Linnzi5

I can never upload photos here - the files are too big and I don't know how to make them smaller, I'm afraid.

No, they're the same, alas!

Yes. It was sold out and a lot of the people around me were definitely not given discounts - I asked. There was a mix of people in the audience, both young and older, though the little girl in front of me (who was impeccably behaved) looked a bit bored - she could only have been about seven. I honestly really enjoyed it. It is an ensemble piece, most definitely. I was so impressed with the quality of the dancing. I would go again if cost wasn't a factor. I did 'max out' on Don Q 😳

I liked his Espada too. Very slick and technically excellent, as was Richardson. I have to say that Hirano is my favourite. He is a principal though, so maybe it's not fair to compare? Well, you say in the background but I noticed him in every performance, so he must have something that draws me to his on stage persona? His dancing is excellent too. I liked his acting and he just smiled all the time. He also looked very confident. Yes. I agree. Unless I just notice him more than the other junior male dancers? The only other Aud Jebsen dancer I have constantly identified and enjoyed watching is Bethany Bartlett - she is lovely! I do hope she will be a snowflake soon. Mind you, they all look pretty much the same when in costume, so I will need help identifying her and anyone else! I need to identify the others though. I'm looking forward to spotting them all in Nutcracker. Yes. He exudes warmth and is always smiling.

I thought so. I'm just glad it was just knocked and that Buvoli didn't trip. Yes. It's the way the dancers solve the issues that I think is amazing. It was very slick and Buvoli handled it really well too, I thought. I absolutely hate the guitar throwing! Well, I don't hate it but it makes me nervous. Every time my heart just hammers as some of the dancers lob them into the air so high! I agree. Casper Lench deserves a medal for catching every time!

I don't need to write a review now as you said everything I was going to (and much more eloquently!) Thank you. However, I will add a few bit 🤣 William Bracewell was brilliant. Even, as you say, when standing, watching, his facial expressions drew me in. He looked confused, terrified, desperate, alone - so many emotions. Bravo to him His dancing was as wonderful as I'd expect and his PDD with Beatrice at the end of Act II was just sublime. Fumi Kaneko was just perfect, too. A vision of beauty and so ethereal. I love these two together and the PDDs tonight show why. Otherwise, Naghdi was lovely (when isn't she?) - her PDD with Sambe was excellent - I watch her and she never puts a foot wrong. Sambe himself really impressed me as did Ball, Richardson and Dixon. Everyone was on top form - too many to mention here. The music didn't worry me. I liked some of it but did hear the hum. It wasn't as distracting down in the stalls, but I did hear it and presumed it was the screen. I agree about the sentences explaining the characters. The poor ladies behind me got awfully confused and thought everyone was Beatrice except the dancers who actually were! They didn't know who Satan was and thought she was a former lover. Even when they got the programme, in the interval, they still didn't have a clue. I knew who was who as I have seen it before and I do think you need to do your homework before seeing this to truly appreciate what's going on, beautiful dancing aside. I can't deny that I preferred this performance. I would definitely see it again (with the right Dante, of course!)

Yes! I really hope that's a possibility. I loved his Hamlet. Next time for Rudolph. I saw an interview or read one, can't remember which, where William Bracewell said he was understudy for Rudolph. Shame he didn't get the chance to dance the character but there's hopefully next time.

Well. I enjoyed it very much. It definitely has grown on me! The dancing was superb!

I loved her Kitri - she’s one of the reasons my bank balance is not so healthy at the moment. I’m saw her and Ball and was so impressed that I booked more performances 🤣 I’m really looking forward to her Manon 😊

Agreed. I loved Naghdi’s Kitri. She is a beautiful dancer, IMO. I adore Kaneko too. They are definitely my top two ladies as well.

Ditto. I’m really enjoying it so far!! The dancing is superb, IMO.

I was disappointed as I thought I'd see her later in the run in the Nunez/Muntagirov cast but she didn't dance and was replaced by Choe, though I don't know if she was ever down to dance the role later in the run, to be fair. I would have loved to have seen her as Mercedes.

I can only add that I agree there are some lovely male dancers at RB. Bracewell is my favourite because of his elegance, musicality and the fact I find his dancing graceful and emotive. When he looks at his dance partners, my heart skips a beat because I truly believe he is enamoured with them. However, many other males have brilliant qualities I admire too. There are some brilliant ones lower down in the ranks, IMO.

I couldn't identify who retrieved the fan but I was so impressed with the way that was done. I obviously knew the fan had flown off but the way it was handled by the male dancer was so, so professional. Did you see who it was? Because he deserves much praise. I saw the tankard go too and the worst thing is, just before that bit, in my head I was thinking, I wonder if anyone ever knocks those over? Then a second later, over it went. I think I need to stop thinking! That bit must be so tricky. I did wonder if it had been placed correctly? I thought Mendizabal was extremely good, followed by Dias. Though, Morera is still my number one.

