Which rarely-staged ballets would you like to see return to the repertory?

[Jane S]

Yes, I checked the database too to double-check the date I'd thought it was, but the date of the anniversary performance wasn't there. Frustrating how incomplete the database is, even in respect of 'significant' performances (and even more frustrating that it's not necessarily entirely accurate). I do wonder though if Princess Margaret/Ashton/de Valois would really have been at a schools' matinée? I didn't check all the online casts though (less dedicated than Geoff!); but it could just be one of the performances that isn't yet listed.

 

Just checked and discovered the performance was on 16-12-78 - it was shown in the USA on that date (live?) with a repeat on Christmas Day, and shown on BBC television on Christmas Eve.

[bridiem]

Great, thanks for finding that out Jane.

[Fonty]

I would love to see a return to the days where people focus on dance rather than bravura extension. Ratmansky's work looks incredible and I would love to see something of his live. I wonder how the current crop of dancers would be able to respond to this style though and if audiences would respond well.

  Well, I don't know anything about Ratmansky's works, but this member of the audience would be ecstatic to see the Sleeping Beauty performed exactly as it was in the Youtube film with Park.  I have sat through many a performance of SB that has seemed tedious or boring in places, partly because the slower pace of some of the dances left me feeling that they had been plodded through, rather than danced, and partly because some of the parts were simply not danced very well.  I have often felt that the dancers were struggling to fit the steps to the music, even at a slower pace, and often they look as if they might trip over their own feet. 

 

Also, if the idea is to slow the Rose Adagio down to a funereal pace so that Aurora can show off her spectacular balances, then it isn't working.  I have lost count of the number of times I have watched some very famous dancers indeed taking an age to find their centre of balance, and then throwing up the supporting arm in a "hailing a cab" gesture, before clutching the arm of the next suitor.  And all with a slight frown on their faces.  I sometimes think the loud applause at the end is relief from the audience that they haven't fallen off point.  Ok, perhaps I am being a bit cruel, but I can't remember the last time I saw anyone dance it with a relaxed expression, let alone a smile.   

 

It just proves that this idea that dancers today are so much better technically is wrong.  I've heard time and again that they get bored doing the classics; that they want to be stretched technically.  Well, they certainly display an extraordinary degree of flexibility, but often inappropriately.  If I want to watch contortions, I will go and see Cirque du Soleil or something of that sort. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by Fonty

[Two Pigeons]

I could not agree with you more Fonty. I was lucky enough to see Merle Park dance Aurora in the early 80s and the moment of her arabesque at the start of the act 1 variation is one of those freeze frame instants that has remained in my memory ever since. I also have very happy memories of Collier, Penney and Whitten in the role. They all danced with such a wonderful combination of great foot work, musicality and attack. Just because they were not 5'9" with extensions past their ears does NOT make their performances anything less than superlative.

 

I find some of the comments accompanying the clip very depressing. I will ignore the really vulgar ones as they say far more about the poster than the artist they refer to. This modern trend to believe that only current dancers are valid and those of the past can be regarded as a 'dwarf' are as misguided as they are offensive.

 

In addition to talking about an Aurora who smiles and holds the balances without distorting the music may I add how lovely it is to see one who GIVES the second set of roses to her mother without chucking them at her feet.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Two Pigeons

[Two Pigeons]

P.s. and Tabitha as well. I think we are all of one mind.

[tabitha]

Also, if the idea is to slow the Rose Adagio down to a funereal pace so that Aurora can show off her spectacular balances, then it isn't working.  I have lost count of the number of times I have watched some very famous dancers indeed taking an age to find their centre of balance, and then throwing up the supporting arm in a "hailing a cab" gesture, before clutching the arm of the next suitor.  And all with a slight frown on their faces.  I sometimes think the loud applause at the end is relief from the audience that they haven't fallen off point.  Ok, perhaps I am being a bit cruel, but I can't remember the last time I saw anyone dance it with a relaxed expression, let alone a smile.   

