Edward Watson is upset about ginger jibes

[bangorballetboy]

SBF, concerning your #15:  For 'Grauniad' one needs to be of a certain age - though BBB is a good deal younger than myself.  There was a time, back in the 1980s I'd say, during which the Guardian became infamous for its number of typographical errors in print ... and some wag came up with 'Grauniad' as a version of the title that will stick with some of us till the crack of Doom.

 

 

Didn't Private Eye come up with the 'Grauniad' for typographical reasons as you mention?

 

As any fule kno

 

[alison]

Re-reading the quote above, the comment on Edward Watson's appearance could even be interpreted as complimentary.

 

He's evidently not impressed with his stage presence or technique. Of course, Edward Watson is now much loved and is, in the right role, an extraordinary dance actor, but I'm old enough to remember very heated exchanges on the old forum as to his suitability, or lack of it, for promotion to principal when that occurred back in 2005.

 

Indeed - "heated" doesn't begin to describe it.  I wonder how many of the naysayers have changed their minds in the interim.

 

"Complimentary" is not how I've ever read it, in context, despite the "Nevertheless" at the beginning of the following sentence.

 

Anyway, I've just come back from the library, where I've had a read of the whole thing, and I would now like to add "storm" and "teacup" to the earlier mountains and molehills.  Reading it, I doubt this was ever an interview given by Watson as such: the writer uses phrases such as "has spoken of" and "in an interview at the ROH" (NB: I am doing this from memory) - it sounds as though the whole article has been stitched together from various others, plus Macaulay's reviews.  Watson's comments - which actually focus more on the fact that he doesn't fit into the traditional "classical prince" mould, redheadedness and all - seem very similar (possibly identical, but my copy is at home so I can't check) to ones he made in the interview in Jigsaw's current(?) "Style and Truth" brochure which I mentioned back in March.  This wouldn't be the first time a newspaper has given the impression that it has an interview with someone when in fact it's rehashing one from elsewhere.

 

Edit: Oops, two postings have come in since I started writing mine, so I'm quoting James' above.

Edited May 11, 2016 by alison
To strike through earlier comment

[MAX]

We can say the guy knows about how to make the head lines !

 

Concerning his dancing I have to say that what I saw of him in Gloria a few years back was extremely disappointing. He was very weak technically and nothing special artistically. At the end I was even wondering if he was injured...

 

I guess he is a lucky guy that the papers talks about him 

[MAB]

The papers continue to feed off one another - now it's the Mail:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3582475/Royal-Ballet-star-hits-critic-s-ridiculous-obsession-red-hair.html

 

I enjoyed reading the readers' comments, over a hundred and almost all positive, a few felt they would like to go and see him dance and that can't be bad.  Consensus is he's one good looking dude.

[Fiz]

The critic is quite clearly bonkers! Tom Hiddleston has red hair and Benedict Cumberbatch can look distinctly red headed in some photos. My husband is also a red head. Lastly, if I could choose anyone out of the current male dancers at the Royal Ballet to dance anything I liked, it would be Ed Watson as Rudolf in Mayerling. What a silly man Mr Macaulay is.

[alison]

Incidentally, I noticed the garishness of the red in the two photos The Times used.  Even Lauren Cuthbertson's hair looked distinctly red, so I guess the lighting or something must have contributed

[John Mallinson]

I don't understand how the Times article arose. It was on the basis of an interview but all that seems to have emerged in print is the stuff about the nasty critic whom Watson despises for constantly referring to his looks.

 

Asked who had quibbled over his looks, he said it was a critic. “There’s one particular t*** who still writes, ‘Oh, he’s still there with his horrible ginger hair and his horrible pale skin’ and you just think, is it really relevant to talk about someone’s skin and hair in a review? I find that kind of ridiculous.”

 

Macaulay, assuming that he's the critic in question, is no lover of Watson's stage presence and the Times article quotes a review of the Whelan/Watson show which is not disparaging Watson for having red hair and pale skin but for what Macaulay perceives as his movement and acting qualities.

 

His pale skin and auburn hair always make a theatrical impression; so does his fondness for hyperextension. He is nonetheless a problematic, weak performer; his basic posture is awkward (he seems unsure about how to carry his head or his jaw), his rhythm and attack seldom excite, and his stage persona is freakish and overwrought.

 

One may not like or agree with Macaulay's criticisms in this case but they seem to have little to do with "ginger jibes". And Macaulay himself has been subject to virulent online attacks.

 

I've now looked back through all of Macaulay's pieces for the New York Times that mention Edward Watson. The only one I've found which describes his hair and skin colour is the one I've quoted above which seems to have been distorted into being an attack on redheads. (I don't know about earlier critical writings from his FT days and in the absence of the wonderful Balletco reviews database there's no easy way to find out.)

 

I can understand why Watson might be hurt and angered by criticism of him as a performer by Alastair Macaulay but the redhead business seems entirely beside the point though it does raise the question as to what in 2016 it is acceptable to say about a dancer's appearance. Can one mention their national origin, height, length of limbs, skin colour, hair colour, facial expressiveness or any other attribute not strictly related to the performance being reviewed?

