Gallery by Dave Morgan... the cast is led by Marianela Nunez, Carlos Acosta,
Tag - Marianela Nunez
The programme was so underwhelming that I went twice in succession, to see whether alternative casts could make a difference.
Jann Parry reviews Scènes de ballet, Five Brahms Waltzes, Symphonic Variations and A Month in the Country...
Royal Ballet Ashton Bill featuring Scènes de ballet, Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Symphonic Variations and A Month in the Country. Gallery by Dave Morgan...
The advantage of a big company accustomed to performing narrative ballets (something we can take for granted with the Royal Ballet) is that it is able to portray a whole society on stage.
Gallery by Dave Morgan...
The best of the videos and best piece of the night was Kim Brandstrup's Leda and the Swan using the much-loved Zenaida Yanowsky and Tommy Franzen
Starting at the beginning of the dancers’ day, each of the five ballet companies – Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet – will take the lead for a four hour period streaming live from their headquarters...
It's always good to get back to mixed programmes after one of the Royal Ballet's long runs of blockbusters, and better still when the first item on the bill is Balanchine's timeless Serenade.
Fascinating to see the Royal Ballet’s production of Balanchine’s Jewels not long after the Bolshoi’s account at the Royal Opera House in summer. Unlike the Russians, the Royal Ballet dancers understand the different period conventions of the three ‘acts’...
The Royal Ballet’s autumn season triple bill offered very different ways of presenting bodies in space: anatomical studies in an architectural limbo (Chroma); flying figures in constant flux (The Human Seasons); a tribal community following ritual patterns (The Rite of Spring).
It's especially challenging for the Royal Ballet, whose repertoire and style are built on the subtle understatement of Frederick Ashton and the deep psychological explorations of Kenneth MacMillan: hot-blooded Latin exuberance is not really their thing...
Gallery by Dave Morgan...
Gallery by Dave Morgan...
his diverse selection of 17 works (including musical interludes) is a gala in all but name and this one could have been sub-titled “Gems of The Royal Ballet” for all nine dancers hail from that company...
Carlos Acosta's very short photocall in the Golden Slave duet captured by Dave Morgan...
Words with the man and thoughts on the Behind the Scenes at The Royal Ballet book from Graham Watts. Details of his next book too - on Natalia Osipova...
At this stage, Raven Girl seems a work in transition. Its longueurs need tightening, an inexplicable ‘19th century couple’excised, solos for important characters expanded, and more light thrown on the goings-on.
First thing to say is that it's a peach of a production, coherent, dramatically satisfying... It still feels fresh and vibrant... The three leads did well... Elsewhere it was a mix of good and ragged steps...
Though this year it was Nijinsky’s turn to be reclaimed as a Russian icon, the contents of the gala had little to do with him. Very probably the choice of items – mainly pas de deux - depended on which dancers were available to perform whatever was in their repertoire.