Bruce

13 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Do take a look at today's links.

 

There is a review for NYCB from Bruce Marriott who founded Ballet.Co in the late 1990s and its successor - this forum as well as the much-missed DanceTabs.  It's so good to see Bruce back on the reviewing scene!

 

Janet - you sweet thing! Thank you very much. Hope to see you at a BRB or NB show at some point,

10 hours ago, ibrown said:

The extensive NYCB Festival review is not just entertainingly direct and personal - Manhattnik’s New York snap was a joy - but an engrossing detailing of Balanchine ballets we don’t see here. Historically valuable, a prime potential resource for choreographers, stagers and historians in the future. Bravo to Bruce and ballet.co for giving it the acreage that enabled the detailing. His memory (or note-taking) was evidently phenomenal, and his passion and epicureanism spills out on the page. Reader, it is time well spent. 

It's with a huge mix of emotions I hear of the death of Eric Taub on 20th January. Eric very occasionally posted here but much more frequently on the earlier incarnation of the forum (www.ballet.co.uk) and where he regularly contributed to Ballet.co Magazine from New York. His reviews of New York City Ballet (NYCB) and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) were always gloriously informed reads and often of great length. He was the only critic I know who could write at such length and yet absolutely hold you to every word - I never felt like skipping ahead or speed reading when Eric's pieces came in.

Here are a couple of pieces that Eric penned from about 20 years back...

New York City Ballet's American Festival in May 2004 (4000 Words!)
https://web.archive.org/web/20051201115509/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_04/jul04/et_rev_nycb_0504.htm

Jock Soto's New York City Ballet farewell performance, from June 2005
https://web.archive.org/web/20060214181306/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_05/jul05/et_rev_nycb3_0605.htm

I loved Eric's honesty - if he liked something, then you knew it and if he didn't, then you knew that too - he did not pull his punches. I don't think that always made for an easy life with companies or some dancers and choreographers. But it was his way and I admired its less-than-politely-correct, chatty and matter-of-fact style - he wore his in-depth knowledge easily.

It should have been that Eric kept writing and writing, but he slowed right down, and while he wanted to write, it increasingly became the case that the words on a show would not come to him. He wrote a few pieces for DanceTabs over the years (https://dancetabs.com/author/eric-taub/) but they were a small proportion of what he saw, and sadly, they are but a fraction of what he thought he would write about. I, and others, were always encouraging him to get thoughts down, but it also became clear he was preoccupied by other things in life, not least his parents and the minutiae of recording his life on various social media. In a busy world, we lost touch a few years ago, and that was a shame.

But I prefer to remember Eric in his heyday, where it was like having an indiscreet and very knowledge old friend tell you in no uncertain and exciting terms what exactly happened at the New York State Theater last night. Bravo Eric and I look forward to hearing your candid and witty thoughts on the afterlife in due course!

Thank you Jane, and Alexandra's death came as sad news indeed.

In the early days of Balletco, back in the 1990s, I had regular contact with Alexandra and she was always thoughtful and supportive. We came from very different backgrounds - I was the fan looking to give the audience/fans a place to strut their stuff about what they were seeing and she an established, pukka, critic wanting to widen the love of ballet. But we faced common problems in trying to run forums and publish things in a world where so much is free (no change there!) and privately swapped ideas and war stories.

We met once, when I was in Washington DC on other business - she suggested a local restaurant and, both of us being physically large, I thought we must have appeared a very odd couple, talking animatedly about ballet and its sylph-like world. Certainly nobody would have asked us if we were former dancers...

Alexandra was not big on PR for herself or her endeavours - social media was notably shunned. All her effort went into getting good words out there and she had a wonderful roster of dance writers over the years at danceviewtimes (https://danceviewtimes.typepad.com). The need to get good criticism out there was a view I came to understand and share and her loss is a loss of quietly important leadership and emphasis on thoughtful coverage of the art we all love. She will be missed, but wherever she is now I'm sure she will be making it a better place for all

1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

So far as this forum is concerned, it was a team effort.

