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

[LinMM]

Just putting out again does anyone know who the dancer was at the very end of the Weathering? My own guess is that it was Joshua Junker but am not absolutely sure a couple of others could be in the running! 
If one was judging last night by the music then Solo Echo to me had the best music!! However although the dancers were extraordinary and there were some interesting points and quirky bits which did fit the music in this piece in the end it didn’t touch me that much. It was just sort of okay but don’t think my interest would have been kept if not for the music. 
The music for the Weathering was initially harder to like but then the dance drew me into the music more. I was expecting not to like this too much after reading comments here but in fact I really enjoyed this piece and thought the length just right. There were some nice still moments and I thought both female dancers were amazing in this instance Hamilton …just her sort of Piece….and Townsend. Amelia Townsend is not a dancer I know that well but she was terrific last night so hope she gets more to do in future. I thought all the male dancers got the more contemporary feel of this piece and again a shout out for whoever it was on stage at the end as had noticed him before in the dancing and wondered who he was. 
So the Weathering was a pleasant surprise for me and as the first piece I’ve seen by Kyle Abraham I’d be happy to see more of his Work. 
The one I was most disappointed in was the DGV piece as I’d heard this was really good and other friends had said it was their favourite Piece of the three….. although again I did like bits of it. It was the other way around with this music ….initially I felt quite uplifted and enjoyed the rhythm of it but then it just seemed repetitive seeming to about to come to some sort of climax but then didn’t. I did get the train reference and parts of it were interesting but for some reason it just didn’t grab me last night even though the dancers were doing all sorts of amazing things with their bodies and no doubt they were loving this opportunity to show off their amazing athleticism. Great though to see another dancer I don’t know so well Hannah Grenell holding her own with Hamilton, Naghdi ( very engaging)and  O Sullivan. Towards the end for some reason I was wondering what Matthew Bourne might have done with this music! 
Anyway overall I was glad I had seen this Programme but it was a luke warm evening not exactly wowed by it. I did enjoy chatting to my neighbours in the Balcony and I know at least one of them enjoyed the Solo Echo Piece more than I did! 
 

[Rob S]

I think it was Junker, he did an individual walk forward at the curtain call.

[Emeralds]

16 hours ago, LinMM said:

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. 

Joshua Junker, I believe. A beautifully danced role!

[emmarose]

19 hours ago, Rob S said:

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 

 

TBH, nobody wears them anyway, and even after the announcement people didn't shift to put one on, so it made little difference.

The perspex is weird timing because at the minute it seems rife in England and London, I would've thought they'd want to avoid staff getting it as they need staff in for the shows to go ahead.

[alison]

2 hours ago, emmarose said:

 

TBH, nobody wears them anyway,

 

I'd beg to differ on that.  But the perspex screens have been disappearing from all sorts of places in recent weeks - I'm wondering if there has been a direction from "on high" that I'm not aware of, because it does seem to have been coordinated.

[Lizbie1]

I've definitely seen reputable reports that perspex screens can make things worse rather than better because they trap droplets and restrict airflow.

 

If so they may have stayed in place as long as they have partly because they make people feel safer, rather than because of any benefits they bring - what they call "hygiene theatre".

[Emeralds]

This review won’t help anyone decide whether to see the triple bill, as I saw the last show, having not been able to make the dates for the earlier ones after all.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really, really enjoyed this triple bill performance.

 

After being “tricked” by the ROH Marketing Department into thinking it would look very dark, gloomy and somber (despite the energy of DGV), I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t- in fact, only Solo Echo looked dark. The lighting for DGV: Danse à grande vitesse was also brighter than I remembered it at previous performances- whether it felt that way because I was sitting nearer the stage this time, or because it did get brightened, I don’t know. 

 

Contrary to expectations, The Weathering turned out to be my favourite of the three last night. I liked the designs, which looked flattering on the dancers and showed off their lines beautifully, and also the backdrop/set with the little lit lanterns. The choreography was very ....well, classical, in fact. A lot of batterie- the fast footwork popular in the Bournonville and Romantic Era ballets like Napoli, La Sylphide, Giselle- and long lines, some very tricky balances and turns on one leg (similar to those in the Prayer solo in Coppelia and Myrtha’s solo in Giselle) which Hamilton performed with great aplomb. There was also quite a bit of innovation, with some deep spins in arabesque in the men’s solos not seen in other ballets or contemporary choreography before but which has been used in gymnastics (done more elegantly here of course). What I enjoyed  was the exploration and extension of the classical vocabulary without resorting to the use of complex lifts. I do like lifts, of course, but it’s nice to see a new ballet where  innovation isn’t limited to exploring the different ways to turn ballerinas upside down, sideways, etc, and very little of interest in their solos. 

 

I liked the exploration of friendships, family relationships and romantic relationships (it isn’t specific which but from the notes, I gather the loss that moved Abraham to create this was loss of family members and friends as well as partners), and that you didn’t necessarily have to assume or guess how who was related to whom, other than they had been close and now they were gone. The theme of loss was also poignant considering the tragic events (both Covid and Ukraine) at this time. The whole cast was outstanding - particularly Hamilton, Junker, Boswell, Brænsdsrød and Townsend in featured roles- and left a deep impression the same way the young cast of Scherzo and Anemoi had done last summer, putting their heart into it, and making one amazed at how much phenomenal virtuosity and artistry there was in the non-principal ranks. 

