Royal Ballet promotions 2016

[FLOSS]

There is always the possibility that the reason why there has been no announcement of dancers leaving the company at the end of the season is that those who were leaving have already done so. Rupert Pennefather left the company just before the 2015-2016 season began, if you recall he was due to dance in the screened performance of Romeo andJuliet. Roberta Marquez's departure was announced in November 2015. Ricardo Cervera retired from dancing in December 2015, Genesia Rosato retired during the season and Sian Murphy retired just before the Japan tour.

Edited July 6, 2016 by FLOSS

[Wulff]

I have had information from a reliable source of another leaver, so far not officially mentioned.

[jules_skichick]

also sander blommaert left after the last triple bill of the season

[FLOSS]

Of course Leanne Cope also left during the season. I should have mentioned her departure as well, although I was not intending to produce a comprehensive list of everyone who has left the company recently. I was merely seeking to indicate that I thought that it was possible that the people that I had named might represent the sum total of leavers this season.I do not intend to speculate on the identity of the dancer who may be in process of leaving the company. We shall find out whether or not someone else is leaving when everyone involved is good and ready. to announce the departure. 

 

One thing that strikes me is that at least two of the dancers recently promoted to First Soloist who have been cast as SPF this year are likely candidates to dance Aurora in 2017. If they make successful debuts in these two taxing roles then, given the other successful work that they have done, I should think that they will be in the running for promotion to Principal. If that happens I wonder what becomes of Hamilton? I think that she made a  sensible choice in obtaining leave of absence  to go to work in Dresden because the works listed here this last season and next would not have given her a great deal of opportunity to expand her repertory or the number of performances that she dances. At this stage in her career she needs to dance in order to develop as an artist. From my observation of her in performance I would say that she is much better in MacMillan, Balanchine and more contemporary choreography than she is in the classics or in Ashton. She does not look as good dancing roles like Lilac Fairy, Queen of the Dryads or dancing in Symphonic Variations as she does in Manon for example.

 

I wonder which is easier for a director to have a very limited pool of talent from which to draw his company's leading dancers  or to be overwhelmed with talent at every level in the company?  Do you fill  the senior positions as the current post holders leave or do you leave room for the likes of Ball, Clarke,Heap, O'Sullivan and Katsura to get to the top? It will be interesting to see what Kevin does next.

Edited July 6, 2016 by FLOSS

[loveclassics]

Did Rupert Pennefather retire from ballet or has he joined another company?  He seemed so committed to dance, surely he hasn't abandoned it unless of course, injury made it impossible for him to continue.  I know there are lots of promising male dancers in the company but he will be missed IMHO.

 

Linda

[themeowingoptometrist]

Of course Leanne Cope also left during the season. I should have mentioned her departure as well, although I was not intending to produce a comprehensive list of everyone who has left the company recently. I was merely seeking to indicate that I thought that it was possible that the people that I had named might represent the sum total of leavers this season.I do not intend to speculate on the identity of the dancer who may be in process of leaving the company. We shall find out whether or not someone else is leaving when everyone involved is good and ready. to announce the departure. 

 

One thing that strikes me is that at least two of the dancers recently promoted to First Soloist who have been cast as SPF this year are likely candidates to dance Aurora in 2017. If they make successful debuts in these two taxing roles then, given the other successful work that they have done, I should think that they will be in the running for promotion to Principal. If that happens I wonder what becomes of Hamilton? I think that she made a  sensible choice in obtaining leave of absence  to go to work in Dresden because the works listed here this last season and next would not have given her a great deal of opportunity to expand her repertory or the number of performances that she dances. At this stage in her career she needs to dance in order to develop as an artist. From my observation of her in performance I would say that she is much better in MacMillan, Balanchine and more contemporary choreography than she is in the classics or in Ashton. She does not look as good dancing roles like Lilac Fairy, Queen of the Dryads or dancing in Symphonic Variations as she does in Manon for example.

 

I wonder which is easier for a director to have a very limited pool of talent from which to draw his company's leading dancers  or to be overwhelmed with talent at every level in the company?  Do you fill  the senior positions as the current post holders leave or do you leave room for the likes of Ball, Clarke,Heap, O'Sullivan and Katsura to get to the top? It will be interesting to see what Kevin does next.

