Bruce Wall

Oh, I take it back ... MIRA NADON IS COMING .... BUT ONLY IN GUSTAVE ..... Talk about a hidden secret .... 

Casting is now out for NYCB in London - 

https://sadlers-wells-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/NYCB-Casting_Sadlers-Wells_March-7-10-2024.pdf 

Glad to see it's either Danny or Roman for the final solo/lunge in Rotunda ... and good casting for Duo.  Tiler, Roman and Stanley are in for Love Letter - with Stanley doing double duty where he does Duo Concertant with Woodward.  

Rotunda - Sara Mearns is doing the role she originated with her original partner - the talented Gilbert Bolden III.  Otherwise it is Megan Fairchild with lanky Peter Walker.  You are spoiled for choice here in terms of the main male as it is either Danny Ublrecht (YEAH - London WILL get to see Danny - doubt you will see him again) or Roman Mejia.  (That I'm surprised at as he didn't actually do any of his castings in this role in NYC.)   Sadly - as reported previously - the thrilling Jovani Furlan is out of the the PDT he created (Jules Maibe - and how he has come forward this season - is in for him as he was - short of the initial rehearsals - in NYC) and I'm delighted that you'll get a chance to see Victor Abreu in this.  For my money, he's special.  (The lad's only in Rotunda so he'll have lots of time to sight see - plus he has worked SOOOOO hard in this NYC season ... Those performances in Odessa, in Hallelujah Junction, in Sin3M, in Solitude in so, SO much.  He more than deserves a little break.) 

Duo Concertant - It's either Megan and Anthony Huxley (old hands at this turn) or the glorious combination of Indiana Woodward and Stanley Taylor.  If you are lucky enough to have a ticket for the latter I think you will NOT be disappointed.  Taylor's performances are always uniquely charged - as you will see in the role created for [them] in Love Letter.

Gustave - Good casting - not that you are likely (short of Adrian Danchig-Wearing - but even then) to know who is who.  So glad that Naomi Corti is getting a chance here.  She is a lovely dancer.  You'll know the electic Emily Kikta - She'll be the tallest.  

Love Letter - HERE YOU HAVE TAYLOR STANLEY - It would be a VERY DIFFERENT BALLET WITHOUT HIM - in the stunning role - [they] created and - Yes, London - the original combination of those fire-eating spirits (at least in this) Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia, again as originally designated.  So pleased too in this that you'll get to see Alexa Maxwell (who if she isn't made a principal at the end of this year I will be surprised given the castings she has received.  She is now a principal in all BUT the actual title); the formidable Emily Kikta - adore that woman and wish they would cast her more; Cameron Grant and young Quinn Starner (who some will remember from Tiler's earlier programme at the Wells); Canin Webber who is a FANTASTIC DANCER - his pseudo Puck in Robbins Four Seasons was a thrill and a half - and even McKenzie Beradino Soares - that young lad I wrote about speaking to on that stoop.  

MOST SADLY - NO MIRA NADON - (Somehow it's just not City Ballet nowadays without her radiance); NO EMMA VON ENCK and NO CHUN WEI CHAN but, hey, you can't have everything .... This is VERY positive I think as it is.  

(Wonder if they could convince Roman and Tiler to stick around for the Ballet Icons Gala.  They could do Tschai PDD or the Central Stars and Stripes PDD (both of which they will be doing this week) - or they could do (as they might prefer) Le Corsaire or Don Q PDD (Don't know if Tiler's done the latter ... but Roman definitely has - certainly they have done the Corsaire together and the ENB Phil would be primed for that already.)   Perhaps they could do the central PDD from Donezetti Variations - which they did do together for one performance in Washington.  

See that ALL the NYCB performances (short of the Thursday matinee which has 'limited availability) are SOLD OUT.  Spalding obvously clearly knew what he needed to do to appeal to his dedicated UK audience.  Well done him.  Credit where credit is due.  

29 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

[Not sure how the topic got diverted from NYCB to McGregor/ROH!] 

Ratmansky I think.  Sure it will now get back on track ... and soon, no doubt, we will have a separate strand for the NYCB small-side outings in London.  The Winter season here finishes with the Sunday mat.  This stand's time is nigh.  It was only in prep for that London outing that I started this one in the first place.  Hope this has helped to introduce the Company in that specific regard - although only a VERY small portion - at best less than 1/6 of the Company - will appear at the Wells.  Will post State side on NYCB where apt vis a vis the Spring and onwards as it will be most apt, especially as I don't usually comment on the UK fare there on those occasions when I do post.  Have to confess I was really shocked/unsettled by the content - and most certainly the tenor - of the one comment on Solitude here and that really has settled things in my own mind.  

1 minute ago, capybara said:

Hello @Bruce Wall

A significant amount of discussion relating to the autumn season relates to this subject. Maybe you missed it?

However, in view of that, and the fact that it  is, as you say, ‘off subject’, I am excusing myself from responding to your request for further details.

Oh, I am disappointed @capybara.  I was so looking forward to your documented evidence on this score.  Still, understand that you are letting it pass.  

2 minutes ago, capybara said:

Really? Evidence? Tickets were virtually being given away for Dante.

Really, @capybara.  Then you know much better than I.  I ONLY saw the massive audiences (largely in the Amphi as  I don't tend as a rule travel much below going as much as I do when I can) and I have attended many of those performances as the Royal do McGregor's work better than anyone else I can think of.   (To put this in line with the actual subject area of this strand - I would - if I could - have a NYCB subscription - and I'm sure I'm one of their largest single ticket buyers - in the front row of the Fourth Ring if I could.  They are brilliant seats.  It's just when I buy my subscription - very early - the Company only sells up to the Second Ring - (for some performances they don't end up opening the Third let alone the Fourth Ring) - so that is where I sit.  So different from the old days.  That's for sure.  Still understandable.  No question.)  

