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annamk

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  1. annamk
    I agree with you about Popov - I was being generous The Olga/Lensky Act 1 pdd was not a highlight, I assume nerves & the mismatched heights didn’t help. I thought Popov improved in Act 2 though: as you say his acting was convincing and I thought the pre duel solo was well enough danced. Sadly, I’ve never seen Vogel dance it, my current favourite is the Bolshoi’s outstanding Semyon Chudin.
  2. annamk
    Beautifully put Angela
  3. annamk
    Just to put the other point of view here ...... I wasn't at the schools' matinee but I did see Act 1 of Hayward/Campbell's public debut and I entirely share Jann Parry's (DanceTabs) opinion that Campbell was inexpressive and miscast. I've enjoyed watching Campbell in a number of roles (Two Pigeons, Hans Peter) but I was disappointed with his performance on Friday evening and I thought I could see why he wasn't originally cast as Albrecht. I was in the stalls circle near the stage and to me in Act 1 Campbell was a blank page. I thought Ball, at the Saturday matinee, was a better actor, using small gestures and changes of expression effectively. Ball's dancing was also a considerable improvement on his recent Nutcracker prince. Also at the Saturday matinee James Hay gave by far the best account in this run of the pd6 lead male role - such a pity he wasn't given the opportunity to dance Albrecht. I hope that Fumi Kaneko stays injury free so that by the time of the next run we can see her dance Giselle - she will surely be wonderful.
  4. annamk
    Angela thank you for posting this ! My friend and I went to Munich for the performance because we adore Vladimir Shklyarov he's a fine dancer with great charisma. I always thought he would be fabulous in the kind of dramatic ballets which sadly the Mariinsky doesn't have in it's rep so I was very happy when it was announced that he would be dancing in Munich with the opportunity to expand his rep. Recently the Bavarian State Ballet have started to post casting for his performances further in advance it's possible to organise tickets and flights. It was fun to bump into other London ballet-coers who also made the trip ! There were role debuts for the four principal parts on Sunday evening : Shklyarov/Amista Popov/Zeisal and they gave a very good account of themselves. The final pdd between Shklyarov and Amista was finely acted, with great attention to detail, very emotional. The audience were hugely enthusiastic, I lost count of the curtain calls.
  5. annamk
    I agree with all your lovely comments about the characterisations. The quality of the dancing from Takada, Ella and Kaneko was exceptionally high. The Act 2 pdd was remarkable for the synchronisation between Takada & Ella: all three of the cross stage jumps were executed and landed EXACTLY together !
  6. annamk
    Ticket has gone.
  7. annamk
    It's an e-ticket. Message me and post here. Anna
  8. annamk
    The full ballet is there now
  9. annamk
    https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/ it seems it can be watched online in the Bolshoi website until 9am Moscow time tomorrow. I haven’t tried the link yet though.
  10. annamk
    Vladislav Lantratov, Ekaterina Krysanova and Igor Tsvirko gave unbelievably intense, passionate and committed performances yesterday. The enormous red minimalist sets looked terrific on the Bolshoi stage. Typically Ratmansky, the choreography is very busy; a lot of small movements made very quickly, as Tsvirko said in the interval. It takes some getting used to a different version when you know another like the back of your hand (MacMillan in my case) and whilst occasionally I longed for some MacMillan style choreographic stillness there were some immensely powerful moments to more than compensate: Juliet rushing on in the balcony scene took my breath away. When I saw the National Ballet of Canada dance this at Sadlers Wells in 2013 I was uncomfortable with Ratmansky's choice of ending, but yesterday it felt astonishing and brilliant. I only wish there was an encore showing.
