LACAD

Just chiming in with my thoughts from last night’s performance led by Minju Kang and Rentaro Nakaaki. I have seen this production before, Spain’s Compañia Nacional de Danza released a recording online a few years ago. My opinion overall has remained rather unchanged over the piece — its dark intensity is compelling, but impact begins to wear thin in the second act. I enjoy the fascist sterility of the look of the work, and the tenebrous, graphic choreographic style. Some scenes are quite brilliant — the cigarreras in their sweatshop, Don José’s first solo after receiving Carmen’s flower. In one highly effective scene Don José hunts through Seville calling out for Carmen, soon the women he harasses while looking for her begin to hiss Carmen’s name at him and hunt him like a pack. There’s a clear reference to sexual dynamics in Spain, recalling the recent La Manada gang rape of a woman in Andalusia — coincidentally the region in which our story takes place. The second act is much more conceptual and diluted. As we enter Don José’s psyche things become patchier, reflecting his darkening mental state. One overly long ensemble sequence is especially superfluous. We’ve gone from a cool neo-noir to a total halt of the action. The second act also highlights the central issue with this adaptation — the piece never humanises Carmen above an obsession. Don José is by no means a hero, but seeing Carmen solely through his possessive eyes flattens her humanity. Even in death Carmen simply floats away into an ephemeral light. Like the women before her throughout Spanish history, her death is a footnote, the consequence of machismo. The figure of the Boy as a young Don José is an interesting addition to the story conceptually, but even his role as some sort of moral litmus test cannot save the work’s flimsy approach to a topic of such importance. Rentaro Nakaaki’s Don José isn’t the sloppy man we’re used to seeing. He is young, impressionable, and cripplingly unconfident — a veritable incel. Nakaaki is a compelling young talent in the company, he’s highly watchable and has a magnificent command of the contemporary style. Minju Kang stretches her acting chops as much as she can within the confines of Inger’s Carmen. Erik Woolhouse is brilliantly campy and bursting with sex appeal as the glittery Torero. Overall the company are convincing as dramatic performers, especially the vibrant women of the corps de ballet. The philharmonic are typically in great form, zipping through Rodion Schedrin’s orchestrations. Schedrin’s score was originally made for Fernando Alonso’s adaptation of Carmen created on Maia Plisetskaya, leading to a strange mix of Cuban instrumentation and soviet jazz. The new electronic elements by Marc Álvarez are effective in building a smokier mood, but one very long sequence filled with references to Bizet’s original melodies begins to feel like filler. Overall by no means a bad work, but disappointingly quite flat. I sincerely hope this doesn’t tarnish the reputation of the new director, after all commissioning a work that received the Prix Benois de la Danse would typically point to success. Unfortunately, in spite of a talented company of dancers, the work never reaches a boiling point.

Just thought I’d chime into this topic as someone from “Gen Z”. Though I definitely agree that the opera house should be more accessible price-wise, that ballet is more than the Tchaikovsky classics, and that one doesn’t need to be dressed to the nines to see a ballet, this is the trend among many younger people who are enticed by the glamour of ballet. Interestingly in times of recession and financial hardship there is a noted phenomenon where brash and bright pop music, branded fashion and cosmetic brands, and escapist activities (theatre/cinema/concert going) become more popular. And accordingly it seems the opera house — for a while now, as I’ve seen on my own social media feed — is trying to market themselves as a glamorous night out. I am conscious of a pang of elitism in some of my fellow young balletomanes’ attitudes towards the art; it can only be appreciated by connoisseurs, it would preferably be classical in nature, one must be dressed the part to attend, one must expect to pay high prices. I feel this is exacerbated by the recent ‘ballet-core’ fashion trend. And while there are definitely elitist roots in the art form, I find it a shame to reinforce these stereotypes. Especially considering other countries in Europe find success with young audiences in marketing as ‘glamorous’ but also forward thinking and accessible institutions — take the Dutch National Ballet’s young patron’s circle, the Paris Opera selling very cheap tickets for young audiences at previews. To end my long-winded meditation on the matter, I do believe this is a question of financial survival. The opera house needs young audiences to ensure future financial security. We are well past a time where government funding would grant cheaper tickets and more accessibility programmes, so it’s all about selling the experience. And that may well mean having to market the house as a place of glamour and fantasy (tutu included).

Very deserving nominations for Jonzi D and especially Isabela Coracy. Very surprised to see La Ruta and Time Spell nominated — I quite liked La Ruta but I’m aware it divided critics and the audience.

I agree with @Mary that snacks are a must, maybe even something with a little bit of sugar for the final push as the evening stretches on. I went to lots of full length ballets as a kid and if your little one has an interest in dance they’ll certainly enjoy it! Triple bills are also a good idea as they can have some very exciting movement and music for younger audience members. ENB are bringing back Playlist EP next year and I would highly recommend it.

