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Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake - Southampton, Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Plymouth, Edinburgh (Feb-Apr 2023)

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alison

alison

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Posted

I'm very late catching up with this month's Links, but it's worth saying that there are A LOT of performance photos of Semionova/Lawrence in one of the mid-month links - I think it was Gramilano?  Gorgeous.

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serenade

serenade

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I went to see the matinee today in Edinburgh. I had a really bad experience with people behind me which I will moan about in the audience behaviour thread at some point so the show was really spoilt unfortunately, but as I’m not sure if anyone else on here will have seen the Edinburgh show I’ll just post some thoughts.

 

BRB’s version of Swan Lake was my first ever Swan Lake about 13 years ago and I’ve never managed to see it since. It is still my favourite version though- I think the narrative is the strongest out of all the versions I’ve seen and visually it’s the most stunning.  
 

Yaoqian Shang was a lovely Odette-  bringing all the sadness and longing to the part. I really liked her in the role. I think her Odette was stronger than Odile on this performance. She was still great but I didn’t really get the wicked vibes from her Odile but of course there’s plenty of ways to play the role. And also as mentioned I was really quite distracted throughout!  
 

César Morales was Siegfried- he was great I enjoyed his performance. He was very convincing as the prince with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The weight is lifted temporarily when he falls for Odette but that joy Is soon over. Gus Payne was Benno- he was excellent. 
 

Lots to love about the production. As mentioned before, I think the narrative is the strongest. I love the beginning with the funeral procession, it’s simple but really sets the tone.  Costumes are beautiful. I love what they do with the princesses in act 3- I can’t exactly remember when the princesses dance in other versions but I think the way BRB

does it fits with the story better. Act 4 was really strong and the stakes seem higher in this version, as opposed to the Royal’s version where j feel like Siegfried is just resigned to losing her. With this one I feel like he puts up a solid fight! I love the sad ending and how it ends with poor Benno 😢 I will not have to leave it so long before seeing this production again as it’s just excellent.  

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FionaM

FionaM

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@serenade I agree BRB version has strongest narrative throughout. 
 

In many versions the potential brides in Act 3 dance as one group with the same or near indistinguishable dresses or tutus.   At least the RB version by Liam Scarlett does distinguish the princesses but they have very little dancing to do .. a few phrases solo and the rest is as a group.   I enjoyed the substantial individual solos  in Sir Peter Wright’s version for BRB. 
 

The weakest part of BRB’s version was Von Rothbart … both the older dancer that I saw (I kept worrying he’d trip whilst running or on the stairs) plus the rather pathetic costume and makeup.  Would be simple to fix.  

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serenade

serenade

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25 minutes ago, FionaE said:

The weakest part of BRB’s version was Von Rothbart … both the older dancer that I saw (I kept worrying he’d trip whilst running or on the stairs) plus the rather pathetic costume and makeup.  Would be simple to fix.  

Yes I forgot to mention I was not a fan of the white make up for Von Rothbart in act 4! I quite liked the costume though

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theorist

theorist

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I was at yesterday's matinee too. I agree with many, but not all, of the comments. I agree that the choreography in Act IV is excellent, certainly better than Scarlett's for RB. And I like that the princesses get solos in Act III (although I don't think their interactions with the Prince are well handled). I'm much less sure about Act I, which seems to me to be confused. I think that Rothbart's costume looks like something a harassed parent might cobble together for their child's dress-up-at-school day. However, I think the white make-up is rather effective: indeed I would have preferred it if he hadn't had a helmet at all.

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FionaM

FionaM

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25 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

And maybe the Royal Ballet would like to have some BRB guests.


I was thinking more from the point of view that Vadim doesn’t seem to be getting guesting opportunities in Europe as he did before.  So sad.

 

and also from my own selfish point of view of being priced out of ROH. 

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capybara

capybara

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5 minutes ago, FionaE said:


I was thinking more from the point of view that Vadim doesn’t seem to be getting guesting opportunities in Europe as he did before.  So sad.

 

and also from my own selfish point of view of being priced out of ROH. 

 

I guess that the stellar arrivals from Russian companies have filled some holes where once there was a need for guest artists.

 

However, Vadim is, I believe (if my interpretation of various IG posts from others is correct), dancing with Bolle in Trieste, in the Balanchine Galas in Brno, and in Hong Kong (La Bayadere) during the coming months.

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet certainly seems to appreciate having him, otherwise the Company would not have made and posted that reel.

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SheilaC

SheilaC

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4 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

And maybe the Royal Ballet would like to have some BRB guests.

Yes, I've been thinking this. In particular of Cesar Morales who is not fully appreciated outside of BRB- a wonderful, sensitive artist, elegant, expressive, musical dancer with a beautiful line, a fine if subtle actor and sympathetic partner. His article in the latest Dance Europe and the video of it that Jan posted gives a fascinating account of his lifelong love of Swan Lake and his wish to dance Onegin.