Can I please now in turn ask for your 'evidence' @capybara in stating that the 'tickets were virually being given away for free'.  Certainly the ticket fare that I paid for the last runs of Woolf Works and The Dante Project were higher than ones before.  That I do know.  I will so look forward to your documentation on this score.  So helpful of you to follow up on these details.  A true public service.  Thanks so in advance.  

5 hours ago, BeauxArts said:

Thank you Bruce. The feature on Ratmansky was - as AnnaMk wrote - heart-rending. 
I think it is sad and remiss  that the RB are not dancing any Ratmansky and/or have not (apparently) sought to commission a piece from him in recent years. He re-staged Coppelia for La Scala in December so it is not as if he is not working outside the themes of war and loss,  BUT I don’t believe these themes would be a disincentive to many  - if not most - dance-lovers. Personally, I would relish the chance to see his latest piece for NYCB or any of his other wartime pieces. They will surely prove to be as enduring as Gloria or Dante Sonata, for example. 

I think there are very specific reasons why you haven't seen Ratmansky back at the ROH but they are not I think for these pages.  Certainly they would not fit the particular focus of the current Royal Director.  He has specifically stated at a BA meeting - and, indeed, hats off to him for being true to his word- (that is such an admirable quality) - that his main focus is to concentrate on works created by his core choreographic team.  It has for the most part served him well.   Just look at the success he has had in building a dedicated audience - and a younger one at that - for McGregor's full-lengths, i.e., Woolf Works and The Dante Project.  I can well see - given the current tradition of this house - that if MADDADAM can be somehow fashioned into a like audience triumph that there may well not just be running a MacMillan three year rota (R&J, Manon and Mayerling) but a McGregor one too.  That will help with the coffers and might mean they don't have to do endless Swan Lakes, etc.  That, of course, could in time be built upon. 

It is for this reason too that under this Director's very successful leadership - which I'm assuming is supported and will continue for the foreseeable future in the spirit of 'if it ain't broke why fix it' - the Company and, therefore, the audience has not been given access to major balletic works of our time from other climbs that does not - in any way - fall within the strict limits of that remit.  Understandable.   This is, to large effect, the same at a Company such as NYCB.  The ONLY difference is is the dedicated Company focus in terms of creation.  The Royal is now of a dedicated contemporary slant whilst NYCB has - as per Balanchine's request - remained dedicated to the balletic idiom.

Moreover for the Royal this makes dedicated fiscal sense.  The Royal will receive income from their own share of of the rights to the works created in house and not have to worry about the expense of any others - short of historical acquisitions (like Oneign) which had already been negotiated/agreed.  (This IS different from NYCB.  There the rights - short of stage performances by the NYCB Company - remain ENTIRELY with the choreographer in question.  Thus, if a Peck (either Justin or Tiler now) ballet were to be seen in a major balletic venue outside of NYCB, say, in Paris, the negotiations would be directly with the dedicated personage him/herself.  That was always the case, say, with Robbins who was so much loved and indeed is still favoured in Paris.

If that particular focus is your interest - (i.e., major balletic works outside of this remit) - as it is mine, time I think to get your travelling shoes on - just as a goodly many travel to London hungry to see new McGregor fare located there.  (Of course, he does do work elsewhere.  He is one of the world's major creators.  No question of that.  For that we should all be thankful/proud.)  The  Wheeldon fare - even that at the Royal - can usually be seen elsewhere in decent order and that is for good reason too. 

8 hours ago, annamk said:

 

Thank you for posting this clip, it's utterly heart-rending. 

Thanks so, Anna.  

Just to say today's matinee of the same programme - including SOLITUDE - was again teeming people - mostly of the younger variety.  So much so that when I got to the theatre at twenty minutes to curtain - we were held outside because the snaking line at the box office was so vast that they wanted to clear some of it before they let more people into the vast State Theater lobby.  Understandable.  It is a programme with a central piece (i.e., the Ratmansky) that has been universally praised in all quarters (sadly apart from here it seems) and has become, or so was obvious, something of 'an event'  - I heard one person saying during the second interval that Mira Nadon is 'now approaching goddess status' - I so agree.  The lady lights up any stage she's on.  I can't wait for Ratmansky to fashion a ballet expressly for her.  I have a feeling it will happen sooner than not.  

One patron on the American equivalent of BcoF has just commented:-

Solitude is a masterpiece. The London audience would love it as well, but I guess renting a full orchestra is cost prohibitive.

Too right. 

Hopefully another organisation akin to Les Etes de la Danse will appear and NYCB will once again be able to appear in Paris with programmes such as this.  There are plenty of stages there which could more than fit and the subsidies are still - relatively speaking - generous in that particular locale I'm told.  

When we came out into the Lincoln Center plaza post show there were more vast queues and large white tents because of the opening of the film 'Dune 2'.  I had to stand about for fifteen minutes.  Didn't really mind as I saw a lot of people going in most of whom I didn't recognise.  Christopher Walken I did .... Oh, and Timothee Chalamet.  Lots of screaming and floating cameras.  Chalamet - not hugely tall - is worryingly thin with a wild mop of dark curls (at least at the moment) that appear to be heavier than he is.  He was wearing sunglasses, a light brown short-cut leather jacket and black leather trousers all of which appeared to struggle to hang on his more than slender frame.  

