Northern Ballet - Generations triple bill (Linbury)

[zxDaveM]

Opens tonight (31st October).

I see they have put up the cast sheets for all performances already 🙂

[Emeralds]

Thanks @zxDaveM! Ah! Hmm. I'm not sure why I thought the entire company (or everyone I'm following) would be dancing first night!....looks like I might either have to get a second ticket to catch Rachel Gillespie in the cast, although I'm not actually free tomorrow or Thursday afternoon.  Also Kevin Poeung doesn't appear to be in either cast so I might have to wait for Romeo and Juliet next summer to catch him, as the rail services from my place to Newcastle and Norwich are looking too doubtful to rely on.

 

But, all the same, am really looking forward to the London opening night and the three ballets by Benjamin Ella, Hans van Manen and Tiler Peck, at last. 😀

[Jan McNulty]

Kevin is on the NB website as dancing in Hammerklavier with Rachael.  They were sublime together when I saw them in Leeds.

[Emeralds]

Apologies to Kevin Poeung for not spotting  (in my haste to get to the train station) that there are more than two casts! He's in the matinee cast on Thursday but not tomorrow or Thursday night. Thanks, @Jan McNulty- unfortunately not tonight although tonight's cast were also brilliant. Argh, I actually can't go on Thursday for matinee this week. Wondet if cloning technology is available yet....haha.

 

I did spot Federico Bonelli during the interval and said it was a pity they weren't performing till Saturday evening as they were in such great demand and the programme was brilliant so far! He smiled and said it was lovely that tickets had sold so fast. There was like a little queue of people waiting  to tell him how much they were enjoying it! 

 

The Linbury bar was also open today at 9.45pm after the show- not sure how long for? It was doing good trade and it would be great if there were more of this in future- more income for the theatre and companies and a nice little space for theatregoers to unwind and chat over drinks (this was also NT's rationale for trying out early starts and finishes).

 

The  Stage Door was virtually in the bar/Foyer area today: besides Bonelli, there were also, either before the show, during intervals or after the performance - Hikaru Kobayashi (Mrs Bonelli), Monica Mason, Kevin O'Hare, Steven McRae, William Bracewell, Leanne Benjamin (former RB principal and now repetiteur), David Yow (former BRB principal), Aaron S Watkin, a little ENB mini contingent of Francesco Gabriele Frola with former NB dancers Minju Kang and (I think) Lorenzo Trossello, and quite a few other current and retired dancers, coaches, etc. I  did wonder at one point if I was one of very few "civilians" there!...lol. Even so I couldn't speak to anyone else as I had to rush for my train. (Didn't see Benjamin Ella, Tiler Peck or Rachel Beaujean and Larissa Lezhnina though- there were no curtain calls for musicians, choreographers or stagers; the dancers bowed to and applauded the musicians standing in the pit instead) 

 

In other (joke) news, Kevin O'Hare appears to have promoted Benjamin Ella by stealth to First Soloist!!  In his letter to the audience in the small fold out programme (£2) he welcomes the audience and refers to Mr Ella as First Soloist of the Royal Ballet! Gee- when did this happen? 🤣  OK, it's probably an error while preparing it for publication. But Benjamin Ella is indeed a talented and  versatile dancer so why not....😀

 

Proper review tomorrow,  but just to say that on this Halloween night, the programme and dancing had no spooks nor sinister tricks, just delightful treats from start to finish. Everyone who has a ticket, you're in for a wonderful show. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Emeralds

[Bruce Wall]

What an exquisite evening of ballet - so perfectly modulated for this stage.  This kind of clever programming combination is not something that frequently visits this address.  This Northern Ballet programme - Next Generations - comes as a complete breath of fresh air.  I pray that this programme will be able to be seen on small to medium sized stages throughout the country as it is exactly this kind of bill that will bring people - rightfully - to the balletic table.  

