LACAD

I’ve just rounded off my first full year living in London, and got to watch a hefty amount of dance this year! January: Raymonda - Not the strongest story to redramatise, but I nevertheless applaud Rojo for bringing this ballet with its gorgeous variations and music into a new light. March: I enjoyed two programmes from the Van Cleef & Arpels festival; ⭐️Dance - Lucinda Child’s revolutionary work deftly performed by the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon in Sadler’s Wells. It simultaneously puts you in a trance and knocks your socks off with its simple but highly effective choreography and projection work. ⭐️Fase - Another legendary work, this by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and performed in the Linbury. What more can be said about this work, gorgeous! ⭐️The Forsythe Evening - One of the best nights I’ve had in the theatre all year, leaves you wanting more! Mixed Bill - at the Royal Ballet, a great work by Pite, not so great by Abraham and Wheeldon. April Eleesha Drennan Dance - some really compelling work from this up and coming choreographer, loved her solo piece ‘Whiskers 2’. Solera - Had some brilliant flamenco in its first act. But (naturally) the focus was on the big draw of the night, the top billed guitarist Paco Peña. June The Crucible - Scottish Ballet really struck gold with this piece, and opened my eyes to the talents of choreographer Helen Pickett. July An Ode to Time - was really and ode to the mastery of Maria Pages, flamenco royalty. A beautiful piece. Don Quixote - My first encounter with BRB, and with the absolutely superhuman Tsu Chao Chou. A perfect production for the summertime. September The Burnt City - not as compelling perhaps as Punch Drunk’s seminal ‘Sleep No More’, but nobody does immersive theatre quite like them (I’m counting it as a dance work as there’s many sequences involving physical theatre and dance). The Trocks - great fun, as always! October Navy Blue - my Irish heart smiled seeing the great reception this work by Oona Doherty received. But if you thought the Forsythe evening was short, try 45 mins only! Alice - my first experience with Jasmin Vardimon. Bizarre, acrobatic, inventive, heart-aching, maybe not fully my cup of tea but something I’ve truly never seen before! November ⭐️Light of Passage - a stunning, stunning work. Please bring it back Mr. O Hare! Instruments of Dance - wasn’t super keen on Scholz’s piece, but liked Hotel and loved Forgotten Land. Mixed Bill - from ENB, definitely very mixed! Loved Blake Works I, Quagebeur is still full of promise, was so so with Ek’s work as much as I admire him. December ⭐️Ruination - one of my favourite works of the year. Definitely not to miss if you want something a little cheekier than the nutcracker, but still packs and emotional punch.

I wonder with Watkin taking over ENB will the tide change?

I saw it last night and loved it! Funny but also quite heartbreaking, I’d highly recommend it.

I see my post to ask to refrain from using condescending language has been removed by moderators.

ENB could let him pull a Cojocaru, pick the performances he wants to do while working on side projects. But that was disastrous with Kochetkova who left very soon after rejoining. I understand the body is still warm, but I wonder who will take that Étoile spot? It may be controversial but my money is on Diop.

While I would happily see Khaniukova or Velicu take on SL, I would quite like to see Adams. Her arms go on forever! With Kase out for the foreseeable and Kanehara seemingly still off with injury, there’s only four Odette/Odile’s ready to go if I’m not mistaken. And three goes per Odette/Odile in such a short amount of time seems like a lot for the dancers (as capable as they are).

In La Bayadère, Nikiya is under the constant torment and advances of her male superior in the temple. She is killed later in the ballet but that’s a plot conceived by a woman (with help from her father). In Le Corsaire, Medora as well as many other women are slaves. In some versions of Swan Lake, Odette is driven to suicide because of her curse at the hands of a man (Rothbart). Unknowingly, James kills the Sylph in La Sylphide, but again, this is a plot conceived by a woman. While there is certainly oppression of women present in many classical ballet storylines, it is true that the 20th century violence against women (and indeed violence in general) became more present on stage in the advent of Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography. There are some exceptions including Balanchine’s La Valse, and Nijinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

