ROYAL BALLET TRIPLE (McGregor/Wheeldon/MacMillan)

[Odyssey]

A question relating to the programming of performances- is it entirely in the Director’s  hands to decide upon this, or are there other members of the ROH board who have ultimate say?

Edited June 15, 2023 by Odyssey
Spelling !

[zxDaveM]

Yes, Anastasia is going to be a struggle for me too on Saturday, but couldn't NOT see Laura's last performance in the UK (for now? I'd love to see her do Woolf Works in a few years time). Pretty dismal way to send us fans off into the summer.

However, I have really warmed to both Untitled,2023 and Corybantic Games (despite the costumes in the latter - the 'revamp' has the women in what looks like boxing ring shorts, all be it sans long legs and gumshields). I enjoy the choreography in both, and the staging/lighting really enhances the dancing (well, maybe not the iceberg thingy in the opening piece). I have even raised my opinion slightly of the music for the McGregor - but still wonder, could it be done in silence? (as at the end of each section they seem to run out of notes) Or even go as far as some other music plonked on top of it? We'll never know of course, but I will look forward to it's return in 2 years or so (all new works seem to get two goes, unless it's a real stinker!)

[Candleque]

12 hours ago, JNC said:

My personal opinion is whilst I respect McGregor’s talent (even if he is usually not to my tastes), there’s a separate issue of should the Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer be someone who isn’t really/primarily a ballet choreographer?

💯
Eternally puzzled why Royal Ballet doesn't appoint a living classical ballet choreographer. (Even in addition to McGregor, if they just can't bear to part with him for some reason.) Investing in new full length classical works needs a company of this size, prestige and donor base.  

Agree with @JNC's full post. I used to see everything the RB did at least once, out of respect for the dancers. But after too many costly and disappointing evenings, finally decided I didn't have to suffer through work I didn't enjoy. Duh. (Fwiw, I am a fan of many other modern choreographers, but the musical genius ones like Mark Morris.) Agree with @annamk — where is our Ratmansky?

[EVWS]

5 minutes ago, Candleque said:

I used to see everything the RB did at least once, out of respect for the dancers. But after too many costly and disappointing evenings, finally decided I didn't have to suffer through work I didn't enjoy.

 

My sentiments exactly, which is why I'm giving this triple bill a miss - much happier to have finished my RB season with Cinderella & The Sleeping Beauty. Very jealous of what they're getting to see in Japan - if only we could have had some of that to finish the season off! 

[Sim]

1 hour ago, Odyssey said:

A question relating to the programming of performances- is it entirely in the Director’s  hands to decide upon this, or are there other members of the ROH board who have ultimate say?

The Board has the ultimate say, especially when it comes to potentially contentious or 'offensive' ballets or operas.    

[David G]

I am very grateful to JNC for putting into words the same thoughts which I had last night.

 

I have never returned home from an outing to the ballet feeling more depressed!

 

From the number of empty seats in the Lower Slips and the Upper Slips, I hope that the management will realise that it was an unpopular programme and they will avoid putting on such fare again.

 

I noticed Letitia Dias looking up and, whilst she always has a smile, she must have been disappointed that they had put in so much effort for a relatively poor attendance.

 

I also felt duty bound to attend for the sake of Laura Morera who has given us so much joy since 2000 when we first started attending the ballet at Covent Garden. 

 

Anastasia Act III certainly showed us her fantastic acting abilities but I wish that a different work had been chosen for her final ballet at the Royal Opera House.

 

I still remember David Bintley's Les Saisons with music by Glazunov from 2003. My family and I enjoyed it so much that I see from my programme that we attended two separate performances.

 

I wish they had revived that for her final piece!

 

Am I to understand from the ROH records that it only had the one outing?

 

The evening also made me reflect on the tragic loss of Liam Scarlett and his choreographic abilities.... 

[Shade]

For those who have attended is approx finish time of 10.20 accurate? Need to look at train times for home.

 

thanks

[Rob S]

8 minutes ago, Shade said:

For those who have attended is approx finish time of 10.20 accurate? Need to look at train times for home.

 

thanks

 

Last night was 2221.

[capybara]

16 minutes ago, Shade said:

For those who have attended is approx finish time of 10.20 accurate? Need to look at train times for home.

 

thanks

However, on Saturday, there will be the farewell to Laura which will, quite properly, prolong things.

[emmarose]

2 hours ago, Candleque said:

💯
Eternally puzzled why Royal Ballet doesn't appoint a living classical ballet choreographer. (Even in addition to McGregor, if they just can't bear to part with him for some reason.) Investing in new full length classical works needs a company of this size, prestige and donor base.  

