jmhopton Posted March 12, 2022 Share Posted March 12, 2022 Have been meaning to post this for ages but kept forgetting. In the really informative BRB Don Q programme there is a page on 'The Language of Fans'. I never knew there was so much to it! I'll quote a few. Drawing across the cheek; I love you Giving fan to a man; I'm yours Fanning slowly; I'm married fanning quickly; I'm engaged. Really fascinating. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 After missing out on three performances I decided to dash up to Sunderland for 2 performances on Friday!! I was so glad I had made the effort. This really is the sunniest of ballets and uplifts the spirit. There's nothing subtle about it so you can just sit back and enjoy. On Friday afternoon we were treated to Yaoqian Shang and Max Maslen in the leading roles with Haoliang Feng as Espada. Yaoqian and Max were so full of joy and flirtatiousness that you couldn't help but grin widely throughout. In the evening we had another vivid and joyful performance from Beatrice Parma and Tzu Chao Chou and I finally caught Alex Yap as a very fine Espada. This production of Don Q really suits Birmingham Royal Ballet to a tee and definitely plays to their strengths of excellent dancing and brilliant acting. The whole company has been on superb form, overcoming both Covid crises and injuries. Over the 9 performances I have been lucky to watch I have seen 5 Kitris and 5 Basilios in various permutations of pairings. They have all brought something to the role and (to paraphrase the late Bruce Forsyth) they were all my favourites! This was my final performance of the current run and I have said a sad goodbye to the production. I do hope it has a regular place in the BRB rep. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpsichore Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 33 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: This production of Don Q really suits Birmingham Royal Ballet to a tee and definitely plays to their strengths of excellent dancing and brilliant acting. I agree with that. With the possible exception of the revival of "The Miracle in the Gorbals", I think Don Quixote is the best show that I have ever seen from that company, I enjoyed it even more than the Royal Ballet's production which we both saw at Covent Garden on the same day. I am looking forward to seeing it again in London later this year. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Dancer Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 14 minutes ago, Terpsichore said: I agree with that. With the possible exception of the revival of "The Miracle in the Gorbals", I think Don Quixote is the best show that I have ever seen from that company, I enjoyed it even more than the Royal Ballet's production which we both saw at Covent Garden on the same day. I am looking forward to seeing it again in London later this year. How wonderful. I've booked for it at Sadlers Wells this summer and I'm so pleased to see all the positive reviews as it sounds so exciting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Terpsichore said: I agree with that. With the possible exception of the revival of "The Miracle in the Gorbals", I think Don Quixote is the best show that I have ever seen from that company, I enjoyed it even more than the Royal Ballet's production which we both saw at Covent Garden on the same day. I am looking forward to seeing it again in London later this year. I really enjoyed that triple bill BRB performed at Sadler’s Wells with The Miracle in the Gorbals- one of the best I’ve ever seen (in terms of the ballet as well as the performances). I think Carlos has really got to know the dancers’ strengths and personalities, and has found a ballet that they can shine in. Looking forward to their visit to Sadler’s Wells! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 19 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: After missing out on three performances I decided to dash up to Sunderland for 2 performances on Friday!! I was so glad I had made the effort. This really is the sunniest of ballets and uplifts the spirit. There's nothing subtle about it so you can just sit back and enjoy. On Friday afternoon we were treated to Yaoqian Shang and Max Maslen in the leading roles with Haoliang Feng as Espada. Yaoqian and Max were so full of joy and flirtatiousness that you couldn't help but grin widely throughout. In the evening we had another vivid and joyful performance from Beatrice Parma and Tzu Chao Chou and I finally caught Alex Yap as a very fine Espada. This production of Don Q really suits Birmingham Royal Ballet to a tee and definitely plays to their strengths of excellent dancing and brilliant acting. The whole company has been on superb form, overcoming both Covid crises and injuries. Over the 9 performances I have been lucky to watch I have seen 5 Kitris and 5 Basilios in various permutations of pairings. They have all brought something to the role and (to paraphrase the late Bruce Forsyth) they were all my favourites! This was my final performance of the current run and I have said a sad goodbye to the production. I do hope it has a regular place in the BRB rep. Thanks jan for your reports. We’re the performances well sold in Sunderland and Birmingham? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YSmith Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 I managed to watch three shows in Sunderland, opening night and Friday matinee and evening. All brilliant shows! Opening night was quite well sold- where I was sat there were no empty seats. I think Audience very much enjoyed it, lots of laughs and chuckles- a very responsive group! Lachlan Monaghan was a brilliant Basilio, very charming and suits the role very well. I believe it was Yu Kurihara’s debut as Kitri, she had a bit of a tumble in the first act maybe due to nervousness, she felt like a very “careful” Kitri onwards. I thought that the duo maybe were not as in sync as they could be compared to some of the other lead roles I’ve watched! Friday matinee was superb as well, Max Maslen an astonishing Basilio! He shone like the brightest star along with Yaoqian as his Kitri. Both brilliant to watch, both with some enjoyable explosiveness to their characters. Haoling feng a lovely espada and Emma Price sensual as Mercedes. Not as full as opening night, but still quite well sold I would say. Friday evening was the most enjoyable for me. Beatrice Parma is the perfect Kitri, she is so explosive without it getting in the way of her technique still. Tzuchao was also an enjoyable Basilio, although I would not have imagined him in that role he is great in it, brought me much joy with much cheek to his character not to mention his very refined technique. Alexander Yap as Espada again (as opening night) and he is and will be my favourite matador. He has some fire to his moves and the portrayal of the popular bull fighter is impeccable. I think he may have added two extra double double tour (is that the right term?) in act 3 on Friday night (unless I missed it on opening night..) it truly gave me some chills. all in all some very enjoyable performances and although I believe there were some reductions in parts due to either covid or maybe smaller stage (4 matadors instead of 6, 2 guitarists instead of 4 that I was used to seeing in Birmingham) the dancers’ energy didn’t make it feel it so! Bravo BRB 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 2 hours ago, Shade said: Thanks jan for your reports. We’re the performances well sold in Sunderland and Birmingham? The performances I saw in Birmingham were well sold as was The Lowry. I don't know how much difference that fewer performances made there. Sunderland was respectable. 2 hours ago, YSmith said: all in all some very enjoyable performances and although I believe there were some reductions in parts due to either covid or maybe smaller stage (4 matadors instead of 6, 2 guitarists instead of 4 that I was used to seeing in Birmingham) the dancers’ energy didn’t make it feel it so! Bravo BRB There was definitely more variation of dancers in Sunderland than at The Lowry so I think the smaller numbers were due to the much smaller stage in Sunderland. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Just to clarify, in this version, is Amour danced by a man at all the performances, or do some shows have a female Amour as per tradition (and Carlos’s version for the Royal Ballet)? And is Sancho Panza generally portrayed in this version by a man, except for that rare situation where Laura Day performed the role because colleagues were indisposed due to Covid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 I think amour is danced by a man at all performances- I do prefer the traditional production 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YSmith Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 2 hours ago, Emeralds said: Just to clarify, in this version, is Amour danced by a man at all the performances, or do some shows have a female Amour as per tradition (and Carlos’s version for the Royal Ballet)? And is Sancho Panza generally portrayed in this version by a man, except for that rare situation where Laura Day performed the role because colleagues were indisposed due to Covid? I believe amour is always portrayed by a man in this production, kind of like Cupid I guess. And sancho panza is portrayed by a man except for in Salford when they had a few down due to covid and injuries Laura Day stepped in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I've only seen male Amours in this production and, for me, it really worked. I think over the 9 performances I saw 4 - Tzu Chao Chou (who created the role), Max Maslen, Gus Payne, and Javier Rojas. Sancho Panza is intended to be danced by a man and as YSmith says above Laura filled in due to Covid issues when the company was at The Lowry. Laura was magnificent in the role (and if you didn't know you would never have guessed that Sancho Panza wasn't being danced by a man). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) Thank you for all the helpful information, Shade, YSmith and Jan, I’m really excited to see how the BRB Don Q will look at Sadler’s Wells with the reimagined Amour role. And although hopefully everyone will be recovered from Covid when they get to London, I would really like to see Laura as Sancho Panza in maybe just one show to see how she pulled it off! Sounds like she was brilliant! Unless anyone can remember if any companies ever toured a full length Don Quixote to any theatre in London apart from London Coliseum or the Royal Opera House, I think this could be the first time a full length Don Q has ever been staged at Sadler’s Wells, which is quite small compared to the Hippodrome (I haven’t been to Sunderland, Lowry, etc).... I hope there’s room to fit everyone and the sets and props in, and still have room to dance! 😊 (That said, the BRB Romeo and Juliet was staged at Sadler’s Wells very successfully.) I hope Carlos announces the casting reasonably soon [before performances sell out] as there are quite a few different casts I’d like to see, and I’m sure many people feel the same. Edited March 17, 2022 by Emeralds 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: Sancho Panza is intended to be danced by a man and as YSmith says above Laura filled in due to Covid issues when the company was at The Lowry. Laura was magnificent in the role (and if you didn't know you would never have guessed that Sancho Panza wasn't being danced by a man). I had a look at the cast sheets for Plymouth this week - pure curiosity, I can't travel that far away - & Laura Day is down as Sancho Panza for both matinees. So either they're still short of people with covid or they've decided she's so good she gets to keep doing the role! If she does it at Sadler's Wells this summer I'd definitely be interested in seeing her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Re Sadlers Wells performances, I booked very quickly as I really want to see this production and thought it might sell out quickly. I really don’t mind who I see but Singleton/Gittens would be my dream pairing for the two main roles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 12 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: I had a look at the cast sheets for Plymouth this week - pure curiosity, I can't travel that far away - & Laura Day is down as Sancho Panza for both matinees. So either they're still short of people with covid or they've decided she's so good she gets to keep doing the role! If she does it at Sadler's Wells this summer I'd definitely be interested in seeing her. I think it may be a deliberate decision because the other 2 Sancho Panza are listed as performing at other shows. 4 minutes ago, CCL said: Re Sadlers Wells performances, I booked very quickly as I really want to see this production and thought it might sell out quickly. I really don’t mind who I see but Singleton/Gittens would be my dream pairing for the two main roles. Celine was cast with Brandon at the start of the run (they were terrific) but Brandon is in South Africa at the moment. I believe Ty Singleton has not been performing so far but he was originally listed to perform with Yu Kurihara. She is now being partnered by Lachlan who was originally partnered with Miki (who is now being partnered by Mathias)!! It looks as though the injury/Covid problems that caused the first 3 performances at The Lowry may still be lingering. Who knows who will be dancing at Sadler's Wells but whoever it is, from the performances I have seen, they will be terrific!! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) Back to six matadors this evening and Laura Day is gender bending again in this run at Plymouth Edited March 17, 2022 by Tony Newcombe Spellcheck!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 Such an enjoyable performance at Plymouth this evening. This is a lovely production which lifts the spirit and is very beautiful to look at. Definitely a keeper. I think Yu is a promising prospect for the future. She visibly relaxed into the role as the evening progressed, and then her personality shone through. Lachlan was an attentive partner and there was a pleasing chemistry between them. Having a male character of Amour works well I think. The Company was in good form and was deservedly warmly received. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 At the end of tonight’s performance of Don Q in Plymouth, Carlos Acosta came on stage and announced Miki Mizutani’s promotion to Principal from the beginning of next season. Thoroughly deserved, particularly after tonight’s wonderful Kitri. So happy for this wonderful dancer 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 That's fast, isn't it? How long has she been in the company? Congratulations to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 5 minutes ago, alison said: That's fast, isn't it? How long has she been in the company? Congratulations to her. She’s served her time Alison. She joined BRB from ENB School in 2012 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 Oh, right. I didn't realise it had been anything like that long - perhaps you haven't been raving to me about her for that