yvonnep

I only knew Deborah Bull from the ballet documentary she hosted and danced in. Her Two Pigeons final pas de deux with Adam Cooper remains my favorite version aside from the original cast(They were coached by Lynn Seymour). Also that pas de deux from The Invitation might be the only recording on the Internet of the dances between the Wife and the Boy. I was amazed by her after watching the documentary and was very disappointed to find out that few recordings were made of her.

James Hay’s lines and legato-style movements always remind me of the sense of harmony I see in great dancers of the past generations. I hope he’ll get more chances to prove himself in the future.

As far as I remember, Cuthbertson was’t cast in any big classic in cinema broadcast in the past 10 years except Beauty. Nutcracker hardly counts.

Her Beauty with Pulunin was never commercially released. (Possibly because of Polunin’s departure from RB) so people who live in other countries can only rely on 

pirated videos to see her in the role of Aurora.

IMO It is only wise to record her while she’s at her peak and sickness and injuries seem to not have occurred for a while, otherwise there might not be a chance to (as in the case of Morera).

I cannot understand why this is a problem, as some other dancer was cast again and again in almost every major role in RB rep in cinema broadcasts and nobody seemed to have opened a thread to complain about it. Maybe it’s because this time they are all In the same season?

On 15/08/2019 at 16:49, JNC said:

 

Ah ok, clearly I either missed/forgot this or interpreted it completely differently! In my memory I thought they were meeting for the first time and their first scenes/dances together are them falling in love.

 

I do vaguely remember the holding the womb/stomach gesture now it's been mentioned (though could be false memory!) but I think it maybe came later on in which case it would still work for Giselle/Albrecht to have their initial meeting at the beginning of the ballet, and then to fall pregnant off scene? 

 

But happy to stand corrected - will watch closely next time and happy to have different interpretations floating about, think this is often the interesting thing about ballet - different people will have different thoughts on dancers' emotions/motives etc.

 

In the 'original' classical version, are they also already in a relationship? 

In the Khan version, she was pregnant from the beginning. Their first meeting in the ballet was she trying to tell him about it but not being able to. Khan explained it when the company performed that scene in NYC.

8 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

Was this a deliberate choice of words, yvonnep - much better in the role of Odette specifically, or as both halves of the dual Odette/Odile role?

It was a deliberate choice because their interpretations of Odile are just different. I wouldn’t say either of them is a lot better than the other. Cuthbertson is more luring and subtle, while Nuñez is more aggressive and straightforward.

11 hours ago, capybara said:

 

 Interestingly, Lauren made a number of guest appearances abroad in Swan Lake during the 2019/20 season so she is actually quite experienced in the roles of Odette/Odile, if not in the new RB version.

Yes, I saw her with Muntagirov in Swan Lake in Vienna last Christmas. From the dramatic perspective my personal opinion is that she’s much better in the role of Odette than Nuñez (who’s been casted more than once in live cinema). Speaking of Beauty, although Cuthbertson was casted in live cinema broadcast ten years ago that version was never commercially released if I remember correctly.

8 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I'm not sure that anything 'needs' to be reflected in ballet, though almost everything can be; all that can be asked is that choreographers create the works they are moved to create.

Yes. I should have rephrased it as "that he felt an urge to reflect in ballet".  Thanks.

There is a huge difference between loving the theme of abuse and treating abuse as a reality that needs to be reflected in ballet.

I see most of his ballets (especially the ones that I love most, like Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Mayerling, Requiem, Song of the Earth) not as works that “entertain” me, but works that profoundly expand the horizon of human compassion in the world of ballet.

25 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Sorry, what is D&C (apart from an unpleasant medical procedure)?

oh sorry I shouldn't have abbreviated it. It's Daphnie and Cloe.

Hi, everyone. Thanks a lot to Pas de Quatre, I just got the book. There are lots of great pictures in it that I have never seen, especially of R&J and Hamlet. I'm so delighted to see him with Fonteyn in D&C as well.

PM me your email address if you'd like to download the book. Thanks!

