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Saodan

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  1. Saodan
    Things which immediately jump out: Very happy for O’Sullivan. Corrales continues to be featured prominently. McRae is not reprising The Creature. No Romeo for Bonelli… Edit: Also surprised that there is no Romeo for Campbell, despite there being only 8 Romeos for 10 Juliets.
  2. Saodan
    Thanks for that Richard. I hope this is indeed the case. Perhaps it’s a problem with transferring everything to the new website design that is behind this and the issues with casting information.
  3. Saodan
    I was wondering about the digital programmes as well. No mention of them during the insight event and none during the cinema relay. Also, the webpage that used to carry the digital programmes (http://roh.org.uk/publications) still exists, but is blank. I guess this means they have discontinued them. Not especially surprising. Presumably, most of the ‘sales’ were done using the free codes they provided. If very few people were paying money for them, it was probably deemed not to be worth the effort. I used to consider it as included within the £22 I pay for the cinema relays, but I guess the ROH don’t see it like that. Digital programmes, just like accurate, up to date casting information, and a good synopsis, seem no longer to be considered an important part of the audience experience.
  4. Saodan
    The Floral Hall was renamed the Paul Hamlyn Hall in 2007 in recognition of philanthropic support.
  5. Saodan
    No price adjustments that I am aware of. Those who held balcony tickets are being 'upgraded' to higher priced seats downstairs. There are some seats right at the back of the stalls (rows YY and ZZ) priced at £12, but I cannot vouch for these. I have no idea why they are so much cheaper than the row in front. Otherwise the cheapest now is £35.
  6. Saodan
    Unfortunately, tickets have not sold well in Southampton and the Mayflower have now taken the decision to close the balcony. I find it incredible that an internationally renowned company performing a recognised masterpiece is struggling this much to shift tickets. It cannot look good to the funding bodies. Still, I’m looking forward to it.
  7. Saodan
    For Ball's first performance it was Sambé, Acri, Bracewell, Clarke.
  8. Saodan
    To be fair, it is a much better synopsis, including everything you need to know, but it is not the scene by scene breakdown we have had in the past. It is also incredibly dense. I know the ballet fairly well by this point but still felt a bit overwhelmed when reading it. Luckily I didn't read it on the night! I can easily see how a newcomer could get confused and give up on it (the synopsis not the ballet). I credit on screen synopses with sparking my interest in ballet. The first ballet I saw was a recording of the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake broadcast on Sky Arts a few years ago. Unusually, as I now understand, there were on screen synopses before each scene. Had this not been the case I think I would have lost interest; just a whole lot of prancing around with no apparent aim. The clear explanation of what I was about to see really helped me, as a newcomer, to catch the narrative thread and see the purpose underlying the sometimes tedious dancing. You will be pleased to know that I now no longer find the dancing tedious!
  9. Saodan
    As difficult as this may be to believe, the synopsis in the cinema cast sheet was more detailed than the one provided in the ROH cast sheets, but less detailed than the one provided in programmes and cast sheets last run. Incredible, isn't it? Three different synopses! How do they expect the audience to understand this complicated ballet if they can’t even decide which synopsis to use? Thinking about it, it is difficult to see the incredibly short synopsis provided with ROH cast sheets as anything other than an attempt to encourage people to buy programmes. There is enough blank space for at least the mid length cinema synopsis to have been included.
  10. Saodan
    If the ROH are not going to keep us informed about cast changes, I guess we are going to have to do it ourselves. Avis is now listed as dancing Bay Middleton tonight 17th (Soares cast). This was previously listed as Gartside. He also replaced Gartside on 12th. Kish is now listed as dancing Bay Middleton on 25th and 30th (Bonelli cast). These dates were previously listed as Gartside. Gartside is still listed as dancing Bay Middleton on 22nd (Soares cast), but…? Mendizabal is now listed as dancing Elizabeth on 25th and 30th (Bonelli cast). These dates were previously listed as Heap. (Has Mendizabal danced this role before?) As noted in another thread, Turk is now listed as dancing Elizabeth tonight 17th and 22nd (Soares cast). These dates were previously listed as Heap. She also replaced Heap on 12th.
