DON QUIXOTE - ROYAL BALLET AUTUMN 2023

[San Perregrino]

39 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

 No, we don’t currently have a magnetic, virile performer in the mould of Acosta or Mukhamedov -

Obviously this is a highly subjective option and I would have to disagree with you on this.  
e.g William Bracewell & Matthew Ball are both magnetic and virile whenever they take to the stage. Swoon, be still my beating heart. And as someone said up-thread Lukas BB could read the phone book and they’d melt. To name just three…

[San Perregrino]

21 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

Is this a role Corrales might have fulfilled had he not been derailed by injury since joining the RB ? Here's hoping he gets back on stage before too long. 

Corrales is listed this week amongst the provisional performers at Ballet Icons 2024 in March at the Coliseum. Whilst all casting is subject to change, here’s hoping a guest slot might be a precursor to a return to a full ballet…

 

balleticonsgala BALLET ICONS GALA 2024

Tales of Ballet

17 March 2024

The much-awaited annual Ballet Icons Gala is delighted to announce the cast for the forthcoming Gala on 17

March.

CAST 2024: Eleonora Abbagnato, ex-Paris Opera Ballet, Matthew Ball, Royal Ballet, Sergio Bernal, National Ballet of Spain, Skylar Brandt, American Ballet Theatre, Bleuenn Battistoni, Paris Opera Ballet, António Casalinho, Bavarian State Ballet, Reece Clarke, Royal Ballet, Travis Clausen-Knight, Cesar Corrales, Royal Ballet,

Margarita Fernandes, Bavarian State Ballet, Evelina Godunova, Polish National Ballet, Matthew Golding, Osiel Gouneo, Bavarian State Ballet, Francesca Hayward, Royal Ballet, Motomi Kiyota, Hungarian National Ballet, Sangeun Lee, English National Ballet, Gareth Haw, English National Ballet, Lucia Lacarra, Julian MacKay, Bavarian State Ballet, Vadim Muntagirov, Royal Ballet, Yasmine Naghdi, Royal Ballet, Marianela Nuñez, Royal Ballet, Anna Ol, Dutch National Ballet, Natalia Osipova, Royal Ballet, James Pett, lana Salenko, Berlin State Ballet, Marcelino Sambé, Royal Ballet, Polina Semionova, Berlin State Ballet, Olga Smirnova, Dutch National Ballet, David Motta Soares, Berlin State Ballet, Jacopo Tissi, Dutch National Ballet. The Gala will be accompanied by the English National Ballet Philharmonic Orchestra.

Cast is a subject to change.

[capybara]

7 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

I think it’s hard with the Mercedes role as it was created on Morera, an experienced and very beautiful principal dancer with a strong artistic sensibility - not to mention a Spanish dancer who was collaborating with a fellow Spanish speaker which probably helped bring so much more authentic feeling and fire into the role.  I wonder if the role should have possibly gone to a principal, as it did with Morera and Hirano, with a bit more artistic flair - possibly Magri could have done more justice to Mercedes.  I definitely felt the fire and sass required was underwhelmingly conveyed.

Magri was Mercedes on opening night only.

[AYSHEL]

