Dawnstar Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, J_New said: and I am looking forward to Manon - sorry! Oh good, I was beginning to think I was the only person who was looking forward to it! Admittedly I've only seen ENB's version so the RB's production will be new to me. I haven't seen enough ballet to meaningfully contribute to this thread but out of what I have seen I suspect I may find Romeo & Juliet the most repeat-viewable, especially as it'd be worth seeing it every year just to hear the score live, quite apart from the dancing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianlond Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Symphonic Variations (Ashton) - I could happily watch this multiple times in one evening and never get tired of its genius. Certainly every season. The Dream (Ashton) although perhaps its magic would wear off after a while. Apollo & possibly Agon (Balanchine) Maybe L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Mark Morris) - a dance I love 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 i know it may be unpopular but I would love Mayerling to feature! Plus Manon, Winter's Tale, Les Noces, Firebird, La Sylphide, the proper Napoli, Apollo, Symphonic Variations, Onegin, Sleeping Beauty. All of these would, of course, be at an affordable cost! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Don Quixote Onegin Jewels Les Patineurs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 (edited) It seems that Symphonic Variations is on just about everyone's list. Including mine. Not sure if Kevin O'Hare reads anything on here, but if he does please take note! I could watch that on every single triple bill and still never get enough of it. While the whole of La Bayadere might be impossible each year, I would be very happy to see the Kingdom of the Shades as often as they would care to do it. Personally, I love Monotones 1 & 2 as well. Edited June 27, 2019 by Fonty 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 18 minutes ago, Fonty said: Personally, I love Monotones 1 & 2 as well. Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 New work by Ratmansky and Crystal Pite - year in, year out, but sadly not going to happen. Festival of new works - like San Francisco Ballet did last year - 12 new works from a wide variety of choreographers arranged as 4 bills of 3 ballets delivered in rapid succession. Festival of young choreographers work - where they can do exactly what they want without all the stuff about having to commission a score and whatever. The past will take care of itself I'm sure! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 17 minutes ago, Darlex said: Me too. Me three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 1 hour ago, Fonty said: It seems that Symphonic Variations is on just about everyone's list. Including mine. Not sure if Kevin O'Hare reads anything on here, but if he does please take note! I could watch that on every single triple bill and still never get enough of it. I earnestly believe that Symphonic Variations should be for the RB what Serenade is for NYCB. They are both acts of artistic divine justice ... and ably build the strength of the respective Companies and - most crucially - audiences at one and the same time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Bruce said: New work by Ratmansky and Crystal Pite - year in, year out, but sadly not going to happen. Festival of new works - like San Francisco Ballet did last year - 12 new works from a wide variety of choreographers arranged as 4 bills of 3 ballets delivered in rapid succession. Festival of young choreographers work - where they can do exactly what they want without all the stuff about having to commission a score and whatever. The past will take care of itself I'm sure! Got no problem with a festival of young choreographers' work annually, in the Linbury. Might be fun. But sadly, the past doesn't take care of itself, it needs to be nurtured and cared for, otherwise the original intent is lost and people start to wonder why these choreographers were ever considered to be great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 32 minutes ago, Fonty said: But sadly, the past doesn't take care of itself, it needs to be nurtured and cared for, otherwise the original intent is lost and people start to wonder why these choreographers were ever considered to be great. It was a little tongue in check. Even if you did all the new work I mentioned, year in, year out, (which would never happen) there would still be lots of slots and bills which would be filled by the great things of the past. There are many threads on the forum about favourite ballets and what should be in next season etc. and hardly anybody talks about new work. I feel that's a great shame - it's what a vibrant art should be concerned about. Yes, it's right to do 'Ye Olde British Ballet' justice, but not to forget the future - which threads like this tend to. For what is worth I have many past favs, but am content to see them come around every now and then. Every ballet you repeated each year would really condemn some good works to the scrapheap for lack of performance slots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 48 minutes ago, Bruce said: There are many threads on the forum about favourite ballets and what should be in next season etc. and hardly anybody talks about new work. I feel that's a great shame - it's what a vibrant art should be concerned about. Yes, it's right to do 'Ye Olde British Ballet' justice, but not to forget the future - which threads like this tend to. Well the trouble is, of course, that it's not possible to know in advance if a new work will be good, so it's a bit difficult to include specific new works/works not yet created in lists of favourite ballets or ones you'd be happy to see every year. But in general, yes, new works are absolutely 100% essential, every year. Though there would be many views about who should be commissioned, of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 6 hours ago, Bruce said: The past will take care of itself I'm sure! I wonder rather whether it’s the new works - by which I mean the habitual commissioning of them, not the specific new works - which take care of themselves. Ballet companies seem prepared to take a hit at the box office on