Birmingham Royal Ballet - Into the Music - Autumn 2022

[Sim]

50 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

It just shows how people see things differently - Lyndsey Winship thinks the programme is worthy of 4* in the Guardian (both reviews will be included in tomorrow's links).

Four stars from me too!  Although they were really for the first and third pieces.

[ChrisG]

51 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I'm afraid I've just laughed out loud!!

Ditto! I know Mr Macaulay is far more qualified to write about dance than me, and that any person’s response to any piece of art is individual, but what he describes bears no relation to the programme myself and a large Birmingham Hippodrome audience gave vociferous approval to a week or so ago.  Never mind - I guess it means I’m a Philistine.

 

I think his comment that Carlos Acosta has ‘still achieved relatively little’ at BRB should also not go unchallenged. I’m sure Carlos would be the first to admit he hasn’t done as much as he would have wanted, but hey, there’s been a pandemic. In the meantime a glorious new Don Quixote, the introduction of a number of works from choreographers from Europe and Latin America new to the company, several exciting new commissions that carry on the Ballet Now initiative that David Bintley started, including Will Tuckett’s wonderful Lazuli Sky, an increased online presence in terms of talks, discussions and filmed rehearsals à la RB, and a general revitalisation of the company will be enough to be going on with for me!

 

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I'm afraid I've just laughed out loud!!

Alistair Macaulay hating a mixed bill usually means it’s a masterpiece. Am looking forward to it even more. 

 

Some really weird scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel points in his review. If he has to carp at a ballet’s title, he’s really grasping at straws. I found our forum members’ reviews more insightful and useful.

[Emeralds]

41 minutes ago, ChrisG said:

Ditto! I know Mr Macaulay is far more qualified to write about dance than me, and that any person’s response to any piece of art is individual, but what he describes bears no relation to the programme myself and a large Birmingham Hippodrome audience gave vociferous approval to a week or so ago.  Never mind - I guess it means I’m a Philistine.

 

I think his comment that Carlos Acosta has ‘still achieved relatively little’ at BRB should also not go unchallenged. I’m sure Carlos would be the first to admit he hasn’t done as much as he would have wanted, but hey, there’s been a pandemic. In the meantime a glorious new Don Quixote, the introduction of a number of works from choreographers from Europe and Latin America new to the company, several exciting new commissions that carry on the Ballet Now initiative that David Bintley started, including Will Tuckett’s wonderful Lazuli Sky, an increased online presence in terms of talks, discussions and filmed rehearsals à la RB, and a general revitalisation of the company will be enough to be going on with for me!

 

If Acosta’s input is what counts as “relatively little”, a lot of dance companies and other organisations would be thrilled with his “relatively little”! It’s not the same work that Peter Wright or David Bintley did- but nobody wants to be a copycat. He’s made a good start and he’s ensured that many more people can see the talent and creativity that BRB has. I also like that he’s given many solo opportunities to young dancers in various ranks, not just principals. (He also did that in RB when he first set his Don Quixote - Kaneko and O’Sullivan got their breakthrough roles dancing Kitri and Amour respectively while still dancing corps parts that season). 

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, Sim said:

I somehow left the building last night without taking or photographing a cast list.  Does anyone have one please?  Thanks.

Sim, if you’re in the same situation again, BRB’s website now has the cast sheets for each night included next to the booking info. Not sure how early they get posted or long they stay on, but certainly during the run they are up there. 

[Angela]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I'm afraid I've just laughed out loud!!

 

 Wow, what a spiteful review. Clement Crisp was definitely better at being Clement Crisp than Alastair Macaulay is.

[LinMM]

Will get back to this thread but still haven’t reported on Northern Ballet on Tuesday yet!! But largely agree with Sim! 
I noticed the same well known ballet personnel were at the Linbury on Tuesday where witnessed a lovely enthusiastic and joyful response by Monica Mason to Mr November after his piece Wailers. She certainly has some energy as always so animated and fully engaged. 

[alison]

Blast - I hadn't realised the BRB website now only keeps the cast sheets up until the particular performance has finished   Does anyone have a PDF of the first night and yesterday's matinee casts that they could send me, please?

 

If Sadler's Wells are going to insist on not producing cast sheets, they need to get their distinctly patchy wifi sorted out first.  I was unable to download one yesterday.

[Bluebird]

2 hours ago, alison said:

Blast - I hadn't realised the BRB website now only keeps the cast sheets up until the particular performance has finished   Does anyone have a PDF of the first night and yesterday's matinee casts that they could send me, please?

