Just opening this thread for reviews and comments. The run opened last night with the Mixed Bill (Chroma, DGV and Month in the Country). Did any BalletTalkers attend? I am going only tonight (Ansanelli's farewell from the US stage!) and will miss all of the Manons, so am especially counting on BT reports.

As a reminder, this is the schedule, from the Kennedy Center web:

Tue., June 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Chroma
A Month in the Country - Zenaida Yanowsky and Rupert Pennefather
DGV

Wed., June 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Chroma
A Month in the Country - Alexandra Ansanelli and Ivan Putrov
DGV

Thu., June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Manon - Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta

Fri., June 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Manon - Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg

Sat., June 27 at 1:30 p.m. (mat.)
Manon - Roberta Marquez and David Makhateli

Sat., June 27 at 7:30 p.m. (eve.)
Manon - Leanne Benjamin and Federico Bonelli

Sun., June 28 at 1:30 p.m. (mat.)
Manon - Mara Galeazzi and Edward Watson

I hope that someone will report as well! RB haven't done Month in the Country in London this season and won't do it next either, so I am very envious of you having the possibility to see it in the US!

I saw both Ansanelli and Yanowsky do it last season. Yanowsky is absolutely wonderful in the role; Ansanelli I found a little stiff and contrived, but in many ways I still enjoyed her performance also.

I'm also very curious who will be cast in DGV (this is an amazing work, I think, Wheeldon at his best!) as the casting has been moved around quite a lot. The "lead" female role was created on Bussell (you will see where the dancer is carried on in what we call the "Darcey lift" which was Wheeldon's kind of "homage" to Bussell) who of course has since retired. Then Yanowsky was cast when RB did it in February, but didn't do it in the end. Then it seems that Marianela Nunez was to have danced it, but she was injured so did not. In the end, 2 corps members, Melissa Hamilton and Nathalie Harrison took the role, and both of them were really fantastic.
However, I'd like to see if Nunez or Yanowsky may do it on tour (although, considering, I am not at all sure if Nunez will be in the US on this tour, as she doesn't have much part to play in these programs). Both would be fantastic in the role, I think! I suspect you'll get a viewing of Melissa Hamilton, 21 years old corps member who's danced all season in principal contemporary works. She created a role in McGregor's Infra in October and made quite a hit!

Meanwhile in Manon - Cojocaru didn't do it with RB this season (injured - it was an awful season of injuries) and many of the other combinations are different too, so it would be interesting to hear about. Interested to see that Marquez is doing it with Makhateli - that's going to be a massive height difference! She debuted Manon with Putrov back in October and I found their performance really disappointing - no chemistry, a lot of technical imperfection and little character development. That partnership is now finished, and I'm interested to hear if Marquez does is better with another dancer.

Sorry for the long post, I hope it was not too boring, and I hope I don't break any etiquette rule with what I write - it's my first post ever here, so I do not know how things are done!

I was at the performance last night. Monica Mason come out before the curtain went up and dedicated the performance to the nine people who died in the Metro crash on Monday.

Overall, I thought it was a great night. Terrific dancing in all three ballets. For me the the standout was A Month in the County with a very touching performance by Zenaida Yanowsky (4 curtain calls for her and Rupert Pennefather).

I wouldn't have programmed Chroma and DGV together -- I think they're too similar: intense, dynamic, athletic ballets. Of the two I preferred Chroma. DGV's music is relentlessly repetitive and the ballet falls in the category of Wheeldon works which want to "express something important," but instead end up being slightly pretentious. Still, I enjoyed both.

The audience was enthusiastic, although there were a number of empty rows in the top tiers. The intermissions were very long (30 minutes, and then another 10 or so after the chimes rang), presumably because the set and flooring for Month in the County took a while to assemble and dismantle.

I was quite impressed that RB has brought all of their principal dancers, even if it means most only perform once (or twice in the repertory works).

I can't wait to read the reports of Ansanelli's performance. I would love to see her penultimate performance since I've been following her since we were both teenagers, but unfortunately I have something else scheduled for tonight.

cinnamonswirl, what did you think of Pennefather? I admit, I ask because I'm not necessarily a fan -- However last year when I saw him in Diamonds he impressed me. I saw him in Month maybe last season or the season before -- and felt like he was slowly starting to 'get' acting a bit more, so I'd like to hear about his growth, since I've now not seen him for a while!

I think Zen is lovely in Month -- she's really such a versatile dancer.

(And I agree with you about the programming of Chroma and DGV... and with Month! The program must be a bit discombobulated!)

May I ask who performed in DGV and Chroma? The DGV casting was quite changed in February, when the company did it in London and Chroma I guess is missing usual cast members Sarah Lamb and Lauren Cuthbertson? (although maybe Sarah is back?)

