World Ballet Day 2017 discussion

[alison]

Perhaps it wasn't so much a case of "not good enough", rather that others were (perceived as?) better?

[Mary]

2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

As for World Ballet Day it was compelling as always and sad as there are so many fine dancers across the world who we shall almost certainly never see live in the theatre.

Too true.

I loved WBD once again but couldn't help feeling, also, that it was slightly odd that it did not foreground  the most important thing- the actual performance.

But maybe I missed some as I have so far only watched about 30%.

 

[FLOSS]

Fonty,

 

I believe that the annual attrition rate is very high at the Bolshoi Academy and at the Mariinsky School as well. I can certainly recall reading comments to that effect about both schools at various times. I think that what was most shocking at the time that Bussell was a student at the RBS was the low level of employment which, if I recall correctly, at one point was somewhere in the region of 48%.

 

I know that one thing that struck me very forcibly at a talk given by two former teachers at the school  was that they were neither that enthusiastic about de Valois' syllabus. But then one of them said that, when she had been a student at the school which I think must have been in the 1960's from those whom she named as her fellow students, new pupils who had not been trained at White Lodge had to be put into a separate class in order to catch up technically. Now while  she gave the impression that she did not think much of de Valois' syllabus and did not seem particularly concerned that it had not been recorded in almost the same breath she was telling the audience  that the in house students were ahead of those who joined the Upper School from abroad.  It was all very odd. Unfortunately it was not an event where I felt that it was possible to ask the speakers about the obvious inconsistencies in their accounts .

 

All in all it was a very strange experience to be in the audience listening to what the guest speakers were saying about their experience of being students at the school and the obvious difference in standards at the school when they were students and when they were teaching there. What went wrong at the school is something that we may never fully understand and no one is likely to write anything about it until all the players are safely dead. I began to wonder whether their dislike of the de Valois system had more to it than met the eye. Was it for example its eclectic nature and apparent lack of an obvious system which was the problem? Perhaps it was this which had irked the teaching staff and its abandonment in favour of a more obvious system was what had been at the root of the decline of the school . I recall reading an account in which Sibley described the teaching which she had experienced as a student at the school which seemed to encompass both RAD, Imperial syllabuses and weekly Cechetti lessons. If that was the range of systems that was perceived to be the problem then all I can say is that it seemed to work for the second generation of dancers who were taught it who included Sibley, Seymour, Parkinson, Dowell, Wall and Coleman.

 

What was really odd was that both of the speakers seemed far more interested in talking about the relative merits of the systems of training which they favoured  which were respectively the French and the Vaganova systems than in the possible merits of the de Valois syllabus. Each speaker was strongly in favour of her own preferred system of training and would not give an inch. It struck me as they talked that it may have been this lack of consensus over what should be taught and how which lay at the root of the school's problems in the 1980's and 1990's which had then gone on to affect the company so badly. Perhaps some day someone will tell us.

Edited October 6, 2017 by FLOSS

[Nina G.]

Floss, "Of the current sixteen Principal dancers as opposed to guest Principals five attended both White Lodge and the Upper School...". 

 

Who is the fifth Royal Ballet Principal besides Edward Watson, Lauren Cuthbertson, Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward who attended both White Lodge and the Upper School? Laura Morera? 

 

 

[capybara]

 

Getting back to World Ballet Day. Am I alone in thinking that it felt somewhat bitty and rushed this year? I'm all in favour of the reach extending to a range of other companies in broadly the same time zone as each host company but, in the case of the RB, the only element where the viewer was permitted a longish stay was the Class (in an overcrowded studio!!!!). We were then rushed from segment to segment, from snatched interview to snatched interview and backwards and forwards to BRB, ENB, Scottish etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it but it left me with questions about the structure and, indeed, about the vehicles with which the RB chose to display itself to worldwide view.

[Lizbie1]

Capybara, I tend to agree. I'd have liked a lot more time with the Judas Tree rehearsal in particular, given the rather stellar line-up (both coaching and being coached).

[Jillykins]

I had a wonderful day! My grandson managed to link my iPad to tv so I had a big screen to sit in front of and I made a day of it! Unfortunately I didn’t get to it until start of Bolshoi class. Such an energetic teacher and challenging exercises. Then the girls being disciplined into such perfect lines, they must dread hearing their name called out. What a search for perfection. I love the class outfits having grown up where class wear was so strict. Anybody else go to Ruth French’s classes in Bayswater, she was so strict?

i loved Royal class, so liked Olga, lovely clear exercises, I found myself getting up and joining in, great as I can barely walk. Such a mix of corps, soloists and principals. Olga was on the ball giving corrections to all. Nobody pulled rank! Good to see pregnant dancer in class, as we saw Elizabeth Harrod last year. I hope I got that right! Pianists at both classes were so stimulating, lovely music. My mum was my accompanist and she was brilliant, I didn’t appreciate her at the time. 

