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Royal Ballet Promotions Predictions 2019


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Does anyone dispute that Hayward was on schedule for promotion that year anyway? Surely the only suspicious timing about that was that it was announced a few weeks earlier than usual (as opposed to when the company returns from tour) and rushed through in order to fulfil contractual obligations in Japan.

 

If the company found itself short of a principal man or woman for a tour in a year when a suitable candidate was not about to be promoted anyway, surely there would be a way around this by appointing a Guest Principal Artist from another company for the duration of the tour (edited to add: I can't imagine this would be unacceptable under the terms of the Japanese contracts, given that in the case of Salenko being replaced by Hayward, Salenko herself was not a permanent member of the Royal Ballet).  I can't imagine the company would promote somebody just for the sake of it.

Edited by RuthE
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36 minutes ago, Fonty said:

I am not sure I entirely approve of this "it-has-to-be-a-Principal-dancing-the-role-and-there-isn't-one-spare-so-we-have-to--promote-someone" idea!

 

How many times has that happened?  
 

 

I believe it is stipulated for all companies.  Miyako Yoshida was promoted to principal by BRB when Marion Tait was injured during a tour to Japan.

 

IIRC Marion Tait mentioned this at a talk when she said she managed to perform Odette but someone had to take over as Odile due to the stipulation.  Two Pigeons (if she is reading this) may remember better than me.

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Well, Yoshida's promotion makes perfect sense.  As does Hayward's.  As others have said, they were undoubtedly going to be promoted anyway, and it was just a case of making it official a bit earlier. 

 

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5 hours ago, ElleC said:

I would have thought, he more than proved  his ability to "carry a show" in his exceptional performances of Swan Lake with Akane at the end of last season (I'm praying they will be cast together in SL next season). 

Totally agree Elle. For me, they were the outstanding SL pairing.

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8 hours ago, ElleC said:

 I would have thought, he more than proved  his ability to "carry a show" in his exceptional performances of Swan Lake with Akane at the end of last season (I'm praying they will be cast together in SL next season). 

 

Completely agree that William Bracewell is fantastic, can really 'carry a show' and is worthy of promotion. The only doubt, surely, is the timing.

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I would certainly concur that William Bracewell should be promoted. I was hoping to see him this Saturday matinee in R&J but obviously that isn't to be.

 

As he doesn't seem to have mentioned I would also put forward David Donnelly - as a First Artist he has probably been in everything I have seen over the past few years. He always seems to stand out (possibly being tall!) and certainly looks the part. :)

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I just wanted  to mention Tierney Heap in the context of possible future promotion at some stage. She is a really striking dancer and  it is such a shame she has been out due to injury this season, for far too long. She has shared on social media that she has just had a successful operation (picture of bandaged leg), so let's wish her the quickest of possible recoveries so she can continue her powerful stage appearances.

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10 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I just wanted  to mention Tierney Heap in the context of possible future promotion at some stage. She is a really striking dancer and  it is such a shame she has been out due to injury this season, for far too long. She has shared on social media that she has just had a successful operation (picture of bandaged leg), so let's wish her the quickest of possible recoveries so she can continue her powerful stage appearances.

 

Absolutely! So sad she won't be doing Firebird - I was really looking forward to seeing her do that.

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8 hours ago, MJW said:

I would certainly concur that William Bracewell should be promoted. I was hoping to see him this Saturday matinee in R&J but obviously that isn't to be.

 

As he doesn't seem to have mentioned I would also put forward David Donnelly - as a First Artist he has probably been in everything I have seen over the past few years. He always seems to stand out (possibly being tall!) and certainly looks the part. :)

I was so impressed with him in The Invitation a couple of years ago, and really hope he gets a chance at Lensky in next season’s Onegin. 

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5 hours ago, Sim said:

I was so impressed with him in The Invitation a couple of years ago, and really hope he gets a chance at Lensky in next season’s Onegin. 

