Royal Ballet Promotion Predictions

[tabitha]

At present the company is awash with talent at all levels. .

I think you are being very generous. There are a handful of very promising dancers in the company, who should be given opportunities, yes, but there are also a lot more very average dancers whose names are never mentioned on these pages.

 

I agree that there should be no promotions to principal this year as despite some highly promising soloists, I am not sure they would compare as principals on a world class stage. I would actually like to see a few more world class guest principals brought in on short contracts e.g. just on loan for a specific run, whilst giving the promising talent more time to develop.

[Sim]

Jamesrhblack....yes, Mara is definitely dancing in Woolf Works, and she is very excited and thrilled about it. ☺

[Fonty]

I think you are being very generous. There are a handful of very promising dancers in the company, who should be given opportunities, yes, but there are also a lot more very average dancers whose names are never mentioned on these pages.

I agree that there should be no promotions to principal this year as despite some highly promising soloists, I am not sure they would compare as principals on a world class stage. I would actually like to see a few more world class guest principals brought in on short contracts e.g. just on loan for a specific run, whilst giving the promising talent more time to develop.

Regarding your first point, I was just checking the names of the female soloists, and I find it interesting that while I know some of them very well, I don't really know much about people such as Harrod or Hinkis, for example. I mention the females because the classical rep has more opportunities for them than the males, and those are the things I am more likely to go and see.

 

As far as world class guests are concerned, I can see it might be great if the dancer in question is considered to be the best example of a role that the dance world has to offer e.g someone from the US in a Balanchine role, or a Russian in one of the flashy, firecracker roles that they do so brilliantly. Not so sure how it would work if Mr X or Miss Y was brought in simply because they were world famous.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Fonty

[tabitha]

Regarding your first point, I was just checking the names of the female soloists, and I find it interesting that while I know some of them very well, I don't really know much about people such as Harrod or Hinkis, for example. I mention the females because the classical rep has more opportunities for them than the males, and those are the things I am more likely to go and see.

As far as world class guests are concerned, I can see it might be great if the dancer in question is considered to be the best example of a role that the dance world has to offer e.g someone from the US in a Balanchine role, or a Russian in one of the flashy, firecracker roles that they do so brilliantly. Not so sure how it would work if Mr X or Miss Y was brought in simply because they were world famous.

I wasn't just talking about soloists, I was responding to the point about talent "at all levels".

The point about guest principles was more about filling a short term gap at the required standard - they don't have to be world famous, although that does appear to draw an audience e.g Osipova. However, I don't see 'buying in' as a long term strategy, and would still like to see the internal promise developed, but need to make sure they are truly world class, so that the company continues to be respected on the international stage.

[bridiem]

I wasn't just talking about soloists, I was responding to the point about talent "at all levels".

The point about guest principles was more about filling a short term gap at the required standard - they don't have to be world famous, although that does appear to draw an audience e.g Osipova. However, I don't see 'buying in' as a long term strategy, and would still like to see the internal promise developed, but need to make sure they are truly world class, so that the company continues to be respected on the international stage.

 

That last point is interesting. It implies that the RB must ensure that it's showing world-class dancers, regardless of whether or not they are RB dancers or have come through the company or school. Shouldn't the company be respected for producing such dancers, rather than just employing them? If it is in a slightly fallow period (which is perhaps arguable), perhaps it should show the best it does have and be judged on that.

[John Mallinson]

I've struck '2015' from the title of this thread. Suppose I could have made it '2015-20xx'!

[FLOSS]

Tabitha I don't for one moment believe that every dancer recruited by the Royal Ballet has it in them to become a principal dancer but I do think that if you look at each level in the company there are far more  dancers with real talent than we have seen for a very long time. The problem it seems to me is that the Royal Ballet has never really got to grips with developing its own principal dancers in the way that BRB has always done. In the early years after the company moved to Covent Garden  de Valois established a touring company as a nursery for young dance and choreographic talent because she recognised that the sort of repertory that would be expected on the opera house stage would not necessarily be suitable for young dancers and that both young dancers and choreographers needed the opportunity to learn their craft away from the pressure and publicity of the opera house stage. A significant number of the big names of the 1960's and 1970's  took the touring company route to the Covent Garden stage. Sibley and Dowell were an exception to that rule.

