Royal Ballet Preferred Principal Partnerships

[Fonty]

11 minutes ago, Sim said:

I think there is a difference between a 'star' and a true artist.  You can, of course, be both....but often you are not.

 

Absolutely, and that is the point I was making.  On the other hand, personally I think Guillem was both.  I didn't always like the way she did things, but she was utterly compelling to watch.  

 

 

[Tango Dancer]

26 minutes ago, Sim said:

I think there is a difference between a 'star' and a true artist.  You can, of course, be both....but often you are not.

 

Yes, Darcey was definitely a star in that she was famous and well known and extremely high profile.  But I've never felt moved by watching her and she doesn't engage me emotionally.  I mean if we're going by public profile / level of recognition then Misty Copeland is probably a famous ballet star because she's got incredible recognition.  It doesn't mean that there's a level of artistry in what she does. 

 

Having just done a class with him I'd say Vadim is an artist because even when he's demonstrating a basic plie sequence, he's so engaged in what he does and lives every step and each correction he gives shows he thinks about how the step feels internally.  I'd say Gary Avis is a true artist because he imbues each gesture with so much meaning and his eyes convey so much feeling even when he's standing still.  Tiler Peck is an artist because she dances with her heart as well as her body and thinks about each step as well as being technically brilliant.  To me a true artist is someone who engages you on an emotional level not just with what they do but with how they do it.  

 

Well that's my opinion.  

Edited April 23, 2023 by Tango Dancer

[Sim]

17 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Absolutely, and that is the point I was making.  On the other hand, personally I think Guillem was both.  I didn't always like the way she did things, but she was utterly compelling to watch.  

 

 

Exactly how I feel about Miss Osipova!  

[Emeralds]

47 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

She was most certainly a star and probably the most famous British ballerina since Fonteyn.  People who don’t know anything about ballet know who she is and she is still a household name, despite retiring around 20 years ago.  She may not be a favourite dancer, but she is one of the biggest ballet stars Britain has produced.

It’s because the Blue Peter cameras were around the year she entered the Prix de Lausanne and won a prize. There have been other RBS dancers who won at Prix de Lausanne, but unfortunately that wasn’t the year Blue Peter turned up. Darcey also capitalised on the fact that her height was somewhere between just about tall enough for RB before becoming too tall, and being tall enough for modelling work, and she (and her mother, I’m told) were savvy enough to sign her up with an agent concurrently while dancing.

 

She was also confident enough to chat to the cameras and interviewers, whereas the previous generation of stars, eg Collier, Dowell, Chadwick (not quite previous in the case of Chadwick but an earlier cohort) if interviewed were always self effacing.

 

She still had an agent after retiring from RB, with variety shows at the Albert Hall with Katherine Jenkins, putting her name on books (she was honest and pointed out that they were ghost written), and later, a judge on Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve even heard many Strictly viewers saying they had no idea she had been a successful dancer before Strictly! Her stardom also coincided with the wish by the press and media to find a “replacement Fonteyn”- someone who could take on the “English Rose” image.

 

Durante was a very complete dancer and actor, also phenomenally talented, and spoke English beautifully, but unfortunately in those days, the press looked at her name and the fact that she was born in Rome and thought “well, we can’t make her an English rose or Fonteyn’s successor “ (even though Fonteyn was part Brazilian and spent part of her childhood in China!) so it fell to Darcey.

