Angela Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 News from Vienna: New First Soloist: Brendan Saye The Vienna State Ballet will have a new First Soloist starting with the 2022/23 season: Brendan Saye, currently Principal Dancer of the National Ballet of Canada, will move from Toronto to Vienna next season. Ballet director Martin Schläpfer, who has been following Saye’s career with great interest for some time, explains this new engagement: »Brendan Saye is an exceptional phenomenon. His dancing combines seemingly effortlessly stupendous technical ability with a great artistic expressiveness as well as flawless classical lines, nobility and elegance rarely seen in such striking beauty. He is a sensitive, superb partner and it must be a ballerina's dream to dance with him. Brendan Saye’s range of roles extends from Rudolf Nureyev’s Prince Florimund and George Balanchine’s Apollo to contemporary repertoire. I am delighted to introduce him to our audience as First Soloist of the Vienna State Ballet from September 2022.«Brendan Saye comments on his decision: » I’m very much looking forward to joining The Vienna State Ballet this coming 22/23 season and am eager to share the stage with it’s incredible artists. I couldn’t be more excited to be immersed in the rich beauty and history of Vienna and it’s opera house, and to work and collaborate with Martin Schläpfer.« Biography Brendan Saye Brendan Saye was born in Vancouver and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. He joined The National Ballet of Canada in 2008 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2019. Recently, Saye made his debut in the title role in Balanchine’s »Apollo« and Lewis Carroll/The White Rabbit and Rajah/The Caterpillar in »Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland« by Wheeldon. He has danced lead roles such as Siegfried in »Swan Lake« (Kudelka), Prince Florimund in »The Sleeping Beauty« (Nurejew), Romeo and Tybalt in »Romeo and Juliet« (Ratmansky), Polixenes in »The Winter’s Tale« (Wheeldon), Karenin in »Anna Karenina« (Neumeier), A Man in »The Four Seasons« (Kudelka), Oberon in »The Dream« (Ashton), Phlegmatic in »The Four Temperaments« (Balanchine), as well as roles in Kudelka’s »The Nutcracker« and »Cinderella«. His other repertoire includes works by Robert Binet, Guillaume Côté, William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor, Jirí Kylián, Kenneth MacMillan, Justin Peck and Twyla Tharp. In 2012, Brendan Saye represented the National Ballet in The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize and received the Patron Award of Merit. He also received the Peter Dwyer Award and Christopher Ondaatje Prize in 2008 while a student at Canada’s National Ballet School. VIENNA STATE BALLET AND THE BALLET ACADEMY REACT TO THE CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE In addition to this long-planned engagement of Brendan Saye, the Vienna State Ballet is also reacting at short notice to the current situation in Ukraine, from where we received several applications from dancers who are in an exceptional humanitarian situation due to the war situation. In a first step, the Vienna State Ballet has decided, within its possibilities, to temporarily accept two dancers into the company. The Ballet Academy under the leadership of director Christiana Stefanou is also making intensive efforts to help as many young dancers seeking protection as possible within its capacities. Currently, three students have already been accepted, and more will follow in the next few weeks. In addition, the Ballet Academy is in close contact with the State Ballet School in Kiev and the Kiev Choreographic College to discuss further possibilities for providing help. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 7, 2022 Author Share Posted April 7, 2022 News from Berlin State Ballet: Company takes on four new dancers New Principal Dancer: David Motta Soares David Motta Soares, Foto: Gregory Shelukhin Berlin, 07 April 2022 --- David Motta Soares joins the Staatsballett Berlin as principal dancer with immediate effect. Demi-soloist Bruna Fernanda Cantanhede Gaglianone and corps de ballet dancer Erick Swolkin complete the ensemble. In addition, Maria Valter from Ukraine is now part of the Enhance Mentorship Programme. David Motta Soares was born in Cabo Frio in Brazil and began his training at the Regina and Ofelia Corvello Ballet School in 2007. In 2010, he continued his training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and, after graduating in 2015, he joined the Bolshoi Ballet. As leading soloist, he has danced a wide range of principal roles including Albrecht in GISELLE by