art_enthusiast

Does anyone know when the Danish ballet season gets announced?

I turn up in whatever clothes I already have on, basically one step up from my pyjamas as I mostly work from home, and I really don't care. Because I know that no one's there to see me, we're all there to see the very talented dancers on the stage and that's it. I am young and I was at the young ROH night for Swan Lake. (There's only one young ROH ballet night for this whole season and otherwise young ROH tickets are severely limited/practically non existent this year, so I wouldn't get too upset about it.) I like the atmosphere of having a lot of young people under one roof, especially as the ROH audience tends to skew older particularly in recent years, cost of living crisis etc, it's easier for older people to afford tickets as they're not as impacted by unaffordable housing, bizarre job market, post Covid recession and what have you. Also younger people are less likely to have seen Swan Lake before and they deserve the chance to see it at least once. However in some respects I wish the scheme could be means tested. I understand that this performance was for young ROH and also invited attendees, which could include young rich influencers who could probably afford full price. I also don't wish to sound offensive, but there are many rich young students from predominantly Asian backgrounds who tend to flaunt their designer clothes around London and the ROH, and I don't think this scheme should be directed towards people like that. I personally do not come from a rich background and have paid full price for most ROH performances this year (which resulted in seeing less of them obviously, but I would have hated to miss out on works such as Manon, which I had never seen before this year).

I'm sure they'll be reprising these roles throughout this relatively long Swan Lake run. As you can imagine they were both very good. Amelia interjects wonderful attitude into everything she does, and Annette is calmly brilliant as always.

Forgot to mention that I very much liked Natalia and Reece's portrayal of the Different Drummer main characters. I had totally forgotten the plot so the ending was a shock for me. (I did see Wozzeck when it was on last year but have to admit I didn't like it at all.) Brilliant acting and performances from the whole cast. Danses Concertantes was danced very well with precision, very impressed by Isabella (and it reminded me how much I love Luca Acri's style) but it didn't resonate with me as much as the other pieces. I also feel that Vadim didn't get much of a chance to shine... Reminded me a bit of Scènes de ballet but I much preferred that to this. Requiem was absolutely brilliant and made the whole evening worth it.

i mean, I'm not an expert but I thought so. I noticed that his landings were soft and I could hardly hear them, and I was close to the stage. Turns very good. He was very on point in Act 3, everything done very cleanly. Granted I didn't see him perform it in 2022 with Mayara, this was my first time seeing them both in these roles so I didn't have anything to compare it to. But I think he's come back strong and I wish him well in his next performances of The Winter's Tale and whatever else he's cast in. I'm not sure what injury he had but I think it was his back? I commend him for persisting and coming back after this very challenging time.

Could anyone remind me briefly of the Different Drummer plot and who on earth is the person in the white coat - I’m assuming the Doctor? Really liked all three pieces tonight, but most particularly Requiem. Absolutely superb, I would certainly watch it again many times. David Donnelly was brilliant as the Drum Major.

I was fortunate to attend the performance tonight. I thought Mayara and Cesar were brilliant together. Mayara in particular suits this ballet extremely well.

I do find this quite harsh. And clearly the RB doesn’t agree otherwise they wouldn’t still be casting her in the classics. Can’t speak for this performance as I wasn’t there, but I very much enjoyed her Kitri performance at ROH in November 2023.

So if Onegin is so popular why aren't the RB bringing it back? I assume it's not like the Bayadere situation where they're afraid of offending people with cultural appropriation, as I don't think any of that applies in the story... I personally haven't seen it but would really like to. Might go and see the Paris Opera's one.

You definitely aren't the only one. I think it's perfectly fine if you want to do that - doesn't everyone do that in bookshops anyway? I have definitely flicked through books in the ROH shop before a performance - read a few parts of Yasmine and Vadim's recent biographies - and no one said anything. I totally understand why you felt alienated by this treatment, some staff can certainly take their jobs too seriously at times. It's not as if the programme is made of gold leaf! I understand about not wanting children to touch things as they can probably tear them, but adults are hardly likely to do that. Also Covid is no longer an excuse either. Their loss anyway as you're not likely to get a sale with bad customer service!

