The Royal Ballet's The Weathering / Solo Echo / DGV: Danse à grande vitesse: 24 March to 07 April 2022

[LACAD]

5 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

me too!

perhaps someone woke him up...

I was there that night, and I believe he shouted “more new British choreography!”. 

[art_enthusiast]

41 minutes ago, LACAD said:

I was there that night, and I believe he shouted “more new British choreography!”. 

Yikes. Did he need to share his opinion so publicly?

[Tebasile]

Mixed bag au ballet. About the only thing I learned from The Weathering is that Natalia Osipova can do very fast turns - but I knew that already. Solo Echo was moving the first time I saw it, in a socially distanced hall during/after(?) the pandemic, but has now firmly outstayed its welcome for me. Not helped by atrocious cello playing.  
DGV was highly diverting and (to paraphrase someone else on this thread) may now be my favourite Wheeldon, which isn’t saying much. Magri in particular on excellent, charismatic form, the saving grace of the evening. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Tebasile

[capybara]

I don’t feel any need to see The Weathering again as it came across to me as an over long mish mash of nothing in particular, although it was supposedly about loss. Many thanks to Fumi Kaneko, Liam Boswell and Brayden Galluchi (the latter amongst the backing group) for getting me through it.

 

Solo Echo - a powerful, affecting piece from an astonishing cast of Benjamin Ella, Ashley Dean, Isabella Gasparini, Luca Acri, Lukas B Braensrod, Hannah Grenell and Harry Churches.

 

DGV - light-hearted by comparison, with Gina Storm Jensen and Mayara Magri in particular holding the stage. The entry lift of the third couple was not the original and what was substituted there and near the end was plain ugly.

 

Is is clear from Kevin O’Hare’s front of curtain words that the RB has been beset with COVID problems - again - so especial kudos to all of last night’s substitutes and those around them.

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by capybara

[Emeralds]

On 31/03/2022 at 15:01, art_enthusiast said:

Does anyone know if Natalia Osipova will be back for one of the performances?

Natalia was back for the Friday 1 April show. The casting on the website still says only “The Company”, so it might mean that that is the cast for all remaining performances, or that substitutions might still happen.

 

Not to digress too much, but I think it’s time for another commission from Valentino Zucchetti, since his Scherzo and Anemoi (the expanded Scherzo) were brilliant. Am curious to see how Abraham’s work looks onstage. 

 

I must admit that I had been hoping for a revival of Crystal Pite’s The Statement rather than her Solo Echo when the programme was announced, but I’ve gone ahead and booked anyway - hopefully  Solo Echo comes across better live onstage in the theatre than on live-stream, where i found it

difficult to follow dancers dressed in black against a dark background. 

[capybara]

4 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

The casting on the website still says only “The Company”, so it might mean that that is the cast for all remaining performances, or that substitutions might still happen.

 

 Members of the first cast of The Weathering appear to be 'signing off' on social media after last night, so there must be a second cast - presumably including Anna Rose O'Sullivan who substituted for Osipova.

[Nogoat]

There were two reasons I went to yesterday's triple bill - the chance to see Osipova dance (sufficient on its own) and the chance to listen to a live performance of Nyman's score for DGV (a nice bonus). I regarded the middle piece, Pite's Solo Echo, as something to sit through - a sort of extended interval. I wasn't even sure if I'd seen the Pite before, but based on her previous work I'd seen I assumed it would be dark in tone and presentation.

 

Kevin O'Hare, for the third performance in a row for me, managed to turn up the tension with a stage announcement. There's normally a bit of prior warning for his unscheduled appearances; the extended interval at Osipova's first Swan Lake told me something was amiss, though the drama surrounding that delay ended up amplifying the emotional impact of the performance itself; and his announcement at her third Swan Lake was not a surprise as I knew she was being replaced. But when he just marched on stage before the first piece last night, The Weathering, my heart sank - oh no, not Osipova again! Yes, it was to announce a replacement, but to my mind 'only' Naghdi by Hinkis in DGV, as well as to thank the dancers for the way they've managed to cover each other for the lottery that is Covid. Cue much applause - a mix for me of relief and gratitude.

 

Like others, I felt that The Weathering was overlong; the only thing I remember about weathering from school is that it takes a very long time, so I guess I shouldn't really complain about 40 minutes...

It all seemed a bit generic and disjointed, with nothing obvious to bind it together (apart from the usual trope of 'relationships' forming - and maybe breaking?). The music didn't help either; I am completely unfamiliar with the composer, and am happy to remain so.

However, it was an absolute joy to see Osipova and Kaneko dancing together, albeit so briefly! For me, that was worth the price of admission. They are such bright, commanding stars in the ballet firmament - each can be gazed on in singular awe, but when they are in conjunction that reaches another level altogether. It will never happen, but I'd love to see them in The Bright Stream...