long, then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddieRose Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 (edited) After I saw Miki Mizutani's name down for the Ukraine gala I did wonder how long it would take for her to be promoted. I didn't have to wait long at all to find out. Very happy to wake up to this news! Edited March 19, 2022 by MaddieRose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 12 hours ago, Tony Newcombe said: At the end of tonight’s performance of Don Q in Plymouth, Carlos Acosta came on stage and announced Miki Mizutani’s promotion to Principal from the beginning of next season. Thoroughly deserved, particularly after tonight’s wonderful Kitri. So happy for this wonderful dancer Brilliant news and thoroughly deserved. I love these on stage announcements over press releases - though of course these necessarily follow. Hope there’s a photo posted somewhere of the occasion. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 It’s happened again. After this afternoon’s matinee , Carlos Acosta came onto the stage and announced that Yaoqian Shang would be promoted to Principal dancer from the beginning of next season. I am so happy for her particularly as she and Miki Mizutani are great friends. Anyone following them on social media will be aware of this. This really evens up the ratio of male and female principals in the company. Oh! and her dancing was absolutely wonderful this afternoon 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 Isn’t this wonderful news? Two gorgeous dancers now rightfully at the top of the Company. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 Lovely for both dancers and I’m particularly pleased for Yaoqian Shang I had a pretty good idea she would go all the way one day! Congratulations to both! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) This isn’t really quite the right place but at least a BRB thread I’ve just heard Yaoqian Shang has been promoted to Principal which is terrific news. I always remember her from her graduation performances. Whoops this news just came from the Royal Ballet on Facebook but they are obviously a bit tardy with the news lol!! And looks like I already knew too….I’m obviously further down the road of senior impairment than I thought 🙄 Edited April 12, 2022 by LinMM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 4 minutes ago, LinMM said: This isn’t really quite the right place but at least a BRB thread I’ve just heard Yaoqian Shang has been promoted to Principal which is terrific news. I always remember her from her graduation performances. Whoops this news just came from the Royal Ballet on Facebook but they are obviously a bit tardy with the news lol!! And looks like I already knew too….I’m obviously further down the road of senior impairment than I thought 🙄 Not only Shang but Miki has also been promoted to principal. Apparently Acosta came on stage and announced the promotions at their respective performances as Kitri in Plymouth. Nice to know he was visible at at least one venue on tour. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 19 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: Not only Shang but Miki has also been promoted to principal. Apparently Acosta came on stage and announced the promotions at their respective performances as Kitri in Plymouth. Nice to know he was visible at at least one venue on tour. I was there for both performances. After a few words to the audience Carlos said to Miki, “Miki, please step forward”. The initial look on her face was one of worried surprise. Then he said the magic words. The audience stood and cheered. When he came on stage at the end of the matinee the following day one knew what was going to happen. So happy for these two wonderful dancers who are great friends 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 (edited) Casting for the first few nights (6, 7 & 8th July) is now on the BRB website. Edited June 7, 2022 by PeterS 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 1 hour ago, PeterS said: Casting for the first few nights (6, 7 & 8th July) is now on the BRB website. The Saturday performances are now listed too. I find with BRB that they tend to post the casting one show at a time and it is usually worth waiting another half hour if some casting hasn't yet been posted. Miki and Lachlan at the matinee; Yu and Brandon in the evening. https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/event/don-quixote-2022 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 21 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: The Saturday performances are now listed too. I find with BRB that they tend to post the casting one show at a time and it is usually worth waiting another half hour if some casting hasn't yet been posted. Miki and Lachlan at the matinee; Yu and Brandon in the evening. https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/event/don-quixote-2022 Good to know. I must’ve stumbled across it at the very same moment it was being posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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