Xandra Newman

Mentioning the dancers rank correctly is simply a matter of showing respect towards a dancer.

Yes all dancers deserve admiration and respect but a dancer who has ultimately achieved the highest rank of principal in a company deserves the highest respect: simply listing their name (without mentioning their rank) is disrespectful.

You are not going to list a social worker, a nurse, a GP,  a consultant (how ever important any one of them is!!) next to one another without mentioning their title reflecting their achievements, degree of responsibility, degree of education and level of experience. 

As he's back on Instagram some new, very disturbing messages were posted last week and some comments questioned whether he had joined a sect. 

Kevin O'Hare certainly seemed very enthusiastic about Acosta's Don Q. and he summed up all the reasons why. Yasmine and Marcelino too stated they have so much fun rehearsing together and they are looking forward to share their joy with the audience. When the presenter asked Kevin O'Hare why he brought Don Q. back his answer was "Yasmine and Marcelino are sufficient reasons to bring it back". Marcelino Sambe talked about the amazing opportunity being coached by Acosta. They all seem to treasure Don Q. I know some do not like this ballet so no need for them to revisit Don Q. When I first saw Don Q. performed I was sitting next to a couple who were seeing a ballet for the very first time in their life and at the end the husband told me: " Well if this is what ballet is all about I'll happily come back to see more!". 

Marcelino Sambe and Yasmine Naghdi will surely deliver a firecracker performance (my only concern is that Marcelino Sambe is too short for Yasmine Naghdi and I hope he's able to work on partnering her well by the time they are ready to go on stage).

2 hours ago, capybara said:

This list of participants in alphabetical order looks very strange indeed.

Yes very strange indeed. Surely the Director KevinO'Hare should be mentioned first, followed by the Principal, first soloist etc. 

Why can't the ROH/RB announce this through their Social Media/Twitter etc.. It has to be found out via dancers' Instagram? They used to announce this on the day.

No we are talking about live streaming of Don Q. rehearsal tonight  

No indication who we'll get to see in the live streamed rehearsal tonight?

4 hours ago, Naomi M said:

Former Royal Ballet Principal Miyako Yoshida will retire this August.

 

After leaving Royal Ballet, Yoshida has been performing as a freelance ballerina and she performed last weekend in a gala performance, dancing Esmeralda, still with polished technique and musicality.  Last summer it was announced that she will take over the role of artistic director of National Ballet of Japan in September 2020.

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190130_27/

Naomi, do you know what Miyako Yoshida will dance at her farewell performance this August? or will it be a gala formula?

I have such fond memories of her when she danced with the RB. 

HOW on earth is it possible that a world class institution such as the ROH has such a totally inadequate online booking system? Such a struggle to grab a few tickets. I don't know why I put myself through such a frustrating and infuriating experience. Why can't they solve their website/casting lists/booking issues? It's been going on and on. Surely they have the best experts working for them? 

I greatly admire Xander Parish for all he has achieved: from his courage to leave The Royal Ballet after four years of not having been given much opportunity, to work and live in Russia, learning a new style of dancing and a new language. He is an example of what can be achieved through sheer determination and hard work. Nothing came handed on a plate to him (unlike a certain Mr Polunin who had it oh all so damn easy at the RB, so much so he was a Principal at the age of 19. What he received he took for granted and ended up where we all know he is nowadays :(.

That is the difference between someone who has to work so hard in order to achieve success, who is intelligent, who behaves as a gentleman, and someone who does not...

Thank you Bluebird, what an amazing list of dancers invited to dance at the Russian Ballet Icons Gala on 31 March, including our very own Royal Ballet Principals Steven McRae, Yasmine Naghdi and Sarah Lamb. Curious to know the rep. each dancer will dance.  

It's all such a joke and an insult to so many people. Soon the Polunin camp will declare it all Fake News ( Polunin stated he is a Trump supporter after all) and they will state he hasn't said anything at all.

The interview clearly demonstrates Polunin DID say what he said via his Instagram account: he answered the journalist's questions about him saying "to slap fat people" and "to man up". If it wasn't him, Polunin should have made this clear during the interview. He didn't. 

Lasting damage has been done and cannot be smoothed over simply by deleting his Instagram account and pretending for it to have been hacked. 

Such a great shame that someone with a Vladimir Putin tattoo on his chest, who posted on Instagram "to slap fat people" and who had a serious go at the gay community gets so much attention.

There are so many wonderful, intelligent, disciplined dancers who have far more interesting messages to send out into the world, constructive messages for our young people... but they barely get any press attention.

