art_enthusiast Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 17 hours ago, JNC said: I agree - seeing swan lake from the Amphi is in some ways better! Feel the same about La Bayadere and Giselle. I still like the views from the scs though to feel the movement but it is a bit different. Good to do both if you can! Just wondering, has anyone ever sat in the Lower Slips before and what is the view like up there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Have a look at bookings for the New Kyle Abraham bill, and use the new booking system: you can access the from-seat views that way: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/new-kyle-abraham-solo-echo-dgv-danse-a-grande-vitesse-dates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: While we're talking smaller roles, I thought Katharina Nikelski's turn leading the Hungarian dance on Friday was excellent. Indeed...there are so many younger dancers making a great impression in this run, after two years of their careers being rather put on hold. It is amazing how many different roles each dancer has to learn and perfect, in this one production. Edited March 7, 2022 by Richard LH 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 10 minutes ago, Richard LH said: Indeed...there are so many younger dancers making a great impression in this, after two years of their careers being rather put on hold. It is amazing how many different roles each dancer has to learn and perfect, in this one production. And Sumina Sasaki's Spanish...........! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 FT review - Kaneko/Bonelli An emotional evening at the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake | Financial Times (ft.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 11 minutes ago, oncnp said: FT review - Kaneko/Bonelli An emotional evening at the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake | Financial Times (ft.com) Interesting review - I have to say I do agree with their points about the rather unclear ending and the confusion between Siegfried/Benno, but of course the performance as a whole is spectacular. Bonelli certainly did look "half his age" as they say in the article - not that it's a bad thing to look your age though! I thought Fumi was beyond incredible on Friday, absolutely spectacular. I would go to see her dance in any role or any ballet, she's one of my absolute favourite dancers in the Royal Ballet/the world. The role of Odette/Odile really does appear as if it's made for her, given how natural and beautiful her performance was. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, oncnp said: FT review - Kaneko/Bonelli An emotional evening at the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake | Financial Times (ft.com) (You can get behind the paywall just by googling 'Swan Lake ft' and clicking on the review. At least that worked for me.) 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 It’s interesting to note talking about the younger dancers that on the RB Dancers page not all dancers with the Company are listed! A dancer who keeps catching my eye at the moment in the Corps is Viola Pantuso . I saw her at extreme left side of stage ( from audience point of view) at the front in many of the Swan formations. I couldn’t remember her full name initially but was sure she was an Aud Jebsen joiner but she is not listed on the website currently as neither are Alix van Tiggelen Ava May Llewelyn and Olivia Findlay. There are Aud Jebsen dancers listed on the site but not these four. Anyway Alix also catches my eye as well on occasions. I’d also like to mention Harrison Lee(Australian). He has a really good classical line and style and hope he gets a chance for more roles soon. I don’t know who the taller of the four male Spanish dancers was on Friday night but he stood out for me in that group though they were all good….and what great music to dance to! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 9 minutes ago, LinMM said: I don’t know who the taller of the four male Spanish dancers was on Friday night but he stood out for me in that group though they were all good….and what great music to dance to! Teo Dubreill was the tallest in that line up . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 16 minutes ago, LinMM said: I’d also like to mention Harrison Lee(Australian). He has a really good classical line and style and hope he gets a chance for more roles soon. Yes, me too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I’ve actually FINALLY found the casting sheet for Friday March 4th!! Capybara I see that Teo was not listed as one of the four Spanish Dancers …was this a very last minute casting change? It will probably take me ages again but can list the four it says anyway!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 02/03/2022 at 14:47, RHowarth said: Emeralds, I'd love to know what book this is so I can look for a copy. Hi RHowarth, it was called Striking A Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing, by Barbara Newman (published 1982). I got it from the library- not sure if it’s still in print or in any library, but I think secondhand copies are available online. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Managed to re find these are the four male dancers listed for the Spanish on the 4th: Harris Bell, Leo Dixon, Brayden Gallucci and Aiden O’Brien Looking at their pictures …I only know it wasn’t Leo Dixon….none of the dancers piccies on the website look much like they were last Friday lol 😳 It might have been Brayden but of course not sure if things changed at the last minute!