GISELLE United Ukrainian Ballet 13-17 September, Coliseum

[myrtle]

I wonder if the organizers might consider a stream fans can purchase to support Ukraine.  I think there would be lots of takers, because you might get to see Alina Cojocaru, one of the all time greats, or Katja Khaniukova, who was such a revelation for me in Dance for Ukraine, or any other casts the organizers would choose to stream.  

 

Fans unable to afford the ticket prices in these trying times, or unable to travel to London, could get the best of both worlds:  see amazing dancers and support Ukraine.   

 

I would consider purchasing a stream for multiple casts, if such were available. 

 

[JNC]

I think a stream is a good idea but it may push people on the fence to not go in person which is a shame. 

 

Maybe announcing a stream after performances have concluded is good - it means people who definitely wouldn’t have gone would benefit; but incentivises those who do can and do want to see it to go live if they really don’t want to miss out. 
 

streams are a great alternative but not a replacement for live performances so I really do hope lots u be of tickets are sold closer to the time. Perhaps people are waiting for pay packets to come in, and summer holidays are happening which means many may be away (or needing some time to re-budget for September). 
 

perhaps this is the wrong thread for this comment, but I did wonder how the Nureyev gala would sell over more than one date, and that was before the news started getting increasingly catastrophic. It may have been better to concentrate on only one performance but I can see why it’s the same amount of work to do multiple performances, not just one (but financially more for orchestra and theatre costs? And presumably the dancers’ fees?). I would love to live in a world where it would sell over more than one date but sadly doesn’t appear to be the one we’re in right now. Having said that the Diamonds bill sold incredibly well and you’d think it would attract similar audiences (ie ballet fans who enjoy mixed programmes). I imagine the “safe” and “prestige” brand of ROH is a lot of the reason, as well as without this forum I wouldn’t necessarily have picked up on things like the Ukrainian Giselle and Nureyev Gala (although the latter has had RB dancers sharing things on social media so sure I would have stumbled across eventually).

 

Sadly it just seems these programmes are coming at a very bad time where people are worried about paying for winter heating bills and already seeing their weekly shop vastly increase, with rents and mortgages going up and a struggle to find housing too. 

[maryrosesatonapin]

18 hours ago, capybara said:

But, apparently, Pite didn’t want anything else on the programme. If that is true, she needed to make a ‘full length’ work.

Only time will tell, I suppose………

On the ROH website it is described as a 'full length world premiere'.  So if people go expecting 90 mins + of dancing it sounds as though they will be disappointed.

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

On the ROH website it is described as a 'full length world premiere'.  So if people go expecting 90 mins + of dancing it sounds as though they will be disappointed.

 

perhaps they'll run through the symphony twice 😉

 

[DanJL]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

perhaps they'll run through the symphony twice 😉

 

I was actually thinking similar - not necessarily twice but perhaps an adapted version with repeated sections? I think full length implies longer than an hour so I'm sure there must be something to be revealed that we don't know yet. 

[LinMM]

😂 zxDaveM 

[BalletcoForum Moderators]

A post on this thread has been hidden for being overtly political.

[Dawnstar]

Unfortunately the train strikes just announced for 15th & 17th September won't help the ticket sales for this. I'm praying that I'll be able to get home alright the evening of the 14th. It's almost certainly my only opportunity to see Cojocaru as Giselle so I really want to go but not if I'm going to get stuck in London for a day & 2 nights!

[Beryl H]

Funnily enough I've just checked and the Coliseum website shows fuller casting now, I have the same problem as Dawnstar, 14th September is my only chance to see Alina Cojocaru, as it would be presumably worse on the 16th, the day in between strikes!

[JNC]

It’s a shame Shevchenko isn’t dancing Myrtha for Alina’s two dates. I am selfishly wondering if we’ll see some discounted ticket prices, I can’t really justify another performance but would consider the Saturday evening if they did. 
 

agree it’s such a shame about the strikes, very poor timing. 

[Dawnstar]

@Beryl HYes, 16th will surely be worse than 14th for strike-related disruption. The Giselle running time is currently given on the Coliseum website as 2 hours, which would be great for getting home well before midnight but I suspect isn't going to end up being accurate, unless Ratmansky is doing a very cut-down version.

[FionaM]

@Dawnstar Giselle is on the short side compared to other full length ballets.  So 2 hours for new Ratmansky version might be correct.  But I’m not sure if that includes an interval ?  Maybe not.  

 

The RB version is 2 acts of 55 minutes plus a 25 minute interval, according to my cast sheet from November 2021.  
 

Many years ago, some companies would offer a short one act ballet on the same programme as Giselle.  

