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Sophoife

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  1. Sophoife
    In my experience, first chair or leader of a section is described as such, and the term "concert master" is applied to the individual leading the first violins at each performance. So you might have the concert master today being the first chair, but tomorrow he's playing a concerto with another orchestra so the other first desk player will be concert master.
  2. Sophoife
    Thank you @FLOSS. I am pleased that the Royal Ballet has this policy and that it works. What I was complaining about was the situation where a company chooses to use its young dancers yet appears to give them no support in how to be credible in a character role. When playing a person decades older than oneself, it should be obvious that the character will move in a different way, not necessarily doddering, but more carefully. Don't just wear padding and lark about, learn to move as if that's the real body shape. Learn to apply makeup in such a way that the character's face looks older, rather than just drawing a few brown lines and hoping they look like wrinkles. And for goodness' sake, if given a skullcap, don't apply it so half the audience can see your own hair all around the edges! Most of this can be laid at the door of the artistic staff, who should be coaching character roles as assiduously as (for example) the principal dancing roles. I have to say that on the occasions Australian Ballet does use an external coach for a production, it usually merely serves to highlight the lack of such an eye in other productions...but that's a complaint for a different thread.
  3. Sophoife
    Oh groan groan groan you're reminding me of Australian Ballet's frequent use of 20-somethings to play, for example, major domos, senior members of courts, nurses of now-adult characters, elderly lotharios, etc etc etc. Really it's that hard to find a few ex-dancers in their forties and fifties?
  4. Sophoife
    Mr Camargo danced as a guest (with Elisa Badenes) at the Australian Ballet's 50th anniversary gala in 2012 and blew us away. They performed a contemporary pas de deux by Demis Volpi set to Elvis Presley songs called Little Monsters and were the hit of the evening (the most frequent comment was "sex on legs"), then in the second half came out and gave us the Don Quixote pas de deux which was delightful and explosive. He was certainly the most popular guest at the knees-up following the gala! Poor young man, everyone wanted to meet him, and both men and women were flirting - it was amusing to watch, but my "date" for the evening did tell me that half the flirters were plumb out of luck. He was still at Stuttgart at that time, having joined them in 2009 and two years later with Miss Badenes won the Audience Choice at the Erik Bruhn Prize. He was promoted Principal in 2013 and it was only a couple of years later that he joined Het Nationale Ballet as a principal. Although Brazilian and trained at the John Cranko Schule, not Russian and trained at the Royal Ballet School, I find him similar to Mr Muntagirov in his technical facility, charm, and ever-improving artistry. I've been lucky enough to see him dance a couple of times since that first performance, and although I'm sorry for Mr Bracewell (and the originally-cast Mr Corrales), I can assure you Miss Kaneko will be in safe but exciting (for the audience) hands. I will be interested to hear what regular Royal Ballet watchers think of him. - - - - - (copy of my own post in the Winter Casting thread) @Don Q Fan you're so lucky to have seen him "many times" in Amsterdam.
  5. Sophoife
    Mr Camargo danced as a guest (with Elisa Badenes) at the Australian Ballet's 50th anniversary gala in 2012 and blew us away. They performed a contemporary pas de deux by Demis Volpi set to Elvis Presley songs called Little Monsters and were the hit of the evening (the most frequent comment was "sex on legs"), then in the second half came out and gave us the Don Quixote pas de deux which was delightful and explosive. He was certainly the most popular guest at the knees-up following the gala! Poor young man, everyone wanted to meet him, and both men and women were flirting - it was amusing to watch, but my "date" for the evening did tell me that half the flirters were plumb out of luck. He was still at Stuttgart at that time, having joined them in 2009 and two years later with Miss Badenes won the Audience Choice at the Erik Bruhn Prize. He was promoted Principal in 2013 and it was only a couple of years later that he joined Het Nationale Ballet as a principal. Although Brazilian and trained at the John Cranko Schule, not Russian and trained at the Royal Ballet School, I find him similar to Mr Muntagirov in his technical facility, charm, and ever-improving artistry. I've been lucky enough to see him dance a couple of times since that first performance, and although I'm sorry for Mr Bracewell, I can assure you Miss Kaneko will be in safe but exciting (for the audience) hands. I will be interested to hear what regular Royal Ballet watchers think of him.
  6. Sophoife
    This is PAMTGG. (ETA same link as nowvoyager posted while I was writing this!) And on the subject of dated versus timeless ballets, I can remember seven years ago complaining to Danilo Radojevic (then associate AD at Australian Ballet) that I'd been begging for Les Patineurs for years, to which his reply was that he and the AD felt it was too dated. My response was "Checkmate?" said on a cough (they'd just done it and it had gone down a bit like a lead balloon). I suppose dated is in the eye of the beholder.