Can anybody explain the program notes (by choreographer McGregor) for Chroma? e.g. "... the body can behave as a frequency of color - in freedom from white." ??? I think we need some notes for the notes . Enjoyed the dance, though.

Mike, there's nothing to explain, McGregor is the master of fatuous artspeak. Never has so little been said in so many words, with so little sense. Something about empty vessels making a lot of noise springs to mind whenever I read a McGregor diatribe but at £30,000 for a half hour of "work" he's laughing all the way to the bank.

And I didn't even like the piece either. When I saw it it was on with 4 Ts and DGV. Talk about the sublime leading the blind (the sublime being 4 ts), in case my metaphors mixed confusingly.

If it was only only £30,000 for his ballets I would still mind but not so much. I believe his fee for Infra was considerably more. Why when there are talented ballet choreographers across the world that need work to survive, does an academic classical ballet company employ a dance maker except for publicity and pandering to the ant-elitist dance critics.
I hope the season is successful for the dancers and yes you are lucky having "A Month in the Country."

Chroma: Federico Bonelli, Mara Galeazzi, Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, Laura Morera, Ludovic Ondiviela, Tamara Rojo, Eric Underwood, Jonathan Watkins, Edward Watson

DGV (Tue): Cindy Jourdain (sub. for Lauren Cuthbertson), Leanne Benjamin, Marianela Nunez, Mara Galeazzi, Eric Underwood, Edward Watson, Gary Avis, Federico Bonelli

DGV (Wed): Cindy Jourdain (sub. for Zenaida Yanowsky), Laura Morera, Marianela Nunez, Mara Galeazzi, Eric Underwood, Steven McRae, Gary Avis, Federico Bonelli

You did perfectly, Carmela! Thank you for your insights and welcome to Ballet Talk. We have a number of Royal Ballet watchers on this board, and hope that you will join them -- and all of us -- in sharing thoughts, insights, and even prejudices about classical ballet.

By the way, for those reading these posts who -- like me -- can't be in Washington, here's a clip of the pas de deux between Natalia Makarova and Anthony Dowell (Natalia Petrovna and Beliaev).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX7v1HIcdWk

Yes, it is a bit jarring to have Month sandwiched between two modern works, especially since the scores for these two are particularly loud and crashy. The percussionists probably have more to do in these two evenings that in the rest of the year combined. But I guess they were going for an all-English (British?) program.



I don't have the program at hand, but when I get home I can look up the full cast. I remember Sarah Lamb danced in Chroma (with lobster red legs -- it looked painful). Lauren Cutherbertson didn't dance at all. She was scheduled for DGV, but there was a program insert saying she was being replaced (I can't remember who off the top of my head).

Edit: I see Mike beat me to it



This was my first time seeing Pennefather, so I don't have anything to compare it to. For most of the ballet he struck me as a bit of a lightweight/matinee idol-type acting-wise, but the last scene (where she cries into the chair) was very beautifully done. So I think he's certainly got the potential to develop into a more mature, sophisticated actor. His dancing had that easy, relaxed quality (almost to the point of overly casual) that is so appealing.

Month strikes me as a difficult ballet, acting-wise. It's subtle, and the characterizations have to be very clear from the start, since it's only one act.



Not only did McGregor have more than half a page of totally opaque notes, but we got NO notes at all for the other two ballets. Not even original premiere dates.

Also, has anyone else noticed how poor the Kennedy Center orchestra has been lately? Last night (it was the KC orchestra last night, wasn't it?) they were very sloppy. When I saw the Bolshoi the French horns were out of tune and very squeaky (although to be fair, one of the pirates' coins did roll off the stage and bopped a horn player on the head, which is kind of alarming). And when NYCB was here, the double bass sounded like a moaning whale for Der Rosenkavalier of Vienna Waltzes. I mean really, it's embarrassing to hear them playing like this.

Does the NYCB use their own orchestra when they come to D.C.? I seem to remember that one of the points of contention during union negotiations with the orchestra related to whether NYCB had to bring its regular orchestra on tours which were within a certain number of miles from their home base.

I hear you on Pennefather. The first time I saw him do anything 'major' was the Don Q pdd with Tamara Rojo at a gala. Rojo practically wiped the stage with him. He has *moments* -- he's gotta work on consistency.

Lauren Cuthbertson is out with glandular fever. It has been a tough year for the RB in terms of injuries/illnesses.

They alternate years. I was told this year was KC year, but I could be mistaken. (And if it was actually in fact the NYCB orchestra, that's almost worse, since Vienna Waltzes has been back in the rep for a couple of years and the bassist should have had lots of practice!)

Oh, so Nunez is there - I'm happy for those who can be there, because she is dancing amazingly and has had a great season here in London! She doesn't take Manon but probably will perform the role of Lescaut's mistress in Manon.

