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Ed Watson (Royal Ballet) to retire - and other news

Janite
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  • Jan McNulty changed the title to Ed Watson (Royal Ballet) to retire
Janite

Janite

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2 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

Ongoing discussion on the "Royal Ballet joiners & leavers 2020" thread.....

 

Ooops I didn't know it was there. 

Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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Posted
4 minutes ago, Janite said:

 

Ooops I didn't know it was there. 

 

But rather nice to have a separate thread for valedictories for the wonderful Mr Watson.

 

Thanks for starting it Janite.

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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12 minutes ago, Janite said:

 

Ooops I didn't know it was there. 

 

I tend to read everything. You probably have a life 😀

Janite

Janite

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2 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

I tend to read everything. You probably have a life 😀

Nothing wrong with that. 😁

  • Like 1
alison

alison

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He certainly seems to have been giving every indication that that's the case, from what I've seen?

 

Must be frustrating holding on for your "last role" and not knowing when it's going to happen.

capybara

capybara

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I’m glad for Ed that he got to create part of that role in Los Angeles last year. The situation is all the more poignant given his impending retirement from the stage.

 

  • Like 2
Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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I can't say, as a non-regular visitor to the ROH, that I saw many performances by Ed Watson but see him I did and 2 of those performances will be seared on my mind forever.  

 

Of course Ed Watson has been much lauded for his performance as Rudolf in Mayerling and rightly so.  The performance a friend and I saw in 2013 was truly remarkable.

 

The other performance that astounded me was his portrayal of Des Grieux in Manon.  I had actually gone because Alex Campbell was performing Lescaut with Francesca Hayward as Manon.  I was totally blown away by Ed Watson's performance.  For me, he wouldn't have been an obvious choice as Des Grieux but the depth of his characterisation and the almost delicacy of his dancing as well as his beautiful rapport with Hayward stole the performance for me.

 

His performances in McGregor's work have always been of note too.

 

Congratulations to Ed Watson on his fantastic career as a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.  Very best wishes to him for the future.  Thank goodness he is moving onto the ballet staff.

  • Like 12
bangorballetboy

bangorballetboy

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

I’m glad for Ed that he got to create part of that role in Los Angeles last year. The situation is all the more poignant given his impending retirement from the stage.

 

 

Isn’t he going to create the rest of it in London?

capybara

capybara

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7 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Isn’t he going to create the rest of it in London?

 

I'm sure he is, but, at this moment in time and with the full London performance moving some way into the distance, I felt that he had the part one achievement to hold onto.

  • Like 1
ninamargaret

ninamargaret

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8 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

The other performance that astounded me was his portrayal of Des Grieux in Manon.  I had actually gone because Alex Campbell was performing Lescaut with Francesca Hayward as Manon.  

This was one of the first ballets I saw when I started going to ballet again. I had heard of Ed Watson but only seen him on tv. I was totally bowled over by the performance and to this day amazed that a dancer who could take on roles like Rudolph, and the various McGregor works could produce something as delicate as his Des Grieux. Dancers like Bonelli and Campbell seem to have a natural affinity for the part - Watson, on paper, would seem an odd choice for the role. Shows what casting against type can sometimes produce!

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alison

alison

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Hmm, I'm not sure how much casting against type there was there - Watson's danced a number of roles created on Anthony Dowell during his career (similar sort of physique?), so it didn't surprise me that he was cast in this, especially since it was a MacMillan role.  I do remember thinking, sometime early on this century, I suppose, that Des Grieux was such a dull character I doubted that even Watson could make him interesting!  Silly me ;).  It is one of my biggest regrets with regard to his career that he was so rarely fit when he had performances of the role scheduled at the ROH - I'd have loved to have seen him dance it more often, but it almost felt as though the role was jinxed where he was concerned.

 

EDIT: I meant to add that I'd have loved to see what he'd have made of Lescaut, too.