Thank you @DrewCo for your insightful and positive remarks.  I know they are much appreciated.

I just want to post a link to an CNN interview with Ratmansky that shows both clips and photographs of his TRIUMPHANT WORK - SOLITUDE.  There has been universal praise for this work - already attributed by many as a 'masterwork'.  I know of people (including some friends and NYCB volunteers) who seeing it once are now buying tickets for the remaining three performances.  There has only been one negative remark that has come within my knowledge on this piece and that was - most sadly - here.  I am certain the correspondent was sincere in her opinion but I just want to ensure that BcoF readers have a sense of perspective otherwise.  

Please do watch this clip if you can.  Ratmansky - in his abject honesty - is - as ever - moving.  You will see two brief clips from the ballet itself and you will - in small part - be able to make a better judgement on what you have read here.  

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2024/02/21/alexei-ratmansky-amanpour-solitude-ballet.cnn

Sadly I doubt that London will see this work.  The orchestration of the Mahler is large and the stage it was mounted on larger than any in our city.  Still you can I think get a sense of its pull.

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

Bruce, I'm confused.  Didn't you previously imply that the powers that be at NYCB would have selected a programme based on its suitability for the "tiny" stage at Sadler's Wells?

Alison, - it's funny - I'm somewhat 'confused' by your question.  I was just saying that those programmes (e.g., J.P's MOVES for NYCB and Danny's) were available in such circumstances.  Those circumstances were NOT these.  This was a unique case of making good on a previous commitment.  To wit:  Rotunda has been planned - and in some part actually created - to fit the 'tiny' stage of the Wells.  Such had been agreed prior to its original creation and also the composition of the musical score vis a vis the restricted number of musicians.  It was in part built to honour those limits placed by Spalding.  (I spoke to one of the Directors on this score.)  It was to have been part of a programme with two other major companies, one of whom I believe was the POB.  I assume they would have had similar restrictions.  The pandemic (Rotunda opened at NYCB in February of 2020) put paid to all of this, of course.  Certainly there was never meant to be 'tour by NYCB'.  From what I understand the 'powers that be at NYCB' had actually very little say in this programme.  The requirements by Spalding were exacting it seems in terms of money and which choreographers he stipulated to appear.  As it happens NYCB is at the Harris Theater in Chicago with a much larger (three programme) run but a week later.  THAT WILL I'm sure have been I'm created by the 'powers that be at NYCB'.  

-------

This afternoon's matinee of the same programme as last night was a thrilling affair.  Tiler Peck and Joe Gorden dazzled in Robbins' Opus 19/The Dreamer.  Then came the main course:  Ratmansy's master opus - SOLITUDE.  It puts our times on the stage.  It is beyond searing.  The audience was entirely rapt and burst forth with rapturous applause at the end.  There were people standing in excited response on the Second Ring where I was sat with tears flowing down their faces.  Others applauded with their hands over their heads.  I saw members of the orchestra standing and applauding.  (That's a first.)  Someone I know had run into Adrian Danchig-Waring yesterday and he told them that Ratmanksy had 'taught him to dance in a new way'.  That much was evident in his debut this afternoon.  Such potency.  It was totally electric and almost overwhelmingly brilliant.  The rest of the cast was that of the original roster.  When the ever glorious Mira Nadon was tossed in what I heard Ratmansky call 'the Cannon Torp' the gasp from the audience was loudly audible.  Hats off to KJ Takahasi and Chun Wei Chan.  They again showed true mastery - as did the whole company.  Rarely have I been SO moved by a balletic piece.  This is a ballet worth travelling the world to see.   What a privilege.  May it come back on the NYCB roster very soon.  (I'm sure there will be no fear of that.)   This again was followed by Balanchine's incisive Symphony in Three Movements - The first movement of which was for me here the highlight this afternoon.  The aforementioned KJ danced with an effervescent Emma Von Enck and together they were the most explosive of fireworks in that dazzling display of profundity.  A treat all round.  

7 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

@Bruce Wall - since this thread has expanded in scope, can I pick your brains? I'll be in New York in May and can likely only see either one or the other of the Classic NYCB II or Contemporary Choreography I bills. I've seen none of the works before.

 

The programmes are, respectively: Robbins' Interplay and Other dances, Tanowitz's Gustave le Gray and Peck's Year of the Rabbit; and Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Gianna Reisen's Play Time, Ulysses Dove's Red Angels and Robbins' Glass Pieces.

 

As a rule I like Robbins and Ratmansky very well. I like Peck too but understand he's a bit hit and miss, and was one of the few here who rather liked Tanowitz's main stage piece for the RB - whose name escapes me. The other two choreographers are unknown to me.

 

(I'd welcome views from others familiar with the repertory too!)

@Lizbie1 I think I would - overall - be happy with either programme - with a reservation for each.  If I had to plumb I'd take the latter.  