[LinMM]

The day in between strikes is fine for travelling in the day time ..well between about 10.30am and whenever they run down for the evening so it’s the travelling home time which is crucial on both pre strike days. It’s best to double check what time the last trains are running as may be earlier than usual. 
Will look at the fuller casting for Wednesday if it’s now on the website 

[FionaM]

The full cast

https://londoncoliseum.org/artists/giselle-cast/

 

Giselle Cast

Tuesday 13 Evening

Giselle: Katja Khaniukova

Albrecht: Stasnislav Olshanskyi

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Christine Shevchenko

Moyna & Zulma: Vladyslava Kovalenko & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Wednesday 14 Evening

Giselle: Alina Cojocaru

Albrecht: Alexander Trusch

Hilarion: Danylo Butenko

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Vladyslav Bondar & Maria Shupilova

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Thursday 15 Afternoon

Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze

Albrecht: Oleksii Tiutiunnyk

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Maksym Bilokrynytskyi & Daria Manoilo

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Thursday 15 Evening

Giselle: Katja Khaniukova

Albrecht: Stanislav Olshanskyi

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Christine Shevchenko

Moyna & Zulma: Vladyslava Kovalenko & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Friday 16 Evening

Giselle: Alina Cojocaru

Albrecht: Alexander Trusch

Hilarion: Marat Ragimov

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Vladyslav Bondar & Maria Shupilova

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Saturday 17 Afternoon

Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze

Albrecht: Oleksii Kniazkov

Hilarion: Marat Ragimov

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Maksym Bilokrynytskyi & Daria Manoilo

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Saturday 17 Evening

Giselle: Christine Shevchenko

Albrecht: Oleksii Tiutiunnyk

Hilarion: Danylo Butenko

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko
Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

Last updated: 2nd September 2022

[Pulcinella]

I'd booked for the Saturday evening performance for this, the only one I thought I'd be able to get to as my husband and I will be on holiday in Germany that week. However I discovered we are not due back into St Pancras until 7 o'clock so there is no way we will be able to get to the Coliseum in time. Luckily I've been able to pass the tickets on to my son. Quite disappointed as it would have been good to see the company.

[Jan McNulty]

15 minutes ago, Pulcinella said:

I'd booked for the Saturday evening performance for this, the only one I thought I'd be able to get to as my husband and I will be on holiday in Germany that week. However I discovered we are not due back into St Pancras until 7 o'clock so there is no way we will be able to get to the Coliseum in time. Luckily I've been able to pass the tickets on to my son. Quite disappointed as it would have been good to see the company.

 

That's a shame but enjoy your holiday!

[Dawnstar]

4 hours ago, FionaE said:

@Dawnstar Giselle is on the short side compared to other full length ballets.  So 2 hours for new Ratmansky version might be correct.  But I’m not sure if that includes an interval ?  Maybe not.  

 

The RB version is 2 acts of 55 minutes plus a 25 minute interval, according to my cast sheet from November 2021.  
 

Many years ago, some companies would offer a short one act ballet on the same programme as Giselle.  

 

Yes, it's the RB version I'm comparing it to, as that's the only version I've seen previously. Hence 2 hours for the entire running time seems too short. 2h30-ish would be okay, as then I can get the 22.39 which gets in at 23.33, The problem would be if it ended up nearer the 3h mark as then I'd have to get the 23.09 which doesn't get in until 00.03. Given the strikes are due to start at midnight, I'd be worried in case the train came to a halt bang on midnight when still a few miles south of Cambridge!

[LinMM]

Not sure they’d be allowed to do that Dawnstar!!  Imagine all these people stuck on a train for 24 hours ….not exactly brilliant publicity for the cause! They are more likely to stop earlier so reach destination by midnight!! But best to double check. 

[alison]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

Given the strikes are due to start at midnight, I'd be worried in case the train came to a halt bang on midnight when still a few miles south of Cambridge!

 

Please, don't ...

[Dawnstar]

13 hours ago, LinMM said:

Not sure they’d be allowed to do that Dawnstar!!  Imagine all these people stuck on a train for 24 hours ….not exactly brilliant publicity for the cause! They are more likely to stop earlier so reach destination by midnight!! But best to double check. 

 

Unfortunately the revised train times haven't been released & wont be until a few days beforehand, so all I can do at the moment is worry about what might happen!

[FionaM]

33 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Unfortunately the revised train times haven't been released & wont be until a few days beforehand, so all I can do at the moment is worry about what might happen!

could you travel by coach instead?  I have to do that as there aren’t any late enough trains to Bristol.  (It’s way cheaper too, so I can get better seats in the theatre 😉) 

[Lizbie1]

7 hours ago, FionaE said:

could you travel by coach instead?  I have to do that as there aren’t any late enough trains to Bristol.  (It’s way cheaper too, so I can get better seats in the theatre 😉) 

 

There should be late enough trains running to Bristol, at least when they aren't striking.