Alexander Campbell did great job as presenter and performer in rehearsal. So glad he emphasised need to go to class and to warm up. Kristin good too. Lovely to see Belinda Harley teaching pointe work. She was a lovely dancer. 

I agree it was all a bit disjointed and I hated the Little Mermaid costumes! Such funny headdresses, like old fashioned shower hats. Seems strange to create a ballet about mermaids with no feet. 

Some exciting new works to come so many talented dancers, we are so lucky. Had to stop watching after Royal, three boisterous great grandsons came home ! 

Loved world ballet day! 

[RobR]

Reverting, briefly, to the RBS entry into the company, I think it a mistake to focus on the principal dancers.

Ballet companies evolve and if one ignores the more established dancers, there seems to me to be a high percentage of soloists and artists who have trained at the RBS.

Whether or not KO'H has increased RBS recruitment to a greater proportion than his predecessors is something I have no knowledge of but the current make up of the full company would seem to support his WBD interview assertion.

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, Nina G. said:

 

Who is the fifth Royal Ballet Principal besides Edward Watson, Lauren Cuthbertson, Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward who attended both White Lodge and the Upper School? Laura Morera? 

 

 

Yes, Laura Morera.

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

Fonty,

 

I believe that the annual attrition rate is very high at the Bolshoi Academy and at the Mariinsky School as well. I can certainly recall reading comments to that effect about both schools at various times. I think that what was most shocking at the time that Bussell was a student at the RBS was the low level of employment which, if I recall correctly, at one point was somewhere in the region of 48%.

 

 

Apologies for carrying on this discussion on this thread, but it seems appropriate after having watched WBD and all the dancers in classes.

 

Floss, I would expect drop outs throughout the entire process.    I just assumed that the ones that leave have to do so because of injury,  developing the wrong shape, just not made sufficient progress, or because the individual has decided the life is not for them.  But I' thought it was very rare for students  who have not gone through the earlier stages to come into their schools at 16.  Have I got that wrong?

On the other hand, the RB Upper school says it has about 100 students at the school.  Assuming that is about 30 a year, and that there are twice as many girls as boys, that still leaves 20 places per year.  I would have expected that the majority of girls from WL would go on, and that a small percentage would come from elsewhere.  Going by what Bussell said, only 20% of the White Lodgers went on, and therefore 80% came from elsewhere.  That seems all wrong to me, I would have expected those percentages to be the other way round.  

 

 

Edited October 6, 2017 by Fonty

[LinMM]

Jillykins when I first went to live in London in 1972 the first classes I went to there were Ruth French's .....but then she taught in Kings Road next to or maybe even above the Town Hall there. I was very fond of her classes but then a few months later discovered the (old) Dance centre in Floral Street and thought I'd hit the big time!! Just so many classes in both ballet and modern Jazz ....Arlene Phillips taught jazz classes there at that time .....talk about died and gone to heaven!! I still carried on with Ruth's classes for about a year or so until I discovered Roger Tully who was also a very disciplined and really interesting teacher offering much more to his students than ballet  his classes were an experience in themselves. 

 

Anyway away from memory lane and back on topic I haven't caught up with World ballet day yet as was up in London for a ( brilliant) ENB event so no iPad.    Hoping some things still on YouTube especially as partner is away this weekend so can have a good old wallow in it all!!

Sounds like Ed Watson had a very busy day then as he was the one coaching the ENB dancers in Song of the Earth yesterday evening. I tried not to stare at him too much as find him absolutely fascinating to watch!! 

 

 

 

 

[nycitybird]

The Royal Ballet's put the whole thing up on YouTube now in 2 parts. Nearly 5 hours. I know what I'll be doing tonight!

[alison]

24 minutes ago, Fonty said:

On the other hand, the RB Upper school says it has about 100 students at the school.  Assuming that is about 30 a year, and that there are twice as many girls as boys, that still leaves 20 places per year. 

 

Isn't it about 50/50 these days?

[Fonty]

I wasn't sure, Alison.  Might well be.  

[sarahw]

From the Doing Dance boards it seems the number who progress from WL to US is quite variable. I think some years as few as 3 or 4 girls. Because for academic reasons no assessing out occurs in Y10 it probably makes the Y11 fallout higher.

As someone said it may not be that the WL students aren't good enough merely that others are 'better'. Judging by last year's audition round many are recruited outwith the official audition rounds often from abroad.

This is done to death each year on Doing Dance so you can read more there if wanted. Often a rather depressing thread I'm afraid - for parents and tax payers!!!

[John Mallinson]

San Francisco Ballet segment available (entire) on YouTube.

 

[John Mallinson]

Royal Ballet segment available entire in two parts on YouTube.

[John Mallinson]

Also Australian Ballet in full, and Dutch National rehearsing Ted Brandsen's Mata Hari.