Interplay is a thing of period joy - that can still breathe fresh today.  (i) Gustave le Gray is a 'fashion' trick which - not unexpectedly - deflates at curtain down.  Peck's Year of the Rabbit is a treat.  It was a surprise at the time.  It was Peck's first NYCB work and really the one that put him on the map.  It has been celebrated in all major 'ballet' centres in the world where major 21st Century works are favoured/followed.  (ii) Pictures at an Exhibition is a fascinating Ratmansky work.  It grows I find the more you see it.  It was VERY MUCH fashioned after the original dancers who created the roles.  The memory of Wendy Whelan (who was something of a Ratmansky muse - as I bet you anything Mira Nadon will become) remains so vivid for me in this.  I remember seeing it 11 times during that glorious NYCB Paris sojourn in 2016 and each time was more illuminating than the last - and Wendy had retired by then.  The last time it was presented at NYCB Ratmansky had a Ukrainian flag as the final square.  I found it most moving - no doubt certain personages hereabouts would not now.  Still it is a thing of much joy.  Play Time did not sit well with me but you might find interest there.   Red Angels is a work I remember vividly - especially at its opening.  How can one forget that stunning performance of Albert Evans and certainly Peter Boal.  I can see and hear it now.  So poignantly aromatic.  Recommended most heartily.  The absolute cherry on ALL of these cakes however is Glass Pieces.  It IS NEW YORK - as only Robbins could express it.  It is entirely evocative.  That would push my dial so I will, I think, finally recommend the second bill.  

I could not disagree more hearily with @jeanette if I tried about Solitude.  Yes, the ballet is dark - but there is light - there is hope - there is community.  No question there is variety within its considerable bounds.  There is also one of the most stunning male solos now known to ALL ballet.  Above all there is heart.  I really think you need to see this more than once.  I'm so glad I got to see both casts rehearsing in full on Friday and watching Ratmansky give corrections/suggestions.  Last night the audience cheered this ballet to the rafters.  Certainly all people around me (and the performance was sold up to the small slivers of the FIFTH RING if you please) were DEEPLY moved.  I overheard a small segment of an interval conversation between Ratmansky and Ib Andersen.  The latter was obviously floored in a very positive way.  I just wanted to point out that @Jeannette's take does not appear to be that of the majority - at least in my observation.  May she find many alternatives to seeing Ratmansky at NYCB over the next five years.   I definitely will be attending.  No question of that whatsoever.

There is one more negative entry - 

Totally agree! I’m going to be in London during this time, I was so looking forward to seeing NYCB. But this program is such a dud. I really hate to say this, but no desire to see this program.

but happily here have now been some more positive ones - 

 I happen to like every single work on the program and would cheerfully trot on uptown to The Theater Formerly Known as State to see it

I'd be happy to see that program, as well. I wonder if Daniel Ulbricht will do Rotunda. He was so fabulous! Seeing his performance deepened the way I experienced the ballet. Londoners should get a chance to see him. 
 

And I wonder who'll do Duo Concertante. Will they get a debut before NYC?

I so agree - DANNY DESERVES TO BE SEEN IN LONDON.  The ballet without him is a much less a joyful occasion.  Also, NYCB has a smaller division - for tours just such as this - it's called NYCB MOVES and is overseen by the legendary Jean Pierre Frohlich - otherwise affectionately known as J.P.  (interesting side-fact:  He is married to Isabelle Guerin who people who follow POB may well recall.)  He mounts ALL of the Robbins works.  Clearly Spalding did not wish this.  Those programmes - probably a lot of PDD and PDT amongst small core pieces - may have been too balletic for his dedicated tastes - or they may have been too expensive.  Speaking of Danny Ulbrecht - he produces a small troupe of NYCB favourites which has played many European capitals.  That too probably would not have been up Mr. Spalding's street.  He wanted the full NYCB imprinteur at a budget price-tag.  He seems to know best.  His choice is now sold out on three nights and all but one of the other performances - the opening Thursday matinee - has VERY limited availability.  

Thus, Emeralds, I think there is no point in writing to anyone.  I doubt that Wendy and Jonathan had much sway over this really whatsoever.  

Tiler Peck was radiantly back on stage tonight in Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movments - WHAT A TOWERING WORK IT IS - and Roman is, of course, now dancing his full schedule.  Together they will both dance the final Stars and Stripes campaign and Tschai PDD next week amongst other things individually.  Perhaps after all they will dance the roles that were created for them in Love Letters (on a suffle) in London.  Surely too - in that regard - they can't leave the blistering Taylor Stanley at home.  [They are] a core part of Love Letters - much as [they were] in The Runaway - which many think the better ballet.  The performances [they] gave opposite the non-binary Alston Edwards (of PNB) in (Justin) Peck's 'The Times Are Racing' were ravishing in the extreme.  Simply magical they were and unlike anything else I've EVER seen.  In short; unforgettable.  The three of those named individuals will be worth the price of anyone's London ticket.  (Stanley was towering in Robbins' Opus 19/The Dreamer tonight opposite a lithely centred Unity Phelan).  Also I assume that it is most likely that Megan Fairchild will dance the role created by Sara Mearns in Rotunda so she can also dance - as she has so frequently done - Duo Concertant.  Indiana Woodward also dances the work - but sadly - as reported previously - Jovani Furlan is out.  I'd LOVE to see Victor Abreu get his chance in this.  I think he's ready.  He looks spectacular in ALL he does.  Jules Maibe was looking very good tonight opposite LaFreniere in the Balanchine and he replaced Furlan in Rotunda so maybe he will get his opportunity in this and the management are clearly pushing him.  Hey, what about Danny - He and Megan would be terrific together and, of course, they are now both NYCB principals of long standing.  Ricardo Davide and Gilbert Bolden III are both in Rotunda - Perhaps they could do Duo Concertant with Woodward.  That would be special.  Many of the dancers who were in the original Love Letters have now left NYCB.  Quinn Starner who many will remember for Tiler's programme at the Wells recently - where she replaced an injured India Bradley - was in the original cast of the Abraham.  Not certain about cross casting for her though.  The London casting should be announced soon.  I may well see some slivers of it in rehearsal next week - much as I did the programme done in Spain last year - and will report if the whole has not been announced at that time.