 

A year ago this was a problem but not now, in my experience.

[Dawnstar]

7 hours ago, FionaE said:

could you travel by coach instead?  I have to do that as there aren’t any late enough trains to Bristol.  (It’s way cheaper too, so I can get better seats in the theatre 😉) 

 

I just looked coaches up & the answer is definitely no! 1) It'd take over 3 hours each way, versus under an hour by train. 2) The last evening coach leaves at 22.30 so I might not make it. 3) The cheapest fare is £29.90, versus £18.30 by train.

[Emeralds]

On 02/09/2022 at 19:29, FionaE said:

The full cast

https://londoncoliseum.org/artists/giselle-cast/

 

Giselle Cast

Tuesday 13 Evening

Giselle: Katja Khaniukova

Albrecht: Stasnislav Olshanskyi

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Christine Shevchenko

Moyna & Zulma: Vladyslava Kovalenko & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Wednesday 14 Evening

Giselle: Alina Cojocaru

Albrecht: Alexander Trusch

Hilarion: Danylo Butenko

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Vladyslav Bondar & Maria Shupilova

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Thursday 15 Afternoon

Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze

Albrecht: Oleksii Tiutiunnyk

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Maksym Bilokrynytskyi & Daria Manoilo

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Thursday 15 Evening

Giselle: Katja Khaniukova

Albrecht: Stanislav Olshanskyi

Hilarion: Sergii Kliachin

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Christine Shevchenko

Moyna & Zulma: Vladyslava Kovalenko & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Friday 16 Evening

Giselle: Alina Cojocaru

Albrecht: Alexander Trusch

Hilarion: Marat Ragimov

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Vladyslav Bondar & Maria Shupilova

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Saturday 17 Afternoon

Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze

Albrecht: Oleksii Kniazkov

Hilarion: Marat Ragimov

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Maksym Bilokrynytskyi & Daria Manoilo

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko

Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

 

---

 

Saturday 17 Evening

Giselle: Christine Shevchenko

Albrecht: Oleksii Tiutiunnyk

Hilarion: Danylo Butenko

Wilfried: Viktor Lytvynenko

Peasant pas: Veronika Hordina & Nikita Hodyna

Myrtha: Vladyslava Kovalenko
Moyna & Zulma: Veronika Hordina & Daria Manoilo

Last updated: 2nd September 2022

Thanks, FionaE. Only just realised (after your helpful post) that the Coliseum IT or marketing people had added a section that you have to click on to see the casts  on  the other dates, as they’ve placed Cojocaru and Khaniukova’s names prominently on the main page but nobody else’s, which makes one think that there’s all the information they have. Am sure it’s possible to alter it digitally. I hope someone will do it on Monday as it’s not very clever programming or marketing to leave it like that.

 

That’s great that Oleksii  Tiutiunnyk (known to me as Alexis Tutunique from the billing at the previous galas he’s danced in) will be partnering Christine Shevchenko on Saturday. Now I just need to be able to make it in with the rail strike going on!

Edited September 4, 2022 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

On 02/09/2022 at 17:12, Dawnstar said:

@Beryl HYes, 16th will surely be worse than 14th for strike-related disruption. The Giselle running time is currently given on the Coliseum website as 2 hours, which would be great for getting home well before midnight but I suspect isn't going to end up being accurate, unless Ratmansky is doing a very cut-down version.

I had assumed it was two hours including the interval, but I think I’ll check with the theatre (when it reopens after the weekend) if this actually includes the interval, as that would be a big help on the days of the strike. It is possible to do a two hour Giselle with short interval (eg 20mins) if the score is played at a fairly brisk tempo and there aren’t lots of additional solos etc. 

 

I think your date of the 14th is better in terms of the strikes than the 16th, Dawnstar. It looks like I won’t be able to make it for Elizaveta Gogidze’s debut on the Thursday matinee because of the strike, which is disappointing as it  would be impossible to make my next appointment with no trains going on. We have to check the strike updates to see if we can even make the Saturday evening to see Christine Shevchenko, whom I’d been hoping to see as Giselle. A long trek using a combination of buses perhaps....if they’re not all packed.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

Just a quick note for members who were thinking of going with their children (eg those learning ballet)  - the company are now offering half price for children and young teens (every full paying adult can book up to 2 tickets for accompanying children aged 5-16).....even top price seats and the £10 seats in the balcony (ie £5 for each child, which makes them the cheapest seats in London  for live performances in a theatre with a full orchestra ). 👍💷💰

[JNC]

Sounds awful to say this as money is going to a good cause but I’m hoping there may be some discounts closer to the time (some contribution better than none being my thoughts). 
 

I’m not sure I can justify spending another £40-50 but would be tempted to go on Saturday evening if they discounted those seats to £20, maybe even £30. 

