Royal Ballet School Summer Performance 2019 and Annual Performance

[SPD444]

5 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

We had a few of them in the Marquis of Anglesey with their parents watching the remaining 3 hours of Wimbledon men's singles final, too!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the RBS performance yesterday, though having seen one of the Holland Park "predominantly Upper School" shows, was *slightly* disappointed that with the exception of the solo piece, the Paquita Mazurka for the youngest students, and of course the grand defile, it was effectively the same show.  However, with much of the principal casting different except in Simple Symphony, there wasn't really that much sense of repetition.  I echo the thoughts of those above who complimented Untied, Undone.

 

I was struck by how much better Simple Symphony looked on the ROH stage; at Holland Park without the lit backdrop, the costumes looked lurid, but with the correct background lighting it was much easier on the eye. And I was glad to see La Valse repeated on the ROH stage, as at Holland Park (which has no curtains) the ending just doesn't work.

 

As an aside, there was one White Lodge dancer not in any featured role who consistently caught my eye as I thought she had a characterful face and radiated personality.  She was in Bottega and then ended up at the front of the line of Year 10 girls at the end of the grand defile.  I'll look out for her again next year!

 

I would add to your comments RuthE that  having a “live” orchestra as opposed to recorded music made a huge difference. Great job by all concerned and a shout for Jay Jolley who is retiring after 20 plus years ( if they let him)

 

[RuthE]

Yes, it did indeed.  Besides what it adds to the actual dance items, the atmosphere gains significantly from the ambient sounds of an orchestra before the performance and during the interval.  It's very odd not to have it at Holland Park - and that's speaking from the point of view of somebody who's a frequent operagoer at Holland Park and therefore is used to the ambient orchestra sounds there.  Of course at Holland Park the stage extension used for the RBS performances occupies most of the "pit" area, so they couldn't have a live orchestra for the RBS even if they wanted to.

[Waitingmum]

8 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

We had a few of them in the Marquis of Anglesey with their parents watching the remaining 3 hours of Wimbledon men's singles final, too!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the RBS performance yesterday, though having seen one of the Holland Park "predominantly Upper School" shows, was *slightly* disappointed that with the exception of the solo piece, the Paquita Mazurka for the youngest students, and of course the grand defile, it was effectively the same show.  However, with much of the principal casting different except in Simple Symphony, there wasn't really that much sense of repetition.  I echo the thoughts of those above who complimented Untied, Undone.

 

I was struck by how much better Simple Symphony looked on the ROH stage; at Holland Park without the lit backdrop, the costumes looked lurid, but with the correct background lighting it was much easier on the eye. And I was glad to see La Valse repeated on the ROH stage, as at Holland Park (which has no curtains) the ending just doesn't work.

 

As an aside, there was one White Lodge dancer not in any featured role who consistently caught my eye as I thought she had a characterful face and radiated personality.  She was in Bottega and then ended up at the front of the line of Year 10 girls at the end of the grand defile.  I'll look out for her again next year!

I shall pass your message on about the Year 10 girl - my DD will be thrilled to hear your lovely words!!

[RuthE]

3 hours ago, Waitingmum said:

I shall pass your message on about the Year 10 girl - my DD will be thrilled to hear your lovely words!!

 

Oh, that’s nice to hear it was somebody “tangible”! She doesn’t have the “stereotypical” ballerina look, and had really strong presence and solid technique (the school must agree if they put her at the front of her year group) and really stood out from the crowd. I love it when my eye is drawn to somebody interesting! Best of luck to her.

[fashionista]

As always, it is a great pleasure to watch the young emerging talent from the RBS.  My only regret is the programming - I attended the Sunday matinee at the ROH.  There are too many "abstract" pieces with mediocre choreography.  Not the students' fault who danced with total enthusiasm and talent.  I think it is a mistake not to include heritage pieces and not to include a work which gives the students a chance to show dramatic ability.  Not that all students will join the RB/BRB, but their repertoire is heavily biased towards dramatic works, and as such, so should the training at the RBS reflect this.  Some "meatier" one act works would have given the students a better chance to show "all round" ability (dancing as well as acting) - The Dream, Checkmate, The Rake's Progress - to name a few, come to my mind.  Or, indeed, a full length work, say Coppelia, Giselle, Fille or The Two Pigeons, perhaps preceded by the "national" dances for the White Lodgers.  I think the present programming needs a re-think.   

[alison]

I didn't attend any of the performances this year, but have said in the past that the students do need to perform some sort of established "classical" repertory to act as a yardstick: it's very easy to create custom-built pieces which cater to all the students' strengths and make them look great, but it's only when they're tested against existing, repertory, work that their quality can really be shown.

