Royal Ballet Ashton mixed bills, June 2024

[Emeralds]

7 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

Not enough for me. 

I agree! Putting one of the Ashton mixed bills next season would have been nice, considering that it's supposed to be a 5 year celebration. My proposal would have been to do Les Rendezvous with The Dream and the Short Works this season and then Les Rendezvous,  The Dream and Rhapsody next season since we already had Rhapsody in 2022. 

 

8 hours ago, OnePigeon said:

For me, it highlighted a slight problem with the mix of senior male dancers at the moment.  It is a principal role that requires more than being able to do amazing jumps - it also needs a huge amount of charisma and great partnering skills.  With Sambe pulling out and Corrales and McRae recovering from serious injury, it leaves a bravura shaped hole in the RB’s senior ranks that they’re plugging with dancers who, from reviews I’ve read, don’t sound like they are quite ready for such a prominent role (though I haven’t seen any of the more junior dancers tackle the role yet so may be speaking out of turn). I’m not sure if Ball could have done it?  He’s not a dancer I see very often, so I’m not sure, but I would have thought Muntagirov would have been great.  I kept wondering what a dancer like Potskhishvili could have brought to the role and it got me thinking that rather than promoting any males to principal this season, I think they could do with bringing in a young firecracker dancer.  I know this is an unpopular opinion round here, but a bit of new blood with some different strengths would be interesting.

They seem to be preferring to cast the same type of dancer to do both Rhapsody and Oberon nowadays (eg McRae, Sambe) - but in fact Rhapsody never used to be only for the shorter bravura dancers: Antony Dowson has danced it (he is not as tall as Clarke or Hirano, but he was tall enough to be Rudolf to his wife Fiona Chadwick as his Mary Vetsera, and she is medium to tall height). Oberon was also made for a tall rather than compact dancer - Anthony Dowell. Matthew Golding has danced Oberon with great success and he was tall enough to partner Zenaida Yanowsky (as Nikiya) in La Bayadere. Vadim Muntagirov, who has never been cast in Rhapsody yet (can't fathom why), would be ideal for it. The bravura bits for the man in Rhapsody are actually relatively slow- the fast steps go to the woman. Matthew Ball would potentially be an excellent Oberon. 

[bridiem]

8 hours ago, Emeralds said:

I agree! Putting one of the Ashton mixed bills next season would have been nice, considering that it's supposed to be a 5 year celebration. My proposal would have been to do Les Rendezvous with The Dream and the Short Works this season and then Les Rendezvous,  The Dream and Rhapsody next season since we already had Rhapsody in 2022. 

 

I think that every RB season should include at least one full-length Ashton plus at least 3 one-act Ashtons, however they're combined with each other or with other choreographers' works. For what is announced as an Ashton celebration, there should be more than this in each of the 5 years. And I don't think the one-acts need to always be The Dream, Rhapsody or Les Rendezvous (much as I love all of them). We should also regularly be seeing at least Symphonic Variations, Enigma Variations, Scènes de Ballet, Monotones, Facade, Les Patineurs, Birthday Offering, Daphnis and Chloe, La Valse and Sinfonietta (and I've probably forgotten others). Maybe even Marguerite and Armand occasionally! (Not one of my favourites but can still be effective.) The RB should have Ashton at its heart, always, and be performing his works, always. 

[Geoff]

4 minutes ago, bridiem said:

I think that every RB season should include at least one full-length Ashton plus at least 3 one-act Ashtons, however they're combined with each other or with other choreographers' works. For what is announced as an Ashton celebration, there should be more than this in each of the 5 years. And I don't think the one-acts need to always be The Dream, Rhapsody or Les Rendezvous (much as I love all of them). We should also regularly be seeing at least Symphonic Variations, Enigma Variations, Scènes de Ballet, Monotones, Facade, Les Patineurs, Birthday Offering, Daphnis and Chloe, La Valse and Sinfonietta (and I've probably forgotten others). Maybe even Marguerite and Armand occasionally! (Not one of my favourites but can still be effective.) The RB should have Ashton at its heart, always, and be performing his works, always. 