Just back from tonight’s performance in a rather packed Sadler’s Wells! Blake Works I remains to me a beautifully lush ballet. The dancers seem more confident in the work and have applied their own little quirks to the piece. The cast was a mish mash of the preexisting casts’ leading women with Hawes, Otani, Suzuki, and Wood all performing. Rhys Antoni Yeomans was in wonderful form, and Erik Woolhouse was a scene stealer with his cracking pirouettes. Take Five Blues was a fascinating mix of moodiness and playfulness, there are real moments of brilliance in the piece (particular in group patterns) and shows brilliant promise in Quagebeur. Managing to extend a concentrated work and not make it feel bloated or bare is not an easy feat. Khaniukova, Conway, and Trossello brought a lovely wittiness to the ballet, Wood was also very commanding. As for Mats Ek’s world premiere, it took me a while to warm up to it. Partly as we had just seen two razor sharp neoclassical works, but also as a lot of the emotional action only seemed to take off halfway through the work. I enjoy Ek’s quirky aesthetic, and admire that he is still creating wholly unique phrases in his work. But having this quirky aesthetic with such a dissonant score was to me, for lack of a better phrase, the wrong kind of dissonant. I didn’t not like the piece, but it’s not nearly as gripping as Bausch’s iteration (or even as interesting as other works by Ek). All this aside, Breanna Foad was nothing short of revelatory, without hyperbole. She owned the stage and possessed not only a beautiful facility and technique, but a true bravery in her abandon. Frola also deserves a mention for his convincing turn as a rather adolescent groom. Adams and Reimar did the best they could with their stern parental roles.

I understand, but I just found it began to get a little tedious as the piece continued.

I really enjoyed this mixed bill! Forgotten Land took me a few moments to get into, but once Mizutani and Dingman ripped onto the stage I was hooked. It’s not my favourite piece of Kylián’s, but I loved the strongly Munchian atmosphere (which the programme noted; Munch’s paintings were a strong inspiration for the ballet). Hotel seemed like a logistical nightmare to direct, but Morgann Runacre-Temple was able to tame the seemingly untameable. The audience were perfectly happy to go on the weird and witty journey of the piece. While all performances were strong, the young Eric Pinto Cata really caught my eye. He shone in the few moments he had the spotlight, especially in his scene as the chef (chef hat included). Is it a perfect work? No. Is it gimmicky? Maybe. But it was funny, wonderfully inventive, and featured some really meaty choreography. Surprisingly I wasn’t as moved by The Seventh Symphony. I thoroughly enjoyed the intricate choreography and the brilliance of the set and design. But I was less keen on the repetition in the work. I understand Scholz created a piece that responded strongly to the music, perhaps it was a bit too obviously paired. While some tableaux were fabulous and merited a second viewing, it all began to feel a bit predictable. Joyous and lovely, but predictable. I also feel some principals were a little rushed in the choreography, which in fairness was like a neoclassical marathon. However I could be picking at hairs here as it was the most classically technical piece of the evening. Overall a great success of a night, my standout stars were Mizutani, Hirata, Chou (what a firecracker), Pinto Cata, and Matilde Rodrigues who’s role I shan’t spoil the surprise of.

Just back from tonight’s performance which featured the opening night cast (McNally, Sambé, et al.) It was truly a breathtaking evening, not too dark and depressing but full of light and levity which quite surprised me. The choreography was stunning, nobody is doing as rich and fine work for a corps de ballet as Crystal Pite and every dancer shone. In the soloist and pas de deux moments there were beautiful standout performances from McNally, Richardson, Sissens, Sambé, Dean, and Isidora Barbara Joseph. The power of this work is in its stunning simplicity. Allowing the rich movement and stunning music to shine. No gilded sets, no frilly costumes, just honest dance. And yes, much to the consternation of some more conservative audiences, there is a lot of ballet rooted in the movement (particularly in the paradisiacal final act). What encouraged me most was seeing the opera house sold out, the hallways after filled with words of admiration (and some tears) for this wonderful company, and a most generous response at the curtain call. Seeing an amphitheatre of people of all ages united in reverence to a work that displays the awesome power of what people can do when we come together. I anticipate it’s return to Covent Garden.

Went to see the premiere of the film today, and was delighted to see Tamara and Jeffrey attending! The film itself - much like Creature - is alright. It makes certain plot points clearer (Marie’s desire to leave Earth), and shows the brilliant dramatic abilities of the central cast. Unfortunately it highlights the central shortcoming of creature, it’s overly long. Most sequences continue long after making its point, and while the group choreography can at least provide some diversion and eye candy on stage, the film doesn’t highlight this. Generally the corps is very overlooked. I will probably see Creature again in Sadler’s Wells to see how the work has evolved (and hopefully revised), but if you weren’t a fan of the stage work I wouldn’t recommend the film. The central cast listed in the credits were rightfully given a big cheer by the audience. As an aside, I never realised Andy Serkis was the voice of the Creature, he also was in attendance.

I too was wondering whether Melissa will venture over to East London if Aaron can provide the roles for her.

I’m quite happy with this appointment! Aaron has managed to make quite the company out of the Semperoper ballet, and I’ve always admired their rep. Excited about what’s to come.