 

The difference between the two companies was not simply one of repertory although it is significant that the Touring  Company continued to dance many of the early Ashton ballets that had created a company  good enough to be invited to be resident at Covent Garden. It is also one of opportunity. At Covent Garden in the 1970's a young dancer used to get one make or break debut.If someone was injured they might get another chance to dance the role with a different partner but that was it.  They would  then  have to wait until the ballet came back into the repertory before they would have another opportunity to dance it. The Touring Company gave a dancer the opportunity to dance and develop a role because he or she was going to dance it regularly during the tour which in those days lasted for many weeks. If a dancer had a less than brilliant debut they were  under much less pressure as they  knew they were going to dance it again the following week  and were well away from the national press . A not so good performance was an opportunity to learn rather than a major disaster.The fact that the Touring Company and its successors were able to produce so many good dancers  and the main company produced relatively few should have led the Covent Garden company to review and adjust its practices  when the two companies became entirely separate from each other. It did not do so and we have been living with the consequences ever since.

 

The Covent Garden company has a long and not so proud history of holding dancers back until they were past their sell by dates before being given their debuts in major roles.It was something that Fonteyn alluded to when she was interviewed on television about her career.  She said words to the effect that she was glad that she was not starting out then because young dancers had to wait far too long to dance the major classical roles. That it was one thing to dance them when you were really young, as she had been when she first tackled them, because you were not going to be perfect in them and were not expected to be. When  you are young you can shrug  off your mistakes and learn from them. When you are older it is not so easy. Although she did not say it I think that she was hinting at the fact that the great roles are a mountain to climb at any age but as you get older they grow rather than diminishing in size. If you start too late they may become impossible to master because of the weight of expectation and the limited number of opportunities you will have to dance them. I recall reading that David Wall said that when he first went to Covent  Garden he had felt a bit intimidated until he realised that he had danced Swan Lake more often than any other male principal in the company.

 

I am very much aware of the company's weaknesses. On its most recent showings it does not have a Myrthe or Lilac Fairy who is any where near the quality of Bergsma or Mason. But the company has far more dancers with obvious talent at every level than it has had for many years. The answer is to give them the chance to dance the roles to which they would be suited now and not to wait. It is not going to do much for them if the company stages Beauty and Lake but only uses the company's dancers as a backdrop for the "stars". I am not sure that I want to sit through a Swan Lake in which the Odette/ Odile unfolds and poses rather than dances the role. If O'Hare does not take this opportunity to put his young hopefuls on the stage  in Beauty and Fille then we shall probably find that the next crop of principals have to be imported.

Edited April 17, 2016 by FLOSS

[tabitha]

Floss, as usual I can't disagree with anything you say really and your posts are very informative to read.

 

My only issue with the approach you suggest is from an audience perspective. I had a series of really disappointing visits to ROH last year where it seemed that very few of the dancers cast in solo / principal roles were up to the job. I seemed to fall unlucky and always catch the casts where they appeared to be trying people out in roles or letting more junior dancers have a go, and not the ones with obvious potential who are often mentioned on here.

 

I don't get to the Opera House very often and when I do, I book good seats, for which I pay a lot of money, and I want to see a world class performance from one of the top ballet companies in the world. I am not one of the people who can go and see several different casts of the same run and therefore may be more forgiving of a poor performance.

[capybara]

I believe that Kevin O'Hare is reported as saying that he would not be making more appointments as Principal Character Artist. After all, there are now several wonderful character players at First Soloist and Soloist rank.

[alison]

That it was one thing to dance them when you were really young, as she had been when she first tackled them, because you were not going to be perfect in them and were not expected to be. When  you are young you can shrug  off your mistakes and learn from them. When you are older it is not so easy. Although she did not say it I think that she was hinting at the fact that the great roles are a mountain to climb at any age but as you get older they grow rather than diminishing in size. If you start too late they may become impossible to master because of the weight of expectation and the limited number of opportunities you will have to dance them.