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 No, you are right Lin. The Teo cast also had Leo Dixon, Giacomo Rovero and Benjamin Ella. Friday night was indeed the one you stated, and I think the tall chap you are referring to might have been Brayden Gallucci. He caught my eye too, and not for the first time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 5 minutes ago, Sim said: No, you are right Lin. The Teo cast also had Leo Dixon, Giacomo Rovero and Benjamin Ella. Friday night was indeed the one you stated, and I think the tall chap you are referring to might have been Brayden Gallucci. He caught my eye too, and not for the first time. Apologies from me - wrong show. Yes, the man who drew my eye also was Brayden Gallucci. I remember him being outstanding in the RBS’s end of year performances in ?2019, his stage presence really distinguishing him from his peers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Just now, capybara said: Apologies from me - wrong show. Yes, the man who drew my eye also was Brayden Gallucci. I remember him being outstanding in the RBS’s end of year performances in ?2019, his stage presence really distinguishing him from his peers. I think I first noticed him in the corps in Coppelia, and asked my daughter who he was. Luckily she knew so since then I have been able to put a name to the dancer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I loved Nadia Mullova-Barley in the Spanish as well as Sumina Sasaki. I enjoyed all the men partnering these two too … they all seem to get a boost out of being in this piece. And again I noticed Stanislaw Wegrzyn in one of the other national dances … smiling with pure enjoyment. Also very much enjoyed the energy and lightness of David Yudes and Isabella Gasparini in the Neapolitan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHowarth Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Emeralds said: Hi RHowarth, it was called Striking A Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing, by Barbara Newman (published 1982). I got it from the library- not sure if it’s still in print or in any library, but I think secondhand copies are available online. Thank you- I actually own a copy so will have to revisit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverdancedjustamum Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 2 hours ago, LinMM said: It’s interesting to note talking about the younger dancers that on the RB Dancers page not all dancers with the Company are listed! A dancer who keeps catching my eye at the moment in the Corps is Viola Pantuso . I saw her at extreme left side of stage ( from audience point of view) at the front in many of the Swan formations. I couldn’t remember her full name initially but was sure she was an Aud Jebsen joiner but she is not listed on the website currently as neither are Alix van Tiggelen Ava May Llewelyn and Olivia Findlay. There are Aud Jebsen dancers listed on the site but not these four. Anyway Alix also catches my eye as well on occasions. I’d also like to mention Harrison Lee(Australian). He has a really good classical line and style and hope he gets a chance for more roles soon. I don’t know who the taller of the four male Spanish dancers was on Friday night but he stood out for me in that group though they were all good….and what great music to dance to! It could be that the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers listed on the website are those who started in the 2020/21 season and they are yet to add those who started in the 2021/22 season of which Viola and Ava-May are part of. I might be mistaken but Aud Jebsen Young Dancers are often in that scheme for a year and they either get a full time RB company contract or go elsewhere. The 2020/21 Aud Jebsen dancers must be into their second year now, perhaps due to all the lockdowns etc of the past 2 years. However, this is just me guessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Just busy catching up here after a busy weekend and recovering (happily) from a wonderful evening watching Fumi’s debut and Federico’s farewell on Friday. Very thrilled to have scored a great return ticket on the right hand side of the house with great sightlines. Emotional start to the evening with Kevin O’Hare coming out to inform the audience about Fede’s farewell as well as the company’s response to the invasion of Ukraine. Very moving to see and hear the ROH Orchestra playing the Ukraine national anthem and the audience of the full auditorium rising to their feet. For me it felt really like Fumi and Fede’s night- what a wonderful debut from Fumi, who looked like she had been dancing Odette/Odile for years, such was the beauty of her line, musicality and acting, and her instinctive response to her costars and fellow swan maidens. What a remarkable debut- I think it’s the best Odette/Odile debut I’ve ever seen (not that I see everyone’s, but have seen a few). Fede was of course wonderful in his acting, dancing, elegance, partnering, subtlety....he will be sorely missed. Of the other performances, I enjoyed Benjamin Ella as a boyish and expressive Benno, buoyant and energetic in his dances, and Melissa Hamilton and Mariko Sasaki elegant and assured as Siegfried’s sisters. Leticia Dias and Yuhui Choe