English National Ballet casting thread 2023/24

[LACAD]

16 hours ago, MAX said:

What about Natacha Mair ?  She does not seem injured if I referred to her instagram account.

She did just guest in the Netherlands performing Odette/Odile, my hunch is that we won’t see her until Swan Lake in the RAH (there’s two casting TBC slots currently). I don’t want to speculate but I certainly hope it’s good news! 

[Irmgard]

17 hours ago, MAX said:

What about Natacha Mair ?  She does not seem injured if I referred to her instagram account.

From her Instagram account, it appears she is currently guesting with the Shanghai Ballet in Amsterdam and therefore has not been cast for Sadler's Wells.  Posted at the same time as LACAD!

Edited September 9, 2023 by Irmgard
addition

[Dawnstar]

17 minutes ago, Irmgard said:

@Dawnstar.  I would go for the slightly restricted First Circle seats at either end of Row A.  Sadler's Wells is a relatively small theatre, and Row A does not feel that far from the stage so the restricted view price is good value.

 

Thank you again. I've just booked A2 for 22nd. (Fortunately my preferred casts for the Balanchine & Dawson pieces align on a convenient date.)

[Amanda Liu]

19 minutes ago, LACAD said:

She did just guest in the Netherlands performing Odette/Odile, my hunch is that we won’t see her until Swan Lake in the RAH (there’s two casting TBC slots currently). I don’t want to speculate but I certainly hope it’s good news! 

The swan lake she performed with Shanghai ballet is also a Derek Dean production so seems weird that she’s not been cast for the one at RAH.

[capybara]

No criticism of anyone on here as we are all entitled to our preferences; but I sometimes wonder how many of the top dancers at ENB today will gain traction in the minds of the public.

 

My memory may be faulty but I seem to remember a time (back in the noughties and beyond) when several ballerinas and male dancers were really well known ‘names’ and acknowledged as being ‘up there’ with the best of the RB and BRB.

 

Maybe the prior fame of Rojo and Cojocaru (both wonderful in their own way, of course) had the effect of eclipsing others. They may have gone to pastures new but today’s ENB seems (to me) to be bursting with ‘star’ talent nonetheless.

I hope that the upcoming Our Voices programme (and the enticing casting for Giselle) will serve to remind ENB’s audiences just how extraordinarily good both the longer serving Principals and some newer/younger dancers are. 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by capybara

[San Perregrino]

5 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Thank you again. I've just booked A2 for 22nd. (Fortunately my preferred casts for the Balanchine & Dawson pieces align on a convenient date.)

My incomplete memory suggests to me that First Circle A2 & A34 may be sold as restricted view because of railings or lighting rig being in your sight line and/or perhaps partially obscured by the side Gallery seats. I doubt that they are Press seats. 
A call to the box office may help you clarify things rather than being disappointed on the night. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by PeterS

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, PeterS said:

My incomplete memory suggests to me that First Circle A2 & A34 may be sold as restricted view because of railings or lighting rig being in your sight line and/or perhaps partially obscured by the side Gallery seats. I doubt that they are Press seats. 
A call to the box office may help you clarify things rather than being disappointed on the night. 

There are some photos and reviews of the view from First Circle A2 on seatplan.com:

 

https://seatplan.com/london/sadlers-wells-theatre/seating-plan/

 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Bluebird

[Dawnstar]

Oh well. I've booked now, & I won't be in London again until that date to go to the box office, so I'll just have to put up with whatever I get.

[Blossom]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Oh well. I've booked now, & I won't be in London again until that date to go to the box office, so I'll just have to put up with whatever I get.

The box office are incredibly helpful by email or phone. You may be able to change your ticket.

[Dawnstar]

ENB tweeted this earlier. I hadn't realised the piece was going to be a sequel. As I've never seen The Rite Of Spring I can't imagine the new piece will make much sense to me! The dancers being barefoot & not a pointe shoe in sight does not encourage me in the slightest either.

 

[Jan McNulty]

10 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

ENB tweeted this earlier. I hadn't realised the piece was going to be a sequel. As I've never seen The Rite Of Spring I can't imagine the new piece will make much sense to me! The dancers being barefoot & not a pointe shoe in sight does not encourage me in the slightest either.

 

 

I'm not entirely sure you need to have seen any production of Rite before you see it's sequel!

 

There's a village (ish) where the villagers dance as they choose a maiden to sacrifice.  Maiden chosen and sacrificed.  The end.

 

There have been loads of different productions of Rite over the years since the original production.

 

Enjoy the performance!

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

ENB tweeted this earlier. I hadn't realised the piece was going to be a sequel. As I've never seen The Rite Of Spring I can't imagine the new piece will make much sense to me! The dancers being barefoot & not a pointe shoe in sight does not encourage me in the slightest either.

 

 

What does encourage me is that Francesca Velicu was phenomenal when ENB danced Pina Bausch's Rite and it looks, from the photos, as if she is very central to the action in this new work also.

[alison]

I was under the impression - possibly because of the casting - that it was a response to the Mats Ek Rite ENB did last year.

