Duck

Thank you so much, Janet and Vanartus. The term overview is a fair description as the reviews on Seeing Dance have been far more detailed than mine here. So thank you, Janet, for including them in the daily links section of the forum. For those who read German, there is also a daily blog on the company’s web site about the festival week, bringing to the fore information behind the scenes through interviews with e.g., choreographers and dancers. Following on from last night, I’ve since safely landed on earth and am back in reality. The grin within is still there though, thinking about last night and humming along to Brahm’s 2nd Piano Concerto. I’d seen the Encounters double bill twice earlier this season, and in each case the second half of Dances at a gathering seemed too long for me; in fact I only went to see the programme a second time back then as I was really keen on Initials R.B.M.E. So it took me quite a while to go for last night’s bill. And what a night it was. Initials was fantastic as ever. The unexpected surprise though was that I did enjoy Dances at a gathering from start to finish. The casting last night was similar to that I had seen before, so what was different? More relaxed as I was still cheerful following the previous night’s show? More able to delve into details as I was more familiar with the work from previous viewings? The fact that I took notes in the dark, writing down for each part the number of male/ female dancers together with any emotions that struck me at the time (m1, pdd playful, …, m2 competitive, …, f1 plus m1 at a time, …)? Who knows. Anyway, I enjoyed the multitude of different pairings amongst the dancers and the way the casts of the different parts developed from individuals to more complex combinations, the way the different parts flowed seamlessly from one to the next as dancers appeared while others were still on stage, the different emotional focus from (… my reading …) playful to flirtatious to competitive, the way the interactions looked natural, casual, unplanned, leisurely, like the relaxed comings and goings of those who happen to meet at an outing, at a garden party. My favourite moments last night were a PDD by Elisa Badenes (Apricot) and Matteo Miccini (Brick), the male duet by Jason Reilly (Purple) and David Moore (Brown) in which they try and outdance each other, a quintet of three male and two female dancers (including Alicia Amatriain in Pink), the interaction between the female dancer in Green (Hyo-Jung Kang) and several male dancers (Friedemann Vogel in Green, and others, one at a time) whereby she tries and fails to capture their attention. Initials R.B.M.E., what can I say. Just love the different settings for the four parts of the piece (… as before, my reading ...) - virtuosic, serene, dreamy (and tear inducing), and speedy/joyful, the way the four leads interact throughout the work, meeting and greeting and supporting each other, the choreography, patterns and changes of direction for the corps, the music. Daniel Camargo was guesting last night in the role of R, Elisa Badenes took the lead as B, Alicia Amatriain and Friedemann Vogel for M (… a deep breath and an emotional sigh from me at the end of their PDD; the applause for their performance only died down when, it seemed, the audience realised that they really wouldn’t come back on stage to take their bows at this time), Alessandro Giaquinto in a debut as E and receiving one of the longest ovations at the curtain calls, I was personally shouting my head out. I adore the versatility of his facial expressions, his ability to keep a straight face when the audience erupts in laughter as the piece is so funny (General Lavine Eccentric in Cranko’s Brouillards, Novitzky’s Are you as big as me?), the fluidity and speed of his movements, whether in works by Goecke or now as E. He also danced the role of Alain in La Fille mal Gardee this spring (which I didn’t see). What a first season for him in the corps following his graduation from the John Cranko School in 2016 and a year as apprentice with the company thereafter. Time off for me tonight and the opportunity to catch up with the BBC Proms from earlier in the week. Kudos to all the dancers for their stamina, many of whom will be on stage most nights of the festival week.