…One might be minded to agree but the Royal Ballet has now shown itself capable of promoting an entire season without any Petipa or indeed any 19th century work at all. So how likely is an annual commitment to the, clears throat, “Founding Choreographer”?

[bridiem]

3 minutes ago, Geoff said:

…One might be minded to agree but the Royal Ballet has now shown itself capable of promoting an entire season without any Petipa or indeed any 19th century work at all. So how likely is an annual commitment to the, clears throat, “Founding Choreographer”?

 

I would have said vanishingly unlikely, but the last few weeks of Ashton at the ROH have been very enthusiastically received and reviewed so I hope that will be taken on board by KOH et al. Too late for 2024-5, but I seriously think a review of the RB's direction should happen by 2025-6.

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, Geoff said:

…One might be minded to agree but the Royal Ballet has now shown itself capable of promoting an entire season without any Petipa or indeed any 19th century work at all. So how likely is an annual commitment to the, clears throat, “Founding Choreographer”?

 

I think you mean “Founder Choreographer”.

[jmhopton]

Well, I had a wonderful Saturday seeing the Les Rendezvous triple bill twice. Le R is rapidly becoming a real favourite and I can't understand why it's not been performed for so long. Marianela was wonderful; so Ashton in her upper back movements and beautiful port de bras. I could watch it all day and every day and my only complaint is why wasn't it filmed for cinema or stream so everyone can appreciate the genius that is Frederick Ashton. I can't understand the lack of streaming especially as I thought this sort of programme is what the streaming service is for as it may not be popular enough for a dvd. There hopefully shouldn't be any rights issues as the Dream and Rhapsody have both been filmed before, no problem so that only leaves Les R. Surely any problems could have been sorted and it would publicise the beautiful new sets and costumes which I love. OK the costumes are rather formal for a dance in the park but I think they've all been to a formal ball earlier in the evening which has then spilled over into a late evening dance in the park. The backdrop is misty which could signify morning or evening; if morning, perhaps it's been a long night dancing and no one is ready to go home yet! Hopefully the new costumes mean a swift return, hopefully in the 25/26 season with another couple of Ashton shorts; Symphonic variations/Enigma variations/Month in the Country springs to mind, or even 2 Pigeons, though with the Sarasota offerings still fresh, Sinfonietta or Dante Sonata would be wonderful.

 

The Dream is always a Dream. Possibly my favourite short ballet and, for me, the most perfect short ballet of all times. Everything comes together; sets, costumes, music, choreography and wonderful dancing. Seeing Hayward/Sambe in the matinee and Muntagirov/Naghdi in the evening was wonderful. I take back what I said previously about Yasmime and Vadim. In this Dream they were a dream partnership and though I'd love to see him dance it with Fumi at some point, on Saturday he was wonderful with Yasmine and I felt privileged to be there. Vadim had settled more into his role and was imperious as Oberon and you wouldn't think it was Yasmine's debut, brought forward ,and not with the partner she'd been rehearsing with. Like Les R I could have watched it all again. Disappointing there isn't a triple next Christmas; either all or part Ashton to offset all the Cinderellas. Given it is an Ashton celebration period, Cinderella doesn't seem very much when there are so many short ballets to enjoy. Still, it seems churlish to grumble about next season when we have had such an Ashton feast this season. Well done Kevin for organising the RB and Sarasota celebrations and getting the celebrations off to a wonderful start.

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I think that every RB season should include at least one full-length Ashton plus at least 3 one-act Ashtons, however they're combined with each other or with other choreographers' works. For what is announced as an Ashton celebration, there should be more than this in each of the 5 years. 

I agree! Great list, @bridiem. Ashton is to RB what Balanchine is to New York City Ballet and Neumeier is to Hamburg Ballet. I can't imagine a season where NYCB only dances one Balanchine work and no more, or Hamburg Ballet only puts on one Neumeier creation and that's it- yikes!  Yet 2024-25 will be a season where Christopher Wheeldon's works (1 full length and 1 mixed bill with 4 Wheeldon pieces) will vastly outnumber Ashton's and even Crystal Pite gets more stage programming (1 full length and 1 one-act piece)  I like Pite and Wheeldon's work, but why is RB becoming the Christopher Wheeldon Dance Company for the 2024-25 season? Ashton only gets 1 full length ballet and nil else. 

