RB Summer Period Casting

[LinMM]

I can’t see Polixenes casting at all at least not on the website 🤔

[Blossom]

Out of interest, how old is Baby Campbell? Perhaps they are choosing to take Shared Parental Leave which would explain a lack of Alex as Claire comes back???

[FionaM]

2 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I can’t see Polixenes casting at all at least not on the website 🤔

@capybara shared a pdf higher up this thread 

[LinMM]

Ah yes …how annoying that the ROH obviously know this casting and can’t be bothered to add to the other main names. 
Also Muntagirov is playing Leontes down the line with Kaneko. 
 

Whoops sorry Fiona I see you said Bracewell not Muntagirov as being not in the “best” role for them! 

Edited February 14 by LinMM

[Silke H]

3 minutes ago, Blossom said:

Out of interest, how old is Baby Campbell? Perhaps they are choosing to take Shared Parental Leave which would explain a lack of Alex as Claire comes back???

Isla Campbell was born 13th September 2023

[LinMM]

Has Campbell danced Oberon before perhaps he is as somebody else suggested being used more in the Ashton …if he hasn’t performed it before I think he’d be an excellent Oberon. 

[bridiem]

7 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Has Campbell danced Oberon before perhaps he is as somebody else suggested being used more in the Ashton …if he hasn’t performed it before I think he’d be an excellent Oberon. 

 

Yes - he danced it in 2017.

[Sim]

25 minutes ago, Silke H said:

Isla Campbell was born 13th September 2023

My birthday too....sadly numerous decades earlier!!  😄

[capybara]

I like Viola Pantuso and am pleased for her that she is cast as Perdita. 
But I’m not altogether ‘with’ using more junior dancers quite so much as seems to be becoming the trend.
After all, several Principals and First Soloists have only just made it into the TWT roster after spending quite a while climbing the ranks. Where’s the motivation and the reward for others if it can all be had within a couple of years of graduation?

[Sim]

48 minutes ago, capybara said:

I like Viola Pantuso and am pleased for her that she is cast as Perdita. 
But I’m not altogether ‘with’ using more junior dancers quite so much as seems to be becoming the trend.
After all, several Principals and First Soloists have only just made it into the TWT roster after spending quite a while climbing the ranks. Where’s the motivation and the reward for others if it can all be had within a couple of years of graduation?

Yasmine has had to wait seven years as a Principal before dancing Perdita!

[capybara]

28 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yasmine has had to wait seven years as a Principal before dancing Perdita!

Quite!

[OnePigeon]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

I like Viola Pantuso and am pleased for her that she is cast as Perdita. 
But I’m not altogether ‘with’ using more junior dancers quite so much as seems to be becoming the trend.
After all, several Principals and First Soloists have only just made it into the TWT roster after spending quite a while climbing the ranks. Where’s the motivation and the reward for others if it can all be had within a couple of years of graduation?

I so agree with you, it’s not a trend I’m very keen on.  Personally, when tickets are so expensive and priced the same across all casts, I’m not as thrilled to see a soloist get a top role when there are so many amazing principals at the top of their game who have worked hard to get where they are, only to get a few performances each, or none at all.  I would be more prepared for this trend if there were a certain amount of performances with non principals which were slightly cheaper, but it doesn’t make economic or artistic sense to me to keep casting lower ranked dancers in top roles when there are already so many principals.  I also don’t understand why a ‘premium’ cast with 4 of the top and most popular principal dancers in the company are dancing on early week day nights when surely they should be given at least one weekend.  It’s almost like the audience aren’t really a consideration.

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I can’t see Polixenes casting at all at least not on the website 🤔

 

It is there. If you click on the + by Koen Kessels' name then it opens up a list of all 6 leading roles.

 

18 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

I also don’t understand why a ‘premium’ cast with 4 of the top and most popular principal dancers in the company are dancing on early week day nights when surely they should be given at least one weekend.  It’s almost like the audience aren’t really a consideration.

