BRB triple bill: Apollo / Interlinked / "Still Life" at the Penguin Cafe, June 2023

[Sim]

I agree with all of the plaudits above.  Although it was a bittersweet evening as Brandon's delightful performances in all three ballets reminded us of what we will be missing, it was lovely to feel so happy and uplifted at the end of a triple bill. 

 

Brandon was born to dance Apollo...his gorgeous physique and his stage presence made it hard to imagine anyone more god-like.  When he was ascending up to Mount Parnassus I wanted to yell 'noooo....don't go' !  The three Muses were all lovely, and I agree with FionaE that Celine was particularly joyous.  

 

I loved everything about Interlinked; the music, the androgynous costumes, the varied choreography for the whole group and for smaller configurations and pdd, and again just pure prettiness and joy.  

 

The icing on this glorious ballet cake was seeing Still Life At The Penguin Café once again.  I loved it when it first opened back in the 80s, and I love it still.  Although it's sending us a warning, it does so without hectoring or lecturing, and it does so with humour.  All the dancers were superb, with a special shout out to Tzu-Chao Chu as the Texas Kangaroo Rat.  And then, of course, there was Brandon....giving his final farewell as the Southern Cape Zebra.  He danced with aplomb and with feeling, and carried off that costume beautifully, with his long legs and gorgeous stature.   At the curtain, he was given huge applause and a standing ovation, and bouquets, and a flower throw.  He deserves all of the adulation; not only has he been a fantastic dancer, he has also been a wonderful ambassador for the company and an inspiration to so many boys and girls out there who wouldn't have thought ballet was for them, or if they did, how to go about it.  Brandon has helped them, both through teaching and outreach work.  I wish him nothing but the best of success at Zurich Ballett....our loss is their gain.  Bravo Brandon, and thanks for everything.  Here's to Zurich!

 

A fabulous evening...the audience was delighted and delightful,  loved every minute of every ballet and left with big happy smiles on their faces.  Now THAT is how a season should end.  

 

 

[Sim]

Curtain call videos for each of the three ballets, and a couple of photos of me with Brandon at the 'after party'.  Thanks for these, Mandy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[San Perregrino]

8 minutes ago, Sim said:

Curtain call videos for each of the three ballets, and a couple of photos of me with Brandon at the 'after party'.  Thanks for these, Mandy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely memory to post.
Just wondering how you have been able to post videos and photos to the forum? Would love to be able to do this but even a simple photo from my phone gets a file size too big message these days.

Any technical help most welcome. Thanks 

[Sim]

1 minute ago, PeterS said:

A lovely memory to post.
Just wondering how you have been able to post videos and photos to the forum? Would love to be able to do this but even a simple photo from my phone gets a file size too big message these days.

Any technical help most welcome. Thanks 

Have PM'd you, Peter. 

[serenade]

I saw the Saturday evening performance- luckily me and a friend decided to make a weekend of it and got an early train out of London and booked a hotel for the night so weren't affected by the transport issues but sorry for everyone who was

 

It was my first time visiting Birmingham and mainly went for Still Life as it's a real favourite but have only ever managed to see it twice over the years.  However, I was also excited to see Apollo as I've never seen it before.  Celine, Lucy Waine and Amelia Thompson were the 3 main women alongside Brandon- they were all great so no criticism of them but it just left me cold.  Sometimes things grow on me though and it has all the ingredients for a ballet that I might love one day so happy to see it again if I get another opportunity. 

 

Still Life  really didn't disappoint, it was just as quirky and beautiful as I remembered it to be.  Brandon was a fantastic zebra- it's a great role to go out on!  As others have said, Tzu-Chao Chou was brilliant as the kangaroo rat and I also especially liked Karla Doorbar as the flea.  My favourite segment in the past has been the zebra but this time I think it was the couple with the child- Lennert Steegen and Celine Gittens played the couple, they were particularly effective I thought.  I just love this ballet and overall thought this was a great performance of it.

