The Royal Ballet: Wayne McGregor triple bill, November 2016

[SPD444]

This is just about Multiverse. It is in three parts, parts one and two is a loop tape of Brother Walter speaking ( shouting ) and it repeats a phrase over and over again, the phrase becomes a word, repeated over and over and over again, then the word finds an echo so you hear the same word twice, over and over and over again. Part one lasts about 10 minutes ( but feels like a couple of days ), Part two is roughly the same but a NEW PHRASE. Another couple of days go by until a small orchestra take over. I remember being at a Prom some years when they performed a piece by John Cage where 24 or so vacuum cleaners where switched on and off for a bit. It reminded me of the intellectual rubbish we all sat through in the Warhol era when all kinds of things where written, played etc. in the name of ART but was in fact total crap. Meanwhile those wonderful RB dancers were somehow or other dancing , how they kept it all together with this going on the background is beyond me.

 

My advise, MAB, would be to go to the bar and give it a miss. But if curiousity compels you to go, it must be ear plugs.

[Sim]

Well MAB, it's not really contradictions. As described above, it is not either or. The first half of the piece is just loud, looped shouting. That's it. The second half is music which is fine. Any music is welcome after that initial racket. So your ears are assaulted in the first half, and you are so exhausted by the second half, and the choreography is so dull, that it is easy to fall asleep.

[Ian Macmillan]

You don't like noise, prefer music?  Go to Sadler's Wells for a bit of Haydn, superbly delivered.

[alison]

I know that many dancers don't like dancing his stuff.  

 

But on the other hand, others (and I don't mean the usual suspects) have said how much they enjoy working with him.  So I guess it takes all sorts ...

[FLOSS]

I always wonder how much of that enjoyment derives from working in the studio with a living choreographer making a work on, and for, the dancers, as opposed to dancing in a ballet fifty or more years old with a lengthy performance tradition. My impression is that  dancers tend to be enthusiastic about new works whoever the choreographer is, if they have been made to feel involved in the creative process.Dancers like being challenged  by new choreography which they can feel is theirs.I am sure that McGregor appears very impressive to those who work with him for any number of reasons ranging from his reputation as an intellectual to his status as "THE CHOREOGRAPHER".

 

The one thing that the dancers are unlikely to worry about is what the choreography may be doing to their bodies particularly when they have to switch between the more body friendly styles of movement of classical dance and these more extreme ones without the transition time which Guillem was able to insist upon.When you are young you believe that you are indestructible and even if it was established that switching between two such radically different styles of movement did increase the rate of injury and had long term deleterious consequences for the body I am not sure that many performers would be willing to abandon the opportunity to dance in his works. However whether a company would want to continue commissioning his works and staging his ballets if such a link was established, is an interesting question. 

 

At the moment I think that it will take the presence of a choreographer with a greater range of dance vocabulary who consistently shows a real ability to create works which speak to an audience emotionally and intellectually to unseat him. There are a couple of potential candidates I think, but they need to establish a greater level of consistency. Abandoning cutting edge dance would of course be seen in some quarters as a retrograde step but the RB has a long and pretty impressive history of success in swimming against the tide.

Edited November 12, 2016 by FLOSS

[zxDaveM]

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the photo call rehearsal, so here are a few photos:


Chroma: Steven McRae, Rachael McLaren
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Multiverse: Steven McRae, Paul Kay
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr



Carbon Life: Matthew Ball
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
See more...
Set from DanceTabs:  RB: Chroma, Multiverse, Carbon Life
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

By kind permission of the Royal Opera House

[Fonty]

I would much rather watch a stripper 'bump it with a trumpet' than have to sit through Multiverse again. 

 

Wow, was it really THAT bad? 

[bangorballetboy]

Which is it people, should I take ear plugs with me or not?

I would recommend having earplugs with you just in case. There are parts of the auditorium where the recording is quite loud (and each part builds to a climax) and others where the echo of the recording creates a ringing sound so if you are in one of those sections, you might be more comfortable with earplugs in. I sat in the front row of the balcony for the rehearsal and only felt unfortable at the very end of each of section 1 and 2 and in the front row stalls for the first night where I could hear the ringing echo. My earplugs stayed in my pocket both times but I'll be wearing them next time I'm in the front row.

[Sim]

Wow, was it really THAT bad? 

Yep. Give me Gypsy any day of the week over that! However, some people quite liked it, so we all have differing perceptions.

[alison]

Wondering who'll be replacing Steven McRae in Chroma and Multiverse for the rest of the run?

[Sim]

What's happened?  Is he injured?

[Vanartus]

Oh dear - what happened?

[loveclassics]

Nina, a male dancer recently said to me:  we don't train and study all those years just to dance McGregor.  I know that many dancers don't like dancing his stuff.   However,

 

Personally I would add Multiverse to the pile that already contains Limen, Tetractys, Raven Girl and Line of Fire, and consign that pile to Room 101.

May I add 'Invitus, invitem' [apologies if misspelt] to that pile?  I'm so glad I didn't book for this triple bill.  At my age, I grudge wasting an evening!

[alison]

McRae is on paternity leave

 

Oh well, I loved Invitus Invitam.

[Sim]

Ah of course he is.  I thought he was going at the end of the triple run, but I guess not.  Hmmm....Wayne isn't known for multiple casts, but one assumes that this hasn't hit him as a bolt from the blue, so there must be some plan B!!  

 

LoveClassics, you may!  I can't remember which one that is.  Is the one where they dance through a lot of poles (or something) hanging down from the ceiling?

[Jane S]

No, it was the one Kim Brandstrup made, with Benjamin and Watson - a lovely piece I thought.