Yuri Grigorovich, Thaor in THE PHARAO'S DAUGHTER by Pierre Lacotte, solo roles in JEWELS by George Balanchine, Romeo in ROMEO AND JULIA by Alexei Ratmansky, Gaston Rieux in THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS by John Neumeier, James in LA SYLPHIDE by Johan Kobborg, Prince Florizel in THE WINTER'S TALE by Christopher Wheeldon and Shelmerdine in ORLANDO by Christian Spuck. Bruna Fernanda Cantanhede Gaglianone and Erick Swolkin are also new arrivals who add to the company as demi-soloist and corps de ballet dancer respectively. Both have also been with the Bolshoi Ballet for the past eleven years. Maria Valter has also been accepted into the Enhance Mentorship Programme as a fellow. The Ukrainian dancer completed her training at the Ballet Academy of the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts and is now part of the Staatsballett Berlin's new training programme, bridging the gap between graduation and a professional dance career. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 I'm really glad he joined. We need a male principal badly. Looking forward to his 1st performance here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Casting for Coppélia at Bavarian State Ballet: Swanilda: Maria Baranova, Margarita Fernandes, Ksenia Ryzhkova Franz: Dmitrii Vyskubenko, Antonio Casalinho, Shale Wagman Dr. Coppélius: Javier Amo Dates not yet fixed, check out their calendar 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 What a wonderful trio of Franzes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) Wow. … is that Ksenia with Shale? That might be worth a trip! They’ll be fabulous. I’m assuming the teenage Portuguese duo will be a pair (no doubt very sweet) and I’ve seen Baranova and Vyskubenko together in 2019. They were lovely too. Edited April 12, 2022 by FionaE More info 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, FionaE said: Wow. … is that Ksenia with Shale? That might be worth a trip! They’ll be fabulous. I’m assuming the teenage Portuguese duo will be a pair (no doubt very sweet) and I’ve seen Baranova and Vyskubenko together in 2019. They were lovely too. Yes that's Shale and Ksenia. Set for April 20. I need to move Munich....hahaha. no way.😀 Edited April 12, 2022 by Sabine0308 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 56 minutes ago, Sabine0308 said: Yes that's Shale and Ksenia. Set for April 20. I need to move Munich....hahaha. no way.😀 Thank you and for the for the date info too. Flights 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 3 hours ago, FionaE said: Thank you and for the for the date info too. Flights 🤔 April 20 and April 22nd. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Munich website now has casting for Coppelia for 16 and 18 April as Fernandes and Casalinho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 10 hours ago, FionaE said: Munich website now has casting for Coppelia for 16 and 18 April as Fernandes and Casalinho. Not anymore. 🙄 it sucks BIG TIME in Munich with their Media peeps. I stopped complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Sabine0308 said: Not anymore. 🙄 it sucks BIG TIME in Munich with their Media peeps. I stopped complaining. Please could you explain what you are talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 1 hour ago, capybara said: Please could you explain what you are talking about? I think what Sabine means is that yesterday the Munich website showed Fernandes & Casalinho as the cast for Coppélia on 16 & 18 April. Today their names have been removed. Sigh. Impossible to plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 8 minutes ago, FionaE said: I think what Sabine means is that yesterday the Munich website showed Fernandes & Casalinho as the cast for Coppélia on 16 & 18 April. Today their names have been removed. Sigh. Impossible to plan. It was the reference to 'media peeps' which I didn't understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 22 minutes ago, capybara said: It was the reference to 'media peeps' which I didn't understand. I assumed it meant the communications team at the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 (edited) From Newsletter 😀 And sorry for my a bit cryptic remark re the Munich media team. I cannot count how often I noted mistakes and lack of correct cast lists on the website or cast sheets in the programm Booklet or announcement in change of cast in the theatre on the actual performance day. I think they just don't have the right professional people, keeping things updated. Edited April 13, 2022 by Sabine0308 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 13, 2022 Author Share Posted