Jan McNulty Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 In respect of Wayne McGregor and only one cast, his own company is usually small and would presumably only have the one cast so that is perhaps the way he is used to working. I once asked the AD of a small company that had just presented a full company work what would happen if someone was injured and she said that they would have to rework the appropriate sections. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 40 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: In respect of Wayne McGregor and only one cast, his own company is usually small and would presumably only have the one cast so that is perhaps the way he is used to working. But he's been working extensively with the RB for many years now, and the requirements of a big company are different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 7 hours ago, MJW said: Curtain call of tonight's Untitled, 2023 https://www.instagram.com/p/CtSXjjkomHB/ I wasn't there last night, but unless it's someone retiring or whatever I really really don't like it when the performers clap themselves/each other. It looks very amateur and is just wrong. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 In the Links a few days ago there was a report that the costumes for CB had been changed and 'improved'. From the photos above they look just as awful as before. What a shame to make the dancers look so horrible. I will try (next Saturday evening) to see the choreography but not the costumes. Hmm, tricky methinks. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I think the underwear outfits are hideous, but worse than that, they are creepy. What has been done to the dancers' hair doesn't help either. How anyone can do this to these beautiful dancers is beyond me. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silke H Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Links to my curtain call pics Facebook Instagram 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Mary said: I think the underwear outfits are hideous, but worse than that, they are creepy. What has been done to the dancers' hair doesn't help either. How anyone can do this to these beautiful dancers is beyond me. Thank you, Mary- I totally agree. Not only are they unflattering and cut the dancers’ lines, but when I saw them in the premiere run, the sashes were flinging about wildly and looked like they might injure someone’s eye/eyes. When the dancers are standing still, they looked like they’ve been kidnapped, stripped of most of their clothing, and tied up. Fair enough if this was a piece about trafficking, kidnapping or torture victims, but it’s meant (according to Wheeldon’s quotes) to take its cue from the music, about ancient philosophers discussing love! 57 minutes ago, bridiem said: In the Links a few days ago there was a report that the costumes for CB had been changed and 'improved'. From the photos above they look just as awful as before. What a shame to make the dancers look so horrible. I will try (next Saturday evening) to see the choreography but not the costumes. Hmm, tricky methinks. I was trying to do that in 2019 (see the choreography without seeing the costumes) but it was virtually impossible, bridiem- especially when the black rope/sash things kept obstructing one’s view. Would have given the show a miss completely had it not been for Laura Morera’s farewell. I thought CG would be buried and forgotten among the other mistake premieres but here it is again. Am very tempted to write in and ask them to consider changing it to practice clothes, like those of Polyphonia, another Wheeldon work. The rehearsal pictures from the studio released in 2019 look better than the stage photocall photos (and indeed what I saw onstage)! Edited June 10, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LACAD Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I felt the bill was perhaps a little plain and dreary. The McGregor has a great cast and I did enjoy its intensity, though there’s nothing really unique about it (as much as I love its choreographic aesthetics). Corybantic games is touching with its romantic pas de deux section, but also a tad plain, and Anastasia also manages to be a tad dull despite the melodrama. That being said — ¡Viva Laura! She smashed it. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I think Untitled looks quite good actually (pure aesthetics based off the photos as I’ve not seen it yet) so actually looking forward to that. unsure about the other two works but trying to keep open minded until I actually see them. perhaps controversially I’m glad they didn’t do the full length Anastasia as I’m not sure I’d enjoy that all. At least with three different acts/ballets you have different flavours (even if you don’t love them all!). I do agree it would have been nice for a retirement performance to have been Morera in all three acts though, whether a full length piece or her in different works (say one Ashton, another more contemporary) - but that may have been too much as usually you do mix casting among one acts as they’re perhaps more gruelling (if you know the dancer doesn’t necessarily need to return to another act!)? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Just following on from my comments on a previous thread, I was very pleased to see Marco Masciari in such a prominent role in Untitled 2023. If nothing else, he has some flexibility ! Harris Bell (I'm a fan of his too) and Melissa Hamilton made an interesting partnering and William Bracewell and especially Calvin Richardson were excellent. I wouldn't rush to see it again but would be quite happy if was part of a future mixed bill. I have to say I preferred it to Corybantic Games which I found underwhelming in comparison. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePigeon Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I like the soothing green of the Untitled costumes and they look good against the red background of the stage set. The CG costumes look like Poundland have branched into bondage gear - absolutely hideous. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 2 hours ago, bridiem said: I will try (next Saturday evening) to see the choreography but not the costumes. Hmm, tricky methinks. I usually watch the pdds/solos through binocs (from the back of the stalls circle), so NOT using them and just watching the 'flow' helped. That and slightly dodgy eyesight, that is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 (edited) Well thank goodness the Untitled costumes are not the same as those of the music video they actually look quite nice and definitely preferable to the CG piece!! Did people find the music for Untitled bearable? Edited June 10, 2023 by LinMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 2 minutes ago, LinMM said: Well thank goodness the Untitled costumes are not the same as those of the music video they actually look quite nice and definitely preferable to the CB piece!! Did people find the music for Untitled bearable? I’m afraid I didn’t, no. Turgid and boring. Just my personal opinion. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 4 minutes ago, LinMM said: Did people find the music for Untitled bearable? Bearable - just about. It's sorta like the background music in a film, when there is no real action happening. You won't leave the auditorium humming it, shall we say, but not too harsh you have to cover your ears. During a small section towards the end, when the lighting went all pink, there was a danger of a tune breaking out, but it didn't last long... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 7 minutes ago, LinMM said: Well thank goodness the Untitled costumes are not the same as those of the music video they actually look quite nice and definitely preferable to the CB piece!! Did people find the music for Untitled bearable? Compared to the "music" for Dispatch Duet last year, it was an absolute delight (!) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 The McGregor costumes remind me of Pacers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Thanks! In the last couple of years the music to Creature (ENB) and Dispatch Duet is among the worst created for ballet for me! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Here’s my thoughts: Untitled, 2023: Choreography is pretty good, but nothing special. These costumes are definitely better than others but they just look like the set? I’m glad that they correlate but would love something that feels like it’s own. The cast was amazing. Music is okay but again, nothing to write home about. Corybantic Games: I love the music and the set, Choreography is okay and Costumes (although I love the pleated skirts) are hideous. Anastasia: Laura did an excellent job on this questionable piece. A pretty bleak bill and that’s all I have to say. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Yes. I find it very dispiriting that the season is ending with this triple bill. 😢 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePigeon Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 4 minutes ago, Sim said: Yes. I find it very dispiriting that the season is ending with this triple bill. 😢 Yes, just as the weather is improving and the sunshine is cheering the spirits after a long grey winter, wouldn’t it have been lovely to have something beautiful and uplifting to welcome the change of weather season and close the ballet season - not to mention giving Morera a happy, cheerful send off. Oh well, at least it’s giving me a chance to save up for some better seats for DQ and I have Carlos at 50 to look forward to. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Oh to be in Japan! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 46 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said: The McGregor costumes remind me of Pacers. Oo I remember them… striped green & white spearmint chews from 70’s childhood? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I found the Triple Bill General Rehearsal and opening night impressive if pretty hard going. I was very pleased to get a programme before the evening performance and there’s an excellent piece by Emily Steer on the McGregor, including some quotes from McGregor. The final paragraph states: “The spontaneous, personal responses invited by Untitled, 2013 are akin to those one might feel viewing a painting by Herrera. ‘Dance is an ambiguous art form, it’s not concrete. The body allows us to say things … that we just inherently know. … The endless possibilities of a Herrera painting are extraordinary, and I want dance to have that feeling too.’ [Quoting McGregor]” A great shame that the cast sheet has nothing to say at all. I rather liked the set and costumes but I do wish there was a moratorium on greased hair which does nothing for the dancers and makes it much harder to recognise who’s dancing. I found Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Catamorphosis and Metacosmos certainly interesting. But I’m unsure about the claims made regarding collaboration as regards the music. Surely McGregor has taken the music as a given and any programmatic element in the music is not in itself relevant? Unsurprisingly the choreography includes much that is typical McGregor. But I wondered if there was more of a nod to ballet particularly towards the end and whether Ed Watson as Repetiteur had been influential. I wish the cast list were presented more meaningfully rather than in alphabetical order. There is clearly a group of lead dancers who have their curtain call but much better would be to indicate who’s dancing in order of appearance or in chronological sections as is done for Corybantic Games. And I think all the costumes were unique so photos of the cast in costume would be an added help. I’m afraid I haven’t as yet got an answer as to what it all means to me. I found Corybantic Games more interesting than last time, and was aware of more colour, although the costumes remain a distraction and again I really don’t like the greased hair for the men and uniform hairstyles for the women. It makes me long for the natural simplicity of Dances at a Gathering. Bernstein’s Serenade is demanding and was impressively played by Sergey Levitin. Act 3 Anastasia is a difficult piece as a stand alone and I’m afraid a few people in the Stalls decided to leave fairly soon after it had begun. I think it works much better as a full three Act ballet, a great evening with the context and characters fully established in the earlier Acts. Nevertheless last night Anastasia Act 3 was the highlight of the evening for me, with Laura Morera simply astonishing in her commitment and characterisation. Lovely to see her dancing with Bennet Gartside (Husband) and Riyochi Hirano (Rasputin). I’m looking forward to tonight’s performance with the second cast and then a week today for Laura Morera’s last London performance. 13 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 22 minutes ago, Peanut68 said: Oo I remember them… striped green & white spearmint chews from 70’s childhood? and 80s! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said: The McGregor costumes remind me of Pacers. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 17 minutes ago, JohnS said: . The final paragraph states: “The spontaneous, personal responses invited by Untitled, 2013 are akin to those one might feel viewing a painting by Herrera. ……… … The endless possibilities of a Herrera painting are extraordinary, and I want dance to have that feeling too.’ [Quoting McGregor]” I which case, why do I have the feeling of repetition in much of McGregor’s choreography.? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 11 minutes ago, capybara said: I which case, why do I have the feeling of repetition in much of McGregor’s choreography.? Untitled 2023 tells me that he has run out of anything original to say. Just my opinion. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 53 minutes ago, JohnS said: “The spontaneous, personal responses invited by Untitled, 2013 are akin to those one might feel viewing a painting by Herrera. ‘Dance is an ambiguous art form, it’s not concrete. The body allows us to say things … that we just inherently know. … The endless possibilities of a Herrera painting are extraordinary, and I want dance to have that feeling too.’ [Quoting McGregor]” This makes it sound as if McGregor is the first choreographer ever to create abstract works with no literal meaning. I do think that the human body has endless expressive possibilities (in a way that I don't generally find to be the case with static abstract art, which may evoke different responses in the viewer without itself being expressive). Such possibilities have long been explored by choreographers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletfanatic Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Peanut68 said: Oo I remember them… striped green & white spearmint chews from 70’s childhood? Those were my absolute favourites! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 58 minutes ago, Rob S said: 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I vote for a return of Pacers…. The marketing campaign is sorted….😉 Sorry to take a light aside…. I for one am not tempted (not even by the 25% discounted tickets offer from ROH - I finally fell into their radar for offers! Still intrigued how they plan these?) to buy tickets…I would dearly love to be there for Morera’s farewell but am just not feeling spurred on to part with all the money a trip to London requires judging by peoples comments…. I’ve not really felt this last year has been great for RBS productions… 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 46 minutes ago, Sim said: Untitled 2023 tells me that he has run out of anything original to say. Just my opinion. Somewhat agree and it’s in the title. Nothing to say at all. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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