 

As someone who doesn't have trains to London running most weekends in May I'm very relieved by the lack of Saturdays in the Winter's Tale scheduling as it actually gives me a choice of dates for each cast (unlike Manon & SL where all the Saturday performances mean I am very limited in when I can see the casts I want to try to see). So I guess it's swings & roundabouts with different schedulings suiting different audience members.

[OnePigeon]

All their performances are Monday - Wednesday though.  One Thursday, Friday or Saturday would have been most welcome to the many people who have to get up for work the next day.  Ah well, I might actually just give it a miss.

[JNC]

2 hours ago, OnePigeon said:

I so agree with you, it’s not a trend I’m very keen on.  Personally, when tickets are so expensive and priced the same across all casts, I’m not as thrilled to see a soloist get a top role when there are so many amazing principals at the top of their game who have worked hard to get where they are, only to get a few performances each, or none at all.  I would be more prepared for this trend if there were a certain amount of performances with non principals which were slightly cheaper, but it doesn’t make economic or artistic sense to me to keep casting lower ranked dancers in top roles when there are already so many principals.  I also don’t understand why a ‘premium’ cast with 4 of the top and most popular principal dancers in the company are dancing on early week day nights when surely they should be given at least one weekend.  It’s almost like the audience aren’t really a consideration.

this is how I feel about some of the MacMillan triple casting. As I can only see this once live and there are limited performances I would rather have seen principals cast in the main roles for all performances to be honest. 

The opening cast for MacMillan would probably have been my preference but not living in London I opted for the Saturday performance where to be honest the casting wouldn’t have been what I would have wanted to see. Particularly with younger dancers down the ranks we’re more likely to see them in these pieces again, but now it’s unlikely I’ll ever get a chance to see Marianela and Lauren in those roles again. 
 

if there is space for first soloists and soloists if there are a large number of performances it differs slightly but as there are so many principals now it still feels like we don’t see many principals that often anymore. 

Edited February 14 by JNC

[capybara]

16 minutes ago, JNC said:

Particularly with younger dancers down the ranks we’re more likely to see them in these pieces again, but now it’s unlikely I’ll ever get a chance to see Marianela and Lauren in those roles again. 
 

if there is space for first soloists and soloists if there are a large number of performances it differs slightly but as there are so many principals now it still feels like we don’t see many principals that often anymore. 

 

Couldn't agree more. You make a powerful point about not seeing certain Principals again in certain roles. I'm now feeling that there are some potentially potent 'matches' between Principals and roles which we once might have hoped to see but which, now, we might never see .

[Emeralds]

5 hours ago, LinMM said:

I can’t see Polixenes casting at all at least not on the website 🤔

Calvin Richardson- 3, 15, 27 (mat) May

Lukas BB- 7, 13, 22 May 

David Donnelly- 21, 28 May, 1 June

Leo Dixon- 24, 27 (eve) May

 

If you click on the " + " on the right of each date to expand it, LinMM, the Polixenes names should appear.

[Richard LH]

15 hours ago, capybara said:

I like Viola Pantuso and am pleased for her that she is cast as Perdita. 
But I’m not altogether ‘with’ using more junior dancers quite so much as seems to be becoming the trend.
After all, several Principals and First Soloists have only just made it into the TWT roster after spending quite a while climbing the ranks. Where’s the motivation and the reward for others if it can all be had within a couple of years of graduation?

Surely this is unusual though....I can't immediately think of any other Artist recently dancing two major roles like this, (with Clara) in only their second full year in the Company.

 

Maybe Akane  would have been cast again as Perdita in the Fumi/Vadim cast had she not been still rehabilitating from injury, alongside Sissens ( with whom she has been paired a few times now). If so, Viola gets an unexpected, rather than a planned, opportunity to perform in a role which may well suit her undoubted, perhaps exceptional, talent. So I am not sure this is an example of of any "trend" to somehow promote younger dancers over longer serving ones.

