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Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre - From Northern Ballet to ABT, the New York Met and Joffrey


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Tonight, at the New York Metropolitan Opera House, American Ballet Theatre will stage the US premiere of Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre, first commissioned by Northern Ballet and toured in the UK during 2016.  I hope we might hear reactions from any members over there, in addition to newspaper reviews picked up in Links.

 

For now, Playbill has published a useful introduction.

 

 

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‘Cathy Marston’s first memory of Jane Eyre is from when she was eight years old... The final image of the BBC’s 1983 Jane Eyre has always stuck with her. “Timothy Dalton was Rochester, and he was standing, blind, under a big tree,” she says. “I’ve had absolute fondness for the story ever since.”’

 

No wonder this Jane Eyre resonated so strongly with me: I have exactly the same first memory of it, at the same age. (And it’s still the best screen adaptation IMO.)

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1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

This is such a great story for a ballet.  I hope you enjoy it!

 

Cathy Marston indeed created this very fine ballet on Northern Ballet.  Did you see it when it toured the UK last year Maryetc?

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5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Cathy Marston indeed created this very fine ballet on Northern Ballet.  Did you see it when it toured the UK last year Maryetc?

No, the only Marston ballet I've seen is 'Victoria'.  I'll look out for Jane Eyre if it appears within reach.

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Interesting review, thanks. I agree about the sets (and I imagine the Met's large stage will have done it no favours), but very little else - in particular, both times I saw it with NB, Jane's strength and her power over Rochester was made very clear. I don't know if that was down to the coaching and dancers: NB's are very much "dance actors" IMO, and while I'm not familiar with their dramatic abilities, ABTs dancers would presumably have had a lot less time in the studio to work on characterisation. I gather also that Cathy Marston had to delegate the staging to assistants.

 

About the score: I really liked it, and I hate most new ballet scores - not because they're too modern but because they all sound like so much bland wallpaper to me. Maybe it's because of my liking for the Schubert in it!

 

Always good to hear different views though.

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Sorry to be Debbie Downer but I thought that Jane Eyre was horrible as a “ballet.” Fine pantomime. Whiteside is a very effective mime artist as Rochester. He’s also a strong  lifter of the tall but dull Devon Teuscher (Jane). I felt bad for other ABT principals and soloists whose talents were wasted in small acting roles, such as Stella Abrera as Blanche. The sets were plain and the tunes felt like “music by the yard.” Well, I gave Marston a try. 

 

p.s. I was thinking that, beside providing the understandable support for female choreographers, the acquisition of Jane Eyre fits the bill in providing a starring opportunity for principal(s) who may not have the technique to properly perform the Balanchines, Ratmanskys or Petipas.

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It does sound like a mismatch between ballet and company (and their audience). I was slightly surprised to hear that ABT were doing it and had wondered whether Marston would change the choreography to suit the company but evidently that didn’t happen.

 

(I really rate NB for their “dance theatre” but they are a long way from being a classical ballet company - their focus is very different.)

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3 minutes ago, Ivy Lin said:

@Lizbie1 I can see how a less "classical" ballet company which focused heavily on acting would do well with Jane Eyre. But I also think the Met is too big of a house for this work. 

 

It used quite a small number of dancers when I saw it - maybe 16 in total and certainly not Northern Ballet’s full complement. Did that change?

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12 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

It used quite a small number of dancers when I saw it - maybe 16 in total and certainly not Northern Ballet’s full complement. Did that change?

 

In the program I counted forty dancers. 

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4 minutes ago, Ivy Lin said:

 

In the program I counted forty dancers. 

 

Well I may be underestimating the number of dancers in the NB tour but not by that much. I guess there were some concessions made to the size of theatre.

 

Lest everyone think I’m a soft touch for new British choreography: I have been less than inspired by David Nixon’s work for Northern Ballet, I find Matthew Bourne mildly diverting at best and I’m apparently immune to the charms of Wheeldon. But Cathy Marston I have more time for than any other choreographer working now, with the exception of Ratmansky. That doesn’t mean that everyone should feel the same way, just that I wouldn’t write her off on the basis of one apparently less than ideal staging.

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23 hours ago, Ivy Lin said:

@Lizbie1 I can see how a less "classical" ballet company which focused heavily on acting would do well with Jane Eyre. But I also think the Met is too big of a house for this work. 

