Jane S

But what a sad day for Copenhagen, to see their lovely dragon spire go down in flames.

This one works for me: https://kglteater.dk/en/campaign/ballet-sason-20242025?section=56370

(in English)

General booking opens August 14th

This?

I think they didn't sell well enough.

Bournonville, Ashton, Paul Taylor - the 3 choreographers I have most loved - and Balanchine and Robbins too:  pre-21st century heaven!

2 hours ago, Sim said:

A beautiful photo of Yasmine Naghdi in her debut run as Odette/Odile. I can’t remember where I got the photo so I’m afraid I can’t credit it.  If anyone can enlighten me, I will rectify that. 

 

A google Lens search (never tried that before for something like this!) brings up several copies naming the photographer as Rachel Hollings

3 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I rather like the costume but the jury is still out on the headpiece! Does anyone know if the headpiece has some significance at all?

I've never heard any suggestion that the headpieces are anything other than decorative  - I think they're great, and completely in tune with the rest of the decor!

Last night's Lise, Eleonore Guerineau, was injured during Act 1 of Fille last night and had to be replaced by Hortense Maurin Millet in Act 2. There is a touching  message from Guerineau on her Instagram page.

Who is Father Jack, please?

45 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

 I believe that MacMillan created Concerto for the company to make sure they maintained their classical technique, so it seems odd that it should be performed so infrequently.  

 

 

Just for clarity - MacMillan made Concerto for the Berlin company - it was their technique he was thinking of, not the RB's.

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

Does anyone know when the Danish ballet season gets announced?

Last year it was 18th April and it's usually somewhere around that, so far as I remember.

Come to think of it, it's probably just 'crossed wires' - he says 'original' meaning 'original RB' and I hear 'original' meaning 1955 SWThB version.

Doesn't account for the photo, though.

8 hours ago, DelphiumBlue said:

 

 Found Danses Concertantes great fun, enjoyed watching and watching out for the steps, patterns and precision. I did wonder about the wigs and hats/headdresses , perhaps they made more sense at the time when people wore hats more often? Plus surely the original costumes wouldn’t have been ‘lycra unitards’ ?

 

 

 

 

When the Sarasota Ballet did Danses Concertantes they borrowed the costumes from the RB, and there's an interesting youtube talk by their Head of Wardrobe, Jerry Wolf, which shows some of the costumes and headdresses in close-up.

I'm a bit puzzled, though, that he says that in the original, 1955, production, the women wore tutus rather than skirts, which were introduced later: the first night photos quite definitely show skirts, while the reviews and photos of the first performances by the Covent Garden company in 1959 show tutus, and a review makes it very clear that these were new (and didn't last very long). On the other hand a photo on the Macmillan site is dated 1955 and shows tutus ... can anyone shed more light on this?

Checking the 'What to Wear' section on the ROH website reveals there are only two rules:

1 You must wear shoes

2. You must be fully clothed

So most people should be able to find something, though 'fully clothed' may be open to interpretation.

Keep reading down!

Let's  credit the author - Margaret Willis

57 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I believe RDB also has a mandatory retirement age.

Yes - 40.

Good to see Donald Macleary's name among the coaches for Danses Concertantes - I believe he was the second cast pas de deux man when the ballet was new in 1955.  (He is now 86) Would be nice if he got a curtain call!

Today's Times has a big photo by Eliot Franks on page 4 of the news section - captioned Alpha Romeos, it shows, and names, Stefano Varalta, Joseph Taylor and Aaron Kok, and says the production is touring England until June 1.

Nice!

I wouldn't describe Danses Concertantes as 'grand', though - the description on the MacMillan site gives a much better impression.

On 04/03/2024 at 00:43, Sophoife said:

 

Yet another instance of the ROH performance database being incomplete then...it lists five performances in March, all Sibley and Dowell, and only one in July (Park and Nureyev) which TBH I've always thought was odd - one performance only, in the middle of summer?

 

Same database shows Jennifer Penney not dancing the role at the ROH until March 1978, with Dowell; her first performance with Eagling was in November of that year.

 

I'm adding the caveat "at the ROH" because I have no clue to elsewhere.

The ROH has never claimed that the database  was complete , although these days I believe it is kept up to date.

Penney and Eagling danced Manon at Covent Garden for the first time in March 1974 - their performance was covered in D&D's lengthy review in April 1974.

There were 2 Manon performances at the end of the RB season in July 1974, one Sibley/Dowell and one by Park and Nureyev, who had made their debuts during the company's visit to NY in May.

(Even further off topic - 1974 was a wonderful year for dance in London - the Royal Danish Ballet, the first London season of the Stuttgart Ballet, 6 weeks of the Bolshoi at the Coliseum, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Bejart company... as well as all the home companies!)

First news of Alban Lendorf's return in Etudes, from Alexander Meinertz on Instagram - sounds wonderful!

29 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Thanks for your research, Jane S! About the piece for the soldiers- are you referring to the group dance they do with the smartly dressed respectable-looking women (who look like their wives) just before the ship arrives and Manon and other disgraced women get off the ship? Or is it a different dance just for the soldiers with no partners? 

What I mostly remember is seeing a later performance and saying 'they've cut the bit for the soldiers' - but it could well all be imagination!

53 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

. By the way, I thought Jennifer Penney (with Wayne Eagling ad Des Grieux) was second to dance Manon since some of the choreography was created on her when Sibley was off ill? 

You're right - in March 1974 Sibley and Dowell did performances 1,2, 3 (which I saw) and 4, and Penney and Eagling did number 5; then there were no more till July, when Park/Nureyev and Sibley/Dowell did one each.

There was an ensemble piece for the soldiers in Act 3 initially - don't know when that was dropped - maybe at the same time as the Gaoler's mistress?

I just noticed the review of the first performances in Dance & Dancers says that the Gaoler's mistress was glimpsed in Act 1, being carried into exile with her hair already cropped.

And you'd get to see at least 12 principals and 20 or so soloists/demi soloists.