silvermash

It’s not really that because most of the dancers chosen by Ekman are excellent, a lot of experienced sujets that have had solo roles before in classical ballets, they are excellent in the classics but they preferred to do a creation, because the work is more exciting than to be a torero or a dryad in Don Quixote. There are also new promising dancers. The casting of Don Quixote this year, with a small group of dancers dancing all the interesting roles in turns (Etoiles dancing Cupidon, Premières danseuses dancing Kitri’s friends, etc.), not giving the chance to others to show what they can do, is not going to change the interest for contemporary work.

Well she chose Alexander Ekman and he did the same kind of piece he is used to with a different theme but with more or less the same tricks so she has all reasons to be happy. It is also a great success, standing ovation nearly each night (dancers at the end are “playing” balls with the audience so it might be a reason of this popular excitement). I’m not sure ballet goers are so happy. This is a very entertaining piece, with spectacular and some beautiful visual moments, a very moving pas de deux Mats Ek style in the second act, but all and all, there is little dance, especially at the level expected by and for Paris Opera Ballet dancers. Most of the dance is superficial. The “play” theme is also, from my point of view, explored at a very basic level, not very satisfying intellectually speaking (when you’re young, you play, it’s fun, when you’re old, you work and it’s boring). My personal opinion is that Alexander Ekman failed to adapt to the level of POB dancers, he just made a piece of his own style, effective, but with little will to understand the particularity of the company. Up to me, creations should be a collaboration of both. It has been filmed so everyone will be able soon to have a personal opinion

I saw the December 25th performance. It was alright but no memorable, from both sides. Mathieu Ganio is a danseur noble and Basilio is not his best role, He lacks energy, speed and a big jump. However, his dance is very classy, the epitome of French style. That was a culture shock with Isabella Boylston. I found she lacked speed but she has a stage presence, however a little bit too showy for a performance with an entire cast with different stage culture. Her Kitri was not very well defined from theatrical point of view. Technically, she was very nervous in the third act despite Ganio being a very good partner… Well, I had seen Ludmila Pagliero the day before and I believe she’s for me the perfect Kitri (despite not very well partnered in the Xmas eve performance by a young choryphée), so it might also be the difference between the two which tempered my views on the ABT dancer.

Four (Karl Paquette as basilio ) ... It's not unusual to have an Etoile dancing Queen of the Dryads

It's a bit of topic, sorry but it's a bit more contrasted that what you wrote Laurent. I think that Dupont and Letestu arrived at their top in an era where recording and publishing videos became popular. They were both very technical ballerinas. Also, Dupont was dancing with Legris, it may explain the choice at the time for Nureyev's ballets. So I screened all my VHS, DVD and TV recordings (perhaps I missed a couple) and made the following list. It appears that Marie-Agnès Gillot is the winner, although maybe not in classical roles, maybe not always in title roles, but still... Abbagnato and Osto fare quite well too... DVD Abbagnato: Ivan the Terrible (2003), Proust (2007), Le songe de Médée (Créüse, 2004) Dupont: Sleeping Beauty (2000), Don Quixote (2002), Sylphide (2004), Sylvia (2005), Jewels Rubis (2006), Siddharta (2009), Manon (2016) Gilbert : The Concert (2008), lady of the Camellias (Constance, 2008), La petite danseuse de Degas (2010), Coppelia (2011) Gillot: Clavigo (the stranger, 1999), Don Quixote (Street dancer, 2002), Appartement (2002), Signes (2004), Le songe de Médée (2004), Young man and the death (2005), Sylvia (Diane, 2005), Giselle (Myrtha, 2006), Jewels Rubis (the tall girl, 2006)), Orpheus and Eurydike (2008), Triade (2008), En Sol (2008) Guérin: Bayadère (1994), Le Parc (1999), Arlésienne (1997), The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1996) Guillem: Cinderella (1987) Legrée: The Three cornered hat (1993) Letestu: Jewels Diamants (2000), Swan Lake (2006), Paquita (2005), Cinderella (2007, Lady of the Camellias(2008) Loudières: Romeo and Juliet (1995), , Maurin : The Blue Train (1993), La petite danseuse de Degas (the mother, 2010) Moussin: Don Quixote (Queen of Dryads, 2002), Lady of the Camellias (Manon, 2008), In the night (2008) Osta: Clavigo (1999), Appartement (2002), Don Quixote (Cupid, 2002), Carmen (2005), Jewels (Emeralds, 2006), La Petite danseuse de Degas (2010) Pietragalla: Swan Lake (1992) Platel: Bayadère(Gamzatti, 1994)) Pujol: Giselle (2006), Jewels (Emeralds, 2006), Cinderella (sister, 2007), Triade (2008) Renavand: Siddharta (Yasodhara, 2009), Manon (Lescaut’s mistress, 2016) TV/cinema Broadcasts Abbagnato: Wuthering Heights (Isabelle, 2002)), Arlésienne (2005), Caligula (Caesonia, 2011), Sleeping Beauty (2013), Third symphony of Gustav Mahler (2013), Daphnis & Chloé (Lyceion, 2016), A Midsummer night's dream (2017), Albisson : Palais de Cristal (2014), Dances at a gathering (2014), Swan Lake (2016) Ciaravola: Spectre de la rose (2009), Children of the paradise (2011), La Source (Nourreda, 2012), Rendez-vous (2013), Third symphony of Gustav Mahler (2014), Cozette : Après midi d’un faune (2009), Un jour ou deux (2012) Dupont : O Zlozny/O Composite (2010), Bayadère (2012) , Roméo & Juliette Sasha Waltz (2012), Dances at a gathering (2014), Daphnis & Chloé (2016) Gilbert: Don Quichotte (2012), Etudes (2014) Gillot: Raymonda (2008), Three cornered hat (2009), Wuthering Heights (2002), Verklärte Nacht (2017) Letestu: La symphonie fantastique (La fille aux fleurs, 1997)Prodigal son (2003) Osta: Petrouchka (2009), Caligula (2011) Ould Braham: Nutcracker (2008?), Sleeping Beauty (2013) Pagliero : La Source (2011), Bayadère (Gamzatti, 2012) Palais de Cristal (2014), Dances at a gathering (2014) Pujol: Psyche (2014) Renavand: Grosse Fuge (2016), Iolanta/Nutcracker (the mother) (2016)

