FionaM

Apparently the influencer has had a mountain of negative feedback from professional dancers.

was it confetti? If so how did he know? I suspect he dispersed the head of a flower from a bouquet 😉

https://www.instagram.com/p/C40i9MSIhgt/?igsh=dDdncGxzbDUwdGli This influencer is dressed up as a ballerina in the ROH … and clearly isn’t one. This offends me.

Sadly the VPN route is not working for me. Maybe they block VPN, like North Korea do! thank you for the extracts 🙏

this is what a survey to ticket purchasers should find out … not just where did you hear about the show, answer ‘via social media’ … but which type of entity on social media. Their surveys aren’t clever enough yet.

Regarding Swan Lake … all dates in the first run were sold out, so any availability now is returns. I’m always grateful for these late returns, and have often taken advantage. I don’t have a problem with ROH using influencers to reach a new audience. The marketing of Swan Lake will overflow … the psychology being that an interested person finding Swan Lake to be sold out will get the idea that RB shows are popular, and, that they better book the next thing quickly. I also don’t have a problem with the influencer being glamorous. The ROH is a place of beauty … both the building and the performances. We all have enough grimness in our ordinary lives that dressing up for a night out is good for our mental health. Young people are savvy enough to create their own look without going to the expense of the influencer’s products.

The visit to the Acosta Centre sounds amazing. Thanks for the report @LinMM I wish I could have joined. It seems to me to be managed at a different level professionally, marketing wise, etc than most dance organisations. Congratulations to Javier Torres and Carlos Acosta …. I believe they are ‘upping the game’.

yes I could too … 32 singles … only! In the last century.

Teletubbies 🙊

Was Cesar able to jump like he did before? 🤞🤞🤞

@Geoff regarding my primitive writing, what words would you prefer me to use to express my displeasure and disappointment? and my comments did not only apply to her fouettés.

based on her brilliant dramatic performances at Northern Ballet I was disappointed that she came to ENB at the most junior level of the corps de ballet. She should be a junior soloist at least! Maybe it was the only way in. But still I found it insulting to an artist of her calibre. I’m really glad that she seems to be on the fast track.

I was at her last Kitri performance. It was that which confirmed my growing concern … flat footed, turned in, bent knees, raised shoulders, over the top characterisation. I note 2 reviewers of the Icons gala (bachtrack and culture whisper) have said similar and another ‘seeing dance’ has omitted to mention her. The latter is the usual formula of critics to poor performance. It must be bad if critics are prepared to actually say it. With regards to her continuing to perform at ROH in classical ballets … she does still sell tickets. It’s the same as going to watch Nureyev when he was 50. Glimpses of past glory is enough for those audiences. It makes me sad and ashamed to see her destroying her reputation and that of the RB like this. Time to move on to other types of ballet and dance. Her Manon earlier this season was also not at her previous level. 🥺

Delighted by the news of Paris Opera Ballet being screened by Pathé Live. Can’t wait!

Mixed bills of Made in NL and Other Dances look interesting. Maybe some of the others? Will have to wait for further info on new full length … Lady Macbeth by Helen Pickett.

My thoughts: ▪️graceful performances displaying technical excellence and pure beauty of classical ballet: Gold stars: Muntagirov (twice, though Diamonds is almost entirely partnering), Casalinho, Fernandes (also twice), Battistoni. I did notice rather careful grand pirouettes from Vadim. I’d have liked more attack. Fernandes’ balances in Esmeralda didn’t come off as planned, they are similar to Aurora’s in Rose Adagio. As we know from Lesley Collier, there are “fiendishly difficult”. Frankly it’s a trick I could do without in ballet. It makes me too nervous. What’s the point (double entendre intended). Kaneko wasn’t at her technical best, she can be a LOT better. Smirnova and Godunova were lacking in presentation and emotion. Smirnova’s bling tutu and tiara (tons of sparkling jewels) were too distracting. Godunova was much better later in the evening as one of the DQ bridesmaids. Mackay looked under-rehearsed, though his partnering was smooth. The organisers should have had Yasmine Naghdi & Reece Clarke in this category. They were wasted in Qualia, which is so dull and has the worst costumes ever. (white underwear, no thanks.) ▪️ performances full of emotion and dramatic intensity as well as technical proficiency: Gold stars: Sakamoto & Allen, masterful in the range of emotions including some tongue in cheek moments in choreo by Hans Van Manen. She has exemplary technique effortless triple pirouettes without any preparation and subservient to the emotions of the piece. Pett & Clausen-Knight who gripped me with their emotional interplay of relationships. Both the above couples had smooth partnering, a sign of well rehearsed pieces. Potskhishvili - fabulous extra flourishes and technical difficulty. Huge stage presence, physical and charisma. Tendency to go beyond is exciting. I hope he can contain it so that it doesn’t become wild and uncontrollable. Commended: Hayward & Cornejo - a good partnership in this special duet despite en8ng of different companies. Gouneo & Bocca - the only pure comic moments of the night. Cranko genius. Motomi Kiyota - sparkling in Corsaire solo with the biggest smile and enjoyment. Brandt & Cornejo - super interplay of the story of Black Swan duet. Extra points to Brandt for having a good alternative when the fouettés went off. Every ballerina should have a plan. Very few are going to pull these off night after night Lee & Haw - super energy. Maybe a little wild. The piece is too short for me! ▪️weaker parts of the gala: Sadly Osipova was a vulgar parody of herself and a disrespect to ballet as an art form. Giorgi Potskhishvili deserved better. As did the audience. She should stick to contemporary or dramatic narrative ballets. Bolle and Hamilton were super together, seamless partnering. His dancing alongside her was not at the level expected, which is not surprising as he is 48. He’d be better to choose pieces where he partners only, as Matthew Golding did with Lucia Lacarra. Their piece wasn’t as good as previous years. I would have liked to see Abbagnato & Bernal in something better. The piece was saved by the music and onstage musicians.