Yes. I agree. I doubt very much she will be dancing big roles in 10 years time? So it's good to honour her for this achievement.

Yes. I agree with this. Sadly, I didn't see Rojo live or Cojocaru, though I have many recordings of them. Mukhamedov I have never seen at all, so this needs investigating! I will google. I also never saw any of the dancers you name in your first paragraph dance live. For me, (whether he be my favourite or not) Muntagirov is a world class dancer. I think Kaneko will be one as well. Nunez is amazing, technically, and she is 41, I think which is brilliant - she has such a joy in dancing. I think the company is in a wonderful place. I can see some outstanding dancers waiting in the wings but also feel the company has amazing ones up front and centre too. No matter your personal dislikes/likes, I think there are dancers to suit everyone's taste?

I've missed nearly all of the past glories forum members talk about but I really don't mind - I enjoy reading and learning about them. They're a part of history that I have been fascinated to hear about - in the scheme of things, I'm pretty new to ballet. Does it worry me I didn't see them? No. You can't turn back the clock but I am so glad there are people here who can talk about these amazing dancers and that their performances meant something to them and in that sense, those performances live on - I think that's wonderful. I truly believe more unique and memorable dancers are here or will emerge. So I feel positive. For example. Kaneko/Bracewell's Cinderella totally overwhelmed me. I went to that performance not expecting I'd like the ballet and I walked away on Cloud 9! I will never forget how I felt watching that. I've always felt Osipova divides opinion. I went to see Osipova as I was very curious (and wanted to see Clarke and some others new to roles). I do not regret going. I liked her smiles, her joy and her coquettishness (is that even a real word?!). I can't deny that at times I felt a bit concerned though, but it didn't ruin anything for me. Even though this wasn't a favourite performance, it didn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. Even if I don't particularly gel with a characterisation, I still like to see it and what I look for won't be what someone else wants. I also don't mind if I'm in the minority - it's so nice everyone has different opinion. I honestly thought her fouettés last night were good. However, I do not claim to be an expert. You and I both as far as getting more into ballet sooner because of the ticket prices! 😱

It's almost as bad as constantly incorrectly spelling the word, 'principal' 🤣 Can't think who would do that? 😳

I don't think she is either. I felt she had an injury or physical problem, personally, but I have not seen her in classical, big ballet recently. You don't need to be ashamed that you love the supersonic turns - lots of people love those and I do sometimes too. We all enjoy different things, which is good. Yes. This is what I wondered about. I agree. I have my favourites but enjoy watching other dancers too. A perfect technique is not something I look for. I want to feel moved. I need to have a connection and to feel something. This is interesting to read about. It's also quite sad to think individuality waned due to a demand of flawless technique. Dancers are not robots. To be honest, I am not an expert on technical things, so didn't noticed whether the angles were right or not. I thought her fouettés were still impressive. I noticed she did some triples? I think she did? I'd guess they are pretty hard. I have to say the fouettés winner this run, for me, has been Fumi Kaneko. Her 'fanouettes' were simply breathtaking! I'm not usually a fireworks sort of girl, but she converted me! I hope so.

Dante is a bit contemporary for me too - but, hey, it's William Bracewell, so I wanted to go and support him

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. For me, Morera WAS unique. I adore her Mercedes and it could well be that she is my gold standard and nobody has shown me anything I like more. As far as I'm aware, the Mercedes dancers for this run have been: Choe, Medizabal, Gasparini, Diaz, Magri , Marino Sasaki and Buvoli?

Yes. I agree with what you say here. It's the 'sizzle' that was missing from Mercedes. Buvoli is a lovely dancer - I have been so impressed with her and it could be that I just thought she didn't fit with how I like Mercedes? Oh, the cloak! Yes. Definitely some issues with that - it looks pretty hard to navigate but I have to say that Hirano, Dixon and Richardson were great with it. No. I'd agree that they didn't settle. Yes! The matadors were a bit messy - that sums it up perfectly. Up to last night, I think they've been fantastic. Maybe just an off night? Richardson was so funny. I can't decide whether I like him or Hay best - Hay was amazing (those eyes) but Richardson's walk made me giggle so much! So, I'll call it a tie! I have to say, I wasn't feeling great last night and am not today either. I have Dante this evening (I hope I like it more than I did last time. I'm hoping it's a 'grower'!) though I am primarily going to see William Bracewell. I really hope I'm up to it! Edit: I meant to say I'm sorry you had to leave early due to feeling ill

