offmenu

Besides possibly Cinderella and I presume Romeo & Juliet, anyone have any predictions for the season?

That’s fair - and if it was my preference they dance until well into their 50s! I don’t meant to predict anyone in particular (as I certainly didn’t predict Campbell retiring so young) - I only mean to say that there may well be recognizable changes in the ranks by the time some of the younger dancers are ready for promotion, and so nourishing their talent now seems like a fair place to put energy.

As someone mentioned upthread, given the increasing age of quite a few ROH principals & some of their (inevitable) retirements in the next 2-5 years, this convo will probably change in short order. It seems to me that it would be worth focusing on building up younger talent (not just Sissens and Richardson, who I think are both exceptional talents, but also some of the promising Soloist/First Artists like Dixon, Brændsrød, Donelly, Boswell etc - and that’s just the men) so that when we inevitably have a smaller crop of principals, the younger ones will be ready for that status.

An article about Matthew Ball back in December mentioned that "O’Hare’s directorship marked the start of a new period, with bigger roles for younger dancers: [Ball] got two parts in A Winter’s Tale, in which he will finally dance the lead role in spring 2024 (ballets come back around at the Royal Opera House like carousels, with dancers jumping on to bigger horses each time)." Assuming the lead role means Leontes Here's the full article...https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/kate-mossman-interview/2023/12/the-nutcracker-matthew-ball-interview-ballet Edited because LOL i just saw the casting got posted!

I might be in the minority but I was surprised by how much I loved Thomas Whitehead's Drosselmeyer. I felt the love for his nephew was so apparent and so touching, and his desperation in Act One paid off so beautifully once Clara and Hans-Peter were united in the snow scene...I felt how much he adored them both. Maybe that interpretation that was supported by his interview clip at the beginning of the relay

Maybe a Chopin triple bill? Dances at a Gathering/Month in the Country/something else? (In no particular order) poor Kate Shipway might get tired by the end…

I was referring specifically to the practice and use of blackface in the case of a white actor playing a black role (which given the rest of your post you agree with). As a white person I don’t think I can fairly comment on this very difficult issue (though I am very uncomfortable with white actors playing other races) nor do I think it has any kind of hard cut solution like the one you are suggesting. My intention is not to make any kind of judgment on the process of acting, but rather to suggest including more people of colour in the production room is the way forward in determining what stories will be told. I dearly hope that that isn’t a point of contention.

With Othello at least, there seems a fairly easy and obvious fix - hire a black actor/performer. I don’t see why it should be retired simply because white people can’t (and RESOUNDINGLY should not) portray a character of a different race. I’m no expert but I think one of the problems is a significant lack of people of color on the back-end/production side (and certainly on stage, though this is slowly but increasingly diversifying). By cultivating a more diverse production team and staff, you open the door for different stories to be told, and possibly even the relevant expertise to help tell them. This could be a solution to determining what and/or how certain productions can be staged. I agree that it would be a shame to lose a lot of great work - but it would be much worse not to lend a critical eye over what exactly is being portrayed. That’s not to say that isn’t happening (in fact I imagine in the case of the RB it’s happening in droves) nor is that to mean offense towards anyone posting here. Only that perhaps we as a culture place too much emphasis on honoring the past and can be glad of the inclusivity in stories and faces that will hopefully come in the future.

I just want to say that seeing these reviews of this run of Don Q proves to me what a diverse and multi-faceted artist Calvin Richardson is, playing both Gamache and Espada so effectively! I am constantly in awe of his talent and range and I really hope he is promoted to principal at some point. Cannot wait to hear about his des Grieux!

What a joyous evening…and one that for me belonged to the boys! Ball, Avis, Boswell, Dixon(!), Hay, Brændsrød and my personal standout of the night the incredible Calvin Richardson…my God he is magnificent! I very much identified with the fainting girl… Mayara was just such a lovely Kitri. A special shout-out to Marco Masciari who I couldn’t stop watching, Sae Maeda who I think will make a wonderful Kitri one day and the beautiful Isabella Gasparini.

I do hope I’m allowed to post this (please remove if not) but I haven’t seen any discussion about the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Sydney Opera House, which has been commemorated (in song) by Tim Minchin: https://youtu.be/QshKJQQyCAE?si=RIlkadz2GiO7pn0l I found it a really powerful statement - amongst others - the value of the arts (dance/ballet included) and its role in representing, shaping, and celebrating our society. Also it’s just good fun. Enjoy!

Put me in the pro-Meaghan camp. I think she’s a fabulous dancer and will make an exceptional Kitri, if her Gertrudis is anything to go by.

Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. Thought I’d pass along a YouTube Channel I’ve been watching for a few months: https://youtube.com/@tirionlaw219?si=qf_7pzGLxgv85Ptq Tirion Law is a second soloist of the National Ballet of Canada and her videos are usually “day in the life of a dancer” style that takes viewers BTS of the rehearsal process for a lot of wonderful productions. She recently made her Juliet debut and it looks like she’ll be playing Alice soon! I’ve really enjoyed the backstage glimpse and thought some of you might as well edited to say she does speak Cantonese but half of the videos are usually in English or with subtitles!