Yes, Lauren Cuthbertson is signed off for the month due to illness, she also missed Jewels at the ROH. However, it's great news that Sarah Lamb is back; as she missed the whole season at ROH after breaking her foot rehearsing Manon before the season began.. Looking forward to see her back in London!

I'm surprised at no Hamilton in DGV - she was one of the RBs "rising stars" this season. She is great in Contemporary, but has a lot of work to do on her classical technique though... Cindy Jourdain, for those who don't know her, is First Artist (like coryphee) in RB and a very good dancer, who hopefully will get more opportunities next season - I like her style a lot.

DGV is an interesting work, I think - one of the best things about it is that Wheeldon really knows how to use the corps - unlike McGregor, who I don't think has discovered what the corps de ballet is yet! I don't think there's particularly any point of it other than to look nice (if there is, I completely missed it, anyway!) but I like the way he uses symmetry and also explores the men's jumping technique and uses a lot of lifts - it doesn't get so earth bound, like contemporary ballet/dance can often be.

Sorry to keep asking the casting, but did you notice who danced the "Darcey role"? - this is the one where the corps line up, the music slows, her partner (probably Gary Avis) carries her on and walks her round in a kind of "Soviet high lift", they dance a pdd, and exit in the same way. It's the most interesting roles and pdd in my opinion. I would guess that probably it was either Nunez or Jourdain?

I'm glad Yanowsky's and Pennefather's performance has been so well received - Pennefather does improve a lot; he can be sometimes a bit lacking personality, but his technique is very solid and he is a good partner. He just has off nights and on nights unfortunately - I saw him do a fantastic Sigfried in Swan Lake this season, amazing elevation, great partnering, very convincing acting and nice bearing on stage. On the other hand I also saw his and Ansanelli's Nutcracker, where he looked as if it was killing him to partner her and they missed the fish dive at the end of the coda and finished the pas de deux without any final pose - oh dear...

In regards to programme notes, it's worth noting (boom boom) that those real true greats such as Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham etc absolutely refuse and refused to put notes in programmes in regards to choreography - the maxim was that the choreography spoke for itself and this is absolutely right. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but Balanchine was of the same opinion ditto Ashton - no one ever got to the bottom of what Symphonic Variations was really about - he wasn't telling and it certainly didn't suffer as a work of art for not knowing.

If choreography can't stand for itself without a pseudo intellectual essay, than one could argue the choreography isn't worth a damn? Certainly the language is failing - though what McGregor's language actually is I'm not quite sure - but Monica Mason is willing to pay out major coinage to find out.

If someone sat next to you on a bus/train/plane and started to go on at you, a la McGregor, you'd quite rightly think you were sitting next to someone either insane or on drugs, and change seat. When this kind of waffling drivel is written in relation to "art" it's seen as alright.

The thing I think is sad is how few signature works the RB is touring to the States, where Ashton is revered think of what a programme with Monotones II, Symphonic Variations, Fille could have done? Also I think it so sad that a company which was once considered the greatest classical company in the world outside of Russia isn't touring a single 3 act classic which made it the company it used to be.

As for Pennefather, he's a soloist who like Edward Watson was pushed to principal status to fill the longtime vacuum of male principals from the UK. He's a political principle turned principal and like Watson is now expected to dance a range of roles and repertory he just doesn't have the technique to fulfil.

Sorry for replying my own question - I read on the review that Nunez did dance in DGV the "Darcey role", rather than the role in green/aquamarine (3rd pdd) which she herself created.

Oh yes, I absolutely agree with you about the corps. Their choreography is very interesting. I especially liked the part where they line up in the middle of the stage and then peel off, and then repeat it to stage right. This is the first "modern Wheeldon" (as opposed to a more neo-classical piece like American in Paris or Carousel) I've seen where he has a corps de ballet and not just principals (like After the Rain). I certainly appreciated the fact that this was not another contemporary "pretzel pas de deux." And I do wonder if my reaction to it would have been different if it had been programmed with different ballets.



Do premiere dates count as program notes? City Ballet programs always have world/or company premiere dates which I like because they help put the work in context. For an oft-danced Balanchine ballet I might remember off the top of my head approximately when it was choreographed, but not for choreographers like Ashton with whom I am less familiar.

I definitely would have liked to see more Ashton. This is only the second Ashton I've seen live (Fille, which I saw in Paris with POB and when the Royal Ballet brought it to Washington a couple of years ago), so I only know his work through DVD and tape.

cinnamonswirl

By programme notes I meant the page long diatribes of pseudo intellectual artspeak McGregor favours, not performance dates etc

Just got back from the performance--rather tired, might add more tomorrow, but here are my initial thoughts:

Chroma--showed off the dancers' lovely bodies and technique impressively but nothing else. Extremely pretentious, no substance IMO. I agree with those who say program notes oughtn't to be necessary, and in the case of this ballet they add nothing.