The festival week in celebration of Reid Anderson’s 22 years as Artistic Director of the company is in full swing, having kicked off with a cinema viewing of Romeo & Juliet last Friday and ending with a gala performance this coming Sunday. Full programme here https://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/schedule/festival-anderson/. Some nights I can’t do, others show works that I’ve seen recently, so last night’s performance of Party Pieces was the first programme that I attended. All works in Party Pieces were created for specific occasions over the last 22 years e.g., birthdays, galas, Young Choreographers’ evenings, and they were all celebrated enthusiastically last night, as were the dancers. Some of the works had also been shown at Sadler’s Wells in 2013 (e.g., Marco Goecke’s Fancy Goods, Demis Volpi’s Little Monsters), two of the pieces were performed to huge acclaim by former First Soloists of the company (Marijn Rademaker in a solo from Edward Clug’s Ssss…, Daniel Camargo in Katarzyna Kozielska’s Firebreather, a piece full of virtuosity, Camargo was indeed breathing fire so-to-speak, dance wise), some humorous pieces (e.g., Rolando d’Alesio’s Come Neve al Sole, showing a couple in various states of their relationship, whereby the handling of their loose-fitting and very elastic shirts was key to illustrating the state their relationship was in), the PDD were dreamy / emotional/ angular and rhythmic. Cheers and ovations at multiple curtain calls, leading to standing ovations when Reid Anderson came back on stage as part of the final curtain call. The work from Tuesday night’s recent programme The Fab Five that I would have liked to see again but couldn’t make it was Marco Goecke’s Almost Blue, set to three songs by Etta James (At last, Trust in me, Sunday kind of love). Taking the three songs in this order, it seems to encapsulate the stages of a relationship from finding/ falling in love to realisation that not all is well/ that the ideal is unachievable. Early on, some of the dancers wear long black gloves, giving them the silhouette of a jazz singer some decades ago, possibly of Etta James herself. The lyrics of At last include a reference to the blue sky, and so with the third song in mind, the sky is almost blue, cue the title of piece (… my reading …). Lots of sand falls down on stage as part of the final song, and there is an emotional solo by the wonderful Alessandro Giaquinto who has red paint splattered across his upper body, originating from where his heart is located, and thus depicting the emotional pain of the person in question. A brilliant illustration of the content of the three songs by Etta James, but so much more for me in that I also see this piece as a reflection on Goecke’s time with the company over the last ten to fifteen years ( … again, my reading …). There are some works by Goecke that make me think “hmm”, others that I enjoy watching, and those that I utterly adore. Almost Blue clearly falls into the latter category. What a masterpiece, I can’t get enough of it, and I do hope it’ll be back on stage somewhere soon. Now ... just back from the Encounters double bill Dances at a gathering/ Initials R B.M.E. What a night ... details to follow, once I've emerged from paradise and come back down to earth.

This is a new quadruple programme at the Theaterhaus in Stuttgart with two works by female artists – Virginie Brunelle and Helena Waldmann - and two works in honour of female artists – Pina Bausch and Louise Lecavalier. I saw the performance last night. Brunelle’s work Beating is inspired by a study that the heart beats of those in love are synchronised. Dancers perform solos and movements in unison with another person or a group of dancers so as to illustrate the process of harmonisation, break up and renewed accord. The choreography sees e.g., the dancers twisting their upper bodies backwards and forwards, and in varying intensity, as if their torsos were massive hearts that beat more or less wildly (I just loved those movements). Couples develop towards the end, the PDD of one of these moves through jumps and lifts to end with a hug – synchronisation has been achieved again. Waldmann’s We love horses is about freedom and domestication. It comes with dancers wearing horse’s behinds and a dancer on digilegs with a whip to control the horses e.g., the latter change position every time the whip is used. The horses also control each other in varying combinations and through various means. All with a serious undertone as the choreographer refers to legislation as well as conventions and expectations that define and restrict people's activities (e.g., one of the horses is asked to jump higher and higher), combined with the willingness of the latter to adhere to these (... and the horse does jump higher every time). Not an easy viewing but definitely food for thought. Infant spirit by Marco Goecke is inspired by memories of his youth in Wuppertal and pays homage to Pina Bausch. A very personal and emotional solo for the wonderful Rosario Guerra. The final piece Electric Life has been co-choreographed by Eric Gauthier and Andonis Foniadakis and pays homage to Louise Lecavalier. Long light tubes are used to form an arena where dancers perform, they are held by dancers as if they were guitars, they emit continuous as well as strobe light. The tone of the choreography is full of energy, pulsating – electric. Performances run until the end of this week. Extracts of all four works in the news clip here https://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/SWR-Aktuell-Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg/75-Minuten-geballte-Frauenpower/SWR-Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg/Video?bcastId=254078&documentId=54152262

My highlight of the 17/18 UK ballet season was a catching a cinema matinee recording of the Bernstein triple bill. A definite “yes” to matinee shows on the continent as with the time difference, I usually find the finish time of the live screenings too late to travel back home after the show. Highlights elsewhere Nijinsky with Hamburg Ballet in Baden Baden the Cranko triple bill L’Estro Armonico/ Brouillards/ Jeu de Cartes with Stuttgart Ballet, all works I’d been hoping to see (again) for some time Goecke’s piece Almost Blue in the recent mixed bill The Fantastic Five in Stuttgart

