Fonty

The topic of Bussell is an interesting one. Certainly she was extremely capable technically, but I never found myself booking for any of her performances that required any acting skills. I always felt she was much better in the purely dance roles, and even then she wasn't my first choice. Looking back now, I find myself wondering why that was, especially as she was held in such high regard by both Mason and Dowell, plus her peers. Was I missing something?

I can't remember what the levels used to be. They have changed most of the names of the ranks now. Nobody is in the Corps anymore, and they have done away with the rank of Coryphee. Did they just have the 4 ranks - those, plus Soloist and Principal? And what exactly is the difference between an Artist and a First Artist? Longevity? Leading the Corps sorry Artists whenever they move? Edited to add I adored Yoshida. She had a glorious technique, but there was nothing showy about her dancing. I can't comment on her dramatic skills, I only ever saw her in the pure classical ballets such as Sleeping Beauty.

I seem to remember Clement Crisp, in one of his more controversial moments, saying that several noted female Principals would only have been first soloists in the old days. Yoshida was one of the names he mentioned, and Bussell was another. (!)

I think this is how Morera got promoted to Principal as well? With regard to other dancers who perform lead roles but never get promoted, I wonder if this is either a height issue because there is a lack of male partners tall enough, or because they are regarded as being too useful in their current position. With regard to the latter there are always dancers who are wonderful in things such as one of the most technically difficult fairy variations in Sleeping Beauty, superb as the Lilac Fairy, or make a fabulous Myrtha in Giselle. I can't be the only one who thinks when I hear of a new promotion: "Great, but what a pity I will never see them do that particular role again". I know there have been times in the past when Principals have been cast in non lead roles, but I think it is unusual now?

I do wish there was a Laugh response to your comment!

To a certain extent, yes. But to have principals who are very rarely cast in principal roles does deserve criticism. Morera herself said she begged to be able to dance the role of Juliet just once....and never got the opportunity. Not as if she wasn't capable of it, after all. She was wonderful in all the other MacMillan roles she was cast in.

I cannot understand why there has been a tendency over the last few years to have so many principals doing fewer performances of roles. As has been discussed elsewhere, Campbell was woefully underused. IMO of course, but it must have been galling to see younger, more junior dancers given leading roles when he was not. I know you have to bring younger members on, but not at the expense of older, more experienced, and frankly better performers of certain roles. As you may have guessed, I was a huge fan of Mr Campbell, who was/is not only a fantastic dancer, but a terrific actor as well. Someone who brought real depth and presence to any role he danced. Likewise Morera, another superb actress/dancer, a principal who was never cast in roles she would have been fabulous in.

Personally I don't think the story works at all if Manon is portrayed as an innocent young girl having to choose between her one true love and material wealth. I think it works much better if she is portrayed as a bit more worldly, with brother and sister both in pursuit of the good things in life. As a bonus, she has a handsome young man on the side who will do anything for her, and whom she fancies like crazy! A win win situation for her....until it all goes wrong.

@Sophoife I can't remember what was discussed at the end of 2023 without being reminded! You don't expect me to remember something from 6 years ago, do you??

I am not sure I approve of a minimum height of 5' 6". That seems quite tall for ladies. Especially when they go up on pointe, that means that the male partner has to be over 6' tall, in fact probably about 6' 2". Unless these women are simply being engaged for the corps, but even then are girls really getting that much taller, so that someone of under 5' 6" would stand out? I know the average height of a woman in the UK has only just gone up to just under 5' 4". The average height for men is about 5'9 or 5' 10". So why this demand for females with a minimum height of 5' 6"? I know other countries may be taller on average, but even so, are there that many males over 6' 2" training as ballet dancers? Of course, a talented lady of 5' 10" is probably automatically guaranteed some juicy solo roles if hired; not many men tall enough to partner her! In the interests of research, I have just measure my feet. I am not very tall, about 5 ' 2", and I have fairly small feet as well. (Size 4, or 37). My feet are exactly 8 inches long. I would expect a woman with a height of 5' 6" plus to have correspondingly larger feet. I know that on pointe it doesn't add the full length of the foot, but even so those with bigger feet will probably add 7 inches to their height. I don't think it looks right at all if the woman is much taller than the man in pdd work.

And I have just managed to get a ticket for the 2nd. Way more than I normally pay, but it is a special occasion.

Oh, and I hope Mr Campbell reads this forum, or knows someone who can pass on the comments on here.

I am shocked to hear this. He is one of my favourites, and to lose him so soon after Morera is a terrible blow. He is such a good actor, and can be genuinely funny, which is a rare talent for any dancer to have. Sadly, I never saw his Romeo, a role that I know he played at BRB, but never seemed to be cast in very often at RB? I saw him dancing Mercutio at one of the performances I did see. Not sure who danced Romeo, but I remember thinking at the time that if I had been Juliet, I would have gone off with Campbell's Mercutio instead! I am not clear what the AD for the RAD actually does?