 

Sinfonietta was a lovely discovery for me during Sarasota Ballet's visit (rediscovery for those who saw the RBS performance or older productions)  Although it is technically demanding and unforgiving in some passages, it is stunning when danced well, and RB, like Sarasota Ballet, has the  dancers to pull it off. 

 

Reading a few quotes from the souvenir programmes, RB should get Valses Nobles et Sentimentales in the repertoire too, before it gets lost for another 35 years again, since Kevin O'Hare danced in it while at SWRB/BRB and there are coaches around who have worked with Ashton on the ballet. Not on the same mixed bill as La Valse as the Ravel scores for both are similar and have a theme that is the same (Ravel liked it so much from VNeS, he used it again for LV). Such a beautiful, charming ballet. 

 

Daphnis and Chloe or The Two Pigeons with a short one act piece could count as a full length rotating with Cinderella, Fille or Sylvia every year. (It's high time Sylvia and Ondine came back!) Ondine can be a tough sell at the box office but with the right Ondine and Palemon, plus a powerful Bertha (a principal ballerina or principal character artist), it will work, and should be revived for the celebration. As you say, those works should be performed with a mixed bill of Ashton short ballets (or three to four Ashton works distributed among  mixed bills that include other choreographers' works). A full length plus a mixed bill (or two!), not "either/or" as it has become in recent years.  A revival of Birthday Offering is also overdue - unthinkable to have an Ashton Celebration without Birthday Offering! Glorious music, costumes and sets to go with Ashton's choreography. 

 

I don't know why the leadership or management seem to give the impression that they think Ashton is not popular or doesn't sell- the recent box office online evidence shows that Wheeldon and McGregor works struggle far more than Ashton works do (I say this as someone who watches both Wheeldon and McGregor, including the recent box office strugglers like the Untitled 2023 mixed bill, DGV mixed bill, Dante Project, Winter's Tale, etc.) In contrast, Fille is a top seller at ROH like Manon, the 2022 Ashton triple bull with A Month in the Country sold out after opening night, as did the most recent run of Sylvia in 2017. 

 

The fact that Sarasota Ballet sold out and even the returns and the re-returns sold out, with several people in the audience telling me they still couldn't get tickets for one or more of the programmes they wanted to see (and they weren't family or friends of the dancers). Some may have attended specifically to see Sarasota Ballet rather than Ashton but far more came for the Ashton  or for both. It was quite funny how many people I spoke to commented that they, like me, had attended or were about to attend all three of SB's programmes of Ashton works, even though they were all in the short space of 6 days and some of us had to endure rail engineering works at the weekend to make it for all three. Some had come from overseas specially to see the Ashton ballets. I think that speaks volumes about how more Ashton ballets need to be staged at ROH every year. 

Edited June 17 by Emeralds

[Geoff]

4 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

I think you mean “Founder Choreographer”.

Well, the company currently uses both Founder and Founding, seemingly interchangeably. See for example here:

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/cinderella-details

 

However they will no doubt be grateful for you putting them right. 

[JNC]

I agree with more Ashton and also more truly mixed bills (ie not necessarily all Ashton). The more I think about it thr more I’m of the opinion in order to introduce Ashton to more people (and a new generation) it needs to be on a mixed bill with contemporary choreographers and or other neoclassical ones (eg Balanchine, Forsythe, Pite, yes even McGregor…). Otherwise I fear you are only appealing to Ashton fans and not spreading his work. I know that isn’t popular with some as people will be skipping out or sitting though some works they might not like but I think it’s a healthy mix and compromise.

 

@Emeralds I agree with much of what you say but I don’t think the short works bill has sold well at all. Still large chunks of tickets available for the performances this weekend. Easy to see why when it’s near identical to the Les Rendevous bill (far more appealing). I don’t think Sarasota really counts as numbers-wise the Linbury is tiny compared to main stage, I actually think McGregor sells reasonably well from what I’ve seen, Wheeldon maybe less so but I don’t think Ashton is guaranteed to see more than them (it depends on the works shown I think). I don’t have evidence one way or another though, just a sense so could be totally wrong.