Thank you, Vanartus, for writing about Spuck’s Lulu at the Stuttgart Opera House. It was your post that made me get a ticket for this programme. I saw cast two last night, with Elisa Badenes in the lead role, and she was utterly convincing as Lulu. Loved the facial close ups of Lulu through the use of the camera at the front of the stage in combination with the huge screen centre stage, illustrating how the painter Schwarz sees her, and in spite of the various lovers all around her. Admired how the steps for Lulu (standing, walking, running like a normal person, in ballet flats) were so distinct from those for the Duchess of Geschwitz (repeatedly grands battements, on pointe). The use of song and spoken words live on stage. Massive ovations for Elisa Badenes, notable cheers also for Daniele Silingardi in the role of Alwa Schoening. Glad I went.

The McGregor triple bill Kairos / Sunyata / Borderlands at the Bavarian State Ballet will be livestreamed on 23 June https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsopertv.html?no_cache=1, and available on demand for a short period of time thereafter. Technical details can be found under https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsopertv.html?no_cache=1#c9597.

This looks great, too. Thanks so much for sharing the link, Ian. Incidentally, Cathy Marston created Hamlet for Ballett im Revier last year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fH3oPPFSQo.

Thank you so much, Janet :-) There's nothing in my diary for May so I'll go quiet again for a little while ...

Bridget Breiner has led „Ballett im Revier” in Gelsenkirchen since 2012. It’s a small company, comprising around 15 dancers. And yet, she has taken on the challenge of creating a version of Romeo & Juliet to Prokofiev’s music. The work was premiered in February 2018, and I was lucky to see the company on tour just north of Stuttgart on Sunday night. It’s a small cast, in line with the size of the company … e.g., there is no Benvolio, no Count of Verona, the street and fight scenes are reduced in numbers, and some dancers perform more than one role. It works despite the reduction in numbers. A role that Breiner has added - in comparison with MacMillan's version - is that of the chorus (Bridgett Zehr). Dressed in black leather, the chorus is reminiscent of the chorus in Shakespeare’s work, providing introduction and commentary. Comments prior to the start of each Act are also given by brief audio recordings of key verses e.g., of parts of the Prologue. These are read in multiple languages, making the story applicable to no matter which place in the world. The choreography follows the traditional story line with its three Acts, simplifying events here and there to account for the smaller cast size. Female dancers are on pointe. Specifically, Lady Capulet stands on pointe as and when she wants to emphasise her power over Juliet (Francesca Berruto). As for the costumes, the colour black is absolutely dominating, creating a sombre atmosphere right from the start. In fact, death is ubiquitous. Street fighters in Act 1 wear black costumes and masks. Romeo (Carlos Contreras) and Mercutio (Louiz Rodrigues) wear white masks at the ball at the Capulets’ house that look like death masks. At one point, a tall sculpture of a Grim Reaper is pulled across stage. The introductory reading of parts of the Prologue and the omnipresence of notions of death make it clear from the start how events will end. The scenography is simple and effective. Several sets of tall mobile wooden frames are used to depict timbered houses, windows, doorways, etc. in ever-changing configurations. They allow the audience to see what is happening within as well as in front of such a house. Fights are done with wooden sticks, and both Juliet and Romeo stab themselves with – the same - stick. A long cloth train is used to bring Juliet and Paris (Daniel Castillo) together. Later, Lord Capulet halfway strangles Juliet as he puts the train around her neck as part of one of his final attempts to make Juliet agree to marry Paris … yet she simply removes the train from around her neck. Act 3 has a few alterations. There are no friends of Juliet in the cast, and so the dance of Juliet’s friends before she is found presumed dead does not exist. The priest does not die, the letter is simply taken off him, and so he joins the Capulets in their mourning at Juliet’s grave. When Juliet wakes up after Romeo has stabbed himself in desperation, she sees Romeo immediately rather than exploring the crypt first before discovering him. In ending her own life, she uses the same wooden stick that Romeo used. So the final events are faster, and this made the tragic end even more compelling for me. I found it fascinating to see how much can be achieved by such a small company and look forward to seeing more of Breiner’s works. Link to pictures and a short video extract of the work https://musiktheater-im-revier.de/#!/de/performance/2017-18/romeo-und-julia/