  7. Sophoife
    (can't edit previous post to add this quote, sorry for double posting in short time frame) Quintus, that's brilliant. And everybody, thanks for all the comments - as it's not on cinema relay this season I've had to resort to DVDs of previous productions and I think I may wear out my copy of The Two Pigeons!
  8. Sophoife
    Have just seen this - and all I can say is, "Muriel!!" 🤣
  9. Sophoife
    "It takes time...he is working so hard...no quick fix..." 11 years since Fateev saw Mr Parish for the first time! So many young people should hear this. Terrific find, @DD Driver.
  10. Sophoife
    This ballet explaining stuff is tricky! 😉 The production I've seen the most is naturally Nureyev's for The Australian Ballet, in which there is a Street Dancer, but no character named Mercedes at all. Cast list for the last time the company performed it, in April 2013, listed Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Kitri, Basilio, Lorenzo, Gamache, two Friends of Kitri, Street Dancer, Espada, Queen of the Dryads, Amour, Lead Fandango Couple, Chief Bridesmaid and Gypsy Boy. Dulcinea was danced by the Kitri.
  11. Sophoife
    @Dawnstar @Dawnstar the roles named in that Wiki article are from the very earliest productions - Petipa and Gorsky. You will see one called The Street Dancer, as portrayed by Preobrajenska in 1902 and introduced for that production. She is known as Mercedes in many productions. Espada is the lead toreador, who is named in some productions, not in others. Juanita as listed in that Wiki cast, also introduced in 1902, and danced by Pavlova, is a Friend To Kitri and sometimes simply listed as that. Generally speaking, there's Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Basil or Basilio, Kitri (who usually also dances Dulcinea), Lorenzo (Kitri's father), Gamache (Kitri's rich suitor), Mercedes/the Street Dancer, Espada/lead toreador, Gypsy leaders, Queen of the Dryads, and Cupid/Amour. Also Friends To Kitri, who may or may not have names - much as some productions of Giselle name the lead Wilis Moyna and Zulma, others do not.
  12. Sophoife
    Thanks BBB, sorry, I forgot that many (most?) BcFers wouldn't have a clue what the MCG is. At least I didn't just write "the 'G"! And yes, going to cricket or Australian Rules football, there are plenty of security staff, enabling the bag checks and wand swipes to be done as quickly as possible. Given the ground's capacity is approx 100,000 people, it still takes a while to check everyone though...
  13. Sophoife
    Sydney Opera House checks every bag now. It's like going in to the MCG!!
  14. Sophoife
    It is indeed very easy to legitimately put a ticket in another's name - either at time of booking (for gifts and multiple tickets on the same booking), and in most cases up to 30 minutes before the performance commences. This is of course for print at home tickets and those on one's phone screen. I have had a would-be companion change at 6:30pm for a 7:30pm show, and as long as one of the two has the tickets with correct names and both have ID, no problem. Also of course with the increasing level of security at many venues the checking of name on ticket and photo ID is done at or just after the bag-check point.
  15. Sophoife
    A number of arts organisations over here (and several in continental Europe if I remember correctly) require ticket holders to present photo ID plus ticket-with-name-on at the door. And I have seen people being turned away (here, not in Europe, just to clarify) as they had bought from a third-party reseller website at more than 10% above face value. So it is possible to manage this type of touting. Oh, and Viagogo is under court orders to ensure all sellers give the ticket's seat number (which would of course make tracking down the Evil Profiteers much easier) but are in violation of this. And don't seem to care.
  16. Sophoife
    The only time I saw her live was in Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly, in Sydney back in 1995. Utterly beautiful and how I wish I'd had more opportunities to see her dance in person. She also appears to have danced Manon with the Australian Ballet in March that year. This must have been just before she left BRB, as she was named in the programme as a guest artist, Principal at Birmingham Royal Ballet.
  17. Sophoife
    Mr Wall was 21 when promoted Principal, but I do hope, Floss, you were only thinking of the Royal Ballet when you said that 😉 For example, Mr Muntagirov was 20-21 (not sure when his birthday is) when promoted Principal at ENB. 😇 The Paris Opéra étoile Mathieu Ganio 🌟 was promoted to that rank two months after his 20th birthday. At 34 he's one of my favourite dancers. Also in Paris, at their promotion to étoile Manuel Legris was 21, as were Nicolas Le Riche and Mathias Heymann, while Laurent Hilaire was 22, and Hugo Marchand and Germain Louvet both 23. From older generations, Jean-Pierre Bonnefous was also 20 and Patrick Dupond 21. And for those unaware, the ranks in Paris are climbed by an annual competition, with the top level being premier danseur. Étoile is an awarded title, held for life. A person can whizz through the competitions in three years and remain premier danseur until retirement, there is no guarantee they will be awarded the title of étoile. Regardless of all that trivia-I-love-to-share, Mr Parish is a pleasure to watch and seems like a genuinely nice person. Good luck to him, I say.