 

22 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

It used quite a small number of dancers when I saw it - maybe 16 in total and certainly not Northern Ballet’s full complement. Did that change?

 

For three years Northern Ballet did a mini tour going to smaller theatres in places they don't usually go to and used approximately half the company.  I believe our stages in general are smaller than those in America (but please tell me if I am wrong).

 

Out of necessity the sets had to be simple because of the even smaller than usual stages.  I think the work used 19 dancers.

 

When the work was toured to their usual venues last year I was surprised that the piece hadn't been expanded for more dancers (but having read the book again after many years there aren't that many people in it).

 

Cathy Marston obviously spent some time with ABT because I saw a videod discussion with her and 2 of the Janes.  Her long-time associate (Jenny Tattersall) and Daniel de Andrade (Ballet Master at Northern Ballet) rehearsed the production with ABT.

 

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11 hours ago, Jeannette said:

I was thinking that, beside providing the understandable support for female choreographers, the acquisition of Jane Eyre fits the bill in providing a starring opportunity for principal(s) who may not have the technique to properly perform the Balanchines, Ratmanskys or Petipas.

 

!!!! 😱

 

Surely anyone who lacks technique to that extent, in a company such as ABT, shouldn't be a principal!

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According to this article, 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/arts/dance/jane-eyre-cathy-marston-american-ballet-theater.html

Kevin McKenzie asked Marston to mount this in a short period. 

Quote

He asked her to create a new one-act ballet for Ballet Theater’s fall 2020 season. Then a crisis loomed. A full-evening program planned for this year’s Met season fell through. Mr. McKenzie thought of “Jane Eyre.” “I told Cathy that if she could figure out how to stage the ballet in a short time, let’s do it.”

 

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1 hour ago, Sophoife said:

 

!!!! 😱

 

Surely anyone who lacks technique to that extent, in a company such as ABT, shouldn't be a principal!

 

It doesn't necessarily mean that dancers don't have classical technique.  People often think of NB as being a narrative company of a particular style but as Yoko Ichino's production of Giselle proved a couple of years ago, NB can do classical with the best of them (and better than some!).

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I'm relieved to see Michael Popkin's substantially more positive review for Danceviewtimes in today's Links.  As this Forum shows, day in and day out, we all see things differently when in a theatre - and Cathy's Jane seems to have worked for him, as it did for me some three years ago in the small Richmond Theatre in southwest London, during the tour of Northern Ballet's original version.  The scale then was small, with nowhere near 40 dancers, so perhaps there might be an 'issue' with putting it on a substantially larger stage, as has been suggested.

 

Nonetheless, from what I've seen on Twitter, Cathy has been in New York for some time - and as Janet said, above, both Jenny and Daniel de Andrade have assisted in the staging.  So, for good or ill, what was seen is what Cathy wanted to show.   And, of course, the production goes to Joffrey Ballet in Chicago in October.

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Sophoife said:

 

!!!! 😱

 

Surely anyone who lacks technique to that extent, in a company such as ABT, shouldn't be a principal!

 

Well, there’s one principal I have in mind...but that’s another story. Best to keep my mouth shut and move on. Back to watching D-Day commemorations on the telly....

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9 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

It doesn't necessarily mean that dancers don't have classical technique.  People often think of NB as being a narrative company of a particular style but as Yoko Ichino's production of Giselle proved a couple of years ago, NB can do classical with the best of them (and better than some!).

 

Oh no, @Jan McNulty I was not casting any aspersions on NB dancers, far from it, and I do hope that's not how you read my comment. I was responding specifically to  @Jeannette and her comment re ABT principal(s).

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2 minutes ago, Sophoife said:

 

Oh no, @Jan McNulty I was not casting any aspersions on NB dancers, far from it, and I do hope that's not how you read my comment. I was responding specifically to  @Jeannette and her comment re ABT principal(s).

 

I can appreciate that dancers have to keep up with a particular style but (and I know I am being defensive here) all too often Northern Ballet are typecast.  My proudest moments as a follower of Northern Ballet was seeing them perform their MacMillan programme to great acclaim.

 

I sometimes think it can be hard for dancers steeped in a very classical style to adapt to more free-flowing narrative styles.

