The Ballet Bag » Ballet Companies

Ballet Black in Rehearsal for Storyville

Emilia & Linda — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:21:32 +0000

Ballet Black returns to the Linbury Studio Theatre this February with Short Dance Works, a mixed bill combining plotless pieces with a brand new 30-minute narrative ballet (their longest yet) choreographed by Christopher Hampson.

Storyville takes us back to the famous red-light district in 20th century New Orleans, Louisiana to tell the “rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags” tale of Nola, a sort of modern-day Manon. Before our Christmas break, we had the opportunity to watch Christopher rehearse the company:

One of Hampson’s inspirations in putting together Storyville was Louis Malle’s 1978 film Pretty Baby. Featuring Brooke Shields and Susan Sarandon, the movie tells the story of Hattie, a prostitute working at an elegant New Orleans brothel who corrupts her 12-year-old daughter Violet (Shields).

The main inspiration, however, is former dance club Mahogany Hall (shut in 1917), where the story unfolds. The central character is the young and innocent Nola, a real tour de force for dancer Cira Robinson as she simply doesn’t leave the stage. The other characters in Storyville are: brothel “madam” Lulu (inspired by the real Lulu White and played by Sarah Kundi), Mack (the “stereotypical crook”, here interpreted by Jazmon Voss) and “The Lover” (Damien Johnson) who tries to save Nola from her downward spiral.

For Hampson the real challenge for Cira will be “to go from teenage girl and to travel two years in half an hour, showing the decline in Nola’s personality…” Hampson adds: “Cira does beautiful work, I’m really thrilled to work with her.”

Asked about the parallels between Storyville and MacMillan’s Manon, Hampson nods: “yes, they’re very much alike. It’s a story of many societies and catches so many different time periods in history.”

With Storyville – Ballet Black’s longest ballet to date – and last year’s Orpheus (Tuckett) in the repertoire, does it mean the company will turn its focus to storytelling? Not for the immediate, says Artistic Director Cassa Pancho: “we are still very well known for the abstract work, so I don’t want to get rid of all of that from the repertoire”.

In additon to Hampson’s Storyville, Ballet Black’s Linbury season will include new pieces by Jonathan Watkins, Rambert’s Jonathan Goddard and Martin Lawrance.

All Photos: © Zarina Holmes for The Ballet Bag. More here:

With many thanks to Cassa Pancho and Christopher Hampson

Visit Ballet Black’s official website

Follow the company on Twitter @BalletBlack

Ballet Black presents Short Dance Works at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, from 29 February to 7 March 2012. For tickets & booking visit the ROH website.

BalletX: Fall Series 2011

Guest — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:00:40 +0000

In a new guest blog US-based dance photographer Brian Mengini reports on BalletX’s recent season at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. Brian had the opportunity to catch up with the company in rehearsal ahead of their fall performances, which included two world premieres:

Brian lives in Pennsylvania and often works with the Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. He also shared with us over the summer his experiences shooting the Boston Ballet in rehearsal.

BalletX, Philadelphia’s premiere contemporary ballet company presented their fall performances last week at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. The series brought back a BalletX favorite, Silt, by San Francisco based choreographer Alex Ketley. Set to music by Chris Clark, Giovanni Pergolesi and Arvo Pärt (Mixed by Tar © JMB), Silt seeks to explore the “malleability of personal ideas of oneself”.

The programme also featured two world premieres: Layer Cake, by choreographer Loni Landon (making her BalletX debut) , is a “journey into a series of events through intricate movement” for 8 dancers to music by Alva Noto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Loscil and Johan Johansson.

Colby Damon

The second world premiere was by BalletX Co-Artistic director and choreographer, Matthew Neenan. Matthew Neenan’s new ballet, Jackson Sounds, is part of his collaborative venture, “Inside the Mind of the Composer.” This all new education project has allowed Neenan to join forces with award-winning composer Robert Maggio on works that blur boundaries between movement and sound, with BX company dancers performing to live music by two cellists from Network for New Music.

