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Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration


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I saw last night's performance minus Diamonds, I didn't want to push my luck with the trains too far, and this was my first visit since the "problems". Funny having to read the cast list the next day, I couldn't hear a word Kevin O'Hare said but did notice the Fille cast had changed. I think the shock of the Prima costumes had cooled off but I still didn't really like it, For Four by contrast looked wonderful from high up, lovely lyrical dancing from the four men. Enjoyed See Us again and was able to concentrate on Joseph Sissens.

 

I loved the Pouffer piece, brilliant to see Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae dance so passionately and with such speed!

 

There wasn't much connection with The Friends though, think they just like giving names to a triple bill 😉

 

 

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47 minutes ago, Beryl H said:

There wasn't much connection with The Friends though


I thought the screen shots, particularly during the Fille overture, Friends’ quotes, and the programme set out the value the ROH places on Friends. I also think the ROH is doing more to recognise the support given by Friends and others such as the recent Friends’ open day. But there’s much more going on. I’d already booked Mayerlings on 29 & 30 and now find there’s a pre performance Friends’ event on 29 and a Nutcracker rehearsal for Baton Associates on 30. All very welcome and I very much appreciate the opportunities being offered.

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1 hour ago, Lynette H said:

Just as an aside, I noticed that there did not seem to be anyone from the Balanchine Trust credited for the staging or coaching of Diamonds.  In the recent past where the RB has performed works by Balanchine, the stager from the Trust was usually credited and I can recall some of them coming on at the opening performance to take a bow.  Not every time perhaps. But not this time it seems. I did wonder why, or if anyone had any further info about this. 

It seems like Christopher Saunders, who is senior ballet master as well as still a principal character dancer, was entrusted with staging and rehearsing Diamonds-I’m just going by what I saw on rehearsal clips and World Ballet Day presentations; I haven’t asked the company or heard a direct quote about this.

 

Although one would assume a Balanchine Trust staff member would fly in to oversee the final result before performances, I notice that they have more recently  allowed a senior coach in a company that has staged the work do the coaching and staging (I saw this at the Mariinsky Ballet on video) - this does often lead to mutterings among former NYCB dancers who themselves worked with Balanchine saying “who staged this?”, “why are the x, y, and z all wrong?”

 

I don’t know if a BT stager had a look eg via WhatsApp/ Zoom/etc. Conversely, I understand the Jerome Robbins trustees are far more strict as Robbins himself was, and would only allow performances of his works if he (or subsequently, his stagers) could stage the work and be confident of the company’s ability to dance the work to the standard and style he demanded. 

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Today saw the matinee cinema performance and whilst not as bad as feared was definitely a mixed bag. Fille doesn’t really seem grand enough to open, and I missed the sets but danced well and nice to see Campbell. Manon maybe started a bit tame but I felt improved as they went on – it must be difficult to perform that as a gala piece. There were certainly some lovely touches and would be interested to see them both in the full ballet. Qualia didn’t do much for me, didn’t like the music and the endless contortions wore on. I think we all know by now that Melissa Hamilton is very bendy, she’s also a beautiful dancer so would personally prefer to see her do more of that! Very much liked For Four, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting; would book to watch that again. Then came Act II... I didn’t mind the music to See Us!! but that’s really all the positive I can find. For something called ‘See Us’ it was hard to see much of them at all in the gloom – was that the point? I found it quite funny in places which I’m not sure was the intention, they looked like stroppy teenagers trying to look ‘hard’ – why the twitching?! And that weird hand waving? And the inelegant thumping jumps? Obviously went right over my head, it looked to me like a GCSE dance project (and it probably wouldn’t score well as there was very little that could be described as dance!). It seems a ridiculous thing to be on the stage of the Royal Opera House full stop and anybody could do that ‘dance’, why on Earth use Royal Ballet dancers? It’s like hiring Pavarotti to sing ‘Three Blind Mice’! What an absolute waste of space, money and talent. However, (another positive!) it wasn’t to my mind as bad as the horror that came next. Whereas the See Us!! choreographer seems to have no knowledge of ballet, the Dispatch choreographer seems to have utter contempt for it. Was her entire mission just to make the dancers look silly? Poor William Bracewell. To my eye it lacked any aesthetic, artistic or intellectual merit. It was an absolute eyesore accompanied by a discordant din. Next was dull and unmemorable, but did quite like Osipova’s nightie. That’s pretty much all I recall. Don’t know why it was included. Prima, which looked lovely in rehearsal was a bit blah. As has been mentioned, costumes were absurd and unnecessary – plain dresses or even leotards would have been far more appropriate, surely the point was to showcase the beauty of female dance rather than advertise some fashion designer. Some of the choreography was nice, and some a little messy but whilst there were flashes of beauty I didn’t really notice any spark of ‘genius’. If they changed the costumes, I would be interested to see it again to see if it worked better. I’m not sure Zucchetti is quite ready for the main stage but will be following with interest to see how he develops. Honestly, if Act II really is a glimpse of the future of the Royal Ballet then it’s very depressing; 75% isn’t choreographed by a ballet choreographer and 25% can barely be called dance, let alone ballet. I suppose on the plus side I’ll save a lot of time and money not going to the Opera House! Finally, Diamonds and there’s not realty much to say... Marianela obviously sublime, Reece Clarke seems to be improving every time I see him – I noticed in the cinema showing of Mayerling that his technique seems to have ‘tightened’ considerably, and his leaps and spins were impressive today. And even though it has nothing at all to do with the Royal Ballet, it was a fitting way to end. But why was Gina Storm-Jensen dancing in the corps? Or was it someone who just looked very like her? Highlight for me definitely Manon, followed I think by For Four. All in all, probably glad I went to see it at the cinema but would have been annoyed if I’d forked out to go see it in town.

