Thiago Bordin and Hélène Bouchet in Neumeier’s Nijinsky. © Erik Tomasson

A few people straggled almost unnoticed onto the stage of the War Memorial Opera House before the house lights had dimmed, and they began to talk. Even before the dancing had begun, their presence was an announcement that one had better not expect to see a traditional narrative ballet that opening night. However, the ambition to create a piece that comes close to the innovative prowess of its subject—Vaslav Nijinsky—would require more than an opening gimmick. Nijinsky is still one of dance’s towering figures, and one of the very few who merit the term “genius” both as a performer and a choreographer, blessed with abilities of the practitioner and the visionary. This is the man who envisioned a young faun as a masturbating nymph-chaser, and disguised a ménage à trois as an innocent game of tennis between two women and a man (and that was the cleaned-up version; his original idea was for an all-male cast and even less ambiguity). His ballets incited riots and still look modern today, while other examples of innovative and even revolutionary art softens and grows quaint with time.

John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, performed in a limited run by San Francisco Ballet guest company The Hamburg Ballet last month in San Francisco, imagines Nijinsky at the moment of his last public performance—in Switzerland in 1919—already in the throes of the mental illness that would end his career early and would plague him unto his death in a clinic at age 61. Neumeier has his Nijinsky revisit important moments of his life, dancing with and as characters from his most famous ballets. This could be seen as a predictable physical transposition of the dancer’s schizophrenia, but at times the elements from Nijinsky’s own choreography and that of others whose ballets he made his own, when combined, embellished, and added to the foundation of Neumeier’s own choreography, illuminate areas of his persona and history in ways both beautiful and seemingly true (anyone who has not read one of the many bios on the dancer, or Nijinsky’s own harrowing diaries, can’t help but take Neumeier’s word for just how true).

Here we see Nijinksy the very young man, new star of the Imperial Ballet and the newly named Ballet Russes; he’s lush, self-absorbed, and vulnerable as the Golden Slave in Fokine’s Scheherazade, caressing himself and obliviously bewitching the people around him. Even more effective is the pas de trois between Nijinsky, his future wife, Romola de Pulsky, and the Faune from L’Après midi d’un faune, acting as a sort of erotic surrogate for a preoccupied Nijinsky. Known for being cold and dull in real life, he channeled his entire wealth of charisma into his stage persona. In this scene he is a sort of indifferent, while this wilder, more sexual persona from his imagination woos the rapt woman. (That this is a preposterous fabrication of events—Romola having stalked and practically bullied the known gay dancer into an icy marriage—should only bother those who attend the ballet seeking facts and accuracy.) (continue reading)

My best friend has bought me tickets to: the Joffrey Ballet’s show “Rite of Spring”, and to the Hamburg Ballet’s “Little Mermaid”. The Joffrey showed three works, all of which were stunning!!!! “Age of Innocence”, “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”, and the famous “Rite of Spring”. All very different from each other, but oh so beautiful!

The Hamburg had very amazing dancers, unfortunately it was not one of my favorites ever. In fact, I really did not like it too much. It was a combination of the music, and choreography (almost no ballet) that put me off. But I am very grateful for both shows. They both had a lot to give me. Very amazing dancers and talented choreographers.

I would like to announce that I also had my first $50 donation by my best friend, Marco Carreon! Thank you sooooo much!!!!!!

I believe I might enter the CSUDH Talent Show! It does interfere with classes, so I’ll try to arrange something with them, but I do believe they give out cash prizes. I’m doing it so that if I were to win, the prize could go towards my summer program fund! Let’s cross our fingers.

Anyways, here is the NRD promo for DNA. I show up after Matt’s solo: 1:23. I’m the dude with a lot of hair

Goal: $5000 (this accumulates to the cost of attending one intensive)
Due: May 2013

If 100 people would donate $50 my goal would be successful (but any amount of donation is appreciated)

I can be reached at RMEDINA49@TOROMAIL.CSUDH.EDU
Also at my Facebook

Thank You for your time!

Sincerely,

Ruben

I’m fairly certain you can’t say ‘At the Ballet’ without sounding a little pompous, nonetheless I was at the ballet last night with my Aunt and a couple of members from the Executive Board at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

My family firmly supports the Arts in Queensland and we were subsequently invited to see the Hamburg ballet perform on opening night for both their productions.

In an effort to “bring the world to Brisbane” (insert slow clapping to congratulate PR manager on terrible slogan), the Queensland Performing Arts Centre partnered up with the Hamburg Ballet (under the guidance of John Neumeier) and released two shows; Nijinsky and A Mid Summer Nights Dream.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with John Neumeier I suggest you get acquainted with his work- and fast. He’s the Shane Warne of Ballet, a legend within the dance world and head of the Hamburg Ballet Company for 40 years.

Nijinsky has always been a racy ballet to perform, and this was no exception as it recreates the last public performance of famous Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. Interestingly the plot is similar to that of Black Swan, that movie with Natalie Portman where she surprised everyone with her ability to act. (Oooo snap! Haha sorry, that was harsh).

Nijinsky varies from tradition ballets as it deals with sex, drugs, haunting memories of his poisonous past and his final decent into madness.

(Just thought you needed a paragraph space to absorb that information. Yes, it’s pretty heavy and I recommend it for more learned ballet goers, as it might be pretty hard to follow).

A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the other hand is perfect for those wanting feel a little more culturally in tune, as well as being able to say ‘at the ballet’ with a smug smile on your face. It is, of course, based on the play written by William Shakespeare and is set in a magical world of fairies, elves, kings and queens where the usual mischief of a Shakespearean performance occurs.

Needless to say both performances were FAB-U-LOUS!  I loved Nijinsky because it was a revolutionary approach, pushing the limits of contemporary ballet, but I adored A Midsummer Night’s Dream – it’s the costumes! I have no control when sequins are involved.

The dates for both performances are as follows:

Nijinsky  26-28 August (tickets here)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 30 August-5 September (tickets here)

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Marcia Haydée & Richard Cragun of the Stuttgart Ballet in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet (1977).

Richard Cragun and Marcia Haydée were muses to the Royal Ballet choreographer John Cranko, who in the 1960s turned the Stuttgart Ballet into a centre to rival Covent Garden — younger, and more cosmopolitan and contemporary. The chemistry between the tall, affable Cragun and the small, passionate Haydée inspired an upsurge in ballet costume dramas . The couple’s onstage understanding was underpinned for 16 years by their relationship as lovers, until Cragun came out as homosexual.