The video is two run through edited together. If you check, in some parts his trousers are rolled up and the other they are loose. Which actually means he performed the whole piece twice (at least) for the filming crew!!

Oh wow, sounds AMAZING! Thank you so much for reporting back.

@Jan McNulty thank you for the fabulous video of Alex in ‘Still Life at the Penguin Cafe’. Love the ballet, so inventive! and the music too. Alex joined the RB in 2011, so this video from BRB must be over 13 years ago I was amused to see the other dancer performing the role close to full out in a corner at the back! It is the long haired Joe Caley. Now principal at Australian Ballet. What a nice connection. One being Aussie and now in the UK, the other being British and now in Australia. I think they are about the same age … late 30s. Having joined BRB from the RB School in the same year.

@Graham_Watts_2 thank you for the information on Ricardo Cue. I had tried to look him up online but the information popping up wasn’t that helpful. I’ve seen some of the hard work you personally do for the gala. And I’m sure what’s visible is only the tip of the iceberg. I had assumed you were remunerated for that. But it’s always good to be recognised like this too! As the lead organiser and presenter of the National Dance Awards you know how much pleasure it gives to recipients. The lead organiser of the Icons Gala, Olga Blakleets is rather endearing in her presentation skills which are quite different to ‘UK corporate norms’. Congratulations to you and all the awardees. By the way … Sunday 17 March was Nureyev’s birthday. I did wonder why this year’s gala on that date wasn’t dedicated to him as ‘Icons’ galas were in the past? That being the origin of the gala’s name.

@Amelia thank you for this hugely impressive performance. That double manège is very speedy and in awesome control. His double tours are impressive too. As is the final lift from a run! No holding an arabesque auto assist a careful supported plié to lift. yet it’s her alluring devotion and their connection that is the lasting impression.

There were plenty of fouettés over the evening. - Fumi’s in Grand Pas Classique were ok, but not her usual proficiency and control - Skylar as Odile came out of hers into a few pique turns and a nice grand jete en tournant to end with a flourish - Margarita Fernandes (Esmeralda) were the best in terms of less travelling than others. She did start with a complicated sequence which turned into singles. - I don’t remember Evelina Godunova’s fouettés … I think they were simple but complete. Maybe someone else remembers? - Osipova’s in DQ were the ugliest things I’ve seen. She started to full off balance early on requiring a double plie (which doesn’t sound bad when you write it) and then decided to crash on through them in any old fashion. I admire her will power. It was a gymnastic act. No finesse, no ballet technique. in previous years there have been strong and memorable performances of fouettés from Nicolette Manni, Maia Makhateli, Iana Salenko., Marianela Nunez.

All the seats around me were filled. In the Upper Circle. I could see about 10-15 in the VIP section of the stalls that were empty, and others in 2s and 3s dotted about that were also empty. A friend reminded me that we bought our tickets last summer … that is a long time ago, a lot can change in one’s life. Forgetting you’ve bought them is one reason! (I’ve friends who have done that.) And of course last minute sickness, transport, other home emergencies, etc. The Coliseum need to get more flexible., upgrade their system to allow online returns. Refunds can be on resale basis only.

I agree they were pretentious. As though they had to offer them in order to secure those dancers attending ??? (Bolle, Lacarra, Bernal, Abbagnato, Osipova, I can’t remember who else). I am wondering about awarding one to Graham Watts, who advises and writes for the gala. And Ricardo Cue (flamenco?) seemed an even more odd choice as he’d not choreographed anything at this gala. Maybe he supports the gala in other ways. I did like to see Aud Jebsen recognised for all she does to support ballet. Frankly without her money (sponsorship or donation might be more elegant words but let’s be real here), a lot of ballet organisations in the UK would be floundering much worse than they are. This effort rather lost meaning with the awards all being given in a rushed and perfunctory way. She should be recognised in a specialist one-off way IMO