FionaM

Standing ovation from Bolshoi audience

Small correction - Olesya Novikova is a first soloist (next rank below principal) at Mariinsky according to their webpage

Oh my word - what an amazing opportunity.  Shale has wonderful stage presence (see both his Prix de Lausanne performances and also the Monte Carlo school end of year show - his stage presence draws your eye away from all other performers).   And he has wonderful Bournonville-style allegro technique as required for the James’ role in ’La Sylphide’.  And youthful exuberance in abundance.  I’m sure he’ll give a careful and respectful performance.  Thrilled for him

So sorry that some of you missed it.  It was well attended but not entirely sold out.

There were familiar faces in the audience from the performing world - including Monica Mason and Matthew Bourne.

I forgot to mention that Wayne Sleep participated in one of the songs from Cabaret.  He did get a little over-excited executing some pirouettes that he nearly fell over.  And his outfit was embarrassing.  Not growing old gracefully - awkward.

What a fabulous tribute to the wonderful and very special lady that was Dame Gillian Lynne at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on Tuesday 2nd July 2019.

Did anyone else see it ? 

Peter Land designed the evening themed around her successes - there were sections on The Phantom of the Opera and Cats obviously and also many others, such as My Fair Lady and Cabaret with a Wayne Sleep.  There was a company of EXTREMELY well rehearsed (GL would have approved) dancers and singers supporting the main tributes.  There were solo singers, duets and ensemble pieces.  I’ll leave it to better experts on west end theatre to comment on those performances.  All were overlayed with fascinating video and audio clips and photos of GL.

The dance specialist performances included:

Tamara Rojo (Director of English National

Ballet) and Jeremy Kerridge (ex Northern Ballet) in the Lowry & Mother pdd from ‘A Simple Man’ choreographed by GL.

Dominic North and Max Westwell in the Prince/Swan pdd from Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.  MB was encouraged to choreograph by GL.

Iain Mackay and Elisha Willis (both ex-Birmingham Royal Ballet) in the Priest & Prostitute pdd from Miracle in the Gorbals (re)choreographed by GL.   

Sergei Polunin performed Take Me To Church.  GL was the first person to recognise SP’s wish to broaden his world outside RB and the first to offer him an opportunity to do so.

All were lovely performances, especially 

elegant Tamara, sensitive Dominic North and comedic Iain Mackay.  The applause for Sergei was unbelievable, he was the only performance that evening to get a standing ovation.  He danced his heart out for Gillie - I was in the second row.  It was phenomenal.  

In the finale all the performers (dancers too) came on stage singing ‘The Addressing of Cats’ with their backs to the audience as we all focussed on pictures of GL.  A wonderful tribute to such a talented lady.

Valentino Zucchetti has announced on Instagram that he will perform Mercuzio in this production.  

Ross Freddie Ray is Lord Capulet.  

Rehearsals are are under way in London and will continue in Italy throughout July as Poluninink company including all the above (except Alina) will be on tour in many beautiful venues in Italy performing Fraudulent Smile and Sacre starring Sergei Polunin.  

True

On 25/06/2019 at 13:45, maryrosesatonapin said:

There is a good review of Rasputin in this month's 'Dance Europe'.  Mike Dixon writes of Polunin's 'ferocity and passion that defines this as one of the greatest moments of dance seen on any stage this year.'  I'm pleased to see he was also as impressed with the teenage Djordje Kalenic as I was.

I am glad to see this really good review and also that of Graham Watts about Rasputin.  It was a fabulous show.  

On 23/06/2019 at 04:09, redshoesgirl2 said:

not pairs, she is an ice dancer.

Yes an ice dancer (in pairs), same as Torvill & Dean.  Apologies if this is the wrong terminology.  The list of her medals is on Wikipedia - so no misrepresentation.  

I do feel uncomfortable discussing Sergei's Girlfriend’s life.  That’s private - this forum is about dance.  

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Ilinykh

24 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

Perhaps it is just harking back, Fiona.  Antony Tudor did a celebrated one act R&J in 1943.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/arts/dance/14tudo.html

Thank you for this Interesting historical information  - starring Alicia Markova in the premiere I see.  Nothing is ever really new!

I think there is a difference in that the new Kobborg version for Poluninink will be one continuous long act, rather than a traditional ‘40 minute’ one act ballet.  

When do the promotions get announced?

