Royal Danish Ballet, season 2023-24

[Estreiiita]

I'm currently sitting in the train coming back home from my first ballet evening this season, the duo performance of Balanchine's " Scotch symphony" and Bournonville's  "La sylphide".

  Maybe I've just been missing the theater, but I liked tonight's performance a lot. It was the first time I saw " Scotch symphony", actually it had its premiere in Denmark only now in September. It's a relatively small piece created to the music of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy after Balanchine's visit to Edinburgh in 1952. The ballet starts with the corps de ballet (men dressed in traditional scottish clothes and ladies in beautiful white dresses) dancing something that resembled folk dances with a slight military touch (maybe to remind us about Edinburgh tattoos). Here we could see the female soloist Eukene Saques, and she was excellent, dancing joyfully and skillfully with a great musicality (a short videoclip can be found in her instagram,  eukene8). She was assisted by two dancers, Afonso Coelho and Philip Duclos, both very good.

  Then a main female sylph-like soloist, appeared (RDB's  principal Emma Riis-Kofoed), along with the  partner (Sebastian Pico Haynes). Who was she? Was it  a mist from the scottish loch, a mystical creature or maybe an artistic image of scottish woman? They say, this ballet doesn't have any content, that is, one should just watch it and admire the beautiful dance but I couldn't help wondering, who is this guy following the beautiful girl? He also weared the scottish clothes though in different colours. Maybe it was somebody from the highlands trying to get the mystical girl from the lowlands? The scotsmen surrounding the sylph were reluctant to let him have her - to begin with. But the love won over. Both Emma and Sebastian danced extremely well and looked fine with each other. The music, dance pattern and interpretation were superb!

  Then came " La sylphide" well known to many ballet fans. The main role was danced by the principal Wilma Giglio, James was danced by the principal Jon Axel Fransson, Gurn by Lazaro Corrales, Effy by Victoria Bell and Madge by Esther Lee Wilkinson. The main duo was dancing beautifully, especially Jon Axel Fransson, but  Wilma Giglio didn't impress me much though I can't explain why exactly. I think it was more about her artistic abilities but probably I just remember Ida Praetorius in this role much too well.

   I liked Gurn (Lazaro Corrales)  a lot - he's not tall, so Victoria Bell suited him finely, but he created a very good image of the man who knows what does he want (unlikely James) and how to get it. 

  Madge was great, very convincing and mean. 

Wonderful evening and I'm looking forward to many other performances this season! 

   

   

  

[Sim]

Thank you for that lovely review, Estreiita.  

[Don Q Fan]

Sounds a lovely double bill! Thanks for the review. 

[AnticaFiamma]

Have they not announced yet the casting for The Dante Project?

[Jane S]

No - they don't normally announce casts till quite near the opening night - or, one occasion I remember, after the opening night!

 

However I just noticed, elsewhere on the theatre's website, that Alban Lendorf is cast as Virgil!

 

It wasn't selling very well last time I checked. even with an offer of a 40% price reduction for under 25's.

[Jane S]

Casting now announced:

 

In order Dante/Virgil/Beatrice

 

Nov. 4/8/11/16/18

Ryan Tomash/Alban Lendorf/Astrid Elbo

 

Nov. 5/9/14/17

Gregory Dean/Alexander Staeger/Holly Dorger

 

 

 

 

[Estreiiita]

