Tony Newcombe Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 There are another 12 performances in June 25. Maybe casting of these will have some more familiar names Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 (edited) Very excited to see Viola Pantuso and Marcelino Sambé. But the other casts look very interesting as well, and of course Hayward-Bracewell is a must see. Now impatiently waiting for the other roles, which are also important in Alice, chiefly the Queen - who usually steals the show Edited May 18 by Paco 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MildConcern Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 (edited) I love the casting. Alice should look and feel very young - I’m glad they are looking to younger dancers. I hope this trend continues. When you think that Hayward, Hamilton and Naghdi first danced a 3 act lead role as Juliet as lowly first artists (or very new soloists, I can’t quite remember). Or that Kaneko as a first artist was cast as Kitri. I’ve felt that casting “every principal no matter what” trend has been a bit stale lately, especially when some are so eminently unsuited to certain roles. While Sasaki and Calvert are getting runs out in SL, they are on the more senior end of the company. I miss the excitement of seeing the young talent coming through. I sense it with Pantuso, who just draws your eye whenever she is onstage. I hope we can discover other “gems”. One thing I will say is that Hinkis strikes me as badly cast as Alice. She doesn’t have the young wide-eyed charm of the other Alices. I think she is a very solid dancer but doesn’t quite have the star quality to carry a story and I don’t quite understand the opportunities she has been getting. Edited May 18 by MildConcern 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 43 minutes ago, Paco said: Very excited to see Viola Pantuso and Marcelino Sambé. But the other casts look very interesting as well, and of course Hayward-Bracewell is a must see. Now impatiently waiting for the other roles, which are also important in Alice, chiefly the Queen - who usually steals the show Will we be getting the casting for the Queen and the White Rabbit in advance? Despite some interesting casting I am still not tempted to see this again, but if we were to get a couple of fab Queens then I might go along to one or two. Not surprised that Viola is getting cast (she seems to be a hot favourite at the moment), but Ella is a real surprise, and a very happy one. Brava to her. I wonder whether Viola will get a go at Juliet next season. I can imagine her being very good in the role. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MildConcern Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 42 minutes ago, MildConcern said: When you think that Hayward, Hamilton and Naghdi first danced a 3 act lead role as Juliet as lowly first artists (or very new soloists, I can’t quite remember). Correcting myself now I’ve had my morning coffee! Young first artists Hayward and Hamilton got their breaks as Manon in the same run. Naghdi got hers as Juliet a year or so later. But my point stands! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I would expect casting for White Rabbit, but I'm not sure about anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargaretN7 Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 13 hours ago, art_enthusiast said: I thought the white rabbit was quite a small role? Does he get a solo? Probably the next most important role after Alice (and Jack?), with pas de deux with Alice and big solo. Not saying more as I think you should see it to find out more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 13 hours ago, art_enthusiast said: I thought the white rabbit was quite a small role? Does he get a solo? the White Rabbit/Lewis Carroll is a major role … created by Ed Watson the 5 key roles for me in this production that I’d like to know casting for are : Alice Knave of Hearts / Jack White Rabbit / Lewis Carroll Red Queen / Mother Mad Hatter plenty of other soloist opportunities … caterpillar, fish, frog 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 2 hours ago, Sim said: I wonder whether Viola will get a go at Juliet next season. I can imagine her being very good in the role. I’m sure she would be, but I hope a few first soloists/soloists get a chance at the role as well - Isabella Gasparini, Mariko Sasaki, potentially Sae Maeda, etc. I was curious to know - assuming Wheeldon gets the final say for Alice and the Winter’s Tale casting as he is the choreographer of these ballets? Or is it a mixture of him and others at the RB? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I'm still waiting for Yasmine Naghdi to be cast as Alice! Surprised not to see her name here. Will be keen to see Hayward and Bracewell paired together in this ballet. Curious to see who the Queens of Hearts/Mothers will be. Looks like my box office credit will cover my Alice booking for autumn. Surprised that Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Vadim Muntagirov aren't in this block of performances- the usual practice is to put the high profile principals in the early performances and the newer artists/first artists in the later/summer performances. The Mother/Queen of Hearts casting used to be announced along with Alice & Jack in advance as well, when it included well known stars like Yanowsky, Morera, Rojo, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 43 minutes ago, Emeralds said: I'm still waiting for Yasmine Naghdi to be cast as Alice! Surprised not to see her name here. Don't forget there is a second tranche of performances at the end of the season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 (edited) 1 hour ago, Sim said: Don't forget there is a second tranche of performances at the end of the season. Yes, I mentioned that in the second paragraph, Sim 😉. Unfortunately I can't do most/possibly all the June dates this season. My own schedule notwithstanding, it's very risky casting for the company at this time (when they've publicly announced their financial deficit). It's more prudent to have seasoned principals like Naghdi and O'Sullivan to open the season alongside Hayward and Takada so that it creates some momentum for the company and box office, and takes pressure off younger colleagues like Pantuso and Newton Severigni. It is brave and confident casting to give the young corps artists 3 and 4 performances respectively (and none are school matinees, which are usually a gentler way to debut), but also potentially very exposing and risks injuries. The role isn't "crazy technical", to use a description of Naghdi's, but it's all the other aspects (stamina, props and stage directions, pacing etc) of carrying a 3 act ballet that can be challenging. Edited May 18 by Emeralds 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 1 hour ago, Emeralds said: ISurprised that Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Vadim Muntagirov aren't in this block of performances I'm assuming that Anna Rose and Yasmine will be occupied with MaddAddam (which I think is happening around a similar time)? As they tend to feature in McGregor works (I know Vadim does not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 (edited) 18 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: I'm assuming that Anna Rose and Yasmine will be occupied with MaddAddam (which I think is happening around a similar time)? As they tend to feature in McGregor works (I know Vadim does not) Hopefully they will be. It varies- they're not always in the first run of the McGregor pieces. Naghdi has actually been outstanding in all the McGregor ballets I've seen her dance in- in one performance she actually carried the whole ballet (it isn't as easy to perform McGregor works as one would imagine) as the usual dancers whose forte is in McGregor (eg Watson, Lamb, Hamilton, Cuthbertson, Choe, Hirano, Bonelli and Richardson) were inexplicably not cast in the ballet that season. I do enjoy seeing new artists or soloists being given opportunities with one or two performances, but three or four does beg the question of where all the other ballerinas (aside from Takada and Hayward) have gone, as well as Muntagirov, who has danced Jack/Knave of Hearts successfully for several seasons. Edited May 18 by Emeralds 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I could imagine all of Cuthbertson, Lamb, Magri, Naghdi, Nuñez and Osipova having a joyous time as Queen of Hearts… 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 (edited) No matter how much we would like to believe that our favourites will “keep on dancing”, in the wider context of ‘life moving on’, the RB must necessarily have to give some consideration to continuity planning and succession. Career development, retirement, maternity leave or evolution of seasoned dancers to character roles along with injury are all things that cannot be ignored. As it was in 2011, Alice is an ideal ballet to highlight the rising talent within the company and start getting new names ‘out there’ alongside today’s principals. Edited May 18 by San Perregrino 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 25 minutes ago, Emeralds said: My own schedule notwithstanding, it's very risky casting for the company at this time (when they've publicly announced their financial deficit). It's more prudent to have seasoned principals like Naghdi and O'Sullivan to open the season alongside Hayward and Takada so that it creates some momentum for the company and box office, and takes pressure off younger colleagues like Pantuso and Newton Severigni. I hope the the company will generate some publicity about 'exciting new young ballerinas' etc, and from what I remember of the work it's the spectacle that counts anyway. And Alice is meant to be a young girl, so casting talented young dancers seems like a good idea to me. As @MildConcern has said, this is refreshing casting. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 3 hours ago, FionaM said: plenty of other soloist opportunities … caterpillar, fish, frog Interesting, didn't know there was a fish! So hopefully there will be some exciting debuts in other soloist roles. It seems as if there's more of a range of roles for male dancers as opposed to female though (feel free to correct me as I haven't seen the ballet in full) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 3 minutes ago, bridiem said: I hope the the company will generate some publicity about 'exciting new young ballerinas' etc, and from what I remember of the work it's the spectacle that counts anyway. And Alice is meant to be a young girl, so casting talented young dancers seems like a good idea to me. As @MildConcern has said, this is refreshing casting. Yes indeed, and I hope they might be able to fit in some other debuts in June. (Would really like to see Marianna Tsembenhoi in the role as well) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 5 hours ago, MildConcern said: One thing I will say is that Hinkis strikes me as badly cast as Alice. She doesn’t have the young wide-eyed charm of the other Alices. I think she is a very solid dancer but doesn’t quite have the star quality to carry a story and I don’t quite understand the opportunities she has been getting. I have to disagree there, I think she will be very good. It's surprising that she hasn't done the role before given how long she has been with the company. I always think she brings a great energy and "oomph" to everything she does. For example, after all the Swan Lakes I saw last season, I often get a bit bored during the Sisters/Benno parts, but she holds my attention every time. She definitely had star quality in her performance as Kitri with Luca Acri last year. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missfrankiecat Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 11 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: I have to disagree there, I think she will be very good. It's surprising that she hasn't done the role before given how long she has been with the company. I always think she brings a great energy and "oomph" to everything she does. For example, after all the Swan Lakes I saw last season, I often get a bit bored during the Sisters/Benno parts, but she holds my attention every time. She definitely had star quality in her performance as Kitri with Luca Acri last year. She was great as Mistress in Manon on the night I saw her too; I thought the best of all those casts I saw, including a principal. Plus I believe she was a late stand-in (possibly for Choe?) that night. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Without comparing dancers in any way other than seniority, isn't it unusual that a Senior Soloist (Meaghan Grace Hinkis) has three performances with her debut in the Schools’ Matinee, while an Artist (Ella Newton Severgnini) has four performances. Fwiw, I'm glad to see Meaghan get this role and think she'll be great. On the male side, I can think of several younger dancers who'd be a fantastic Jack. But less surprises in the casts announced so far. Even though I'm puzzled why there are so so many Alice shows on the calendar, it would make sense if it gives lots of dancers new opportunities. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 1 hour ago, Candleque said: there are so so many Alice shows on the calendar, it would make sense if it gives lots of dancers new opportunities. this 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 After the earlier concerns, I credit the RBO for providing this casting pretty early! Whilst not thrilled for the choice of Alice to open the season, I expect I will book for Akane ...! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I wonder what level 5 hours ago, Candleque said: Artist (Ella Newton Severgnini) has four performances She may be above artist level by the Autumn.....and the same for Pantuso... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 15 hours ago, bridiem said: I hope the the company will generate some publicity about 'exciting new young ballerinas' etc, and from what I remember of the work it's the spectacle that counts anyway. And Alice is meant to be a young girl, so casting talented young dancers seems like a good idea to me. As @MildConcern has said, this is refreshing casting. I was hoping that Isabella Gasparini, Madison Bailey and/or Ashley Dean, who have extensive experience of carrying a full ballet (as Clara in Nutcracker, and for Gasparini- all the performances of Danses Concertantes also, while for Bailey- the lead in Cunning Little Vixen as well) would be among the dancers cast as Alice alongside O'Sullivan and Naghdi, both of whom can portray adolescents well (it's basically an Olga/Clara/Vera type part) like Hayward, Takada and Hinkis can. I would have cast Pantuso and Newton Severigni in one or two matinées (including a schools matinee) with the principals taking the glare of the first matinee and first evening performances and the weekend shows. It's very unusual (apart from the first run when there were fewer performances) to have so few leads for such a long run. Even Darcey Bussell debuting in Prince of the Pagodas and Swan Lake in her late teens had had more experience dancing solo roles prior to taking on a full length lead. It will be a baptism of fire; the Artists have my support (if only in spirit as I don't have the time to attend eight performances which will also be at much higher prices this season). Hopefully everything will turn out well. It will be interesting to see the casting for Queen of Hearts/Mother although having seen this initial casting, I have a feeling that it may not show the creative deployment of principal ballerinas that many are hoping for. 19 hours ago, art_enthusiast said: I was curious to know - assuming Wheeldon gets the final say for Alice and the Winter’s Tale casting as he is the choreographer of these ballets? Or is it a mixture of him and others at the RB? Wheeldon and his stagers (eg Jacquelin Barrett, Jason Fowler) usually have approval of the casting, and as he was around for the West End premiere of his new musical as well as The Winter's Tale, I'd expect it would have been easy enough for him to see the company to approve new casts. The dancers who have done their roles before (Hayward, Takada, Ball) would probably have been suggested by RB senior staff. We mentioned Maddaddam earlier- while I don't know the casting for that yet, as Takada has been in the first cast of virtually every ballet McGregor has made at RB (apart from the works created before she joined) and Hayward and Ball have been In the first cast of his recent narrative ballets, so even though they're starring in Alice, I'd be very surprised not to see them all in Maddaddam as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletfanatic Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 58 minutes ago, Emeralds said: I was hoping that Isabella Gasparini, Madison Bailey and/or Ashley Dean, who have extensive experience of carrying a full ballet (as Clara in Nutcracker, and for Gasparini- all the performances of Danses Concertantes