Mary

i just realised that quite a few people are waiting for my response. sorry about that first i would like to excuse for my mistake with names Galina Stepanenko and Nadejda Gracheva. actually i just did a copy/paste from the royal theaters homepage, so shame on them... any way i believe there should be a constant developpement in dance, it can be in perfecting the technique, telling the story better, playing with the music etc etc what happened at the gala in black swan was that i did not believe for one second she was a swan or he a prince in love. i know it is a gala, but one must think that the dancers would be invited because they are great interpretators of their roles. black swan in swan lake is a pd3 including rothbart, but naturally he is not present at galas. but then normally the prince does his place in the opening so the poor girl is not on her own. i feelhere there has been some progress even the russians should embrace. it looked slightly odd that he was just princing away while she was working as horse to get in the air. one other thing was her costume, maybe it shouldnt matter, but yet i think it does. if you walk on stage with an almost meterlong feather sticking out of your head it is hard not to look comic. and even if he is a prince does he have to wear more diamonds than the girl? and the fact that there was not a natural developpement between the pdd, variations and the coda ( codas since even that was cut into pieces ) where nothing happened at all, which ment that us in the audience were staring at an empty stage. also i felt that they just danced to the music they were not 100% on the music, the raffinement and nuances in the changes of character in her were completely lost, she gave the same value to everything: big big big. spassiba bolchoi :-) as to the dancing itself it was not bad at all, he jumped really high and she got around as many times as she could, but it was all very rough. as i said before not for one second did i believe what was going on on stage. but who am i to say all this, they are probably doing their best...

Getting a ticket to the gala proved to be a difficult thing, different sites said none was available others that there were. And when i finally sat in the audience, almost half the parterre was empty... I learned that a big sponsor, who had many free tickets, pulled out at a very late stage which is why there was such a big confusion since the theatre suddenly had tickets to something that was sold out... Anyway I had a wonderful evening. The absolute high's were Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg in Voices of spring and Leanne Benjamin and Julio Bocca in Manon I am becomming more and more a fan of Ashton and Macmillan, I feel that a good technique combined with their excellent sense of fluidity and humble brilliance in the pdd's is getting more and more exciting to watch. The low's were Andrew Bowman in Corsaire and the Swedish contribution danced by Marie Lindquist, Anders Nordstrøm og Pascal Jansson. The dancers are not bad at all, but they seemed nervous and were not together several times. I saw the general where it was a lot more smooth. but the piece itself was one long preparation for pirouettes wheras the theme was an actual dinner between Jenny Lind, Bournonville and HC Andersen. An interesting subject but unfortunately we got no wiser at the and of the piece. Andrew Bowman has a beautiful physique, but has only that to offer. I am aware that he was called in on a short notice and that he most have been terrified to stand next to Paloma Herrera. But she is a strong dancer and he should be able to partner her with much more ease. As for his variation i have a hard time understanding why he aims too high in the tricks when the fact is he doesnt have the jump to make them impressive. I wonder who coaches him... As much as i am a fan of Nikolaj Hübbe i absolutely did not like the Duo Concertante. It is such an uneven and akward pdd. Silja Schandorff looked stunning as usual, but again with some real coaching she could shine even brighter. Even though i don't like the piece there is more to be found in the choreography than she managed. But bless them both, they are wonderful. Marie Agnés Gillot and Jose Martinez in the pdd from Diamonds were perfect, so perfect that I almost wanted to see them do something completely different. Mats Ek's Carmen maybe? Ripples danced by Zhu Yan and Sun Jie, was the most poetic moment of the whole evening. Nadeja Gracheva and Andrei Ouvarov danced black swan pdd. The only comment i have is: was i dreaming or were we back in the 40ies. I had no clue people stil dances like that. They were both really good and strong, but on the whole it was sooo outdated Lloyd Riggins found himself onstage with the most stunning creature Lucia Lacarra, she really impressed with her sense of style and frailty. Lloyd on the otherside has put on some weight since i saw him last, which made it sort of unlikely that she would ever fall in love with him. And dont give me the Neumeier analysis that its because it's true love... *S* From Vienna with love, Franziska Hollinek and Mihail Sosnovschi. She was formerly in RDB and he is presently one of the most beautiful men to have danced on Gamle Scene, a pity the piece didn't show them off better. During Napoli 3rd act, which was really, really danced well i kept on thinking that its a real shame that the danish mr B only created one ballet that is worthy to show at the end of an evening, because by now i think we all know the steps... Most interesting thing was to see Kobborg, Hübbe, Bocca, Martinez, Sosnovschi and Gillot all dressed in Napoli costumes fooling around at the tables. But an evening like this does put you on a high, and maybe i was seen dancing Napoli on my way home...