 

Edited February 15 by Richard LH

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Surely this is unusual though....I can't immediately think of any other Artist recently dancing two major roles like this, (with Clara) in only their second full year in the Company.

 

Original post deleted as memory confused me.  Wheeldon did choose Stix-Brunell as Alice when she was only 19 but Prince of the Pagodas was NOT his ballet. It is, of course, a Macmillan ballet. Senior moment!  Apologies to Blossom and Richard LH who have already 'liked' my inaccurate post! Nonetheless, Stix-Brunell did dance the principal role in Prince of the Pagodas when she was only 19 -  i.e. she danced two principal roles (Alice and Princess Rose) in her second year in the Company

Edited February 15 by Bluebird

[Mary]

You could say that Perdita is a role for a very young emerging dancer, as the character is a young girl on the threshold of womanhood, meant to represent new life, new hope, first love and so on.. I can see the logic there.

But then you could say the same for Aurora!

 

I do rather agree that we don't see enough of the Principals, all of whom are very capable of acting this role as well as dancing it.

 

[San Perregrino]

3 minutes ago, Mary said:

the character is a young girl on the threshold of womanhood, meant to represent new life, new hope, first love and so on.. I can see the logic there.

But then you could say the same for Aurora!

And Juliet too

[Sophoife]

On 14/02/2024 at 05:51, FionaM said:

I thought Claire Calvert performed Hermione before?

 

On 14/02/2024 at 06:09, Sim said:

Yes she has, so this time she is dancing Paulina instead.  I'm looking forward to that.

 

On 14/02/2024 at 06:13, Rachel H said:

I definitely remember seeing Claire Calvert as Hermione.

 

Indeed. Claire Calvert was rehearsed as Hermione in Brisbane on 7 July 2017 by Christopher Wheeldon and Jackie Barrett, a tour version of Insight I suppose. It was explained that Thiago Soares had sustained an injury so Claire hadn't danced yet, but that she was rehearsing with Ryoichi Hirano who was being rushed into his début as Leontes.

 

Claire Calvert Hermione Brisbane

 

17 hours ago, LinMM said:

Has Campbell danced Oberon before perhaps he is as somebody else suggested being used more in the Ashton …if he hasn’t performed it before I think he’d be an excellent Oberon. 

 

17 hours ago, bridiem said:

Yes - he danced it in 2017.

 

He did indeed, making his Oberon début opposite Laura Morera on Monday 5 June. My last performance of that year's #BalletTourofEurope

 

Alex Campbell Oberon début 😉

Edited February 15 by Sophoife

[Mary]

28 minutes ago, PeterS said:

And Juliet too

Well exactly

[capybara]

As others have intimated, the ‘hand’ of the choreographer is very obvious in the casting for TWT. ‘Twas ever thus with Wheeldon.

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Bluebird said:

 

Original post deleted as memory confused me.  Wheeldon did choose Stix-Brunell as Alice when she was only 19 but Prince of the Pagodas was NOT his ballet. It is, of course, a Macmillan ballet. Senior moment!  Apologies to Blossom and Richard LH who have already 'liked' my inaccurate post! Nonetheless, Stix-Brunell did dance the principal role in Prince of the Pagodas when she was only 19 -  i.e. she danced two principal roles (Alice and Princess Rose) in her second year in the Company

Stix-Brunell had joined Wheeldon's independent dance company Morphoses (alongside ballet stars like Wendy Whelan who still danced with their main companies like NYCB) while a student. She was cast by Wheeldon to be Alice and Perdita (and was also in the first cast of his Within the Golden Hour when it transferred from SFB) but she danced Princess Rose in MacMillan's Prince of the Pagodas as an understudy for an injured colleague. 