A Month in the Country--couldn't be more of a contrast to Chroma, both in style and quality. Ashton is an excellent story teller, and the characters and events were very clear. Ansanelli has beautiful footwork, and it was shown off to great advantage, but the part is really meant for someone older. Still, her pas de deux with Beliaev was touching. I have two questions about this ballet: first, did Ashton choose to use Chopin's theme and variations on Mozart's "La Ci Darem La Mano" from "Don Giovanni" on purpose? It seems to maybe have some relevance in terms of the older/younger, experienced/callow relationship of Natalia and Beliaev, although with the sexes reversed. I'm not familiar with the play. Also, is the ending with Beliaev kissing the ends of the ribbons on Natalia's dress in the play? I recall reading about a similar gesture in a play described in Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence", but I cannot recall whether the title of the play is mentioned, and I don't have a copy of the book with me.

DGV--left me cold and rather bored. I would not mind if I never saw it or Chroma again. However, A Month in the Country left me longing for more Ashton! I wonder if it might pair well with The Dream...?

Was is the operative word in that sentence. Perhaps the company recognizes its serious deficiencies in the classics these days.




That is my view of both these dances, though Watson is one of the best modern dancers I've seen in years: I'd just prefer to see him with a modern company.

I think that's a little untrue actually. Pennefather actually has very good technique generally and he is often an excellent partner - he and Nunez match very well. It's only his acting which sometimes lets him down, but he has improved this a lot over the last year or so.

Carmela,

I really really have to strongly disagree regarding Pennefather's technique. It's not strong at all, and Nunez, Rojo with whom he's been partnered several times absolutely run rings around him. Watching him and Watson stumble through classical enchainements can be kind of painful and I notice Watson now completely avoids any classical, danseur noble role - which raises the question why is he a principal?

I always blanche a bit when people say "on the acting side" like performance is something that can be broken down into component parts and layered. If you look at old films of Dowell, he was never a great actor, but through the dance he achieved incredidble fluidity, poetry and artistry. Nureyev was always Nureyev, Baryshnikov too knew that performance and acting as a dancer came through the dance.

Mashinka, I agree with Watson, he's an extremely interesting dancer. The problem is for modern dancers trained in the classical technique is where is there for them to go, if not with a classical company? Netherlands, Rambert, Lyon I suppose spring to mind. I think that Watson would be absolutely blinding in Pina Bausch's company - but again I very much doubt he would be drawn to any of those companies. He seems to like the few modern pieces he's always first cast in and the scenery chewing Macmillan rep.

The thing is I very much wonder what Watson and Pennefather's careers would be like if they tried to gain a principal contract with any other major classical company? Next to ABT's rather impressive line up of spitfire male virtuosos - that just wouldn't happen, neither man has distinguished himself in the Balanchine rep except Watson did a good Melancholic a role requiring more flexibility than technique, though a T&V would defeat both men. I doubt either would be offered principal status in any of the major world companies.

Pennefather and Watson's elevation to principal is political and I daresay necessary to continue to justify the enormous state funding that the RB receives. I also get this feeling when I watch Lauren Cuthbertson, currently the only British female principal, who is a lovely first soloist, but just not principal material.

Carmela, I saw Melissa Hamilton in 'only' the corps segments of DGV.....but we DID see the beauteous Cindy Jourdain (1st artist, the next-to-lowest rank) in a leading role in DGV, the first pdd.


Performance Report

Mixed Bill - Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Chroma - Finally, I've found the perfect ballet for Alina Somova of the Mariinsky: Flex, flex and more flex! [Seriously - she would be perfect in this.] I'm with Hans and others who do not care much for this pretentious work, although it is initially intriguing, with its cream-colored 'box' of a set and unisex sheaths for costumes. There's a lot to admire in the ten dancers (four ladies & six gents), especially the initial pair of Mara Galeazzi and Edward Watson, as well as the wispy Sarah Lamb in an impressive solo. And let's not forget the redheaded dynamo Steven McRae in both of tonight's modern works. Unfortunately, MacGregor seems to have TWO favorite moves, which are constantly repeated: (1) the undulating stick-out-the-arse and (2) the beyond-180-degree sideways kick-up, even by some of the men! Folks, if you think Chroma is bad...wait til you see the even more pretentious Infra, which was telecast in the UK a few months ago. How this fellow nabbed the post of House Choreographer is beyond me. Was the RB that desperate for choreographers? Is this the 'New Ashton'??? Speaking of...