Many thanks, JohnS, for spotting and highlighting this. I just checked on the CD that I have here... the complete Chichester Psalms are performed for Yugen already. Ups, I think I mixed this up with Rachmaninov's Vespers. Apologies for the confusion, I'll better check next time before I post :-(

I saw an Encore viewing of this triple bill yesterday morning – they come with some delay following the live cinema relay over here. Loved Yugen with its movements that spoke to me of yearning and experiencing, of the interaction between individuals and groups. The costumes, the scenography, the atmospheric lighting, the choreography and the music worked extremely well together imo. The tall vitrines, the lighting with its soft edges against a dark background and the costumes in shades of red really made it look like being in a sacral environment. The loose-fitting costumes nicely matched the smooth movements. I much enjoyed seeing Calvin Richardson in this. If there is one thing I’d change … I’d go for a choreography for the complete Chichester Psalms. Yugen was definitely the highlight of the triple bill for me. Age of Anxiety – I actually enjoyed this when it was premiered a few years ago. It depicts the isolation of the individual and the yearning for togetherness, and that all attempts to establish contact with others and strike up relationships, however, are awkward and ultimately unsuccessful. The protagonists in the bar are on their own initially. They then observe/judge each other and interact in a variety of ways, and yet, ultimately they are all left on their own, disappointed. While the new day offers new possibilities, will things work out as expected? I love the music, in particular the piano play while the four dancers are in Rosetta’s apartment and the related dance sequence. Maybe adding other characters to the events in the bar and/ or adding other venues so as to illustrate the isolation of the four also in relation to others would make the observing/ judging part a little more varied. Corybantic Games. I’ve been struggling with this part a little, including after reading about the inspiration for Bernstein’s Serenade. Groups and individuals interact, there is support and embracing. Groups of dancers form sculptural poses … that are maybe inspired by actual Greek sculptures? The costumes though look anything but Ancient Greek to me unfortunately. I enjoyed Ore Oduba’s presentation and interviews, he came across as lively, interactive and spontaneous, even if he will have actually read some of it from autocue. Last but not least, great to see Humphrey Burton sharing his first-hand experiences of the time and his wealth of knowledge.

After a year’s absence, I was back in Nice last week for the current triple bill by Ballet Nice Mediterranee – Jerome Robbins’ En Sol, Dwight Rhoden’s Verse Us and Oscar Araiz’s Petrushka. An exciting programme and performance by dancers who had been with the company already a year ago and by those who have joined since, including following the company’s audition in February 2018. It was great to meet Aileen on Friday night, too. The lead couple in En Sol was danced by two new recruits, Marlen Fuerte Castro, previously with Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, and Luis Valle, who had danced with Acosta Danza last year. I hadn’t seen En Sol previously so am lacking comparison but the whole piece looked very smooth. The ensemble work provided a sunny display (I just loved Giacomo Auletta’s beaming smile) and the long PDD in the middle was of dreamlike/ ethereal quality. Verse Us by Dwight Rhoden had been created on the company in 2014 and nominated for the Benois Prize at the time. The current bill included a shortened version of his creation. To contemporary music by Philip Glass and others, dancers perform solos and various combinations of PDD and larger groups. They dance in light shafts and with the whole stage brightly lit. The movements are based on classical technique e.g., arabesques, female dancers on pointe, and combined with curving spines and other contemporary elements. I particularly enjoyed those parts of the choreography that brought everyone together in vivacious, pulsating and uplifting dance. Great team work, with Maxime Quiroga and Alex Cuadros Joglar standing out for me with their fluidity in curving and bending movements. The latter trained at the Royal Ballet School, so that’s now two former students from the RBS in Nice, the other dancer being Alessandro Audisio. Araiz’s Petrushka uses the story of Petrushka to depict the triangle between Nijinsky (Petrushka), Diaghilev (magician and moor) and Romola (ballerina) among the Ballets Russes. Nijinsky being attracted to Romola, just to be pulled back by Diaghilev time and again like a marionette, and also illustrating Diaghilev’s desire for Nijinsky. Zhani Lukaj whom I had seen in a number of very technical roles previously was very good as Diaghilev. Loved Zaloa Fabbrini in the role of Romola whose affection for Nijinsky is first met and then rejected, and her facial expressions and body language, moving from love to sadness to worry for Nijinsky’s health were great acting. The dancer in the role of Nijinsky though, wow, just wow, Stefano Sacco who danced with Balleto del Sud in Southern Italy previously. Utterly convincing in his acting and dancing, portraying the changes from Nijinsky's love of Romola to rejection as and when Diaghilev intervened, his contemporary solo during which he destroys a portrait of Diaghilev, and the deterioration of Nijinsky's mental health. A great addition to the company. Other members of the Ballets Russes also feature. Another great team performance, the piece an exciting addition to the company’s repertoire. The applause on Friday (opening night) was rather muted and however far more enthusiastic on Saturday and Sunday. Eric Vu-An has put video extracts of all three works on his public Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Eric-Vu-An-383731904998106/?fref=nf. Oscar Araiz has provided the full recording of a performance of his Petrushka at the Teatro Colon on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iqf5bY_yHw (the stage in Nice was lit a lot more brightly than seen in the recording from the Teatro Colon).