It isn't just dance that suffers like this. Why, why, why is it necessary to have everything SO LOUD? I went to a performance of Rocky Horror last year, and my friend and I sat there with our fingers stuffed in our ears all night. And she is hard of hearing! It was so loud, it was impossible to make out any of the words when they were singing. Nobody else seemed the slightest bit bothered, which was even more startling. .

I am sorry if this is a very ignorant question, but I will ask it anyway. Could ENB have danced the MacMillan Rite of Spring if they had wanted to, and had asked permission to do so? Does it belong to the RB, or the MacMillan estate? Just wondering, after reading the comments above. The Royal Ballet don't dance it that often. Not since 2013, according to the ROH back catalogue.

Ah, I see. To be fair, many of the classics do not have substantial roles for the men, and even the principal is often reduced to little more than one or two solos, spending the rest of his time behind the lady supporting her in the pdd work. I have to say that I loved the peasant pdd in the Skeaping version, and I thought it was beautifully danced on both occasions I saw it, and personally I preferred it to the pas de six which doesn't always reflect immaculate group dancing as it should. Maybe the solution is to have the extra suggested by @Jane S

Looking at the photos, Campbell's outfit looked fabulous in the cinema relay, and equally good in the photos above. I love it.

Agree with every word you say. At this rate, we will be lucky to see anything other than a few tutu ballets. And how long will it be before someone somewhere decides that those costumes are inappropriate because they frequently display the gussets of the ladies. With regard to Rojo, well done. I shall be interested to see what she does with this money in the future.

Oh, what is this nonsense about "modern sensitivities?" Since when did we get to be so sensitive? Do people seriously think that by banning Le Corsaire this will achieve anything? This in a modern world where school children seem to watch pornography routinely on line, and if that isn't seriously degrading to women I don't know what is. But goodness me, we can't have a fairy tale consisting of women being depicted as slave girls, and men as pirates. That would never do. How on earth do audiences manage to cope with the brothel and rape scenes in Manon nowadays? I am surprised we don't have a warning at the start, saying the ballet will contain scenes of a sexual nature that may upset some people. In fact, they should be cut out completely. Sorry for ranting, but this sort of think really annoys me.

Strange that many of the critics hold views that are so different to the ones on here. Which is why I love this forum. I would rather trust the reactions of the ballet lovers on here, rather than the professional critics. What a pity Clement Crisp is no longer around. I may not have agreed with everything he said, but at least he had a genuine love of classical ballet.

@PeterS I am curious. Which production makes better use of dancers? Surely there are only so many roles in Giselle, no matter which production is performed.

I think some of the critics gave it rather neutral reviews on the basis of the subject matter, which might have put off people coming to see it. Not because of the political correctness, but because of the resulting lower star rating. I don't know about the rest of the country, but in London there is so much on offer, people may opt to see a show rated 4 or 5 stars rather than one given a 3 star one.. I know when I went to see the Skeaping Giselle I heard people saying they had come from way outside London (Birmingham & Plymouth were two places mentioned) because it had received such glowing reviews.

Perhaps they should give it another go? People are often reluctant to book for a new production, which I believe it was. Given the standard of dancing on display for the last Giselle run, there seems to be some wonderful dancers who could bring real technical fireworks to the stage.

Well I must say I am surprised the Skeaping Giselle is returning so soon. I am pleased as I will see it again, but I hope it doesn't become an annual fixture. I adored Le Corsaire, I am very surprised it didn't sell well. Was that the case everywhere, or just outside London? Were the critics a bit snooty about it? I seem to remember some comments about its lack of political correctness as it featured slave girls and pirates. When I saw it in London, the upper tiers were packed out. I might go to the Forsythe if I am in the UK as it looks interesting and I really loved Playlist. If the ENB staff are reading this forum, then perhaps we can put in some requests for future years. A triple featuring Etudes please.

Yes, I know, and that would have been an interesting discussion. However, that didn't happen. I got the impression that Petroc had realised Darcey was not feeling too comfortable for whatever reason, and quickly came up with something to calm her down and give her something she could talk about without the auto cue.. He comes across as a very calm person who would be excellent to work with, and also very experienced, which is why I was slightly puzzled by what felt like a rather rushed, unplanned question. I don't want to divert the thread too much, and I have said already that she has improved enormously. However, I still think it would be better if Petroc read the auto cue, and Darcey could give us the benefit of her knowledge and experience without having to read a prepared script.