Naomi M

16 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I think that's an excellent idea & wish all Manons would do the same, as I have yet to see a dancer who looks good in Manon's final wig in curtain call photos. Likewise I thought it was a great pity Laura Morera had to do her farewell curtain calls in the very similar & equally unflattering Anastasia Act III wig.

Diana Vishneva also took off her wig at the curtain call of Manon at her 10th anniversary at ABT.

https://balletfocus.com/diana-vishneva-marcelo-gomes-manon/
 

2 hours ago, FionaM said:

 

I see Takumi Miyake, top graduate from RBS in 2022 is getting many guesting opportunities with YAGP and Natalia Osipova’s own shows alongside performing newly created works and the usual gala fare on tour with ABT Studio company.   

I read in a Japanese article that Takumi Miyake's dream was to join RB but unfortunately he got seriously injured at the time of the audition (ligament damage) and could not apply, which was devastating for him. He auditioned at ABT Studio Company after his recovery and got accepted. 

https://www.ohk.co.jp/data/20090/pages/ 

https://news.ksb.co.jp/article/14703805

On 05/09/2023 at 05:11, Jan McNulty said:

Sydney Opera House is streaming a number of items including some dance to celebrate 50 years.  You need to check the date of streamings:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/sep/04/best-sydney-opera-house-show-concerts-streaming-free

Australian Ballet’s Paquita from 2013 is currently steamed via Sydney Opéra House till November 16th.

https://stream.sydneyoperahouse.com/videos/the-australian-ballet-pacquita-2013
 

Leads are Lana Jones and Kevin Jackson, with Amy Harris, Juliet Burnett Ako Kondo and Miwako Kubota in the variations. 

Bordeaux Opera Ballet also has Etoiles. Such as the former POB, San Francisco Ballet Matilde Froustey.

https://www.opera-bordeaux.com/en/node/49862#le-ballet-

Royal Ballet’s Cinderella will be released in November 23rd, I saw it on the Japanese website of HMV but will be released by Opus Arte
 

https://www.hmv.co.jp/artist_バレエ＆ダンス_000000000040071/item_Cinderella-Prokofiev-Ashton-nunez-Muntagirov-Royal-Ballet_14366434?site=mailmagart&utm_source=moa231011sa&utm_medium=other

Finnish National Ballet's 2022 production of Swan Lake (choreographed by David McAllister) is available for free until November 17th. 

You have to register your information to watch it.

https://oopperabaletti.fi/en/stage24/video/swan-lake-recording/

Sad news. Natalia Osipova was scheduled to dance in an ancient temple in Kyoto, Japan (choreography by Yuka Oishi) on Friday but today it was announced that she had to withdraw due to injury. The performance was to be televised here. Hope her injury is not serious and she can perform in Don Quixote. 

Ballet West’s academy is well known as the figure skating champion Nathan Chen has studied ballet there in his childhood and has participated in Ballet West’s Nutcracker as Fritz. Clara that year was Madison Young, currently principal at Bavarian Stare Ballet. 

I have to add that the National Ballet of Japan did bring David Dawson’s A Milliin Kisses to my Skin to their repertoire this season which was a wonderful addition and did strengthen the dancers abilities. (As everyone knows Dawson has been often danced at Dresden) but there are no new productions next season and their only modern repertoire will be Nacho Duato’s Duende. 

5 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I do partly agree with what you're saying, Angela - this is a definite trend that started quite a long time ago and for a range of reasons. But I don't think that dancing a wide range of dance styles necessarily makes classical ballet dancers better artists (even if they enjoy it). 

As Angela has said, I think that classical dancers experiencing wider range of dance (such as Naharin, Bausch, Clug, Goecke for example) will make them better artists. That is how ballet is evolving and ENB has already been successful with creating Akram Khan’s Giselle. 
 

in Japan classic ballet companies only do classics and to be honest the scene is very boring. 

1 hour ago, Balletbloke said:

And despite her amazing dancing and acting ability, she actually looks young enough to realistically portray a teenager!

There are also some very lovely photos of her Juliette in Gasparini's instagram, and also more on her IG story(which has some photos with Laura Morera as well as more with her colleagues back stage).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CueRJvYvgFk/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D

56 minutes ago, oncnp said:

@kk_tone on IG stories has some curtain calls from Himeji

well, in Japan usually curtain call photos are not allowed, sometimes there are exceptions but the Royal Ballet Tour was not allowed to take photography of curtain calls if you are an audience member. 

And a lovely photo of Isabella Gasparini and Joseph Sissens after their R & J balcony pas de deux I wish I had seen this!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CublQw3IVGl/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I didn’t go to the Himeji performance and I heard that the fire alarm rang in the middle of A Month in the Country (which was malfunction) but there is a lovely behind the scenes video of Laura Morera’s final curtain call on Bennet Gartside’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CubcJsjuMh0wntSSci37nP2ctLJ34YRI9uBD9I0/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

The Osaka performance was fabulous, Fumi Kaneko's acting in the third act was so detailed and dramatic, and the partnership with Muntagirov was apparent, they made a beautiful pair and they did not look as they are acting, they were living the role. Hirano's Tybalt was powerful, menacing and without mercy, Luca Acri and Joseph Sissens were also marvelous as Mercutio and Benvolio, plus Daichi Ikarashi's Mandolin solo was a show-stopper with his gravity defying leaps. I think Kaneko was the ballerina that received the most flowers in the curtain call on this tour.  

