of the British students with beautiful artistry are overlooked due to being behind the curve technically. However I blame company ADs who still seem to place a higher and higher value on tricks and technical ability than true artistry. People keep saying the tide is turning again but I really don’t see any real evidence of this.

46 minutes ago, meadowblythe said:

 I do remember feeling from quite early on that two or three were being seriously trained, the rest were paying the electricity bill.

This is so true. A lot of the issues stem from the fact that there is differential treatment of students depending on how talented they are. The students see some shockingly bad student behaviour which goes unrecognised if the student is one of the perceived ‘stars’ whereas others are punished disproportionately.

This also extends to the mantra of “if you work hard you’ll get results/rewarded, which quickly becomes meaningless when certain students get rewarded with star parts even when they patently don’t try or feign injury to skip class and bunk off to go shopping on a regular basis! Students know that they are getting away with it and staff turn a blind eye.

My DD always had good pastoral care from house staff and academic staff. The real issue is the treatment in the ballet studio and the way they behaved on occasion was deplorable. The void that exists between ballet and other staff means that these problems can’t be addressed as they operate in their own world and other staff very much know their place and often aren’t ever spoken to or acknowledged by the Ballet staff. It’s like there are two completely different schools within one.

Tamara was a great dancer, but that doesn’t make her a great manager. I wonder what training she has had, if any, for her current role. I would expect any AD or CEO in these circumstances to commission an external investigator to do a full governance review at the company.

4 minutes ago, aileen said:

Actually, the article, in referring to a dancer who finished his/her career early and another who wanted to take a break to pursue other interests, does narrow down at least two of the complainants. 

Not all the dancers who have left in the last 5 years were listed in the post. Many others have left who weren’t listed. People tend to focus on the more senior company members but lots of more junior dancers have left as well.

9 minutes ago, aileen said:

What's the problem with that? The identity of former ENB dancers is not in dispute and some of them have apparently (and we're supposed to accept this) complained about how they were treated whilst they were with the company. 

Aileen, you have made several posts which suggest that you don’t believe any of the allegations, which is odd given a large amount of information now in the public arena which suggests there is some kind of problem. I wonder how you can be so sure? 

This seems to be another one of those cases which crop up from time to time on balletco. where there are people on here connected with the ballet world who KNOW what is going on at ENB but can only hint at it on a public forum and others who are not so connected who are understandably putting forward reasoned, rational but speculative argument based on little fact. 

Therefore unless anyone who knows is willing to state publicly, it might be better leave the speculation aside for now?

13 hours ago, kameliendame said:

I think the reason why no male dancer was offered a contract was because they already had four from the internal concours? Or maybe no one was 'good enough' to get a contract? I remember last year Loick Pireaux (a POB school graduate!) ended first but didnt get a contract- the empty spot was then offered to Katherine Higgins, who was in third place. A pity for Pireaux but what a pleasant surprise it must have been for Higgins. 

Have you seen Joseph dance? He is amazing! There is no chance it's because he's not 'good enough' - he is a standout dancer and Paris Opera would be lucky to have him. It is definitely 'the system' and maybe that the girls had both already been there for 2 years.

if anyone wants to see him in London, he will be performing at the Ballet United Gala on 19th July at Cadogan Hall.

12 hours ago, capybara said:

 

An explanation seems to have been added to the listing as follows:

 

"No recruitment for Joseph Aumeer but his first place should leave him all chances next season after only one year as a supernumerary and without going through the School of Dance."  [Google translation!]

 

It's obviously a long, hard road in Paris if a dancer hasn't trained there.

It seems like they gave contracts to 2 girls and 4 boys from the Paris Opera School, as well as the 2 girls from the concours. What's the point of the Concours if you can't give a contract to the first place boy who has already proved himself for a year? I'm all for preserving traditions but this system seems crazy! 

9 hours ago, capybara said:

Here are more results from the Concours de Recruitment: http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/a-la-barre/431254-concours-de-recrutement-externe-2017-du-ballet-de-lopera-de-paris-les-resultats/

 

Two external girls have been engaged but, although Joseph Aumeer (ex RBS student who had a temporary contract with POB this year) came first among the men, he does not seem to have got a contract - yet.