Kindly someone has just responded - 

Thank you so much for your insight into the programming. I'm glad there is someone in London who wants to see these ballets, someone who (doubtless) chose this program as what they wanted to present. I hope Sadler's Wells recoups its money this time. They certainly have a chance bringing fewer than 20 dancers and just a handful of musicians.

On the American equivalent to BcoF it is interesting to see comments are now popping up about the upcoming NYCB London fare at the Wells.

One long-standing contributor writes:  

Awful program.

Another even longer writes:

Agree that this is an awful program. What are they thinking? 

Perhaps the LONGEST retorts: 

My thought exactly, vipa!

Yet another frequent poster follows up saying - 

As others are noting, terrible program! If Londoners want to see Balanchine at its best, this isn't it! Hard to explain, especially after their visits to Spain and Paris. Are they thinking they want to say: "we can do more than Balanchine," much as Royal Danish seems to say, "we can do more than Bournonville." Fine. Do that at home. The world wants to see the choreography that these companies do better than anybody on the planet -- their schools, their training, their heritage. 

and I have responded as below.  Hopefully giving a sense of some perspective (to be read 'mine') as someone who has a foot in the two bases - 

I - and so many others who appreciate the balletic idiom in London - agree with you, California.  

I live in London - in the sense that I own property and pay taxes there.  I lived in NYC for 19.5 years between 1978 into the upper 90's - having visited regularly before and after - and happily throughout the so-called dance-boom.  It was Balanchine (and before him Ashton) who not only taught me to love ballet but appreciate music.  NYCB is the ONE THING I ALWAYS miss about NYC when I'm not here.  If IT wasn't here I can promise you that I wouldn't be either.  Now - and for the past bit -  (now that I can) - I plan my work around NYCB seasons.  I come to NYC for basically three and a half to four months a year to do projects and attend the VAST majority of NYCB performances and rehearsals.  Certainly I didn't miss a single one of the Fall '23 Balanchine Celebration.  I see it as a pilgrimage of grace; an expedition of life-defining joy.

I will go to the NYCB performances in London in March at Sadler's Wells  - but it will, I fear, be tinged with chagrin as I - for at least one - will know what might have been.  This programme is not IT.  This programme was selected by one Sir Alastair Spalding - head of the Wells' empire - who has done so, SO very much to define 'dance culture' in the UK for the past couple of decades.  I doff my hat to him.  He has built an devoted audience based on his selected morays.  They are NOT I think the core ones to be seen at NYCB.  That, I suppose, makes our world rich.  In tandem with his concerted direction other institutions have been swayed.  The Royal for instance.  I think Dame Monica Mason could see the winds of London change and decided 'if you can't beat them, join them'.  Thus she instituted the beginnings of the 'McGregor Culture' - which you can definitely see as being a logical progression from LATE MacMillan.  I have come to appreciate this - and both of these idioms are things that the the Royal dancers - and they have some VERY fine ones - excel in.  Indeed, they are now specifically - and understandably - trained for such.  When you see the Royal dance McGregor now - McGregor at his best that is - Woolf Works, Untitled, Chroma, Infra, Yugen, Osidian Tear, Dante Project, etc., for instance - they do it with a kind of ease - a sense of comfort - of being 'at home'.  This is much like NYCB - at its best - in Balanchine, Robbins, Evans (last night the magnificent Ava Sautter and Gilbert Bolden III literally blew Albert's Landscape out of the park again - Please Wendy bring it back - and thank you so much for reviving in the first place - You have done us ALL a favour) and Ratmansky.  There is so much promise in Tiler Peck's first NYCB ballet - much as the one she did for UK's Northern Ballet.  It is oh, so very different from the work of the Royal's current Choreographic associate - one Mr. Joseph Toonga - whose work I fear is completely against my own particular taste but clearly held dear by many of the Royal's patrons and I can only suppose fiscal supporters.  NOW perhaps more than ever before these cultures are completely separated by their dedicated idioms.  Peter Martins may be many things but at least he kept his promise to Balanchine to maintain the balletic idiom.  There was no such promise sadly made to/for Ashton in London.  The idiom celebrated there - outside of the the major historic work horses/cash cows of course - is now very much of a contemporary slant - and often a contemporary slant that NYC audiences would understandably see as 'Old Hat'.  You can see this even in the works that Chris Wheeldon creates for the Royal.  They are of a very different camber certainly than those he would ever make - or has made - for NYCB.  

