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aileen

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Everything posted by aileen

  1. aileen
    There was a Time Out offer for Jewels which offered generous discounts. There were quite a few empty seats at tonight's performance which was not covered by the offer for some reason.
  2. aileen
    If the campus is in Hulme then there should be 'safety in numbers'. You, or better still, the student-to-be could ask this question the Student Room website. As others have said, I think that you and your sister need to keep your worries under control otherwise it will undermine the student-to-be's confidence about going away to study. With the greatest respect to your sister, even though she lives in / near Manchester I wonder whether she really has an accurate perspective on this matter. There is crime in all big cities - and, let's face it, NI is not entirely crime-free, albeit some of the crime is sectarian / politically motivated - and this is something that you just have to factor in to city life.
  3. aileen
    Apparently, in Russia dancers are identified as potential soloists and principals when they enter the companies and are coached and nurtured accordingly. In the UK no such system officially exists but it's clear that some dancers are singled out and given opportunities in featured roles soon after joining the company. Some dancers are recognised as being exceptional whilst they are still at school and seem to arrive with the expectation (by the company) that they will progress through the ranks. I've heard it said that companies like to recruit a mixture of dancers destined for the corps and dancers with the potential to become soloists and principals but I don't know whether that's true or not.
  4. aileen
    I'm happy to see Giselle again having got addicted to it during ENB's recent run and I'm happy to see Winter's Tale again having given it a miss last time. I will probably go and see Judas Tree because I've never seen it but I suspect that I may hate it; it will all depend on how the violence is handled. It's odd to have Elite Syncopations in three programmes. I've never seen it and so I'll pick the programme that looks best. I wonder what the reasoning behind these collaborations is and how much it will benefit the various companies involved. It feels like a season of retrenchment for the RB probably because of the time and money which is needed for the creation of the new SL.
  5. aileen
    How are the collaborations with other companies going to work? Specifically thinking of ENB, the company is taking Song of the Earth on tour in the autum and is performing it in London in January 2018 which is not the date period mentioned in the RB's press release. Does that mean that some of the RB dancers are going on tour with ENB?
  6. aileen
    Thanks for this information, Janet. There are some familiar names there.
  7. aileen
    I trust that ENBS will consider where its students will live once it relocates to east London in a couple of years time.
  8. aileen
    Most ballet dancers are very flexible these days. Flexibility is part of the whole package sought by ballet companies. Much contemporary ballet requires extreme flexibility: see some of the works of William Forsythe and the works of Wayne McGregor. It's a question of supply and demand. If there are many more aspiring dancers and students than positions in companies and schools (which there are) then ADs and school directors can afford to be very choosy and pick dancers / students with the greatest versatility in terms of technical ability, flexibility, mastery of a wide range of dance vocabulary etc. Of course, the competition for women / girls is even fiercer than it is for men / boys.
  9. aileen
    Even a few years ago dancers were still joining companies at 16 (eg Marianela Nunez, Natasha Oughtred too, I believe (RB)). Beatriz Stix-Brunell (now at the RB) apparently started dancing with Christopher Wheeldon's company Morphoses at 15 (but this was in the US). More recently, Sergei Polunin joined the RB at 17, and Rina Kanehara joined ENB also at 17 following her Prix de Lausanne win at the beginning of last season. I believe that Francesca Velicu at ENB is also very young, possibly still only 17 or 18, with half a season with ENB under her belt plus some time dancing with Romanian National Ballet. However, the overall trend is for dancers to join companies later after three years at upper school and sometimes a further year in a 'post-graduate' scheme. As Janet has said, technical demands have increased over the years, and there is an increased emphasis on flexibility. With an increased amount of contemporary work in most ballet companies' repertoires dancers have to be more versatile than ever before
  10. aileen
    I enjoyed this programme very much. It managed to cover a lot of ground and there were plenty of clips of actual dancing. Gavin Sutherland is always so good. It would have been nice to hear from Vincenzo Lamagna about how he approached his score for the Akram Khan Giselle. I'm intrigued to know where those 'industrial' / deserted warehouse clips were filmed.
  11. aileen
    I saw two more performances of this, seeing the opening night cast for the van Manen and some different people (Streeter, Hunt and Kundi) in the Forsythe. Sadly, I never got to see Precious Adams who is apparently injured. Last night Rina Kanehara really impressed me. I marvelled at how such a young dancer (just 19) could take on such an exposing role in an iconic contemporary work. I understand that one evening she and Madison Keesler had to share a role which they had to step into at short notice, presumably because of another dancer's injury. I wonder how that was organised. Whilst ENB is not alone in this I do wonder why companies don't cast a larger number of dancers in programmes like this as injuries cause a domino effect resulting in a lot of recasting. Several dancers performed in both the exhausting looking Forsythe and the van Manen and some took on more than one role in the Forsythe. Rite of Spring seemed to reach a new high last with Velicu giving a harrowing account as The Chosen One. She seemed quite overcome at the end and, unsurprisingly, received huge applause from the audience. I've seen an interview with her in which she said how challenging it was for her dancing Akram Khan's Giselle because she hadn't danced much (any?) contemporary work before and so this role is a huge achievement for her. I have very much enjoyed this programme. I loved all the works, which is unusual in a triple bill. I am looking forward to seeing the RB tackle Forsythe in a few weeks time but I will have to endure Strapless again - and I don't have high hopes for the new Scarlett either, I'm afraid - for this.
