The Royal Ballet: Four Temperaments mixed bill, March/April 2015

[Beryl H]

Glad that CC didn't let me down, his review of Untouchable was what I expected

[alison]

I can't decide which I like best: Regimented grudge-nursing, Anguish by numbers, or Nasty attacks of the sullens (Just for those who can't get past the subscription page)

[Bruce Wall]

I can't decide which I like best: Regimented grudge-nursing, Anguish by numbers, or Nasty attacks of the sullens (Just for those who can't get past the subscription page)

 Just what one might expect under a one star banner, huh?  

[Fonty]

Oh, please could someone give us the gist of Mr CC's review?

 

I do miss them now that the FT insists that I sign up for them!

[capybara]

I'll try without contravening the code:

 

4Ts; 4* - Principals "fine advocates for their individual temperaments" but chorus "in need of clearer energies".

 

Song; 4* - "well done" by MN, TS and CA

 

Untouchable; 1* - "design cliches of dry ice"..... " bare stage"..... "the percussive bombast of a drumming sound track" ...."mass angst"....."nasty attacks of the sullens"

 

Overall, it was a relatively short review but you will gather that he likes the Balanchine and the MacMillan and enjoyed the performances of both those ballets. As we might have anticipated, the Shechter was not to his taste.

Edited March 31, 2015 by capybara

[Mary]

I just watched my dvd of NYCB Four Temperaments-thinking it might rather put RB in the shade, but no-  I really thought Watson, McRae especially, - and Yanowsky were better, both technically sharper and more characterful in their interpretations, though the RB corps were not as sharp ( I saw the first performance.) -insofar of course as one can compare a dvd today with a performance last week...

Wish I could see them again. Melancholic and Phlegmatic solos really could have been made for those two dancers. Two wonderful, very different, talents.

 

I too really want to read Mr Crisp and wish he would peek round from behind that wretched paywall thing; perhaps start a blog we could all read...:-)

[loveclassics]

Oh, please could someone give us the gist of Mr CC's review?

 

I do miss them now that the FT insists that I sign up for them!

 

Me too!  I love Mr C's reviews - so perceptive and full of treasurable phrases.  He described one modern piece as 'all writhing and fainting in coils' to paraphrase Lewis Carroll.  And does anyone remember his review of  Wayne Eagling's Frankenstein?  Quite priceless.

 

Having just seen the last post, I must remember 'a nasty attack of the sullens'.  Love it!

 

Linda

 

Edited to add last sentence.

Edited March 31, 2015 by loveclassics

[Jam Dancer]

I am not sure what CC thought about Untouchables but as someone who spent many years in ballet and some contemporary dance training, I liked it. I enjoyed the opening night performances especially 4T. I wish I were able to see the second cast because I thought Morera would bring something different to Song.

 

I am not sure what similarities Eric has to Albert Evans that necessitates comparison of the two in the role in 4T. I saw Albert dance several times and they are completely different dancers so I would have liked to see the 2nd cast.

 

Lindsay, I really did enjoy reading your posts so please don't stay away. I often disagree with many comments on here but as I know mine is a particular perspective I don't expect everyone to see what I see or agree with me. I feel privileged to have seen the one performance I did and hopefully that keeps me for the next 3 months !

[Timmie]

I got to CC's review just by googling: clement crisp untouchable and clicking the hit labelled: "Balanchine/ Shechter/MacMillan, Royal Opera House, London". Worth a try.

[alison]

Or you could now try "attacks of the sullens", of course

[Balletfanp]

You can sign up to the FT for a limited number of free articles per month, I think - it's not many, although I forget exactly - maybe five? But it's enough to access the odd review and I find I can access what I need via username and password.

[alison]

I think it's gone down to 3, which is a ridiculously small number per month.

