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Xandra Newman

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  1. Xandra Newman
    Something clearly happened to the music at a crucial moment in their Variation, the music sounded increasingly rushed (and not nicely played). The conductor changed the tempo (why? did he loose his concentration?) right at the start of Naghdi's killer fouttees and she only got a fraction of a second time to adjust to the conductor's tempo. Must be nervewrecking when this happens. Well done to her. When the conductor makes a mistake he rarely gets the blame...
  2. Xandra Newman
    A lovely tribute to Prima Ballerina Assoluta Dame Margot Fonteyn. The tango with Darcey Bussell and Gary Avis was fun and a pleasant surprise to see Darcey back on stage. The biggest surprise of the evening was to see Vadim Muntagirov dance with Yasmine Naghdi (finally) in Le Corsaire (yes please Mr O'Hare cast them together in Swan Lake next season), Vadim amazing as always and Naghdi's fouettes impressive (with one arm up in the air - never seen anything like it), his partnering so light and easy, just wonderful. This is the first time ever they have danced together and I hope there will be more opportunities for them to dance together in the future. Francesca Hayward (partnered by Watson) was really beautiful in Ondine and Anna-Rose o'Sullivan, partnered by Alexander Campbell, impressed me in Daphnis and Chloe. Le Corsaire, Ondine and Daphnis and Chloe were my favourites. I did not like Osipova's interpretation of Juliet at all.
  3. Xandra Newman
    This is called "pacing yourself as a dancer" Douglas Allen. They have too much going on as Capybara stated above, the dancers have to save themselves. Naghdi and Ball probably had to squeeze this filming for FB into their busy schedule. You can see this pacing too during Stage rehearsals: principals may simply marked (walk through) their role and don't dance full out. They know when and how to save their energy for what is still to come. I feel you totally misinterpret/misunderstand and wrongly judge a simple studio run through. Actually this filming could be considered as an invasion of their private rehearsal time, a time when dancers work at their own pace, alone in a studio. Social media demands invade their private time and someone like yourself comes along and ill-judges them. This is not correct and their private time needs to be respected and not judged upon! Yes it does make me cross.
  4. Xandra Newman
    Was this advertised anywhere on ROH/RB social media? I was not aware of this morning's Live stream Thank you for posting this Sim!
  5. Xandra Newman
    I guess The Times is to blame here and they clearly did not respect the embargo. Surely they were told not to publish the interview until the RB's official announcement of all the promotions.
  6. Xandra Newman
    I always understood "end of Season" to be after their tour. That's when their summer break officially starts.
  7. Xandra Newman
    I did not mention Yuhui Choe and Francesca Hayward in my review but as several posters have now stated it too I may as well. For me, Choe and Hayward were the weakest links in Symphony in C. Kaneko and Lamb both danced beautifully and with good technical control but Choe in the 3rd Movement and Hayward in the 4th Movement didn't cut it and this diminished and affected the overall beauty and perfection of Symphony in C.
