News: Full casting for Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake 2018/19 announced - including Matthew Ball

[Jan McNulty]

From the New Adventures website:  https://new-adventures.net/news/full-casting-announced-for-matthew-bournes-swan-lake

 

NEWS

Full Casting Announced for Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

8 JUNE 2018

New Adventures is delighted to announce casting for the UK tour of Matthew Bourne’s new production of his legendary Swan Lake.  

The show will tour for 32 weeks to 22 venues throughout the UK and begins at the Theatre Royal Plymouth on Saturday 22 September 2018, ahead of an eight-week Christmas season at Sadler’s Wells from Tuesday 4 December to Sunday 27 January 2019. Swan Lake will continue until the end of May 2019, before embarking on a number of international tour dates.

 

From left to right: Matthew Ball, Max Westwell, Will Bozier 

Royal Ballet rising star, Matthew Ball, will be joining New Adventures for the entire London season of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Sadler’s Wells in the role of ‘The Swan’. Matthew will be making his debut with New Adventures and will dance four performances each week during the eight-week season at Sadler’s Wells. He is currently making his debut as ‘Prince Siegfried’ in The Royal Ballet’s new production of “Swan Lake” at the Royal Opera House. Matthew Ball joins New Adventures’ star Will Bozier, currently dancing to great acclaim as ‘Harry, the Pilot’, in Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella and former English National Ballet star Max Westwellwho was also recently seen in the West End in “An American in Paris”. Will and Max are both making their debuts in the role of ‘The Swan’ and will perform throughout the tour.  

 

Dominic North (The Prince) with Richard Winsor (The Swan) - 2010 studio shoot 

Both returning to the role of ‘The Prince’, two much loved New Adventures Principal dancers, Liam Mower (currently wowing audiences as ‘The Angel’ in Cinderella) and Dominic North(acclaimed star of Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man, Sleeping Beauty, The Red Shoes and currently Cinderella). They are joined by New Adventures’ newcomer, James Lovell who is making his professional debut.

 

Liam Mower as The Prince 

‘The Queen’ will be performed by two long-time New Adventures favourites, Nicole Kabera and Katrina Lyndonboth making their debuts in this role.

‘The Girlfriend’ will also be performed by Katrina Lyndon. She is joined by Freya Fieldand Carrie Williswho are both returning to the Swan Lake Company.

‘The Private Secretary’ will be played by long-time Company Principal Glenn Graham (recently seen as ‘Grischa’ in The Red Shoes) along with Max Westwelland Ashley-Jordon Packer.

Returning to New Adventures are Tom Broderick, PJ Hurstand Alex Sturman.

 

Returning company members 

Making their debuts with New Adventures are: Nicole Alphonce, Leigh Alderson, Jonathan Luke Baker, Alistair Beattie, Benjamin Bazeley, Megan Cameron, João Castro, Zanna Cornelis, Kayla Collymore, Keenan Fletcher, Michaela Guibarra, Bryony Harrison, Nicholas Keegan, Shoko Ito, Courtney Liu, Jack Mitchell, Barnaby Quarendon, Jack William Parry, Sam Salter, Stan West and Milwhynne Williams.

 

Company joiners 

Also making their New Adventures debut are Andrew Ashton from Newcastle, Isaac Bowry from Glasgow and Harry Ondrak-Wrightfrom Birmingham who all performed in the acclaimed New Adventures production of Lord of the Flies in 2014.

New Adventures is committed to finding and developing diverse young talent from across the UK and their annual open auditions were attended by over 400 dancers. Since Lord of the Flies in 2014 New Adventures has been supporting young dancers from this production on their journey into training and professional work.  The company have delivered various initiatives, including Swan School, two week-long intensives designed to prepare graduate level dancers for the audition process. This production of Swan Lake is the first New Adventures production to feature dancers who had their first experience of dance with the company in Lord of the Flies.

 

From left to right: Andrew Ashton, Isaac Bowry, Harry Ondrak-Wright 

New Adventures is delighted to continue its relationship with Central School of Ballet and will this year be joining forces for the third year of our Student Associates Programme. This year making their New Adventures debuts on the Sadler’s Wells stage will be third year students, Lewis Bondu and Alex Fadayiro. The Student Associates are generously sponsored by the Archie Lloyd Charitable Foundation.

 

Student Associates Lewis Bondu & Alex Fadayiro 

Matthew Bourne said today “With the largest cast in our repertory, Swan Lake always gives us the opportunity to bring a wealth of new talent into the Company and I’m excited to welcome so many new dancers into the New Adventures family. I’m particularly thrilled to welcome cast members whose journey to this production came via our production of Lord of the Flies or through our Swan School which was designed to develop young talent for this company. My thanks also to Royal Ballet Director, Kevin O’Hare, who was as enthusiastic as I was about seeing Royal Ballet star, Matthew Ball, dance this role, and was instrumental in making that happen."

[Lizbie1]

Wow, didn't see that one coming - most interesting!