  12. aileen
    I've only booked for the triple bill. There's nobody that I'm desperate to see in the full lengths and, as people have said, the casting often changes anyway.
  13. aileen
    'Scary Girl' is my own invention, Melissa. That's the character which I have given to Tiffany Hedman's role, which I believe was the one created by Sylvie G. There's another role which I have named 'The Princess' (which was take by Alison McWhinney) as she seems a more aloof and primer character with her hair in a neat bun, whereas Scary Girl's hair is loose. I agree about Katya K. She is a true classical dancer.
  14. aileen
    I saw this programme on Saturday evening and yesterday afternoon. On Saturday there were a lot of debuts in the first two pieces including the whole of the van Manen cast. Yesterday, the Forsythe was sharper, possibly because Cesar Corrales was in the cast and he is one of those dancers who seems to energize everyone else on stage. I'm not saying that he was the best dancer in this (I don't think that he was) but I feel that when he's on stage everyone tries to compete with him and raises their game. Everyone really went for it yesterday. Tiffany Hedman is not a favourite dancer of mine but she had the insouciance and sass for what I think of as the 'Scary Girl' role. This piece seems to suit the Americans so well and they were out in force yesterday. I'm hoping to see Precious Adams later in the week. It's interesting that several of the dancers have been cast in more than one part in this. The van Manen was beautiful yesterday after a performance which lacked a little finesse on Saturday. In yesterday's Sacre Emily Suzuki, another very recent joiner, took on the role of The Chosen One (I think that it was her debut) and threw herself into the part with gusto. I was so impressed by how the men in particular mastered Bausch's choreography. I marvelled at how versatile these classically trained dancers are. Erik Woolhouse really stood out in this.
  15. aileen
    I believe that Francesca Velicu is the youngest dancer in the company and so it's a great honour for her. I think that Crystal Costa is to be another of the Chosen Ones. I can't wait to see this programme.
  16. aileen
    I think that choreographers have to roll with the (critics') punches. It's far better to maintain a dignified silence however unfair you feel the review(s) is/are. Getting a reputation for sulking is not going to be good for your choreographic career. And sometimes, what a critic writes may even be worth paying heed to. No choreographer should think that his/her work can't be improved upon.
  17. aileen
    Thanks for this. How odd that a few tickets have suddenly become available after my comment. I have been checking the website for weeks and the entire run has been shown as sold out.
  18. aileen
    Has another choreographer or stager ever criticised dancers publicly before? And should they? Is it contractually possible to withdraw a work shortly before a performance?
  19. aileen
    Hurrah! Well done Jacqueline! You must be so relieved.
  20. aileen
    It's really regrettable that Tim Couchman has come out and criticised the dancers so publicly. I trust that he had Dawson's permission to post what he did.
  21. aileen
    I didn't see that problem, Bruce, but what you describe is unfortunate. I can think of other leotards which don't provide any / much support up above and which are only suitable for the pretty much flat-chested.
  22. aileen
    Well, I very much enjoyed this programme last night from my nice seat in the stalls circle. I'm beginning to worry that my enjoyment of ballet / dance is really influenced by how good my seat is! I liked Human Seasons a lot. It's refreshing to have a plain uncluttered set which lets the dance do the talking. The attractive, well-cut leotards were a change from the vest and pants combo beloved of so many modern choreographers. As Dave said above, there were some beautiful shapes created in the work. I did wince a bit when the women were being dragged on their fronts and when one woman was 'presented' to the audience with her legs completely splayed. However, Dawson is not alone in doing this kind of thing. The work was slightly too long but I found it very satisfying and thought that everyone (Naghdi in particular stood out) danced very well. I wasn't very enthusiastic about seeing After the Rain again but I loved it last night. Nunez and Soares were so very touching in their duet and even the Spiegel im Spiegel music didn't grate. Initially, I wasn't as enamoured of Flight Pattern as everyone else seems to have been but it grew on me. I suspect that the first section in particular is better seen from above. I did find the music rather monotonous. I was very impressed with the quality of the mass moment: grounded but very fluid.
  23. aileen
    Hmm, I wouldn't accept this at face value. I think that a huge number of tickets are held back for VIPs, ENB's major donors and patrons of Sadler's Wells. Yesterday and this morning a large number of seats (82 in the stalls alone for one performance) have popped up for the triple bill which is opening on Thursday. The performances have been shown as sold out on and off for days. Almost entire rows of the better seats have suddenly become available. Of course, some seats may have been returned by the agencies but the upshot is that the performances have not actually sold out; tickets have been allocated to the agencies or held back by ENB and Sadler's Wells. I obviously can't guarantee it but people who were disappointed not to get tickets for Giselle in September will probably be able to get tickets a few days before the run opens if this triple bill and previous performances of other works are indicative of what is happening 'behind the scenes' (if that doesn't sound too conspiratorial).
  24. aileen
    Thanks for this information, Angela. I wonder what the overlap between the classical ballet and the contemporary dance audiences is in London / the UK.
  25. aileen
    margo_margo, I saw a cast sheet somewhere on Twitter. Alejandro Virelles, who recently left ENB, Shevelle Dynott and Daniele Silingardi (both RBS trained and dancing with ENB) performed in Narcissus and Echo. I can't remember who the fourth male dancer was.
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