Coated

Hmm, I can't see why the Mariinsky would have problems travelling to the UK, or why the UK should not welcome a ballet company for political reasons. Depending on developments, there might be concerns about the RB traveling and the company might have to cancel due to safety concerns. I'd be surprised if the polital situation in the UK would be in enough of an upheaval by August to pose a risk to the safety of Mariinsky dancers.

I was hoping it would be Berlanga, rather happy to see the pictorial evidence. I only ever saw him in Wayfarer, but he left a lasting impression with me.

The ENB has put up some rehearsal pictures - it's looking great and Esteban Berlanga is back as a guest

 

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjUidhE4

I heartily endorse this thought. I still cannot believe that Gillian Lynn is 88 and Beryl Grey 87, let alone Henry Danton.

I kept staring at them, wondering how those spring chickens could possibly have anything to do with the Blitz.

I liked the hints of history in the programme and would love to see a series of more indepth ballet history through the ages. I recently went to the Georgian exhibition at the British Library and they had a ballet play book (mainly descriptions of the mime on the page that was open) from the late 18th century - it really whetted my appetite for early ballet history

Same here. I didn't like the music overly much (the recording sounded harsh), which makes it harder for me to connect with / focus on the dancing. I've also come to the conclusion that 3 dancers is not my favourite number for storyless ballets. It's neigh on impossible to create group dynamics and I'm usually left feeling like I'm watching a very long duet with an extra person on stage. Saying that, I did like the actual dancing and quite like to see more of Lawrance.

Sonik, do you know if it is completely safe to instal this 'free plug-in' (Microsoft Silverlight)? I'm suspicious of anything free!

Silverlight is an official Microsoft product and is safe to download. It's free because Microsoft was trying to break into a market that was held by Adobe flash.

 

It's a little disappointing that Silverlight is needed to watch though, pretty much counts out iPads and macs (there are a few things one can fiddle around with, but they are mostly way to slow to watch anything) and I won't be able to watch unless I decide to stay late at work....

Wish I could see it again - that'll teach me to get only one ticket. Particularly loved the Pita piece, he has an incredible way of playing with music and the dancers really brought the story to life

Dear amply shaped Elderly Men and imaginary 40+ Captain of the Universes: please re-align your personal perception of your body shape with the actual space you're taking up these days. Perhaps you were slender in your youth, but those days are long, long gone.

 

I'm sure I insult some of your sensitivities by being a rather round female. I can see your little thought process of 'oh, she better not encroach on my space'. The thing you don't seem to understand is that I actually paid for the area delimited by my seat, which includes my side of the arm rest and the space above it. Yes, the side of my seat is not there for you to place your shoulders and arms, its where I'm sitting. Once I fold myself up, that's pretty much the space I take up, and strangely I do not have any issues sitting next to larger people equally folded up or medium sized people sitting reasonable comfortably (note: my side of the arm rest is still not available for your use even if you're as slim as they come. But I don't mind your elbow in my ribcage too much if you don't constantly jiggle it).

 

I swear, the next guy whose elbow is practically on my navel will experience what happens when I stop playing nice.

 

What I find utterly bizarre is that the average chubby male under 40 seems to be able to sit with his arms crossed. Is this something that males have only learned in recent history?

Yup, the RB has the intervals after the prologue and act I. The BRB has the prologue, interval, act I & II with a short pause inbetween, interval and then act III. Cuts out the need for a milk cart. Can't remember what ENB does, and the Bolshoi manages with only one interval.

I sometimes wonder why some members ever bother to come out to the ballet seeing that they seem to spend quite a lot of time thinking about the journey home; and as for some of the choreography being "dross" I don't think that Frederick Ashton would have agreed with you seeing that he considered SB to be a lesson in choreography. I think that in this age of hour long TV programs, soundbites, and short attention spans it is difficult for some people to focus on a work which was made for a more leisured age and a very different social milieu. I very much deplore the current craze for cutting the 19th century ballets as if cutting would somehow make them better rather than rob them of structure and drama.Actually, from the very beginning even before it got on stage SB was being cut.