Funding for “Inside the Mind of the Composer” is provided by the Philadelphia Chapter of American Composers Forum through their grant, Community Partners Project 2011. This has given Neenan the chance to collaborate with Maggio and his BalletX co-artistic director, Christine Cox, in a residency with South Philadelphia’s Jackson Public School. The residency began this September and includes improvisation sessions, rehearsal participation and hands-on workshops alongside dancers and musicians who teach choreography and composition. The seventh graders of Jackson Public School are the springboard of inspiration for Jackson Sounds.

Jesse Sani and Colby Damon

Talking about his inspiration for the piece, Neenan – also Choreographer in Residence for Pennsylvania Ballet – cited the diverse heritage at Jackson Public School which is known to have a strong music department and creative sensibility. For instance, the children were asked to play music from their heritage, some of which is reflected in Maggio’s composition, including the music for the final movement which evokes a student’s Nepalese roots.

Founded in 2005 by Matthew Neenan and Christine Cox, BalletX is a Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company and “the Company in Residence” at the Wilma Theater located on Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. In addition to their fall and spring runs, they are one of the few companies to produce summer shows and to tour in late spring. Known for their focus on world premieres, BalletX has worked with such choreographers as Zane Booker, Jorma Elo, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Edwaard Liang and Helen Pickett, just to name a few.

Jaime Lennon, Allison Walsh, Tara Keating, Anitra Keegan and Laura Otto

More images here (Click on thumbnails to enlarge & see as slideshow):

All photos by Brian Mengini ©

For more information on Ballet X:

Official website: www.balletx.org
Like Ballet X on Facebook

About the Author:

Photographer Brian Mengini resides in suburban Philadelphia and keeps a studio in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Brian’s unending passion for ballet came in the summer of 2007, when the Mann Center asked him to come in and shoot the Royal Ballet’s final performance of Swan Lake.   Since then, his images have appeared in a variety of exhibits and publications including Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine.   In June of 2010, Brian started Barre Boys, a website dedicated to the male in ballet with a goal of squashing stereotypes and inspiring more males to pursue ballet. Together with his wife, he has launched Hope Dances, a nonprofit dance outreach program for children with special needs.

Birmingham Royal Ballet: Autumn Glory

Emilia & Linda — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:20:52 +0000

At the heart of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s autumn season is a fabulous new triple bill celebrating British classical dance heritage, or what BRB principal Matthew Lawrence calls, in his latest blog for Balletco, a “workout harder than Zumba”:

Nearly 75 years old, Ninette de Valois’s Checkmate is a prime example of vintage English ballet. Its semi-narrative plot, centered around a game of chess between Love and Death, has a touch of Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, but the ballet is also a feminist, groundbreaking piece that offers an interesting contrast to the typical notion of the helpless ballet heroine. A dramatic and stylised war unfolds between a gallant Red Knight, who is devoted to his king, and a seductive and ruthless Black Queen, who will ultimately bring the knight down.

The purity of Sir Frederick Ashton‘s Symphonic Variations showcases technical brilliance from a master choreographer. Danced to César Franck‘s piece of the same name, the ballet is a real tour de force for its six dancers and is rightly hailed as a masterpiece.

John Cranko’s Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired Pineapple Poll is vintage ballet meets “Golden age of MGM cartoon”. With a medley of the best of Gilbert and Sullivan, this is a colorful and funny work, with a hint of Tex Avery. When the dashing but self-involved Captain Belaye (in London, Matthew Lawrence or Robert Parker) arrives in town, the female population swoon, including our heroine Poll (Ambra Vallo or Carol-Anne Millar). Whilst dodging the attentions of local inn worker Jasper, she finds herself leading a band of desperate ladies, all seeking the attentions of the admirable officer, who is unwittingly taking the town by storm.

Ahead of the company’s London performances of Autumn Glory next week, here are a few recent production images to whet our appetites:

Have you seen any of these ballets before and do you have a favorite? Share your views below!

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Autumn Glory, featuring Checkmate, Symphonic Variations and Pineaple Poll, runs at Sadler’s Wells 18 & 19 October 2011.

The company also performs La Fille Mal Gardée between 20 and 22 October 2011. For tickets and further information visit Sadler’s Wells website.