A Month in the Country - This Ashton masterwork made the evening worthwhile - in and of itself more than worth the price of admission. Many of us stood and cheered Alexandra Ansanelli's soul-infused performance as Natasha, all the more poignant in the fact that this is her final appearance on the U.S. stage, and pennultimate performance of her too-brief career. [She is only 28 or 29, for goodness sakes. Last performance will be in Cuba...so this was America's farewell to a beautiful artist.] Ansanelli was romance personified, bringing back memories of the first-and-greatest Natasha, Lynn Seymour. Ivan Putrov brought dramatic sparkle and gorgeous line to the male leading role of the Tutor. The boy with the ball (Ondiviela, I believe...working without my notes) was excellent. Well, I loved the entire cast, who seem to have the Ashton signature petis-pas down pat. At intermission, the Russian friends who sat with me laughed as they told me, "Thank goodness that we did not walk out at the first intermission. Now this is more like it!" Incredibly, they (and I) also loved the 3rd and last ballet of the night, which was modern...

DGV - Wheeldon has done it again. Wow - wow - wow! Beautiful, exciting, thrilling, with elements of a 'plot' or even some 'romance,' which was totally lacking in the MacGregor work. Even Michael Nyman's minimalist score is hauntingly beautiful, including that 'Edinburgh Tattoo-like' finale with the roar of drums (but no bagpipes). I smiled as I remembered some movements straight out of Wheeldon's equally-lovely recent ballet for San Francisco, Within the Golden Hour, e.g., Marianela Nunez's entrance in a high 'platter lift' ('Bussell Lift' that Carmela mentioned earlier), slowly carried in by Gary Avis...and, later, near the end of Nunez/Avis' pdd, the movement where the man sits on the floor and hold's the lady's ankle, as she steeply inclines her body away from him. [Actually, DGV preceded Golden Hour...so Golden Hr borrowed from DGV , not the other way around, right?]

The enthusiastic and nearly-full audience cheered loudly for the Royal Ballet after each work. The section where I sat (2nd Tier) was almost full, unusual for a mixed bill in the middle of the week.

Natalia Nabatova
Washington, DC

Well, NYCB does have a history (at least in the Martins era) of having male principals who are no great shakes, but dance frequently because they are reliable partners and blandly inoffensive. An unintentional return to the days when the ballerina was the focus and her partner was just there to support her. Sebastian Marcovici and James Fayette (who has retired) spring immediately to mind. And frankly, I'd take Edward Watson or Rupert Pennefather over Nilas Martins (even in his good days 10 years ago, let alone his present state) any day.

Cinnamon,

You have me banged to rights, that's very very true. Last year when I had the chance to see NYCB in four programmes I have to say in regards to many of the male principals I was left thinking, hmmmmm....

And actually having seen the current state of the etoiles male ranks at POB one comes away with the same impression. Like Watson though, there are some very talented modern dancers in etoile positions in a classical ballet company.

And in truth since both the RB and POB dance those three acts so rarely nowadays, it doesn't really matter. Watson and Pennefather have enough technique to muddle through a fille. Bayadere, Don Q, Swan Lake, Coppelia etc defeat them but those ballets are one a season at most and that's why the Royal has recruited so many foreign virtuosos. Ditto POB.

I was lucky enough to see the mixed bill almost 3 times --- the open rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon (for only $10!!) was a dress rehearsal, and it looked like the dancers only marked things in DGV. It was also a nice surprise to run into Leigh and Hans, though I did not put 2 and 2 together until later and realized that Hans was our Hans!

Though I liked Chroma (as well as Infra and Eden/Eden) a lot, it faded a bit over 3 consecutive viewings. What makes it interesting for me is not only its facility-on-sleeve kind of choreography, showing off the extreme facility of the dancers, but the different kind of energy and movement quality it asks from the dancers. As a piece of choreography, it may not last the ages, but it works very well as an exciting essay on movement. As such, I thought the contrast to the much subtler, softer Ashton that followed it (after an interminable 25-minute intermission) was very interesting, and only served to highlight Ashton's particular brand of classical port de bras. The contrast between the abstraction of Chroma, and the clear story and drama of Month was also very interesting. DGV for me was kind of synthesis of the two: it has clearly more classical port de bras, though Wheeldon does distort classical lines everywhere, has a more classical use of the corps, and it calls for the kind of extreme facility shown in Chroma. At the same time, DGV's rhythms and pacing was more varied and subtle than Chroma, which seemed to run with the knob stuck at 11. I thought the program was a great way to introduce the company to the public.