also, while for Bailey- the lead in Cunning Little Vixen as well) would be among the dancers cast as Alice alongside O'Sullivan and Naghdi, both of whom can portray adolescents well (it's basically an Olga/Clara/Vera type part) like Hayward, Takada and Hinkis can. I would have cast Pantuso and Newton Severigni in one or two matinées (including a schools matinee) with the principals taking the glare of the first matinee and first evening performances and the weekend shows. It's very unusual (apart from the first run when there were fewer performances) to have so few leads for such a long run. Even Darcey Bussell debuting in Prince of the Pagodas and Swan Lake in her late teens had had more experience dancing solo roles prior to taking on a full length lead. It will be a baptism of fire; the Artists have my support (if only in spirit as I don't have the time to attend eight performances which will also be at much higher prices this season). Hopefully everything will turn out well. It will be interesting to see the casting for Queen of Hearts/Mother although having seen this initial casting, I have a feeling that it may not show the creative deployment of principal ballerinas that many are hoping for. Wheeldon and his stagers (eg Jacquelin Barrett, Jason Fowler) usually have approval of the casting, and as he was around for the West End premiere of his new musical as well as The Winter's Tale, I'd expect it would have been easy enough for him to see the company to approve new casts. The dancers who have done their roles before (Hayward, Takada, Ball) would probably have been suggested by RB senior staff. We mentioned Maddaddam earlier- while I don't know the casting for that yet, as Takada has been in the first cast of virtually every ballet McGregor has made at RB (apart from the works created before she joined) and Hayward and Ball have been In the first cast of his recent narrative ballets, so even though they're starring in Alice, I'd be very surprised not to see them all in Maddaddam as well. Viola Pantuso also danced Clara I think as well as Perdita now although that's mainly one act. I was hoping for Naghdi or Gasparini as Alice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 @art_enthusiast the frog and the fish https://images.app.goo.gl/WVq8yFrwk6VfCDoS8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Do dancers themselves like to do EVERY single role though? Especially when more senior. Obviously there are more performances in the summer to come so not all portrayers of Alice are known as yet. But it may be a role that doesn’t appeal to all dancers…given a choice of course! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Bayerisches Staatsballet in Munich have Wheeldon’s Cinderella and Alice in their repertoire. In March this year, their highly talented first soloists António Casalinho (20) and Margarita Fernandes (18) debuted in the lead roles of Alice with two shows. I wonder if this young casting is giving ideas and/or pressure to other ADs to give earlier opportunities. Previously Margarita had played one of Alice’s sisters (minor role), and Antonio had alternated the The White Rabbit and The Mad Hatter roles (he learnt to tap from scratch) Margarita’s post tells something of the challenges for their debuts … https://www.instagram.com/p/C4d3b67IDUa/?igsh=MW5iMHZ4ZzJlbWR0Zg== 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 16 minutes ago, LinMM said: Do dancers themselves like to do EVERY single role though? Especially when more senior. Obviously there are more performances in the summer to come so not all portrayers of Alice are known as yet. But it may be a role that doesn’t appeal to all dancers…given a choice of course! Perhaps other principals will be fully occupied with MaddAddam and the mixed bill? I don’t know anything about the roles in that work. I must look up the production from National Ballet of Canada where it premiered. I assume rehearsals for Cinderella will also have to be programmed alongside … and then Onegin and R&J. I’d love to learn more about the process. For instance stage door chat with debut leads informs me that they start rehearsals 6 months in advance. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) 18 hours ago, bridiem said: I hope the the company will generate some publicity about 'exciting new young ballerinas' etc, When I look at Winter's tale empty seats, I agree and think this has become very urgent: all performances with Nunez are/ were full or almost full, whereas to fill the other performances the RB has to push disounted prices... There is obviously an urgent need to make the other Principals and new generation more famous ... Edited May 19 by Paco 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 29 minutes ago, Paco said: When I look at Winter's tale empty seats, I agree and think this has become very urgent: all performances with Nunez are/ were full or almost full, whereas to fill the other performances the RB has to push disounted prices... There is obviously an urgent need to make the other Principals and new generation more famous ... This is very true of the principals and younger dancers. I have friends in the midlands who come to see the RB from time to time and they will always book for Nunez because hers is the name that is familiar to them. They were totally bemused to learn that I had chosen to see Kaneko with Muntagirov. As regards ticket sales for Winter's Tale, it is surely significant that, despite poor sales at all levels, there are swathes of unsold seats in the massively overpriced seats in the middle and rear of the amphitheatre 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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