I amazed at reading Fiona's truly damning comment on the state of  Osipova's dancing. She remains a superb interpreter of demi-caractere elements, as exhibited in Act 1. And the classical work, the beauty and structural development of the Dryad's scene solo (a vision of Dulcinea in a true production), and her classical clarity in the pas de deux was outstanding. That she has the pizzazz to delivering the circus based elements is not really a reason to discount the excellent performance of the role itself . Good fouettes are an add on and not the crux of any interpretation. As Kevin O'Hare rightly assessed her work with the Royal Ballet, and a previous poster stated 'She has probably forgotten more about Don Q than others have learned'. It was a truly exemplary performance and I actually horrified to read such negativity about it. 2000+ in the audience seemed pretty happy too. As a history of dance professional I cannot agree with the technical assessment and faults which Fiona highlights. Having seen 47 Kitri's in 51 years of attendance and knowing the choreography by heart I cannot see what Fiona is highlighting. On one point Fiona is telling us that she should contrate on narrative and contemporary ballets yet 'worried' that it might be her last Don Q. I hope she continues to develop and she consistently does. As always with her in second performances she improves what might have gone slightly awry in the first and whilst both of her Don Q's this time were superb, the second one showed even more technical, and dramatic assuredness. The confidence that her partnership with Reece Clarke has given him is also a reason to rejoice as it continues to flourish and his performance and their beautiful paced double work was nothing short of the fullest possible magic. Lukas B Braendsrod had a less secure performance yesterday than the Saturday matinee - but let's remember a dance is like a souffle - it occasionally doesn't rise as one would like. I feel I ought to mention Annette Buvoli's Mercedes - almost as a non-conception of the role. Smiling as you rebuff, quite violently, the flirtations in Act 1 of Espada towards Kitri's friend, doesn't really cut it. She's a passionate character with flaring hispanic emotions and she didn't  really engage that yesterday. 

[ellyb]

24 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

Mukhamedov I have never seen at all, so this needs investigating!

Very definitely second the Mayerling recommendation, it's why I fell in love with that ballet. Also the phenomenal Viviana Durante ... while we're all lamenting those dancers we didn't see live, those two absolutely top my list. 

 

Mayerling: The Royal Ballet (Kenneth Macmillan) [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Barry Wordsworth, Derek Bailey, Irek Mukhamedov, Viviana Durante, Darcey Bussell, Lesley Collier, Jane Burn, Derek Rencher, Nicola Tranah, The Royal Ballet: DVD & Blu-ray

[OnePigeon]

2 minutes ago, PeterS said:

Obviously this is a highly subjective option and I would have to disagree with you on this.  
e.g William Bracewell & Matthew Ball are both magnetic and virile whenever they take to the stage. Swoon, be still my beating heart. And as someone said up-thread Lukas BB could read the phone book and they’d melt. To name just three…

Well, yes indeed, there are an embarrassment of gorgeous male dancers currently and I too swoon away for all of them to be honest - they’re absolutely gorgeous, masculine and handsome men who indeed have great stage presence.  I didn’t mean that Mukhamedov and Acosta were more attractive, just that they had a real power house dancing style and vey muscular physiques.  

[OnePigeon]

5 minutes ago, capybara said:

Magri was Mercedes on opening night only.

Thanks, I had a nagging feeling she had danced it this run - I should have checked..  Did you see her, and if so, did she bring more to the role?

[Linnzi5]

12 minutes ago, PeterS said:

Obviously this is a highly subjective option and I would have to disagree with you on this.  
e.g William Bracewell & Matthew Ball are both magnetic and virile whenever they take to the stage. Swoon, be still my beating heart. And as someone said up-thread Lukas BB could read the phone book and they’d melt. To name just three…

I can only add that I agree there are some lovely male dancers at RB. Bracewell is my favourite because of his elegance, musicality and the fact I find his dancing graceful and emotive. When he looks at his dance partners, my heart skips a beat because I truly believe he is enamoured with them. However, many other males have brilliant qualities I admire too. There are some brilliant ones lower down in the ranks, IMO. 

[Linnzi5]

5 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

Thanks, I had a nagging feeling she had danced it this run - I should have checked..  Did you see her, and if so, did she bring more to the role?

I was disappointed as I thought I'd see her later in the run in the Nunez/Muntagirov cast but she didn't dance and was replaced by Choe, though I don't know if she was ever down to dance the role later in the run, to be fair. I would have loved to have seen her as Mercedes.

[OnePigeon]

22 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

I was disappointed as I thought I'd see her later in the run in the Nunez/Muntagirov cast but she didn't dance and was replaced by Choe, though I don't know if she was ever down to dance the role later in the run, to be fair. I would have loved to have seen her as Mercedes.