 

If Sadler's Wells are going to insist on not producing cast sheets, they need to get their distinctly patchy wifi sorted out first.  I was unable to download one yesterday.

Have just emailed them to you

[LACAD]

I really enjoyed this mixed bill!

 

Forgotten Land took me a few moments to get into, but once Mizutani and Dingman ripped onto the stage I was hooked. It’s not my favourite piece of Kylián’s, but I loved the strongly Munchian atmosphere (which the programme noted; Munch’s paintings were a strong inspiration for the ballet).

 

Hotel seemed like a logistical nightmare to direct, but Morgann Runacre-Temple was able to tame the seemingly untameable. The audience were perfectly happy to go on the weird and witty journey of the piece. While all performances were strong, the young Eric Pinto Cata really caught my eye. He shone in the few moments he had the spotlight, especially in his scene as the chef (chef hat included). Is it a perfect work? No. Is it gimmicky? Maybe. But it was funny, wonderfully inventive, and featured some really meaty choreography.

 

Surprisingly I wasn’t as moved by The Seventh Symphony. I thoroughly enjoyed the intricate choreography and the brilliance of the set and design. But I was less keen on the repetition in the work. I understand Scholz created a piece that responded strongly to the music, perhaps it was a bit too obviously paired. While some tableaux were fabulous and merited a second viewing, it all began to feel a bit predictable. Joyous and lovely, but predictable. I also feel some principals were a little rushed in the choreography, which in fairness was like a neoclassical marathon. However I could be picking at hairs here as it was the most classically technical piece of the evening. 
 

Overall a great success of a night, my standout stars were Mizutani, Hirata, Chou (what a firecracker), Pinto Cata, and Matilde Rodrigues who’s role I shan’t spoil the surprise of.

[alison]

With tomorrow's rail strike now off - more or less - Iet's hope more people will get to see it.

[LinMM]

I’m not sure I’ve been told that because of the late notice trains down here will have severely reduced services tomorrow anyway and so best not to travel. It probably should be okay by Monday though. 

[alison]

BTW, how's the running time been for the later performances?  We had the usual frustrating overrun on the first night - although it did strike me to wonder whether, if it had finished as scheduled, the audience would have ended up as drowned rats outside.  As it was, there were such large rivers running down Upper Street/St. John Street that it would have needed a grand jeté to get across them without getting your feet drenched.  But there must have been about a 15-minute overrun on the Thursday matinee, too.

[Sim]

I got soaked when we left on the opening night…and I only had to walk about 20 metres to my car!  It was bucketing down!  💦💧.  I had to drive through all that water in the road.  😩

[Angela]

1 hour ago, LACAD said:

But I was less keen on the repetition in the work.

 

Scholz repeats the steps when Beethoven repeats the notes, so you can find patterns of the symphonic form in the choreography.  

[LACAD]

3 hours ago, Angela said:

 

Scholz repeats the steps when Beethoven repeats the notes, so you can find patterns of the symphonic form in the choreography.  

I understand, but I just found it began to get a little tedious as the piece continued.

[Jan McNulty]

Here's a link for the cast sheets for the Autumn season:

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/downloadable-castsheets?fbclid=IwAR1S8YKXzMHLp1GD1vAnPHXjf21hO_D0hlyvDGlsIKZbaoDFyneTglF5Sxc

 

[CCL]

  I enjoyed this mixed bill very much last night. Forgotten Land was beautifully danced, although I wished that I had taken the time to get to know the music a little better beforehand as I think that would have enhanced my enjoyment. I felt there was more to take in and I would like to see it again. The lead couple was Momoko Hirata and Cesar Morales, and it was wonderful to see them dance together again- I think the last time I saw them dance together was two years ago in Our Waltzes. Momoko is absolutely exquisite in everything that she dances and Cesar is such a lyrical dancer, it’s always a joy to see him dance.
 

I enjoyed Hotel much more than I thought I would. Yes, it was bonkers, and no I didn’t understand some of what was going on, but it was danced with real verve and commitment and I enjoyed the oddity and eeriness of it. It got a fantastic reception, for which I was glad.

 

My favourite piece by far was Seventh Symphony. Beethoven’s glorious music was well served by the choreography, which was both thrilling and moving. The company were on fire in this piece, joyful and exuberant. Celine Gittens and Brandon Lawrence were stunning in the Fourth Movement but really I could rave about all of the dancers. I felt exhilarated as I left the theatre - bravo, BRB!

Edited November 5, 2022 by CCL

[LinMM]

My grand jete over the mini river on Wednesday night trying to get on a bus was somewhat ill judged which was why I ended up with wet shoes and socks!!! 