But back to the NYCB season at the Wells.  There is only ONE PERSON to answer for this - and that is Spalding himself.  Will he respond?  You can't bet your bottom dollar he won't .  He will see that element of noblesse oblige as his birthright and I can only suppose as his gain.   I sincerely think that much of it boils down to economics.  The Wells were one of the two producers the last time that NYCB was presented in London in 2008 at the Coliseum.  It seems they lost their proverbial shirt.  On that occasion they did bring major NYCB works.  I remember being at all the performances of one programme which featured Serenade, Agon (with Wendy and Albert no less) and Symphony in C.  Swathes of red there were.  For a couple of performances I actually got free tickets.  Even then there were large segments of seats left vacant.  This will have understandably, I suppose, defined Spalding's approach - oh so different from the ones in Paris, Copenhagen and Spain - all where I have seen the Company as well.  Practically Rotunda has a limited requirement for musicians.  Love Letter is performed to recorded music.  All have - in NYCB terms - limited numbers of dancers.  This is a programme that certainly is not fair to Justin Peck - nor to London audiences.  Still, I can see Spalding's justification - were he brave enough to make it.  The UK is a country crippled by debt - to which Brexit and the pandemic has clearly put definite and some think 'final' paid.  Support for the all arts cultures are at the moment unquestionably struggling there.  It is also a country of very limited significant exposure to many major 'balletic' creations from the 20th - let alone the 21st century.  (Think Balanchine, think Robbins, think Neumeier, think Ratmansky, think Peck, etc., etc., etc.)  With the wars currently going on this has become - indeed as it has in NYC - even more restrictive for very practical/understandable reasons.  There is no question but that London has become ever more conservative in its creative define IN THE BALLETIC regard.  It is, I suppose, THAT which Spalding is responding to  ... but then - in significant part - it is THAT which Spalding himself is in part responsible for.   He has, again in part and certainly in tandem with other selected current and so-called UK 'balletic' leaders of the recent past, created the risk he will think he is shielding from.  Depending on your view point it is the British audience's loss or gain.  The British punters - those that attend the programmes at the Wells - and clearly Spalding can see it has done now relatively well in this small venue - will be able to make up their minds for themselves.  Those who remain hungry - and I know they are in number out there - can - like me - choose to come to State Theater and - on the good nights - of which there are oh, so many - revel in the NYCB feast.  They will have to save, of course, and that is progressively difficult.  Taxes in the UK are now higher than they have been since the end of the last World War.  Still, it could be worse - blessedly they HAVE that choice thanks to NYCB.  It does not only survive, but strive and thrive.  Long may it do so.    Those who celebrate McGregor and McMillan (and you certainly would NOT want to see NYCB do these - can you imagine????) - now have every reason to run to London.  There is certainly value there.  I can attest to that.  Moreover, they will find it cheap at the cost - certainly theatrically speaking  - compared to NYC.  It - globally speaking - is - respectively - a buyer's market.  

NYCB have just released a little vignette with Andy Veyette .... a very long-standing NYCB principal.  I include this here as he is standing in one of the towering promenades that surround the inner lobby of State Theater - all looking out onto that stunning Lincoln Center plaza.  It is such a magnificent feast of not just architecture ... but art as well, given that there are many significant pieces so tastefully spotted about; all in appropriate spacial consideration for full appreciation.  It is very much a 'people's palace'; one celebrating community every bit as much as Balanchine, Ratmansky and (now) the Pecks do.  

Another clip from Roman's IG account/NYCB feed from Tiler's new ballet - should you want to take a peek - It's largely of himself and the wondrous Chun Wei Chan although you'll see some snapping action from Emma Von Enck and India Bradley at the front end - 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3X_lGXghnx/

There is no question from the casting in the next couple of weeks that Alexa Maxwell, Emma Von Enck and the buoyantly thrilling David Gabriel are all heavily penciled on the promotion track ascendancy list.  So, SO much talent within these ranks.  

So looking forward to Emma's Ballo debut this week.  You can see her in Third Movement of SinC opposite Roman Mejia (they often dance together and always look good).  It is so refreshing to see her nail the off-balance aspects of that variation such as nowadays you don't often see at other addresses.

Sadly, I have a feeling that none of these mentioned will be coming to London - the casting for which has still to be released.  I say that because they haven't been actively cast so far (or actively appeared in their casting in the case of Mejia) in the items noted for such.  Time will tell.  

They did Ballo again today with Megan Fairchild subbing brilliantly for Tiler Peck - who injured herself in her first and ONLY (so far) performance in that role.  How Fairchild knows how to husband her resources in what I imagine is perhaps her last performance in this role.  I so prefer to see her in this with the effervescent Joseph Gordon.  (Something is now telling me that Tiler and Roman are looking ever less likely to come to London for the March run.)  Talking of Joe Gordon, however - and he DOES do Dances Concertant with the divine Indiana Woodward - he has put up on IG from his NYCB feed a track from his performance with Peck.  (Again, all NYCB Principals clearly have direct links to their own NYCB feeds given that EVERY performance is filmed by more than one camera).  Here he showcases a false entry he made in that performance.  He was eight counts too early - (true the music does repeat itself three different times) - then, realising it, went off - and came on again.  (He'd actually done the same TWICE in rehearsal.  You'll see for yourself in the clip below - just after a segment showing his front of curtain call - 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3fe0MgAIHH/

You have to love a dancer who is so willing to share their errors so freely.  His work today was entirely supreme.  I can't wait for the upcoming performance of this same with the ever-glowing Emma Von Enck and the newest wunderkind on the NYCB block, David Gabriel. 

I realise many among the readers here have never had the luxury in visiting that house that Balanchine built.  Here Joe Gordon - again on his IG feed - shows not only his perfect placement here in readiness for Fancy Free - but the house as largely seen from the stage.  It will look very large to you - far in advance of the relative intimacy of the dear ROH - but it is amazing just how gloriously close all seems in this masterwork of a building.  It literally hugs you no matter where you sit - and my VERY favourite seats are in the first row of the fourth ring.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2VYZD6As6K/

Here he is dancing with Tiler Peck in the first movement of SiC.  I only attach this clip as it highlights - as you will see from the spacing - just how much larger the stage is from, say, that of the ROH and most certainly the Wells.  It was, of course, on this stage that Balanchine refashioned just so many of his major works for the world to enjoy.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyRJ24CAPoK/

Finally, here is he dancing in Robbins' last ballet - Piano Pieces - one made for SAB students and one of the many Robbins pieces such as have never been seen in the UK.  This role was originated by the then SAB student, Benjamin Millepied, who would later go on to lead the POB:-

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuUX9fgAzEv/

This Company just has so, SO much talent.  That was clearly evident today in Martin's Hallelujah Junction.  Gabriel ASTOUNDED.  People keep coming up to the information booths during the interval demanding to know his name.   'That boy,' they'd say, 'WHO'S THAT BOY'.  Once seen ... at least NOW, ... never forgotten.  Simply dazzling ... but then ALL of the corps partnerships in their dedicated solos were - and core among those was the heady combination of Victor Abreu and Alston McGill.  Such speed; such partnering ... and Victor's port de bras is just ever more intoxicating.  So, SO much to celebrate in the NYCB present ... but even MORE to come certainly for their vivid future.  