Afterwards Haydée and Cragun remained close friends, however, and continued their dancing partnership. It was due to her influence that he eventually moved to Rio de Janeiro to establish a daring social experiment to bring dance to slum children.

Haydée and Cragun had more ballets created for them even than Fonteyn and Nureyev. Firmly identified with Cranko’s robust romances Romeo and Juliet, Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew, the pair also premiered important works by the Royal Ballet’s Kenneth MacMillan; John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias and A Streetcar Named Desire; William Forsythe’s only narrative ballet, Orpheus; and pieces by Glen Tetley, Jiri Kylian and Maurice Béjart.

Richard Cragun

While dancemakers were mainly magnetised by Haydée’s extraordinary dramatic power, Cragun was an attractive foil for her. With his deft classical facility — refined at the Royal Ballet School — he was the prince of spins: he could turn three times in the air, which challenged choreographers to create flamboyant solos for him.

Although frequently cited as one of the greatest male dancers of his time, Cragun was sometimes found lightweight in comparison with Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Anthony Dowell. This was partly because the Stuttgart style was considered by some British and American critics as more about show than substance.

Kenneth MacMillan, however, made four of his finest works for Haydée and Cragun as individuals or together: Las Hermanas (1963), a tense Lorca tragedy; the masterwork Song of the Earth (1965), set to Mahler’s song cycle; Requiem, a 1976 tribute on Cranko’s early death; and My Brother, My Sisters (1978), a claustrophobic piece about fatal sibling rivalry in which Cragun played the brother, charismatic and sinister.

Richard Alan Cragun was born in Sacramento, California, on October 5 1944, the second of three sons. His father was chief librarian at Sacramento City College. Richard studied tap dance before moving to ballet class, and when the Royal Ballet performed in Sacramento he was an extra on stage — it was Margot Fonteyn who suggested he try for the Royal Ballet School.

On a year’s scholarship there, aged 15, he was picked out by MacMillan for a graduation ballet, but as a non-Commonwealth foreigner he could not join the Royal Ballet itself. The company’s recently departed choreographer John Cranko, Stuttgart Ballet’s new director, recruited him, and within three years he was promoted to principal rank.

Marcia Haydée, who was five years older and had also trained in London, was the star ballerina, and she and Cragun began what became a 30-year partnership .

Richard Cragun and Marcia Haydée Photob by Gamma-Rapho/Getty

The pair’s gifts for romantic expression were accompanied by a potential for comedy. In The Taming of the Shrew (1969) Cranko created slapstick balletic battles for the warring Petruchio and Katharina; and in Brouillards (1970) Cragun danced a comic number, “Homage to S Pickwick Esq”, in a black hat and carrying a black umbrella.

In 1970 Cragun showed his strengths as a classical performer when he partnered Fonteyn, who went to Stuttgart to dance Swan Lake and Cranko’s new work for her, Poème de l’extase .

Among the many ballets created for Cragun and Haydée at Stuttgart Ballet were Cranko’s Opus 1 and R.B.M.E.; Peter Wright’s The Mirror Walkers and Namouna; Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries and Daphnis and Chloe; and, in the 1980s, Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land and Maurice Béjart’s La Danse and Operette.

In his forties Cragun was acclaimed for his charisma in character roles such as the witch Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty and Quasimodo in Roland Petit’s Notre Dame de Paris. In 1990 he returned to his first love, tap-dancing, to star in Stuttgart Ballet’s staging of the musical On Your Toes.

After retiring from the stage in 1996, he spent three years as ballet director in Berlin’s Deutsche Oper, but tired of the pro-opera bias of Berlin and a losing battle with the Stuttgart and Hamburg ballet companies for status and funds.

In 2000 he moved with his lover, the Brazilian choreographer Roberto de Oliveira, to Rio de Janeiro, where they launched a contemporary ballet project with the city’s black slum youngsters. DeAnima Ballet Contemporâneo aimed to counter street violence and gangsterism by persuading 200 children to come to dance classes. They formed a performance company, but Cragun protested angrily that, due to civic apathy, he was forced to use his illustrious former Stuttgart Ballet colleagues to fund it with German sponsorship.

Richard Cragun

He was also outspoken about what he saw as ingrained racism in Brazil, and caused controversy during his three years as ballet director at Rio’s Theatro Muncipal when he cast a black male dancer in Giselle.

Cragun lived for many years with Aids, but a stroke in 2005 ended his working career.

Both Roberto de Oliveira and Marcia Haydée survive him.

Richard Cragun, born October 5 1944, died August 6 2012

Think you have what it takes to claim the title of

QUEENSLAND’S BIGGEST BALLET FAN?

Upload your photo/film/text for your chance to

WIN THE ULTIMATE BALLET PACKAGE!

Do you enter a room with a leap, stand en pointe waiting in line or is your favourite outfit a tutu? Show us you’re QLD’s biggest ballet fan by submitting a video, photo or text entry. This could be your ticket to see one of the world’s leading ballet companies, The Hamburg Ballet performing exclusively in Brisbane this August. The top 3 entries from each category with the most votes will be judged based on imagination, enthusiasm and excitement for ballet.

Check out the Gallery here

I’m suggesting our own Stephanie Fisher from Embody Performing Arts is a contender.

Check out this shot of Steph by Sunshine Coast photographer Kate Whatman.

RD Studio Productions

France 1995, 20 mins.

Director: Mats Ek

Choreography: Mats Ek

Performed by Sylvie Guillem and Niklas Ek

Music  by Arvo Pärt

IMZ Dance Screen Award 1996 Jury Citation

Brilliantly performed by Niklas Ek and Sylvie Guillem “Smoke” stands out for its overall excellence and deserves special note for two facts: first, it was the television directing debut of choreographer Mats Ek and second, this duet, commissioned especially for television has come off the screen and into the live stage repertory. Entitled “Solo for Two” the dance was performed this year in Paris, making its creation and continuation the reverse of the traditional relationship between live performance and television.

Mats Ek is one of Europe’s most creative and influential dance-makers, acclaimed for the theatricality and immediacy of his work. He became artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet in 1985. He produced more revisionist versions of classics, including Swan Lake (1987) and Carmen (1992). As well, he created his own works, which typically involve the use of parallel narratives and humour. In 1993, Ek resigned his post, but continued to create new works that are performed worldwide. Ek has created for the Hamburg Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Paris Opera and Les Grands Ballet Canadien de Montréal. His ballets have been adapted for television.