A ballet needs to be more than a lesson in choreography though. It needs to hold the attention of the audience, either by short bursts of outstanding choreography which seems to be the route taken by most modern ballets, or by telling a coherent story interspersed with outstanding solos and / or involving group pieces.

 

The RB version lacks some of the required structure in my opinion - this isn't about having a shorter ballet, but a better on. The prologue feels short and sketchy, there's a royal family, somewhere there's an infant, a few short fairy solos - the only really involving part is Carabosse. Other companies have managed to make this more involving, or perhaps make the audience forget about the weakness of the prologue by not following with a break but going straight into Act I to dazzle with the Rose Adagio.

 

When it comes to ActII & III, some of the cuts going back 100+ years might be the source of their inherent problem with the story telling. Take someone who knows the story of sleeping beauty (no, not the Disney version, the actual fairy tale) and watch their confusion when seeing the ballet for the first time. One minute the prince is having an outing, then he dances with Aurora and all of a sudden he is kissing her awake. Some pretty decent dancing on the way, but the story is only clear to people who know the ballet version inside out. Sure the fuschia-rimmed Lilac fairy of the RB version was on stage, but it's not clear that she is giving the prince a very long vision of the princess. The net curtains instead of briar aren't helping either.

 

Act III might indicate that there is a wedding, but without a more elaborate wedding set up ( and possibly some court dances) that part gets lost very easily, and all of a sudden there is a dancing cat. I'm not advocating removing the fairy tale character at all (I want Cinderella and Red Riding Hood) but they need a better setting within the story telling.

 

The RB version has some dazzling solos and nice passages, but too many sequences that feel like filler. The same corps that absolutely dazzled me in Giselle leaves me fairly cold in the Garland dance and other group scenes.

 

The current Bolshoi version is 2h 15 min of dancing and I'd happily watch that over the RB's 2h 14 min of dancing. If this were merely a question of attention spans, I should prefer the RB version, no?

Hey, Dave ... Think you would LOVE Peter Martins' SB .... Oh, and part of the 'boat part' in that is another glorious solo for Florimund!!

 

Still think that BRB's is the best version - the Wright one so to speak - in the UK at present.  Still that is but MY personal preference ... My 'like' as t'were ... Nothing more.  

 

Agree, the BRB seem to have managed to keep the charm of the ballet, but managed to tighten it up so it 'flows' better.

 

There were recent discussion on whether the warhorses should be put to rest or updated, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather have a classic version of Sleeping Beauty than none, or only a 'best of' version. I like the very set structure and divertissements of the classics, though it helps to know that what they are before seeing a classic for the first time.

 

The Bourne version is a valid update in it's own way, but it is more 'dance theatre' than ballet does not provide the elaborate and 'historical' feel of a classic ballet.

 

I think it might be very interesting if someone could attempt to re-cut the ballet from much earlier versions instead of just tinkering with recent versions, mixing up 50 / 60 / 70 sensibilities (especially in costume and set design) with an attempt to make it work for current audiences. This might provide an opportunity to look at the storyline and then make cuts in places that might be too long for 21st century audiences or adding things back in which  actually made the story clearer or would allow it to flow more 'logically' (using that word in its widest sense).

 

Once the structure of the storytelling has been reviewed, successful choreography updates from previous versions could be incorporated (no point re-inventing the wheel), and some of the very long court scenes or slightly disjointed garland dances would probably benefit from a complete refresh.

 

And with redeveloping SB from the most original versions available, I don't mean a restaging of the old version similar to the Kirov version mentioned in this article ( http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com/Beauty1.html ), but just using it as a starting point to come up with a new version that is true to the charm and tradition of the piece, but works for a 21st century audience

I wouldn't mind getting a birthday present like that

 

Overall I enjoyed tonight's show, though SB will probably never be one of my favourite ballets. I quite liked the fairies in the Bolshoi version, but something about the choreography or styling in the RB version just doesn't quite work for me. They appear as if in slow motion, but staccato at the same time. I don't think I'd cry if I accidentally missed the prologue for another performance.

