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Jam Dancer

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  1. Jam Dancer
    Their character- no hint of aggression or defensiveness to this human prince in their midst? All docile, genteel and shy birds ? A bit protective but that's it? Doesn't quite fit for me given what I've observed on nature photography outings ... Yes... all of it requires a bit of imagination...
  2. Jam Dancer
    Gosh, that all got quite heavy very quickly....I am not sure I get a better told story out of Swan Lake than Sleeping Beauty... the misrepresentation of swans sticks in my craw for one thing but to each his own. I thrive on movement and if it's beautifully done then I can forgive the shortcomings in storytelling in any ballet. Everything doesn't have to be deep and life is a bit too short to take it all so seriously ...
  3. Jam Dancer
    I think the injuries in the Sleeping Beauty run are starting to stack up. James Hay and Helen Crawford are being replaced this evening due to injury. Anna-Rose O'Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe are doing the honours respectively - Fairy of the Golden Vine and Florestan. One more performance on Saturday (matinee) to go after this one for a total of four! Just hope that Yasmine and Matthew stay fit for Saturday. I don't think I've enjoyed this ballet this much before. Here's to Friday rush and standing places!!
  4. Jam Dancer
    The company is indeed improved today and I'm happy to have witnessed the transformation as nail biting and hair pulling as it has been. And during the period to which you refer, I for one never went just to see the dancers mentioned. I went to see the performances of the company as a whole because although we all have our favourites, any performance by our anointed stars with a les than stellar company would still disappoint I imagine... in addition Morera was in the company at the time and i would never describe her as unexciting ... I would also choose to describe Francesca Hayward as more than " very charming" but we are all entitled to our opinions...
  5. Jam Dancer
    ‪ The Royal Ballet has announced that Zenaida Yanowsky will retire from the company after 12 years. http://www.roh.org.uk/news/zenaida-yanowsky-to-retire-from-the-royal-ballet
  6. Jam Dancer
    Sadly, I couldn't make yesterday's performance (or the live cinema relay) but I thought I'd thank those of you that commented for your sense of humour and giving me a sense of what went on. @Colman - you made me guffaw out loud. I've only managed to see one Nutcracker this year and normally I wouldn't be that bothered but this year I honestly think I could attend each performance (OK - perhaps the different casts). After the kicking 2016 has given me, I am in need of all the calories that the SPF and her gang can provide. It probably would've been a good thing to try Friday Rush today to try and snag a cheeky ticket for Monday's performance...
  7. Jam Dancer
    I am doubly lucky - got carried away and ended up with two tix ( and only one me)
  8. Jam Dancer
    No I don't think so at all. I do actually like a number of his pieces but I dare say there have been a fair number of duds and I did not enjoy Multiverse although I had desperately hoped to. I'd go so far as to say I think I understand what Monica Mason might've been aiming for when she made the appointment but I am not so sure that it is working. I am not opposed to the RB doing some contemporary dance pieces if they actually add something to the company and its main body of work is not neglected as a result. I always enjoy seeing the RB perform The Rite of Spring which isn't classical ballet. would rather see McGregor pushing in that kind of heady direction that could bring new fans to the RB who would then want to discover some of the company's core works.... I don't know this for sure but I don't think that is happening. During the 2nd interval on Monday night, I was busy hatching a plot to kidnap Alexei Ratmansky .....
  9. Jam Dancer
    Interesting review today from Roslyn Sulcas in the New York Times. She was positive about Chroma and not as positive about Multiverse calling it "uneven and flawed" but she also said it was "ambitious and challenging". She didn't mention Carbon Life. Perhaps I ought to go see Multiverse again and ensure I get a seat where I can watch the piece from the centre...not sure I could sit through the first part of the music again though. By the way, the article is entitled "Review: A Decade On, Wayne McGregor Continues to Energize the Royal Ballet". With encouragement like this, it's difficult to see McGregor being dislodged anytime soon.
