2022/23 ballet seasons

[bridiem]

I'd be happy to see more new work from Valentino Zucchetti, who actually works fully in the classical idiom (which is in itself quite revolutionary now!).

[Lizbie1]

For me it's simply that there have been so many duds. (I don't think it's a coincidence that these have often been perpetrated by the latest flavour-of-the-month choreographer, flying in for a one-off commission.)

 

One thing that might improve things is if KO'H were to take a more hands-on approach rather than leaving choreographers to get on with it  - I'm not sure however if today's choreographers will take to this kindly. If not, perhaps they should be reminded that much of Ashton and MacMillan's best work emerged under such guidance.

[Lizbie1]

3 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

For me it's simply that there have been so many duds. (I don't think it's a coincidence that these have often been perpetrated by the latest flavour-of-the-month choreographer, flying in for a one-off commission.)

 

One thing that might improve things is if KO'H were to take a more hands-on approach rather than leaving choreographers to get on with it  - I'm not sure however if today's choreographers will take to this kindly. If not, perhaps they should be reminded that much of Ashton and MacMillan's best work emerged under such guidance.

 

Expanding on this slightly: the attitude always seems to be that the RB is very grateful to Mr Eurotrash Choreographer for sparing some time from his busy schedule to put together something half-baked for them. It's never that this is the Royal Ballet, it's by any standards a major company with many excellent dancers who can also act convincingly and all kinds of other resources to help you show your work to best advantage, and It's a privilege to be asked to work with them. And if you don't like their terms or aren't interested in understanding and making use of their considerable heritage, go somewhere else!*

 

*Limited exceptions to be made for truly outstanding, once-in-a-generation choreographers.

[Kate_N]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

In my grumpier moments I'd like to see a 5 year moratorium on new RB main stage commissions, to allow KO'H to slow down and come up with a clear strategy to improve his record.

 

Can I offer a different perspective from a theatre historian? If you look at the many many playbills advertising ballet as part of the standard night out at the theatre in London from the 1830s onwards (I pick the 1830s because it's when Romantic ballet first takes hold in London) you'll see many many many names of ballets you don't recognise. And throughout the 20th century, it'll be the same. 

 

Lots and lots of ballets - one act, 3 act, whatever - are made. Not all of them become classics. There will be "duds" - "wastage" if that's how you want to see it. I personally prefer to regard this as the necessary process to get to the jewels - which often we only recognise in retrospect. This is the way with theatre, with art generally. Go to the Hermitage in St Petersburg - see the rows and rows of Rembrandt's paintings and sketches! So many, and not all of them "masterpieces."

 

And one of our premier national companies should be doing contemporary work - by that I mean, ballets choreographed by live choreographers, whatever the style. Forsythe, Eks et al are leading international choreographers. The Royal Ballet should (I would say, must) work with the best of international live choreographers. That's the status of the company.

 

In addition, dancers are artists. They need to dance and work with live and innovative choreographers, to feed their art and develop it. A career of only the 'white classics' would quickly become soul destroying  (I think this was a regular complaint in some former Soviet companies?). 

 

Modern ballet dancers have different bodies, and live in a different world from that of the first performances of Giselle, or Swan Lake ... We need to recognise and value this.

[Lizbie1]

10 minutes ago, Kate_N said:

 

Can I offer a different perspective from a theatre historian? If you look at the many many playbills advertising ballet as part of the standard night out at the theatre in London from the 1830s onwards (I pick the 1830s because it's when Romantic ballet first takes hold in London) you'll see many many many names of ballets you don't recognise. And throughout the 20th century, it'll be the same. 

 

Lots and lots of ballets - one act, 3 act, whatever - are made. Not all of them become classics. There will be "duds" - "wastage" if that's how you want to see it. I personally prefer to regard this as the necessary process to get to the jewels - which often we only recognise in retrospect. This is the way with theatre, with art generally. Go to the Hermitage in St Petersburg - see the rows and rows of Rembrandt's paintings and sketches! So many, and not all of them "masterpieces."

 

And one of our premier national companies should be doing contemporary work - by that I mean, ballets choreographed by live choreographers, whatever the style. Forsythe, Eks et al are leading international choreographers. The Royal Ballet should (I would say, must) work with the best of international live choreographers. That's the status of the company.

 

In addition, dancers are artists. They need to dance and work with live and innovative choreographers, to feed their art and develop it. A career of only the 'white classics' would quickly become soul destroying  (I think this was a regular complaint in some former Soviet companies?). 