 

Darcey was also generally sweet, good natured and pleasant, and the press used to love comparing and contrasting her to Guillem, who was also physically similar in terms of height and flexibility, but more blunt and more choosy, and they loved to write that Britain had a ballerina like Guillem, only much sweeter and friendlier to everyone! Darcey has done a lot to popularise dance and ballet, and she was certainly charismatic on stage. But in terms of dancing and artistry, I think there are others who would be my first choice in certain roles and repertoire instead, although she was my first choice for some ballets.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Emeralds

[bridiem]

I think it's only fair to mention here that Kenneth MacMillan clearly saw star quality in Darcey Bussell. And although I didn't find her convincing in roles requiring dramatic skills, she had a physique that was both beautiful and powerful and also a great purity and sincerity of manner. I never booked for her very often, but I greatly regretted that when I saw her farewell performance in Song of the Earth. It was searingly powerful and superbly danced and absolutely thrilling. She moved through it as if possessed by the music and the choreography. I realised then what I had perhaps been missing, or (perhaps) that she had come into her own at the end of her career. It was the performance of a star.

[Jan McNulty]

18 minutes ago, bridiem said:

I think it's only fair to mention here that Kenneth MacMillan clearly saw star quality in Darcey Bussell. And although I didn't find her convincing in roles requiring dramatic skills, she had a physique that was both beautiful and powerful and also a great purity and sincerity of manner. I never booked for her very often, but I greatly regretted that when I saw her farewell performance in Song of the Earth. It was searingly powerful and superbly danced and absolutely thrilling. She moved through it as if possessed by the music and the choreography. I realised then what I had perhaps been missing, or (perhaps) that she had come into her own at the end of her career. It was the performance of a star.

I only saw her final performance on the live broadcast and goodness me it was so powerful and poignant that I was reduced to mush.

 

I remember a dancer whose Juliet (even though she was one of my favourites) left me cold and I chose not to watch her performing Juliet.  About 15 years later I was gifted a ticket and it was the Juliet I didn’t want to see.  Needless to say I hadn’t made any allowance for the fact that she had grown into the role in the intervening years.  Again it was a most wonderful performance that reduced me to mush.  I did still see her in other roles and had always thought she was wonderful.

[Mary]

58 minutes ago, bridiem said:

her farewell performance in Song of the Earth. It was searingly powerful and superbly danced and absolutely thrilling. She moved through it as if possessed by the music and the choreography.

Yes I agree, it was very moving indeed: unforgettable.

There were hidden depths there.

 

[Richard LH]

On 21/04/2023 at 19:13, capybara said:

I know the question would then arise as to how best to ‘occupy’ some Principals but maybe @Richard LH could put his Kevin hat on again and kick us off with some ideas 😉 ?

Sorry @capybara I have been racking my brains, with and without my Kevin  hat on, but an obvious  solution to the problem of occupying “spare” Principals during major runs, under your scenario, hasn’t yet materialised for me. I recall there has already been discussion elsewhere about how  the (particularly  high?) current number of Principals at the RB means they are putting in tremendous efforts at achieving and maintaining  “performance ready” status for only a few shows each. Standing them down after a certain number of years  in favour of First Soloists would surely tend to exacerbate  this situation and may appear to undermine their Principal status. Kevin must want to avoid discontent and the possible exodus of anyone feeling underappreciated.  

I don’t know whether there could be any scope for adding in even more performances of  the main ballet runs? But there is also the sales success to consider…would inclusion of many shows with First Soloist leads be less attractive to audiences ? Given the high  prices,  many ticket holders presumably book with  expectations of seeing those artists considered “the best” even if they are not  personally knowledgeable about  the various dancers. And I don’t think having lower prices for certain casts would look very good…

[zxDaveM]

13 hours ago, bridiem said:

I think it's only fair to mention here that Kenneth MacMillan clearly saw star quality in Darcey Bussell. And although I didn't find her convincing in roles requiring dramatic skills, she had a physique that was both beautiful and powerful and also a great purity and sincerity of manner. I never booked for her very often, but I greatly regretted that when I saw her farewell performance in Song of the Earth. It was searingly powerful and superbly danced and absolutely thrilling. She moved through it as if possessed by the music and the choreography. I realised then what I had perhaps been missing, or (perhaps) that she had come into her own at the end of her career. It was the performance of a star.

 

Yes, that final performance was one of those 'I was there' moments. Darcey was the 'go to' ballet dancer for those who didn't know much about, or follow in any way, what happened in the ballet world.

