Blossom

It's possible there is a ticket limit though as with other events in the Linbury. This provides a fairer opportunity.

I was also at the 5pm performance today and really enjoyed the mix of choreographers. The programme opened with a piece from Rentaro Nakaaki which was fun once the music started and it was great to see Miguel Angel Maidana and Julia Conway up close. There were 2 presentations by Wayne McGregor Co, the first from Jordan James Bridge as intellectual study of movement and music as you’d expect from Wayne McGregor himself. I particularly enjoyed the work by Breanna Foad which was joyous and musical, aided by the connection Aitor Arrieta and Ashley Coupal had with each other. She mentioned that she mostly choreographs while listening to music on long flights to and from Australia which got me thinking about how hard it must be to sit relatively still for so long. I also really enjoyed Denilson Almeida’s piece, the clever use of props (chairs) to set the work and the relationship between 2 friends, one of whom was the brilliant Caspar Lench. There was also a beautiful neo classical piece from George Laing of Northern Ballet and a piece from Hannah Joseph of Wayne McGregor which was very accessible and felt quite street dance in style. Joseph danced in the piece herself and explained how different the process is to choreograph when in a piece vs choreographing on others. If this is an example of the sort of work which is shared in Draft Works I now feel like I have been missing out and need to better schedule my time in future!

But will it? Two Pigeons/Rhapsody didn’t sell out. The general public don’t really know who Ashton or MacMillan are and with rising prices vs so many West End deals I just can’t see the main stage selling out for the Royal Ballet without offers..

Links, Sunday, 25 February, 2024 Review – Ballet Nights, Lanterns Studio Theatre: Chris Omaweng, London Theatre 1 Matthew Paluch, Gramilano Review – ABT, Swan Lake, Kennedy Center, Washington DC: Michaela Dwyer, Broadway World Preview – Dance Theatre of Harlem, Spring Preview: Gia Kourlas, NY Times (paywall) Preview - Roxey Ballet, Spring Season Carmen, New Jersey: Aqsa Younas Rana, BNN Preview – World Ballet Series, Swan Lake, Iowa: Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune Feature - Royal New Zealand Ballet’s new artistic director’s spiritual homecoming: Tyson Beckett, The New Zealand Post Feature – Magic Behind Curtains: Kazakhstan’s Theater Guide Offers Insightful Backstage Tours: Abarshyn Akhmetali, Astana Times Article – Darcey Bussell: From a Security Scare to Sharing Stage Secrets of Sleeping Beauty: Safak Costu, BNN Article – Nikisha Fogo Shines in a Stellar Debut as Swan Queen with the San Francisco Ballet: Nitish Verma, BNN Article - 2 yrs on, Ukraine evacuees dance in Japan for peace in motherland: Ko Hirano, Kyodo News News - Sara Mearns and Jamar Roberts to Be Resident Artists at Vail: Roslyn Slucas, NY Times (paywall) News - Penfold Theatre Company will have its first permanent venue in Round Rock: Fernanda Figueroa, Austin-American Statesman (via AOL) News – Paris Opera Ballet Concludes it’s tour In Shanghai: Zhang Kun, China Daily News – Julian Pellicano, Renowned Conductor, Sets the Stage for a New Era with the National Ballet of Canada: Staff, BNN News - Raleigh-based NC Theatre declares bankruptcy and cancels the rest of its season: Richard Stradling, The News & Observer (via AOL) News - Join Elisa Carrillo’s massive dance class in CDMX’s Zócalo: News Team, Alaska Commons Book Review – The Sleeping Beauties by Lucie Ashe: Natalie Xenos, Culture Fly

Any feedback on Summer booking from premium friends?

Mine too - I looked it up after the announcement United Kingdom | Gerard Charles (royalacademyofdance.org)

Perhaps McRae might be back? With Corrales as a potential no, this leaves Ball/Sambe/Bracewell/Clarke/Muntagirov and assuming would have different principals for each piece so this is potentially quite a heavy load. For the ladies assuming Takada is out still? Hayward/Naghdi/O'Sullivan/Kaneko/Osipova/Nunez/Lamb/Cuthbertson/Magri Potentially easier to work with but can imagine still might need a couple of additions. Would the owners allow first soloists to take any of the principal roles or is this perhaps where the delayis coming from?

