Balletfanp

I thought the first rehearsal with Vadim and Fumi struck the right balance of them dancing and then getting the detail on how to improve things. I found the second one a bit too much the other way. But just my personal opinion!

I really enjoyed last night’s Insight. The Winter’s Tale is a favourite of mine and Fumi and Vadim were a complete joy, especially as they were rehearing that heartbreaking pas de deux at the end of the ballet. I cannot wait to see Vadim’s Leontes in its full glory now - he got me from the moment he started to walk towards Fumi/Hermione. Fumi was so dignified - and what a beautiful straight back she has. Whilst I saw the point of the second rehearsal with Luca Acri and Sae Maeda, I did find myself losing interest a bit in as much as I would have liked to see them run at least part of the whole thing before all the minute breakdown - impressive though it was, it didn’t make for compelling watching as it was hard to get a sense of it. However, they were looking good and I’m sure will shine in the actual performance.

For Alison, and others who missed it, last night’s Insight available here.

In the Nureyev version, Siegfried does get a solo in Act 1 (plus a lot of extra dancing all over the place - well, couldn’t have Nureyev sidelined!). The Act 1 solo was a bit jaunty and didn’t really work for me in the context of the rest of the Act - it was as though Nureyev was determined to shove Siegfried in whatever! That’s the version with (for me) the rather bewildering ending in Act IV where Odette drifts off with Von Rothbart as Siegfried quietly drowns - I think that’s infinitely worse than the Scarlett ending! 😁

Itziar Mendizabal did it and was brilliant. I think Claire Calvert did it too. Oh, and Tierney Heap, I think. Well, she won’t be doing it and who knows if Claire will

I think you’ve summed up my feelings on Act IV, @Sim - it always feels so anticlimactic after Act III in this version. When I saw BRB’s version I enjoyed that much more - it didn’t feel like an anticlimax, from the swans rising up suddenly from the mist, to the proper fight between Siegfried and Rothbart. I do, overall, love the Scarlett version but Act IV really lets it down for me.

I’m on the fence re Matthew Bourne. I certainly found I enjoyed his shows a lot more once I stopped thinking of them as ballets, rather as shows.

I really like that the ROH have started to do this, to enable the dancers to see just how much they are appreciated. Lovely.

Well, Vadim is dancing with Fumi as well in Swan Lake early next month - that should be well worth seeing. I don’t really think there is anywhere other than the ROH website to buy tickets but I’m happy to stand corrected on that if anyone else knows differently. It might just be a case of haunting the site regularly in the hope that something appears….

Not quite - he does two turns consecutively, then a couple of steps forward and repeats the two consecutive, and the whole sequence once more. I’d add a clip in explanation, but I can’t find one on YouTube of him doing it that is actually legal! If you go hunting, there are numerous “unofficial” clips, though 😉

And repeats twice again!

It’s the tours en l’air both ending in fifth position - neither leg in second position.

I would think that to dance Oberon you would have to be a dancer who is very fleet-footed and able to cope with the fast footwork in the Scherzo especially. I’m not sure that’s Hirano’s speciality (no disrespect meant as he has other great qualities).

I think Vadim did dance with Smirnova in Bayadere (there’s footage on YouTube somewhere) when they both guested with ABT - but that was many years ago (Vadim can’t have been older than 21 or 22 then). It won’t help him now!! But if anyone can pull it off with aplomb, those two can!

Yes - I was supposed to be going on the 22nd but had to take a last minute decision not to go (wise, as it turned out) 😞.

No, he never performed Raymonda after that as all his performances ended up being cancelled. He had previously performed in Giselle there, though.

Thank you @lady emily for recording that - I was hoping someone would as I couldn’t be there and I love to see these send offs! What a lovely man he is.

Not sure what comes after that but yeah, me too! 😂😢

And having said I couldn’t really add much, I realise that I did, in fact, add a lot - sorry!