 

I do think the short works was a bit of an error this time and they could have done them another time. (Admit I’m perhaps biased as I didn’t particularly love any of them!) I also think Rhapsody could have been swapped with something seem less recently (especially because the “best” RB dancers appear to be injured and unable to dance it!) - lots of good suggestions from @bridiem with Birthday Offering being obvious (but not to RBO) and Monotones, and of course Symphonic Variations.
 

I would have programmed The Dream/Symphonic Variations/Les Rendevous this time, and then either a totally different mixed bill and or for spring/summer 2025 some short works/monotones with Wheeldon and or McGregor. 

[jmhopton]

Wonderful suggestions, JNC and I completely agree, and about the mixed bill as well which didn't do much for me, either. In fact I returned my tickets for the 22nd (even though its my birthday and was my birthday treat to me). Instead for this year (like the monarch!) I'm having 2 birthdays; my real one on the 22nd and my unofficial one on the 19th when I've bought a ticket for the Les Rendezvous triple. I know which birthday I'll be enjoying the most!!!

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, JNC said:

I would have programmed The Dream/Symphonic Variations/Les Rendevous this time, and then either a totally different mixed bill and or for spring/summer 2025 some short works/monotones with Wheeldon and or McGregor. 

 

Now that would be some triple bill; I would fight to get multiple tickets for that.  Perhaps, though, The Dream should be the middle ballet, with SV to start?  So that you have two plotless ballets either side of a dramatic one?  Being picky, I know, and frankly I would be overjoyed to see them in any order.  Also being slightly picky, this time around personally I felt that Les Rendezvous and Rhapsody were a bit too similar. with their fast, lively pace.  Maybe the cool calmness of SV or Monotones, together with the drama of The Dream and the liveliness of Les Rendezvous would have been a perfect contrast for me.  

 

What I find so annoying is that the dancers really seem to have been dancing Ashton so well this time around.  I have been disappointed on past occasions when watching the non dramatic Ashton ballets.  The dancers were dancing the steps, but often I felt the style wasn't quite right.  This time I felt the speed and twinkling footwork was just much better.  Now we have a year with a lot of modern stuff and I am worried the dancers will forget how to perform Ashton again.  

[JNC]

@Fonty I wasn’t thinking about order but yes I would go for SV/The Dream/Les Rendezvous as the “right” order! 
 

 I have a hunch that we may get symphonic variations in the 25/26 season given it’s the Royal Ballet’s 100th birthday (well not under that name but as a company) and surely SV is a key work of the repertoire and establishing the royal ballet style? I would like to see more Ashton other than a mixed bill of Ashton only works for 25/26 so hopefully O’Hare mixes it up a bit! (I’m still a bit shocked we have no Petipa or romantic ballet - Giselle/La Slyphide/Coppelia, all post ww2 except Balanchine…I feel we’re almost owed a exclusively pre war, or pre 1970 season, to make up for it!) 

 

Another alternative is mixing up Ashton with Les Noces and or a new Rite of Spring (Crystal Pite or I know some people will hate this but Tanowitz would be intriguing commissions for me). But I fear I’m going too off topic, the point is there are many greats in the repertoire that it would be interesting to see in a “compare and contrast” truly mixed bill, rather than siloing by choreographer. 

[Emeralds]

Definitely celebrate 2 birthdays whenever you can, @jmhopton! (Paddington Bear also does the same, like the monarchs do. 🐻 🤴 ). Happy Birthday to you in advance! 

 

@JNC, Symphonic Variations with The Dream and Les Rendezvous is a good idea for a triple bill!  (Because SV was last staged in 2017 - so a bigger gap than 2022 for Rhapsody, and provides a nice contrast and balance to the other two ballets). I'd definitely want to watch that. 

