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FionaM

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  1. FionaM
    I think it’s very clever of Tamara and this sponsor to be public about this large donation. Even if it is only a proportion of what SF Ballet need each year. It can only encourage more for them, and elsewhere.
  2. FionaM
    My thinking on this gala … would I give £50-100 to the charitable cause outright? And then it’s just a small amount more to see all these amazing dancers. Here’s a clip of Vladislav Busenko in La Fille, who I’d not heard of before … https://www.instagram.com/reel/CosCotQotRx/?igsh=MTFxM29sOTU4YnR2dQ== Nice! I am looking forward to this.
  3. FionaM
    I too have seen ballet at the London Palladium … most recently in October 2021. A sold out evening of dance and conversation with Sergei Polunin. That was also pricey and seats took some time to sell. Though the top prices did include a signed copy of his book. In addition there were ‘meet and greet’ VIP packages which I’ve heard about at the Palladium and other Lloyd Webber theatres before. So I’m concurring with @MAB’s thought that the venue might lead on the pricing. There are lots of pros to this venue: - without an orchestra pit the front rows are very close to the performers on stage - good sightlines from most seats (unlike ROH) - it’s a good size stage for a gala - the venue is in a great location, opposite Liberty’s and near Oxford Street - plenty of cafes, restaurants, hotels - multiple transport options I am looking forward to a special night.
  4. FionaM
    @Rob S thank you for your wonderful photos, as always. Personally delighted to see the beaming smile of Chisato Katsura, alongside Melissa Hamilton as the fighting duo.
  5. FionaM
    I imagine the extra cost of filming, editing and distributing is prohibitive. The first time around it may have been provided free.
  6. FionaM
    Shockingly uncharitable ballet fans 😢
  7. FionaM
    I’m delighted by the announcement of a new Nutcracker. Wayne’s version annoyed me with its Nutcracker / Prince back and forth. I personally cannot get enough of Akram Khan’s Giselle. It is a masterpiece of dance expression for me. I saw the Oliviera/Arrieta/Prigent and Suzuki*/Dowden*/Woolhouse casts in Bristol last October, and they were all fabulous. Hilarion has a much more substantial dancing role which is pivotal in this version. With a longer run at Sadlers Wells in September I hope there will be others who get to debut in the main roles. Roll-on the cast list!
  8. FionaM
    I thought Milda stood out for her expression and musicality, not only her height. I’m thrilled that her post RBS choice is working out really well for her.
  9. FionaM
    News from Milda Luckute who graduated from the RBS in summer 2023 as winner of the London Ballet Circle Dame Ninette Award for best female graduate. She will be performing the Lilac Fairy role in Dresden Semperoper’s Sleeping Beauty in March! Many congratulations to her 👏 https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Vz75jo23A/?igsh=MXVnanJhY2t2bGczMg== As a side note, I see ENB’s Gareth Haw is Prince Florimund in the same performance with his previous company.
  10. FionaM
    I really should take my own advice (given elsewhere) to trust the choreographer / producer / decision makers in their casting decisions. I am now looking forward to these dancers bringing something different to my perceptions of the roles. Especially Corrales as Leontes and Bracewell as Florizel.
  11. FionaM
    I’m always surprised by such different opinions. I loved everything about ‘The Owl Falls’. The quirky costumes, the lighting, the wide-ranging choreography, the playful interaction of the dancers, their wonderful virtuoso technique. I did not read about the piece beforehand. That is my usual preference so that I can absorb what is shown to me without much preconception. In this case I had seen clips on Instagram (unavoidable as I follow these dancers), however the clips shown only reflected one aspect of the piece. Great piece for something different at ballet galas.
  12. FionaM
    @capybara shared a pdf higher up this thread
  13. FionaM
    Alex Campbell should be Florizel
  14. FionaM
    For me, The Winter’s Tale is the best of Wheeldon’s full length ballets. The story is less familiar than the ubiquitous Shakespeare plays of R&J, Macbeth, Hamlet. However it’s got fewer characters than Mayerling and Like Water For Chocolate, which helps a lot, and the story is told quite clearly through the dancing and staging. I find it quite strange that Polixenes is listed last in the RB casting shared here, when it’s the friendship of Polixenes and Leontes from childhood to adulthood that is the crux of the story. The young couple, Perdita and Florizel are fairly superficial roles, joyful and virtuoso of course, which does perform the necessary contrast to the dark sadness of the other scenes. In my opinion, many dancers in the company could do these roles. It’s the other four main roles that require nuance and depth and experienced dancers. I struggle to see Leo Dixon as Polixenes,, but then cast alongside Vadim Muntagirov this may work. IMO William Bracewell is miscast as Florizel. He should be Leontes.