For the record and to put more clothes on Alison's words, I registered the name of the forum, selected the forum technology supplier, set it all up and paid all the bills for several months. I think I said I would pay the bills for 3 months but in the end paid for 5. It was set up in broadly the same way as the old forum and I moderated (alone) at first. I appointed/cajoled a group of users, which you kindly chaired Lee, to see if the community could take things forward from this point on and in the end the group, who now for the most part constitute the moderators, decided they could - it's a great thing they do. And gradually there was handover of running the forum, in a day to day sense, to John Mallinson (RIP).  

People indeed have great reason to thank the moderators for providing an essentially free way to exchange views and thoughts - running a forum is not at all the easy thing it may seem to some, or as easy as you think it will be when you start!

Lee/The committee also sorted out a firm legal basis for the forum and a bank account etc so money could be gathered at times and bills paid on more than the generosity of one person. And the mods went on to refine the Acceptable Use Policy and rise to new challenges of which there will have been many I'm sure.

Having more than done my bit in running the old forum and initially founding things here, I'm very, very, happy that others steer things forward and keep the plates spinning, year in year out, to the joy of many. I say again, it's a great thing they do.

8 hours ago, alison said:

Actually, it was originally Bruce Marriott who "sorted" everything, not us

Thank you, Alison - getting this thing initially setup was a lot of effort.

On 06/03/2022 at 16:21, Ian Macmillan said:

Bruce:  Some once-familiar names in those forum posts!  And yes, many of them would raise eyebrows today, to say the least.  

On 06/03/2022 at 12:41, Shade said:

Thank you Bruce really interesting reading, especially the Forum posts. The posts seem very forthright - today’s style seems quite different!

That's what struck me as well!

Different times and different moderation - it was still relatively early times for forums, and I was pretty liberal on free expression and wanted to encourage the broadest participation. Some moderation was in private, typically writing to people beseeching them to be civil etc, and ditto in public, but I didn't feel the need to jump in on this occasion. That said, the posts and jousting are interesting, I think.

The names bring back memories. At least one person in the thread was later banned - they threatened to murder Eric Taub for a review they didn't like...!

The sad death prompted me to go and find the Clement Crisp interview I ran on Balletco back in 2001. Ismene Brown, then the Telegraph dance critic, did the interview based on questions posed by Balletco readers. It's rather gobsmacking reading and the exchanges with Brown delicious as she pushes him to elaborate etc. Of course, some will find his approach beyond arrogant. Note the presentation is the way it was 20 years ago:
https://web.archive.org/web/20050720082435/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_01/dec01/ismene_b_int_clement_c.htm

The piece prompted a thread on the Ballet.co Postings Pages, as the Balletco forum was known at the time:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060513020850/http://www.danze.co.uk/dcforum/happening/2393.html

Some quotes to whet your appetite:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IB: Jim asks: “What are your feelings about the future of the Royal Ballet?”

CC: My feelings are of despair. I really think the Royal Ballet has been denatured...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Darcey Bussell and Miyako Yoshida... "They are no more than First Soloists, essentially, if we look at performances of ‘Swan Lake’, ‘Beauty’, ‘Giselle’, ‘Coppélia’, with the eye of time and by the absolute standard of the world."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In an exchange about choreographers, IB says  "I also think William Forsythe is extremely important."

CC: If you switch off the machine, we will talk about Forsythe. [He then lays into him with energy.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CC on reviewing: "Kiss ’em or kill ’em. There is no point in half-measures. People who write half-measures, like a lot of critics nowadays, are just boring. And not only boring, but lying."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At some point this and other Balletco pieces and sections should hopefully return.

1 minute ago, capybara said:

So sad to hear that John has died. A really lovely man.

I think it should be mentioned also that John was in charge of the excellent and informative website of The Ballet Association and was an invaluable source of technical help to those of us who report on the BA’s talks.

He is going to be missed in so many ways.

Yes - one of life's givers and he took forward the BA site, which was rather lacklustre at the start, in a wonderful way.

The news comes as a huge shock and a reminder of the frailty of life and how quickly things can change as we all get older. I will miss him greatly.