 

@Fonty, you're right - they are indeed dancing the Ashton ballets very well this time. Ooh dear- could this mean that we need to have oversaturarion (and thus lots of unsold tickets) to produce top quality??? Sobering thing to ponder.

 

Apart from the exhaustion of travelling up and down so many times last week to see all 5 Ashton programmes by RB and Sarasota Ballet, I did enjoy all the ballets though.

 

Considering going back for a repeat of [bucking the trend!] the Short Works bill.  🙂 (Am guessing those pdd and solos  are unlikely to be staged again soon, and that Les Rendezvous is more likely to be reprised. ) 

Edited June 17 by Emeralds

[FionaM]

23 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

Oh, I'd love to see him in this role.  I wish the RB would invite guests such as him.

I don’t think Potskhishvili is right for Rhapsody.  He has disappointing feet and poor control of his technique.  He is exciting to watch with enormous jumps and bravura performance.   He may yet improve in those other areas, he is only 23.  
 

Rhapsody requires neatness and precision as well as virtuosity and panache , which is why so few can pull it off.  When Cesar did it in the previous run, he was surprisingly messy.  
 

Matthew Ball does not have the virtuosity to do this role.  

Edited June 17 by FionaM

[MAB]

I always confuse Pite and Pita.  The latter is witty and original, the former makes me lose the will to live.

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, FionaM said:

Rhapsody requires neatness and precision as well as virtuosity and panache , which is why so few can pull it off.  When Cesar did it in the previous run, he was surprisingly messy.  
Matthew Ball does not have the virtuosity to do this role. 

Agreed, but I’d be interested to see what Cesar could do next time round. And what Matthew Ball might make of Oberon. 

[Scheherezade]

19 minutes ago, MAB said:

The latter is witty and original, the former makes me lose the will to live.

I so agree with this. 

[Fonty]

16 hours ago, Emeralds said:

@Fonty, you're right - they are indeed dancing the Ashton ballets very well this time. Ooh dear- could this mean that we need to have oversaturarion (and thus lots of unsold tickets) to produce top quality??? Sobering thing to ponder.

 

 

 

I just think they need to dance something by Ashton every season.  That surely couldn't be seen as over saturation, could it?  He had a unique style, and so many wonderful dancers seem to really struggle with it.  Preferably not endless repeats of M & A or A Month in the Country (fond as I am of the latter), and please NOT the Tales of Beatrix Potter.  

 

I am sad that the bill with the short works is doing so poorly, but to be brutally frank none of those appealed to me.  Not at the current seat prices anyway.  Maybe if they gave a 50% reduction I might be tempted.  

 

What the Ashton short season of triples has brought home to me is the old, old complaint -  the desperate need for a new resident classical ballet choreographer.  One who truly understands classical ballet and can be allowed to build and create new works.   Look at the 3 different ballets we have just seen.  Only one had a story, which we probably all know anyway, but the others didn't need 5 pages of notes about the source, inspiration, intention behind the works.  You could just relax and enjoy them.  And they were so happy.   It seems to me that every new work, in order to be seen as "meaningful", has to be full of angst, a sense of impending doom.  Can modern choreographers not do happy anymore? 

Edited June 18 by Fonty

[art_enthusiast]

14 hours ago, FionaM said:

Rhapsody requires neatness and precision as well as virtuosity and panache , which is why so few can pull it off.  When Cesar did it in the previous run, he was surprisingly messy.  
 

Matthew Ball does not have the virtuosity to do this role.  

 

I did like Cesar's 2022 performance, but Sambe knocked it out of the park for me when I saw him then (as he usually does in most things!) I would be interested in seeing what Calvin Richardson/or Joseph Sissens would make of the role - I assume they were both too busy with Oberon/Siegfried respectively to have a go this time.

 

I'm sure anyone seeing Joonhyuk Jun is in for a real treat - I unfortunately am not!

[Dawnstar]

I see Acri is replacing Ikarashi in tonight's performance.

 

[LinMM]

Oh that’s a shame I was looking forward to Ikarashi as saw Acri last week and didn’t think it was the best role for him. Still will be interesting to see how he performs tonight. 
Is Hay still injured? Would like to see him in this and he has danced it before. 