This summer of 2012, it will appear in Hamburg, Germany, June 26-27;  Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre, June 29-30;  come September to London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre.  In November, the company will appear at Kennedy Center in the Tomasson version of Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and one mixed repertory program.

The company will also venture to Sun Valley, Idaho for a one-night stand July 8, obviously after the dancers have regained their equilibrium following their return from Moscow.

The mixed repertory selections have yet to be announced, particularly for Moscow and  Washington, D.C.

In Hamburg, however, the program will include 7 for Eight by Helgi Tomasson; RAkU by Yuri Possokhov, A pas de deux from Continuum and Within the Golden Hour, both by Christopher Wheeldon. Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets, Davit Karapetyan and Sarah Van Patten are scheduled to appear June 22 in John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid with the Hamburg Ballet cast.  July 1 several dancers will appear in the Nijinsky Gala XXXVIII.

The London tour is scheduled September 14-23, nine performances with three mixed repertory programs.  Works by George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, Yuri Possokhov and Helgi Tomasson will comprise the selections.

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January
January brought me some new clients and new work. I shot Jeanette who is now a trainee with San Francisco Ballet, for Tutu.Com. I also had a shoot with Pamela H who is a tap friend of mine. That same day, I shot the Harnett sisters, Genna and Alex. Genna is finishing up school and Alex is now an apprentice with Ballet Arizona. They were in for audition shots. January also took me down to Tampa to shoot Gaspar, the pirate ballet. This month also marked the birth and launch of Hope Dances, my dance outreach program for special needs kids. Last but not least, I worked with a new company. Well it was new to me, Delaware Contemporary Dance Theatre.

February
This month brought me back to South Jersey to work for Dance Factory. I have shot for them for the last few years. Always a fun day and I love Stacey, the director. She is the best! Hope Dances was involved in the first ever Tap Teaser on Tour, which was really exciting. I photographed, Tapas, for Ballet Fleming, of which I am now a steering committee member and their company photographer. In a very ironic twist of fate, I became the back up or plan b to Lois Greenfield who was supposed to do shots for Dance4Life dance school. Things fell through and Ms Chauntee called me and asked if I was available. Fortunately I was. What a fun night that was! That group is just plain ole CRAY CRAY!

March
This was a neat month. I had a few in studio for fun, personal things. I also shot Belfast Connection for their promo content. This was a blast. They are always a hoot and brought in a wee taste of whiskey to help jump start the shoot. I also had in, Isabelle Seiler, who is currently training at JKO school in NYC. I shot a bunch of live Irish bands including Blackthorn and Drop Kick Murphys. DKM was really fun as I went backstage and interviewed Tim Brennan who plays accordian and banjo for the band! I also went up to Boston to shoot Boston Ballet’s rehearsal for ELO Experience. Also, I worked on some personal projects with some of the dancers. I always love going up there!!

April
April brought me to Baltimore to photograph the rehearsals for Rasta Thomas’ Tap Stars as well as headshots for the cast. I also begun shooting for the Inspirational Irish Women nominees. This is a yearly event where a committee votes on and nominates xx number of women who they feel are exceptionally inspirational in the Irish community. Last year they had a painter create the portraits which were done in an abstract method. This year, I was fortunate enough to have been commissioned to create them! On Easter, I had the fun opportunity to travel to NYC to photograph Avi Scher and Dancers, which included Carla Korbes and Seth Orza of Pacfic Northwest Ballet. Barre Boys had their event, Happy Hour which featured an exhibit as well as an hour long performance of men in dance!

May
May is always busy for me. I work with 3 different local dance studios for photo day in May. In addition to that, I did a promo shoot for Too Darn Hot – an all female tap revue. Inspirational Irish Women had their event including the exhibit of my portraits. I photographed a performance on top of the Intrepid battleship. One of the biggest things for me this month was to shoot the first edition of the Boston IBC. What a wonderful opportunity this was! My images from this got some serious action in the press. One of them was in the May or June issue of Auditorium magazine from South Korea.

June
Ah June… mark of summer! This was a pretty active month for me. I had the opportunity to work with a young dancer from the Rock School, Alston MacGill. We had our first ever Dance for Dreams Gala for Hope Dances. Barre Boys celebrated its 1st birthday. I did a shoot with Allie Parsons who was wearing Margot Fonteyn’s original tutu from the birthday offering! I also had shoots with Holly Curran from Ballet Fleming, Kat Richter and Abi Kurdin. I traveled to DC to shoot with Sona from The Washington Ballet, her husband and father as well as with Septime Webre, Artist Director for TWB. I also flew to Tampa for the better part of a week to shoot a ballroom competition. Well, I was the personal photographer for one of the competitors. While there, I met with and shot a dancer from Orlando Ballet as well as Peter Stark.

July
Well, I must be honest. By now, I am deathly tired of planes and airports. I mean seriously. lol. July doesn’t seem to have been as busy. At least according to my calendars as I am going back. In July, I spent probably about 4-5 days in Savannah, George to shoot for DTI, dance competition. My first day down there, I drove to Hilton Head Island where I met and had the chance to work with Angie and Mollie Sansone. Angie dances with Kansas City Ballet and Mollie for Nashville. We did a shoot on a plantation down there. That was really really fun!! The day after I returned home, I had the chance to shoot a dear friend’s wedding. Lisa and I have been friends for a few years – I found her on craigslist. I love her to death. So, it was an emotional day for me. Also this month, I was published in UK’s Dancing Times and Philippines’ Town and Country magazine! I also had the pleasure of working with a set of ballerina twins who happened to have the same disorder my son was diagnosed with. The family and I are dear friends.

August
Now we are talking!! August, aside from being my birthday month, was epic!!! In August, I flew to London for a week. Wow oh wow was this an amazing trip!! I flew out of Philly Intl and into Heathrow. It was an overnight flight going in. I will include my blog which has a daily log for the trip. But, to summarize it, I spent a week in London that was fully funded by my generous supporters. While there, I met with the girls from the Ballet Bag, shot dancers from Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Hamburg Ballet, saw Mariinsky do Don Q, SHOT Mariinsky’s dress of Robbins/Balanchine Triple Bill, shot Mariinsky principal dancer Igor Kolb on the rooftop of the ROH. Doesn’t get more epic than that!

That was the very beginning of the month. At the very end of it, I traveled to Salt Lake City to lend my services for a fundraiser to benefit a young lady with stage 4 terminal cancer. This trip left me a changed man as well as making some new life long friends! This trip also inspired my new series, empoweredME. What a great way to spend my birthday.