The evening of works that was to feature Rotunda and the Paris Opera Ballet and was cancelled due to the pandemic was curated as a programme of dance pieces to the compositions of Nico Muhly. The third piece was a work by Michael Keegan Dolan who has made some fabulous dance theatre works, and I hope we do get to see the piece he had planned one day. I do think NYCB would fare better than they did in the past if they were to tour again in London. I get the impression that many people (at least where I was sitting) were people who went to see an iconic company that’s known in popular culture. To go and see the New York City Ballet was enough, regardless of what they were performing. Sadler’s and the ROH are relatively small theatres compared to some of the larger spaces across Europe i.e. the Opera Bastille, the Stopera in Amsterdam, the Teatro Real in Madrid. Unless they were given ample time to restage the only reasonable option is the Coliseum.

I certainly noticed how quietly everyone landed @Bruce Wall, I was very impressed! Funnily it was the first thing that really stood out to me while viewing.

I’d also like to mention Naomi Corti, who danced in each act and was radiant throughout. She mentions in the programme that many dancers are ‘thrown on’ in the company and that solid rehearsal time is not a guarantee in a company that performs such a broad repertoire. I feel this shows somewhat. Apologies if I’m coming across as harsh at all! I say this with respect to the dancers.

I wasn’t left underwhelmed by this evening’s performance, but I wasn’t really wowed either — which is unfortunate considering NYCB is such a known company and has some spectacular dancers. And ultimately it is the dancers who sell it; Quinn Starner is a phenomenal presence, Anthony Huxley is delightfully fleet footed, Megan Fairchild (though a little frigid in Peck’s piece) is thoroughly delightful in Duo Concertant. Taylor Stanley practically carried the last ballet, and they have the chops to do so! When it comes to what was on offer I’ll try and be brief: Rotunda is not Peck’s most interesting work. It’s got some clear references to the likes of Agon in its use of rehearsal clothes, and Peck does have a unique voice while being the veritable love child of Balanchine and Robbins. However it’s overall quite twee, and a little like its score — fairly derivative. I would by no way mean the this to discourage people from Peck, he has some great pieces out there. Duo Concertant was performed with lots of verve and joy. Again, not the most interesting work from this choreographer’s repertoire. The qualities I noticed in some of the dancers in Rotunda made a lot of sense in the Balanchine, the technique leads to beautiful interpretation of his ballets, but doesn’t meld entirely naturally in other contexts. Gustave le Grey no. 1 was one of the strongest pieces. Full of Cunningham quirk and interesting staging, there’s something enigmatic yet warm about it. The cast were phenomenal and had to handle some pretty complicated counts against the music. All this being said — bin those costumes… please. Love Letter (on shuffle) also needs a serious reassessment of its costumes (the lighting is also quite tacky). This one has got some superlative dancing and is full of moments to shine for dancers across the ranks of the company. It truly shows NYCB at their best; musical, dynamic, inventive. However the piece is bookended by flimsy opening and closing sections. And again (starting to feel like a broken record now), it’s not Abraham’s best work. Overall, while it was a pleasure to get to see some of America’s finest ballet dancers. The works were mostly sub-par. I understand that NYCB wanted to take a risk. To show their new repertoire to the open minded Sadler’s Wells audience. But they managed to present a programme that largely plays it safe. Was great to hear people in the audience, who seemed to be mostly drawn by the name of the company and don’t ostensibly know too much about ballet, take to it quite well. That’s always encouraging I hear. But as an avid dance-goer, this was not my most memorable even at Sadler’s Wells.

Heading to Sadler’s now. Just wanted to flag that Sara Mearns has shared that she is unwell with stomach issues and won’t be able to perform. According to her instagram story she has her fingers crossed to be on stage on Saturday. Such a shame as I was really looking forward to seeing her onstage!

I believe these farewell gala performances are typically composed of pas de deux and short ballets, which the company perform every year anyway at the opening of the season. So it wouldn’t have been too challenging to schedule a tagged on pas de deux with the recent double bill. I say all of this as an admirer of Rojo’s artistic vision. However it doesn’t hurt to allow one dancer, especially one who has served and been an ambassador for the company for as long as Yuan Yuan Tan has, to have her farewell in the manner that the company has celebrated for decades now.

I fear this could be a major misstep for Rojo. American companies are very reliant on patronage, donations, and ticket sales. With Yuan Yuan being not just a beloved figure of ballet in SF but also in the US in general, this could leave a very sour taste among many of those essential members of the ballet circle. There’s nothing wrong with changing traditions, but considering Tan spent the majority of her career with the farewell gala being the norm — and even had repertoire in mind, could she not have been allowed just this one favour? Especially considering it would be very likely to sell out. What also feels like a misstep is to promote another ballerina to the title of principal the day after Yuan Yuan retired.

