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Wish List: Dancers in New Roles


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In the 'guest artist' thread below, a couple of us have mentioned dancers at below Principal rank whom we would like to see in major roles....I said I would like to see Brian Maloney take on Colas again, and AnnaMK said she would like to see Alexander Campbell in the same role.

 

I thought it would be fun/interesting to ask all of you out there to post up any ideas you may have for a 'non-Principal' dancer to take on a Principal role? Someone who you think may be ready to tackle it but hasn't had the chance yet?

 

Over to you.....

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Hikaru Kobayashi as Giselle and the Sylph

Valeri Hristov as James and Albrecht

Akane Takada as Giselle and the Sylph

Yuhui Choe as Alice

 

 

And since I have a ticket for the Choe/Polunin Fille, I agree I would like to see Alexander Campbell or Brian Maloney as Colas.

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I'd love to suggest Valentino Zucchetti as Mercutio, Gurn (he danced it in Zurich) and Colas, but since he is a friend I don't say anything. :rolleyes:

 

I really like James Hay, at the moment I don't have a precise role to propose, but I'd love to see more of him.

 

She is already a principal, but I'd really really love to see Alina Cojocaru in Les Sylphides. :wub:

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If I look below principal level at who I would like to see in a major/principal role right now because I think they "may be ready to tackle it" then I can honestly only pick Akane Takada, definitely as the Sylph and Aurora and possibly other roles too. Very close is Valentino Zucchetti but I would wait maybe another year then I would say I would like to see him as Solor and plenty of other roles, definitely Colas.

I also like James Hay but I can't think of a specific role that he is ready for yet.

 

Edited to add some more ....

 

The RB management obviously thinks Melissa Hamilton is ready for Juliet and we don't have long to wait to make up our own minds.

I think I am probably being harsh on what "ready" means but to me Akane and Valentino have so much more potential and once I have picked them I find it harder to add others. Another thought is that it is harder for the men because of the demands of the partnering.

Edited by annamk
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Anna agrees with Anna. I hope Akane Takada will be promoted "at least" first soloist at the end of this season and that she will be given as soon as possible roles to prove and allow her to grow as an actress. As a dancers, IMO, she is already with the very few top ballerinas of the company.

 

I agree also about Valentino, the point is that another year should be an year of dancing and not of waiting as this year has been so far, except for Puck (that he danced just because of several injuries). He spent the whole run of Sleeping Beauty acting as a rat and offering drinks and Nutcracker was not really better: I'm really annoyed by people who try to push friends, often uncritically, so I'm not happy to be the one saying this, but I think that a few people agree that, after the good past season, he could have been used a little more.

 

And starting from Valentino, a consideration: having remained with the much smaller Norvegian Ballet, he would have danced Nureyev's Don Quixote as Basil.

If Royal Ballet would be back to DQ, who could REALLY dance it? Considering both the technical needs and the character to portray, looking at principal and first soloist list, I don't see anybody except maybe Kobborg and Bonelli (Acosta contract has not been renewed).

The various fan clubs can add other names, but they are not in my serious list of candidates.

And I think that this is just an example the dramatic situation of the Royal Ballet.

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Yes that's right re Valentino, he certainly deserves to be used more.

Re Don Q, indeed who could dance it ? As the most vocal member of the Steven McRae fan club on balletco I have to add his name ! I think Kobborg is too old now (ouch, sorry) and Bonelli hasn't really got over his op properly at least not on the evidence of his solo dancing in Romeo recently.

It is a depressing situation.

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McRea could maybe do the tricks but you know ;) that his dancing far too feminine for my taste and I think also for a role as Basil.

 

I hope Bonelli will be back soon at his usual standards.

As for Kobborg, Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth in Florida: Johan has just spent a few weeks in Sarasota, maybe he found it! I hope so, because Cojocaru desperately needs a partner and the Company needs a great dancer. If the curse mentioned in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is true, I have a long list of poeple to propose as "volunteer" for aging in his place. :D

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Agree that AkaneTakada is the most exciting principal-in-waiting the RB have had in years - I'd like to see her in nearly all the principal roles, but I dream above all of seeing her as Nikiya in 'Bayadere'. As for the men, Liam Scarlett may be making it 'large' as a choreographer, but to me he is one of the RB's most distinctinve and noticeable male dancers because of the evident pleasure he takes in dancing, so I hope some day someone will let him be Mercutio or even - dare I hope - Colas.

