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Royal Ballet: Balanchine and Robbins Spring 2021


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14 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

Thank you. I must have been looking at a snapshot page of the ROH database in order to get the figure of 63.

It will be interesting to trawl through the database to see how much variety there was in the cast of the early performances . I noticed straightaway that Jennifer Penny , Marguerite Porter and  Carl  Myers appeared  in the original run, but were in the first cast. 

Please edit my earlier post I meant to say they weren’t in the original cast

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I am sure I heard a story that when Robbins came over to stage DAAG on the RB for the first time, he got so exasperated by them not being able to 'get' his choreography and its nuances that one day he walked out of rehearsals, got on a plane and went back to NYC.   

 

Does anyone know if that actually happened?!  

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There were cast changes from quite early on but I don't think there was ever a performance with no-one from the first cast. From the listings in the RB 50 Years book, this is how many the first cast danced (1970 - 1976):

 

Sibley 40

Seymour 38

Mason 39

Jenner 45

Connor 51

 

Nureyev 33

Dowell 53

Wall 56

Coleman 59

J Kelly 15

 

Others who were in  the cast:

 

Marguerite Porter

Alfreda Thorogood

Lesely Collier

Jennifer Penney

Merle Park

Georgina Parkinson

Natalia Makarova

 

Carl Myers

David Ashmole

Donald Macleary (who I think was meant to be in the first cast but was injured/ill)

Wayne Eagling

Julian Hosking

Wayne Sleep

Ross McGibbon

 

A few of these came close to the originals but I don't remember anyone actually improving on the 7 main members of the first cast. But I only saw it 20 times. (And an extra one at Snape Maltings)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Jane S
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That’s really interesting.  Striking how many performances were by the original cast which is what I had thought might be the case.

Regarding the Robbins’ story, I hadn’t come across that before, but several autobiographies/ biographies of dancers who were in the original cast devote quite a bit of comment to the rehearsal period. Unfortunately I can access my books at the moment to have a look though.

 

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I couldn't help crowing with delight when I saw this in Joy Sable's review in the Jewish Chronicle (see today's Links) - she's referring to Dances at a Gathering:

 

'Alexander Campbell always commands respect – in him we find masculinity, grace and power in one delicious bundle.'

 

Couldn't have put it better myself!! ☺️

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Well, I have to say I really enjoyed both the livestream performance and the Sunday matinee. Apollo has never been a favourite ballet. In fact I remember hating it when I saw the Kirov (as they were then) do it ages ago, especially the swaddling bit at the start which I found hugely embarrassing. This time around the swaddling didn't seem to resemble the unravelling of an Egyptian mummy and was sensitively done. I still don't like the actions of one of the muses when she appears to double up with stomach cramps and then seems to be sick. Sheila C very helpfully pointed out it was all about voice projection for singing but I still think it could have been handled better, choreographically. Having said all that I found the level of dancing incredibly high from both casts. As I've seen so few performances I don't know enough about the ballet to comment critically about style and technique. This is where the livestream comes in handy as I'll be able to revisit it as many times as I want over the next few weeks. I thought both Matthew and Vadim terrific and, while the ballet is probably not likely to ever be a great favourite, their performances made me enjoy it more than I thought I ever could. The muses too obviously played their part. I was very impressed with Melissa Hamilton whom I think is an often overlooked dancer. I'm glad she got to play a significant role and in a livestream as well. Mayara Magri was excellent too. She really seems to be coming into her own with her promotion to principal. I was with the people who were a bit surprised she was promoted so soon but on this performance she has principal qualities that shine through now, so well done Kevin for recognising this and promoting her now.

 

Tchaikovsky pas de deux. On the livestream, Vadim and Marianela sailed through the very difficult looking variations making them look like a stroll in the park and all with megawatt smiles testifying to their joy of dance and in being in front of an audience again. The audience responded with the biggest cheer of the night, hugely deserved. The Sunday matinee didn't go quite so smoothly with the last minute cast change of Marianela replacing Osipova, partnering Reece Clark. I didn't know anything about the cast changes that kept appearing on the website indicating Vadim was partnering Marianela but it might have been better if they'd gone ahead with that as they were obviously used to partnering each other for the ballet. Perhaps he felt he couldn't commit as it came straight after Apollo, which I suppose is fair enough.  Anyway, it was OK apart from one of the fish dives going wrong. Reece gets so many great roles and is so good in them I'm surprised he wasn't promoted to principal though I'm sure he will be at the first opportunity.

 

Dances at a Gathering. This has become a huge favourite for me since seeing it at the cinema and then the theatre a couple of years ago. I thought I would get bored after about half an hour but not at all. Different casts keep it fresh and all bring something slightly different to fairly abstract sort of roles. Reece Clark again stood out for me in the livestream taking on the role Bonnelli had in the previous recording. Anna Rose and James Hay were outstanding in their pas de deux. That is a partnership I would love to see more of. The matinee casting was quite similar to the Cellist recording and it was great to see Alex Campbell back as the Brown Boy. Everyone was on top form and it was a great re-introduction to the ROH and RB. A highlight for me was sharing the performance with SheilaC. I bought 2 seats as I couldn't get singles. Sheila bought one of them so we both made our ROH debuts after 15 months with a friend which made the experience twice as enjoyable. Being able to sit with a friend and discuss the performance is all part of the ordinary enjoyment of attending the ROH and this experience made me realise how much I've been missing these taken for granted interactions we have been starved of for so long. It seemed even more appropriate that one of the ballets we saw was DAAG as it seems to be all about celebrating friendship and ordinary human interactions that so many of us have missed for so long. Now I can't wait for the Sleeping Beauty matinee and whatever divertissements are on offer. 