The Royal Ballet 2011-2012 Season at a Glance

Emilia & Linda — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:22:03 +0000

European summer is almost over (although here in Britain it never really began) and ballet companies around the world are getting ready to kick off their new seasons. The Royal Ballet is set to return to Covent Garden in a few weeks with Balanchine’s Jewels. Taking inspiration from one of our favorite magazines, Wired, we geeked out and prepared this infographic showing what the company has in store for us over the next ten months:

(Click on image to download a copy, or here to view in higher definition)

Sources and Further Information:

Ballet and Dance 2011/12 Season Press Release, Royal Opera House
Monica Mason’s Farewell Season Press Release, Royal Opera House

Mariinsky in London Roundup

Emilia & Linda — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:20:33 +0000

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first visit to London, the Mariinsky Ballet left a trail of brilliancy following its three-week residency at Covent Garden. The company brought a selection of works that played to its strengths: from big classical works like Swan Lake and La Bayadère (which showed off a flawless corps de ballet) to a new full-length work by Alexei Ratmansky. Better late than never, here are our top moments from the tour:

Viktoria Tereshkina as Odile in the Mariinsky's production of Swan Lake. Photo: Natasha Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

Linda

Having missed the Mariinsky two years ago, it was time to catch up. With six programes and plenty of casts, I was a Bag Lady on a mission:

Shows seen

3x Swan Lake ( Lopatkina / Korsuntsev – Tereshkina / Shklyarov – Kondaurova / Hallberg )
Fokine Bill ( Parish / Shirinkina / Selina – Kondaurova – Vishneva / Zelensky )
2x Balanchine / Robbins
( cast 1: Matvienko / Sergeyev – Obraztsova / Stepin / Somova / Ivanchenko / Lopatkina / Korsuntsev – Tereshkina / Shklyarov – cast 2: Shirinkina / Hallberg – Denis & Anastasia Matvienko / Kondaurova / Ivanchenko / Tereshkina / Smekalov – Somova / Kolb )
Don Quixote ( Obraztsova / Timofeyev )
2x Anna Karenina ( Vishneva / Smekalov – Lopatkina / Smekalov )
2x La Bayadère ( Vishneva / Zelensky / Kolegova – Lopatkina / Korsuntsev / Kolegova )

Favorites:

Ulyana Lopatkina

Few ballerinas today have Ulyana’s grandeur, that type of presence that makes the audience feel like they are witnessing something extraordinary. Jane Simpson, in her Swan Lake review for Ballet.co, said: “for all her perfect control and stately presence, I just can’t read her; I envy those who can, for whom she is clearly a goddess.” I guess I am in the camp of those who can!

Kondaurova’s Firebird

Confession: I have never been a big fan of The Firebird. Charming story but not much plot development or memorable moments. All change after Kondaurova’s blazing Firebird: the way she would flicker her hands faster than firefly wings, her jumps smoothly sailing across the stage, it left me thrilled and wishing for an encore.

Ekaterina Kondaurova in Fokine's The Firebird. Photo: Natasha Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

Anna Karenina

There are new full-length ballets and then there are “Ratmansky new full-length ballets”. Even though classical dance’s hottest choreographer might have been constrained here by Shchedrin’s score – somewhat lacking in soaring tunes – two performances were enough for us to fall in love with this work (and with Yuri Smekalov’s elegant Vronsky).

Wonderful Corps de Ballet

There is no corps de ballet like the Mariinsky’s; ’nuff said.

Mariinsky does American Royalty

During the Mariinsky’s NYC visit this past June, we read many tweets on the company’s different approach to Balanchine – whose works they dance completely unlike New York City Ballet (ie. not as fast, a lot more “purely classical” in style). Despite this difference, for us it was a pleasure to see the company flesh out the Russian core within Balanchine’s choreography and their performances of Ballet Imperial and Scotch Symphony were polished and beautifully executed, topped with an ultimate A-team of ballerinas for Robbins’s In the Night. More than good enough for UK audiences: we were spellbound.

Bonus: Dream Scene from Don Q

With Katya Kondaurova as Queen of the Dryads and Evgenya Obraztsova as Dulcinea, it’s easy to put up with all of this ballet’s silliness.

