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I very much enjoyed the live stream tonight. The Munich company gave a very good account of themselves in each piece. Ashley Bouder was fantastic, I thought, in Rubies.  Alina Somova danced with cool precision and allure in Diamonds, just about coping with the brisk tempi in the final segment! A special mention for Vladimir Shklyarov who is really dancing on top form at the moment (appearing in The Little Humpbacked Horse last night at the Mariinsky and presumably flying to Munich this morning) - it was a great pleasure to see again his elan and musicality. I look forward to watching the performance all over again tomorrow!

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I was in the house here in Munich.  Bouder was in a league of her own in Rubies - no question.  The sass simpered with perfection.  She commandeered all about her with succinct and witty clarity.  The Company - perhaps not entirely of the first technical order but obviously delighted - sought to focus their energies.  Osiel Gouneo (a former Cuban guest with ENB) rightfully grinned back - almost as if in surprise.  Was very taken with Janette Kakareka, an American artist - graduate of the rightfully lauded Rock School - and - it reads - a former ENB artist as well.  She graced the 'walking girl' solo - one of my all time favourites in Balanchine - in Emeralds and stood out as a soloist in Diamonds.  She reminded me of Margaret Tracey.  She was well partnered in the former by NZ dancer - a YGAP semi-finalist - Henry Grey.  Somova struggled with Diamonds, no question.  No question at all.  There were daggers in Shklyarov's eyes during the call after that ever radiant PDD.  In attempting to define her style in it I think I would - politely - call it 'aquatic'.  Certainly it was athletic.  Sadly what it wasn't was entirely fitting to Balanchine's balletic glory.  Emilio Pavan - another ex-ENB dancer - also appeared in Emeralds. 

 

Looking forward to to seeing Laura Summerscales (as Olga In Oneign opposite RB principal Osipova and RB guest Hallberg and as Katharina in yet more Cranko - his Shrew - opposite her own husband, Yonah Acosta now replacing Vasiliev.  (I think - at this present time - I would PREFER to see Acosta as Petrucchio in that.)  Both, as you know, are - again - former ENB artists.  

 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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I thoroughly enjoyed watching last nights live streaming. I have a daughter who was in the cast and so for me I loved the pre show filming of Maximillian Strasse  and the outside of the magnificent theatre. It made me feel like I was actually there. 

I loved both emeralds and rubies but sadly lost connection for diamonds. I think it is worth noting that this is quite a marathon for these dancers....especially the corps.....that was the first night of 10 evenings of a different show each night. Different choreographers different styles.....no mean feat!! (Or should I say quite tough on the feet! 😂)

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9 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

 

Looking forward to to seeing Laura Summerscales (as Olga In Oneign opposite RB principal Osipova and RB guest Hallberg and as Katharina in yet more Cranko - his Shrew - opposite her own husband, Yonah Acosta now replacing Vasiliev.  (I think - at this present time - I would PREFER to see Acosta as Petrucchio in that.)  Both, as you know, are - again - former ENB artists.  

 

 

 

Sorry, meant Lauretta Summerscales, of course.  Mea culpa.  Was trying to catch up with work at the same time.  ....  Should obviously stick to just last names - although easy enough to make an error there as well.  

 

In any event, very much looking forward to catching up with the work of this fine artist again.  Sadly we don't seem to see her on stage in the UK very often any more. 

 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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I've just watched Jewels. I was very interested to see it as I have not seen any Balanchine before but am booked for the RB triple bill in June that includes Symphony in C, so I wanted to get an idea of his choreographic style before seeing that. I liked Diamonds the most out of the three parts. Not knowing how it's supposed to be danced, I didn't see anything wrong with Alina Sumova's performance (apart from a minor tutu mishap!) & thought Vladimir Shklyarov was excellent. Emeralds I found stylistically attractive but a bit inert. Rubies I found more interesting but didn't like some of the movements that much. In both Emeralds & Rubies I liked Prisca Zeisel the most out of the lead female dancers. Overall I liked Balanchine's choreographic style but 3 acts with not a shred of plot between them is not my preference, I'd rather see a narrative 3-acter. I should be fine for Symphony in C though, as that's just the 1 act & the other 2 ballets in the bill do have plots!

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14 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I've just watched Jewels. I was very interested to see it as I have not seen any Balanchine before but am booked for the RB triple bill in June that includes Symphony in C, so I wanted to get an idea of his choreographic style before seeing that. I liked Diamonds the most out of the three parts. Not knowing how it's supposed to be danced, I didn't see anything wrong with Alina Sumova's performance (apart from a minor tutu mishap!) & thought Vladimir Shklyarov was excellent. Emeralds I found stylistically attractive but a bit inert. Rubies I found more interesting but didn't like some of the movements that much. In both Emeralds & Rubies I liked Prisca Zeisel the most out of the lead female dancers. Overall I liked Balanchine's choreographic style but 3 acts with not a shred of plot between them is not my preference, I'd rather see a narrative 3-acter. I should be fine for Symphony in C though, as that's just the 1 act & the other 2 ballets in the bill do have plots!

 

Dawnstar your summary on the choreography of the respective pieces  pretty much matched my own  thoughts, also never having seen Jewels live.