[Fonty]

Such a pity I won't get a chance to see this, it sounds fab.

[AnnabelCharles]

It was, indeed, absolutely fab. Gorgeous choreography and assured, beautiful and stylish dancing, all enhanced by well-judged sets, flattering costumes and, yes, terrific lighting. Orchestra also excellent.

 

Agree Hotel was a bit bonkers - but I found it witty and entertaining, if quirky, and it was a good contrast to the other two pieces. 

 

Thought BRB looked in top form - just a shame it wasn't a full audience. They really deserved it. Carlos Acosta must be doing something right.

 

I also left the theatre feeling exhilarated!

 

 

(I read the review by Alastair Macaulay and wished I hadn't - it revealed more about him than the show. Will avoid in future.)

 

 

 

 

[Two Pigeons]

On 03/11/2022 at 14:04, Emeralds said:

If Acosta’s input is what counts as “relatively little”, a lot of dance companies and other organisations would be thrilled with his “relatively little”! It’s not the same work that Peter Wright or David Bintley did- but nobody wants to be a copycat. He’s made a good start and he’s ensured that many more people can see the talent and creativity that BRB has. I also like that he’s given many solo opportunities to young dancers in various ranks, not just principals. (He also did that in RB when he first set his Don Quixote - Kaneko and O’Sullivan got their breakthrough roles dancing Kitri and Amour respectively while still dancing corps parts that season). 

 

Personally I would suggest that Macaulay sets up his camp with Rupert Christiansen who described the BRB principals as 'lacklustre'.  Then they can bitch about the dancers/companies/directors they don't like to their little hearts' content.

[Emeralds]

I saw this triple bill with the second London cast, same casts for the first two ballets as Birmingham, slightly different to the Birmingham cast for Seventh Symphony. I thought I would like Forgotten Land the most, and maybe rate it four stars out of five, but no, no, this was definitely a five star  show (possibly even six stars out of five for the quality of the dancing, if you can overlook the illogicality of six out of five!) 

 

Forgotten Land

Hirata, Morales/ Shang, Monaghan / Mizutani, Dingman/ Doorbar, Itu  /Pizzillo, Andreasen/ Small, Findlay-White

 

I had been waiting to see Forgotten Land live for years, so it was a thrill to see it at last, and danced by such an incredible ensemble with such beauty of line, grace and power.

 

I have watched Momoko Hirata and Cesar Morales for several years now, and they are truly among the greatest- individually they are glorious, but together they have a spark of magic that sends thrills down your spine. Their Giselle was one of the best of all time, their Titania & Oberon in The Dream were a hoot, as well as being technically dazzling and moving at the end. If you’re not the sort of person who cares about casting normally, I would still urge you to catch them in Swan Lake or Nutcracker or anything else they’re paired together in this year or as soon as you can. They were moving, beautiful, powerful in Forgotten Land- as were the other couples.

 

Set to Sinfonia da Requiem, which was composed around the start of WW2 by Benjamin Britten, who was staunchly pacifist, Kylian’s themes of times past, memories, lost lives, loves and regrets, are told through interweaving group dances as well as pas de deux for the six couples. The dancing is a mix of classical with classical jumps, pirouettes, plies, arabesques, lifts and other classical ballet vocabulary (without pointe work) and a small number of contemporary dance slides and poses, which enables the emotions and stories to flow and unfold eloquently.

 

The whole cast were magnificent, but I have to add a shout-out here for Eilis Small and Callum Findlay-White, who as the couple in white, danced with such power, assurance and beauty that I had to check the programme as I couldn’t believe they weren’t seasoned soloists or principals. Delightful, and worth all the rail transport hassles and rain soaking to get to see it!

 

Hotel

(same cast as Birmingham , led by Parma, Chou)

 

I saw a few rehearsal trailers of this new piece and was apprehensive I might  not like it, as I’m not normally a fan of filming or live film in stage works (the ones I’ve seen before haven’t been great). I was also concerned the work might be over focused on the filming and have very little dancing and get tedious.

 

Surprisingly, I found that it was actually pretty engaging and it didn’t drag on. Morgann Runacre-Temple did well with the pacing of her ideas, and no scene or section ever drags on. We had an interesting time debating whether the chef character actually used real mashed potato and how much real eating the dancers had to do! (It didn’t look mimed).

 

As it was Halloween this week, the surreal mystery thriller vibe of the story worked for us, and it didn’t matter not knowing if the manager really poisoned the guests or whether they really turned into “arm head” creatures, or whether it was all in our imagination. There were many children at our show, and it was a relief that the surreal mystery story was quirky (the creatures looked more like funny  ostriches with human legs than scary monsters) rather than gory or lurid.

