Royal Ballet Preferred Principal Partnerships

[Richard LH]

Imagining I am Kevin O'Hare for the moment, for the coming season (assuming no further promotions to Principal) I expect to have 9 ladies and 9 gentlemen to pair up for major  perfomances such as Manon, Swan Lake,  Nutcracker etc... (plus Cuthbertson if she returns from maternity leave during the year).

 

Of course nothing is set in stone but arguably I  have the following 6 settled, successful and popular  partnerships (alphabetical order) which I could pencil in straightaway:

Hayward/Campbell

Kaneko/Bracewell

Lamb/McRae

Naghdi/Ball

Nunez/Muntagirov

Osipova/Clarke

 

That leaves Magri, O'Sullivan, and Takada  for the ladies and Corrales, Hirano and Sambe for the gentlemen.

How should I proceed, dear forum members, and why?

 

[Benjamin]

9 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Imagining I am Kevin O'Hare for the moment, for the coming season (assuming no further promotions to Principal) I expect to have 9 ladies and 9 gentlemen to pair up for major  perfomances such as Manon, Swan Lake,  Nutcracker etc... (plus Cuthbertson if she returns from maternity leave during the year).

 

Of course nothing is set in stone but arguably I  have the following 6 settled, successful and popular  partnerships (alphabetical order) which I could pencil in straightaway:

Hayward/Campbell

Kaneko/Bracewell

Lamb/McRae

Naghdi/Ball

Nunez/Muntagirov

Osipova/Clarke

 

That leaves Magri, O'Sullivan, and Takada  for the ladies and Corrales, Hirano and Sambe for the gentlemen.

How should I proceed, dear forum members, and why?

 

They are horrible at switching partnerships up (I guess what works, works!) But these make a lot of sense, for the other 6 I would do…

Magri and Corrales

O’Sullivan and Hirano

Takada and Sambe 

(Not that O’Sullivan and Hirano have ever danced together, I don’t think but there where no more dancers left.)

[Blossom]

Magri/Corrales 

O'Sullivan/Sambe

This is purely because the on stage chemistry of these pairings is perfect.

Then I struggle. I don't think I'd pair Takada and Hirano - this I guess is why we often get a mix of Takada/McRae and Lamb/Hirano because that works...

[Lizbie1]

O'Sullivan/Sambe is by all accounts a successful partnership.

[alison]

I wouldn't necessarily want to stick with all of your "fixed" couples, though, Richard.  I find Lamb a bit too tall for McRae in classical roles, and I might well want to put Hayward with Bracewell in something like Manon.

 

Nice idea, though.

[Guest oncnp]

Cuthbertson announced her retirement?

Edited April 20, 2023 by oncnp

[capybara]

Although some of the established ones are wonderful, I’m not in favour of ‘fixed’ partnerships. I think that ‘mixing things up a bit’ can bring out different aspects of dancers, which I like. Take, for example, the Naghdi/Corrales combo in Like Water for Chocolate. The list at the top of this thread feels stale to me by comparison.

 

Looking ahead, I would like to see (eg) Takada/Bracewell or Hayward/Bracewell; Kaneko/Muntagirov; Magri/Ball; Naghdi/Corrales; maybe Cuthbertson/Clarke. I could go on, but no need to………

Edited April 20, 2023 by capybara

[annamk]

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

Although some of the established ones are wonderful, I’m not in favour of ‘fixed’ partnerships. I think that ‘mixing things up a bit’ can bring out difference aspects of dancers, which I like. Take, for example, the Naghdi/Corrales combo in Like Water for Chocolate. The list at the top of this thread feels stale to me by comparison.

 

 

I agree with the exception of the Kaneko/Bracewell partnership.  They move me in a way no partnership has since Cojocaru/Kobborg. I will cry if they are not cast together in Manon and everything else.

[Fonty]

I would like to see Muntagirov partnered with someone other than Nunez some times.  Too late for him to be paired with Morera, sadly.  

[Sim]

1 minute ago, annamk said:

 

I agree with the exception of the Kaneko/Bracewell partnership.  They move me in a way no partnership has since Cojocaru/Kobborg. I will cry if they are not cast together in Manon and everything else.

You and me both.  

[San Perregrino]

I’d like to see long established pairs eg Nela & Vadim step out of their comfort zone and dancing with different partners particularly for roles they have danced together for several years.

It might help box office receipts too if they, or any other established pairing, were dancing with different partners on different nights. 

[EVWS]

1 hour ago, oncnp said:

Cuthbertson announced her retirement?

 

No, she's currently on maternity leave after having her second child 

[Guest oncnp]

Just now, EVWS said:

 

No, she's currently on maternity leave after having her second child 

 

I know. She was not mentioned above and I was wondering if I had missed something

[Richard LH]

1 minute ago, oncnp said:

 

I know. She was not mentioned above and I was wondering if I had missed something

I did mention her in my opening post.