I think one of the headshots I did for the new director of the dance department at Boston Conservatory was in Dance Teacher this month.

September
September was unfortunately quiet for me. We had a Hope Dances-9/11 event which was wonderful. I also had an image from RHPM in the NYTimes Sunday calendar section as well as a 6 page spread in Dance Studio Life with my BIBC images AND a 2 page spread as an ad for DTI. That same RHPM image appeared in Connecticut Magazine either this month or October. I had the pleasure this month of photographing Allenda Witzel, a young ballerina who was studying at Kirov in DC. We had mutual friends at CPYB. Since then, I have remained in touch and friends with her mother.

October
I finally got my mojo back and the phone was ringing like crazy. One of my images was featured on the cover of SI Focus magazine, which is a magazine for those dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder. I had wrote an article for the magazine for this month. One of my images from the ASH Workshop was in Dance Teacher Magazine. I celebrated my second year at the studio (or was it 3?). I picked up a new client, United Dance Merchants of America and shot their Jersey show! We also launched the Portraits of a Disorder exhibit, featuring images of children diagnosed with SPD. At the beginning of the month we had a Barre Boys exhibit at the Performance Garage. I did work for a new client, Jovo Dance, which was great. I love them! Also did some family portraits for the Kurdins. In October, we did a SLEW of shoots for empoweredME! I also was in NY shooting for that and for Tutu.Com including a few shots at the Occupy Wall Street scene. In October I also did the new promo shots for Ballet Fleming. This is always fun as is the theme – FUN. No, that is the theme they go for… fun!

November
This was a great month!!! I started the month by shooting BalletX rehearsal for a piece for the Ballet Bag. I had a small exhibit at the Dance for Dimes event at Widener. I interviewed Pennsylvania Ballet’s Artistic Director, Roy Kaiser for Barre Boys and photographed him at their new property on the Avenue of the Arts. I did a promo shoot for Renaissance Academy’s Nutcracker. Some more empoweredME shoots. I did Chesco’s dance team shots again as well as a new client from the Rock School, Isabel Montague. Ursinus College and PDP brought me back to shoot shows then flew up to Boston to shoot for Boston Conservatory. Some of the dancers needed shots, so the director brought me up. While there, I made some new friends. I had a mini shoot with Amanda who is in Boston Ballet’s school. She wanted images for a Christmas card. I also did a shoot for Alex Heier who is also a student at Boston Ballet and her mom is on their board. What a wonderful family!!! My dear friends, the Ramsay family played host to me as well as chauffeur! This was one of the few times where I was actually sad to be leaving. What an amazing weekend!!!

In my studio, I had a male ballet dancer who is studying at Butler. This was a nice treat. Most of my commissioned work for audition shots are from ballerinas. He was a lot of fun and very open to things!

I also had two of the dancers from the NY Knicks in for headshots. I had shot one of the girls’ sisters a year ago for dance shots. This was a fun session. They were a blast to work with!

Black Friday, I made an impromptu trip to NYC to shoot THE Misty Copeland for empoweredME. What an AMAZING experience that was!!! She was a delight to work with (duh) and seemed to be really happy with the images. They were simple yet powerful! Although I had told my wife that I was free that day to do family things, I simply could not pass on this opportunity. We still got to go to the movies when I got back.

3 days later, I found myself back up in the big apple for a shoot with Jon & Abi Stafford of NYCB for a piece I was doing on brothers and sisters who dance in the same company, for the Ballet Bag. Before my shoot with them, I had lined up a mini shoot and interview with Oliver Swan-Jackson who dances for Suzanne Farrell Ballet, for Barre Boys. He was a lot of fun and a nice guy!

December
This December was much easier then last. I only shot 3 Nutcrackers and they were all within 30 mins of my house which is nice. I launched my very fist coffee table book which was for empoweredME. Artistically, I knocked off one of the things on my bucket list – maternity shoot en pointe! I actually did two! One was with Fang from Koresh Dance and her hubby Tommy Gant who is also a ballet dancer. The second was with Pennsylvania Ballet Soloist, Gabriella Yudenich. Some of my images from CPYB’s Nutcracker last year saw some life this month. One of my snow scenes were part of a 2 page spread in the local paper in Carlisle plus the cover of 717 mag.

DCDT company stopped by the studio for an off the wall shoot. They are always a hoot, esp Ms Chauntee! Project Moshen was in the studio for some new promo shots. That was a lot of fun! I have been friends with Kelli Moshen on FB for a few years now, so it was also nice to meet her!

The last few shoots I had, yielded some of the best images I have created all year. One of my favorites was with Sara Rodriguez from University of Utah. We grabbed 3 different looks in one shoot. So so so awesome! I love her!!! I also had a visit from Lisa Fitzgerald from Exit 12. She was a blast! I ended my work year with a shoot with Simon Hoke, a young budding cavalier who is studying at CPYB.

So, this is 2011 in a nutshell. There are a lot of shoots that took place that did not get mentioned and I enjoyed every one of them! This was a banner year to say the very least! The good thing about doing this is it gives me clear picture of what I did so I can set new goals for 2012! THAT is exciting!

I am taking holiday from Dec 23-Jan 3 to spend time with my family and decompress. When I come back, we will have a new website within days and exciting new content to release!!!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all! Thank you so much for your support, I love you!!!

1. I realized that I don’t like going to recitals where little girls are asked to dance like they work at the Manor, and
2. I also realized that I needed to up the culture in my life.

Tasty goodness in the form of spring rolls.

Hence, I added attending a ballet to my Not-So-Bucket-List list.  You know, cuz I’m all about the culture and stuff.  Keeping with the mission of satisfying items on my Not-So-Bucket-List list, Gerarda and I boarded a bus for Toronto to meet Steph, have lunch, do a little shopping, and then attend my very first ballet.

More tasty goodness in the form of spicy pumpkin dip

We met Steph at the Queen Mother and had a nice bottle of wine or two¹, plus several appetizers (spring rolls, calamari, spicy pumpkin dip, and edamame).  The food was excellent, and the wine was uber tasty.  Afterwards, we wandered Queen street to do a little shopping.  And by a little shopping, I mean that I bought a swanky new pair of jeans, some swanky new dress shirts, some swanky new sweaters, and some swanky new t-shirts.  I’m all about the swanky².

Gerarda and me enjoying some tasty Malbec.

