BRB2 - Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection - Linbury

[art_enthusiast]

Absolutely incredible performance tonight, I’m still reeling from how brilliant it was!

[Ondine]

17 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

Absolutely incredible performance tonight, I’m still reeling from how brilliant it was!

 

Tell us more, tell us more.... 

 

But, oh, those summer nights

[alison]

🙂

[LinMM]

I was just looking for where to post on Performances for the Young Generation lot. I really enjoyed tonight’s BRB2 performances …definitely a few to watch there but especially loved the two “E’s “ Eric and Enrique!! 

[Emeralds]

Wonderful to hear @art_enthusiast and @LinMM enjoyed it! Would love to have seen it but unfortunately can’t get to London this week till 16th or 17th.....missed it by two days! Couldn’t do the Northampton or the other non-London dates either. Really wanted to see the Stevenson End of Time pdd, Nisi Dominus and Majisimo especially, and all the dancers in the group. Looking forward to everyone’s reviews. 😊

[LinMM]

Loved the Majisimo a great piece to show off the young dancers. I recognised the music immediately but know nothing about this ballet. I loved the two Ben van Cauwenberghe pieces as well. But what was nice was there was not one boring piece except perhaps the Two dying Swans piece but the dancing of Jack Easton just about saved that!!   

[LinMM]

Ah thanks art_enthusiast for creating this new thread I will add more later as am about to travel back to Brighton …and whoops I see the Dying Swans piece was Carlos Acosta idea!
I was walking behind Carlos on his own down the stairs to get to seat and as usual couldnt think quick enough to say anything …like I’m looking forward to seeing your July gala..so just quietly admired him dressed in his white suit…a very striking figure.
Will explain why the two Dying Swans piece didn’t grab me later but otherwise huge congrats to Carlos for creating this Company.  

[Emeralds]

Not stalking Carlos but having read SheilaC’s review of the Birmingham 10 June performance and LinMM’s review here, am guessing Carlos’ bout/period of Covid ended just in time for him to attend BRB2 at Linbury but was ongoing at the time of BRB’s closing night of the 2022-23 season at the Hippodrome. Was going to say “Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Carlos” under that thread but I guess he’s recovered! Sounds like it was a brilliant show by BRB2; a pity I can’t  clone myself to be in two places and be able to go tonight.  Safe travels, @LinMM! 

[art_enthusiast]

18 hours ago, Ondine said:

Tell us more, tell us more.... 

 

The vibe/atmosphere of this performance reminded me a lot of a stand-out Next Generation performance in the Linbury last year, from ABT's Studio Company. I enjoyed that immensely, the absolute best part of the festival last year for me (such a shame it wasn't recorded), and BRB2 gave me the same impression. Such stunning virtuosity from everyone. I really loved the performance of Riku Ito in Diana and Aceton with the incomparable Momoko Hirata. That was an absolute highlight for me (absolutely loved her Kitri in Don Quixote last year). She seems to have endless strength and stamina, and his performance was incredibly powerful. Lots to enjoy in Act One of course, with Eric Pinto Cata and Olivia Change Clarke in La Sylphide, I thought they were both superb, his jumps are brilliant. She certainly excelled in the intricacy of the footwork. I haven't seen much of either of them before, apart from glimpsing Eric in the background of Don Quixote last year - I don't get to Birmingham very often unfortunately. But I certainly will look out for them in future. Swan Lake pas de deux - it was my first time seeing both of these dancers and I think they were sublime together. Maïlène Katoch has such an interesting stage presence. 

 

My favourites of Act Two were definitely A Buenos Aires, Je ne regrette rien (loved the dynamic choreography and Regan Hutsell's performance of it) and of course Majísimo. I'd never seen it before and I was spellbound by it. What a fiery, life affirming work and a beautiful ensemble piece. Everyone was so full of life, on pointe (pun intended) and seemed very connected to each other throughout, which was wonderful to see. Enrique Bejarano Vidal, what a mesmerising dancer he is. Certainly put me in mind of Cesar Corrales. And Rachele Pizzillo was superb.