[bangorballetboy]

59 minutes ago, alison said:

I didn't attend any of the performances this year, but have said in the past that the students do need to perform some sort of established "classical" repertory to act as a yardstick

 

I think Paquita fits that bill...

[capybara]

For the benefit of those who were unable to attend the end of year performance at the ROH, the programme as was follows:

 

La Valse by Frederick Ashton performed by the Upper School 1st, 2nd and 3rd Year

Bottega by Petal Miller Ashmole, newly choreographed for White  Lodge Years 10 and 11 students

'Scottish Dances' from Flowers of the Forest by David Bintley danced by the Upper School  3rd Year

Start Again choreographed and performed by Kele Roberson

Simple Symphony by Alastair Marriott danced by the Upper School 2nd Year

Pulse by Goyo Montero danced by the majority of the Upper School 1st, 2nd and 3rd Years

Excerpts from Swan Lake by Mats Ek performed by Upper School 3rd Year students

Untied, Undone  a new work for Upper School male students by Ashley Page

Paquita excerpts mainly danced by Upper School Students but also including the Mazurka for White Lodge Years 7, 8 and 9

Grand Defile for the whole school

 

I personally felt that this selection did challenge the students to master a number of different styles.

 

[Lizbie1]

1 minute ago, capybara said:

I personally felt that this selection did challenge the students to master a number of different styles.

 

And I thought it was a big improvement on last year’s programme, which - the exhilarating Gran Défilé apart - was really only redeemed only by Aurora’s Wedding.

[alison]

47 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I think Paquita fits that bill...

 

Ah, my apologies.  I didn't spot that one - only saw La Valse - and was influenced by fashionista's comments.

 

Thanks to capybara for posting the whole programme.

[Dawnstar]

I thought there were too many abstract modern pieces in the OHP upper school programme. Though admittedly for me even one piece of abstract modern dance might be too many, depending on what it is.

[FLOSS]

 Many years ago the RBS main stage performance was essentially an opportunity for the Upper School, particularly the graduating class, to show what they could do. The first half of the performance was closely connected to de Valois' syllabus for the  youngest students which emphasised indigenous national dances which she thought encouraged fast clean footwork and enabled teachers to identify students who were not that musical and take action to remedy that defect. The format gave students at the Lower School the opportunity to perform national dances from England, Scotland and Ireland. The girls would generally dance a sequence of English country dances; the bulk of the boys would dance English sword dances; generally three students would dance an Irish jig and usually one boy danced a series of Scottish dances. The second half was generally devoted to the Upper School's performance of a ballet in the company's repertory. The Two Pigeons was a very regular and popular choice.

 

I have the impression that the format of the matinee changed when Gailene Stock took over the directorship of the School. At that point the purpose of the performance seemed to shift from enabling the students' relatives and former teachers to watch junior students perform folk dances and senior students dance a repertory piece and became  an opportunity for the school to provide a shop window for its teaching activities.The pieces selected for Upper School students to perform began to emphasise the range of dance styles which its students had mastered during their studies and their all round adaptability as performers. This was the point at which the School seemingly  began to distance itself from being seen simply as the feeder school for the two Royal Ballet companies, with all that entails concerning teaching and maintaining a company specific performance style, the reason for de Valois founding it, to becoming known for training infinitely adaptable dancers.

 

I have no doubt that this goes a long way to explain the wide range of styles displayed and the predominance of abstract pieces performed at the main stage performance. If the school is to maintain its position in the market it has to show that it can produce dancers who can tackle a range of abstract works  as so many companies perform a repertory largely based on such works. 

 

I have also heard it suggested that another factor which led to the format for the main stage performance being altered was that the school began to find it expedient to put everyone on stage at some point during the Covent Garden matinee because those who pay the  fees and sponsor students wanted to see what they had spent their money on.

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by FLOSS

[Yaffa]

How was the Paquita Mazurka on the main ROH stage and with an orchestra? I'm used to seeing YouTube videos of Vaganova students performing this in very grand settings.... Maybe that's why the Holland Park version seemed lacking, despite some obviously talented and enthusiastic young dancers. Unfortunately I couldn't get to the ROH matinee.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Yaffa
for clarity

[Pointedtoes123]

I think what needs to be remembered is that is a school performance and that the students are doing works and performing them at the standard of are typically of professionals and did extremely well at the the diverse works that were given to them. Its great to see the school pushing there students giving them the opportunity to do a wide range of repertoire so they can expand their knowledge and develop them artistically. These students did incredibly well and the future is looking bright for the stars of the future

[MJW]

Some pictures from the School's Flickr account

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royalballetschool/albums/72157709900307211

[Dawnstar]

La Valse looks as if it fitted much better on the ROH stage than it did on the OHP one.

[LinMM]

I thought it looked a touch crowded even on the main stage!! The effect was good but must have been difficult for the dancers!