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

I just think they need to dance something by Ashton every season.  That surely couldn't be seen as over saturation, could it?  He had a unique style, and so many wonderful dancers seem to really struggle with it.  Preferably not endless repeats of M & A or A Month in the Country (fond as I am of the latter), and please NOT the Tales of Beatrix Potter.  

 

I am sad that the bill with the short works is doing so poorly, but to be brutally frank none of those appealed to me.  Not at the current seat prices anyway.  Maybe if they gave a 50% reduction I might be tempted.  

I agree- not Tales of Beatrix Potter (as cute as the film was)! Oh, by "oversaturation" I meant this season's 2 Ashton mixed bills so close to each other: 10 performances of Ashton by RB in the space of just 17 days  is oversaturation. One programme of Ashton every season is much too little. Two or three (including full lengths) would be just right. 

 

There has obviously been a lot of intense rehearsal of the 4 ballets and one solo alongside Swan Lake in the run up to the first week of June (it also helps that the other ballet they are performing in alternation with the Ashtons is Swan Lake, so the technique required for that is complementary and beneficial to the Ashton works and vice versa.)

 

Unfortunately, I think the sales of the Short Works bill were not helped by the publicity photo (as wonderful as Romany Pajdak is in all her roles) of Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan. People click on the page, see a barefoot dancer, and think, hmm, not going to see that. Had it been a photo of The Dream or Rhapsody there would be more sales.

 

I'm not sure why artistic directors like FBWITMOID so much - to me it's a very niche museum piece which works only on a unique dancer like its originator Lynn Seymour. Every time I've seen it, I've found it myself wondering why it's been programmed, regardless of who danced it - even Rojo or Osipova. There are many more appealing Ashton works being forgotten that would serve the programme better. If they needed something short, Meditation from Thais pas de deux (it's been 11 years since that has been danced at ROH), Voices of Spring, or the "shadow dance" solo from Ondine would more enjoyable. 

 

I spoke to a number of audience members who had travelled from abroad or from the north to catch Sarasota Ballet and the RB Short Works programme the night before Sarasota Ballet, and most commented that FBWITMOID was the piece they liked the least, while all of them loved The Dream and enjoyed Rhapsody. 

 

Fonty, the happy classical choreographers you are thinking of do exist- Alexei Ratmansky and Tiler Peck! (Although Ratmansky does everything from happy to tragic to satire so one might have to specify "please make us a happy ballet"!) Would love to see Tiler Peck get a commission from RB. Would be nice to see a ballet from Benjamin Ella for RB too (his one act ballet for Northern Ballet was  happy and definitely classical). 

 

22 hours ago, JNC said:

 I actually think McGregor sells reasonably well from what I’ve seen, Wheeldon maybe less so but I don’t think Ashton is guaranteed to see more than them (it depends on the works shown I think). I don’t have evidence one way or another though, just a sense so could be totally wrong.

The McGregor and Wheeldon works that have sold well without discounting were premiere seasons so a lot of tickets go to critics and amateur critics writing on blogs/websites/student papers etc-  they're occupied by people who have to be there to cover it. Regulars will go at least once to see the new programme/new work to see what it's like but might not return for the second or subsequent runs.

 

Woolf Works has never been performed here without Alessandra Ferri- and her participation alone sells tickets (she, like Carlos Acosta, can sell out theatres without people even knowing what she is dancing) and generates interest for the performances with alternate casts. I do feel WW is good enough to stand on its own should Ferri not be available, as long as they don't keep raising the prices (last year's run starting edging towards being too overpriced to sell). 

 

This season both Wheeldon and McGregor works have been discounted (either to Young ROH or all the public) in order to sell over 300 or more unsold tickets.  Also, both choreographers' works are usually staged as a "monopoly" in that for most of the time (apart from first night) they were on, there wasn't another ballet competing with it so while it looks like they are more marketable, it's often because there's nothing else to see in London - including from ENB or BRB. This time, the Ashton Short Works bill has Sarasota Ballet, RB's Swan Lake and ENB's Swan Lake, and their own Les Rendezvous triple bill in competition with it- there are just not enough tourists, regulars, fans who watch multiple performances, Londoners and not enough days of the week to attend every ballet without cloning very very few people have the time as well as money and inclination to go to a ballet every night.

