Bruce Wall

Oh, I SO loved Asphodel Meadows. I really do think IMHO it was the BEST thing Scarlett did for the Royal --- Would that he might have been given leeway/encouragement to produce more such ... but the MacMillan specter seems to have come to call/roost ... or is that haunt. Also loved his relatively early No Man's Land for ENB. Scarlett did do a piece for NYCB - but it was turning towards his MacMillan darkness at that point and the musical connections so initially vivid were beginning to dull in tandem with the lighting. It too had music by Poulenc - but this piece was all about death - Acheron. I remember Anthony Huxley standing out in it - much as he did last night in Ratmansky's oh, so vivid and life enhancing Odesa. Can't wait to see it again tomorrow afternoon.

It may well be @alison - specifically it is Poulenc's concerto for two pianos in D Minor with three movements. London deserves a production suited to its stages to that music - knowing that Tiler's would simply be too large to suit a London venue. I too would like to see the Hampson - especially knowing it has been specifically framed for British artists. I have admired much of his work.

Just to note, @Emeralds that Tiler Peck & Friends (and consequently Thousandth Orange) was set for the stage at NYC's exquisite (and entirely remodeled) City Center. The stage there is actually SMALLER than that at Sadler's Wells. (Roman was obviously told to constrain his rapture!) Ironically this is where many of Balanchine's masterpieces were first staged - but then - in the vast majority of instances - he ENLARGED THEM for the State Theatre stage when he finally was able to attain such in 1964. Miami City - with a nod to Villella - has often staged the original City Center stagings. I have often thought these too would work well for the ROH. Sadly they don't seem keen on staging too much Balanchine - which in certain lights - given present priorities of the current fine Director - is entirely understandable. I don't think that Tiler would consider Concerto for Two Pianos for London without having to rework it - which I doubt she would do. (What really would be the point?) [There is still considerable disquiet here about the inappropriate staging of that one movement from J. Peck's monumental Everywhere We Go at the ROH by the Australian Ballet which apparently was itself unsanctioned for that platform.] Tiler modeled her piece for Northern Ballet so exquisitely for the two designated venues. I don't think (sadly) that you'll be seeing that at State Theater somehow. (Roman would be brilliant in the leading role - given that it was originally set on him - and he, in fact, taught it to the lucky NB lads himself - with Tiler, of course, in the room. Would have loved to have been a fly on those walls! I saw it three times and increasingly loved it more and more. I so look forward to the next time they perform it.

Just come in from seeing this programme again - The J. Peck - IN THIS INSTANCE - Rotunda - pales in comparison to the T. Peck Ballet (Concerto for Two Pianos) even NOW. I could see so much more detail this time in Tiler's ballet seeing it for a second time - there is just so much happening in it - all so gloriously musical - and golly what music. The Poulenc vividly delights and is so gloriously played by this stunning orchestra - but then they play a more diverse and larger rep than any other ballet company orchestra in the world - so it only figures that they should have such a rich command. The dancers I think could somewhat relax more into it this evening as it wasn't the premiere. They had that under their belt. India Bradley and Emma von Enck - so, so special - were a delight and oh, so fast. They seemed to outdo themselves. The corps work as ever was superb and the silent landings from both the men and women really allowed for a full appreciate of the music at hand. Of course, Mejia flew - when doesn't he - and always gives 150% to any assignment he is given. He just SO ADORES DANCING - and that adoration is rightfully returned. Chun Wei Chan is just one of the finest BALLET dancers today - think Erik Bruhn and you won't be far off of this lad's mark. His partnering of the ravishing Ms. Nadon - (and then Mira steps into the room) - was simply out of this world - such as just don't very often see - at least I don't - and that with TRULY perfect placement. The reason why this won't be done at the Wells, Scheherezade, is because it is (a) simply TOO large, i.e., too large not just for the Wells but for London. There is no stage in the city large enough to encompass the sweep of this piece. If it was at the ROH Mejia would be half way across the stage in just his second entrance. Indeed your comment made me remember that when the Royal Ballet as was used to visit NYC every - or every other year - at the Met they would put in a false proscenium to accommodate the British sight lines simply for this reason. It was so fitting for the glories of the Ashton rep and those from the MacMillan that they brought. The second reason (b) that such couldn't be done at the Wells is because the cost of the orchestra - apart from anything else - would be too great (as Spalding himself pointed out) and the pit would be too small to accommodate them at any rate. Hopefully at some point they will take it to Paris or Vienna or Copenhagen or Munich or Hamburg and you will be able to appropriately catch it there if you can't find a way to see them in their STUNNING home (State) theatre. Of course, the same would ALL be true for Ratmansky's Odesa. (They changed the spelling of the title this year at Ratmansky's request from the previous Soviet spelling for clearly obvious reasons.) WHAT A MASTERPIECE THIS IS OF PURE DANCE. It is like a dramatic balletic tornado and the audience - so lovely to see so many young people in it - get entirely swept up into its heady glory. You can literally feel the sweep. How Danny Ulbrecht does what he does - even now - boggles the mind. To my mind this is one of the great dramatic balletic performances. So different from the past (MacMillian) or current (McGregor) mold people hereabouts are so rightfully proud of. The same goes for the rest of the principals (five in number in this piece apart from the corps). Sitting here I'm not certain this really would play in London as it is. Certainly a certain Mr. Crisp wanted to put pay to Ratmansky in London much as he had concertedly done for others (van Manen and Neumeier among the many on his list). He did his very best in Ratmansky's regard certainly. Still, I LOVE this ballet. As far as I'm concerned they could put it on an evening's loop and just let it keep playing. There is so, SO much extraordinary BALLET in it; so, so very much thrilling theatre specifically depicted through the balletic idiom itself. This is what makes NYCB stand apart in my book. The audience tonight left the theatre with their spirits flying. That is Ratmansky's gift - and expressly in these works he creates for NYCB - which - as I have said - I personally think are among his VERY best. I so, SO look forward to the premiere of his next one for NYCB on 15th February.

