Gloria Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 My friends in London have been raving about this dancer and after seeing her for the first time in "Giselle," I can only add to the raves. Hard to believe that she is only 20. Not only a beautiful dancer, she has the rare gift of being a superb actress as well. She has found a fine partnership with Johan Kobborg. Her next new role is Juliet. The Royal Ballet is in great shape. Link to comment
Twinkle_RBS_gal Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 Hi Gloria, I can only agree with you. She really is a wonderful actress and an Eye Catcher. I cannot wait to see her as Juliet, I think it's something that cannot afford to be missed!!!! At my school, I know that we are all ' bedazzled ' by her!!!! She's definately one to watch!!!! xxxxx Link to comment
sylvia Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would disagree. Watching her and Johan in Giselle was one of the most moving performances I've ever seen, right up in my top 3. Giselle is her role. Likewise Johan is the most amazing actor and I don't think anyone will ever top his Albrecht in my mind. In all the roles I've seen both she and Johan seem to put so much thought and detail into their characterisation and still manage to look natural. I thought their Onegin and Tatiana were by far the most psychologically complex out of the 4 casts I'd seen. Probably the only time Alina hasn't moved me was in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude a few weeks ago but it's a ballet I find so difficult to get into I doubt anyone could save it for me. I'm looking forward to their Romeo and Juliet too - so silly they only get 1. Since everyone else gets a least 2 I bet they're doing the school matinee as well - those lucky kids! Plus they're cast together in Onegin again and Don Q (finally!) which should be fun. I'm enjoying their partnership so much. Link to comment
Twinkle_RBS_gal Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 Sylvia, you've got me curious now!! What are your other top two most moving performances and who danced and why? I'd love to know!!! Link to comment
sylvia Posted April 9, 2002 Share Posted April 9, 2002 Twinkle_RBS_gal, they're quite recent ones. One would be Onegin - the Cooper, Rojo, Cojocaru, Stiefel cast. Just the combination of everything - the fact that it was first night and a new production to boot, the beautiful choreography, the wispy sets and costumes. And the performance of each dancer was so incredibly moving - I don't think anyone can express terrible anguish the way Tamara and Adam can! I actually thought Alina-Johan were even better than Tamara-Adam - as I've said their interpretations were more complex, gave much more food for thought. But I wasn't as impressed by the Olgas and Lenskys in the Alina-Johan cast. I've forgotten which combination they danced with but they swapped them around so much it's hard to keep them straight! I think Nunez danced with both Persson and Stepanek and they were all wonderful interpretations in themselves but Alina and Ethan I enjoyed more. So ultimately I felt the first cast was more complete. Does any of that make sense! The other I think would be Rojo and Acosta in Swan Lake. It was the last one of the 2001 summer season and since Anthony Dowell was about to leave I think everyone had the idea that this production was on its way out as well. I had to queue for hours for returns and had the worst possible seats in the amphitheatre where I had to keep begging the person in front not to lean forward because his head would block the whole stage. But even from these terrible seats Tamara and Carlos were able to project every emotion to the back of the theatre and the whole of the corps were so beautiful to watch. I'd never seen Swan Lake from the amphitheatre before and it's a completely different experience to sitting in the stalls (which I wouldn't recommend at all for SL). I have lots of runners up like my first 'The Dream' (Alina debut!). And that reminds me of the final mixed bill and Dowell's last performance as Artistic Director. That was special too. Did you go for that one Twinkle? I'm trying to think of others. What are your top 3? Link to comment
Twinkle_RBS_gal Posted April 9, 2002 Share Posted April 9, 2002 Hi!! Do you mean the performance that ended Sir Anthony Dowell's era as director?? If you do, then yes, I did see that, infact, the school got to stand in lines on stage, so I must have seen it because I played a tiny part in it! I loved that, as you can imagine, but I might be getting confused with standing on stage for the re-opening of the Opera House, that was amazing too!!!;) I have to agree with your choices, I love these ballets and the dancers are amazing and so beautiful to watch too!!! Even though i know it is not a full length ballet, I cannot leave out " The Concert ", it brings out the dancers characters so well, I think it's great!! If you have any more to share, I'd love to know!!! Link to comment