After our shopping spree (and by our, I mean mine), we headed to a local creperie.  Steph and Gerarda had some crepes (Nutella and dark chocolate, respectively), while I opted for an irish coffee, minus the whipped cream.  Delicious!

Finally, the time had come to head to the Ballet.  The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts was our destination.  And what an amazing building.  It is simply beautiful inside.  The space is open and inviting, but sophisticated.  The pictures really don’t do it justice.  Of course, we had to sample some wine before the show (in this case, a glass of Trius Chardonnay).  We may also have sampled some bubbly during the intermission .

Our destination for cultural goodness

The ballet in question wasn’t a full show, per se, as much as it was a collection of performances.  Steph felt that this might be a good spot for me to start my journey into culture.  It was similar to a recital except with professional dancers, each performing a traditional and a contemporary Pas de Deux, and each competing to win the illustrious Erik Bruhn Prize.  Appropriately the evening’s ballet was called

The 9th International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize.

The National Ballet of Canada website does a far better job describing the Erik Bruhn prize:

“Bruhn endowed a prize in his name in order to award two young dancers, one male and one female, who ‘reflect such technical ability, artistic achievement and dedication as I endeavoured to bring to dance.’ In 2009 a Choreographic Prize was added to the event to honour the best newly commissioned dance piece.“

Beautiful

This year, an audience selection was also up for grabs.  That is, as audience members we were allowed to text our vote for our favourite male and female dancers, as well as our favorite choreographer.

Intermission bubbly. It's what cultured people do.

Competing for the prize were dancers from the American Ballet Theatre, the Hamburg Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Danish Ballet, and the Stuttgart Ballet.  The classical Pas de Deux were from La Sylphide, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Flower Festival in Genzano, and Don Quixote, respectively.

Personally, while I found the classical dances good, the contemporary dances were so much better.  Of course, this neophyte doesn’t know enough to be able to judge the technique on display so I may be way off on my analysis.  Regardless, I know what I like and I loved the contemporary performances.  In particular, I loved the dancers from Stuttgart.  I can’t really describe what the dance was, but I do know that it was amazing.  Clearly the audience agreed; the Stuttgart dancers (Elisa Badenes and Daniel Camargo) received the audience choice awards.

Overall, it was an awesome day.  It was most excellent to hang with Steph and Gerarda, and it was fun getting my culture on.  If you have a chance, definitely see a ballet if you get the chance.  At the least, check out the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.  Either way, you are sure to be impressed.  And who doesn’t like a little culture now and then?

¹ Clearly it was two bottles. In this case, two bottles of Trapiche Malbec.

This bottle was 2-bottle yummy.

² So for those keeping score, I’m all about the culture and I’m all about the swanky.

Go If: You can’t resist a tragic love story. New Moon is your favorite book of the entire Twilight Saga and you can quote a certain passage from Act II, Scene VI of Shakespeare’s play by heart (don’t worry we won’t tell anyone). You’ve never been to the ballet and want to start with a tale that’s easy to follow in dance form.

Avoid If: Get thee gone, thou artless idle-headed pignut! (Ok, so you’re not a fan of The Bard)

Dream Casts

We asked our twitter followers and they said:

Juliet – Gelsey Kirkland, Yevgenia Obraztsova, Maria Kochetkova, Miriam Ould-Braham, Silvia Azzoni, Julie Kent, Alessandra Ferri, Alina Cojocaru

Romeo – Anthony Dowell, Vladimir Shklyarov, Igor Kolb, Jason Reilly, Friedemann Vogel, Angel Corella, Robert Fairchild, Steven McRae

Background

The Leonid Lavrovsky version

The idea for Romeo and Juliet as ballet came originally from Sergei Radlov, the Artistic Director of the Kirov (now the Mariinsky) around 1934. He developed the scenario together with theatre critic Adrian Piotrovsky and commissioned the music from one of his favorite Chess partners: Sergei Prokofiev who had never before composed for a full-length ballet.

Prokofiev finished the score on September, 1935 but the production was stalled when the communist regime demanded it be given a happy ending. Having shaped his score to match Radlov’s interpretation of the Shakespearean play Prokofiev was unhappy with this imposition.

Mariinsky's Vladimir Shklyarov and Yevgenia Obraztsova in Lavrovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Natalia Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

Further political problems saw the project shelved and transferred to the Bolshoi where it was deemed unsuitable. The ballet was eventually salvaged by the Kirov and on January 11, 1940 Romeo and Juliet finally received its premiere, with choreography by Artistic Director Leonid Lavrovsky. Legendary Galina Ulanova was the original Juliet and Konstantin Sergeyev her Romeo. The ballet was hailed a success but it only became a phenomenon six years later when it was staged in The Bolshoi Theatre (December 28, 1946), resulting in Lavrovsky’s appointment as Artistic Director of the Bolshoi.

The Bolshoi toured London for the first time and staged Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet in the Covent Garden Stage (October 3, 1956) to great acclaim. Margot Fonteyn expressed she had “never seen anything like it” and budding choreographer John Cranko was so inspired by the ballet that he soon started to plan his own version.

Mariinsky's Viktoria Tereshkina and Yevgeny Ivanchenko in Lavrovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Natalia Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

The John Cranko version

Cranko’s first staging of Romeo & Juliet was for the ballet company of La Scala in Milan in July 26, 1958. It was danced in an open amphiteatre in Venice. Designs were by Nicola Benois and the role of Juliet was danced by then 21 year-old Carla Fracci. Further revising the ballet Cranko staged it  in 1962 for his own company, The Stuttgart Ballet. Jürgen Rose was in charge of the designs and young Brazilian ballerina Marcia Haydée, soon to become Cranko’s muse, was cast in the role of Juliet, with Richard Cragun as Romeo.

Cranko’s staging is renowned for its strong corps de ballet dances, which set the atmosphere. The first scene takes place in the cramped streets of Verona, so both Montagues and Capulets are incapable of avoiding each other. In Act II the fight erupts amongst peasants on a harvest festival, with everyone involved and fruits being spilled around. At that time Cranko’s company were still developing their technique and identity so the choreography is relatively simple. When it comes to the various pas de deux one can see Lavrovsky’s influence in the very Soviet style of partnering with lifts and tosses.

Cranko’s version of Romeo and Juliet remains very popular and besides being a regular staple at the Stuttgart Ballet, it is also in repertory at The National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, The Joffrey, Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Pensylvannia Ballet, among others.