I spoke to John only a short while ago and we planned to meet up, but events have overtaken us all. John was quietly authoritative with a deliciously dry sense of humour and not one to gush. Super intelligent he was one of life's givers and somebody who always seemed to do the right thing. Wherever he is now, we can be assured he will be quietly contributing to making it better for all then it would ever otherwise be.

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the photocall for the Bolshoi Ballet Swan Lake...

Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin in Swan Lake
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Ksenia Zhiganshina and Jacopo Tissi in Swan Lake
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

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Foteini Christofilopoulou: Bolshoi Ballet in Swan Lake
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

3 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I've heard several times over the years that the company structure was going to be flattened...

 

 

That was a point made to me only recently by an NB dancer!  I suspect any change will only come when David Nixon decides to retire. I actually hope that does not come too soon - of all the English companies NB now seem to be doing the best job on commissioning new narrative work.

32 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

But sadly, the past doesn't take care of itself, it needs to be nurtured and cared for, otherwise the original intent is lost and people start to wonder why these choreographers were ever considered to be great. 

 

It was a little tongue in check. Even if you did all the new work I mentioned, year in, year out, (which would never happen) there would still be lots of slots and bills which would be filled by the great things of the past.

There are many threads on the forum about favourite ballets and what should be in next season etc. and hardly anybody talks about new work. I feel that's a great shame - it's what a vibrant art should be concerned about. Yes, it's right to do 'Ye Olde British Ballet' justice, but not to forget the future - which threads like this tend to.

For what is worth I have many past favs, but am content to see them come around every now and then. Every ballet you repeated each year would really condemn some good works to the scrapheap for lack of performance slots.

New work by Ratmansky and Crystal Pite - year in, year out, but sadly not going to happen.

Festival of new works - like San Francisco Ballet did last year - 12 new works from a wide variety of choreographers arranged as 4 bills of 3 ballets delivered in rapid succession.

Festival of young choreographers work - where they can do exactly what they want without all the stuff about having to commission a score and whatever.

The past will take care of itself I'm sure!

Perhaps everybody in NB could become a soloist...

Premier Soloists
Principal Soloist
Leading Soloist
First Soloist
Soloist
Junior Soloist
Minor Soloist
Trainee Soloist
Possible Future Soloist...

Northern have a seriously bonkers structure with more soloists then corps...

Northern Ballet
Premier Dancers - 2 dancers
Soloist levels (Junior Soloist, Soloist, First Soloist, Leading Soloist, Principal Soloist) - 20 dancers
Coryphées - 3 dancers
Corps de Ballet - 15 dancers
Apprentices - 3 dancers
Total Dancers = 43 over 9 ranks

Northern seem reluctant to promote to Principal level - why I don't know, but it feels a shame.

For comparison... Scottish Ballet
Principals - 5 dancers
Soloists - 12 dancers
First Artists - 8 dancers
Artists - 12 dancers
(+1 Senior guest)
Total = 38 dancers over 4 ranks.

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the The Firebird, A Month in the Country and Symphony in C photocall...

Itziar Mendizabal in The Firebird
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
 

Marianela Nuñez and Matthew Ball in A Month in the Country
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
 

Sarah Lamb and Nicol Edmonds in Symphony in C
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
 
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Foteini Christofilopoulou: Royal Ballet in The Firebird, A Month in the Country and Symphony in C
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

2 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

I have just seen that DanceTabs has given ABT's rendition of Marston's Jane Eyre a two star review.  Don't know why - but surprised at that from this publication - while honouring that it is well written and presented as is most of the turnout from this noted source.  

 

https://dancetabs.com/2019/06/american-ballet-theatre-jane-eyre-new-york/

As we all noted some time ago and Janet reminds... the NY critics have a very different view on Jane Eyre to the UK scribblers. Marina Harss is a brilliant writer and I count us as most fortunate to run her words. We obviously all have our own tastes and perceptions.

Re the NB version we ran three 4 star reviews of Jane Eyre in it's opening 2016 run. (I only intended two - premiere and when it hit London, covered by different writers, but the last one covered Hannah Bateman as Jane - a role she created in the studio but was injured and could not dance at the premiere):

https://dancetabs.com/2016/05/northern-ballet-jane-eyre-doncaster/

https://dancetabs.com/2016/06/northern-ballet-jane-eyre-london/

https://dancetabs.com/2016/06/birmingham-royal-ballet-taming-of-the-shrew-northern-ballet-jane-eyre-leicester/

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the Margot Fonteyn Celebration photocall, if sadly Darcey Bussell wasn't at the call...