I had the pleasure of watching Nelken tonight, which is far more humorous and lighthearted than some of Pina Bausch’s other works. That isn’t to say it doesn’t show its darker sides. Like any work of Bausch there’s little reminders of the cruelty that people are capable of, especially when in authority. The piece takes a lot of inspiration from childhood memories — games in the playground, showing off tricks (something every young performer is guilty of), picky eating, bounding like rabbits across a flowery field, even a temper tantrum or two. There’s also some impressive feats performed by a quartet of gruff stunt doubles (some of which I don’t want to give away), and even a pack of four very loud alsatians. We then see the characters grow up as they change out of their summer dresses (even the men) and don the typical Bauschian uniform; sleek and sophisticated evening wear. Their expressions are more muted, they’re slightly crueller with each other. They’ve moved on from tantrums and now yell and storm off the stage. One character who sporadically demands to see the passports of other performers on stage now becomes more interrogative and malicious. The ending though is happy — “soon it will be spring” a woman declares before the famous seasons march begins. The audience are then led to stand up and do a simple dance of opening and closing our arms; we later see that these are the components of a hug — the cast and audience all begin to hug each other, we all laugh and smile as we share this experience together. The cast get back into their summer dresses and one by one (with arms up in couronne) tell us why they wanted to be dancers when growing up. These two sentence stories are sometimes hilarious; “my sister lied to me and said she learned how to do a somersault in two days”, heartwarming; “I wanted to be a dancer so I could be here right here, right now”, and heartbreaking; “I wanted to be a dancer because I didn’t want to become a soldier”. Nelken is a real gem of theatre if you let it all play out and give into the absurdity. It was refreshing to see a show in SW where the audience laughed and giggled along with the action. And especially to see a show that emphasises the here and now of theatre, people coming together to experience something. It also makes me hunger to see more Bausch in the repertoire of some of the contemporary or classical companies in the UK. I’d personally love to see one of our principal ballerinas peeling potatoes while dancing to a 30’s jazz track!

Our prayers have been answered… a new nutcracker! I think overall it’s a fitting programme for an anniversary season. Plus they have yet to announce their in the round ballet.

Just popping in my late review of last night. I was trepidatious with what I had been hearing about food in the Coliseum, but other than a few “what’s happening?” whispered comments from first timers around me, I had no issues. I too was unfortunately unmoved by last night’s performance. From a historical standpoint I was fascinated. It’s exceedingly romantic and like a Degas painting come to life, however while beautiful and quite novel, it felt quite restrained. I felt overall that the cast was a little fatigued from Nutcracker and had a few opening night jitters. Katja Khaniukova is convincing as a very green and naïve Giselle in her acting, and in her romantic style. I noticed what I think was some sort of strain in her left foot (kudos to her for a quick improvisation to work around the hops in act one). However despite this she made it to the end of the ballet. I’m hopeful that she’ll be promoted soon. Aitor Arrieta was sure-footed and charismatic, a very sweet Albrecht. I feel however that Khaniukova and Arrieta’s innocence didn’t translate into helpless tragedy in act two. The second act of this version feels much more supernatural and earthy than the Royal Ballet’s rank and file military willis, I am exceedingly impressed by the women of ENB with every viewing. Alison McWhinney is dramatically excellent as Myrtha, a devious role to return to after maternity leave. Minju Kang is a standout as Zulma, more from her please! So overall; an interesting production and certainly important from a historical standpoint. However, it still feels that the dust is coming off it after coming out from storage.

I had the chance to see this in the Linbury on Friday. To me, this is the strongest I’ve seen Ballet Black (which has always been an excellent company). The new dancers are phenomenal, especially Helga Paris-Morales! I was also equally totally enamoured with Isabel Coracy’s portrayal of Nina Simone. Without wanting to sound too hyperbolic, it was one of the best dramatic performances I’ve seen by any ballerina. If it ever comes back it’s a must see!

I’d say many from my generation and younger (I was born in the end of the nineties) would love to see an evening of work — or even just the most famous work — from a radical, inventive, pioneering woman who’s been rather forgotten in the past few decades. Look at the success of the recent Hilma Af Klint exhibition for example. Especially considering the efforts to try and present more work choreographed by women. As for other past works, I feel the Royal does manage to keep somewhat of a balance, but there’s a tendancy to present the same works over and over. As if it’s only a specific part of the historical rep they want to revisit. Could we perhaps have revivals of shorter MacMillan dramas in a bill rather than one of the ‘Big Three’?

She wasn’t in any sort of featured role, but in one sequence she leaps around James Streeter (I believe). While they’re not as astronomical in height as Nakaaki’s, hers seem to just burst out of thin air.