Same here, I saw Choe and was underwhelmed.  She had quite a few Kitris to dance instead I suppose, but I wonder if another under, or not at all, used principal could have done the role? Not that it need be a principal necessarily, but Morera was a principal when creating the role and it’s not like there aren’t enough principals in the company.

[Geoff]

1 hour ago, Linnzi5 said:

Sadly, I didn't see Rojo live or Cojocaru

 

You have two chances to see Cojocaru dance Aurora live at Sadler's Wells next year (she is very special in this role):-

 

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/birmingham-royal-ballet-the-sleeping-beauty/

[capybara]

In the large group of interesting posts I have just read (above), there is one which mentions many current RB Principals, but not Yasmine Naghdi. This happens A LOT  - and yet:

• she was a stunning Kitri
• she is not only an amazing technician but she can inhabit all kinds of characters (way better than (e.g.) Darcey Bussell)
• she is capable of transforming the 'ordinary' (Like Water for Chocolate) into a completely different, extraordinary piece
• she is obviously very supportive of her partners (e.g. as Mary in the beyond astonishing Muntagirov-led performance of Mayerling this time last year)
• she appears to be a real 'team-player', often stepping into roles at short notice.

There are many dancers one could name from both the past and the present who have benefited from having a 'fair wind behind them', having a 'partner of interest', or being 'plain amazing'. But for some unfathomable reason, Yasmine does not get the attention she deserves.

 

It's high time the RB put the spotlight on her more.

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by capybara

[zxDaveM]

1 minute ago, capybara said:

But for some unfathomable reason, Yasmine does not get the attention she deserves.

 

It's high time the RB put the spotlight on her more.

 

 

Agreed, and then some. For me, she is single handedly 'bringing on' a lot of the up-and-coming male dancers, as she seems to bring them up to her level (to my eyes)

[JohnS]

That post

6 minutes ago, capybara said:

In the large group of interesting posts I have just read (above), there is one which mentions many current RB Principals, but not Yasmine Naghdi.

Francesca Hayward and Anna-Rose O’Sullivan are also not mentioned. They and Yasmine Naghdi are very high on my list of ‘must see’ dancers albeit my ‘must see’ list is getting pretty long.

[art_enthusiast]

5 hours ago, LinMM said:

Nureyev went on a bit too long in some roles in my view and I remember feeling sad that people who were coming to see him for the very first time must have been a bit disappointed because of all the hype (once very much deserved) about him. 

He still made me cry in Songs of a Wayfarer though nearing the end of his career as dancing is so much more than about technique only. 

That is true, but it’s great to hear that he still moved you. I never would have seen him live, but I have read Nureyev: The Life by Julie Kavanagh which goes into detail about his decline health-wise and how he still pushed himself to perform so much - as a dancer and retraining as a conductor I believe. I found it heartrending to read. I can’t comment on how truthful that book is as I wouldn’t know - I was seriously shocked at some parts!

 

But he was terminally ill at that time. I think it would be bizarre to claim that Natalia Osipova is anywhere near that stage - I know you didn’t say it, I just want to point that out. She’s still relatively young and healthy and even if she pulls out of classical at some point in the next few years, I hope she will continue with contemporary. I really liked her Carmen last year.

 

i just hope she takes care of herself to avoid any further injuries as much as possible - the same goes for all dancers. This Don Q run has been a bit unlucky with others like Akane Takada pulling out and McRae being injured on stage (wishing him a swift recovery) and a few trips and falls here and there. Emphasises what a difficult ballet it is to perform!

 

Another reason why I am glad that Steven McRae is using social media to bring light to rehabilitation journeys, and how important it is to take care of oneself physically - as a dancer and as a human being!

 

I am really looking forward to Natalia’s Manon. I have everything crossed for Akane Takada in Manon - and hopefully her Odette/Odile when further casting is announced!

