FionaM

I nearly got the strength to ask this question to KoH at the stage door afterwards. Another time!

I like how Dresden announced debuts on their social media. Tonight Milda Luckute debuts as Lilac Fairy amongst others https://www.instagram.com/p/C4VGIPUoCnu/?igsh=MXNyM3Bnb2I4NWFlNA==

@Angela thanks. Works fine with VPN.

I don’t know what the Kommersant critic means by “not much of a career”. He is only in his second year out of the Academy and he’s already performing soloist jester type roles at Stanislavsky. What more can you expect for a short but virtuoso man these days? Even if you are a standout virtuoso. He could have joined a long list of similar short virtuoso men at RB (or anywhere else) and be lucky to do Chinese in Nutcracker and a beggar in Manon. @TSR101 au contraire. A student I know at Vaganova from UK, was very much highlighted in their recent Nutcracker with two feature roles. As were other non Russian students if they were at a good level. Davide Lorrichio who was the Prix de Lausanne apprentice at ROH for a year, is now at the Mikhailovsky and is currently appearing as their representative in the “Grand Ballet” TV competition, previous won by Smirnova, Polunin, Ovcharenko, Tikhomirova, Shevtsova, Sobolevsky, Shakirova, Kimin Kim, Khoreva and others. He was brilliant in his opening solo earlier today … Cupid in Nacho Duato version of DQ.

Daniel Camargo has had an interesting career, first at Stuttgart, then Dutch National and now ABT. He is Franz in the Coppelia movie opposite Michael de Prince. He guests all over the world, and is only 32. He has partnered Osipova in Giselle at Teatro Colon, Semionova in Giselle at the Kremlin Palace Theatre, Alina Cojocaru in Switzerland, Tereshkina at Mariinsky, Fumi Kaneko in DQ at ROH, Amandine Albison and Semionova again in Swan Lake at Rome Opera, as well as other companies, plus galas all over the place. So yes he is world-renowned. (And to mind a more multi-faceted dancer than Jacopo Tissi ) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6pyuF8gtVY/?igsh=ZW84Mnh2ZGNmNGZ1

I noticed Lukas BB was the client in green who does most of the lifting in the ballroom scene where the clients keep Manon aloft. In all the previous shows it has been David Donnelly. I wanted to recognise and applaud both these dancers for their strength and confident partnering. It is a considerable supporting role. This role is also the 4th man in the card game with Des Grieux, Lescaut and GM. Later as the party really gets going I got distracted by Lukas partnering his real-life fiancée Mariko Sasaki (she was 1 of the 2 fighting courtesans) in the waltz with the sliding splits They were having so much fun together! Wonderful ❤️

Christopher Saunders as a brothel client … in the cinema relay … 7th February https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/43/manon-by-kenneth-macmillan/cast-list/54662

you are right he was GM in that cast. So where did I see him as a client? Hmm

This rather assumes that other casts will not be equally as good or better!!!!

Christopher Saunders was also one of the brothel clients at the Calvin/Melissa Manon.

[Matthew Ball is 5’10” and that is a reliable statistic as he’s a model and will have been measured.] EDIT: Incorrect - see post below From this photo Cesar looks to be 2 inches shorter. Whatever… there is no way he is 5’11. https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/uutiskuva/james-frecknall-marcelino-sambe-francesca-hayward-cesar-uutiskuva/1192961472

Made me laugh out loud in a public space! Hilarious. Thank you!

The box has gone. One in row 5, centre of amphi for £79

A short review: Justin Peck - dull. Nice to have seen Danny Ulbricht live once in my life. Balanchine - delightful, despite challenging music by Stravinsky. Megan Fairchild was especially fabulous. Tanowitz - brilliant, best of the show for me. Loved the costumes especially. Red unitards with four tapered pieces of same colour soft fabric attached to shoulders and legs. Mira Nadon has striking looks and technique that mark her out. Abrahams - I thought the costumes were fun and the whole was worth watching for the truly beautiful duet for 2 men near the end. Names? In summary, super dancers, not enough good choreography. The programme fits the Sadler’s remit of modern/new choreography. Both the Tanowitz and Abrahams pieces were way better than the ones they’ve created for RB.

