annamicro

Johan Kobborg has just announced to have been nominated director of the Romanian National Ballet. This comesat the end of lovely first night of La Sylphide. Congratulations!

I know:-) She is very busy with her new company and also happy. Have you seen her in relevant role (I know she was Titania)?

Neumeir has a new excellent "principal" of 32. ;-) Seriously, he is trying new dancers: in the past season and this one there are at least two Romeos (Trusch and Radtke) and a Juliet (Chinellato, not considering Cojocaru), but I've not seen them. I really like Tselikov presence but maybe not for "prince" roles. The past year the very young Italian Sasha Riva (the Balloon man) was given the role of the Poet in Kleine Meerjungfrau, another young Italian, Jacopo Bellussi was Paris. On the dark Italian side, the lovely Lucia Solari left because underused. Aso Martinez is very young and had the role of Louis in Liliom created on him. But I don't know the company so well to give more names. To say if they can become one day as great as the older ones is difficult, they are REALLY great: very few like them around the world.

I heard about Lloyd Riggins and I think it's a great thing. Neumeier heritage has to be preserved: it's the trademark that makes Hamburg Ballet unique and different, even if probably after his retirement the repertory could and should be differentiated more than today. I agree about younger principals (let's see what Revazov will do as Cojocaru's Romeo later in the week), without forgetting that the lovely Bouchet is just 33. I'd add to the "strong personality" also Polikarpova and I adore Leslie Heylmann personality.

Let's hope the next years will be full of creativity as most of the past. Of course I hope that this will involve not only the wonderful artists of the company, but also the sort of "resident guest" that is so happy to join them at any opportunity :-) Returning to German protective laws, it's interesting to note that most of Hamburg pricipal dancers have been with the company for more than 18 years: is the law really different in the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg or it's just that they love their artists too much to let them free to go?

Another clip of the show, in this case with Alina Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli http://video.sky.it/news/spettacolo/roma_romeo_e_giulietta_danzano_sulle_note_di_prokofiev/v167333.vid

The thead will be welcome, thank you. :-) Of course I was joking but one cannot really complain because the venue has not been appreciated by visitors: I even slept there, but some friends based in London just REFUSED to go. :-)

Does this mean that England outside London looks like Milton Keynes??? Really??? I've never seen anything like that place (but the theatre was excellent). Having been in London dozens of times but outside London only two times (both in Reading) I'm scared about what I could find going around more!

I wish more modern choreographers would emulate Balanchine and find a new and personal way to get some proper DANCING on the stage. And, ESPECIALLY, as Balanchine did, they keep on walking on that way, changing their orizon, and don't sit, just after few steps, in a confortable position: some hypermodern dance makes seem to change more in the descriptions and the sets of their works than in the substance of steps and movements.

Thank you Bruce, you posted while I was trying to restore my connection. I wrote elsewhere that maybe it was Guillem to edit Ismene Brown interview. Or maybe Kobborg works also for the Independent. Not sure Guillem would have been happy to see somebody else "fingers" on her words.

Infact I was "encouraged" to read the last comments, something I'd have preferred to avoid. Isn't time for moderators to stop insults?

When I met Cojocaru in Rome she addressed me “you said you weren’t coming”. I was surprised, went back to the hotel, checked e-mails, texts, Whatsup and found nothing. I wrote that only here: the day after she had to confess. You would be surprised to know that, as for almost every ballet forrum, you can access balletcoforum just opening the main page: it’s a public site, you need to have an account only to write, not to read. And Kobborg opened that page and read the thread that have his name in the title. But if you want to know who unveiled to Kobborg that at least one of the poster, you, was a facebook friend of him I have no problem to raise my hand. Not really sure he found hilarious to be called “Svengali”: maybe you can test it calling him that way the next time you meet. But I’d suggest you to not do that. Anyway, with the authorization and encouragement of the author (note for Bruce and myself too), I’m copying here what Kobborg wrote on his private facebook page: Johan Kobborg 2 hours ago Dear Ann Williams and Mijosh (of the balletcoforum) I am writing you here as I don't have an account with BCF, but is sure that as usual, my update here will hit the forum sooner or later. I just wanted to show you my gratitude as I have been smiling all day. I wanted to thank you for the belief in, and respect you bestow upon me. To know, that you think, that I could possibly be that powerful a dancer. Its quite an honour. Sadly though I must admit that I do not work as an editor for the Telegraph, their writers, or any subject they might interview, nor do I share my editorial gifts, with my family and friends. I do like to spread my wings and interests, over a large spectrum of different genres, but my command of the english language is unfortunately not strong enough. In fact, I am sure that this status is full of spelling and grammar mistakes, and trust me, under normal circumstances I would have had Alina proof read this, as she is quite often good with basic english words, but she is at the gym. I am very happy dancing, and now and then, creating and staging. Thats all there is on on my agenda, all I have time for, and all I ever (to use your word) WANTED. I cant help noticing, that you Ann, have a few spelling mistakes too, but I am sure your english is good enough, to understand what I have written here. If not, perhaps Ismene will translate. thanks again (ps - Since you wrote it on a public forum, I trust its ok to post the below on my FB) Johan Kobborg funny thing is that Mijosh who in a previous BCF message, felt it was Svengali kobborg behind the interview... if you dont know what Svengali means, see link. Funny thing is, that Mijosh is still on my FB friends list... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svengali

This is very offensive and quite squalid. The humiliation she had from Mason wasn’t enough: Cojocaru has also to know to be considered a liar by Mr Bangorballettboy. As for me, I knew about that, exactly in the same terms, on the 12th of March 2011, Saturday afternoon, in a very crowded James Street and I still trust to the sincerity of Alina’s tears.