  11. Saodan
    If the ROH staff are reading this: what about Bennet Gartside? He is listed on the website as dancing Bay Middleton with the Soares cast, but when I saw this cast on Friday it was Gary Avis. This is very shoddy work for something as important as casting. Doesn't Equity require performers to be accurately credited?
  12. Saodan
    I would also be interested in hearing any thoughts on Mayara Magri’s debut as Mitzi Caspar last night.
  13. Saodan
    I didn't see the news piece, but this article was posted on here a while ago: https://life.spectator.co.uk/2017/11/dancing-queens-meet-britains-next-great-ballerinas/ Hayward on racism in ballet: “it’s something I’ve never thought about… No one in the ballet world has ever made me aware of the colour of my skin — to be asked now makes it feel like we’ve taken a million steps back.”
  14. Saodan
    It’s not just the older members of the audience they are alienating with this. I am a student in my 20s and attended my first performance at the ROH in 2015. Since then, I have spent what little spare money I have on the Royal Ballet. I have been to more performances than I should, but not as many as I would like. I have always felt at home in the ROH, and even a little bit proud to think of myself as an aspirant regular. When I attend my Mayerling performances, I think I’m going to feel a bit ashamed that, with my standing ticket and no membership, I’m considered little more than a freeloader. The thing that really grates though, is that there is nothing I can do. I love the art form, I love the company, and I love the dancers. I can’t abandon that just because I despise the powers-that-be. With this decision, the ROH have targeted prices rises at their most committed, and possibly least wealthy, audience members with full knowledge that it will either drive them out or they will take a financial hit because of their love of the art. That is rank exploitation and it stinks.
  15. Saodan
    It may also be worth noting that, according to the Nutcracker documentary, Magri was the cover for Sugar Plum Fairy the year Hayward and Naghdi made their debuts. Last year, she danced Giselle opposite Soares in Brazil. Currently, she is preparing to dance the Romeo and Juliet balcony pas de deux with Acri for a gala in Japan. I've also seen a tweet suggesting that she was cover for Odette/Odile.
  16. Saodan
    Montaño was first cast. I was surprised when I checked. I can't help wondering where Zucchetti has been this production. Has anybody sighted him? Indeed, how spoilt we are!
  17. Saodan
    Whilst I’m at it, I owe Campbell an apology. He is clearly a very fine Benno and gave a brilliant performance last night. I don’t know what was wrong with me in the theatre; maybe I was disconcerted having seen Ella dance different choreography at the matinee. Sorry Mr Campbell, I should never have doubted you.
  18. Saodan
    Yes, I think that was the main one. Heap for Cowley in the Waltz, Pajdak for Cowley in the Czardas, Emerton for Ella in the Spanish, and Gasparini for Stock in Cygnets. Stock was on stage as Odette's double in the prologue with Bracewell as Von Rothbart. I do hope all the dancers are ok.
  19. Saodan
    I’m hoping that the full casting will be added to the digital program in due course. Until then, it looked to me like it was pretty much opening night cast with a few exceptions. I do wish the ROH was more forthcoming with casting details for the cinema screenings. The dancers are all excellent and deserve acknowledgement. Act 1 Waltz and Polonaise - Heap, Hinkis, Kaneko, Magri, Ball, Hay, Montaño, Sambé Act 2 Two Swans - Calvert, Magri Cygnets - Hinkis, Gasparini, Pajdak, Harrod Act 3 Italian Princess - Choe Spanish Princess - Mendizabal Hungarian Princess - Hamilton Polish Princess - Stix-Brunell Spanish Dance - Heap, Emerton, Edmonds, Clarke, Montaño Czardas - Pajdak, Dyer Neapolitan Dance - Hinkis, Sambé Mazurka - Harrison, Bracewell
  20. Saodan
    If you think the camera work for the ROH cinema screenings is bad take a look at this. Wow, just wow...
  21. Saodan
    Thanks for the additions everyone, my spreadsheet has been updated accordingly. If the ROH isn't going to keep the performance database up to date, we may have to take matters into our own hands!