 

Modern ballet dancers have different bodies, and live in a different world from that of the first performances of Giselle, or Swan Lake ... We need to recognise and value this.

 

I actually agree with all this! My complaint is that so little has endured or shown signs of enduring beyond the obligatory second run.

 

Ek and Forsythe are exactly who I had in mind with my asterisk about once-in-a-generation choreographers.

 

Edited to add: Ek and Forsythe are now I think about it twice-in-a-generation choreographers

Edited January 12, 2022 by Lizbie1

[Kate_N]

9 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

My complaint is that so little has endured or shown signs of enduring beyond the obligatory second run.

 

 

I suppose that making art that lasts and lasts is what might in rational terms, seem "wasteful." But actually, it's absolutely normal that some new work is made, seen, and isn't a "classic." This happens in all art forms. 

 

Think of all the operas sunk into oblivion; all the first novels which weren't followed up; all the sketches for paintings; al the new plays which never get a second production.

[bridiem]

Just now, Kate_N said:

I suppose that making art that lasts and lasts is what might in rational terms, seem "wasteful." But actually, it's absolutely normal that some new work is made, seen, and isn't a "classic." This happens in all art forms. 

 

Think of all the operas sunk into oblivion; all the first novels which weren't followed up; all the sketches for paintings; al the new plays which never get a second production.

 

It would be interesting to see some statistics on the new works commissioned by the RB over the decades, and how long they've lasted, season by season. Maybe this info exists somewhere?!

[Fonty]

 

22 minutes ago, Kate_N said:

Can I offer a different perspective from a theatre historian? If you look at the many many playbills advertising ballet as part of the standard night out at the theatre in London from the 1830s onwards (I pick the 1830s because it's when Romantic ballet first takes hold in London) you'll see many many many names of ballets you don't recognise. And throughout the 20th century, it'll be the same. 

 

In addition, dancers are artists. They need to dance and work with live and innovative choreographers, to feed their art and develop it. A career of only the 'white classics' would quickly become soul destroying  (I think this was a regular complaint in some former Soviet companies?). 

 

Modern ballet dancers have different bodies, and live in a different world from that of the first performances of Giselle, or Swan Lake ... We need to recognise and value this.

I   agree with you in the sense that all companies need new works. I myself would be bored stiff with a rep of only "white classics".  However, as I said it is the style of dancing they are producing.  I am not speaking specifically about the choreographers you name.  I don't think I have ever seen a Mats Ek, and in fact I do like Forsythe, at least the ones I have manged to see at the ROH.  On the issue of different bodies, another of my grumbles is that many of the women look gorgeous, but their physiques are so muscular and powerful some of back catalogue of works doesn't look right on them.  And the response always seems to be, "Oh, that is because the choreography is so old fashioned or dated."  Is it really?  Why then, when  I see clips of Fonteyn, Sibley, Seymour, Nerina - the great names of the past - do I not see this?  Instead I see superb dancing that makes my mouth water and desperately want to see those works again, danced in the way that was originally intended.  

I am not a dinosaur.  I am more than ready to embrace new work.  But as @Lizbie1said, there are so many duds.  

Again, speaking personally, many of the modern works I have seen start with such a complicated premise, I think probably the concept is doomed from the start.  Anything that requires at least a page of programme notes to describe what is essentially a plotless ballet is probably not going to succeed.  Unless you are a genius, of course, but if you were then anything more than a one line description would be unnecessary.

 

Thinking of all the plotless ballets by Balanchine, Ashton, MacMillan....you didn't need to understand the choreographer's inspiration or mindset.  When I saw Etudes again at a gala, I was struck by the genius of basing a ballet on a routine ballet class.  You can't get much more basic than that, but it was wonderful.  

 

[Scheherezade]

Yes, of course we must embrace the new, and this will necessarily include works that expand and challenge our perception of the art form, but we should embrace these works because they are good, not merely because they are new.

 

A large number of the new works commissioned by the redoubtable Ms Rojo fit this brief. They engage the imagination, they push the boundaries, they may or may not sit within the classical idiom as we know it but what they do bring to the table is an enjoyment factor. They are works that stimulate and entertain, and when they seek to inform, they do so without preaching and, for the most part, without the need for a lengthy and ponderous explanation as to what the work might be about.

 

These works may bring about the fortuitous marriage of completely different dance forms, in the manner of the ENB/Akram Khan Giselle, they may reimagine or bring a new slant to established works, as would seem to be the case with the newly-minted Raymonda, they can be exhilarating and amusing (Jolly Folly)or explode with the atmospheric and colourful music, sets and costumes of Broken Wings.