Shale Wagman explained in an interview with French site dansesaveclaplume yesterday that his dream would be to join ENB https://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/600681-rencontre-avec-shale-wagman-gagnant-du-prix-de-lausanne-2018/. There it is ... his dance school, the Academie de Danse Princesse Grace, has announced on their public facebook page that he will be joining ENB next season. https://www.facebook.com/AcademiedeDansePrincesseGrace/?hc_ref=ARQH8X7qMiiz5gR2LFno6B1-k_segT_8-Zl8VkhdTu5z1_iEGGejMmd2VJvj97pPttM&fref=nf Congratulations to him and to those who will be able to see him perform with ENB. Happy for Stuttgart, too. Finalist Minji Nam, from the same school, will join Stuttgart Ballet (cf. the post just below the one above).

Prize winners https://www.prixdelausanne.org/prize-winners-46th-edition/ Loved the two performances by Carolyne Galvao, the contemporary performance by Wenjin Guo and the variation from DonQ danced by Shale Wagman.

I've been sitting in rows B-D of the stalls a few times as I like being close to the stage. At 5'3, however, this has proven tricky occasionally as and when the person in front of me was substantially taller than me. I've thus resorted to sitting on my outer jacket, handbag, etc. in these cases to get a better view. ;-) The view from the first few rows of the stalls is, I think, slightly below stage level (well, at least at my diminutive height), and the rake in the stalls is gentle and increases a little towards the back. The picture in the link gives an indication of the rake. http://www.opera-nice.org/fr/opera/le-lieu. I haven't tried the boxes yet as they are either very much to the side of the stage or, if more to the centre, at a distance from the stage. I think next time I will be there (for the mixed programme in April?) I'll go and try a seat halfway back in the stalls as an alternative to the first few rows. I have also found a seat next to the path in the centre of great benefit. As for the atmosphere in general, I have found it nicely relaxed and thus wouldn't expect any issues with sharing a box.

Hugely excited about the cooperation with the Stuttgart Art Museum, looking at a specific topic from different angles, and the Bauhaus triple bill. Come to Stuttgart some time ☺ I guess my dream would be to see Edward Watson guesting in Mayerling😊

This is Bejart's choreography to Beethoven's 9th symphony, bearing the same name ☺

The documentary Dancing Beethoven, which I saw in a local cinema earlier this year, is now available on DVD from various German sites. Amazon describes the DVD as having subtitles in English and other languages.

Thanks so much, Riva, for sharing this. I was so fascinated by the contents of the interview that I’ve listened to it a few times by now. From an opening conversation about the format of the picture to a deep insight. It’d be great to see the final picture as part of an exhibition, together with the various photos taken during the interview and the sketches and drawings made.

I found this very enjoyable, too. Twyla Tharp looked so calm and measured just one week before the opening night. I really liked the way she interacted with the dancers – encouraging, supportive, getting what she was after in a nice and friendly way.