Agree with @JNC's full post. I used to see everything the RB did at least once, out of respect for the dancers. But after too many costly and disappointing evenings, finally decided I didn't have to suffer through work I didn't enjoy. Duh. (Fwiw, I am a fan of many other modern choreographers, but the musical genius ones like Mark Morris.) Agree with @annamk — where is our Ratmansky?

 

It's something that I can never quite understand, the RB have a stable of some of the finest classical dancers in the world and absolutely nobody to create anything for them.

[capybara]

38 minutes ago, emmarose said:

 

It's something that I can never quite understand, the RB have a stable of some of the finest classical dancers in the world and absolutely nobody to create anything for them.

Valentino Zucchetti is trying his best.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Shade said:

For those who have attended is approx finish time of 10.20 accurate? Need to look at train times for home.

 

thanks

 

The first night was virtually 3 hours, so if it's been shortened I hope that's permanent.  I'd been under the illusion that the last night was a 7 pm start, but have realised that I was wrong.

[alison]

16 hours ago, JNC said:

To me I feel we don’t have a Balanchine/Ashton/MacMillan of our generation (maybe Forsythe is the closest?) 

 

We certainly don't, but then all three mentioned were "one of a century" rather than "one of a generation".  It's not surprising that the RB doesn't have anyone currently as good.  (Ratmansky was mentioned: he was scheduled to be reviving/reworking "24 Preludes" last season, but had to cancel, I seem to recall due to schedule clashes.  I'm assuming that he couldn't fit it into this year's schedule).

 

Quote

I haven’t seen this or Acts 1 and 2 of Anastasia previously, and thought it may have played better with the first two acts. It felt like watching act 3 of Manon alone - I love manon, probably my favourite (full length) MacMillan but I wouldn’t want to watch act 3 of it standalone.

 

That does, though, rather miss the point that Anastasia was originally a one-act ballet, with the preceding two acts being tacked on some years later.  I never saw it as a one-acter, and wonder if that would have worked better rather than having a (now amended) Act III excised from the full-length ballet.  As I indicated upthread, I felt it was watered down somehow, or something.

 

In fact, it's a bit of a shame we've had so little discussion of that part of the bill.  It would be nice to hear from those who have seen both as to whether anything has been lost.

[Sim]

24 minutes ago, capybara said:

Valentino Zucchetti is trying his best.

Indeed he is, and he still believes in classical and neo-classical ballet.  As a he's quite a young person, I am hoping this bodes well for the future and that the RB keep giving him chances to create.  

[Odyssey]

1 hour ago, emmarose said:

 

It's something that I can never quite understand, the RB have a stable of some of the finest classical dancers in the world and absolutely nobody to create anything for them.

That’s a  harsh assessment. Unfortunately a golden age of dancers doesn’t automatically equate to a similar embarrassment of riches in choreographers. There has been some very commendable, interesting works created on our dancers over the last ten years. We’ve also lost Liam Scarlett -a very talented young choreographer. 
 

[AnneL]

38 minutes ago, alison said:

 

We certainly don't, but then all three mentioned were "one of a century" rather than "one of a generation".  It's not surprising that the RB doesn't have anyone currently as good.  (Ratmansky was mentioned: he was scheduled to be reviving/reworking "24 Preludes" last season, but had to cancel, I seem to recall due to schedule clashes.  I'm assuming that he couldn't fit it into this year's schedule).

 

 

That does, though, rather miss the point that Anastasia was originally a one-act ballet, with the preceding two acts being tacked on some years later.  I never saw it as a one-acter, and wonder if that would have worked better rather than having a (now amended) Act III excised from the full-length ballet.  As I indicated upthread, I felt it was watered down somehow, or something.

 

In fact, it's a bit of a shame we've had so little discussion of that part of the bill.  It would be nice to hear from those who have seen both as to whether anything has been lost.

Not forgetting that the 20th century also gave us Fokine, Massine, Nijinska, Petit, Tudor…. I could go on (and I am not suggesting this is an exclusive list, or that everything they did was great, but it was a pretty special century). When I was younger, my favourite contemporary choreographer was Christopher Bruce - I have fond memories of his work. There are a fewer of today’s choreographers who interest me, but perhaps it is not such a rich period? Hopefully that will change and I understand completely that things move on.

I would also love to see some of Ratmansky’s work. 

[emmarose]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Valentino Zucchetti is trying his best.

 

I think he's amazing, and has a huge future in front of him.