 

Benjamin Ella's piece to Sibelius, Joie de Vivre, was both well balanced and light.  Each principal couple was clearly etched in their various dramatic remits.  All dancers were on fine form here but special kudos must go I think to the entirely enchanting SAEKA SHIRAI and technically apt JUN ISHII.  They were delightfully piquant in their gallops.  There was a slight attempt at jocular bonhomie in the final movement that seemed at least to me a tad too coyly out of place with the rest but that is clearly but an easy alteration in face of such fine work.  Well done, Ben.  

That Hans Van Manen is a choreographic master cannot I think now be questioned (and you will please forgive me for saying that, Mr. Crisp). Adagio Hammerklavier is most assuredly one of his finest works.  Its subtle equity builds tension through the very harmonic strains of its own counterbalance.  Joseph Taylor was sensitivity personified in his muscled partnering in the third adagio.  His fine work was a joy to behold.  If only he could slightly deepen his plie so that his landings might not interfere with the music then all would be absolute perfection.  Speaking of which:  The live music here - so imaginatively essayed for the first two pieces -  allowed both performers and dancers to share in a truly potent conversation.  Bravi. 

 

Capping the evening off was Tiler Peck's new ballet to Janacek, Intimate Pages.  It won't be noticeable to anyone who hasn't travelled out of the UK, but her work here is very clearly influenced by another Peck - Justin (no relation) as much as by Ratmansky; two of the most famed ballet creators today and two for whom Tiler has been something of a muse at different times.  Her carefully orchestrated and complex writing for the communal contradistinctions of the entire company sings out in just so many of J. Peck's works.  The opening motif and its return in several measures throughout also reminded me of the same in Ratmansky's vivid Concerto DSCH.  The play with speed is very much Tiler's own forte, however, and here it comes to vivid fruition in the ladies of the troupe, most especially the resplendent Sarah Chun.  The fulcrum of our concern here,  however, is decidedly Harris Beattie and a very fine fist he makes of it too.  I know Tiler used her partner, the extraordinary NYCB principal Roman Mejia, to set this role's solo segments and you can oh, so vividly see Roman in every move.  He is a man who LOVES his ballet. Beattie delivered this ably.  If he doesn't yet have the necessary puff to entirely pull through to the extreme end you just know that he will be delivering such very soon indeed.  This is a native talent to watch most certainly.  He is but one member of a very fine 'Next Generation'.  His adroit work - much as that deployed in the whole evening was both refreshingly balletic - and, oh, so very entertaining. 

 

Well done Federico Bonelli for coining this extraordinary programme.  You honour us, sir.  May there be many, many more to come.  We so, SO very much need them here.  

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[Emeralds]

Have seen some returns go back for tonight (one left), tomorrow mat (14 seats - perfect for anyone who'd like midweek matinées to avoid rail engineering works on the trains), tomorrow eve (1 seat). Having seen the sales info on the website go from sold out to several returns and then to sold out again repeatedly over the last 2 months, it looks like Northern Ballet is generating heaps of income in the £4 return/exchange fees for ROH! Ballet Black seems to be doing the same. 

 

Tagging @LinMM for the midweek matinee 😉

[Scheherezade]

Well, I saw this fabulous programme tonight and all I can say is if Federico Bonelli was laying out his stall, I for one will certainly be buying again.

 

Three very different pieces, all in the neo-classical idiom, all of them beautifully danced, to wonderful music, with costumes that flattered the dancers instead of the greige vest and knickers combos generally favoured by the RB.

So, a lyrical start to the evening with Ben Ella’s charming Joie de Vivre, and if it brought to mind Dances at a Gathering, I am certainly not complaining, followed by Hans Van Manen’s exquisite masterpiece, Adagio Hammerklavier as the main course, with the speed, pace and exhilaration of Tiler Peck’s Intimate Pages bringing the evening to an sparkling close.

 

As Bruce Wall said earlier, may we have many more such evenings, we do indeed need them here!

[Emeralds]

Attended opening night on 31 Oct of this triple bill full of anticipation- I don't usually pick opening nights but as I was so eager to see Tiler Peck and Benjamin Ella's new ballets and van Manen's piece and the run was so short that it didn't include a Friday or weekend performance, I thought I'd just pick the very first show there was. And what a treat of a show! 

