KNA
-
Posts
28 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Events
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by KNA
-
-
Ooh, Rachmaninov! Nicely played. :-)
I think I read somewhere that Alban Lendorf was once taught by the great Anne Øland - the way I remember her, she only took the best.
-
Interpassivities just received 6 stars from POV International. There was also a great article in Borsen the other day about the performance and the reviews and audience reactions I've found so far are predominantly positive. Personally, I think it's so well-deserved; the experience was one of the most powerful ones I've had as an audience member. Well-done, Corpus!
-
Agree with everything Syrene wrote - additionally, I want to praise the orchestra. That partiture must be equal parts amazing and nerve-wrecking and to me, they nailed it tonight. Beautiful, atmospheric and emotional at the right times.
-
6 hours ago, Natalia said:
First casts of recent classics, being cinemacast or webstreamed. Swan Lake with Crandall & Lendorf in 2015 and R&J with Praetorius & Kaas this past spring. This Giselle is the latest such offering. KNA, sorry that you are confused. Syrene are others are aware of these cinemacasts.
And I am as well, seeing as I've watched them all. I understand now that you were talking about casts, not premieres - however, from the beginning you confused me by bringing up the wrong date (the Saturday premiere which was not broadcast - the cinemacasts are live, meaning that Giselle for instance was the premiere cast, dancing for the fourth or fifth time). So no problem at all - hope you've managed to catch some of them! :-)
-
Cast lists are up on the homepage! We're catching Ida Praetorius as Alice and Marcin Kupinski as the White Rabbit with Kizzy Matiakis as the Red Queen - awesome!
-
39 minutes ago, Natalia said:
Apparently there was a cinemascast with Ida, which will "make the rounds," as did the recent Swan Lake & Romeo Juliet.
The recent Swan Lake? As in this season's run? We've seen the cinema broadcasts for all three shows, but the premieres haven't been broadcasted to cinemas.
Or maybe we're talking about different things, haha!
-
1 hour ago, Anne said:
I think we agree totally on the point of view that both aspects deserve to be equally in focus. But I don't think it has necessarily anything to do with one's sympathies regarding traditional or experimental approach to the classics, as even a very modernized version has to be dramatically convincing.
I agree with you completely! I went about it in a clumsy way, I think, but I mostly wanted to note that though I'm a Dane myself, story-telling isn't more important to me than other aspects of ballet. I definitely don't think Crandall would have gotten the response she did if she'd been flat in terms of acting, pyrotechnics or not.
As for Rees' pop-up, he tackled the issues of foreign influences on traditions in the RDB and what it meant to Danish and foreign dancers, respectively! It brought forward some really interesting angles, I think. Also, this has gone completely off topic now - sorry! I'll stop talking and read Syrene's review instead, though I think we agree on pretty much every point. We did discuss it until after midnight, after all. ;)
-
Thanks so much for your interesting perspective on my thoughts regarding reviewer focus, Anne! I think this part especially rings true to me:
34 minutes ago, Anne said:
There is a last and maybe very Danish reason for focusing so much on the acting: RDB has a long and strong tradition for story-telling ballets, where mime and acting play a major role. The heritage of Bournonville has heavily influenced the choice of repertoire and the taste of the audience: The Danes love story ballets, and in a story ballet good acting is crucial. In this kind of repertoire it is indeed possible to become a beloved dancer without being a brilliant technician, whereas the opposite is, I dare to say, nearly impossible.
Being a part of 'the new' audience who haven't been quite so attuned to the traditional Danish style probably means that I'm not completely in the category of 'Danes' you describe. I want more than good story telling! I'm in love with the more experimental setups and with dancers like Holly Dorger and J'aime Crandall who take my breath away with speed and pyrotechnics. Going by audience's response to for example J'aime Crandall's Kitri earlier this year, I'd say I'm not alone, either. This doesn't mean that I don't like traditions, I wish we could focus on both aspects, I guess. I can definitely appreciate the points you made, though, it might just be the way of things!
Did you ever see Samuel Rees' pop-up? It was apropos this discussion, I think.
-
While I'm glad I'll get to see both first and second cast, I'm still so, so sad that I'll miss Holly Dorger and Ulrik Birkkjær. Sounds like they created a beautiful performance. Thanks for getting into both dancing and acting, Syrene.
Aside from JP, by the way, reviewers in Denmark generally give Giselle stellar reviews, typically 5/6 stars. There seems to be a consensus regarding Ida Praetorius' dramatic talent in particular, though I wish they'd tell me more about the dancing (generally speaking, not just regarding Praetorius). It's a mystery to me, why with so many previous ballets, both technique and acting seemed important to Danish reviewers where as with Giselle, all they really seem to notice in terms of the actual dancing is the corps whenever anyone's out of sync.
-
BT's Vibeke Wern was a lot more positive about the performance and gave it 5/6 stars with plenty of praise for everyone.
-
1 hour ago, Natalia said:
So how was the big premiere-telecast with Ida & Andreas last Saturday?