There’s been a discussion recently in the thread about ENB’s performances of Song of the Earth/ La Sylphide about John Neumeier’s choreographies to music by Gustav Mahler. The Song of the Earth is another example, one of a total of 15 ballets that he created to Mahler’s music. I saw Neumeier’s The Song of the Earth in Baden-Baden on 8 Oct, together with his Nijinsky on 15 Oct. The Song of the Earth was created for POB in 2015 and premiered in Hamburg in a revised version at the end of 2016. I wondered at the start of the performance whether I’d seen MacMillan’s version too many times and tried not to get into comparison mode, and yet it was maybe inevitable that I visualised some of the movements that MacMillan created while I was watching Neumeier’s version. The view from my seat wasn’t the best, and so I’ve kept the following to a broad outline, together with the intention to see Neumeier’s version again some time. The work contains a prologue that starts in silence and continues with extracts of the music from subsequent scenes. Adding short interludes between the scenes, the piece amounts to 90 minutes (including applause and curtain calls). I marvelled at the lead man (Alexandr Trusch) who, as participant and observer of the flow of life, is on stage throughout the performance. Other key roles are for a woman (Xue Lin) and another male dancer (Alexandre Riabko). Recurring motives are those of a tea cup as symbol of hospitality and support (real tea cups being carried by dancers; the lead man takes up the offer of a cup of tea), and of lotus flowers (dancers opening their hands so as to depict the opening of the flower). An item of scenery looks like a piece of lawn, to which the lead man retreats from time to time to observe the surrounding events. The ending felt more upbeat to me than in MacMillan’s version - the lighting during the final poem, which had become increasingly dark, brightens up towards the end, together with dancers slowly rising from the floor, reminding me of a new start, a renewal, the beginning of a new cycle. If Neumeier’s The Song of the Earth grew on me over the course of the performance, his Nijinsky was love at first sight as and when the work started with dancers having conversations on stage and loud shouts could be heard off stage, all representing the events in a hotel in Switzerland in 1919, moments before Nijinsky appears on stage, initially dressed like a Roman emperor, for his final public performance. What follows is a combination of Nijinsky’s memories – and increasingly his nightmares and delusions. Nijinsky’s former roles are represented through solos by other dancers e.g., Harlequin and Spectre de la Rose (Alexandr Trusch), Golden Slave and Faun (Marc Jubete) and Petrushka (Konstantin Tselikov). Key figures from his life are also present e.g., Diaghilev (Ivan Urban), a ballerina, his wife Romola, his sister Bronislava, his brother Stanislav, his parents. While his memories of his former roles are shown one by one in the first part of the work, the memories, nightmares and delusions become increasingly intertwined in the second part. It ends where it starts, in the ballroom of said hotel in Switzerland. Nijinsky was performed by Alexander Riabko, and I was fascinated by his ability to express thoughts and emotions through the rising of a single eyebrow, the indication of a smile, the lighting up of his eyes. I also loved the solo for Nijinsky’s brother, played by Aleix Martinez, and the solos by Marc Jubete as Faun and as Golden Slave. A good part of the first act is performed to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherezade, and for the past week, I haven’t been able to get the music out of my head. What I found captivating is that the two works had the lead dancer both providing the framework and being an active part within it. Also, Neumeier’s first encounters with both Song of the Earth and Nijinsky go back a very long time - he performed in MacMillan’s Song of the Earth in Stuttgart in 1965, and he became interested in Nijinsky at a very young age when he came a across a book about the dancer. I found it mesmerising to see how such long-term and detailed interest and involvement got transferred into the two works. I really look forward to seeing the company in Baden-Baden again next year. So do many others, I guess – as on both nights, the applause turned into standing ovations. Links to the English-speaking versions of the trailers that are on the web site of the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden The Song of the Earth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqOwVBvkx_Y Nijinsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1z85cVl7Rc

Thank you so much for this post. As much as I would have liked to go to Paris to see the National Ballet of Canada in this piece, I needed to choose between Nijinsky in Paris and Hamburg Ballet performing the same work in Baden Baden the following weekend, and ultimately I went for the latter (post to follow). So your post is the next best thing to having been there myself. As for Germain Louvet at POB, I'd recommend seeing his Romeo next time this is on, preferably with Leonore Baulac as Juliet.

Today's Insight event is livestreamed http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-insights-into-the-genius-of-choreographer-kenneth-macmillan

A flight to Frankfurt and a train from there to Stuttgart might be an alternative if flight connections are tricky.

I found the following site (in French) useful in accessing the segments of the various guest companies on their respective Facebook sites https://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/hors-scene/450566-world-ballet-day-4-le-5-octobre-en-direct-des-coulisses-des-grandes-compagnies-de-danse/