  22. Saodan
    I have been keeping notes based on the reviews here and photos posted by dancers and audience members on instagram. My incomplete records are below. (Disclaimer: Things get less complete the further down you go. If anyone can add to this I would love to hear. Please do not book based on this; it is not guaranteed to be correct, nor is it injury-proof! I have aimed for scheduled pairings where possible. Corresponding Odette cast should not be relied upon; it is mostly educated guesswork and probably subject to change. I haven't even attempted the Waltz and Polonaise.) Queen: McGorrian (Nuñez/Osipova), McNally (Lamb/Takada/Cuthbertson), Harrison (Naghdi) Von Rothbart: Gartside (Nuñez/Cuthbertson), Whitehead (Lamb/Takada), Avis (Naghdi/Osipova) Benno and sisters: Campbell/Hayward/Takada or Dyer/Calvert/Stix-Brunell (Nuñez), Acri/Magri/Gasparini or Hinkis (Lamb), Sambé/Kaneko/O’Sullivan (Takada), Hay/Calvert or Magri/Choe (Cuthbertson), Ella/Heap/Gasparini (Naghdi), Campbell/Mendizabal/Stix-Brunell (Osipova) Swans: Calvert/Magri (Nuñez 1st and Osipova), Hamilton/Mendizabal (Nuñez 2nd), Kaneko/Cowley (Lamb), Stix-Brunell/Choe (Takada), Heap/Harrison (Cuthbertson), Grennell/Turk (Naghdi) Cygnets: Harrod/Hinkis/Pajdak/Stock, Dean/Pitchley-Gale/Gasparini/O’Sullivan Spanish Princess: Mendizabal, Cowley, Magri Hungarian Princess: Hamilton, Heap, Kaneko Italian Princess: Choe, Harrod, Hiniks Polish Princess: Stix-Brunell, O’Sullivan, Calvert Spanish dance: Heap, Cowley, Storm-Jensen Czardas: Cowley/Dyer, Stock/Dyer, Grennell/Acri Neapolitan Dance: Hinkis/Sambe (Nuñez), Gasparini/Hay (Takada), O’Sullivan/Kay (Cuthbertson), Pajdak/Kay (Naghdi), Magri/Dyer (Osipova), and poss. Choe/Yudes (poss. Lamb) Mazurka: Harrison/Bracewell, Parish/Donnelly, Harrison/Mock
  23. Saodan
    I found this as well. Having been very impressed by Ella at the matinee (what a season he is having) I was excited to see that Campbell would be dancing in the evening. I was surprised that I found his interpretation to be less engaging, because I normally like Campbell very much. Reading MRR’s post above, I think that Ella, like Sambé, performed barrel leaps rather than doing Campbell’s double tours for the ending of the act 1 variation. Is anyone able to confirm this? I wish I had a head for choreography, but alas I am reliant on the incredible depth of knowledge here. Also, is one considered to be more technically challenging than the other? I think I prefer the barrel leaps, so it may be the choreography behind my reaction rather than Campbell himself.
  24. Saodan
    I saw Kish’s Des Grieux and thought he was very effective dramatically and technically. This is, perhaps, why I find this point intriguing. Having seen how good he can be, I’m struggling to process his performance yesterday. I completely agree he was underwhelming, but I’m not sure why. It may have been nerves, the strength of his partner, the ballet itself, or something else. I just find it difficult to accept that he is not good enough, as I have seen for myself that this is not true. I should probably say, I thought Naghdi gave a magnificent debut. The contrast between the acts was particularly striking. I do wish her Siegfried had been more responsive to that. It takes a special artist to deliver a debut performance of such maturity.
  25. Saodan
    Do people feel that the quality of Kish’s dancing was poor, or that his delivery was underwhelming? I ask because my understanding is that, in a classical ballet like Swan Lake, the man is there to support the ballerina not overshadow her. As such, I felt Kish was an accomplished classical partner, although I would have liked more from him dramatically and didn't sense any real chemistry with Naghdi. For me he was neat, tidy, assured, and understated in his solos and secure, attentive and caring in his partnering. He didn’t try to show off. I get the sense that this is his style, rather than an indication of technical shortcomings. That Naghdi completely stole the show is surely a complement to her self-effacing partner. Is my judgement wrong? Did Kish display a lack of technique? We are so spoilt these days with men who are jumping higher and spinning faster than ever before. Have we become so accustomed to a bravura style that when a dancer offers us something different, less showy, we reject it? Is this simply a matter of taste? Perhaps if Kish was stronger dramatically his understated dancing would be more effective?
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