Cathy Marston at Zurich Ballet

[miliosr]

Big news out of San Francisco this afternoon . . . 

 

San Francisco Ballet announced on Instagram that, "principal dancers Dores Andre and Max Cauthorn are heading to Ballet Zurich under the direction of Cathy Marston following SF Ballet's 2023 Season."

 

I certainly didn't expect this news! Cauthorn leaving creates yet another vacancy in the male principals roster following the departures of Ulrik Birkkjaer and Benjamin Freemantle, the contract non-renewal of Julian Mackay, and the retirement of Tiit Helimets. San Francisco Ballet has picked up Isaac Hernandez but they're still down four male principal dancers.

[Sim]

Ms Marston seems to have a lot of pulling power, having also tempted the wonderful Brandon Lawrence away from BRB!  

[Benjamin]

11 hours ago, miliosr said:

Big news out of San Francisco this afternoon . . . 

 

San Francisco Ballet announced on Instagram that, "principal dancers Dores Andre and Max Cauthorn are heading to Ballet Zurich under the direction of Cathy Marston following SF Ballet's 2023 Season."

 

I certainly didn't expect this news! Cauthorn leaving creates yet another vacancy in the male principals roster following the departures of Ulrik Birkkjaer and Benjamin Freemantle, the contract non-renewal of Julian Mackay, and the retirement of Tiit Helimets. San Francisco Ballet has picked up Isaac Hernandez but they're still down four male principal dancers.

I don’t know how Cathy Marston is doing it but I‘m very impressed.

[zxDaveM]

3 minutes ago, Benjamin said:

I don’t know how Cathy Marston is doing it but I‘m very impressed.

 

SF Ballet have performed several of her works - that was probably enough to convince (especially if the old director's works are phased out as well)

[Jan McNulty]

11 hours ago, Sim said:

Ms Marston seems to have a lot of pulling power, having also tempted the wonderful Brandon Lawrence away from BRB!  

 

Also Sean Bates and Mlindi Kulashe from Northern Ballet.

[Bruce Wall]

12 hours ago, miliosr said:

Big news out of San Francisco this afternoon . . . 

 

San Francisco Ballet announced on Instagram that, "principal dancers Dores Andre and Max Cauthorn are heading to Ballet Zurich under the direction of Cathy Marston following SF Ballet's 2023 Season."

 

I certainly didn't expect this news! Cauthorn leaving creates yet another vacancy in the male principals roster following the departures of Ulrik Birkkjaer and Benjamin Freemantle, the contract non-renewal of Julian Mackay, and the retirement of Tiit Helimets. San Francisco Ballet has picked up Isaac Hernandez but they're still down four male principal dancers.

 

I'm now thinking of the dedicated Ballet Zurich audience who will have seen so many of their own favourites depart - Still, that is the way of life - and change - in and of itself - is no bad thing.  We all have to keep breathing.  If it is any relief for you, miliosor, there was one season at ENB under Ms Rojo where 18 dancers (if I remember correctly) decamped - including the much loved Summerscales and (Y.) Acosta team - and there was much anxiety at the time but then Tamara filled many of those spaces with totally magical artists - some of whom are delighting us today - like Daniel McCormick (a CA/SF reared boy himself), Emily Suzuki, Rhys Antoni Yeomans, Francesco Gabriele Frola and Noam Durand - and all was soon forgotten.  You are in good hands.  

 

I still struggle with the loss of Cirio from ENB - but will so look forward to seeing him with Boston in Paris next May.  

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[FionaM]

Is Cathy Marston’s choreo mostly unique story ballets (as in … stories not done much or at all elsewhere) and, with deep emotional content?  
 

If so, I can understand why established dancers as discussed above, want to join her company.  That’s a way to challenge and fulfil their artistic needs.  
 

Presumably Zürich will retain some of their previous repertoire.

 

I am interested in why the Zürich board hired an AD who may be substantially different to the previous one.  

[Jan McNulty]

32 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Is Cathy Marston’s choreo mostly unique story ballets (as in … stories not done much or at all elsewhere) and, with deep emotional content?  
 

If so, I can understand why established dancers as discussed above, want to join her company.  That’s a way to challenge and fulfil their artistic needs.  
 

Presumably Zürich will retain some of their previous repertoire.

 

I am interested in why the Zürich board hired an AD who may be substantially different to the previous one.  

 

Cathy Marston does seem to concentrate on ballets based on literature but the first piece she did for Northern Ballet, which was part of a triple bill, was abstract.  I remember the late Jonathan Ollivier saying that working with her had been a wonderful experience.  I think the proof in that pudding is the dancers who have already committed to moving to Zurich with her.

 

If you look at the website, I don't know how much input she has had to the 2023/24 season but it is very varied and, I think, plenty to see.

 

https://www.opernhaus.ch/en/spielplan/ballett-2223/ (scroll down for 23/24).

[Josette]

On 05/04/2023 at 16:31, miliosr said:

Big news out of San Francisco this afternoon . . . 

 

San Francisco Ballet announced on Instagram that, "principal dancers Dores Andre and Max Cauthorn are heading to Ballet Zurich under the direction of Cathy Marston following SF Ballet's 2023 Season."

