Classical V. Contemporary Choreography

[Bruce Wall]

36 minutes ago, capybara said:

I see from an item in today’s Links that Joseph Toonga is continuing his choreographic residency with the RB for a third season.

 

I thought that this scheme was designed as a being for a year with the aim of enabling young, emerging choreographers to be mentored while benefiting from the experience of working with the Company.

 

This really doesn't surprise me at all, capybara.  This is - at least from what he said at the last BA meeting he spoke at - very much in keeping with the current Director of the Royal's core philosophy.  He has been good to those words.  You can't blame someone for not doing what, at heart, they intended to do in the first place.  He was open about it there.  I appreciated that.  I clearly heard him at that time and took his words to heart.  Indeed, post pandemic it has changed my own life.  I used to organise short programmes with my work away (and I know it is a luxury that I can do so - but then, that too, I've long worked for) so that I could catch up with different ballet companies.  (Of course, the obvious results of Brexit have played into the mix.  We have been promised great benefits which seem now that they may be in a future I might not see so - as ever - we can only live in the time we have.)  NOW I plan longer residences away (e.g., three months in NYC spread over the year, and terms in Paris, Munich, Hamburg and elsewhere) so I can keep abreast of current conversations which seek to keep the BALLETIC idiom alive - i.e., bring it forward.  This is a personal choice.  It is important to me and, I fear, much of Mr. Toonga's work and the like - and obviously there are a vast many who enjoy it - and I DO appreciate that - is simply not to my taste - try as I may.  As my mother used to say: 'It has to be on the better side of the compromise'.  This is - as ever - a personal choice.  Of course, things MIGHT change - but after a lifetime's dedication to the balletic core - which I sincerely have to thank Balanchine for igniting and certainly fostering during the dance boom - I have, at heart, a certain dedication.  It is as I say a choice.  Certainly I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in London next June for the Ashton - and so appreciate the work of the Royal in their core McMillian and McGregor endeavours.  Especially those.  No one - and I mean NO ONE - does them better.   That is now what I go to the Royal for.  I know this Director - given his commitment - will deliver.  Certainly you won't want to see NYCB in either McGregor or McMillan.  It would be disastrous.  They tried with the latter once and on those dancers it went down like a lead balloon.  Things such as dramatic contortions, contractions, continual hyper-extensions are simply not mixed wthin their core bread and butter.  At the ROH they wear their rightful ownership of such SO proudly and I SO applaud that and feel privileged to be enveloped in their own joy in its deliverance.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[bridiem]

28 minutes ago, capybara said:

I see from an item in today’s Links that Joseph Toonga is continuing his choreographic residency with the RB for a third season.

 

I thought that this scheme was designed as a being for a year with the aim of enabling young, emerging choreographers to be mentored while benefiting from the experience of working with the Company.

 

What benefit has the company obtained from this residency? (Apart from PR etc.) Or, if the benefit is all to the choreographer, why should this one person be privileged in this way? Are there really no other emerging choreographers? Even maybe one working in the field of ballet (perish the thought)? Makes me very angry, in fact.

[OnePigeon]

I do so badly want to see NYCB doing Robbins and some lesser seen Balanchine, or bringing over some Ratmansky.  We seem to be badly served in the UK with those choreographers, especially when I see Paris and Milan programming them .  In all honesty, I don’t want to see anyone doing McGregor 🤭.  I’ve had enough of contemporary - I just want to see some more twentieth century classics being programmed here as I don’t have the funds or time to go travelling.  Ah well.

[Bruce Wall]

1 minute ago, OnePigeon said:

I do so badly want to see NYCB doing Robbins and some lesser seen Balanchine, or bringing over some Ratmansky.  We seem to be badly served in the UK with those choreographers, especially when I see Paris and Milan programming them .  In all honesty, I don’t want to see anyone doing McGregor 🤭.  I’ve had enough of contemporary - I just want to see some more twentieth century classics being programmed here as I don’t have the funds or time to go travelling.  Ah well.