Things I liked: Edward Watson and Leanne Benjamin in DGV, and Edward in Chroma. They had perhaps the most idiomatic movement quality for those two pieces: sharp, discontinuous, and a little disturbing. Eric Underwood was similarly nice in Chroma (but not so much in DGV). Marianella was also very nice in DGV (but admittedly, she's my favorite RB dancer), but I would gladly watch Watson and Benjamin again. Sarah Lamb looked great for having just come back from injury not too long ago, and I would never have guessed that Chroma would fit her so well.

Rupert was a great surprise in Month, and I loved how Ashtonian his dancing style was --- the port de bras, the attack of his gestures all looked very right for Ashton: I loved his solo. Ivan Putrov the next night had a more anonymous, homogeneous execution. Alexandra won me over in a lovely, touching pas with Putrov, but her style did not fit in with the company at all. This was really apparent in her first solo with the fast footwork, when she was followed by the very idiomatic Iona Loots. Her attack was homogeneous, whereas Ashton has a way of emphasizing or punctuating the end of his phrases and steps, while going just as fast. A friend of mine was distracted by Alexandra's sickled foot at the beginning of the pas, but I was too distracted by other things to notice that. The audience received her very warmly, and it was really nice to see that.

Both Kolias were good, and handled the virtuosic part well, but I preferred Paul Kay for his greater ease, and his better-fitted wig!

I did not like the seams in the set of Chroma or the wrinkles in the colored rectangular backdrop --- it seemed to go against the minimalist design, and made it look cheap. The sets for Month were beautiful, DGV looked well executed except for a couple of minor lighting issues (they looked like fluorescent lamps flickering a bit as they initially lit up instead of coming on full strength).

After the Tuesday night performance, some friends and I went to the nearest 7-11 for some late-night food (the program was 3 hours long), and one of them caught someone humming the tune to DGV!

--Andre

I know that 7-11! By Jefferson House?

Next time, if it's still there (it's been a long time since I lived in Foggy Bottom!), I recommend Mehran on K? or on Pennsylvania! It's Pa: http://mehrankabob.com

It's a small little Pakistani cafe; prices have gone up over the years, but still affordable. Open until 1 weekdays, 3 am on weekends..... I'm veggie, but loved their stuff, and it's good sustenance if you like your curry!

Surely you don't mean that the POB is loaded with foreign virtuosos. The company is still overwhelmingly French, and even foreign nationals like José Martinez and Eleonora Abbagnato were trained in France. In the top ranks only Alessio Carbone could be identified as a "foreign virtuoso."

I meant only the Royal is loaded with foreign virtuosi, not the POB.

By ditto I meant several of the etoiles I've seen dance classical roles and was kind of underwhelmed by their classical technique. They were the ones who've been discussed here as surprise nominations to etoile due to their suitability to the modern ballet rep.

I get a kick out of you, Simon.

Since the RBS production line dried up with regard to British dancers, employing from abroad has become a necessity, but if I'm unhappy about 'political advancement' I'm even more unhappy about the calibre of some of the imports. Surely if the Royal Ballet head hunts for male dancers they could have come up with someone better than Thiago Soares? His performance at the recent Diaghilev Gala at Covent Garden was embarrassing; a Russian friend described him to me in an email after that performance as "No jump, no line, no style, no class". He isn't the only dud as several foreign male dancers have been engaged at lower levels with similar dismal abilities, so what's going on here?

The POB has different problems from the RB such as the slavish devotion to modern work of no discernable merit, but the backbone of the company remains solid with talent still emerging from the school. It's more a problem of the wrong people getting promoted than lack of actual ability there.

Mashinka

You're bang on about Soares, I just can't quite believe his performances when watching - it's just not good. Makhateli is another one, he has what I call the "Orlando Bloom Effect" where even when he's performing you forget he's there.

Steven McRae, is a technical dynamo, but I find his approach to dance and stage personality so pugnacious and overbearing that once you've stopped marvelling at his tricks there's not much else there - I feel he's another demi-caractere first soloist who has been promoted to prince because he's one of the few who has the technical armoury to cope with the principal rep.

I do wonder though with all those great great dancers that the likes of ABT, MCB, SFB manage to recruit that the Royal can't seem to do the same?

I also think you're right regarding the POB their rep allows great fruit to whither on the vine and male dancers of dubious technique leapfrogging to top rank over far more stylish compratriots. Moreau, Belingard & Pech are fine in the right rep, but aren't classical ballet dancers. Ganio seems increasingly to be permanently injured - a sad cautionary tale about over pushing talent before it's strong enough to cope with the massive physical responsibility it will have to cope with.

I'm not sure --- it's very close to the Foggy Bottom Metro stop if that helps narrow it down. It's the smallest 7-11 I've ever seen. Thanks too for the late night dining suggestions.

--Andre

That's it! Sort of behind the hospital........

There's also a late-night Pita place... can't remember the name... but it's in Georgetown. Also in Georgetown, on M street, is an awesome South Indian cafe -- Amma's Kitchen.

