annamk

@Christine thank you for posting too, it's fascinating to read someone else's take on a performance. I was particularly interested that you mentioned Gabriel Figueredo because I'd seen him dance Lensky last year and I thought his pre duel solo was magnificent, one of the best I'd ever seen. I noted he was on the cast list for Blake Works but I couldn't for the life of me identify him. There was one dancer who resembled him facially but I remembered him being a bit taller. Looking at pictures online has left me none the wiser ! Will definitely message you next time 😄

Looking for a SCS for this performance if anyone has a spare.

My daughter and I went to Stuttgart for a couple of days to see 2 performances of their latest triple bill Shades of Blue and White “showcasing three very different facets of classical ballet”. It wasn’t the first night of this bill which appeared earlier in the season but if I remember correctly that was a couple of months ago. The evening opened with the Shades scene from Natalia Makarova’s production of La Bayadere. The company brought this into their repertory in 2018 although they don’t dance the full length ballet. According to the Stuttgart Ballet website Natalia Makarova herself came to coach the company but on the evening we were there I noticed Olga Evreinoff in the audience so possibly she was also involved. I was curious to see how the company with their smallish stage would look in this most stunning and iconic of Petipa’s white acts but my reservations were quickly swept aside as the 24 shades showed admirable synchronicity and control and the 3 individual shades - Irene Yang, Abigail Willson-Heisel and Daiana Ruiz demonstrated a fine mastery of the tricky variations . As Onegin last summer principal dancer Marti Paixa, impressed me enormously but as the warrior Solor, whilst he was generally a good partner, his variations were distinctly earth bound - so much so we wondered whether in fact he might be nursing an injury. Mackenzie Brown, already promoted to principal in October 2023 just 3 years after joining the company and still only 21 showed exactly why she’s had such a meteoric rise. Her rendition of Nikya was a truly accomplished performance. It was such a joy to have the opportunity to see this increasingly rarely performed choreographic tour de force again. Since I first saw Blake Works 1 in its premier run at Paris Opera Ballet in 2016 I’ve seen a further 3 companies dance it. Nothing has changed my view that it stands out as a masterpiece of 21st century ballet creations. It’s a work for today, using today’s music in brilliant combination with classical ballet technique. The choreography seems to allow each company and their individual dancers to bring something of themselves and their strengths to it. The Stuttgart dancers looked as though they were having a ball and it’s not surprising that the audience responded with warmth and enthusiasm. I would have quite happily ended the evening there and in fact I did the following night. The final piece was Seventh Symphony set to the music of Beethoven. The ballet was made in 1991 for Stuttgart by Uwe Scholz, a choreographer unfamiliar to me. I found the choreography exhausting, acrobatic and repetitive. In places it really looked dated, the way the women were dragged across the stage split legged was for me particularly unattractive. The dancers gave it their all, Jason Reilly defying his 40+ years with his energy and attack. The audience adored it and there was a standing ovation at the end.

I’m not surprised this hasn’t sold well and IMO it’s not just a question of being over priced. Yes the staging is spectacular and the story is well told but ultimately there’s something emotionally uninvolving about the clunky pdd and way too much tiresome peasant frolicking in Act 2 - it just doesn’t make for multiple viewings. So far I only bought a single ticket this run in the hope that Cesar Corrales can transform the ballet with his marvellous charisma just as he did in Like Water for Chocolate.

I wouldn't book any full length ballet without knowing the casting.

Me and other ballet friends feel the same. I doubt I’ll buy more than 10 tickets for the entire 24/25 season but since they’re SCS I don’t suppose the coffers of the RoH will miss me much. It will be interesting to see how it all sells.

Could we have got it wrong ? They've managed to keep it top secret and they are actually reviving Fille next season ........ it would seem completely bizarre to have that set otherwise ?

11/5 spoken for

4/5 spoken for, 11/5 still available.

4/5 7pm D44 11/5 7pm D39 £14 each, message me if interested.