Regarding ‘jobs for life’ from what I see I’d say RB management are doing a better job of managing retirements/moving on these days.  I note the arts management courses that Nehemiah Kish and Federico Bonelli are taking up.  

Although I’m now going to negate that statement, in that I can’t understand why Alexander Campbell wasn’t scheduled to dance either Romeo, Mercutio or even Tybalt in the recent run of R&J - it’s not like he had something else on (guesting elsewhere or whatever) at the time.  Hmmm. Seems a waste of a principal and of his dance career.  We know he’s going to make an excellent presenter and/or manager later on.  But a dancer needs to dance while they still can - such a short time to perform.  

I’d be interested in views on Johan Kobborg’s comments in Dance Europe July edition about this new production being different?  Specifically:

 “the usual dance public expects three-hour productions with all the capes and props” 

“With one, long, continuous act the story can move at a fast pace”.

It seems to me that this really is changing the face of ballet, or at least offering an alternative way of producing ballets, different to the lavish productions and expensive large company structures at the big opera houses.  

22 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I went to Verona many years ago to see opera.

 

Are people in the cheaper areas still allowed to light candles?  I was very disappointed that we were in the more expensive seats (it was a trip organised by a gentleman who lived near me and who was a serious opera buff) and could not have candles because our seats were on duck boards and it would have been too much of a fire risk.  It was a magical atmosphere even though I'm not keen on opera.

 

Enjoy your visit!

Yes to the candles 🕯 in the cheap seats on the stone terraces (at least last year).  Such a simple and beautiful effect - terraces glittering against the darkening sky .

5 hours ago, DrewCo said:

I only recently learned through the Atlanta Ballet's Facebook page, that--as I see FionaE also mentions above--Nikolas Gaifullin, one of the very best young dancers at Atlanta Ballet, will be dancing Tybalt in this production.   (Kobborg staged La Sylphide for the company this past season and Gaifullin was one of the dancers cast as James.)

 

I am rather a fan of Gaifullin--have been since seeing him make his debut as Basilio in Don Quixote two seasons ago. I liked his Basilio very much, but I must admit I was particularly charmed when after negotiating an awkward costume snafu, he immediately appeared to put some extra "zing" into his next dance phrase as if to underline for the audience that nothing was going to get in the way of the performance. Since then his dancing continues to be a highlight of the Atlanta Ballet performances I attend.

 

Atlanta Ballet does some good and even very good things, but is not a major ballet company (though they have aspirations to become one), and I imagine Verona will be a very new kind of experience for Gaifullin--but I think he is the real deal and hope he has success with this production.

Thank you for this insight into Nikolas Gaifullin.  I assume Johan Kobborg has recruited Nikolas after staging his La Sylphide at Atlanta Ballet.  

I love his regal bearing as well as his lovely technique.  I am sure he’ll perform an exciting youthful Tybalt in Verona with panache.  His and Johan’s Instagram snippets are tantalising, and I love how grateful Nikolas is for this opportunity.

It’s going to be great!

On 26/06/2019 at 21:43, Jan McNulty said:

Have you booked to go to Verona Fiona?

Yes I have - when it was originally announced.  I’m in row 5.   Booking is through www.ticketone.it.  You can change the language to English and choose your seat on the seating plan.  They have beautiful glossy souvenir invitations that you can have delivered, or stick with digital.  

The arena is enormous - seats 13,000 for the opera/ballet.  I’ve been to operas there before in the cheap seats €35 - that’s the stone terraces.  You need good cushions!  The stage is a long way away but you can see everything and the acoustics are amazing.  Those Romans knew a thing or two about sound waves.  They do have screens to relay the performance (and have subtitles for the opera) and use lighting and projections to enhance the performance.  

The whole thing is an experience in itself - being in this ancient arena with fabulous music surrounding you and open to the sky.  I. highly recommend experience it at least once - and what better excuse than this ballet.  

It will be hot so the performances start at 9pm.  Book an air conditioned hotel / Airbnb and have a shower afterwards!

I haven’t started a new thread before so please bear with me. 

Dance Europe subscribers will see an interesting interview in the July edition with Johan Kobborg (he is always interesting!) on the new Romeo and Juliet he is choreographing for Sergei Polunin and Alina Cojocaru in the main roles for Poluninink company.  The premiere will be in the Arena Di Verona on Monday 26th August and it will be classical ballet (women en pointe, men in tights) we are told, with a modern take.  Intriguing.  

