English National Ballet: Emerging Dancer 2016

[Don Q Fan]

Congratulations to the winners, Cesar was my choice. Jennie's award was lovely and she was clearly overwhelmed.

Great to live stream this, more please. It was fairly stable although sound/picture was out of synch a good deal of the time on my PC. Was it just me?

[Sim]

I really enjoyed watching this at home. Yes DQF, there were a few musical glitches, but my beef is the usual one...WHY DID EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO DARK?? Dark tights, dark floor and dark lighting...there were many times when I could hardly see the dancers' legs. At one point Corrales looked like a dancing torso, and I could only see that because it was bare (every cloud has a silver lining! ). Was it dark for those who were there? Perhaps it just came across that way on the stream.

[zxDaveM]

Was at the afternoon rehearsal before the competition in the evening. Cesar Corrales was a popular winner - and won the People's Choice award too! Nice mention for Jennie Harrington, winning the 'Corps de Ballet' award (first time its been presented), for going above and beyond the colossal hard work the corps put in every year.
 
Some photos of the pdds, where the competitors paired up


Erik Woolhouse, Isabelle Brouwers (Talisman pdd)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


Jeanette Kakareka, Daniele Silingardi (Black Swan pdd)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


Rina Kanehari, Cesar Corrales (Diana & Acteon)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

See more...

Set from DanceTabs: ENB - Emerging Dancer 2016
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

[SusanR]

It was such a treat to be able to see this show online. I had often wanted to attend Emerging Dancer but, somehow, never made it.It must have been incredibly difficult for the judges to choose just one dancer from all that talent. I really liked Rina & enjoyed her black Swan although I agree with Sim that it was very dark & difficult to see.

[capybara]

I really enjoyed watching this at home. Yes DQF, there were a few musical glitches, but my beef is the usual one...WHY DID EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO DARK?? Dark tights, dark floor and dark lighting...there were many times when I could hardly see the dancers' legs. At one point Corrales looked like a dancing torso, and I could only see that because it was bare (every cloud has a silver lining! ). Was it dark for those who were there? Perhaps it just came across that way on the stream.

 

It is was dark viewing in the theatre. It was also impossible to see dancers' feet unless you were quite far back in the (scarcely raked) Stalls. People in the front few rows probably only saw dancing torsos throughout. A poor venue for a dance audience.

 

And, unlike the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which has an undivided auditorium and good circulation space, the Palladium seemed to separate the Company audience (which adds so much to this occasion) from the rest of us.

 

An enjoyable evening, however - and some lovely dancing 

[Quintus]

An enjoyable evening.  The atmosphere was great - most of the ENB company had turned out to support the finalists and were whooping away in the circle, and indeed populating the bar.  It's quite an exposing event by its nature, as the dancers are performing roles that they wouldn't typically get at their level, and the nerves did tell in the occasional stumble.  I think Cesar Corrales was such a predestined winner this year that it was almost a shame for the other participants, who clearly have to put a huge amount of extra work into this above their day jobs.  I did start to wonder whether there should be a male and female winner, but actually it's rare and refreshing to see an event where men and women compete together, so perhaps not. 

 

I particularly liked Isabelle Brouwers' contemporary piece 'The Pelican', and she was perhaps the most consistent across her performances among the girls. Jeanette Kakareka (or Kakaraka as Ms Kaplinski announced her, perhaps envious at being out-K'd by 33%), made a very worthy go of the black swan PDD and got huge applause. She has those long,  long limbs and is always very eye-catching, but she wasn't as seductive or fascinating as Odile needs to be; actually what this kind of event does make a naif spectator like me realise is that huge leap between being able to execute the difficult choreography and then bringing in the characterisation.

 

Must say I was a little underwhelmed by previous winner Jin Zhang in the pas d'esclave (or 'esclavay' per Ms K) from Corsaire.  For me he lacked snap and fire, but perhaps my receptors had been numbed by Corrales' fireworks earlier on.

 

As a footnote, I was sitting quite near Tamara Rojo and have to say she scrubs up very well!  Wow.  Ahem.  Anyway...