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2 minutes ago, alison said:

 

I suspect you're not the only one there, either :)

 

More James Hay - oh yes please. If only, but I am becoming resigned to it not happening. I mean the Sleeping Beauty with James and Akane Takada a few years was such an outstanding performance I would expected other principal roles to follow but it just didn't seem to happen. 

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Quick note that I finally had a chance to watch the Balanchine-Robbins stream twice. What a delightful and substantive program from the Royal Ballet. Among all of the fabulous performers, I was particularly struck by:

 

Fumie Kaneko’s two roles, most notably as the mature woman (green dress, I think) in DAAG. To me, the most luminous, glamorous, glowing “mature solo” in my umpteen year’s watching this ballet danced by various companies! (Not saying that that’s the correct approach but, boy, did she shine like a superstar!)

 

Vadim & Marianela’s buoyant Tchaikovsky PDD!

 

Matthew Ball’s eagerness & energy in Apollo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Jeannette
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I still have a soft spot for Lynn Seymour in this role she was so good at sending herself up!! And managed to communicate the humour to the majority of the audience. 
However that was a very long time ago so I do like Morera in this role. I thought she was funny ...on the 10th anyway ...but the audience was not overly responsive at that point.  
I said somewhere else I would love to see Hayward do the green girl can see that comedy potential in her but she would have to be given a longer role the way it seems to work now. 
Apparently Fumi Kaneko made a good showing in it recently but missed that unfortunately. 

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On 06/06/2021 at 00:11, Balletfanp said:

Muntagirov was Apollo last night and gave a beautiful portrayal of the newly-formed god. His achingly beautiful lines and physique, and the fact that he towered over his Muses, gave him a truly godlike appearance. Ball, tonight, was also very good, but lacked the elegant lines, and being closer in height to his Muses made some of the group dancing flow less well - the bit where they are all holding hands and twisting around each other didn’t go as smoothly as last night. However, Ball did give an excellent account of the role.

That's interesting - I didn't realise Ball was short (ish).  I only saw the on-line version and thought Ball was perfect for the role mainly on grounds of his being so handsome.  I agree that Muntagirov is a far superior dancer, and I adore him, but he doesn't have an 'Apollo face'.

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23 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

That's interesting - I didn't realise Ball was short (ish).  I only saw the on-line version and thought Ball was perfect for the role mainly on grounds of his being so handsome.  I agree that Muntagirov is a far superior dancer, and I adore him, but he doesn't have an 'Apollo face'.

 

I've yet to watch the online stream but I think the point is that Hamilton, Calvert & Kaneko are taller relative to Ball than Naghdi, O'Sullivan & Magri are relative to Muntagirov, not that Ball isn't tall. At a guesstimate, I'd say Ball & Muntagirov are both around 6 foot tall.

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I think Nureyev suited the role so much partly because of his striking and slightly exotic features ...but of course it was also what he gave off on stage a sort of superhuman energy ....you could believe he was Apollo!! 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 17/06/2021 at 22:21, LinMM said:

I think Nureyev suited the role so much partly because of his striking and slightly exotic features ...but of course it was also what he gave off on stage a sort of superhuman energy ....you could believe he was Apollo!! 

Are you telling me he WASN'T Apollo?

 

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28 minutes ago, LinMM said:

😂 Well at least he had me doubting his human status lol! 

I actually thought Matthew Ball made a great Apollo recently.  Of course, his dancing although good was not the best, but he has that noble godlike appearance that very few RB male dancers have.  What a profile - displayed multiple times to excellent effect in the recent streamed production.  But Nureyev really was a god IMO.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm a bit late catching up with the stream (which is available until Sunday) but I really appreciated the showing of the Ball cast close-up - the expressions added so much to the performance I'd seen in the theatre.  And as for Muntagirov and Nunez in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, well, I'd think that would probably be worth the purchase price all on its own!  The glee with which they danced it was truly infectious :) 

 

I wonder if there's any possibility of this turning up on the BBC or somewhere ...

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Like I said before I will make the review of the rest of the stream when I have time to watch it, now I finally get the time to watch the rest of the stream (I don't watch DAAG though). I like Ball's Apollo I thought he dance and interpret his role really well. I like that part when he realise his power as a god. Like someone said here he doesn't have Muntagirov's lines (I can only judge from pictures as I can't attend the live show), but his Apollo is great and worth to watch. The muses danced their roles well too, I really like their acting and expressions. I thought that the whole performance is great and worth to watch

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  • 1 month later...

I'm busy catching up with August's links, and was struck by this essay by Alastair Macauley, in which, among other things (it's the result of conversations with Suzanne Farrell) there's a significant amount of discussion of interpretation of and imagery in Apollo (and also Diamonds!), so I thought it would fit well here:

 

https://www.alastairmacaulay.com/all-essays/plpfu3r34vfiuthrogndyoi39d6jfd

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