caseybeatrice

It's been a long time since I posted here but I thought there might be some interest in how New Adventures is doing around the world. I caught the final show of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in Tokyo's Bunkamura Orchard Hall on Sunday. It was the first leg of their international tour and I am very lucky because this was the cast: The Swan/The Stranger - Matthew Ball The Prince - Dominic North The Queen - Nicole Kabera The Girlfriend - Katrina Lyndon The Private Secretary - Glenn Graham I was devastated that I had to miss the Royal Ballet last month but this made up for it (somewhat). This was actually my first time watching Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake; I'd been "saving it" for a live performance. It exceeded my highest expectations. It was also my first time watching Matthew Ball in a leading role. I was totally blown away. What a treat of an afternoon! To be honest, I haven't loved every Matthew Bourne work I've watched. The antics on stage can occasionally veer a little into panto territory and the dancing sometimes fails to impress me. No worries about that here. I thought the choreography for the swans was inventive, moving, and obviously extremely exhausting… The bird-inspired physicality was fascinating. I loved it every time the swans were on, the first lakeside scene especially with its nods to the classical ballet. In other scenes, Bourne's strength as a dramatic storyteller really shines through. The first act with the Queen and the Prince going about their royal duties was so effective. Sometimes it was a touch too obvious, such as the Prince's repeated yearning gestures towards his mother, but no one can say it isn't crystal clear! I definitely understand why this has become a classic. It has humour and pathos at all the right moments. Anyway, the show I watched was danced by a top-notch cast. Nicole Kabera and Katrina Lyndon fully embodied their characters and played off each other beautifully. Dominic North was a wonderful Prince, lonely and pitiful. I really felt for him and his solos had a lot of heart. But it was Matthew Ball's show: he's absolutely incendiary. As the Swan, he was totally animalistic and intriguing. A lot of that must be due to his incredible abilities as a dancer… He was a cut above the rest of the swans, I have to say. Every movement had so much power, precision, and attack. As the Stranger, he was utterly magnetic. He completely commanded the stage and it was hard to watch the national dances when I kept letting my eyes wander to see what he was getting up to at the edges of the ballroom. The audience loved it as much as I did. Immediate standing ovation and a massive crowd at the stage door, where the venue staff kept telling us not to push forwards and to be a little quieter! The entire company came out to autograph programmes and let us take photos. (Although I was gutted to hear that Matthew Bourne was already in China.) When Matthew Ball came out last, everyone went crazy but he gracefully went around and signed, smiled, and posed for everyone. I honestly feel so lucky that I was able to see him in this role, especially since it's the last time he's scheduled to dance it in the foreseeable future (from what I understand). A funny picture from the stage door to end with. Thank you so much for a perfect afternoon, New Adventures!

Inconveniently for ballet-watching, I work Tue-Sat so today was the first day I could catch a show for the Royal Ballet's Japan Tour. I saw the Nuñez/Soares matinee show. I had hoped to see some of my all-time favourite dancers who gave me many happy evenings when I lived in London but the dates didn't work out; anyway, it is always a pleasure to see any RB cast dance. Today was no exception. Here's the cast list. (You can run it through Google Translate.) I loved being reunited with one of my favourite companies. Though, in all honesty, I can't say the RB were on top form this afternoon. The company seemed a little tired; I've read on the forum recently that the corps is showing very clean, synchronised footwork these days but I didn't catch much of that in the town square scenes, though they improved in the later acts. Crawford, Bracher, and Stix-Brunell as the three harlots were great and the mandolin dance was fantastic (plaudits to Sambé especially) but otherwise it seemed a little cluttered and directionless at times, and I've watched town scenes in the ROH where it didn't seem that way at all. Zucchetti and Hay were really good but I've been spoiled by seeing excellent RB Mercutios and Benvolios (if only via videos). I liked Gartside very much as Tybalt; and Avis and McGorian made Lord and Lady Capulet two of the most interesting characters in the story simply with their stage presence. As for Romeo and Juliet, what can I say but: Marianela, what a star. Precise, airy, pliant, and musical as always, her footwork so fast and silky. I think Soares has charm (though he appeared a little underpowered today…) but unfortunately he can't match her brightness. She's wonderful. Perhaps not my definitive Juliet but watching a ballerina of her calibre is ever an honour. Juliet's emotional development isn't as obvious with Nuñez as compared to some other dancers but she can still bring me to tears in the final scenes. Reception was very warm (scattered standing ovation at the tail end of the applause), especially for Nuñez and Soares. As an interesting side note, I saw a lot of people with programmes pointing out Hirano's and Takada's head shots/bios. It's a pity these two new Japanese principals don't get to dance the leads in any shows here; though I suppose the tour cast was confirmed long before the promotions were. Next Sunday, Giselle!