[Irmgard]

On 17/08/2023 at 16:35, Dawnstar said:

 

 

No sign of Mair in any of the casts, which seems rather an odd omission. Even if she's injured, with casting being announced through to next June that would have to be a really bad injury to assume already that she'd be out for the entire season.

English National Ballet has just announced that Natascha Mair has left the company to pursue other ventures on and off stage.

[capybara]

All good wishes to Natascha. Unfortunately,  having joined during the pandemic, she didn’t seem to be around enough for ENB’s audiences (well me, anyway) to connect fully with her.

 

Given that there is now no dancer at Principal level, I wonder whether the AD will take the opportunity to reduce the number of ranks (i.e. with one just being called Principal). The current 7  does seem a bit excessive.

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Irmgard said:

English National Ballet has just announced that Natascha Mair has left the company to pursue other ventures on and off stage.

 

Thanks for the information. That's the second female principal who has joined then quite quickly left ENB in the last few years. I'm surprised she's still listed on ENB's website, though the link just goes to a blank page at least for me, as usually they're pretty good at updating it.

[Irmgard]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Thanks for the information. That's the second female principal who has joined then quite quickly left ENB in the last few years. 

You have to balance that against the female principals who have been with the company a long time: Takahashi since 1996, Oliveira since 2000 and Kase since 2009, and Hawes joined in 2018.  In fact, most of ENB's female principals, even going back to its LFB days, enjoyed long careers with the company.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

That's the second female principal who has joined then quite quickly left ENB in the last few years.

 

Kochetkova did come and go during the 'reign' of one AD but, more often, there is a bit of churn when the person at the top changes. 

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that, given ENB has existing talent such as Katja Kaniukova, I was surprised when it happened that another Principal (Mair) was recruited from outside the Company.

[Emeralds]

Oh that’s a pity that Natascha Mair has left (I was hoping her absence was due to something temporary). I enjoyed the last two performances I saw her in (Sleeping Beauty grand pas de deux in the Nureyev Gala, and one of the Seasons leads in Cinderella) very much. I really enjoyed her performances as Clara and in other roles in Nutcracker too. I thought she was extremely unlucky to have joined just before the pandemic restrictions hit and some of her subsequent shows also reduced by  cancellations due to Covid cases in the company. I wish her all the best and better luck with everything henceforth! 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Emeralds

[Blossom]

I know we don’t comment about dress rehearsals etc but if you haven’t yet bought a ticket for Our Voices, you might want to get a wriggle on…

Edited September 20, 2023 by Blossom

[capybara]

Having seen the rehearsal, I can't wait to read what everyone thinks. It is certainly a 'mixed bill' in every sense of that term.

[Sim]

On 12/09/2023 at 22:45, capybara said:

 

What does encourage me is that Francesca Velicu was phenomenal when ENB danced Pina Bausch's Rite and it looks, from the photos, as if she is very central to the action in this new work also.

So phenomenal that she won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Performance that year.  I remember seeing her dance it and asking everyone who she was. Mighty impressive and I am still a big fan of hers. 

[alison]

Thought I'd copy this to here, too, since we have a bit of warning:

 

  

11 hours ago, bridiem said:

ENB has tweeted:

Cast change for Thursday's perfs of Balanchine’s Theme and Variations as part of Our Voices at

@Sadlers_Wells: Julia Conway replaces Shiori Kase as Principal Woman in the matinee. Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw replace Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta as Principal Couple in the evening.

 

[LBC]

Reminder that the LBC is in conversation via Zoom with AARON S WATKIN on Monday 9 October at 7pm

 

https://www.tlbc.org.uk/events/in-conversation-with-Aaron-watkin-via-zoom
 

We can ask all these burning questions about casting philosophy, advance notice of casting, multiple title ranks etc etc! 

[Jan McNulty]

Reminder about Mary Skeaping's beautiful Giselle from ENB:

 