them, through low prices or poor sales, which would see many older ballets ejected from rotation. I don’t know how much of this decreased box office revenue is compensated for by special grants or increased central funding tied to their creation, but it’s apparently enough to make it a viable model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 7 hours ago, Fonty said: While the whole of La Bayadere might be impossible each year, I would be very happy to see the Kingdom of the Shades as often as they would care to do it. Am I the only person who doesn't like the Kingdom of the Shades? Admittedly I've not seen it live but I saw both the RB & Bolshoi livestreams this season & in both instances I found the Kingdom of the Shades the most boring part of the ballet. Maybe I just don't like white acts, as I wasn't that keen on the corps parts of Acts 2 & 4 of Swan Lake either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Dawnstar said: Am I the only person who doesn't like the Kingdom of the Shades? Admittedly I've not seen it live but I saw both the RB & Bolshoi livestreams this season & in both instances I found the Kingdom of the Shades the most boring part of the ballet. Maybe I just don't like white acts, as I wasn't that keen on the corps parts of Acts 2 & 4 of Swan Lake either. My late husband would have agreed with you! He loved ballet, but wasn't keen on 'white' ballets where he got tired of all those ladies in white frocks hopping about on one leg! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 4 hours ago, Dawnstar said: Am I the only person who doesn't like the Kingdom of the Shades? Admittedly I've not seen it live but I saw both the RB & Bolshoi livestreams this season & in both instances I found the Kingdom of the Shades the most boring part of the ballet. Maybe I just don't like white acts, as I wasn't that keen on the corps parts of Acts 2 & 4 of Swan Lake either. Best perhaps to steer clear of the second act of Giselle in this case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 7 hours ago, Bruce Wall said: Best perhaps to steer clear of the second act of Giselle in this case. I've not seen Giselle so I guess I'd better give it a go at least once, though I suspect that there may indeed be too much Willi dancing for my taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 14 hours ago, Dawnstar said: Am I the only person who doesn't like the Kingdom of the Shades? I don't think I would love it either if I hadn't seen it live. To me, part of the magic is that the very knowledgeable audience eagerly waits for that scene. You can feel the crowd rooting for each and every member of the corps as they slowly descend. Then the huge applause at the end is like a wave of love for these (mostly) unsung heroes. It is an electric moment. I agree watching it as a recording can be boring, but here is a nice behind the scenes video as they rehearse 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 1 minute ago, Candleque said: I don't think I would love it either if I hadn't seen it live. To me, part of the magic is that the very knowledgeable audience eagerly waits for that scene. You can feel the crowd rooting for each and every member of the corps as they slowly descend. Then the huge applause at the end is like a wave of love for these (mostly) unsung heroes. It is an electric moment. I agree watching it as a recording can be boring, but here is a nice behind the scenes video as they rehearse Beautifully put Candleque. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Thanks @Jan McNulty ☺️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm365 Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 To see every year: The King Dances 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 8 hours ago, Dawnstar said: I've not seen Giselle so I guess I'd better give it a go at least once, though I suspect that there may indeed be too much Willi dancing for my taste. I'm not much of a fan of white acts either - but with Giselle, once Myrthe's solo opening sequence is over, I find it dramatically compelling because unlike any other scene I can think of, I'm not just watching abstract inconsequential dance sequences, I'm watching a direct dramatic representation through dance of characters who only exist to dance and make others dance. Does that make sense? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 3 hours ago, jm365 said: To see every year: The King Dances The ending of that piece is one of my best ballet visual memories- just stunning- William Bracewell especially was superb. Agree RuthE, totally, that the power of Giselle does come from the theme of dance- and interestingly The King Dances is also about dance. I like dance that is about itself; for me, like music, dance does not need to justify itself by being 'about' current events. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 1 hour ago, RuthE said: I'm not much of a fan of white acts either - but with Giselle, once Myrthe's solo opening sequence is over, I find it dramatically compelling because unlike any other scene I can think of, I'm not just watching abstract inconsequential dance sequences, I'm watching a direct dramatic representation through dance of characters who only exist to dance and make others dance. Does that make sense? I think so but I'll get back to you properly once I've seen it! Whenever that may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 On 27/06/2019 at 20:40, Dawnstar said: Am I the only person who doesn't like the Kingdom of the Shades? Admittedly I've not seen it live but I saw both the RB & Bolshoi livestreams this season & in both instances I found the Kingdom of the Shades the most boring part of the ballet. Maybe I just don't like white acts, as I wasn't that keen on the corps parts of Acts 2 & 4 of Swan Lake either. Nooo.. to me the Shades scene is the greatest white act in the ballet canon. Seen live it has me on the edge of my seat. Even the music gives me goosebumps. Agree though best seen live. I have never forgotten the first time I saw it - performed years ago by the Kirov. So beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. I do love all the white acts though it took me many years to come to love Giselle. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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