The Royal Ballet back on stage, 9/10/20

[MJW]

24 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Thanks oncnp. Got it now. 

 

Promise not to mention any other dancers but was intrigued why Joseph Sissens did a brief introduction to the concert but didn't seem to be participating. Does anyone know? Tried Facebook and Instagram but couldn't see anything. 

 

 

I seem to recall from his IG that he is carrying an injury but can't find it now - it may have been on his IG Story hence why I can't find it!

[alison]

3 hours ago, jmhopton said:

Promise not to mention any other dancers but was intrigued why Joseph Sissens did a brief introduction to the concert but didn't seem to be participating.

 

Yuhui Choe too, I think?

[Guest oncnp]

23 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Yuhui Choe too, I think?

 

Perhaps that was part of the plan to get everyone "on stage"? 

[alison]

On 20/10/2020 at 16:10, Sim said:

Same question re Itziar Mendizabal.  I didn’t see her either.  

 

She's talking to the Ballet Association tonight.  Perhaps we'll find out.

[Tango Dancer]

12 hours ago, jmhopton said:

Thanks oncnp. Got it now. 

 

Promise not to mention any other dancers but was intrigued why Joseph Sissens did a brief introduction to the concert but didn't seem to be participating. Does anyone know? Tried Facebook and Instagram but couldn't see anything. 

 

 

I don't know but he did an amazing takeover of the ROH instagram feed as part of Black History Month which is worth watching if you've not seen it.  He came across as a really thoughtful, intelligent chap.  I saw him being tutored in an Insight Event in February and was blown away by his talent and his amazingly gorgeous long legs.  

Edited October 21, 2020 by Tango Dancer

[FionaM]

18 hours ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

I don't know but he did an amazing takeover of the ROH instagram feed as part of Black History Month which is worth watching if you've not seen it.  He came across as a really thoughtful, intelligent chap.  I saw him being tutored in an Insight Event in February and was blown away by his talent and his amazingly gorgeous long legs.  

Joe Sissens is recovering from an injury.  
 

I don’t know about Yuhui Choe?

[SheilaC]

Joseph Sissons has, from today, an instagram series of messages about Black History month., on the ROH instagram channel. He's as inspirational  and sincere a thinker as he is dancer. There are contributions from other dancers, including Joseph Aumeer, Beatrix and Will Bracewell.

[jmhopton]

Had a reply to my letter from Kevin O'Hare today in which he says 'We hope that we might be able to stream one of the programmes coming up in November'. So hope yet.

 

He also offered some insights on Carousel when I asked him if the RB had danced it before as it was originally staged for the National Theatre.  

 

'Glad you enjoyed the Carousel piece. Yes, we had revived it for a gala here some years ago with Sarah Lamb and Carlos Acosta and then later that year I put it in a programme we took to New York. I was hoping to include it in the upcoming programmes again but it is a huge orchestration so unable to do it now we have restricted numbers in the pit.'

 

So hope again that this piece will be revived when things are more normal. It would be a perfect gala piece, perhaps for the first night of the ROH opening with a full house and orchestra!

 

 

[Guest oncnp]

19 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Had a reply to my letter from Kevin O'Hare today in which he says 'We hope that we might be able to stream one of the programmes coming up in November'. So hope yet.

 

 

More expense/trouble than its worth? 

[capybara]

1 hour ago, jmhopton said:

‘Glad you enjoyed the Carousel piece. Yes, we had revived it for a gala here some years ago with Sarah Lamb and Carlos Acosta and then later that year I put it in a programme we took to New York. I was hoping to include it in the upcoming programmes again but it is a huge orchestration so unable to do it now we have restricted numbers in the pit.'

I appreciate the constraints but I hope that not too much of the November divertissements is repeats from 9th October, even if the casts are changed.

[Sim]

So is the orchestra moving back into the pit for the live November shows and Nut?  

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

So is the orchestra moving back into the pit for the live November shows and Nut?  

Definitely for the live shows.

[Janite]

On 23/10/2020 at 14:03, SheilaC said:

Joseph Sissons has, from today, an instagram series of messages about Black History month., on the ROH instagram channel. He's as inspirational  and sincere a thinker as he is dancer. There are contributions from other dancers, including Joseph Aumeer, Beatrix and Will Bracewell.