[Jan McNulty]

34 minutes ago, AnneL said:

NWhen I was younger, my favourite contemporary choreographer was Christopher Bruce - I have fond memories of his work. . 

 

Christopher Bruce is still one of my favourite choreographers.  I started off watching contemporary dance and I saw a lot of his works both for Rambert and ENB.

[emmarose]

1 hour ago, Odyssey said:

That’s a  harsh assessment. Unfortunately a golden age of dancers doesn’t automatically equate to a similar embarrassment of riches in choreographers. There has been some very commendable, interesting works created on our dancers over the last ten years. We’ve also lost Liam Scarlett -a very talented young choreographer. 
 

 

Harsh, but what classical pieces have been created? Take Vadim, one of the most beautiful classical dancers, and what has been created for him lately? 

 

There have been interesting works, yes, but anything that will survive and be revived generations from now? And again, what real classical pieces? 

 

It just feels like a waste to have these classical dancers in their prime and being world class and not anything that sits beautifully on them. When you think of generations in the past and the works that they got created on them, we are somewhat lacking right now.

[capybara]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

The Board has the ultimate say, especially when it comes to potentially contentious or 'offensive' ballets or operas.    

Apart from this, a Board would not normally make artistic decisions per se but, especially because the rep. and expenditure are inextricably linked, it would ‘sign off’ (or otherwise) an AD’s proposals.

 

The distinction between governance and artistic direction/company management is not always appreciated by Board members and the problems which arise from such lack of understanding have been believed to be at the root of some AD’s departures.

[balletfanatic]

Talking about the glories of past choreographers, are any creative industries as amazing as in the past? Is there a modern Tchaikovsky or Mozart? Does any modern artist rival Da Vinci or Van Gogh etc? Does anyone alive now write classics on a par with Dickens? 

 

Not to deny there isn't a huge amount of talent nowadays but can they equal these former geniuses?  

[capybara]

10 minutes ago, emmarose said:

Harsh, but what classical pieces have been created? Take Vadim, one of the most beautiful classical dancers, and what has been created for him lately? 

 

There have been interesting works, yes, but anything that will survive and be revived generations from now?

I could be wrong but I don’t think anything has been created using Vadim since he joined the RB. With ENB he was one of a group in Men Y Men and possibly had a pas de deux made on him.
Interestingly, the other night when he was talking to The London Ballet Circle about his new book FROM SMALL STEPS TO BIG LEAPS, he seemed very keen to work with a choreographer.

I believe (hearsay) that Benjamin Ella is developing a piece with RB artists, initially for a gala in Japan but to be danced subsequently by Northern Ballet.

 

 

[bridiem]

4 minutes ago, capybara said:

I could be wrong but I don’t think anything has been created using Vadim since he joined the RB.

 

It's so sad. I am certain that both Ashton and MacMillan would have been inspired to create (classical) works on Muntagirov.

Edited June 15, 2023 by bridiem

[Guest oncnp]

5 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I believe (hearsay) that Benjamin Ella is developing a piece with RB artists, initially for a gala in Japan but to be danced subsequently by Northern Ballet.

 

 

It is scheduled to be performed at a gala in August 

[emmarose]

18 minutes ago, capybara said:

I could be wrong but I don’t think anything has been created using Vadim since he joined the RB. With ENB he was one of a group in Men Y Men and possibly had a pas de deux made on him.
Interestingly, the other night when he was talking to The London Ballet Circle about his new book FROM SMALL STEPS TO BIG LEAPS, he seemed very keen to work with a choreographer.

I believe (hearsay) that Benjamin Ella is developing a piece with RB artists, initially for a gala in Japan but to be danced subsequently by Northern Ballet.

 

 

 

And isn't that a crying shame? One of the finest classical dancers of his generation and there's no work that's going to be left behind that's created for him. 

Add in Nela and Naghdi and their world class technique and I'm sorry to say, I am left wanting. I know it's harsh, but there's only so many times I can see Wayne Mcgregor and the constant hyper-extending lines before I think that it's somewhat of a waste of talent just sitting there with no new classical pieces. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by emmarose

[Jan McNulty]

41 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I believe (hearsay) that Benjamin Ella is developing a piece with RB artists, initially for a gala in Japan but to be danced subsequently by Northern Ballet.

 

 

 

Ben Ella was working with Northern Ballet last week:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtTgFwDB3Rj/

 

https://northernballet.com/news/2023/06/inside-benjamin-ellas-first-week-of-rehearsals-with-northern-ballet

 

I don't know if what he is working on at NB is also being developed with RB dancers.