 

From past experience, though, I would not be surprised if the seemingly less interesting parts come across much better in the theatre. There are some lovely musical excerpts too.  

 

Anyway, as you liked Diamonds I hope and expect that you will be absolutely delighted by Symphony in C when you see it live. 

Edited by Richard LH
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1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

From past experience, though, I would not be surprised if the seemingly less interesting parts come across much better in the theatre.

 

Yes, I'm sure that could be the case. I imagine I might also find it more interesting if I saw the RB do it, when I'd know who the dancers were. The Munich cast were all unknown to me, except for having seen Shklyarov mentioned on here. Also, I thought most of the filming was good but there were a few occasions when the camera was focused on only a few dancers & I got the impression that we were missing out on what was happening elsewhere on stage. Usually I like close-ups but for this piece, where acting wasn't really required, they seemed less necessary.

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(I've filleted the "livestreams" thread to create this one, as there seems to be quite a bit of feedback on this streaming.)

 

I didn't actually get to see the whole thing (from my point of view, the BSB could scarcely have picked a more inconvenient 24 hours if they'd tried!), but here are a few comments based on what I did see.

 

Emeralds seemed to me to be rather too "grinny" - I don't remember the Royal Ballet dancers flashing huge smiles at the audience, unless it was just because I was too far away and never spotted it?   I thought there was supposed to be far more of a meditative/dreamlike sort of atmosphere?  I was very taken with Janette Kakareka in the "walking" pas de deux.

 

Rubies - what can you say about Ashley Bouder in this?  I'm not even going to attempt to :)  - but I was delighted to see Osiel Gouneo proving that it's perfectly possible to dance the leading male role without coming over all smug and self-satisfied at the same time: he just looked as though he was having great fun.

 

I thought Shklyarov was excellent in Diamonds: it was just a shame that it felt as if he and Somova were dancing in two completely different ballets.  The word "businesslike" occurred to me in relation to her performance.

 

I very much agree with Dawnstar about the choice of closeups - although the filming was generally good there were indeed times when the structure of the choreography seemed to get lost because the camera was too tightly focused rather than pulling back to show more dancers, which I found somewhat frustrating.

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I enjoyed the livestream online after the event very much.  I adore Jewels and it's one of my favourite ballets.  I think I liked Diamonds best when I first saw it, then Emeralds and then Rubies but now I think I prefer Emeralds over Diamonds and Rubies whilst I enjoy it is still my least favourite piece of the three, probably more down to the awkward Stravinsky music.  It helps that I now "understand" the ballets a lot more now as well.  I think the more you see Jewels the more you get out of it.  The choreography is just amazing and I was glad that as the video progressed the cameras tended to stay wide rather than focus in which is what you need for Balanchine.  I think if you want to really appreciate Balanchine's work you need to see it from above and in the whole, and also note that a lot of the time left and right stage mirror each other.   Quite a feat for the dancers remembering which side and which foot to start with etc....

I was lucky to see 2 performances live in Munich last year, the premiere and the following show.  What let this down at the end in Diamonds was that Somova brought her own tutu from the Mariinsky which completely spoiled the look.  Munich have beautiful sparkly white/oyster new costumes and there she was in her drab dull almost grey faded tutu. Pfft. Really unimpressed with that! (And Staats Ballett Bayern even confirmed I was right about her tutu to me on Twitter).  Her dancing was OK but I've seen better not least from Munich's own Principal Ksenia Rhyzkova whom I would have much rather seen.

Bouder was, of course, a total show off in Rubies but then that is what the part is, and I liked Osiel Guneo who had a lot of fun with part.  I have only seen Bouder in Emeralds before which was lovely, but she rocked it here in Rubies.  Emeralds was lovely too.  How I wish I had been there!

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Rubies is very much a Bouder kinda thing 😃.   I spell that as total joy somehow.  Guneo was most happily rife in the Stravinsky celebrations replete with rightful wit. (Waiting now for his Spartacus to begin. A very different bundle of tricks required for that and there can be no doubt but that he certainly has them.) ....  Shklyarov was the highlight in Diamonds for me ... He pierced  through those variations like nobody's business ... And his expectant audience lapped up the precise force of his vacuum in each and every instance as he excitedly lept off of that massive stage. The thrill of his performance was visceral. I am indeed happy that I was there! 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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I really enjoyed the stream and thought Ashley Boulder was amazing in Rubies.  She had so much sass and confidence and for the first time I rally got the link between the music and the dancing.  Her energy lifted the whole corp de ballet!  Emeralds was the weakest of the three though.  Most of the Faure music is quite dreamy and I thought the dancing was a bit 'hard' for the music.  Diamonds was lovely and good playing by the Orchestra.  Think Somova could have been more 'regal' in her dancing but Shklyarov embodied the role well.    

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For me it was the opposite: Somova expressive, soft, pliable, all consisting of spiritual contours, the music filtered through her body, Shklyarov next to her felt an odd addition, totally different wavelength, not even a hint of poetry.

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On 14/04/2019 at 00:59, alison said:

The word "businesslike" occurred to me in relation to [Somova's] performance.

 

Having just seen it, I'd up that to "perfunctory" and "self-absorbed" - treating Shklyarov as a lowly courtier. (No doubt that wasn't the intention.)

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