13 replies to this topic

[Paquita]

Romeo and Juliet casting is up:
I will be seeing Rodriguez/Antonijevic and Hodgkinson/Reilly. I'm interested to see Reilly as I've read good things about him. I wish I could see Ogden and Cote too; I think this was one of the first ballets they danced together. Yu and Kish is an interesting pair. I've never seen them dance together. They don't seem particularly suited to each other (physically), but you never know... As mentioned in another thread, Karen Kain has been playing around with the company's partnerships with some pleasantly surprising results!

Juliet
  

Sonia Rodriguez (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm, May 7 at 2 pm)
Greta Hodgkinson (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)
Heather Ogden (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)
Xiao Nan Yu (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Romeo


Aleksandar Antonijevic (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm, May 7 at 2 pm)
Jason Reilly (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)
Guillaume Côté (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)
Nehemiah Kish* (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Mercutio


Piotr Stanczyk (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)
Richard Landry (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)
Keiichi Hirano* (May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Benvolio


Keiichi Hirano (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)
Piotr Stanczyk (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)
James Leja* (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Tybalt


Etienne Lavigne (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ Arpil 30 at 2pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)
Christopher Body (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)
Ryan Boorne May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Paris


Christopher Body (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ April 30 at 2pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)
Dong Hyun Seo* (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Lady Capulet


Victoria Bertram (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)
Joanna Ivey (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)
Alejandra Perez-Gomez* (May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)
Stephanie Hutchison* (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 7at 2 pm)

Lord Capulet


Tomas Schramek (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)
Ryan Boorne (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Casting subject to change.

* = Debut


As for the mixed program, casting has not been anounced but some photos of Antonijevic are up on the web Petrouchka I wonder who the other Petrouchkas will be? Cote? Kish? Stanczyk?

[Noreen Arnold]

I will also see the Rodriguez/Antonijevic and Hodgkinson/Reilly pairings - actually I saw the latter combo on Sunday afternoon.   I enjoyed Reilly's performance and Hodgkinson, as expected, was lovely.   Reilly is a good partner and handled Greta well - often, during first performances, there is a tentativeness in the big pas de deux because the lifts are so difficult and it takes a while for a pair to get the timing etc. worked out, but I didn't detect any of that Sunday afternoon.  

I'm looking forward to Rodriguez & Antonijevic this Sunday - one of the reviewers described their opening night performance as "magical".  These two are my current favourites in Romeo and Juliet and I can only hope Kain pairs them together more often in other ballets.

Now that I have a free Saturday because the Bourne Swan Lake has been cancelled (found this out yesterday from the Elgin Theatre) I may go down on Saturday to catch an Ogden/Cote performance.      Looking at the current roster of dancers, two I'd like to see paired in R & J are Tanya Howard and Joshua Grant.  Might work, might not...but it would be an interesting experiment.   Actually I saw them dance Kudelka's "Romeo and Juliet Before Parting" pas de deux at the Stravinsky Festival last year and, even though it was modern dance rather than classical choreography, I liked the way they looked together.

[Paquita]

Mixed Program casting:

Petrouchka
Ballerina STACEY SHIORI MINAGAWA (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)
SONIA RODRIGUEZ (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)
JILLIAN VANSTONE (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm)

Petrouchka ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)
GUILLAUME CÔTÉ (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)
PIOTR STANCZYK (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm)

Moor RYAN BOORNE (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)
JOSHUA GRANT (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)

Charlatan HAZAROS SURMEYAN (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)
TOMAS SCHRAMEK (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm)

Chief Nursemaid JENNIFER FOURNIER (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm)
XIAO NAN YU (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)
JULIE HAY (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

Chief Coachman KEVIN BOWLES (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

A Delicate Battle

May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm

STACEY SHIORI MINAGAWA, TANYA HOWARD, LISA ROBINSON, TANYA EVIDENTE, KEIICHI HIRANO, DONG HYUN SEO, DALLAS BLAGG

ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with ETIENNE LAVIGNE
STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with RYAN BOORNE
JE-AN SALAS with CHRISTOPHER BODY

May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm

JE-AN SALAS, JULIE HAY, JORDANA DAUMEC, JENNA SAVELLA, RICHARD LANDRY, NAN WANG, BRETT VAN SICKLE
KRISTA DOWSON with KEVIN BOWLES
TANYA HOWARD with JOSEPH WELBES
LAURA BOLTON with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

There, below

May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH
ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with JOSEPH WELBES
STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY
SONIA RODRIGUEZ with PIOTR STANCZYK
JULIE HAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY
LISA ROBINSON with JOSHUA GRANT
SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY
REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE
XIAO NAN YU with RYAN BOORNE

May 11 at 7:30 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH
LISE-MAIRE JOURDAIN with JOSEPH WELBES
STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY
REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE
XIAO NAN YU and RYAN BOORNE

May 13 at 2 pm

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY
LISE -MARIE JOURDAIN with JOSEPH WELBES
SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY
REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE
XIAO NAN YU with RYAN BOORNE

May 14 at 2 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH
ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with JOSEPH WELBES
SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY
SONIA RODRIGUEZ with PIOTR STANCZYK
JULIE HAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

Grand Pas Classique

May 10 at 7:30 pm/May 11 at 7:30 pm/May 13 at 7:30 pm
GRETA HODGKINSON with GUILLAUME CÔTÉ

May 11 at 2 pm/May 12 at 7:30 pm
HEATHER OGDEN with NEHEMIAH KISH

C.V.