[LinMM]

Looking at the role of Perdita and “newbies” versus principals dancing the role it really only affects Akane Takada as far as I can see. So it could well be as Richard LH has said that Akane is sort of coming back slowly as she has the big Swan Lake role coming up in June ( which I am hoping to see) so am sure this is just a wonderful chance for Viola. 
From what I’ve seen of her dancing I think she will be perfect in this role and as it is Wheeldon’s ballet perhaps he’s been specifically looking for someone to replace Takada and seen the particular qualities he wants in Pantuso. 
Wishing all dancers new to roles in TWT the very best of success. 

[Bluebird]

15 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Stix-Brunell had joined Wheeldon's independent dance company Morphoses (alongside ballet stars like Wendy Whelan who still danced with their main companies like NYCB) while a student. She was cast by Wheeldon to be Alice and Perdita (and was also in the first cast of his Within the Golden Hour when it transferred from SFB) but she danced Princess Rose in MacMillan's Prince of the Pagodas as an understudy for an injured colleague. 

 

Yes. By deleting my original post, I also deleted the additional information that, in both cases, Stix-Brunell was chosen to replace other dancers - I believe she was replacing Nuñez as Alice and Cuthbertson as Princess Rose.

 

Edit: simultaneous posting with Bangorballetboy!

Edited February 15 by Bluebird

[bangorballetboy]

12 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Stix-Brunell had joined Wheeldon's independent dance company Morphoses (alongside ballet stars like Wendy Whelan who still danced with their main companies like NYCB) while a student. She was cast by Wheeldon to be Alice and Perdita (and was also in the first cast of his Within the Golden Hour when it transferred from SFB) but she danced Princess Rose in MacMillan's Prince of the Pagodas as an understudy for an injured colleague. 

 

Stix-Brunell was cast as Alice as a replacement for an injured colleague (Núñez).

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

As others have intimated, the ‘hand’ of the choreographer is very obvious in the casting for TWT. ‘Twas ever thus with Wheeldon.

and every other choreographer methinks, including from beyond the grave in the case of MacMillan & Cranko

Edited February 15 by PeterS

[Emeralds]

Thanks to both 😀  👍 

38 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

 

Yes. By deleting my original post, I also deleted the additional information that, in both cases, Stix-Brunell was chosen to replace other dancers - I believe she was replacing Nuñez as Alice and Cuthbertson as Princess Rose.

 

Edit: simultaneous posting with Bangorballetboy!

 

39 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Stix-Brunell was cast as Alice as a replacement for an injured colleague (Núñez).

 

[JohnS]

Having read the various posts highlighting a preference for principals, I can’t help but recall some of the debuts of today’s principals when they were up and coming dancers: to give a couple of examples, who could forget the fabulous Naghdi/Ball double debut Romeo and Juliet in 2015; or Hayward’s stunning Manon debut back in 2014? I think Kevin O’Hare manages such a tricky balancing act pretty well although I’d still prefer to see slightly longer runs of some ballets.

[FionaM]

I really should take my own advice (given elsewhere) to trust the choreographer / producer / decision makers in their casting decisions.

 

I am now looking forward to these dancers bringing something different to my perceptions of the roles.  Especially Corrales as Leontes and Bracewell as Florizel.  

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Having read the various posts highlighting a preference for principals, I can’t help but recall some of the debuts of today’s principals when they were up and coming dancers: to give a couple of examples, who could forget the fabulous Naghdi/Ball double debut Romeo and Juliet in 2015; or Hayward’s stunning Manon debut back in 2014? 

Yes, and I think it’s the way in a lot of companies that dancers get their ‘break’ when a more experienced one is injured or indisposed. Otherwise how else would they get the exposure or experience. Or - they get thrown into a big role straight away at a young age. I think this was/is common in NYCB, from what I’ve read/heard. Sarah Mearns as Odette/Odile for example.

 

In a ballet like TWT Perdita is not the only main role anyway, it’s less of a big role than Juliet I would have thought? Can’t comment yet though as I’ve only seen clips of the ballet.