 

It is new work of this type that will enable the dance form to live, breathe and grow, but not by way of a wholesale rejection of the diverse and extraordinary works of the recent and not so recent past. The two can, and must, live side by side and, really, what other performing art form seeks so comprehensively to ditch its heritage? Can you imagine classical music cancelling the works of Purcell, Monteverdi, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, Stravinsky? Or Shakespeare, Marlowe, Webster, Becket, Chekov, Ibsen, Moliere disappearing from the stage?

 

And commissions should not be awarded merely because they spring from the mind of an internationally acclaimed choreographer but because that choreographer can work with, innovate and build upon the skillset that defines the company to create something remarkable and extraordinary rather than ugly, flat and mundane.

 

[Blossom]

I think what's interesting with Royal Ballet is that there is some nurturing of choreographic talent through Draft Works, but where does it go from there? The dancer-choreographers get to showcase their work in a 2 date studio showcase, but little to nothing (excluding Zuchetti's Scherzo) actually makes it to the main stage. It must be immensely frustrating for dancers with a desire to stretch themselves or considering choreography as a chance to future proof their careers within their existing company (Zuchetti seems to be working with other smaller companies to fulfill himself). 

[alison]

I've said it before, but the RB really needs an "intermediate" stage between the Linbury and the main stage.  It's a shame that Sadler's Wells can't be used, but why would you want to pay extra rent when you already have the ROH stages?

[Clara_f]

11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Expanding on this slightly: the attitude always seems to be that the RB is very grateful to Mr Eurotrash Choreographer for sparing some time from his busy schedule to put together something half-baked for them. It's never that this is the Royal Ballet, it's by any standards a major company with many excellent dancers who can also act convincingly and all kinds of other resources to help you show your work to best advantage, and It's a privilege to be asked to work with them. And if you don't like their terms or aren't interested in understanding and making use of their considerable heritage, go somewhere else!*

 

*Limited exceptions to be made for truly outstanding, once-in-a-generation choreographers.

 

 

Trying to understand what or who you mean by Mr Eurotrash choreographer... am super intrigued!! 

@Lizbie1

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, Clara_f said:

 

 

Trying to understand what or who you mean by Mr Eurotrash choreographer... am super intrigued!! 

@Lizbie1

 

It's a generic term (showing my vintage?), though I did have one in particular in mind. I don't think it would be politic to say who, though!

[Lizbie1]

I didn't want to start a new thread so I'm resurrecting this one.

 

Now that we've had ENB, NB and BRB announcements for at least some of next season, does anyone know when we should expect the RB one? (In my experience the date is highly variable.)

[Guest oncnp]

I believe the initial announcement last year was the end of March (23rd)

 

 The Roy al Opera House reveals highlights of its first full Season since 2019 (roh.org.uk)

 

and full details in June The Royal Opera House announces full details of the 2021/22 Season (roh.org.uk)

Edited March 12, 2022 by oncnp

[Lizbie1]

Yes but last year's dates mean nothing! ROH announcements are all over the shop!

[Guest oncnp]

1 minute ago, Lizbie1 said:

Yes but last year's dates mean nothing! ROH announcements are all over the shop!

sorry!

[Lizbie1]

Sorry, didn't mean to sound sharp!

[Emeralds]

I’m not sure why I missed this thread the first time round in January!  😊

 

I’m very curious to know who Lizbie1 ‘s Mr Eurotrash is now....I tried guessing but my guesses don’t seem to fit the description! 

 

This doesn’t take into account any issues with costs, rights or other practical obstacles, but for my wish list, based on the merits of the ballets and the fact that they have haven’t been revived in the last 3 years or more, I’d like to see revivals of: 

1) Ashton’s Daphnis & Chloe, Birthday Offering, Ondine, Sylvia (the last revival in 2017 seemed to last only a few minutes!) and Cinderella

2) MacMillan’s Danses Concertantes, Solitaire

3) Cranko’s Pineapple Poll (could be BRB or RB)

4) Balanchine’s Theme and Variations

5) Robbins’ Other Dances

6) Kobborg’s production of La Sylphide

7) de Valois’s Checkmate, The Rake’s Progress (would love to have seen Ed Watson in the dramatic lead role before he retired)

8 ) McGregor’s Yugen 

9) Tudor’s The Leaves Are Fading 

10) Bintley’s Still Life at the Penguin Cafe

 

(That doesn’t include any new acquisitions.)