[Anna C]

The critic is quite clearly bonkers! Tom Hiddleston has red hair and Benedict Cumberbatch can look distinctly red headed in some photos. My husband is also a red head. Lastly, if I could choose anyone out of the current male dancers at the Royal Ballet to dance anything I liked, it would be Ed Watson as Rudolf in Mayerling. What a silly man Mr Macaulay is.

*goes off into misty trance about Damian Lewis*

 

Ahem, sorry, all this talk of redheads. ;-)

[Jacqueline]

As any fule kno

 

A few critics I can think of might also find a seat reserved for them in Pseud's Corner!   

[Sim]

it does raise the question as to what in 2016 it is acceptable to say about a dancer's appearance. Can one mention their national origin, height, length of limbs, skin colour, hair colour, facial expressiveness or any other attribute not strictly related to the performance being reviewed?

 

Yes, you can, as long as it is in a positive vein.  Anything even vaguely negative will be pounced upon.  We can't say anything much about anything anymore. 

[Two Pigeons]

And I remember the scandalous critiques he made in a publication called Ritz.  He had a particular loathing for Wayne Eagling and Margaret Barbieri.  Of course Eagling, like Watson, was also loose limbed with a high extension, though I could never understand his dislike for the much loved Barbieri.

You have forgotten how utterly vicious he and Deidre McMahon were about Marguerite Porter in Ritz magazine. Actually Macaulay is mentioned in Porter's autobiography and how he sent her a fan letter in private but regularly slated her publicly. He has never lost an opportunity to be very critical of both Sir Peter Wright and David Bintley (both as dancer and choreography) the years.

[Jacqueline]

I enjoyed reading the readers' comments, over a hundred and almost all positive, a few felt they would like to go and see him dance and that can't be bad.  Consensus is he's one good looking dude.

That does make a pleasant change for the Mail. Usually the readers' comments are a eye watering cesspit of ignorance and unpleasantness! 

[MAB]

That does make a pleasant change for the Mail. Usually the readers' comments are a eye watering cesspit of ignorance and unpleasantness! 

 

? I just followed the link.

[penelopesimpson]

We can say the guy knows about how to make the head lines !

 

Concerning his dancing I have to say that what I saw of him in Gloria a few years back was extremely disappointing. He was very weak technically and nothing special artistically. At the end I was even wondering if he was injured...

 

I guess he is a lucky guy that the papers talks about him 

I have no idea what he was like 'a few years back' although I have been his devoted fan for more than eight years.  I cannot believe your casual description of the Edward Watson who is, IMHO, unequalled at RB and probably anywhere else (with the exception of Kobborg in his prime) can refer to the Edward Watson we are privileged to see at ROH.

 

He is an extraordinarily powerful dancer of great artistry and sophistication who brings emotional depth to each role he undertakes.  His Mayerling is one of the great ballet experiences.  

[penelopesimpson]

Indeed - "heated" doesn't begin to describe it.  I wonder how many of the naysayers have changed their minds in the interim.

 

"Complimentary" is not how I've ever read it, in context, despite the "Nevertheless" at the beginning of the following sentence.

 

Anyway, I've just come back from the library, where I've had a read of the whole thing, and I would now like to add "storm" and "teacup" to the earlier mountains and molehills.  Reading it, I doubt this was ever an interview given by Watson as such: the writer uses phrases such as "has spoken of" and "in an interview at the ROH" (NB: I am doing this from memory) - it sounds as though the whole article has been stitched together from various others, plus Macaulay's reviews.  Watson's comments - which actually focus more on the fact that he doesn't fit into the traditional "classical prince" mould, redheadedness and all - seem very similar (possibly identical, but my copy is at home so I can't check) to ones he made in the interview in Jigsaw's current(?) "Style and Truth" brochure which I mentioned back in March.  This wouldn't be the first time a newspaper has given the impression that it has an interview with someone when in fact it's rehashing one from elsewhere.

 

Edit: Oops, two postings have come in since I started writing mine, so I'm quoting James' above.

 I agree with you Janet, having bought The Times to see the article.  Struck me as a filler piece and I was amazed his picture was on the front page.  Edward Watson is, for me, a great artist, a real treasure and I dread the day he retires.  I do not know him (unfortunately!) but cannot imagine this guy who demonstrates such maturity and grace on stage would be overly upset about comments about the colour of his hair.

[SwissBalletFan]

Edward Watson has tweeted to thank his supporters of Ginger and that he didn't mean to offend anyone and doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him....he is very happy with how he looks and who he is.

 

Indeed.

[penelopesimpson]

Edward Watson has tweeted to thank his supporters of Ginger and that he didn't mean to offend anyone and doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him....he is very happy with how he looks and who he is.

 

Indeed.

Well said, Ed.  I thought you were far too grown up to let something so trivial bother you.  

[Coated]

I thought it was an slight, gossipy article to appear on page 3 of a serious newspaper. It did go on to mention comments AMc made about a sugarplum fairy looking like she ate a few sugarplums too many. The overall message of the article seems to be 'oooooh, someone's been a meany'. Odd.