[Lindsay]

I have access to CLement Crisps's review but never read them as you know in advance exactly what he is going to say. He has always been unashamedly partisan (see his championing of Macmillan who was a close friend) and incredibly conservative and he cannot resist a bitchy soundbite. In my view it is incredibly unhealthy for the London dance scene that he has been considered a "doyen" for so long. Thankfully these days there are several more open minded critics "in the circuit".

 

It's not that I think critics should not write bad reviews - of course hey should in professional terms - and my tastes coincide with CC on many things (the brilliance of ed Watson being one) but he is maliciously small-minded and predictable and has had too much influence for too long.

[Ian Macmillan]

Lindsay:  Perhaps surprisingly, Mr C is really rather keen on many of the Street Dance manifestations to be seen in town from time to time, so his horizon is posssibly not as limited as one might think.  As to malicious, he certainly does not write in half-measures, whether positively or negatively.  And as to influence, I note that Louise Levene's name has appeared against a number of London FT reviews in recent days - might that portend some change over the horizon?

[capybara]

Lindsay:  Perhaps surprisingly, Mr C is really rather keen on many of the Street Dance manifestations to be seen in town from time to time, so his horizon is posssibly not as limited as one might think.  As to malicious, he certainly does not write in half-measures, whether positively or negatively.  And as to influence, I note that Louise Levene's name has appeared against a number of London FT reviews in recent days - might that portend some change over the horizon?

 

I am not sure whether Clement Crisp wields much influence these days at least. Yes - he was a supporter of MacMillan; yes, he wrote a number of books; yes he provided the narrative in many a programme for visiting Russian ballet companies; and yes he is a strong advocate for particular dancers. But - apart from the fact that he is still around after so many years (I'm glad to say) - where is the evidence of real and lasting influence?

 

In common with many others, and as i have said on here before, I enjoy what he writes whether or not I agree with him and his use of such vivid language often livens things up among an otherwise  pretty turgid set of written critiques. After all, who else causes one to have to consult the dictionary on occasion?

 

I believe that Louise Levine began writing for the FT many months ago and shortly after the Sunday Telegraph dropped ballet criticism (and her).

Edited April 1, 2015 by capybara

[Fonty]

I think a lot of critics are quite predictable.  They all have their favourites. 

 

I don't always agree with Mr CC, but I love his written pieces because the man can make me laugh. 

[Lindsay]

No problem Capybara.  I'm not involved in the dance world personally but have lots of experience of the classical music world, where dynamics are similar and there is also a great degree of overlap between the two in relation to institutional structures and some individuals.  However, of course there are many on this board who will disagree with the analysis in my post above and they are of course free to do so.  Robust debate is good! But it is much better when it comes from a place of curiosity and thoughtful logic rather than kneejerk defensive reactions..

[A frog]

Clement Crisp seems to particularly relish hatchet jobs, I still remember http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/380d5122-bdb1-11e0-babc-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Vys040yT. I believe the choreographer mentioned is Jiri Kylian, on whose website there used to be a text against critics who are more interested in being mean than informative (if it's still there I didn't see it in a cursory search today).

Maybe he is simply in tune with the general ballet audience in the UK, I don't know if there is causality, but I definitely think there is a correlation between his views and how relatively conservative ballet in the UK (and specifically the RB) is compared to for instance POB or NYCB (I don't know enough about what they programme to assess qualitatively, but I was surprised that the recent movie Ballet 422 was thus named because it was about the creation of the 422nd ballet for the company).

[MAB]

How can the RB be over conservative when the favourite choreographer is Wayne McGregor?

[Angela]

I believe the choreographer mentioned is Jiri Kylian, on whose website there used to be a text against critics who are more interested in being mean than informative (if it's still there I didn't see it in a cursory search today).

 

I think you mean this text by Kylián: http://www.jirikylian.com/visuals/text/critics_criticism/

[Lindsay]

One purportedly radical choreographer does not a ground-breaking company make.  I think both Wheeldon and Scarlett (and Marriott to a lesser degree) are very conservative and they have probably had as much, if not more, stage-time as McGregor over the past few seasons.  If anyone wants to do a calculation I'd be very interested.  