were graceful as the Two Swans, and having only ever seen Bennet Gartside as a sinister Rothbart, it was great to see a new Rothbart - Thomas Whitehead, who was just as sinister and creepy in the role. I also admired Kristen McNally’s regal but imperious Queen, and lively, fleet footed Isabella Gasparini and David Yudes in the Neapolitan Dance. A shoutout to the corps de ballet for being a brilliant ensemble of swans as always, in the beautiful patterns that Liam Scarlett devised. Just one little moment that stood out for me in the evening- in the waltz in Act 1, Leticia Dias (doing double duty as a human as well as swan maiden) and David Donnelly were paired together and there was a moment where he lifts her, and seemed to throw her so high as though she would fly up to the rafters 😊 ! Not in a dangerous way, but simply with joyful spontaneity. It made me think of the Voices of Spring pas de deux - perhaps one day they will both dance it. Such a moving and gorgeous performance of a tragic story amid the sad circumstances of this time, but happy performances for the dancers and the audience to cherish. Thank you Royal Ballet. ❤️ Edited March 7, 2022 by Emeralds 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 30 minutes ago, Neverdancedjustamum said: It could be that the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers listed on the website are those who started in the 2020/21 season and they are yet to add those who started in the 2021/22 season of which Viola and Ava-May are part of. I might be mistaken but Aud Jebsen Young Dancers are often in that scheme for a year and they either get a full time RB company contract or go elsewhere. The 2020/21 Aud Jebsen dancers must be into their second year now, perhaps due to all the lockdowns etc of the past 2 years. However, this is just me guessing. It was announced officially that the 2020 intake of Aud Jebsen Young Dancers would all have a second year as they had missed so much time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Yes I read that too they have an extra year ( only fair) and they are listed on the website but not the four new ones for 2021-22. Also seems a smaller intake than usual and no male dancers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, LinMM said: Also seems a smaller intake than usual and no male dancers? This is just a guess but if I recall correctly more female dancers than male took the voluntary redundancy offered in 2020 so perhaps they had female vacancies that could be filled by this year's intake but no male vacancies? Having broken my Swan Lake duck (sorry, couldn't resist that pun) on Friday, I'm now en route to my 2nd one. I'm wearing my new glasses so I hope I'll be a bit less useless at dancer identification than I was on Friday! I'm rather surprised at how many of the secondary roles on tonight's cast list are the same as Friday: Von Rothbart, the Queen, Benno, one Sister & both Big Swans. Does anyone know if there are going to be more than 2 Queens this run or if it's just going to be Arestis & McNally? (McGorian seems to have been missing from the ROH stage since last November.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 5 hours ago, oncnp said: FT review - Kaneko/Bonelli An emotional evening at the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake | Financial Times (ft.com) Nope. Still getting "Subscribe, or else." How come other people can see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 5 minutes ago, alison said: Nope. Still getting "Subscribe, or else." How come other people can see it? I got it via guest mode, simply by entering the name of the review. No subscription asked for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I went to see Swan Lake on Saturday so I’m a bit late with my review. I went with a group of friends/family, one of whom hadn’t seen a ballet before. I’m happy to say she was absolutely blown away and is keen to see more! Seeing the production through her eyes also made me think that we can get a bit nitpicky about this production sometimes - it’s certainly a wonderful spectacle with lots to love (but I’m in the “too much Benno and not enough Siegfried” camp and I will never love that ending!). Anyway - despite there being “too much Benno,” I did think James Hay was excellent - lovely dancing and expressive acting. Isabella Gasperini stood out with her lovely smile and fleetness of foot as well. Yasmine Naghdi danced both Odette and Odile beautifully and I loved her little petits battus - so fast her foot was a blur. But I’m not sure I got either the vulnerability of Odette or the fire of Odile in full measure. It was a fantastic performance, but for me didn’t quite convince. Having said that, she did have to step in with a partner she hadn’t been rehearsing with, and I think dancers need that rehearsal time to really connect with their partner, so given the situation I’m probably being a bit too critical. Muntagirov, it goes without saying, was a wonderful soulful Siegfried - he seems so lonely and vulnerable, young and lacking in the confidence he needs to rule, then boyishly excited in Act 3 when he thinks he has found his love. His dancing, of course, was just stupendous - that achingly sad soliloquy with those glorious lines (I doubt you would find a more beautiful example of male classical dancing anywhere), then the fireworks of his Act 3 (those double double tours!). One of my friends said “He’s like a lovely gazelle” and I couldn’t have put it better myself. They weren’t, of course, with their intended partners and I didn’t quite “feel” it between them. But when you have to tweak the casting at the last minute, it’s rarely ideal; I still really enjoyed their performance and my friends certainly loved it! Other mentions - the princesses don’t get much to do, but Leticia Dias certainly made the most of her Spanish princess, all fire and flirtatious eyes. And I very much enjoyed Luca Acri and Yuhui Choe’s Neapolitan - bonus points to Luca for managing to bash his tambourine in time with the music! It really jars on me if it’s out of time! I do love the national dances in this and the costumes are to die for. And of course, the Corps were just wonderful - they all deserve medals! 