This afternoon's performance was conducted by Charlotte Politi at an equally exuberant tempo (tempi ?). My music knowledge is pretty paltry so I'm probably wrong to say this but the extent to which this slightly faster tempo energises the ballet seems out of proportion to what appears a relatively minor adjustment. I mean the ballet isn't really any shorter 😂 Anyway, a super time was had at Sadlers Wells this pm in spite of : the people filming in front of me, and all the crisp munchers, crunchers and rustlers elsewhere in the 1st circle. Excellent performances all round, I very much enjoyed the dancing from the principal couple Momoko Hirata and Tze-Chao Chou. Edit - I also wanted to say that it was very pleasing to see Sadlers Wells packed out for a classical ballet.

You took the words right out of my mouth 😂

Sabine, echoing the thanks above. It’s really great to read about performances outside the UK.

After reading all the great reviews I’m so disappointed to have missed this.

I was among the "retired" audience at this afternoon's encore showing. I actually liked Darcey Bussell's outfit ! Her presentation was pretty much fine I thought - I expected some howlers given the comments earlier in this thread. I enjoyed all the interviews. Prior to this I only saw the general rehearsal. Danses Concertantes I thought I might like more on a second viewing but I didn't, so chalk that one down to a "not for me". I wish I'd read the synopsis for Different Drummer but even though I had an incomplete idea of what was going on I thought Sambe in particular gave an outstanding performance, likewise Francesca Hayward. Requiem is a masterpiece. Sarah Lamb was ethereal, William Bracewell magnificent, Lukas Brændsrød marvellous, everyone was. I hope the RB programme it more often in future.

I find it sad and offensive that someone on this forum feels it's ok to call Alexei Ratmansky, acknowledged as one of the greatest living choreographers, lazy and disrespectful ........ really ?

Interesting to read (thanks to the Links today) that the critics reviews from Sydney for Australian Ballet's performance of Inger's Carmen are noticeably more positive than the press reviews here for ENB.

My friend and I went last night. We thought it was a very worthwhile evening. It was interesting to see dancers from so many different companies even if stylistically there were similarities between many of the pieces. Korean National Ballet - Spring. Lovely costumes, the onstage live music and singing was a treat. Nothing amazingly fresh or new in the dancing just a charming little piece for 1 woman and 2 men. Opera Ballet Flanders - a pdd in grounded contemporary style, not ground breaking but perfectly enjoyable. National Theatre BRNO - one of our favourite pieces for 3 men and a woman. Quirky and whimsical. Semperoper Dresden - sort of middle European influenced style for a couple with a brief film clip. The Royal Ballet - Joseph Toonga's trademark moves for Olivia Findlay and Nadia Mullova-Barley in pyjamas. If you like what Toonga does you'll enjoy this, personally I think it's a waste of classically trained dancers. Also I'm not quite sure how Toonga is an emergent choreographic voice. Norwegian National Ballet - Xander Parish demonstrating his partnering skills in a classically influenced, dramatic pdd. Birmingham Royal Ballet - one of our standout pieces of the evening. We liked the choreography Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Lachlan Monahan created for 2 men and 2 women. Paris Opera Ballet - Florent Melac (more recently known to me as Espada in the recent Don Q live relay). Another enjoyable creation, contemporary in style and dress. Scottish Ballet - too much initial writhing around but it picked up subsequently. The Royal Ballet - a more than decent choreographic effort from Matthew Ball for himself and Mayara Magri. Personally I'd ditch the costume designer though. Hats off to Emma Southworth - the logistics of organising this must have been a nightmare. The evening wizzed along nicely: the music choices were pleasing - no loud thudding bass tracks, all in all an engaging 2 hours and not once did I find myself thinking about my shopping list.

I don't much enjoy Acosta's version either: I feel some of the virtuosity has been taken out of the choreography making the dancing just less exciting, I find the addition of the guitar troupe in the gypsy scene is long and tedious as are all the "panto" parts. I certainly prefer Nureyev's version to Acosta's although it has no shortage of panto the choreography is more exciting - at least it seemed that way with Paul Marque. I love the Mariinsky version most - on youtube you can find a thrilling 2019 recording with Elena Yevseyeva and Vladimir Shklyarov. I saw this performance live and it was spectacular. But also who could forget the Bolshoi version with young Osipova and Vasiliev. Obviously, mediocre dancers can make great choreography look pedestrian but more tricky for fabulous dancers to make dull choreography truly dazzle.