[John Mallinson]

FYI I've merged two threads about Emerging Dancer.

[Don Q Fan]

I really enjoyed watching this at home. Yes DQF, there were a few musical glitches, but my beef is the usual one...WHY DID EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO DARK?? Dark tights, dark floor and dark lighting...there were many times when I could hardly see the dancers' legs. At one point Corrales looked like a dancing torso, and I could only see that because it was bare (every cloud has a silver lining! ). Was it dark for those who were there? Perhaps it just came across that way on the stream.

 

I had this very same problem too especially as most of the men had dark trousers on!  So I tweeted ENB saying I hoped the judges could see the dancers with so much black on black and they replied saying it was not so bad in the theatre but they would bear it in mind for future streams. Lets hope so! 

[Quintus]

It is was dark viewing in the theatre. It was also impossible to see dancers' feet unless you were quite far back in the (scarcely raked) Stalls. People in the front few rows probably only saw dancing torsos throughout. A poor venue for a dance audience.

 

And, unlike the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which has an undivided auditorium and good circulation space, the Palladium seemed to separate the Company audience (which adds so much to this occasion) from the rest of us.

 

An enjoyable evening, however - and some lovely dancing 

 

 

The lighting may have depended quite a lot on where you sat - I was three rows from the front of the circle and I didn't find it dark at all.  However, I hadn't been to the Palladium before and have to say I found the seats excruciatingly small and cramped.  I had a lucky choice of seats - I was just across from the judges and where the large block of company dancers were seated, so got a great atmosphere from all their whooping and shouting.  

 

A comment above referenced Jeanette Karakeka being too skinny, which I don't find - I think she looks pretty athletic, in line with most of the other dancers.  However, I thought the corps member who got the award, Jennie, looked really quite unhealthily thin, in fact worryingly so.

[MAB]

It is was dark viewing in the theatre. It was also impossible to see dancers' feet unless you were quite far back in the (scarcely raked) Stalls. People in the front few rows probably only saw dancing torsos throughout. A poor venue for a dance audience.

 

 

 

From the front stalls the dancers were completely invisible at the back of the stage as was the orchestra.  When they moved centre stage, they were visible from the neck up and when they were at the front, only from the waist up.

 

My ticket was not marked as being 'restricted view' nor was it cheaper than any of the other stalls seats.  This is the first time I have bought a ticket anywhere in the UK or Europe where a restricted view ticket wasn't clearly shown as such.  Surely this can be regarded as misrepresentation and is a breach of consumer rights?

[aileen]

I would like this event to take place at Sadler's Wells. With the orchestra on stage the stage looked a bit cramped plus it must be difficult for Gavin Sutherland to conduct with his back to the dancers. Cesar Corales blazed through his solo in D&A but I thought that the pdd started rather tentatively. His contemporary solo was very characterful and suited him down to the ground as well. I would have liked him to have been given something out of his comfort zone. I was rather taken with Isabelle Brouwers. She has an unforced classical style and a pleasing on stage presence. I don't think that we should be commenting on dancers' weight on here. I have seen dancers at both ENB and the RB who have looked worryingly thin to me, sometimes temporarily.

[Geoff]

My ticket was not marked as being 'restricted view' nor was it cheaper than any of the other stalls seats. This is the first time I have bought a ticket anywhere in the UK or Europe where a restricted view ticket wasn't clearly shown as such

My stalls seat was near the end of a row so quite a lot was lost behind banks of speakers piled up at the corner of the stage. I would have called the seat restricted view.

 

If ENB are going back to the Palladium I hope they will learn from this experience.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Geoff

[capybara]

My stalls seat was near the end of a row so quite a lot was lost behind banks of speakers piled up at the corner of the stage. I would have called the seat restricted view.

 

If ENB are going back to the Palladium I hope they will learn from this experience.

 

But they can't introduce a rake where none exists or lower the stage so that people in the Stalls can see dancers' legs.

 

I would hope that ENB would research venues for the future with the need for the audience to actually see the performers uppermost in their minds. The Lyceum had similar problems.