  11. annamk
    I must admit I would never have thought of Ben Ella as a replacement for Steven McRae. Nothing to do with his dancing which impressed me recently as Hans Peter but that Albrecht is such a monumental role in every sense : solos, partnering, and acting, it requires incredible stamina. All of which makes his debut yesterday so impressive. Because he looks very young I think he had to work extra hard to be convincing. I was standing close to the stage and it helped considerably that even from his first entrance he looked comfortable, if he was feeling the pressure of the occasion, it didn’t show from my vantage point. His solo dancing was pretty much faultless: tidy landings, everything cleanly finished. His partnering looked secure - the Act 2 high overhead lift, no problem and again 30 seconds later, no problem ! His acting was credible, I mean you wouldn’t expect it to be full of every little nuance at this stage, but he definitely has presence. Very very promising indeed for him. IMO Akane was wonderful - as well as being completely secure technically she brings a lovely softness and musicality to her dancing and her arms are exquisite. Clare Calvert’s Myrtha was everything you want that role to be, she’s really blossomed over the last couple of years and with that has come an increased confidence in her dancing. The corps also were very impressive.
  12. annamk
    Yes I definitely agree with that Sim !
  13. annamk
    I was thinking of his 2014 performance with Hayward but I probably also saw him in 2008 with Mara Galeazzi.
  14. annamk
    Totally agree with other posters here who praised Cesar Corrales Jeune Homme - what a powerful and unbelievably mature performance Cesar gave this afternoon and what terrific chemistry between him and Jia Zhang's woman. I can't wait for the opportunity to see more of him at the Royal Ballet next season. It worked out that I saw largely the same Sylphide cast in both performances : Alison McWhinney, Aitor Arrieta ,Henry Dowden and Stina Quageneur. ENB may be losing one of their star male dancers but they seem to have others absolutely ready to take on leading roles and Aitor Arrieta's James blew me away: nuanced acting, great balon, razor sharp feet. I hadn't come across Henry Dowden before but I'd be happy to see more of him. This afternoon I found Alison McWhinney's Sylph very touching and Stina Quageneur was marvellous on both outings. The entire company danced with charm and sincerity. I really regret not seeing more casts.
  15. annamk
    Just to put a different opinion out there I wouldn't put Watson in my top three Des Grieux any more. The RB has many wonderful Manon's and it's hard to choose between most of them but for Des Grieux I'd choose Bonelli, Hallberg, Munti (alphabetical order) however, if I was restricted to one cast I might just pick Reece Clarke making his debut with Lauren Cuthbertson.
  16. annamk
    Hi, I'm interested. I sent you a PM. Anna
  17. annamk
    I am sorted for this
  18. annamk
    If anyone has a ticket they can't use please message me. Anna
  19. annamk
    I couldn't agree more !
  20. annamk
    I'm pleased that KoH has chosen to give a promising soloist an opportunity in such a major role. Ben Ella danced and acted his recent Hans Peter very well indeed and at the time I mused that it would be interesting to see him dance something substantial - I didn't for a moment see it coming this quickly though. Best of luck to him !
  21. annamk
    Following the cast change I'm looking for a stalls circle standing if anyone has a spare. Please message me.
  22. annamk
    I saw the matinee and Act 2 this evening. There was plenty to enjoy in both performances but my particular highlights were James Hay’s outstanding Hans Peter, (not only in his ability to execute the steps faultlessly but in his attention to all the little details that flesh out a character) and Fumi Kaneko’s exquisite SPF.
  23. annamk
    I thought William Bracewell acquitted himself very well, particularly considering it was his debut in a principal role at the RoH and as such was probably pretty nerve wracking. He was an attentive and careful partner, his solos were tidy, his pirouettes finished with control. Job well done IMO. Fumi was outstanding: she has the most gorgeous fluid arms and she moves exquisitely, through and beyond the music. I was talking to a friend this morning who said she has soul and I thought that captured perfectly the very special quality that she has.
  24. annamk
    Actually I just found one on the RoH website so I'm sorted.
  25. annamk
    You could ask the box office to reprint it and leave it for me - if that’s not too much trouble ?
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