Jump to content

bridiem

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,202

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by bridiem

  1. bridiem
    I agree about the music for Strapless, annamk, and it really seemed to have no connection at all with the action that was going on on stage. Big emphatic sounds right from the start - no light and shade as the 'story' develops - no change in tone when a couple is making love - dramatic flourishes where nothing much is happening on stage - etc. Really odd. Made me wonder if Wheeldon had in fact been hampered by the music and might have produced something better with a more sympathetic score. I felt sorry for the dancers trying to respond to such a situation and still present believable characters.
  2. bridiem
    I will kick this off, though in many ways I'd rather not. I enjoyed Vertiginous Thrill - I'd forgotten most of it except the tutu shapes, and it was fun and well danced - lots of turning and jumping. Tarantella: Hayward and Sambe brought the house down. Absolutely brilliant - superb technically, and so full of effortless charm. Strapless looked stylish, but was as problematic as last time round. But it was Symphonic Dances that really depressed me. As a tribute to the wonderful Yanowsky, it could have been thrilling. She was beautiful - how could she not be. But the work itself was, in my view, dire. (And also in black and red, like Strapless! Does no-one think of these things?). Lots of swirling and strutting and running, incredibly old fashioned, tawdry designs. Gosh. I could have wept. But the dancers did their best - James Hay and Reece Clarke stood out particularly. And there were from time to time a few moments of interest, even of beauty. But they were drowned in the awfulness of the rest. I must acknowledge that it got an excellent reception. Maybe it's just me.
  3. bridiem
    Not sure about Thiago Soares! But I wouldn't be surprised. I did actually enjoy 'The 3 Dancers' to start with - but then it just went on and on and on... And yes, I thought the richness of Bruce's vocabulary was very striking compared to the other two works.
  4. bridiem
    Thanks for the great photos, zxDaveM and johnross. I saw this bill last night and found Ghost Dances SO powerful and beautiful. I didn't remember it very well and the extremely low lighting in the 'ghost' sections wasn't helpful (the masks and markings were barely visible); but nevertheless it really packed a punch. Some quite balletic moves, evocative music and excellent dancing, and above all a real theatrical impulse. Christopher Bruce really knew what he was doing! I did wonder if the political aspect would now be evident to anyone who hadn't read the programme or known the context in which the work was created; but if not, I think it still works as a very moving reflection on life, death and shared humanity. I was also thrilled to see Christopher Bruce in the foyer afterwards! (And also Monica Mason - the dance contingent out in force!). I'm afraid I didn't like the other two works, but the dancing was high quality throughout. I do always wonder though why contemporary dancers almost never allow any expression to appear on their faces. I know you don't want grimacing or falsity; but really, they often look as if they're just putting out the rubbish. Their bodies are so expressive but their faces blank. Which is such a shame, because some of them did smile where relevant in Ghost Dances, and at the curtain calls, and it was a revelation.
  5. bridiem
    That's very interesting, ninamargaret. I was actually wondering on the way home last night if Watson was really always more of a contemporary dancer, because his movement is rarely pure classical (and less so as time has gone on, I think). But I concluded that if he had taken that route, he wouldn't have danced Mayerling... So I'm very glad he didn't make that choice.
  6. bridiem
    That is true Geoff - it does seem to be the case that people simply react differently to different people. We're all different after all, and the way we react must be made up of endless complicated elements. And sometimes we ourselves change, and begin to appreciate performers who have previously left us cold (and perhaps vice versa). I suppose we should always aim to be open to new appreciations and feelings, and to acknowledge quality even if it doesn't personally move us or appeal to us. But there will always be differences. Which is all fine and good!
  7. bridiem
    Me too! Such a brilliant evening. All the dancers completely inhabit their roles; Watson and Osipova reach new heights and depths. They move beyond performance - that indefinable moment when what is being created is suddenly no longer theatre but a different form of reality. When that happens, time stops.
  8. bridiem
    The advantage being that I have now read and enjoyed a thread I would otherwise have missed!
  9. bridiem
    Have just watched this and would echo all the comments above. Brilliant dancers and such kind, expert, tactful and enlightening coaches. And a very helpful talk on Ashton by Stephanie Jordan - just the right length to inform without turning it into a full-scale lecture. Really, the depth of knowledge and skill on display was breathtaking. I was especially delighted to see and hear from Lesley Collier, who is still so beautiful and expressive. And to see Alexander Campbell prove that his talents really know no limits!
