English National Ballet - Modern Masters, March 2015

[aileen]

I would have liked to see a third cast for each of the ballets but perhaps there just wasn't the rehearsal time. Alina is obviously very attuned to Neumeier's style of choreography but it is new to everyone else and it probably takes a while to 'bed down'. I won't be seeing Tamara in Spring and Fall but I imagine that she wouldn't be wistful enough for it.

[capybara]

I wonder whether Virelles and Westwell should have been cast in two pieces in one evening. In particular, I think that dancing both Spring and Fall and In the Middle back to back is hugely demanding and Virelles is dancing in six of the eight Spring and Falls.

 

 Max Westwell was replaced as Tamara's partner in Petite Mort yesterday afternoon by Junor Souza. So he (Max) arrived fresh into Spring and Fall.

[nottsballetlover]

Just on train home from seeing the ENB Modern Masters Triple. It was excellent all round but my 2 favourites were Kylian's Petit Mort and Neumeier's Spring and Fall. The Forsythe certainly had 'force' but the music was too techno for me and the movement (brilliantly danced I hasten to add) just too 'spikey' for my taste!

The Kylian I loved. I have seen a few Kylian pieces in my life and enough to know I have never seen anywhere near enough of his work. I so wish I had the opportunity to see more. I first became aware of him as a choreographer many years ago when there was a TV documentary filming him teaching Symphony in D to RBS students. The same film then had a full filmed performance of that wonderful work danced by NDT. Then I lived in Prague for 2 years from 1999 to 2001 and while I was there, Kylian came to Prague to mount a delectable double bill of his works with Czech National Ballet. This was the fantastical Child and Magic (complete with pieces of furniture that come alive and dance) and the utter genius piece that is Sinfonietta. Now today I saw Kylian's Petit Mort for the first time and it really was incredible. Set to 2 of my favourite Mozart piano concerto segments, this piece for me was superb. Real ensemble piece so I won't pick out individuals. Clever use of props.

Spring and Fall is set to music by Dvorzak (Czech again!!) and I love his work. So the Neumeier piece for me was delectably and lyrically danced to perfection by the lead trio of Cojacaru, Virelles and Cesar Coralles. Alina just dazzled in this, as did all around her. Stunning.

Final piece was the Forsythe. Cast change this pm with Alina and Viralles replacing Takahashi and Streeter. Fab powerful dancing but not quite my thing!!

All in all a wonderfully balanced triple. Treated myself today to first class train including full fry up breakfast on board and had time to spare in London to spend 2 hours at V&A. On a point of ballet interest their theatre section has a few ballet-related exhibits but nowhere near enough!!!

Edited March 14, 2015 by nottsballetlover

[aileen]

Oh, are Alina and Virelles going to have to dance In the Middle again this evening? That's pretty taxing. I feel that there should have been three casts for each of the ballets as there are eight performances in six days.

[capybara]

By the end of this evening, Alina Cojocaru and Alejandro Virelles will have danced Spring and Fall once and In the Middle twice in the space of just over 7 hours. And this at the end of a very tiring week. What troupers!!!!

[aileen]

Are James and Erina expected to dance tomorrow? Btw, was the whole cast changed or just the two leads?

[capybara]

Begona Cao and Amber Hunt replaced Kei Akahoshi and Stina Quagebour. I'm guessing that this was because of the close interraction of those roles with that of Alejandro Virelles.

[nottsballetlover]

For the matinee today of In the Middle, Cojacaru/Virelles replaced Takahashi/Streeter; Begonia Cao replaced Hedman; Amber Hunt replaced Akahoshi. If I wrote that down correctly from the notice in the foyer...Rojo was one of the couples in Petit Mort having not been on original website casting for that.

Edited March 14, 2015 by nottsballetlover

[alison]

Well, I'm relieved for ENB's sake, at least, that not everyone seems to find Petite Mort as tedious as I do

 

I thought I'd posted about this before, but can't see it, so I just thought I'd say I thought Cojocaru was superb in Spring and Fall. Not sure quite what I think about the piece, because she kept drawing my eye so much that I didn't really have time to assess the work as a whole. I was getting the niggling feeling that if I bothered to pay attention to it it would remind me of The Leaves Are Fading - would anyone agree?