[Fonty]

No, it was the one Kim Brandstrup made, with Benjamin and Watson - a lovely piece I thought.

 

I think I enjoyed that one as well.

 

It is a sad fact that nothing would persuade me to go to a triple bill of Wayne McGregor offerings.  Not even if someone gave me a free ticket.  Seen one, seen 'em all, as far as I am concerned. Well, ok, Woolf Works was a bit different.  But only because the wonderful Ms Ferri was in it.

[loveclassics]

No, it was the one Kim Brandstrup made, with Benjamin and Watson - a lovely piece I thought.

I have a feeling I might have liked it better without the added dancers, marking out the stage as if in rehearsal.  I thought that was unnecesary and a bit alienating, rather in the style of Brecht as performed by the Berliner Ensemble.  (Ghastly memory, please don't ask, I'm trying to forget)

[Mandy Kent]

I hated Multiverse and considered it an assault on my senses. If I could have left I would have but I was hemmed in and didn't want to disturb my neighbours.

So I put my fingers in my ears to try and drown out the noise. I would rather have watched it in silence, or preferably not at all. Never again....

[Scheherezade]

 

Oh well, I loved Invitus Invitam.

 

As did I.

[Sim]

Was that the one danced behind a gauze screen for much of the time?  With a wall at the back that had projections going onto it?

[bangorballetboy]

Ah of course he is. I thought he was going at the end of the triple run, but I guess not. Hmmm....Wayne isn't known for multiple casts, but one assumes that this hasn't hit him as a bolt from the blue, so there must be some plan B!!

 

 

There is an alternative cast for Multiverse (multiworst?) who are scheduled to dance tomorrow.

[Josephine]

Personally think Invitus Invitam a very fine work. I would love to see it again. It saddens me that Brandstrup's work seems undervalued at ROH. He gives powerful choreographic expression to both concept and emotion, drawing on deeper insights than McGregor offers (for me). With the single exception of Infra, McGregor's stage imagery has never haunted my imagination as Brandstrup's does.

[alison]

So, as far as I can see, those who dislike Multiverse fall into 3 camps:

i) those who dislike the music

ii) those who dislike the choreography, and

iii) those who dislike both.

Is that a fair assessment?

 

I must say that I came out of it with quite a headache myself, although am not sure whether it was totally caused by the work or whether it was already starting.

[Fonty]

I have finally had a chance to read the press reviews, and I find myself feeling a bit bewildered.  Broadly speaking, apart from Mark Monahan, they all seem to find a great many positive things to say about Multiverse, and are awarding high marks for the programme overall. 

 

I am startled by the contrast between their opinions and the ones on here.  There are many people who post on this ballet forum, who are keen,  knowledgeable and, above all, regular, long term ballet goers.  And by and large, I am not picking up a lot of enthusiasm for it (she said carefully...)

 

So I am scratching my head, wondering why critics, who can be incredibly snooty and lukewarm about many ballets that I consider to be the great classics, can be so much less critical of McGregor's new work. 

[capybara]

 

So I am scratching my head, wondering why critics, who can be incredibly snooty and lukewarm about many ballets that I consider to be the great classics, can be so much less critical of McGregor's new work. 

 

Emperor's new clothes syndrome (as someone has already suggested) Fonty. No critic wants to appear out of date or not 'with it'.

[alison]

Well, 2 out of the 3 reviews I've seen so far haven't exactly been enthusiastic - about the bill as a whole, not necessarily Multiverse.

[Fonty]

Well, 2 out of the 3 reviews I've seen so far haven't exactly been enthusiastic - about the bill as a whole, not necessarily Multiverse.

 

Well, none of them, apart from Mr Monahan, have been too critical about it.  One of the things that struck me is that nearly all have watched closely and found depths to the new piece, and expressed admiration for the way in which McGregor works, even if they haven't been totally smitten. Even Luke Jennings, who has been rather scathing about this style of dancing in the past, seems quite reasonable by his standards. They seem to be saying, "Well, this is progress, and we have to move with the times." 

 

I await Mr Crisp's review with keen anticipation. If he went, that is.

[MargaretN7]

I like Multiverse. Which doesn't mean I like the soundtrack for the first two parts, but I understand the reasoning for it, I think. And I do have physics, maths, and computing degrees. But in the same way that opera can be appreciated, enjoyed, without knowing the language, key changes etc I believe matters scientific may be appreciated, enjoyed without full understanding.

[Scheherezade]

Was that the one danced behind a gauze screen for much of the time?  With a wall at the back that had projections going onto it?

 

That's the one. With Ed Watson and Leanne Benjamin. I still can't figure why it hasn't been revived.

[alison]

Possibly because it was designed to follow on from La Valse, and the last time that was performed it was part of an all-Ashton bill.  And/or that it wasn't that long after that Benjamin retired, and the dancers it was actually created on (Kobborg/Cojocaru) left?

[Sim]

Well, none of them, apart from Mr Monahan, have been too critical about it.  One of the things that struck me is that nearly all have watched closely and found depths to the new piece, and expressed admiration for the way in which McGregor works, even if they haven't been totally smitten. Even Luke Jennings, who has been rather scathing about this style of dancing in the past, seems quite reasonable by his standards. They seem to be saying, "Well, this is progress, and we have to move with the times." 

 

I await Mr Crisp's review with keen anticipation. If he went, that is.

Hannah Weibye in Arts Desk tore it to shreds.

[capybara]

I await Mr Crisp's review with keen anticipation. If he went, that is.

 

 I didn't think he was there as he doesn't tent to bother himself with new works nowadays. He wasn't but his FT colleague has done a pretty good demolition job in his place (see Links)!!!