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22 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

I'd always understood that it's only at First Soloist rank that dancers aren't expected to be part of the corps.

I actually thought she was a First Soloist, I tend to associate her with principal/soloist roles like Lilac Fairy or Myrtha! 

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I chose the Saturday evening performance as I’d never seen Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano dance the entire Diamonds section of Jewels- apart from dancing the adagio part in the live stream in 2020, I’d only seen Sarah in Rubies and Ryo in Emeralds. In any case, there wasn’t space in my schedule to catch the matinee or premiere. Without much information about the programme other than Wheeldon’s For Four and “a few premieres”, it was a leap of faith in the dark....yet despite ticket prices being much higher for this mixed bill (my seat was almost double what it had cost for the Ashton triple bill and Light of Passage), it sold out quickly due to only three shows being planned.

 

I must admit that when the full programme was finally announced, I was very disappointed that despiteit being a celebration of 60 years of the Friends of Covent Garden (of whom I’d briefly been one while living in London), there was nothing by Dame Ninette de Valois, without whom there would be no Royal Ballet to be Friends of, and nothing by David Bintley, whose works had been a key part of the company in 80s and early 90s. (Tombeaux, Still Life at the Penguin Cafe, or Galanteries would all have been great ballets to pick a pas de deux or solo from, and all have lovely music and costumes for a gala).  And while more well known at the Royal Opera House for staging the classics like Nutcracker and Giselle than for his choreography of new ballets, Peter Wright’s Nutcracker and Giselle are so integral to the current identity of the company that it was also remiss not to have something by him in the programme. The Friends of Covent Garden have also supported revivals or new productions by these three luminaries, which makes the bond a close one.

 

Sigh, so on with the show: loved seeing O’Sullivan and Acri in the La Fille mal Gardee pas de deux, O’Sullivan (as announced by Kevin O’Hare) stepping in with only 15 minutes’ notice to fill in for an injured Meaghan Grace Hinkis with a new partner! They were both delightful and Acri was such an attentive partner while giving an exuberant account of his solos. Great to see him in the role of Colas after several seasons dancing Alain, and I think he is a great fit for Colas. To follow, another danseur new to his role-Calvin Richardson partnering Akane Takada in the Manon Act 2 pas de deux. I’d never seen Takada as Manon before, and very much enjoyed their rendition- a sweet and graceful portrayal of two young lovers. 

 

The two rare pieces that followed, Qualia with Melissa Hamilton and Lukas B Brændsrød, and Wheeldon’s For Four, with Vadim Muntagirov, Marcelino Sambé, James Hay and Matthew Ball, were different and exciting, a treat to see Hamilton in one of her signature roles in McGregor’s early style, and to see James Hay in a role that shows off his elevation, line and control. I thought Lukas was a sensitive and strong partner, and Marcelino, Vadim and Matthew, with their different personal styles of dancing, made a complementary team with James in Wheeldon’s quartet, which felt very “in tune” (pun unintended) with the themes and progression in the music.