The Dream paired with Song of The Earth

Symphonic Variations

Concerto

Monotones

Winter Dreams

Rhapsody

Coppelia

Dances at a Gathering (I wonder if it's still in the RB repertoire...)

There isn't any official recording of Requiem available, is there? I was deeply moved upon seeing a solo performed by Viviana Durante in a South Bank documentary last week and wonder why a DVD was never released... (maybe the same reason as why Darcey's farewell performance of Song of the Earth was never released?)

Thank you, Sim!

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I don't think sharing of the book through this site would comply with AUP.

 Thanks for the information. Why I asked for individual sharing in the first place is that I was not sure whether it complies with the policy to ask for a public download. Do you have the text in the policy that mentions this? Thank you.

3 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

You will be delighted to hear I have the complete book which I downloaded at the time.  It is a pdf file.  Can any of the moderators or computer savvy members suggest a way of sharing.  I won't have time to send to individuals.  Does anyone know a host site?

Wow great news! Sure! You can share it with me through another site, and then I can share it with others. I’ll send you a message. Thank you!

4 hours ago, Richard LH said:

That's a shame! She is an amazing Manon.....

I second it.

She might have changed the intention of some pieces of the choreography (not the choreo itself though) in order to suit her own portrayal of Manon but imho her dramatic dancing in Act 1&2 is much more impressive than some of the other dancers I saw.

The chemistry between she and Alex Campbell was simply the best among all the couples I saw in the last run. TBH i hadn’t  expected that at all and am most glad that I didn’t miss the chance of seeing her.

8 hours ago, joe blitz said:

Hi Yvonnep:  

I couldn't open the picture of Dowell.

Sorry, I think that link expired.

I uploaded it again to another site and here it is:

Thanks, Odyssey! Yes, I also saw posts requesting for it in other forums like BalletAlert. It seems that some people did manage to download it at the time the book was made available, but most of them have stopped going to the forum, so the request didn't reach them. On finding that there has been no post about it here on this forum, I thought I'd try my luck

I wholeheartedly agree that the books on Fonteyn and Royal Ballet from Keith Money are wonderful!

I also love the book from Leslie E Spatt on Sibley and Dowell. In the preface of the book the author said that there were over 1000 pictures of them in her collection. I always wondered if there is a chance that she could publish a sequel to that book...However, I also recognise that there might not be sufficient demand for it as illustrated in the case of the Keith Money book on Christopher Gable

On 22/02/2018 at 16:23, Lynette H said:

....And following up on the theme emerging here of fascinating inconsistencies in Giselle, how many Albrechts actually get to notice that Giselle is wearing his fiancee's necklace - which is potentially such a powerful moment ? 

 

 

Before seeing this picture of Dowell I had never given it a thought…

I’ve been having a huge crush on Christopher Gable since I saw pictures of him dancing in Sylvia, 2 Pigeons and Les Sylphides... In Ballet Association’s News on 2011-05-03, I saw this: 

The distinguished ballet, theatre and documentary photographer Keith Money has made his 279 page book available for free download in pdf format.
In the author's words: "The major portion of this volume comprises a photographic essay which focusses on the complex art of balletic partnership, as exemplified by one particular dancer, Christopher Gable, whose brief yet extraordinary dancing career, principally in the early sixties, brought fresh emphasis to the nuances inherent in ballet double work…"

Unfortunate the link doesn’t work anymore. I’m wondering if anyone who has downloaded it could kindly share it with me? Much appreciated!

I agree completely with HappyTurk on Naghdi's Juliet.

I don't seem to get Ball's Romeo, either. He dances a lot of Romeo's steps with such a princely manner that they have become quite out of context. I don't think MacMillan intended Romeo to be a typical princely character as Albrecht in Giselle. The close-ups in cinema broadcast also didn't do him favour, because clearly he didn't know what kind of expressions he should put on under certain circumstances such as Mercucio's death. His partnering was exceptionally good, though.

