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I had neglected to post my impressions earlier, so here it goes (before I forget!).

Gosh, Rhapsody is a difficult ballet. When Steven McRae appeared on screen it was without his usual chipper demeanor, not, as I soon realized, because he was trying to invest the piece with gravitas, but because he was concentrating that hard. Certainly he tackled all the technical challenges, but I couldn't help but wonder whether anyone dancing this role could emerge from under the shadow of Mikhail Baryshnikov, whose particular dynamic seems so strongly imprinted on the choreography--those low-to-the-ground, punchy, jazzy moves interspersed among the speedy jumps. (I nearly always get the same impressions while watching Opus 19/The Dreamer, too.) When the piece premiered, I imagine Baryshnikov stood out as stylistically different within the cast, whereas here it was Natalia Osipova whose line and demeanor were distinct. But although her performance was a little "Spring Watersy" at times, this difference was really noticeable only toward the end, when she danced alongside the women's ensemble, and it was apparent that she had a lot less side-to-side bend than the other dancers.

Ultimately I came away with ambivalent feelings about the piece. I can't deny that Osipova, McRae and the rest of the cast gave it their all, but I can't say I'm dying to see it again. I'm probably in the minority, but I dislike the music, and for me it's the ballet's biggest liability. And yet what I wouldn't give to have seen Lesley Collier and Baryshnikov dance it.

But The Two Pigeons I found completely enchanting. Lauren Cuthbertson was a charming, quirky, delightfully exasperating heroine, and although I was sorry not to see Laura Morera as her rival, I thought Fumi Kaneko was glamorous and exciting. Between them Vadim Muntagirov was the straight man: less vivid, perhaps, as a character, but his dancing was always beautiful. The work from the corps, many of whom were doing double duty in both ballets, was uniformly excellent. And the pigeons! I am rigorously unsentimental by nature, but at the end I cried.

The best intermission feature was a live interview with Alfreda Thorogood, who described how she and David Wall learned The Two Pigeons. But I won't spoil the story for anyone still planning to attend a screening.

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Any Ashton ballet requires several viewings to really get to grips with the choreography. The structure of Rhapsody is different from other Ashton ballets because it focuses on the male dancer and the ballerina makes her appearance late in the day.For me Rhapsody began to look like an Ashton ballet when Dowell took over the lead male role. I think that was in part because Dowell revealed the flowing quality in the choreography and in part because I "knew" the choreography.

it would be a mistake to think that Baryshnikov stood out because he danced as if he was engaged in mere technical display when he danced the lead role. He may have been disappointed by the role because it was an account of male technique but he did not perform it as an overt display piece. As with all of Ashton's ballets it has to be danced with consummate elegance and ease. If you see the difficulty and the effort there is something wrong with the performance. It is another one of his works in which a man after performing challenging choreography, shrugs and tells the audience "It was nothing".

It has been danced pretty regularly by the company since its premiere and very few of the men who have danced in it have simply been known as technicians. During the current revival we had three casts. The one that I liked best was the Hay and Hayward cast because they were in total control of the choreographer's style, danced the ballet idiomatically and made the choreography flow in a way that McRae and Osipova did not. McRae places too much emphasis on the work's technical challenges and seems to slam each step down in front of you demanding that you admire his efforts. In fact McRae dances it as if it was Nureyev show jumping style choreography.Hay gets on and dances it and keeps it flowing. Osipova is still trying to master the style and the choreography of this work. The female role is scattered with Cecchetti based swift changes of balance and direction.They should look quirky and fun which they do when Hayward dances the ballet with Osipova they look difficult and awkward.

I think my advice would be don't give up on Rhapsody it is a much better ballet than the streamed performance suggests it is. You really need to see another cast more in tune with the choreographer's style and in total command of it. At the first performance Baryshnikov added spice to the pot Osipova has as yet to achieve the same effect.

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Although I only saw Ospiova/McRae at the cinema, my preference stylistically was very much for the Hayward/Hay cast. Francesca Hayward is really very special indeed and her performance was so beautiful it moved me to tears.

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Thank you for your observations, Ashton Fan and JMcN. I mentioned that my biggest difficulty with the ballet is the music, and that is unlikely to change regardless of cast, but the idea of seeing it performed by Collier and Dowell is a haunting one. I can only envy those who had that good fortune. Since the pairing of Hayward and Hay seems to be universally acclaimed, I would be only too happy to give the ballet another whirl with them.

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