REALLY DON'T HAVE TIME - but just wanted to say that there was MUCH to enjoy and embrace in Tiler Peck's new ballet which premiered last night. The Company have just put a very small segment - from but a transition passage - up on Facebook - Enjoy. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/87hWMyw4f7uQTVR5/?mibextid=xfxF2i Wish they were bringing this to London instead of Rotunda (which was being shown on the same bill). Don't really think that's being fair to Peck. It's not his finest hour - although certainly there are definite community markers of his in it. Such are much better handled in other pieces and heaven knows there is now a huge range to choose from. Have to say I don't really think the music is exciting - at least on this hearing - but it is, of course, Sperling's choice. I'm sure he will know best for his audience. Ratmansky's Odesa finished last night's programme - What a masterpiece it is. So vibrant - The lighting too is just so spectacular - as well as the dancing - and the music. Danny Ulbrecht should be given a medal (he's in the de Luz role - peek at a segment here) and Indiana Woodward with a transcendent Anthony Huxley ruled supreme. HOW DIFFICULT WAS THAT!!!! What stands out to me as being just so entirely refreshing is the overall respect the choreographer illustrates in the very fabric of his dance work itself to ALL women - even in the most challenging of dramatic circumstances. It makes the outcomes of all these twists of fate - so stunningly etched - that much more potent in my book.

Just a few notations about yesterday - Lots of replacements in the matinee (only one in the evening) last night. I begin to wonder if I will ever see Aaron Sanz - such a fine lyrical dancer - again. It's not that he isn't cast - he is - it's just that for the past couple of years he's barely EVER appeared. I have to say I'm not even seeing him in the assigned roles during rehearsal. Something's clearly amiss. Hope he 's OK. Hats off to Danny Ulbrecht and Andy Veyette - yet again. What drugs are these guys on! Neither is young any longer - Veyette has been with NYCB for 25 years - (there I've said it) - Danny for longer - going back to when Peter Martins threw him into his Sleeping Beauty production premiere when he was still an SAB student and that was decades ago at the tail end of the period I still lived in NYC. They are marvels of their kind. So pleased Danny will be coming to London it seems - and he's such a lovely person too for any who like to go stage doors - and I know there are a few hereabouts. Danny was back in Fancy Free in the matinee - again filling in for Meija who I've got a feeling will be in tip top shape for the premiere of Tiler's new work next week. Again Danny amazed. The second cast is so characterful - and the bonhomme of the lads is here delivered with the kind of ease which makes it so inviting for the audience. Such a far cry from MacMillian. Harrison Coll was sweet when trying to be 'cool' in his sweep and Sebastian Villarini-Velez brought a heart to his sailor, one not only furious in his beat in that now famous modified rumba (oh, those memories of Bujones and Woetzel in that role) but one which clearly bled which was a neat (and not easy) trick. Veyette did his mandated turn in Robbins In the Night - only to turn directly around (as did Danny) - to go straight into Four Seasons. Danny as the puck interloper (the audience hollered their delight) and Andy opposite Queen Tiler (they clearly enjoy dancing together as they have often done). She again reigned supreme in terms of the control of speed itself within the colourfully fragrant bounds of her magical musical realisation. A word of praise too for Chun Wai Chan - what a stunning dancer he is - for stepping into the Spring segement for Jovani Furlan. His solo - much as Anthony Huxley had blissfully demonstrated the other evening - was an evocation of rigorous Robbins fidelity. Speaking of that very fine artist Jovani Furlan - NYCB has just released a video of him narrating a video on the PDT from Rotunda which I think you might enjoy. It will look good I'm sure on the Wells' stage. it is of an appropriate scale. They've also just released one of the introductory videos on the NYCB corps member Andres Zungia. All these guys dance SO much. Andres is Mexican. I think you might enjoy this too. I did. Last night saw the first outing for the second cast in Wheeldon's Polyphonia to the Ligeti piano pieces so vividly rendered by NYCB's Stephen Gosling and Alan Moverman. What I love about Wheeldon is the fact that he fashions his choreography specifically tailored to the current focus of each Company's strengths. Obviously he knows NYCB well having been a member longer there himself than anywhere else and he deploys an appropriately strict balletic focus here; one certainly very different from that he serves up in different locales. I was particularly taken with Sara Adams (such a vibrant dancer) in the sixth segment (from The Wedding Dances) where she was vividly partnered by the always mesmeric Cameron Grant who some will remember from the recent Tiler Peck & Friends at the Wells. The second piece was Martins' Barber Violin Concerto. I sat there wishing that they could bring back the original cast as that made this work - not in my opinion a great piece of choreography - into 'an event' which gave it pulsating purpose. THAT I fear it lacks at this particular point in time. The originals were Merrill Ashley and Adam Luders (who was in the house last night with Amar Ramasar whose girlfriend - the always vivacious and wonderful Alexa Maxwell - was marking several debuts all strongly delivered) opposite the contemporary dance powerhouses Kate Johnson and David Parsons. Each so vibrant; each seemingly thrilled to be matched in the face of a different idiom. I also prominently remember the occasion when Parsons was out and Baryshnikov at the last minute stepped into the contemporary male role, having only recently left the balletic world. Last night's dancers were all brilliant ones: The ever-striking Sara Mearns, the youthful Australian Alec Knight (on the balletic side) and Gilbert Bolden and Emma Von Enck in the modern dance corner. Manfully they etched their charges - Sara Means and Bolden hauntingly so in the second Movement - but this choreography will only ever stretch so far I fear - and that in spite of one of the mostly euphorically rich musical scores I know. The programme closed again with Peck's The Times are Racing and the audience was again sent out of the theatre in a jubilant mood. The precision that Harrison Coll and little K J Takashashi (who is only just out of being a teenager himself and was also involved in Tiler Peck & Friends in London) found in that duet originally fashioned by Peck for himself and Robbie Fairchild was here emblazoned with an electricity that sparked gasps from the audience. How they can maintain that rigorous speed for that duration is anyone's guess; a true feat. In the role originated (and recently danced just the other night) by Tiler Peck, a guest from Pacific Northwest Ballet - run, of course, by that past NYCB powerhouse, Peter Boal - Ashton Edwards made her NYCB debut. She was simply SUPERB! What a firecracker she is. Her duets with the dynamic Taylor Stanley bought Black Lives Matter to more than vivid roost. The audience rightfully acclaimed these preeminent efforts. They are doing it again this afternoon. I, for just one, simply can't wait.