Francesca Hayward in Ondine
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Natalia Osipova in Romeo and Juliet
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Lauren Cuthbertson in Apparitions
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Foteini Christofilopoulou: Royal Ballet's Margot Fonteyn: A Celebration
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

8 hours ago, Ivy Lin said:

 

It really isn't a national thing. I like Cranko, some MacMillan, Wayne McGregor ... I was at the premiere of Jane Eyre at ABT and wrote a review. It was legitimately awful. I would have said the same thing had the choreographer been American. Had the choreographer been Balanchine I would have said this was the worst thing he ever choreographed.

I'm afraid it is a national difference.

It's a self evident fact that the (vast) majority of critics and writers in NY don't think much of Jane Eyre.

As I show above, it's a self evident fact that the (vast) majority of critics and writers in the UK think Jane Eyre a great piece.

It follows that there is a difference in perception about what constitutes good narrative work. A national difference.

For the avoidance of doubt I'm not saying its a national thing in some silly "The Americans are criticising Jane Eyre because it comes out of the UK" etc. Everybody is way above that. There are very different artistic tastes and value judgements at work here.

Marcelino Sambé promoted to Principal dancer with The Royal Ballet

The Royal Ballet announces promotion for the 2019/20 Season.

Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare today announces that Marcelino Sambé has been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company.  O’Hare comments: “I’m thrilled to announce that Marcelino Sambé will become a Principal dancer from the start of the 2019/20 Season. He has had a fantastic year with some notable debuts, including a dazzling Basilio in Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote, and a heartfelt Romeo in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. The impressive range of his artistry has also been displayed in his performances this Season in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs and Wayne McGregor’s Infra. He has the most wonderful personality that endears him to audiences and fellow Company members alike. I know everyone will be delighted with the news of his promotion. He has accomplished so much since joining the Company from The Royal Ballet School, and I’m very excited to see him progress to the next phase of his career.”

Born in Lisbon, Marcelino Sambé joined The Royal Ballet in 2012 from The Royal Ballet Upper School. He was promoted to First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015 and First Soloist in 2017. He began his training at the National Conservatory of Lisbon. His repertory with the Company includes Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Basilio (Don Quixote), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Oberon (The Dream), Hans-Peter/Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Lescaut (Manon) and Benno (Swan Lake). He has created roles in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Obsidian Tear, Multiverse and Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, and Hofesh Shechter’s Untouchable. Sambé’s dance awards include a silver medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2008, first prize at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2009, a gold medal and special award at the USA International Ballet Competition in 2010 and the Dance Europe Award for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2017.

Details of additional promotions, leavers and joiners will be announced at the end of the season.

Marcelino Sambé promoted to Principal dancer with The Royal Ballet

The Royal Ballet announces promotion for the 2019/20 Season.

Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare today announces that Marcelino Sambé has been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company.  O’Hare comments: “I’m thrilled to announce that Marcelino Sambé will become a Principal dancer from the start of the 2019/20 Season. He has had a fantastic year with some notable debuts, including a dazzling Basilio in Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote, and a heartfelt Romeo in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. The impressive range of his artistry has also been displayed in his performances this Season in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs and Wayne McGregor’s Infra. He has the most wonderful personality that endears him to audiences and fellow Company members alike. I know everyone will be delighted with the news of his promotion. He has accomplished so much since joining the Company from The Royal Ballet School, and I’m very excited to see him progress to the next phase of his career.”

Born in Lisbon, Marcelino Sambé joined The Royal Ballet in 2012 from The Royal Ballet Upper School. He was promoted to First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015 and First Soloist in 2017. He began his training at the National Conservatory of Lisbon. His repertory with the Company includes Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Basilio (Don Quixote), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Oberon (The Dream), Hans-Peter/Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Lescaut (Manon) and Benno (Swan Lake). He has created roles in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Obsidian Tear, Multiverse and Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, and Hofesh Shechter’s Untouchable. Sambé’s dance awards include a silver medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2008, first prize at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2009, a gold medal and special award at the USA International Ballet Competition in 2010 and the Dance Europe Award for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2017.