Pardon? Cojocaru is still alive and is dancing on Thursday in Milton Keynes and many times in London in the next few months.I think every real "fan" was already having a ticket for the last Mayerling of Cojocaru and Kobborg.

"Mason told Cojocaru her style was no longer “Royal Ballet style” and she did not want her as Aurora in the autumn run of The Sleeping Beauty" is not a comment nor an opinion, it's a fact. Luke Jennings (dance critic of The Observer) is asking more ore less your same question on Twitter: "If Cojocaru's dancing was "not Royal Ballet style", who's was, exactly?"

Johan's Twitter account??? I was talking of Cojocaru and REAL LIFE: are we forgetting that this strange thing exists? And I'm afraid that managements "tend to do thing like that": my company has a policy about social network and I know that, not surprisingly and with plenty of rights, RB one do it . But, as I wrote I was thinking to people working together in the same building or at least meeting in corridors.

Sleeping Beauty episode happened in March 2011, that means that more than one chance was given to the old and new blood. I agree that the interview doesn't explain it completely and actually says much less than was said in more or less public occasions. It seems that the decision was communicated only few days before Mayerling, but I cannot believe that the management wasn't expecting her to leave.

I think she is a very clever dancer, as Lopatkina usually is.

I saw her debut, some part were very good some other less. She was better than many but, IMO, not a memorable one even if of course she wasn't missing her extraordinary ability to connect with the audience. In any case since then she has improved in many aspects connected to the role, so she will probably be an interesting one. I'm not likely to come to London to see her as Aurora (even if she is dancing with Golding: I've just watched him in DQ ad cannot avoid to laugh to some comments in "his" thread... a dancer of that technical level and elegance is very very rarely seen on ROH stage), but I've tickets for two of her Manon in La Scala next month. :-)

You are right, I saw them in one or two shows. Ondine is a ballet that I tend to remove, I'm afraid. :-)

Italy is the country where you can see a half naked vacuously giggling Bolle introduced as the best dancer in the world by the male straight presenter happy to palpate his abs. These kind of approaches are setting the level and some dancers are completely happy with this kind of publicity. Forget of culture. Mala tempora currunt. The bat was there in the two shows I saw, so maybe they were already used to it, anyway it was flying at a certain distance from their heads. Cojocaru has been quite unlucky with partners in La Scala (with the exception of Massimo Murru in Ballet Imperial: they had some fantastic moments together), especially in that truly desperate (under many aspects) run. She danced two excellent shows, but memorable only in some moments. Not only bad productions but also, and especially, modest pairing can be frustrating. I wish you to see her dancing with a dancer able to match, support, share and enhance her dancing, her acting and her emotions, the next time. She is dancing Juliet with La Scala in Tokyo in these days, with Friedemann Vogel: a pity they reserve the best for export only. :-(

I report what I wrote in the thread about Romeo and Juliet in Rome: "Cojocaru said [on the 2nd of August] to have been uncertain till the very last moment if she was dancing or not because she was “rehearsing with Federico in Tokyo in trainers”, having clearly not yet fully or enough confidently recovered from her fracture: I cannot imagine who in the Royal Ballet was thinking that she would have danced the much more demanding for her foot Swan lake planned on the 12th of July. The withdrawal was announced only on the 9th, I think, but I suppose it’s something similar to her withdrawal from ABT Sleeping Beauty, announced to the audience weeks after the Swan Lake one, even if Alina was talking openly and publically about that in London on the 5th of June."

Posted by annamicro on 15 July 2013 - 04:46 PM in Ballet / Dance news & information Wulff, on 15 Jul 2013 - 3:26 PM, said: It's such a pity she was not cast in some production (like Sleeping Beauty and Manon) for exclusive management decision, but this fact cannot be ascribed to the dancer. Anyway, to not be just a slander, your statement has to be supported by numbers. Given that she broke her foot at the end of March/beginning of April this year and that Voices of Spring was cancelled because she and her partner had to rehearse the new Ratmansky, can you give us the number of shows Cojocaru cancelled in the "couple of years" preceeding her last Ratmansky? so from since February 2011? I made my count, inluding guesting, I'd love to check it with yours. --- I think that my question of the 15th of July to Wulff remained without answer. Anyway, after a conversation in Rome in August, I have the definitive one, from the direct source: I was wrong counting just one. Cojocaru didn’t withdraw just from a Liliom to be danced with Hamburg Ballet just before Christmas 2011, but also from a Swan Lake to be danced in the same week in Athens with Kremlin Ballet. I remember well she was back from her injury to dance Nutcracker in London (I saw her on the 28th and 31st of that December). So I was right thinking she didn’t withdraw from any Royal Ballet performance, and I’m quite sure that if London audience has not seen her when in full health as much as they wanted, the reason has to asked not to the dancer but to somebody else.