 

I was also curious to hear the new score by Mikael Karlsson as not all new ballets have the luxury of having new music specially written for them, and rarer still is good music. The score was really inventive and enjoyable to listen to, using the traditional full orchestra including piano and harp, but no gimmicks like electronic music, recorded snippets or weird digital effects. I could easily imagine the music used for a different ballet altogether- it was atmospheric, and full of orchestral colour.

 

The best surprise was a brilliant pas de deux that turned into a pas de cinq for the manager, assistant manager and three bell boys  (Chou, Parma, and Itu, Payne, Pinto Cata), which was very classical and showed off their virtuosity. It would be very amiss to have  Tzu-Chao Chou in your ballet and not give him some showstopping leaps and turns, of course. The work feels very much like an “in progress” (in a good way) piece - whether she reworks it  in future with other ideas, or builds on it to make a different ballet. It was certainly enjoyable on a wet, dark, autumnal day, and the audience gave it a warm and enthusiastic  reception. 

 

The Seventh Symphony 

First Movement: Hirata, Morales / Shang, Dingman / Parma, Maslen / Chou / Gittens, Lawrence, Zhang, Singleton/ the company

Second Movement: Zhang, Singleton /the company

Third Movement: Chou, Dingman / Parma, Maslen / Mizutani, Monaghan/ the company 

Fourth Movement: Gittens, Lawrence / the company

 

And so to the finale, with a very familiar symphony from the concert hall. Could Uwe Scholz take on such a well known orchestral piece and not get swamped by it? Could he do it justice? He sure could and more. There were different pas de deux, solos and group pieces that were full of invention and originality, complementing the musical themes but not following it note for note slavishly.

 

Scholz had studied classical music and played  the piano, guitar and violin to an advanced level as a music conservatoire student before taking up classical ballet training full time, and this showed in the confidence and mastery in choreographing to such a well known Beethoven symphony. Many choreographers often avoid well known classical works as it’s too easy to either create steps too literally, following each note in each melody, or to disregard the musical phrases and to create steps against the music, treating it rather like background noise, and the results for both are never great. And the comparison is too much pressure-nobody wants to be described as “oh, the choreography is not as good as the music”.  

 

There are very few choreographers who could take a famous work and not be defeated by it- Scholz is one. That said, the choreography is demanding and extraordinarily difficult in places. Those dreaded synchronised double tours that the quartet of men have to do in Raymonda Act 3 ( and many top companies don’t always manage it successfully)? Here, the men don’t just have to do them synchronised, they have to land on one leg. In arabesque. At the same height! Wowzer! BRB’s men do it magnificently.

 

The three couples here dancing the featured pas de deux were magnificent as expected, but I was especially moved by Yijing Zhang and Tyrone Singleton in the second (slow) movement. What a wonderful and attentive partner he is, but what a beautiful showcase this pas de deux is for Zhang’s artistry - she has beautiful lines and extensions, but not once is it used as a trick to show off flexibility;  instead, she uses her strength and control to unfurl her limbs to express each musical phrase in time with the orchestra.

 

As Sim has also said upthread, it was lovely to see bright lighting (mirroring the sunny joy in the music) so that we could see all the dancing. Of course, this is doubly challenging for the dancers in that there is nowhere to hide with the lighting (and the simple costumes) showing everything, but it is testament to BRB’s formidable dancers that they face this challenge so confidently - there are no weak links in this cast - and with great aplomb. Neat rows, beautiful line, soaring jumps, controlled developpes, and most of all, they look like they’re all enjoying it and finding it easy!

 

What an utterly delightful and special performance, and the diverse audience of all ages showed their appreciation.  Six stars out of five for the dancers fully deserved. Five stars too for the orchestra, who relished the wonderful music scores for this programme.  Five out of five for a balanced and original programme of superb choreography for a company that confirms again today that it is truly one of the best in the world. Worth the difficulty working around the rail strikes to catch it! 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Emeralds

[FionaM]

Loved, loved, loved this triple bill … saw final show on Saturday evening.  Three different pieces, all danced brilliantly.  

 

Hotel is sticking with me longest I think because of the inventive use of live video mapping.  I’ve never seen anything like this where the videos actually collaborated with live dancers in real time.  It was additive and enhanced the dancing without overpowering the dancers or drawing attention away. 
 

and … I am totally thrilled to see I have the opposite view to the odious critic mention above  … I loved the pulling of ballerinas in splits as did everyone around me.