 

Then, OnePigeon, you won't find them at that address with the current Director.  This is not his remit or intention.  He has said that plainly and proudly.  He is a man of his word.  It is not his 'priority'.  Take it or leave it.  If you want to see the kinds of works you suggest you must travel.  Having listened to him - and taken him to heart - and admiring his conviction - which I certainly do - that is what I now choose to do.  I think we HAVE to be comfortable with this.  As I say the Royal does the works of McGregor and McMillian as well as anyone in the world.  (Although I have to say the Stuttgart Mayerling was a revelation for me).  Be proud of that.  I agree with capybara and anna, I don't think TAB is top rank - certainly in what they presented.  But then I had the privilege of seeing the originators in a goodly number of those works presented - and, yes, I'm of an age that allows for that.  In my postings about TAB I was careful to simply praise those Company artists I thought were good in their charges and I did think Sandra Jennings did a fine job of shaping the whole of the Balanchine.  I feel the same often about the Royal's contributions of the same - especially where the musical standard - especially where it has been - and I use the word reservedly - 'orchestrated'.  I'm not certain now that Balanchine, Robbins or Ratmansky are really right for this Royal - as much as I'd like to see some of the core dancers in those charges.  I cherish the fact I can see them in what they truly are outstanding for / in - and applaud this Director for his dedication to the core choreographer's he chooses celebrates.   That kind of conviction I do sincerely admire - whether or not his immediate tastes match with my own.  There is still much to learn.  

 

[zxDaveM]

58 minutes ago, capybara said:

I see from an item in today’s Links that Joseph Toonga is continuing his choreographic residency with the RB for a third season.

 

 

Only two thoughts spring to mind.

Why? and - can't they find anyone else?

[Sim]

23 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

 I'm not certain now that Balanchine, Robbins or Ratmansky are really right for this Royal - as much as I'd like to see some of the core dancers in those charges.  I cherish the fact I can see them in what they truly are outstanding for / in - and applaud this Director for his dedication to the core choreographer's he chooses celebrates.   That kind of conviction I do sincerely admire - whether or not his immediate tastes match with my own.  There is still much to learn.  

 

Well if the RB and other home companies were given the chance to dance these choreographers' works a bit more often, they might become more comfortable with their styles.  For those of us not lucky enough to go back and forth between NYC or other places abroad our only chance to see these works is if our home companies dance them, or we have to wait for the overseas companies to come here.  Of course no-one can beat the RB in MacMillan, nor NYCB in Balanchine, but they should not be limited to what they are good at.  Dancers love a challenge, and therefore they should perform pieces outside of their comfort zones.  Otherwise things can get stale for them and for the audience.  

[Bruce Wall]

17 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well if the RB and other home companies were given the chance to dance these choreographers' works a bit more often, they might become more comfortable with their styles.  For those of us not lucky enough to go back and forth between NYC or other places abroad our only chance to see these works is if our home companies dance them, or we have to wait for the overseas companies to come here.  Of course no-one can beat the RB in MacMillan, or NYCB in Balanchine, but they should not be limited to what they are good at.  Dancers love a challenge, and therefore they should perform pieces outside of their comfort zones.  Otherwise things can get stale for them and for the audience.  

 

I SO agree with you, Sim.  Truly I do - and for that reason - as I noted in my remarks - I applaud David Hallberg for his sharing the range of works he has in his initial time with the Australian audiences.  That is NOT one of this RB Director's 'priorities' or, indeed, his intention.  As I say, you can't blame someone for NOT doing something they never intended to in the first place.  This would have been clear at the time of his engagement.  (He made it clear at the BA meeting noting that this was his intention from the outset - and I SO admire that kind of commitment.)  We can all take it or leave it much as in life.  At least there is something there to disagree with and not just general babble.  He put his cards on the table.  That too is surely a good thing.  I admire that - whether I agree with the pack or not.  That is MY choice much as it is yours, Sim.

 

I remember once doing a session some years back in a NY prison and being lucky to have Kevin Kline - who's a Shakespearean fanatic with an encyclopaedic memory - in the professional mix.  He gave the best advice I've ever heard given to a drama student - or indeed ANY student vis a vis instruction.  He leant over to the prisoner, smiled and simply said:  'Take the best and leave the rest.'

 

I remember hearing this at the time, turning and saying: 'Too right!'

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[bridiem]

3 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well if the RB and other home companies were given the chance to dance these choreographers' works a bit more often, they might become more comfortable with their styles.  For those of us not lucky enough to go back and forth between NYC or other places abroad our only chance to see these works is if our home companies dance them, or we have to wait for the overseas companies to come here.  Of course no-one can beat the RB in MacMillan, or NYCB in Balanchine, but they should not be limited to what they are good at.  Dancers love a challenge, and therefore they should perform pieces outside of their comfort zones.  Otherwise things can get stale for them and for the audience.  