I think if Hamilton gets offered a contract in Dresden, it would seem like a viable option for her to take it. For Choe, I think she'll wait it out and see if she gets cast in more dramatic principal roles or receives a promotion. 

Edited July 6, 2016 by themeowingbiologist

[aileen]

I thought that Hamilton was now a full time / permanent principal at Dresden. Is that not the case?

[Nina G.]

I think if Hamilton gets offered a contract in Dresden, it would seem like a viable option for her to take it. For Choe, I think she'll wait it out and see if she gets cast in more dramatic principal roles or receives a promotion. 

 

 

Yuhui Choe is probably 10 years older than the two recently promoted First Soloists-in-the-running-for-Principal Floss is referring to. 

They have far more dancing years ahead of them. 

 

I feel if it was meant to happen for Miss Choe it would have happened already...

She is technically a joy to watch but I never connect with her emotionally as I do with some others. 

Edited July 6, 2016 by Nina G.

[Anna C]

Hello Themeowingbiologist and welcome to the Forum!

...and what a fabulous username!

[Bruce Wall]

After SO much speculation about one individual I'm beginning to wonder if it may not simply be a case that the artist here so often referred to may NOT now herself wish to be a principal with all the pressure that rank entails.  She will have had a taste of it with the SB, etc.  Perhaps she is entirely happy where she currently is.  Hopefully that is not without the bounds of consideration.  Surely NONE of us will EVER actually know unless the artist herself were to post.  I am beginning to seriously wonder what the effective point of all this speculation may be.  Still, perhaps that is just me not understanding the finer points of this particular - and ever lengthening - strand of this discussion area.   

Edited July 6, 2016 by Bruce Wall

[FLOSS]

Aileen, strange as it may seem Melissa Hamilton still appears to be a First Soloist at the Royal Ballet. Earlier on in the year Mr O'Hare announced that he had given Hamilton a further year's leave of absence.Whether she means to stay in Dresden or not we shall no doubt discover in due course.

 

As far as Choe becoming a Principal  is concerned the recently announced promotions suggest to me, at least, that the director favours dancers with an amplitude of movement whose performances cross the footlights with ease and connect with the audience. Now I recognise that Choe's fans love her and can't accept that there is anything lacking in her performances but for every ballet goer who loves "dear little Choe" for being charming,sweet, gentle, always harmonious and balanced  there is at least one ballet goer who finds the very things that her fans love in her to be defects.They long for a dancer who has attack, upper body amplitude and real speed, Cecchetti below the waist with Duncan-like freedom in the upper body. One who is prepared to dance dangerously and be off balance when the choreography demands it rather than being safe and rather dull. .

 

I recognise that it is expensive to see every cast in a run of performances and that this generally means that fans go to see their favourite dancers rather than playing the field but if you want to get an idea of the range of possibilities that are available when dancing a particular role or re-creating one of Ashton's carefully delineated characters you have to see a range of dancers perform them.That way you increase your understanding of the repertory  and gain greater insight into the performances of individual dancers.

 

In the  years since Ashton's death the idea has developed that his ballets, unlike those of MacMillan, are charming,safe, small scale, harmonious and unchallenging both in content and choreography. This idea.is at variance with the experience of the dancers who actually worked with him They say that he liked dancers who danced dangerously; that they were always off balance and that if they had bent as much as he wanted they would have fallen over.

 

.Going to see Morera and Choe as Lise in Fille would be a good place to start if you really want to  understand the strengths and weaknesses in Choe's performances. Morera re-creates the fully rounded unique character that is Ashton's Lise. She is tough,strong minded, devious, full of guile and lazy, She will probably grow into her mother. Choe's version  of Lise  is a sweet, charming, little thing  that could be served up for any young girl role including Aurora. Lise's character is all in the choreography if you let it speak but in order to do that you have to get beyond merely reproducing the steps with consummate care.