 

What I’d also like to see are new works mixed with different combinations of established works, so that there’s a choice of New Work A with Established Ballet B or C and Not So New Ballet D or E, not just A, B and D with no other choices (it would do better at the box office and offer more variety for the dancers).

 

I guess RB’s announcement will come when it comes. Since Covid, I’m getting used to many things not following an established timetable. 😄😅

 

[Sim]

I like your list, Emeralds!

[Emeralds]

Aww, thanks, Sim! It’s only for the Royal Ballet (apart from the brief comment about BRB). Probably wouldn’t be fair to suggest a list for BRB if I can’t travel north to see all their programmes.

 

For ENB, I think they actually covered my wishlist in the last 5 years....the ballets in their rep I might like revived in the next few years would be Lifar’s Suite en blanc (although it can look a bit like Lander’s Etudes, which was revived in 2020) and Wheeldon’s Cinderella, which had some great touches (that coach!) and gives us a chance to hear the remarkable score, if RB aren’t doing Ashton’s. Plus I think they have some excellent principals and first soloists who could do the lead roles justice, and Cinderella is generally a good performer at the box office. 

 

I also forgot to mention Fokine’s Les Sylphides, which could be performed by any of the major U.K.  companies. 😊 We’re very overdue Sylphides. 

[jmhopton]

I'm afraid ballets like Les Sylphides, Pineapple Poll, Checkmate,  Daphnis and Chloe seem to be suffering in the new mixed bill programming which (currently for BRB and ENB) seem to be almost exclusively modern ballets, while ignoring their rich heritage of 20th century classics. Its only about 5 years ago since I saw a BRB triple with (I think) Pineapple Poll, Checkmate and Daphnis and Chloe. Also, I'm  sure I have a recording of Margot Fonteyn introducing London Festival  Ballet (as ENB used to be called) doing Graduation Ball and Sanguine Fan. I don't recall ever seeing either live, yet Graduation Ball used to be a very popular ballet. RB seem to be doing separate Ashton and modern mixed bills which actually suits me far better than more mixed bills as I can't afford a 200 miles trip and overnight stay if there is one ballet I really want to see, one I'm not too bothered about and one I don't want to see. It would be great if there were more 'heritage' mixed bills otherwise they'll be in danger of being forgotten about which is such a shame as many will be capable of being enjoyed by modern audiences just as much as actual modern ballets, and  I suspect, if given the chance of actually being performed,  many may well outlive modern ballets which often get neglected if they don't perform well at the box office or become superceded by newer ballets. Sometimes the huge rep. of a company like the RB can become a bit of a curse as every year it spends time and money on staging new ballets, so inevitably a larger percentage of it's existing rep. is never performed and gradually slips out of rep. Much as I appreciate the importance of new ballets I just wish sometimes, say on alternate years, we had fewer new ballets and spent the money on reviving and staging some modern classics which, if they  haven't been performed for many years, will be like new ballets to a recent audience and hopefully like revisiting an old friend,  to a longstanding audience. 

[Emeralds]

9 hours ago, jmhopton said:

I'm afraid ballets like Les Sylphides, Pineapple Poll, Checkmate,  Daphnis and Chloe seem to be suffering in the new mixed bill programming which (currently for BRB and ENB) seem to be almost exclusively modern ballets, while ignoring their rich heritage of 20th century classics. Its only about 5 years ago since I saw a BRB triple with (I think) Pineapple Poll, Checkmate and Daphnis and Chloe. Also, I'm  sure I have a recording of Margot Fonteyn introducing London Festival  Ballet (as ENB used to be called) doing Graduation Ball and Sanguine Fan. I don't recall ever seeing either live, yet Graduation Ball used to be a very popular ballet. RB seem to be doing separate Ashton and modern mixed bills which actually suits me far better than more mixed bills as I can't afford a 200 miles trip and overnight stay if there is one ballet I really want to see, one I'm not too bothered about and one I don't want to see. It would be great if there were more 'heritage' mixed bills otherwise they'll be in danger of being forgotten about which is such a shame as many will be capable of being enjoyed by modern audiences just as much as actual modern ballets, and  I suspect, if given the chance of actually being performed,  many may well outlive modern ballets which often get neglected if they don't perform well at the box office or become superceded by newer ballets. Sometimes the huge rep. of a company like the RB can become a bit of a curse as every year it spends time and money on staging new ballets, so inevitably a larger percentage of it's existing rep. is never performed and gradually slips out of rep. Much as I appreciate the importance of new ballets I just wish sometimes, say on alternate years, we had fewer new ballets and spent the money on reviving and staging some modern classics which, if they  haven't been performed for many years, will be like new ballets to a recent audience and hopefully like revisiting an old friend,  to a longstanding audience. 