 

Ha ha - it has to be the most tense part of any ballet. Clutching the arm.....will they won't they? Not at all relaxing.

[Mary]

That's a very good, painfully acccurate description Fonty. Yes, it's  like a circus act.

[Two Pigeons]

May I say that when I watched the aforementioned ladies I never felt that kind of tension because I KNEW they would hold the balances. Indeed, a ballet going friend at the time used to say that Park deliberately put in a slight wobble just to make it interesting. An exaggeration no doubt but I knew what she meant.

 

Watching Marguerite Porter, on the other hand, could shorten your life by a couple of years. This was a role too far for her, as she admitted herself.

 

Interestingly when BRB last did Beauty a couple of years ago there were some comments that the extensions were far less exaggerated and some people found this a detraction. I am sure that this is not what Petipa ever intended and I doubt he would have approved either.

 

What is good enough for Dame Ninethe and Sir Peter Wright is quite good enough for me.

[Melody]

I think today's crop of dancers and coaches would be well served to remember that technique exists to serve the art, not vice versa, and that "degree of difficulty" isn't a thing in ballet, regardless of its importance in gymnastics competitions. It's such a disservice to Tchaikovsky to play those great ballets of his as though the audience was sitting through a funeral service.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Melody

[tabitha]

Do you mean "more" exaggerated TP?

[Ian Macmillan]

It's a pity that the ballet.co Reviews archive is no longer available - but I hope I'm not alone in recalling Eric Taub's graphic and hilarious description of a Rose Adagio at an American Ballet Theatre Gala that became increasingly desperate for the ballerina concerned - her name escapes me now - and, indeed, for her suitors, as they were grabbed for support.  It would have been around 6 or 7 years ago?

[Petunia]

I know I’m late to this but I have to thank everybody for the insights I gained from this thread. As a non-English ballet watcher I never really understood the objections some of you expressed. I didn’t realise how the style had changed until I watched the SB link Geoff had posted. Thanks again for that!

 

The articulation through the arms and upper body, the joy of dancing, the musicality, the speed – I was reminded of the Danish in “Napoli”! In spite of the blurry, fuzzy images in this clip, I’ve never had that much fun with the fairies in the prologue, was Leslie Collier really that fast as the Song Bird Fairy?

I saw Wall and Merle Park for the first time. What lovely lines he had and how musical and accentuated her arabesques were.

Monica Mason as Carabosse was also great –was there more mime than they do today? I liked the gargoyles, too. Better than rats.

 

Funny that I never really “got” SB – I’ve watched so many (never danced in it myself), but I’ve always thought of it as the Epitome Of Classical Ballet, a succession of highly sophisticated numbers. Much too many “Look-At-Me” moments with a little corps dancing in between, to give the soloists some recovery time.

This version in itself seems so much more rounded as a fairytale, the connections and transitions are smooth and everybody is so wonderfully busy with dancing instead of showing-off.

 

And I was duly impressed when Wayne Eagling just so plucked the flying bouquet from the air at curtain calls.

[Two Pigeons]

Hi Tabitha. No, the BRB Auroras kept their legs at a more classical angle, say 90 degrees rather than over 135. It was not a case they the can't do the higher stuff as much as Sir Peter seems to prefer a more modest approach.

[Two Pigeons]

P.s. Hi Petunia. I never saw Lesley Collier in that fairy variation but I can believe she was that fast in view of other things I did see her perform. I made the point about the Osipova Fille that I got irritated at how slowly she took Lise's solo in the Fanny Elssler pas de deux.

 

Lesley was my first Lise and I saw her do it a number of times. It was like seeing a different ballet.

[Fonty]

P.s. Hi Petunia. I never saw Lesley Collier in that fairy variation but I can believe she was that fast in view of other things I did see her perform. I made the point about the Osipova Fille that I got irritated at how slowly she took Lise's solo in the Fanny Elssler pas de deux.