 

Unfortunately, the second section felt like a great let down after the glories of the first section. Sure, there were four premieres, but having so many premieres only works if they are all good or at least mostly good. The problem is context- had the four works in been programmed separately and at different venues and occasions, they would have been more enjoyable and successful.

 

I must emphasise that the dancers all performed this programme (certainly on Saturday evening) with virtuosity, energy and artistry that was simply top notch; they were truly on fire, and evidently much hard work and detailed preparation had gone into the programme.  A pity their material wasn’t always at the same level.

 

See Us!! was performed with great energy and commitment by the whole ensemble and they certainly put 100% into the street dance moves...only problem is, this type of number and the choreography is very dated. There has been similar work performed since at least the 90s and 10-15 years ago, numerous dance groups, professional (eg Diversity) and amateur, were already performing choreography more complex than this. It did have an air of a high school group number, parts that looked too derivative of Flight Pattern which had been on the same stage the previous month, and it was a waste of the dancers’ skill and the main stage. One wonders if Joseph Toonga has been pushed too early to put choreography on the unforgiving and very exposing Main Stage- when Charlotte Edmonds was Emerging Choreographer, she mainly created work for smaller audiences (eg Linbury) and less high profile ensembles so that she could have opportunities to develop and make mistakes, and refine her talent. The piece was entertaining and safe enough-a bit too safe. Some may have enjoyed it, but being too safe won’t help Toonga’s development as a choreographer, and ultimately it missed the mark.

 

Pam Tanowitz’s pas de deux Dispatch has many great ideas, insouciant and quirky passages for the dancers, which were creative and showed off O’Sullivan and Bracewell’s virtuosity, wit and speed. The jaunty costumes by Jung and Bartelme (who frequently design for Justin Peck at NYCB) were great at showing off their line and movement. Only problem- that cacophony of a score! The composer stated he wanted to incorporate “everyday sounds”....something that Richard Strauss and Malcolm Arnold have already done years before with more tuneful results. It seems that he succeeded in blending both the noise of the North Circular at rush hour and chaos of Waterloo station during signal failures quite effectively and interchangeably with those of an American setting, where the score premiered. I did find myself longing for ear plugs and wishing Tanowitz had picked another American composer, ie John Cage and his 4:33 (it’s basically silence with a performer sitting at a piano). I thought the pas de deux would have been great danced to silence actually, like Jerome Robbins’ Moves.

 

On to another pas de deux- for Osipova and McRae, both of whom I hadn’t seen on the ROH stage for a bit. Their dancing was beautiful and expressive, the choreography simplistic but made them look lovely enough. A pity the music and costumes weren’t. The outfits made Osipova look like she was dancing in a silver sack, and it looked like they’d been procured from the clearance sale at New Look, with no trousers or shorts/leggings available in McRae’s size! The music might have been an old hit song favoured by easy listening musicians  -I don’t mind a bit of irony in music choices, but what made it really low rent was the scratchy recording used while the ROH Orchestra musicians sat patiently waiting for this supermarket background soundtrack to end. If one must have a pop or crossover tune at the ROH, at least play it live. The pas de deux looked a lot like a last minute addition to the programme, like the kind they put in galas abroad when they have no orchestra and the tutus and tunics got lost in baggage handling. But for the ROH stage...no, no,...surely they can do much, much better than that. Couldn’t help feeling that the missing De Valois work eg Checkmate or Rake’s Progress (perhaps Act 1), would have even far more satisfying works for both Natalia and Steven to dance, and the Bliss or Stravinsky music played live far more interesting to listen to. 

 

Next: Four brilliant  ballerinas on stage, a tasteful choice of Saint Saëns’  violin concerto, Prima should be an easy success for a talented dancemaker like Zucchetti. Unfortunately....where the two earlier duets were being drowned by their soundtracks, this ballet was drowned by the costumes. I normally love the designs by Roksanda (she designs under a mononym)- and ironically, her creations are usually known for being wearable, tasteful  and comfortable. No idea what happened here! You couldn't even have sat down in these comfortably.