[JNC]

I agree this is a good initiative and congrats to Carlos for delivering it and the dancers for their performances!

 

the standout and highlight for me was Eric Pinto Cata and Olivia Change Clarke in La Sylphide, both technically lovely but also with good character presence. 
 

Riku Ito was also brilliant in Diana and Acteon (and stood fair against Hirata as a principal so props to him, she was also magnificent).

 

To be honest some of the pieces selected didn’t work for me but I appreciate the thought behind the mixed selection even if not to my tastes. 
 

I think the Linbury is the perfect venue for these types of works but whenever I’ve gone it seems a reasonable chunk of the audience are critics/dance VIPs (either dancers of the company and or people like O’Hare and Mason or if I guessed I’d say high level patrons). Of course I would expect to see them there and it’s nice to see them there but considering the size of the Linbury and limited runs of work there I wonder how many people always miss out on tickets to things shown there. 

[capybara]

On key first nights, like this one (Tues. 13th June), a very large swathe of seats seems to be taken by ‘guests’ of various kinds.

But is there any evidence of them depriving others of the opportunity to attend? I got my ticket for tonight at a relatively late stage.

[alison]

Must say, I don't think the whole Festival has had that much publicity: I was annoyed earlier to discover I'd missed the McNicol Ballet Collective 😞

Edited June 15, 2023 by alison
To correct spelling

[Emeralds]

Whenever I see artistic directors of large companies, eg RB or ENB in the audience of shows by visiting companies, although I know the tickets have probably been offered as a professional courtesy (or in fact it wouldn’t be difficult for the directors to buy one themselves to support friends/former colleagues), but after one season when several prominent dancers from the visiting companies  jumped ship to ENB & RB respectively, it did look a little  like the ADs were scouting for talent to poach! I was very tempted to go up to them and say, cheekily, “Enjoy the show, but please don’t poach any more of their dancers 😁”. (Of course, I didn’t say anything at all or even approach them, but the timing was comical!)

 

First nights do often get a lot of guests, critics and professional colleagues in the audience. I suspect BRB2 could have done two more nights at the Linbury and still sold out (then I could have attended -yay - but I suppose other groups and ensembles need to have a chance to perform! Bravo to BRB2’s dancers and coaches, and to Carlos and Kit Holder for getting the venture started! Hope I can see them next year. 

[San Perregrino]

3 hours ago, JNC said:

I think the Linbury is the perfect venue for these types of works but whenever I’ve gone it seems a reasonable chunk of the audience are critics/dance VIPs (either dancers of the company and or people like O’Hare and Mason or if I guessed I’d say high level patrons). Of course I would expect to see them there and it’s nice to see them there but considering the size of the Linbury and limited runs of work there I wonder how many people always miss out on tickets to things shown there. 

During speeches last night it was mentioned that several ‘bookers’/promoters had been in the audience and as a result of what they’d seen are keen to have the show in their theatres when it goes out on tour next year. Great endorsement of BRB2 and its ethos going forward if it can reach a wider, broader audience.

 

[JNC]

I’m not criticising guests/critics/colleagues attending, I think it’s great they’re there (and would expect them to be also!).

 

I don’t have any evidence one way or another but my point was rather the Linbury is a small theatre and so I could be wrong but I sense an extra night or two for everyone to get to see something would be appreciated - particularly because in my experience not many (if any?) tickets are held back when general booking opens. London has 6 million people plus a million or two more given train connections to SE? Surely there are enough people who are interested to fill some more nights?

 

if the whole point of the Linbury is to be more affordable, and open up more experimental works to a wider audience, this seems to (unintentionally) conflict with a large proportion of tickets not available to the general public. It could easily be solved by adding more shows, I could be wrong and maybe 1-2 more nights of BRB would have led to empty seats but I was just voicing my thoughts out loud.