@Irmgard did you see the other two casts ? I am interested to know whether your opinion of anything was changed ? I only saw one performance which was the Bueno/Frola cast on Saturday afternoon. I'm totally unfamiliar with Inger's choreography and on the basis of what I saw yesterday I wouldn't rush to see anything else of his, although I caveat that with finding it tricky to be sure on the basis of a single viewing. It felt as though there was a lot of repetition in the not terribly attractive, unballetic movement, much running around, much rolling on the floor in Act 2. The pdd for Carmen and Don Jose is nothing like the steamy affair in Petit's Carmen seen here in this extract - although I don't know the Petit production and it may be that this is the only interesting few minutes. The staging is stark and simple but quite effective, particularly the use of the mirrors on the back of the panels and the lighting is dramatic. I liked the costumes for the women. I don't think the story is particularly clearly told but there are some striking moments, particularly the shooting of Zuniga. IMO Ivana Bueno and Francesco Gabriele Frola gave magnetic and powerful performances. The roles of Zuniga and Torero yesterday were dramatically danced by Daniel McCormick and Gareth Haw. I didn't feel that the character of the Boy added anything. I'm not overly familiar with the opera music so I wasn't bothered by the version presented here - I quite liked the percussion section - but overall it wasn't as memorable as the opera score. I enjoyed it more than I expected to although perhaps that's a reflection of my low expectations. I might go and see it again if it was revived but overall I feel ENB have more to offer than this. It felt like a rather "thin" for a full length performance.

I agree with you. It seems more like dance theatre than ballet. I saw it at the premiere and laughed like a drain at some of the scenes but the next time it fell completely flat. So for me, it's a once off entertainment which is fine.

Sent you a pm

Late to post on the Kaneko/Bracewell Swan Lake on Easter Monday. It's all been said really. She is dazzling, ravishing even; he dances with a beautiful classical lyricism and radiates an unparalleled warmth and generosity of spirit. Somehow their exceptional individual qualities give rise to a unique, incomparable and extraordinary partnership.

I went to the opening night of this in Paris and I watched the same cast in the live relay last night. It was my first time seeing the Nureyev production of Don Q, I went mainly for the opportunity to see Paul Marque live again as he's one of my favourite dancers and I love his partnership with Sae Eun Park. The production is classic Nureyev, following the same familiar path as most Don Q productions but with many many steps for the men and then some more. Difficult solos for Basilio in which he turns first one way and then the other. Of course the super dancer that is Paul Marque coped easily with all of these difficulties although it has to be said that difficulty doesn't necessarily make for the most attractive choreography. Everything moves along at a brisk and jolly pace. The tone of the costumes in Act 1 and 2 particularly is mostly on the muddy side which surprised me. I thought the matadors made a slightly more muted impact (certainly in their entrance) than they do in the Royal or Mariinsky productions and I was not overly impressed with the Espada of Florent Melac. In the Dryads scene the lighting was quite dim so with the homogenous costumes and restrained dancing my friends found it a rather glacial presentation. Maybe that's the way Nureyev wanted it done because it very much reminded me of Mariinsky performances. I thought Heloise Bourdon danced beautifully as the Queen of the Dryads, she made the Italian fouettes look easy. The grand pas was full of warmth and joy. Paul Marque and Sae Eun Park dance beautifully individually and together, they have a warm and attractive connection it all makes for a very uplifting evening viewing. I enjoyed the insightful interval interviews. I really hope Paris do many more of these live relays - it's great that they make them available on their platform and the price is very reasonable. I paid 9.90 euros for a month subscription - cancellable at any time. I believe the relay is available on the website for 7 days - I highly recommend watching.

Wow, I just had a look and am quite shocked and saddened by how low sales are, particularly given the top price is two thirds of Swan Lake. I hope sales pick up nearer the time or the RB might find it difficult to justify this kind of programming in the future.