Anastasia Matvienko and Alexander Sergeyev in Balanchine's Scotch Symphony. Photo: Natasha Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

Emilia:

It feels like I have been following the Mariinsky around the globe for the past couple of months. I returned from a short stay in New York where I had caught The Little Humpbacked Horse and Carmen Suite / Symphony in C just in time to immerse myself in Balanchine and Robbins à la “Imperial Style” and then left for Rio de Janeiro – where the company arrives next week – soon after the premiere of Anna Karenina. Enough shows to name a few favorites of my own:

Shows seen

Swan Lake ( Tereshkina / Hallberg )
2x Balanchine / Robbins
( cast 1: Matvienko / Sergeyev – Obraztsova / Stepin / Somova / Ivanchenko / Lopatkina / Korsuntsev – Tereshkina / Shklyarov – cast 2: Shirinkina / Hallberg – Denis & Anastasia Matvienko / Kondaurova / Ivanchenko / Tereshkina / Smekalov – Somova / Kolb )
Anna Karenina ( Vishneva / Smekalov )

Favorites:

Viktoria Tereshkina

I am 100% with The Arts Desk’s Ismene Brown on that one: she is Queen Tereshkina.

Ballet Imperial

It is a great shame that the Mariinsky is not taking this Balanchine jewel to its Rio de Janeiro tour: it was there that the ballet premiered in 1941, in its original incarnation. It was a pleasure and privilege to see it so well danced by two very different but equally compelling casts: on opening night Queen Tereshkina partnered by the sparky Vladimir Shklyarov, with Alina Somova and Igor Kolb looking very elegant and polished the next evening.

Viktoria Tereshkina and Andrian Fadeyev in Balanchine's Ballet Imperial. Photo: Natasha Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

David Hallberg

The Mariinsky has an amazing contingent of male soloists: handsome, beautiful long limbs, strong, some excellent partners too. Guesting from ABT in Swan Lake and Scotch Symphony, David “beautiful feet” Hallberg was completely at home amongst Imperial men. We hope for more guesting soon.

Anna Karenina

Hooray for a story ballet not “revised by Konstantin Sergeyev“. New Yorkers might not have been so crazy about Ratmansky’s ballet of doom and gloom, complete with piercing score; and it’s true that the choreographer seems more at home in lighter, wittier pieces. But Anna Karenina is the right kind of narrative ballet for our post MacMillan times: a blend of high concept stagecraft and drama which gives classical dance a cinematographic quality.

Style, style, style!

The company has bucketloads of style. Thank you Vaganova!

Ulyana Lopatkina as Anna and Yuri Smekalov as Vronsky in Ratmansky's Anna Karenina. Photo: Natasha Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

We also asked our Twitter followers to share their favorite moments with us:

@theballetbag I miss Kondaurova's Firebird, Lopatkina's Swan and Matvienko's DQ. Really loved this season.

August 16, 2011 7:10 pm via Twitterrific for Mac ReplyRetweetFavorite

@JulietAshdown

Juliet Ashdown

@theballetbag Lopatkina beyond extraordinary in AK & Bayadère, Tereshkina's Nikiya, the hardworking corps/soloists (Selina!)... #Mariinsky

August 16, 2011 7:44 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@bellafigural

Laura

@theballetbag In the Night 1st cast, v closely followed by Vic & Vlad in everything: Vic's Odette, both in Bayadere & Ballet Imperial.

August 16, 2011 7:52 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@annakardar

anna merrick

@theballetbag I have to add the corps

August 16, 2011 8:51 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@annakardar

anna merrick

@theballetbag Lopatkina to start with, of course. In The Night, AK, La B: three very different roles, but she was wonderful in each.

August 16, 2011 8:56 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@charliegould

Charlie Gould

@theballetbag Also great in everything: Obraztsova (esp In The Night) and Kondaurova (Firebird, In The Night, SL).

August 16, 2011 8:58 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@charliegould

Charlie Gould

@theballetbag Didn't always warm to Tereshkina, but fantastic performances in Ballet Imperial, In The Night and Act 3 Bayadere.

August 16, 2011 8:59 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@charliegould

Charlie Gould

@theballetbag From what I have seen, Lopatkina in AK and La Bayadere, Smekalov as Vronsky, and the corps beautiful as usual, but no more.