The Kenneth MacMillan version

Kenneth MacMillan, a close friend of Cranko’s from their dancing days in the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, was inspired to create his own version for The Royal Ballet after seeing it staged by The Stuttgart Ballet. An opportunity came when The Royal Opera House failed to secure a deal with the Bolshoi to exchange performance rights for Ashton‘s La Fille Mal Gardée against Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. Ninette de Valois had also asked Sir Frederick Ashton to stage the version originally choreographed for The Royal Danish Ballet in 1955 but he feared that something created for a smaller theatre would look modest compared to the scale of the Russian production. Ashton, then Artistic Director, suggested to the Board of Directors that MacMillan should undertake the task of creating a new version.

Steven McRae and Alina Cojocaru in The Royal Ballet's production of MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Bill Cooper / ROH ©

MacMillan had devised a balcony scene pas de deux for Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable for a feature on Canadian television and once he received the go-ahead he started working on his first full-length ballet, nowadays one of Romeo and Juliet’s most definitive versions.

Designer Nicholas Georgiadis was inspired by Franco Zeffirelli‘s production of the Shakespearean tragedy for the Old Vic, in which the Capulets lived in a big fortress-like mansion. MacMillan wanted his ballet to be more realistic than romantic, with added contemporary touches. He wanted the young lovers to die painfully and to drop the reconciliation between Capulets and Montagues at the end of the play providing a different angle from the Lavrovsky & Cranko versions.

The ballet was choreographed on Seymour and Gable as Juliet and Romeo. As usual, MacMillan explored the role of the outsider in his portrayal of Juliet, a headstrong and opinionated girl who breaks away from her family. He started with the pas de deux (the highlights of this staging) and drew on the full company plus extras to set the town scenes.

While work was in progress Covent Garden management delivered the blow that Fonteyn and Nureyev would be first cast Juliet and Romeo, a shock to MacMillan, to Ashton (who had expected them as a first cast for the US tour  only) and to dancers Seymour and Gable who had to teach their roles and resign themselves to a lower spot on the bill.

Artists of The Royal Ballet in Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Dee Conway / ROH ©

MacMillan’s pleas to Covent Garden management to keep Seymour and Gable in the premiere were in vain. His Romeo and Juliet premiered on February 9, 1965, with Fonteyn and Nureyev taking 43 curtain calls over a 40 minute applause. In the US it quickly became the best known version of the Prokofiev ballet. Besides the Royal Ballet, the ballet is also part of the regular repertory of American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Swedish Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet (with designs by Paul Andrews).

Story

You probably don’t need our help with this one. Regardless of version the storyline remains more or less the same:

Act I

Scene 1. The Market Place in Verona

It’s early hours in Verona. Romeo unsucessfully tries to woo Rosaline and is consoled by his friends Mercutio and Benvolio. As the market awakens and street trading starts a quarrel breaks out between the Montagues and the Capulets. Tybalt, Lord Capulet’s nephew, provokes Romeo’s group and the sword fighting begins with both Lord Montague and Lord Capulet joining in. Escalus, the Prince (or Duke) of Verona, enters and commands the families to cease fighting and issues a death penalty for any further bloodshed.

Scene 2. Juliet and her Nurse at the Capulet House

Lord Capulet’s only daughter Juliet is playing with her nurse. Her parents enter her chambers and inform Juliet of her impending engagement to the wealthy noblement Paris to whom she is to be formally introduced at the evening’s ball. In MacMillan’s version Juliet’s introduction to Paris happens at this point.

Scene 3. Outside the Capulet House

Guests are seen arriving at the Capulets’. Romeo,  still in pursuit of Rosaline, makes his way into the ball in disguise accompanied by Mercutio and Benvolio.

Scenes 4 & 5. The Ballroom & Outside the Capulet House

At the ball all eyes are on Juliet as she dances with her friends. Romeo becomes so entranced by her that he completely ignores Mercutio’s attempts to distract him. As Juliet starts to notice Romeo his mask falls. Juliet is immediately bewitched but Tybalt recognises Romeo and orders him to leave. Lord Capulet intervenes and welcomes Romeo and his friends as guests. At this point in MacMillan’s staging we see inebriated guests leaving and Lord Capulet stopping Tybalt from pursuing Romeo.

Scene 6. Juliet’s Balcony

Later that night Juliet is unable to sleep and stands on her balcony thinking about Romeo. Just then he appears on the garden below and they both dance a passionate pas de deux where they express their mutual feelings.

Mariinsky's Vladimir Shklyarov and Yevgenia Obraztsova in Lavrovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Natalia Razina / Mariinsky Theatre ©

Act II

Scenes 1 & 2. The Market Place & Friar Laurence’s Chapel

As festivities are being held at the marketplace Romeo daydreams about getting married to Juliet. His reverie is broken when Juliet’s nurse makes her way through the crowds bringing him Juliet’s letter with the acceptance to his proposal. The young couple is secretly married by Friar Laurence, who hopes the union will end the conflict between their respective families.

Scene 3. The Market Place

Tybalt enters interruping the festivities. He provokes Romeo, who now avoids the duel, realising he is now part of Juliet’s family. Mercutio is willing to engage with Tybalt and, in vain, Romeo attempts to stop them. Mercutio is fatally wounded by Tybalt. Romeo seeking to avenge his friend’s death finally yields to Tybalt’s provocations and kills him. Romeo must now flee before being discovered by Prince of Verona. Curtains close as Lady Capulet grieves over Tybalt’s dead body and her breakdown is particularly emphasised in Cranko’s staging.

José Martín as Mercutio and Thiago Soares as Tybalt in The Royal Ballet's production of MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Dee Conway / ROH ©

Act III

Scene 1. Juliet’s Bedroom

Romeo has spent his last night in Verona with Juliet but as dawn arrives he must flee for Mantua despite her pleas. To Juliet’s dismay Lord and Lady Capulet appear together with Paris to start preparations for the wedding. Juliet refuses to marry Paris and Lord Capulet threatens to disown her. In despair, Juliet seeks Friar Laurence’s counsel.

Scenes 2 & 3. Friar Laurence’s Chapel & Juliet’s Bedroom

Juliet begs Friar Laurence for help. He gives Juliet a sleeping potion that will make her fall into a deathlike sleep. This will make everyone believe Juliet is dead while the Friar will send for Romeo to rescue her. Juliet returns home and agrees to marry Paris. She drinks the potion and falls unconscious. Her friends and parents arrive the next morning and discover her lifeless.

