Rob S Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Dawnstar said: I'm surprised to see Whitehead down for Von Rothbart. I'm sure that last week I saw Avis say that he was going to be Von Rothbart for the O'Sullivan & Osipova casts (not that I can check, because it was on Instagram!). He’s just posted a pic of his positive covid test 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Oh dear I was looking forward to seeing him. Talking of positive Covid tests, I've been meaning to ask: are there usually only 3 couples in the Mazurka? It looks a bit underpopulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 It is normal for this season, I can’t remember how many there were in the last run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 29 minutes ago, Rob S said: He’s just posted a pic of his positive covid test Oh dear. I think I walked past him at Monday's SL so I hope he didn't catch it from being in the audience that night. (If so then it wouldn't be from me as I was FFP2 masked! But lots of the audience weren't.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 My impression is that the Omicron strain is taking a lot longer to make its presence felt, so I'd guess not. It's only 2 days ago, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 David Yudes is down to dance Benno tonight, not Joon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 22 minutes ago, alison said: My impression is that the Omicron strain is taking a lot longer to make its presence felt, so I'd guess not. It's only 2 days ago, after all. Oh, I thought that omicron was supposed to have a shorter incubation period than the previous covid variants. Though given how prevelant it's been in the UK in the last 3 months it's probably often difficult for people to identify exactly when they were infected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctas Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Sad to be missing tonight (cold, not covid) but looking forward to reading everyone’s reports! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 33 minutes ago, Sim said: David Yudes is down to dance Benno tonight, not Joon. Jun/Joon said on Instagram that he was dancing Benno on Friday. There was no prior 'intelligence' about tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Gary Avis uses the train for quite a long commute so I suspect that might be the culprit. His posts on the Greater Anglia service are a regular feature. I've managed to get a ticket for tomorrow so fingers crossed for Marianela. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Kudos to Anna Rose for her true professionalism tonight! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 16 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Kudos to Anna Rose for her true professionalism tonight! In which particular respect? Did anything unusual happen? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing Kitty Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 She fell badly during the fouettés. 😢 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 17 minutes ago, Dancing Kitty said: She fell badly during the fouettés. 😢 But carried on like a true professional 👏🏼 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanJL Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Not my first ever Swan Lake, but my first time seeing this (or any Royal Ballet Swan Lake) production in person tonight and it was truly wonderful from start to finish! Obviously I can't compare with others but I thought O'Sullivan and Sambé were excellent in their debuts - fantastic dancing and high emotion throughout. O'Sullivan seemed to me a wonderfully shy, cautious Odette and a superbly calculating Odile. And she did so wonderfully to shake off the unfortunate mishap as if nothing had happened (her fouettés were beautiful and precise in general, just the misfortune towards the end). Unexpectedly I found the final act hit hardest - the emotion of what had happened due to the deception in Act 3 and O'Sullivan's incredibly fragile performance to the beautiful music which made it so clear that death was the only way out. For me at least the ending made perfect and clear sense after this. So many other things to enjoy - the wonderful musicality of the Act 1 choreography, the pure beauty of Act 2. The corps wonderful throughout. I was impressed with Yudes as Benno and both Gasparini and Hinkis as the sisters. A fantastic evening and looking forward to another one tomorrow! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing Kitty Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 (edited) 23 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: But carried on like a true professional 👏🏼 Definitely - a bit wobbly but who wouldn’t be. She was slipping earlier - so maybe the stage or her shoes. Such a pity at her debut - she is a beautiful dancer. Edited March 9, 2022 by Dancing Kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 And, as time goes on, people will remember an overall lovely debut more than a temporary mishap. As long as Anna Rose is OK ……. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 50 minutes ago, capybara said: And, as time goes on, people will remember an overall lovely debut more than a temporary mishap. I really hope that's the case, capybara, because she was wonderful as both Odette and Odile. Her Odette was so gentle and expressive and luxurious, with her limbs curving and melting like a sinuous cat and her love for Siegfried enveloping him with such tenderness. Which made her Odile all the more startling - she was positively contemptuous both of him and (even more alarmingly!) of the audience. Her eyes were cold and you got a real sense of evil being not just a presence but an absence - no love, no compassion, no truth. And those eyes were turned on the audience too, including during that back bend when she smiled at us upside down... Chilling. So the fall in the fouettés was so sad because it disrupted a performance to treasure. And yes, she showed great courage in immediately picking herself up an carrying on, and giving a beautiful rendition of Odette's grief in Act IV. She will I'm sure address what happened with the fouettés so that it won't happen again. But it was still a brilliant début. As was Sambé's as Siegfried. So dignified and unhappy in Act I, so loving in Act II, so dazzled in Act III, and so sorrowful in Act IV; and all the time dancing so beautifully and partnering Anna-Rose so securely. I thought David Yudes was an excellent Benno, and I loved Isabella Gasparini's sister and Yuhui Choe and Leticia Dias as the big swans. Very glad that the Ukrainian national anthem is still being played before performances. Defeating evil forces isn't just for fairy tales. 