3 hours ago, Jeannette said:

Thanks. I was so excited that I did not spell check! As much as I enjoyed this, I’m looking forward to, some day, seeing a  new work by Ratmansky that has no relation with Ukraine. Let’s end the misery on all fronts!

It's been so nice to see Ratmansky - and sometimes his lovely wife - attending so many ballets at State Theater.  He is such a delightful man.  So approachable.   If you are staying on in NYC and attending more NYCB programmes - you may well see him around.  I'm certain he would be most open to hearing your input, Jeannette.  I - and I'm sure many others - would be most curious as to his response if you were to approach him vis a vis your  stated desire as documented here. 

13 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

The star for me (sorry, couldn't resist!) was Twinkle. I loved it. The audience actually gasped when the set was revealed. The Brahms Lullaby solo dance was exquisite and played to William Bracewell's strengths so much - I thought he was simply beautiful in that. The Mozart was such fun! Lovely costumes, gorgeous choreography, some touching and fluid PDDs and so much humour! Kate Shipway's playing was as outstanding as it always is, of course. Fumi Kaneko was just lovely! She has such a light touch and she and Bracewell were just revelling in it all. I'd watch this again and again! It was lovely for me to see new choreography and not go, 'meh', or 'good grief!', but to go, 'Wow! I am so impressed with that and love it!'  I think that Jessica Lang has the right approach - have an idea of what you'd like to do, use the strengths of the dancers and then consider the music. For me, it was just perfect. 

 

 

 

 

So glad to hear there is a positive response to Lang's work utilising the classical balletic idiom  So pleased that RB dancers like the wonderful William Bracewell and Kaneko are getting a chance to revel in such and for their audience to further appreciate both them in this idiom and the Brahms.  Last night at NYCB was another chance - this time with the second cast - to yet again adore Balanchine's ever poignant Lieberslieder Waltzer - set to an hour of Brahms.  I am delighted to say that it was sold into the Fourth Ring and this time and no one left during the two minute curtain-down break for the ladies to change from their satin pumps into point shows and yet more ravishing Karinska costumes.  Indeed I heard a lot of satisfied purring about me.  Like the Lange, you can here just sit back and savour with relish the variety of the extraordinarily enticing choreography brought alive by these extraordinary gifted balletic artists.  I thought young Preston Chamblee and the ever glorious Indiana Woodward were especially radiant - and the speed of it in certain quarters is absolutely breath taking in its dramatic punctuation.  Bless Sara Means and the spectacular Chun Wei Chan in that regard.  That said, I can see why this work - once done by the Royal - hasn't been revived there.  The patience and consistency of balletic focus required to achieve appreciation by the audience - be they critic or civiilian - on this level needs to be consistently maintained/nurtured.  Too much time has passed in the vast amount of circumstances and today's rapid Tick Tock morays have I fear put paid to the determination required for such in most quarters.  For those remaining in the appreciation corner however it is wonderful that the occasional turns can very occasionally come into view.  

On a similar note Ratmansky's latest ballet - Solitude - premiered by NYCB on Thursday night - would fall into a similar category - but for different reasons.  This is a dance work to appreciate rather than simply like.  It is dark - given the subject matter.  (It is all based around the now famous picture of that poor Urkranian father holding for hours the hand of his dead young son who was otherwise covered with a tarpaulin as around them villiage life - now all too accustomed to war - simply went on).  I found myself only coming to terms from its effect yesterday.  The Mahler selected was wonderfully vivid and so beautifully placed/played.  There is no question but that this is a master choreographer who let's the hand of the actual dance work reach out and hold yours.  It is very clear too that this would not play/be welcomed in all quarters and it most definitely requires the all too rare investment mentioned above.  I so look forward to seeing it again.  That extended solo in the latter half for the stunning Joe Gordon - here depicting the father - a character who had been still for all of the first section of this dance work - was clearly career defining.   Thank heavens we still have facilities AND AUDIENCES that can meaningfully honour such vital work, albeit on a lesser or greater scale as the case may be.  