August 16, 2011 9:02 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@artifactsuite

artifactsuite

@theballetbag Oh, and Mr Hallberg...

August 16, 2011 9:06 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@charliegould

Charlie Gould

@theballetbag In The Night; the corps in any 'white act'; Kondourova's Firebird; Lopatkina's mere presence

August 16, 2011 9:13 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@zxDaveM

DaveM

@theballetbag They're still at the top, but are they at the very top? In my view, they should be, and not only in Balanchine...

August 16, 2011 9:20 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@artifactsuite

artifactsuite

@theballetbag Highlights 4 me = Obraztsova in everything, though London was starved, we barely saw her. Shklyarov in everything, he is a god

August 16, 2011 9:53 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@munaazzawi

munaazzawi

@theballetbag Also Tereshkina in Bayadere & the corps in everything they did. Swan Lake, Bayadere and Balanchine were also highlights 4 me

August 16, 2011 9:57 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@munaazzawi

munaazzawi

@theballetbag My Mariinsky Highlight: Tereshkina in Swan Lake. Hard to forget...

August 17, 2011 7:21 am via TweetMe for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite

@AkikoTYO

K Akiko

@theballetbag Loved: La Bayadere - Lopatkina/Korsuntsev; In the Night - Lopatkina/Korsuntsev; Scheherazade - Vishneva/Zelenski; corps. :-))

August 17, 2011 7:23 am via Mobile Web ReplyRetweetFavorite

@Barbara_KL

Barbara L

@theballetbag Dryads &Shades, AK's storytelling, Shklyarov's Golden slave, Petushkova's Firebird, Hallberg's Siegfried, Obraztsova's smile..

August 17, 2011 10:02 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@blogpinklady

Pink Lady

@theballetbag sadly (and fortunately too) my highlight has been the coverage by you! Damn the 18,000 km distance. It has seemed wonderful!

August 16, 2011 11:38 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@El_lovethearts

Eleanor Robb

@theballetbag didn't see the Mariinsky #ballet in London but can I play? Vishneva in most technically perfect Rose Adage in 2005 LA tour.

August 17, 2011 2:30 am via Twitterrific ReplyRetweetFavorite

@lolcar

Andre Y

@theballetbag Tereshkina/Kondaurova in 2008 NYC In the middle ... Obretzsova as Juliet in California, Serenade in NYC ... The list goes on!

August 17, 2011 2:33 am via Twitterrific ReplyRetweetFavorite

@lolcar

Andre Y

@lolcar @theballetbag My faves? Tereshkina's TBC#2 & Kondaurova's Rubies Tall Girl from the Mariinsky's NY City Center a few years ago

August 18, 2011 3:48 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@susan17ny

Susan Minotillo

@lolcar @theballetbag And, of course, Daria Pavlenko's Swan Lake!

August 18, 2011 3:49 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@susan17ny

Susan Minotillo

Mariinsky in London: Balanchine & Robbins Dress Rehearsal

Guest — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:41:08 +0000

US-based dance photographer Brian Mengini is currently in London, working on a photo project with dancers from English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet. Brian lives in Pennsylvania and often works with the Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. He recently shared with us his experiences shooting the Boston Ballet in rehearsal.

In this new guest blog he talks about how the opportunity came about to photograph the Mariinsky Ballet’s dress rehearsal for their acclaimed Balanchine/Robbins triple bill, staged last week in London. Check out some great photos of the Company, with ABT Principal David Hallberg as a special guest in Scotch Symphony. Lookout for our “Mariinsky in London” roundup soon.

I arrived into London on Wednesday and, shortly after settling in at my hotel in Watford, I got straight over to Covent Garden. I had a shoot that evening with Mariinsky principal dancer Igor Kolb. It was a fun session that took place on the rooftop balcony of the Royal Opera House. What an amazing experience! At the conclusion, Igor invited me back to shoot the dress rehearsal the following day. That night, the Mariinsky Ballet was dancing Don Quixote, for which I had a ticket. So, after the session, I hung out and took in the sights. “Don Q” was great but I had a splitting headache and was falling asleep as it was my travel day so I headed home early.