[Candleque]

Wishing I could have been there. Thanks for the curtain call videos @Sim and the lovely photos. Fun to see Brandon wearing a zebra tee shirt 🦓

[Ondine]

17 minutes ago, serenade said:

only ever managed to see it twice over the years

 

 

I know not the same, not BRB, but it is currently on YT, filmed for Thames TV in 1988. Royal Ballet. Obviously not great quality, not HD, but anyone who has never seen it, it's worth watching.

 

Cast includes Debbie Bull, Jonny Cope and Bruce Samson.

[capybara]

6 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Cast includes Debbie Bull, Jonny Cope and Bruce Samson.

Some of the dancers Still Life was made on.

[serenade]

50 minutes ago, Ondine said:

 

 

I know not the same, not BRB, but it is currently on YT, filmed for Thames TV in 1988. Royal Ballet. Obviously not great quality, not HD, but anyone who has never seen it, it's worth watching.

 

Cast includes Debbie Bull, Jonny Cope and Bruce Samson.

Thanks for the reminder, I watched it on YouTube a few years ago but forgot it was on there. 
 

I was wondering if anyone has a copy of the Still Life DVD? I’m wondering how good the picture quality of the dvd is. 

[Emeralds]

Lovely photos and videos, Sim! Thank you.

 

Would anyone mind posting a picture of the cast list? Was wondering who danced some of the other roles, which aren’t listed on the website or mentioned here.

 

Still Life at the Penguin Cafe is such a wonderful, wonderful ballet - I love how the humour is witty but doesn’t poke fun at people or become slapstick which it’s tempting for choreographers to do. And the shooting/hunting of the zebra shocks me and brings tears every time, even though I know it’s coming. David Bintley is a genius. What a lovely show for Brandon to leave on with lots of warm support and affection, and a great programme for BRB to wrap up another successful and brilliant season. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Emeralds

[Ondine]

3 hours ago, Ondine said:

 

 

I know not the same, not BRB, but it is currently on YT, filmed for Thames TV in 1988. Royal Ballet. Obviously not great quality, not HD, but anyone who has never seen it, it's worth watching.

 

Cast includes Debbie Bull, Jonny Cope and Bruce Samson.

 

And yes I know it's Bruce Sansom. Sorry. Wonderful dancer. And weaver of baskets.

 

https://www.thewillowman.co.uk/about-1

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Ondine

[alison]

And I don't think anyone has ever outdone Adam Cooper as the partner for the Utah Longhorn Ram.

 

6 hours ago, Sim said:

Brandon was born to dance Apollo

 

I didn't post that on Thursday night because I didn't want to influence anyone else, but that was exactly what I thought - plus disappointment at the fact that he would only get two goes at it.

[alison]

Question to anyone who was at the matinee: I take it that was Karla Doorbar dancing the Flea?  The cast sheet said Miki Mizutani.

[Guest oncnp]

A nice tribute on Twitter  

 

[Ondine]

And this! 😊 Dusty is one discerning dog!

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Ondine

[northstar]

Thanks for ballet forum members for posting their thoughts and feelings about this triple bill, been really enjoying reading them all. I also attended this run, Sat matinee. Apollo lead by Mathais Dingman. 

 

Just wanted to express a growing curiosity and entrancement with the memory of the effect Apollo made on me. Not normally the sort of thing I would go for, and I'll admit I wasn't utterly entranced during, but afterwards found myself on YouTube looking at other performances. Now I've got the music in my head as an ear worm (in a good way), and the memory of those scenes and images of the dancers are recurring as a strange sort of fascination. I've only seen one Balanchine ballet before, live (Jewels). Now I wish I could go and see Apollo again, but looks like opportunities will be few (Royal Ballet did it in 2021, but before that, 2013?). Dingman's presence and excellence was something that struck me in the moment, and afterwards. 