I asked a dancer about this and apparently not, unless they are planning around recent returnees. Could there be any challenges in terms of casting with the ballet owners? There are of course still plenty of principals and first soloists, some of whom haven't had much - if any -stage time since Nutcracker, so I can't imagine what else could be the driver.

Such brilliant news for him, for the RAD and a generation of new dancers. Truly delighted - he obviously has a commitment to dance teaching through his other project with a ballet school, plus it's only a few years before he will be re-entering the ballet schooling system as a parent! I am very interested to see what this means for the syllabus in terms of learning a craft as well as ballet for enjoyment and music appreciation. Is there a place where the public can access information on artistic vision (I'd love to look back at previous changes to the syllabus, music etc as well)? I do find it hard to believe though that this is recent news for KOH/RB and therefore disappointed that Alex's last performances are so soon, with little chance of getting tickets - unless KOH has been incredibly flexible on his notice period. I don't feel there has been enough opportunity to see him dance of late - glad to have seen him in this run of Manon, but a shame that the large number of principals means fewer performances for each one. I wonder if this will be considered to free up a principal slot or not.

There's a write up from Debra Craine in The Times this morning - see links.

Links, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 Review – Royal Ballet, Festival of New Choreography, ROH London, Deborah Weiss, Bachtrack Review – Carlos Acosta, On Before, Edinburgh: Kathy Elgin, Bachtrack Review – Ivan Putrov Productions, Dance for Ukraine, London Palladium, Debra Craine, The Times (share token) Review – Staatsballet, Forsythe mixed programme, Berlin: Katja Vaghi, Bachtrack Review – Joffrey Ballet, Studies in Blue, Chicago, Hedy Weiss, WTTW News Review – Kansas City Ballet, Peter Pan, Kansas City: Hilary Stroh, Bachtrack Review – Cincinnati Ballet, Don Quixote, Cincinnati, David Lyman, Cincinnati.com Preview – Jamiel Devernay-Laurence, Ballet Nights, Lanterns Studio Theatre, Canary Wharf: Teresa Guerrero, Culture Whisper Preview- Grand Kyiv Ballet, GISELLE 60 date US Tour, Boston, Chloe Rabinowitz, BNN Preview/Feature – Boston Ballet, Raymonda, Boston: Jennifer Heimlich, Pointe Magazine Preview – Houston Ballet, Cinderella, Texas: Margaret Downing, Houston Press Preview - Grand Rapids Ballet, Sleeping Beauty, Michigan, Staff, Grand Rapids Magazine Preview – Ballet Ariel, Spring triple bill, Colorado, Stephi Wild, Broadway World Preview – Co3. West Australia, STATE, Carnivale 6, Strut, State Theatre of West Australia: State of Wests Australia theatre, Dance Australia Preview - Lenende Ballet, Kazka: A fairytale of love, los and a mysterious blue fox, Victoria and NSW, Australia: Gabi Berman, Aussie Theatre Preview - Ballet Manilla, 2024 season, Staff, Malayan Business Insight Feature - A Guide to Manon – MacMillan’s biographer, Jann Parry, observes Natalia Osipova as Manon, with Reece Clarke :Jann Parry, Gramilano News - Twirling like Ivy: Columbia Ballet Collaborative’s ‘Ivy Ballet Exchange’ weaves three institutions together, Joyce Zheng, Columbia Spectator News - The Joffrey Ballet Welcomes New Member To Its Board Of Directors And Appoints Two New Life Directors, Chloe Rabinowitz, Broadway World News - Joffrey Ballet to make Sun Valley debut in June: Chloe Rabinowitz, Broadway World News- New nonprofit Dance Tampa Bay on mission to cultivate vibrant dance community in Bay Area: Christopher Curry, 83 degrees Feature – Meet Linda Ridgeway-Gamblin: Staff, Dance Australia News – PA Staff en pointe with rehab ballet programme: Staff, Metro South Herald News – Opportunities galore for ballet teachers, Anna Mametja, The Citizen And finally, a story about an Australian rugby player turning to ballet to stay injury free:- News - Tommy Tutu: How ballet exercises are keeping Trbojevic injury-free: Christian Nicolussi, Sydney Morning Herald

The ticket is now taken.