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thank you @Balletfanp for posting this. 

 

Perhaps they could set up an exchange program. always good to see how someone else does it.

Edited by oncnp
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capybara

capybara

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Posted
1 hour ago, SheilaC said:

Yes, I've been thinking this. In particular of Cesar Morales who is not fully appreciated outside of BRB- a wonderful, sensitive artist, elegant, expressive, musical dancer with a beautiful line, a fine if subtle actor and sympathetic partner. His article in the latest Dance Europe and the video of it that Jan posted gives a fascinating account of his lifelong love of Swan Lake and his wish to dance Onegin.

 

I remember Cesar Morales from his days at ENB and he is indeed a special dancer.

 

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Benjamin

Benjamin

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10 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

And maybe the Royal Ballet would like to have some BRB guests.

Maybe the Royal Ballet might borrow (and never bring back) some dancers, like they’ve done with Muntagirov (English National Ballet) Campbell (BRB) Opisova (Some company honestly I forgot) and many more… But it’s pretty smart on The Royal Ballets part.

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Sim

Sim

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47 minutes ago, Benjamin said:

Maybe the Royal Ballet might borrow (and never bring back) some dancers, like they’ve done with Muntagirov (English National Ballet) Campbell (BRB) Opisova (Some company honestly I forgot) and many more… But it’s pretty smart on The Royal Ballets part.

These dancers weren’t “borrowed.”   They left their respective companies to join the Royal Ballet.  

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Benjamin

Benjamin

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5 hours ago, Sim said:

These dancers weren’t “borrowed.”   They left their respective companies to join the Royal Ballet.  

Yeah That’s why I said Borrow (and never bring back) I still think it’s unfair for the companies that invited and nurtured them but they can do what ever they want (with a little or a lot of bribery)

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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3 hours ago, Benjamin said:

Yeah That’s why I said Borrow (and never bring back) I still think it’s unfair for the companies that invited and nurtured them but they can do what ever they want (with a little or a lot of bribery)

 

I find your use of the word "borrow" offensive.  Neither Vadim Muntagirov nor Alexander Campbell guested with the Royal Ballet.  They did what they considered best for their careers and moved company in the way that non-dancers may move jobs.

 

Tzu Chao Chou didn't guest with Birmingham Royal Ballet before he moved to the UK from Australia.

 

Maia Makhateli didn't guest with Dutch National Ballet before she moved there from BRB.

 

Robert Parker did, however, guest with the Royal Ballet but chose to stay with BRB.  Mathias Dingman guested with English National Ballet but chose to stay with BRB.

 

As I said earlier in this post, dancers do what they consider best for their own careers.

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Richard LH

Richard LH

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Benjamin said:

Yeah That’s why I said Borrow (and never bring back) I still think it’s unfair for the companies that invited and nurtured them but they can do what ever they want (with a little or a lot of bribery)

Both Muntagirov and Campbell trained at the Royal Ballet School so in a sense  they  returned  to where they graduated. Nothing particularly  objectionable in that. There is no "bribery" involved - just companies and dancers agreeing what is mutually in their best interests.

Edited by Richard LH
Clarification
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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Benjamin said:

Yeah That’s why I said Borrow (and never bring back) I still think it’s unfair for the companies that invited and nurtured them but they can do what ever they want (with a little or a lot of bribery)

 

Just to clarify...Muntagirov may have attended the RBS upper school but was not offered a contract with either the RB or BRB when he graduated. 

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Sim

Sim

Posted
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3 hours ago, Benjamin said:

Yeah That’s why I said Borrow (and never bring back) I still think it’s unfair for the companies that invited and nurtured them but they can do what ever they want (with a little or a lot of bribery)

So is every dancer in the world supposed to stay with the same company for their entire careers?  And you are making very broad assumptions and sweeping statements about why dancers change companies. 

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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Posted

Furthermore, isn't it the widely observed custom that dancers approach the potential new company -  as they are fully entitled to do! - rather than the other way around?

 

In this respect, ballet companies go further

than any workplace I can think of to avoid accusations of poaching well-trained and highly regarded people.

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capybara

capybara

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just as an aside, Ava May Llewelyn, who graduated from the RBS into the Aud Jebsen scheme at the RB in 2021, has just announced that she has an Artist contract with BRB. I believe that she has been touring with BRB in Swan Lake.


(Apologies - I didn’t realise that Richard LH had already posted this.)

 

 

 

Edited by capybara
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Richard LH

Richard LH

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, capybara said:

Just as an aside, Ava May Llewelyn, who graduated from the RBS into the Aud Jebsen scheme at the RB in 2021, has just announced that she has an Artist contract with BRB. I believe that she has been touring with BRB in Swan Lake.

 

Snap!😂

Edited by Richard LH
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