 

Fans of traditional classical ballet - good old fashioned pure classicism will love this triple bill. I say "good old fashioned" even though Peck and Ella made these ballets this year and are both young creators who are still dancing the traditional classical roles as well as new creations themselves. Adagio Hammerklavier is also one of Hans van Manen's most beautifully classical creations in a long career as both choreographer or director (he opted for different roles at different times) of the classical Dutch National Ballet and the groundbreaking, contemporary Nederlands Dans Theater. The ballets are 20-30 minutes each, beautifully paced, with an interval between each of them. 

 

Benjamin Ella's Joie de Vivre is a lovely little chamber piece with 3 couples to delightful  Sibelius pieces for violin and piano, played  beautifully live by NB Sinfonia leader Geoffrey Allan and company pianist Ewan Gilford. Dressed in elegant simple costumes (in the style of Robbins' Dances at a Gathering but with more primary colours and shades) Dominique Larose and Joseph Taylor, Sarah Chun and Harris Beattie, Saeka Shirai and Jun Ishii are three couples who dance on their own and interact with the others, in choreography that is lyrical, musical and characterful. There's a lot of thought in each pas de deux and solo such that it isn't simply filling up the music (as many who have tried to copy Robbins' DAAG and other piano ballets have done) but you see something of each character's personality. There are technically demanding steps that are exciting but never such that it becomes a "hold your breath, see if he/she makes it^ type of technical exercise. Ella has put a lot in to make it look effortless.

 

There are also some interactions in the second half among the men and among the women where the men josh about and there is some good natured teasing that works out harmoniously- one could debate whether it adds character or looks quirky among the lyricism in the rest of the piece. Overall though, a really enjoyable piece of classical dancing (is it Ella's first full ballet? If so, an auspicious start!) which the six dancers were glorious in. Excellent playing from Geoffrey Allan and Ewan  Gilford of the Sibelius duets too.

 

Adagio Hammerklavier had its last outing in London by English National Ballet in 2017, and was also danced by the Royal Ballet in the 1970s (the cast included Natalia Makarova, Wayne Eagling and Monica Mason-unfortunately before my time) so this run returns Hans van Manen's masterpiece to ROH (albeit different stage).

 

At first glance, it may appear to be another ballet in similar style to the first- flowing skirts, piano ballet type lyricism. But van Manen was one of the first to embrace Beethoven's music for ballets (if you don't count Salvatore Vigano commissioning Beethoven to write his only ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, in 1801) when other choreographers such as Balanchine regarded Beethoven's music as undanceable. Van Manen's signature moves include the insertion of athletic and angular elements into otherwise lyrical and soft passages, and the introduction of discordant or antagonistic moves into otherwise flowing and romantic pas de deux, as though to emphasise that all harmonious relationships aren't always sweet and light all the time, which was rare in the past but has now been adopted or copied by other choreographers.

 

Both are found in Adagio Hammerklavier, created originally for two of Dutch National Ballet's most revered stars, Alexandre Radius and Han Ebbelaar, and four other principals of the company in 1973. The distinctive central pas de deux with its leaning supported arabesques for Radius and Ebbelaar was danced by Larose and Taylor, with Amber Lewis, Jonathan Hanks, Alessandra Bramante and Jackson Dwyer as the other two couples. The choreography has moments of athleticism, tenderness and drama, and the dancers rose to the occasion magnificently, with wonderful playing of the Hammerklavier Sonata (no. 29) by Colin Scott.