  10. Jam Dancer
    Perhaps you noticed her Alison because she started out as ballet dancer....She trained with Dance Theatre of Harlem and danced with Ballet San Jose before joining Ailey
  11. Jam Dancer
    It's the 2nd interval at the McGregor triple bill and I just wanted to make a couple of quick comments: Enjoyed Chroma with the mix of RB and Ailey dancers.. didn't find the Ailey dancers more muscular than the RB dancers as someone mentioned earlier ... I think musculature or definition shows more prominently on darker skin. I was glad to see the collaboration. Multiverse: .... ahem umm... usually I am innoculated from any horrors by reading the comments here before seeing new pieces and usually I enjoy them much more than the general sentiment on the forum but this time it was truly a shock... I am open minded and like some of McGregor's stuff (not Raven Girl) but I did not like this at all ... still at loss for words
  12. Jam Dancer
    I'm not great at reviews so I'm happy to see a few of them that echo my feelings about last night's performance with Hayward and Sambe. I absolutely loved it and was amazed how assured both leads were. I've been a fan of Sambe's for a while and I was pleased to see him do so well in a lead role. Francesca was deliciously delightful and it is good to see her continued development. I was a bit surprised by my emotional reaction to their performance and happy at the audience's reaction. I was hoping to get to see another pair of dancers in the role (saw Morera and Muntagirov last week) and it looks like I wont't achieve that but I can't complain at all! I've also enjoyed Whitehead's performances as Simone. As we were leaving the Opera House, I was remarking to my companion that Sambe is a bit shorter than some of the up and coming men in the company and wondered aloud whether that would pose a challenge for him in getting to the principal ranks (aware that there are many others) and no sooner had I said this, you wouldn't believe who we passed headed in the opposite direction - Wayne Sleep!
  13. Jam Dancer
    Yuhui and Zucchetti are dancing on Friday afternoon at the 2:30 pm performance. Morera and Muntagirov are still dancing the evening performance as scheduled previously.
  14. Jam Dancer
    Many thanks FLOSS for the compare and contrast suggestions. I've finally managed to do them all and the differences are riveting. I wonder why anyone would choose the more recent reading of monotones over the "continuous flow of movement" of the earlier recording? If I'm not mistaken the music is a bit slower - could this be the reason? Or would the dancers have asked for a slower tempo in order to perform it in the somewhat "posey" manner? Quite interesting...
  15. Jam Dancer
    Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit too early to compare Hayward and Naghdi to other more established and mature dancers? Are we comparing the dancers at the similar periods in their careers? We've seen limited work from both so how is it possible to tell how it will all pan out? Both might have life experiences that dramatically change the way(s) in which they approach their performances and end up being nothing like Collier or Alina.
  16. Jam Dancer
    I am not sure where most people choose to sit but the Stalls are a definite no no for me because I don't watching ballet from that vantage point. Is £24 in the amphitheatre ( row B centre) and £36 in the balcony (A right) considered ridiculously expensive? Do most people prefer sitting in Orchestra stalls or closer? I really enjoy Fille and I missed it during the last run and I can't let that happen again so I am seeing it twice this run although I'm still struggling to find work at the moment. I have the same seats in the Amphitheatre for Anastasia as I do for my 2nd viewing of Fille and the price is £4 less... As I have never had the pleasure of seeing Anastasia and I love Fille, I didn't consider the extra cost a big stretch.
  17. Jam Dancer
    I think it all depends on the environment in which the dancers are fortunate enough to be doing their training and work. I think any prejudice faced in ballet and the arts in general, reflect what happens in our society at large. If it's still pretty entrenched in our society, it will rear its ugly head somewhere. Whilst I think it's quite believable (and great) that these dancers have not experienced any racism, this only reflects their individual experiences. I am not quite sure that Precious Adams at ENB would say the same thing and she has trained in very different environments compared to Gittens, Singleton and Lawrence. Also when I've heard female dancers mention issues they've experienced released to racism, those with darker complexions seem to encounter more resistance... It is always 'easier' for men in ballet from this point of view. Long before Carlos, there were the likes of Arthur Mitchell on whom Balanchine choreographed the Agon pas de deux. Since then there have been others, some of whom went on to be principal dancers. Albert Evans at NYCB comes to mind. The story for women has been different but it's great to now see talented dancers who worked hard reach the top of their profession and hopefully there are other little girls daring to dream and coming through the pipeline.
  18. Jam Dancer
    My sentiments exactly !
  19. Jam Dancer
    I'm in a state of total despair as I've only now realised that I will miss the debuts of Naghdi, Calvert and Stix-Brunell as SPF in The Nutcracker... suddenly not feeling so smug for having locked in flights out of the UK on December 19th before casting details became available although given the dates, it would've meant spending Christmas at home again this year. Now making mad dash to see if I can get ticket for Hayward's debut on 29th November.