 

I certainly didn't expect this news! Cauthorn leaving creates yet another vacancy in the male principals roster following the departures of Ulrik Birkkjaer and Benjamin Freemantle, the contract non-renewal of Julian Mackay, and the retirement of Tiit Helimets. San Francisco Ballet has picked up Isaac Hernandez but they're still down four male principal dancers.

Yes, it is an interesting development, though a good move for Dores Andre as to the types of work she excels in. She gave an excellent performance in Marston’s Mrs. Robinson last season.
 

Max Cauthorn is exceptional both as dancer and actor. Last season he was remarkable as James in La Sylphide, coached by Ulrik Birkkjaer, and as Siegfried in Swan Lake when Aaron Robison injured his thumb during Don Quixote and could not perform. This season, the sole full-length role for Max is Prince Guillaume in Wheeldon’s Cinderella. He would have been a wonderful Romeo. 

 

 I don’t recall Ben Fremantle, another exceptional SF dancer who rose through the ranks, being cast in a principal role in any of the

full-length ballets, except Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, as the Sea

Witch (or however the character is named), in which he was brilliant and

resulted in his he being promoted to Principal status. 
 

 Birkkjaer had been planning to retire from the stage a few years earlier than he actually did last year, for which I am grateful, as I saw him dance his last James in La Sylphide. He was a joy to watch. 
 

I do wish Dores and Max much fulfillment in their new city and ballet company. 

[Jan McNulty]

On 06/04/2023 at 01:16, Sim said:

Ms Marston seems to have a lot of pulling power, having also tempted the wonderful Brandon Lawrence away from BRB!  

 

And the press release about Brandon moving:

 

 

[Ian Macmillan]

I imagine that the basic reason behind all this recruiting is that 15 dancers are moving from Zurich to Berlin with their current AD - see the Germany etc News thread about a week ago - so Cathy needs to fill the ranks.  (And whilst I stand to be corrected here, I think that Zurich gave her her first contract on leaving the RBS.).   As time goes on, I'll be interested to see which, if any, of her creations for the small company at Bern (13/14 dancers) she revisits with a larger company - her Romanov-based Firebird, her Juliet and Romeo, and Hexenhatz/Witch Hunt come first to mind.  But since leaving Bern, she has accumulated quite a body of work with larger companies internationally so may feel no need to do so.  She is a voracious reader with an inquiring mind and I'm sure she will never lack for potential new stories to tell. 

[Angela]

17 hours ago, FionaE said:

who may be substantially different to the previous one.  

 

In what are they different? Spuck is also a specialist in story-telling ballets based on modern-classical style, maybe a bit more abstract and with a preference for German literature. Different would be Forsythe, van Manen, Goecke or Sasha Waltz - short works, no stories, abstract, contemporary.

Zurich Ballet pays the dancers very, very well, as I have heard. Which is necessary as living in Zurich is incredibly expensive.

[FionaM]

Thank you for clarification Angela.  I haven’t followed Zürich or Spuck much (as you can tell).  I will now.  I was aware of his full-length Orlando for Bolshoi

[Angela]

Spuck's oeuvre is full of full-length ballets - Lulu, Leonce and Lena, Woyzeck, Anna Karenina, Orlando, for Berlin he has announced Madame Bovary next season. He did also some classics: Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty. And full-length works without a story: Winterreise, Monteverdi, Messa da Requiem, and choreographic operas like Helmut Lachenmann's The Little Match Girl.

[Emeralds]

I was stunned to see the announcement from SFB about Dores Andre and Max Cauthorn too, in addition to having heard about Brandon Lawrence leaving BRB, and now Mlindi Kulashe and Sean Bates as well. To me it is wonderful for the Zurich audiences but sad for us, but I wish them all happy and successful careers at Zurich. It is a great city to live in (as a friend who moved there keeps telling me), the company has some great existing repertoire and Marston herself has made so many compelling ballets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Emeralds

[Angela]

16 hours ago, Emeralds said:

It is a great city to live in (as a friend who moved there keeps telling me)

If you can afford to live there 🤪

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, Angela said:

If you can afford to live there 🤪

Oh yes, my friend’s move was due to being offered a job there with a pay rise and promotion (but long hours), so she will manage. 😊👍 I must encourage her to go and see the ballet company when she has some time off work. 

[Angela]

34 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

so she will manage.

 

I know people who go grocery shopping in Germany every few weeks, which is about 70 kms to drive, one way.

[Emeralds]

18 minutes ago, Angela said:

 

I know people who go grocery shopping in Germany every few weeks, which is about 70 kms to drive, one way.

😮 I hope those groceries are worth it! 😊

I think I can safely say that I hope Ms Marston will bring the company to perform here on tour one day....I doubt I will be able to travel over to watch them. 😂

[Emeralds]

I do like Spuck’s works, but we don’t see many of them here. I’ll be curious to see what she programmes next year. And it will be interesting to see how he gets on in Berlin. 

[FionaM]

Another new face coming to Zurich … Kilian Smith.

 

Kilian was a pupil at RB school and starred as Peter in the RB 2010 recording of ‘Peter and the Wolf’.  He is currently a coryphée at Polish National Ballet.  He performed Bratfisch in their Mayerling, amongst other soloist roles. And he was nominated by Dance Europe for ‘Outstanding performance by a male dancer’ in September for his portrayal of Renfield in PNB’s new Dracula.