  15. FionaM
    Campbell was previously first cast of Benno, which is a substantial and virtuoso role.
  16. FionaM
    Such interesting casting … @capybara thank you for sharing Hermione - Cuthbertson, Nunez, Lamb*, Kaneko Leontes - Corrales*, Ball*, Hirano, Muntagiriv* Polixenes - Richardson*, Braendsrod, Donnelly*, Dixon* I thought Claire Calvert performed Hermione before?
  17. FionaM
    @TSR101 I read that Vsevelod’s grandmother is Russian. Perhaps this family (like many others) found themselves to be torn between the two sides and therefore chose to leave Ukraine to take themselves out of the political situation, as well as away from danger. Whether they consider themselves to be Russians, Ukrainians, or both, it’s a brave thing to uproot the whole family to start a new life elsewhere.
  18. FionaM
    @Angela thank you for your perspective on this article. I don’t find it picky it all. I find your comment to be a valuable insight. So thank you again.
  19. FionaM
    New addition to this gala - Giorgi Potskhishvili, the 22 year old Principal at Dutch National Ballet. From Georgia. We have Elena Glurjidze to thank for discovering him and persuading him to take the ballet route. His family are Georgian national folk dancers which is where he started. He is explosive and has huge personality on stage. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3P6YOKoW21/?igsh=MnE1bXN2MW02NWU4
  20. FionaM
    This version did win the Benois de La Danse for choreography in 2016. The first few lines of this review are encouraging: Choreographer Johan Inger’s Carmen is one we have never seen: a Carmen turned inside out. In this danced-through reimagining of the world’s most-popular opera, we are pulled into the characters’ inner turmoil. Their dancing gets under our skin, at times deliberately unsettling us. https://theconversation.com/a-brutal-nightmarish-carmen-imbues-an-old-story-with-contemporary-resonances-113354 The whole ballet can be found on YouTube, performed by the Spanish company on whom it was created.
  21. FionaM
    I’d say it’s a great honour for Vsevelod who is a junior soloist at ENB to be partnering a Bolshoi principal such as Alena Kovaleva. Vsevelod’s story of himself leaving Russia and his family leaving Ukraine https://parkmagazineny.com/dancing-for-life-an-escaped-ukrainian-dancers-story-vsevolod-mayevskyi/ Perhaps his view is that he is outside of the conflict personally. He may be supporting his family financially too.
  22. FionaM
    It has been changed over the years … but not much. Improvements with scenery, sets and costumes. Very little change to the choreography. I’d call it tweaks. In essence it is the same.
  23. FionaM
    Alonya Kovaleva also danced at a gala in Japan partnered by Xander Parish in December. perhaps artists are taking a different view on artistic collaborations. Talking of which I have just seen the great pianist Nikolai Lugansky performing Rachmaninov superbly, with the Strasbourg Philharmonic. Nikolai is on tour around Europe with this orchestra and others, and also with Vadim Repin (husband of Svetlana Zakharova).
  24. FionaM
    For those interested in modern choreography, here’s a reel of a piece created by Vienna based choreographer Eno Peci that was performed in Dubai recently and will have its premier in Russia on the Bolshoi new stage later this month as part of the ‘Postscript’ programme. The 4 dancers are contemporary specialist Ildar Young with Bolshoi soloists Maria Vinogradova, Anastasia Denisova and Daniil Potaptsev. Ildar collaborates regularly with Bolshoi dancers. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3PrXDgo6wg/?igsh=aHMzcWJlenIwNHFi
  25. FionaM
    It’s here https://m.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/john-neumeier-kooperiert-mit-bolschoi-ballett-propaganda-instrument-putins-19512416.html?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral
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