Reinhard Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Canadian dancer Jason Reilly and Spanish born Ivan Gil Ortega have been promoted to principal dancers. Maria Eichwald from Munich will join the company as a principal dancer in January 2004. Because of injuries, Roland Vogel, principal, had to quit his career as a dancer and will join the famous Academy de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo as a teacher. Yseult Lendvai is looking forward to have her 2nd baby and will not return on stage. Her husband, Robert Conn, solist, has left the company. Thomas Lempertz, Solist, has left the company and quit his career as a dancer. Reid Anderson could win former Stuttgart dancer Egon Madsen as a guest-teacher. First premiere in Stuttgart (dec. 5th 2003) will be LULU, a new full-lenght ballet, choreographed by resident choreographer Christian Spuck. It is based on music by Shostakovich and Alban Berg. Also very interesting, the 1983 by John Neumeier choreographed work 'Endstation Sehnsucht' (a streetcar named desire) by Tennessee Williams will be in the rep again this season. A successful and healthy season for all dancers. Link to comment
Jasper Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Reinhard, thanks for this information! Company news are always interesting - and not always published "officially"! Please keep on reporting what's going on in Stuttgart (so I know which performances are "worthwhile" travelling there from Munich!) Link to comment
CDM Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Reinhard, thanks much for the news. Always most interested to hear any info from the Stuttgart Ballet. Look forward to hearing more from you as time goes on. Regards...Doug. Link to comment
Reinhard Posted September 22, 2003 Author Share Posted September 22, 2003 As announced in Stuttgart newspapers, Reid Anderson is about to continue his very successful work with Stuttgart Ballet up to 2009. However, contracts are not yet signed. Seen in the online dance magazine "Tanznetz": Alessandra Ferri, the Italian star- ballerina, will guest in Stuttgart in January 2004 as Blanche DuBois in John Neumeiers "Endstation Sehnsucht". Her partner will be Jason Reilly. Link to comment
CDM Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Reinhard....will you be in attendance this Friday at the season opening performance of Swan Lake? Also, it appears that Mr Reilly is doing quite well for himself as a new principal. Regards...Doug. Link to comment
Reinhard Posted September 22, 2003 Author Share Posted September 22, 2003 Doug, I am so sorry but I won't be able to see any of the Swan Lakes. I fully agree about Jason Reilly. He has done a huge jump in his development. Last time i saw him was in Romeo and Juliet with Alicia Amatriain. Both did very, very well. However, Jason Reilly is not in the cast for Swan Lake. The cast for Friday 26th. is: Odette/Odile: Alicia Amatriain Prinz Siegfried: Friedemann Vogel I had the chance to attend a public rehearsal for Giselle with Alicia Amatriain and Friedemann Vogel and I must say, it was very impressing. Friedemann Vogel is a very elegant dancer. Link to comment
CDM Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Reinhard...sorry to hear but I will look forward to other news/reviews you are able to post. Regards...Doug. Link to comment
Reinhard Posted September 29, 2003 Author Share Posted September 29, 2003 Doug, have you been able to see any of the Swan Lake performances over the weekend? If so, it would be nice to hear your opinion. There have neither been reviews in the Stuttgart newspapers nor in the german 'Tanznet'. Regards Reinhard Link to comment
CDM Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Reinhard, I live in Oklahoma, USA, and have not been able to see the Stuttgart since their tour of the U.S. last year. My interest in the Stuttgart is that my dd dances in the Corps there and I am always interested in any knowledgable feedback I can get. My dd has told me that Friedemann Vogel and his partner looked wonderful "as usual". The one thing that I learned from her in a conversation this morning is just how very young Friedemann is for a principal dancer. He must be quite special to achieve that level at so young an age. The majority of the company is preparing to leave for Cairo tomorrow morning. She will go to Cairo then to Holland for a gala performance with Marijn Rademaker. They will perform the pdd from the first act of Romeo and Juliet. Appreciate hearing from you and warmest regards...Doug. Link to comment
Alexandra Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Reinhard, looking at the Stuttgart's seasons lately, it seems as though they are moving away from story ballets a bit -- more contemporary programming. I know this is is ancient history now, but after Cranko's death, Glen Tetley was brought in (the theory being the company wanted a choreographer) and he only lasted a year (or was it half a year?) because the audience wanted Cranko ballets. (I'm remembering this from articles in Dance and Dancers at the time.) What's the feeling now, would you say? Link to comment
Reinhard Posted September 30, 2003 Author Share Posted September 30, 2003 Alexandra, Glen Tetley was in Stuttgart for 2 years and Stuttgart owns him more than thankfulness. After Crankos death he helped Stuttgart Ballet to survive. It was a short time having him here in Stuttgart. That time, Stuttgart wanted only Cranko. The audience was not 'ripe' for Tetley. The separation was not in pure harmony as you can imagine. In the season 2001/2002, Reid Andersen brought American Masters. A triple bill with choreographies of Americans. This included Glen Tetleys Pierrot Lunaire with Robert Tewsley as Pierrot. It was a huge success and when Mr. Tetley, who coached the piece, came on stage, he got tremendous applause. He seemed to be moved and very happy. In a newspapere interview he talked about his Stuttgart time, told about his herbal garden at his house and stuff...He said that the situation that time was very difficult but now he seems to be in harmony with Stuttgart Sure, there is a move to more contemporary ballets although the audience loves full lenght story ballets. We will have a world new battet premiere in the next couple of weeks. It's Lulu, a monstre tragedy by Frank Wedekind. Choreographed by resident Stuttgart choreographer Christian Spuck. Its a full lenght ballet. Music: Alban Berg / Dimitri Shostakovich. Doug, would you please explain to me what a 'dd' means. Sorry but I dont come along with these engl. abbreviations. May I ask which dancer your relative is? Link to comment