Of course! The venue was much better than expected and the project interesting: the theatre was celebrating its 10th anniversary and they wanted to add for the first time a ballet to the Shakespearean season. The audience seemed made mostly of regulars of the theatre more than balletgoers (I heard several people asking which cast was dancing on the night), so this novelty and the profile of the four main dancers were introduced them by Simona Marchini, an Italian actress. Alina Cojocaru (dancing for the first time in Rome) was deservedly presented as “one of the five most important ballerinas in the world”, but it was annoying to hear the other dancer introduced disrespectfully as “the famous Anbeta”, without a family name (and even with a little side laugh in the first of the two shows I saw): the pairing of the two dancers (Toromani said in an interview to have not danced in a theatre in the past 10 years – she was born in 1979) was embarrassing on the paper (I’ve not seen the other cast and cannot say of the dancing), but it’s not Anbeta Toromani fault. Anyway, despite the very hot and humid weather and a bat flying over their heads, Cojocaru and Bonelli gave their best and that of course means top quality performances; I also enjoyed Orazio di Bella as Mercutio. I think it was the first time that Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli danced together in a dramatic ballet, nevertheless the partnering worked extremely well not just on a technical but also at an artistic level. The peculiarity of the venue was cleverly used: in absence of wings, the dancers several times entered or run out from the entrances of the theatre, widening the space and effectively underlining the change of scenes and locations. But the choreography was poor, the steps were banal, unable to convey emotions and create a mood and unable neither to use the power of the music nor to color it. The worst was a sense of grossness and vulgarity in the definition of the character and situations and that made me think a lot about Tamara Rojo clever and provocative remarks about the lack of female choreographers and their possible different vision of the art form. Unfortunately after one month and a half are those ugly moments that are more in my memory: Lord Capulet trying to beat Juliet with his belt and then clumsily rubbing his hand in greedy satisfaction when she accepts the “deal”, Romeo and Juliet rolling on the floor after few second of the balcony pdd (the girl was quite accessible and probably pregnant before the first kiss) and even trying to have a last urgent coitus when Romeo has to leave to Mantua (the drama of the farewell was totally absent in the whole scene and in any case they don’t succeed having sex because the nurse – a true bitch: not a surprise Juliet grew up that way- enters and surprises Romeo completely lying ON Juliet), the despair of Lady Capulet at Tybalt death was so messily wild and coarse to look ridiculous, I should look back to other productions, but I really I cannot imaging 4 girls and 4 BOYS entering in the bedroom of a sleeping young woman to wake her up. I’ve been told that the choreographer recently is producing darker stuff and that he has changed also some of his earlier works, so maybe this version is not exactly the same that has been appreciated with Northern Ballet. It’s always a pleasure to see Alina dancing, but a great dramatic dancer, as Cojocaru is, seems wasted doing ugly disconnected movements without the space and the time to express emotions playing with the music. In a way Cojocaru’s artistry made also this show well worth to be seen, but also made probably more evident the limits of the version: Usain Bolt would stand out amazingly also running in the mud, but everybody knows what he can do running in a proper track. The same for Alina. Bonelli said that the show was going to be presented also in Palermo, at Teatro Massimo in December 2014. Supposed that Bonelli was dancing, but I saw that the only cast announced is Toromani and Macario (http://www.operaclick.com/news/palermo-stagione-di-opere-e-balletti-2014-del-teatro-massimo). Honesty I hope Bonelli and Cojocaru be busy doing something else…even if I know that if Alina will be there I could not stay away: her Juliet just cannot be missed, and at the end of the day I’ve been several times in Palermo but always for my job and without time to really visit that wonderful city and also Moricone could decide to change again his work a little bit. A side note: Cojocaru said to have been uncertain till the very last moment if she was dancing or not because she was “rehearsing with Federico in Tokyo in trainers”, having clearly not yet fully or enough confidently recovered from her fracture: I cannot imagine who in the Royal Ballet was thinking that she would have danced the much more demanding for her foot Swan lake planned on the 12th of July. The withdrawal was announced only on the 9th, I think, but I suppose it’s something similar to her withdrawal from ABT Sleeping Beauty, announced to the audience weeks after the Swan Lake one, even if Alina was talking openly and publically about that in London on the 5th of June.

I don't think it's dying: La Scala web site has the plan for the rest of this season (including September Japan tour for opera and ballet and cast) and the next one. If I remember well they are dancing Romeo and Juliet in Tokyo: Cojocaru Vogel on 20 and 22 and Osipova Vasiliev on 21 and 23.