There are frequent updates via twitter/instagram, from Johan mostly, including names of the others in the 24 strong cast including Valentino Zucchetti as Mercutio, Nikolas Gaifullin (principal at Atlanta Ballet) as Tybalt, and Ross Freddie Ray McCaw (role not yet known). 

I’m really looking forward to this unique potentially once in a lifetime event.

10 hours ago, capybara said:

There are times when a personal message is the best way to go. The 'problem' such as there is gets addressed privately, noone is 'accused' on the public forum and none of this kind of 'discussion' needs to take place.

Good suggestion, as one who has batted plenty of negative comments here.

On 11/06/2019 at 20:12, HappyTurk said:

I personally see Bracewell being promoted first. I'm not yet sold on Corrales' artistic presence. So I think he needs a bit more time developing it. 

And they need principals with some height.  Bracewell is taller than Corrales, I think?

16 hours ago, MJW said:

that

3 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

Oh - and doom and gloom lighting. SFB showed how to do nice bright lighting at Sadlers Wells. R&J at ROH seemed to shrink into a bubble surrounded by gloom (Capulet Ball excepted), I don't remember it being that dark before - perhaps we should have a whip round for the electric meter! 😉

 

MJW, I do agree with you, the ROH overdo the gloomy lighting in too many ballets.  R&J was the worst - e.g. not being able to see Lord Capulet when Tybalt dies.  It’s a show - we need to easily see the dancers and sets.  I suggest they rewatch the cinema broadcasts to brighten things up for the audience (we are not all 20 years old with 20/20 vision).  

Other lowlight for me is over-complicated costumes masking the dance.  Anything that makes the dancers shoulders look like they are up ruins the necklines and spaces.  (Macmillan was keen on spaces between parts of the body, I remember from a documentary long ago)

So many brilliant performances from many principals and soloists.  Notably for me, were Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Fumi Kaneko and Marcelino Sambe who have all been given real chances to shine and have done so on each occasion 👏👏👏 

On 05/06/2019 at 08:58, Xandra Newman said:

 

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!

 

So Fumi Kaneko has replaced Osipova in this, and learnt Medusa role in less than a week to replace Akane, all within the last month. I do hope she is promoted to principal.  Matthew Ball was in a similar situation!

1 hour ago, alison said:

But the team competition was a separate one, wasn't it, as I recall, rather than decided on people's individual scores?  It's a new event, so I'm not really sure how it works.

Indeed she personally has a gold Olympic medal (team event) and a bronze Olympic medal (pairs)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_–_Team_event

Here’s the official trailer

2 hours ago, Estreiiita said:

I just want to add a few words about my impressions from seeing " Romeo and Juliet", evening performance, last Saturday.

    First of all, I liked a lot beautiful design and staging, it was like watching a true life of Verona for centuries ago! The costumes were exquisite! 

As to the dancers -  Natalia Osipova is a great ballerina and great Juliet. She just lived on the scene. I can't say the same about David Hallberg however. To my mind he doesn't suit Romeo physically, nor was his dancing and acting on the same level with Osipova. Actually I was wondering, why does she prefers him to other partners?

   I was quite impressed by Ryoichi Hirano - he created quite a trustworthy image of Tybalt, also James Hay (Mercutio) and Calvin Richardson ( Benvolio) were brilliant.  Out of three harlots, Itziar Mendizabal was especially wonderful, though all three girls actually were great. And what a beautiful mandolin dance - Benjamin Ella is just a balm for the eyes of a ballet lover!

   I left the Covent Garden wishing to come back soon - thanks to the Royal ballet!

   

I agree

10 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I wouldn't describe it as a 'three act ballet'.  There were two 30-40 minute halves with an interval.  Personally I preferred the first half for various reasons, but it wasn't terribly uneven IMO.

Yes it was only two relatively short Acts.  I would like to see it extended, or another one act ballet added to fill the evening.  

5 hours ago, redshoesgirl2 said:

Elena Ilinykh is polunin's current love. i was wondering if he was going to try to make her into a dancer off the ice. it is rather amusing she is billed in appearances as ice dancing champion in sochi, but actually she and her partner came in third. she is pretty good and very dramatic. but they were not the champions, that would have been the americans davis and white.

Yes, as part of a pair she won the Bronze, (there are no solos in ice dance) but the team she was also part of won Gold.