bridiem

9 minutes ago, Jane S said:

 

There's a long and interesting interview with her on BachTrack, too.

Thanks, Jane! Very interesting interview. 

1 hour ago, JennyTaylor said:

I had this conversation last week and 3 ballets that were mentioned were the Judas Tree,  The Invitation and La Fille (very sadly). 

 

These days it seems that it's so easy to offend someone, anyone, with a wide variety of content and we have seen the rise of "wokeness" and cancel culture.  

 

So, does aging badly mean this - that it offends someone with its content, or does it just mean it looks old fashioned.  I take it with the 3 ballets I mentioned that it's content, in which case there's a lot more that could come into that category:  bullying an old man in Coppelia,  the Rudolf and Stefanie pdd in Mayerling, suggestive sexual content in Mayerling and Manon - the list could go and on. 

 

Yet, are we being too sensitive about ballet? This type of content is regularly available on TV channels every evening.    

Yes - it's very strange that there's such sensitivity around given that I personally can find very little to watch on TV that I don't find gratuitously violent, overly sexual, needlessly explicit in various ways, or just coarse and depressing with absolutely no serious artistic intent. Give me ballet any day.

40 minutes ago, FionaM said:

Interesting move for Mia and Victor.  And I assume they are hired as principals rather than soloists.  ? 

I read it as meaning that they are hired as soloists.

But won't the MacMillan casting be available before booking opens?

5 minutes ago, capybara said:

I meant the initial one!

I didn't receive it either. I've had others from the ROH about the shop/offers etc, but not this one. Baffling. I wonder if I/we will receive today's email?! Who knows.

1 hour ago, DVDfan said:

They tell you that the best way to learn to sing, or sing better, is to join  a choral society, but you won't find one that doesn't audition.

I agree with what you've said, DVDfan, except for this sentence. Maybe I was lucky, but I was a member of a choral society for many years despite being an extremely average (being kind to myself) singer - it had no auditions in spite of being run by a serious musician and attracting some good singers (and the good singers on the whole supported the less good). Maybe that was because when I joined it was run as a local authority evening class; when funding for that was no longer forthcoming, we went independent and it became much more of a struggle to survive. Unfortunately I can no longer sing now for health reasons. But I do think that there are still at least some local choirs/community choirs that do not require auditions, and it's the most wonderful activity both in terms of music and achieving something as a group. (But I do agree that at higher levels, musicians are often dismissive of non-musicians!). But it does demonstrate the importance of funding at local levels, not just for the talented but for anyone who wants to either participate in or just experience music/theatre/dance.

3 hours ago, Darnedshoes said:

Hello! I'm new here - I hope it's OK to post about performances outside Europe. The only review that I've seen of the National Ballet of Canada's current Onegin run that I've seen was a rather mediocre one by the Globe and Mail (in Links, November) so I thought I'd bring some balance by sharing my own more positive impression.

 

I watched NBoC perform Onegin last Saturday afternoon. It was my first time watching the whole ballet live.  I had booked last-minute young person's rush tickets without checking the cast, so I was pleasantly surprised to find Svetlana Lunkina dancing Tatiana.  She suited the role perfectly and gave a compelling portrayal both as a romantically naive teenager and a mature noblewoman. My friend who I'd dragged along to watch a ballet for their first time was shocked to learn Lunkina's actual age. Her Onegin was surprisingly a second soloist, Larkin Miller - tall with nice lines and good partnering skills, but who I felt could have added more nuance to his character. He looked suitably arrogant and haughty in the first two acts, and desperate in the third. However, surely Onegin needs something besides a grumpy face to generate an attraction strong enough to be rekindled decades later? I feel there needs to be a sense that a relationship could have been possible in Act 1, but scuppered by Onegin's immaturity, in order for Tatiana to actually feel such internal conflict in Act 3. Projecting chemistry and disinterest at the same time is definitely a bit of a challenge. Maybe because the characterisation of Onegin was unclear, I felt the ballet became ultimately about Tatiana's personal evolution.

 

Siphesihle November (brother of Mthuthuseli) was technically solid as Lenski - stable in his turn-filled solos, partnering Olga (Tirion Law) quite well despite his small stature (making tall Onegin look a real bully in the birthday party scene) and displaying sincere pathos in the pre-duel solo. The corps drew much applause during their supported grand jetes in Act 1. I enjoyed the music, especially the woodwind (I used to play the flute). As a lover of (melo)dramatic ballets, I came away quite happy indeed and have hopefully succeeded in converting my fellow young friend to the joy of the artform

 

By the way, I don't understand the G&M article's criticism that Onegin somehow is a poor programming choice in light of MeToo and the Russia-Ukraine war (or furthermore that it should be 'tweaked' - this is not a thing for neoclassical ballet). First, Onegin shows a completely different type of bad male behaviour; second, this is a ballet created by a South African-British choreographer on a German company about a domestic melodrama...

