News: Romeo and Juliet rehearsal to be live-streamed on 11 September 2015

If you didn't manage to get tickets to this Royal Ballet's Insight event you can watch it live on YouTube. More information available here.

Tickets for these events always sell out so quickly, so I think it's really great the ROH is trying to make these events more accessible!

Ballet Dressed Up and the Deloitte Ignite Festival 2015

Every year, the Royal Opera House kicks of the new season by throwing open its doors to the public for a month of (mostly) free events and activities for the whole family – known as the Deloitte Ignite festival.  I attended the festival on Sunday, September 6^th.  There was plenty to see and do, from performances in the Covent Garden piazza (including one man with a piano mounted on a four-wheeled bicycling negotiating the cobble stones of Covent Garden market while playing perfectly syncopated rag time – it was amazing!), to festival food, to an opera karaoke booth.

But my favourite event was undoubtedly “Ballet dressed-up”. At this event in the Paul Hamlyn Hall David Donnelly and Hannah Grennell, to amazing artists from the Royal Ballet, performed a short piece choreographed by Hubert Essakow, inspired by the story of Romeo and Juliette.
 

David Donnelly and Hannah Grennell
of the Royal Ballet

They first performed the piece wearing simple, dark coloured training gear. They then performed the piece again several times, each time wearing a different costume. The costumes ranged from the period costumes worn in MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliette, to contemporary jeans cut-offs matched with heavy boots, to sheep costumes. Each time the audience was asked to describe how the performance was perceived by them, and each time the dancers described how the costume impacted the way the danced. It was very interesting! 



David Donnelly and Hannah Grennell
of the Royal Ballet

One of my favourite iterations was the performance in which the two dancers were connected by a pair of extended double-ended tights, with one end worn over each their heads. Every time they moved apart, they were drawn back together by the elastic material of the tights.  One audience member observed that this could represent the struggle Romeo and Juliette had to go through to be together. Another audience member, aged roughly eight, observed that it involved a lot of team work. :)

I was also really enjoyed the performance in which the dancers wore Eastern inspired costumes that involved long pieces of fabric tied around their wastes. The dancers were forced to swirl the fabric around in order to not to become entangled in it, creating beautiful shapes in the process. I was also very impressed by Hanna’s slightly deranged performance wearing a blood stained shirt (fake blood, we were reassured) and one red high heel - she using the other to stab herself with.

David Donnelly and Hannah Grennell
of the Royal Ballet

The finale involved a pair of costumes that had masses of balloons attached to them. Even the dancers could hide a giggle as David tried to turn Hanna under his arm while trying to manoeuvre around the balloons.

All in all it was a very interesting and entertaining event. The Deloitte Ignite festival will continue until the end of the month, and I highly recommend trying to catch on of the events. More details can be found here.

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.

Sergei Polunin

In June 2010, at the age of only 19, Sergei Polunin became the Royal Ballet's youngest ever principal dancer. Two year later, he shocked the ballet world by resigning the Royal Ballet with immediate effect. Here are a few of the things he's gotten up to since:

An American in Paris, December 6th, 2014, Theatre de Chatelet

I'm not a fan of musicals, but if Christopher Wheeldon decides to direct one, I WILL get on the Eurostar to Paris to see it.

 

An American in Paris is Wheeldon's first foray into the realm of musicals. The plot is based on the 1951 musical film, but the choreography is new. Wheeldon cast two ballet dancers (Leanne Cope, first artist of the Royal Ballet, and Robert Fairchild, principle dancer at New York City Ballet) in the lead roles.

 

The strength of this musical was always going to be in the ballet. In fact, the other elements are on the weak side. The plot is a standard love triangle set in post WW2 Paris. There's light humour and a gentle attempt at a deeper message about personal courage.  The singing is so-so. The fake French accents are atrocious. (However, the fact that two ballet dancers, on top of being immensely talented dancers, can sing and act at all is pretty impressive.)

But the ballet element is beautiful. My favourite scene is when Lise auditions to be part of a ballet. She stands at the back of the room, performing the same steps as the other dancers, but gradually makes small changes until the steps are completely her own, and the audience is left without a doubt that she is a very special dancer. Her style is reminiscent of the Diaghilev era. In fact, the whole musical has a very stylish art deco feel to it.

 

Another great scene is the ballet within the ballet. In a feat of clever stage design, the backdrop - a red velvet curtain identical to the house curtain - opens to reveal conductor and audience within the ballet. We watch the audience watch the ballet.

 

The ballet within the ballet is Wheeldon doing what he does best. Personally, I would prefer if Wheeldon would stick to pure ballet - not because this musical wasn't good, but because Wheeldon is too good at making ballets to not make them! However, I'm guessing the people of Paris, who received An American in Paris with standing ovations, will not agree with me.