April 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Sabine0308 said: or cast sheets in the programm Booklet That was new for me in the Passagen evening - they just forgot to list Shale Wagman in the Goecke and the Musical Director for the evening. This did not happen under Ivan Liska. But please be patient with the announcement of casts, this happens with many other companies right now - as soon as someone's roommate or husband has a positive test, the dancers have to quarantine, and it happens very often in all companies. I'm happy for every performance I see on stage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 (edited) 57 minutes ago, Angela said: That was new for me in the Passagen evening - they just forgot to list Shale Wagman in the Goecke and the Musical Director for the evening. This did not happen under Ivan Liska. But please be patient with the announcement of casts, this happens with many other companies right now - as soon as someone's roommate or husband has a positive test, the dancers have to quarantine, and it happens very often in all companies. I'm happy for every performance I see on stage. For the second night (I went twice, right after premiere night), they even told me that they had noticed the mistake. I understand that it was too late for the printed cast list in the booklet, but the castlist displayed in the operahouse was wrong as well. Not to mention the website. This happened also for Cinderella. Sorry, this is unprofessional. Edited April 13, 2022 by Sabine0308 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 Cranko's Taming of the Shrew will finally be recorded for DVD in May, which had once been planned for the weekend of the first lockdown in March 2020. The cast for the DVD is Elisa Badenes and Jason Reilly as Katharina and Petruchio, Veronika Verterich and Marti Fernandez Paixa as Bianca and Lucentio, Alessandro Giaquinto as Gremio and Fabio Adorisio as Hortensio. Further debuts in the performances from May 7th: David Moore as Petruchio (with Anna Osadcenko, who has danced Katharina already), Mackenzie Brown as Bianca, Henrik Erikson as Lucentio, Matteo Miccini as Hortensio. 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Super news of DVD and the cast for it! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 Alicia Amatriain says goodbye to the Stuttgart Ballet – the principal dancer announced today that she will end her active dancing career at the end of the season. Amatriain, born in Spain and a graduate of the John Cranko School, member of the Stuttgart Ballet since 1998 and principal since 2002, gave birth to her first child in March 2020. Upon her return to the ballet studio, she found that the chronic pain in one of her hips had worsened drastically. In March 2022, Amatriain finally had her hip replaced, which meant the end of her dancing career. Ballet director Tamas Detrich and Amatriain searched for joint solutions - including the position of deputy director of the John Cranko School. However, the physical limitations were and continue to be so great that Amatriain decided against it, especially since as the mother of a small daughter she wants to be there for her child. A public farewell is planned for Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at a performance of John Cranko's Onegin. Alicia Amatriain will not dance, but will bow to her audience and fans one last time on stage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 18 minutes ago, Angela said: Alicia Amatriain says goodbye to the Stuttgart Ballet – the principal dancer announced today that she will end her active dancing career at the end of the season. Amatriain, born in Spain and a graduate of the John Cranko School, member of the Stuttgart Ballet since 1998 and principal since 2002, gave birth to her first child in March 2020. Upon her return to the ballet studio, she found that the chronic pain in one of her hips had worsened drastically. In March 2022, Amatriain finally had her hip replaced, which meant the end of her dancing career. Ballet director Tamas Detrich and Amatriain searched for joint solutions - including the position of deputy director of the John Cranko School. However, the physical limitations were and continue to be so great that Amatriain decided against it, especially since as the mother of a small daughter she wants to be there for her child. A public farewell is planned for Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at a performance of John Cranko's Onegin. Alicia Amatriain will not dance, but will bow to her audience and fans one last time on stage. What a bittersweet end to her career. Very best wishes to Alicia Amatriain for the future. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Such a shame. Some people have managed to return to dance after a hip replacement - Suzanne Farrell being one - but it must be a very individual thing, and it sounds as though Amatriain wasn't so lucky I wish her - and her family - all the best for the future. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 Casting for Marcia Haydée's Sleeping Beauty at Staatsballett Berlin: On May 13, premiere A features Polina Semionova (Princess Aurora), Alexandre Cagnat (Prince Desiré), Dinu Tamazlacaru (Carabosse) and Elisa Carrillo Cabrera (Lilac Fairy). On May 18, premiere B features Iana Salenko (Princess Aurora), Daniil Simkin (Prince Desiré), Arshak Ghalumyan (Carabosse) and Aurora Dickie (Lilac Fairy). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 So sad about Alicia Amatriain but I am sure she will find a lot of happiness being a mum to her little girl. I wish her all the best. ❤️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 Desperately sad for Alicia Amatriain. Thank goodness her wonderful dancing has been preserved in recordings … there is her delightful Tatiana in the only official DVD of Onegin opposite Friedemann Vogel. Also she was a brilliant Countess Larisch in Stuttgart Mayerling (also with Vogel) that was shared online in the pandemic. I’ve seen Mayerling many times and she showed a real depth and nuance to this role. It was a stand-out performance for me. Are there other recordings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 Maybe I should add that she is 41 years old - so it's sad, yes, but she had a very long career and danced many roles. As Stuttgart made few recordings until recently, you'll have to check on Youtube what you find. She was supposed to dance Juliet on the official recording, but her partner Friedemann Vogel was injured and so they changed the cast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 Casting for "Midsummernights Dream" (John Neumeier) at Bayerisches Staatsballett: May 17, 2022 Hippolyta/Titania: Ksenia Ryzhkova Theseus/Oberon: Emilio Pavan Helena: Elvina Ibraimova Demetrius: Dmitrii Vyskubenko Hermia: Kristina Lind Lysander: Jonah Cook Philostrat/Puck: Yonah Acosta Zettel (Pyramus): Alexey Dobikov May 18, 2022 Hippolyta/Titania: Maria Baranova Theseus/Oberon: Jinhao Zhang Helena: Bianca Teixeira Demetrius: Antonio Casalinho Hermia: Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova Lysander: Matteo Dilaghi Philostrat/Puck: Shale Wagman Zettel (Pyramus): Alexey Dobikov May 20, 2022 Hippolyta/Titania: Ksenia Ryzhkova Theseus/Oberon: Emilio Pavan Helena: Elvina Ibraimova Demetrius: Dmitrii Vyskubenko Hermia: Kristina Lind Lysander: Jonah Cook Philostrat/Puck: Yonah Acosta Zettel (Pyramus): Alexey Dobikov 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 Next season at Vienna State Ballet: At the Opera House: a new Sleeping Beauty by Martin Schläpfer and a double bill of The Goldberg Variations by Heinz Spoerli and Tabula Rasa by Ohad Naharin At the Volksoper: "Yolantha and the Nutcracker", not the opera and the ballet as in the premiere in 1892, but a "Dance Opera" for the whole family which unites both, choreography by Andrey Kaydanovskiy. A mixed bill "Promethean Fire" with Paul Taylors "Promethean Fire", "Lontano" and "Ramifications" by Schläpfer and "Beaux" by Mark Morris, as well as an evening for the young choreographers of the company. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Is it usual for them to do that much contemporary work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Interesting that they're doing van Manen's Four Schumann Pieces. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 1 hour ago, alison said: Is it usual for them to do that much contemporary work? Not so much when Manuel Legris was director, but Martin Schläpfer (who still works in a kind of neoclassical style and on pointe) was hired because he is a choreographer and creates new work. And they still have the classics like DQ and Fille for the Opera House. Spoerli's Goldberg Variations are also very classical, so it's not that modern... Speaking of Schläpfer: His new creation is live-streamed from Vienna RIGHT NOW 🙂 https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 The German Dance Price 2022 will be shared between two choreographers: Marco Goecke (modern ballet, AD at Hannover Ballet) and Christoph Winkler (contemporary choreographer in at Berlin). The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Reinhild Hoffmann, famous Tanztheater choreographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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