And that's all from the food gallery -- can you tell I have yet to have lunch?

Anyways, did no one see Manon last night, with my beloved Tamara? I so wish DC could have seen this with her and Cope.... his Act I solo is beautiful.

Haha --- the lunch discussion syndrome! I have not heard good things about Carlos's performance last night, but I'll leave that to someone who was actually there.

--Andre

Well... my humble opinion is that he's just not a MacMillan dancer. Carlos needs big slamming solos. He surprised me in Ashton's Rhapsody with some nuanced musicality, but really -- I'd rather see him as Ali, Basilio, Acteon, etc..........

Just returned from "Manon" with Alina Cojocaru and Johann Kobborg. My goodness, what beautiful dancer-actors they are! Cojocaru was very effective as a youthful Manon, just a teenager perhaps, who impetuously runs away with Des Grieux and is soon after seduced by the glamour of Monsieur G.M. Her teenage appearance was quite striking in the brothel scene--I could very easily imagine Sylvie Guillem dancing the same steps with seductive confidence, but I found Cojocaru's young, naif Manon, covered in unfamiliar silks and jewels, quite striking as she half-hesitantly abandoned herself to this new world, torn between the glamour and her feelings for Des Grieux. She was very moving, without being over the top, during the death of her brother, the rape scene in the gaol, and the final flight into the Louisiana swamp.

Kobborg, as no one needs to be told, is an impeccable artist, with beautiful line, a strong stage presence, and nuanced acting. He was able to convey his character's thoughts even while standing around the brothel, and he was sweetly protective of Manon.

Ricardo Cervera as Lescaut also seemed quite young, and perhaps not so much distasteful (considering he basically sells his own sister to the highest bidder) as thoughtless. I received the impression that perhaps they had not spent much time together as children, and as a result he does not really have feelings for her as a person. Self-absorbed and wily, his most entertaining moment came during the drunken Act II pas de deux with his mistress. Both he and Laura Morera displayed excellent comic timing, and it was a pleasant, light, well-choreographed contrast to the syrupy darkness of the rest of the ballet.

This was my first time seeing Manon, and I feel about it the same way I feel about MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet--I'll only watch it with a really good cast. It seems that MacMillan wants to tell the story through the dancing, without mime, but doesn't quite know how. We therefore see a lot of rather pedestrian steps repeated one (or two or three) too many times and must rely on the dancers' acting ability to understand characters' relationships and what is happening in terms of the plot. MacMillan is clearly a master of clever and complicated lifts, but unfortunately when he thinks he's come up with some really interesting gymnastics, he feels the need to beat us over the head with it and make absolutely certain we get to watch it several times, regardless of what the music is doing. In the same vein, he has to show us quite graphically and specifically just how Manon is defiled by the Gaoler, as he is apparently unable to get the point across any other way.

Thankfully, the rest of the cast was up to the standard of Cojocaru and Kobborg, so we had a beautifully danced, finely acted performance that triumphed over the unfortunate choreography to produce a moving evening of theatre.

Except when he partners so atrociously that he manages to ruin his ballerina's performance.



Agree entirely. I would only add that there's more to most of those roles than simply jumping about and looking cheerful - not that it seems to matter at Covent Garden nowadays. McRae is also quite small and although he looks brilliant at times, I wouldn't say it's a 'complete' technique

Thanks so much, Hans, for this review! I saw the same performance, and share your generous feelings about Cojocaru and Kobborg - and you are right, MacMillan needs superb casting like this to make his ballets come alive - in truth I would have been happy to see M repeated, with exactly the same cast. May I also praise Gary Avis as the reprehensible Gaoler, in a truly memorable character performance that, for me, absolutely "sold" the Third Act.

Cervera's Lescaut, for me, is another memorable performance. In MacMillan's concept I suppose that he is an evil character, a brother who is so depraved that he pimps out his own sister. However, Cervera danced so well, and with such explosive joy in his character, that he almost tilted me over to "the dark side" - more importantly, he made it possible to understand how Manon, Des Grieux, and even Monsieur G.M. could have fallen under his spell.

I hope that folks will share their reviews of the other performances, with different casts. Had I to do it all over again, I would have seen every one of them.

Green, green, green!

Giannina

Thank you all for your reviews and comments on the RB it makes me here in London, feel in touch with what is happening with their performances.
I sometimes forget to check what is in Dance View Times and I think Alexandra has also written an excellent review of the triple bill widely discussed above and it has a stunning picture of Eric Underwood,
who is impacting more and more on the London audience.

Alexandra's danceviewtimes review is here:

http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2009/06/identity-matters.html

I was especially looking forward to reading her thoughts about "A Month in the Country," given BT's recent threads on Ashton. Here are are few of the points she made about casting and interpretation, which are especially interesting because they're based on close comparisons to previous RB visits with the same work.