Quite a shocking turn of events on what was meant to be the Étoile’s final performance. During the second act of Giselle (her first run of the role), Renevand sustained an injury. Leaving Sujet Bleuenn Battistoni at the helm. In recognition of the unfortunate circumstances Aurélie Dupont and Alexander Neef (director of the Opera) have allowed Alice to return next season for a proper send-off. Here’s a video of the curtain call from that night, how sweet of Mathieu Ganio to carry Alice out to her audience! https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgAfGyjI54U/?igshid=NmZiMzY2Mjc=

I’m quite surprised Jonah Cook is bucking the trend among non-Russian dancers and is heading to the Stanislavsky.

It was my first time seeing Don Q live and I must say I really enjoyed it! Momoko was truly a standout, super assured, I felt like I was in expert hands with her. Mathias was a little more reserved in his dancing but had a wonderful charisma. I was totally bowled over by Tzu-Chao Chou’s Cupid, who won one of the biggest cheers of the night from the audience. Despite some technical opening-night hiccups (Mercedes knocking over one of the props in her slalom, those dastardly Italian fouettés, and the Don himself being hit on the head by a descending curtain), overall it was a fun and bubbly night. My first time getting to see this company, and definitely not my last.

Such a loss, what a beautiful expressive dancer. I always wondered why she hadn’t guested with more companies other than Scottish Ballet.

-Edward Watson’s Farewell -Mayara Magri as Myrtha -Gina Storm Jensen in DGV -Crystal Pite’s Solo:Echo -Joseph Sissens was a pleasure in every performance I saw him in.

The Paris opera ballet for decades now has made a name for itself as being a very versatile company, they’re one of the few classically based companies that gets the rights to as many contemporary works as they do and with no national contemporary dance troupe based in Paris they won’t want to throw away that audience by going back to just the classics. They also, as we all know, have a terrible reputation as being unmanageable. I think the only viable candidates would be someone who has worked in the French system like Vu-An (if he even wants it). I wouldn’t be too worried that it would entice people away from applying for ENB. Direction is no easy job, but Paris makes it seem entirely unappealing.

I’m quite gutted by this. I never got to see Tierney dance live, but any recordings or clips I’ve seen of her she seemed to be an absolute force of nature. Such a shame, so cruel.

I would argue that this has been the case since Lefèvre’s time as director. And imho is what makes the company stand out, that they have the range to successfully perform both very contemporary and very classical repertoire and everything in between.

You must go! I couldn’t resist temptation and went to today’s matinee. Even with this week’s other cast everything holds up brilliantly. You wouldn’t be able to tell it was a quiet matinee audience from the cheering after Playlist.

What a cracker of a night! I can safely say that everyone practically floated out of Sadler’s Wells tonight after this fabulous double bill. While apprehensive beforehand about the length of the evening (1hr20 in total including interval), and the cutting of Approximate Sonata (one of my favourite ballets) - all of my qualms were instantaneously quashed by these two beautiful remaining pieces. Blake Works I is a true love letter to classical ballet and the rich heritage it possesses. A graceful work, but still retaining a witty flourish. The seamless and perfectly measured corps sequences adorned with jagged solos and the occasional punchy Forsythian counterpoint here and there. It’s true eye candy for those die hard neoclassical fans in the audience. But it also has a wonderful humanity, it never strays into the academic too much to alienate its audience (which seemed very mixed in age and background tonight). Strong standouts were Rhys Antoni Yeomans, a technically masterful Isaac Hernandez, a lush Angela Wood, and the wonderful Emily Suzuki (still, surprisingly, in the corps) taking on one of the principal roles. Playlist is all entertainment and divertissement. From the very beginning the audience were engaged, hooting and whistling even before the fireworks of the now legendary ‘Impossible’ section (which was perfect as always). This ballet is such a ray of sunshine it melted away any of the unseasonable snow London was struck by today. Precious Adams showed supreme command of the stage in the wonderful ‘Location’ pas de deux, while Shiori Kase and Emily Suzuki (once again) attacked each step an assassin’s precision. Erik Woolhouse was a firecracker bringing the house down especially with one never ending pirouette, and Jeffrey Cirio and Henry Dowden filled each step with great musicality and precision. As a side note, I brought two friends of mine along tonight (who are also in their twenties). One is a burgeoning balletomane while the other counts this as his second time ever seeing a dance production and both loved it. Judging from the beaming smiles of many of the other audience members of my age bracket while exiting SW, I feel we weren’t alone. This made me reflect on Forsythe’s philosophy in ballet, and I realised that while it can be misconstrued that he sees three act classical ballets as starchy, endurance works - what he probably means is that people just need an “in” to the ballet world, something that shows the world how exciting and engaging ballet can be. This double bill does just that. Tickets are still going, all I can say is go! If anything it’s a great pick me up from this awful cold snap we’re suffering right now!

I was there that night, and I believe he shouted “more new British choreography!”.