This looks an excellently balanced season I think given current times.  So pleased they are doing BOTH of the ENB Giselles - and most especially that the stunning Skeaping version is being seen in major Northern venues as is only right and fitting for a Company called 'English NATIONAL Ballet'.  Those on this Board who wanted a 'quick return' of the Skeaping to London will have got their New Year's gift early.  I certainly am not complaining.  This should help to keep the Company strong.  The combination of music too is a fine one - especially when played by the finest Dance Orchestra extant in the country and the ENB's previously resident Nutcracker certainly needed to be refreshed.  Fingers crossed for an unveiling of fresh seasonal magic with balletic delights that will both entertain audiences and challenge the fine Company artists for a goodly number of years to come.  These - also now definingly mixed with the new Forsthye - here marking both a fine adventure for this newly led Company and a key harbinger from the new Director's own past history - is something certainly to relish.  Assuredly with Forsthye you can NOW know that the balletic idiom will be at the forefront in the most imaginative light today possible.  I also think the exciting Digital programme - especially glorious that it is 'free to all comers' - should allow for a wider range/variety of anniversary delights than would have been physically possible on any stage programme (as much as I enjoyed Tamara's Anniversary fare bill at this same address and certainly the wonderful mixed programme at the RFH on the first wave's 'outer cusp' of the pandemic).  I would love to see them do this in tandem with the Jerome Robbins Dance Collection at the NYPL Lincoln Center for it certainly has a wide range of video from throughout that Company's history.  (Certainly key treats from the earliest LFB years.)  For a first 'New' season from a new Director within a Country limited by such fiscal challenges this is I think as fine as one could possibly have wished for.  

Thanks so, @Don Q Fan.  So pleased to read they are reviving it - especially as it had some decidedly mixed reviews when DNB first presented it as a two act work.  So pleased that it is selling out.  That is only as it should be.  Such a fine piece.  

6 minutes ago, alison said:

ABT presented Duo Concertant at Sadler's Wells when they were there last ...

Case in point ... Can you imagine it swimming at the MET???   ......   It would be as chilling as today's snow storm in Manhattan.   That said, Robbins' Other Dances entranced there ... and that's only two dancers and a piano .... so it IS possible ... but then times were different ... and it had Baryshnikov and Makarova. 

Funnily enough I think Duo Concertant IS one of the Ballanchine works appropriate for the smaller stages of the Royal and the Wells.  I'm sure that must have gone into Spaldings' consideration when he decided on his final mix for NYCB to present in front of his dedicated audience.  

Just also to say that the wonderful Alexa Maxwell replaced Tiler Peck in Sunday's matinee in the (Justin) Peck now two-act and was wholly ravishing ... especially when partnered by Chun Wei Chan - WHAT A STUNNING DANCER HE IS.   I do think the interval now stuck in the Copeland Episodes is a mistake.  The work is just so much stronger in the first - much longer - half.  I feel so sorry for the ever radiant Mira Nadon and Peter Walker having to stand - at the apex of what should be - or shortly will become - their dramatic apex - while a male soloist does the so-called 'Dinner for One' turn  Still, they do manage to overcome and she ... well, she IS .... MIRA NADON.  Enough said.  

I have been simply following what the current director at the RB said at a BA meeting.  I took his words at their face value and am now glad that I did for it has helped me to see and value the Company in his - and therefore currently appropriate - light.  I have not been disappointed.  They are so radiantly at home in McGregor's work and now very much seem to have been built for it.  Look at the glorious output of the recent Untitled and Dante Project.  They were just so vivid - much as say, Ratmansky's Odesa, Voices or Namouna are for NYCB.  Bracewell and Hamilton and so many truly shone in these McGregor hallmarks at the ROH.  Also musically these works sound so fine in the ROH's hands - as opposed to some of the scores for Balanchine / Robbins which have been so off-kilter - but then I am aware that music is not exactly McGregor's over-reaching stronghold.  I find an excitement - a focus - with the Royal doing McGregor equivalent to that of NYCB doing Balanchine, Ratmansky or (now) either of the Pecks at their best.  Certainly I wouldn't now want to go anywhere else for McGregor's works.  They are a marker for the Royal - every bit as much as the Pecks and Ratmansky are for today's NYCB.  Thanks to the guidance of the current Royal Director I have found a way to take pride in each.  I would hope you can as well.  They just come from completely different quarters - THAT'S ALL.  I just think we should cherish EACH for what they do; for what they SEPARATELY MOST shine in and celebrate each appropriately. 

Yes, Tiler Peck COULD dance McGregor.  I have a feeling though she would be careful - especially after her near career-ending injury.  As it was she withdrew from Sunday's Copeland Episodes because of the strain of the Ballo premiere.  They ALL could have a go - but you just know that they would not be 'at home' in it the way the Royal Dancers so gloriously are.  Just look at Calvin Richardson and Joe Sissens in such.  How Obsidian Tear tears at my memory.  SO WONDERFULLY RIGHT THEY ARE.  They deserve the cheers.  Still, they are a VERY different build from, say, Roman Mejia ... and that is quite right too.   How wonderfully rich we are to have both.  

There are Balanchine works that I think would be especially good for the Royal just now but I do think they need to be carefully chosen - as much for the appropriate musical orchestration as the defined choreography.  As I have said before I would love to see the Royal do the City Center (i.e., often original) stagings as they would be so especially space appropriate.  You simply couldn't put these now on the State Theater, Palais Garnier, the Waterlooplein or Hamburg platforms, etc., without physically altering the proscenium focus as they would simply get lost.   (Sadly you can't physically alter the size of of the listed ROH stage so many of the Balanchine, Peck, Ratmansky works are simply not physically appropriate.  Just look at the horror of the squish of that Everywhere We Go movement by the Australian Ballet).  I was especially disheartened when the pandemic robbed British audiences of seeing the British Company in Prodigal Son.  I think that one of the works particularly apt to their current strengths.  I would love to see Sambe and young Liam Boswell in the title role and I think Kaneko has the makings of a fine Siren.  I thought Sambe's Mayerling (not a work to my taste I fear - and I must have seen it over 50 different times - but I did appreciate him in it) was a vivid case in pointing towards Balanchine's Prodigal's regard.  I would love to see them reinstate this soon.