 

The idea of the 3D oversized ruffled hem stiffened with a rigid frame material isn’t original - it only works for photo shoots. Sitting, travelling in a vehicle, or using the bathroom, is a nightmare in them. That’s why we don’t see them sold in the shops, and not for dancing on stage (until now!). Naghdi and Hayward’s dresses looked like the hems had mutated, and were visibly fighting the ballerinas when they danced, especially poor Yasmine when she pirouetted. And Magri’s dress looked as though she’d been told  to smuggle contraband under her skirt. I don’t know much Zucchetti knew about the outlandish skirts when he made the ballet or whose ideas they were -it looked like they were battling to see who would win, and looks like the mutant hems won this one. Why can’t they just have normal gathered skirts?

 

Another irony was that Saint Saëns himself was quite a traditional composer and even found Debussy too modern for his taste! You can hear it in the music -  it really is the opposite of day glo colours and outlandish hems and clunky shapes, which aren’t just fighting the choreography but the music as well.

 

Well, I’d been lucky to see many successful productions beautifully danced at ROH ever since Covid restrictions ended, from Apollo, Dances at A Gathering,  After the Rain, Sleeping Beauty Act 3, Winter Dreams Farewell pdd, Romeo & Juliet, Dante Project, Nutcracker, Giselle, Swan Lake, Ashton triple bill, Weathering triple bill (I couldn’t make it for Like Water For Chocolate), to Light of Passage, etc, so the long winning streak was bound to end. It was a relief to see the curtain come down for the interval but disappointing at such high ticket prices. Also hard to tell if the 80% increase in prices were because this was an actual gala (if so it should have been just one show -and why didn’t the cast include Laura Morera?) It certainly felt more casual than the usual galas apart from the ticket cost. 

 

Thankfully, Diamonds from Jewels is a proven classic and one of Balanchine’s glorious, well, gems. Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano were magnificent, with the right amount of chivalrous elegance from him and regal grace from her, and wonderful musicality throughout, supported impeccably  by Calvert, Gasparini, Dias, Dean (I think, replacing Hinkis at short notice), Edmonds, Richardson, Sissens and Acri, and their smiling, elegant corps de ballet colleagues.  Just perfect. Two successful acts out of three not too bad I guess, if I pretend I paid the Ashton triple bill prices for this, and these prices for the Ashton, which was a more accurate reflection of the productions presented. Roll on Nutcracker! 

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44 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

I'd always understood that it's only at First Soloist rank that dancers aren't expected to be part of the corps.

I’ve seen first soloists like Choe, Acri, Kaneko, Takada (when she and Kaneko were still first soloists), Hamilton, Edmonds, etc being in the corps for some ballets - I think it’s only principals who are exempted corps duties completely. It’s the same in many  companies (eg ENB) when ballets requiring large casts are performed. 

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What a terrific review Emeralds!!! Thankyou!
Your description of the score for the Tanowitz piece and of the costumes for Prima had me in stitches here!! 
Still as you said two out of three Acts is not bad I suppose in a triple. 
So agree with your comments about David Bintley Peter Wright and de Valois. Perhaps they should have asked the Friends for their favourite suggestions just to get a better picture of what they might be expecting to see in such a gala. 


 

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2 hours ago, ellyb said:

Honestly, if Act II really is a glimpse of the future of the Royal Ballet then it’s very depressing; 75% isn’t choreographed by a ballet choreographer and 25% can barely be called dance, let alone ballet. I suppose on the plus side I’ll save a lot of time and money not going to the Opera House!

 

I thought the same thing after Act II on Wednesday, though as I've only been regularly balletgoing since 2018, including the covid interruptions, I would really like to get a few more years of torturing my bank account in before contemporary dance takes over!

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44 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

I’ve seen first soloists like Choe, Acri, Kaneko, Takada (when she and Kaneko were still first soloists), Hamilton, Edmonds, etc being in the corps for some ballets - I think it’s only principals who are exempted corps duties completely. It’s the same in many  companies (eg ENB) when ballets requiring large casts are performed. 