Not to put any tarnish on the impression, to do otherwise would bring them up on charges. It is a stipulation of the standard artists contract that all artists performing must be listed.

Thanks, Emeralds. Sadly - unless it is Nutcracker and very few besides - perhaps Tiler's farewell - and let's pray that is very far in the future - you just can't get standing room at NYCB. In decades gone by it was ALWAYS SOLD - REGARDLESS. I would buy mine as soon as those precious casting sheets would go up in the vast marble canyon that is the State Theater main lobby. How many performances did I see at $2.50 a throw? -- (and even then that was an increase on the $1 it was when I first went) -- A LOT I CAN TELL YOU. Those days are now FOREVER gone. I have been pleased that at least for the the last few performances the FOURTH RING WAS OPEN! That's a change from seasons past - but you have to wait until the rest has suitably sold before they will do so. In the old days it just didn't matter. Very often the Fourth Ring was largely a sea of red I seem to recall .... Not down front mind. Fourth Ring first row is a spectacular view. I well remember some people - some famous ones in fact (I well remember Susan Sontag being one) - who would ONLY sit THERE - nowhere else. Having sat there myself on occasion I can well understand why. As it is now, I went to the Box Office the other day to exchange a subscription ticket for 10th February evening to matinee. (I pay $40 for that seat because I have had an 'established' subscription. The punter off the street going to the box office will play a hefty $73 for that same ticket.) My subscription is on the Second Ring. (The lad who stood at the back of the Fourth would have thought this an absolute impossibility - a world away!!) Still I had to laugh. The lady behind the screen said they really didn't have anything as 'it was selling well'. She suggested that I come back next week 'when the THIRD RING MIGHT BE OPEN'!!! What a different world IT ALL IS.

The thing with Peck is that there are SO many ballets now there is a wide variety of choice. You can definitely see his stamp on it - i.e., read his voice - much like you can - it must be said - with McGregor - but they come from very different idioms. Peck always celebrates community - but then that's 'very' Balanchine and the world he grew up in. Certainly he knows how to BALLETICALLY move larger groups of people. That's a defining skill in my book. My favourite of his remains Rodeo - now the first movement of Copeland Episodes - which ironically is being given again starting with tomorrow's matinee with (and I fear this is a mistake) an interval added. When the Copeland opened last season it went straight through at 84 minutes- but a lot of NYCB patrons complained. I don't really see why it should be a problem as they sit that long for films (or maybe now they don't. Maybe film-going itself too is a thing of the concerted past.) That choice here is defined not by commercial return but to best sanction patrons. That I know. One good thing about NYCB is that the intervals are STRICTLY kept to 20 minutes. Those bells will keep ringing and they have earned the respect of patrons. There are some venues I'm sure we all know where things can be stretched in this regard to wearying proportions. (There are, in fact, some venues when - on those occasions you can now actually hear the announcements - that when they announce, say, a 'five minute warning' many believe - through experience - it will be at least ten.) These kind of behaviours sometimes take the edge off of theatrical offerings I find. They themselves can become a slog. I must confess I often find this with the MacMillan full-lengths. I find the second (especially when extended) intervals often energy sapping. I liked the original costumes for Rodeo. The lads all looked like they were in modified British football kit (and that ballet is mostly men - given that there is only one woman - and now in Peck's episodic celebration of all things Copeland, the second movement answers such with it being all women and only one man). The original Rodeo togs suited that ballet brilliantly. There are some changes to the work that I would like to see restored - like the sequences with the rope - but blessedly they are minor. Now we see it in fluorescent colours which - when taken en masse - can be quite eye catching. Certainly they make it much more difficult to sleep through - should you ever find yourself so inclined. AND the music - THAT MUSIC - what a towering thrill it is.

I'd be much less concerned about the costumes for Rotunda than I would about those for Gustave and Love Letter. Those two really do get in the way of the dance - at least in my opinion. Those for Love Letter (on the shuffle) were done as part of a Fashion Gala and those results are very often most bizarre - with whichever noted designer wanting to impress their own industry more anyone else - or so it always seems to me. I actually liked the ones done for Peck's Les Belles Lettres (all lace for this lovely ballet) but am told by dancers that the lace as applied to the fabric actually has no give whatsoever and it makes it very difficult to move in. Go figure. Who is serving who? Still, this is what Sparling chose. He will know best in terms of the Well's audience he has built I'm sure. The costumes that NYCB now use for In The Night are those refashioned by Dowell for the Royal Ballet. I know I will have seen the originals by fashion illustrator Joe Eula but for the life of me I can't remember them. That said I will have seen them a goodly number of times. Speaking to someone in the Patron's Lounge I was told that they were actually very close to those Dowell himself refashioned.