[Emeralds]

NB The Coliseum staff have just confirmed to me that the UUB Giselle is two hours in duration including the interval- ie the evening performances starting at 7.30pm are due to end at 9.30pm.

 

(PS I’ve seen numerous audience videos on social media showing the Ukrainian anthem being sung on stage by the cast after curtain calls and flowers so presumably this might be repeated at all/some of the Coliseum performances. But if any patrons have a last train to catch, am sure nobody minds if they slip out before the singing starts).

Edited September 5, 2022 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

On 27/08/2022 at 13:18, maryrosesatonapin said:

On the ROH website it is described as a 'full length world premiere'.  So if people go expecting 90 mins + of dancing it sounds as though they will be disappointed.

Not sure how a Pite premiere discussion ended up on this thread 😂but don’t forget Crystal Pite often uses the spoken word or silence instead of music in her ballets. Eg The Statement has no music, only recorded sound effects accompanying the recorded dialogue. And some parts of her ballets are danced in silence before the next bit of speech or music come on. Revisor also had lots of speech in lieu of music. I doubt her piece will be as short as, say the ENB Forsythe programme in April this year. It is possible that the new work will have dialogue, silence or both in addition to the Gorecki symphony. Revisor was one and a half hours and Betroffenheit was one and three quarter hours long (counted without intervals).

 

Also: bring tissues or a handkerchief!

 

 

[Beryl H]

Looks as though the Coliseum should get in touch with Pineapple or reduce prices themselves, ticket sales are very slow, hope it will go ahead.

 

[alison]

You'd think hashtagging it with #ukraine on social media ought to get the message out well ...

[Emeralds]

I think the main problem is that the general public just don’t know that ballet happens at London Coliseum- Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Swedish Ballet had this same experience some years and decades back respectively.  Those of us who had bought tickets and either got invited to move closer to the front or had spare seats next to us and extra leg room were of course happy at the unexpected luxury, but the saddest bit is not the loss of revenue (although that’s bad) but the fact that many who may have enjoyed it and could easily afford it missed out on a performance of sublime artistry and glorious virtuosity., and it won’t come back.  Ballet performances, like all live performances, are perishable - ballet even more so than theatre, due to the physical demands. Once gone, it’s gone. It’s not like unsold books or DVDs where you can put it out on sale the next week or next month if it didn’t sell well today.

 

Maybe there should be a space or location for disseminating information about dance performances- previously, dance fans would buy/subscribe and read Dancing Times or Dance and Dancers (ok that’s showing my age as D&D closed a long time ago) and head to the performances. But for ad hoc, once off companies or events like UUB & the Nureyev galas, there is no longer a platform for them to be  publicised as nobody knows about them.

 

The Coliseum doesn’t do its own Facebook or Instagram page-perhaps it should. Even My Fair Lady at the Coliseum, which in theory should be able to sell out easily, was not sold out. The Nureyev gala suffered from being in a “non dance” venue like Theatre Royal Drury Lane- people only expect Frozen or some musical to be there.

 

Or perhaps an FB and Instagram page should be set up that covers all UK dance performances. Dance Europe seems to be posting less and less. Dancing Times has always posted very little. 

 

They (UUB or Nureyev gala) would sell well at Sadler’s Wells as dance fans check its listings constantly, or if they could use the Royal Opera House, I am certain sales for both would be 90% or even 99%. That’s where people expect ballet to be- most non dance fans don’t actually notice or care if the company is the Royal Ballet or another company. They assume it must be good if it’s at “Covent Garden”. I don’t know how much it would have cost to hire these two venues or if the dates were available- perhaps both were not feasible. 

 

Plus, ever since ROH started posting regularly on social media (something Kevin O’Hare has encouraged), sales have improved astonishingly. (Not counting this season as the RB shows are still a month away). Seems unbelievable that there used to be many unsold seats for Balanchine or MacMillan mixed bills with Bussell, Guillem and Durante at the ROH, but that did happen in the days before YouTube, Facebook and the ROH website. 

[bridiem]

13 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

The Coliseum doesn’t do its own Facebook or Instagram page-perhaps it should. Even My Fair Lady at the Coliseum, which in theory should be able to sell out easily, was not sold out. The Nureyev gala suffered from being in a “non dance” venue like Theatre Royal Drury Lane- people only expect Frozen or some musical to be there.

 

 

I almost always find out about ballet performances at the Coliseum either from the companies themselves or (nowadays) from this forum; there's also sometimes an advert on the tube (for those who live in London/use the tube/happen to notice it). I've quite often nearly missed performances I would have wanted to see because I haven't known about them (and that's been the case for many years now). So there does seem to be something wrong with the Coliseum's marketing if even someone like me sometimes doesn't know what's on. Strange.