 

I think the Short Works would have done better being programmed next season or in combination with Les Rendezvous this season (I would have cut out Rhapsody this June and staged it in autumn or next spring, and I also would have substituted FBWITMOID with the Meditation from Thais pas de deux or Ondine instead). 

 

I say all this not as someone anti Wheeldon or anti McGregor- on the contrary I'm one of the few members who likes most of their work (obviously not all their works), and am possibly one of a tiny minority here who actually admitted to seeing and enjoying the DGV mixed bill, the Untitled mixed bill as well as seeing more than one cast of Winter's Tale. And I'm still asking for a revival of McGregor's Yugen! 

 

However, having counted the over 500 seats per show left for Friday and Saturday, and the 200 odd seats still unsold for tonight, I think it wouid be wisest for the ROH box office team to offer and publicise a discount for the general public (not just for Young ROH or on TodayTix) as soon as possible, because most of the unsold tickets are in the high price points. That's a lot of funds they are losing if they don't sell, at least at 40%;or 50% off. It will be a shame to have to give away tickets or have large empty sections like the Cellist/Anemoi double bill this season.

 

There are lots of fantastic casts for the remaining performances of The Dream, and Hamlet & Ophelia (with Bracewell or Corrales as Hamlet) really is worth seeing in person at least once. 

Edited June 18 by Emeralds

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

I see Acri is replacing Ikarashi in tonight's performance.

 

Oh no! Am I destined to see no-one but Acri? I was looking forward to someone different tonight. 

[Dawnstar]

1 minute ago, Scheherezade said:

Oh no! Am I destined to see no-one but Acri? I was looking forward to someone different tonight. 

 

I'm feeling rather the same. I saw Acri last Monday, skipped Rhapsody on Saturday evening because it was the same cast as Monday, and now it's Acri again! I do like Acri but having tried to arrange my bookings to see the maximum number of casts in each piece it's not exactly working out.

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Is Hay still injured? Would like to see him in this and he has danced it before. 

Unfortunately, yes. He announced his injury before the Ashton ballets began and said he wouldn't be in any of the remaining 2023-2024 season ballets. I had been hoping to see him too.

Edited June 18 by Emeralds

[Scheherezade]

6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm feeling rather the same. I saw Acri last Monday, skipped Rhapsody on Saturday evening because it was the same cast as Monday, and now it's Acri again! I do like Acri but having tried to arrange my bookings to see the maximum number of casts in each piece it's not exactly working out.

Exactly the same re attempting the maximum variety in castings, Dawnstar. And thwarted at every turn!

[FionaM]

Sooooo disappointed as I especially wanted to see Daichi in this role.  Sigh. 

[Fonty]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

I agree- not Tales of Beatrix Potter (as cute as the film was)! Oh, by "oversaturation" I meant this season's 2 Ashton mixed bills so close to each other: 10 performances of Ashton by RB in the space of just 17 days  is oversaturation. One programme of Ashton every season is much too little. Two or three (including full lengths) would be just right. 

 

 

Oh, ok, I see what you mean now by oversaturation.  I agree wholeheartedly with you on that point, especially as many people without children take summer breaks in June before the school holidays start.  Like me....

 

Are we using the same definition of season?  I am referring to the four seasons i.e. Winter, Spring etc.  Fond as I am of him, I cannot see how 2 or 3 different Ashton programmes could be fitted in each season.  Got to leave room for a bit of MacMillan, Petipa, Balanchine, Cranko.  Have I missed anyone out?  Plus a bit of modern stuff I suppose to appease the ACE.  

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

Oh, ok, I see what you mean now by oversaturation.  I agree wholeheartedly with you on that point, especially as many people without children take summer breaks in June before the school holidays start.  Like me....