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In my opinion the depressing situation, as mentioned by Annamk, is due to the fact that there is not enough nurturing of our homegrown talent. BRB is great at that!

The British Style of the RB is long lost and "import" seems to be the buzz word. It saddens me to see some talented homegrown dancers in the ranks below First Soloist, being totally overlooked. It must be so frustrating for them.

 

I should have added Valentino Zucchetti to my list of deserving dancers.

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Like annamk, I don't generally feel too easy about picking dancers from the lower ranks who I think are ready for principal roles, not only because most of them probably *aren't* ready for such a leap up yet, but also because in recent times I've been trying to wean myself off getting distracted from the overall ballet by a particularly good dancer in the corps, so haven't necessarily been paying that much attention to individual dancers. I'm sure that, a few years hence, the situation will be different, though. (And, that said, I'm sure I wouldn't mind seeing Paul Kay and Leanne Cope in The Two Pigeons, although I realise it's not in the RB's repertoire.)

 

I seem to remember some of us commenting a couple of years ago that we'd like to see Yuhui Choe as Giselle in due course, and also I think the Sylphide would suit her well. Ditto for Akane Takada.

 

As for ENB, I remember thinking that Nancy Osbaldston (hope I've spelled that right) would do very nicely in something, although I can't remember what, now.

 

And, annamicro, have no fear: I can't see Don Q coming back into the Royal's rep any time soon - if at all.

 

I'll have a proper think about this later.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I think Eric Underwood has been scandalously underused, and it is time they stopped casting him in 'obvious' roles, like the one he has in Alice.

He might cause a sensation in Spectre de la Rose.

And what about Oberon? Colas? The husband in The Invitation?

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I would like to see 'A Wedding Bouquet' again with either Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith or Derek Deane as the narrator.

 

How about Johan Kobborg as Petrouchka? Steven McRae too.

 

'Pineapple Poll' would go to Marianela Nunez, Laura Morera, Alina Cojocaru or Roberta Marquez. Thiago Soares, Federico Bonelli, Rupert Pennefather or Steven McRae with Zenaida Yanowsky or Christina Arestis as Mrs Dimple.

 

'Valley of Shadows' Tamara Rojo, Leanne Benjamin

 

'Raymonda Act3' Zenaida Yanowsky and Roberto Bolle

 

'Voices of Spring' Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev

 

'Live Fire Exercise' Original cast again please

 

'Facade' Tango - Sarah Wildor, Adam Cooper

 

'Onegin' Lauren Cuthberston, Sarah Lamb as Tatianas and Alan Lendorf as Lenski

 

'Prodigal Son' Sergei Polunin

 

Finally getting to the non - prinicipals in principal roles...

 

'Rhapsody' Yuhui Choe and Valentino Zucchetti though not necessarily together, not sure how tall they are.

 

Melissa Hamilton in 'Prodigal Son' and Robbins' 'Faun'

 

Valeri Hristov as Albrecht

 

Leanne Cope as Cinderella, Dorabella, or in Facade (yodelling or polka)

 

Deirdre Chapman in Las Hermanas

 

Johannes Stepanek as Des Grieux

 

Olivia Cowley ...T.B.C

 

Yep and more Eric Underwood.

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'Pineapple Poll' would go to Marianela Nunez, Laura Morera, Alina Cojocaru or Roberta Marquez. Thiago Soares, Federico Bonelli, Rupert Pennefather or Steven McRae with Zenaida Yanowsky or Christina Arestis as Mrs Dimple.

 

 

Hello Albal. I take it the men above are Captain Belaye? So, there is the very interesting question as to who would be the Jaspers for those Polls? (I was only watching this a few nights ago on the ICA Classics DVD with Stanley Holden as Jasper.) Thoughts anyone?

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Jasper could be Michael Stojko, irresistible as Puck #2 recently.

Cap'n Belaye has to cap that, of course, being someone who, in the nicest possible way, has got a bit above himself.

Now I wonder who that could be?!

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