Jorgen, maybe my use of words are not correct, but i have rarely been so excited as when i saw Alina Cojocaru in swan lake, she is faboulous in onegin, despite her age. but the gift of dance she shows in swan lake and don q is stunning. i dont want to sound as if there is no real ballet in RDB, of course there is, i would just love for everybody to see Alina Cojocaru, i cant wait for the sylphide in london next year!

these are wonderful news, congratulations to all!!!

i want to see all the ballets in the new operahouse... as for sacre, "there can be only one" ;-) and for me its bejart's, but there is not enough men in rdb to do it, unfortunately. but again it would be wonderful to see everything in the new operahouse, one should never be afraid of changes. and should the rdb dance bournonville in paris, london, moscow, new york or the new operahouse, bournonville stays bournonville and we as an audience are seated much better!

the POB has been saved twice in recent history, first by Serge Lifar and later by Nureyev. other than that it has the propably best school in the world and has produced a series of ballarinas and dancers the world has not been able to match in many ways. what is interesting about the POB NYCB and RB is that their schools are true to their styles. Which cannot be said about the RDB. well that is altogether another discussion. But as ever mr andersens choices are interestingly dull, it seems the dancers and their audience have bigger ambitions than their director. shouldnt it be the other way round?

i dont have much to say about the new kermesse, just that i was about to fall a sleep. maria lund was good

i have always thought old stage beautiful and filled with charm, but fact is we almost all sit quite badly. so with the years passing by i have become a great dreamer of a new opera/ballet house. The new house is there now, but the opera won the battle big time and only a few ballets will be presented there. So...my big question about old stage is: since the house is never full, why not tear out the seats and put in fewer and better seats?

i think she looks lovely on stage, but i also feel she has a lot to learn. at her age its not enough to be talented. Talent is a rare gift, and should be used as a whip to push yourself further, the right make-up or hair do wont do the job

Can anyone tell me how the festival will be? I cant be asked to go....

I think too that Zenaida found a real prince in Kenneth, and it would be wonderful for a danish audience to see what magic can happen between 2 dancers. i also think it is about time Johan Kobborg brought Alina Cojocaru to RDB to show what ballet is really about. So perfect that you just sit and watch the story with amazement. As much as i love the royal danish ballet, it is light years away from being able to present etoiles like Alina Cojocaru, Zenaida Yanowsky, Tamara Rojo just to name a few from the Royal ballet.

the lady in red is Silja Schandorff, stunning as ever. as for the calender what is there to say... i go with the saying less is more, and as for the purity of Bournonvilles ballets it has all been drowned in overinterpretation in the photos. only good thing to say is at least there is a calendar and the hope that next year its better. i would like to see nice photos of the dancers showing them as dancers, like many companies around the world. with this calendar i want every month to last 10 seconds at least like that it would be over fast :-) i might be very wrong in my opinion, too old fashioned but i think its important that everything a company like the royal danish ballet produces should be of a top level of quality. but after all its just a calendar, its not going to change the world :-)

one to look out for is Kristoffer Sakurai, soloist of the Royal Danish ballet!!! :-)

I am not at all against the idea of Hübbe in the post as director. the only thing i want to say is as always: if the right one was around he or she would already be in the seat. And when it comes to kermessen lets not even start... we can only hope that the new production they are planning will turn dissaster to succes :-)

I too saw the the presentation at Kastellet, i love the surroundings, the whole idea of outdoor ballet, I think we can discuss forever weather or not it is a good idea, but the fact that all theese people show up proves that people have no problem with either the surrounding nor the idea. but i do still believe improvement could be done, the sound department is still not up to standard with the dancing and the orchestras performance. And personally i would love for the stage and sets to be completely in white instead of this black plastic building which tend to look like a big garbagebin. Not that the dancing is to be called trash! I think the dancers looked very fresh and already in rather good shape. Fest Polonaise is a wonderful piece and is much too neglected in the royal danish rep, as is Lander's other ballets. Things to be said about the dancing was that instruction left the dancers much too light, thinking that it is after all a polonaise one would expect more heaviness in certain movements. Bojesen is a wonderful dancer with streamlined movements but for this piece one misses a bit the glamour and brilliance to bring it to a higher level. Thomas Lund is equally a very nice dancer with a very nice ballon in his jumps but has over a certain time build up some bad manners which takes away the pure joy of just watching great male dancing. It is evident he is trying to put on a more mature act, but maturity should not be acted. And i wish he would use other shoes, he has always had nice feet but they are not in their right with his choice of shoes. After this there was one of the pas de deux from Anna Karenina, i am not a big fan of this ballet but both Lindström and Blangstrup looked every bit their characters as they looked stunning. Napoli was "sung" by a singer from the opera, nice singing but i just wanted dance. Luckily on stage was Bojesen together with Kristoffer Sakurai. I have to add him on my list of the most beautiful dancers i have ever seen. His dancing is developping extremely well and his understanding of the roles he is dancing is very natural. Just a pity that we didn't get to see more of him and his dancing. The 2 peices by Lousie Midjord did unfortunately not impress me, i feel she has difficulty with the transition from the workshop environment to the stage. I like her vocabulary but she needs to be more daring. The rest of the programme remained as usual presentation of the companys rep for this season. There IS a lot of Bournonville this season and I feel the dancers look ready for the challenge. The important thing now is for the direction to assemble all this power within the company in top quality productions with top quality instructors and I think this is the real challenge for the Royal Danish Ballet. all for now

