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Jamesrhblack

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  1. Jamesrhblack
    I'm guessing Albrecht was a slip for Colas in the context of the discussion ...
  2. Jamesrhblack
    I'm inclined to agree, especially with Campbell. Now that MacRae seems to be partnered elsewhere, she really blossomed with Alexander Campbell in both Quixote and last night in Fille, and it if her body language is to be believed really loved dancing with him...
  3. Jamesrhblack
    Did Penney ever dance Lise? Glad you liked Campbell Jillykins? Sally and I thought he was truly delightful :-) The umbrella was a problem (Sally, who starred as Carlotta in Phantom was muttering "I hate props") but the whole evening and such joy that criticism seemed obsolete.
  4. Jamesrhblack
    Total enchantment tonight. What a delightful ballet Fille is. Was it Alistair Macauley who said words to the effect that the subject matter might seem light but the treatment of it is anything but, Marquez and Campbell work so well together, it's surprising that they weren't cast as a matter of course. As Barry Wordsworth commented at Stage Door, they have a natural empathy, and it was very touching to see Marquez come on for her solo call clutching a flower, summoning on Campbell and presenting it to him. His was a debut of absolute confidence: charming, manly, supportive, technically adept, whilst she was roguish, enchanting, amorous and beautifully fluent. I've an early start so won't write in mudh detail, but it really was a total delight.
  5. Jamesrhblack
    There hav been several comments in this interesting, if inevitably speculative, thread regarding some stalling of dancers' progress. Given how hard they work it seems a little unkind but there seems to be some truth in the notion, especially around what seems to me, with a couple of exceptions, a rather stagnant First Soloist section. Is it invidious also to contemplate who may be leaving? If this post is inappropriate, I will quite understand if it is removed, but it does seem to me, especially given some of Kevin O'Hare's comments re younger dancers and late confirmation of casting that we may be in for some changes....
  6. Jamesrhblack
    I really love Nunez and Acosta in these roles but must admit was completely bowled over by Baryshnikov's performance when he did it all those years ago.......he just put such energy into it and had a great cheekiness too. I still remember seeing Baryshnikov with Ann Jenner in 1977 and the sheer speed of the end of the Fanny Essler Pas de Deux is clear in my mind's eye. Looking forward to Campbell with Marquez this evening :-)
  7. Jamesrhblack
    If she can regain her fitness, I'd tip Fumi Kaneko to go all the way. She is exquisite in this Masterclass and the Dish is splendidly supportive too. Wonderful to see Collier and Cope coaching, and to see Cope's gallantry to towards Lesley Collier. https://youtu.be/TAVd5lsbonE
  8. Jamesrhblack
    Possibly not, although given her excellent physical presentation and seeming ability to choose the repertoire she wished to dance, not inevitable. The fact remains that there wasn't one female First Soloist deemed suitable for promotion even under slightly dramatic circumstances.
  9. Jamesrhblack
    Watson certainly used to dance Albrecht, although not this time round if I recall correctly.
  10. Jamesrhblack
    And Reece Clarke was mightily impressive in Symphonic. Nevertheless, these are both very young dancers and recent recruits. It's the gap in the middle that is becoming ever more obvious.
  11. Jamesrhblack
    (Quote) He supposedly does have a "regular" partner: she just doesn't seem to be being used very much these days. (Quote) Well, increasingly, he seems cast with Sarah Lamb rather than Roberta Marquez. (Quote) Lack of foresight? Well, perhaps a bit, but I don't really think that Rojo, Cojocaru and Galeazzi could all have been expected to leave at more or less the same time. (Quote) Of course, Benjamin left as well. Whilst I'd agree that nobody might have anticipated losing four principal ballerinas at the end of one season, surely there should have been at least one female First Soloist deemed suitable for promotion if due care to Company structure were being observed. Mind you, there wasn't a suitable male First Soloist at that time either.
  12. Jamesrhblack
    Although the chances of either happening seem sadly unlikely ....
  13. Jamesrhblack
    Perhaps. But possibly also something to do with profile raising ..
  14. Jamesrhblack
    As I wrote, willing to be corrected and didn't know that. It explains her absence although I stand by my reservations over her Myrtha.
  15. Jamesrhblack
    Which article is that?