 

World Ballet Day

If you missed the World Ballet Day live stream you can watch some of the highlights on Youtube. Here is a selection of videos. (If anyone finds the video of the San Francisco Ballet rehearsing William Forsyth please let me know - it was so good!)

Highlights from the Australian Ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet in full

The Royal Ballet



Highlights from the Canadian National Ballet

Insights: Ballet Evolved

A few months ago, I posted a video of the Royal Ballet's Insight series called "Ballet Evolved". Today, I got to attend the actual event in the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio. The event comprised a lecture with demonstrations by members of the Royal Ballet, which helped to illustrate the points being made. The lecture was given by Ursula Hageli, a former ballerina and now ballet mistress with the Royal Ballet. She has been running the Ballet Evolved series for a few years now. She was also joined by Dr Giannandrea Poesic, a ballet historian and lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire. 

The theme of the lecture was the ballet class and how it evolved over the last four centuries. According to Hageli, the ballet class is the most important part of a dancers day: it is where dancers warm up, strengthen and generally prepare their bodies for all to come. Dancers attend class every day. As ballet itself evolved (more turnout, higher arabesques, more complicated spins, point shoes), class, too, evolved to ensure dancers were equipped with the necessary skills. For example, Marie Taglioni was the first ballerina to go en pointe, but this was before the invention of point shoes. Thus, this required an immense amount of ankle strength! (Interestingly, point work, though first introduced in France, really took off in Italy because it was where, thanks to the shoes makers Italy is generally so famous for, the point shoe was developed!)

The evolution of ballet was demonstrated by dancers of the Royal Ballet, among them Gemma Pitchley-Gale, who was wearing bloomers under her knee length tutu - part of the 18th century ballet uniform, designed to maintain the ballerina's modesty by not revealing too much leg! Also, the lovely Fumi Kaneko, for whom today was the first time performing in front of an audience after returning from injury. And Marcelino Sambe, who, in addition to being a great dancer, is hilarious! It was really nice to get to see the dancers personalities come through!

Ballet Evolved was interesting, informative and entertaining ,and I shall definitely attend the next event! The event was filmed, and videos should be going up on Youtube soon. I will post them here when they become available. 

The Guardian: Will they make it to the Royal Ballet?

Just found this very interesting article about life at White Lodge, and more generally, the state of British ballet.

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. 

World Ballet Day

Happy World Ballet Day! The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet are streaming live to YouTube from their rehearsal studios for 24 hours! You can watch the live stream here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsLCbeXaztg

Draft Works, ROH, June 4th 2014

Last week, I attended ROH's Draft Works for the first time. Draft Works is an evening of choreography by dancers of the Royal Ballet. It is annual event that has been happening regularly for a few years now.  

David Donnelly 
in Aakash Odedra's 'Untitled',
ROH/Tristram Kenton, 2014

For many of the dancers it was their first time choreographing, and, with an eye on the Deloitte Ignite festival, many are hoping to expand their work into something bigger. All the pieces of the evening were created outside the Royal Ballet's regular schedule, and choreographers and dancers gave up their free time to put the evening together. The nine pieces performed that evening were refreshingly varied. Works that stood out for me were Sander Bloomaert's choreography inspired by his previous collaboration with ice skaters, Kirsten McNalley's twisted 1950s Stepford Wives scenario, and Ludovic Ondiviela's work inspired by a schizophrenic photographer. 

Tara-Brigitte Bhavani and Romany Pajdak
in Ludovic Ondiviela’s Untitled,
ROH / Tristram Kenton, 2014

Hosted in ROH's smaller Linbury studio theatre, the evening had an intimate feel. It was curated by resident choreographer Wayne McGregor and each piece was introduced by the choreographer. During the interval and at the end of the evening, the audience was encouraged to approach them in the bar and share their impressions. (Also, on an excited side note, I saw Monica Mason in the audience!). 

Sander Blommaert’s Les Deux, Comme Un,
ROH / Tristram Kenton, 2014

But most importantly, the evening represented an opportunity to see dancers from the corps de ballet up close. I was particularly impressed by David Donnelly's one man performance of Erico Montes' Prometheus. But more generally, there is some serious talent in the ranks of the Royal Ballet!

Claudia Dean to leave the Royal Ballet

I'm so sad to hear that Claudia Dean is leaving the Royal Ballet! She was absolutely fantastic as the Chosen Maiden in the Rite of Spring and as the Queen of the Wilis in Giselle, and I had her on my list of dancers to watch. I wish her all the best for her future! I hope she will keep up her endearing tweets and let us know what is going on in her life! 