Details of additional promotions, leavers and joiners will be announced at the end of the season.

10 hours ago, Jeannette said:

@Jan McNulty it’s not a national thing. We Americans love our Ashton, who blended steps and stories so beautifully...very British! MacMillan is another British pillar of ABT. We also love narrative ballets, in general. I reread my Bronte before traveling to NY with an open mind, so looking forward to this. I feel that the main problem with Jane Eyre is the limited vocabulary of ballet steps.

I think it is a national thing - at writers/critics level anyway. Not sure if it's the same at audience level, but any differences there, I suspect, will be much smaller.

Good to see Popkin's generally +ve review, but there are three 2 star reviews out there and one review that doesn't star rate but reads like 2 stars. Of those four, three are by writers of great consequence and much experience - Gia Kourlas, Marina Harss and Robert Greskovic. I admire them all - greatly. All up, out of a current haul of five reviews, four are very unhappy.

My recollection was that back in 2016 Jane Eyre was critically well received and got 4 star reviews, either overtly or inferred from the tone of the review. I just did a quick check and came up with this list:

Jane Eyre 2016 premiere and tour - reviews

FT/Louise Levene/4 stars: "a textbook example of dance storytelling"

Observer/Luke Jennings/4 stars: "Restrained, but clear and fluent choreography brings Charlotte Brontë’s novel to life on the stage"

Telegraph/Rachel Ward/4 stars/"Marston has succeeded in crafting a beautiful and expressive new ballet that soars in the triumph of effecting change from the inside out."

Guardian/Judith Mackrell/4 stars: "Cathy Marston displays a novelist’s touch in layering characters in her wonderfully choreographed show for Northern Ballet"

Spectator/Ismene Brown: "It wasn’t really a surprise that Cathy Marston had a triumph with the Brontë — Royal Ballet-raised but Europe-bred, the choreographer has gradually developed a knack for character empathy and, crucially, a gift for externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way."

DanceTabs/BM/4 stars "It’s actually the best new narrative work I’ve seen Northern Ballet do in many years."

BTG/Mark Smith "this ballet demonstrates a fierce intelligence and wit"

Fjord/Rachel Elderkin: "this production by the Leeds-based company is a fitting celebration of the Yorkshire author’s most famous work."

END of review quotes.

There will inevitably be some less glowing reviews in the UK, but the point is that the overwhelming weight of critical option (here) see's the work at the 4 star level.

Why this difference? I think in America Balanchine set expectations and when American critics talk of British choreographers they usually mention Ashton first. He's seen as somebody who could 'trade blows' with Balanchine at broadly equal level. MacMillan is never usually mentioned in the same breath and ultimately seen as a bit alien and second division, regardless of how he connects with the audience. Marston of course is in the MacMillan tradition and wanders further in trying to find movement that, as Ismene Brown says, is about "externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way." For some it's about ballet steps conveying emotional drama and for others its about ballet informed movement conveying emotional drama.

The above is just my hunch - PhD's could be written on all this and I'm sure there are many other takes on the differences.

On 12/05/2019 at 23:47, Ian Macmillan said:

If I recall aright, in recent years DanceTabs has tweeted the main points as the briefing continued, and I dare say he may do so once again.

I was due to be there but alas will not - I got back from Leicester and the Matt Bourne R&J premiere gone 1AM  and too shattered to leave home for ROH at 06:30. Pathetic I know!

Good work from 'oncnp' means there is not so much to discover now.  Have tweeted and credited. And included a screenshot for posterity!

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the photocall for Medusa, Within the Golden Hour and Flight Pattern...
 

Natalia Osipova in Medusa
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Ryoichi Hirano and Lauren Cuthbertson in Within the Golden Hour
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Royal Ballet in Flight Pattern
© Foteini Christofilopoulou/ROH. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

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Foteini Christofilopoulou: Royal Ballet in Medusa, Within the Golden Hour and Flight Pattern
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr