The Royal Ballet: Wayne McGregor triple bill, November 2016

[Beryl H]

Saw this again last night, I had already bought my rail ticket so decided to go ahead although dire warnings about weather and trains made me miss Carbon Life, and I am glad I did as the good bits overcome the bad the more you see it, I find the middle section of Multiverse the most boring as everyone dashes about looking stressed, although too long the first section for the two men is interesting, and the last 16 minutes could be a different ballet, suddenly I realised everything "shimmers", the scenery glows and the music and dancing do too.

 

I thought the idea of mixing Ailey and RB dancers in Chroma sounded daft at first, but what a marvellous sight it was, I always wish the Bolshoi would bring their production but don't suppose they will. What an incredibly variety of roles Lauren Cuthbertson for one is having, Anastasia, Chroma/Multiverse and soon the Sugar Plum Fairy, must say after Giselle and this triple bill I am looking forward to wallowing in The Nutcracker next week too

[Sim]

Can I just ask if there is a "resident" choreographer does this mean that the RB can only commission works from that choreographer or can they use others as well.....for new works I mean.......does it just mean the resident choreographer is expected to do more not all?

 

 

No, not at all.  The RB would always commission works from other choreographers as well;  imagine just a diet of McGregor for new pieces!!    Or anyone, for that matter.  Variety is the spice of life, and all that.  So, in the ten years that McGregor has been RC, many other choreographers have made new works on the company;  for example, Scarlett, Wheeldon, Schechter, Brandstrup and coming up in the spring season, Crystal Pite.  These are just a few examples.  The positive thing about having an RC is that he/she can indeed mentor up and coming choreographers from within the company and the school (as well as outside of those institutions), and also spend a lot of time with the dancers and get to know them well so that good choices are made for casting new works.  And yes, the RC does create more works for the company simply because he/she is there much of the time.  I don't know what kind of agreement there is between McGregor and the company, i.e. if he is expected to create a certain amount of new material each year, or whether he does so just when commissioned by the company.  

[FLOSS]

I am sure that we all want to see great new works created for the Covent Garden stage as much as we want to see the great twentieth century works created for the company and those acquired for it by its first three directors revived at regular intervals as part of the company's living repertory rather than being dusted off from time to time for a significant anniversary or an international tour. It would be nice to think that real care would be taking in casting those works which are revived only infrequently as it might increase their chances of survival. But we need to remember that the company was established to be a creative one not a museum one.

 

The truth is that the RB lost its creative way a long time ago and for many years chugged on half empty relying on earlier artistic achievement. The rot set in some years before the RB officially became a museum company under Dowell's  directorship.As to what went wrong? I think that it was a combination of factors none of which would have been fatal on their own but which in combination made it very difficult for the company to be a creative force. After he "retired"Ashton went off in a huge sulk and, it would seem, was encouraged to see slights where none were intended. MacMillan was far from well in his later years and retreated into making "challenging" works which provided little opportunity for classical dancing and increasingly showed ballet's limitations rather than expanding its scope. Then there was a lack of obvious new choreographic talent, which it has to be admitted is something of a draw back, if you aim to be  a creative company.There was, at least during Dowell's directorship, a real fear of artistic failure and its financial consequences. A series of less than successful new pieces culminating in Mr Worldly Wise combined with the need to balance the books led to an over reliance on nineteenth century ballets and the acquisition of a couple which the first three directors would not have touched with a barge pole. It is quite possible that if it had not been for Guilllem we would not have seen any Forsythe.

 

I write this as someone who finds much of McGregor's output limited in content and dance vocabulary, self referential to the point that they are cliched.I think that you have to see the decision to appoint McGregor as resident choreographer against this background. of the institutionalized timidity and fear of failure which was a characteristic of the company  during Dowell's directorship. If nothing else it guaranteed that the company would have new works created for it which would not be criticized on every side.Whether it was a wise decision is something which only time will reveal. At least the company has broken free from a mindset which left it dithering and made it too frightened to embark on anything new for fear of failure. At some point a decision had to be made  as to whether the company could afford to continue waiting until a choreographer who was "right" for the company miraculously appeared or whether creativity requires the encouragement of the existence of people manifestly willing to commission new works. It would be nice to think that those commissioning new works had a wide ranging appreciation of ballet as a theatrical art form rather than one confined to performing in them but we can go on wishing for that.As far as Wheeldon and Scarlett are concerned they have had their successes and failures .I think that some people have unrealistic expectations about what the success rate of of new works should be. A director can't do everything. Mason dealt with the limited repertory historical and new, O'Hare seems to be working on building the company from the bottom up. As far as finding exciting new choreographers is concerned it seems to me that Kevin and his predecessor have done considerably more than anyone else has done in the last thirty years.

Edited November 20, 2016 by FLOSS

[alison]

I think that some people have unrealistic expectations about what the success rate of of new works should be.

 

I'd accept 1 in 3, although 1 in 2 would be even better

[Lindsay]

I would say that the Royal Ballet is suffering from institutional statsis.  Yes, the last few directors have not been particularly dynamic or creative, but I think allowances need to be made for the fact that, in these days of cuts to arts funding, they are increasingly reliant on patronage/sponsorship from one of the most conservative audience bases of any institution in the country.

 

They absolutely needed something like McGregor in the mid-2000s, and (having sat next to Monica Mason on the opening night of Woolf Works where she was muttering "thank god for wayne!" throughout the second and third acts) I don't think we should underestimate how important that association has been in saving the institution from even worse accusations of "irrelevance". 

 

However, it is as if having put a toe in the water, the RB is afraid to go any further and would rather keep commissioning McGregor, who has now build his own Covent Garden audience, rather than commit resources to anything more genuinely 'risky'.  I am excited about the Crystal Pite and enjoyed the Schechter but those feel like very token gestures compared to the repeated, expensive commissions given to Scarlett and Wheeldon, both of whom are very conservative, 'safe' choreographers (the less said about the Acosta commissions the better).

 

I think the contrast between the RB approach and the art of the possible is once again highlighted by this weekend's NY Times profile of Tamara.  She is genuinely excited about touring the classics, expressing pleasure at the opportunity often so fervently wished for on these boards to offer young dancers experience to improve their technique.  But she has a wide-open mind when it comes to commissioning and reviving new work, and has found a way, with the new Sadler's Wells relationship, to build an audience for that also.

 

The Royal Ballet, by the nature of their resources and facilities (better pay, less touring) will naturally have 'first-pick' of available dancers, but I think a young dancer with artistic ambition might find a far more fulfilling career path with the 'other team' these days.

[capybara]

.......but I think allowances need to be made for the fact that, in these days of cuts to arts funding, they are increasingly reliant on patronage/sponsorship from one of the most conservative audience bases of any institution in the country.

 

 

I don't disagree with what you say but I do wonder why, in these circumstances, the RB seems to be able to spend so much on super-expensive sets - the one for Multiverse being the latest example.

[Lindsay]

Because they have found sponsors/a guaranteed audience for McGregor so he is no longer a 'risky' bet.  They have institutionalised him.

 

ps. capybara - I was amused that last night's footage of capybara being threatened by jaguars on Planet Earth II made me think of you and wonder what was going on at Balletcoforum....

Edited November 21, 2016 by Lindsay

[bangorballetboy]

they are increasingly reliant on patronage/sponsorship from one of the most conservative audience bases of any institution in the country.

 

I would disagree with this.  The "audience" that provides the most significant funding (in terms of actual amount) is very open minded and supportive of new (and wide based) choreographic projects.

[Lindsay]

That's interesting BBB but not necessarily confirmed by what I have heard.  Admittedly I am more familiar with the opera side of fundraising, but I think (at least when it comes to main stage productions), it is far easier to gather enthusiasm for particular known artists/directors rather than the untried or untested.  Covent Garden now appears to be in a phase where funders who attached themselves to a particular project/individual a decade ago continue to be willing to support that person/project but continued recommissions from them mean fewer resources left over for something genuinely new.  The programmes for Scarlett/Wheeldon ballets and even MacMillan revivals are littered with acknowledgements for role sponsors etc.  

 

But you may know more about the ballet side of fundraising than I do.  Perhaps it is more a case of ADs not 'trusting' their audiences to book for new work by new choreographers, rather than sponsorship being unavailable?

 

In terms of seat sales, perhaps that is where genuine conservatism is at play.  The casual ballet-goer will naturally gravitate towards famous 19th century ballets that they have heard of, and some (not all before people take offence!) of the 'regulars' often seem more concerned with the casting soap opera and identifying individual dancers on stage, as opposed to the creative aspects of the work.

[Quintus]

There's an interview with Wayne McGregor in the FT, primarily about his new studio in Here East, but with the tantalising titbit that before his career took off, he used to run a tea-dance for old ladies.  That does conjure up some alarming images!

[LinMM]

Aah.... That's rather sweet and I bet they all loved him!!

 

 

And to add thanks Sim for explaining the resident choreographer thing....I feel I should know this after all the years attending ballet performances but am only now getting interested in how Companies are run and how they survive etc....partly due to Tamara I think and what's going on with ENB.

Edited November 21, 2016 by LinMM

[Vanartus]

Presumably costs for Multiverse were shared with Australian Ballet...

[JohnS]

A word of thanks to ROH for listening to audience comments about the volume levels for Steve Reich's 'It's gonna rain' and taking action. I'd been very worried about attending a performance at the theatre but Saturday's tape was fine, almost restrained, and I very much appreciated being able to listen and watch Paul and Luca dance with such gusto. I'd been looking forward to this after the ROH Insight evening and thought this a highlight of Saturday's performance. I found the tape and dance complementary and worked very well for me. I liked 'Runner' but was less sure about the choreography - has Wayne McGregor gone a little soft or was this just that I couldn't get Luke Jennings' 'la la land' description out of my mind? But Francesca was awesome in her rhythmic attack, truly captivating, and again in Carbon Life - looking forward to her Sugar Plum Fairy debut!

 

I enjoyed Chroma and the Alvin Ailey/RB mix but I'm afraid Carbon Life, apart from the obvious exuberance of the dancers, was not for me. Loathed the music and volumes, found much of the dancing ugly and quite shocked when Eric Underwood had his hands around Francesca's throat. Not my idea of a fun ballet but I recognise that I'm in a minority and the audience were very enthusiastic.

[Timmie]

JohnS, interesting comments there. As you can see from my comments above I really struggled with ‘It's gonna rain’. Any suggestions on some audio or YouTube material that would help me understand this type of performance a bit better?

 

(I didn’t like the strangling thing either).

Edited November 21, 2016 by Timmie

[alison]

But Francesca was awesome in her rhythmic attack, truly captivating, and again in Carbon Life - looking forward to her Sugar Plum Fairy debut!

 

Well, that's a *very* big leap ...

[Nina G.]

It's a leap for four dancers who will be debuting as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Season: Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Claire Calvert. It's a *very* big one for Francesca Hayward in a pure classical tutu role. Besides Bluebird pd2 I have not yet seen her dance a prominent tutu role. I have seen Yasmine Naghdi as Rose Fairy in "Nutcracker" last year and recently as Mathilde Kschessinska in "Anastasia", Claire Calvert as the Lilac Fairy and Beatriz Stix Brunell in one of the Fairy Variations a few years ago. 

[Bluebird]

It's a leap for four dancers who will be debuting as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Season: Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Claire Calvert. It's a *very* big one for Francesca Hayward in a pure classical tutu role. Besides Bluebird pd2 I have not yet seen her dance a prominent tutu role. I have seen Yasmine Naghdi as Rose Fairy in "Nutcracker" last year and recently as Mathilde Kschessinska in "Anastasia", Claire Calvert as the Lilac Fairy and Beatriz Stix Brunell in one of the Fairy Variations a few years ago.

Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, Beatriz Stix-Brunell also danced Lilac Fairy (during the last run of Beauty).

 

Edited to add that Francesca Hayward was a prologue fairy and Princess Florine in that same run of Beauty

Edited November 22, 2016 by Bluebird

[David]

It's a leap for four dancers who will be debuting as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Season: Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Claire Calvert. It's a *very* big one for Francesca Hayward in a pure classical tutu role. Besides Bluebird pd2 I have not yet seen her dance a prominent tutu role. I have seen Yasmine Naghdi as Rose Fairy in "Nutcracker" last year and recently as Mathilde Kschessinska in "Anastasia", Claire Calvert as the Lilac Fairy and Beatriz Stix Brunell in one of the Fairy Variations a few years ago. 

Bless you Nina G, and you Bluebird - actually posts that aren't between those who actually "like" bits of Mr WM and those who can't stand him! Is there nothing else out there to talk about? If people want to see some exciting modern dance (as opposed to something maybe to just like bits of) try "In the Heights" at the Kings Cross Theatre. Has anyone caught The Red Shoes which opened in Plymouth yesterday? The BBC is announcing its Xmas schedules today - is  there to be anything we don't already know about? If not let's have a moan about it. I feel as if I've descended into a new  level of Dante's Hell and its name is this thread! It's all been said so many time ago. The guy's verbiage has contaminated us. Show some mercy and shut it down for God's sake.

Edited November 22, 2016 by David

[Fonty]

Bless you Nina G, and you Bluebird - actually posts that aren't between those who actually "like" bits of Mr WM and those who can't stand him! Is there nothing else out there to talk about? If people want to see some exciting modern dance (as opposed to something maybe to just like bits of) try "In the Heights" at the Kings Cross Theatre. Has anyone caught The Red Shoes which opened in Plymouth yesterday? The BBC is announcing its Xmas schedules today - is  there to be anything we don't already know about? If not let's have a moan about it. I feel as if I've descended into a new  level of Dante's Hell and its name is this thread! It's all been said so many time ago. The guy's verbiage has contaminated us. Show some mercy and shut it down for God's sake.

 

Goodness, David!  You don't have to read any particular thread if you feel it has no further appeal for you.    But it IS about the McGregor triple bill; therefore I would expect people to be expressing their opinions on that topic.  

 

Speaking personally, I am finding the thread both interesting and entertaining. 

[capybara]

  Speaking personally, I am finding the thread both interesting and entertaining. 

 

I agree. This thread has developed really well. There are strong, well-argued points of view, interesting snippets of information and some (relevant) side-spins - all of which contribute to my own thinking in a helpful way.

[David]

I’m sure the thread will continue comfortably until the thread on Woolf Works can replace it!

 

I feel the balance in the RB programming is slowly but inexorably shifting. Mr O’Hare’s strategy to concentrate on home-grown dancers takes on a different hue in the light of his statement that ‘the future is McGregor’! Many of the fine dancers at the Royal Ballet, both past and present, have joined its ranks because they were attracted to its wide repertoire, including of course its choreographers, but I can’t see future world class dancers queuing up to join the company coz they want to dance McGregor! And I wonder how long it will be before the new generation of dancers at the RB realize that, if they want to perform the kind of ballets for which they have trained so long and hard and prolong their dancing lives, they will need to move to other companies!  

[Lindsay]

Perhaps a little over-dramatic David.  Since McGregor has been choreographing for the company for 10 years, I doubt that programming his ballets will come as too much of a shock to many of the dancers.  Plus if you look at the number of performances this season, there is more than a smattering of Nutcracker/Beauty/Fille and even Balanchine to satisfy those who don't enjoy McGregor's work - in which only a minority of dancers are involved in any case.  

[Jacqueline]

If the future is indeed McGregor, perhaps Kevin could persuade him to resurrect those tea dances. What a great marketing opportunity for when the latest refurbishments are completed and the all singing, all dancing, top of the morning theatre for the people is open.

There could be associated catering at affordable prices and a chance to walze with Wayne himself, subject to availability and all in the best possible taste. I'd give it a go.

[LinMM]

Ha ha Jacqueline....me too....and I'm just about to get to the age range I think tea dances are aimed at!!

[MAB]

 Many of the fine dancers at the Royal Ballet, both past and present, have joined its ranks because they were attracted to its wide repertoire, including of course its choreographers, but I can’t see future world class dancers queuing up to join the company coz they want to dance McGregor!

 

Well, very shortly after joining Osipova danced a pas de deux by McGregor with Watson at a royal gala, I imagine she could have chosen something else.  Perhaps she was proving her versatility.

[alison]

Bless you Nina G, and you Bluebird - actually posts that aren't between those who actually "like" bits of Mr WM and those who can't stand him! Is there nothing else out there to talk about? If people want to see some exciting modern dance (as opposed to something maybe to just like bits of) try "In the Heights" at the Kings Cross Theatre. Has anyone caught The Red Shoes which opened in Plymouth yesterday? The BBC is announcing its Xmas schedules today - is  there to be anything we don't already know about? If not let's have a moan about it. I feel as if I've descended into a new  level of Dante's Hell and its name is this thread! It's all been said so many time ago. The guy's verbiage has contaminated us. Show some mercy and shut it down for God's sake.

David, if we don't already have threads on the subjects you mention, please do feel free to start one. But this thread *is* about the WM triple bill, and so it's natural people would be discussing it here At least it does seem to have lifted out of the doldrums of a few days ago.

 

And, Nina, I was thinking of "sideways" leaps rather than vertical ones: from WM to Nutcracker was a bit of a change of subject

[Bruce Wall]

And, Nina, I was thinking of "sideways" leaps rather than vertical ones: from WM to Nutcracker was a bit of a change of subject

 

Talking about sideways leaps .... a WM Nutcracker would certainly be a leap into .... erm .... neon perhaps ?????

Edited November 22, 2016 by Bruce Wall

[Nina G.]

David, if we don't already have threads on the subjects you mention, please do feel free to start one. But this thread *is* about the WM triple bill, and so it's natural people would be discussing it here At least it does seem to have lifted out of the doldrums of a few days ago.

 

And, Nina, I was thinking of "sideways" leaps rather than vertical ones: from WM to Nutcracker was a bit of a change of subject

 

 I think I just got carried away as soon as I read the word "Sugar Plum" 

[JohnS]

Thanks Timmie and apologies for my delay in getting back to you - rather flaky broadband in rural Cumbria, particularly in bad weather.

 

You were asking about Steve Reich - I'm pretty unfamiliar but I did find ROH's webpage helpful. In News/Ballet there's a recent page just on Steve Reich and the music for Multiverse which include a five minute introduction from Steve Reich explaining his music and approach. The Insight evening is also still available and gives folk an opportunity to see Steven McRae and Paul Kay dance that frenetic 7 minutes. You can of course select your own volume when watching the tape!

 

I just found the intensity and urgent repetition of the tape brilliantly matched the dance and that there was a real dynamism to both. It reminded me a little of the compulsion that I experience when seeing DGV or just listening to Michael Nyman's MGV music although I should add that I doubt very much that I'd just listen to 'It's gonna rain' .

 

Apologies also for mentioning Francesca's Sugar Plum Fairy debut - will no doubt take this forward in another topic. Quite a contrast from Wayne McGregor but will be wonderful to see her Clara and SPF!

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-insights-into-wayne-mcgregors-brand-new-ballet-multiverse

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/listen-our-species-dances-to-music-steve-reich-on-his-music-dance-and-working-with-wayne-mcgregor

[Scheherezade]

I haven't had time to jot down my impressions on this but they were pretty much in line with everyone else, ie Chroma makes far less of an impression than on first showing now that McGregor's signature style is so well known, Multiverse was uniformly more of the same old, same old, and one viewing is more than enough, thank you very much, and Carbon Life was by far the most enjoyable of the three largely due, I suspect, to the total sensory experience provided in no short measure by the musicians and costumes.

 

Like others I found Francesca Hayward a standout delight: is there anything that she can't do?

 

And did anyone else find that the dreadful set in Multiverse reminded them of a nineteenth century public urinal? More specifically, it looked as though it had been filched from the similarly urinal-like set used by the ROH in its last Wozzeck showing.

 

I also found myself comparing McGregor's yawn-inducing lack of originality with the utterly absorbing choreography on show down the road at Sadler's Wells in the Akram Khan Giselle. This showed at once that it isn't repetition that is the fault with McGregor since Khan is, if anything, even more repetitive but in a completely enthralling way that at once enhances the mood and adds to the narrative, drawing in the audience instead of repelling it.

 

I am still looking forward to seeing Woolf Works again but I do now wonder whether it will prove to be as good as it seemed during its inaugural run or whether the perception of quality was nothing more than a comparison of this piece as against the usual run of the mill McGregor choreography. I do hope not.

[SPD444]

Hit the nail on the head here, Scheherezade. I totally subscribe to your description of both the set of Multiverse and your comparison with Akram Khan's Giselle. To me, Khan, has emotion by the bucketful whereas WM seems to lack any feelings at all, If I had not read that all the scurrying around in either the first or second section was to portray immigrants in their plight then I would not have thought of that whereas Khan is able to express the poverty of the peasants beautifully by simple body movement plus there is no requirement for the legs to be spread on every occasion which WM seems to love. I would love for Mr. O'Hare to employ Mr Khan to create something for the RB.

 

I also second your remarks about Francesca, can't wait for the 29th and her SPF.

[MAB]

For the record I thoroughly enjoyed this programme.  Agree the Steve Reich is hard going but it wasn't as if I hadn't encountered his music before.  Thought all the dancers were brilliant and a special pat on the back for Matthew Ball who stood in for the profoundly  individual Edward Watson and performed so well I never felt short changed about not seeing a favourite.

 

Missed Boy George in Carbon Life but greatly enjoyed rapper Dave.  Great evening.

[alison]

Thought all the dancers were brilliant and a special pat on the back for Matthew Ball who stood in for the profoundly  individual Edward Watson and performed so well I never felt short changed about not seeing a favourite.

 

What?  In which piece?