sylvia Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Twinkle_RBS_gal, yes that final mixed bill is the one I meant. That is so cool, being on stage at such an important evening with all those dancers. Ditto for the opening gala - have you ever tried to see if you are on the video? Were you allowed to watch any of the dancing on stage? The closest experience I've had was being allowed on stage a few hours before Giselle was to be performed, so the Act I sets were all in place and a barre was in the centre. I actually sat on Giselle's bench and looked out into the empty auditorium with all the lights up and given that I never thought I'd ever be let anywhere near the ROH stage much less touch the sets, that was probably one of the highlights of my life. Have to say it was soooo surreal to watch Miyako and Ivan from the amphitheatre later that evening! I missed the Concert last year - ah I'm kicking myself over that now. As for other favourites I'd count my first Coppelia as one, with Jamie Tapper and Johan Kobborg. It's so sweet and funny, and the RB is just wonderful in terms of the quality of it's acting. I adored the mime and I adored the music, and Act II is just magical. I don't care much for the casts for this summer but I'm looking forward to it anyway. And speaking of quality of acting, have you seen the televised Don Q yet? It's not my favourite in the world but I love watching the expressions and reactions of the dancers in the background which are so natural and absolutely hilarious. Alina and Angel were in my mind absolutely the best! They transcended the funny costumes and just glowed and sparkled with youth and energy. This performance is definitely somewhere among my favouites. I honestly wonder if Alina will be able to pull off the same magic with Johan. I'm trying desperately to think of performances I saw more than a year ago! Surprise, the more recent ones are more memorable. What about you? Love to hear more! Link to comment
Twinkle_RBS_gal Posted April 11, 2002 Share Posted April 11, 2002 Hi Sylvia Great to hear from you!!! Yeah, it truly was amazing!!! But even better is being a party guest in The Nutcracker a couple of years ago, that was just so amazing! Yes, we were allowed to watch the dancing, it was fantastic! Wow, your experience must have been really cool! And yes, I have seen Don Q televised, I thought it was breath taking, I am such a big fan of Tamara and Alina and Angel, so that was a really good one for me!! ;) I'll reply soon when I think of some more!! Hope to hear from you soon tori xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:D Link to comment
sylvia Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 Hiya Tori The changes to the Trilogy triple bill reminded me of another favourite - Alina and Johan in the 2nd pdd in The Leaves are Fading. I'm so happy that Leaves has replaced Beyond Bach because a lot of people I know skipped out on Memories due to the reviews and Leaves didn't get it's due credit, being placed after Beyond Bach and all. I thought Alina and Johan were worth the price of the ticket alone, so fast and light, spontaneous and absolutely breathtaking! Alina dances like she's absolutely throwing herself into the steps, the energy she put into her solo, and in the pdd after I loved the very soft and beautiful shapes she and Johan made with their liquid limbs. I saw Tamara and Inaki dance this pdd a few days later and while it was quite lovely it wasn't the same. And I know a lot of people find this ballet too long and a little tedious but I just adore it, all of it! Sylvia Link to comment
Odette Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 I agree Sylvia, I love it too. Alina and Johan took my breath away, if only i could dance like that one day! I didn't want it to end! It was the first Tudor ballet that I had seen I think, have you seen any others? xx Link to comment
NO7 Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 I remember well that Alina was also very moving in A Month in the Country. She made me really believe that she fell hopelessly in love with Massimo Merru. I felt sympathy for her so much that I wanted to grab Merru and ask..how could you possibly turn that girl down, stupid? Back to reality, I particularly adore Alina for her role in the Nutcracker. She's the best Clara I've ever seen. Link to comment
Gloria Posted April 17, 2002 Author Share Posted April 17, 2002 How wonderful it is to have a dancer like this and there is so much promise for the future. I would love to see everything she creates. About "The Nutcracker," it was Ekaterina Maximova's greatest role in ballet (along with Don Quixote). No doubt, among the new generation of dancers, Alina Cojocaru is the best in it. Link to comment
Kevin Ng Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 Originally posted by Gloria No doubt, among the new generation of dancers, Alina Cojocaru is the best in it. Natalia Solgoub, the young Kirov soloist who is the winner of this year's Golden Mask award for best female dancer, was superlative as Masha in The Nutcracker. I still remember her performance in St. Petersburg last month. Link to comment
Gloria Posted April 17, 2002 Author Share Posted April 17, 2002 Thanks, Kevin, thanks for telling me about Natalia Solgoub. I will certainly look forward to seeing her dance. What other Kirov dancers do you like? Link to comment
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