 

(And also thinking about how this affects Sarasota at the Linbury next year and pretty much trying to reconcile not getting a ticket for that.)

[San Perregrino]

I suspect you’re right that BRB2 could have sold seats for additional nights particularly as BRB itself has a strong London & SE fan base wanting to see it. It could have been a programming issue with all the other demands on the Linbury space that meant that extra nights weren’t possible or erring on the side of caution the first time out. 
In this instance I believe seats were sold to BRB Friends/Supporters ahead of them being available to ROH Friends/Supporters and then the general public. A lot of potential demand for relatively few seats. Even so, I believe some seats are always held back until booking opens for general sales though these tend to go quickly if the demand is there. Becoming a friend rightly increases but doesn’t guarantee one’s chances of getting tickets. 
I doubt Sarasota will have its own Friends/Supporters clamouring for tickets in a similar fashion and the general public may not be as interested in Sarasota either. So don’t lose hope just yet. Much will depend on marketing in the run up to tickets going onsale. 
 

Edited June 14, 2023 by PeterS

[capybara]

There were several empty places in Stalls Rows H and K tonight - the area, I believe, which gave rise to the original comment about high guest occupancy.

 

But what a good idea to invite along the head honchos of theatres which could host BRB2 in the future.

 

As for the show itself - I really enjoyed it. Some great talent there and an excellent developmental experience for the dancers in the BRB2 group.

[alison]

I was very surprised that there were only two shows booked: as JNC says above, it's a very small theatre, presumably smaller than anywhere else BRB2 has performed, and it just didn't seem very logical that there would only be the two performances, given the demand.  Frankly, I'd expected something more like a couple of evenings at the Peacock Theatre, or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, or something - somewhere more the capacity of the other theatres.

[LinMM]

Well it certainly deserves more showings. Got rather waylaid watering the garden when got back home so will report tomorrow now but if I were a talented young dancer I’d love to be part of a Company like this to give opportunities of performing roles  in works usually given to more senior Company members. And hopefully works will also  get created on them by young choreographers too.  

[San Perregrino]

8 hours ago, alison said:

I was very surprised that there were only two shows booked: as JNC says above, it's a very small theatre, presumably smaller than anywhere else BRB2 has performed, and it just didn't seem very logical that there would only be the two performances, given the demand.  Frankly, I'd expected something more like a couple of evenings at the Peacock Theatre, or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, or something - somewhere more the capacity of the other theatres.

Keeping this in context, don’t forget that these performances were a part of a festival, the Next Generation Festival. A different proposition to a BRB hiring a venue? Presumably participating companies were invited to take part, so kudos to BRB2 for being included so soon after its creation. As with any other festival, the number of performances would have been limited within the umbrella of the festival and the scope to add more unlikely. I think all participants got two performances apart from ZooNation whose show is half the running time of the others.

By all means think big but most importantly build the brand and the reputation first to create demand. Especially important in these difficult times when there has been so much discussion and experience of empty or discounted seats across the country.

(“Don’t run before you can walk” springs to mind).
 

nb. Personally I think the intimate nature of the show (mainly duets, some additional group work would have added to an already fine evening imho ) suited the Linbury and it could quite easily become ‘lost’ in larger venues.

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by PeterS
More thoughts added

[Jan McNulty]

9 hours ago, PeterS said:

In this instance I believe seats were sold to BRB Friends/Supporters ahead of them being available to ROH Friends/Supporters and then the general public. 

 

Top level BRB Friends/Supporters not lowly members like me.

 

I was never near top supporter level but I was higher up for many years until a re-focus on the supporters means that unless you live in Birmingham or London your membership is basically a donation to the company!  I've got no real proof but I wonder how many supporters the company lost with this re-jigging.  I do know people who dropped their Friends membership.  Non-Birmingham members used to enjoy a stage rehearsal on the opening day at their theatre and class on the Saturday morning.  When classes were thrown open and sold to the general public we still had a row set aside for us and were allowed to enter the auditorium first thanks to the company manager.  Now there are no rehearsals, no dedicated Friends talks, no concessions for watching class (assuming the theatre wants the class to be open on the Saturday - The Lowry obviously does not!) and no priority booking unless you are one of the higher level friends (at least silver and not always then).