 

Lesley was my first Lise and I saw her do it a number of times. It was like seeing a different ballet.

 

I assume everyone else who danced it, did so at the same speed as well?

 

Are dancers given the option now as to what speed they want for a particular variation?  I can understand this for something such as the 32 fouettes in Swan Lake, because this is intended to be a show-off sort of moment, where individuals can tackle it slightly differently if they want to.  But generally, I would have thought that dancers should be expected to perform to the tempo that was used when it was choreographed.  And there must be plent of records to show what that speed was. 

[stucha]

re SB. Can anyone tell me if the choreography of the  'finger' variation in that recording is different from what is danced today?  It seemed very different to me but it may just have been the performance.

[loveclassics]

Thanks so much for posting this link - it really is a revelation to someone like me who has only seen SB in performance in the last decade.  The last time I saw it I had to wonder about the original fairies because all of the ones I have seen seem to find the variations SO difficult.  It's quite wonderful to see dancers performing them so apparently easily and happily.  Makes all the difference not just to the individual performances but to the ballet as a whole.

 

And I can't agree more about the slow Russian tempi.  I won't name the RB dancer I saw in Swan Lake who dragged out the Act 2 pdd so interminably I practically lost the will to live during it, not to mention one Russian conductor (again at the RB) who took the Nutcracker Grand Pdd at such a slow pace it brought down the entire mood of the ballet from festive to funerial.

 

The RB must have a huge archive of videoed performances from the past - why don't they use them as teaching tools, if not for the dancers then at least for the ballet masters/mistresses and repetiteurs?

 

I wish the general public also had access to these recordings but I imagine that the Musicians Union has them tightly wrapped up in copyright.

 

Linda

[Melody]

Well, apparently the idea these days is to homogenise, and the Russian style is the standard by which everyone else have to compare themselves. I wish RB would have a bit more confidence in its own style and standards.

[capybara]

 

The RB must have a huge archive of videoed performances from the past - why don't they use them as teaching tools, if not for the dancers then at least for the ballet masters/mistresses and repetiteurs?

 

I wish the general public also had access to these recordings but I imagine that the Musicians Union has them tightly wrapped up in copyright.

 

 

 

it is often said at Insight events that repetiteurs and dancers do watch the videos.

 

But, yes, public access to them would be wonderful.

[MAB]

re SB. Can anyone tell me if the choreography of the  'finger' variation in that recording is different from what is danced today?  It seemed very different to me but it may just have been the performance.

 

Very probably.  I note there is some debate as to whether or not this performance was the premiere of the De Valois version: it was not.  There was a degree of shock on the first night as to the changes in the 'finger variation' danced very differently to what was considered standard, De Valois explained this by saying she had based it on the Diaghilev production of the 1920's.  It was unpopular with both critics (we had good ones back then) and regulars and was first toned down and a little later quietly dropped altogether.

[FLOSS]

The 1977 Sleeping Beauty originally contained a number of elements from earlier productions which disappeared during the time that it held the stage. The finger variation which was described by at least one person who first saw it in 1921 as "Bizarre, tres bizarre" was created by Nijinska and danced by her and de Valois while she was in the Diaghilev company.So it was a piece of de Valois' personal artistic history.The Awakening pas de deux was retained from the 1968 production because it was so beautiful, However as was pointed out by several critics it is totally unnecessary as Aurora and the Prince have already fallen in love.The slithery movements for Carabosse's attendants were. I think.devised by de Valois. They are intended to be grotesque I am not sure that the current choreography does such an effective job of making clear the nature of the fairy who they accompany.