 

Joseph Sissons is I think a sensitive, thoughtful and articulate communicator, I feel that what he says is worth listening to. And a great dancer.

[Sim]

55 minutes ago, capybara said:

Definitely for the live shows.

Hurrah!  

[Rob S]

On 21/10/2020 at 12:22, alison said:

 

Yuhui Choe too, I think?

 

I think Beatriz Stix-Brunell may have just announced the reason

[Guest oncnp]

19 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

I think Beatriz Stix-Brunell may have just announced the reason

Before either of the people involved, it seems.

[annekh510]

On 20/10/2020 at 08:48, Jan McNulty said:

 

Surely that is down to whether the individual dancers want this on their biographies? 

 

One issue coming out of the pandemic is that most of the websites I look at have not been properly updated since before lockdown.  Usually there are people who can put on news items but as regards the rest we have just got to wait.

Yes, however this never seems to be something that gets put on their bios and though basic updates might be delayed, this kind of info is never there.

 

But also no, they are in a public facing performance role, I don’t think their potential audience isn’t unreasonable in wanting to know if someone is on maternity leave, taking a sabbatical etc. Admittedly it’s unlikely you wouldn’t buy a ticket because the first artist you are a major fan of won’t be performing, but I think most of us just want to know people are ok!

 

I think what I’m trying to say is that it would be a small amount of work for someone involved in the company in some way to maintain some kind of news stream of things that the dancers are sharing anyway - in the 21st century we are engaging with dancers in a different way to in the past, teenagers and young adults are much more likely to get interested in something when they can engage with the people behind it. It’s what something like World Ballet Day tries to do and I definitely feel that a greater connection between the company and the individual dancers’ social media would benefit the company and the dancers.

[annekh510]

On 26/10/2020 at 09:32, oncnp said:

Before either of the people involved, it seems.

Are you going to demystify us? 

[Jan McNulty]

8 hours ago, annekh510 said:

Yes, however this never seems to be something that gets put on their bios and though basic updates might be delayed, this kind of info is never there.

 

But also no, they are in a public facing performance role, I don’t think their potential audience isn’t unreasonable in wanting to know if someone is on maternity leave, taking a sabbatical etc. Admittedly it’s unlikely you wouldn’t buy a ticket because the first artist you are a major fan of won’t be performing, but I think most of us just want to know people are ok!

 

I think what I’m trying to say is that it would be a small amount of work for someone involved in the company in some way to maintain some kind of news stream of things that the dancers are sharing anyway - in the 21st century we are engaging with dancers in a different way to in the past, teenagers and young adults are much more likely to get interested in something when they can engage with the people behind it. It’s what something like World Ballet Day tries to do and I definitely feel that a greater connection between the company and the individual dancers’ social media would benefit the company and the dancers.

 

I'm sorry but I absolutely disagree with you.  The dancers may be in a public facing profession but they are still entitled to a private life.  If they themselves have not put something on social media then there is no official reason to confirm (or not) their circumstances.  The company is not obliged to tell us anything.  I've bought programmes for lots of companies over the years where the sum total of the biography is when they joined the company and what roles they do.  That is surely all we need to know.

[bangorballetboy]

I completely agree with Jan here.  Dancers (like everyone else) are entitled to their private lives and, in particular, things relating to their employment are very much a private matter.  It's a bit of an extreme example but if a dancer was on a leave of absence because they had suffered a nervous breakdown, should the public be entitled to know why they aren't appearing on stage?  It's clearly a no in this situation (and, therefore, also in other circumstances too).

[capybara]

Before the days of social media, we didn’t know anything about dancers’ lives beyond the stage door (and precious little about company life either). 
That has changed massively over the past 20 years but we have no more right to pry than we had before. Some dancers choose to display their families, their relationships,  their pregnancies, their children , their pets, their injuries, their opinions etc but that is their choice.

The preoccupation that many people who were commenting on WBD yesterday had with matters which are private to the dancers was an indication that, because the audience has a little, it now wants more - much more.

What matters to me is what I am shown on stage. Private lives are irrelevant to the story and the movement there.