May 13 at 2:00 pm/May 14 at 2:00 pm
JENNIFER FOURNIER, TANYA HOWARD, STEPHANIE HUTCHISON, CHRISTOPHER BODY

I'll be there on wednesday night. It's nice to see they've added "Grand Pas" to fill out the evening. I'm sure both Hodgkinson and Cote will be great in it. It will be interesting to see Antonijevic, such a refined classical dancer in physique, portray the awkward, pigeon-toed clown.

[sparklesocks]

Loved Reilly's performance with Greta.  He was so "in character" all the time.  Wonderful.  How about the NBoC steals him away from Stuttgart so I can see him dance with Greta again sometime soon...

[sparklesocks]

Noreen Arnold, on May 2 2006, 07:32 AM, said:

Looking at the current roster of dancers, two I'd like to see paired in R & J are Tanya Howard and Joshua Grant.  Might work, might not...but it would be an interesting experiment.   Actually I saw them dance Kudelka's "Romeo and Juliet Before Parting" pas de deux at the Stravinsky Festival last year and, even though it was modern dance rather than classical choreography, I liked the way they looked together.

Not sure I see Joshu grant as a great potential "Romeo."  Hmmm, somehow he doesn't have the leading man quality to me.  He seems more like the flamboyant side kick.

[Helene]

sparklesocks, on May 7 2006, 04:22 PM, said:

Not sure I see Joshu grant as a great potential "Romeo."  Hmmm, somehow he doesn't have the leading man quality to me.  He seems more like the flamboyant side kick.

That would be appropriate for the beginning of the role.  Perhaps he'd make a surprising transition to romantic lead.  Very often, the leading man types are not very convincing in the opening scenes.

[Noreen Arnold]

I was obviously having a “seniors” moment when I posted last week - it was the Prokofiev Festival,  not Stravinski,  and Grant danced with Ogden,  not Howard!   Some people should not be allowed to wonder down memory lanes alone.....

However, I still see Grant as a possible Romeo and I still would like to see Howard as Juliet.    There’s something about Grant that gives the impression (to me anyway) of a romantic hero waiting to get out.  My opinion only - but I’m sticking to it.    I remember years (decades) ago discussing James Kudelka with a teacher from the National Ballet School and voicing the opinion that he should dance more with Veronica Tennant and they should do R & J together.   My opinion was based solely on his Paris to her Juliet performances but  I was intrigued at  how similar their response to music was and also the intense focus and sense of drama both had on stage.   Also, he was also a very good partner.  My observation was pooh-poohed at the time - but at one of the Gala’s (remember when we actually had them?) they danced a short pas de deux together and this lady sought me out during the intermission to say she could now see exactly what I was talking about.  

With so many additional performances in the Opera House we can only hope to see a number of new dancers debut in the big roles.    Sleeping Beauty is the first one up - let’s hope Kain is daring in her casting!

[sparklesocks]

Tanya Howard is quite beautiful - she deserves to be promoted I think.

[sparklesocks]

Did I mentioned that I thought Jason Rielly (Reilly?) was fantastic?  Fabulous dancer, but I especially like the naturalness of his acting.  (Is naturalness even a word??)

[Noreen Arnold]

Well, so much for my hopes for Joshua Grant.   According to the lastest update Grant, Nathaniel Kozlow, Daisuke Ohno, Erin Richardson and Kanako Sakamoto are all leaving the National Ballet to "pursue other interests" - oh well!

[vrsfanatic]

Where did you find this "update". My interest has to do with keeping up with a former student. Thank you!  

[Helene]

There was a press release from the Company reported today on this post by gracey, which appears in a thread called 06/07 Roster to discuss the many roster changes for next season.

[ADMIN NOTE:  It's important to note sources for official news, so that we don't have to remove uncited news from the board.]

[Leigh Witchel]

Well, the "other interests" mystery may be solved.  I saw Grant tonight as both Katerina Bychkova and Ashley Romanoff-Titwillow with the Trocks!

My Lord, but that boy is tall.

[rg]

grant appeared in his 'ashley' guises twice on the program opening the current LBTdMC.
first as the prince in SWAN LAKE  and then as the baron in GAITE P.
he made his mark in both, impressively.
he's also eyecatching in the program's high-kicking, full-company NEW YORK/NEW YORK program-finale, as one of the statues of liberty who snake and wheel through the specially arranged, high-spirited curtain-call number.