Royal Ballet Preferred Principal Partnerships

[Guest oncnp]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

While potentially reducing opportunities for the dancers in the companies (in the UK) taking RB dancers as guests...

The same discussion was had re: Hallberg guesting with the RB a few years ago so not just RB dancers "taking" other companies dancer's  opportunities. 

 

And looked at from a slightly different angle, isn't it a vote of confidence for the company as whole when the AD brings in a well known dancer to guest, in effect saying he knows the company will more than match up.? It's always good (for both parties) to see how someone else does it. Everybody learns.  And if it puts some bums on seats that might not have been there otherwise, all the better. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by oncnp

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, oncnp said:

The same discussion was had re: Hallberg guesting with the RB a few years ago so not just RB dancers "taking" other companies dancer's  opportunities. 

 

And looked at from a slightly different angle, isn't it a vote of confidence for the company as whole when the AD brings in a well known dancer to guest, in effect saying he knows the company will more than match up.? It's always good (for both parties) to see how someone else does it. Everybody learns.  And if it puts some bums on seats that might not have been there otherwise, all the better. 

 

Assuming that the AD of the company handles it like that and doesn't get the marketing team to tout it otherwise.

[Dawnstar]

I've thought of another partnership I'd like to see more of: Hayward & Ball. I've only seen them do Onegin together & I thought they were excellent in that. Their pdd in the first scene was one of those moments where you feel time has stopped. I know they're never going to be paired together frequently, as she's needed for shorter men & he's needed for taller women, but it would be nice to see them together on occasion.

[art_enthusiast]

49 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I've thought of another partnership I'd like to see more of: Hayward & Ball. I've only seen them do Onegin together & I thought they were excellent in that. Their pdd in the first scene was one of those moments where you feel time has stopped. I know they're never going to be paired together frequently, as she's needed for shorter men & he's needed for taller women, but it would be nice to see them together on occasion.

 

Indeed, they were also lovely together in Like Water for Chocolate, as brief as that PDD was.

[Blossom]

6 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

While potentially reducing opportunities for the dancers in the companies (in the UK) taking RB dancers as guests...

A bit late to this one, but given ticket sales across theatre are a bit of a problem post covid, this does provide an extra draw to get bums on seats and perhaps drive frequency among e.g. BRB/NB supporters who might see their local favourites and the guest principals. 

It has also given gorgeous dancers like Isabella Gasparini the opportunity to take on principal roles in their home countries who can celebrate their exported talent as well as drive some international PR for the Royal Ballet. 

[alison]

7 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

While potentially reducing opportunities for the dancers in the companies (in the UK) taking RB dancers as guests...

 

But didn't we discuss this in relation to BRB's Don Quixote, where it was indicated that the schedule was so tight - and there were so many performances - that dancers were somewhat relieved to be able to share the load?

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

Indeed, they were also lovely together in Like Water for Chocolate, as brief as that PDD was.

 

Oops, I completely forgot about that one, I suppose because her main partner in the ballet was Sambe, plus I only saw it at the cinema, having had covid when I was supposed to see it live.

[Dawnstar]

7 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Of course the reverse also happens when guests from elsewhere dance at the ROH, but this seems pretty rare.  I am personally wary of booking for such guestings  as for me it didn't work well when Bolle and Tissi danced with Nunez in Manon and R&J respectively.

 

I can't say either of those guests worked that well for me either but when Andrijashenko partnered Hamilton in the same R&J run I thought they were amazing together. I was also extremely impressed by the most recent guest appearance I saw, Iana Salenko in ENB's Swan Lake. So I suppose it's a bit of a toss-up as to whether guest partnerships work out or not.

[Lizbie1]

He seems unlikely to guest at ROH any time soon but: Shklyarov!

[CCL]

9 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

 I was also extremely impressed by the most recent guest appearance I saw, Iana Salenko in ENB's Swan Lake. 

Yes, me too, Dawnstar! She was wonderful with Frola! 

[DanJL]

32 minutes ago, alison said:

 

But didn't we discuss this in relation to BRB's Don Quixote, where it was indicated that the schedule was so tight - and there were so many performances - that dancers were somewhat relieved to be able to share the load?