Thank you for this really interesting review, Darnedshoes! And I completely agree with your final paragraph.

27 minutes ago, Sam L said:

Hi all, 

 

I am new to post on the forum, but have been reading some of your reviews of the ballet, and have really enjoyed it. 

 

If any of you are interested, the below is my medium article reviewing the show. 

It would be lovely to receive any feedbacks or thoughts on the review. 

 

Review - The Dante Project: Dante, Danced and Dazzled

 

Thank you. 

 

Best, 

Sam

I think this is an excellent review, Sam - very clear and helpful. Thank you for posting it and I hope you'll post about any other productions you see!

35 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I remember that at my first viewing of Matthew Bourne's all-male swan lake I expected to be horrified (the tickets were a gift) - not because of the maleness of it per se, but simply that Bourne would dare to tamper with such a masterpiece of a ballet.  Yet by the end I was as moved as I have ever been by a performance, and absolutely loved it. So yes, why not a male Aurora?

Matthew Bourne completely rewrote the scenario of Swan Lake, re-choreographed and created a male swan character. He didn't create a male Odette.

8 hours ago, FionaM said:

Separately I do think the idea of less principals is risky … there are always going to be injuries and allowances made for maternity leave.  Within the last year, at least 4 principals have been out for long periods with injuries … Sambe, McRae, Corrales, Takada.   Osipova is vulnerable to injury and illness.  Cuthbertson has been on maternity leave.  Plus first soloists Mendizabal and Calvert also out on maternity.  Having up to 8 dancers of your senior ranks unavailable does make a dent in the optically large numbers in the top two ranks.  

That's true, but in the past injuries have often meant opportunities for more junior dancers. I suppose maternity leave is different because it's long (and getting more common), and unfortunately nowadays dancers often seem to get more serious injuries and are off for longer. All very difficult.

15 minutes ago, PeterS said:

i’ve often dreamt of being woken from my reverie by an handsome Prince (no luck so far) so, I think that there is room for a Sleeping Beauty that has a male dancer as Aurora. 

There could in theory be a male-male Sleeping Beauty (or Sleeping Handsome? With a new male name for the sleeping prince), or indeed a female-female one, but the choreography would have to be changed since it's been created for female-male physiques and training.

26 minutes ago, Sim said:

I think @Fonty makes a good point about some of the pieces being performed in such a way that the original intent is lost.  Like her, I didn't like Checkmate when I saw Bussell in it, but when I saw Yanowsky it was like another ballet and I loved it.  And, as I thought I indicated in my original post, I love Checkmate.  When I say it is outdated I am looking at it from the point of view of the wider audience, not forum members.  When I say it is outdated, I mean the look of it:  the set and the costumes and even the style of dancing.  Before I'm shot down, I will reiterate that I love the piece, but when I have shown it (live and on screen) to some people who are not ballet fanatics they have said that it's old fashioned.  Personally I don't mind if anything is old fashioned as long as it's good or I enjoy it, but it does seem to matter to some people, especially younger ones (who, like I did, would probably grow into these things as they get older).  I would really love to see this ballet performed again, but not sure whether the RB would risk it when sales are slow for even the popular ballets.  

I think it's like old films - they're of their time but still (if they're any good) of great interest today. 

Poppy Frenkel looks lovely. (Vanessa Palmer - what an excellent dancer she was! So glad to see how well her students are doing.)

Yes, I'm sure some ballets have aged badly, but since the possible candidates are rarely or never performed it's difficult to say which they might be. I have to say that the last time I saw Pineapple Poll I thought it seemed dated (but maybe I was in the wrong mood). I think older works have to be staged very carefully in order to retain their life and flavour and that's not easy. There also has to be a willingness on the part of ADs to take risks and to understand and present the history of the art form.

We seem to live in age in which some people are only prepared to tolerate theatrical performances (of any kind) that reflect exactly the same values as those of today (or what they themselves feel today's values to be). Which is utterly boring and reflects a bizarre and blinkered view of history. It's also dangerous because it morphs into (or springs from?) an unwillingness to tolerate differing views or outlooks in any sphere.

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Did Deborah Weiss once dance with Festival Ballet many years ago? 
If it’s the same lady a friend and I who used to dress the corps for Festival Ballet back in the day thought she was a lovely dancer and had her ear marked for future things at the time!  