 

I think the company or marketing department did Kyle Abraham and the audience a disservice describing him as a contemporary choreographer - he has trained in all theatre genres of dance, and made 3 ballets for New York City Ballet, pieces for ABT principal Misty Copeland, and NYCB star and now associate director Wendy Whelan, aside from last season’s Optional Family: A Divertissement for the Royal Ballet. He’s not a newcomer to ballet.

 

Solo Echo I found easier to follow this time on stage than on livestream. Never noticed the pretty shimmery lights in the backdrop during the livestream! It’s very much a piece in contemporary dance language, no doubt about that, but the cast danced it as though they were from a contemporary dance company, not ballet dancers executing a watered down version, which can be easily done. Our cast, who included Benjamin Ella, Marco Masciari and Francisco Serrano dancing like it was the last ever show on earth, were tremendous. 

 

DGV: Danse à grand vitesse has acquired a huge reputation (being performed on several continents now) since it modestly premiered in 2006 without much fuss. It’s quite remarkable how a ballet inspired by music inspired by a high speed train (TGV) can build such a buzz among dance companies. It’s still an energetic piece, with the stylised silver tunnel at the back being a key but not dominant part of proceedings. The dancers performed it with great verve, and I especially enjoyed serene Naghdi and Bracewell breezing elegantly through their difficult and fast pas de deux effortlessly (they also perform the “flying” lift once at the back). Grennell and Edmonds were also memorable in the first pas de deux, while Hamilton and Clarke (in the Bussell/Avis roles) were stunning in the third pas de deux, complete with the flying lift entrance and exit. Everyone looked like they were having a great time, and we could feel their energy too. 

 

Really pleased we went!  What a gorgeous modern triple bill (four words that are usually not used in the same sentence by me).

Edited April 8, 2022 by Emeralds

[LinMM]

Yes agree about The Weathering as although I said in my review the men got the contemporary style ( bits) well in this piece it was also much more balletic in parts than I was expecting. 

Of the three it’s the one I most want to see again anyway. 
Also I agree that in Solo Echo the dancers all seemed very contemporary orientated as you said Emeralds they could have been a contemporary company performing! 

 

[FionaM]

8 hours ago, Rob S said:

I think it was Junker, he did an individual walk forward at the curtain call.

 
It was definitely Joshua Junker performing the last solo.  I found that very moving to end. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by FionaE
Spelling

[Emeralds]

On 07/04/2022 at 20:15, Rob S said:

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 

The Perspex screens are not so helpful re: Covid as the masks are, although one of the desks where the ushers were selling programmes (in the foyer) had one, funnily enough. I did miss hearing the announcements about the masks and very few people wore them this month, compared to a month ago at both ROH & the Coliseum. We still wore them- in fact we know more friends and colleagues who have caught it recently, like poor Natalia  Osipova at RB, than we did 15 months or even 5 months ago, when mask wearing was more common. I also missed hearing the Ukraine anthem as well (it’s a nice melody) although it was nice that the blue and yellow lighting were still there, as was the flag. Glad you liked The Weathering more second time round, RobS! 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Emeralds

[FionaM]

I really enjoyed this triple bill.

 

The Weathering I found beautiful … lovely fluid movements, and the costumes and simple were very effective.  Super duets from Calvin Richardson & Stanislaw Wegrzyn, Lukas Braendsrod & Melissa Hamilton.  And moving solo by Joshua Junker to end.  The piece did lose me in places as the intent throughout wasn’t that clear, and it didn’t help that the music was unknown to me.  
 

I thought Solo Echo was the stand-out piece of the evening … as did the people sitting either side of me, who leapt to their feet to applaud the curtain call.  The intensity from Ben Ella and Marco Masciari was extraordinary, and the echo of movements from one to another or to the group was very clear.  That makes it sound like it was repetitive … it was anything but!  I kept thinking how it was changing all the time.  Really interesting.

 

A first time seeing DGV for me.  I loved the train references throughout and the set.  Not so keen on leotards only for the ladies, which always makes me nervous.  Reece Clarke and Melissa Hamilton nailed the flying lift entrance.  Not a wobble.  Impressive.  Super ensemble work and pdds from all the couples. 

 

Left feeling good about new works at RB, and happy to see more in similar vein.  

[emmarose]

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

I'd beg to differ on that.  But the perspex screens have been disappearing from all sorts of places in recent weeks - I'm wondering if there has been a direction from "on high" that I'm not aware of, because it does seem to have been coordinated.

 

I'd say at the shows I've been to 95% of the audience weren't wearing them and not one person put one on after the announcement. In fact some people take them off when they get to their seats and look around and see nobody around them is in one.

 

It doesn't sit too well with me, but we are where we are. I am actually one of the minority and always wear a full FFP mask, I am vulnerable and really don't want to get it, but it still remains the fact that hardly anyone wears one now.