Less well known ballet companies

[Fiz]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

If the Royal Bank of Scotland is ever abbreviated in a headline I automatically assume it’s going to be about the Royal Ballet School! 

Me too. 

[Jan McNulty]

There's a review of Varna International Ballet's Nutcracker in today's links:

 

 

[LinMM]

Well that looks promising! 
I was only going to see their Giselle just as a chance to see this ballet this year but might give this a go as well….still strange to see it in February….and can see what their Company does with the Arabian Dance lol! 
In Brighton it’s literally just the three nights : Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday with Giselle, Swan Lake and Nutcracker in that order. 
Unless it coincides with the half term week I’m usually in London on Tuesday/ Wednesday but could just make it back for 7.30 on the Wednesday! 
 

[LinMM]

Dates in Brighton are 13th/14th and 15th of February. 
I believe some half terms are in this week and some the following week. 
Im sure when it’s a half term week audiences will be that much larger as more young people allowed to stay up late in a holiday rather than before a school day and quite a few parents don’t work in the half term weeks either. 

[FionaM]

Varna is in Bristol this week 5/6/7 January with Giselle / Swan Lake / Nutcracker x2.  I’m going to the Nutcracker evening show

[FionaM]

NUTCRACKER by Varna International Ballet, Bristol Hippodrome 7.1.2023

Young and small cast (maybe 30 in total).  Both leads were good (Perdita Lancaster and Vittori Scole) and also some of the soloists. Some of the ensemble were meh 🫤 … surprising in this ‘squeeze on the arts’ environment.  

 

Video backdrops - disappointingly basic for 2022/23.  If a show is not going to have sets (understandably difficult for a touring company to different sized regional theatres) then invest in better graphics and projection equipment, please! 
 

Live orchestra was a bonus ..  even if small.  Beginning was out of tune, but that improved quickly.  Bulgarian conductor from Varna Opera House.  

 

Costumes were very good … inventive and fun.  Drosselmeyer had same yellow/black stripes as Bolshoi production. Costumes for Land of the Sweets heading to Matthew Bourne territory.  

 

Production/choreo by AD of Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.  Some of the grand pdd was unnecessarily fiddly for my taste.  I’m guessing lifts were altered for the young male lead (graduated from Vaganova Academy only 6 months ago).  

Ticket prices seemed high to me for the quality of the show, but the audience generally seem pleased and the large auditorium was quite well sold.  

I was amused by the girl behind me apologising for not explaining the story to her male companion in advance “the tree grows and Clara shrinks to same size as dolls”.  
 

Cast sheet only, no programme, so I’ve been looking up cast and creatives online.  There is some overlap with what was previously the Russian State Ballet of Siberia.  No Russian nationals in this cast.  

[Pas de Quatre]

Thanks Fiona, I shall probably see them in Bournemouth in March. 

 

The International Classic Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake at Lighthouse Poole, Friday 6th January. This was an enjoyable experience, better than I had expected. There was a glossy programme for the whole of their season, with an inserted cast sheet. The programme itself did not name dancers, but had nice photos and history/synopsis of the ballets Swan Lake and Nutcracker. I had to look up AD Marina Medvetskaya. She is Georgian and previously a Principal in Tiblisi.

The company was small but adequate. The corps were generally quite good with a couple of slightly weaker members.  Soloists were good and the principals were excellent. Dare I say even better than seen at ENB matinee of Raymonda in Southampton. Odette/Odile was Assel Askarova and Siegfried Azamat Askarov. Beautiful technique and interpretation, they could belong to any major company. Also the Jester Yassaui Mergaliyev was of Principal quality. Both men had excellent entrchats and tours en l'air with soft secure landings. The principals all looked mature, not recent graduates.

 

Palace scenes had drop cloth, and lakeside a nice projection of a lake. The live orchestra was patchy at times but did manage to pull it together for the lakeside scenes. What would normally be Act 1 & 2 ran straight on for 65 minutes followed by an interval of 20 minutes, then the next Act, Odile at the Palace was 35 minutes followed by 15 minute interval and the last Act 25 minutes. Anyone thinking of going next week in Bromley or the following one in Bath, it is worthwhile. 

[alison]

19 hours ago, FionaE said:

Production/choreo by AD of Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. 

 

Oh dear.  Are they doing Romeo & Juliet?

[FionaM]

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

Oh dear.  Are they doing Romeo & Juliet?

No idea …. I am guessing the choreography was probably created many years ago.   So you should not pay too much attention to who the creatives were.  
 

I doubt any small company has funds to pay for new choreographies / productions post Covid..   