I suppose that's what surprised me, if we're deep in Nutcracker season and I see soloists in the corps I wouldn't bat an eyelid but this was a pretty small corps in just one act on an evening with almost no other corps work. Of course the bulk of the company is likely extremely busy behind the scenes preparing for Nutcracker, and then straight into Sleeping Beauty and quite possibly learning Cinderella too - most would probably be unfamiliar with Diamonds as well so having to learn it on top of everything else would be quite a lot to ask! Makes perfect sense now I think about it!

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3 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I thought the same thing after Act II on Wednesday, though as I've only been regularly balletgoing since 2018, including the covid interruptions, I would really like to get a few more years of torturing my bank account in before contemporary dance takes over!

They'll presumably continue doing the classics for a few years at least - I'm actually grateful that there's usually only two or three productions a year I'm interested in, I think I get more out of seeing several casts in one production than one cast in many. It would be nice if there seemed to be something more palatable (to me) on the horizon but I'm happy enough seeing the same handful over and over! The worry for me is that the Royal Ballet don't really seem very keen on ballet, but maybe I read too much into it. 

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21 minutes ago, ellyb said:

I suppose that's what surprised me, if we're deep in Nutcracker season and I see soloists in the corps I wouldn't bat an eyelid but this was a pretty small corps in just one act on an evening with almost no other corps work. Of course the bulk of the company is likely extremely busy behind the scenes preparing for Nutcracker, and then straight into Sleeping Beauty and quite possibly learning Cinderella too - most would probably be unfamiliar with Diamonds as well so having to learn it on top of everything else would be quite a lot to ask! Makes perfect sense now I think about it!

I think Gina Storm Jensen is quite familiar with Jewels as she danced various parts in the last run; I can’t promise she was in the exact spot for Diamonds then, but  it’s not too difficult a corps part to learn. I am guessing they haven’t started preparing Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella yet, with the last performances of Mayerling still left to go and Nutcracker beginning on 6 December. 

 

29 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I thought the same thing after Act II on Wednesday, though as I've only been regularly balletgoing since 2018, including the covid interruptions, I would really like to get a few more years of torturing my bank account in before contemporary dance takes over!

Don’t worry, Dawnstar- to be honest, if I knew no ballet and hence had no biases, and analysed the situation purely from a business point of view, I would tell you that it’s classical ballet that has a rosy future and likely to last, while contemporary dance is the one on precarious ground and too dependent on famous individuals like Wayne McGregor, Akram Khan, Hofesh Schecter, Crystal Pite, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui etc to keep it going.

 

If you look at the box office figures for Nutcracker, especially at the Coliseum, where with more than 3 weeks to go and no casting yet (how cheeky yet astonishing), ENB have sold out the first week already - that’s over 2350 seats per night (double that on two show days), and many of the remaining dates in December only have 3-5 single seats left. That’s just on the basis of the name Nutcracker and the ENB name. Classical ballet is very much here to stay.

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7 hours ago, Emeralds said:

this does often lead to mutterings among former NYCB dancers who themselves worked with Balanchine saying “who staged this?”, “why are the x, y, and z all wrong?”

 

Conversely, I understand the Jerome Robbins trustees are far more strict as Robbins himself was, and would only allow performances of his works if he (or subsequently, his stagers) could stage the work and be confident of the company’s ability to dance the work to the standard and style he demanded. 

John Clifford writes (overwrites at times) about this on his Instagram feed; noting how steps, costumes, lighting, etc. in some productions have changed to the point where George Balanchine might not recognize them as his own. Clifford also has a lot to say about the style of some of these productions. For instance, he's had some heavy things to say about the "Rubies" and "Diamonds" sections of Jewels, especially in regard to how the central couples are being coached.

 

The Robbins Trust may sanction fewer revivals but the revivals themselves are always coached to Robbins's intent. Jean-Pierre Frolich, in particular, runs a tight ship in that regard.

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7 hours ago, alison said:

Something nobody seems to have asked yet: given that "For Four" was, I think, made for Kings of the Dance (or something similar), can anyone tell me which RB dancer was dancing the part taken by which dancer in the original?

 

From this on YT I think the original order was Stiefel, Kobborg, Corella, and Tsiskaridze - and not the order of the names in the YT title. Interesting given that Corrales was originally cast in the "Danish" role. 

 

 

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Was Corrales supposed to be in this ….for Diamond Gala? Does anybody know why he wasn’t dancing then? 