Last Sunday I was in Copenhagen to see " The Dante project" and liked it even more than the previous time in Paris.
  Gregory Dean was Dante in our performance and was great both technically and artistically, creating a very convincing image of a poet. Alexander Staeger was Vergil but to say the truth, he hasn't left any special impression with his performance. Holly Dorger was grown up Beatrice and danced beautifully, as well as Eukene Saques ( young Beatrice) and Freja Danchell ( Beatrice as a girl). 
    The first act was the one that I liked most ( well, it's also a longest). The corps de ballet performed great through the whole performance, though I would probably preferred more subtle portraying of the sinners : thus, when Francesca and Paolo ( Eukene Saques and Jon Axel Fransson) were on the scene, some parts of their bodies ( evidently, those, mainly taking part in committing sin), were quite noticeably marked with the chalk, almost on the border of satire - I' m not sure if it's choreographer's idea or just the dancers' (who danced their duo very sensually and beautifully). I like both Eukene Saques and Jon Axel Fransson; Eukene could not, probably, be considered as having classic ballet dancer's body type but she manages to create a good character while being on scene and always leaves a good impression - with her artistic abilities she reminds me Kizzy Matiakis. And Jon Axel, being one of the principal dancers of RDB always provides a high quality of dancing.
   I also liked the ferrymen: Guilherme de Menezes and Silvia Selvini, both of them soloists. Meirambek Nazargozhayev was excellent as Odysseus( Ulysses in the original version?), soloist Camilla Ruelykke Holst was wonderful Dido and the pas de quatre of the "angry": Lania Atkins, Tomoka Kawazoe, Stephanie Sahlgren and Isabella Walsh was superb, well performed at a good speed. Nathan Campiano danced Pope's adagio very well and a the end of the first act the principal dancer Wilma Giglio came out as both tempting and cruel Satan.
  The orchestra played great under the guidance of Robert Houssart and though the music sometimes could sound somewhat dissonant, it suited the ballet's content quite well. 
  The ballet was received with a lot of applauses and "Bravo" shouts, and as I could see, the public was very content, so I hope, it will stay with RDB for some years. Many thanks to Wayne McGregor, Thomas Ades and other creators of this wonderful  ballet!

[alison]

This has got me wondering: how many sets of sets(!) are there?  They must be pretty difficult to replicate, so I'd rather assumed that there might only be one, being toured around, but it's pretty close to the start of the Royal Ballet's run, so I'm not sure.

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, Estreiiita said:

Last Sunday I was in Copenhagen to see " The Dante project" and liked it even more than the previous time in Paris.
  Gregory Dean was Dante in our performance and was great both technically and artistically, creating a very convincing image of a poet. Alexander Staeger was Vergil but to say the truth, he hasn't left any special impression with his performance. Holly Dorger was grown up Beatrice and danced beautifully, as well as Eukene Saques ( young Beatrice) and Freja Danchell ( Beatrice as a girl). 
    The first act was the one that I liked most ( well, it's also a longest). The corps de ballet performed great through the whole performance, though I would probably preferred more subtle portraying of the sinners : thus, when Francesca and Paolo ( Eukene Saques and Jon Axel Fransson) were on the scene, some parts of their bodies ( evidently, those, mainly taking part in committing sin), were quite noticeably marked with the chalk, almost on the border of satire - I' m not sure if it's choreographer's idea or just the dancers' (who danced their duo very sensually and beautifully). I like both Eukene Saques and Jon Axel Fransson; Eukene could not, probably, be considered as having classic ballet dancer's body type but she manages to create a good character while being on scene and always leaves a good impression - with her artistic abilities she reminds me Kizzy Matiakis. And Jon Axel, being one of the principal dancers of RDB always provides a high quality of dancing.
   I also liked the ferrymen: Guilherme de Menezes and Silvia Selvini, both of them soloists. Meirambek Nazargozhayev was excellent as Odysseus( Ulysses in the original version?), soloist Camilla Ruelykke Holst was wonderful Dido and the pas de quatre of the "angry": Lania Atkins, Tomoka Kawazoe, Stephanie Sahlgren and Isabella Walsh was superb, well performed at a good speed. Nathan Campiano danced Pope's adagio very well and a the end of the first act the principal dancer Wilma Giglio came out as both tempting and cruel Satan.
  The orchestra played great under the guidance of Robert Houssart and though the music sometimes could sound somewhat dissonant, it suited the ballet's content quite well. 
  The ballet was received with a lot of applauses and "Bravo" shouts, and as I could see, the public was very content, so I hope, it will stay with RDB for some years. Many thanks to Wayne McGregor, Thomas Ades and other creators of this wonderful  ballet!

Great to hear that Gregory Dean's performance was successful and that RDB performed The Dante Project so well. The chalk was (according to interviews with the designer) a deliberate concept by the designer (with McGregor's agreement of course) and was also done in the Royal Ballet production. I'm afraid I found it gimmicky and unflattering- not one of Tacita Dean's better ideas. The dancing in the performance I saw was outstanding though- a very starry cast led by Edward Watson. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Emeralds

[Jane S]

2 hours ago, alison said:

This has got me wondering: how many sets of sets(!) are there?  They must be pretty difficult to replicate, so I'd rather assumed that there might only be one, being toured around, but it's pretty close to the start of the Royal Ballet's run, so I'm not sure.

 

I think the RDB's last performance is the same day as the RB's opening night.