WHAT WAS I THINKING OF .... Doing too many things at one time most like - THE MUSIC FOR ROBBINS' FOUR SEASONS IS BY VERDI - WITH MUSIC EXTRACTED FROM THE BALLETS HE WROTE WHICH ARE USUALLY CUT FROM THEM NOW. LARGELY THE MUSIC FOR THIS WORK IS DRAWN FROM THE BALLET MUSIC FOR Les vêpres siciliennes. Tonight was most agreeable. Some highlights - Danny Ulbrecht was as ever zany and delightful in Robbins' Fancy Free. The audience was delighted with the potency of his solo. Really admired Jovani Furlan in this too tonight. I remember watching him when he was first in rehearsal for this. He has come such a way. the level of his characterful detail was in and of itself instructive and appropriately entertaining. Olivia MacKinnon (her sister was the first female 'passer by' in Fancy Free tonight) and the lovely Australian dancer, Alec Knight were blissful in the first movement of In the Night. They were youth personified. What a truly radiant ballet this is and here made all the more so by the evocatively light touch on the piano keyboard by NYCB's Elaine Chelton. It makes such a vast difference. The playing of DAAG at Covent Garden often made me want to cry - for quite the wrong reasons - and I could just picture Robbins himself lighting up - as he often did - in frustrated anger. Sara Mearns was intoxicating in the second movement brilliantly partnered tonight by Tyler Angle - get ready London for his now bald head. Myself I felt it offered here a special mystique. The audience purred over Unity Phelan and Andrew Veyette in the stunning third movement. I did too but it was only slightly dimmed by the vastly vibrant memory of Tiler Peck and Gilbert Bolden but two nights previous. Talking of Ms. Peck - or Queen Tiler as some have taken to calling her - she again shed glory throughout the Fall Movement in Robbins' Four Seasons tonight. Those variation turns were like hurricanes and each belted with the radiance of her smiling glow. Andy Veyette stepped in for a clearly injured Roman Meija and did a fine job. How this guy - who has been with the Company longer than he would want anyone to count I'm sure - and has virtually NO plie left - manages to pull these performances out of the bag heaven ONLY knows. I have a feeling this is home stretch for him - and he knows it - and he is simply going for broke when and as he can. [He ended facing upstage after once sequence of thrilling turns tonight. It had been SO fast it clearly came as a shock even to him. He stretched his arms out to the backdrop in head bouncing recognition. Part of the joy is that he doesn't care. He knows he's done his very best - and even then there are few who could beat him - certainly at that velocity.) Again Emma von Enck delighted in Winter; Indiana Woodward and Anthony Huxley were in total mastery in Spring - Indeed his variation tonight was TRULY STUNNING - the speed, the precision and all of those silent landings - as was the case with the magnificent quartet of lads - whose variation every bit matches - and then excels - that in Raymonda's third act. The precision of their timings all set off from each other at certain points - and silence of their landings en masse was cheered to the rafters as it so rightfully deserved. The summer section for me will even now ALWAYS have Helene Alexopulos stamped on it. How could ANYONE who saw her in it forget her --- That said, Stephanie Saland did come VERY close. Tonight's was a masterful display by Emlie Gerrity and the wittily wily (at least here) Adrian Danching-Waring. Robbins was such a master. You just never get tired of the thrilling classical detail of his works, the simplicity of means he employed to achieve the greatest possible theatrical effect in the most original manner and his over-abiding musicality which - as ever at NYCB - he helped to both sew and see rule. As ever with this MASTER, a gift.