Annamk Thankyou for that lovely video of the original. Not quite enough Tsiskaridze in it for me though ..…I really love his dancing he has a wonderful almost panther like quality….just as in fact I thought not quite enough Vadim the other night ….who is quite different to Tsiskaridze though! So not sure if the four RB chosen are particularly corresponding to the four original dancers? 
 

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11 hours ago, miliosr said:

John Clifford writes (overwrites at times) about this on his Instagram feed; noting how steps, costumes, lighting, etc. in some productions have changed to the point where George Balanchine might not recognize them as his own. Clifford also has a lot to say about the style of some of these productions. For instance, he's had some heavy things to say about the "Rubies" and "Diamonds" sections of Jewels, especially in regard to how the central couples are being coached.

 

The Robbins Trust may sanction fewer revivals but the revivals themselves are always coached to Robbins's intent. Jean-Pierre Frolich, in particular, runs a tight ship in that regard.

Indeed! Clifford is exactly one of the people I was thinking of - but definitely not the only one. One of my own bugbears is the cutting out of the entrechats in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux ballerina solo- I noticed this when the Royal Ballet acquired it in the 90s and one principal (who shall remain nameless) who was famous but not noted for good allegro work would cut them out, but Sylvie Guillem always managed to get them right. Recently there seems to be a move to stage them without even bothering with the entrechats at all (!!)...not even trying to see if the dancer can do them- I’m sure all of them can. Patricia McBride does perform them in the legendary  recordings where she danced it with Baryshnikov, and the current NYCB ballerinas that I’ve seen do include them. I dislike the way many companies/dancers treat the Tchai Pas as “just another party piece like Corsaire pas de deux” and don’t always dance it properly. 

 

If all this seems pedantic compared to the staging of Ashton’s ballets, I wish more attention was paid to Ashton works being staged meticulously.....whether in Britain or other nations and companies around the world, sometimes the epaulement and ports de bras (the use of the shoulders, back and arms) are watered down either to make it easier for the performer or....worse still....maybe they forgot! 

 

I agree Jean-Pierre does a great job ensuring that the Robbins ballets are danced as their creator would have wanted- they are always wonderfully performed when I’ve seen them staged. Before the Royal Opera House had to close for the Covid lockdowns imposed by Boris Johnson, the Royal Ballet performed Dances at a Gathering very beautifully (staged by Ben Huys), so much so that they had a few celebrity fans- David Hallberg raved about their performance on Instagram and Facebook while watching it in the audience (he wasn’t performing that night), and star cellist Sheku Kanneh Mason and his sister, pianist Isata Kanneh Mason came to watch it with a group of friends and both Sheku and Isata said they really enjoyed Dances at A Gathering.

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2 hours ago, Emeralds said:

If all this seems pedantic compared to the staging of Ashton’s ballets, I wish more attention was paid to Ashton works being staged meticulously.....whether in Britain or other nations and companies around the world, sometimes the epaulement and ports de bras (the use of the shoulders, back and arms) are watered down either to make it easier for the performer or....worse still....maybe they forgot! 

 

 

Oh, if only.  I just wish someone somewhere would offer to take this up.

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11 hours ago, annamk said:

 

From this on YT I think the original order was Stiefel, Kobborg, Corella, and Tsiskaridze - and not the order of the names in the YT title. Interesting given that Corrales was originally cast in the "Danish" role. 

 

 

Thank you for posting this. I loved it. I don't know why, but this I find quite beautiful, whereas the Diamond Celebration lacked the sparkle of this performance. I like the lines of the costumes, which show off the dancers' fluidity and grace. 

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Thanks so for the video of the For Four, Anna.  It brings back such vivid memories of seeing both Stiefel and Corella dancing with their original companies (NYCB and ABT) as teenagers.  Much as had been the case with Darci Kistler (then in the hands of Balanchine in his final stretch), Stiefel - then so young - seemed to be thrown by Peter Martins literally into everything and it was so thrilling to see him tackle - with those stunningly fleet feet - each aspect so freshly.  Corella had been in the same class in Spain with Victor Ullate as Tamara Rojo.  Puts the longevity of her performing career into vivid perspective somehow!