I find it bizarre that people like this exist - you can see them at the ROH as well. They clearly have more money than sense. I hope they get didn't any kind of discount on their tickets.

Same. I could happily listen to it on repeat every single day (and I frequently do, it features heavily on my Spotify Wrapped!) On the whole I prefer the ballets which are more grounded in realism like Manon/Mayerling, but Swan Lake is the exception for me. The RB's was the first Swan Lake I saw live in 2022. The start of the Ukraine War/playing the anthem before performances gave it additional poignancy. The introduction/showing Odette changing from human to swan has me emotionally gripped at the first note.

I have to agree, I also find that part a slightly strange choice. Definitely ties into the whole feminine power aspect that I also find prevalent in Giselle Act 2 - the Willis controlling everything, and here the swans are the ones defeating Rothbart - which I do like, but Siegfried lying there does feel a bit incongruous.

Congratulations to Isabela Coracy! No surprise there

And I need to know when they go on sale because I am desperate to attend!

Just wondering when the season gets announced - is it around April? And will POB announce theirs around the same time? Similarly hoping for Les Patineurs and Coppelia next season. Praying for any Balanchine but won’t get my hopes up…

I really don't think he can be 5ft 11! Not if Mayara is taller than him on pointe. I think whoever wrote this must have their facts wrong!

Really? I don't think he's that tall though. I thought he was roughly the same height as Marcelino Sambe, who I think is very well matched with her.

I certainly wish they would bring that back as I haven’t seen it live! I’m glad Cesar is back and it makes sense that he would be playing things more safe. I was just watching Like Water for Chocolate again on ROH Stream and was reminded of his immense exuberance and power on the stage. I wish him luck, it’s horribly unfair to be injured so young as well. I guess it’s up in the air on whether he or Steven McRae will do Rhapsody… just glad I got to see them both perform it in 2022. What I really want is the Dream casting as I’ve never seen it live before!

I really liked this performance overall, though as others have said I would prefer to see more Balanchine and Robbins - especially as we have so little of it in the UK and the RB doesn’t seem to do it anymore! I really liked the Justin Peck work - not too flashy but lovely to watch and I found the music beautiful. Could anyone tell me who the dancer is with the white shirt/grey leggings outfit? He was brilliant. Of course the Balanchine was brilliant - though I am dying to see works like Serenade and Symphony in C, this was very much a small taste of his work. Amazing to see Megan Fairchild live. I’m not always a fan of having musicians on the stage though, at certain angles from the side they can block the dancers from view. Worst for me - Pam Tanowitz. I’m quite baffled as to why her works are popular, I find them mediocre even when great dancers are performing them. Moving the piano across the stage - what on earth was that about? I found it absolutely incongruous, very awkward and just unnecessary. Like the choreographer was trying to be quirky for the sake of it, not interesting at all. I also don’t think the dancers looked like they were enjoying the performance that much. Kyle Abraham’s piece - what a contrast to the former. Strong, imaginative choreography, classical with a modern twist. I also liked the costumes and lighting, I think it was a great, impactful closing piece. If they’d replaced the Tanowitz work with another Balanchine or Robbins piece I would have been way more satisfied though!

Same here! Oh well

So far I think Richardson has done two full length lead roles - Romeo and Des Grieux - and Sissens will be Siegfried and hopefully Romeo when/if it comes back! Slightly off topic but could anyone remind me when the RB new season is usually announced? And is Paris Opera's announced around the same time? Wishing luck to all the company for Swan Lake tonight! Glad to see that Chisato Katsura is performing one of the two swans.

Ha, interesting idea. I would go to them

Absolutely, it was just stunning. The bedroom PDD in particular was a thing of absolute beauty. And the final act… incredibly heartrending.

I believe Joonhyuk Jun also performed Benno in the last run. Hope to see him again. I also hoped Marco Masciari might get an opportunity to do it - I'd think it would naturally suit Taisuke Nakao or Daichi Ikarashi as well. Though I guess there are quite a few in the queue ahead of them.