[Bruce Wall]

Matthew Ball as the Swan!!!! ... for four performances a week (I wonder do they give dates?) .... NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A COO!!!!  I had thought that it might be Marcello Gomes - given his association with AMP in London, Tokoyo and New York ... but not THIS!!!!!   

 

As the young ones say:  'Cool' ... or is that 'Awesome'

Edited June 8, 2018 by Bruce Wall

[alison]

No, I didn't see that coming either.  I had thought about possible candidates, but Ball never occurred to me, I must admit.

[Xandra Newman]

So, that answers the question why Yasmine Naghdi is cast next Season to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy with the Australian Principal Kevin Jackson and not her usual partner Matthew Ball as her Prince.

[Riva]

Excited is an understatement. No confirmation on which dates Matthew Ball will be performing - Sadlers Wells said they aren’t given principal casting until the day of the performance (or sometimes the day before), New Adventures said they would expect to release confirmation of dates in Autumn. 

[RuthE]

Cue a lot of confusion when people think somebody said Matthew Ball when actually they said Matthew Bourne, and vice versa!

[Anna C]

1 hour ago, Riva said:

Excited is an understatement. No confirmation on which dates Matthew Ball will be performing - Sadlers Wells said they aren’t given principal casting until the day of the performance (or sometimes the day before), New Adventures said they would expect to release confirmation of dates in Autumn. 

 

Gosh, that's annoying.  I have to book seats suitable for my disability ages in advance.  Going to be a complete guess whether we'll see Ball or not then! 

[Sharon]

How exciting, for Matt Ball and for us! During a Giselle performance - Nagdhi & Ball's debut - I saw K O'H &  Bourne sitting together and I did wonder if perhaps they were discussing Bourne  creating something for the company - I know a silly dream but I was just so fed up with McGregor....

[Sim]

There is an article about this in this evening's Evening Standard.  Lovely photos of Matt Ball but the piece is strewn with errors and the so-called arts correspondent not knowing the difference between the two Swan Lakes.  He also seems to have got his "four performances" mixed up.   Pitiful.  

[Shade]

Agree Sim really poor quality reporting. Congratulations to Matthew Ball in any event- I hope he has great success with the Bourne Swan Lake.

[Ian Macmillan]

I take it that this shows an extract from the offending article?  Graham Watts on Twitter: 

 

https://twitter.com/GWDanceWriter/status/1005154397989588993

[RuthE]

I have pointed out, on a number of the Twitter threads discussing this, that the ES published their own review of the current RB Swan Lake less than three weeks ago, which they have clearly forgotten if they think the RB hasn’t done Swan Lake in 30 years.

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/royal-ballets-swan-lake-review-nothing-short-of-a-triumph-a3844251.html

[alison]

I'm rapidly getting to the stage where I don't automatically believe anything written by any paper's so-called "arts correspondent" - I've seen so much garbage from them in recent years. 

[capybara]

 

My companion and I were sitting next to one another reading this on the tube. We should have been reacting with pleasure at the new venture for Matthews Ball and Bourne but, instead, we were railing against sloppy reporting.

 

This really big moment for Matthew Ball and a feature article about him has been somewhat tarnished. Such a pity.

 

[Sim]

That's exactly why I am so cross, Capybara.  This shoddiness is disrespectful to him, to the two companies and to the readers.  Matthew Bourne said on Twitter that his company had given the facts in bullet points to the writer.  

[loveclassics]

4 hours ago, Shade said:

Agree Sim really poor quality reporting. Congratulations to Matthew Ball in any event- I hope he has great success with the Bourne Swan Lake.

 

Well, it did wonders for Adam Cooper's career but I hope he will return to the RB later.

 

Incidentally, what is "Super Cooper" doing these days?

 

Linda

[Guest]

I would love to see Matthew Ball in just about anything, but I hope the timing of this is good for him. He is always great and he has improved so much in the last couple of seasons that it seems an almost unnecessary diversion to take time off from the Royal Ballet. Maybe dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier (again, and for many years to come!) isn't as exciting as performing The Swan in Bourne's Swan Lake, but it certainly helps refine and hone a dancer's classical technique like nothing else can. Having watched Ball successfully tackle and grow in these classical roles, it seems a pity that he doesn't just stay on track at Covent Garden for the moment. Let's hope he comes back and stays, after the Sadler's Wells season, which , after all, is only a couple of months long!

Edited June 8, 2018 by Darlex

[bridiem]

19 minutes ago, Darlex said:

I would love to see Matthew Ball in just about anything, but I hope the timing of this is good for him. He is always great and he has improved so much in the last couple of seasons that it seems an almost unnecessary diversion to take time off from the Royal Ballet. Maybe dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier (again, and for many years to come!) isn't as exciting as performing The Swan in Bourne's Swan Lake, but it certainly helps refine and hone a dancer's classical technique like nothing else can. Having watched Ball successfully tackle and grow in these classical roles, it seems a pity that he doesn't just stay on track at Covent Garden for the moment. Let's hope he comes back and stays, after the Sadler's Wells season, which , after all is only a couple of months long!

 

Yes, I was wondering this. If he really on the cusp of being promoted, as many people are hoping, it seems strange timing to be going elsewhere for months.