 

 

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Yes Kobborg and Tsiskaridze stood out for me though all four were great to watch and expressive of the music perhaps I know less about Stiefel and Corella as that’s the first time I’ve seen them dance in that video. 
Must have taken some courage for Wheeldon to stand in front of such four prestigious and talented dancers to create this Piece but satisfying that in the end it proved to be worthy of them. 

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12 hours ago, Jorgeb said:

Akane and Calvin. Lovely (but sometimes pointe shoes are a bit noisy).

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClOHsXBqsOZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Thanks, Jorgeb! I have no idea how the fan managed to upload such a clear video (I presume it came off the HD cinema relay) but I’m very glad it exists in cyberspace now for anyone who loves ballet to appreciate. I thought Akane and Calvin were gorgeous in this pas de deux onstage, but they are even more gorgeous - if that seems a strange thing to say because it’s still the two of them! - in this video where I can see the details closely, and the orchestra sounds glorious too.

 

I’m explaining away the pointe shoe noise like this: Des Grieux’s rented room is in a house that is not built nicely (and no carpets), because he hasn’t very much money, so the floor boards are too thin and make every shoe sound “clump clump”. And the reason why Des Grieux’s footwear isn’t just as loud because he’s “at home” and has quiet footwear (18th century slippers?Socks?) whereas Manon has just run away with him without her trunk and other luggage so she still has her noisy street shoes on. 😆😁

 

But all in all, a glorious video- and they do convey the sweetness of two young people in love just at those precious moments before Monsieur GM and Lescaut spoil everything. 

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16 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I like the lines of the costumes, which show off the dancers' fluidity and grace. 


Totally agree. And matching the colour top and bottom is so flattering to both dancer and choreography. In the RB version I felt the light top and dark trousers cut the body in half so to speak, especially the show I watched from the Amphitheater 

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  • alison changed the title to Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration
On 21/11/2022 at 07:56, annamk said:

 

From this on YT I think the original order was Stiefel, Kobborg, Corella, and Tsiskaridze - and not the order of the names in the YT title. Interesting given that Corrales was originally cast in the "Danish" role. 

 

 


thank you for posting this … and yes it was for Kings of the Dance.  (This video is on the YouTube channel of the promoters/producers of those shows)
 

so comparing the cinema recording to this …

Ball is Steifel, Hay is Kobborg, Sambe is Corella, Muntagirov is Tsiskaridze 

Edited by FionaE
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  • 11 months later...

I don't know if it's alright to bump this thread up a little now that Prima has appeared on the ROH stream, and those of us who can only watch that way can now comment on it?

And I'm additionally uncertain because I totally disagree with the majority of comments about the costumes.

I expected to dislike them after reading this thread, but instead I thought they were lovely and the way they moved with the dance was very interesting. It gave an extra dimension to the steps, almost like having an extra limb.

I liked the strong colours and I liked the fact that the performers were dressed in dresses instead of vest and pants and I felt they were dignified by this. The performance was about their musicality, personality and technical abilities, not about their bodies. 

My only reservation was about the 'dinner plates' on Hayward's hip, which I thought could do with a little modification. 

I also liked the choreography and I thought it was more original and less derivative that most neo-classical work, but as I have limited knowledge of ballet I'd be interested to know if anyone disagrees with that.

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Thank you for pointing out that Prima has appeared on the ROH stream. I enjoyed it very much when I saw it at the ROH Diamond Celebration although I did have some reservations about the costumes. This time, watching it on TV through my Amazon fire stick, I enjoyed it again but was a bit disappointed in the quality of the picture, even when I changed the video settings.

 

I hope that Wheeldon’s For Four, which was also part of the Diamond celebration, might now be included on the stream.

 

 

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I didn't realise Prima was now on the ROH Stream - must have missed that and I do watch the stream often 😳. So, @DVDfan thank you for pointing it out :) 

 

I remain unconvinced about the costumes. Fumi's I liked well enough and Yasmine's was ok. I dislike Mayara's and actually detest Francesca's - the latter two are so unflattering and detracted from the dancing, in my eyes. Rewatching has not changed my mind, alas. I do like the choreography and the Saint-Saëns is simply devine. Lovely to watch again, but I think I'd like it so much more if the costumes were changed. To be honest, at times, I found myself concentrating on Vasko Vassilev's beautiful playing  . . .

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