 

Lamb and McRae were crystalline and marvellous, and the lifts at the end were just a piece of beauty - both of them perfectly in synch, making it look like the easiest thing in the world (which I strongly suspect it really isn't)

 

Other highlights for me were the fairy car (I always envision someone with a huge remote standing in the wings to 'drive' it) and Puss-in-boots. Elsa Godard was definitely feline, quite slinky and between her and Paul Kay they really managed to make it funny.

 

In slippery floor news: both Zucchetti and McRae seemed to have had tiny slips in roughly the same spot. I'm hoping that was co-incidence and does not turn into another onstage blackspot.

Does that mean that Covent Garden can now apply for funding from the Ministry of Sport?

 

And well done to Ballet companies for supporting a large number of quite butch cross dressers.

 

Though I'm worried that all these high performing women might get ideas above their stations and stop manning the kitchen sinks of the nation

I found the soprano fine (from the amphitheatre) at the matinee performance on 15 February. She was a replacement for the soprano who was supposed to be singing.

I saw that matinee from the balcony, and it sounded great. The other soprano was fine when I heard her before, so I just think that the bench seats don't work when you have singers in the pit, possibly something about the acoustics. Or maybe she had an off-day last Thursday.

Overall I liked this triple bill - though it would be nicer if two of the pieces could use the same flooring and different dancers so one of the breaks could be a 10 minute scene changer

 

I loved Gloria, though I'm cheap - give me a choir and I'm practically yours. I really liked Hamilton and Watson as well. Her expression and slow elegant lines worked for me, and I got a strong feeling of a wistful lament from the piece. As mentioned upstream, Watson was very powerful towards the end and I still replay his jump off the precipice over and over in my head.

 

I only saw the other Rhapsody cast once, but between my seat and my 'big-built and spatially unaware' seat neighbour, the whole performance was a bit of a wash-out. Being close to the orchestra pit really worked against the choir and particularly the soprano - she came in very sudden on a few occasions and my head automatically swivelled to the slightly shrill and loud sound, thus losing the immersion in the performance. Towards the end I even found the choir overbearing, but that was due to becoming so aware of the singing instead of having it as the perfect accompaniment to the dancing.

 

In fairness to the Soprano, that didn't seem to happen when I was further away, but she was replaced with someone else at a later performance and I didn't notice any 'shrillness' with her.

 

The one thing I really noticed in the Lamb/Acosta/Soares cast was how incredibly elegant Soares can be. His arms were a piece of Art.

 

The Hay/Hayward Rhapsody just hit the spot for me - there were no technical fireworks a la McRae (as awesome as those are) but the pd2 had such beautiful harmony between Hay and Hayward and like Soares, he has incredibly 'expressive arms'. Hayward blew me away when she bourred on stage, and continued to wow me throughout the piece. I liked the McRae/Morera cast as well for very different reasons, though I wish there'd been more interaction between the two during the performance.

 

Which brings me to Tectractys which is one of those pieces where the sum is very much less than its parts. On the first viewing, I definitely liked it a lot more than the people around me (though they all sat in stony silence, so that wasn't hard to beat)

 

My second viewing was a complete washout - I tried to engage with the 'theory' of the piece and ended up hating the lot

 

At the third viewing I was more focussed on the music and by the 4th performance I found that I really like some individual moves & the performers, but lost attention towards the end and ended up with an accidental nap.

 

Watson and Osipova were amazing to watch, and I'd like to see them paired again in a modern piece. One of the things that stayed with me was her pushing him backwards on stage, for some reason that was a very powerful sequence in its simplicity. I also loved the 'naturalness' of the pdd between Bonelli and Underwood, partially because the coupling on stage did not happen in the traditional way with one of the males ending up doing the solo in the 5-parter, but also because there was something the more quiet movements that has strength and power. I think I would like to see McGregor stepping away a bit from the athletic achievements he can get out of dancers and work more with the relationships between dancers.

I am so glad I saw this - I got the ticket as an 'why not' afterthought when booking a few other performances at Sadler's Wells and had no idea what I was in for until I read a couple of reviews yesterday.

 

I have no idea how to describe the performance, but it left me delightfully flummoxed, in awe of Pina Bausch, and very touched.

Huzzah!

 

And they should really think about dropping Mitie. Even my outsourcing obsessed place of employ couldn't afford them anymore....