 

As soon as Solo Echo started, with the brightly-lit 'snow' falling against the dark background of a darkly-lit stage containing a darkly-dressed figure, I thought 'here we go again, earnest gloom and doom'.

I gradually started to switch off, but something about the choreography began to break through, and by the end I'd concluded it had been a tour de force in terms of both Pite's choreography and the cast's execution, and I clapped along as enthusiastically as the rest of the audience.

If one of the aims of classical ballet is disguise the limitations of the body, and one of the aims of contemporary dance is to illustrate the limitations of the body, then this piece aimed to illustrate the dynamic forces underpinning both of those.

The choreography was punctuated by brief stillness - still-frames, if you like, from a movie, or the 'freezing' of repetitive movement by strobe lighting (going back to school again, the repetitive dripping of a tap could be 'frozen' by strobe lighting, or even made to move backwards reversed by changing the strobing frequency).
Here's a few examples. There were certainly some movements made by a number of dancers 'linked' together where the movements of one were gradually echoed by the others and then reversed in time. This illusion of seeing all parts of a movement, forwards and backwards in time, seemingly simultaneoulsy, was enhanced by the fact that all the dancers, male and female, were dressed the same - dark pin-stripe trousers and waistcoats. In another, a group of dancers stood facing us, one behind the other in single file. The first one fell to the floor. The next repeated 90% of that movement, stopping near the floor. The next repeated 80% of that movement, stopping a bit higher. And so on and so forth, leaving us with snapshots of the path taken in falling to the floor. What a wonderful conceit - using poses to reveal movement! It brought to mind Muybridge who used pioneering 'freeze-frame' photographic techniques to capture animal locomotion for the first time. 
And in writing this, I see the clue was in the name of the piece all along - does Solo Echo refer to the movements of a single dancer being echoed by the identically-dressed others?
In other examples, the time course and 'agency' of movements is made ambiguous: a male holds his cupped hand out at waist level; a female (probably the glorious Isabella Gasparini) tracks across the stage head down, slows and stops with her head in his hand. Was this as we saw it (which would be a bit weird) or was it in reverse? Elsewhere, the limb movements of one dancer are constrained by the hands of others - or are they being driven by them?
If Pite and those skilled dancers can reverse time on stage, then I can reverse my preconceptions - I ended up really, really liking this piece and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it again at the cinema or via streaming.

 

DGV is a strange vehicle. The music was commissioned for the opening of the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, and represents a train journey. The stage is sparse, with parallel lines presumably representing train tracks, but these seem to end in mangled metal at the back of the stage; I could only think of the cast 'tearing up the track' and 'hitting the buffers' when looking at the stage.

The music has a driving rhythm in many places, but the choreography seems to reflect this, at best, at only half speed (possibly to not tire out the dancers?). The only exception was at the very beginning, with the massed dancers at the back left, in semi-darkness, swaying to the rhythm of the moving train. It's only when they come into the light that that their costumes become apparent - what look like one-piece swim suits for the females, and matching tops (with dark tights) for the males. The patterns on the costumes seemed to hint at art-deco, and the colours were rather muted and reminiscent of the washed-out tones in old colour photographs.
I feel compelled to make narrative sense of any ballet with more staging than, say, Symphony in C. During the quieter parts of DGV I came up with the following scenario to make sense of what I'd seen. Here was a group of passengers (the swaying, dimly-lit mass of dancers at the beginning) on a long train journey, day-dreaming of their holiday destination - perhaps beaches of the French Riviera back in the heyday of train travel? Okay, I know Lille is not on the Riviera, but there is room in my head (ample room!) for artistic licence...

 

So, yes, on balance a worthwhile 220 mile round trip. Perhaps next time I should take the train, listen to Nyman and daydream...

 

[JNC]

what a fantastic review @Nogoat you’ve made me appreciate solo echo in a whole new way! 

[zxDaveM]

Back from ROH this evening.

The Weathering still makes me a bit ambivalent; the parts I liked on first showing I have grown to like quite a lot, the parts I wasn't sure of I'm sure now, sadly in the negative. Amelia Townsend made a surprise debut covering for a sick Osipova - and was jolly good fair play.

The more I see Solo Echo, the more I love it. Saying that, the cast from earlier shows were a hard act to follow.

DGV had multiple cast changes from previous outings, and one pair shone - the 3rd pair of Reece Clarke and Melissa Hamiton, thrillingly restoring the 'flying in' entry (and exit). Not flawless throughout, but exciting to watch

[alison]

31 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

one pair shone - the 3rd pair of Reece Clarke and Melissa Hamiton, thrillingly restoring the 'flying in' entry (and exit).