  8. Xandra Newman
    Plus one more Romeo&Juliet on 11th June, they haven't finished that run yet
  9. Xandra Newman
    An exhilarating Triple Bill to close Season 2018-19. Thank you to Mr. O'Hare and the entire company for this wonderful Triple Bill! The Ballets Russes The Firebird is not a ballet easily appreciated by the uninitiated (I would never invite a first-timer to see this ballet) and it has to be understood and appreciated in its historical context. The Firebird was created well over a hundred years ago and when first performed in 1910 the critics were ecstatic and The Firebird was praised for its perfect symbiosis between decor, music, and choreography. First of all, there is the music by Stravinsky, his score was a massive breakthrough with the critics and the public, it was something very new to their ears. The scenery, the costumes, and a ballet based on a folk story were very avant-garde. Anyone who has seen the Ballets Russes costumes exhibition at the V&A will appreciate the enormous creativity of all artists involved. The role was first danced by Tamara Karsavina who handed down the role to Margot Fonteyn who in turn handed it over to Dame Monica Mason who is the coach to the current generation. The cast sheet indicates she coached Yasmine Naghdi and what a debut it was to open the last bill of the Season. Naghdi and Avis (in the role of The Immortal Kostchei) were THE stars, they absolutely stole the show. Naghdi was truly impressive, her control, steely technic, her lines and physicality made her ideal to dance the role of the Firebird. She was in total command, fierce, authoritative (especially in the 2nd part) and used her dark piercing eyes throughout the ballet to immense effect. She was effectively a mythical creature and during her stand-off with Kostchei she firmly established who was in charge and who had all the power. Her interaction with Kostchei is a moment in the ballet I will never forget! Hard to believe only a few days ago she danced Juliet, two such very opposing roles. Nice to see Watson back on stage as Ivan Tsarevich. A Month in the Country offered a different perspective on Russian influence on ballet. I have seen this cast in the past (except Ball). Beautifully danced by Nunez as Natalia Petrovna, Hay as Kolia and Hayward as Vera. Symphony in C closed the bill, Kaneko replaced Osipova in the 1st Movement and she was absolutely beautiful (she braved dancing her debut earlier, initially planned for today). Great dancing by all dancers involved! The performance was dedicated to Aud Jebsen to thank her for her great generosity to the RB. Mr O'Hare made an announcement before curtains up and I noticed he was rather emotional.
  10. Xandra Newman
    Cast changes also occur in order to prevent work/performance overload for some of the dancers, it doesn't automatically mean a dancer is injured. Yasmine Naghdi is dancing the Opening Night of Firebird tonight and ROH website shows her dancing Symphony in C tomorrow night, her IG post suggested she's dancing with Muntagirov on Saturday 8th June, followed by 11th June R&J live relay and the next day on 12th June she's dancing Firebird again. The company must also be in the midst of rehearsing Don Q. too thus many dancers are having a very heavy workload during the day as well as in the evening. The RB Japan tour has already lost one Kitri due to injury; Mr. O'Hare needs to ensure that Naghdi, who is dancing two Kitri performances in Tokyo, remains uninjured.
  11. Xandra Newman
    It felt really unfair not only to all those people who stood up to give the dancers a standing ovation and show their appreciation but also for Yasmine and Matthew's curtain calls to be cut short.
  12. Xandra Newman
    I asked an usher why oh why did they no get a second curtain call? He told me the technical team is in rush after the performance to get the stage ready for tonight and that they also need a legal work break in between. The curtain calls felt rushed
  13. Xandra Newman
    First of all, I like to say: BRAVO to the WHOLE company! Bravo to each and every dancer who was on stage this afternoon, from the walk-on actors to the corps dancers and soloists. They were all incredible in their own right. Everywhere you looked something was going on, in every dancer's face you can read their story. What a fabulous and unforgettable afternoon. What can I add to what's already been said by other posters...It was an emotionally draining performance, Naghdi and Ball were just stunning, I could read every single change in their emotional state on their face from start to finish, every nuance, those little details that are so important to the story. Naghdi's Juliet reached another level, she dances with such ease and passion, and we could easily follow her journey from a young girl with a doll to a young woman who passionately fell in love with Romeo. Ball and Naghdi together are a dream team for me, they are so natural and so together when they dance. Naghdi did "playing dead" very well, her limbs were totally lifeless, she slid on the floor like melting ice-cream, it was a tear-inducing scene. Since Lady MacMillan approved and entrusted Naghdi and Ball with the R&J live cinema relay she surely must think very highly of them as proper MacMillan actors. Ball was equally amazing, his facial expressions very readable too. Loved his performance. Together they are a beautiful pair and they left me hungry to see them together more often. I also very much enjoyed Stix-Brunell as a Harlot, she was outstanding in this role. Sambe of course superb in the Mandolin Dance. I was sitting in the Orchestra Stalls and yes zxDaveM is right: most of the central stalls were standing up. What an afternoon! Bring on 11th June!