 

The 1977 production contains more of the hunting scene and its dances than we are now permitted to see because after 10.30 pm  the company has to pay overtime. At one time, I think during the early years of Dowell's directorship, the tickets for the Sleeping Beauty cost more than those for other full length ballets because of the additional costs involved. I miss the dances of the hunting scene although I know that there are those who don't regard them as  "real dancing" but they are part of the choreographic scheme which Petipa created and as such I think that they should be retained. They serve an important function as they establish the "real world" which the prince inhabits where no one dances in pointe shoes before the ballet takes us to the world of enchantment where the dominant language is that of the classical ballet.

 

If I recall correctly the film also records some stage business for Catalabutte which now seems to have got lost. None of the dancers currently cast in the role show the care which Leslie Edwards takes in establishing that the knitters' needles are indeed sharp. He collects each piece of knitting carefully so that the tips of the needles are upright and visible to the entire audience. , He then tests them with his palm to see if they really are sharp. He reacts visibly when he touches the needles. This has the effect of making the King's decision to hang the knitters somewhat less arbitrary than it does in the current production. I am sure that careful viewing will reveal further lost details. Perhaps we should let Kevin know. I wonder how he would react to a letter that pointed out all the little details that no longer appear in performances or asked that more care should be taken to play the music at the tempi observed in the 1978 recording?

Edited December 8, 2015 by FLOSS

[Jane S]

Just to add a little perspective: on the one hand, there are dancers in the 1978 Prologue who didn't impress me much at the time but who look rather better seen from here; but on the other hand, I enjoyed Francesca Hayward's recent Songbird Fairy just as much as I ever liked Collier's, or anyone else's - all is not lost.

[Bellini Pointe]

Les Patineurs, La Boutique Fantastique, Facade and A Month In The Country.

[Mary]

Spent a wonderful evening watching this. Thank you.

Eagling's Bluebird is perhaps the highlight for me: that supple torso, the musicality. But Park is excellent, she is so precise, stops on the beat.

 

Any more suggestions? Youtube is full of promise but one gets entangled wandering in its byways, like the prince searching through the forest for the enchanted castle.

I did enjoy Eagling and Park dancing Voices of Spring from a performance of  die Fledermaus. Not much other Park out there, sadly.

[Two Pigeons]

Hi Mary, you are so right. I think it is pretty upsetting that really there is so little film available of the great triumvirate that was Park, Sibley and Seymour. There is the full length Isadora but that hardly shows Park at her classical best. She was recorded in the Nureyev version of Nutcracker but that is very hard to get hold of.

 

For my money no one has ever matched Park as Marie Larische or her performance with Eagling in Voices of Spring. I do not deny there gave been as good dancers but they gave the piece something extra.

[Mary]

Thanks Two Pigeons. Found the grand pas from that Nureyev Nutcracker with Park on youtube. It is the fiendishly, horribly difficult version...so much so that it is uncomfortable to watch. Park looks slightly long-suffering by the end and Nureyev looks as if he is about to burst into a volley of expletives. I can see why noone ever does it (do they?) If those two found it hard then....

I shall watch Voices of Spring again-it's a delight all through, effortless joy .

[Geoff]

Found the grand pas from that Nureyev Nutcracker with Park on youtube. It is the fiendishly, horribly difficult version...so much so that it is uncomfortable to watch. Park looks slightly long-suffering by the end and Nureyev looks as if he is about to burst into a volley of expletives. I can see why noone ever does it (do they?)

I think this is the link: http://youtu.be/5fh8PTn10Ag

[FLOSS]

Well, Nureyev devised the choreography for the pas de deux himself so we should assume that it displayed elements of his technique which he wanted the audience to see.When you create your own choreography you have the opportunity to dance the steps you think you are best at doing. I am afraid that I find most of the male variations created by Nureyev the balletic equivalent of a show jumping competition,devised to display the dancer's technical skill and little else. In the theatre Park seemed to sail through her choreography as did the other dancers cast in his production such as Sibley, Dowell and Wall.

[FLOSS]

Does anyone have any more ideas about ballets that should be restored to the repertory?