 

Those who saw Hayward and Choe in Rhapsody or saw Stix-Brunell and Choe as the Young Girl in Two Pigeons will have noticed  a considerable difference in the approach of the two dancers to the role that they were sharing. In both cases the younger dancers gave larger scale and more full blooded performance than Choe did. I think that Ashton would have recognised his choreography in the amplitude and daring of the younger dancers who were prepared to dance off balance. They seemed to me to capture the essentials of  Ashton's real style rather than the idea that has developed in the years since his death that he is a choreographer of charming small scale works that challenge neither the audience nor the performer. Like Rojo, Choe treats Ashton's choreographic style as a coat that you put on over your classroom technique. Dancers who really understand his choreography and how it works know that it is a very specific style of theatrical  dance that has to be internalized and danced with the entire body. It is  neither safe nor small scale.

 

Choe is  a very good soloist but having got to that level she seems to have stopped developing.Her performances are nice, they are accurate but they are neither exciting nor revelatory. I have never seen a performance of hers that has made me see a work, or a role in a new light, or make me say yes that's exactly how that role should be danced . Some of the recently promoted younger dancers have achieved that in their performances. At this stage I think it unlikely that Choe will progress any further. There are too many talented dancers who are younger than her and continue to show a capacity for further development which is something that has eluded her for some time. 

Edited July 6, 2016 by FLOSS

[themeowingoptometrist]

...and what a fabulous username!

Thank you! 

[themeowingoptometrist]

Hello Themeowingbiologist and welcome to the Forum!

Thank you for the warm welcome Janet McNulty!

[penelopesimpson]

Aileen, strange as it may seem Melissa Hamilton still appears to be a First Soloist at the Royal Ballet. Earlier on in the year Mr O'Hare announced that he had given Hamilton a further year's leave of absence.Whether she means to stay in Dresden or not we shall no doubt discover in due course.

 

As far as Choe becoming a Principal  is concerned the recently announced promotions suggest to me, at least, that the director favours dancers with an amplitude of movement whose performances cross the footlights with ease and connect with the audience. Now I recognise that Choe's fans love her and can't accept that there is anything lacking in her performances but for every ballet goer who loves "dear little Choe" for being charming,sweet, gentle, always harmonious and balanced  there is at least one ballet goer who finds the very things that her fans love in her to be defects.They long for a dancer who has attack, upper body amplitude and real speed, Cecchetti below the waist with Duncan-like freedom in the upper body. One who is prepared to dance dangerously and be off balance when the choreography demands it rather than being safe and rather dull. .

 

I recognise that it is expensive to see every cast in a run of performances and that this generally means that fans go to see their favourite dancers rather than playing the field but if you want to get an idea of the range of possibilities that are available when dancing a particular role or re-creating one of Ashton's carefully delineated characters you have to see a range of dancers perform them.That way you increase your understanding of the repertory  and gain greater insight into the performances of individual dancers.

 

In the  years since Ashton's death the idea has developed that his ballets, unlike those of MacMillan, are charming,safe, small scale, harmonious and unchallenging both in content and choreography. This idea.is at variance with the experience of the dancers who actually worked with him They say that he liked dancers who danced dangerously; that they were always off balance and that if they had bent as much as he wanted they would have fallen over.

 

.Going to see Morera and Choe as Lise in Fille would be a good place to start if you really want to  understand the strengths and weaknesses in Choe's performances. Morera re-creates the fully rounded unique character that is Ashton's Lise. She is tough,strong minded, devious, full of guile and lazy, She will probably grow into her mother. Choe's version  of Lise  is a sweet, charming, little thing  that could be served up for any young girl role including Aurora. Lise's character is all in the choreography if you let it speak but in order to do that you have to get beyond merely reproducing the steps with consummate care.

 

Those who saw Hayward and Choe in Rhapsody or saw Stix-Brunell and Choe as the Young Girl in Two Pigeons will have noticed  a considerable difference in the approach of the two dancers to the role that they were sharing. In both cases the younger dancers gave larger scale and more full blooded performance than Choe did. I think that Ashton would have recognised his choreography in the amplitude and daring of the younger dancers who were prepared to dance off balance. They seemed to me to capture the essentials of  Ashton's real style rather than the idea that has developed in the years since his death that he is a choreographer of charming small scale works that challenge neither the audience nor the performer. Like Rojo, Choe treats Ashton's choreographic style as a coat that you put on over your classroom technique. Dancers who really understand his choreography and how it works know that it is a very specific style of theatrical  dance that has to be internalized and danced with the entire body. It is  neither safe nor small scale.