And:

Thank you leonid, and thanks for posting the excerpts, bart! I realized that *I* had not been clear. When I wrote "The audience laughed heartily at the loud chord that accompanies his entrance" I meant at this series of performances, NOT when the ballet was new.

My guess is that it is about age as the RB has become a much younger company over the years. Natalia Petrovna should look older than Vera, her ward, and old enough to be a mother to Kolia, played by an adult dancer desperately trying to convince us he's really a child. With no suitable older dancers available, the company opts for height instead; that way she can look down a little towards her son and her ward making her more a figure of authority towards the younger members of her household.

For a clue as to why she remains in the marriage read Anna Karenina.

If the dancer can't create a sense of why, or that there's a pull at all, the performance looks incongruous. It's like an Odette who doesn't appear to be stuck.

The best way of achieving that would be to go back to casting a very young, possibly completely unknown dancer as Vera, as Ashton did in his first two casts.

In the Turgenev play, Natasha Petrovna is 30 years old. Kolya, her son, is 11 or 12. Vera is a ward, not a daughter, and is supposed to be too old to be a daughter to Natasha. In fact, a leitmotif of the story is that Vera and Natasha are close enough to be sisters. Natasha is married to a much-older man who loves younger & younger chicks, e.g., his interest in Katya the maid. Natasha is no longer young enough for the old rooster.

Ansanelli is actually perfect in age for the role of Natasha; the dancer is 28/29, the character 30. The tradition of making Natasha an 'older woman' came only with the ballet and the casting of Lynn Seymour. The difference in age between Natasha and Vera should be about 10 years, not 20. That, I think, puts the story into better perspective and explains a lot.

I believe that Ansanelli's Natasha lacked the petit-allegro sharpness and bubbly musicality of the Ashton style; from that point of view alone, her Natasha was mediocre. Her triumph, IMO, was in the characterization because she is so believable as a 30-year-old Natasha, wanting a man closer to her own age and fighting her 'sister' for him. Ansanelli also benefited by having an emotional and romantic-looking partner in Ivan Putrov -- more emotional than Pennefather. Also, the Ansanelli-Putrov partnership is physically well matched to make the lifts and throws of the pas de deux exciting; I prefer the shorter ladies in this role...not having to heave-ho the Bussells and Yanowskys. Things really 'clicked' in that final Ansanelli-Putrov performance, IMO.

One of the sub-themes that has developed in this thread is the contrast between an older generation of RB dancers and some of the younger principals. There's a video which has been posted here before -- Anthony Dowell (with Antoinette Sibley) coaching Pennefather and Cuthbertson in Swan Lake. I enjoy watching Dowell and (in the distance) Sibley as they bring subtle arm gestures, along with suggestions, to the the session while P and C dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IcrRfdkC8s

Lynn Seymour's age has nothing to do with Ashton's casting or his inspirational take on Turgenev’s play as firstly he needed a dramatic actress and Seymour, was renowned as such and in such a way, that few that
have followed her in this role or others she created, have been able to come close to any of her original outstanding performances.

Ashton subtly characterised his roles and developed his cast in such a way that they remained entirely integrated within their parts in spite of the febrile atmosphere that Natalya Petrovna's behaviour
inevitably creates.

In the play, Natalya Petrovna is actually 29, Seymour was 37 years old, Beliayev in the play is 21 and Dowell was 35, Rakitin in the play is 30 and Derek Rencher was 44, Vera is 17 and was played by Denise Nunn who was a junior member of the corps de ballet. Natalya Petrovna is not married to a much older man he is 36 in the play and he was played by Alexander Grant who was 51 and a very clever actor. Age had no meaning in any of their remarkable performances.

The age of the dancers had no relevance as they perfectly revealed the households tense relationships as the ballet evoked the boredom that can arise in a country house in a hot summer. Ashton in this ballet as ever reveals a gift for portraying characters from a past era.

The legendary Moscow Olga Knipper at the age of 41 has a tremendous success in the role of Natalya Petrovna and the originating actress Elizaveta N. Vasileyeva could not have been only 29 years old as the first performance of this play was given for her benefit performance.

It is Natalya Petrovna’s story of a self-inflicted predicament and her soon to be passed obsession for a younger man. But there is not really any sadness or torment, as Ashton’s presents an outsider’s gentle view of the folly of the situation. This is achieved with the lightest of touches, combining refined amusement with the bittersweet charm of Ashtonian lyricism.

I am glad you like Putrov he is progressing every year. But I am sad at the loss of Ansanelli who has achieved a lot in her time with the Royal Ballet.

PS
Edited to clarify a statement,