 

I have to confess that I cannot fathom the POB system at all. These competitions are held very late in the year when other opportunities have come and gone. Some of the entrants have danced in most of the productions throughout the preceding season but are still left hanging in the air. At least with the RB's Aud Jebsen scheme, apprentices know where they stand around January each year and can look elsewhere.

It seems bizarre to run an audition, rank everybody and then actually PUBLISH it for all to see. It's a bit like going for a job interview and having the results made public....Feel so sorry for those further down the list. Well done to Joseph though - shame there doesn't seem to be a full contract for him yet but the system is mystifying. 

Interestingly when I went to the Dominion a few weeks ago, I was allowed to store a small suitcase in the cloakroom but not sure if that has now changed? 

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I saw Joseph Sissons at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School in 2013 and he particularly (and Reece Clarke) really stood out back then. At that point Sissons was about to join the RBS to finish his training after being at Elmhurst. I found this out because I kept asking people who he was and eventually spoke to one of his relatives who was watching the demonstration on the last day. Reece was already at RBS then.

im going to this on Thursday evening ...so Ferri Bonelli cast ....so I do hope Sissons will be dancing that evening too.

Lin, I think you may be mixing up Joe Sissens and Joe Aumeer. Both are incredibly talented young men who graduated from RBS in the same year. Aumeer was at Elmhurst before joining RBS for sixth form and Sissons was at Tring before joining White Lodge in year 10. Aumeer is currently at Paris Opera Ballet. 

Wonder what happened to Miko? Doesn't seem to have done much since her year at BRB. Was it a case of over-hyped social media star?

I don't things have changed much Fonty. Sadly I think a lot of ballet teachers don't choose to be teachers but are forced into it through having no other options when their dancing careers end. Some are 'sadistic bullies' as you say, borne out of jealousy and bitterness. Like all bullies, the more you show it affects you, the worse it becomes.

i also think the 'seen and not be heard', highly disciplined, autocratic culture of ballet school teaching, for girls in particular, does not lend itself to raising strong, confident, independent young women. Some (me included) continue to be intimidated by authority figures long after school.

However, some of the same culture carries over to many ballet companies so one has to query whether you and your DCs are happy to aim for a career where behaviours and mindsets, treatment of staff and culture is a million years behind most 'normal' companies with modern employment practices.

'The school' is 'the ballet teacher' and experiences from one year to the next can be dramatically different, just as children can be top of the class one year and assessed out the next (seriously, I've seen it) as they all develop at such different rates. After half term things will be focussed on end of term performances and there will lots of rehearsals and different things mixing up the timetable so may be a bit more fun, or at least different. 

I would genuinely try and stay with it till next year as a different teacher can make it feel like a completely different school.

On 04/05/2017 at 14:40, alison said:

 

It will be interesting to see how much she's progressed in her two years away.  The company has changed a lot in that time.

Yes, I understand that her aim at Dresden was to improve her classical technique to make her more eligible for promotion to RB principal. However I feel that others at RB have also developed in this time as well and are likely to be ahead of her when considering principal promotions.

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

Yes - including, it would appear, obtaining contracts at a higher level elsewhere.

Yes a much higher level in another prestigious company. Just illustrates how very subjective it is at AD level. Their choices continue to flumax me on a regular basis.

I think the stand out graduates will always get full contracts and the others get a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their ability and readiness further through Aud Jensen apprenticeships. If the apprenticeship system didn't exist then it may be that only 1 or possibly 2 would be given a contract, or perhaps none as happened occasionally before (from RBS), and the others would have to go elsewhere. With more and more companies only offering apprentice positions in Europe, there are few opportunities elsewhere for full contracts either. Devastating for the 3 apprentices that haven't been offered full contracts but sure they would rather have had this opportunity than not and it puts them in a great position for auditioning elsewhere.

I think the apprentice salaries are pretty good as well and comparable to full time entry level salaries in smaller companies.

I'm afraid I don't share half the enthusiasm for many of the dancers mentioned on here. I found Heap (and Storm-Jensen) laboured and half a beat behind; Hamilton seemed unprepared and hesitant in places; Stix-Brunel lacked interest and Morerra's arms are a distraction. However Nunez was simply breathtaking and really was in a class of her own. Maybe she just set the standard too high and the others dimmed in comparison. 

The age range for the competition is 16-21 so not just aimed at schools as most are around 19 when they leave vocational ballet school. Lots of young people already working in ballet companies would also be eligible.