Mayara was tremendous. Especially when solo … beautifully controlled exemplary technique during her soulful Odette. Exciting Odile with hugely complicated fouetté sequence including attitude turns. Lovely performance. I felt she held the show together … considering she’s not been a principal for that long this was particularly admirable. Cesar was underpowered … clearly not jumping to be careful on his return. In some he barely got off the floor and the entrelace were petit allegro. It was so against his actual character. I kept expecting him to think “right that’s enough of being careful let’s show what I can really do”. But he did not. So it was somewhat disappointing for audience that know his previous abilities. I hope subsequent performances will be at better levels. (and this may be why Rhapsody casting is still unknown) Anyone unfamiliar with Cesar would have thought it was an elegant (yes really) refined performance. I was worried about lifts as I believe there has been a back problem. Those were all well done and held. Bravo. However his partnering in the white acts had her off balance too often limiting the execution of high swan attitude lines. This will be a great partnership in time even though he is slightly too short for her when she’s on pointe. They connect well. Though I agree with earlier comments that chemistry was not fully what I’d expected. No doubt due to first night and long awaited return of Cesar. Wonderful suspended airtime with super height from Jun on his entrelace. And beautifully soft and silent landings. He did a decent job with the role interpretation too. I heard Lukas as Von Rothbart was a late cast change so I wonder how much rehearsal he’s had. Brave man. He did well. I’m sure subsequent shows will be even better. The juxtaposition of his beauty and stage presence with yet another evil character is an utter delight! And really good lifts with Mayara, something the older character artists don’t quite manage for me. A few of the supporting soloists that were noticeable … both sister princesses Leticia Dias and Sae Maeda, Isobel Lubach’s big swan, Yu Hang’s potential bride.

Having been to the Peacock only a week ago for ‘Everyone’s talking about Jamie’ a dance musical, it seemed fine for smaller dance productions to me. And ENB are using it for their children-friendly production of Swan Lake. could you explain why you think it’s not so suitable for dance/ballet?

@alison both the roll-out vinyl and the wooden sprung floor needed below the vinyl, can be laid over the existing stage floor if it is not already suitable.

How wonderful. I think you will both have a fantastic experience. Your post has taken me back to my first experiences as a child (similar age) going to see ballet in a theatre with my mother. I adored the whole thing … getting smartly dressed (not totally necessary then or now), the journey, the tickets, the glossy programme, the awe of the beautiful foyers and the auditorium, sitting on the edge of my seat as the lights went down, being stunned by the production … lights, costume, music, and the dancing. It was love at first sight. After that, and because we could only afford one or two visits per year, we’d discuss the future programme and which shows to book. Special times. I hope it works out for you too.

Casting https://sadlers-wells-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/03/NYCB-Casting-Sadlers-Wells-March-7-10-2024.pdf

Wonderful news! Congratulations to Iana, she is a super dancer.

Ben Ella was in the Spanish in the Swan Lake rehearsal earlier today

@Jamiel Devernay-Laurence thank you for your explanation of true vs fair value. I remember having a similar discussion here in 2021 about the Kobborg/Cojocaru/Polunin R&J at RAH when some here expressed surprise at those ticket prices. Some wished to wait for discounts (which didn’t happen as the show was sold out despite COVID playing up.) The true cost of that show would have been even higher if there had been a live orchestra. Further highlighting the subsidy (from govt and sponsors) that is inherent in ROH and Sadlers Wells shows. I hadn’t made the link that those subsidies make it prohibitive for new troupes to perform without similar financial support, as they cannot price tickets at their true cost. Perhaps we the audience are going to have to recalibrate how much we are prepared to spend on performing arts now that prices are rising (and yet are still subsidised at the main dance venues). We have a choice, either spend as before (but go less often, or choose cheaper seats if possible), OR, decide to spend more as a percentage of income. Yikes! Some are already having to spend less due to the current economic climate.

Possibly at Ballet Icons gala

The ‘Grand Ballet’ or Bolshoi Ballet TV competition 2024 has its first broadcast on Saturday 9 March 2024, at 17.20 Moscow time, 14.20 UTC The 2024 competition was filmed in July 2023. I’ve seen info on 4 participants so far (there are 16): - Davide Loricchio, Mikhailovsky soloist, previously Prix de Lausanne apprentice at RB - Maria Iliushkina, Mariinsky first soloist - Even Capitaine, Mariinsky soloist - Daniil Potaptsev, Bolshoi soloist, only one year out of Eifman Academy I believe the previous winners were: FEMALE 2020 - Maria Khoreva, Mariinsky 2018 - Ksenia Shevtsova, Stanislavsky, now Munich 2016 - none awarded, but see pairs 2012 - Olga Smirnova, Bolshoi, now Dutch National MALE 2020 - none awarded * 2018 - Dmitry Sobolevsky, Stanislavsky, now independent 2016 - none awarded, but see pairs 2012 - Sergei Polunin, Stanislavsky, now independent * Marcello Pelizzoni was commended in 2020 (Krasnoyarsk, now Stanislavsky) PAIRS 2020 - Elizaveta Korneeva (Voronezh) & Ivan Negrobov (Voronezh, now Estonia) 2018 - Amanda Gomes & Wagner Carvalho (Kazan) 2016 - Renata Shakirova & Kimin Kim (Mariinsky), AND, Inna Bilash (Perm, now Zurich) & Nikita Chetverikov (Perm, now Mikhailovsky) 2012 - Anna Tikhomirova & Artem Ovcharenko (Bolshoi)

I’ll try to share the next broadcast with more advance notice! I hadn’t though to do so before.