 

I was fortunate to be at the world premiere of Jane Eyre in Doncaster and saw many more performances last year.  I saw NB grow and grow into this piece and they came to make it very special indeed.

 

I've also seen reviews of other "very-British" works being performed in America so I should not be surprised by the response to Jane Eyre.  Realistically though this may not have been the best fit for ABT.  I hope the audiences enjoyed it more than most of the critics!

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@Jan McNulty it’s not a national thing. We Americans love our Ashton, who blended steps and stories so beautifully...very British! MacMillan is another British pillar of ABT. We also love narrative ballets, in general. I reread my Bronte before traveling to NY with an open mind, so looking forward to this. I feel that the main problem with Jane Eyre is the limited vocabulary of ballet steps.

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10 hours ago, Jeannette said:

@Jan McNulty it’s not a national thing. We Americans love our Ashton, who blended steps and stories so beautifully...very British! MacMillan is another British pillar of ABT. We also love narrative ballets, in general. I reread my Bronte before traveling to NY with an open mind, so looking forward to this. I feel that the main problem with Jane Eyre is the limited vocabulary of ballet steps.

 

I think it is a national thing - at writers/critics level anyway. Not sure if it's the same at audience level, but any differences there, I suspect, will be much smaller.

 

Good to see Popkin's generally +ve review, but there are three 2 star reviews out there and one review that doesn't star rate but reads like 2 stars. Of those four, three are by writers of great consequence and much experience - Gia Kourlas, Marina Harss and Robert Greskovic. I admire them all - greatly. All up, out of a current haul of five reviews, four are very unhappy.

 

My recollection was that back in 2016 Jane Eyre was critically well received and got 4 star reviews, either overtly or inferred from the tone of the review. I just did a quick check and came up with this list:

 

Jane Eyre 2016 premiere and tour - reviews

 

FT/Louise Levene/4 stars: "a textbook example of dance storytelling"

 

Observer/Luke Jennings/4 stars: "Restrained, but clear and fluent choreography brings Charlotte Brontë’s novel to life on the stage"

 

Telegraph/Rachel Ward/4 stars/"Marston has succeeded in crafting a beautiful and expressive new ballet that soars in the triumph of effecting change from the inside out."

 

Guardian/Judith Mackrell/4 stars: "Cathy Marston displays a novelist’s touch in layering characters in her wonderfully choreographed show for Northern Ballet"

 

Spectator/Ismene Brown: "It wasn’t really a surprise that Cathy Marston had a triumph with the Brontë — Royal Ballet-raised but Europe-bred, the choreographer has gradually developed a knack for character empathy and, crucially, a gift for externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way."

 

DanceTabs/BM/4 stars "It’s actually the best new narrative work I’ve seen Northern Ballet do in many years."

 

BTG/Mark Smith "this ballet demonstrates a fierce intelligence and wit"

 

Fjord/Rachel Elderkin: "this production by the Leeds-based company is a fitting celebration of the Yorkshire author’s most famous work."

 

END of review quotes.

 

There will inevitably be some less glowing reviews in the UK, but the point is that the overwhelming weight of critical option (here) see's the work at the 4 star level.

 

Why this difference? I think in America Balanchine set expectations and when American critics talk of British choreographers they usually mention Ashton first. He's seen as somebody who could 'trade blows' with Balanchine at broadly equal level. MacMillan is never usually mentioned in the same breath and ultimately seen as a bit alien and second division, regardless of how he connects with the audience. Marston of course is in the MacMillan tradition and wanders further in trying to find movement that, as Ismene Brown says, is about "externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way." For some it's about ballet steps conveying emotional drama and for others its about ballet informed movement conveying emotional drama.

 

The above is just my hunch - PhD's could be written on all this and I'm sure there are many other takes on the differences.

 

 

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Bruce:  I've no explanation to hand, but the apparent critical divide seems very real thus far, with just one positive review.  And I find it stranger still when Cathy's Snowblind for San Francisco Ballet was so well received last year, both in the Bay Area and when later taken to Washington DC - her essential approach there strikes me as very similar.  But just thinking about her work as simply 'ballet' seems sure to bring disappointment and that's not where she works at all, to my mind - though I'd certainly agree about "ballet informed movement."