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Dawnstar said: This is just a guess but if I recall correctly more female dancers than male took the voluntary redundancy offered in 2020 so perhaps they had female vacancies that could be filled by this year's intake but no male vacancies? Having broken my Swan Lake duck (sorry, couldn't resist that pun) on Friday, I'm now en route to my 2nd one. I'm wearing my new glasses so I hope I'll be a bit less useless at dancer identification than I was on Friday! I'm rather surprised at how many of the secondary roles on tonight's cast list are the same as Friday: Von Rothbart, the Queen, Benno, one Sister & both Big Swans. Does anyone know if there are going to be more than 2 Queens this run or if it's just going to be Arestis & McNally? (McGorian seems to have been missing from the ROH stage since last November.) Unless employment law has changed since I left work, redundancies (even voluntary ones) are usually for specific posts that are being lost and the positions cannot be filled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Does anyone know if the total number of RB dancers is therefore fewer now than at the start of 2020? I still can't tell who the Von Rothbart double is tonight, but I'd be surprised if it's Dubreuil this time given he was onstage for the start of Act I proper only about a minute later. And does anyone know if the first brief appearance of the befeathered Von Rothbart in Act II is the double or has the main dancer done a very fast change? Edited March 7, 2022 by Dawnstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Another case of ‘for the benefit of Rothbart, please wear your crown’ as once again he had to pick it up off the floor in the prologue Edited March 7, 2022 by Rob S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I forgot to mention Bennet Gartside’s fantastic Rothbart! Very remiss…. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Neverdancedjustamum said: It could be that the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers listed on the website are those who started in the 2020/21 season and they are yet to add those who started in the 2021/22 season of which Viola and Ava-May are part of. I might be mistaken but Aud Jebsen Young Dancers are often in that scheme for a year and they either get a full time RB company contract or go elsewhere. The 2020/21 Aud Jebsen dancers must be into their second year now, perhaps due to all the lockdowns etc of the past 2 years. However, this is just me guessing. Yes the 2020/21 Aud Jebsen dancers were kept on a further year because they got so few chances because of lockdown and ROH closure. Also, when they did re open there were quite a few concerts with not as many opportunities for the corps. I think most if not all the 2020 cohort still seem to be with the RB and I was wondering when the decision would be made as to who to keep and who to let go? Would it be in summer? Or perhaps May/June to give the unlucky ones more chance to find somewhere for the new season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 37 minutes ago, jmhopton said: Yes the 2020/21 Aud Jebsen dancers were kept on a further year because they got so few chances because of lockdown and ROH closure. Also, when they did re open there were quite a few concerts with not as many opportunities for the corps. I think most if not all the 2020 cohort still seem to be with the RB and I was wondering when the decision would be made as to who to keep and who to let go? Would it be in summer? Or perhaps May/June to give the unlucky ones more chance to find somewhere for the new season? The Aud Jebsen Young Dancers and the Prix Apprentice are informed fairly early on in relation to contracts because securing an alternative one can take months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I have to say I assumed the extension of the Aud Jebsen for the 20/21 group to a second year, was to do with the required cost cutting via redundancy across the ROH and therefore the RB could not extend new contracts to any of them. Given the Covid situation and lack of audition possibilities or hiring by most other companies, I further assumed a deal had been struck with AJ and/or other donors to support all those and the Prix De Lausanne apprentice (Marco Masciari) for another year, in addition to the 21/22 AJ intake. Frankly it’s appalling that the ROH website has not been updated to include the 21/22 AJ intake. It’s only four names !!! And presumably the 22/23 intake will be known soon too. That’s a lot of assumptions … anyone knows any facts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now