[MAB]

FLOSS, although I disagreed with you about  miscasting being a modern phenomenon (anyone else remember Monica Mason's Aurora?), I do think in the context of suggesting revivals you have a very valid point as I see little value in coming up with ballets, no matter how deserving of being seen once more, if you cannot visualize a first and second cast drawn from current RB personnel.  So although I have a list almost as long as my arm of works I want to see again, I think it best to stick with those that are likely to be danced by suitable dancers.

 

Ashton: I want to see Sylvia revived with Morera and Muntagirov as first cast and Birthday Offering with more care taken than last time around.

 

Les Noces because it is a powerful ensemble piece and the company always dances it well

 

MacMilllan's Four Seasons, but only in the original sets and costumes.

 

Massine's Mamzelle Angot with a first cast of Osipova, Macrae, Lamb & Muntagirov.

 

The Fokine rep:  I believe this choreographer's work to be under serious threat due to the inept tinkerings of Isabelle Fokine.  The Royal Ballet still remains a custodian of authentic versions of Firebird, Les Sylphides and Petrushka and I want to see all three back on stage.  I would also particularly like to see Osipove dance the Firebird.

 

McGregor's Carbon Life because it is fun and a light hearted work makes a good contrast to some of the heavier offerings in recent programming.

[Fonty]

When was the last time the RB did Les Sylphides? 

 

Having watched Markova dancing the role in a piece shown on the BBC4 programme about Ballrooms and Ballerinas, I thought she looked gorgeous in the role, but I don't think I have ever seen it live on stage anywhere. 

[Lindsay]

Mary - Paris Opera Ballet still do the Nureyev Nutcracker/Caisse Noisette with the tortured version of the Grande Pas - there are a couple of versions on youtube.  Myriam Ould-Braham has a very credible stab at the thankless choreography.

 

Thank you to whoever found the RB Sleeping Beauty - some great performances in there and I do take the point about pace and fast footwork. One of the first ballets I ever saw was Collier's Giselle and she was astonishing. However, I would say that I think the issue is not as one dimensional as the (seemingly inevitable in such discussions) focus on the length of Rose Adage balances would suggest.  I have seen Cojocaru perform that with long balances without losing character for one second or making the audience nervous.  Although I agree that such practices should not be emulated by those whose balance is less secure.  

 

However, a ballet is much more than its "headline" moments and there are parts of that 1970s performance which I'm sure the dancers concerned would wish to forget and the audience at the time were not happy with.  For example, I would far rather see Marianela Nunez dance the Lilac Fairy variation than Porter's effort.  There are things from the past which we should value and try to emulate and other things which can be improved upon.

 

My wish for today's RB is for slightly less "equitable" or "novelty" casting and a recognition that audiences at EVERY performance deserve dancers who are able and READY to perform a role.  So if you can't find a reliable lilac fairy/queen of the wilis for every performance, rather than letting 3 or 4 soloists or artists "have a go", cast another principal.  I still don't understand why Nunez, Morera, Yanowsky or even Lamb (who certainly has the technical chops for it) couldn't have danced Myrthe in the last run of Giselle.  Is it really beneath the dignity of a ballerina who dances Giselle to dance Myrthe also?

 

I absolutely agree that soloists, or even artists, who are clearly ready and prove themselves in rehearsal should get a chance at principal roles (as Hayward and Naghdi proved so well with Manon (in H's case) and Juliet) but I think the cases where they are truly ready are quite rare.  

[zxDaveM]

When was the last time the RB did Les Sylphides? 

 

Having watched Markova dancing the role in a piece shown on the BBC4 programme about Ballrooms and Ballerinas, I thought she looked gorgeous in the role, but I don't think I have ever seen it live on stage anywhere. 

 

'fairly' recently - I've been going to ROH since 2004, and they have definitely done it since then

 

(and one of the Russian companies have done it in that time as well, as I recall)

 

I'm sure someone with a better memory can hang a few dates on this...