English National Ballet   Giselle by Mary Skeaping   London Coliseum  11 – 21 January 2024   www.ballet.org.uk/mary-skeaping-giselle     English National Ballet will perform Giselle by Mary Skeaping at the London Coliseum from 11-21 January 2024.    One of the great Romantic ballets, this celebrated production, with its classical language, features some of ballet’s most dramatic scenes and otherworldly images. Adolphe Adam’s lush score is performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic.      Lead Principals, Sangeun Lee, Emma Hawes and Shiori Kase will make their debut in the title role. Lead Principals Aitor Arrieta and Francesco Gabriele Frola, First Soloist Gareth Haw, Soloist Fernando Carratalá Coloma and Junior Soloist Vsevolod Maievskyi, debut as Albrecht. First Soloist Junor Souza, Soloist Erik Woolhouse, Junior Soloist Henry Dowden, and First Artist Giorgio Garrett perform the role of Hilarion for the first time. Soloist Precious Adams, Junior Soloists Anna Nevzorova and Emily Suzuki and First Artist Angela Wood, debut in the role of Myrtha.    English National Ballet has offered audiences the chance to see two versions of Giselle this season, with Akram Khan’s reimagining having been performed on tour by the Company in Manchester and Bristol in autumn 2023.     Giselle follows English National Ballet’s performances of Nutcracker (14 December 2023 – 07 January 2024), also at the London Coliseum.     Listings:  English National Ballet   Giselle by Mary Skeaping   London Coliseum   11 – 21 January 2024  www.ballet.org.uk/production/mary-skeaping-giselle     Full Principal Casting:   (Giselle / Albrecht / Hilarion / Myrtha / Peasant Pas de Deux)  Katja Khaniukova / Aitor Arrieta* / Fabian Reimair / Alison McWhinney / Ivana Bueno* / Daniel McCormick*  11th January 19:30, 16th January 19:30, 21st January 14:30  Fernanda Oliveira / Francesco Gabriele Frola* / Henry Dowden* / Jung ah Choi / Adriana Lizardi* / Miguel Angel Maidana*  12th January 19:30, 14th January 14:30  Sangeun Lee*/ Gareth Haw* / Junor Souza* / Anna Nevzorova* / Julia Conway* / Victor Prigent*  13th January 14:30, 19th January 19:30  Erina Takahashi / Fernando Carratala Coloma* / Erik Woolhouse* / Emily Suzuki* / Francesca Velicu* / Shunhei Fuchiyama*  13th January 19:30, 17th January 19:30  Emma Hawes* / Vsevolod Maievskyi* / James Streeter / Precious Adams* / Chloe Keneally* / Noam Durand*  18th January 14:30, 20th January 19:30  Shiori Kase* / Ken Saruhashi / Giorgio Garrett* / Angela Wood* / Ivana Bueno / Daniel McCormick  18th January 19:30, 20th January 14:30  *Debut    Notes to Editors  English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. Ballymore is Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet.    About English National Ballet   English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet’s growth and evolution ever since.    English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; its digital platforms Ballet on Demand and BalletActive;  being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as Dance for Parkinson’s; and through talent development initiatives including Ballet Futures which looks to create a more diverse and inclusive future for the artform.    English National Ballet continues to add ground-breaking new works to its repertoire whilst celebrating the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw the Company enter a new chapter in its history with a move to a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in east London, allowing a renewed commitment to creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before.

[Emeralds]

Oh good, for a moment I thought there were cast changes! Everyone still on track to dance their scheduled roles! This is my biggest Giselle booking ever, I believe, and that includes visiting companies from abroad. 

[OnePigeon]

I’m holding my nerve until nearer the time when I can ascertain if there will be trains running without the dreaded rail replacement buses -  not to mention the fact that I can’t quite decide which cast I want to see most of all.

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, OnePigeon said:

I’m holding my nerve until nearer the time when I can ascertain if there will be trains running without the dreaded rail replacement buses -  not to mention the fact that I can’t quite decide which cast I want to see most of all.

 

After my rail replacement bus experience last Saturday I went through my notes on possible dates for seeing Giselle & erased all weekend performances! I had an easy first choice cast but hadn't decided on which other cast to see (I don't think I can manage more than 2 casts in terms of both money & time) but now further casting has been given above that's enabled me to decide.

[OnePigeon]

I feel your pain @Dawnstar, I saw Don Q a couple of Thursdays ago and ended up with a rail replacement bus for part of the journey.  I didn’t get home until gone 1am and had to be up for work at 6am - that was not an easy day!  There’s just no knowing how they’re going to potentially ruin your lovely ballet trip 😣.  Fingers crossed we get there and back easily on the dates we choose.

[alison]

To save unnecessarily clogging up the thread, a number of posts relating in greater detail to the Skeaping Giselle have been moved to this thread:

 

[San Perregrino]

On 23/08/2023 at 14:46, Sim said:

I just went to order tickets for the matinee on January 18th but it says it's a schools matinee.  So it seems the public can go at the same time.  Has anyone ever been to one of these performances and if so what's it like?  I don't want to have to listen to bored kids talking and giggling throughout the performance!!  I know that's a generalisation, but just would like some opinions as I've never been to a schools/public show before!  It's weird because none of the areas of the House seem to be blocked out for schools...tickets are on sale as per usual.  Some of kind of mistake?

I don’t know if you’ve seen this from the ENB website:

 

Schools matinee
Thursday 18 January, 2.30pm
£10 per pupil (in Balcony) or £15 per pupil (in Upper Circle) + 1 free teacher ticket per 10 students (plus fee)

[Sim]

Thanks Peter.  I'm going along as I want to see that cast, so hopefully all will be well.  I'm sure it will. 

 

[LinMM]

I’ve just booked to see ENB Nutcracker for first time for about seven years plus!! 
This is to see Lauretta Summerscales as she’s guesting for a few dates in December so thought I’d give it another go. Will be like seeing a new ballet…almost. 
However a lot of Nutcrackers together as at ROH on 19th and 21st and now ENB in the middle!  
Im sure I’ll have the music going on as an ear worm all over Christmas.