Oh - and 'I was there'... 🙂

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zxdavem/albums/72157600330555131

[capybara]

18 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Sorry @capybara I have been racking my brains, with and without my Kevin  hat on, but an obvious  solution to the problem of occupying “spare” Principals during major runs, under your scenario, hasn’t yet materialised for me. I recall there has already been discussion elsewhere about how  the (particularly  high?) current number of Principals at the RB means they are putting in tremendous efforts at achieving and maintaining  “performance ready” status for only a few shows each. Standing them down after a certain number of years  in favour of First Soloists would surely tend to exacerbate  this situation and may appear to undermine their Principal status. Kevin must want to avoid discontent and the possible exodus of anyone feeling underappreciated.  

I don’t know whether there could be any scope for adding in even more performances of  the main ballet runs? But there is also the sales success to consider…would inclusion of many shows with First Soloist leads be less attractive to audiences ? Given the high  prices,  many ticket holders presumably book with  expectations of seeing those artists considered “the best” even if they are not  personally knowledgeable about  the various dancers. And I don’t think having lower prices for certain casts would look very good…

I was thinking of ‘standing down’ some Principals from roles they had essayed dozens of times in order to give ‘newer’ Principals the opportunity to dance more than two shows in a run.

Cinderella has enabled there to be more performances from most casts and that has obviously been to their (and our) benefit.

[Ondine]

"Oh - and 'I was there'... "

 

Wonderful photos!  I wonder how Darcey got her flowers home? Not on the tube presumably! 😐

[Guest oncnp]

52 minutes ago, capybara said:

I was thinking of ‘standing down’ some Principals from roles they had essayed dozens of times in order to give ‘newer’ Principals the opportunity to dance more than two shows in a run.

 

As the Principals I book for are in the "older" category, this would save me a lot of money. 

[Suffolkgal]

We need a fabulous house only for ballet and dance would be my observation! Recent generations have not equalled preceding ones in ambitious and creative building of theatres .. 

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

As the Principals I book for are in the "older" category, this would save me a lot of money. 

True, but then you would be missing your favourite dancers!

[Fonty]

I believe Darcey's final performance coincided with that of Belinda Hatley? 

 

I never saw much of the fly on the wall documentary The House, but I believe Darcey featured a lot in that, didn't she?  I think she was fortunate in several ways.  She was very talented, of course, but she was also extremely photogenic, and either she or her parents were very media savvy.  Nothing wrong with that, of course, but she had a lot to be media savvy with!  Although I didn't specifically book to see her, I did see her dance many times.  I always thought she was wonderful in certain pure dance roles, where she could just dance without having to display a character of any description.  Also, I never felt she really engaged with any of her partners.  For some reason, I always felt I was seeing the Darcey Show.  

 

 

[Sim]

2 minutes ago, Fonty said:

I believe Darcey's final performance coincided with that of Belinda Hatley? 

 

I never saw much of the fly on the wall documentary The House, but I believe Darcey featured a lot in that, didn't she?  I think she was fortunate in several ways.  She was very talented, of course, but she was also extremely photogenic, and either she or her parents were very media savvy.  Nothing wrong with that, of course, but she had a lot to be media savvy with!  Although I didn't specifically book to see her, I did see her dance many times.  I always thought she was wonderful in certain pure dance roles, where she could just dance without having to display a character of any description.  Also, I never felt she really engaged with any of her partners.  For some reason, I always felt I was seeing the Darcey Show.  

 

 

Yes, Belinda's farewell was the same night, and she was totally overshadowed.  She should have had a different evening as her farewell.  I was there, and seeing her bow out affected me much more than seeing Darcey bow out.  I had actually gone that evening more for Belinda than for Darcey, although the latter's final performance was wonderful.  I never booked to see her so it was a very pleasant surprise.  