 

Tiler Peck's Intimate Pages, using the largest cast of ten dancers, formed the closing piece of the triple bill. Using 3 movements of Janáček's Intimate Letters String Quartet (no. 2), inspired by Janacek's intense and long friendship with a younger married woman,  the letters suggest that the affection from the married composer was likely not requited. Peck has taken inspiration from the music although the central male character (danced by Harris Beattie) is much younger, while the choreography for the woman (danced by Sarah Chun) in pas de deux, solos and group passages where she is often borne aloft by the three men (Stefano Veralta, Archie Sherman, Bruno Serraclara) hint at her friendly demeanour but emotional distance to him. Elsewhere, two young women (Aerys Merrill, Heather Lehan) seek his attention but he only has eyes for Chun's character. Julie Nunès,  Kaho Masumoto and Helen Bogatch make up the rest of the fine ensemble.

 

Harris Beattie and Sarah Chun make a masterful and compelling leading pair, and Beattie's role includes some eye-catching pyrotechnics that depict the character's emotional highs and lows. The cast are dressed in attractive scarlet costumes, and while there is a hint of a story, much of it is told with classical choreography in an abstract style. Although a virtuoso herself, Peck uses choreography for the ensemble and soloists meticulously to advance the story and respond to the nuances of the music but never resorts to technical effects and filler which other virtuosos have often resorted to doing. The cast look wonderful in the ballet, and they give 100% to the technical and artistic demands of the ballet- as they did for the other two ballets.

 

It was a truly thrilling programme to watch, from this spunky and accomplished small company, and reassures us that classical ballet is alive and thriving in this country. It was among one of the best nights of ballet I've seen this year. I so wish the company had a longer run (like The Limit) of this beautiful programme so that more audiences could enjoy their wonderful performances. 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Emeralds

[LinMM]

Emeralds :  I was at the performances tonight and I’d love to go again to this and in different circumstances might have considered a matinee ticket for tomorrow but instead will have to start battling my way back to Brighton although I suppose if ALL trains get cancelled for most of tomorrow I could return to ROH for a last minute return in the afternoon etc. 

 

 

[LinMM]

If Balanchine thought Beethoven was not to be danced to he obviously didn’t know the late piano sonatas!! 

[Scheherezade]

10 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Emeralds :  I was at the performances tonight and I’d love to go again to this and in different circumstances might have considered a matinee ticket for tomorrow but instead will have to start battling my way back to Brighton although I suppose if ALL trains get cancelled for most of tomorrow I could return to ROH for a last minute return in the afternoon etc. 

 

 

I find myself almost wishing train problems upon you, LinMM.

[Emeralds]

I think Balanchine might have thought that Beethoven was too famous and his works too grand, if you know what mean- a lot to live up to, considering Beethoven's reputation. 

 

That said, one of the pieces that my first ballet teacher loved to use for barre exercises was the rondo nicknamed "Rage Over A Lost Penny"....it was only some years later that I found out what it was called (although the nickname wasnt, ahem,  coined by the composer) and that it was by Beethoven! 

[ChrisG]

I saw the first night of this triple bill in Leeds back in September and loved it. I agree that it's a shame that it couldn't have a more extended run, but I hope you won't begrudge the Fallen Angels Dance Theatre their moment in the sun when they replace Northern Ballet in the Linbury on Saturday. I saw the premiere of the final version of their 'Traces Through Time' last night at Storyhouse in Chester, where they're the resident company, and you are in for a treat, albeit an exceptionally emotional one. Nine dancers, some with a professional background, most not, but all in recovery from addiction and beautifully assisted by the ubiquitous Hannah Rudd, tracing their stories from addiction to redemption through dance. From the post-event Q&A it's obvious that all involved are VERY excited to be going to the Royal Opera House!

[alison]

Oh dear, and I have family visiting ...

[Emeralds]

Oh wow, is Fallen Angels Dance Theatre this Saturday, @ChrisG- I thought it was going to be next week....that's so soon! Looking at the ROH calendar again...I see next week the Linbury is currently empty but both NB & FADT are squeezed into this week. I know NB can't do next week as they're taking Beauty and the Beast to Newcastle next week and Norwich after that, and both those theatres have other productions booked before and after NB.

A pity the two groups have to be squeezed in the same week though.