  14. Xandra Newman
    Bridiem: "Swan Lake has 25 performances including the welcome performance and students' matinee, but I recall the 2018 run having nearly that many shows and the 6 Odette/Odiles were all principals. However, it is possible with a revival, there could be some debuts this time around particularly with so many performances. Certainly there are many soloist/first soloist ballerinas (not just Stix) who are worthy."  Assuming the current 6 Odette/Odiles (Nunez, Osipova, Naghdi, Takada, Lamb, Cuthbertson) each get 3 performances, add to this the likelihood Hayward will make her debut and dancing 2 or 3 performances: this takes up 20 or 21 performances thus leaving 4 or 5 performances to share between two other debutantes (Kaneko hopefully! Stix-Brunell? or Calvert?or..?). Swan Lake is a mammoth of a ballet not only requiring a very high level of technical skill but also enormous stamina to get through this full-length ballet.
  15. Xandra Newman
    I am not a Hamilton fan, certainly not in the highly classical ballets, but if there is one role I will remember her for it is her Manon (besides her performances in McGregor's early works). Since there are already seven established Manons, giving them each two performances I guess there was no room for a new Manon to debut.
  16. Xandra Newman
    It's very logical Richard looking at the casting and seniority. It's obvious Cuthbertson, Naghdi, Lamb and Hamilton will dance the 2nd Movement, it is not an assumption
  17. Xandra Newman
    The beautiful Concerto - 2nd Movement - will be danced by: Cuthbertson/Clarke Naghdi/Hirano Hamilton/Bjornebrod Braendsrod
  18. Xandra Newman
    I think she hasn't yet reached the necessary consistency in all of her performances (I saw her Kitri) and therefore she will need more time to develop and mature. Rushing a dancer does not do them any favour, on the contrary. To be a principal requires a high level of performance quality and technical consistency (of course, they too can have an off day)
  19. Xandra Newman
    I have heard this from a few dancers, but yes never officially.
  20. Xandra Newman
    I think you'll find the answer in the other thread about Promotions John.
  21. Xandra Newman
    These were exactly my thoughts too Lindsay when I read the Press announcement. Mr. O'Hare carefully justifying why two First Soloists will be dancing with a Principal and thus reassuring the Japanese audience.
  22. Xandra Newman
    I keep my fingers crossed for Sambe but I am concerned he was injured during the first half of the season so he did not dance the entire season (which is required before a promotion). Magri is really lovely but I feel she needs another year before she attains a higher level of dancing in order to be considered for promotion. Maybe once a principal position becomes available in the near future?
  23. Xandra Newman
    My definition of a lyrical ballerina? I'll do my best Easiest to describe when observing Nunez's and Naghdi's style of dancing (there are of course other lyrical dancers in the company). It is the purity and simplicity of their style which allows the story of the dance/ballet to unfold in beautiful sequences of elegant movements, to dance in a very controlled yet powerful manner, and with elegant containment. Cleanliness of technique, precision, beautiful in adagios, and having full control over the body, particularly in difficult movements or sequences, combined with visually beautiful often elongated lines. For example, take Monotones I and II (respectively danced by Naghdi and Nunez): the enormous control needed to be able to execute all those very slow steps and to securely hold those steps is just one illustration of the mastery of their technique. A lyrical ballerina will execute a series of slow and refined movements, performed as a single phrase in a fluid manner, and each preparatory step seamlessly will be linked to the next.
  24. Xandra Newman
    Guess Mr. O'Hare has to keep ALL his principals happy, older and younger ones alike so he gave the Coppelia cinema relay to Nunez (I would have preferred to see Hayward as Swanhilda) and the Sleeping Beauty relay to Cuthbertson (I would have preferred seeing Naghdi as Aurora). The existing recording of Cuthbertson dancing Aurora is not one of the best I have seen (she really struggled with those famous balances).
  25. Xandra Newman
    It's Opening Night/Cinema relay in reverse (R&J and SB): Cuthbertson/Ball got Opening Night R&J, Naghdi/Ball get the R&J cinema relay, Sleeping Beauty Opening Night is given to Naghdi/Ball and cinema relay to Cuthbertson/Bonelli.
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