standingticket Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Perhaps this is the wrong place to post this, but the RB announced yesterday that Nehemiah Kish will retire at the end of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 9 hours ago, HappyTurk said: Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. Certainly, I believe he will be a principal at the Royal Ballet in the near future (perhaps it will take two years?) But I do think he has room to develop his presence (which isn't a surprise considering he is quite young). Believe me, Happy Turk, Corrales's 'presence' when dancing Birbanto in Le Corsaire at the Palais Garnier was such that one felt he had come off the stage into the Stalls. Rather like his First Hungarian Officer in Mayerling which drew many eyes away from the main characters. Romeo was, as I have said, a completely different Cesar from the dynamo most of us who saw him dance with ENB have been accustomed to. But I know that nothing I say will convince you - we all have to experience what dancers bring to their art in our own individual ways. [And there are some further examples of widely differing responses on the RB Triple Bill thread.] 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Possibly also there's scope for improving technically - or perhaps he's not yet 100% recovered from his injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 I would think that perhaps Corrales will be judged solely on his Royal Ballet performances, as it would seem unfair to consider promoting him on the basis of his English National Ballet performances? It’s a great shame that injury has affected so much of his first year with the RB - and indeed has also affected Bracewell. No doubt both will be considered for promotion in the near future and it seems that they are very different dancers whilst both being very worthy of elevation. The RB has such a variety of strengths at all levels; let’s hope that both Corrales and Bracewell will continue to flourish. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 4 hours ago, standingticket said: Perhaps this is the wrong place to post this, but the RB announced yesterday that Nehemiah Kish will retire at the end of the season. I am sad about this. Like many others on this forum, I felt that Kish really came into his own this season and would have been a wonderful asset as a character artist. A shame. Good luck to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 5 hours ago, standingticket said: Perhaps this is the wrong place to post this, but the RB announced yesterday that Nehemiah Kish will retire at the end of the season. There’s a specific thread about his retirement in the News forum if anyone wants to record their best wishes to him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 On 11/06/2019 at 20:12, HappyTurk said: I personally see Bracewell being promoted first. I'm not yet sold on Corrales' artistic presence. So I think he needs a bit more time developing it. And they need principals with some height. Bracewell is taller than Corrales, I think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 How tall is Corrales? I can't find a reference and have not been able to work it out seeing him on stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) It is always interesting to read the range of views about likely end of season promotions. I shall be surprised if another male principal were to be appointed this year. Kevin is not under any immediate pressure to appoint a second one and if he approaches the question of promotion pragmatically he might well conclude that while Corrales and Bracewell show great promise both need to add a wider range of RB repertory and roles before they are promoted. He might feel that while Corrales may be exciting he could do with a little more Royal Ballet polish. From a purely practical perspective Reece Clarke who is still only a Soloist has a far wider range of RB repertory at his command than either of the men whose promotion to Principal has been most discussed have at present. This plus his height makes him, even at this stage of his career, a more versatile and useful dancer than they are currently. To put it bluntly he could partner O'Sullivan, Heap, Stix-Brunell and Storm-Jensen with equal ease. As far as his repertory is concerned we need to remember that he has danced the Princes in both Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker in the company's traditional stagings; MacMillan's de Grieux; Nureyev's Jean de Briene at his RBS performance; Wheeldon's Camillo and Polixenes,; in the Ashton repertory he has danced a fine Aminta, given a good account of the Young Man in Pigeons and of the Somes role in Symphonic Variations and that he has recently added Acosta's Espada to his repertory. I don't think that Kevin is going to promote him to Principal this year but I think that along with O'Sullivan who has proved her worth and range during the last two seasons he will be promoted to First Soloist. I think that Kevin may let the three men compete for the immediate vacancy and use the money freed up by not filling the gap elsewhere in the company this season. After all further vacancies will arise at Principal level in the not too distant future. Kevin has three vacancies at First Soloist created by the retirement of Kobayashi and Crawford,and Sambe's promotion . He does not have to fill all three of them at present and among the other Soloists it is not entirely clear who should be promoted. Should he promote Edmonds or Richardson when that might block the advancement of a younger dancer who has even more to offer in a season or two ? I am glad I don't have to make the decision. Assuming that there are two promotions to First Soloist then Kevin will have three soloist vacancies to fill as Emma Maguire who retired earlier in the season has not been replaced. As Alec Beard has said that he is not going to tell Kevin how many dancers he can employ I assume that he isn't going to tell him how many