fromthebalcony

I believe that Helgi Tomasson, although maybe not the same "star" calibre of Nureyev, was a successful dancer and current director. The same goes for Peter Boal. Although Peter Martins has had his problems, which we have discussed, he was both a star dancer and a successful director in terms of running the company. Lourdes Lopez and Angel Corella have yet to be judged in totality.

Not sure if this was already posted? https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jan/28/john-curry-film-ice-king-skating-star-bittersweet-life-story-icarus

I am not saying I agree with it, just found it interesting.

I guess this is something we are accustomed to seeing in the U.S. When Angel Corella took over Pennsylvania Ballet, there were dancers who left, knowing full well that his vision would change the company. Several key staff members were fired instantly. Within two years, the company lost 40% of its dancers through defection and firings. I do not think we have seen the end of it. Houston Ballet has had a slow bleed of dissatisfied, key dancers over the past several years, which has not received as much attention, but has been noticed by balletomanes. The bigger story, which has never been publicized anywhere, is the revolving door at Boston Ballet during Nissinen's tenure. Except for a few key dancers, many of us in the audience feel that we see a new company every year. I wish someone would have kept track of the comings and goings, as I am sure it would be shocking. As I mentioned before, when Zelensky took over in Munich, many dancers left the company (ironically being replaced by ENB dancers). In addition, I found this a very interesting comment from Graham Watts' facebook wall from Charlotte MacmIllan: "In my 44 years of living on this earth and having had the privilege of seeing many many companies around the world; known dancers and directors, I can attest to the fact that with any arts institution, the boring old cliche “you can’t please all of the people all of the time” applies to every single ballet director I have ever met. I watched my father having to deal with the emotionally challenging ordeal of finding out that many of his favourite dancers were secretly voting to have his directorship at the Royal Ballet cut short, I have witnessed members of the Paris Opera Ballet threaten to walk out because they didn’t want to perform ‘Song of the Earth’ (apparently too contemporary for them in the 1980s)... Not to mention the vituperative reaction to the last 3 directors of ENB ... I could go on. We must not forget that the institutionalisation of dancers can produce a gaggle of infantilised adults who want/need to be loved and nurtured. And directors have the very difficult task of having to look after their ‘children’ as well as please the bums on seats. I applaud Tamara who has shown that the unenviable task of juggling two jobs at ENB can be done and with panache and taste. And who the hell cares about personal relationships ? Let’s not open the debate about directorship and sexual relationships as there are too many to mention who abused this power. In this instance, it is not."

There is a very lengthy thread/discussion on the Martins' sexual harassment case over at Ballet Alert: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/43192-peter-martins-sexual-harassment-allegations/ I am not sure if this situation is the same. However, I would ask this - has Hernandez received preferential treatment in terms of casting because of his relationship with Rojo? It appears that he was not always first cast in many of the ballets for the past several years. I will admit that I don't always look at the casting for every company, but I had taken a special interest because Alejandro Virelles (a dancer I had watched in Boston) became a principal at ENB. He danced with Alina a number of times, I believe as first cast. Interestingly many of the defectors from ENB went to Munich, but there was a huge defection from Munich when Zelensky took over: https://www.ilona-landgraf.com/2017/07/more-than-a-quarter-of-the-company-leaves-the-bavarian-state-ballet/ This is not an unusual occurrence when new directors take over a company.

This is one thing for which I am grateful. We have a few stations over here that have been showing lots of skating: all of the championships leading up to the Olympics, but also past competitions. It is has been wonderful watching it. That is one complaint my American friends have when living in London - television! Other than that, they love it! How is the coverage of the Olympics for you?

The Olympics start in February. I really would love to see this French couple win the ice dancing. They are just beautiful. And, yes, it was very sad about John Curry - his father did not want him to study ballet. However, he elevated figure skating, in my opinion. It is sad to me today, but I much prefer the ice dancing to the figure skating, as I feel that skating has become quite the circus at times. I would rather see a beautifully done double or triple turn (no matter which) than a quadruple poorly done. (I feel the same about ballet in terms of pirouettes and fouettes - give me a beautiful double pirouette and single fouettes well-executed.)

I loved John Curry! Thanks for sharing that!

Two very exciting "ballet stories" for us in the US. Nathan Chen, a former ballet student at Ballet West, and our national men's champion: http://www.pointemagazine.com/nathan-chen-ballet-training-2528323039.html And the beautiful ice dancing couple from France, Cizeron and Papadakis, who got a little help from ballet and Jeffrey Cirio: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/10/25/259553222/papadakis-cizerons-free-dance-gets-balletic-touch

Yes, you are correct. We never know what goes on behind the scenes. I do know that they performed Grand Pas Classique and Romeo & Juliet in the gala, not an easy feat. Perhaps with preparation and then the return from Canada, it was impossible to prepare for the ROH performances.

Great list. Have watched Tiffany Hedman for a long time in the U.S. and glad to see she is welcomed in the U.K. I also have had the opportunity to watch Gasparini, and I have been surprised that she has not moved up in the ranks at Royal. Hopefully, she will get some more opportunity.

Robison was guesting the week of the ROH performances with Dronina in a Canadian ballet gala.

How I wish I could be there and see Song once again. I was hoping to be back in London, but it is not going to be in the cards. I loved this ballet and wonder why American companies do not perform it. Really, I would now list Song as one of my top five ballets. Le Jeunne is another that is not performed here, in fact, much of Petit's work is not. So sad to miss it.

We definitely should be applauding ENB for investing and developing dancers, as we should any company which does so. I also have no problem with dancers/performers changing companies, and, as you said, there are many reasons for making a change. I have two children involved in the dance profession and another who is on a college dance team. Having been involved in the industry for quite awhile, my point was and still is that gratitude goes a long way.