Edited January 9, 2023 by FionaE
Clarification

[alison]

I think you misunderstand: I've seen the R&J created by the AD. It's etched in my memory

[Tango Dancer]

1 hour ago, alison said:

I think you misunderstand: I've seen the R&J created by the AD. It's etched in my memory

That bad?  Could you expand on what you didn't like so I can work out if I might like or dislike going to see this company?

[FionaM]

2 hours ago, alison said:

I think you misunderstand: I've seen the R&J created by the AD. It's etched in my memory

 
oh!   Sorry to hear.  

[alison]

It was rather weird ...

[Beryl H]

Was it the one where there were two things going on, the ballet dancers behind the scenes, and the performance of R and J itself? 

 

I quite liked it, but can't remember anything other than it was one of the lesser known travelling Russian Companies.

 

 

[Lifeafterballet]

Estonian National Ballet are performing Swan Lake this week at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin. My son is dancing but sadly we can’t get there to watch 😢 Full house and standing ovation 👏👏 at the premiere last night. Anyone going ? 

[mumtotwoballerinas]

On 30/12/2022 at 14:28, Pas de Quatre said:

In early December I saw a post on fb from King's International Ballet School wishing toi, toi, toi to their ex pupil Luca Burns who is touring with Varna International ballet. I asked if Luca would be dancing in Bournemouth as they are scheduled to dance at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre in March. He replied that it is the UK group who will dance there and that he is on the Korea tour. So maybe they have split the company for touring - like BRB used to do - or maybe they have employed extra dancers. It appears to be the ballet from the Opera House in Varna, Bulgaria.  The Varna International ballet competition has been running for decades is one of the most reputable.

Varna international ballet is the newly created touring company if the Varna state opera ballet in Bulgaria - a company celebrating its 75th year. They employed a lot of dancers in September specifically for the UK tour. A second tour has taken place in Korea. They have filled the slots in the UK which would have been the Siberian ballet, but was cancelled because of the issues with Russia. 

My son joined the company in July in Bulgaria 

[maryrosesatonapin]

On 30/01/2023 at 11:36, mumtotwoballerinas said:

Varna international ballet is the newly created touring company if the Varna state opera ballet in Bulgaria - a company celebrating its 75th year. They employed a lot of dancers in September specifically for the UK tour. A second tour has taken place in Korea. They have filled the slots in the UK which would have been the Siberian ballet, but was cancelled because of the issues with Russia. 

My son joined the company in July in Bulgaria 

I went to see the Varna company in Northampton last night (Giselle).  It was dire.  Myrthe was OK, and the Wilis weren't bad, but the company seemed to be a mish-mash of various unknown Italian, Spanish, French and English dancers (no Bulgarians).  Giselle was an English girl called Claire Gillard. She looked the part - young, fresh-faced, petite - and acted reasonably well but her dancing was only just passable.  They had various Giselles on different nights and I read a good review of another, Ukrainian Anastasia Lebedyk, but it wasn't possible to know in advance who one was seeing. Hilarion only seemed to have a repertoire of two moves and played more for comic effect, and Albrecht's part was much simplified and his acting was wooden.  The costumes in the first half were garish, and in the second, Giselle's garish tombstone looked like something out of a cartoon. And I don't want to be reminded of the back-drop film of ghostly floating ballerinas!

I don't know whether it was the stage or the dancers (probably a bit of both - one dancer slipped and fell) but they all sounded like elephants.

I like to support touring companies and am sometimes pleasantly surprised, but on this occasion was very disappointed.  I think it's the only performance of Giselle where I haven't been moved.  Having said that, they got a good reception from a full house at the Derngate theatre.

Edited February 17, 2023 by maryrosesatonapin
mention of stage and elephants

[FionaM]

I was surprised by the warm reception in Bristol (I saw their Nutcracker) .  
 

Asides from the two leads and 1 or 2 soloists the rest were pretty ropey and I thought any of the top ballet schools in UK .. RB, ENB, Elmhurst could do better.
 

There clearly is demand for ballet …  we need better touring companies … why can’t Northern, BRB, ENB tour with smaller orchestra, leaner staging and better dancers and grab these slots from these poor level efforts.   
 

I paid £50 for a seat at the rear of the level above stalls.  Mediocre show, and  overpriced.  

[Peanut68]

I completely agree with your suggestions FionaE!

I think we need to look tothe early days of ballet in UK when widespread touring was the norm…. Anna Pavlova toured her company far & wide globally taking in the most provincial towns alongside the established cultural centres & Opera Houses!

I guess the new BRB2 is a start?