[Fonty]

32 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yes, Belinda's farewell was the same night, and she was totally overshadowed.  She should have had a different evening as her farewell.  I was there, and seeing her bow out affected me much more than seeing Darcey bow out.  I had actually gone that evening more for Belinda than for Darcey, although the latter's final performance was wonderful.  I never booked to see her so it was a very pleasant surprise.  

 

I agree, Belinda deserved to go on a different night and get the attention she deserved.  She suffered from frequent injuries didn't she?  Maybe that is why she was never promoted to principal?

 

@Richard LH With regard to your comments above about First Soloists possibly being less attractive to the public, Hatley wasn't a principal.  However, I saw her in several lead roles and specifically booked to see her when I could.  So it doesn't necessarily follow that ticket sales would be less.  

 

Song of the Earth is exactly the sort of ballet that suited Bussell perfectly.  Plus I imagine the fact that it was her last ever performance contributed to the overall emotion of the occasion.  

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Fonty

[alison]

I too was a frequent Hatley booker.  But I suspect the average "once-a-year balletgoer" might expect that a principal would automatically be "better" than someone lower down in the hierarchy.  I learned that that wasn't necessarily the case the first time I saw La Fille Mal Gardée with a First Soloist as Lise

[JohnS]

It seems very odd that the Darcey Bussell last performance programme has never been released as a DVD. I’m still hoping it’s not too late - June 2027 would make for a 20 years celebration. And I can’t recall if the BBC ever broadcast a repeat but I don’t think they did.

[alison]

I'm amazed, too, even if they only did it as Song of the Earth along with other Bussell performances (although why you'd leave out Symphonic Variations I don't know).  Given that there's no DVD of Song, I think it's a missed opportunity.  Ditto Requiem.

[Mary]

3 hours ago, Fonty said:

Also, I never felt she really engaged with any of her partners.  For some reason, I always felt I was seeing the Darcey Show. 

Darcey Bussell did have a fine partnership with Jonathan Cope (I miss him!) which I was fortunate to watch over some years: a very handsome pair they made and they had a great connection.

 

[Fonty]

42 minutes ago, Mary said:

Darcey Bussell did have a fine partnership with Jonathan Cope (I miss him!) which I was fortunate to watch over some years: a very handsome pair they made and they had a great connection.

 

 

Cope was also regularly paired with Guillem.  In fact, thinking about it, I don't think I saw her dance with anyone else.   He was clearly a wonderful partner, to be the preferred choice for both ballerinas.  Unless, of course, it was an issue of height?

[bridiem]

16 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Cope was also regularly paired with Guillem.  In fact, thinking about it, I don't think I saw her dance with anyone else.   He was clearly a wonderful partner, to be the preferred choice for both ballerinas.  Unless, of course, it was an issue of height?

 

I don't know if it was height, but as far as I was concerned the best pairing by far for Jonathan Cope was with Tamara Rojo. He scaled heights (no pun intended) with her that he never reached with either Bussell or Guillem. 

[Mary]

Yes, Cope and Rojo  were fantastic in Mayerling, probably my favourite performance of that work.

 

But he was always very good at making his partner look good, in everything.

[capybara]

I agree about Bussell in her Song of the Earth farewell - with Avis IIRC.

 

However, I never felt a connection from her towards her partners - I recall Cope, Solymosi, Zelensky. She always seemed to be looking past them (sometimes into the audience in story ballets) and Cope in particular was an amazing partner on all counts - as he showed to wondrous effect with Guillem and, especially, Rojo.

 

I think that Bussell came along at a time when the arts world needed a British ballerina - “the new Margot Fonteyn” IIRC - and she was able to ride that tide.

 

I wonder how we would ‘judge’ her performances today alongside the current English ballerinas (Cuthbertson; Naghdi; Hayward; O’Sullivan). I know who I’d be booking for 😉

[CCL]

23 hours ago, Sim said:

 I much preferred Belinda Hatley, who unfortunately was overshadowed by the 'star power' of Bussell.  