Backstage with the Dancers of the Royal Ballet

I'm not generally an avid reader of the Daily Mail, but this article that goes backstage with some of the dancers of the Royal Ballet is very interesting!

Claudia Dean and Marcelino Sambe
of the Royal Ballet
©Joe Plimmer

The Metamorphosis

I missed The Metamorphosis when it was performed at the Royal Opera House in early 2013. Luckily, it is now on DVD! 

John Ross ©

The Metamorphosis was performed in the Linbury Studio Theatre, it's venue for more experimental work, it seems. Arthur Pita's The Metamorphosis definitely falls into this category. 

Based on Franz Kafka's unsettling tale about Gregor Samsa, who awakes one morning to find himself "transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin", it is probably the most nauseating thing I have ever seen in dance (and I mean this as a compliment). 

Edward Watson's portrayal of this monstrous vermin is pure genius. As in Kafka's novella, we find him lying in his bed, tense limbs stretched upwards, fingers and toes wriggling like feelers. Like an insect trapped on its back, he struggles to turn over, twisting and writhing in a way that resembles nothing human. He crawls to the end of the bed and vomits a black liquid onto the floor. Then, hearing knocks at his door, he drags himself across the room, spreading the black liquid across its surfaces. By the end of this ballet, the entire stage will be transformed from a blindingly clean white to a brown, slippery mess.

John Ross ©

In scenes that closely follow the original story, we see Gregor face his family, his boss and various other characters. For me, these encounters are interesting only in so far as they allow Watson to develop the character of Gregor. While an attempt was made to give depth to the other characters, they are just not that interesting.

Watson evolves his character from from frightened, to curious, to self-loathing. In a particularly nightmarish scene (and the only departure from Kafka's original story), three monstrous insects covered from head to toe in a black liquid (treacle actually) crawl over the walls into Gregor's room and writhe across the floor. The scene marks a turning point in the plot, after which it becomes clear that there is no going back for Gregor. All the while, looking into his eyes, we truly believe he is a human trapped in an insect's body. When, in the end, he throws himself out of his window, we feel truly sorry for him. I can see why critics call Watson one of the most exciting dancers working in Britain today!

©Tristram Kenton

Arthur Pita's The Metamorphosis is a fantastic adaptation of Kafka's work. Personally, I found watching it even more engaging that reading it. It is a testament to power of dance to express deep and complicated emotions. 



 

Royal Ballet Tumblr

Just discovered this fantastic (fanmade) Tumblr account dedicated to the Royal Ballet. There are some great pictures! Like this one of Yuhui Choe and Matt Golding in 2002 and 2014. 

Five Reasons why I Love ROH's Linbury Studio

Many people don't know that the Royal Opera House has a second stage in the basement. While not as glitzy as the main stage, the Linbury Studio Theatre is definitely worth checking out. Here are five reasons why:

1. Tickets never cost more than £25 and because it's a smaller venue, no matter where you sit, you get a great view. 

Hansel and Gretel © ROH / Tristram Kenton

2. The Linbury is home to some very experimental works. It's not just in choreography, music and stage design that the boundraries are pushed - the audience's emotional boundaries are put to the test too. Blood, Hansel and Gretel and the Metamorphosis are some of the most disturbing things I've seen in dance, and it was brilliant!

3. The Linbury hosts wonderful touring companies. This season I saw Ballet Black and the Northern Ballet.  Next season, I am looking forward to the Ballet Boyz and the Rambert Dance company. It's an excellent opportunity to expand your dance horizon.

Yuhui Choe and Kenta Kura in The Human Edge.
© Foteini Christofilopoulou

4. My favourit Linbury works are the ones for which choreographers are commissioned to collaobarate with dancers of the Royal Ballet. It's a wonderful opportunity to see them up close and doing something different. Last week I saw Mayuri Boonham's The Human Edge, created for Royal Ballet's Yuhui Choe and Kenta Kura. It was stunning!

5. Finally, once a year, the Linbury stages "Draft Works", in which dancers from within the ranks of the Royal Ballet create and perform their own work. It's so interesting ot see what the dancers come up with!

The Sleeping Beauty vs The Winter's Tale

A recent article in the Guardian discusses whether the classic ballets, like Swan Lake, should be retired in favour of a more contemporary repertoire. My last two visits to the Royal Opera House helped shape my opinion. 

In March and April, I saw two ballets at the Royal Opera House: The Sleeping Beauty, a classic, and The Winter's Tale, a brand new production. Both are programmatic ballets which follow a traditional three act format; both are love stories with happy endings; and both draw from the classical repertoire of ballet steps. Yet one left me feeling that ballet is a dated art form, while the other felt completely contemporary and relevant.

in The Winter's Tale
Alice Pennefather

One striking difference between the two ballets is the way in which the plot is delivered. The Sleeping Beauty relies heavily on mime to tell the story. I am not a fan of mime - it looks silly and it leaves those who don't know the language completely in the dark. The Winter's Tale, on the other hand, uses almost no mime at all. Instead it conveys the story through intelligent choreography in a much more meaningful way. This is without doubt also due to the wonderful performance by principals Laura Cuthbertson and Edward Watson. The latter, especially, portrayed Leontes's decent into madness with devastating conviction. 

Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae
in The Skeeping Beauty
Johan Persson

Both stories are essentially love stories. In both, the leading couple are danced by Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae. As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, the two are great together. Yet in The Sleeping Beauty, the most important moment of the story, when Prince Florimund kisses Princess Aurora and she wakes up, is a big anti-climax. Princess Aurora is barely awake before the ballet launches into a scene of celebration, in which the audience is forced to sit through a half hour of divertissements by such random party guests as Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood. 

Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae
in The Winter's Tale
Johan Persson

In The Winter's Tale, on the other hand, the love story is much more convincing, and Lamb and McRae once again demonstrated that they have amazing chemistry. Instead of divertissements there is a festival, at which the villagers dance in front of the backdrop of a beautiful old tree, hung with ornaments. The dance style is clearly recognizable as ballet, but has elements of gypsy folk and African tribal dance. Together with the beautiful music and costumes, the feeling is created of a utopian world in which ethnic differences no longer matter. Finally, The Winter's Tale ends on a thoughtful note, and rather than boring them, leaves the audience to ponder the power of forgiveness.

In a fantastic interview on BBC's Hardtalk, Tamara Rojo recently defended the classic ballets by arguing that "these classical ballets are the first step into our art form for most people". While I do not want to dispute Rojo's point (she really knows her stuff!), my guess is that the first-time ballet goers who saw The Winter's Tale, rather than The Sleeping Beauty, are the ones who are more likely to come back!

Jenni's Guide to Attending a Royal Ballet Performance - Part 2

If you plan to attend a performance at the Royal Opera House for the first time, here is some practical advice:

1. There is no dress code. The way people dress is quite mixed, from jeans to suits and pretty dresses. However, people rarely dress in black tie and ball gowns. You can't go wrong with smart casual.

2. Arrive at least half an hour before the performance begins. This will give you plenty of time to check your coats, pre-order drinks for the interval, etc.

3. Check your coat/umbrella/extra bags at the cloak room! It's free and you'll be much more comfortable in your seat.

The Paul Hamlyn Bar

4. Pre-order drinks for the interval! There are two bars: the Paul Hamlyn bar on the first floor and the Amphitheatre bar on the top floor. You will be able to pick your drinks up from a pre-assigned location (the salesperson at the bar will explain where) and avoid waiting in line to buy drinks during the interval. (Also, if you want to guarantee yourself a table to sit at during the interval, pre-order sandwiches/cakes - but you may, of course, prefer to stand or walk around).

5. Programmes cost £6 and can be bought from in the main entrance foyer, the Paul Hamlyn Hall and the Amphitheatre lobby. Cast sheets are free.

6. Check out the view of Covent Garden Market from the roof terrace! The roof terrace can be accessed on most evenings from the amphitheatre bar on the top floor. From the terrace you can also peek into the windows of the costume workshops!

7. Don't miss the exhibition! In the foyer and along corridors are exhibited costumes and photos from past productions well worth checking out.

Five Reasons to Attend a ROH Live Cinema Screening

While nothing beats being there, here are a few reasons why ROH's live cinema screenings are worthwhile:

1. You have the best view (at the price of a cinema ticket). Even with the best seats in the house, you will never get to see the dancers this close up. It's very emotional.

2. You get to sit in comfortable seats and eat popcorn.

3. The backstage camera lets you see the dancers getting ready just before the curtain goes up. 

4. During the interval, you can watch insight clips which include interviews with the cast and the making of videos.

5. With the help of Twitter you can connect with people all around the world sharing the same experience. 

Find the next ROH live screening near you here!

Also note that it's not just the Royal Opera House that does live screenings. Amongst others, the National Theatre and the New York Metropolitan Opera do live screenings too. Check your local cinema for information! 

Ballet Dancers in Music Videos

Today, I found this great article on the Royal Ballet website discussing ballet in pop. And below are a couple of more contemporary examples featuring Royal Ballet dancers, Edward Watson and Elizabeth Harrod.

Edward Watson in The Feeling's "Boy Cried Wolf"

Elizabeth Harrod in Keaton Henson's "To Your Health"

And here's one more, featuring Alessandra Ferri of the American Ballet Theatre:

Alessandra Ferri and Sting: 'Prelude' from  
"Cello Suite No. 1 in G major" by JS Bach