[stella]

I did a quick count of all the dancers currently listed on the RB website. Out of 97 dancers: 

- 26 dancers had no Royal Ballet school training 

- 66 dancers trained at the Royal Ballet Upper School 

- 33 dancers trained at the Royal Ballet Lower School/White Lodge 

- 5 dancers trained at the Royal Ballet School but their bio doesn’t specify if they went to White Lodge or not 

- 14 dancers were Junior Associates 

 

So yes, Kevin O'Hare is correct in saying that the majority of RB dancers have trained at the RBS. 

 

source: http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet/dancers

[Quintus]

Just been catching up on the RB Youtube.  There's something very hypnotic about watching class - I sometimes go to watch the ENB do class, and it's almost as good as a performance. It's that mix of virtuosity and the occasional touches of human frailty...  

 

Enjoyed it all, with the Francesca Hayward and Beatriz Stix-Brunell segments my highlights.  Having discovered BS-B's sense of humour on her Instagram however, I now find it difficult to watch her without expecting one of her sardonic commentaries!

[JennyTaylor]

I'm working my way through all the You Tube material.  However, highlight is the Ooppera & Baletti from Finland.  Bennet Gartside posted it on Facebook.  It's hilarious

[Shya100]

On 05/10/2017 at 13:35, Sim said:

Lovely to see the Campbell/Hayward partnership revitalised here.  Looks lovely.

It was glorious. They are developing a truly fantastic partnership on stage. I hope the powers that be let it continue. 

On 05/10/2017 at 15:31, Lizbie1 said:

This is quite a gathering of talent for the Judas Tree rehearsal.

Quite. What a treat. It was lovely to see. Cuthbertson obviously still a little unsure but you can see her trust in Watson.matter all these years of working together, trusting eachother. Such a strong partnership.

[Melody]

I'm not seeing the Bolshoi segment on YouTube. Is it available anywhere else?

[Fiz]

I couldn’t find it either, Melody.

[Rachelm]

17 hours ago, Quintus said:

 Having discovered BS-B's sense of humour on her Instagram however, I now find it difficult to watch her without expecting one of her sardonic commentaries!

 

Her Instagram posts really are hilarious!

[imogensevans]

Does anyone know how I can find the Bolshoi Ballet slot from this year's World Ballet Day?  So far I've only managed to find the link up from 2015.

 

Many thanks.

[LinMM]

Perhaps they haven't put it on YouTube yet?

[RuthE]

A couple of questions on the RB segment:

 

Is it normal for rehearsals for the corps, or already "opened/performing" principal/soloist combinations, to continue rehearsal during a run of performances, as we saw here in the Caterpillar and Cards sequences from Alice? Or did they stage these rehearsals purely for the benefit of World Ballet Day, even though the run is already underway?

 

Have we seen Elizabeth Harrod back in any featured/non-corps roles since she came back after having her second child?

 

Have we seen Laura McCulloch, who I spotted in class, back on stage since having HER second (or indeed her first) child?

 

Where did Chisato Katsura get that fabulous leotard (not that this information is of any practical use to me...)?

 

And a random one: who's the very pretty female dancer with the very blue eyes who was immediately behind Ryoichi Hirano at the barre? I'm assuming a recent addition to the company whose name I've not yet put to her face.

[LinMM]

Not a hundred per cent sure but it may have been Julia Roscoe behind Hirano on the barre!! 

[alison]

For French speakers, there are some useful links on the Dansomanie thread:

http://www.forum-dansomanie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105236#105236

[bangorballetboy]

11 hours ago, RuthE said:

Have we seen Elizabeth Harrod back in any featured/non-corps roles since she came back after having her second child?

 

 

Yes, she was Moth in The Dream and has been a lead flower and lead card in Alice.

 

11 hours ago, RuthE said:

Have we seen Laura McCulloch, who I spotted in class, back on stage since having HER second (or indeed her first) child?

 

 

On stage a few times after her first child, but not (so far as I can remember) after her second.  She has been undertaking ballet mistress activities though.

 

11 hours ago, RuthE said:

And a random one: who's the very pretty female dancer with the very blue eyes who was immediately behind Ryoichi Hirano at the barre? I'm assuming a recent addition to the company whose name I've not yet put to her face.

 

Julia Roscoe (White Lodge & Upper School).  AJYD last season, but had danced with the company many times as a student (particularly memorably as the young girl in La Sylphide).

[RuthE]

28 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

Julia Roscoe (White Lodge & Upper School).  AJYD last season, but had danced with the company many times as a student (particularly memorably as the young girl in La Sylphide).

 

Thanks BBB - I actually wondered if it was her, as I heard Olga address "Julia" at one point and I'd recognised most of the other ladies' faces.

 

You don't know where Chisato got the leotard, then... 

[capybara]

1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Yes, she was Moth in The Dream and has been a lead flower and lead card in Alice.

 

 

Elizabeth Harrod has also been one of Alice's sisters in the current run.