[art_enthusiast]

31 minutes ago, capybara said:

But for some unfathomable reason, Yasmine does not get the attention she deserves.

 

It's high time the RB put the spotlight on her more.

I agree that Yasmine is extremely brilliant technically. I also saw her Juliet last season and thought it was wonderful. She doesn’t move me as much as some others like Kaneko, Nunez, Lamb, Hayward, Osipova but I appreciate her enormously. If prices were more reasonable, I would have booked for her Kitri and Manon.

[San Perregrino]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Magri was Mercedes on opening night only.

I think Magri was scheduled to dance more than once as Mercedes but got moved across into 2 extra Kitris replacing Osipova with Sambé. Also I believe that Meaghan Grace Hinkis was originally scheduled to dance more than one Amour and also Mercedes but was 

moved across to dance Kitri replacing Takada. 

[JennyTaylor]

I attended last night, primarily to get my last fix of DonQ happiness.  I definitely received it with the highlight being Calvin Richardson's performance.  Fantastic!  I thought James Hay had this one completely sewn up as the "best", but now I' not so sure. How delightful to see them both in this run.  

 

I enjoyed Clarke/Osipova very much and took them at face value on the night. I'm not critical on technique I just know what I like and what I don't like - it's quite straightforward.  It was happy, vibrant and good fun. That's all I need. OK, there wasn't the emotional pull of Will and Fumi, but there was never going to be anyone who topped them for me.  It's all in the eye of the beholder. 

 

I've read the debate about the "greats" with interest. Some of I saw, and some I didn't. Sylvie Guillem was a huge favourite for me because she was the first dancer who gave me that emotional pull, which I had never experienced before.  Yet I seem to remember there was a lot of criticism of her too, at the time.  Irek was another, and his last Mayerling was a night to remember for sure. Yet technically, it wasn't brilliant. Did anyone care - no! 

 

So, it's all down to personal taste and we see that time and time again on this forum. I also believe it's unviable to try to compare dancers or anyone else, such as footballers, from different eras. They are of their own time. 

 

I'm at the ROH to see Will Bracewell tonight. He is one who does move me emotionally and I would not be here, but for him, because the choreographer concerned, is certainly is not one of my favourites. Let's see what happens.  

Edited November 18, 2023 by JennyTaylor

[Fonty]

All this talk about past Principal dancers sent me off to Youtube, where I have spent a happy hour looking at historic performances.  A lot of good stuff on there, but I always seem to return to clips of Fonteyn and Nureyev.  I am not allowed to put any links up, I assume,  but a search for them will bring up a number of treasures, including a 1962  clip from Le Corsaire.  When I watch these, I am bowled over yet again by what a perfect ballet couple they were. 

Looking at principal dancers I have actually seen live in the past, I was always interested to see how some dancers excelled in certain roles, but disappointed me in others.  I was a huge fan of Rojo's wonderful dramatic skills, and adored her in the McMillan ballets, but I didn't always like her quite so much in pure classical roles.  Bussell was the other way round, gorgeous in the Sleeping Beauty, for example, and anything that allowed her to be smiley and happy on stage in pure dance roles.  Not my first choice for anything else.  I loved Durante, who has been mentioned already,  and always tried to catch  Leanne Benjamin if I could.   Guillem was always astonishing, and her Giselle was one of the best I have ever seen.  But not to everyone's taste.  

 

Of the current crop, I have yet to choose a new favourite now Morera has retired.  

[Sim]

When I want to see beautiful, graceful classical dancing at the RB these days my go-to ladies are Naghdi and Kaneko.  The sheer beauty of their dancing is enough to bring me to tears.  Add the interpretative elements on top, and they never fail to move me.  

[LinMM]

Sorry the comment is so far back now but Annamk regards Corrales ..yes a

 big yes! 
I am not in any way suggesting Osipova should retire at the moment far from it!!! 
But some things came up in the comments of others which reminded me that all dancers decline in the technical sense at some point (usually between 45-55) so hence when do they make the decision to drop certain roles. 
 But older dancers in the right roles for them can still give you a wonderful experience in the theatre. 