 

Hopefully Federico Bonelli and Northern Ballet will consider bringing that triple bill to Sadler's Wells at some point as I think there are audiences for it out there who didn't or can't get to ROH this week. And I'd like to catch two more casts and see all three works again, to take it all in and enjoy the music again. Pity we didn't have the string quartet (which I understand the Leeds  run had) as it would have sounded better than a recording- I'm hoping that it's because it's due to the space constraints in the small Linbury auditorium (we had the grand piano & violinist Geoffrey Allan stood next to it in the small pit) rather than because they've already started cutting out the NB Sinfonia....!

 

Toi toi toi to Fallen Angels Dance Theatre for their debut on Saturday and what a brilliant initiative it is - their tickets were almost sold out the last time I checked them out on the booking website (although returns might come back).

[Emeralds]

5 hours ago, alison said:

Oh dear, and I have family visiting ...

Can you bring your family to it, @alison? There were a few great seats returned the last time I looked- spacious and comfortable, with great sightlines. I can't believe how near the central blocks of circle, Stalls and upper circle are to the stage. I felt like I was in a private box facing the stage (like grand tier but closer!)....and much lower than Grand Tier prices for the double bill! 

[LinMM]

Two nights of the Northern Programme at the Linbury and no reviews! 

[bridiem]

23 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Two nights of the Northern Programme at the Linbury and no reviews! 

 

? There were 4 press reviews in yesterday's Links and there are some reviews above.

[LinMM]

I still can’t find these reviews!! I’ve just looked through Oct 31st and November 1st and there’s nothing I can see 🤔

[Guest oncnp]

8 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I still can’t find these reviews!! I’ve just looked through Oct 31st and November 1st and there’s nothing I can see 🤔

Did you look at today's links? Several there

[LinMM]

Yes for some reason I only scrolled to the end of Nov 1st but can see the reviews now for the 2nd!! 
I thought it was a bit odd having no reviews at all and was just about to turn into Miss Outrage from Oldham especially as it was such a lovely evening. 

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, Emeralds said:

 

 

Toi toi toi to Fallen Angels Dance Theatre for their debut on Saturday and what a brilliant initiative it is - their tickets were almost sold out the last time I checked them out on the booking website (although returns might come back).

 

It's not the first time FADT has been at the Linbury.

[bridiem]

38 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I still can’t find these reviews!! I’ve just looked through Oct 31st and November 1st and there’s nothing I can see 🤔

 

I should have said 'today's' Links! Anyway, glad you've found them (and that they're so good!).

[Emeralds]

21 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

It's not the first time FADT has been at the Linbury.

So glad to hear that, @Jan McNulty! Someone in FADT said it was their debut?- oh, maybe they meant they as in a few of the dancers, and not the entire company.  The universally used "we" and "our" can be confusing sometimes...  😀 

[capybara]

All the good reviews for NB are very well-deserved. This was a case of The Linbury being the perfect venue for small scale classically based works.  Bravo to NB!

And well done also for producing informative folded programme notes which gave all the information one needed for £2.00.

[Emeralds]

39 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

It's not the first time FADT has been at the Linbury.

Oh wait, the ROH website is now also saying it's FADT's debut at the Linbury, so I'm now confused....lol. Never mind, whether it's first time or not, as long as the show goes well on Saturday. An excellent initiative.

[capybara]

11 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Oh wait, the ROH website is now also saying it's FADT's debut at the Linbury, so I'm now confused....lol. Never mind, whether it's first time or not, as long as the show goes well on Saturday. An excellent initiative.

 

Please could we have another thread for FADT?

[Bruce Wall]

Attended the New Generations programme again this evening alongside a Royal visitor, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.  

 

My admiration for the new pieces only grew.  Ella's mimicking of Robbins was - at least in its lyrical PDDs - filled with a confidence that allowed the audience to relax and breathe.  I think the first night company of each of these two new pieces was by some distance the strongest and that team again danced tonight in the Ella.  The NB couples featured in the first two movements were both particularly strong.  