On 25/02/2019 at 11:58, SheilaC said:

Lynn Seymour contributed to the character of the role. Ashton initially expected the Young Girl to be sweet and charming but Lynn wanted a more interesting depiction so introduced some of the irritating moves at the start. That's why I liked Beatrix best in the role, this time round, her portrayal was closest to Lynn's lively slightly bolshy approach.

Yes. Lynn said that in the documentary Deborah Bull made about choreographers.

Three years ago I knew nothing of this ballet when I first saw clips of the revival broadcast. I didn't like Lauren Cuthbertson in it -- She didn't seem to move her upper body enough as suggested by the music. She's a very good dancer actress, and I liked her in roles like Juliet, Marguerite, Manon and Mary Vetsera, but her dancing doesn't have that liveliness required by TP.

Later I found a recording of dress rehearsal with Seymour and Gable in the NYPL Digital Collection (Gable is also marvelous in it) https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3c8814e0-f87e-0130-4822-3c075448cc4b

I believe the short clip on YT below is from this recording. It is available for access onsite at NYPL for Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center in New York if anyone's interested.

17 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

At least some of these titles and more are available in the shop.....and if you go right this second Vadim is on display in Floral Street (probably on his lunch break) 🙂

Thanks, Rob! Unfortunately I live in the U.S. so I have to rely on the online ship most of the times I'd like to get a DVD of Royal Ballet. Fortunately I had just ordered most of those from the online shop the day before the new version went live, but I do wonder if ROH has decided to remove them from the online shop permanently 🤔

On 20/09/2018 at 02:35, Richard LH said:

Looking a bit more closely  though, they HAVE  messed up the online shop. For DVDs or Blu Ray you have to scroll through  about 34 pages, listed  under "Recordings and Books" unless you put in a specific "Search" for what you already think  you might want. They have removed the useful way of refinining your browsing  for what is available e.g. by title,  artist, or choreographer. I am going to complain!

I'm also wondering whether anyone has noticed that they took down a lot of ballet DVD classics from the online shop. To name a few, I can't find any of these:

Fonteyn's Sleeping Beauty

Fonteyn's Cinderella

Dowell&Penney's Manon

Irek&Vivianna's Mayerling

Alina's Giselle

The MacMillan Classics Collection with The Prince of Pagodas DVD which contains a wonderful documentary on Kenneth MacMillan

I'm wondering if ROH has decided to not sell ballet DVD classics any more or it's just a technical glitch with the new version of the website. If it's the former,  I'm wondering what made them think that these DVDs are not in demand anymore...

@ArucariaBallerina If you take a look at the DVDs released by ICAClassics (Nedia Nerina's Giselle, for one), it is clear that dancers of their times were not in any way less technically advanced than dancers nowadays. Take the ending of Giselle's variation in Act 1 for instance, I've never seen anyone respond to the music like Nadia did here: https://vimeo.com/138445109. It is jaw-dropping. I was as stunned as the time when I saw Fonteyn hopping in arabesque on pointe in the Sleeping Beauty Act 3 coda.

On 04/09/2018 at 16:23, penelopesimpson said:

A well-thought out post with great truth.  RB has to make money and if the public want to see those they consider 'bankable stars,' then you can hardly blame management for its choices.  Personally, I think its a pity to show Macrae in Mayerling because it is not Macrae at its best, which means the audience are neither seeing the true star nor this absorbing ballet as it should be.  But you are absolutely right in what you say.

Does RB make most money by cinema broadcasts and the DVDs they sell? If that is not the case, IMHO who gets relayed in cinema should be decided based on artistic merit instead of popularity, because it is also the company's responsibility to promote the best of the British ballet school, which in turn will produce more stars at RB and benefit the company financially in the long run.

P.S. Instead of a Mayerling broadcast I would rather get a Winter Dreams one which hasn't been broadcasted for more than two decades if I remember correctly, but that is another question of course

On 18/08/2018 at 19:17, Lynette H said:

Oct 15 is students-only in the amphi.  Maybe look at another part of the house ? 

Oh I didn't know that...  Thank you!