jorgen

I saw the premiere and I agree in general with posters above. I find it a very fine production. Melbye's inventive scenography was surprisingly good, his best for ballet work so far. The projections on the halfcircle background works good, the train wagon is magnific. The music is very powerful and beautiful when heard live. The leading pair is on almost all the time, one could wish more room and time was given to the rest of the characters. The tempo is high with quick floating scene shifts. 2x45 minutes is a bit thin. Ratmansky says in the programme todays audience doesn't have patience for more than two acts. But I certainly do. The ballet is dependent on having a very good leading cast. I liked Marie-Pierre Greve and Mads Blangstrup very much, I haven't seen M-P Greve in such a big role before. I am sorry to hear that the obvious first cast Silja Schandorff is not on. I had taken for granted Silja was to take over after Nina Ananiashvili with Kenneth Greve. So, is Kenneth Greve to dance it only once? Or who else would he partner? Maybe Silja is supposed to be "saved" for the Bournonville Festival? I think it's a ballet you can enjoy seeing many times since there is much room for the leading pair to grow in their roles and making them their own. Again, Silja would have been perfect...

Maya will come to Copenhagen next week to attend the premiere, on April 2nd, of Ratmansky's new Anna Karenina with the Royal Danish Ballet.

Effy, your casting list looks very good. Please fax a copy to Frank A. :-)

Today I received my tickets for the festival and suddenly June 2005 doesn't feel so distant!

Here is a link to that video with Polina Semionova (Demo Letzter Tag on the right side): http://www.nach-mir.de/gronemeyer-portal/f.../body_demo.html She is now also in my Ballerina Gallery: http://www.ballerinagallery.com/semionova.htm

There is a fine book, now out of print, about Eva Evdokimova: PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST: EVA EVDOKIMOVA by Annemarie Kleinert, London: Dance Books 1982, 132 p. (ISBN 3-927433-44-6) A small bio and some photos from the book here: http://www.ballerinagallery.com/evdokimova.htm

Look out for the Japanese supertalent Miki Ando. She is only 16 but just won the Japan Nationals beating Suguri, Arakawa and Onda. She landed a quad Salchow and earned a place at the Worlds. A Torino 2006 gold aspirant I think.

No reports from Paris yet???

Since the Folktale scenography is by dear Queen Margrethe it will not be replaced as long as she lives. I would love to see a "authentic" version, but I also want to say Long Live the Queen!

Copenhagen 2003 For me it has been a wonderful year with about 45 performances attended. My highs: - Silja Schandorff and Nicolas le Riche in Manon. Three great performances, guest star le Riche was a vitamin injection for Schandorff. Danced with high intensity. - Fantastic sets and costumes by Mia Stensgaard in Manon. A convincing debut by a young scenographer. Fresh and colorful costumes and simple sets. Hope to see more of her soon. - A solid, no-fuzz, staging of La Sylphide by Nikolai Hübbe. - Gudrun Bojesen established herself as a great Sylph for years to come. - Gitte Lindstrøm back in the autumn after a long injury absence. - Diana Cuni and Amy Watson getting better and better. - Christina L. Olsen, 19 years, the most promising young dancer. - The three tall blond "princes" Kenneth Greve, Mads Blangstrup and Andrew Bowman. - Guesting Maria Eichwald and Alen Bottaini in Manon in February. - Saw NYCB for the first time at Tivoli. Loved Maria Kowroski. - Fine guest tour by the Estonian National Ballet in Malmö, doing Swan Lake with high class ballerinas like Kaie Körb and Marina Chirkova. My lows: - Several last-minute schedule changes, with Etudes being cancelled a number of times. - Boring December with only Nutcracker. Couldn't they do something like "A Folk Tale" instead? Good as a family ballet at Christmas.

Effy in the trailer is Amy Watson.

Yes, it was in the same rink as the Europeans earlier this year. The atmospere was great now too even if only with about 1000 spectators. I had Yagudin beside me during the last part of the men's final . He seems bigger on TV!

