Jump to content

Tony Newcombe

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    950

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Tony Newcombe

    Royal Ballet promotions (and joiners and leavers) 2023!

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

    There can't be that many dancers by the fairly distinctive name of Poppy Frankel dancing classical ballet in Britain? I hope it's Poppy Frankel from ENB whom I  remember in small roles who was excellent in ENB's productions. I guess we'll know soon enough, hopefully. I remember Isabella Gasparini going from Northern Ballet to English National Ballet to Royal Ballet (or Leanne Benjamin dancing at SWRB/BRB then ENB then RB), so company hopping can be auspicious. 😀 

    Leanne ENB via Berlin then RB

    • Like 2

    DON QUIXOTE - ROYAL BALLET AUTUMN 2023

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, Fonty said:

    Sorry, something doesn't make sense in that biography of Julia.  She must have been a pupil at White Lodge when she appeared in La Sylphide in 2005.  When she would have been about 10 years old if she was in the first year at WL.  So how come she joined the company in 2015, when she would have been about 20?  Did she go somewhere else first?  She must be about 28 now then?

    She was a junior associate when she first appeared in La Sylphide

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 2

    Birmingham Royal Ballet: Black Sabbath - The Ballet

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    37 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

    Am bemused that (from the Dance Links forum here and a quick surf on the web) the New York Times was the first newspaper to publish their review, beating all the British broadsheets and tabloids to it. (There’s a nice little BBC Midlands report with photos, but it’s not actually a review, although it's very nice to see ballet getting news coverage). Surprised that the U.K.  newspapers are so tardy - and they had the Sunday too! 

    Press night on Wednesday

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Audience Behaviour - Thread 2

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

     

    I've been subjected to hair flickers before now - it's most unpleasant.  You have my sympathies Capybara.

     

    I also once had to ask the person in front of me to take their trilby off and then there was the occasion when I sat behind a young lady who had her hair in a 6" high behave (which I couldn't ask her to take off!).

    Two nuns in orchestra stalls complete with wimple

    • Like 1

    BRB triple bill: Apollo / Interlinked / "Still Life" at the Penguin Cafe, June 2023

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    5 hours ago, alison said:

    Question to anyone who was at the matinee: I take it that was Karla Doorbar dancing the Flea?  The cast sheet said Miki Mizutani.

    It was Karla. I was looking forward to seeing Miki in this. A decade ago Miki, together with Karla and Laura Day shared this role. They were all quite new to the Company at the time and Miki really caught the eye and it is no surprise that she is now a Principle Dancer with the Company 

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Letter To Tchaikovsky (with James Hay)

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

    Always wonderful to see James Hay’s expressive and elegant dancing whatever the piece. I agree with everyone.... James for Lensky next! And later, Onegin! And also the roles of Colas and Lescaut. I mean, he’s an excellent Beggar Chief, but it’s time he was moved up from pickpocketing watches in between jumps to bigger things. That difficult Act 1 solo for Lescaut- he would be great in it!

     

    There’s another solo or role that I think he would be great in - I can’t see it ever being done by RB other than as a gala item as it belongs in the Paris Opera Ballet repertoire - Nureyev’s Manfred, set to Tchaikovsky’s Manfred symphony. You can see it on YouTube: a clip of Mathias Heymann dancing it at the Nureyev and Friends gala 10 years ago. 

     

    This clip is making me very nostalgic/wistful for The Two Pigeons, which James was brilliant in. I didn’t see his first run with Akane Takada, but I caught the performance he gave with Yasmine Naghdi- when his Young Man returned to the Young Girl, his growing remorse during the pas de deux made me cry too! The pigeon he carried in was obviously just as emotional....it refused to stay on the chair like it was meant to and instead sat on the floor close to their dancing, and only flew up to the chair when they finished the  pas de deux! We were crying (with the beauty of the pas de deux and emotion from the story) and laughing (at the pigeon) in equal measure when it finished.  One of the best shows ever! 😀

    He danced Lescaut at a dress rehearsal a few years ago. He was a late replacement for Zucchetti. His Manon was Hamilton. They were absolutely superb together. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 2

    Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake - Southampton, Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Plymouth, Edinburgh (Feb-Apr 2023)

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:


    Yes, we’d been waiting with bated breath as he and Lachlan joined at the same time and have been promoted at the same time ever since.

     

    So well deserved for both dancers.

     

    What a thrilling day!!

    I feel so lucky to have been at both performances and to have been at the Don Q performances I Plymouth last year when Carlos did the same for Miki and Shang. 

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...