 

I think so, especially at Covent Garden.  I remember Mara Galeazzi saying something to the effect that she might not have minded doing Odette/Odile early in her career, but that it was a young dancer's ballet.

 

I believe that Kevin O'Hare is reported as saying that he would not be making more appointments as Principal Character Artist. After all, there are now several wonderful character players at First Soloist and Soloist rank.

 

Really?  I'm surprised at that.  Do you just keep dancers on at soloist level indefinitely even when they're hardly being cast in dancing roles (possibly clogging up the ranks for other dancers?), or do you let them retire and lose all that stage experience?  Incidentally, it's not guaranteed that a PCA *won't* do any more dancing - hasn't that been Gary Avis' rank since he rejoined the company?  To be honest, I have over the years seen several candidates I thought might move into such positions, and wondered why the PCAs seemed to have skipped a generation, and there are several worthy candidates or future candidates in the company at the moment.

[FLOSS]

Tabitha I have no idea which dancers you have seen in performance who have disappointed you so much recently  or what they appeared in and I do not intend to ask you to identify them. I will simply say that seeing senior dancers in a role is no guarantee of  seeing a satisfying performance if the dancer concerned is miscast. This season the company revived ,Two Pigeons among the casts who appeared in it were McRae and Salenko and  Ball and Stix-Brunell. The fact that McRae is one of the best technicians  in the company and Salenko is a senior dancer in her home company might suggest that this was a cast that you could not afford to miss whereas the junior cast was one that would only be satisfactory at best.In fact the McRae, Salenko cast were far from satisfactory.They reproduced every step but they did not dance the choreography idiomatically and neither brought the characters they were supposed to be portraying to life. They produced generalised rather than specific accounts of roles rather than re-creating Ashton's characters. Ball and Stix-Brunell by contrast re-created Ashton's characters and their performance was pitch perfect.

 

Recruiting  dancers who are highly regarded in another company is no guarantee that they will have the same success in the Royal Ballet as the demands are different. Much of the Royal Ballet's repertory requires acting skills as well a good technique and the Ashton repertory requires an ability and willingness to assimilate the style. Osipova was clearly not in full command of the choreography and the style when she danced Rhapsody recently. Bringing in guest artists does not guarantee that you will see effective performances let alone stunning ones. A star is someone with a following. Unfortunately having a following does not confer the ability to be equally effective across the entire ballet repertory. Most star dancers today seem to believe it to be beneath their dignity to adjust their usual performance style to accommodate that of the choreographer.

 

What  I have written is based on my experience as an audience member who spent a lot of the 1990's having my expectations raised by proposed programming only to have them dashed when the casting was announced. There is no simple solution except to try to avoid the dancers who have disappointed you and try to find out what part of the repertory or what sort of role they are good in. No one is going to be that good if they are woefully miscast.It is much easier to carry out that sort of research than it used to be as a result of the existence of sites such as this. Remember no one is equally effective in everything so find out what they can do or try to avoid them

 

It does not help that some of O'Hare's casting decisions  and choice of repertory have been bizarre. I have no idea why he cast Matthew Golding as Oberon as he clearly was not going to have the speed required for the role. Casting him in Symphonic Variations was even more peculiar, fortunately he was replaced. I can't make up my mind whether O'Hare is indifferent to the effect that inept casting has on a performance or whether having worked in a company that did not always have the luxury of casting suitable dancers in specific roles has blunted his judgement as far as ascertaining a dancer's suitability for a role is concerned. Of course injury and illness can create havoc in what began as a carefully planned meticulously cast run of a ballet. It can be tempting to try out someone new in such circumstances. If the substitute produces a stunning performance you feel very pleased to have been at there. If it is less than good you feel doubly disappointed. .