The RB announced that Olivia Cowley will be dancing on the 11th, and that Osipova should be fine to do the 13th. Those are pretty big shoes for Cowley to fill, but what a great opportunity for her. Wish I had time to go on the 11th, and good to know that Osipova is on the mend

ABT at Sadler's Wells with a mixed programme in 2007 when I was in my late 30's, going along with a friend. I became an intermittent ballet goer after that and finally got bitten by the ballet bug after a Mayerling last year. It's been a good year for me

I saw the rehearsal today, and judging by the reaction to Tetractys there and on twitter this evening I suspect I'm going to be in a minority of people who potentially like it. It feels like a piece that requires work to get into, once I started watching it like a puzzle, trying to figure out how the dance fits the fugues I started to enjoy it.

 

Some bits were definitely better than others, such as the bit with 3 dancers in black & white.

 

Quite happy to see it again tomorrow to find out whether it grows on you, or whether it turns out like a Rubik cube for the vast majority of people - have a go and play around a little, get stuck, never touch it again

 

ETA: there is a small possibility that I was just so relieved that the 'soundtrack' was nothing like Atomos that it would automatically qualify as a better McGregor for me - not usually keen on his music choices.

What a beautiful message, and what a beautiful partnership.

 

Being new to ballet, I have only seen Klimientova dance over the last year or so, and I have really enjoyed all of the performances I saw. It wasn't just her dancing, her generosity of spirit and sweetness really come across in her performance add to her wonderful stage presence.

 

I'm hoping to see her in Lest We Forget, but if not I already had tickets for the R&J on the 22nd, now I suspect I need to invest in an extra supply of tissues.

Bit of a mixed bag, but definitely worth seeing I think unless one dislikes watching 15 short pieces in one programme. I probably won't have the urge to watch a male solo for at least a week or so...

 

The not so marvellous:

A couple of the pieces were not too inspiring and there should probably be a law against including the Faun in programme's like these unless its done exquisitely.

 

The hilarious:

Zucchetti in Vestris, his comedic timing was spot-on and he had the audience in laughter throughout. The piece was maybe a couple of minutes too long, but hey, it was really funny (not something I expect from ballet normally)

 

Ed Watson in a Spidey suit in Pita's "Volver, Volver". My brain hasn't quite processed that yet past going bwahahahah.

 

Daniel Proietto in Oyen's "Sinnerman", having stolen the worldwide annual Disco Diva's glitter allowance to create the sparkliest full body Lycra suit ever made. Whilst I wouldn't want this to be the start of a new fashion (in ballet or clothing), it was a great one-off piece with light bouncing of the costume making the dancing look otherworldly at times.

 

The good:

 

I didn't much like Aeffi when Rademaker danced it in the Stuttgard mixed programme, but it seems to have grown on me since and he really moves in the most amazing way. I think it helped that I wasn't too close to the stage this time and didn't get distracted by some of the little twitchy movements.

 

TWO x TWO

 

Muntagirov in Adagio

 

The marvellous:

 

Edward Watson and Marijn Rademaker in de Fruto's "3 by D". Watson and Rademaker really fit each other and this was probably the best male 'duet' I have seen so far. Safe to say that they should probably not show the piece in Russia.

 

Marian Walter in Lacrimosa - just beautiful throughout.

 

Muntagirov and Glurdjidze in "Le Spectre de la Rose" - again, beautifully danced though parts of the audience seemed to get the giggles at seeing Muntagirov's pink outfit. Though after the glitter outfit and Spidey suit, they probably didn't realise that this one wasn't meant as a joke....

 

The Coli was about half full for this, though apparently they've had better sales for tomorrow.

This might have been mentioned earlier, but suicides were always buried on non-consecrated ground and 19th century ballet-goers would probably have been very confused if a girl who was known to have died by suicide were laid to rest in a graveyard.

 

So unless Giselle did literally die of heart failure in the original, the forest grave makes 'perfect' sense

It seems that the Telegraph is attempting to stoke up a level of rivalry that does not exist. I assume they think it will sell papers. I'm not part of their normal demographic but would occasionally read their ballet commentary.  I won't bother again since I'm not a great fan of snide speculation.