NYCB Winter Season 24 – Musings … As NYCB will be at Sadler’s Wells in March with a contemporary programme (as suited to the venue and selected by its Director, Sir Alistair Spalding) I thought I would add a few impressionary droplets from the actual NYCB Winter Season given that I will see the majority of performances. Droplet 1 – Opening Week I’ll start this not on the State Theatre stage but in an SAB studio – given that while NYCB (as formally of that title) is in its 75th Anniversary Season, SAB (School of American Ballet) – which Balanchine insisted should be established first – is understandably in its 90th Anniversary one. Yesterday I had the great good fortune to attend an ‘Advanced Men’s Variation Class’. This was overseen on a guest-teacher basis by the former ABT principal, Maxim Beloserkovsky who definitely put the 13 very talented SAB lads (they only ever look younger to me) through their defining places in his first SAB outing in this capacity. The focus of the majority was on the male solo variation from the traditional Giselle Peasant PDD. I was delighted with this having just seen seven ENB performances of that same in the preceding weeks. While this variation might well be familiar to students at the Royal or ENB schools as the work is a key part of their respective Company’s rep it was assuredly largely foreign to this collection. Certainly they had never danced it before. (If they had been asked to work on, say, the male variations from Balanchines’ Cortège Hongrois or Kammermusik No. 2 I’m certain it would have been an entirely different tale as these would be familiar to them as, say, those from Ashton’s Symphonic Variations would have been to the RBS lads of years ago.) These chaps literally learnt the variation – performing its three sections in groups of three – in fifteen minutes flat. They then went on to repeatedly perform the whole in groups with ever increasing speed and precision and corrections by Beloserkovsky. It was clear from comments he made that Beloserkovsky had expected them to take much longer than they did. ‘You guys …. ‘ the ballet master mused. He shared with them tips that he had learned off of Baryshnikov – who had in fact both promoted and led him for part of the time he was at ABT certainly. You could see the lads were delighted with these. He mentioned that he had made his debut in that soloist role on the occasion of Bujones’ very last performance of Albrecht in Giselle. I’m certain then I will have seen it. Bujones remains – to this very day – the greatest technical dancer it has ever been my privilege to witness. (I realise he sadly danced very little in the UK but a few hereabouts I’m sure will have seen him.) It struck me that it was on these very floors that Bujones himself would have strode and flown as a SAB student under the late, great Stanley Williams who – as Nureyev remarked – changed the face of male dancing forevermore. These traditions are very much alive here and thriving under the current NYCB/SAB leadership. What separates the NYCB male dancers from so many others in companies around the world is their silent landings. This is SO exciting especially when en masse. Beloserkovsky complimented the lads on this. He congratulated them for ‘pulling up from the back’ allowing the body full freedom to complete each movement. ‘In ballet you shouldn’t hear the landings’ he said. Certainly it is part of these lads’ unique heritage. Balanchine did not like the noise of landings because it interrupted the music and – as is still the case at NYCB – the Music is ALL. At NYCB the music ALWAYS COMES FIRST. I sometimes have to laugh as more often than not you will hear the audiencecome out onto the State Theater's glorious promenades talking about the music. That is quite different situation in my experience from Covent Garden. (If you haven’t been do yourself a favour and find a way to visit this building that in part Balanchine built as it is - at least in my estimation - truly magical; so regally grand in line and acoustic.) EVERYTHING here is derived FROM the music. THAT is what is being celebrated: Certainly it is the apex of any curtain call – and that purposefully. On the opening night of the Spring season – Tuesday of this week – but a few short days ago – this was made vividly clear in a ‘See The Music’ session before the performance of Robbins’ Four Seasons. (I remember NYCB doing this same Robbins work at the Coliseum in 2008 to very thin audiences. That was especially sad as it was one of only two times that London would see Damien Woetzel of whom Baryshnikov would say ‘he out-Baryshnikoved ME’. The other was in the final electric movement of Western Symphony which, again unfortunately, played to a sadly diminished house during NYCB’s last London run.) On this particular night in 2024 Manhattan prior to the commencement of that piece the orchestra under Brit Andrew Litton (who you will have seen conduct a few of the Royal’s Nutcrackers last year) became brightly lit and literally levitated up from the pit floor. (This was a facility that Balanchine insisted upon in the construct of the theatre.) This was so Litton could give a history of Tchaikovsky’s music and interweave extracts from that same into his commentary. Then - as the brief overture to Robbins’ operatic extravaganza began - the orchestra was again lowered down again into the pit and the lights came up on stage. The extraordinary Emma Von Enck (who attended with her sister [also now in NYCB] the RBS before moving on to SAB) sizzled in the Winter segment solo section – oh, so very fiercely classical it is – and the lustrous Indiana Woodward delighted in the Spring segment within the refined hands of Anthony Huxley. Still, it was the incandescent Tiler Peck in and well above the arms of her astounding partner – the ever-surprising Roman Meija - who simply astounded in the witty Fall sequence. Mouths stood agape; awe once again – as ever it seems with the pair – had literally been struck. The next night – again in Robbins – Peck did more of the same – BUT IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MILEAU – given that it was the last movement of Robbins haunting 'In the Night'. She added drama through the music where the night before – albeit beautifully danced – it just didn’t seem to exist. This was – as a friend jokingly put it – ‘Manon in a movement’. (By the bye, Peck has said she would like ‘to dance Manon’. After this I’d certainly like to see it. I can but believe it would be a different work – much as the Robbins here seemed to be. I don’t think it/she would really fit into the Royal’s outfit – and besides they don’t need a guest artist – but perhaps Paris where Peck has guested before.) Here Peck was partnered by the equally interpretatively eloquent Gilbert Bolden III. (I’ve noticed since his promotion, Bolden has somehow ditched the ‘III' in most of his mentions.) What a couple! What a ballet! Earlier Woodward and a scintillating Joe Gorden were choreographically the very eye of romantic love in the first movement. Last night Peck was again at the very heart of Justin Peck’s (no relation) ebullient ‘The Times are Racing’. This is just one of Peck’s growing number of ‘sneaker’ ballets where you will see both men and women ‘en pointe’. Talk about an audience leaving on air. Both of these Pecks (Justin and Tiler) clearly know how to hit their respective balls out of the park. Everyone left on a high. Meija had been scheduled to dance opposite his partner (in the role she, of course, created opposite her then husband, Robbie Fairchild) but was out and so was here replaced by the translucent Taylor Stanley – yet another (Justin) Peck muse. It was SO glorious to see the two them together – A REAL honour that happens all too rarely in my experience. Speaking of Justin Peck the cast list is out for next week’s performance of Rotunda. It is as follows - ROTUNDA: Mearns, M. Miller, Bologna, Adams, Woodward, Phelan, Ulbricht, Abreu, Danchig-Waring, Villarini-Vélez, Furlan, Bolden It seems at this point there is just one cast. (This may later change.) Thus, I would assume it is these core dancers who will in fact come to London/Sadler’s Wells in March. How wonderful to have so many of the originators. I was at its opening – just before the pandemic so cruelly cut into the NYCB and world histories. In it there is a wonderful solo for the incredible Sara Mearns – she was rehearsing it on the State Theater stage just yesterday - and a fine PDD for her and Bolden. He now is certainly quite a different dancer from the one he was then. His fire has been lit and I’m certain so shall ours. Let’s just hope there might be an audience to greet it in London. I can only assume in this instance that Spalding will have known best. Sadly if he doesn’t I fear that may well put paid for the Company showing up on British shores for a substantial period. Understandably, - should that prove to be the sad case again - there would be no reason for such. The Brits will just have moved their interests on to different pastures. Still, we’re counting on you, Mr. Spalding, for knowing your audience. It’s your choice after all. The responsibility - having been given, taken and sealed - is now in your hands.