 

As far as repertory is concerned I have no idea why O'Hare thought that Don Quixote would be a fine addition to the company's repertory as it has not suited the company on the two previous occasions that it has been tried. It is a question of style. The Royal Ballet can do many things, but the larger than life, expansive characterisation and dancing which the ballet requires in the Acosta version is not something that immediately springs to mind when think about the company. When Osipova was injured Takada found herself dancing Kitri. Takada has all the signs of being that very rare thing a genuine classical ballerina rather than someone who can dance the nineteenth century ballerina roles. Osipova is not a classical ballerina and never will be however hard she tries, but she is a born Kitri which Takada is not. It is a question of horses for courses and you are entitled to expect that the AD will select a repertory that suits his company and its artistic temperament and casts his dancers with care. If he selects a work which radically departs from its usual sphere of performance he needs to ensure that he has dancers who stand a good chance of doing it justice rather than hoping that they will be able to do so. Adding a ballet to the repertory because it will be fun for the dancers if you don't have enough dancers  who it would suit it does not seem very sensible to me.   

Edited April 17, 2016 by FLOSS

[MAB]

Getting sick to the back teeth with the constant spiteful jibes against Salenko.  She's a very good dancer who deserves better.

[Scheherezade]

Getting sick to the back teeth with the constant spiteful jibes against Salenko.  She's a very good dancer who deserves better.

 

Agreed. But I do find it difficult to engage with her emotionally. And whilst I find McRae electrifying in some roles, I found their Two Pigeons underwhelming compared with the other casts.

[FLOSS]

Sorry Mab. I was, I thought, merely answering some points about filling perceived gaps in the company by having guest dancers as Aurora in next season's Sleeping Beauty with a recent example of the use of a guest artist which did not,in my opinion, produce the result that I assume it was intended to do. It was not a general criticism of Salenko in every role in which she has appeared at Covent Garden.

 

As I don't believe that McRae is responsible for casting the ballets in which he appears I must assume that the AD was responsible for hiring her. He did Salenko no favours by bringing her in to dance in an Ashton ballet with whose choreographic style she was unfamiliar. As it is a ballet that he was trying to bring back into the company's repertory after a gap of thirty years I would have expected him to have taken greater care in getting all the casting right during this initial run than he actually did.It is after all a ballet with which he has a degree of familiarity. He must know you don't become an Ashton dancer overnight simply by being cast in an Ashton ballet.The ballet is one of those in which Ashton was choreographing for a Pavlova substitute in this case Seymour who had the right feet and the arms.

Edited April 18, 2016 by FLOSS

[penelopesimpson]

I haven't seen any 'spiteful jibes' against Ms. Salenko.  I have seen people expressing a viewpoint with which I am in agreement:  that she is a wonderful dancer but one who does not move me emotionally.  I feel exactly the same about Macrae.  His name on the bill guarantees my interest but he doesn't always engage me.  He is wonderful in Winter's Tale, breathtaking in Woolf Works but, for me, not a natural Romeo.

[RuthE]

To get back to the thread topic, I would like to see the following for starters:

 

Artist to First Artist: Anna Rose O-Sullivan, Tierney Heap and perhaps Reece Clarke

First Artist to Soloist: Romany Pajdak (but I've been saying that for a while and am not sure the company agrees...) and Matthew Ball

 

The Soloists list seems to have an awful lot of very good dancers on it at the moment, few of whom (in my inexpert opinion) show immediate potential for promotion (and I'm not sure there are any vacant First Soloist contracts at present, even if there were!)  On the other hand they seemed to have lost a lot of First Artists recently so there must be some gaps there.

 

(Apropos of nothing, I've just noticed that on the list on the Royal Ballet website http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet/dancers they have miscategorised Tierney Heap as a First Artist already (though if you click through, it correctly identifies her as an Artist)... I'll tweet the company and let them know.)

[capybara]

To get back to the thread topic, I would like to see the following for starters:

 

Artist to First Artist: Anna Rose O-Sullivan, Tierney Heap and perhaps Reece Clarke

First Artist to Soloist: Romany Pajdak (but I've been saying that for a while and am not sure the company agrees...) and Matthew Ball

 

The Soloists list seems to have an awful lot of very good dancers on it at the moment, few of whom (in my inexpert opinion) show immediate potential for promotion (and I'm not sure there are any vacant First Soloist contracts at present, even if there were!)  On the other hand they seemed to have lost a lot of First Artists recently so there must be some gaps there.