 

Yes, and in fact RB programming has got extremely predictable over the years in terms of both who and what. As evidenced by the fact that forum members can generally forecast with a high level of accuracy what will be on offer (or not on offer) in the coming season. But I suppose that if most past works even of great RB choreographers are considered to be 'heritage' works (damning word in the current climate) it's no wonder that we so rarely see great works by choreographers from other companies. Very blinkered if you ask me.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

I see from an item in today’s Links that Joseph Toonga is continuing his choreographic residency with the RB for a third season.

 

I thought that this scheme was designed as a being for a year with the aim of enabling young, emerging choreographers to be mentored while benefiting from the experience of working with the Company.

Also interesting that Jessica Lang, an ESTABLISHED choreographer who has made 2 works for BRB, is included.

[Bruce Wall]

1 hour ago, OnePigeon said:

I don’t want to see anyone doing McGregor 🤭.  

 

There's a world doing it.  I've seen McGregor works done by the POB, the Hamburg Company, the NBoC, ABT - the one NYCB disaster where it was found to be 'inappropriate' (and I say that so admiring much of his RB work where it is core) .... off the top of my head - and that's just me.   Again, no one does it better than the current RB.  They wear it like their own skin now.  This - post Stock - is what they are being trained for.  Indeed, I understand, that McGregor and Watson are now core in terms of the very selection of new dancers.  This is is why it has grown so glorious.  How I loved Untitled because of this.  Be proud of what you have I say to myself.  There's clearly a world that would love to be in your shoes.  

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[capybara]

21 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

Also interesting that Jessica Lang, an ESTABLISHED choreographer who has made 2 works for BRB, is included.

 

Just to be clear, if you don't mind Jan, it seems that she will be part of The Festival of New Choreography but not an RB employee as Toonga continues to be.

[bridiem]

19 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

There's a world doing it.  I've seen McGregor works done by the POB, the Hamburg Company, the NBoC, ABT - the one NYCB disaster where it was found to be 'inappropriate' (and I say that so admiring much of his RB work where it is core) .... off the top of my head - and that's just me.   Again, no one does it better than the current RB.  They wear it like their own skin now.  This - post Stock - is what they are being trained for.  Indeed, I understand, that McGregor and Watson are now core in terms of the very selection of new dancers.  This is is why it has grown so glorious.  How I loved Untitled because of this.  Be proud of what you have I say to myself.  There's clearly a world that would love to be in your shoes.  

 

So presumably the RB would not recruit Muntagirov now? I agree with you that McGregor has had a huge influence on the company; I disagree that the effect has been 'glorious'.

[Guest oncnp]

5 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

So presumably the RB would not recruit Muntagirov now? I agree with you that McGregor has had a huge influence on the company; I disagree that the effect has been 'glorious'.

 

To be honest, they didn't recruit him "then" either......and as KOH went to great pains to made clear when he joined the RB, the initiative was Muntagirov's

Edited August 8, 2023 by oncnp
you could at least spell his name correctly

[bridiem]

8 minutes ago, oncnp said:

To be honest, they didn't recruit him "then" either......and as KOH went to great pains to made clear when he joined the RB, the initiative was Muntagirov's

 

Well they offered him a contract, which amounts to the same thing.

[OnePigeon]

39 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

He leant over to the prisoner, smiled and simply said:  'Take the best and leave the rest.'

 

Well yes, but if you’re not getting much opportunity to take the best then the only option is to just leave it.  It makes me sad to have to leave it, but if the future of ballet is contemporary and the usual few Petipa classics, I’m out.  I’m sadly not in any position to appoint or have influence over a director of an arts institution and I don’t applaud any director whose vision it is to give piecemeal to the vast swathe of influential and important works produced in the twentieth century in favour of the same few bums on seats classics and contemporary, whether he’s honest about it or not.  I care about ballet and I’d prefer a better balance of old and new, if they’re only recruiting dancers based on how good they’ll be at McGregor choreography I find nothing to be proud of and everything to despair at.

[Bruce Wall]

32 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

So presumably the RB would not recruit Muntagirov now? I agree with you that McGregor has had a huge influence on the company; I disagree that the effect has been 'glorious'.