[Fonty]

20 minutes ago, Sim said:

When I want to see beautiful, graceful classical dancing at the RB these days my go-to ladies are Naghdi and Kaneko.  The sheer beauty of their dancing is enough to bring me to tears.  Add the interpretative elements on top, and they never fail to move me.  

 

Sadly I have not yet managed to see either Kaneko or O'Sullivan.  I saw Naghdi some time ago, and was very impressed, but she always seems to be dancing on days I can't go.  

[Linnzi5]

1 hour ago, JennyTaylor said:

 

I'm at the ROH to see Will Bracewell tonight. He is one who does move me emotionally and I would not be here, but for him, because the choreographer concerned, is certainly is not one of my favourites. Let's see what happens.  

Ditto. I’m really enjoying it so far!! The dancing is superb, IMO.

[Linnzi5]

52 minutes ago, Sim said:

When I want to see beautiful, graceful classical dancing at the RB these days my go-to ladies are Naghdi and Kaneko.  The sheer beauty of their dancing is enough to bring me to tears.  Add the interpretative elements on top, and they never fail to move me.  

Agreed. I loved Naghdi’s Kitri. She is a beautiful dancer, IMO. I adore Kaneko too. They are definitely my top two ladies as well. 

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, capybara said:

In the large group of interesting posts I have just read (above), there is one which mentions many current RB Principals, but not Yasmine Naghdi. This happens A LOT  - and yet:

• she was a stunning Kitri
• she is not only an amazing technician but she can inhabit all kinds of characters (way better than (e.g.) Darcey Bussell)
• she is capable of transforming the 'ordinary' (Like Water for Chocolate) into a completely different, extraordinary piece
• she is obviously very supportive of her partners (e.g. as Mary in the beyond astonishing Muntagirov-led performance of Mayerling this time last year)
• she appears to be a real 'team-player', often stepping into roles at short notice.

There are many dancers one could name from both the past and the present who have benefited from having a 'fair wind behind them', having a 'partner of interest', or being 'plain amazing'. But for some unfathomable reason, Yasmine does not get the attention she deserves.

 

It's high time the RB put the spotlight on her more.

 

 

 

Yasmine Naghdi and Marcelino Sambe in Don Quixote in 2019- one of my favourite pairings and performances in the ballet of all time. Both really brought that youthful energy and cheeky sense of fun to the ballet. (Nuñez & Muntagirov also a stunning pairing, very different in style, so hard to compare). Natalia Osipova for me is one of the most experienced Kitris (together with Maria Alexandrova) in the world today- she must have danced it hundreds of times. This month’s performances may not be indicative of Natalia’s technical best (eg a number of years ago in London with the Bolshoi and Mikhailovsky troupes, and pre-pandemic with RB) so soon after a recent injury, but she still brings oodles of charisma to the role even just in rehearsal. 

 

Yasmine Naghdi with James Hay in The Two Pigeons was also my favourite pairing in that Ashton gem (although the other casts I saw came  very close)- somehow perhaps because they weren’t scheduled to dance together originally they really seemed to “go for it” dramatically without being OTT but also had a surreally perfect way of connecting as dancers (Yasmine had two partners to replace William Bracewell, her original partner who was injured after beginning rehearsals). I’ve seen her with other partners in Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, and somehow they don’t seem to match up to her classical purity which makes for quite an uneven look. I would have liked to see Yasmine with James Hay as Basilio (why hasn’t he been cast in this role? - his technique, style and acting are made for this part), Muntagirov or Marcelino in this run, or when recovered, Cesar Corrales. (Also likewise, any of the four of them with her for Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.) 

