The Royal Ballet's 2015/16 Season

The Royal Ballet recently announced details of the 2015/16 season and I am very excited! This is what I am most looking forward to:

- Raven Girl will be returning to the stage in October. This was one of the first performances I saw at the Royal Opera House and ultimately what got me excited about the Royal Ballet. It was the first time I saw Sarah Lamb perform (the role of Raven Girl was created for her), and I have been her fan ever since. It is also the my favorite Wayne McGregor ballet and the final pas-de-deux between Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood remains the most beautiful thing I've ever seen on stage. You can watch the rehearsing the scene here. 

- Elizabeth - a ballet about the life of Elizabeth I. This ballet was created by Will Tuckett for the Royal Ballet in 2013 and was performed at the Royal Navel College in Greenwich. It will be coming to the Linbury Studio in January. I don't know much about it, but it sounds interesting.

- A Christopher Wheeldon triple bill, including a new work, in February AND his Winter's Tale returning to the main stage in April. 

- Liam Scarlett's new ballet, Frankenstein, coming to the main stage in May. Scarlett has an incredible talent for story-telling through choreography and seems to have a thing for dark themes. I love his Hansel and Gretel.

- Orphee et Eurydice - not ballet but opera for a change. The reason I am excited about this one is because of choreographer Hofesh Shechter's involvement as co-director. His recent collaboration with the Royal Ballet was incredible, and I am excited to learn that he will be collaborating with the Royal Opera House again.

Further details of the Royal Ballet's 2015/16 season can be found here.

Insights: The Royal Ballet in Class

Today I got to watch members of the Royal Ballet in class! This open class was part of the Royal Opera House's Insights series, and there will be similar events occurring throughout the year. I think it's really wonderful how actively the Royal Opera House pursues audience outreach. 

I went to the class expecting mostly members of the corps the ballet to be there and was completely blown away to see Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, Thiago Soares, Federico Bonelli, Akane, Takada, Eric Underwood, Yuhui Choe, Ryoichi Hirano and Claire Calvert all there, sitting under the barres warming up! They were dressed in layers of tights, leggings, leg warmers and jumpers, surrounded by yoga mats, leg rollers and thera-bands, stretching and chatting amongst each other. It was so great to see how the dancers socialise with each other. The atmosphere felt pleasant.

It was really interesting seeing how ballet dancers start their day. The class was structured like a typical ballet class, starting at the barre and progressing to the centre. The dancers shed layers of clothing as the class progressed (it got pretty warm in the studio even for the audience), and the girls started in flat and changed into point shoes for the centre. All the key exercises were covered from plies and tendus, to pirouettes and jumps. The class was given by Olga Everinoff, who demonstrated the exercises and walked around the room giving corrections in a clear but kind manner. It was obvious from the way the dancers acknowledged her when they left the class that she is well liked.

We were told that after class, which lasts 75 minutes, the dancers go on to rehearsals. Class starts at 10.30 and rehearsals go on to 17.30 on performance nights or 18.30 when there is no performance. They do this six days a week. It's absolutely incredible. 

Productions I want the Royal Ballet to bring back!

I had a think, and it turns out they're all choreographed by Wayne McGregor and they all feature Eric Underwood...

Eric Underwood and Melissa Hamilton in Infra 
© ROH / Bill Cooper 2010

Infra
Choreography by Wayne McGregor
Music by Max Richter
First performed in 2008

Because of Melissa Hamilton and Eric Underwood's pas de deux!

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood in Limen 
© ROH / Bill Cooper 

Limen
Choreography by Wayne McGregor
Music by Kaija Saariaho
First performed in 2009

Because I only saw this beautiful picture and now I want to see the rest!

Eric Underwood dancing in Carbon Life 
© ROH / Bill Cooper 2012

Carbon Life
Choreography by Wayne McGregor
Music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
First performed in 2012
Because of the costumes by Gareth Pugh!

Sarah Lamb in Raven Girl 
© ROH / Johan Persson 2013

Raven Girl
Choreography by Wayne McGregor
Music by Audrey Niffenegger
First performed in 2013
Because of the wings!

My top five dance moments of 2013

1. Discovering that the Royal Opera House has 'day seats' opened up a whole new world of possibilities!

2. Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg's farewell performance for the Royal Ballet. The most intense ballet performance I have ever seen. I feel so lucky to have been there!

Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru at their farewell curtain calls.
© Ellen West, courtesy the Royal Opera House.

3. Wayne McGregor's new ballet "Raven Girl". I especially loved the final pas de deux with Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood.

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood in Raven Girl
© ROH / Johan Persson 2013

4. The Stuttgart Ballet's "Made in Germany" mixed bill at Sadler's Wells.  

Especially "Le Grand Pas de Deux"...

...and "Mona Lisa".

5. Jean Abreu's "Blood" at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre. The bit where he drinks his own urine was definitely the most shocking thing I saw all year! But even without this shock effect it would have made my top five. The visuals were fantastic!

Jean Abreu in BLOOD with designs by Gilbert & George.© Dave Morgan