 

I think that is arguable as you suggest.  Such a hiring would - in and of itself - no longer be - as clearly stated - 'a priority' - much as, say, Mr. Toonga's might not have been - or certainly so extended previously.  But then I haven't seen Vadim in a McGregor work ... but certainly he is a fine McMillan artist.  I so cherish the memory of him in Manon with Hayward.  Pure theatrical thrill it was.  I also loved him in Winter Dreams - and, of course, he is so celebrated already for his commitment to Mayerling.  He seems to be happy that he is in a 'good place' for him - and, after all, he seems - more than many others - relatively free to travel the world to find outside fulfilment as well.

As to the glorious bit, bridiem, some years back I would have struggled to hear myself type that.  Most certainly.  It was the current Director who helped me really to find a way.   When I found a route where I knew that I would be able to cherish was was important to me I began - in earnest - to really go and study the McGregor works.  I saw this Company grow in them.  I know he doesn't choregraph 'to' music but rather against it.  Still, I find much of this now so intriguing.  It is a celebration of fate.  To me that can be glorious.  I love seeing how his pieces fall and - given his mathematical predilections - seeing how the puzzles work out.  (That said there are some - like Multiverse - that I fear I simply can't abide no matter how hard I try.)  Now this Company is rife with core artists who are specialists in the same; who can best lead you in this contemporary game.  As long as I can have my Balanchine, Robbins and Ratmansky - my core forward balletic fix - (and I have 82 tickets for just the next current NYCB season alone - it's 75th - call me a 'NYCB promer') then I am more than game to join in the celebration of the McGregor cèilidhs.  It has come at a cost certainly but I feel I have been the beneficiary of such.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[Guest oncnp]

22 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Well they offered him a contract, which amounts to the same thing.

 

Did they? I've heard the story that he ended up at the ENB because the RB didn't offer him a contract at graduation (my definition of recruited i.e. actively sought)   Didn't realized he turned the RB down. Thanks for the clarification. 

Edited August 8, 2023 by oncnp

[Balletfanp]

I think @Bridiem might have meant when he joined the RB later? He wasn’t offered one on graduation.

[bridiem]

2 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

I think @Bridiem might have meant when he joined the RB later? He wasn’t offered one on graduation.

 

Yes, I did mean that.

[Balletfanp]

19 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

I so cherish the memory of him in Manon with Hayward.  Pure theatrical thrill it was.  I also loved him in Winter Dreams - and, of course, he is so celebrated already for his commitment to Mayerling.  He seems to be happy that he is in a 'good place' for him - and, after all, he seems - more than many others - relatively free to travel the world to find outside fulfilment as well.

 

 

 

 

He has only ever danced in Manon with Sarah Lamb (thus far) - but yes, he was fantastic.

[Bruce Wall]

32 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

He has only ever danced in Manon with Sarah Lamb (thus far) - but yes, he was fantastic.

 

Of course you are right - Thank you, Balletfanp.  They were BOTH stunning.  They seemed to feed a fire off each other.  That said, I would love to see him do it with Hayward.  Hayward is SO spectacular in that as she is in McGregor - as is, of course, Lamb.  The Royal dancers seem to become especially rich in what is their now committed dance idiom by dancing both.  This too is why the Pite sits so well with them I assume.  Wheeldon is very clever in creating works especially focused for their talents.  They are oh, so very different from those he creates for, say, NYCB, SFB or the Joffrey.  He sets those works expressly to the home Company's style.  I'm sure he is especially appreciative of these alternative opportunities.  

 

I should perhaps just add Peck (and that's Justin - not Tiler - although I have enjoyed the two things of hers I've seen too) to my list of Balanchine, Robbins and Ratmansky.  I so adore, say, his Rodeo (now the first movement of Copland Episodes).  I could watch it endlessly.  I used to so want the Royal to do Rodeo - in its original format (which I still prefer only because of a couple of minor bits - such as the use of the rope - that have been removed from it as it now sits) - and that only because I thought it would be a brilliant way to bring young lads into the ballet.  It so celebrates the football spirit which I know Peck himself is a fan of - and does so with stunning balletic delights.  After seeing TAB squeeze that movement of Everywhere We Go onto the Covent Garden stage I now know it really wouldn't be fair either to the artists, the audience or to Peck himself.  That, of course, beyond the knowledge that it too would not fit into the current Royal Company style as clearly defined by its rightly admired Director.  I would, though, love to see BRB or ENB do, say, some of his chamber works.  Belle Lettres is one I love and would work oh, so very well at Sadler's Wells - or Heatscape.  Still, there are a world of Peck works now to choose from.  I realise they are as foreign here - but then I know there will be a goodly number of world companies that will come to have these in time.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[MildConcern]

I found it interesting in Muntagirov's autobiography that he states he has said he won't dance modern works because he doesn't want it to detract from his classical technique, and management have respected that. 