Belinda Hatley was a gorgeous Cinderella! I saw her in a number of roles but that’s the memory I treasure 

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, Fonty said:

@Richard LH With regard to your comments above about First Soloists possibly being less attractive to the public, Hatley wasn't a principal.  However, I saw her in several lead roles and specifically booked to see her when I could.  So it doesn't necessarily follow that ticket sales would be less. 

I am sure you are correct as far as ticket buyers that are as familiar with the particular dancers, and  the particular ballets, as yourself, but it's the expectations of the infrequent, less knowledgeable buyers I had in mind, who  have no particular favourites but (all others things being equal) would tend to go for Principals rather than First Soloists... as  @alison intimates.

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

Cope was also regularly paired with Guillem.  In fact, thinking about it, I don't think I saw her dance with anyone else.   He was clearly a wonderful partner, to be the preferred choice for both ballerinas.  Unless, of course, it was an issue of height?

With regards Bussell and Guillem, it was definitely height - when Cope decided to make his first retirement from ballet (along with his wife, Maria Almeida), Bussell and Guillem apparently begged him to reconsider. He did return later (Almeida didn’t), but in the interim, it was a constant search to “find a tall partner for Darcey”- Igor Zelensky, Zoltan Solymosi - while Guillem wanted Nicolas Le Riche as a guest principal to partner her (I and many others were happy with that!)

 

When Adam Cooper started making his way up the ranks, he started dancing with both, although I think sometime around then Cope returned. Cooper left when Stretton was director. Then  Guillem left, and after that Monica Mason managed to get Roberto Bolle (another popular choice) over as a guest for Darcey, and also Yanowsky, who also needed a tall partner. But Cope is a very popular partner with lots of ballerinas, and very easygoing and pleasant to get along with. He’s now a popular coach too! 

 

Speaking of Roberto Bolle and partnerships, I think we’re owed at least one guest invitation for Bolle- his May 2020 ROH gala appearance was cancelled due to the lockdowns and is one of the items that has yet to be rescheduled! 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

8 hours ago, Ondine said:

"Oh - and 'I was there'... "

 

Wonderful photos!  I wonder how Darcey got her flowers home? Not on the tube presumably! 😐

Darcey was driving a 4x4 after she was made principal, so I guess there was plenty of storage for the flowers! 😁 Or possibly her husband drove and her daughters helped her keep an eye on the bouquets. Or she could have left  some of them in the theatre and collected them the next day? 

[alison]

Didn't Adam Cooper leave while Anthony Dowell was still AD?

[capybara]

21 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I am sure you are correct as far as ticket buyers that are as familiar with the particular dancers, and  the particular ballets, as yourself, but it's the expectations of the infrequent, less knowledgeable buyers I had in mind, who  have no particular favourites but (all others things being equal) would tend to go for Principals rather than First Soloists... as  @alison intimates.

But, as explained earlier (sorry if I wasn’t clear), I wasn’t suggesting that Principals should stand aside for First Soloists.

[capybara]

21 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Speaking of Roberto Bolle and partnerships, I think we’re owed at least one guest invitation for Bolle- his May 2020 ROH gala appearance was cancelled due to the lockdowns and is one of the items that has yet to be rescheduled! 

 
Please spare us. Roberto is in amazingly good shape for a 49 year old but his contributions to his ‘Friends’ shows are now mainly as a supportive partner rather than as a dancer.

AND having him would mean even fewer opportunities for the RB’s male principals to be on stage.

 

PS Do we know that Cope is coaching somewhere again? He left the RB to everyone’s dismay some years back. (I’m just checking because quite a few statements get made on BCF which are misleading.)

[Lizbie1]

18 minutes ago, alison said:

Didn't Adam Cooper leave while Anthony Dowell was still AD?

 

Yes. It was Sarah Wildor who fled Stretton.