[Beryl H]

If Alina Cojocaru and Alejandro Virelles danced In the Middle twice yesterday plus Spring and Fall I'm not surprised that I thought they looked a little tired in the evening, they were superb in the final pdd though, I love this ballet, my favourite of the three.  I don't find Petite Mort tedious at all, but I do find Spring and Fall so  after a second viewing even more, too much running, the pdd is lovely though and I liked Tamara Rojo and Max Westwell as much as the other cast, I much prefer The Leaves Are Fading! The only thing I don't like about Petite Mort is how short it is. All the supporting dancers in the first cast of In the Middle were wonderful, especially Junor Souza and Laurretta Summerscales.

[capybara]

For the matinee today of In the Middle, Cojacaru/Virelles replaced Takahashi/Streeter; Begonia Cao replaced Hedman; Amber Hunt replaced Akahoshi. If I wrote that down correctly from the notice in the foyer..

 

Thanks for putting me right, nottsballetlover. I didn't see the notice and could have sworn that Stina Quagebour wasn't dancing but Tiffany Hedman was. The poor lighting provides me with my excuse!!!!

 

Best wishes to James Streeter for a speedy recovery, especially as he is one the the nominees for Emerging Dancer next Monday.

[aileen]

I saw Friday's and this afternoon's performances - both from the stalls - and very much enjoyed them. Spring and Fall really grew on me. There was something rather poignant about it and the pdd for Cojacaru and Virelles was beautiful and very touching. I'm not sure if there is supposed to be a story to it. The company looked in very good form and it was nice to see some dancers who are often cast in 'character' roles in the full-length narrative ballets get the opportunity to dance in Petite Mort and In the Middle. There were quite a few children at this afternoon's performance (I was sitting next to a (very well behaved) six year old). Perhaps they were there because it was their mothers' Mothers' Day treat. It was a great programme and I hope that the company will do more work by these choreographers in the future.

[Harwel]

I loved this programme today. The main principles were beautiful but my favourite performance came from a very tallented Cesar Corrales - can't wait to see more of him - just such a joy of dance. Been years since I saw ENB, I won't make that mistake again!

[Bruce Wall]

Saw three performances of the MODERN MASTERS triple bill and very much enjoyed the energy and excitement of Rojo's first outing by her ENB at SW under their associated banner.  May there be ever more strength to her and ENB's already potent arm in this happy remit.  

 

For me the standouts of the programme - nay, surprises - were: 

 

(i) Begona Cao (Cao appeared to be - as ever - fine ... but - not just that - I found myself thinking - [can this be right?] - that she was a wholly different dancer from that which I earnestly believed I knew from before in both Petite Mort and MOST especially - only because there was more of her to be astounded by - in IN THE MIDDLE.  Let there be NO doubt - none at all - about the enticing SOMEWHAT she ELEVATED ... TOTAL MAGIC ... I would so have loved to have seen her aside Ovsyanick ... although - that said - it was delirious to be able to witness Cojocaru both exhibit and enthuse in and around her own snap to glory aside Cao's enervating surround.)

 

AND

 

(ii) Barry Drummond who sizzled in all three performances I saw of the Forsythe (aside the EVER wonderful Crystal Costa) having achieved a very rich 'Post-Freddie' dynamism.  That was - much like the youthful ardor of Corrales referenced above in the Neumeier - (where Cojocaru once again illustrated just why she is this particular dance maker's muse) - life enriching.  Forsythe's choreography still intrigues (amazingly it provided the most strictly classical element in this particular programme) even if its score has now become rather dated. Certainly when when I first saw the piece in NYC in 1987 with a very young Guillem at its determined helm the Willems had seemed innovative.  Not now.  

 

Still - in ALL - Rojo continues to build with meaningful strokes.  I so enjoyed the six minute segment of PERFECT DISORDER that was presented as an aperitif prior to the Thursday matinee.  (I would love to hear reports of those determined followers who saw the whole 30 minute work.)  I only wish I could have done so but work on the Friday sadly prevented me.  I am such a keen fan of Stina Quagebeur's glorious choreography - such a talent - and it was thrilling to see her be given an opportunity to effectively frame a work of size to a thrilling original score by Chris Swithinbank - he who so, SO beautifully etched the Mozartian keyboard selections for the Kylian.  As ever at ENB, we were allowed to revel in the music as realised by the insightful Gavin Sutherland and his ENB Philharmonic.  Both conductor and his dedicated ensemble deserve our pride.    