Yes - her bio on Dance Tabs reads: 'Deborah Weiss is a freelance dance writer and critic, based in London. Royal Ballet School trained and a former senior soloist with London Festival Ballet and Bayerisches Staatsballett, she began writing in 1993 whilst living in Southern Germany. She has written for a number of publications including Dancing Times, The Dancer and Dance Europe.'

25 minutes ago, PeterS said:

 

new tickets released this evening for all performances 1st January onwards £8 - £108.  about 30 tickets per performance

Strange! Thank you (though for me Nutcracker in January would feel very odd!).

Unfortunately (in one way!) all the performances are booked out now anyway. So Friday Rush may have to come into play... 

What a wonderful Insight! Have just watched it. All the dancers were brilliant and Gary Avis is just incredible. You understand why he is such a superb dramatic/character dancer because he understands exactly why he is doing every move and imbues it all with complete meaning (and passes it all on with such clarity and generosity). He has the perfect mix of being both demanding and encouraging to the young dancers. I'd love to see Aiden O'Brien's Drosselmeyer - he looks really charismatic! But that would have to involve booking another performance... unless he does the Friends' Rehearsal. And such beautiful piano playing from Kate Shipway.

19 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

A friend of mine, who sees a lot of theatre but ballet only occasionally, is thinking of seeing SL & has asked my opinion on which cast to go for. I suggested Nunez/Muntagirov as the safest bet, with Kaneko/Muntagirov, Naghdi/Ball & Lamb/Hirano as other possible options. I thought, for my own interest, I'd try asking on here if more experienced ballet viewers agree with my suggestions or not?

I completely agree with them!

32 minutes ago, Ondine said:

I've said this before and I'm not sure it went down too well, but I don't understand people going to see something they know they won't enjoy...  better to save your money and your ire for things you know from experience and taste you do.

I can't imagine that many people go to something they know  they won't enjoy; but if it's a new work, even if it's by a choreographer you haven't enjoyed before, you never do know. And as @Jan McNulty has said, even if you haven't (or have!) enjoyed something (or someone) in the past your tastes may change over time. In order to keep learning, you have to keep an open mind as far as possible and (money and time allowing) try not to restrict yourself only to things you know (or think) you will like, especially if you haven't yet seen very much. (Which is why the high cost of tickets now is so detrimental to the art form; how are younger people nowadays supposed to be able to see a wide range of performances and develop their understanding of ballet, as I was able to do for many years?). And I find it just as valuable reading about what people haven't enjoyed as reading about what they have enjoyed - getting different perspectives is what makes this forum so interesting.

Having said all that, I am nowadays very selective in what I go to! Partly by choice and partly by necessity. As you say, life is too short...

11 minutes ago, AnnabelCharles said:

I don't often post because I know my opinions don't chime with the majority view. I also tend not to express my dislike for particular ballets, dancers , choreographers etc - because I don't think it's interesting to anyone else and it can spoil others' enthusiasm or upset the people involved. I do find some comments on this forum overly negative and they sometimes seem to brook no disagreement - or at least assume that others share the same view.

But how do we know what 'the majority view' really is if members don't post their views because they think differently from a few people who may already have posted?

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

I really liked Dante in the last run but I have only booked for one performance (featuring Hirano) primarily due to the ticket costs.

I've only booked one too (featuring Bracewell); but it's interesting that the tickets I normally book are £29 for Dante and were £67 for Don Q (so I had to sit further back for DQ). Dante is a very big production too, so why is it priced so much lower? Could it be that the ROH doesn't have quite as much confidence in Dante/McGregor as it seems to have? (I wish the pricing had been done the other way round - I'm looking forward to Dante but would only ever go to one since I don't really find the casting in McGregor works is all that important, whereas in classics and more interpretative works I want to see more/different casts.) 

15 minutes ago, akh said:

We also  really enjoyed seeing the dancers from Chile and an insight to their rehearsal of the work. The excerpt we saw showed what emotionally connected dancers they are. 

Yes, they were excellent!

1 minute ago, Ondine said:

I'd like Les Noce too, but I think B.

 

Les Noces could be a a bill with some Ashton, as he was taught by / worked with / was influenced by Nijinska.

Yes - as I've mentioned on the forum before (apologies!), my first ever ballet performance was Enigma Variations/Symphonic Variations/Les Noces. No wonder I got hooked! 

Just now, Ondine said:

Add some Massine and Balanchine?

 

Nothing wrong with 'heritage' works!

Yes, Yes and Not at all! I just don't like them being pigeonholed like that. (KOH does tend to talk about 'heritage' works as if they're something rarefied and outside the mainstream. If they were programmed regularly, they would be part of the creative present too, which is precisely where they belong.)