 

(Apropos of nothing, I've just noticed that on the list on the Royal Ballet website http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet/dancers they have miscategorised Tierney Heap as a First Artist already (though if you click through, it correctly identifies her as an Artist)... I'll tweet the company and let them know.)

 

I mentioned Tierney Heap's apparent promotion on here a while ago. She is also listed as a First Artist in the 2016/17 Season Guide.

[Sim]

I would like to see Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell join Frankie Hayward as First Soloists.

 

Matthew Ball from First Artist to Soloist or even, in a perfect dream world, First Soloist (so that he can start dancing the roles that could lead to Principal).

 

Agree with Ruth; Anna-Rose O'Sullivan and Reece Clarke to First Artist.

 

Alexander Campbell from First Soloist to Principal. Perhaps Yuhui Choe to accompany him as they are such a delightful partnership.

[capybara]

Tempting as it is to offer a list (and mine would be fairly similar to Sim's, I think), I am going to wait until I've seen The Invitation because, surely, it will put the dramatic talents of some young dancers to a pretty big test.

[alison]

Matthew Ball from First Artist to Soloist or even, in a perfect dream world, First Soloist (so that he can start dancing the roles that could lead to Principal).

Seems to me he's already doing those quite happily(?) from where he is

[SPD444]

Tempting as it is to offer a list (and mine would be fairly similar to Sim's, I think), I am going to wait until I've seen The Invitation because, surely, it will put the dramatic talents of some young dancers to a pretty big test.

 

 

I wonder why they are leaving the casting so late?

[RuthE]

That's if they ever announce the casting!

 

edit: cross-posted...

Edited April 18, 2016 by RuthE

[zxDaveM]

well, if I ruled the world, apart from making every day the last day in May (as the first day of spring way too cold!), I'd promote Ms Naghdi in a flash

[RuthE]

I would like to see Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell join Frankie Hayward as First Soloists.

 

When I said I can think of few of the current crop of Soloists who are immediately ready for promotion, those two were who I had in mind as the exceptions.  Fumi Kaneko maybe not far behind?  But I doubt they have two or more female First Soloist positions to make available at this stage... until somebody gets promoted to Principal, decides to retire etc.  Frankie Hayward must have filled the vacancy in First Soloist ranks left by Deirdre Chapman.  In my head, until they give a Principal promotion to an existing First Soloist, the most likely vacancy to be created at FS level is if Melissa Hamilton decides she's not coming back from Dresden after all.

 

(edited for clarity: we already know Hamilton is taking another year out, but that position is only vacant if she decides to leave for good...)

Edited April 18, 2016 by RuthE

[Sim]

Seems to me he's already doing those quite happily(?) from where he is

He's done a couple, but he will need to do more before he can become Principal.

[Ruth]

I truly believe that no dancer nowadays can hold a candle to the original Ashton casts. So much has changed with regards to schooling and technique, and perhaps its simply natural transgression, that the Ashton we see performed now is not as the original was. Even the highly praised, on here, casts I've seen do not have the same effect as the original casts did. I think this also applies to other choreographers, for example Balanchine, although I never saw the original casts for his works. This is, however, not to say that Ashton cannot be performed any more; I just believe it has to be taken into account how much the style has evolved in the last few decades. And that the original cast can never be beaten. Then again, if it was performed much more frequently I might be surprised.

 

With regards to the thread, I can certainly see many promising ballerinas who will likely make Principal in a few years time. No more names to add to others, although at the moment I see Akane Takada as the most likely to make principal first. However, looking at the male dancers I struggle to see ones who'll make principal very soon. Many of the younger ones, I feel, need a lot more partnering experience and to develop their acting skills. All it will take is a few injuries in the upcoming Mayerling performances and the male principal rank will look very bare.