When I arrived at the Royal Opera House on Thursday, Igor met me at the stage door with a smile and handshake. He was very warm and friendly. He took me up to his dressing room so I could leave my bag and things up there then ushered me down to the auditorium. Official rehearsal didn’t start until 1:30 pm, but when I arrived (at 1 pm), there were some dancers on stage, trying out steps. The orchestra was also warming up. Always nice to hear them tune up their instruments. The curtains closed: show time!

Just then, I took a look around the theater in amazement. How incredible is this? Here I am in London, shooting a dress rehearsal for the Mariinsky in the Royal Opera House. Just incredible. Curtains opened with Ballet Imperial. Beautiful & simple. Then they went into another Balanchine piece: Scotch Symphony. It was my first time seeing it and I had fun photographing it. They closed the rehearsal with Jerome Robbins’s In the Night, this time in full costume and makeup. This gave me some great photo candy. I remember when they were setting it up, it was poorly lit and I thought: “oh… this should be interesting.” But alas, the lighting was just perfect, as was the dancing. I think this piece gave me the most images of the three of them (see gallery below). It was a true honor and privilege to photograph this programme. I hope to have the chance to do it again.

Credits: Igor Kolb in Ballet Imperial (with Alina Somova in the background), Maria Shirinkina and David Hallberg in Scotch Symphony, the Matvienkos (Anastasia and Denis) in Robbins’s In the Night. All photos by Brian Mengini ©.

And plenty more here (Click on thumbnails to enlarge & see as slideshow):

About the Author:

Boston Ballet: In Rehearsal

Guest — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:14:51 +0000

Next week US-based dance photographer Brian Mengini arrives in London to work on a photo project with dancers from English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet. Brian lives in Pennsylvania and often works with the Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. He has been photographing ballet ever since he had the opportunity of shooting The Royal Ballet in 2007. The majority of his work is steeped in dance, but he does take on other commissions like band & concert photography. Brian also has a passion for journalism.

In this guest post he shares his thoughts on shooting Boston Ballet‘s rehearsals for Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and the ELO Experience: a two-hour showcase of dance by resident choreographer Jorma Elo which featured a medley of 15 of his works.

Back in March, I went up to Boston to work on some projects with some of the dancers from the Boston Ballet. During my first day there, I had the opportunity to sit in on and capture the company’s rehearsal. They were in preparation for Balanchine‘s Divertimento No. 15 and the much anticipated, ELO Experience. Jorma Elo is Boston Ballet’s resident choreographer as well as long time friend of Artistic Director, Mikko Nissenen.

It was a long day (from the morning – right from the airport to the studios – until 8pm or so) but very exciting. I am a fan of Balanchine but was mesmerized and just astounded by the high energy, the quirky yet amazing choreography from the ELO Experience. It was so fast paced, with so many different things going on at once. Jorma has a presence and I was in awe to say the least. It was just awesome being in the same room with him, watching him gaze at these amazing athletes embracing his choreography.

The company had lots of visitors in studio watching this full rehearsal. They were coming in and out, including the production staff, marking things for the upcoming run. So with this, I tried to stay as far on the outside perimeter as I could, so as to not be in anyone’s way. One thing that always amazes me is how well Boston Ballet dancers are able to adapt to a variety of styles and do so with tremendous skill. This definitely speaks to the level of talent under Mikko’s guidance.

As always, it was a fun and full trip. Sadly, I was not able to get back up to see the run of ELO, but I heard amazing things about it.

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge & see as slideshow)

About the Author:

Photographer Brian Mengini resides in suburban Philadelphia and keeps a studio in Phoenxiville, Pennsylvania. Brian’s unending passion for ballet came in the summer of 2007, when the Mann Center asked him to come in and shoot the Royal Ballet’s final performance of Swan Lake.   Since then, his images have appeared in a variety of exhibits and publications including Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine.   In June of 2010, Brian started Barre Boys, a website dedicated to the male in ballet with a goal of squashing stereotypes and inspiring more males to pursue ballet. Together with his wife, he has launched Hope Dances, a nonprofit dance outreach program for children with special needs.