Scene 4. The Capulet Family Crypt

Romeo has heard of Juliet’s death (in the Lavrovsky version we see Romeo break down in grief as the news are delivered to him) and has returned to Verona without having received Friar Laurence’s message. He enters the crypt disguised as a monk where he finds Paris by Juliet’s body. Stunned by grief, Romeo kills Paris (this is absent from Lavrovsky’s staging). Still believing Juliet to be dead Romeo drinks a vial of poison and collapses. Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead beside her. She stabs herself to join Romeo in death.

Epilogue (Lavrovsky version)

Both Montagues and Capulets gather together and reconcile before their children’s bodies.

Lauren Cuthbertson and Edward Watson in The Royal Ballet's production of MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Dee Conway / ROH ©

Videos:

• Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the Balcony pas de deux, MacMillan version [link]
• Lynn Seymour and David Wall in the Bedroom Pas de Deux, MacMillan version [link]
• A playlist featuring Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta in MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet [link]
• Yevgenia Obraztsova and Vladimir Shklyarov in the Balcony Pas de Deux, Lavrovsky version [Part 1] and [Part 2]
• A playlist featuring Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet [link]
• Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun in the Bedroom pas de deux Cranko version [link]

Other versions

Prokofiev’s masterful composition for Romeo and Juliet is now better known than any other but a number of earlier and later productions of the ballet have been set to different scores and choreography:

• Antony Tudor‘s Romeo and Juliet for Ballet Theatre, now ABT (1943), set to various pieces of music by Frederick Delius.

• Sir Frederick Ashton’s Romeo and Juliet for The Royal Danish Ballet (1955). This is a signature Ashton piece with none of Lavrovsky’s influence (as Ashton had not yet seen that staging). Clips of the revival by London Festival Ballet with Katherine Healy as Juliet can be found here [link]

• Maurice Béjart‘s  Romeo and Juliet (1966). Set to the music of Berlioz this version was presented at the Cirque Royal, Brussels. A video featuring Suzanne Farrell as Juliet and Jorge Donn as Romeo can be found here [link]

• Rudolf Nureyev’s version for the London Festival Ballet (1977). Nureyev later reworked this same version for the Paris Opera Ballet (1984). The ballet is available on DVD with Monique Loudieres as Juliet and Manuel Legris as Romeo. Clips can be seen here [link]

• John Neumeier‘s for the Frankfurt Ballet (1971). This version was restaged for his own Hamburg Ballet in 1974. It has also been further revised and staged by The Royal Danish Ballet. Clips can be seen here [link]

• Yuri Grigorovich‘s version for the Bolshoi (1982) set to Prokofiev’s score. This version is still danced by the company.
  

• Jean Christophe Maillot‘s Rómeo et Juliette for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (1996). This version has been staged by other companies, most recently by Pacific Northwest Ballet. A trailer can be found in PNBallet’s YT channel [link]

• Peter Martins’s Romeo + Juliet for NYCB (2007). A series of videos following the ballet’s creative process can be found on NYCB‘s channel [link]

Music

Prokofiev’s score for Romeo and Juliet is considered one of the four greatest orchestral compositions for ballet (together with Tchaikovsky’s scores for Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker). He originally conceived the score as 53 sections linked by the dramatic elements of the story, each section named after the characters and/or situations in the ballet.

Like Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev developed leitmotifs for the characters. There are 7 themes for Juliet varying from her playful/girlish side in Act I to romantic and dramatic themes which follow her development into a woman in love and foreshadow the impending tragedy in Act III.

A quintessential Spotify / iPod playlist should include the three orchestra suites (Opus 64bis, Opus 64ter and Opus 101)

1. Suite No 1. Folk Dance, The Street Awakens, Madrigal, The Arrival of Guests, Masks, Romeo and Juliet, Death of Tybalt.
2. Suite No 2. Montagues and Capulets, Juliet the Young Girl, Dance, Romeo and Juliet before parting, Dance of the Girls with Lilies, Romeo at Juliet’s Grave.
3. Suite No 3. Romeo at the Fountain, Morning Dance, Juliet, The Nurse, Morning Serenade, The Death of Juliet.

Mini-Biography

Choreography: Leonid Lavrovsky
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Designs: Pyotr Williams
Original Cast: Galina Ulanova as Juliet and Konstantin Sergeyev as Romeo
Premiere: January 11, 1940, Kirov Theatre, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).

Choregraphy: John Cranko
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Designs: Jürgen Rose
Original Cast: Marcia Haydée as Juliet and Richard Crangun as Romeo
Premiere:December 2, 1962, Stuttgart.

Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Designs: Nicholas Georgiadis
Original Cast: Margot Fonteyn as Juliet and Rudolf Nureyev as Romeo
Premiere:February 9, 1965 at Covent Garden, London.

Sources and Further Information

1. The Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan) Programme Notes, 2007/2008 Season.
2. Romeo & Juliet entry at www.KennethMacmillan.com [link]
3. Wikipedia entry for Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet score [link]
4. Romeo and Juliet Notes (John Cranko) from National Ballet of Canada [link]
5. Notes from Tbsili Opera and Ballet Theatre [link]
6. Ballet Met Notes [link]
7. Stuttgart Ballet Performance Notes at Cal Performances [link]
8. Dedicated Romeo and Juliet. Dance review by Anna Kisselgoff. New York Times, July 1998 [link]
9. From London, a Poetic Romeo that makes others seem prosy. Dance review by Anna Kisselgoff. New York Times, 1989 [link]
10. Romeo and Juliet, Theatricality and Other Techniques of Expression by Katherine S. Healy. Following Sir Fred’s Steps, Ashton’s Legacy. Edited by Stephanie Jordan and Andrée Grau. Conference Proceedings, 1994 [link]
11. Opposing Houses: Judith Mackrell on visions of Romeo and Juliet from Ashton and MacMillan. Dance review, The Independent. August, 1994 [link]

HEPPNER: concert-to-come

concert earlier this month due to the viral infection he caught in October while singing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Good news is, Heppner will perform a special solo recital with piano, on stage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, at a date to be announced soon. And, his songfest will be free for all ticket purchasers of the Nov. 7 COC Diamond Anniversary concert … the Stratford festival memorial celebration of stage lion Douglas Campbell is set for this Monday at 3 pm on the Festival Stage and is open to the public … National Ballet chief Karen Kain has wooed and won dancer Jirí Jelinek, who will join her merry NBOC band as a Principal Dancer in January. Previously a Principal Dancer for both the National Theatre in Prague and the Stuttgart Ballet, Jelinek has blazed a trail dancing through Europe, and was most recently invited by the

WILLIAMS: going ape?