  18. Sophoife
    Oh I am looking forward to this. Mr Fiennes took ballet lessons to prepare for this film, as he wanted to understand something of what it might be like. He contacted the Royal Ballet who said "Our Bennet Gartside teaches beginner classes" so he ended up taking private lessons in the ROH from the said Mr Gartside. I saw a young Chinese couple at second interval of the Watson Mayerling on 11 May 2017 trying to sell Mr Fiennes their tickets for the third act as they had dinner reservations. He was just having a quiet cig outside and caught my eye, rolling his own (eyes not cigarette!) while rebuffing their attempts. When they finally moved away he grinned and said there was no understanding some people. We had a brief chat about acting in ballet, then I actually had the presence of mind to remember myself and say I would now leave him in peace, for which he thanked me, saying that he wished more people would be so kind! My Brush With Fame. Right up there with literally looking up from the desk at stage door on 28 April 2017 to see Aurélie Dupont, at which I instantly bowed deeply, saying "Madame Dupont!", making her laugh. The dates are engraved on my brain.
  19. Sophoife
    I can see no reason why Miss Osipova should not have negotiated a clause in her contract reserving her right to her choice of partner if available - it's demonstrably the case with Messrs Hallberg and Shklyarov, after all - I mean, it's not as if she joined the company as an unknown, and wasn't one of the reasons she and Vasiliev went freelance in the first place for more artistic freedom?
  20. Sophoife
    I understand that Miss Gittens is learning the role of the Queen of Hearts (she has said as much on public social media - as Naomi M posted while I was writing this!). It is a month (25 Feb) until the opening of the Brisbane season, and it would be unusual for her to remain here that long. However...AusBallet is currently very short of principal women: two retired in December and two are on maternity leave (one is an Alice but won't be back until mid-year, the other a Queen and is off all year), which leaves two, both of whom are Alices. Of the three female senior artists remaining at the end of 2018, two are Alices, the other a Queen. If I remember correctly there is only one other current company dancer who has performed the Queen, i.e. there are just two active who have already performed the role (and there's maybe one I see as suitable who is possibly learning it). My guess is that we may see Miss Gittens in both Brisbane and Melbourne. I do hope so as I'm not going to Brisvegas and I have seen her in the UK and would love to see her in Melbourne!
  21. Sophoife
    Per the Sydney Morning Herald, in the persons of Valerie Lawson and Nick Galvin: https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/dance/graeme-murphy-illness-forces-happy-prince-to-be-postponed-20190122-h1abzn.html
  22. Sophoife
    The Australian Ballet's 2019 season has undergone a revision. It was announced today (on Facebook and Instagram) that due to "unexpected health concerns of choreographer Graeme Murphy" the anticipated The Happy Prince would be postponed into 2020. Céline Gittens, Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal, is guesting with the company in the Wheeldon Alice as the Queen of Hearts; she is currently in Melbourne but no announcement has been made as to whether she is performing in Brisbane or Melbourne. 2019 now looks like this: Brisbane 25 Feb - 2 Mar: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Wheeldon) Melbourne 9-28 Mar: Cinderella (Ratmansky) - replaces The Happy Prince Sydney 5-25 Apr: Verve mixed bill - Constant Variants (Baynes), Aurum (Topp), Filigree and Shadow (Harbour) Sydney 1-18 May: Giselle (Gielgud after everybody else) - replaces The Happy Prince Melbourne 8-22 Jun: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Wheeldon) Melbourne 27 Jun - 6 Jul: Les Ballets de Monte Carlo with Lac (Maillot) while Australian Ballet is in Paris Melbourne 31 Aug - 10 Sep: Sylvia (Welch) Melbourne 17-28 Sep: The Nutcracker (Wright) minus Hans-Peter Adelaide 8-12 Oct: The Nutcracker (Wright) minus Hans-Peter Sydney 8-23 Nov: Sylvia (Welch) Sydney 30 Nov - 18 Dec: The Nutcracker (Wright) minus Hans-Peter
  23. Sophoife
    The reason this Google translate link came up with garbage is simple: it thinks it's being asked to translate from Russian. If you change the link to read "de" instead of "ru" In this part translate.google.com&sl=ru It will translate properly. The hack someone suggested of changing Russian to German in the drop-down didn't work for me on mobile so I examined the url 😀
  24. Sophoife
    @capybara if you message Mark Monahan on twitter he will ensure the article is corrected.
  25. Sophoife
    After having thoroughly enjoyed Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear, I've retained an interest in PNB and enjoyed what I've seen of their work on the internets...
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