I think I remember seeing Graduation Ball performed by ENB in the late 80s or very early 90s (I think it was ENB- I’m 95% sure. It definitely wasn’t RB/BRB, but possibly could have been London City Ballet if not ENB). Sanguine Fan had been dropped from the repertory by then and never returned so I never saw it.

 

Graduation Ball, once popular at American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Australian Ballet and large and small companies in the United States and in Europe (maybe because of the score compiled from Johann Strauss II melodies and light comedy plot), seems to have been turned into a piece only for ballet academy students to perform - I think its most recent outing in Britain was at ENB School’s graduation performance. Not sure if they staged the whole ballet or just excerpts as I didn’t attend, but the dancers included Nancy Osbaldeston and Ksenia Ovsyanick (so that performance is quite some time ago), who found success at ENB  before taking up  soloist/principal positions in Belgium and Germany respectively. 

 

I think companies should make room for both “heritage” works like Graduation Ball, works by Fokine, Massine, Tudor, de Valois, Ashton, MacMillan, etc as well as premieres and modern pieces. Too much of one to the exclusion of the other makes the company and performances stale and “samey”. However, I do think the current scene is a huge improvement on the cynical 90s, where we hardly saw good heritage ballets or quality modern works- instead, there was a glut of various iterations of Cinderella/fairy tale adaptations/poor balletic versions of famous literary works, all piled on with only box office receipts in mind (“put on a show with a famous title to bring the punters in”). Even novices can sense when a ballet has poor choreography (even if classical) and ideas that have lost momentum, resulting in a show that is simply dull, whether it is tweaked during the run or not. They’ll sit through it dutifully but never come back. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Emeralds

[LinMM]

I would love to see the Royal perform La Sylphide. And it’s time for Fille in more ways than one! 
My guess is that Manon will be somewhere in the mix next season. 
I’d love to see the Royal acquire a version of Le Corsaire as think it’s a while before we will see Bayadere again. 
Perhaps revising a Macmillan piece we haven’t seen for a while would be good though Requiem seems the most relevant at the moment. 

[Shade]

Would love to see Cinderella and the Dream again

[Guest oncnp]

From the ROH Box office (answering on a Sunday - Bless them!)

 

The new season will be announced on April 6 on our website with details of performances and dates. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by oncnp

[JNC]

I hope it’s not a while before Bayadere again! 
 

Would welcome Sylvia and or La Fille.

 

not too long to wait now! 

[art_enthusiast]

11 hours ago, LinMM said:

I would love to see the Royal perform La Sylphide. And it’s time for Fille in more ways than one! 
My guess is that Manon will be somewhere in the mix next season. 
I’d love to see the Royal acquire a version of Le Corsaire as think it’s a while before we will see Bayadere again. 
Perhaps revising a Macmillan piece we haven’t seen for a while would be good though Requiem seems the most relevant at the moment. 

I would love to see Manon! I've never seen Requiem, it sounds very interesting.

[Sim]

11 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

I would love to see Manon! I've never seen Requiem, it sounds very interesting.

It’s very beautiful.  I will never forget Leanne Benjamin dancing in it. 

[Dawnstar]

11 hours ago, LinMM said:

My guess is that Manon will be somewhere in the mix next season.

 

I'm hoping for Mayerling again before Manon, given Mayerling was last done in October 2018 & Manon in October 2019. Though I suppose the ROH may think Manon more bankable & I suspect that next season, like this season, they're going to want as many guaranteed sell-outs as they can get.

[Jan McNulty]

9 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

I would love to see Manon! I've never seen Requiem, it sounds very interesting.

I would love to see BRB performing the Requiem and Song of the Earth double bill again.  It is so moving but ultimately uplifting and given Acosta’s associations with Song may we dare to hope.

[LinMM]

Requiem is worth going for the music alone!! It is a beautiful ballet though. 
Goodness Song of the Earth and Requiem on same bill Id travel to Birmingham for that. 

[alison]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I would love to see BRB performing the Requiem and Song of the Earth double bill again.  It is so moving but ultimately uplifting and given Acosta’s associations with Song may we dare to hope.

 

*and* Requiem.

 

Hang on, wasn't it Stuttgart Ballet who did that, back at the beginning of the 90s?

 

The additional vocal forces required may prove prohibitive, especially since mixed bills don't seem to have fared that well in Birmingham.