[Guest oncnp]

4 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I did mention her in my opening post.

 

Apologies - I did miss something

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, Blossom said:

I don't think I'd pair Takada and Hirano

Not obviously perhaps, although I thought they were fine together in R&J when he replaced McRae. I am not too sure Takada/Corrales worked so well in Giselle, and is she yet to dance with Sambe in any major role?  

With those sorts of considerations I prefaced the "preferred" list as not set in stone and "arguably" settled. I do  agree with those that point to the benefits of mixing things up somewhat. Eg. Takada and Bracewell were  brilliant in Swan Lake and Coppelia. Hayward/ Bracewell worked well in the R&J movie. Nunez and Bracewell is also an exciting prospect going by their Grand Pas Classique rehearsal. There is also the fine Takada/ Campbell combo eg Don Quixote,  Like Water for Chocolate, and their beautiful Rhapsody excerpt. I am sure Kaneko and Muntagirov also works very well. 

There would be several other options with other Principals, I am sure, and that's before the possibilities of using some of the First Soloists...Mr Hay springs to mind (literally)!

 

[Linnzi5]

2 hours ago, annamk said:

 

I agree with the exception of the Kaneko/Bracewell partnership.  They move me in a way no partnership has since Cojocaru/Kobborg. I will cry if they are not cast together in Manon and everything else.

I feel exactly the same way!!! 

[CCL]

I’d like to see Muntagirov/Naghdi as a possible pairing. That being said, Yasmine is absolutely perfect with Matthew Ball. Clarke/ Nunez is a partnership that would interest me.

[Sim]

42 minutes ago, CCL said:

I’d like to see Muntagirov/Naghdi as a possible pairing. That being said, Yasmine is absolutely perfect with Matthew Ball. Clarke/ Nunez is a partnership that would interest me.

Muntagirov/Naghdi were fabulous together in Mayerling this season.  They really brought things out of each other that were lying dormant, but then exploded in passion and lust.  Amazing.  And yet, their R&J a year or so ago didn't really work for me.  I would love to see them together in one of the classical ballets.  

[DanJL]

For Manon, Lamb has a great history dancing with Muntagirov - would love to see more of that partnership. 

[zxDaveM]

Basically, Yasmine Nagdhi with anyone, as she brings along her partner with her

[JNC]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

Muntagirov/Naghdi were fabulous together in Mayerling this season.  They really brought things out of each other that were lying dormant, but then exploded in passion and lust.  Amazing.  And yet, their R&J a year or so ago didn't really work for me.  I would love to see them together in one of the classical ballets.  

I didn’t see their Mayerling but they had little to no chemistry in R&J, and I also saw their swan lake (when Nunez had covid) and that also didn’t move me as much as usual. 
 

Maybe they have improved but it’s probably a risk I wouldn’t take given the other solid pairings listed. We know Naghdi/Ball are great, ditto Kaneko/Bracewell.

 

I think Nunez/Ball also worked well in A Month in the Country and intrigued to see Naghdi/Corrales (maybe Manon?). Hayward/Corrales are a real life couple and their R&J was electric - so would like to see them paired again. 
 

I don’t mind mixing it up but sometimes it doesn’t work. I can’t picture Hayward/McRae for example. 

[Dawnstar]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

Muntagirov/Naghdi were fabulous together in Mayerling this season.  They really brought things out of each other that were lying dormant, but then exploded in passion and lust.  Amazing.  And yet, their R&J a year or so ago didn't really work for me.

 

I totally agree with both of these. Actually Naghdi's Juliet didn't really do it for me either with Ball (2019 cinecast) or Muntagirov but when she stood in for Takada with Campbell I was finally moved. Whereas Muntagirov & Naghdi in Mayerling I thought worked really well together, with her strength supposrting his weakness (I'm talking in terms of character traits: there was nothing weak about Muntagirov's dancing!).

 

3 minutes ago, JNC said:

I don’t mind mixing it up but sometimes it doesn’t work. I can’t picture Hayward/McRae for example. 

 

I seem to recall they were supposed to do Coppelia together in 2019/20, but then McRae was injured again so Hayward did it with Campbell.

 

In terms of the original question, I'd go with Magri/Corrales, O'Sullivan/Sambe & by default Takada/Hirano. Like others have said though, I'd rather partnerships weren't always the same. I particularly wish Clarke would dance more with someone other than Osipova as I like Clarke but Osipova is near the bottom of my list of female Principals so I rarely book for her & therefore am not getting to see as much of Clarke as I would like to.

[MildConcern]

As much as I am hesitant to say it (given how much I ADORE Kaneko/Bracewell), the fact that Kaneko / Muntagirov are frequent gala partners and are performing R&J on Japan Tour makes me wish they could have a big Macmillan together on ROH stage. However, if Kaneko’s debut Manon is not with Bracewell I will feel rather put out! 
 