They are most fortunate. Mr. Nixon has always shown himself to be - IMHO - a truly excellent producer. May both he and the glory that is Yoko Ichino - how fondly I remember her in those many performances with Nureyev - be happy and fulfilled there.

Oh, what a shame. Such a special and vivid voice that I always cherished. I shall miss the forward potential that I always hoped might come. RIP.

Dear @capybara, Thanks for your comment. I think you might be surprised to know that I made mention of the point you raise ONLY AS A COMPLIMENT. ENB - as LFB before it - has always - as far as I'm aware - seen itself as a significant training ground. They have always been very proud of this fact. I know Tamara saw this as key in terms of their mandate and I well remember in a seminar with the late illustrious Galina Samsova who too said this was the Company's prime purpose. There is no question but that this is a hugely vital service - I can think of none more important. It was in this light that I was highlighting Mr. McCormick's achievements. Just look at the service that the Company served in terms of the likes of Muntagirov and Corrales. Certainly my comment was in no way to 'diminish' anyone or anything. Quite the reverse in fact. It was, of course, but a sidelight to the main thrust which was an appreciation of the production and its fulfillment. Just for clarity sake. I think you will see from the tenor of my comments that I very much have enjoyed this 'stunning run of Giselles' as you accurately put it. I share that with you. I'm sorry you were less than convinced by Mr. DM. I very much hope that he will rise to your expectations. I'm well certain he might. Thanks for the clarification as to Precious Adams debut @Sim. I hadn't realised. So easy to get these things muddled especially with so many changes - not just in the rosters - but in ones own life / career as well. Bless you for this.

Have very much enjoyed the performances I have seen during this run of this lovely version of Giselle. Like the Ratmansky it tells the tale so fully. It's like one of those glorious pop-up books from ones' childhood. Just so many surprises are seemingly blown in with the wind. Will comment on the Thursday matinee - as I had scribbled some notes - having planned to do a review (work as usual gets in the way) - as it was one I was surprised by - more than I had anticipated I might be - in an assuredly positive way. Today's matinee was made doubly special by having so many vibrant debuts in it. This was clearly Hollywood casting with types aplently. I don't know why but Beauty and the Beast kept coming into my mind. Emma Hawes radiated innocence throughout in the title role. She very much lived the part and wholesome heart and soul. It was gloriously refreshing. What an asset Vsevolod Maievskyi (Albrecht here) will be to ENB. At 6'4" his legato line goes on for seeming ever and he appears to be an entirely confident partner. Nothing he too approached became overly fussy. I'm certain he shall flourish and I will very much look forward to seeing him in other assignments. James Streeter husbanded his considerable resources with impactful drama as Hilarion. As ever he delivered far beyond a 'yeoman' service. The peasant PDD was a total delight - most especially the first male variation by Noam Durand. (This ironically was why I really wanted to see this particular performance.) I would SO love to see this fine French dancer employed in more dedicated principal pursuits. Surely the time is right. That said the crown on this particular festive mound of balletic achievement (not forgetting the radiant corps and the ever potent musical acumen of the brilliant conductor Gavin Sutherland) was Precious Adams in her Myrtha debut. She was entirely scintillating. She riled the air about her. Her Queen of the Willis was never frightened to fleetingly flash a malevolent smile or two in and amongst her beatific bourrees - and her feet literally flew in those rich droplets of precise petit allegro. IN ALL THIS WAS A GIFT! Another aspect that I so love about the setting of this particular production is that it gives each principal (i.e., named) artist a change to really set their own twist on the tale. At the Royal you watch the charges dutifully fulfill the Wright mandate. Not here. As but one example you might look at Albrecht's exit from Act I. They were all really quite different, one from the other - at least in my experience of five different performances. The ever glorious Mr. Frola was entirely humbled in his lengthy staring stance in front of the advancing glare of grief fueled mother - a consistently fine performance by Ms. Hussey. Certainly Frola could (and did) toy with Giselle - but here he found he couldn't run from himself. Suddenly the pain that his aristocratically calculated game had wrought on very real people - pushed him into a corner of self-realisation. It was vivid. The darkly knitted brows for once lifted and the blue globe's pierced in the revelation. This vividly telegraphed the key of Frola's second act. Even still, it came to meaningful fruition even here. The next act was thus already propelled. It was glorious in that it made entire sense of the previous 'coolness' of his selfish climb. We too had been victim's in this character's machination - as much as this fine artist's theatrical coup. Still, the one that REALLY stood out for me was Daniel McCormick. It was so very different - night and day so - apart from the fact that both men danced immaculately. This lad - McCormick - was always a star in the making - and in this production I felt you very much saw him a star made. There's part of me that wonders why Tamara hasn't nabbed him for SFB. He went to the Company school after all and is a State native. Certainly he deserves to go somewhere where he can continue to fully burgeon. ENB has served its purpose well. Boston perhaps. No question but he would be an asset anywhere - and without hesitation he positively glows here. The extraordinary focus of his Albrecht's characterful focus throughout - entirely hot blooded as opposed to Frola's pristine minx-like reserve - was additionally mixed with the musical precision of his dance. All was enfolded and told through the score. The combination literally sung volumes. For his Act I departure this Albrecht was almost horizontal with pained regret. His arms flayed forward still trying to revive Giselle as Wilfred manfully struggled to drag him to a place of reputational safety as the curtain fall. He never made it to the wings. That melding corners of that sweet boyish grin of his - which so reminds me of Paul Chalmer's at a similar age - here were contorted into a over weening cry. They are after all extremities of the same root. I found the unexpected extremity of the very moment deeply moving. Certainly it too caught me unawares. It will be locked into my personal memory bank certainly. So, so many moments to cherish. Just wanted to add this today as people might want to try to snatch a ticket for tonight - when I'm certain the magnificence of a certan 'Precious'ness will once again be dished out with zeal. As I said: A gift.