dancers he must have in each tier of the company hierarchy. If that is the case then presumably Kevin could choose to use the money saved from not appointing a third First Soloist to fund a fourth dancer at Soloist level. That might make some sense as there are a number of dancers at First Artist level who have proved their worth and have expanded their range during the last two seasons. They include Donnelly, Dubreuil, Sissens and then there is Yudes who, apart from the quality of his dancing revealed his versatility by delivering a fine account of the role of Sancho Panza earlier in the season. Then there are stalwarts like Gasparini and Pajdak who pop up all over the place and inhabit their roles. Pajdak seems to have been in everything this season some times playing markedly different roles in the same ballet with different casts.As well as leading the Bayaderes down the ramp at every performance of La Bayadere which I attended she has added the character role of the Nurse to her repertory. I know that she has been with the company for some years but Kevin might decide to reward a couple of strongly committed team players in this round of promotions. We need to remember that Ashton once said words to the effect that a director has responsibility for an entire company not simply the favoured few. It boosts company morale if management is seen from time to time to acknowledge and reward loyal service delivered in the form of consistently high quality performances in supporting roles rather than always rewarding youthful promise. I say this because Morera said that after her appointment to Principal her colleagues had told her that they felt that her promotion made all their hard work worthwhile. It can be difficult to identify likely candidates for promotion at Artist level simply because they usually appear in roles in which conformity and uniformity are the order of the day and unless they are one of those rare dancers who draw the eye without apparently doing anything different from their colleagues either because of their presence or the quality of their movement or they are given a solo of some sort they are not always immediately identifiable. Having said that I think that Dixon must be in the running to move up a rung. Others who may be considered for promotion include Allnatt, Dias, Katsura and Maeda. Edited June 20, 2019 by FLOSS 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) Floss, yet another interesting post. Your pick of dancers for possible promotion tie in pretty much with my own views. I wonder when we will have the announcement? It was said to be "at the end of the season", but that has now passed...unless this means not until after the tours? Edited June 21, 2019 by Richard LH Addition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 We usually get the announcement at the end of the tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 11 hours ago, FLOSS said: Kevin has three vacancies at First Soloist created by the retirement of Kobayashi and Crawford,and Sambe's promotion . He does not have to fill all three of them at present and among the other Soloists it is not entirely clear who should be promoted. Heaven forbid that any AD *should* fill vacancies "just because they're there" - that risks not only blocking promotions for more promising dancers later on, but also means you may get a subpar dancer at [rank] level. Not to mention that it might, for example, be more appropriate at any given time to devote the resources to creating more Soloists, say, than First Soloists. Also, KOH's practice of "promoting ahead" makes it a little difficult to know what to predict. With previous ADs, it tended to be that you would go "Oh, so-and-so has been doing a lot of roles at Soloist level, and so should be promoted to Soloist". Now, when he seemingly tends to base quite a few of his decisions on expected future performance, it's not so easy to tell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, alison said: Heaven forbid that any AD *should* fill vacancies "just because they're there" - that risks not only blocking promotions for more promising dancers later on, but also means you may get a subpar dancer at [rank] level. Not to mention that it might, for example, be more appropriate at any given time to devote the resources to creating more Soloists, say, than First Soloists. Indeed - we have all seen certain dancers spend several years as Soloists or First Soloists (the highest rank they reach before eventual retirement) who do not fulfill their early promise at that level, but because they are now occupying the position (which seems to me to be a "jobs for life" scenario") are effectively blocking it from being available for a dancer who is now better than them to be promoted into. Were I in charge, this might inform extreme caution as to who I were to choose to promote when vacancies arise. Looking at the company's current personnel following the natural attrition of the past few years, I would say there are few if any dancers who are at a higher rank than they should be. That's a great position for the company to be in, and one worth maintaining. Edited June 21, 2019 by RuthE 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Is it really a 'jobs for life' scenario? I remember, for example, Fiona Chadwick having to leave when she was still at the height of her powers. I had assumed that dancers were on annual contracts, but maybe that's not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 15 hours ago, FLOSS said: Kevin has three vacancies at First Soloist created by the retirement of Kobayashi and Crawford,and Sambe's promotion . Assuming that there are two promotions to First Soloist then Kevin will have three soloist vacancies to fill as Emma Maguire who retired earlier in the season has not been replaced. As I don't want to take anything away from FLOSS's interesting musings but I am wondering why a number of posters seem to suggest that there is a quota within each RB rank. The primary determinants are surely: a) talent; b) potential; c) the Company's artistic needs going forward; d) 'reward' for services rendered; and e) budgetary constraint. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 11 hours ago, bridiem said: Is it really a 'jobs for life' scenario? I remember, for example, Fiona Chadwick having to leave when she was still at the height of her powers. I had assumed that dancers were on annual contracts, but maybe that's not the case. That was 25 years ago, though. "Jobs for life" may be overstating it, but unless things have changed since 2001 RB dancers can't be demoted, certainly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) 36 minutes ago, alison said: That was 25 years ago, though. "Jobs for life" may be overstating it, but unless things have changed since 2001 RB dancers can't be demoted, certainly. Sorry, not sure of the relevance of 2001 - were new employment terms introduced after the re-opening of the ROH? I wouldn't expect that dancers could be demoted (now or in the past); but I would have thought their contracts could not be renewed (as has clearly been the case in the past). Edited June 21, 2019 by bridiem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Ross Stretton's directorship. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 An interesting post from @FLOSS. I agree that apart from Sambe, I don't see any other principal promotions this year. Would imagine for the females, the next contenders would be O'Sullivan/Kaneko/Magri potentially next year, but equally as Alison has said I wouldn't want promotions for the sake of it and filling 'numbers', and people should only be promoted when they are at that talent level. This then moves onto the interesting discussion of are RB dancers continually monitored each year to check they are on the 'right' level from a downwards movement perspective, not just in terms of promotions? I agree that is highly unlikely that a dancer would get demoted (surely at least if KOH etc were considering this they may be given ample warning, facilitating the time to find a role in another company to save some potential embarrassment) and it would be incredibly demoralising not just for the dancer in question but for others in the company. To be constantly 'in fear' of losing a job is not a positive environment that many would want to work in, so I imagine demotions to be near impossible now, and something drastic would have to happen to the dancer/quality of their dancing for this to be even considered. Having said that, there comes the question of balance and whilst in an ideal world no one should be 'blocking' another's opportunities, I can imagine it is a bit of a numbers game as there isn't infinite budget to promote everyone who may be worthy and timings of retirement etc may not align, so in practice I imagine there is a bit of 'blocking' going on. (Although I agree with Ruth that I don't really think that anyone is dancing at a rank they shouldn't be!) Furthermore, I doubt anyone wants to see a company which is 'top heavy' and therefore diminishes the status etc of having reached a certain rank. But similarly, if a dancer is clearly not performing at a certain level, I do think something should be done (not necessarily a demotion, perhaps extra training/physio if someone has an injury, it should only be laziness and true lack of wanting to improve that should lead to a demotion, which in essence may be the same as asking someone to leave the company, meaning no one really gets 'demoted' per se). Regarding Capybara's point re a 'quota' for each level, I imagine that there is one surely because of budget, and because you wouldn't want more principals than first soloists for example. Unfortunately while I think there is vast talent throughout all ranks of the RB, not everyone is at principal/soloist or ever will be (in the RB at least) and that's just a fact of life. I don't think anyone should be promoted as a 'reward' for long service, they should only be promoted if they have demonstrated the appropriate talent for the next rank (which isn't mutually exclusive to being rewarded). I also don't think anyone should be promoted on 'potential' - whilst this may link to talent, I think a dancer must have proved themselves to be promoted. For example someone like Anna Rose O'Sullivan has great potential - but should she be promoted to principal just because she has this and is dancing some principal roles next season? In my opinion no, once she has 'proved' herself in those roles at a principal level only then a promotion should be considered. (Capybara I don't think you were saying someone should be promoted on potential alone, I take your comment to mean that potential is just one thing that should be considered). To go back to the 'promotion prediction' element of this thread: - Anna Rose O'Sullivan to First Soloist (surely this is almost a given with her dancing Aurora/Swanhilda) - Romany Pajdak to Soloist - surely this too is given, considering her appearance in the Fonteyn gala, her work in La Bayadere and other appearances throughout the year - Reece Clark to First Soloist (less sure on this one, but he deserves it. Unfortunately his injuries this season may mean he doesn't 'make the cut' this year however). - David Yudes to Soloist - he was Kolia in A month in the Country and has been in various other roles at soloist level throughout the year There may be some I have missed as I'm not an avid a ballet-goer as some on here, but these are the ones that seem likely to get promoted (and deservedly so) in my view. I don't think any more than 5 promotions should/would happen (including Sambe plus the four above) but I have no idea how this actually works and what the 'rules' are so I may be totally wrong. Best of luck to all the dancers anyway, I hope they are enjoying Japan and their Summer break! I've also realised this post is much longer than I intended so thanks to those who read it all! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 As an aside (sorry if this is too far off topic) what happens to dancers when they retire? Do they get a pension or do they have to go off and find other work (perhaps as a dance teacher etc). I always think with dancers/athletes that whilst it must be a fabulous job to genuinely do what you love, knowing that you only have a certain number of years relative to other jobs means that being able to financially support yourself once you are no longer at your dancing peak/able to dance must be so difficult, especially for those who aren't principal level or well known. Must be a big sacrifice on one level and this makes me all the more appreciative of the work that the corps/artists do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 22, 2019 Author Share Posted June 22, 2019 RB dancers used, I believe, to be able to claim something at, or soon after, their retirement. This does not apply any longer` and pensions 'kick in' much later on, apparently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Last I heard, dancers, like footballers, were allowed to draw a pension at 35. The practicalities, however, mean that most dancers won't have earned the sort of money by then which would really make drawing a pension feasible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 On 22/06/2019 at 21:50, JNC said: - Romany Pajdak to Soloist - surely this too is given, considering her appearance in the Fonteyn gala, her work in La Bayadere and other appearances throughout the year Really? Romany Pajdak has been dancing significant featured roles for several years, is a terrific actress, and for four or five years now I've been expecting/hoping that a promotion to Soloist will be announced, to the point that I've pretty much given up on it ever happening. I'd be delighted if it happened. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, RuthE said: Really? Romany Pajdak has been dancing significant featured roles for several years, is a terrific actress, and for four or five years now I've been expecting/hoping that a promotion to Soloist will be announced, to the point that I've pretty much given up on it ever happening. I'd be delighted if it happened. I agree - it’s one of the enduring mysteries! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Judging from what I've just seen in Japan, Mayara Magri is now right up there as a potential Principal, with Fumi Kaneko not far behind. Interesting to see what will happen. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 I would put it the other way round....Fumi is almost ready with Mayara following behind! Very different dancers, but I think (and hope) they will both go all the way! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 6 hours ago, RuthE said: Really? Romany Pajdak has been dancing significant featured roles for several years, is a terrific actress, and for four or five years now I've been expecting/hoping that a promotion to Soloist will be announced, to the point that I've pretty much given up on it ever happening. I'd be delighted if it happened. Oh that's interesting Ruth! Sorry I haven't been following RB as long as others have on here! But I still think it's likely (or at least hope it is) - she was the only one below First Soloist level to be given a big part in the gala (aside from O'Sullivan, but she was replacing Morera last minute, and also looks to be promoted to First Soloist this year anyway perhaps). I really do hope it does happen, she deserves it and certainly can dance at a Soloist level no problem so it would be odd if someone else was to be promoted 'instead'. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah langfield Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 11 hours ago, JennyTaylor said: Judging from what I've just seen in Japan, Mayara Magri is now right up there as a potential Principal, with Fumi Kaneko not far behind. Interesting to see what will happen. I totally agree Mayara is wonderful and long before she was in the company I felt she would one day rise to the very top. i Love her ability to radiate a real joy when she dances. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 When do the promotions get announced? Regarding ‘jobs for life’ from what I see I’d say RB management are doing a better job of managing retirements/moving on these days. I note the arts management courses that Nehemiah Kish and Federico Bonelli are taking up. Although I’m now going to negate that statement, in that I can’t understand why Alexander Campbell wasn’t scheduled to dance either Romeo, Mercutio or even Tybalt in the recent run of R&J - it’s not like he had something else on (guesting elsewhere or whatever) at the time. Hmmm. Seems a waste of a principal and of his dance career. We know he’s going to make an excellent presenter and/or manager later on. But a dancer needs to dance while they still can - such a short time to perform. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 45 minutes ago, FionaE said: When do the promotions get announced? I suspect it will be after the foreign tours have finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah langfield Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 My predictions are Mayara Magri to Principal, Anna Rose O Sullivan and Reece Clarke to First soloist, Romany Pajdak and Joseph Sissens to Soloist, Lukas Braenstrod and Sae Maeda to First Artist Yu Hang to artist. This is probably just my wish list! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 On 29/06/2019 at 14:17, Jan McNulty said: I suspect it will be after the foreign tours have finished. When is that? On an aside, it would be nice if they toured the UK occasionally! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 (edited) 42 minutes ago, taxi4ballet said: When is that? They have "done" Japan, and finish in LA on Saturday (13th). So hopefully the announcement will be next week. Edited July 11, 2019 by Richard LH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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