 

Yes, indeed.  That was the Bussell/Avis role originally, wasn't it?

[Jamesrhblack]

7 hours ago, alison said:

 

Yes, indeed.  That was the Bussell/Avis role originally, wasn't it?

I thought this had been altered at the General. Good to read that I was correct in that but, more importantly, that it has now been restored. Very sorry not to see this cast as I find Hannah Grenell and Nicol Edmonds really interesting and would think DGV something that would suit Melissa Hamilton well.

[zxDaveM]

9 hours ago, alison said:

 

Yes, indeed.  That was the Bussell/Avis role originally, wasn't it?

 

Yes indeed. Gary posted up rehearsal video from back in 2006 - makes that lift look all the more scary!

[capybara]

5 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

Yes indeed. Gary posted up rehearsal video from back in 2006 - makes that lift look all the more scary!

Unfortunately, that Instagram post had the effect of ‘showing up’ the first cast third couple.

[DanJL]

Lovely seeing the alternate cast last night! For me, Melissa Hamilton was the star of the whole evening - as well as DGV, she was also wonderful in The Weathering. 

 

For some reason I found the sorrow aspect of The Weathering hit harder second time around - evident in the second half of the piece. I did find the penultimate section a little less interesting than the rest - not sure if it was the music or choreography. But it seems a key part of the ballet - the rest of the men exiting and leaving one alone for the emotional final solo. Maybe that penultimate part just needs a tweak and would be of benefit to those who find it overlong? 

 

Lovely to see some of the younger members of the company in Solo Echo. Whilst I agree that the first cast were a hard act to follow, there were still some fine performances. And DGV was once again a great way to finish the evening on an exciting note. 

[Ianlond]

Having read comments on here, last night I was surprised just how much ballet there was in The Weathering, particularly for the male ‘corps’ as well as the parts danced by Amelia Townsend and Melissa Hamilton. Yes, there were also long passages of more contemporary choreography (not something I mind!) but it didn’t seem particularly out of place on the ROH stage. I especially liked the lighting and the way the costumes made the whole piece have a golden glow. I also loved the part where Amelia Townsend performed chaine turns off stage to be replaced by two male dancers doing the same - the transition made me smile. However, it in the end it really didn’t seem to go anywhere and, after what I thought was a very promising start, didn’t seem to hang together as a piece. BUT I would much rather see this than ‘new’ choreography by company members that is just a re-hashing of traditional classroom steps prettily put together. There is enough fantastic classically based choreography from Ashton etc. that is not being performed already. 

Solo Echo was great and the dancers looked wonderfully strong; they seem to have really committed to Crystal Pite’s style although, as has already been said, perhaps not with the personality of earlier casts. Unlike The Weathering, there seemed to be an urgency and purpose to the work as a whole. It was good to read in the programme how much work had been put into ensuring a more ‘grounded’ movement style was used, essential for a work originally choreography on NDT but not always realised when contemporary dance is performed by highly trained and skilful ballet dancers. It did make me wonder though that if, as was the case, the Royal Ballet dancers are dancing these kind of pieces so well, what is the point of Rambert which - in my eyes at least - should be its natural home. Hopefully it’s not squeezing out audiences but just broadening perspectives. 
Having known DGV since it’s first performance and again in subsequent revivals, I decided to skip it and get home early. Glad to read that the ‘Bussell lift’ was in place though! 

[bridiem]

30 minutes ago, Ianlond said:

It was good to read in the programme how much work had been put into ensuring a more ‘grounded’ movement style was used, essential for a work originally choreography on NDT but not always realised when contemporary dance is performed by highly trained and skilful ballet dancers. 

 

Interesting that the programme was upfront about the fact that different training is required for contemporary dance.

[Odyssey]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

Yes indeed. Gary posted up rehearsal video from back in 2006 - makes that lift look all the more scary!

I’m fascinated that what would appear to be such a memorable opening to this pas de deux, would not have been part of the preparation of the first cast couple. Why would it be, what I think, is the third cast that were the first to restore it? 

[Silke H]

photos of both casts

 

Facebook album

 

Instagram - 24 Mar 22

 

Instagram - 02 Apr 22

[Fonty]

I have finally read the official reviews from the critics for this programme, and the majority appear to be extremely enthusiastic, 4 star reviews.  At least, those that I can read without having to sign up for anything.  However, the response on here has been much more muted.  At present, in spite of the keen official responses, I prefer to listen to the opinions of my fellow ballet goers.  In the past, I have changed my mind after reading the reviews on this forum.  I have purchased tickets for the latest ENB programme purely on that basis.  However, with regard to this programme, I have to say  I don't think I am going to rush off and buy a last minute ticket.   

 

I wonder what Clement Crisp would have made of it?  A thumbs up, or a thumbs down?