 

(Unfortunately, dancers sometimes leak information which is not in the public domain i.e not announced by a company or the individual(s) concerned. But I wouldn’t be comfortable seeing that shared on here.)

[Rob S]

9 hours ago, annekh510 said:

Yes, however this never seems to be something that gets put on their bios and though basic updates might be delayed, this kind of info is never there.

 

But also no, they are in a public facing performance role, I don’t think their potential audience isn’t unreasonable in wanting to know if someone is on maternity leave, taking a sabbatical etc. Admittedly it’s unlikely you wouldn’t buy a ticket because the first artist you are a major fan of won’t be performing, but I think most of us just want to know people are ok!

 

 

 

I think you'll have to make do with following them on Instagram, or in some cases follow their colleagues for snippets of news. A bio on the ROH website shouldn't be any more than a brief summary of their ballet career and a pic for helping to identify them.

I know we've got used to football managers discussing the injury status of players in press conferences and before or after matches of the but we'll never get Kevin O'Hare appearing on Dance of The Day on a Saturday night.

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Rob S

[Janite]

Just watched Back On Stage before it goes into the ether. It was such a joy to see the talent that had grown in lockdown, it gives me hope for the future. V and M I could put on repeat, I do hope they do a DVD of this. 

Edited November 8, 2020 by Janite

[Guest oncnp]

1 hour ago, Janite said:

, I do hope they do a DVD of this. 

 

Preferably without the presenter....

[capybara]

7 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

Preferably without the presenter....

 

There is fast forward and I have deployed that a lot when viewing the recorded streaming again!

[alison]

I'm still watching it   Nuñez and Muntagirov are quite stunning.

[Dawnstar]

Not quite sure if this is the right thread to comment in, as the programme was a mixture of excerpts from this livestream and the November one, but did anyone else watch the BBC4 programme tonight despite having already watched both livestreams? I did & enjoyed it. I was very pleased that my 3 favourite pieces from across the 2 livestreams all made it in: R&J with Hayward & Corrales, Carousel with Magri & Ball, and Manon with Morera & Bonelli. I was also pleased that most of Anita Rani did not make it in!

[DanJL]

Yes, I watched and also really enjoyed. Was hoping for the full Elite Syncopations, but given the time they had to fit in so many great performances I guess it wasn't possible, in the end I think they did a really great job! Most of my favourites made the cut too 🙂 Would've loved to see Akane Takada's Odette again, but we did see her twice so can't really complain 🙂

[Dawnstar]

30 minutes ago, DanJL said:

Was hoping for the full Elite Syncopations, but given the time they had to fit in so many great performances I guess it wasn't possible, in the end I think they did a really great job!

I didn't expect they'd be able to fit in all of Elite Syncopations but I was sorry they didn't include Melissa Hamilton & Paul Kay's dance (sorry, can't remember its proper name) as that was my favourite part of ES when watching the full stream.

[LinMM]

Great to see this again on a big screen instead of my phone! 
Loved Osipova in the dying Swan and this time got more involved with Lamb and Hiranos beautiful performance and Hayward and Corrales were lovely ( not in original stream I think) but Magri and Ball had me in tears again!! 
Nunez and Muntagirov were just stunning in Don Q real consummate artists much better on big screen too. 
Looking at the varied programme I thought it was rather ideal for a general TV audience and hopefully may have attracted some newcomers to watching ballet. 
 

[Jan McNulty]

I really enjoyed this mashup of the 2 live streams.  Predictably my favourites (apart from all of it!) were Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Marcelino Sambé in Fille and Akane Takada with Alex Campbell in Rhapsody.

 

I would actually buy this if it came out on DVD.

[alison]

I haven't actually seen it yet, because it clashed with something else, but I did get to see the end credits, rather indigestible as they were.  Rather disappointed at the apparent lack of anything from The Dream and/or Dance of the Blessed Spirits, but I thought it looked generally good.  Can there be a Part 2 sometime?

[ninamargaret]

Highlights for me were Manon - always,good to see Morera/Bonelli, Campbell/Takada, O'Sullivan/Sambe and of course Nunez/Muntagirov. Not to mention the rest! While I regretted the omissions I thought it was an excellent compilation and really showed the company at its best. Part 2 please!