I never had the opportunity to see Fonteyn, I'm sad to say. I can see Nunez going till she is 60! I would say, that last night, the Act I turns Osipova did at the end of her solo (I call it the castanet dance! Though I noticed last night that Osipova didn't have any in her hands, which looked a bit strange and she clicked her fingers together with nothing there!) were so fast that they lacked grace. Being super fast for the sake of it doesn't always work for me. I would not say that seeing Osipova was sad for me - I liked watching her and found her interpretation interesting. So, I don't personally think that she is at a point where someone new to seeing her would be disappointed - not yet. I haven't seen her dance big classical roles recently, so I don't know if last night was something new, but I would agree that something was not quite right at times. However, I feel my money was well spent

I have seen Osipova in Swan Lake and Nutcracker some years ago and liked her in both and I loved her Giselle. However, in recent years, I have not enjoyed her interpretations as much as before. In fact, I have found some of her dancing ungainly and not what I'm looking for. For example, her Dying Swan. I actually disliked her interpretation of that, which surprised me. I think you are right. My impression is that she pushes boundaries. Contemporary dance is not what I love best, though I really have loved some works I have seen. There was one bit of pointe work from Osipova last night, where she had her foot at a really strange angle that had me quite worried - I thought she had hurt herself but later she seemed ok. However, I did enjoy seeing her and her joy - she looked like she was having such fun. Her Kitri was coquettish and the humour was turned up a notch (though not always to my taste, I admit) and I wonder if this is deliberate because she has injuries or is limited because of something physical, so she attacked the role from a different perspective? I still enjoyed her fouettés - yes, they were't like she used to do, but they were still impressive, I thought. I could see she has a lot of trust in Reece Clarke - sometimes she just threw herself at him! He is a big, strong man, so was well placed to catch her. They have a nice partnership, I think. I did like Clarke. I thought he was technically good and confident. He was cheeky and fun - a bit of a 'Jack-the-lad' type of character but sweet alongside that. He just lifts Osipova with such ease. I didn't realise how long his legs are though! I noticed he had to adjust his stance when partnering because of his height and I thought he did that well. Now. The audience were just perfect from the stalls last night, in my opinion. Clapping in the right places, a few very loud 'bravos' - always from older men with really, really loud, deep voices, always sitting right behind me - I don't mind that but it does make my ears hurt! They could shatter concrete! 🤣 But, the clapping and cheers were well-timed and appropriate, I thought and I was surprised that, at times, there wasn't more. I am glad though. I felt the Nunez/Muntagirov response was too OTT for my taste and was distracting for me. I do like the audience to show appreciation but not constantly and loudly in places where it's disruptive to the flow of the music, particularly. Otherwise - the good points. Richardson - loved him. So funny and brilliant characterisation. I thought Avis was on top form as was Whitehead. Loved Ikarashi! I think his Panza is brilliant. Kitri's friends were excellent, I thought. Dias and Mariko Sasaki really are excellent dancers and worked well together. Sumina Sasaki, I felt, did a great job with the Dryad Queen. She was confident and elegant and is so young. She is one to watch, I think. Amour, Ashley Dean, was lovely! The things that fell a bit flat for me: Anette Buvoli. I think she is such a lovely dancer (her Dryad Queen was so elegant, assured and lovely, as she has been in other roles I have seen her in) but I did not feel she quite captured the spirit and fire that I feel Mercedes needs. I did not feel her character shining through. I also didn't feel she was confident last night though she was still elegant when dancing. I can say the same for Braendsrod though I felt he did look the part - he had a stage presence and certainly had the swagger! At times, I felt he wasn't confident though and that broke the spell for me on a couple of occasions. I don't think he compares technically to Richardson, Dixon or my favourite, Hirano. I felt the matadors, on a few occasions, weren't as slick as I've seen in previous performances. It's difficult not to compare when you have seen really exciting, touching, emotive or technically excellent performances recently. In summary, I am glad I went. I enjoyed myself and was pleased I got to see the cast. I did not think it was one of the better performances I have seen, but some aspects were really enjoyable. I was pleased to see Clarke and Osipova

Yes, I totally agree with this. I have really enjoyed the discussion and different viewpoints and other poster's opinions have inspired me to book extra performances - ROH can thank Balletcoforum for that!! I have never seen so many casts for one ballet in a single run. I have to partially thank Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball for that (though my bank balance does not!) I saw them in the General Rehearsal and loved them and the ballet so much that I booked extra tickets on top of what I had already booked (alongside the reviews from forum members here). I really, really hope this hasn't set a precedence for me - otherwise, I will have to do some creative accounting!!