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 5 hours ago, capybara said: Jun/Joon said on Instagram that he was dancing Benno on Friday. There was no prior 'intelligence' about tonight. My bad. Apologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Bridiem, what a perfect description of Anna Rose’s breathtaking debut. How every avian flutter of those beautiful arms brought Odette’s story to life, the arch of her body, luxuriant and yielding, the droop of her neck. And then the ruthless calculation of an Odile who knew that her victim was hooked and enjoyed every callous second of her evil triumph. And what a wonderful partnership she and Sambe have. He: solicitous, yearning, on fire, aghast. She: awakening, loving, sorrowing, resigned. If the audience reacted to that fall, it was to clap and cheer even longer and louder as if to cement the very obvious truth that ‘we don’t care at all, it really doesn’t matter, we love you’. It truly was a performance to treasureI 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Last night was a truly special debut from Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe. Echoing others, they not just danced beautifully but from an emotional perspective were so thoroughly in character that I almost shed a tear. It was wonderful to have the audience rooting for them both- definitely a few more fans than those of us on this forum based on the gasp when Anna Rose slipped and the cheers during the curtain call. Anna Rose is such a versatile dancer, it really amazes me how she fits any role like a glove, classical or contemporary, and her Odette/Odile was no different. Marcelino’s jumps were absolutely breathtaking, such height and then he lands like a feather. It was also special to take my cousin with me last night, his first experience of the ROH which didn’t disappoint. I love sharing the magic with someone who hasn’t been there before and think how lucky we all are to have this wonderful theatre and company. I also learnt from him only moments before the lights went down that our shared great grandmother’s parents had come to the UK from Odessa, which made the playing of the national anthem even more emotive. 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 36 minutes ago, Blossom said: Last night was a truly special debut from Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe. Echoing others, they not just danced beautifully but from an emotional perspective were so thoroughly in character that I almost shed a tear. It was wonderful to have the audience rooting for them both- definitely a few more fans than those of us on this forum based on the gasp when Anna Rose slipped and the cheers during the curtain call. Anna Rose is such a versatile dancer, it really amazes me how she fits any role like a glove, classical or contemporary, and her Odette/Odile was no different. Marcelino’s jumps were absolutely breathtaking, such height and then he lands like a feather. It was also special to take my cousin with me last night, his first experience of the ROH which didn’t disappoint. I love sharing the magic with someone who hasn’t been there before and think how lucky we all are to have this wonderful theatre and company. I also learnt from him only moments before the lights went down that our shared great grandmother’s parents had come to the UK from Odessa, which made the playing of the national anthem even more emotive. Lovely, heartfelt words Blossom. Isn't one of the joys of watching a ballet knowing that someone you have taken is loving it too? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 24 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: Lovely, heartfelt words Blossom. Isn't one of the joys of watching a ballet knowing that someone you have taken is loving it too? It can work the other way round too! I once took a friend to a bill that included Serenade. I was absolutely thrilled with it and couldn't wait to hear what he thought; his only response was 'what was that all about then?'. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 56 minutes ago, Blossom said: Echoing others, they not just danced beautifully but from an emotional perspective were so thoroughly in character that I almost shed a tear. Yes, it’s that emotional connection that lifts a performance from a display of technical perfection to something heartbreaking and thrilling that feeds the soul. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmarose Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Great to hear the reports from last nights double debut. Such a shame Anna Rose had a fall, but everyone falls, it's how you get up and it sounds as if she carried on to finish beautifully. I can't wait to see them in a few weeks, I really enjoy their dynamic together, both are great technically and bring a lot of emotion into their dancing too. Lovely photos too. Yuhui Choe really has the most gorgeous face, she makes a beautiful swan! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I love Yuhui Choe’s dancing. She hasn’t the most extreme technique but never looks strained she sort of relaxes into the dancing so is always a pleasure to watch. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmarose Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 17 minutes ago, LinMM said: I love Yuhui Choe’s dancing. She hasn’t the most extreme technique but never looks strained she sort of relaxes into the dancing so is always a pleasure to watch. Yes, she has a real ease of movement, nothing is pushed of force, very natural and easy to watch. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 There’s a lovely video of her somewhere dancing in Voices of Spring with Alexander Campbell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne-MM Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, bridiem said: I really hope that's the case, capybara, because she was wonderful as both Odette and Odile. Her Odette was so gentle and expressive and luxurious, with her limbs curving and melting like a sinuous cat and her love for Siegfried enveloping him with such tenderness. Which made her Odile all the more startling - she was positively contemptuous both of him and (even more alarmingly!) of the audience. Her eyes were cold and you got a real sense of evil being not just a presence but an absence - no love, no compassion, no truth. And those eyes were turned on the audience too, including during that back bend when she smiled at us upside down... Chilling. So the fall in the fouettés was so sad because it disrupted a performance to treasure. And yes, she showed great courage in immediately picking herself up an carrying on, and giving a beautiful rendition of Odette's grief in Act IV. She will I'm sure address what happened with the fouettés so that it won't happen again. But it was still a brilliant début. As was Sambé's as Siegfried. So dignified and unhappy in Act I, so loving in Act II, so dazzled in Act III, and so sorrowful in Act IV; and all the time dancing so beautifully and partnering Anna-Rose so securely. I thought David Yudes was an excellent Benno, and I loved Isabella Gasparini's sister and Yuhui Choe and Leticia Dias as the big swans. Very glad that the Ukrainian national anthem is still being played before performances. Defeating evil forces isn't just for fairy tales. I completely endorse bridiem's thoughts. A wonderful performance. Edited March 10, 2022 by Anne-MM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmarose Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, LinMM said: There’s a lovely video of her somewhere dancing in Voices of Spring with Alexander Campbell. It's still on Youtube I think, I won't post it as I'm not sure what we're allowed to regarding YT videos, but it's there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnbarr Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Can someone with practical knowledge try to explain why Anna Rose fell please? It happened in the last quarter of her fouettés and she had started to travel massively to the right across the stage. The audience had started to clap along with the music ( which I hate) and I wondered if this somehow might have affected her concentration or timing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, Finnbarr said: Can someone with practical knowledge try to explain why Anna Rose fell please? It happened in the last quarter of her fouettés and she had started to travel massively to the right across the stage. The audience had started to clap along with the music ( which I hate) and I wondered if this somehow might have affected her concentration or timing? The clapping 'in time' was making me concerned that it would affect her too...and then she fell...which of course doesn't mean that was the cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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