  16. Jamesrhblack
    (Sorry, pressed send too soon) However, I can absolutely see that he is extremely useful at First Soloist level. With Acosta due to retire and rumours swirling around Yanowsky and Cervera being taken out of Colas cracks seem to be showing in the hierarchy. The long term future of Morera and Watson, neither of whom has much of a presence in the classics (particularly Watson) cannot be guaranteed either surely, and I'm not sure that there's much left for Marquez either. As others have pointed out, Hamilton rarely convinces in the classics, Crawford had one go at Lise which hasn't been repeated, Kobayashi has danced Nikiya and Aurora which I didn't see but seems to have been in nothing all this season until the approaching In the Night (and I was not convinced by her Myrtha), Hirano has danced Beauty, Nutcracker and Pagodas (I think) but also seems to do some character roles (Gremin), Stepanek is no longer cast as Lensky (in which I thought be was terrific) but as Gremin and, even so, seems an unlikely candidate for principal roles. Hristov has been at First Soloist level for a long time and despite the occasional principal role (and I thought he was great in Winter's Tale) would surely have been promoted by now if it were to happen. Mendizabal again I like very much (and she did get Tatiana and Firebird by default) but would surely have been on the Swan Lake debuts if she were going higher and Gartside might get Character Principal but that's a different line of duty. It seems to me that this lack of backup at First Soloist level is a current weakness of the Royal Ballet. O'Hare's wish to promote carefully and provide opportunities for lower ranking dancers is laudable but it can't disguise the existing problem as I see it and I'd think it inevitable that a couple of principals will be brought in from outside. Does anybody else feel that the current situation shows a loss of managerial foresight and even control? I'd always thought very highly of the previous Director (and in many ways still do) but this situation does seem to have developed on her watch. Perhaps I'm being unfair and, as always, I am very open to correction from those mor informed than I.
  17. Jamesrhblack
    I think if Choe were to have been appointed it would have happened after she replaced Osipova in Beauty and the fact that Odette/Odile did not come her way despite a plethora of cast changes would seem to confirm that she has gone as far as she is likely to go in terms of promotion, I'm not quite sure when the new Swan Lake is due but if it is in a couple of seasons time, ungallantly, it probably might also be said that time had passed in terms of that particular debut. Indeed with Takada cast this season (for the second time after her debut cancelled through injury a couple of seasons back) and Fumi Kaneko hopefully fully restored to fitness and seeming a more likely candidate for casting I would definitely think that has now passed her by. It's a pity: I don't rate Choe quite as highly as some on here but I do remember the delicate freshness of her Dances at a Gathering when it seemed she was set to escalate especially after being featured in one of the Royal Ballet films and, without wishing to speculate, I can guess at the frustration and disappointment this may well cause her, although you'd never guess it from her smiling ease on stage. Campbell I like very much indeed. Hasn't he danced Beaity, Don Q and Nutcracker male leads ahead of his Colas debut? His relatively compact stature shouldn't necessarily be a problem (as it hasn't been for McRae)
  18. Jamesrhblack
    I believe Steven McRae had a year out with an Achilles tear....
  19. Jamesrhblack
    It's a shame for Zucchetti but lovely that Alexander Campbell can dance Fille with Marquez. They worked together so well in Don W. Have booked my tickets already after this news :-)
  20. Jamesrhblack
    There was a TBC for a while but it's definitely listing her again and also on her ROH People page. According to the website Lamb is fit for Tatiana and Zucchetti is back too....
  21. Jamesrhblack
    Im not a conspiracy theorist but how unfortunate that in her last weeks with ENB, having not performed regularly for the last couple of years, Elena Gluedjidze has has to lose performances of both Swan Lake and Nutcracker because of injury to her partner....
  22. Jamesrhblack
    That's a shame for Marquez. She doesn't seem to get many performances these days and is rarely injured. Mind you, I can imagine Takada and Campbell being great together. Morera is also rarely off, so that's sad too (and she should surely be dancing some performances as Kitri)....
  23. Jamesrhblack
    I'd hoped to get to Mknday's performance and am particularly sorry to have missed Deidre Chapman's last performance. She doesn't seem to have featured in anything much recently and my impression was that she had been taken out of many of her dancing roles but I have very fond memories of her as Myrtha and, in particular, Mitzi Caspar, whiskey earlier this year, her mime as Berthe was superb vivid, and, happily, preserved on the DVD.
  24. Jamesrhblack
    Of course, it's on opinion, with the disclaimer cited, but at a dispassionate level i'd stand by what I wrote.
  25. Jamesrhblack
    With respect, I did write "from the Balcony Stalls." Some years ago, I really enjoyed seeing Yuhui Choe in Dances at a Gathering and am sorry that the promise displayed then doesn't seem to have been fulfilled. I don't know if the stalling of her career is due to management prejudice or a levelling out of her own achievement, but dance also deals in absolutes, and I'm afraid I see no reason further to modify my comment beyond what I had already done.
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