 

Choe is  a very good soloist but having got to that level she seems to have stopped developing.Her performances are nice, they are accurate but they are neither exciting nor revelatory. I have never seen a performance of hers that has made me see a work, or a role in a new light, or make me say yes that's exactly how that role should be danced . Some of the recently promoted younger dancers have achieved that in their performances. At this stage I think it unlikely that Choe will progress any further. There are too many talented dancers who are younger than her and continue to show a capacity for further development which is something that has eluded her for some time. 

Fabulous post, Floss.  I saw both Choe and Hayward in Rhapsody and you have encapsulate so precisely what made Hayward's performance special and Choe's simply very good.  As an amateur critic it is not always easy for me to define my likes and dislikes other than to say what moves me emotionally.

[MAX]

Joseph Aumeer was at the audition today to enter the Paris Opera Ballet, he finished in 3rd place and will certainly have a short term contract. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by MAX

[FLOSS]

Clearly a very talented and lucky lad. He's already got an Aud Jebsen apprenticeship at the Royal Ballet for the coming season. It will be interesting to see which company he finally goes to.Perhaps he has merely gone to Paris test the waters after all every one of last year's  Aud Jebsen apprentices has now entered the company. 

[capybara]

Clearly a very talented and lucky lad. He's already got an Aud Jebsen apprenticeship at the Royal Ballet for the coming season. It will be interesting to see which company he finally goes to.Perhaps he has merely gone to Paris test the waters after all every one of last year's  Aud Jebsen apprentices has now entered the company. 

 

Lucky? I think that he has worked extremely hard since entering the RBS.

[Pulcinella]

Lucky? I think that he has worked extremely hard since entering the RBS.

And his talent was already evident when he was at Elmhurst.

[FLOSS]

I think that your indignation on Joseph Aumeer's behalf is somewhat misplaced. I take it as read that he has worked hard.But my experience suggests that however talented and well trained a dancer is, getting that first contract always includes an element of luck. Given how very much recruitment to a company depends on whether vacancies exist, the type of dancer a director is looking for and whether the director likes what he or she sees in a young dancer, a dancer attending an audition when he already has an offer of a contract of employment is a in a very fortunate position. He is even more fortunate if he is likely to be offered a second contract.Out of interest how would you describe a recent graduate in that fortunate position?

Edited July 8, 2016 by FLOSS

[capybara]

On reflection, I rather wish that news of Joseph's endeavours in Paris had not been shared on here. But I guess that the POB is unusual in that its auditions are 'public' affairs?

 

Anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing him and all the other RBS students dance on the main ROH stage tomorrow.

[Nina G.]

I don't know where else to put this link but I just spotted this lovely article about recently promoted Miss Naghdi

 

http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/magazine/rise-yasmine-naghdi/

[Jan McNulty]

That's lovely Nina!  I will include it in tomorrow's links for wider circulation too.

 

Thanks for posting.

[TrumpetsGo]

it really surprises

[fashionista]

Well, much of what I was hoping for!  Campbell to Principal, Naghdi and Stix-Brunell to First Soloists, Ball to Soloist....and promotions for others who were on my list.

 

I must say I am very surprised that Hayward has been promoted to Principal already, but they clearly think she is ready and can do it.  Am very pleased for Akane and her fans, but I seem to be one of the few who isn't.  She is a nice and very lyrical dancer, but she doesn't do anything for me emotionally.  And I am also a bit surprised at Hirano's promotion, but hey ho.  Poor Yuhui Choe is passed over again.  My preference would have been to promote her to Principal and Akane at a later stage.  But hey, what do I know.

 

Many congratulations to them all, and also to the whole company for a wonderful season (albeit with a few blips!). 

Pleased for those who have been promoted and congratulations.  However, I have to agree with Sim and do feel that Yuhui Choe should have been promoted and has been overlooked - I hope her chance will come.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello fashionista and welcome out of the lurking shadows!

 

Sim is only one of many (me included) who thinks Yuhui  Choe merits promotion to principal.

[RuthE]

I note that there have been a few surreptitious edits to the RB Promotions and Joiners article on the ROH website.

 

Joseph Aumeer has been taken off the list of Aud Jebsen Young Dancers because as we know he is now taking up a position in Paris, and I'm pretty sure the original article had no mention of Leticia Dias joining the company - I believe the only RBS graduate originally mentioned as joining as an Artist was Joseph Sissens.  I have a feeling that even the sentence about Mica Bradbury may have been missing from the original release?