yes it's a pity she is not coming But i think lindstrøm looks wonderful inthe part, sp i am looking forward seeing her again

i am agreeing with you as well, there are so many aspects to this discussion and i find it difficult where to begin and where to end, what matter should have biggest priority. so at the end we come with different arguments but with the same understanding of the problem and thus a dialouge is born, i love it

i dont think you will find any other company with more financial support from the gouvernment. i am not sure that there is a "danger" for the dancers in the company, there are so many good dancers there who are pure and true to the style, danish dancers think a lot of what they are doing so a lot of homework is done in the work on a role. sometimes we can be very critical here saying i dont like him i dont like her, but in most cases it is not the dancers fault because dancers do not cast themselves, dancers cannot chose who to work with or what costumes to wear. they are just pawns in this game, we have to look further behind the stage curtains to find the real problems. Talent wil always emmerge, it is what is being done with this talent which is important. i wish they had better guidance. there is a crucial lack of proffesionalism in the administration. to be honest i am not sure there is not one left in the administration who could get their same position elsewhere. to bring Volkova into this would be good, but there is hardly no one left who is using her technique so it would be pointless. unfortunatly

i dont think that a bournonville festival is something the dancers is looking very much forward to. the festival is the directions way of presenting the company to the world, and there is nothing wrong with that at all, they need to do that. lets say you are an up and coming dancer, and this whole year you will have to wait to get on with your already very short career, how would that make you feel? dancers need to be nourished at all times to grow, it doesnt happen sitting at a table during Kermessen or Livjægerne. and to finish the picture there are very few inspirering people around who can do the job of changing everything around for the good. yes there are a few, as usual the names are Hübbe, Jeppesen, Englund. in this same breath i think that Gad might be able to bring something to the scene as an instructor, she is a very clever girl. i think that Hübbe and her together might achieve better than what is going on these days. Then again, it doesnt take a lot. This is to Mel, nice to meet you. I agree with most of what you say, but i cannot bring it to myself to compare companies, i dont understand what kind of thinking it takes to bring it this far. all the big and famous companies have their individual forces. And yes bournonville did create a style interesting enough for the future. but in my view dance has evolved immensely since and so has the bournonvillestyle. when you see old footage from earliar eras one is hardly able to understand that this is the base for the proud tradition. There has always been a natural way things evolved on kgs nytorv in good times as in bad times because the steps stays the same more or less now, because of Hans Beck, Kirsten Ralov etc etc. but what we are seing today is a stagnation of the style, it is not really going anywhere anymore. Casting is often a matter of taste, but then we are many here who have a different taste than andersen, so i wont go to lengths on that subject just now. But the way things are kept....the bournonville classes, most of the shows. At least with Ralov things worked, clean and serene. i should stop going on about this, the stage direction, but it is what initially made me join here. it makes me angry that i dont want to go see napoli, folkesagn and others because i am upset with the way they are staged. all for now

Dear jorgen ( nice to meet you ) :-) in what sense do you mean the company will be alert because of 8 shows in the festival? i think the general attitude in the company is this season is a year wasted. Only a few principals dance in every bournonville ballet, and given the importance andersen have given this event he is not going to cast it interestingly or let new people have their debut. it is going to be a year where everybody does in 8 shows what they have been doing for 8 years (or more ) and then thats it. Also it is an interesting fact that andersen not only presented this seasons repertoire to the company, but also next season- so they have something to look forward to... i wonder what he really thinks of the danish mr.B...

i think it is wonderful to have this Sylphide on kgs nytorv, its just a real pity that the assistant of Hübbe is Vessel... that will bring them back to kindergarden

I just had a thought if the royal danish ballet sells more tickets in the festival seasons than other seasons... there are seasons where they sell very well, when they have the great storyballet on the rep, like Onegin, Romeo & juliet, Swan Lake and the like. so in what way does that influence the sales that this year there is hardly nothing but Bournonville. The festival consists of only 13 shows in all i think... imagine all this for just that, is it worth it? Mr Andersens wish to be among the 3 best companies in the world is so immature, no other company wants to or should do as much Bournonville as RDB. so in that sense the battle is won. "And the Bournonville prize goes again -as usual- to the sole contender RDB..."

actually i thought it more interesting to see the couple in love than the choreography, maybe it is just me...

i think the current direction is so scared of letting new talents make their way into new roles, why Sakurai did not dance James i cannot understand,and why cavllo is still dancing the sylph i equally do not understand.

I think that there are a lot of wonderful women on kgs nytorv. Lindström,bojesen, Schandorff of the principals, others are Tina Hoejlund, Femke Slot and Sascha Haugland and these are dancing now, before them you have all mentioned almost them all. Talent will always come forward, but it needs good coaching, and that brings us back to the problems with the direction... So i don't think to say that the women are weaker is true, but as any good machinery it needs first class supervising and high maintenance.