 

Whinge over.

 

I'm so glad everyone has been enjoying BRB2 and I have enjoyed reading all your reports.

 

One thing that has puzzled me is that certain well-established BRB dancers have been performing at some of the venues - Momoko Hirata???  She is the leading lady of the company not a young dancer being given the opportunity to do roles that would usually go to dancers of her stature.

 

It will be interesting to see how BRB2 develops next year.

 

BRB2 is appearing in Wolverhampton on Saturday 24th June.  

 

 

[AnneL]

I saw this show last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only reservation is that the lighting for the Dying Swan and the Ben Stevenson piece was a bit too low.

it was obviously a huge treat for me to see the La Sylphide extract (we don’t get enough Bournonville in England in my opinion) and I was very happy to see Diana and Actaeon pdd for the first time ‘live’ as opposed to on video. But I particularly loved the second actwith its less familiar items: the piece to Piazzolla’s music was superbly danced by Olivia Chang Clarke and Enrique Bejarano Vidal, to just pick out one highlight. Majisimo ended the evening on a high note. 
Regarding seats, I booked some time ago and only got restricted view seats at the side, so we inevitably missed some of the dancing. But at £21 for the 2 seats I am not complaining. Given the enjoyment, this was a ballet bargain! I spotted some RB dancers in the audience, as well as Mr Acosta. 

[Ondine]

4 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

One thing that has puzzled me is that certain well-established BRB dancers have been performing at some of the venues - Momoko Hirata???  She is the leading lady of the company not a young dancer being given the opportunity to do roles that would usually go to dancers of her stature.

 

BRB2 is a new initiative for which BRB pro-actively seeks out some of the best young ballet graduates from around the world to join a two-year performance programme, providing vital employment for the next generation of exceptional ballet dancers (aged 18-22) to transition from training into jobs at BRB or other leading ballet companies, impacting the dance sector worldwide. It will act as a magnet for the best UK and international talent, providing extensive training and professional experience, sending developed, professional dancers back into the dance sector and providing role models for the next generation. BRB2 is inspired by Dutch National Ballet Junior Company and ABT Studio Company.

 

Some pretty bold claims here when the company was announced, but the impression given was that the established company members working with the others were mostly fairly junior being given opportunities, not 'leading' ladies! This does skew things rather. I wonder if those saying they would book the company have looked further into what is planned in future? Who will be dancing?

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/the-company/brb2

 

The founder members of BRB2 are Oscar Kempsey-Fagg(UK), Mason King (UK/New Zealand), Frieda Kaden (Germany), Maïlène Katoch (France) and Jack Easton (USA). In 2022/23, BRB2 will also include seven exceptional dancers from the Company: Artists Enrique Bejarano Vidal, Olivia Chang Clarke, Regan Hutsell, Sofia Liñares, Eric Pinto Cata, Lucy Waine, and Soloist Riku Ito.

 

BTW was the Linbury performance to live or recorded music (apart from the swan piece)?

 

The first performance was, though from then on it toured with recorded.

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Ondine

[LinMM]

Yes I slightly preferred the second half as well but see the casting yesterday was a bit different to Tuesday night. 
Personally on Tuesday I loved the cheekiness of Enrique Bejarano Vidal in the Le Bourgeois ( can see the Cesar Corrales  connection art_enthusiast made with this dancer)  and the sheer virtuosity of Riku Ito in the Diana and Actaeon piece. 
Riku Ito dancing with Momoko Hirata in the latter are of course already established stars with BRB but were guesting with the new Company. 
I was sitting quite on the side in slightly restricted view ( which blocked the extreme right side of stage) so when Ito ran on initially I could only see the top of his head and there was something about the panache with which he did it which gave me my Cesar moment… there was just that moment when I thought it was him!  We are obviously missing him on the stage lol!