[DanJL]

To be fair I think opinions on the forum have covered pretty much the whole range of opinions but including plenty of enthusiasm, perhaps especially for Solo Echo, but there have been fans of the other pieces too. Very much a split decision based on what's been written here 🙂

[Emeralds]

A friend who has seen both the second cast of the DGV triple bill and the Sadler’s Wells Forsythe said she far preferred the Royal Opera House offering- and she is a fan of Wheeldon, Pite and Forsythe equally (hadn’t seen Abraham’s work before). Not based on the choreography alone, but the fact that the DGV bill had a variety of styles and themes, was longer (felt like she had to leave Sadler’s Wells shortly after sitting down), more friendly front of house staff, more comfortable seating for a similar price (didn’t tell me where she sat though), and preferred having live music played by an orchestra (my friend is young!). Felt the dancing was equally good in terms of skill and artistry, but enjoyed the complex variety of movements in the DGV bill from three different choreographers- including the “flying” lift!  I’m waiting for my turn to see it now, but feeling excited now that I have more information about how it’s gone so far.

 

Since forum members have asked...I think the flying lift had been in the first run but sometime later at a revival (can’t remember if it was the first revival or much later) it was decided and agreed with Wheeldon that the lift would be changed. So both are equally “canon” or valid, so to speak- a bit like the two different Don Quixote pas de deux female variations we have nowadays. New York City Ballet and a few other ballet companies also perform DGV since Wheeldon first made it over a decade ago, but I don’t know which version they use- with or without the flying lift. 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Emeralds

[Rob S]

The link for tonight’s performance on the Cast List page doesn’t work as it’s just underlined text….I wonder if they’ll notice and change it 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Rob S said:

The link for tonight’s performance on the Cast List page doesn’t work as it’s just underlined text….I wonder if they’ll notice and change it 

First, they'll start printing proper cast sheets again!!!! 

[LinMM]

Am at ROH am going to look now! 

[Rob S]

They’ve sorted it within 90 minutes

[LinMM]

Just found it by the link to casts from my Swan Lake visit as there wasn’t a link for this one in the email. 
Im assuming no casting for weathering as a lot of the Company are involved? 

[Rob S]

33 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Just found it by the link to casts from my Swan Lake visit as there wasn’t a link for this one in the email. 
Im assuming no casting for weathering as a lot of the Company are involved? 

Melissa, Amelia and a load of chaps

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Im assuming no casting for weathering as a lot of the Company are involved? 

 

[Rob S]

Interesting there is no more announcement about face coverings before the start of the performance and the Perspex barriers have been removed from the ticket office desks.

 

Oh and I found The Weathering a lot more interesting second time around 

[LinMM]

Thanks BBB!! 
To anyone who was there tonight do you know who the male dancer was on his own on the stage right at the end of The weathering. 
Surprisingly The Weathering was my favourite piece of the evening. For a first piece on the main stage I thought was very well done indeed probably the only one I’d want to see again any time soon though an interesting evening and great to get to know Amelia Townsend as a dancer. 

[Meetmeatthebarre]

Belated thoughts on last Friday. I love DGV, and it was my primary reason for going. It's also been a bit of a lucky ballet in terms of setting off coincidences, and it did so again on Friday. But I digress. 

 

The Weathering was overly long, and didn't stand out in any way. It felt like someone had compiled a list of dance steps that look pretty/impressive and thrown them randomly together. All very nice, but what was the message? At some point halfway through, I started to think that the staging and costumes would not look out of place if Kayne West had commissioned a ballet company to model his next Yeezy collection, and it was a lost cause after that. 

 

Solo Echo was new for me, and I would want to see again. I am not the biggest fan of contemporary ballet for the sake of it, but Pite has a unique way of uniting dancers into a singular entity. It's one of the first times I've walked out of a new piece with a friend, both coming into it completely blind, and having similar views on the interpretation (of how previous experiences shape a present and future person). That's when you know someone can tell stories. 

 

On to DGV. Maybe a decade since I last saw it, but I've always loved the story behind, the sense of urgency and optimism that the event, music, and choreo seeks to show. JM Puissant's minimalist staging works for me here, showcasing what I think of as the "ribbons" of dancers in the corps in the background. And as the staging glowed a bit more yellow and blue than I previously remembered, and the corps ribbon went from the arms crossed to raised in the air in welcome, I found myself in tears, both mourning the state of the world today, yet uplifted. I cried during an abstract ballet for trains. That says it all.

 

I had hoped to get tickets for tonight (and attend only for the latter two pieces) but work got in the way. 

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zxDaveM]

just a very quick word on last night's final performance. I thought the 'other' cast for Pite's Solo Echo really went for it; their first outing had been a little cautious to my eye, but not so last night. Terrific stuff