LinMM

LinMM

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I saw Ed Watson coaching two ENB dancers and that was a very inspirational evening would love to watch him coaching again. 
I think he has danced in some wonderful roles and although not his most balletic role  Metamorphosis was a class act for me. 
Wishing him well for the future and hope he will do the odd special performance here and there. 

alison

alison

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Lovely feature from The Times in today's Links page (thanks, Ian!).  It explains so much about Watson's absence from the stage in recent years, which I know was a matter of concern to a lot of people.

  • Like 2
Diandri

Diandri

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I have a copy of this article if anyone wants it (the photo of aerial Ed is lovely) just pm me your address & I'll post it. Otherwise it will end up in the recycling box.

 

I have been lucky to see many of his performances over the years since he first joined the company & I'm a huge admirer of his one-of-a-kind talent & physique. My favourite memories will always be of his Rudolf in Mayerling, but I also remember the tremendous impact he made in the early Wayne McGregor pieces & some of his Balanchine performances & in MacMillan's Judas Tree. Given the numerous choreographers that have featured him in their pieces I think many of them adore him too & he will be sadly missed on stage (I'll be there if & when he gets his retirement performances).  Very glad to hear he's moving over to the coaching side as I'm sure he'll excel in that as well.

  • Like 6
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alison

alison

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Worth mentioning - for anyone who's interested in his "new life" - that there was a very nice interview with Watson in The Stage a few days ago.  It's in the Links somewhere ...

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  • 1 year later...
Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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And another in today's Guardian (and in Links tomorrow)

  • alison changed the title to Ed Watson (Royal Ballet) to retire - and other news
alison

alison

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I must admit, while listening to Laura Morera in Conversation for the London Ballet Circle last night, the subjects broached were such that I kept spotting, not exactly parallels as such, but perhaps similarities, with Watson's career: two (admittedly very different) dancers of a similar age, neither of whom have had what you might call a very conventional ballet career, who have come up through the Royal Ballet School, been a muse for a specific choreographer, and who have now moved into coaching the Royal Ballet's repertoire.  I wondered if it might be interesting to interview both together, as a sort of "compare and contrast" thing.

  • Like 4
Peanut68

Peanut68

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“…. you let the music in and dance it out.” 
Ed Watson
 

This in just a few words is imho a perfect distillation as to what ballet is to a dancer…

Love this quote from Ed Watson in a very good article - thx for link 

  • Like 5
capybara

capybara

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Posted
18 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

“…. you let the music in and dance it out.” 
Ed Watson
 

This in just a few words is imho a perfect distillation as to what ballet is to a dancer…

Love this quote from Ed Watson in a very good article - thx for link 

 

Yes - that is spot on and very lovely. I think it's been said before (although my memory can't conjure up by whom).

 

Diandri

Diandri

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Ondine said:

Guardian article here. Great photos.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/apr/21/edward-watson-a-different-dance-royal-ballet-interview

 

Just had a look on amazon at Ed Watson's book that already has a preview of the first few pages & the photos do look amazing. It's £40 & looks well worth the money - I've pre-ordered my copy.

 

Also just had a very pleasant hour looking at the Getty pics website & found a delicious photo of Ed Watson, Thiago Soares & Eric Underwood at a society bash a few years ago, they all looked smart & sexy so thanks to Getty for that!!

  • Like 2
Beryl H

Beryl H

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On 21/04/2023 at 21:09, Diandri said:

 

Just had a look on amazon at Ed Watson's book that already has a preview of the first few pages & the photos do look amazing. It's £40 & looks well worth the money - I've pre-ordered my copy.

 

Also just had a very pleasant hour looking at the Getty pics website & found a delicious photo of Ed Watson, Thiago Soares & Eric Underwood at a society bash a few years ago, they all looked smart & sexy so thanks to Getty for that!!

 

The Amazon price has just gone down to £30.69.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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Posted (edited)

The Times (pay wall) features him today in "My Culture Fix". In the links tomorrow undoubtedly 

 

and from ROH twitter

 

Ed will be signing book copies on 9 June in the Paul Hamlyn Hall after a General rehearsal of a new ballet mixed programme, featuring works by MacMillan, Wheeldon, and McGregor.

Edited by oncnp

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