Anyway this was a fabulous performance by Ito who I don’t know and Momoko was lovely too both delicate and strong at the same time. 
 

[Ondine]

7 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Anyway this was a fabulous performance by Ito who I don’t know and Momoko was lovely too both delicate and strong at the same time. 

 

I'm sure it was, but it certainly isn't what the company was set up to do,  established senior dancers from BRB taking the limelight was it?

 

Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection, which marks BRB2’s touring debut, a show designed to showcase the brilliant technique and virtuoso promise of these young dancers.

 

 

[alison]

Yes, I was surprised to see that Hirata had been included.  More-junior dancers took the roles on the second night.

 

I'd like to comment, but I had a very restricted view.

[LinMM]

Well for me it didn’t take away from the other performances at all…I sort of understood that these were probably special guests for London. 
It did not take away from Regan Hutsells brilliant performance in Je ne Regret Rien or Enrique Bejarano Vidal in Le Bourgeois or Eric Pinto Cata ‘s and Olivia Change Clarke in La Sylphide …I probably clapped louder for these performances and Frieda Kaden and Jack Easton in the Buenos Aires Piece were terrific. 
As said earlier I loved the last piece and didn’t think I was in any way short changed because I’d seen the BRB’s more established stars in the Diana and Actaeon pas de deux earlier. 
This is the very first year of the company so perhaps a little leeway? 
 

[Dawnstar]

3 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I sort of understood that these were probably special guests for London.

 

Hirata isn't on the cast sheets for Northampton, Nottingham or Peterborough so presumaby she was brought in just for London, which does give a bit of a provinces-not-worthy-compared-to-London vibe. I wonder if Hirata was brought in partly to impress any critics in reviewing? I assume she & Ito would have been better technically than the much more junior pairing I saw do that pdd in Peterborough & who I see did the second London performance.

[Ondine]

5 minutes ago, LinMM said:

This is the very first year of the company so perhaps a little leeway? 

 

Or perhaps a little honesty?  Either this is for young dancers as a showcase & experience, or it isn't.   It does make me wonder how much is being developed on the hoof.

 

Also, was this to live or recorded music? 

 

 

[Ondine]

1 minute ago, Dawnstar said:

Hirata isn't on the cast sheets for Northampton, Nottingham or Peterborough so presumaby she was brought in just for London, which does give a bit of a provinces-not-worthy-compared-to-London vibe. I wonder if Hirata was brought in partly to impress any critics in reviewing? I assume she & Ito would have been better technically than the much more junior pairing I saw do that pdd in Peterborough & who I see did the second London performance.

 

 

Well... we did have a long discussion about Peterborough, after a certain critic had suggested it was being short changed? Or even patronised?

 

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/patronising-to-the-people-of-peterborough-brb2s-carlos-acosta-classical-selections-reviewed-2/

 

If on the first night would be bookers were there, and of course critics and the rest, I wonder if they knew what the company would be giving 'out in the sticks'?  (I live very much in the sticks BTW, though I can't see the company being in any village halls!)

 

 

[LinMM]

Well we don’t get that much opportunity to see the BRB stars down here in London so personally I don’t think it hurt to put this pas de deux in on this special occasion. 
I think if people do want to see mostly technical “perfection” then this Company might not be the one to go to. 
I love seeing young dancers perform and can find it very moving when they connect well with the audience …I’ve been in tears before at the annual MainStage RBS show on more than one occasion!! 
It was mostly to recorded music which was too loud at times especially in the first piece…Rhapsody piece. 

[Ondine]

3 minutes ago, LinMM said:

BRB stars down here in London

 

 

Nor do many places, but this was supposed to be part of the 'Next Generation Festival'  for up and coming dancers / companies?  If some of the youngsters danced this PDD on other nights, I think they should have been given the opportunity on the 'big' night.  I wonder why not?

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, alison said:

I'd like to comment, but I had a very restricted view.

 

Not like this then? 😐