[alison]

Watson's comments - which actually focus more on the fact that he doesn't fit into the traditional "classical prince" mould, redheadedness and all - seem very similar (possibly identical, but my copy is at home so I can't check) to ones he made in the interview in Jigsaw's current(?) "Style and Truth" brochure which I mentioned back in March. 

 

I stand corrected: it wasn't the Jigsaw interview, but they certainly seemed very familiar, as though I'd read them somewhere before - maybe another publication - unless he says the same sort of thing in numerous interviews.

[alison]

Coated, IIRC the article claimed he said Mearns was "fat", which he didn't?  It was definitely something to do with too many sugarplums, which many people took to mean "fat" - my assumption was that he meant something more like sluggish, rather than actually fat.

[John Mallinson]

I thought it was an slight, gossipy article to appear on page 3 of a serious newspaper. It did go on to mention comments AMc made about a sugarplum fairy looking like she ate a few sugarplums too many. The overall message of the article seems to be 'oooooh, someone's been a meany'. Odd.

 

According to one of  Ed Watson's tweets the Times interview was to mark his 40th birthday (on the 21st) so perhaps there will be a more informative piece about his career in due course. I suspect the journo couldn't resist using Watson's comment to produce this gossipy and inflammatory feature.

 

Is the Times a serious newspaper still?!

[Sim]

It is a Murdoch newspaper...'nuff said?!

[Melody]

I recall hearing that Natalia Osipova is naturally blonde but feels she has to dye her hair black because that's what people expect of a ballerina - which I find rather sad if it's true.

 

(This article   http://observer.com/2009/07/meet-new-abt-phenom-natalia-osipova/   makes passing reference to it in paragraph 4 but I can't find the actual source to substantiate this.)

I have a vague recollection of an interview where she said she dyed her hair so it was the same colour as Fonteyn's.

 

As for Edward Watson not being believable as Romeo - there are such things as Italian and Spanish redheads (Catherine of Aragon was a redhead for one), so for people looking for verisimilitude, a red-haired Romeo isn't the end of the world. I wonder if those same people get their knickers in such a twist about Sarah Lamb dancing Juliet.

[Jacqueline]

I have a vague recollection of an interview where she said she dyed her hair so it was the same colour as Fonteyn's.

 

As for Edward Watson not being believable as Romeo - there are such things as Italian and Spanish redheads (Catherine of Aragon was a redhead for one), so for people looking for verisimilitude, a red-haired Romeo isn't the end of the world. I wonder if those same people get their knickers in such a twist about Sarah Lamb dancing Juliet.

Yes, there was an interview with Natalia Osipova, possibly with the New York Times some years ago, where she said she dyes her light brown hair black like Fonteyn, who she sees as an ideal in ballerina terms. She also felt a link with Fonteyn as they share a birthday - May 18th. Miss Osipova, in this interview as I recall, also cited Diana Vishneva as having the ideal ballerina look.

[Fonty]

It has even made the Metro today.

 

Unusual for a piece about a ballet dancer to get so much space in the newspapers.

 

I remember Watson came in for a lot of criticism on the old ballet forum because of his poor partnering skills. 

[Bluebird]

Yes, there was an interview with Natalia Osipova, possibly with the New York Times some years ago, where she said she dyes her light brown hair black like Fonteyn, who she sees as an ideal in ballerina terms. She also felt a link with Fonteyn as they share a birthday - May 18th. Miss Osipova, in this interview as I recall, also cited Diana Vishneva as having the ideal ballerina look.

 

Here's the interview mentioned by Jacqueline:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/arts/dance/18osipova.html

[aileen]

It's in The Guardian today as well in a piece about discrimination against people with ginger hair.

[pompalompa]

I think it's such a shame that, what looks like, one very brief comment in an interview meant to mark his 40th birthday has been extended into a whole article and then gone viral.  There's so much more to him.  I just hope the "no such thing as bad publicity" adage applies here.

[GTL]

Thanks for the Osipova info.  As I said above, I find her need to dye her hair black in order to be a convincing ballerina rather sad but seeing her history in the NY Times article, I understand it better.  

[alison]

I remember Watson came in for a lot of criticism on the old ballet forum because of his poor partnering skills.

Well, that must have been an *incredibly* long time ago! You're sure you're not getting him confused with Ivan Putrov?

[Fonty]

Well, that must have been an *incredibly* long time ago! You're sure you're not getting him confused with Ivan Putrov?

 

It was a long time ago, but I remember thinking at the time that I hoped he would be given the chance to overcome this, because I was (and still am) a huge fan of his.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that he was in Monotones when I went to see it recently, and I said at the time how nice it was to see him doing something different from all the contortions he is often given. 

[Rachelm]

I think Mr Watson is very handsome, definitely not in your average pretty-boy kind of way, but who always wants that? I feel it is completely irrelevant for a dance critic to be so personal, and this particular critic seems to be quite the bully.

 

I think Edward Watson's performance as Crown Prince Rudolph in Mayerling is outstanding and I love the emotional depth he brings to roles. He has something other-worldly about him which I find fascinating.

[alison]

... as do I, but Mr. Macaulay doesn't.