How very interesting, Irmgard. I vividly remember Corrales (then a ENB company member) doing the entrechats six in his second performance in this production with the truly entrancing Eliza Badanes. So sad that we so rarely get a chance to see her here - she is such an exquisite dancer - and, lest we forget, RBS trained - but I have a feeling such days have well and truly passed now.

Spring 24 Booking opened for general Friends today - Got all that I wanted and service - once in - (the three dots waiting for the waiting room did seem to sputter rather) - went fairly smoothly. It does seem a bit strange to congratulate a service for simply doing its job .... but I suppose the situation has in the past been so dire that with the ROH - much akin to TFL who are very good at congratulating themselves - that such is I suppose a matter of achievement. Somehow I feel this is a rather sad reflection of the times we seem to live in hereabouts at this juncture.

Sorry posted in error.

For me at least I thought this fine Company seemed to 'come home' - i.e., to their NOW natural milieu - for the first time this season. Their focus was as unified as it was dazzling. They do this kind of work better than anyone I can think of . There is so, SO much to be proud of. McGregor has come up with a formula for narrative dance that really strikes a cord for our time. I can now think of so many literal areas I'd love to see him address. It's in the etching of the emotional abstraction's weave that his tales are held. Their very detachment is what ensures the velocity of the dramatic attack as much as the visceral punctuation of his stillness. It is the very stitching of his fabric that now fits this company like a kid glove. It has given them their current identity, one often called their 'style'. Their precise comfort in it rivets the attention. Rightly it individually and collectively characterises them. I can see why, perhaps, McGregor may not wish a specific narrative to be attached to a cast sheet. Nothing in his world is spelled out. He asks - nay, demands, - that you come forward not sit back. The very paradigm of his pulsating Paradiso segment in The Dante Project is especially rich in this regard and the score throughout seduces. It is in the very brood of each piece's absorption - in its theatrical assumptions - that one soaks up, sucks up, - sometimes vividly spits out - but always engrosses in - the vast mystery that both writes and punctures each tale - McGregor's emotive sphinxes. McGregor's language - rich in its abstracted partnering and propulsive contractions is very definitely 'ballet lite' in its literal construct - no question of that - but here - as SO vividly performed by ALL in this fine Company'- it is mixed with a contemporary might that simply towers. That, as far as I'm concerned, is what NOW marks this fine Company out. Their current calling card proudly deserves its glean. Too, there can be no question but that this Company's training is now clearly established to deliver such. The veracity and detailed focus of Ashton's delicately balanced petit allegro's sinew has for some considerable time been of this Company's past. Wisely so. The glory of the contemporary stealth of this stunning Company's current product is here continually propelled into our line of vision. Rightly so. The visionary Company Director - as wisely seeded by his predecessor - has ensured that McGregor and Pite are here - in our own time - what (J) Peck and Ratmansky are to NYCB. ALL are defining. Their respective legacies have now been established. They are, of course, hugely different entities - more so now perhaps than ever before - with entirely different focuses - and I don't think either should NOW trade styles. The glorious extremities of each are unique to themselves and simply wouldn't suit the other; they'd only muddy their respective glories. Still, WHAT a stunning array of dance theatre together they amass for our lucky world. The Dante Project - like Woolf Works - remains a towering focus in this Company's armoury. Bracewell gave his 'Royal' Hamlet last night; one which both invigorated and enthralled our imagination's intrigue throughout. The entire company glistened. The likes of Richardson (simply breath-taking), Sissens, Kaneko, Boswell, Hamilton, Hayward and Masciare are clearly masters of McGregor's style every bit as much as, say, (T) Peck, Mearns, Stanley, Meija and Nadon are for the Ratmansky/Peck ones. They help define dance in our time. ALL are in entirely the right place; each respective Company member defines their unique focus as construed by the established style of their prevailing home Company. How lucky we are to live in such a dazzlingly diverse dance world.

I think that - were situations other than they clearly are - SV would be to the current Royal Companies much as Serenade is to NYCB.

Attended the New Generations programme again this evening alongside a Royal visitor, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. My admiration for the new pieces only grew. Ella's mimicking of Robbins was - at least in its lyrical PDDs - filled with a confidence that allowed the audience to relax and breathe. I think the first night company of each of these two new pieces was by some distance the strongest and that team again danced tonight in the Ella. The NB couples featured in the first two movements were both particularly strong. I'm missed the animated focus of Harris Beattie in Peck's piece - but in a way this was a boon as it allowed me to draw back and admire the overall sear of the dramatic construct; a weave entirely IN the music and THROUGH the classical idiom - which is certainly a NYCB hallmark The build here is as intricate as the steps themselves are significant in vividly charting the dynamic of the central character's journey; one through whose lens the audience is framed. Cleverly this piece never bites off more than it can chew and all participants become a vivid thread in the fabric of the whole. As I referenced above this is very much (J) Peck/Ratmansky territory - and what a riveting terrain it is. The thrilling wallop of its overall stimulation is so sensitively assembled. I can just hear Ashton purring with delight at the redolent perfume of its balance. It has been wonderful to see London audiences - albeit small ones - react to it as they have. Now I REALLY can't wait for Tiler's new work - her first for NYCB and the glorious rapture that is the State Theater stage - to premiere in the 2024 Winter Season. May that just be the start of many to come - and I, for just one, can't wait for a 'Peck on Peck' collaboration (not that - in a way - there haven't already been a goodly many given the number of roles Tiler has originated in Justin's balletic tales - including a few of the 'sneaker ballet' variety). Watching Intimate Pages again tonight I wanted nothing more than for NYCB to do it with the central couple danced by Roman Meija and Mira Nadon (much as they did in a VERY different work by Balanchine in the Fall season just gone - Bouree Fantasque). What a harrowing escapade that would be with a second cast made up of Danny Ulbrecht or Stanley Taylor (another J. Peck muse) and Sara Mearns or Emma Von Enck - all oh, so very different but just as theatrically emphatic. With live accompaniment by the vivacious NYCB orchestra what a TREAT that would be! How also I would love to see NB do this programme in NYC at, say, the Joyce; an equivalent to the small ROH theatre. It would sell I'm sure and I can hear the cheers in my ear even now.