[Pas de Quatre]

Touring lasted well into 1960s. At our nearest theatre , Arts Theatre in Cambridge, we had regular visits every year from:  RBSW touring and Ballet for All;  Rambert in its original classical form and then as a contemporary company; Western Theatre Ballet (now Scottish ballet), Northern Ballet Theatre (not sure if this is exact name), London Contemporary Dance Theatre, and some shorter lived ones such as Walter Gore's Company. It was wonderful to see so much good dancing and be able to compare productions. E.g. RB's Coppelia was more technically polished, but Rambert's was so much more fun!

[gdallas]

18 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I went to see the Varna company in Northampton last night (Giselle).  It was dire.  Myrthe was OK, and the Wilis weren't bad, but the company seemed to be a mish-mash of various unknown Italian, Spanish, French and English dancers (no Bulgarians).  Giselle was an English girl called Claire Gillard. She looked the part - young, fresh-faced, petite - and acted reasonably well but her dancing was only just passable.  They had various Giselles on different nights and I read a good review of another, Ukrainian Anastasia Lebedyk, but it wasn't possible to know in advance who one was seeing. Hilarion only seemed to have a repertoire of two moves and played more for comic effect, and Albrecht's part was much simplified and his acting was wooden.  The costumes in the first half were garish, and in the second, Giselle's garish tombstone looked like something out of a cartoon. And I don't want to be reminded of the back-drop film of ghostly floating ballerinas!

I don't know whether it was the stage or the dancers (probably a bit of both - one dancer slipped and fell) but they all sounded like elephants.

I like to support touring companies and am sometimes pleasantly surprised, but on this occasion was very disappointed.  I think it's the only performance of Giselle where I haven't been moved.  Having said that, they got a good reception from a full house at the Derngate theatre.

Yes it wasn’t great in Oxford. I’ve no idea who was on stage, no cast list available. And the tombstone was very cartoonish. I thought the orchestra was ok before the interval….

[FionaM]

I’m heading to Varna International Ballet opening night in Bristol today, Thursday 4 January 2024.   Sleeping Beauty.  They are also performing Nutcracker on Friday and two shows of Swan Lake on Saturday.  
 

I’m hoping for a better quality production and dancers than last time.  
ATG have produced a good trailer https://youtu.be/XTreXhCPsAw?si=00_2xsAlzOzs12si

 

As before there is next to no information online … no website or social media.  
 

Does anybody know of dancers involved in this year’s UK tour?   I found a few … mostly Italian and Spanish dancers.  At least one trained at La Scala and another at Vaganova.   Following their social media proved helpful last year 😉

 

 

Edited January 4 by FionaM
Typos 🙄

[FionaM]

I’ve been asked to write a review for a local public news site.  What to write?  
 

In honesty it was awful … poor level of dancers, untuned orchestra, overly fussy and shiny costumes, poor quality projected backdrops, and substantial adjustments to the choreography.  Tickets were not cheap either … £70 in the stalls.

 

The dancers are mostly Italian, Spanish, Brazilian.  Most of the soloists are only 1-2 years out of ballet school, some trained at La Scala or other good schools.  Clearly these are the ones that didn’t get jobs at good companies.  And for good reason.  

And yet … it was sold out and the audience cheered like crazy.  

It’s certainly a triumph for the marketing team.  (and the finances of producer Raymond Gubbay)

https://www.raymondgubbay.co.uk/whats-on/varna-international-ballet-2024

 

Why can’t we get decent ballet more often in Bristol instead of this rubbish. 
 

 

[Emeralds]

You get full marks for effort from me for supporting dancers (who are clearly struggling), FionaM, but oh dear....the ensemble and show sound very amateurish, like a student project! Astounding that the Raymond Gubbay company brought them over. That suggests that Bristol needs more good dance companies to visit eg BRB, Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet (and I know ENB visited recently with Akram's Giselle). Hope London City Ballet will be booked by the Hippodrome or another theatre to dance 1 or 2 nights there too. 

Edited January 4 by Emeralds

[alison]

And it's not as if Bristol is exactly under-endowed with ballet companies visiting, unlike various other cities in the UK

[alison]

From this month's Links, an article on Varna International Ballet's Swan Lake.  It may explain a lot ...

 

https://www.seeingdance.com/varna-international-ballet-swan-lake-preview-240107/

[FionaM]

Hmm I’m not sure it does explain why everything in this company is poor quality.  
 

Though the history which dominates this article is interesting. 
 

I’m personally delighted that BRB is returning to Bristol with Sleeping Beauty in April.    
 

The only other ballet company we get here is ENB for 4 days annually.  Hardly ‘over-endowed’! 
 