I scarcely see Muntagirov in big 3 act ballets because (whisper it) I don’t really connect with Nunez as a dancer and so I also enjoy the rare occasions where he is partnered with Lamb, Naghdi and others.

 

I loved Osipova and Bracewell together in Month - but see above reservation about splitting up Kaneko/Bracewell, who I consider to be the finest RB partnership in the past decade.

 

I also enjoy Naghdi/Ball and have done ever since their R&J debuts. 

[Linnzi5]

I'm happy for most pairings and for them to be mixed up. However, if Manon is scheduled for the 23/24 season and Kaneko/Bracewell are not dancing together, I will cry. I would love to see them in Swan Lake, too. I've been so lucky that they were paired together this season. I'd also like to see Bracewell/Hayward, Bracewell/Nunez and I really liked Bracewell/Cuthbertson. Hmmm. I'm seeing a pattern here! So, Bracewell/anyone! 🤣 Seriously though, I HAVE to have some Bracewell/Kaneko next season - I will be so disappointed otherwise, as I believe they have an exciting and unique  partnership that should be continued. I do agree about Clarke/Osipova. I believe Osipova to be an extremely talented dancer - I have seen her many times. However, for various personal taste reasons, as I have matured in my ballet taste and know more what I am looking for in a performance, she is not my go-to dancer. That means I rarely see Clarke now. That's a bit of a shame.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Linnzi5

[Angela Essex]

I’ve only been watching ballet since lockdown lifted so I’m not at all knowledgeable about ballet pairings,  but here goes: my favourite dancers are Nunez, Takada, Hamilton, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Kaneko, Bracewell, Clarke and Sambe. So pretty much any combination of those would be amazing. Especially Kaneko/Bracewell.
 

For some unexplicable reason Vadim does not fully do it for me (I feel like that is an utterly absurd and unfounded statement given that he is excellent, but something isn’t connecting for me) so top of my wish list is to see Marianela dance a lot more often with William Bracewell and Reece Clarke.

Also, I saw Olivia Cowley dance the Arabian a couple of years ago and the performance blew me away. I know she’s not a principal but I just love watching her - I find her so mesmerising. I’d love to see her dance with Reece or Will Bracewell. 

 

Finally certain times I’ve see Megan Grace Hinkis (eg as Gertrudis) she has  been amazing. I’d love to see her dance a main role again soon, but I can’t think what or with whom. 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Angela Essex

[Tango Dancer]

5 minutes ago, Angela Essex said:

 

For some unexplicable reason Vadim does not fully do it for me (I feel like that is an utterly absurd and unfounded statement given that he is excellent, but something isn’t connecting for me) so top of my wish list is to see Marianela dance a lot more often with William Bracewell and Reece Clarke.

Also, I saw Olivia Cowley dance the Arabian a couple of years ago and the performance blew me away. I know she’s not a principal but I just love watching her - I find her so mesmerising. I’d love to see her dance with Reece or Will Bracewell. 

 

 

I saw Reece Clarke dance with Marianela at the Ukraine gala and thought they worked really well together.  I love her with Vadim (and he is my favourite) but I felt she and Reece have good chemistry. 

 

I mean I tend to pick a date by whenever Vadim is dancing so mostly he's with Marianela but not always.    If I can't find a date for Vadim I tend to look at whether Bennet Gartside has a good part and pick a date when he does (because he's my ballet teacher and I want to support him) which sometimes results in my seeing partnerships I didn't expect.    

 

I find Anna Rose O'Sullivan seems to dance very well with Marcelino Sambe always as she seems really comfortable with him.  I also really like her partnerships with Joe Sisssens (admittedly not a principal) because they seem to have a good relationship.  

[Scheherezade]

It does seem as though Bracewell is the 'go to' partner at the moment - Kaneko, Hayward, Nunez - and I have to say, I would love to see his continuing partnership with all of these. More Naghdi/Corrales please (really like these two together and disappointed that their planned Cinderella partnership didn't happen) and Naghdi/Muntagirov (post-Mayerling). Although Sambe and O'Sullivan seem to be almost as inseparable as Osipova and Clarke, I do think that Hayward and Sambe work well together and would like to see Hayward renew her early, successful Rhapsody partnership with James Hay. I would also like to see Clarke develop a partnership with someone other than Osipova. Clarke and Nunez works, although, perhaps not surprisingly, not quite the chemistry of her partnership with Muntagirov. How about Clarke and Magri? And despite not generally favouring real life couples together on stage, from what I've seen of them together, Magri and Ball are magical. And is there a reason why we haven't seen more of Lamb with Campbell or Muntagirov with Hamilton?

