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Xandra Newman

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Posts posted by Xandra Newman

    RB Concerto / Enigma Variations / Raymonda Act III, 2019

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    I was there on the last night and it felt as if time suddenly stopped when Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano slowly walked towards each other on that beautiful music, it really felt as if the audience froze in their seat and collectively stopped breathing, as if entering a dreamlike state. It was very palpable, the audience became one with the dancers during a moment of pure visual poetry.

    Although Ryoichi Hirano has not more to do than be Yasmine Naghdi's partner he does it with immense distinction and together this couple were breathtakingly beautiful. I honestly hope their Concerto will result in a DVD (with Anna Rose O'Sullivan in the 1st Movement and Mayara Magri in the 3rd Movement).  

    • Like 6

    Royal Ballet 2019/20 Autumn Season Casting

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted · Edited by Xandra Newman

    42 minutes ago, MAX said:

    I think Melissa Hamilton is doing the pas de deux and O'Sullivan the first movement.... It's Yuhui Choe who was in the first movement a few years ago and very good indeed....  

     

    No Melissa Hamilton is not dancing the 2nd Movement pas de deux at all. 

    On18th and 20th December/Matinee the pas de deux is danced by Sarah Lamb, the evening performances pas de deux is danced by Yasmine Naghdi

    • Like 1

    Royal Ballet Sleeping Beauty, 2019-20

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    I have seen several Aurora's in this run and, as others have also stated, after dancing her 4th Aurora in this run Yasmine Naghdi has made this role her own, alongside her beautiful, blossoming partnership with Matthew Ball. The prolonged applause and cheers she got from the audience after her Rose Adagio spoke volumes. Naghdi's Aurora is at another level now. She has danced Aurora numerous times not only as a soloist but also as a Guest Principal of San Francisco Ballet last season and she has reached a high level of maturity, dancing with great ease and grace, her superb technical control giving her total freedom. Matthew Ball has gained maturity and he too was wonderful to watch. Mr. O'Hare really seems to nurture their partnership in the classics this season as they not only dance SB together but also Coppelia and Swan Lake. Romany Pajdak, Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Mayara Magri stood out yet again as Prologue Fairies, all three of them beautiful, alongside Claire Calvert's Lilac Fairy. I was disappointed too in Yuhui Choe/Luca Acri (Bluebird/Florine) and felt sorry for Choe who had an unfortunate fall but she got up quickly and carried on dancing as if nothing had happened. O'Sullivan and Magri, partnered by Zucchetti, were also lovely as Florestan and his Sisters.

     

    I agree with Jenny Taylor, Anna Rose O'Sullivan made an impressive debut last week, she was really lovely.

     

    • Like 11

    Cats: Francesca Hayward and Steven McRae to star in film version

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    49 minutes ago, Sim said:

    And he loves ballet.  I have seen him at the ROH and ENB performances several times. 

     

    Graham Norton must be a ballet lover as he invited RB Principals Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi on his BBC Radio 2 show prior to their Romeo & Juliet live cinema relay (Jonathan Ross??? He better not interview ballet dancers, his interview with Carlos Acosta was a total joke,  good Carlos Acosta kept his dignity!)

     

     

    • Like 6

    Pointe shoes - shapes, sizes and evolution

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted · Edited by Xandra Newman
    .

    1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:


    I don't consider Naghdi's technique to be 'exceptional' - good, yes, but I've seen quite a few faults/mistakes/wobbles from her although that is forgivable.  I agree that Hayward does have a special gift and just hope she amends her technique so that it equals her beauty.
     

     

    Can you name me one ballerina who does NOT make a mistake/wobble/ fault :) ? That's not a basis upon which to judge a technique :) 

    The great and good, past and present, have all wobbled and made mistakes. You are not a fan of Naghdi, that you have made very clear in previous posts, and that's absolutely fine but dance critics' reviews contradict your judgment. You are of course perfectly entitled to your own opinion!

    • Like 5

    Pointe shoes - shapes, sizes and evolution

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

     

    People may not be regulars but it does not mean they can't recognise artistry and indeed it doesn't mean they can't recognise a dancer who's not very good.

     

    I know nothing about technique but I still think I can recognise the special from the ordinary.  

     

    I get your point Janet, but I was solely talking about technique, not artistry. Two very different angles.

    Pointe shoes - shapes, sizes and evolution

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    23 hours ago, katharine kanter said:

    Personally, in terms of style, this writer is not overly partial to Conquering Tereshkina’s dancing and port de bras, but that is just an opinion not germane to the argument.  Watch her pointe work, and her back.  That is what is meant by the superiority of Russian training:  whatever one may think of style, Russia still knows how to get people off their feet and into their back. And watch how she uses the foot when not on pointe variously like a "suction cup", a tiger's foot, pawing, stroking, curling, stretching, right through the shoe.  While the very shape of her legs, despite 20 years on stage, without the slightest hypertrophy, shows that she is dancing in her back.

     

    Francesca Hayward might want to study these dancers’ work, owing to flaws in her technique which at the moment, do not greatly show up as she is young, but with age, if not done away with, may hinder progress and limit her roles.  The gap between the floating ribs and hip-joint is too small, she is too “down” in the torso, which may explain why her ankles tend to shake (ever so slightly, but nonetheless), even in a piqué arabesque on pointe.  Given her strong, compact body, she could most likely turn things around rather quickly once she sets her mind to it. 

     

    I am wondering how many people attending a ballet really do know/can see the difference between a good and a weak/bad classical technique?  Most people attending a performance are there to enjoy the show, they sit back and watch the dancer tell a story. They do not/cannot see the difference between a dancer who has a good/strong technique and one who has a weak/bad technique.

    Only regulars attending the ballet, those who choose/can afford to see a variety of dancers and principals, and those with profound knowledge of the classical ballet technique, are able to make such a distinction and compare. 

     

    "The gap between the floating ribs and hip-joint is too small, she is too down in the torso...": this is very visible in the photo taken of her in the white tutu/Coppelia.

     

    Flaws in classical technique really do show up when dancers perform the tutu classics, there is absolutely nowhere to hide their shortcomings; and if they also do not have the physical attributes necessary to enable them to execute the pure classical technique weaknesses do show.

     

    • Like 1

    Instagram - a ballet dancer's best path to fame?

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted · Edited by Xandra Newman
    .

    8 hours ago, Candleque said:


    Don't know all their partnerships, but have seen a few who promote Bloch dancewear, incl: Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Yasmine Naghdi, Tierney Heap, Claire Calvert, Beatriz Stix-Brunell. In addition to using the official hashtags (like #thisisbloch), they put BLOCH Ambassador in their bio 

     

    Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Tierney Heap, Claire Calvert and Beatriz Stix-Brunell are all BLOCH Influencers.

    Yasmine Naghdi is the appointed BLOCH Ambassador (previously Sarah Lamb was the BLOCH Ambassador).

    Marianela Nunez promotes Freed of London. 

     

    When one considers how much some top athletes and sports individuals earn through advertising watches, sports shoes, clothes (and crisps in the case of Gary Lineker), top ballet dancers are nowhere near such extra earning capacity. Their career demands are as hard, if not harder, but ballet dancers are at the bottom when it comes to supplementing their income through advertising.

    • Like 4
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