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Royal Ballet Giselle


Drew

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This seems to be a good month for Giselle -- reports on ABT performances in D.C. are glowing, and I have just finished reading reviews of the Royal Ballet's Giselle posted as Links...The accounts of Wildor, Rojo, and Cojocaru are all very positive -- of Rojo and Cojocaru actually something more than just positive! Have any Ballet Alert posters seen their performances. I would be very interested in hearing about them...

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I was at Cojocaru's Giselle last night - an extraordinary performance for a 19 year-old, even if descriptions like 'sublime' and 'great' seem to me rather premature. She is so young and looks so fragile that she'd be a fairly touching Giselle even is she didn't do anything! - but much of her dancing is really very beautiful. There were lots of things that she'll obviously improve on over the years, but also things that already hold the seed of real greatness - for instance I was very impressed by how little she did in the mad scene, unlike many new Giselles who put far too much into it. She was fortunate in very strong partnering from Johan Kobborg, though he's maybe a touch too old for her as Albrecht.

I just wish Anthony Dowell had announced her promotion from the stage - it would have made an unforgettable evening even more exciting, and also we might all have learned how to pronounce her name properly!

I'm going to see Rojo on Monday, and Wildor in another couple of weeks, and will try to post something then.

[ 04-18-2001: Message edited by: Jane Simpson ]

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Thanks. I understand why critics and fans get carried away when they see a wonderful young dancer, but I often wonder if the superlatives aren't a bit "premature." But, my goodness, I wish I had been at the performance! I'm looking forward, too, to hearing about the others...

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Yes, thank you, Jane for posting that. The Royal seems to have several young, extremely promising women at the moment -- lucky you :)

I agree with both Jane and Drew -- it's a shame superlatives are tossed around so carelessly. It raises expectations and must put a horrendous pressure on the young recipient (after the glow wears off). It often means that, next year, we'll be reading "whatever happened to," when a very able and promising young dancer should be developing slowly.

(I have to say, Jane, that I had a jolt at reading that Kobborg was "too old" for her. I'm sure you're right, but I keep thinking of him as the teenager who was so charming in "Kermesse" in 1992. I think, too, that he, unfortunately, looks a bit older than he is on stage.)

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I saw Sarah Wilder's Giselle early this month and was utterly moved by her mad scene. Wilder created a touching and lyrical Giselle, while Cojocaru portrayed the role as a hapless little girl who suffered badly from a distress caused by her first true love. Both Wilder and Cojocaru made different (of course!), yet excellent Giselles, IMO. As for Albrecht, I prefered Jonathan Cope to Kobborg who was a little bit off-coloured last Saturday.

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