Unfortunately I am not going to the Himeji gala, and also unfortunately Marianela Nunez got sick and cannot perform, so Onegin and Coppelia are cancelled and William Bracewell will dance Dance of the Blessed Spirits as a replacement. 

https://himeji-culture.jp/hall_event/9410

Not in Germany but for instance, Anna Muromtseva, who was principal at National Ballet of Ukraine has joined Hungarian National Ballet as corps de ballet and is dancing Odette / Odile there. 

Here is the trailer for the Osaka performance 

and official information (not much info)

https://kyodo-osaka.co.jp/search/detail/5950
 

I will be seeing the performance in Osaka so I hope I can report. 

Maybe we can make a thread in order to provide information of ballet performances in Japan. 
 

We also have Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov in Asami Maki Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty in December. 
https://www.ambt.jp/pf-nemuri2023/

6 hours ago, capybara said:

As long as you are ‘onto’ ticket sales very quickly, a self-help trip can be done relatively easily at a fraction of the RB group price.

I have done this 5 times to watch the RB on tour and 3 times to ‘follow’ ENB abroad but, admittedly, not to Japan.

 

In addition, there are many on this forum who travel regularly to individual performances abroad. One has to be well-organised but it’s really not that difficult, even to what might seem ‘the back of beyond’.

 

 

If people on this forum are tempted to travel to Japan to see ballet, I can offer some help, as sometimes information comes out only in Japanese. 
 

There are also galas run by Nehemiah Kish that are going to be performed in Sapporo and Akita(north part of Japan) in August. Sadly I cannot travel to see it this time but the lineup of dancers are so tempting. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsfES_Oo9aS/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrswJWiolA2/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I will also be going to Osaka to see the Kaneko Muntagirov Romeo and Juliet. 

Back from the final performance in Tokyo, I have fully enjoyed them all and will post my views later, it was wonderful to see 7 performances of Romeo and Juliet with all different casts. As previously mentioned, there was a special curtain call with all the dancers on stage, many of them in their usual clothes.
 

One dancer that was most memorable for me was Joseph Sissens who danced Mercutio on Saturday evening and Sunday, what a versatile and beautiful dancer he is, I am sure he will be the next to be promoted. 
 

I have grabbed cast sheets for all performances so I will post them later but today’s cast list was quite funny; Kristen McNally in both the Nurse and Lady Capulet, which is of course impossible and in fact Mica Bradbury danced the role of the Nurse. 

Maybe I have talked with some of the lovely people here who traveled to see these fabulous performances! Hope you all are enjoying Japan, although I am sure everyone are loving all the stages they have seen on this tour. 

Just returned from a phenomenal Romeo and Juliet starring Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae. I suppose this is the first full length classical ballet that McRae starred since his injury, and he made a brilliant comeback, he had beautiful fast pirouettes in the balcony scene, fabulous musicality and the partnership with Lamb was fabulous, great partnering skills and their acting was very natural. I love Sarah’s Juliet, being  intelligent but also vulnerable and she was fighting against the world as a young feminist. James Hay’s Mercutio was brilliant too, beautiful dancing and good characterization iand of course Gary Avis’ Tybalt is overwhelming and stealing the show with his charisma. There were countless curtain calls, and everyone seemed to be deeply moved, everyone in the orchestra level were on their feet. I was especially happy for McRae. 
Today’s performance was completely sold out, and I think almost all performances of R & J have been sold out or only a few seats remaining. 

22 hours ago, Richard LH said:

@Naomi M It would be lovely if you could let us know how the performance went ?

Of course! So sorry I haven't been able to write specific reviews of the performance, I was busy with my job and my little son was also sick but I have managed to see the three Royal Celebration galas and the opening night of Romeo and Juliet which were all excellent and the audience very enthusiastic. I will try to write about them a little later as tomorrow I will see 2 more shows in a day of R&J and also there is class on stage in the morning (if I manage to get up early) 

There was also a screening of Cinderella with Gary Avis as the guest and what a lovely man he was, he even watched the film together as he said he had not seen the filmed performance yet.  

Sorry I forgot to grab the cast list in English for the first 2 performances of Royal Celebration Gala but here is for the third one. I will be attending all performances in Tokyo. 

4 hours ago, MJW said:

 

Was Luca Acri a replacement for Sambe (as he was the other cast member for For Four last year)?

Yes, Sambe was absent yesterday. (I watched both performances) I hope he is fine and can dance his Romeo. (He has posted on Instagram that he is in Tokyo) 

Sae Maeda replaced Claire Calvert in Prima.

Dancers that seem to be absent in the tour  besides the ones who are known to be injured are Melissa Hamilton and Yuhui Choe, Thomas Whitehead. Valentino Zuchetti is here but does not seem to be dancing. There were Miyako Yoshida and David Bintley in the audience. (Bintley is in Japan to coach his works to Star Dancers Ballet) 

Will report more as I am in my way to see the third performance.