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, Tango Dancer said:

I also really like her partnerships with Joe Sisssens (admittedly not a principal) because they seem to have a good relationship.  

Not a principal yet but very likely he will be!

I agree that he and O’Sullivan have a good partnership. I also really like her partnership with McRae - Sleeping Beauty this year and Rhapsody/Swan Lake last year.

[Suffolkgal]

I’d love to see Hayward and Bracewell in Fille and Manon and Giselle .. Fumi of course - they just sing - but there is something about the soft lyricism of Hayward/Bracewell...And agreed, he does always get warm responses on social from his partners ..

[Sim]

21 minutes ago, Suffolkgal said:

I’d love to see Hayward and Bracewell in Fille and Manon and Giselle .. Fumi of course - they just sing - but there is something about the soft lyricism of Hayward/Bracewell...And agreed, he does always get warm responses on social from his partners ..

I would love to see Hayward paired with Sambe in Fille once again.  Last time they were sublime together.  

[Emeralds]

It’s a bit limiting sticking to principals only, and many exciting and spectacular performances have come about as a result of principal+first soloist, or principal+soloist pairings, eg Klimentova+Muntagirov (in everything), Osipova+Clarke (everything, especially Onegin), Hayward+Corrales (especially that Romeo and Juliet🔥), etc. 

 

The pairings suggested by RichardLH have offered some wonderful performances, and some have been good  friends for a long time which certainly helps build a rapport and reach great heights when setting technical goals or creating artistry but I wouldn’t limit it to just principals, and for different ballets I think it’s rewarding to mix up established  partnerships.

 

Cuthbertson & Hirano are great in many dramatic ballets, while Hirano and Lamb are wonderful in many abstract works (eg Within the Golden Hour, Diamonds). Hamilton and Hirano have also been exciting in many MacMillan ballets. 

 

The partnership of Naghdi & Hay in The Two Pigeons was thrown together at short notice  (she danced it with two new different partners after Bracewell sustained an injury) but it turned out to be one of the best performances of T2P I have ever seen- they both brought out the beautiful Ashtonian qualities of the choreography as well as moving you to tears with their portrayal. I think they are well matched in heights, technique, and dance styles, and would love to see a lot more of them together. 

 

I thought O’Sullivan and Sambe were a brilliant partnership in Coppelia, and they have also been a success in other works like Romeo and Juliet, and would like to see them together in Rhapsody, La Fille mal Gardee, and perhaps on the next run, Cinderella. O’Sullivan, like Lamb and Naghdi, seems to have a great rapport with all her partners and is always such a joyful presence in the classics, as well as the Ashton, MacMillan and Wheeldon repertoire.

 

Possibly a little late now given her announced forthcoming retirement, but Morera and Muntagirov were wonderful together in La Fille mal Gardee, and reminded me a little of Klimentova and Muntagirov, in that like Daria, you don’t see Laura playing the character, you see just the character, eg with Daria you don’t see a 40 year old star ballerina playing Juliet, you totally see just Juliet. Laura was the same with Vadim in Fille-she WAS Lise. For a while I thought they would go on to do more Ashton works together, but we didn’t get a great amount of Ashton repertoire programmed anyway.....but it was lovely to see them reunited in A Month in the Country last spring. In the same way she and Alexander Campbell were a magical pair as Swanilda and Franz in Coppelia, and you could see they were like a real life couple (bickering over Franz’s flirting in Act One, then making up), hilarious in Act 2,  and spectacular in the Act 3 grand pas de deux.   I’m somewhat lamenting that, brilliant as Ball is (but he already danced the Prince with Naghdi’s Cinderella successfully), that it won’t be Campbell and Morera getting a chance to revive that brilliant partnership from Coppelia in early 2020, when Morera’s Cinderella is unveiled this week and next. 

 

Just to throw a bit more unexpected mixing in the works.....those of you who were at the Diamond Celebration last November might remember Takada and Richardson as Manon and Des Grieux in the Manon bedroom pas de deux. Many of us have seen lots of performances of Manon but oh my....there was definitely a spark, a little thunderbolt between this new pairing! Would be lovely to see how they get on in a full length ballet...I think there’s definitely something special that these two bring together as a partnership. 

 

I do realise this does nothing to “pair off” the last 6 principals RichardLH mentioned, but I think ballet partnerships are quite fluid and don’t always fit the “Fonteyn and Nureyev in everything “, “Sibley and Dowell together for everything” model. (Not to mention Nureyev did dance memorably and successfully with other ballerinas during his years performing with Fonteyn, and Sibley and Dowell did also dance with other partners successfully alongside their famous  partnership).  Ballet partnerships also have to adapt when one partner is injured and the other has to work with someone different.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Emeralds

[Scheherezade]

Yes to mixing things up. And yes to more Richardson too.