I think one of the issues with the BRB Don Quixote was that guest casting was announced after tickets went on sale - problematic for fans of the BRB dancers who might have bought early tickets. Personally I enjoy the possibility of seeing a guest dancer but it is important to announce it well in advance and give audiences the choice. 

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, DanJL said:

I think one of the issues with the BRB Don Quixote was that guest casting was announced after tickets went on sale - problematic for fans of the BRB dancers who might have bought early tickets. Personally I enjoy the possibility of seeing a guest dancer but it is important to announce it well in advance and give audiences the choice. 

Fair point. 

 

But if I remember correctly (always a big if with me) Nunez et al didn't replace anyone. The casting was TBA.

Edited April 25, 2023 by oncnp

[Sharon]

23 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

https://balletassociation.co.uk/pages/reports-2020-jonathan-cope

Thank you Jan for sharing this!

I hadn't seen/read this before. Such a wonderful informative article. It was lovely to hear his thoughts on partners, ballets, teachers....can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a ballet article so much.

I'm glad he is enjoying life in Portugal and I hope RB will benefit from his immense knowledge and artistry again one day.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, DanJL said:

I think one of the issues with the BRB Don Quixote was that guest casting was announced after tickets went on sale - problematic for fans of the BRB dancers who might have bought early tickets. Personally I enjoy the possibility of seeing a guest dancer but it is important to announce it well in advance and give audiences the choice. 

 

I believe that patrons who had booked for other performances in Plymouth were given the opportunity to change their tickets to see the guest artist there.

 

I thought the way the BRB guest artists were advertised was a bit crass whereas when NB had Ryoichi Hirano guesting in Gatsby the marketing was much less offensive.

 

[Balletfanp]

28 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I believe that patrons who had booked for other performances in Plymouth were given the opportunity to change their tickets to see the guest artist there.

 

I thought the way the BRB guest artists were advertised was a bit crass whereas when NB had Ryoichi Hirano guesting in Gatsby the marketing was much less offensive.

 

I must say I saw no evidence of that in Plymouth - it certainly wasn’t advertised. But I suppose if people asked if they could swap to another performance, there would be no reason to refuse that. And that would be their choice.

 

I didn’t see anything in the advertising that was offensive, personally.

[Jan McNulty]

10 hours ago, Balletfanp said:

I must say I saw no evidence of that in Plymouth - it certainly wasn’t advertised. But I suppose if people asked if they could swap to another performance, there would be no reason to refuse that. And that would be their choice.

 

I didn’t see anything in the advertising that was offensive, personally.

 

I know people who got emails...

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I know people who got emails...

Which were offensive? In what way?

[Jan McNulty]

3 minutes ago, oncnp said:

Which were offensive? In what way?

 

The emails weren't offensive - they were offering existing ticket holders the opportunity to swap their tickets to either of the performances featuring the guest.

 

I find that an offensive concept, offensiveness being in the eye of the beholder.  As I said earlier:

 

10 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

I thought the way the BRB guest artists were advertised was a bit crass whereas when NB had Ryoichi Hirano guesting in Gatsby the marketing was much less offensive.

 

 

[Balletfanp]

Were the emails from the theatre or from BRB?

[Jan McNulty]

5 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

Were the emails from the theatre or from BRB?

 

They were from the theatre which would, of course, be in charge of the ticketing system.

 

 

[Guest oncnp]

54 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

The emails weren't offensive - they were offering existing ticket holders the opportunity to swap their tickets to either of the performances featuring the guest.

 

I find that an offensive concept, offensiveness being in the eye of the beholder.  As I said earlier:

 

 

I don't see informing  ticket holders of a new option as offensive but as you say  to each.....

[Odyssey]

Yes, Janet is correct, I received an email from the theatre as an Early Bird booker which gave me the option to rebook for Vadim in Swan Lake. I didn’t perceive it as offensive and I chose not to take up the offer, but I did appreciate the opportunity.  

Edited April 26, 2023 by Odyssey
Clarification

[art_enthusiast]

On 21/04/2023 at 17:34, Sue J said:

I would love to see more of Sambe and Lamb together.  I saw them do Giselle in the last run, and l thought they both brought so much psychological insight to the roles.  It was very moving. I would love to see them do Manon. Muntagirov/Nunez are my favourite partnership, but l agree it would be good to see more of them dancing with other people. I would go for Muntagirov/Lamb and Bracewell/Nunez.