Edited March 15, 2015 by Bruce Wall

[Irmgard]

My only chance to see this triple bill was yesterday so I am very grateful that ENB continues to give Sunday matinees.  This performance had sold quite poorly but, due to a last-minute rush on tickets, there were long queues at the Box Office at 2.15pm and the performance started five minutes late to accommodate what turned out to be a packed and enthusiastic audience.

In "Petite Mort", the highly talented Company Pianist, Julia Richter, was at the keyboard and her supremely elegant interpretation of the Mozart pieces obviously inspired the dancers, who clearly love performing Kylian's choreography.  Due to James Streeter's injury, neither he nor Erina Takahashi appeared in the piece and their roles were taken by Fabian Reimair and Fernanda Oliveira (the cast sheet had not been corrected and there was no announcement but I assume the change might have been posted in the foyer).  Their erotically charged pas de deux had a feeling of intimacy and tenderness that was extremely moving.  It was good to see Adela Ramirez, who was dogged by injury for most of last year, back onstage in top form.  Partnered by Yonah Acosta, their pas de deux smouldered with Latin temperament.  The final pas de deux was breathtakingly danced by Tamarin Stott, in her only performance of this run, and Junor Souza. Again, there was an intimate tenderness and trust between them that enhanced the intricate choreography .  The least successful pas de deux was by Tiffany Hedman, who appeared mismatched with the graceful Ken Saruhashi and, sandwiched between the pas de deux of the well-matched Begona Cao and Nathan Young and that of Stott and Souza, it highlighted the innate elegance of the ENB dancers of more than a couple of years' standing  which Hedman has yet to acquire. 

I am more familiar with Neumeier's story ballets than his abstract ones but I found "Spring and Fall" to be a delightful piece of whimsy (if a little too busy) to brighten a grey March afternoon.  Bringing out the Czech folk-dance elements of Dvorak's music with steps reminiscent of the folk dances in Cranko's "Onegin" with a bit of Nijinska's "Les Noces" thrown in for good measure, it was prettily danced by all involved and Alina Cojocarou wafted daintily throughout as the embodiment of youthful springtime.  However, my eye was caught more than once by Maria Jose Sales, a stalwart of ENB's corps de ballet, because of the exceptional grace she brought to the choreography.

I have somehow managed to avoid seeing Forsythe's "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated", not by design, until now. Not having read the programme notes, I came to it with no expectations but to me it seemed to be a humorous look at what happens between class and rehearsal and/or performance, with the dancers practicing bits of choreography or steps by themselves or with their partners, completely oblivious to the others.  It also reflects the almost narcissistic arrogance of the Paris Opera dancers at the time of its creation in 1987.  Having personal experience of backstage at the Paris Opera around that time, when the dancers' Union was so strong that they would cut out mid-step when tea-break was called, I was amused by Forsythe's reflection of this with dancers stopping mid-flow and just walking off.  ENB's dancers attacked it with unflagging energy and flawless technique, highlighting some very fine dancing from Kei Akahoshi and Barry Drummond.  But the piece was dominated by Begona Cao who was mesmerising, whether prowling the stage looking for a partner to support her in her almost unbelievable extensions (and never distorting her extremely lithe body or compromising her impeccable line to achieve them) or simply standing at the back of the stage with a deliciously insolent arrogance.  This was a performance of true star quality.

[MAB]

I'm afraid I'm a lot less enthusiastic about this programme than most.  Petit Mort I've seen danced by at least three companies now so obviously a few AD's like it, but the more I see the piece the more it seems to be about props.  The manipulation of the swords is clever I'll grant but for me the emphasis of those non dance elements, such as the self propelling frocks, distract from the actual dancing.

 

Spring and Fall I loved and Cojocaru's performance was perfection, so sweet and gentle.  I understand she now dances a lot for Neumeier who seems so in tune with her unique qualities.  I am very grateful to Ms Rojo for taking this work into the rep as we see far too little of Mr Neumeier's work in this country.

 

Had I not been with a group of friends I would have gone home after Spring & Fall as I am no fan of Forsythe and from the pretentious title to the GBH on the eardrums I find In the Middle etc. an utterly pointless waste of energy but then again I may just be feeling my age.

[alison]

Thanks, MAB: I think you've put your finger on it as regards Petite Mort for me