 

Five performances of a half hour Schechter ballet in the middle of a seemingly endless run of Swan Lakes hardly seems to make a dent.  Revenues must of course be raised but the triple bill sold out fairly quickly so i think they could have programmed more.

[Lindsay]

Crisp himself admitted (nay, celebrated) his own prejudices in an old piece in the FT saying that 

"Bleakest commentaries are inspired by performances that offer attitudinising rather than steps, by stagings born of publicity rather than fact, and the modish vapidities of Tanztheater, known to me and to my readers as Eurotrash. (In reviewing performance, I write as to friends who accept my prejudices and enthusiasms.)"

 

To dismiss the work of, Pina Bausch for example, as "modish vapidities" to me smacks of someone unwilling to engage with complex or challenging ideas and prefers to take safe refuge in sweeping and comfortable (and frankly xenophobic) generalities.  He has already made up his mind before entering the theatre.  For example, did anyone think that he might have a single good thing to say about the Schechter or that he would criticise Song?

 

On Kylian, Crisp said: "My heart sang when I learned that a foreign choreographer was so offended by what I have written about his ballets that he refuses to bring his tedious offerings to this country. I had not laboured in vain. And to quote Lichtenberg again: “Such works are mirrors; when an ape looks into them, no apostle looks out.” I hope, ultimately, I am on the side of the apostles."

 

So he has personally saved us all from having to make our own minds up about what we might think about nasty "foreign" art.  How heroic of him.  

 

If he were writing in some unread specialist journal he might be safely ignored but, as I think it was Wayne McGregor said in an interview somewhere, the FT readers are potential funders of the art form (increasingly so as public funding withers) and if all they see is a negative and risk-averse attitude to new works then we will be stuck in same-old same-old, and become a conservative backwater.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Lindsay

[capybara]

I bow (again) to the vastly superior knowledge of others in regard to the influence of Clement Crisp.

 

But he would surely be hugely entertained to know that he is featuring prominently on a thread which is predominantly about the Shechter piece.

[Fonty]

Oh dear, the word xenophobia has raised its head again.    I never get the impression that CC is criticising something because it is created by a foreigner. 

 

Eurotrash has a fairly specific meaning, named because it originated in Europe (at least, that is my understanding of the word.) 

Edited April 1, 2015 by Fonty

[Lindsay]

I would like to think not Fonty, but I very much dislike his use of the term "Eurotrash".

 

Just in response to Fonty's edit, Eurotrash may be specific, but I think it has undeniably negative connotations.  Definitely a touch of the UKIPs about it.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Lindsay

[MAB]

I don't want the Royal Ballet to be a 'ground breaking' company, it's supposed to be a classical ballet company and I want it to stay that way.  I go to a fair amount of modern dance and to refer back to McGregor I have always enjoyed Random Dance performing his work more than the RB.  Courses for horses as far as I'm concerned.

[zxDaveM]

One purportedly radical choreographer does not a ground-breaking company make.  I think both Wheeldon and Scarlett (and Marriott to a lesser degree) are very conservative and they have probably had as much, if not more, stage-time as McGregor over the past few seasons.  If anyone wants to do a calculation I'd be very interested.  

 

Five performances of a half hour Schechter ballet in the middle of a seemingly endless run of Swan Lakes hardly seems to make a dent.  Revenues must of course be raised but the triple bill sold out fairly quickly so i think they could have programmed more.

 

I would disagree with the 'very' conservative tag. All 3 you mention, have some quirky choreography to their name, so maybe a little conservative, but only in as much as they use classic steps, amongst the distorted classic steps in their work. 

As for amount of work - I make it: McGregor 8 (1 being full length arriving soon); Scarlett 4 (1 'full length' in the Linbury); Wheeldon 3 (2 full length) not counting those made elsewhere; Marriott 4. This not including the Titian triple bill collaborations.