I hope it's alright if I chime in with some news about a German company currently abroad? Stuttgart Ballet have their final performance at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan today and I'm really sad I'll be missing it. They brought Romeo and Juliet and Onegin (Cranko, but of course) as well as a gala show. They were in Korea for a few days before this and are now off to another city before concluding their tour. I was able to catch the Sunday matinees of the two full-length dramatic ballets in Tokyo and they were excellent. Through this tour, I've discovered some new dancers. In R&J last week, Elisa Badenes and Daniel Camargo danced the principals and they're very good; his jumps are especially impressive. She's a very physically expressive dancer but I think she lacks emotional nuance. Gorgeous legs though. I was surprised to find out in the interval (from a fellow Balletcoer!) that they dance together frequently; to me, they lacked chemistry. But maybe I didn't have the best seat? I was in the stalls, row 23. Yesterday, Hyo-Jung Kang and Roman Novitzky were Tatiana and Onegin respectively. The performance got off to a shaky start in my opinion (Olga [Angelina Zuccarini] and Lensky [Pablo von Sternenfels]) looked very precarious, the lifts were wobbly and underpowered and I thought they would come to grief a few times. But they warmed up by Act II. Though I disliked Kang's acting (she smiled all through Act I like she was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial) she is light and so delicate. I disliked Novitzky's acting too, unfortunately. A lot of nose in the air and dandyish strutting without much charisma or presence. But their dream pas de deux was thrilling and the final pas de deux made me quite teary, so they must have been doing something right! Audience for both shows was very warm. Yesterday's was ecstastic, as a matter of fact. "Bravi!" after Act I and a 15-20 min curtain call at the end! I joined in enthusiastically. Thank you so much, Stuttgart! Come again! In the meantime, I'll be counting down the days until Hamburg visit in March. (They're bringing Alina!! I'm one happy girl.)

I read the title and immediately assumed that Ovcharenko had been cast in the upcoming Fiennes film about Nureyev. I don't know what this project is but excellent casting. As for the Fiennes film, I'm intensely curious as to whom they'll cast. Fingers crossed for an actual dancer! Please!!!

Primaballerina1, you said you were looking for some documentaries? Have you seen the kind of recent Ballet 422, about the creation of a new work at NYCB by Justin Peck? I really enjoyed it!

Thank you for the welcome, alison. Tickets are about the same prices as London, actually. (I know because I've already booked to see Stuttgart Ballet in Tokyo in November. I have my priorities, haha.) I agree, that would be a good idea except that I don't have friends who know even one big name! The price at that point would also be an issue. I believe the cheapest upper slips seats are terrible for ballet and on principle I won't book for them (what's the point if I can't see half the stage?! I think they're great for opera though), so if hypothetical friend and I wanted to go twice, that would add up to the price of, say, new shoes or a very nice dinner and the outings would need to be worked out months in advance. The difficulty in getting people to watch ballet puzzles me and I've come to believe there's a sort of collective cultural prejudice around it. What are they doing right in Cuba, Japan, and Russia?!