work, money? Only two shows while about 40 shows in December for the Company... Cupid has been danced by Premières danseuses (First soloists) in the past. I remember Ould-Braham Hurel but there may be others

I don't think so. It was decided from the beginning Laetitia would be filmed with Nicolas Le Riche.

As for now, it's just a season off...

I'm not a huge follower of Karl Paquette but I don't remember he has to drop out of Jewels? At least I saw him there more than a couple of times at the beginning and at the end of the run, and he was dancing also A-bras-le-corps at Centre national de danse during this period. It's extremely rare that he's cancelling performances. If you like him, just go!

Alu is on Alexander Ekman creation "Play"

I've seen it when it was released in the cinemas, I don't remember much of what concerns ballet, except perhaps, a small focus on Sujet Fanny Gorse during Bayadere's run. There is also a longer spot on Millepied resignation, with a -not very nice- telephone conversation between Lissner and Millepied, and also, Millepied announcing to the whole company he was leaving with absolutely no reaction from the dancers.

It’s a bit of a disaster for the company because the season was built around this tour. If you consider the programme, I wonder what most of the senior dancers of the company will dance after Onegin and Millepied/Béjart bill, the rest of the programme before La fille mal gardée being really contemporary

No, the whole tour is cancelled

the rumour was circulating for quite a while but it is now in French press http://www.sceneweb.fr/actu-tournee-ballet-de-lopera-de-paris-a-new-york-annulee/

Really! Then my standards are higher than yours

It was fine but not memorable... I believe it was far from "American" standards... it lacks crisp and fun... I think Rubies is the most diffcult part to capture for POB dancers. Only Jérémie Belingard from the past years could make something of it from what I have seen

Etoile Laëtitia Pujol is giving her farewell perfomance today. An interview on POB online journal: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/magazine/last-rise-of-the-curtain

Yet, he used to dance Diamonds

Appartement (Mats Ek) AndréAuria (Edouard Lock) Le Jeune homme et la mort (Roland Petit)

I had the same in my mind but can't remember where I had the info.

Difficult to say. What is Parisian audience? I am not very keen to both choreographers, but what was wrong the past years, in my opinion, is that we had too many.

Tour dates are often published at the last minute on the website, if they are. But it might change as this was the first time this year we had information and name of the dancers. I believe US theatres will be the first to annouce details. It was said I think June or July.

Based on curtain calls pictures, Marc Moreau danced again in the second cast

I think Agnès was more popular in Japan than Isabelle who has been Etoile very late in her carreer. Besides, Agnès gave the last performance of the tour and farewell was also celebrating Brigitte Lefevre.

There is flexibility for Etoiles when they are giving their farewell when they arrive near retirement age because each year, they danced the ballets they agree in a special contract, so they have an overview of the possibilities during the season (and even the season before). Agnès Letestu was administratively retired when she gave her farewell but Lady of the Camellias was the first ballet of the next season and she wanted this particular ballet to retire. She was a “guest Etoile” in 2014 Japan tour and in Palais de Cristal the next year in Paris. Isabelle Ciaravola was not in Japan, she had not reached the age at her farewell but she wanted to dance in Onegin. Clairemarie Osta as well when she was In the US, so it was up to her to dance or not. Laëtitia Pujol is supposed to give a farewell in Paris in September