 

Actually I think he, like Muntagirov, Sambe and Ball are ones that could well - even now - do both Lensky and Oneign with commanding justice.  Ball truly has shown himself a principal for all and ever more varied seasons.  Certainly I think ever rising artistes such as Naghdi, O'Sullivan and Hayward could certainly enact and dance both Olga and Titania with richly unique results.  SUCH great assets. I would love to see Sissens, Hay and, perhaps, Dixon and Donnelly (given the number of performances) be given a crack at Lensky.  On the cusp - and depending on his partnering stealth - I'd love to see Węgrzyn be given a Lensky shake. So much to look forward to. After what I think is a break-out season for him I would love to see Edmunds be given a chance at the title role perhaps aside (after her fine Juliet and Girl in Two Pigeons) Stix-Brunnell. I have a feeling he might well succeed in this.  His partnering acuity has garnered considerable stealth recently.  

 

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3 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

Actually I think he, like Muntagirov, Sambe and Ball are ones that could well - even now - do both Lensky and Oneign with commanding justice.

 

Ball, absolutely.  I can’t see either Muntagirov or Sambé as Onegin though, Bruce.  Just my opinion, obviously, and perhaps both will prove me wrong in future but I can only picture these two as Lensky, not Onegin.

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7 minutes ago, Anna C said:

 

Ball, absolutely.  I can’t see either Muntagirov or Sambé as Onegin though, Bruce.  Just my opinion, obviously, and perhaps both will prove me wrong in future but I can only picture these two as Lensky, not Onegin.

 

After his astonishing Winter Dreams, the next logical and developmental step is surely for Muntagirov to be given Onegin. All company members deserve to be challenged, not simply to re-visit roles such as Lensky (especially when, as Sim has pointed out, there are other candidates ready for that role too).

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22 minutes ago, alison said:

Are the RB actually short of Lenskys at the moment? (Ball, Muntagirov, ... not sure McRae would still want to do the role? ... can't remember off-hand who else danced it last time around)

I don't think so....we have been naming quite a few potential Lenskys here.   Nicol Edmonds danced him last time, but was disappointing.  However, I am sure that four years on he would make a great job of it now.

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Just now, capybara said:

 

After his astonishing Winter Dreams, the next logical and developmental step is surely for Muntagirov to be given Onegin. All company members deserve to be challenged, not simply to re-visit roles such as Lensky (especially when, as Sim has pointed out, there are other candidates ready for that role too).

 

Fair enough, capybara - I saw Soares in Winter Dreams so missed Muntagirov.  He’s a dancer I will always book for as Des Grieux, any and all of the Princes, in fact almost all roles as his dancing is so miraculous and his acting is maturing wonderfully.  

 

I just think there are dancers more suited to Onegin (and Rudolf, come to that).  Perhaps it’s the ability to capture and express inner darkness?  As I say, it’s just my opinion - and as much as, in theory, it would be ideal not to be shoehorned into revisiting certain roles, it still happens when certain Principals are asked to dance First Soloist roles in which they’ve excelled previously.

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7 minutes ago, Anna C said:

I just think there are dancers more suited to Onegin (and Rudolf, come to that).  

 

It's great that we all see things so differently - I see far more Lenskys than Onegins! ! But the run will be something to look forward to. Can't wait!

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47 minutes ago, Anna C said:

I just think there are dancers more suited to Onegin (and Rudolf, come to that).  Perhaps it’s the ability to capture and express inner darkness?

 

You see - I’m more interested in Onegin’s inner idealism.

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40 minutes ago, J_New said:

 

It's great that we all see things so differently - I see far more Lenskys than Onegins! ! But the run will be something to look forward to. Can't wait!

 

Oh yes! I probably didn’t express myself very clearly - like you, I see lots of potential new Lenskys in the company.  I meant that I see some dancers (like Muntagirov and Sambé) more as Lensky than as Onegin.

 

As you say, it will definitely be something to look forward to! ☺️

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I think Sambe displays signs of deep emotional intelligence that could bode well for a future Onegin.  His performances as Romeo and in Flight Pattern, although very different, showed tremendous potential as a dance actor.  

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17 hours ago, Richard LH said:

I just wanted  to mention Tierney Heap in the context of possible future promotion at some stage. She is a really striking dancer and  it is such a shame she has been out due to injury this season, for far too long. She has shared on social media that she has just had a successful operation (picture of bandaged leg), so let's wish her the quickest of possible recoveries so she can continue her powerful stage appearances.