 

P.S. I am not a new user, simply someone who hasn't posted for a while and cannot, no matter how hard i wrack my memory, remember my old account details. They were possibly linked to an email account of which the password eludes me.

[Ruth]

Having spent some time away from this forum I'm surprised to see the dislike towards McRae. Perhaps I've missed something? He was never my favourite but I always remember him as a virtuoso and reliable partner.

 

Imported star dancers are part of every big company I feel; or at least they've always been part of companies I've visited, and I don't think the Royal Ballet has too many. I've never heard it complained about so long after the hiring took place so it surprises me to still hear arguments.

 

One particular lady really looked down her nose at my grand dd after talking during intermission lately at the opera house, upon hearing gdd enjoyed the Osipova Rhapsody performance. Its inspired her to see more Ashton works in the future. It's not something I really expect in person, especially from a lady close to my age, so I have to ask: is Osipova really so awful, or only really good for Don Quixote, or are people just frustrated that the management didn't give the position to an in-house dancer, and as such will dislike anything she does? My friend was very much the same way with Guillem: she was French, and therefore couldn't dance anything well at the Royal Opera House. I understand differing opinions of course, but to my eye it very much reminds me of that friend.

 

Perhaps this is controversial, to which I apologise. I have not personally seen Osipova dance as her performances usually fall on difficult days for me. Her physique has always reminded me of an old fashioned dancer.

[Fiz]

I have only seen Osipova dance via live link. I liked her Odette \Odile but was less convinced by her as Lise.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Ruth and welcome back to the Forum!

 

I think Osipova and, to a certain extent, McRae are a bit like marmite!  I've only seen Osipova live once - in Rubies - and I thought she was sensational, as was McRae.  I saw them in the Rhapsody live stream and while I enjoyed the performance, my personal preference was for Hayward/Hay.

 

Fortunately we are all different and can all have valid and different opinions.  The world would be a very boring place otherwise!

[MAB]

Brilliant post Ruth.  Both Osipova and McRae have techniques way beyond the average and Osipova is acknowledged as a major international star.  Much of what I am reading lately is totally incomprehensible to me. 

[penelopesimpson]

Brilliant post Ruth.  Both Osipova and McRae have techniques way beyond the average and Osipova is acknowledged as a major international star.  Much of what I am reading lately is totally incomprehensible to me. 

It's also incomprehensible to me because, search though I might, I cannot find any 'dislike' of Macrae.  Surely regular audiences are entitled to express their preferences - in the certain knowlege that what floats the boat for some, will not hit the spot with others.  I don't think Macrae or Osipova are like Marmite.  Speaking only for myself, I adore both of them and am thrilled when I see them on the cast list.  Osipova's one performance of Giselle which I was lucky enough to see had me walking on air for days.  Similarly, Macrae in Winter's Tale last week simply fizzed with excitement and I adored him in Wolf Works.  However, I did not especially admire his Romeo or Salenko's Juliet but that it not to say they weren't fantastic because they were. They just didn't tug my heart strings in the way that Watson always does, ditto Kobborg and Cojocaru.  I see the same quality developing in Hayward and look forward to her becoming a Principal.  Muntagirov also has it.

 

For the same reasons I don't rush to see Sarah Lamb because I find her cold, but her performance in Winter's Tale with Macrae was amazing and I loved every minute.  I think we all want to take different things from our dance experiences and I look for an emotional connection which is why I don't go to ballets like Don Quixote or Jewels.  Surely it is one of the great strengths of RB that it has dancers of different strengths - all briliant but each with their own special magic.  

 

The only dancer I would put in the 'not keen' category is Matthew Golding who, for me, simply doesn't fit with RB.  His pairing with Hayward in RJ I thought was a mistake and I am not sure how he is going to develop in the company.  He was a sure-footed partner to Osipova in Giselle but did not add much to the narrative.

 

Please lets not construe preferences as criticism.  

Edited April 19, 2016 by penelopesimpson

[alison]

And even Golding, I suspect, hasn't had the ballets which are his forte to show us what he can really do.

[MAB]

Please lets not construe preferences as criticism.  

 

And please do not patronise me.