 

He obviously came to the RB as an established principal, but I suspect this would've panned out quite differently if he was hired by the RB on graduation - in that I don't think he would've been able avoid dancing to styles that are not his preference. 

[OnePigeon]

We are blessed to have a beautiful world class dancer like Muntagirov choosing to make London his home, I find it sad that he needs to jet around the world in order to find career fulfilment when we have a wonderful choice of repertoire right here at the RB that isn’t being danced. Of course dancers will want to dance with other companies and I’m sure it is wonderful for Vadim to do this, but it’s concerning if he has to do this because of the direction the RB is heading in, as is being suggested.
 

There should be room for everything and all tastes, but ballet needs to be at the heart of the Royal Ballet, without it being diluted to a point where the recognisable language of the art form has been altered so much.  There are many other opportunities and companies for those who wish to watch and dance contemporary, I really don’t believe it should be front and centre of the direction the RB are taking.  That’s not to say they can’t commission new works, of course they must, but it seems to be work of a certain type that is becoming tedious to me.

[bridiem]

4 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

I found it interesting in Muntagirov's autobiography that he states he has said he won't dance modern works because he doesn't want it to detract from his classical technique, and management have respected that. 

 

He obviously came to the RB as an established principal, but I suspect this would've panned out quite differently if he was hired by the RB on graduation - in that I don't think he would've been able avoid dancing to styles that are not his preference. 

 

It was interesting - he refers to the strain that 'some' modern choreography puts on necks, hips and knees, and (modestly) says that he felt he was too classical a dancer to do such new ballets justice (and that he may have missed out on some opportunities by making this preference clear). But he has in fact danced in some modern works (inc Wheeldon etc) so it clearly wasn't a blanket refusal.

[Bluebird]

Note to Mods:

Doesn’t this discussion deserve a thread if its own? It certainly doesn’t have much to do with the title of the thread: ‘Royal Ballet Promotions 2023’.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bluebird

[capybara]

1 hour ago, oncnp said:

To be honest, they didn't recruit him "then" either......and as KOH went to great pains to made clear when he joined the RB, the initiative was Muntagirov's

 

I recall Kevin O'Hare being asked at The London Ballet Circle whether he would like to have Vadim and his reply and body language indicated that he would, except that he would "never poach a dancer from another company".

 

 

36 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

I found it interesting in Muntagirov's autobiography that he states he has said he won't dance modern ** works because he doesn't want it to detract from his classical technique, and management have respected that. 

 

He obviously came to the RB as an established principal, but I suspect this would've panned out quite differently if he was hired by the RB on graduation - in that I don't think he would've been able avoid dancing to styles that are not his preference. 

 

In common with almost everyone I was an admirer of Edward Watson but the only pure classical role he ever danced was Albrecht in Giselle and that in only one run. Yet, based on how Muntagirov blew everyone away as Prince Rudolf in Mayerling, I suspect that he could do as much, if not more, justice to MacGregor and other modern choreographers as most other RB dancers. But the classics are so demanding that it doesn't work 'the other way around'.  So if, as Bruce Wall intimates and recent seasons confirm, recruitment is putting an emphasis on being able to 'dance modern', who will be able to perform the classics to the required standard in the future? And where would that leave the Company?

 

[** I think that Muntagirov declined to dance MacGregor rather than all new work.]

 

32 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

We are blessed to have a beautiful world class dancer like Muntagirov choosing to make London his home, I find it sad that he needs to jet around the world in order to find career fulfilment when we have a wonderful choice of repertoire right here at the RB that isn’t being danced. Of course dancers will want to dance with other companies and I’m sure it is wonderful for Vadim to do this, but it’s concerning if he has to do this because of the direction the RB is heading in, as is being suggested.

 

I agree that it's very sad and a bad omen that dancers such as Muntagirov are seemingly being underused at the RB. They are the Company's 'crown jewels' and are what keeps it 'up there' as (and I quote) "one of the world's great ballet companies".