CDM Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Reinhard, Sorry about that...means dancing daughter. Regards...Doug. Link to comment
Alexandra Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Thank you, Reinhard. Yes, Tetley and Cranko are very different, and I think that an audience used to one would be slow to accept the other -- either way. Thanks for the story about Tetley. I interviewed him about "Pierrot Lunaire" for my book on Kronstam because it was done in Denmark (and Kronstam was Brighella) -- and he had some fascinating stories about it. He read a lot about the commedia (by coincidence, he'd first become interested in it by seeing the pantomime theater in Copenhagen's Tivoli and remembered it) and told me things I did not know -- that Pierrot was white because he was a baker's assistance; it's not clown's paint, but flour, and that Brighella was black because he lived on a rock outside the city and was baked by the sun. I hadn't enjoyed WATCHING "Pierrot" very much (I'd seen it when I was very new to ballet) but I certainly enjoyed hearing about it and I'd like ot see it again. (He was a fascinating person to interview, very intelligent -- and very kind.) I saw that the company was doing the Lulu ballet -- I just did the season's preview issue for the print version of Ballet Alert! -- and was interested in it. I hope you'll write about it when it premieres. Link to comment
CDM Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Reinhard, Daughter is Elizabeth Mason. Regards...Doug. Link to comment
Jasper Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Doug, she's the one I had picked out at once when I first saw her in a school performance! Plus she did a terriffic job in the German round for the European Young Dancers competition (sorry, don't know the exact name) when that was held in Munich some time ago - felt so sorry she did not win, but then it was only modern stuff the jury seemed to be after! Hope you'll be able to see her live on stage soon! Link to comment
CDM Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Jasper, Thanks so very much for the kind words. She is much more natural at the classical than the modern although she enjoys both. She and Marijn Rademaker are off to Holland today to perform the balcony scene from R&J at a gala there this Wednesday. We are hoping to get to Germany to see the Stuttgart perform Giselle in February. Thanks again...Doug. Link to comment
Jasper Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Glad to hear she gets the chance to perform this wonderful pdd at a gala! To me she looks perfectly at home in the classical pieces - a natural way of dancing one doesn't see that often since ballet is not natural at all. Good luck for your travel plans! Link to comment
CDM Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 (edited) Jasper, You must have a good eye...that is almost exactly what Semenov and Kolpakova said about her when she was about eight or nine years old. What they saw, of course, were the physical, mental, and artistic tools that the Russians look for when searching for potential. She was otherwise not unlike any other little girl in her age group. She has been very fortunate in many ways...but enough from a proud dad. Thanks again for your kind words. Regards...Doug. Edited October 7, 2003 by CDM Link to comment
Reinhard Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Doug, have you already spoken with your daughter about the performances in Cairo? The Stuttgart newspaper only told about outer circumstances but not really about dancing. They said that the 2nd night would have been more successful than the first. They danced contemporary pieces only. Will Giselle be the first time you are able to see your 'dd' live on stage? It must be exciting and i can imagine that a dad must be very proud. Greetings Link to comment
CDM Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Reinhard, Have spoken only briefly with her since they returned from Cairo. She and Marijn Rademaker went to Holland for a gala the day following their return from Cairo. The main point of our discussion was their health given that they had picked up some sort of upsets while on the road. Have been unable to reach her since they arrived in Holland so am crossing my fingers and trusting in good news yet to come. We saw her many times in performances when she was a young student at the Kirov Academy in Wash DC and we saw her perform with the Stuttgart Ballet when they toured the U.S. last year. We look forward with great anticipation to returning to Stuttgart (I visited once while she was in the Cranko School) to see her and all the other wonderful men and women of the Stuttgart Ballet. Will pass on any info I am able to shake out of her regarding Cairo but she is very brief in her descriptions of performances....her self-evaluations usually range from "ok" to "good" to "terrible" etc....you get the idea. Her "terribles" look to the biased and untrained eye to be pretty good. Thanks for the communications from Germany...Doug. Link to comment
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