 

Are we using the same definition of season?  I am referring to the four seasons i.e. Winter, Spring etc.  Fond as I am of him, I cannot see how 2 or 3 different Ashton programmes could be fitted in each season.  Got to leave room for a bit of MacMillan, Petipa, Balanchine, Cranko.  Have I missed anyone out?  Plus a bit of modern stuff I suppose to appease the ACE.  

Ah, I hope I haven't confused you even more, Fonty- by season I mean the theatre season conventionally used by ballet companies in the northern hemisphere, so the current  season we're in began in autumn 2023 and ends in late summer 2024 (ie September 2023 - August 2024, even though most British dance companies are on "holidays" and not performing in August. They might still be working in their studios eg morning class, choreography etc or private projects, even if not dancing on the ROH stages.

 

The reason why the performing year (theatre season) doesn't start on 1 January is that on 1 Jan they will be already be halfway through a run of their Christmas ballet eg Nutcracker, so the ballet company year always starts in autumn and we call it a "season" to distinguish it from a calendar year.

 

Hence, confusingly, a theatre season is actually three and a half or four meteorological seasons! (At ROH I guess they use them for booking periods eg autumn booking period, winter booking period etc.) 

 

And just to confuse you further, southern hemisphere dance companies eg Australian, NZ companies etc, start around February because that's when their autumn starts or is about to start, and they end around November or December of the same year, when their summer starts.

 

2 or 3 Ashton programmes every 12 months would mean 1 full length Ashton ballet and 1 all-Ashton mixed bill, or 1 full length and 2 mixed bills with Ashton and other choreographers, but I full length and 1 mixed bill with only 1 Ashton ballet in the mixed bill doesn't count- that would be insufficient.

 

There's room in this  system to have 1 MacMillan full length and 1-2 MacMillan mixed bills every season as well. I'm alsi quite happy to have 3 Ashton mixed bills with different works and no full length ballet if that means a variety of 8-9 good one act ballets will get revived and performed. (Not three triple bills with the middle and last ballet repeated in every performance!) I noticed from the Sarasota Ballet programme that they actually have The Dream, Rhapsody and Les Rendezvous in their repertoire already,  so funnily enough, they could also stage the same triple bill as RB if they wished.

 

Speaking of Rhapsody, Hope Muir, AD of National Ballet of Canada, announced recently that NBC will be participating in the Ashton Worldwide celebration by acquiring Rhapsody for the 2024-25 season and performing it.. 

[alison]

6 hours ago, Fonty said:

I am sad that the bill with the short works is doing so poorly, but to be brutally frank none of those appealed to me.  Not at the current seat prices anyway.  Maybe if they gave a 50% reduction I might be tempted. 

 

Fonty, did you actually look at the prices for this bill?  They're far cheaper than most of this year's full-evening productions.  That said, perhaps if someone had actually tried marketing the programme ...

 

5 hours ago, Emeralds said:

However, having counted the over 500 seats per show left for Friday and Saturday, and the 200 odd seats still unsold for tonight, I think it wouid be wisest for the ROH box office team to offer and publicise a discount for the general public (not just for Young ROH or on TodayTix) as soon as possible, because most of the unsold tickets are in the high price points. That's a lot of funds they are losing if they don't sell, at least at 40%;or 50% off. It will be a shame to have to give away tickets or have large empty sections like the Cellist/Anemoi double bill this season.

 

It would also help if, 45 minutes before the performance, you could go online and NOT be told that the performance is sold out, when I bet it's anything but.  This is getting ridiculous - what do they expect last-minute bookers to do?

[DelphiumBlue]

Yes, I am watching the row in the amphitheatre that still was still marked as unsold a couple of days ago! 

[Fonty]

@Emeralds  I did wonder if you and I were talking at cross purposes!  Understand perfectly now, thanks.  And I think we are both saying the same thing.  

 

@alison  Yes, I have looked at the prices, because I was wondering if I could be tempted to buy another ticket.  I am still musing thoughtfully over it, as I have been to quite a few theatres over the past month and am counting the pennies.  

[Dawnstar]

I wonder if there were other cast changes in Rhapsody today besides Acri subbing for Ikarashi. I find it hard to believe that Isabel Lubach & Casper Lench was an originally intended pairing!