I practically floated home after Four Last Songs! Overall the mixed bill was definitely mixed, and I don’t mean that negatively. There’s truly something for everyone here, and I believe the bill succeeds in showing how diverse in repertoire ENB can be and perhaps will be under their new regime change. Theme and Variations was all sparkle and radiance. Emma Hawes was delightful. The female corps - who have a lot of work to do in this ballet, like many of Balanchine’s tutu ballets - had some minor opening night jitters, but by the end were marvellous, my eye was especially drawn to Haruhi Otani as a demi-soloist and Anna Ciriano who’s rather new to the company. Les Noces was very gripping. Incredibly intense scenery, music, and dancing, however not unrelenting. Miller’s sense of movement was fascinating, she’s not afraid to use the power of the dancers - especially Rentaro Nakaaki and Emily Suzuki’s leaps! There are some brilliant moments and then they seem to just linger. The music isn’t just orchestrated differently, but certain bars are repeated or extended, there are prolonged moments of silence, and an interesting piece of music that plays before Stravinsky’s score even begins. All of this unfortunately holds the action captive a little. I don’t have too much of a problem with the narrative not being the strongest as it’s Andrea Miller’s first time creating a narrative work and she comes from a very abstract world, so I’m ok with her loosening it up. Dawson’s premiere isn’t the most radically new in regards to his choreography, but he is certainly an iconoclastic figure and wholly unique. To have a bespoke piece for London audiences on ENB is gorgeous, and not a single dancer can be faulted. It’s an unashamedly dreamy work. I was drawn to Angela Wood, she has a sense of old Hollywood glamour in her presence. Sangeun Lee made a major impression and was totally fluent and at ease in her ENB debut. Francesco Gabriele Frola holds the stage and shows his tender side. Rhys Antoni Yeomans’ also wasn’t afraid to let his port de bras flow and undulate - something the other male dancers seemed to struggle with a little. And while I feel Erina Takahashi was a little underused - though she may be more prominent in the second casting - this ballet does really allow everyone to dance as equals.

There were more issues with replacements this afternoon. The lake section from The River was cut entirely while many cast changes were made in the piece, as well as Pas de Duke, and Revelations. However that didn’t dampen the performance at all. The River was danced very fluently by most of the performers in spite of its very balletic vocabulary, and as a work was full of brilliance. Pas de Duke was lots of fun. As for Cry, well, the entire audience was rapt. I had chills throughout. Revelations was as strong as ever, with particularly beautiful renditions of Fix me Jesus and I Wanna be Ready. The encore of Rocka my Soul in the Bosom of Abraham went ahead with the audience clapping and swaying along throughout.

She did just guest in the Netherlands performing Odette/Odile, my hunch is that we won’t see her until Swan Lake in the RAH (there’s two casting TBC slots currently). I don’t want to speculate but I certainly hope it’s good news!

Just back from the 21st Century programme - though slightly different than advertised. The evening ended with Dancing Spirit by Ronald K. Brown rather than Are You in Your Feelings? by Kyle Abraham. I was disappointed to hear this and no explanation was given to the audience but I did enjoy the programme overall! For Four is very American in its energy and optimism (the flag is even projected against the wall in what I assume is meant to be an ironic touch). Unfold was simply gorgeous, almost Bauschian in its style, with a wonderful Ashley Mayeux. In a Sentimental Mood is highly intriguing, dark, and a touch sinister. I’m seeing Khalia Campbell in Cry tomorrow and if her performance in this piece is anything to go by then I have much to look forward to. Unfortunately Dancing Spirit was not my favourite work of the night. The choreography and dancing was assembled very intelligently in parts and was very exciting, but other passages dragged. The reception was deservedly warm for the marathon of dancing in the work, but for me, the night ended on a bit of a fizzle rather than a pop.

One of my favourite operas! Crossing fingers and toes it comes to London.

Personally I’ll most likely be going for Khaniukova since I’m sure she’s fabulous in the role (and I smell a potential promotion, and would quite like to be there if Watkins does it on stage). However, Takahashi is a consummate artist and in my opinion one of the best ballerinas dancing in the UK - you’d be in very safe hands. Despite going to ENB very often, Hawes and Oliveira are two dancers who I’ve actually seen the least. Personally I’d pick Oliveira as she’s got the experience to hold her own in the role. I’m sure Hawes is very good too though!

They’ll be the third company to perform it after the Royal and La Scala! I had a hunch ABT would want to snap it up as they pride themselves on storytelling. I’m sure Ferri will make her return but I also suspect Murphy and Copeland may take on the role as well (if Copeland ever makes it back on stage that is, it feels like it’s been ages!).

Yes it was Katherine! She was sublime.