The Royal Ballet 2010/11 Season Roundup

Linda — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:55:24 +0000

In one of their riskiest and most exciting ventures, The Royal Ballet wrapped up for summer with MacMillan’s blockbuster Romeo & Juliet staged for an audience of 40,000 (split over 4 performances). The so-hashtagged #RomeO2 event was the surprise hit in a season more memorable for the hasty return of works like Ashton’s Cinderella (4 separate runs in 2 years), Sylvia or Swan Lake.

Location, location!

While some loved watching ballet at the O2 arena, those sitting very high up found the format more difficult to adapt to. I thought it a refreshing experience, as my £10 floor ticket allowed me to be closer than I have ever been to the stage. The catch? I couldn’t see the dancers’ feet, but screens allowed me to transport myself to Verona. This was a special production that challenged performers and ballet goers alike: gone were the proscenium arch, the set changes, the intimacy of the theatre. In their place, the giant screens and HD close-ups, video extras, hot-dogs and beer. On the Saturday evening performance – led by Alina Cojocaru & Johan Kobborg – if there was popcorn flying around me, I hardly noticed.

Arena productions are not the only way to widen the reach of ballet. Smaller in scale but equally exciting was The Royal Ballet Creates, an initiative we mentioned when compiling our list of “Ten Things we love about British Ballet” for the blog “Behind Ballet”. Royal Ballet soloist Kristen McNally choreographed a new work set to Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in the middle of a busy Apple Store on a Saturday afternoon. Sessions were interactive and people who were probably there to test drive the latest iPad model were given the opportunity to sample classical dance and to win free tickets for The Royal Opera House.

Sergei Polunin as the Knave of Hearts and Lauren Cuthbertson as Alice in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Photo: Johan Persson / ROH ©

New Work

The other big event of the season was the premiere of Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a visual feast with the potential to draw families for many seasons to come (a Nutcracker for the Easter season perhaps?). Alice may not be Wheeldon’s most original piece, but it is undeniably a fun evening out. An entertaining ballet, with themes that are relevant to our times. Plus the work’s production budget, its scale and the buzz it generated made the other two new additions to the repertory – Kim Brandstrup’s Invitus Invitam and Wayne McGregor’s Live Fire Exercise – seem muted affairs by comparison.

Power couples. Left: Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta. Photo: Dee Conway / ROH © Right: Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg. Photo: Bill Cooper / ROH ©

Star Power

Audiences grow to love a company in part because of its dancers, and The Royal Ballet has unique artists who continue to capture the imagination of regulars. And when it comes to star power few companies can boast partnerships similar to Rojo/Acosta’s and Cojocaru/Kobborg’s.

The company also has many talented individual performers and I can only thank my lucky stars for being able to watch dancers like these work their magic so often:

Tamara Rojo’s Manon & Juliet – you can count on marveling at the detailed interpretations Tamara gives to some of ballet’s most complex characters.

Zenaida Yanowsky’s Swan Lake – her Swan Queen made me forget about the production’s dated designs. Here was the most elegant Odette, with beautiful phrasing and port de bras and an intoxicating Odile who had thrilling rapport with Will Tuckett’s Von Rothbart.

Edward Watson’s “Chosen One” in MacMillan’s Rite of Spring. His dance to death was piercing. We could see the panic in his eyes and the despair in his steps.

Steven McRae’s Rhapsody. Mr. Clement Crisp said it best; we were “dazzled, bowled over, knocked sideways, blown away“.

Alina Cojocaru / Johan Kobborg. A partnership for the ages. I am keeping their performances in Onegin, Giselle, Manon and Romeo and Juliet this season as souvenirs and pining over the fact they are not scheduled to dance together anytime soon. And that with every season, Kobborg gets closer to hanging up his ballet shoes.

Next Chapter

The Royal Ballet currently finds itself in a period of transition. Monica Mason retires next year and the Company has recently announced the appointment of Kevin O’Hare to succeed her, a choice that suggests continuity. At a time when ballet companies are struggling to strike the right balance between “thinking globally and acting locally”, O’Hare will face the challenges of preserving the Ashton/MacMillan/Petipa/Balanchine canon while looking at opportunities to commission work from the best new choreographers out there. In that task he will be assisted by McGregor & Wheeldon. O’Hare will also face steep arts cuts, the fact that some of the Company’s box office-friendly works need to be rejuvenated asap, and, as Graham Watts notes, he will have the responsibility of nurturing the Company’s dancers. Expectations are high and right now we can’t wait to see what happens in the next chapter.