(Matthew Bourne comes annually too but that’s never been ballet to me … musical theatre without the singing).  

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, alison said:

From this month's Links, an article on Varna International Ballet's Swan Lake.  It may explain a lot ...

 

https://www.seeingdance.com/varna-international-ballet-swan-lake-preview-240107/

Sounds like they were a bit too ambitious? Swan Lake is a giant, demanding  juggernaut of a production to put on even when one has a big company of top level dancers.

[theunderdog]

On 30/12/2022 at 01:14, LinMM said:

I saw Ballet U.K. tonight in Brighton but will report tomorrow!! 

I love BTUK productions. R AND J last year moved me to tears and Wizard of Oz had children as young as 2 glued to their seats...small company, small stages (you can almost touch them), fantastic costumes (the cast move the Staging and props through the dances effortlesly). Strong soloists. Yes, no live orchestra but who cares when you are drawn into the story and come away with a smile on your face. With tickets at 18-20 quid even in 2024, it's a worthy afternoon/eve out. And it's supporting small local Theatre's which, is so very, very important nowadays.  Excited to see what London City Ballet bring us in 2024 (the reprisal of the small companies, where maybe those never destined for Royal Opera or Collusieum get a chance to experience the same thrill of delighting audiences) I can't wait!

[theunderdog]

1 hour ago, FionaM said:

Hmm I’m not sure it does explain why everything in this company is poor quality.  
 

Though the history which dominates this article is interesting. 
 

I’m personally delighted that BRB is returning to Bristol with Sleeping Beauty in April.    
 

The only other ballet company we get here is ENB for 4 days annually.  Hardly ‘over-endowed’! 
 

(Matthew Bourne comes annually too but that’s never been ballet to me … musical theatre without the singing).  

Shame. But at least these ballerinas who probably trained for many years to just get a shot on the big stage, got to realise their dream in the corps of Swan Lake and probs had the time of their god damn lives entertaining you We have a very high opinion of what Ballet should be in then UK. It's probably what has led to all these other threads lately. To say BRB, RBS and Northern, and that ilke, are the only ones worthy of touring and sharing their passion with audiences is a shame. They already have the monopoly in London, so I think it's time for the little guys to have a shot (Varna established in 2023....wonder how good the first RBS production was?...if only we had forums back then!). Give them all a chance I say and if it is not your cup of tea don't go again. They will be someone's cup of tea and that's OK:)

[theunderdog]

33 minutes ago, theunderdog said:

Shame. But at least these ballerinas who probably trained for many years to just get a shot on the big stage, got to realise their dream in the corps of Swan Lake and probs had the time of their god damn lives entertaining you We have a very high opinion of what Ballet should be in then UK. It's probably what has led to all these other threads lately. To say BRB, RBS and Northern, and that ilke, are the only ones worthy of touring and sharing their passion with audiences is a shame. They already have the monopoly in London, so I think it's time for the little guys to have a shot (Varna established in 2023....wonder how good the first RBS production was?...if only we had forums back then!). Give them all a chance I say and if it is not your cup of tea don't go again. They will be someone's cup of tea and that's OK:)

Found an early article so thought I post https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/16/arts/dance-view-the-sadler-s-wells-production-of-beauty-is-a-winner.html

 

With this excerpt (even when the ballet brings a smile someone still has to point out the negatives  ) The women in the company tend to have weak toe work and carelessly held feet -especially when they are in the air. They also tend to dance on a small scale. To demand that they have the attack of Russian and American dancers would be foolish. 

Edited January 30 by theunderdog

[theunderdog]

On 30/12/2022 at 18:05, Beryl H said:

The plot thickens - yesterday I received an E-mail from the Theatre Royal Brighton inviting me to buy discounted tickets for the Varna International Ballet, and as the prices were high I got one for Giselle on 13th February,( Nutcracker and Swan Lake are on the next two nights) without checking up, I've just looked again and it says the Company was founded in 1947 and this is their first UK tour, with dancers from Ukraine and European countries, this is the information that the Theatre Royal has been given.

 

I don't mind, it will just be lovely to see Giselle without a train journey!!!

I believe Varna has taken on Ukraine dancers to help them out during the crisis (ongoing) and gone to Europe as they can't tour in their own country. And they have given opportunities to UK dancers to share the stage (I am close to 1 who got a 6 month contract performing every ballet they dreamed of as a child!). I think this is wonderful and I applaud Varna for what they have acheived, in the face of adversity.

[FionaM]

Hmm … the programme I have from Bristol did not have any Ukrainian dancers in it.