 

I entirely agree. I’ve always really enjoyed her work since I first noticed her almost 1940’s style glamour in DGV (a little like Deirdre Eyden in that respect). I thought she was sensational in Corybantic Games and am really sorry she won’t be in Firebird, even though she still seems to be listed on the ROH website for that ...

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3 hours ago, Jane S said:

Does anyone know if it is still the case that the Stuttgart people either do the casting or at least have a power of veto?

 

Pretty sure they do. Reid Anderson and the repetiteur(s) that is. If they don't want someone in a particular role even the company AD has very little chance of getting that person into that role and vice versa (I was told by a dancer who was cast despite his AD's apparently clearly expressed preference for someone else).

 

Ashton repetiteurs have a strong position in casting too (when setting Ashton on "outside" companies, or so I was told by Australian dancers the last time we saw any...some people cast in lead roles or Symphonic Variations then have barely danced a solo step since).

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1 hour ago, Jamesrhblack said:

 

I entirely agree. I’ve always really enjoyed her work since I first noticed her almost 1940’s style glamour in DGV (a little like Deirdre Eyden in that respect). I thought she was sensational in Corybantic Games and am really sorry she won’t be in Firebird, even though she still seems to be listed on the ROH website for that ...

She always reminds me of a young Faye Dunaway....

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I have followed this thread with interest . I think nearly every name at first soloist level, including dancers who have been at this level in the company for a while such as Clare. Calvert, and those who have been out for sometime with injury like Tierney Heap, but no mention of Melissa Hamilton. I know there will be replies saying she hasn’t proved herself in classical roles, but has she been given the chance since her return? I am curious why people think her progression in the company appears to have stalled and whether she will be given any new roles next season.

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28 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

I have followed this thread with interest . I think nearly every name at first soloist level, including dancers who have been at this level in the company for a while such as Clare. Calvert, and those who have been out for sometime with injury like Tierney Heap, but no mention of Melissa Hamilton. I know there will be replies saying she hasn’t proved herself in classical roles, but has she been given the chance since her return? I am curious why people think her progression in the company appears to have stalled and whether she will be given any new roles next season.

She seems to do a lot of external work with Bolle at La Scala...for whatever reason, do you think she has become somewhat semi-detached from the RB?

It was great to see her  in rehearsal for R&J in the Paul Hamlyn Hall by the way.

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1 hour ago, Odyssey said:

I have followed this thread with interest . I think nearly every name at first soloist level, including dancers who have been at this level in the company for a while such as Clare. Calvert, and those who have been out for sometime with injury like Tierney Heap, but no mention of Melissa Hamilton. I know there will be replies saying she hasn’t proved herself in classical roles, but has she been given the chance since her return? I am curious why people think her progression in the company appears to have stalled and whether she will be given any new roles next season.

 

And was taken out of Sugar Plum Fairy this season too...

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This issue has been discussed previously in other posts so no need to go there again I think.

Hamilton left the RB to dance abroad for a while and by the time she came back so many superb dancers had come up through the ranks and overshadowed her: Takada, Naghdi and Hayward were promoted to Principal and dancers such a Kaneko, Stix Brunell, Magri, and O'Sullivan (to name a few) had moved up the ranks too so the RB became top heavy with truly outstanding female dancers.

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On 25/05/2019 at 07:53, Odyssey said:

I have followed this thread with interest . I think nearly every name at first soloist level, including dancers who have been at this level in the company for a while such as Clare. Calvert, and those who have been out for sometime with injury like Tierney Heap, but no mention of Melissa Hamilton. I know there will be replies saying she hasn’t proved herself in classical roles, but has she been given the chance since her return? I am curious why people think her progression in the company appears to have stalled and whether she will be given any new roles next season.

Re - Melissa Hamilton, she’s certainly proved herself in the great Macmillan roles so far and I feel she would definitely of been promoted to a permanent Principal dancer by other ballet companies by now (e.g. Dresden being one of them of course). But, however, she seems to prefer to (loyally) stay with the company that nurtured her career (the Royal Ballet).  Personally, I’m glad that she has as I generally enjoy her performances and seeing those beautiful feet.......

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