 

I thought Interlinked was very and surprisingly beautiful, and a great element/choice for a triple bill. And now, sacrilege, I felt I couldn't connect with Still Life at the Pengiun Cafe hardly at all, god knows why. Given I've never seen it before I'm more than willing to accept it might just be me and my mood in the moment, no reflection on the quality of the dancers and musicians I hasten to add. I'd go to see it again, surely. 

 

Also mention from where I was sitting the Hippodrome looked 80-90% full (maybe ever more than this). No offence to BRB but I sort of expected it to be half-empty. 

 

Just grateful once more to have the opportunity to see this sort of quality and level of art outside London.  

[Sim]

5 hours ago, alison said:

Question to anyone who was at the matinee: I take it that was Karla Doorbar dancing the Flea?  The cast sheet said Miki Mizutani.

She definitely danced it on Saturday night.  Very beautifully, too!

[Tony Newcombe]

5 hours ago, alison said:

Question to anyone who was at the matinee: I take it that was Karla Doorbar dancing the Flea?  The cast sheet said Miki Mizutani.

It was Karla. I was looking forward to seeing Miki in this. A decade ago Miki, together with Karla and Laura Day shared this role. They were all quite new to the Company at the time and Miki really caught the eye and it is no surprise that she is now a Principle Dancer with the Company 

[Jane S]

Footnote, nothing to do with this actual performance but startling to me: I just read that today is the 95th anniversary of Apollo - so it's closer in time to Giselle than it is to Untitled and if it no longer looks  'modern' it's not surprising!

[SheilaC]

I'm afraid I don't agree that Apollo is old fashioned. The choreography, particularly for Terpsichore, looks much more contemporary, to me, than the choreography by Nunes and Bintley for the other two ballets, enjoyable though the dances for both those ballets are. And the quality of the music by Stravinsky is on a different level than that by Luke Howard and Simon Jeffes, although they are easy on the ear, even produce earwigs.

 

Of the two casts, while Mathias Dingman gave a solid performance, Brandon Lawrence really seemed to understand what the role of Apollo is about, not just dancing superbly but charting the progress from unsure, even vulnerable, young Apollo to maturing into a god recognising his responsibilities. Celine Gittens, his Terpsichore, captured the Balanchine style better than any of the other female dancers, although in the second cast Yaoqian Shang and Miki Mizutani were close and the first cast, Lucy Waine and Amelia Thompson, were better in their second performance. But all the women smiled too much and their smiles seemed to be too focused on the audience- it is Apollo they are dancing for.

 

The choreography, mounted by the redoubtable Patricia Neary, differed in quite a few respects from the production that the company danced for several years, mounted by Desmond Kelly, himself a great Apollo, no doubt the reason why Kelly was one of only two people allowed by Balanchine, and later the Trust, to stage Balanchine ballets. It is well known that Balanchine often adapted his ballets for different dancers and companies so Kelly and Neary must have learned different versions. The most famous difference, of course, is whether the ballet starts with the depiction of Apollo's birth and ends with him mounting the staircase, the original version, which BRB adopted. 

 

As others have said the programme was well balanced and while Apollo is quite spare, Interlinked had lots of dance to very catchy music, very enjoyable although with emotional undertones, and Still Life at the Penguin Cafe is varied, amusing, colourful with lively music, but ultimately with a serious message.

 

I was disappointed that the company didn't do even more to celebrate Brandon at the end of his final performance for the company, although Caroline Miller did come on stage to present him with a bouquet and hug and there was a small flower throw. I knew Carlos Acosta was unlikely to come on stage, given he had Covid, but David Bintley or someone else could have made the gesture.

[alison]

Can I just say that there's a gorgeous photo of Brandon Lawrence as Apollo on the front of the current edition of Dance Europe?

[Ondine]

16 hours ago, alison said:

current edition of Dance Europe?

Oooh yes!

 

https://danceeurope.net/