Dancers move for many reasons and speculation always swirls. Of course, I have watched from afar and have not witnessed much of Cesar's dancing. I know he is super talented, but it seems that he was moved along maybe too quickly. I have seen this occur with dancers in the U.S., and it can sometimes be dangerous. There is a delicate balance between keeping a dancer challenged and giving them too much too soon. It seems to me that at least doing a full year/season after being promoted to principal would show some respect for the company which nurtured him. And, yes, I know many of you will disagree - that I don't know the British way, etc. You are right, but I feel that respect in any field goes a long way. Adding to the awkwardness of the situation (again, in my opinion), is the fact that Cesar's mother works at the ENB school. That is certainly uncomfortable.

I almost forgot. I was thrilled to see Tiffany Hedman lead the Fourth Song. She was part of Boston Ballet for a number of years. She and Aitor Arrieta made a very nice pair.

Was thrilled to be in London on business. Knowing ahead of time, I was able to get a ticket to last evening's performance. Having never seen either of these ballets and very little MacMillan for that matter, I was extremely excited. For me, The Judas Tree was shocking and uncomfortable. The dancing was excellent. I have seen Ms. Cuthbertson at our Vail Festival in the US, and I was happy to see her in such a role. Still, it was difficult to watch. Reece Clark was a standout to me - just beautiful on stage. Song of the Earth was a ballet I believe I could watch over and over again. I have read everyone's mixed comments on this ballet, and I am surprised that more people don't absolutely love this piece. The whole company was amazing. Erina, Isaac and Jeffrey were perfectly matched. In reference to comments about Cirio's size, I felt differently. I don't believe the Messenger has to be ominous. Death can come in many ways. In the program, it states, "As someone who had lived through World War II and whose father had been haunted by his experiences in World War I, MacMillan was all too aware of the way that the shadow of death stalked the pleasure of daily life. Yet he doesn't imagine the messenger as a sinister figure, he is just part of things." If you look at the picture below, Watson is smaller in size than Hristov.

I have been watching the clips from Song of the Earth at English National's facebook page. I have never had the privilege of seeing Song, so I would love to watch it along with La Sylphide. Here in the US, I have seen La Sylphide paired with Serenade which makes for a beautiful evening. ABT has paired it with Paul Taylor's Airs. This year, Boston Ballet is pairing Sylphide with Bournonville Divertissements - Jockey Dance, the pas from Flower Festival, and the Pas de Six and Tarantella from Napoli. I am not sure if that is what NYCB did recently?

"American Ballet Companies generally do not offer full-time contracts to their dancers. Many of them pay their dancers only for the time when they are actively performing. There are apocryphal stories of dancers working in restaurants during the season breaks. On the other hand, dancers in the USA are generally paid better than their UK counterparts, when they are performing." You are speaking of smaller, regional companies. While it is true that American companies do not pay their dancers full-time, those in larger, union companies (NYCB, ABT, San Fran, Boston, PNB, Houston, Miami) spend their lay-offs either teaching or dancing in other capacities. Additionally, in larger, union companies, the dancers are often times provided supplemental income or unemployment pay. I realize that the guest policy at ENB has been troublesome, not unlike what ABT has faced. Until just the past two years, ABT had a guest dancer policy that was, in my opinion, cumbersome. It took away from opportunities for company dancers to gain opportunities to dance roles and prepare for promotion. Now, it appears as though the company is looking within. This will take time to rebuild. Hopefully, this is the case for ENB, too. With the hiring of Aaron Robison and Joseph Caley (a dancer I have followed since his days at Royal Ballet School), things are looking up. Additionally, it appears that Tamara is working on promotions from within: Cesar Corrales has been promoted to Principal Alison McWhinney and Fernando Bufalá are promoted to First Soloist. Katja Khaniukova, Aitor Arrieta, and Ken Saruhashi are promoted to Soloist. Tiffany Hedman, Rina Kanehara and Guilherme Menezes are promoted to Junior Soloist. Precious Adams, Isabelle Brouwers, Jung ah Choi, and Francesca Velicu are promoted to First Artist. Emily Suzuki is promoted to 4th year Artist of the Company. I am not here to argue with anyone. And I realize comparison to the U.S. is useless, however, even in the U.S., ballet companies are changing and evolving. Just because things have always been done a certain way, it does not mean they must continue that way. P.S. "I have read the comments above from our correspondents in Boston Massachusetts," Not from Boston - just love the company and its rep.

New to ballet co forum. Heard about this thread. I don't presume to know what everyone here knows. However, I am an avid ballet fan in the U.S., mostly Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, but I attend performances of a few other companies now and then. I remember when Mikko Nissinen took over Boston Ballet, and there were numerous firings, departures, hirings for a number of years. The company is still known for dancers coming and going, but with a number of people who have remained and are able to carry out Nissinen's vision. I think it takes awhile for a new AD to see exactly what they want from the company, and to acquire the dancers necessary to carry out that vision. From an outsider's perspective, it strikes me as odd that so many of the dancers are going to just one company. That would indicate someone working behind the scenes to undermine Tamara, in my opinion. That type of oddity - seven or more dancers leaving one company to go to another would be frowned upon here in the US. I think there would be a discussion between AD's, for sure. Additionally, as we know, there is much that plays into these decisions. Why did Aaron Robison leave his principal position at SF Ballet (a company with amazing rep and a position considered the pinnacle of success here in the US)? Why would Madison Keesler leave a ranked position at ENB to go to the corps of SF Ballet? My guess on both (and I know Madison personally) would be - they both missed home. Does that mean there was not some dissatisfaction? Probably not. But, as we well know, dancers are never really satisfied. It is part of their lot in life as artists. People can speculate all they want, but the dust must settle, and hopefully the outcome will be a positive one.