Edited November 18, 2023 by Emeralds

[Linnzi5]

3 hours ago, capybara said:

In the large group of interesting posts I have just read (above), there is one which mentions many current RB Principals, but not Yasmine Naghdi. This happens A LOT  - and yet:

• she was a stunning Kitri
• she is not only an amazing technician but she can inhabit all kinds of characters (way better than (e.g.) Darcey Bussell)
• she is capable of transforming the 'ordinary' (Like Water for Chocolate) into a completely different, extraordinary piece
• she is obviously very supportive of her partners (e.g. as Mary in the beyond astonishing Muntagirov-led performance of Mayerling this time last year)
• she appears to be a real 'team-player', often stepping into roles at short notice.

There are many dancers one could name from both the past and the present who have benefited from having a 'fair wind behind them', having a 'partner of interest', or being 'plain amazing'. But for some unfathomable reason, Yasmine does not get the attention she deserves.

 

It's high time the RB put the spotlight on her more.

 

 

 

I loved her Kitri - she’s one of the reasons my bank balance is not so healthy at the moment. I’m saw her and Ball and was so impressed that I booked more performances 🤣 I’m really looking forward to her Manon 😊

[Silke H]

6 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I couldn't identify who retrieved the fan but I was so impressed with the way that was done. I obviously knew the fan had flown off but the way it was handled by the male dancer was so, so  professional. Did you see who it was? Because he deserves much praise.

It was Stanislaw Węgrzyn

[Ondine]

8 minutes ago, Silke H said:

Stanislaw Węgrzyn

 Off topic I know but...

 

He is gorgeous, his dance was gorgeous, so much gorgeousness in this video

 

One of the comments under.

 

His own YouTube channel. Very interesting. 

 

 

[art_enthusiast]

3 hours ago, Silke H said:

It was Stanislaw Węgrzyn

 

Hope to see more of him. I remember one of his draft works from 2021/2022, may have been Autumn or Winter, can’t remember. Very intriguing performance.

[Scheherezade]

3 hours ago, Ondine said:

 Off topic I know but...

 

He is gorgeous, his dance was gorgeous, so much gorgeousness in this video

 

One of the comments under.

 

His own YouTube channel. Very interesting. 

 

 

Well I think we can agree he’d have no trouble with Espada’s cape swirling. 

[Sophoife]

@Paco your comment regarding the 37 degree angle of the left big toenail aligning with that of the right little finger made me laugh, thank you. It also reminded me of Katisha in The Mikado - 

 

"But I have a left shoulder-blade that is a miracle of loveliness. People come miles to see it. My right elbow has a fascination that few can resist...It is on view Tuesdays and Fridays, on presentation of visiting card."

[Rob S]

19 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I couldn't identify who retrieved the fan but I was so impressed with the way that was done. I obviously knew the fan had flown off but the way it was handled by the male dancer was so, so  professional. Did you see who it was? Because he deserves much praise. I saw the tankard go too and the worst thing is, just before that bit, in my head I was thinking, I wonder if anyone ever knocks those over? Then a second later, over it went. I think I need to stop thinking! That bit must be so tricky. I did wonder if it had been placed correctly? I thought Mendizabal was extremely good, followed by Dias. Though, Morera is still my number one. 

The first tankard was placed way off centre and (from where I was viewing) too close to the second tankard so I knew one was going to get knocked.

As mentioned above it was Stanislaw that recovered the fan. Much as I don’t want to see them have issues with things they are holding it’s always interesting to see how they’re retrieved and returned to the right place and I thought he did that very well. 
I have to commend the guitar handling of the Basilios and, usually, Casper Lench during the entire run…I don’t think I saw it hit the floor once in fifteen shows I saw 

[San Perregrino]

8 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I have to commend the guitar handling of the Basilios and, usually, Casper Lench during the entire run…I don’t think I saw it hit the floor once in fifteen shows I saw 

 Caspar (IIRC) did drop an orange thrown to him from the balcony in an early show. He covered it well, retrieving the pieces and sharing them with his companions.