[Fonty]

3 hours ago, emmarose said:

 

It's something that I can never quite understand, the RB have a stable of some of the finest classical dancers in the world and absolutely nobody to create anything for them.

 

Indeed, and they never will unless the RB appoints a resident choreographer who specialises in classical ballet.  Which is why I questioned, and continue to question, why MacGregor remains in that position.  Yes, an occasional new piece from him might be exciting, but giving him the lion's share of the budget for new works seems very odd, to put it mildly.  

 

Of course Ashton, MacMillan and so on created duds, no choreographer is brilliant all the time.  And MacMillan pushed the boundaries, that's for sure.  But both of them understood classical ballet, and knew how to create wonderful works using the pure technique of the genre.  Surely nobody can say audiences don't like it so much any more, and prefer the more modern stuff?  Or is it a case that as the older dance critics retire, so the newer ones who may not be so familiar with classical are more likely to give it an neutral or negative response?

[capybara]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Apart from this, a Board would not normally make artistic decisions per se but, especially because the rep. and expenditure are inextricably linked, it would ‘sign off’ (or otherwise) an AD’s proposals.

 

The distinction between governance and artistic direction/company management is not always appreciated by Board members and the problems which arise from such lack of understanding have been believed to be at the root of some AD’s departures.

Apologies for quoting myself but I wanted to add that, of course and whilst an AD might make proposals, it is the Board’s responsibility to determine the vision and strategy for an organisation. Thus, in the case of a ballet company, for example, a change in emphasis from a classically based repertoire to one which is more contemporary in nature would/should ultimately be for the Board to decide.

 

Under Tamara Rojo, ENB was very up front with its statements in this regard.

Edited June 15, 2023 by capybara

[JohnS]

Interesting to see the separate comments about the Board’s role and Liam Scarlett’s classical talents as choreographer. The Royal Ballet happily revives Liam Scarlett’s production of Swan Lake, including his significant choreography, and the ROH has Liam Scarlett’s DVDs on sale. But reviving Liam Scarlett’s ballets seems to be a non starter. I’m not aware of any ROH public statement but does anyone know if the Board has taken any decision on Liam Scarlett’s ballets?

[Jan McNulty]

12 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Ben Ella was working with Northern Ballet last week:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtTgFwDB3Rj/

 

https://northernballet.com/news/2023/06/inside-benjamin-ellas-first-week-of-rehearsals-with-northern-ballet

 

I don't know if what he is working on at NB is also being developed with RB dancers.

 

Tiler Peck is with Northern Ballet this week working on her piece for the company.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CteuwmsJzrk/

[Mary]

47 minutes ago, emmarose said:

And isn't that a crying shame? One of the finest classical dancers of his generation and there's no work that's going to be left behind that's created for him. 

absolutely.

I've been trying to think of anything- I suppose there is the new material in Scarlett's Swan Lake- the reconciliation pas de deux is rather nice and I will always see that as very much Vadim, but I would not claim it as a masterpiece and he is surely worthy of so much more.

 

 

[Tango Dancer]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Ben Ella was working with Northern Ballet last week:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtTgFwDB3Rj/

 

https://northernballet.com/news/2023/06/inside-benjamin-ellas-first-week-of-rehearsals-with-northern-ballet

 

I don't know if what he is working on at NB is also being developed with RB dancers.

 

Yes.  NB are doing a really interesting mixed programme in the autumn.  There's a world premier by Tiler Peck, a UK Premiere of Ben Ella's piece and an older ballet by Hans von Manem set to the Hammerklavier sonata.  I think it promises very well looking at the pictures NB are promoting.  

 

Its at NB and then at the Linbury.  Definitely worth watching.  

 

I think Federico has some really good ideas for the NB programme.  

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Tango Dancer

[emmarose]

1 hour ago, Mary said:

absolutely.

I've been trying to think of anything- I suppose there is the new material in Scarlett's Swan Lake- the reconciliation pas de deux is rather nice and I will always see that as very much Vadim, but I would not claim it as a masterpiece and he is surely worthy of so much more.

 

 

 

Yes, and a lovely PDD it is, but mostly it's just partnering for Vadim, and whilst he does it beautifully (he could just walk up and down and he'd do it beautifully) there's nothing in it that shows him off in any way, or that other dancers couldn't easily do.

For everything he has, there is no piece of work that's been created to show off his sublime dancing and technique.

 

Honestly, it's something I think about now and again, usually when there's another new Wayne piece, and I can't help but feel so sad at what a shame it is.