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annamk

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  1. annamk
    They do have a resale site which I have used successfully so if the performance is sold out you should be able to sell your ticket.
  2. annamk
    Friends and I saw Act 1 of this yesterday evening and we did not enjoy it at all. Chloe Misseldine was stunning with remarkable lines and a level of dancing you’d expect from a fast promoted ABT principal. Sadly there was little else that was noteworthy. Perhaps the production, in particular the absence of lakeside mime, robbed the leads of chemistry, there was certainly none in evidence between Misseldine and Michal Krcmar’s Siegfried. I don’t care for the Royal Ballet’s current production but yesterday evening I felt more well disposed towards it. I found Amanda Jennings Backtrack review which will no doubt be on the links today chimed with my feelings about the production and overall standard of dancing.
  3. annamk
    Thanks to London Ballet Circle this morning a friend and I went on an organised visit to watch company class and a rehearsal in their new studios in North London. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning. After class taken by Iain Mackay we watched the dancers rehearsing sections of two pieces which form part of the programme for their forthcoming tour: Ashley Page's Larina Waltz and Kenneth MacMillan's Ballade. Although I recall something on the forum recently about the company reforming I hadn't really engaged with it before this visit but I'll definitely catch them at Sadlers Wells in September and really look forward to seeing what they do in future. https://londoncityballet.com/
  4. annamk
    Once I had watched the unforgettable performances of William Bracewell and Natalia Osipova in The Dream all the other highlights flew away.
  5. annamk
    Although they echo my thoughts about WW entirely I felt I was in a minority in not liking it so I'm surprised to read that there were boos at the matinee and that it has sold so badly.
  6. annamk
    Personally I found Naghdi the least convincing of the Titanias I saw. She has a great classical technique but compared with Hayward and particularly with Osipova I feel she doesn’t let go. And for me that’s a problem in a role that’s not Aurora or Odette/Odile. I found an exception when she danced Like Water for Chocolate with Corrales.
  7. annamk
    I agree re McRae @BeauxArts . He certainly got the virtuosity 15 years ago although of course it was all about him ! I also think Boswell might be ready next time and maybe even Casper Lench !
  8. annamk
    The male lead in Rhapsody requires quite extraordinary levels of virtuosity; it's hard enough for a shorter man but for a tall one is even more challenging and only exceptional dancers (think Polunin, Joonhyuk Jun) have a hope of conquering the choreography with their long legs. IMO this role doesn't play to the strengths of Clarke or Ball - they have other talents. Muntagirov I'm less sure.
  9. annamk
    And weirdly Osipova's choice to wear the wig was somehow a good one.
  10. annamk
    I'd have thought it was not possible but it somehow it was even more magical ! The reconciliation pdd was transcendent. This from Roslyn Sulcas reviewing for the New York Time (their first performance) captures the essence “And only she (Osipova) and Bracewell conveyed the strange erotic charge of the reconciliation duet, perhaps the most beautiful pas de deux Ashton created.” I never thought of Osipova and Bracewell and as a partnership but now I'd like to see them in everything.
  11. annamk
    I may be wrong but I thought it was the reconciliation pdd.
  12. annamk
    The Dream this afternoon: William Bracewell and Natalia Osipova (complete with blond wig) gave the performance of the season. We didn’t want it to end.
  13. annamk
    I'm not sure new McGregor sells that well, does it ? Earlier this season The Dante Project sales were really poor. It seems these days that only Swan Lake and the like can be guaranteed to sell out - even at very high ticket prices. At least the Rendezvous Ashton triple sold well so hopefully it's not Ashton that is unappealing ? I'd have considered going to more than the matinee tomorrow if Les Rendezvous had been programmed again. Live arts in general are having a hard time. On the opera side I know that some performances of La Boheme earlier this season were "papered". People are careful how they spend their money and there are many more places to spend it than there were in the heyday of ballet popularity. I feel the Autumn season programming is going to be a real test for the ballet side of the RoH.
  14. annamk
    I don't think Harris Bell was dancing last night because I remember looking at the cast sheet in the first interval and being surprised to see his name there. I think it was Luc Foskett.
  15. annamk
    A huge shout out for Joonhyuk Jun. It's been obvious since Jun joined the Aud Jebsen scheme in 2017 that he had an outstanding classical technique. But although he is already a soloist it's been puzzling that he's had relatively few soloist roles (bearing in mind he is only a year behind Joe Sissens). Benno is the only one I can recall. His unscheduled Rhapsody debut was a stroke of luck for him - Marcelino Sambe's withdrawal. Still sometimes in life you need a bit of luck but as we have seen not every young dancer has the composure and skill to take advantage of golden opportunities. Jun did not squander his; on the contrary he grabbed it firmly by the scruff of the neck and made it his own. In spite of the disadvantage of being tall for a role created on a very small man - his execution of the steps was simply phenomenal. If he was nervous, there was no sign of it. What was arguably even more impressive for a debut by a young soloist was that he resisted making it all about him: his attitude to his ballerina was exemplary and his attention to the character details of the role was noteworthy. Sure there are little bits of partnering that need work - supported pirouettes for example but these will be easy for him to master. Jun showed yesterday evening that he has the potential to be a major star and if the Royal Ballet doesn't give him the roles, I'm sure there are plenty of companies who would welcome him with open arms.
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