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by capybara

[alison]

22 minutes ago, capybara said:

In common with almost everyone I was an admirer of Edward Watson but the only pure classical role he ever danced was Albrecht in Giselle and that in only one run.

 

Watson did, I think, 3 runs of Albrecht before Leanne Benjamin decided to retire.  I saw all of them, because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss her last performances as Giselle.

 

2 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

Indeed, I understand, that McGregor and Watson are now core in terms of the very selection of new dancers.  

 

Bruce, are you seriously suggesting that the two of them are having the main say as to who the company recruits, or just who is cast in various ballets?  If it's the former, that seems very wrong to me.

 

22 minutes ago, capybara said:

I agree that it's very sad and a bad omen that dancers such as Muntagirov are seemingly being underused at the RB. They are the Company's 'crown jewels' and are what keeps it 'up there' as (and I quote) "one of the world's great ballet companies".

 

But Muntagirov (and others) have always been "underused" in terms of the number of performances that they want/require, surely?  Hence why they guest so much elsewhere.  With the RB working on the basis of only a couple of performances per programme, that probably applies to all principals, and many first soloists - and, going back to the initial comment about Watson - is why it's so difficult for any dancer at the Royal Ballet to get into a role in depth in the same way that is possible with e.g. BRB or ENB.  It must be so frustrating for anyone who really wants to develop in a role, having to wait several years until their next chance.

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, OnePigeon said:

There are many other opportunities and companies for those who wish to watch and dance contemporary, I really don’t believe it should be front and centre of the direction the RB are taking.

 

I think that is the nub of why I find the RB's extensive use of McGregor & others of his ilk so depressing. Apart from the short runs of 1 or 2 ballets from ENB, & occasional even shorter visits from BRB and overseas companies, the main supply of classical ballet in London is from the RB. So when the RB is doing contemporary works there is likely to be no classical ballet on in London. For instance this comming season as far as I can find there will be no classical ballet performed in London from 18th November to 4th December, as the RB is doing the Dante Project. And no, I for one certainly can't afford to travel anywhere else to see performances when there aren't any on in London.

[capybara]

19 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Watson did, I think, 3 runs of Albrecht before Leanne Benjamin decided to retire.  I saw all of them, because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss her last performances as Giselle.

 

But Muntagirov (and others) have always been "underused" in terms of the number of performances that they want/require, surely?  

 

Apologies for misremembering the number of times Watson danced Albrecht.

 

I did, I think, phrase my comment to include other dancers. I certainly meant to.  I guess that, when the Manon casting issues, we will see that most leads will have only two shows.

[Bruce Wall]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

I agree that it's very sad and a bad omen that dancers such as Muntagirov are seemingly being underused at the RB. They are the Company's 'crown jewels' and are what keeps it 'up there' as (and I quote) "one of the world's great ballet companies".

 

 

Your initial comment today, capybara, FINALLY made me want to come out of my proverbial closet as per BcF which I've been privileged to be part of I believe since it first began and that was when the world still had the 'intranet'. 

 

I've been biting my lip for quite some time hereabouts.  Much as you said of TAB, capybara, I no longer think of the so-titled 'Royal Ballet' as of the 'first rank' of BALLET companies.  To my mind - in terms of the BALLETIC IDIOM - IT ISN'T.  What it 'IS' Is it a great DANCE company - OF THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION.  NO QUESTION WHATSOEVER.  You can rest assured of that.  It's the ballet bit in terms of the Royal that now sticks in my craw.  The BALLETIC IDIOM is no longer at this Company's heart (and here I assume that it still IS at TAB).  How could it be with the current Director's own philosophy? - and, yes, I'm certain Ashton, Tudor and the like are weeping in their graves.  I can no longer bring myself to call it the 'Royal Ballet' - I just can't - I'm sorry - and that is JUST for my OWN peace of mind.  I call it the RDT - the Royal Dance Theatre - as to my mind that is what it is - and IT IS A VERY FINE ONE AT THAT.  As a 'Dance Theatre' the ROYAL IS ONE OF THE BEST.  This separates it from ENB or even the current BRB methinks.  