 

As ever it's probably a matter of taste.  But I was heartened to see this a couple of hours ago - no sign there of a disappointed audience, or that Misty Copeland and Cory Stearns were at the end of a relative dud.

 

 

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15 hours ago, Bruce said:

 

I think it is a national thing - at writers/critics level anyway. Not sure if it's the same at audience level, but any differences there, I suspect, will be much smaller.

 

Good to see Popkin's generally +ve review, but there are three 2 star reviews out there and one review that doesn't star rate but reads like 2 stars. Of those four, three are by writers of great consequence and much experience - Gia Kourlas, Marina Harss and Robert Greskovic. I admire them all - greatly. All up, out of a current haul of five reviews, four are very unhappy.

 

My recollection was that back in 2016 Jane Eyre was critically well received and got 4 star reviews, either overtly or inferred from the tone of the review. I just did a quick check and came up with this list:

 

Jane Eyre 2016 premiere and tour - reviews

 

FT/Louise Levene/4 stars: "a textbook example of dance storytelling"

 

Observer/Luke Jennings/4 stars: "Restrained, but clear and fluent choreography brings Charlotte Brontë’s novel to life on the stage"

 

Telegraph/Rachel Ward/4 stars/"Marston has succeeded in crafting a beautiful and expressive new ballet that soars in the triumph of effecting change from the inside out."

 

Guardian/Judith Mackrell/4 stars: "Cathy Marston displays a novelist’s touch in layering characters in her wonderfully choreographed show for Northern Ballet"

 

Spectator/Ismene Brown: "It wasn’t really a surprise that Cathy Marston had a triumph with the Brontë — Royal Ballet-raised but Europe-bred, the choreographer has gradually developed a knack for character empathy and, crucially, a gift for externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way."

 

DanceTabs/BM/4 stars "It’s actually the best new narrative work I’ve seen Northern Ballet do in many years."

 

BTG/Mark Smith "this ballet demonstrates a fierce intelligence and wit"

 

Fjord/Rachel Elderkin: "this production by the Leeds-based company is a fitting celebration of the Yorkshire author’s most famous work."

 

END of review quotes.

 

There will inevitably be some less glowing reviews in the UK, but the point is that the overwhelming weight of critical option (here) see's the work at the 4 star level.

 

Why this difference? I think in America Balanchine set expectations and when American critics talk of British choreographers they usually mention Ashton first. He's seen as somebody who could 'trade blows' with Balanchine at broadly equal level. MacMillan is never usually mentioned in the same breath and ultimately seen as a bit alien and second division, regardless of how he connects with the audience. Marston of course is in the MacMillan tradition and wanders further in trying to find movement that, as Ismene Brown says, is about "externalising inner feelings in a vividly legible way." For some it's about ballet steps conveying emotional drama and for others its about ballet informed movement conveying emotional drama.

 

The above is just my hunch - PhD's could be written on all this and I'm sure there are many other takes on the differences.

 

 

 

It really isn't a national thing. I like Cranko, some MacMillan, Wayne McGregor ... I was at the premiere of Jane Eyre at ABT and wrote a review. It was legitimately awful. I would have said the same thing had the choreographer been American. Had the choreographer been Balanchine I would have said this was the worst thing he ever choreographed.

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Well something must have been lost in translation - but without anyone coughing to having seen both companies performing it, we can’t know what.

 

I don’t think it’s just a case of lower standards or expectations - leaving aside my own and other forum members’ critical faculties, I can’t see Luke Jennings, Judith Mackrell, Louise Levene and Ismene Brown all being taken in - I can think of at least one of those who would be glad to burst any bubbles they perceived to be forming.

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Well maybe expectations are different for a small touring company like Northern Ballet and ABT's spring season where seats regularly run into three digits and this was heavily hyped as one of the big Events of the season?

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1 minute ago, Ivy Lin said:

Well maybe expectations are different for a small touring company like Northern Ballet and ABT's spring season where seats regularly run into three digits and this was heavily hyped as one of the big Events of the season?

 

All I can say is that I see the RB frequently and the Mariinsky and Bolshoi whenever they’re in town, and Jane Eyre was hands down the ballet highlight of 2018 for me.

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