 

Good to read such a detailed review, Estreiiita, and especially to learn the casting of some of the smaller roles.

 

Was the theatre full? There seemed to be a lot of unsold seats the last time I looked but maybe perhaps the reviews and word of mouth will sell more tickets.

[Estreiiita]

I was at the day performance the next day after the premiere and I would say, the theatre was almost full, the audience consisting mainly of elderly spectators; the reviews though are quite encouraging so I won't be surprised if some performances will be sold out, especially those of the end of the week and with Alban Lendorf as Virgil.

[Jane S]

Video of the RDB's Joseph Aumeer on youtube, courtesy of Scandinavian Vogue

 

Aumeer is cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier in the RDB's Nutcracker next month

Edited November 17, 2023 by Jane S

[alison]

Oh, so that's where he's gone.

[Estreiiita]

For 10 days ago, on the 20th of March I attended the programme "Giant steps" at the Royal theater in Copenhagen. It consisted of Balanchine's "Serenade" , "4th Symphony of Sibelius" by Jorma Elo and Harald Lander's "Etudes".

  "Serenade" was danced beautifully (Stacy Caddell was the instructor), the main parts were performed by the principal dancers Stephanie Chen Gundorf, Wilma Giglio, Gregory Dean and the soloists Tara Schaufuss and Sebastian Pico Haynes, but some members of the corps de ballet , especially Isabella Walsh, Isabella Carroll, Katherine Stevens and Lania Atkins also were quite noticeable along with the soloists Mayo Arii and  Eukene Saques.

  "4th symphony of Sibelius" was created by Jorma Elo especially for RDB and took premiere on the 2nd of March this year. This short ballet tells the story of 7 brothers that after their parents' death go to the woods to look for the fortune (it's actually based on the novel "Seven brothers" of the finnish writer Aleksis Kivi (1870). There are 11 dancers in this ballet, 10 men and a woman (danced by Wilma Giglio). 10 men dancers represent 7 brothers and also a group that creates a background (authorities, aggressors and an outside danger). Elo divides the ballet in 4 parts: the first one is somewhat mystical and sad, telling about the 7 brothers who just lost their parents.

  The second one shows the charm of the youth, first discovery of the opposite sex, first parties, first contradictions with the usual norms.

  In the 3d part there comes love in the form of a woman, probably a potential patner, but also the problems with the law and authorities take place.

  At last, in the 4th part everything seems to fall into place, most of the brothers find the person to marry with and in the book everything ends well, but Jorma Elo, using Sibelius' music that is very introvert and at the same time almost explosive, makes us think about the way we live - when the majority of us  choose a very predictable life, get married when reaching a certain age, get children, become grandparents, pensionists, but the question is, do we live the life we want or do we live the life chosen for us by society?  

  In this ballet there are some interesting duos and ensemble dances, performed by the principal Jonathan Chmelensky, soloists Tobias Praetorius, Guilherme de Menezes, Liam Redhead and the members of the corps de ballet.

  Most of all I liked "Etudes", where Emma Riis-Kofoed danced ballerina and Jon Axel Fransson and Alban Lendorf were her partners. Alban Lendorf especially was brilliant in his dancing and very attentive to the female partner.

 It was a very good performance. By the way, for those fond of classical ballet and John Neumeier's creations it'll be possible to watch "Raymonda" of RDB and "Neumeier's Gala" at Tivoli concert hall in Copenhagen during the same weekend in the middle of May.

[Jan McNulty]

Thanks for posting @Estreiiita.  I love hearing news from RDB even though I haven't been able to get to Copenhagen for too long now.

[Emeralds]

I feel very old when I recall seeing their Balanchine stager dancing with New York City Ballet years ago! 😀 Glad to hear Gregory Dean was in Serenade- I was a bit worried that he was might be dancing less to focus on choreography! Likewise to hear that Alban Lendorf is dancing in Etudes. Also enjoyed the dancing of Sebastian Pico Haynes (on tour), Tara Schaufuss (on tour) and Guilherme de Menezes (at ENB) so it's great to hear their news. Thanks for your reviews, @Estreiiita!

Edited March 30 by Emeralds

[Scheherezade]

13 hours ago, Estreiiita said:

Most of all I liked "Etudes"

I usually like Etudes most of all too, Estreiiita. What I don’t like so much is the fact that it is performed here in the UK so infrequently.