Hamburg Ballet to dance the role of Stanley Kowalski in John Neumeier’s version of Tennessee Williams‘ A Streetcar Named Desire … and guess who went on an African Gorilla safari, following in the footsteps of Dian Fossey? Would it surprise you to learn that I’m talking about Canuck ex-pat Harland Williams? Oh sure, it can get a bit dicey on The Jay Leno Show, but go to Rwanda, man — it’s a jungle out there. To see Harland and the Gorillas he almost Mist, uuuh, missed, click here.

SHARPS ‘N’ FLATS: As indicated in that extravagant recent photo spread in Hello magazine, Liona Boyd continues to live a fascinating life. From  her eight-

BOYD: it's her year

year romance with Pierre Trudeau — “Pierre asked me to come and live with him and have a child by him” — to her ongoing relationship with HRH Prince Philip (“He’s still my best pen pal”) to her hush-hush performance for the sequestered jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial, the world’s first female guitar virtuoso has blazed her own unique trail in show business. This fall she has two, count ‘em, two new albums – Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love, a collection of duets with Croatian singer-guitarist Srdjan Givoje, and Seven Journeys , a CD of new-age, atmospheric music. And as if that wasn’t enough, her back catalogue is also

JOLIE: no sharp edges

being reissued by Universal on iTunes. Which by my reckoning has gotta make 2009 the Year Of The Lion(a.)

OH, STOP GRIPING: Wonder why my hero, Manhattan gossip girl Liz Smith, can always make me laugh? Here’s an item from one of her recent, eminently readable columns on the frankly fabulous femme website, wowOwow.com.

“Brad and Angie spent a recent weekend personally baby-proofing their French chateau. (Oh, stop griping. They have a chateau, that’s just the way life is. I’m sure you have something they don’t have.) Not only did the parents of six toddlers put plugs over the electrical outlets and all that, they even moved out some of Brad’s art pieces and furniture, objects too sharp, too hard, too high, too appealing to curious tykes. So, for the time being, interesting stuff like Brad’s metal woven rug are in the chateau’s garage. Which is probably a smaller chateau. Life isn’t fair, deal with it.”

Funny lady, our Liz. Truthful, too.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: Vladimir Putin puttin’ out a rap song? Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton meeting for a cup of coffee at Starbucks? Michael Ignatieff introducing the new Liberal theme song? And Quebec’s favourite game show is “Le Whack Job”? Yes, Linda Cullen & Bob Robertson have gone AWOL again. For another crazy episode of Double Exposure Radio. click here — but do so at your own risk!

AND NOW, MY FAVOURITE POSTER-OF-THE-WEEK:

9th JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: This poster makes me smile.

Happy weekend!

-/-

Carlos Acosta as Spartacus. Source: Comono. Copyright belongs to its respective owners.

Given the variety of flavors, it’s a good show for those wishing to sample ballet before committing to full length traditional or modern works. I took my visiting 11 year old niece who had not seen much dance before, she left impressed and willing to return. Acosta makes the right call as he opts for an informal atmosphere. The show opens with the dancers arriving in their leg warmers and changing into performance gear at the deep end of the stage revealing to us what goes on behind the scenes. While “The Ballet Boyz” did the same thing more effectively by streaming a live video from the dressing rooms in their gala a few years ago, this is a budget friendly way to strike the same chord. The evening kicks off just as informally with a barre at centre stage and Stevenson’s Three Preludes segueing into Cuban choreographer Ivan Tenorio’s Ritmicas, a great way to show the contrast in dance classwork, one with soft adagio moves (danced by English National Ballet‘s Principals Begoña Cao and Arionel Vargas) and the other much  jazzier, with plenty of speedy turns and modern extensions.

Acosta steps in to show off his Spartacus best in two solos, replacing the well known pas de deux, given Bolshoi’s Nina Kaptsova‘s withdrawal a few weeks ago. The crowd roars but blink and you will miss those jetés and tours à la seconde, which are gone in 60 seconds. Although I understand Acosta’s motives for including a hint of Spartacus in the programme (a crowd-pleaser & also his favorite role) I doubt those in the audience not familiar with this ballet will care to find out more just from seeing a short extract in a vacuum, but in addition to its “wow factor”, Spartacus is certainly an effective gauge to the evening’s high testosterone levels: after Ashton’s lovely Rhapsody Pas de Deux (sadly minus the variations!) we had an Othello (Hamburg Ballet’s Amilcar Moret) wearing nothing but well defined muscles and a scarf, soon unravelled by his Desdemona so that we catch a glimpse of a dance belt (instructive for those who wonder what male dancers wear underneath tights!), followed by “Canto Vital” which I nicknamed “Spartacus x 4“. This particular piece, choreographed to show off Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s best virtuoso dancers, pretends to be about three forces of nature – beast, fish and bird – struggling to survive but in reality it’s like the Neolithic version of Les Lutins without the comedy & the clothes, with plenty of opportunity for the men (Acosta plus Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae, Amilcar Moret and Arionel Vargas) to wear very little and impress us while trying to outdo each other, McRae in particular showing off some seriously juicy double “rondes de jambe en l’air” and leaping 2 storys higher than all the other men combined (Canto Vital can be found on YouTube: here are parts 1 and 2).

The Dying Swan is never going to feature in my personal ballet gala wishlist, it is a piece I dislike in any shape or form (with possibly one exception: this version danced by Igor Kolb) and I was not converted by this particular Michel Descombey version picked by Acosta, to me it seemed more like yoga’s Swan dive than ballet’s Swan death. “Over There” choreographed by Ramon Gomes Reis over Dido’s lament (taped music) reminded me that we had recently seen it better sung and more originally choreographed a few blocks down the road. A few other breezy and fun pieces such as Derek Deane’s Summertime were served until the grand finale (and Cuba’s answer to Don Quixote) with Georges Garcia’s “Majisimo”, which I presumed from the programme note to be a staple at every Acosta & Guests. Majisimo gives the ensemble an opportunity to shine and to end on a high, especially Acosta and his leading lady for the occasion Royal Ballet principal Roberta Marquez. My niece was very impressed by Roberta’s speedy turns (lovely Italian fouettées followed by piqué turns) and I liked how she added flirty Brazilian spice to Acosta’s Cuban charm, a good match. I left the theatre wishing I could see Roberta and Acosta dancing together more often. And even if not every item on the bill was my cup of tea, seeing Acosta & Marquez & McRae in great shape definitely cured my ballet blues!