I think it's unfair to say this when there's more than what we see on the surface to consider - and noting that ASW hasn't been granted a massive cash injection as has been seen in San Francisco. It's clear that this year's programme is very much about saying 'I hear you' to ENB supporters. It involves some new programming, a much needed refresh and is fulfilling a Giselle tour to the North. A new Nutcracker is much needed and no doubt will sap a lot of the cash for 2024/25, so even more of a need to ensure 'bums on seats' to maximise profits. This season, I've noticed some more interesting casting choices and more opportunity given to certain individuals than under Rojo's tenure, specifically in the mixed bill, plus much better arrangement of corps de ballet to ensure that a diverse cast of dancers looks carefully balanced on stage. Technique is also looking sharper - this really came through in the Balanchine at the start of the season. It seems that ASW has an eye for detail. The dancers he has brought into the company are also brilliant acquisitions. Sanguen Lee in particular really is a cut above. In terms of the digital 75th anniversary, to me, (to quote Marshall McLuhan) the medium (or media) is the message. If ENB's content and marketing teams invest wisely, there is the opportunity to do something truly brilliant, national and broad reaching - however this assumes on my part that the budget which could have been consumed on a night or 2 at the Coliseum is still invested, just very differently. I don't like everything about next season, equally I don't like everything about this season, but I can definitely see the potential.

My greater concern is that Premium Friends who buy SCS might be inclined to buy more dates to spread their bets, leaving fewer for those of us lower down the pecking order... I'm not actually so concerned at the moment about casts as between the 2 Ashton programmes I can only make 3 dates.

Still available if anyone still looking.

We should definitely view this as a glass half full (and not half empty) event! I was on the front row of the Royal Circle, the centre section looked pretty well sold but sides not so well. It looks like some of the sold seats weren't taken - must have been a few no-shows. From what I could see, similarly the side stalls were not particularly well sold. Having checked the seating map earlier in the day, I don't think there was a particular last minute rush, despite leaflets being handed out at the ROH on Saturday night. From the audience response, especially to the bigger, showier pieces, you wouldn't have thought that the auditorium was anything but full.

I really enjoyed last night and Ivan Putrov is to be commended for turning around a gala in little over four weeks with such a splendid mix of dancers. In some cases, this meant that What I particularly enjoyed about the evening was the mix of principals and dancers lower down the ranks, giving a great opportunity to see them close up, in more dynamic roles with no distraction in terms of set and narrative going on around them. As much as this offers opportunity for the audience, I assume it can also feel quite exposing for dancers, especially working on pas de deux with only a few weeks' prep around their day job. All of the Royal Ballet dancers and ENB dancers were on good form, but it might get a bit boring to write about all of them in detail! What did cross my mind during Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Ball's R&J balcony pdd was the lack of live orchestra, which got me thinking about Northern Ballet's upcoming production. A recording was acceptable in this case due to a combination of turnaround time and lack of access to the pit, but it does make me incredibly sad to think that some NB audiences will not get access to the music in its full glory. Luca Acri, Marianna Tsembenhoi and Vladyslav Bosenko danced Le Corsaire pas de trois. Luca Acri was absolutely explosive on stage in his solo as Ali and Bosenko was a slick and assured Conrad, although perhaps there isn't quite enough dancing for Conrad which is why, I assume , the show piece is usually a pas de deux. Medora is quite a challenge to take on, less so in terms of her solo which is of course popular competition fare, but in terms of partnering both Conrad and Ali, the complexity of the dancing and the exceptionally short prep time. Marianna Tsembenhoi really took on the challenge. It wasn't quite as perfect or assured as some of the principals on stage, but her partners were as generous as can be and she is absolutely to be commended for accepting the challenge and delivering such a good show. It really demonstrated what a difficult piece this was and it was great to see what she is capable of. I look forward to seeing much more from her in the future. I'm lucky to have seen Olga Smirnova dance live in Amsterdam as Raymonda so was delighted to see her again. Her Dying Swan felt incredibly authentic for want of a better word, likely given her Vaganova elegance, long limbs and musicality. It almost brought a tear to my eye (as did Nunez and Braendsrod, not sure if it's the piece itself or if it's memories of Beatriz Stix Brunell). Very much enjoyed Smirnova in Alberto Alonso's Carmen Suite a bit later in the evening danced with Denys Matvienko, which was a sharp, modern and witty piece of choreography, excellently delivered and much enjoyed as it was new to me. Suited to the Russian style, I wonder if homegrown dancers would be able to deliver it with as much impact. As with Tsembenhoi, it was good to see Francesca Velicu, junior soloist at ENB, dance the pas de deux from La Fille Mal Gardee with a dancer from the Swedish ballet. Another complex pas de deux, with a partner she likely hasn't had a huge amount of time to practice with but she danced so perfectly, with energy and joy. She could make a lovely Lise, but also looks like she has plenty of stamina and could see her dancing the Swan Lake Neapolitan. A round up of the remainder - the guests from Japan danced a piece from The Dragon God by Tomoharu Yonekura which was structurally everything you'd expect from the big pas de deux, but the music didn't quite have the attack to follow the choreography. It was good to see something new (to the UK, premiered in Tokyo in 1957) and the dancers were incredibly light on their feet. William Bracewell danced a piece which drew on his lyricism and I could have watched all evening. Sanguen Lee and Gareth Haw from ENB danced Metamorphosis by David Dawson which suited Sangen's long and lean frame beautifully but I found the piece was a bit too long and perhaps not as engaging as some of the showier pieces. From a more contemporary perspective, Two by Two by Russell Maliphant, danced by Ivan Putrov and Grace Jabbari was completely different, the music had a thumping beat but the movement and the pace made it much more impactful. A mix of ENB and NB dancers took on Gloria, apt given the cause and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to see the elegant Minju Kang. We also got to see a full character dance, 'Gopak, Taras Bulba' danced by Volodymyr Kutuzov which was most definitely had the oomph in terms of the jumps alone as a show piece and this received rapturous applause. I left the theatre on a high - and wanting more, a lovely feeling to have at 9.30 on a Sunday evening.