 

Ballet companies can be very wayward beasts.  Blessedly Paris are now turning back after an age in the balletic dark it seems.  The greatest shame - THE GREATEST SHAME IN TERMS OF WORLD BALLET - AND THAT INCUDES THE UK WHERE IT PERTAINS - I STILL think is that Millipied left the POB - because he had - or was creating - a Choreographic Institute to be headed by Forsyth who - lest we forget - he had persuaded BACK to BALLET - (and THAT alone must have taken some doing) - and THAT I'm convinced would have had a major change for the perspective of BALLET in the 21st Century's cultural WORLD.  Still, the Parisians were true to form and squelched that turn; one they had themselves so bravely initiated.  

 

People can blame Peter Martins for many things - and God knows they I'm sure rightfully do - (and let it be known I was never a huge fan of his choreography - a few bits excepted) but he DID what he PROMISED Balanchine he WOULD do - The company would STICK TO A BALLETIC IDIOM AND BRING IT FORWARD.  Just look at huge amount of BALLETIC WORKS created for the various Diamond Projects (Hermann Sherman will have been one of those locals here will have seen).  Jonathan and Wendy - at least from my perspective - are doing a GLORIOUS job in that regard too.  IT AIN'T EASY.  IT CAN'T BE.  There's a world pulling against their tide.  Given that they are at every single performance and rehearsal - or at least one of them if not both - it's easy to strike up conversations in this regard.  STILL THAT OVERALL BALLETIC CONVERSATION IS NOT - AT CORE - HAPPENING HERE AT THE RDT's HEART.  Let's just face it. 

 

What IS here, HOWEVER, is JUST AS FANTASTIC - BUT DIFFERENT.  

 

I am AS grateful for the current NYCB balletic conversations as I am for the STUNNING ACCOMPLISHMENT of the ROYAL (Dance Theatre) in their commitment to the contemporary paths of McMillan and McGregor and the forwarding of such.  THAT TOO is well worth celebrating on a WORLD stage.  WELL WORTH IT.  It's just not BALLETIC at core.  To call it that is I think a disservice to the what the previous Royal Director took such pains to foster and what the current one is clearly holding tight as his mandate.  I celebrate both - much as I had in the past been proud to celebrate the so-called Royal Ballet - and I do sincerely cherish those memories - I was privileged to have them - but today it would be to diminish those (i.e, THAT heritage) were I not to find - or appropriately - have found a way to make peace with the current priorities and finding an appropriate terminology to acknowledge such.  Of course we will celebrate the Royal Ballet's past with the Ashton - and I CAN'T WAIT - but it is the future that must hold within any current title.  I NOW CHOOSE TO CHERISH THE ROYAL DANCE THEATRE.  

 

Were that NOT to be the case I would be joining One Pidgeon and WOULD BE OUT.  

 

AS IT IS, I cannot wait for the Royal to bring forward more new Dance Theatre for us ALL to celebrate.  They do what they do OH, SO VERY WELL.  It is the House they have built and it is a fine one.  

 

..... Got that off my chest .... I'm certainly done for today .... as I've let my own work pile up .... but it was, I think, time and certainly worth it.  For that, so, so much thanks, capybara.  

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[OnePigeon]

6 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

I NOW CHOOSE TO CHERISH THE ROYAL DANE THEATRE

Well hopefully we’ll at least get some Bournonville . 😉

[Scheherezade]

To what extent can the many lengthy and serious injuries suffered by some of the wonderful dancers in today’s RB be attributed to the increasing concentration on more extreme contemporary choreography, and is it significant that dancers such as Muntagirov who do not dance these works tend to remain largely injury-free?

I may be mistaken, and please correct me if I am wrong, but I am fairly sure that at least some of the dancers from the former golden age of the ‘60s and ‘70s were quite vocal about the increased likelihood of injury when both styles of dance were performed at the same time. 

[Sim]

1 hour ago, Scheherezade said:

To what extent can the many lengthy and serious injuries suffered by some of the wonderful dancers in today’s RB be attributed to the increasing concentration on more extreme contemporary choreography, and is it significant that dancers such as Muntagirov who do not dance these works tend to remain largely injury-free?

I may be mistaken, and please correct me if I am wrong, but I am fairly sure that at least some of the dancers from the former golden age of the ‘60s and ‘70s were quite vocal about the increased likelihood of injury when both styles of dance were performed at the same time. 

I have spoken to a few classical dancers in various companies about this, and whilst on the one hand they are interested in trying something new, they have been so highly trained in ballet for so many years that doing the contortions and twisting and timings of some contemporary choreography does their bodies no good at all, so many would rather not dance it.