 

I'm missed the animated focus of Harris Beattie in Peck's piece - but in a way this was a boon as it allowed me to draw back and admire the overall sear of the dramatic construct; a weave entirely IN the music and THROUGH the classical idiom - which is certainly a NYCB hallmark  The build here is as intricate as the steps themselves are significant in vividly charting the dynamic of the central character's journey; one through whose lens the audience is framed.   Cleverly this piece never bites off more than it can chew and all participants become a vivid thread in the fabric of the whole. 

 

As I referenced above this is very much (J) Peck/Ratmansky territory - and what a riveting terrain it is.  The thrilling wallop of its overall stimulation is so sensitively assembled.  I can just hear Ashton purring with delight at the redolent perfume of its balance.  It has been wonderful to see London audiences - albeit small ones - react to it as they have.  Now I REALLY can't wait for Tiler's new work - her first for NYCB and the glorious rapture that is the State Theater stage - to premiere in the 2024 Winter Season.  May that just be the start of many to come - and I, for just one, can't wait for a 'Peck on Peck'  collaboration (not that - in a way - there haven't already been a goodly many given the number of roles Tiler has originated in Justin's balletic tales - including a few of the 'sneaker ballet' variety).  

 

Watching Intimate Pages again tonight I wanted nothing more than for NYCB to do it with the central couple danced by Roman Meija and Mira Nadon (much as they did in a VERY different work by Balanchine in the Fall season just gone - Bouree Fantasque).  What a harrowing escapade that would be with a second cast made up of Danny Ulbrecht or Stanley Taylor (another J. Peck muse) and Sara Mearns or Emma Von Enck - all oh, so very different but just as theatrically emphatic.  With live accompaniment by the vivacious NYCB orchestra what a TREAT that would be!  

 

How also I would love to see NB do this programme in NYC at, say, the Joyce; an equivalent to the small ROH theatre.  It would sell I'm sure and I can hear the cheers in my ear even now.  

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[JohnS]

I very much enjoyed Thursday’s matinée performance, an impressive triple bill and good to see Northern Ballet - much easier to see them in London from Cumbria rather than Leeds (cross travel in North England no doubt has a separate thread). The whole programme was extremely well presented as others have set out so well above. I thought the Adagio Hammerklavier particularly memorable but would be very pleased to see the whole programme again.

 

One criticism if I may: rather disappointing not to have live music for the Janacek (with the recording loud and muddy to my ears) but having said that, why was the Sibelius violin/piano amplified? I’m getting a bit more familiar with the Linbury following The Limit and now Generations but I don’t think amplification has been successful in recent visits. It’s a small, intimate theatre and I’m sure live music would be much better without amplification.

[LinMM]

I attended the November 1st performances but have been hesitant to comment because although I loved the two Pieces I saw ( unfortunately missed the Peck Piece) it turned out to be a bit of a surreal experience. 
In my defence it is a VERY LONG time since I’ve seen Adagio Hammerklavier …Makarova was dancing in it the last time I saw it…. which was my initial reason to want to see this Programme. 
However I’d understood the order to be 1) Adagio 2) Ben Ella Piece 3) Peck Piece. 
My memory of adagio was of floaty skirts in a very pale turquoise colour and the Beethoven Piano music …I even thought it had been on two pianos. 
So when the first dancers came out in floaty dresses but different colours I didn’t think too much about it. But what was that violin doing….well I thought there must be a version of Hammerklavier with a violin accompaniment ..so no worries. 
As the piece went on I was getting Dances at a Gathering feelings all beautifully danced but I was sure Adagio had been a little more dramatic ….but perhaps some changes in choreography had taken place over the years!!! 
I finally gave up worrying and thought well it was at least 40 years ago…. and memory not as good as it was…..I then relaxed into just enjoying the dancing in front of me…and it was highly enjoyable …All three couples were lovely with Harris Beattie ( I had to ask who he was in the interval!) a bit of a stand out for me just very musical and I thought the central female dancer who had starred in Great Gatsby was very special too I think Dominique La Rose and Taylor her partner was good too but need to check. But all three couples had something different to offer so were interesting to watch. When I met up with friends in the interval and was saying how I thought the music was different to how I’d remembered it for Adagio only to be told that it wasn’t Adagio but Ben Ella’s new Piece “Joie de Vivre” 🙄

