La Bayadere In Amsterdam

[Don Q Fan]

I was lucky enough to attend the 2 weekend performances of Makarova's La Bayadere in Amsterdam. I was not disappointed.

On Saturday I saw Anna Tsygankova with Daniel Camargo in the lead roles with Wen Ting Guan as Gamzatti.  The performance was very nice, however I much preferred Sunday's performance of the 2 I saw, which was danced by Anna Ol and Young Gyu Choi with Qian Liu as Gamzatti.  I found the latter's portrayal of Gamzatti far more convincing than that of Saturday.  As Solor, Choi was far superior to Camargo with far better acting skill as well as physical strength as a dancer - his turns and jumps were much stronger and he was able to carry out the required lifts correctly.  On Saturday Camargo was not able to fully lift Guan and she sort of slithered down from the height of the lift far sooner than she should have done.  That said he was an elegant dancer but I did not get much emotion from Camargo and did not really notice the mime when he danced whereas Choi was very clear with his mime.  Anna Tsygankova is a fine dancer indeed executing her moves with grace and ease and it is always lovely to see her dance.  Anna Ol was a gentle sensitive Nikiya and you could feel her despair and I really liked her performance.  Hard to say who was better, if at all.

The corps de ballet and divertissements were all beautifully danced.  However the icing on the cake was The Kingdom of The Shades.  Saturday night's scene was magnificent so good that a hush fell over the auditorium it really was a special thing to see.  Sunday's KotS was very good too just a wobble short of Saturday's maybe, plus the audience was not as quiet.  Either way though both Kingdoms were impressive and a credit to the ballet masters/mistresses. 

The music was fabulous under the baton of Ermano Florio it really was a treat to hear.  Costumes were bright and beautiful.  I was a little underwhelmed by the Bronze Idol (although he is coloured gold?!) I have seen more bravura choreography for him i n other productions but both Sho Yamada and OScar Valdes gave good strong performances on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

At the curtain call on Saturday there was a bit of a flower throw anyway it transpires that it was Anna Tsygankova's birthday so that was nice to see!  There are a handful of performances left so if you get a chance to see one I would recommend seeing the show.

Photo - Anna Tsygankova/Daniel Camargo/Wen Ting Guan

 

Photo - Anna Ol/Young Gyu Choi/Qian Liu

 

 

[Terpsichore]

Jolly good write up Helen.

I am seeing La Bayadere at the Stopera this weekend.  I've already seen and blogged about extracts from this production.

 

There will be a full review in Terpsichore early next week.   HNB usually hand out some free programmes cum cast sheets and there are often a few left over at the end of the show. I'll look out for some for you, Helen, and also for Janet as I did for the gala,

Edited November 8, 2016 by terpsichore

[Don Q Fan]

If it's the blue booklets I have those already thank you Jane. I'll look forward to your review. Luckily on Sunday they did a post performance signing so I got mine signed by Anna and Young as well as being given (take note other companies) rehearsal photos of them together duly signed by both dancers!!! HNB know how to keep their fans happy????

Edited November 8, 2016 by Don Q Fan

[Terpsichore]

I got to see the last performance of La Baydere last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Sasha Mukhamedov danced Nikiya, Jozev Varga Solor, Vera Tsyganova Gamzatti and Nicolas Rapaic the Brahmin. The young Brazilian dancer,  Daniel Silva, whom I had last seen in the Junior Company's Ballet Bubbles on 14 Feb 2016 danced the bronze idol. He joined the Junior Company only last year and is already an eleve in the main company. That lad is really going places. It was also nice to see some of the current members of and recent recruits from the Junior Company.  In fact we were treated to quite a stellar cast.  Rising stars like Michaela DePrince and Floor Eimers were in the corps.

 

It was nice to be in Amsterdam last weekend because our visit coincided with the annual visit of Sinterklaas and Black Piet from Spain.   Although the name sounds very like Santa Claus he is nothing like our Father Christmas.  He parades with floats and marching bands through the centre of town on the middle Sunday of November. The procession passed the Music Theatre or Stopera about 20 minutes before the start of the show. Coming from UK I felt a little uncomfortable about people blacking themselves up. I understand there is some controversy in the Netherlands and I don't think we would encourage it here but there were plenty of Back and Asian folk in the crowd and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

 

Although I had come primarily for ballet I did do other things while I was there.   I attended a concert at the Concetgebouw on Saturday night for Brahms and Shostakovitch.  A very civilized tradition at that concert hall is to offer patrons a free drink before the show and in the intermission.   Waiters greeted us with trays of red and white wine, fizzy and still water and soft drinks.  Coffee and tea were also on offer. So much nicer than having to elbow one's way to the bar and then down the beverage before the second bell as usually happens to me here.   I also toured the modern art and design museum which is just across the road from the concert hall.

Looking forward to returning to Amsterdam on 11 Dec for Ted Brandsen's Coppelia. Here's a rather fun animation 

I have found a very convenient flight from Manchester which will arrive in good time before the show and a convenient one back the same day.   Except for having to show a passport Amsterdam is just as easy to reach than London and, despite the recent tombe - no fish dive - of the pound, considerably less expensive.  

I have written a couple of articles  about my trip with some lovely pictures supplied by the company in Terpsichore if anyone is interested Edited November 19, 2016 by terpsichore