Polunin is not a good role model for our young people and as far as I am concerned Polunin has next to nothing wise or constructive or intelligent to say. 

19 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Certainly not me and I think that that casting is unfortunate, especially given the number of young male dancers in the Company. The RB does not need to bring in guest artists at the moment and this flies in the face of O'Hare's key aim of 'growing' his Principals from within the ranks.

 

I assume it's Osipova demanding to dance with Hallberg! (little Mr O'Hare can do about that)

24 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

I think it's a review with a contemporary bias, if you like, and that's tricky especially when reviewing works made in the past. But I do agree that it's generally worth reading all reviews whether or not you agree with them, even if only to help clarify why you don't agree with them.

If that's the case we'll soon see Contemporary art critics reviewing classical paintings at the National Gallery (and other art institutions showing art from the past) totally out of their historical context and rubbishing the art. 

If Winship is contemporary biased she should stick to reviewing contemporary ballets and leave reviewing works from the past to those knowledgeable ballet critics who do have a full historical and choreographic understanding of ballets created in the past.

OMG  

This shows Lyndsey Winship doesn't understand a thing what 2P is all about!

What a poor review: it shows a total lack of knowledge about the historical context in which 2P was created and ultimately what Ashton ballets are all about. 

I'll join you in boycotting her reviews!  If this is the future of ballet criticism/reviews....it makes me weep and it makes me angry.

I don't know WHO is in charge of entering the casting information on the ROH website (they have been messing around for months now!) but I wish he/she/they once and for all would be sufficiently briefed and instructed on how to enter casting information correctly according to the importance of roles to be performed. On 4th July Firebird casting should read Naghdi/Watson/Arestis/Avis (to the person in charge of entering the info: what's Mr. Bracewell dancing in this cast  ???) 

The casting for The Firebird/A Month in the Country/Symphony in C has gone up on the ROH website.

Great news as Edward Watson is set to make his comeback partnering Yasmine Naghdi as The Firebird on Opening Night.

The 2nd cast The Firebird is Mendizabal/Kish and 3rd cast is Heap/Hirano.

https://www.roh.org.uk/mixed-programmes/the-firebird-a-month-in-the-country-symphony-in-c

As reported on Social Media it seems David LaChapelle has also distanced himself from Polunin: he unfollowed Polunin's IG account.

Audiences do standing ovations at the ROH   I've been part of several standing ovations in the past!

There is a 2nd topic on "Polunin (not) to guest POB". 

As Sergei Polunin had the Russian president Vladimir Putin tattooed on his chest, Polunin must be a great admirer and supporter of Vladimir Putin (if not who in his right mind would do such a thing!). To me Polunin made a clear statement.

For no money in world would I buy a ticket to watch Polunin "dance" knowing he is a walking bare chest advertising board for Putin.

Such a shame. I loved watching him in his early days when he was as the RB, so much talent, so much to offer and so much to give to ballet lovers all over the world. It was not to be... and now he simply ruined it all (for me).

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Polunin  Polunin expressed his support for Putin in November 2018 and for Donald Trump in December 2018. Says a lot about Sergei Polunin.

1 hour ago, Angela said:

I also think it would be good for Polunin to have one friend left who might have some influence on him... On the other hand, how will he hide the Putin tattoo in the Spartacus costumes at Munich? "Career over" is what Matthew Bourne twittered about the tattoo...

 

And it seems he is out of the Paris Swan Lake - that was fast:

https://twitter.com/dansesplume/status/1084162675440013314

Really fast! Good for Opera de Paris and Ms. Aurelie Dupont to take a stance against people like Polunin (no matter how high he jumps....) 

We need good examples as the world is already full of stupidity! So happy to read they cancelled his guesting. A person like Polunin doesn't deserve it.

Yasmine Naghdi danced Mistress in Manon, partnered by Marcelino Sambe. 

I don't believe anyone has taken over his account (if so he would have acted immediatly which he didn't!). It is all very much in line with his previous deluded, immature (frankly dumb) tweets and posts.

He should not be given any further attention and POB should cancel his guesting. He is a total disgrace! To tattoo Putin on his chest....really?? For POB, or any other company, to allow him to guest is to approve of all he stands for, all he says and has said. It is people like Polunin who fuel hatred, intolerance and racism through their social media accounts. Who does he think he is?

I have NO respect for him whatsoever, I don't even feel sorry for him.

PS. When not so long ago the RB generously offered him a "2nd chance" (Marguerite&Armand) and announced it on the ROH website, he arrogantly walked out of the arrangement to perform. It seems as if he is playing a game with them all: "yes I'll guest....no I won't perform..."