[bangorballetboy]

I think the Palladium was chosen purely because it was available.  Most London theatres are not generally available for one-off shows on a weeknight.

[MAB]

But they can't introduce a rake where none exists or lower the stage so that people in the Stalls can see dancers' legs.

 

 

 

The problem was that the orchestra pit had been boxed in.  Had that structure been removed those in the front stalls would have been able to see perfectly.

[alison]

But they can't introduce a rake where none exists or lower the stage so that people in the Stalls can see dancers' legs.

 

I would hope that ENB would research venues for the future with the need for the audience to actually see the performers uppermost in their minds. The Lyceum had similar problems.

 

This reminds me of a gala many moons ago - was it for the late lamented London City Ballet? - at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where a lot of people in front stalls were complaining because they couldn't see the dancers' feet.

[MAB]

You can't see the dancers feet from the front row of the stalls at Covent Garden either. 

[Blossom]

Bit late to this thread but loved Emerging Dancer. A great night of dancing, Interesting choices of pdd's - some really showy pieces, particularly for Cesar Corrales with him exhilarating jumps. Overall a great celebration of talent And healthy competition - very much healthy in the supportive cheers from the Company in the Circle. Corps de Ballet award was a great opportunity to recognise a member of the Corps not just for dancing but for greater contribution. not the sort of collaborative family feel you would expect from a ballet company with all of the negative stories you hear of egos etc. Very much respect Tamara Rojo as a leader with a true vision for the company and expect this sort of event also helps to pick up support in terms of donors...

[LinMM]

I very much enjoyed this last Tuesday ......I sat about half way back in the stalls ......however when I bought the ticket I did ask to sit upstairs but was told only the stalls would be open but on the night certainly the Circle was open but anyway no real complaints as I still had a good seat for not that much money and I didn't have any problems seeing any of the dancers.

 

I thought that Rina and Caesar really wowed in the Diana and Acteon piece .....I'm sure he was making up some of the steps as he went along but also seemed an attentive partner.......certainly the male dancer I'd have chosen to dance with in a parallel universe!! Or in my dreams!!! Though there was a touch of slightly outrageous "now just take that" coming from him ......naughty but nice!! Rina has a very expressive face and I really liked her in this piece .....I'd like to see her in something dramatic.

I loved Isabelle and Eric's piece and she has that easy grace that makes the classical dance look effortless

 

In the contemporary pieces I thought Isabelle's was the best of the girls as I didn't think Rina's piece was as difficult as the other two in terms of a dancer showing adaptation to different styles...... The men's solos were pretty similar in performance ability ( not in style) I thought Caesar and Eric took the greater risks.

In my books by the end of the dancing Isabelle and Caesar were on equal marks as it were for me but then on the night if I had to say who showed that something extra special then Caesar definitely deserved the win.

I was so pleased Jennie Harrington got the corps award as I've done a couple of ENB workshops with her and she is a delight. She seemed totally overwhelmed at winning this so it was a rather moving moment ( she took along time to get to the stage one worried she had left the theatre already)

Somebody commented on her looking rather thin and actually I do agree with this having seen her before I just hope she is well but anyway a well deserved win.

 

I must admit I didn't really like the Palladium as a venue there was something not quite right about the bar arrangements and general communal areas .....for such a big theatre anyway. But the stage certainly looked big enough. Probably the Wells is a better venue.

I love the way Tamara presents herself she speaks clearly and directly ( definitely gives off a don't mess with me quality) and her dress that night was very exotic. I think she will take the Company from strength to strength.

[simonbfisher]

We were in the front stalls and saw waist up only .... It was indeed the apron over the orchestra pit that was in the way. Had it not been there the view would have been fine AND even with it there, if the dancers had come downstage of the proscenium arch it would also have been fine. However, everything happened way upstage. It did make us a bit more than a bit cross - it only needed someone to have spotted the problem at rehearsal and to have moved the action downstage somewhat. And as others here have remarked, the tickets were NOT marked "restricted view". We have written to ENB and to the Palladium making these points. After a two hour journey to get there we wuz robbed!