As the company HAS to preseve the old classics (to hone classic technique of the dancers), the old romantic ballets, the 20th century classics, Ashton and MacMillan works, this isn't too bad a score over the last 8-9 years, I reckon.

[Lindsay]

Thanks for the counting Dave - much appreciated!  Are you counting all new pieces commissioned by the RB from those composers ever or with a date cut-off? (I'm assuming you've gone back at least to 2012 since you mention the Titian bill)

 

Wheeldon is a slightly odd case since the company performs some of his works which were commissioned elsewhere (wasn't Polyphonia originated for NYCB? I can't remember who commissioned DGV but I have a vague feeling it was POB).  I think if those works are included, particularly since the full-lengths get far more performances, Wheeldon is actually much more heavily used in terms of stage-time than McGregor.

[zxDaveM]

Lindsay - went back to about 2006. DGV and Chroma were debuted on the same bill back then, for the Royal Ballet. Was only counting new work FOR the Royal Ballet, not works made elsewhere but new TO the RB (this would indeed bump up Wheeldon's total).

Alice bumps up total stage time HUGELY in Mr Wheeldon's favour, can't deny.

[Bruce Wall]

This is all fascinating ... truly .... but isn't it getting a tad off topic.  That was, I think, -- or at least started off as - opinions/considerations in, round and about the 'Four Temperaments Triple Bill' currently being performed by the Royal Ballet.  

[alison]

I just watched my dvd of NYCB Four Temperaments-thinking it might rather put RB in the shade, but no-  I really thought Watson, McRae especially, - and Yanowsky were better, both technically sharper and more characterful in their interpretations, 

 

I guess that's the Royal Ballet for you - can't dance anything without characterising it, I think, even if it's supposedly abstract.  Like you, I was watching (part of) the DVD last night, and was very aware of the changes in technique since 1977 or whenever it was, and the far greater characterisation.  I did wonder whether Mr. B would have approved, though, and noticed that the second female soloist didn't smile - the contrast with Yuhui Choe was considerable.  I actually liked Bart Cook (I think it was) in Melancholic, though (and come to think of it, I liked Bonelli in the same role last time round).

[Fonty]

This is all fascinating ... truly .... but isn't it getting a tad off topic.  That was, I think, -- or at least started off as - opinions/considerations in, round and about the 'Four Temperaments Triple Bill' currently being performed by the Royal Ballet.  

 

 

I

True.  Perhaps we could take the other discussion into another thread?

 

 

I would have thought that a lot of this could go on the Classical v Contemporary thread, couldn't it?   I thought that would provoke a lively discussion, but there are not that many posts on there. 

[Bruce Wall]

For those who haven't seen it ... and wish to prepare ... here is a film of THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS ...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk9dG6p5bFg

 

I also attach this as - in the opening's third variation - you will find KIPLING HOUSTON (NYCB 1975-2003).  He was/is British born.  His father was in the RAF.  I remember having several animated chats with him - such a nice chap - during that period when I would occasionally give docent talks on the Fourth Ring of State Theatre.  He - like several others such as Jenifer Ringer and Darci Kistler - were always so very generous with their time.  

 

Also ADAM LUDERS, who, of course was trained and had danced with the RDB, was with LFB/ENB before his long career with NYCB where he was a mainstay.  Indeed he danced Seigfried in the very first SL I ever saw - which was with LFB/ENB at the RFH with Mania Gielgud as O/O.  

 

Also COLEEN NEARY - who features in the final section - is the sister of PATRICIA NEARY who staged the current RB production on behalf of the Balanchine Trust. 

 

I am surprised that there have not been more comments about Muntagirov in this current RB round.  I thought he was TRULY OUTSTANDING in his debut in this Balanchine glory.  

Edited April 1, 2015 by Bruce Wall