The premiere wasn't broadcast and reviews so far are, unfortunately, hard to come by. Eva Kistrup posted hers quickly after: http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2016/10/quality-time.html
The performance got a very mixed reception from Jyllandsposten with three stars out of six.
Can't wait to read other reports on it...
-
Wow. Mind's too blown right now for any real coherency but can I just say - this is one of the most personal, honest and touching glimpses into the dancers' world that I've ever seen.
I loved hearing, seeing and feeling their stories. There were moments when it felt like this show truly brought down the fourth wall and let us know the reality behind all the polished beauty that we enjoy as a ballet audience. I loved that. I even feel kind of privileged!
Wish I had time (and tickets) to go again tomorrow afternoon.
-
Pretty pictures. Would have dearly liked a broader representation of the three casts but hey, everyone looks fantastic. Mia Steensgaard's costumes are gorgeous - visually, this is just beautiful.
Happy to see a lot of Sebastian Haynes there - and Kizzy Matiakis looks awesome as Myrtha! I'm so ready to watch this!
-
Thank you so much for your well-written account of Gudrun's evening, Anne.
Unfortunately, we weren't there to experience it, but Instagram definitely came alive the whole weekend with praise and love for her from the dancers, in particular. It was wonderful to see what an incredible source of inspiration she's been for them all (and her fans alike).
-
http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2016/10/odette-vs-odile.html
Eva Kistrup has reviewed the two last casts with praise for both Holly Dorger's Odile and Kizzy Matiakis's Odette.
-
So happy for her - and grateful that we were there to see it. She had a beautiful first night, poetry in motion.
-
Wow, the photos from China look incredible! Thank you for sharing.
-
Agreed, the standing ovation was so, so well-deserved.
I'd invited my parents along for this performance. It's their first time experiencing the RDB and they had only the barest idea as to what to expect. But the story made perfect sense to them, as did the characters and they absolutely loved Sebastian Haynes and Holly Dorger in particular. They had a great time and it makes me feel really proud of the company - they deliver such wonderful performances that they manage to touch thoroughly even those with limited or zero ballet experience. Personally, I think that speaks volumes.
Also, apart from a very few stumbles, the orchestra was absolutely sublime this evening!
-
Oh god, that clip - I won't say thank you for posting it, because I found it first
But it's so beautiful and honestly, I'm incredibly sad I didn't see Grinder's version of Marguerite back in 2014. I know we saw her in 2012, but it feels like such a long time ago.
In 2014, I found Gudrun Bojeson completely amazing, technically, and I remember the black pas de deux in particular because her dancing just blew me away - however, in terms of character interpretation, Grinder's version is much more my type of thing. As for Birkkjær and Lendorf, I think their Armands have different strengths and I like them both. This just happens to be the combi that touches me the most.
-
http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2016/09/now-and-then.html
Review on the Baldwin/Kaas cast from Eva Kistrup. I really like the way she focuses on more dancers than just the mains this time around, that's always interesting!
-
http://xq28.dk/Anmeldelser/Teater/7375/Flotogkold
Four stars from this Danish reviewer, though Ida Praetorius gets five alone for her amazing performance. :-) She seems to have made the show for him - wonderful!
-
One of the few reviews I've come across (first cast) - in Danish, sorry. It's generally positive, particularly towards the way the story's been interpreted and re-told, the darker aspects of the ending and the more political role of Rothbart.
-
Eva Kistrup has posted her thoughts about first and second cast: http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2016/09/the-ultimate-role.html
I won't comment on the content as I generally don't experience things the same way as Eva Kistrup, particularly not the past few years. However, I certainly look forward to seeing Ida Praetorius as Odette once more, she really is a special woman and dancer.
-
Great article. Thanks for the heads-up, Jane!
Not terribly surprised at the casting - really excited, though, there's not a single pair I wouldn't love to see. I also found the part about the supporting cast interesting:
»Det er så vigtigt, at holdet rundt om hovedparret fungerer som en helhed. Og for mig har det altid været vigtigt at lave en baggrundshistorie inde i hovedet for den person, jeg fremstillede på scenen, så hun reagerede rigtigt i forhold til de andre. Det kan være små ting, som publikum ikke tænker over, men som gør, at relationerne på scenen fungerer. Så danserne skal altid have en historie med sig i tankerne, som de kender ned til mindste detalje.« -
(Quick translation: "It's so important that the cast around the main pair works as a whole. And to me, it's always been important to create a background story in the mind of the person I portrayed on stage so she'd react properly in relation to the others. It can be small things that the audience won't notice but which make the relations on stage work. So the dancers must always have a story in their thoughts that they know down to the smallest details.")
I have a feeling I'm going to love this version of Giselle because this type of narrative coherency makes me incredibly happy.
Can't wait.
But it's so beautiful and honestly, I'm incredibly sad I didn't see Grinder's version of Marguerite back in 2014. I know we saw her in 2012, but it feels like such a long time ago.
Fall 2017 Season
in American Ballet Theatre
Posted
Unfortunately, according to the RDB website, Alban Lendorf is currently out with an injury - in Denmark, he's been replaced for performances up through November. I feel so bad for him. :-( Wish him a speedy recovery.