My understanding is that the dancers don’t even know yet.

Links: Sunday 18 February 2024 Review – New York City Ballet, Solitude (and more), David H Koch Theatre, New York: Jerry Hochman, Critical Dance Mary Cargill, Dance View Times Review – Grand Kyiv Ballet, Giselle, Boston, Jed Gottleib, Boston Herald Preview – Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Deep River, Lincoln Center, New York Dil Bar Irshad, BNN Gia Kourlas, NY Times Preview – Grand Kyiv Ballet, Giselle, Albany, New York; Geraldine Freedman, Daily Gazette Preview - Sacramento Ballet, Cinderella: Staff, Sacramento Bee Interview - Choreographer Gemma Bond on returning to The Royal Ballet and her new work, Boundless: Graham Spicer, Gramilano Feature – Duets in Greyscale: Wendy Perron News- Utah Senate Honors Ballet West’s ‘The Nutcracker’ as a Living State Landmark: Sakchi Khandelwal, BNN News – Teatro Colon, 2024 Season, Staff, Breaking Latest News Article – Alvin Ailey, Iconic choreographer and dance photos: Staff, Alaska Commons Article - Breaking Barriers: David Ledford West's Journey to Redefine Ballet Through Diversity and Inclusion: Salman Khan, BNN

Very much enjoyed Manon this evening. The crowd was definitely in to see Nunez/Bolle and applause was forthcoming at every possible moment. Great performances from both, although did not feel the electricity between them or the depth of character in the way Hayward has with Sambe. Having said that, there is evidently a deep connection in terms of dance partnership. Particularly enjoyed their act 3 pas de deux, which was heartbreaking as ever. Hirano and Mendizabel greatly amused in their act 2 pas de deux, a very receptive audience laughed in all of the right places. All over far too quickly so glad to be getting another viewing next week, this time with Kaneko/Muntagirov.

@Mariana Freire looks set to take the ticket, will let you know if it becomes available.

7.30pm

@Sim has a NY Times article on this in Links today. Amazing to have such a cash injection - confidence in Rojo’s abilities. Programming certainly looks fresh and exciting and she’s bringing British heritage works to a new audience. Interesting to read in SF Chronicle that $50m for new works and $10m to fund the day to day company operations.

Realised my daughter has exams next week so won’t be joining me for this which we are both disappointed about. Surprised not to see any requests yet! Row E seat 3 on the far side from the entrance. Ticket £20

I would love to see Alison McWhinney as Giselle. I hope she is cast. This run she was only just back from mat leave.