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How are the dancers faring?

alison
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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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8 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I think it's nice if you see a real-life couple playing the romantic leads in something & you know they're not entirely acting. This isn't just ballet, I like it in opera/plays/musicals/improv too. But maybe it's just me.


I’ve seen real-life couples dance together and there hasn’t been a romantic spark between them at all on stage and I remember one partnership on stage where we were told they couldn’t stand each other (by someone who knew both of them well) and they were dynamite.

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Jamesrhblack

Jamesrhblack

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1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:


I’ve seen real-life couples dance together and there hasn’t been a romantic spark between them at all on stage and I remember one partnership on stage where we were told they couldn’t stand each other (by someone who knew both of them well) and they were dynamite.

 

Interesting. Back in my singing days, I can remember a director telling me the trouble she had raising any stage spark from a Figaro and Susanna who were a couple, and later seeing a sensationally full-on Coronation of Poppea where both leads liked each other very much, were very happily married elsewhere and, as a result, were able to go as far as the action needed without any personal compromise at all. It was, indeed, dynamite.

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Mary

Mary

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Posted

It's a fascinating subject and I have often observed the lack of correlation between personal feelings in real life,  and performing effectiveness on the stage or on film.

 

Performers, like all creative artists, must often draw upon a deep inner reservoir of emotion that is not brought into  play in everyday life, and there is also the sheer technical skill that creates the illusion for us ( as dear John Thaw said when asked if he could remember a sad event to make him cry on stage- 'I thought I'd just act')

 

 

 

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alison

alison

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This Washington Post article from today's Links (thanks again, Jan!) seems relevant:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/how-dancers-cope-when-they-cant-dance-they-improvise/2020/03/23/0dd72014-6a22-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html

 

And it says that Alvin Ailey have put together a little something:

 

 

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Sonya

Sonya

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Staatsballett Berlin Dancers created this :

 

 

 

 

Even in isolation, our wonderful dancers are connected and ready to create.

Initiated and edited by Principal Dancer Ksenia Ovsyanick.

Dancers in order of appearance: Yolanda Correa, Arshak Ghalumyan, Ksenia Ovsyanick, Aurora Dickie, Chloe Lopes Gomes, Federico Spallitta, Paul Vickers, Olaf Kollmannsperger , Alizée Sicre, Dana Pajarillaga, Alejandro Virelles, Polina Semionova, Iana Salenko, Johnny McMillan, Lucio Vidal, Tara Samaya, Ross Martinson, Marina Kanno, Yi-Chi Lee, Mari Kawanishi, Filipa Cavaco, Weronika Frodyma, Marco Arena, Vivian Assal Koohnavard, Cécile Kaltenbach, Vahe Martirosyan, Jenna Fakhoury, Yuria Isaka, Paulina Bidzinska, Aya Okumura, Sarah-Jane Brodbeck, Marian Walter, Luciana Voltolini, Eloïse Sacilotto, Alexander Abdukarimov, Elinor Jagodnik, Harumi Terayama, Yoko Callegari, Giuliana Bottino, Elodie Estève, Alexei Orlenco, Evelina Godunova, Sacha Males, Georgeta Varvarici, Anna Liening

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Richard LH

Richard LH

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Alexander Campbell led Claire Calvert through a great class this morning at the kitchen "barre", and the two did a Q and A afterwards. Most enjoyable... it should be on Instagram until tomorrow...@bloch_eu.

Edited by Richard LH
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alison

alison

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Keep an eye on the Links forum for more details of how dancers (and choreographers) are managing in this difficult situation.  Today's, for example, has Mark Morris trying to choreograph via Zoom:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/mark-morris-one-of-the-worlds-leading-choreographers-takes-dance-to-zoom/2020/04/13/cc8097c4-7a86-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html

 

and Megan Fairchild back at the family home in Utah:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/arts/dance/megan-fairchild-city-ballet-coping-at-home.html

 

although there's usually more of a UK bent to these links!

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Naomi M

Naomi M

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32 premier ballerinas from 22 dance companies in 14 countries perform Le Cygne (The Swan) variation sequentially with music by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Wade Davis, in support of Swans for Relief. Organized by Misty Copeland and Joseph Phillips, 100% of the funds raised will be distributed to each dancer’s company’s COVID-19 relief fund, or other arts/dance-based relief fund in the event that a company is not set up to receive donations. To donate please visit,

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/swansforrelief

 

Ballet companies are largely dependent on revenue from performances to pay their dancers and fund their operations, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, all performances have been halted. Consequently, many dancers are unable to depend on paychecks and are facing the hardship of paying rent and/or buying food and other necessities.