The Junior Ladies was a very fine competition. It turned out to be a close fight between Miki Ando and Lina Johansson. Lina won the SP, but Miki was best in the FS and won overall. Miki tried the 4-salchow but fell. Mai Asada was forth only. Yagudin was here coaching Andrei Griazev who was second after Evan Lysacek, USA. Ice Dancing favourites Hoffmann/Elek from Hungary won and in pairs Canadians Dube/Davison won gold. There were many fine Russians but they got no gold! Full results: http://www.jgpfinal2003.se/results.html

How about introducing Chaconne to the Balanchine programme? I read the new Little Mermaid ballet should be created by John Neumeier.

We are having the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final here in Malmö, Sweden, in the weekend 12-14 December 2003. It will be interesting to see the Japanese girls Miki Ando (quadruple salchow) and Mai Asada (triple axel). Sweden has the new mega talent Lina Johansson, age 15, in the final. Link: http://www.jgpfinal2003.se/

I saw Erik Aschengreen gave the Hip Hop Nutcracker a rave review in Berlingske Tidende, six of six stars. Silja Schandorff is in it, not rolling on her head though! Review in Danish: http://www.berlingske.dk/anmeldelser/artikel:aid=378092/

Probably no one over 12 or under 75. ;-)

I love Jürgen Rose's costumes. One look at his dresses is enough to save an evening for me. For example I think one of the best things about John Neumeier is he co-operates so much with Rose!

I have nothing against Caroline Cavallo, but I think similar hagiographies can be put together also for other RDB dancers, for example Silja Schandorff and Rose Gad.

Australian Ballet principals Nicole Rhodes and Robert Curran will guest in the RDB Nutcracker on December 6, 9 and 11. In exchange Silja Schandorff and Andrew Bowman will guest with the Australian Ballet in The Three Musceteers on December 6-11.

The new Jürgen Rose decor is said to have been made with joint forces by the workshops of the Swedish and the Danish Royal Ballet, so it should turn up in Copenhagen sooner or later.

Susanne, I have posted about it in the "Swedish Royal Ballet" forum. Maybe we can kick some life into that forum. :-)

This seems to be a more or less dead forum... Anyway, I want to tell I was in Stockholm on November 8 to see the Swedish Royal Ballet in Onegin. Cranko's ballet is back after 13 years, still with Jürgen Rose's fantastic sets and costumes. The old sets was impossible to use since toxic paint made them dangerous to handle, so new exact copies have been made instead and with Rose's permission (the first theatre being allowed to do so). The beautiful music, sets and costumes are reason enough to see this ballet. The dancers I saw (Jenny Nilsson, Brendan Collins, Alexandra Kastrinos, Sebastian Michanek), 3rd cast I believe, were not of the high standard I am used to in Copenhagen. There will probably be a big uplift when on December 9 and 11 Caroline Cavallo and Jean-Lucien Massot from RDB are invited to guest as Tatiana and Onegin. Hopefully someone will report about that. Maybe Susanne ;-)

Royal Danish Ballet's Nutcracker (by Ratmansky) begins November 29th. The casted teams are: Drosselmeier - Clara - The Prince Peter Bo Bendixen - Marie-Pierre Greve - Mads Blangstrup Mogens Boesen - Yao Wei - Kristoffer Sakurai Peter Bo Bendixen - Gudrun Bojesen - Thomas Lund Also Marie Lindqvist and Anders Nordström from the Swedish Royal Ballet will guest. In exchange Caroline Cavallo and Jean-Lucien Massot will guest in Onegin in Stockholm (on December 9 and 11). If I go see it, it will be when Bendixen, M-P Greve and Blangstrup is on.

Regarding Amy Watson in Manon: I found her very good as the Mistress, paired with Jean-Lucien Massot as Lescaut. She danced it with joy and wit. The drunk scene was always a good laugh.