  10. bridiem
    That's very true, LinMM. I remember myself at that sort of age and cringe. (But then I still make myself cringe now. ) The difference was that the Internet didn't exist then, for which in some ways I am very grateful.
  11. bridiem
    And would she really be getting these freebie tickets to review performances (and a job as a so-called 'senior researcher' when she's clearly quite a recent graduate) if she hadn't deigned to go to university where she did? Clearly, privilege is acceptable when it applies to oneself.
  12. bridiem
    I had no idea patrons' booking was already open, bangorballetboy - my booking date as an ordinary Friend isn't for ages yet (28 June). No, of course patrons couldn't book blind of casting. And I'm very impressed that there are/have been quite a few people who know casting but don't divulge it! But I still don't really understand why the casting shouldn't go on the website for all to see even they/we can't book yet.
  13. bridiem
    I understand why Patrons would get earlier priority booking etc; but I'm not sure I understand why casting information should be made known to them earlier. Also it would surely be pretty risky to do that, since you can embargo information given to press contacts but you surely can't demand the same absolute discretion from Patrons? (And in fact, casting info is available pretty late on nowadays, generally well after the performance schedule has been published.) All a bit confusing if you ask me.
  14. bridiem
    Thanks very much, Ivy Lin - really interesting article, and great to see the curtain calls! I hope you'll post more reviews of US performances.
  15. bridiem
    I'm in!!
  16. bridiem
    That would no doubt spoil her fun - she'd have no-one to attack. (Or perhaps she'd quote them in derogatory fashion too, to show how privileged ballet students are... All grist to the mill etc).
  17. bridiem
    Good that changes have been made, but cowardly and dishonest to do so only after complaints (and presumably without acknowledgement).
  18. bridiem
    I saw the Bonelli/Morera cast last night. I too found it very moving. With this cast, the outcome wasn't inevitable, so it really is a tragedy and a waste. Watson's Rudolf is so damaged and disordered from the start that there really is no hope, and in Osipova he meets his match. With Bonelli, his repressed hurt and confusion only in time bursts out in the release of using and abusing his wife and other women, and so ultimately, himself. He gives up, and turns to the bad. I'm not sure I understood why Morera's Mary fell in with him; in the early scenes she does seem reasonably 'normal' - just a bit infatuated - so the blistering commitment of the later scenes seems to come from nowhere. But once committed, what an amazing performance. Wild and desperate and manipulating Rudolf to new depths of despair and degradation. I thought the rest of the cast was excellent too - Olivia Cowley's Larisch also a tragic figure in her way, and Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani cool, beautiful and troubled as the Empress. James Hay another wonderful Bratfisch and Alexander Campbell thrilling as the lead Hungarian officer. The whole company is in incredible form.
  19. bridiem
    Quite. And whatever she may feel about the ROH audience (as a block, clearly), personal (and ageist) abuse is not an acceptable response. This reviewer clearly goes to the ballet primarily to fight the class war rather than to review the performance.
  20. bridiem
    Parts of this 'review' sound more like the trolling comments that regularly appear under articles, rather than what is supposed to be a serious article itself. Clearly Exeunt doesn't have an editor; or not one worthy of the name.
  21. bridiem
    Yes, the hunting scene is definitely shorter than it was. I'm not actually convinced it was necessary to cut it since the longer build-up to the climax was very effective. I don't remember the song being cut, but I'm glad it was restored - it's beautiful and haunting. But the ballet still runs to 3 hours with two average-length (for the ROH) intervals, so I assume the other cuts couldn't have been that significant - or did it run for much longer than 3 hours originally? (I don't remember that being the case, but it is a long time ago...).
  22. bridiem
    I used to think that there was a fair bit of padding in Mayerling; now, I find every moment adds another detail to the whole and I wouldn't want to lose anything. I suppose the ballet as a whole is a bit like the empire it depicts - a huge, glittering, self-destructive maelstrom.
  23. bridiem
    I don't actually find the costumes 'cartoonishly titillating' - more vivid and maybe even crude, which may well be appropriate in the circumstances. And I'm not sure why the choreography needs to be more subtle. It wasn't a subtle environment - as you later say, it was a 'seedy netherworld'.
  24. bridiem
    It may be a subconscious nod of this type, but I doubt very much that MacMillan was someone who would have this as an explicit motivation.
  25. bridiem
    Brilliant! Worth going to any desert island for.
×
×
  • Create New...