Thank you for the welcome, Janet. One time I tried to pull a friend (one I judged as comparatively open to new adventures) into attending the ballet with me. We were planning a fun evening for two and since it was a celebratory occasion we agreed we could spend a bit more. 'Let's go to the ballet.' 'The ballet?' Affronted scepticism. 'Yes!' I launch into a semi-prepared speech about the beauty of the venue, the excellence of the principals, the romance and vitality of the choreography (I'd proposed Onegin), the interest of seeing a dance interpretation of such a classic work, the fact we'd be getting good seats for not too much money because I had a Young Friends membership, etc., etc. Pause. 'I don't know, I'm not really into men prancing about in tights. Let's catch something at the cinema and go to the pub after.' I gave up. Also, a lot of my friends by now have gathered that I really like ballet. I've gotten this reaction quite a bit: 'But, like, you've never danced ballet, have you?' As if only those who've gone through lessons in childhood could love ballet…? I remain doubtful that the Sergei Polunin dance video has converted legions of people who will rush out to support their local ballet troupes. That's what I rate as success, which is why I have a lot of respect for Misty Copeland and think the snark about her "undeserved" promotion is a bit harsh, considering what she's done in terms of promotion.

Fascinating thread. I don't have any good ideas about "spreading the word" but as an early 20s newcomer to ballet-watching, I thought I might offer some insight into how this "young person" discovered ballet. I read Clement Crisp's rave review about Edward Watson's Mayerling, bought an amphi ticket, and never looked back. Since then, I've bought tickets for one-third to a half of the shows for every RB season, sometimes for multiple casts (i.e. Manon). I sought out the big ballet forums (here and the American one), dance review websites, and ballet company resources (e.g. Hamburg Ballet/John Neumeier's website) and read every thread, feature, summary, or interview that seemed interesting. I devoured Apollo's Angels by Jennifer Homans in about four days. I had to leave the UK earlier this year and was devastated because there isn't very much ballet where I live. (Though I did make a trip to see Pacific Northwest Ballet and saw, in one day, both the matinee and evening show when Miami City Ballet came to visit.) The few resources available for someone wanting to know more about ballet are not well-promoted. But exploring and reading leads to interest and ticket sales. The last show I saw in London was the Royal Danish Ballet's Bournonville programme and that was wonderful. Without the internet, I wouldn't have decided to read the Homans book, wouldn't have become interested in the Danish style, and in short wouldn't have known about this fantastic company. I wish there was so much more available online. I wish the Balanchine Trust allowed videos of all his works on their website or a streaming site. The ballets by neo-classical choreographers on YouTube which are uploaded in their entirety are a blessing. I'm so thankful they're there. However, I'm aware that this is all self-motivated discovery. No one's made it easy for me to learn more about ballet, although in a way the dearth of material has made learning more manageable. I have grasped, since 2013, the biases of all the "important" UK and US dance critics. I doubt the fan base of any other "major" art form feels so like a small village. The web series "city.ballet" by AOL and "Strictly Ballet" by Teen Vogue are excellent. But I don't know how many non-ballet fans watch them; or even if any non-ballet fans stumble onto them and keep watching. I'd love to know the ticket sales for Ashley Bouder's outreach project and if those small town audiences appreciate what she's doing (in terms of ballet and her going out of her way). Lourdes Lopez held a pre-show talk when she brought MCB to Vancouver. A teenager asked why Balanchine was still relevant and she replied that seeing Balanchine danced would hopefully provide the answer. I think that's the key: people need to see ballet beyond Nutcracker. It's such a visceral, beautiful art form. I'm sad that anyone dismisses it before attending a performance of a show beyond the cash cows. I'm moving to Japan later this year and I'm elated because the balletomane world there is so much more vibrant! Maybe they're doing much more in terms of outreach and marketing? I'll report back once settled in P.S. As for Matthew Bourne and BalletBoyz attracting young people, I haven't seen either company perform and I assume I'd be their target audience. I'd rather buy for a programme such as ENB's Modern Masters than Car Man but I suppose I'm atypical in that respect. I mean, I got into ballet through reading a Crisp review…