What an exquisite evening of ballet - so perfectly modulated for this stage. This kind of clever programming combination is not something that frequently visits this address. This Northern Ballet programme - Next Generations - comes as a complete breath of fresh air. I pray that this programme will be able to be seen on small to medium sized stages throughout the country as it is exactly this kind of bill that will bring people - rightfully - to the balletic table. Benjamin Ella's piece to Sibelius, Joie de Vivre, was both well balanced and light. Each principal couple was clearly etched in their various dramatic remits. All dancers were on fine form here but special kudos must go I think to the entirely enchanting SAEKA SHIRAI and technically apt JUN ISHII. They were delightfully piquant in their gallops. There was a slight attempt at jocular bonhomie in the final movement that seemed at least to me a tad too coyly out of place with the rest but that is clearly but an easy alteration in face of such fine work. Well done, Ben. That Hans Van Manen is a choreographic master cannot I think now be questioned (and you will please forgive me for saying that, Mr. Crisp). Adagio Hammerklavier is most assuredly one of his finest works. Its subtle equity builds tension through the very harmonic strains of its own counterbalance. Joseph Taylor was sensitivity personified in his muscled partnering in the third adagio. His fine work was a joy to behold. If only he could slightly deepen his plie so that his landings might not interfere with the music then all would be absolute perfection. Speaking of which: The live music here - so imaginatively essayed for the first two pieces - allowed both performers and dancers to share in a truly potent conversation. Bravi. Capping the evening off was Tiler Peck's new ballet to Janacek, Intimate Pages. It won't be noticeable to anyone who hasn't travelled out of the UK, but her work here is very clearly influenced by another Peck - Justin (no relation) as much as by Ratmansky; two of the most famed ballet creators today and two for whom Tiler has been something of a muse at different times. Her carefully orchestrated and complex writing for the communal contradistinctions of the entire company sings out in just so many of J. Peck's works. The opening motif and its return in several measures throughout also reminded me of the same in Ratmansky's vivid Concerto DSCH. The play with speed is very much Tiler's own forte, however, and here it comes to vivid fruition in the ladies of the troupe, most especially the resplendent Sarah Chun. The fulcrum of our concern here, however, is decidedly Harris Beattie and a very fine fist he makes of it too. I know Tiler used her partner, the extraordinary NYCB principal Roman Mejia, to set this role's solo segments and you can oh, so vividly see Roman in every move. He is a man who LOVES his ballet. Beattie delivered this ably. If he doesn't yet have the necessary puff to entirely pull through to the extreme end you just know that he will be delivering such very soon indeed. This is a native talent to watch most certainly. He is but one member of a very fine 'Next Generation'. His adroit work - much as that deployed in the whole evening was both refreshingly balletic - and, oh, so very entertaining. Well done Federico Bonelli for coining this extraordinary programme. You honour us, sir. May there be many, many more to come. We so, SO very much need them here.

Sent PM

Thanks for yours, @annamk. I have a lot on at the moment - and as I wrote a reply yesterday to @Fonty about her note that raised very much the same points as yours I hope you will forgive me if I quote that here. I fear such points may well become more numerous in the short term as the stings of reality are having to be drawn ever closer. In any event, the response I referenced - I entirely agree with you, @Fonty. Please don't get me wrong in what I have written. I, too, am going to the Royal Company less and less - JUST LIKE YOU. In absolute fairness, I feel the Company's title should be rebranded given the future looking dedications of its current Director - such as I have heard with my own ears. Will this happen? I doubt it. I have respected both what I heard and seen (in many ways I feel I have no choice) and have moved heaven and earth in terms of my own professional career so that, ultimately, I can achieve the balance you quote; one that we unquestionably share. For ME it is THAT important. I recently said to an authority at State Theater in NYC - If NYCB wasn't here I wouldn't be either!'. I meant it. It is just for this damned 'balance' issue. As I have written previously we can ONLY live in the time we do and I believe I was patient in watching to see if the very real balance with the Royal might modify. It hasn't. You can't make things other than they are in real time with wishing I've found. Perhaps fate will be kinder to you - but certainly in the meantime we all - ALL OF US - have to make provisions based on our own judgements. It seems @Fonty that THIS is EXACTLY what you are I currently doing and from recent ROH marketing reports it seems, sadly, that we are simply falling into line with certain chartered desires. Having noted the above, I SO hope we can return here to a discussion of The Cellist programme. It is such a vibrant work and most certainly one that the current Royal Company clearly excels in and the audiences there attendant - at whatever tariff - hold in jocular thrall. This work itself offers much to celebrate on the ROH stage.