I agree with these (I also loved Sambé/Lamb together in Sleeping Beauty in February, when she stood in for Takada. Would be very interested in a Manon featuring them).

I would also be interested in seeing more of Sambé/Osipova or Corrales/Osipova (Don Quixote?), Ball/Magri (who were brilliant in Sleeping Beauty together when he stood in for Corrales), Clarke/Hamilton, Muntagirov/Kaneko.
Delving into first soloists and soloists, would like to see more of Sissens/Gasparini, Acri/Sasaki or Sissens/Sasaki - hopefully in some principal roles next season!

[Mora]

I know that is politically incorrect what I'm going to say, but from my personal point of view, Nunez looks a little mature for Bracewell (specially in some narrative ballets like Manon or Romeo and Juliet).

[Jan McNulty]

Hello @Mora and welcome to the Forum!

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, Mora said:

Nunez looks a little mature for Bracewell (specially in some narrative ballets like Manon or Romeo and Juliet).

 

He's actually 32!  Nunez is 41.

 

Muntigirov is 33.

 

It's not quite Fonteyn & Nureyev really.

[Suffolkgal]

He’s very boyish is Bracewell which I love! Looks much younger than he is ..

[Mora]

1 hour ago, Ondine said:

It's not quite Fonteyn & Nureyev really.

Not at all. 

I'm referring to her appearance on stage and body language.

It's not neccesary a matter of age.

[Richard LH]

For the most part, the casting just announced for Don Quixote and The Nutcracker in 23/24 seems to follow the "preferred" option referred to at the start of this thread.

[emmarose]

On 30/05/2023 at 16:39, Mora said:

I know that is politically incorrect what I'm going to say, but from my personal point of view, Nunez looks a little mature for Bracewell (specially in some narrative ballets like Manon or Romeo and Juliet).

 

It's funny, because sometimes I actually think Bracewell has a very mature look about him, sometimes seeming to look a little older than Vadim, who can look very boyish at times. 

 

I thought they danced and matched very well in brief glimpses we've seen.

[Linnzi5]

1 hour ago, emmarose said:

 

It's funny, because sometimes I actually think Bracewell has a very mature look about him, sometimes seeming to look a little older than Vadim, who can look very boyish at times. 

 

I thought they danced and matched very well in brief glimpses we've seen.

I would say that they both look more mature or boyish at times  - depending on the roles they are playing. So costumes, hair styles and make up do have an impact. I have never looked at Nunez and Muntagirov and thought he is too young to dance with Nunez or thought the same for Nunez/Bracewell, though I do think Bracewell looks very boyish sometimes - sort of boy next door. However, in the Hamlet and Ophelia prelude, I thought he looked more mature. I don't think it matters how old or young dancers are compared to each other - it's what their chemistry is like when dancing. In the Grand Pas Classique, I did think Bracewell looked younger than Nunez, but it did not matter one bit to me. I thought they were lovely together and for me, age really isn't an issue. 

[Tango Dancer]

5 hours ago, emmarose said:

 

It's funny, because sometimes I actually think Bracewell has a very mature look about him, sometimes seeming to look a little older than Vadim, who can look very boyish at times. 

 

I thought they danced and matched very well in brief glimpses we've seen.

 

I think it definitely depends on the role.  Vadim looks really young for his age when he's not on stage and not wearing make up.  I've done classes with him at Danceworks online and he looks about 20 in leggings and a t-shirt.  Marianela looks a bit more mature but whenever she dances in Sleeping Beauty or Romeo she still looks 16 to me because she is so convincing in inhabiting a teenage girl's character.  I think she's great with everyone she's danced with.  

[Borzoi]

Late to the party here, and this is a long shot, but I would bet that Viola Pantuso would make an incredible Stephanie. She must be insanely strong, yet gives the appearance of fragility and innocence.  Her Rudolph could probably lift her with one hand. Maybe in the next run of Mayerling. I have thought for a good while that she is one to be watched. So good to see that she is getting some recognition.