  20. Jam Dancer
    I am fluent but not a native speaker either and I've had it drummed into my head to always look up words with which I am not familiar in French rather than resort to English so I did and affectation and recherché are synonyms of mièvrerie. So its a natural delicateness in her movement which does not come across as rehearsed or affected.... In my mind it also conjured up as picture of "sweetness".... so not too sweet or soppy. Interestingly enough sucré is a synonym for mièvre as is affecté of course. I find the use of mièvrerie a bit strange though ...a bit affecté
  21. Jam Dancer
    I don't know either but I think this could have something to do with it and this is what I was hinting at in my rather much less eloquent post earlier.
  22. Jam Dancer
    I'm a bit reticent to weigh in on this topic.... I don't like comparing dancers as I absolutely hated it when I was compared to anyone else when I was taking classes. I certainly do think if you want to compare it's good to see the both dancers in their latest outings first though ... I like Choe and noticed her way back before she was promoted up the ranks and before I knew she was Prix de Lausanne dancer. I've seen the descriptions of 'too sweet' or' saccharine' before in relation to Yuhui's portrayals/characterisations before and these stick in my head. Alastair Macaulay was the first person I remember saying this and I believe that was Jamesrhblack's description of a particular performance as well. I think it is a fair criticism and I can see why people say it. Yuhui dances beautifully but often she doesn't seem to have a defined persona or inhabit the role enough. She comes in, dances the steps lovely but she doesn't give me a sense of her, Yuhui Choe dancing these steps. I sometimes feel like here is a textbook version of beautiful, lyrical dancing punctuated with lovely little smiles. That may be appropriate sometimes but it doesn't always work. I have some ideas on where this comes from as I've seen it in a certain place before.. What will be interesting to see is if she approaches things differently from here on in...
  23. Jam Dancer
    I'm happy for all the dancers promoted this season! Congratulations to everyone. Delighted to have new principals and soloists to watch. I tend to try to see everyone even though some move me more than others but sometimes it depends on the role and the piece. What is interesting though is to see the dancers grow into their ranks and refine their interpretations... As others have said, I'm disappointed for Yuhui but that doesn't mean I disagree with the decisions made... Not sure if this has anything to do with it but the last time I saw her in "Alice" I got a good hint of why she might not come across well in some roles. Her dancing is lovely but some of her interpretations of emotions are more Japanese than Western - I'm treading carefully here as I don't want to be jumped on as criticising anyone as this is just an observation - I should also add that I've lived and worked in Japan and I studied Japanese seriously for a number of years. What leads me to say this is that there's the scene in the ballet where Alice is jumping to try to reach the handle of the door and when she can't she throws a bit of a prancing tantrum and storms forwards on her heels and then gets this look of determination in her eyes as if to say "I'm going to figure this out". When Yuhui "did" this look of determination - she gave two short nods of head which startled me because I realised that Alice was showing resolved but it was so much in the way a Japanese person would show that "emotion". It didn't read as well as when I saw Francesca do it, some days later... Once I noticed that particular occasion, other things started to jump out at me. Anyway this was just an aside... None of this makes me enjoy her dancing any less and I apologise if it's inappropriate to mention this here.
  24. Jam Dancer
    I have lots of things on my wish list but I was surprised that the article mentioned Carbon Life and there was no mention of Chroma which is by far, my favourite McGregor work. Getting anywhere on public transport these days seems to be a nightmare, be it weekdays or weekends. I gave myself 1:45 to take what should've been a 40 min journey to an interview but ended up dashing around like a mad man and hailing a taxi (luckily) for the last leg of the journey - so much for calming myself beforehand...
  25. Jam Dancer
    Just a quick post to say that I enjoyed today's matinee immensely. Unfortunately, I was unable to see the other Rhapsody casts but I've seen all RB casts since 2004 and the Morera/Polunin cast has been indelibly burned into my memory but what Francesca did today was wonderful!! A sumptuous performance of one my favourite ballets and up there with one of my favourite dancers, Morera. To communicate the joy of dancing so seemingly effortlessly and have that great gift of musicality so much so that it looks like the music is being piped through your bones... Wow! I wish I'd seen Osipova and McRae but I've seen McRae before dance this piece before.. hopefully James will be able to have more opportunities to do this piece....
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