It’s amazing what the brain can allow you to try and unite in your experiences when under false information!! 
So was relieved that I had felt something was not quite right but a little devastated my memory wasn’t much better but also pleased I had enjoyed Ben Ella’s Piece inspite of being totally unaware it was his Piece throughout! 
I was also very pleased at this first attempt ( at least assuming his first major Piece) as it was very classical in form and some nice choreography in there so can definitely look forward to more from him. 
So finally to Adagio…..Just loved it all over again and of course the Van Manen Piece much more dramatic in form highly expressive of that wonderful Beethoven piano music instantly recognisable  (still don’t know how I could not have realised there was no way the Sibelius music was even remotely like Hammierklavier)  with some gorgeous pas de deux work…I think Dominique and Taylor again. 
The floaty dresses were white which they probably were in the original too but perhaps had a turquoise light on them when on the main stage back in……….

I unfortunately missed the Peck Piece which friends said I would have really enjoyed too and they certainly did! 

It would have been great to get to that Thursday matinee yesterday as could have watched this offering from Northern several times over anyway and would have got to see the Peck but yesterday weather was just not conducive 😥

I certainly hope Bonelli is feeling very pleased with himself for providing ballet lovers with a joyous evening of performances and am only sorry it was not on for longer at the Linbury three nights just not enough! 
 

[Scheherezade]

33 minutes ago, LinMM said:

All three couples were lovely with Harris Beattie ( I had to ask who he was in the interval!) a bit of a stand out for me

I think we all loved Harris Beattie. I had to check who he was in the interval too. Just lovely to watch. 

[Emeralds]

@LinMM, you made me laugh when it dawned on me that you’d mistaken Benjamin Ella’s Joie de Vivre for Adagio Hammerklavier because you didn’t have a programme or cast sheet in front of you! If it’s any consolation, that’s happened to me before when I’m sitting in concerts without a printed programme (because they sold out or the stall was  too far away to get to and return to our seats before the start) and someone had decided to change the running order, and I’ve sat there for ages thinking, “which piece are we listening to?” and then only recognising it near the end when I hear some familiar theme or passage! But you’ve paid Benjamin Ella a great compliment by saying his work looks like Hans van Manen’s! 

 

The costumes are from ENB’s production(according to NB’s programme and website info) and like you, I do remember the dresses being more blue than white (for me, in ENB’s performances, as I wasn’t around for Makarova’s performances at ROH) but the lighting at the Linbury for NB’s performances was brighter than ENB’s so maybe the dresses look bluish/turquoise under darker lighting. I noticed from a recent Dutch National Ballet official video that their dresses are very pale blue- sometimes they look light blue in close up, but when the dancers move to the middle of the stage, the lighting turns them white.

 

A pity you weren’t able to stay for Tiler Peck’s ballet- it was quite short at only around 20 minutes (and NB finished right on time). You don’t feel it’s too short though- there is a lot of dancing in it, and the choreography is full of variety. All credit to Benjamin Ella and Tiler Peck -their ballets didn’t have any parts that dragged or felt like filler, as many new works (and a few old ones) often do. I wish I’d been able to see the programme one or two more times and to see other casts, especially the matinee one. I love that Federico Bonelli has also employed a mix and match approach to casting (which RB used to do in the past but not any more) so that if you went to every performance, you didn’t get the same cast for every single ballet, and there would be at least 2 or 3 different people in the cast to see. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Emeralds

[zxDaveM]

8 hours ago, Emeralds said:

 

The costumes are from ENB’s production(according to NB’s programme and website info) and like you, I do remember the dresses being more blue than white in ENB’s performances

 

I think that may have been the lighting, which was much better at Sadlers Wells, than the limited facilties for the lighting bods at the Linbury

 

just found my old photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dancetabs/33574106166/in/album-72157679805542411/