 

Below are the featured ballerinas and their respective companies:

•Stella Abrera American Ballet Theatre, USA

•Precious Adams English National Ballet, England

•Nathalia Arja Miami City Ballet, USA

•Isabella Boylston American Ballet Theatre, USA

•Skylar Brandt American Ballet Theatre, USA

•Misty Copeland American Ballet Theatre, USA

•Monike Cristina Joburg Ballet, South Africa

•Ashley Ellis Boston Ballet, USA

•Greta Elizondo Nacional de Danza Mexico, Mexico

•Nikisha Fogo Vienna State Ballet, Austria

•Angelica Generosa Pacific Northwest Ballet, USA

•Sarah Hay Freelance Ballerina, USA

•Francesca Hayward The Royal Ballet, England

•Robyn Hendricks The Australian Ballet, Australia

•Whitney Jensen The Norwegian National Ballet, Norway

•Yuriko Kajiya Houston Ballet, USA

•Maria Khoreva Mariinsky Theatre, Russia

•Ako Kondo The Australian Ballet, Australia

•Misa Kuranaga San Francisco Ballet, USA

•Stephanie Kurlow Freelance Hijabi Ballerina, Australia

•Sara Mearns New York City Ballet, USA

•Ginett Moncho Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Cuba

•Katherine Ochoa Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Cuba

•Hannah O'Neill Paris Opera Ballet, France

•Denise Parungao Ballet Philippines, Philippines

•Tiler Peck New York City Ballet, USA

•Tina Pereira The National Ballet of Canada, Canada

•Ida Praetorius The Royal Danish Ballet, Denmark

•Jemima Reyes Ballet Philippines, Philippines

•Ingrid Silva Dance Theater of Harlem, USA

•Bianca Teixeira San Francisco Ballet, USA

•Xu Yan The National Ballet of China, China

 

Le Cygne (The Swan) with music by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Wade Davis (USA)

 

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Bruce Wall

Bruce Wall

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Admiring the endeavour of the above, it made me wonder if there could be a male equivalent that men from ballet companies from around the world could share in that was equally as haunting.  The only thing I could come up with off the top of my head - i.e., that the chaps could do of a piece/share in from their homes - was that haunting solo that Balanchine added to Square Dance in the 70's.  For those who don't know it ... here is a film with the extraordinary Peter Boal: --- Of course it is half the length - but still.  Maybe others could think of another male equivalent that would be even more appropriate for such treatment.  

 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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11 hours ago, Naomi M said:

32 premier ballerinas from 22 dance companies in 14 countries perform Le Cygne (The Swan) variation sequentially with music by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Wade Davis, in support of Swans for Relief. Organized by Misty Copeland and Joseph Phillips, 100% of the funds raised will be distributed to each dancer’s company’s COVID-19 relief fund, or other arts/dance-based relief fund in the event that a company is not set up to receive donations. To donate please visit,

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/swansforrelief

 

 

 

 

 

That is so beautiful Naomi, thank you for sharing.

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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11 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

Admiring the endeavour of the above, it made me wonder if there could be a male equivalent that men from ballet companies from around the world could share in that was equally as haunting.  The only thing I could come up with off the top of my head - i.e., that the chaps could do of a piece/share in from their homes - was that haunting solo that Balanchine added to Square Dance in the 70's.  For those who don't know it ... here is a film with the extraordinary Peter Boal: --- Of course it is half the length - but still.  Maybe others could think of another male equivalent that would be even more appropriate for such treatment.  

 

 

 

 

Not quite but there have been versions of Dying Swan danced by men:

 

Siobhan Davies' Carnival of the Animals for Rambert (I remember seeing the incandescent Eryck Brahmania dancing the role at Theatre Clwyd)

Javier Torres of Northern Ballet danced a version for BNC

Lil Buck's just awesome interpretation

 

I am sure there must have been others.

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Bruce Wall

Bruce Wall

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3 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

Not quite but there have been versions of Dying Swan danced by men:

 

Siobhan Davies' Carnival of the Animals for Rambert (I remember seeing the incandescent Eryck Brahmania dancing the role at Theatre Clwyd)

Javier Torres of Northern Ballet danced a version for BNC

Lil Buck's just awesome interpretation

 

I am sure there must have been others.

 

Thanks for that, Jan .... You made me remember too the one by the RB's Calvin Richardson that I very much enjoyed.  

 

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Naomi M

Naomi M

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8 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

Thanks for that, Jan .... You made me remember too the one by the RB's Calvin Richardson that I very much enjoyed.  

 

 

Yes I do remember Calvin Richardson's Swan which was quite beautiful. 

Also there was quite a weird Swan solo choreographed by Radu Poklitaru and danced by Igor Kolb of Mariinsky Ballet.  

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