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/promotions-and-joiners-at-the-royal-ballet-for-201617

 

Still no statement on Leavers...

Edited August 15, 2016 by RuthE

[bangorballetboy]

and I'm pretty sure the original article had no mention of Leticia Dias joining the company - I believe the only RBS graduate originally mentioned as joining as an Artist was Joseph Sissens. 

 

Dias joined from BRB.

[capybara]

Dias joined from BRB.

 

Yes, she has (they're back today, aren't they?); but the ROH website makes it appear as if she is straight out of the RBS.

[RuthE]

Yes, she has (they're back today, aren't they?); but the ROH website makes it appear as if she is straight out of the RBS.

 

Indeed (though it's clearer on her "artist page" on the ROH website).

[ravensara]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't think Francesca merits the Alina comparisons yet. They have a similar stature and elegance, but where Francessca is delightful and naturalistic, Alina is subtle and layered. Francessca is a delight to watch but her performances don't stay with me after they way Alina's does. I prefer Yasmine, who usually gives a powerful emotional performance that is technically flawless but doesn't feel technical, much like Alina. Really happy to see her promotion, hope they make her principal one day! As for Akane, her performances leave me cold. Beautiful technique, and utterly boring! Giselle is my favorite ballet and I was unmoved by her performance, I was bored. Her technique was faultless but I felt like I was watching ballet exercises. Reminds me of the time I saw Polina Semionova do Swan Lake at the ABT, beautiful arabesques and flawless fouettes, but I checked out by the second half and didn't care what happened to her Odette.

 

I feel sorry for Yuhui. I wonder why she didn't leave earlier. She could easily make principal at another established company in Europe. She trained in Paris, and maybe she should have pursued her career with the Paris Opera, a very traditional and classical company that puts more emphasis on elegance than dramatic talent.

 

First time posting but long time ballet enthusiast

Edited August 20, 2016 by ravensara

[bridiem]

Interesting post, ravensara. Perhaps Hayward is more like Collier than Cojocaru (both tremendous in different ways). I haven't seen enough of either Hayward or Naghdi yet to really be able to judge them in comparative terms, except to say that I've loved what I've seen of both. And Takada's Giselle moved me profoundly, to my great surprise - I'd always thought she was good technically but that was it; in Giselle, I suddenly saw her soul. I haven't seen Choe in the big roles - she's a lovely dancer but I've never felt inspired to book specifically for her (limited money/time - have to make choices!).

[Nina G.]

Akane Takada, just like Yuhui Choe, is a superb technician, and her Giselle was indeed a bit of a surprise but most performances leave me emotionally unaffected. When I attend the ballet I want to be emotionally dragged into the characters and the story. Technical beautiful dancing is not enough to satisfy me.

 

As to why Yuhui Choe stayed on? With a few much younger potential Principals now in the same rank as Yuhui Choe reality must dawn on her but maybe she is just happy to dance Principal roles as a First Soloist. Perhaps, just as Iona Loots did years ago, Yuhui Choe should have moved to BRB where no doubt she would have become a Principal. Staying on at the RB is a choice she made.

 

I agree Francesca Hayward is more Lesley Collier than Alina Cojocaru, really delightful, a pleasure to watch but without the layers Cojocaru possessed, and her performance as Juliet and The Girl in The Invitation did not leave a similar emotional mark on me as Yasmine Naghdi's performance did of those roles. Naghdi is an entirely different dancer: more lyrical and physically very suited to the tutu classical ballets (I saw her stunning performance as Rose Fairy in the Live Cinema relay).

Laura Capella describes Naghdi as the "Quite Fighter" and "Queen of the Brits", Mr O'Hare commented: "She has such an ease of technique that you don't even notice. It allows her to give herself over to the character" (Mr O'Hare's quoted comment here is not visible via this link, it is in the hard copy of Dance Magazine USA).   

 

http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/magazine/rise-yasmine-naghdi/

Edited August 20, 2016 by Nina G.

[Sim]

Welcome to the forum, Ravensara. We look forward to more posts from you!

 

I am in total agreement with you about Akane, so you are not alone! ☺