Oh, that’s what was going on - I was very much on the right so couldn’t see that part of the stage very well, but there did seem to be a lot of moving shadows that I didn’t recall seeing before! I can’t really add much to the superlatives already stated about last night, but I think I could watch Marianela and Vadim’s Act 2 pas de deux and their Black Swan sequence to the end of my days and never get bored. They make it different every time and I always have a frisson of excitement just before the Black Swan sequence because I know we are going to see something something spectacular. Marianela’s fouettés are always perfect, but more than that, beautiful to watch. Vadim’s now trademark double double tours were spectacular and absolutely bang on the nail finishing in a perfect fifth. And just how does he appear to hang in the air in those jetés and still land soundlessly? I’m always in awe! But as well as all that they both acted so well all the way through. There isn’t a moment on stage where they let the character slip. Marianela’s Odile is just deliciously seductive and malicious, with Vadim’s naive love/lust-struck Prince an effective counterpoint. And Vadim’s Act 1 soliloquy was just so beautiful it brought a lump to my throat. I thought Luca Acri was brilliant as Benno, both dancing and acting were on point throughout. I’ve always felt he was very underrated and I’m very happy to see him coming into his own so much more lately. Isabella Gasparini and Sae Maeda were exuberant, charming princesses. Gary Avis was, of course, excellent as always. But a special mention for the Corps, who were on great form and more together than I have seen them in this before, I think. Impressive synchronicity throughout in the group ensembles, especially the men in Act 1. One thing was that I felt the Cygnets’ tempo was incredibly fast, they did very well to keep up, but it did make them ever so slightly ragged - maybe just me - but I felt it was more the fault of the tempo than of them. An absolutely fantastic opening night to remember, with a standing ovation. The ROH seem to have started to switch on the house lights on their last bow so that the dancers can see it, which I think is a really nice development. I’ve spoken to dancers at the stage door before and mentioned their standing ovation, but they always said they couldn’t see it, which seemed a great shame. Well, they can now!

I can’t comment on past pairings of dancers because I haven’t seen them (except in often poor quality YouTube videos). But I feel that the Tchai Pas is a piece that should be danced with complete joy, and the only current couple I have seen who do this is Marianela and Vadim. Technically brilliant from both (of course), but as well as that, danced with a sheer exuberance and joie de vivre (and huge natural smiles and obvious enjoyment!) that I haven’t seen matched by any other couple, and that makes it sparkle and fizz. Reece Clarke was technically excellent but to my mind lacked the lightness of touch required and just seemed a bit too grounded. I have only seen a brief clip on Instagram of the ending with Fumi and Vadim, and they looked gorgeous, but the thing that struck me was the little touches of characterisation with gestures and facial expressions that Vadim was adding whilst Fumi danced, that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. He has said that he likes to build stories in his head during non-story ballets and it looked as though that was what he was doing there. I did see a pairing online that I thought was a big Nope from me, and that was Ashley Bouder and Semyon Chudin. She was brilliant (and obviously very familiar with it), but, whilst I think Chudin is a beautiful dancer, he didn’t seem comfortable with the choreography at all. And the fish dives were positively terrifying in all the wrong ways - he didn’t seem to be holding her properly and it looked as though she was about to come a cropper in both of them!

Unlike some posters, I thought last night’s performance was a tour de force from both Fumi and Vadim. No nerves in this performance . I love their partnership - I felt quite tearful by the end of Act 1 because the pas de deux were so beautiful. The steps flowed and I found their connection positively glowing. There was an intimacy and a realness about them that I don’t think I’ve seen in any other partnership. And their Act 3 was simply stupendous. I love Fumi with William, although I’m not sure I see it as the ‘best partnership since…..’ that some seem to find it. For me, last night in particular, we have seen a wonderful new partnership beginning, and of course Fumi will continue to dance with William, in the same way as Vadim will continue to dance with Nela. Mixing things up from time to time is a good thing, not least for the dancers themselves, who must start to get a bit stale if they dance with the same partner all the time. I see no reason why ‘special’ partnerships need be restricted to one particular combination. Vadim has had wonderful connections in different roles with, for instance, Sarah Lamb and Laura Morera (magic really seemed to happen the few times she and he danced). Ball has always had a great partnership with Yasmine Naghdi, but has also forged great performances with Cuthbertson and Magri. But they are just all different. And now Vadim looks to be starting a really beautiful partnership with Fumi that in no way takes away from her lovely partnership with William. Bring on more of all of them, I say!

I was there too. It seems incredible that a ballerina of Daria’s stature, loved by fans, was to be shuffled off without anything. But thanks to the supporters who bought and organised the flowers it was a truly memorable occasion that I will always remember. AD’s who are inclined to take this attitude need to remember that it is also depriving fans of a chance to say thank you and goodbye to dancers who have given them a great deal of pleasure over many years. There is a feeling of being cheated in those circumstances. At least the RB does it properly when a Principal retires!

I was going to say myself, new choreography doesn’t have to mean contemporary, and Vadim has given stunning accounts of various neo-classical works. He does mention in his book that Michael Clark wants to choreograph something on him (now that would be interesting!) but given busy schedules who knows if or when we will ever see it.

Oh dear! That did make me chuckle! 🤭😂