Sébastien Galtier: Beautiful Friends

Emilia & Linda — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:54:30 +0000

Stuttgart Ballet’s Sébastien Galtier started to take ballet pictures about four years ago as a hobby. He soon realised he could cross over photography with other media he liked, more specifically fashion and the visual arts. That allowed him to give a different context to his dance photos, taking well-known ballet characters into shots staged in unexpected surroundings.

To showcase his work, Sébastien recently decided to start a Tumblr site – Beautiful Friends (if you are not following it yet, it’s a must!). We were delighted he agreed to share some of it with us:

Click on the images for credits

Glamour & decadence: Sue Jin Kang as Marguerite from Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias.

Marcia Haydée looking très chic as Madame

A bubbly Julia Krämer for Spuck’s Grand Pas De Deux

Alicia Amatriain as Odette seems to channel the mood of Aronofsky’s Black Swan

Elizabeth Mason and Friedemann Vogel. The Sylph, James & the fateful window

Evan McKie as a very dapper Onegin

Like a painting: The cast of Lady of the Camellias – from left: Laura O’Malley, Alexander Jones, Katja Wünsche, Marijn Rademaker, Sue Jin Kang and David Moore.

Sébastien wants to keep honing in on his photography skills and “push it a little bit further each time”. Right now he’s looking forward to meeting new characters, costumes, dancers and scenery. You can visit his social media pages here:

Sébastien’s Tumblr: Beautiful Friends
Follow him on Twitter @sebgaltier

Rite of Spring: The Chosen Ones

Emilia & Linda — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:48:17 +0000

Steven McRae and Edward Watson are the two principal dancers who have been chosen to “dance to their deaths” in the current revival of MacMillan’s Rite of Spring. Read below an extract of our interview with the pair, as originally posted on the Royal Opera House blog.

When Kenneth MacMillan choreographed the first British Rite of Spring in 1962 the role of the Chosen Maiden – the virgin who dances herself to death in a sacrificial ritual – was a then 20-year-old Monica Mason. Shortly thereafter the then Royal Ballet Principal Wayne Eagling became the first male dancer to take on the central role. In this current revival, Monica Mason has brought back the concept of a male ‘Chosen One’, with Edward Watson and Steven McRae – one British, the other Australian, both well-versed in MacMillan’s dramatic universe – set to make their debuts this weekend. We asked both Edward and Steven for some brief thoughts on the ballet:

TBB: Monica Mason has remarked in the past that MacMillan’s choreography for The Rite of Spring is ‘absolutely not feminine’. What do you think male dancers can bring to it?

Edward Watson: The steps aren’t feminine at all. When a woman dances it, I think it shows the strength of the human spirit but when a man dances it, it’s completely the reverse; the same steps show how vulnerable we are.

Steven McRae: I believe the Chosen One is a role that can be brought to life by either a male or a female dancer. The role is very demanding physically and getting through the piece requires a lot of psychological strength. Obviously the physical approach to the role may differ. The choreography has a lot of allegro work, something males are used to performing regularly.

Steven McRae as the Chosen One in MacMillan's The Rite of Spring. Photo: Johan Persson / ROH ©

TBB: How are you approaching the role? What emotions are going through the Chosen One’s head?

Edward: By making sure I know the music well and that I know the stage patterns and so on. I think about the terror and pride going through the Chosen One’s head and about the inevitability of the ritual.

Steven: You will see!

TBB: Who is coaching you? What have preparations been like?

Edward: Monica Mason has been coaching me. I haven’t needed to do any reading or other preparations as it was created for her and she knows it inside out.

Steven: I actually spoke to Wayne Eagling about the role recently at a function in Buckingham Palace; I am loving being coached by Dame Monica Mason. Working with the person the role was created on is the closest thing you can get to working with the creator. I was fortunate to work with Lesley Collier on Rhapsody early in the season, and again that was incredible because you are being exposed to details about the piece and choreography that perhaps other people may not know. (…)

Read the full post in the ROH blog.