[capybara]

Of course Matthew Ball will return to the ROH. This is only for a couple of months and he'll probably be able to fit in some RB classes and rehearsals as well.

Having top ballet dancers appear in other kinds of shows can only be good for their art, their image  and their opportunity to diversify their income - and it surely benefits their companies as well.

[Sim]

I feel bereft.....we will be losing (temporarily) Campbell and Ball at the same time!  😱😖

[FLOSS]

Dancing four performances a week for eight weeks will give him plenty of opportunity to hone his stage craft and will no doubt build his stamina. As long as he is back at Covent Garden in time to dance in Two Pigeons I think that we should be happy that he is being given the opportunity for further personal development. Perhaps Kevin sees giving talented young dancers like Ball the opportunity to try other theatrical forms of dance and working with other companies as a way of giving the even more junior dancers like Ella, Sissens and Roverro of whom there are so many in the lower ranks of the company a chance to dance the roles that they need to encounter when young rather than making them wait for years. It is going to be very interesting to see what strategies Kevin adopts to deal with the potential log jam for talent that is looming. The promotions made in the next few seasons have the potential to establish the Royal Ballet's artistic profile and look for the next fifteen years or so

 

Please note nothing which follows represents any wish on my part to see any of the named dancers retire. It merely illustrates the idea that whether or not you progress in a company has as much to do with your age and position in a company's heirachy and its age profile as it does with talent and hard work.While we may anticipate vacancies arising among the male principal ranks in the not too distant future when those gaps are filled it will create a log jam for the talented dancers in the lower ranks of the company for years to come. I wonder how far that can be addressed by more liberal casting of roles ? I assume on the basis of age that Watson and Bonelli who are both in or around their forties will retire in the next year or two  and that Soares who has been having problems with his classical technique over the last couple of seasons will not be far behind them and that Kish may not be around much longer either. These departures create opportunities for four men to become principal dancers. Further opportunities for promotion to principal are much reduced thereafter unless Kevin finds his own magic money tree. A further promotion opportunity arises in five or six years when I assume Hirano will retire but after that aspirant principal dancers will have to wait for dancers who are now in their early thirties years to retire and that could mean waiting nine or more years.

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by FLOSS

[Guest]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

...

Having top ballet dancers appear in other kinds of shows can only be good for their art, their image  and their opportunity to diversify their income - and it surely benefits their companies as well.

I agree with this Capybara and I wasn't questioning that at all, just thinking it might be better a couple of years down the line.

[alison]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

I feel bereft.....we will be losing (temporarily) Campbell and Ball at the same time!  😱😖

 

Yes, but only from the Nutcracker, isn't it?  They're only on stage for 1/4 of an hour or so.

[Sim]

5 hours ago, alison said:

 

Yes, but only from the Nutcracker, isn't it?  They're only on stage for 1/4 of an hour or so.

I don't care if it's four minutes!   For me, it's quality and the partnerships that I will miss, not how long they are on stage.

[Tony Newcombe]

6 hours ago, alison said:

 

Yes, but only from the Nutcracker, isn't it?  They're only on stage for 1/4 of an hour or so.

Reminds of a comment made by a dancer who performed the role of Clara many times with the RB before 

dancing the SPF with another company.

Well they do ****** all for an hour and fifty minutes and then come on at the end and get all the applause.

 

[Xandra Newman]

Sadly for the fans of the Yasmine Naghdi/Matthew Ball partnership we will have to wait a VERY long time until we (hopefully!) see them together again in Romeo&Juliet end of Season 2019. The last time they will have danced together will go back to Giselle February 2018

[Sim]

15 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

Sadly for the fans of the Yasmine Naghdi/Matthew Ball partnership we will have to wait a VERY long time until we (hopefully!) see them together again in Romeo&Juliet end of Season 2019. The last time they will have danced together will go back to Giselle February 2018

That is so sad. 😢

[BlueLou]

https://new-adventures.net/news/casting-announcement-the-swan-prince-at-sadlers-wells

 

Very excited - got tickets for one of the Ball/Mower performances! 

[JohnS]

Thanks BlueLou - I hadn't realised casts were going to be announced so that's good news even if there's not much notice for the other weeks.  Unfortunately I'm not in London during the period where we have advanced information.

[penelopesimpson]

On 08/06/2018 at 21:08, alison said:

I'm rapidly getting to the stage where I don't automatically believe anything written by any paper's so-called "arts correspondent" - I've seen so much garbage from them in recent years. 

Absolutely.  This was the paper that did a puff piece on Matthew Golding, presenting him as the great white hope for the future at RB.  Months later he was gone.  

[penelopesimpson]

Can anyone tell me the dates Matthew Ball is appearing as I remain baffled by ENB's website.

[RuthE]

28 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Can anyone tell me the dates Matthew Ball is appearing as I remain baffled by ENB's website.

 

Are you actually looking on the ENB website?  In which case I'm not surprised you're baffled, as this thread is about the Matthew Bourne production.

 

(I'm assuming this was a slip of the keyboard, though.)