Josette Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Announced on the company's FB: Brendan Saye promoted to Principal Dancer. Ben Rudisin and Donald Thom to First Soloist. Jeannine Haller, Siphesihle November, Kota Sato, and Calley Skalnik to Second Soloist. Andreea Olteanu and Rui Huang are retiring from dancing with the company. Also, as many of us know, the divinely soulful ballerina, Xiao Nan Yu, retires after 22 years with the National Ballet. Shene Lazarus, formerly of the San Francisco Ballet, has announced that she is joining the National Ballet in July of 2019; and I am informed that there is another dancer joining but it is not officially announced. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Out of curiosity, do posters here think Brendan Saye is ready for this promotion? He's very tall, has a beautiful body and a compelling way of moving. But last season his attempt at the Prince in Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty was very raw. To say that he struggled with the jumps would be putting it kindly. He was not alone in his inability to do a manège of grand allegro, but the others aren't being promoted to principal. Has there been a dramatic improvement since then? Link to comment
Xiaoyi Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Brendan Saye is not a great classical technician, but he is excellent in modern ballet, such as Apollo and Forsythe, with great musicality and stage presence. His Apollo was almost as good as Hallberg's IMHO. Link to comment
mom2 Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I thought Saye did well in the roles I saw him in this season. I've been watching him since he was an Apprentice - has certainly come a long way. In other news, I see on Felix Paquet's twitter that he is going to dance in Hamburg. I've not seen anything from NBOC indicating that he is leaving the company - has anyone else seen news? Link to comment
McJagger Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Felix Paquet has confirmed it on his Instagram and I see this on the Hamburg Ballet's site (in German but says he's a soloist as of September): https://www.hamburgballett.de/getPersonalInfo.php?p=MjE0NzQ4NTA3Nw-1 Link to comment
mom2 Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Thanks for this. Good for him - I think it's nice when dancers broaden their horizons (though I have missed Robert Stephen and Dylan Tedaldi this season). Link to comment
naomikage Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Lunkina and Paquet are guesting in Nijinsky Gala at Hamburg Ballet. https://www.hamburgballett.de/en/spielplan/play.php?AuffNr=153198 Link to comment
naomikage Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Koto Ishihara of San Francisco Ballet will join NBoC as first soloist. Link to comment
Blackcurrant Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Here's a link to an article about Koto Ishihara from six years back. It's nice to see in the roster on the company webpage that Isaac Wright's now in the corps. Link to comment
pherank Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Two other recent photos of Ishihara (one with company members) - this time with SFB Ballet Master Felipe Diaz who seems to be in Toronto as a répétiteur: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rTpx-AUZ4/ On his own Instagram page, Diaz states, "I think Alexei would have enjoyed it. Much success to you all." So I'm thinking that is a reference to Alexei Ratmansky, and he must be coaching Piano Concerto #1 for NBoC. Edited August 3, 2019 by pherank Link to comment
Xiaoyi Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I saw Ishihara today at the company class for Canada Culture Day. She was so impressive with superb technique and beautiful lines. I cannot wait to see her live in peasant PDD in Giselle. Link to comment
Xiaoyi Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Casting for Giselle: Giselle Svetlana Lunkina (November 6 at 7:30 pm/November 9 at 2:00 pm) Elena Lobsanova (November 7 at 2:00 pm) Heather Ogden* (November 7 at 7:30 pm) Sonia Rodriguez (November 8 at 7:30 pm) Greta Hodgkinson (November 9 at 7:30 pm) Jillian Vanstone (November 10 at 2:00 pm) Albrecht Harrison James (November 6 at 7:30 pm/November 9 at 2:00 pm) Naoya Ebe (November 7 at 2:00 pm) Brendan Saye* (November 7 at 7:30 pm) Francesco Gabriele Frola (November 8 at 7:30 pm/November 10 at 2:00 pm) Guillaume Côté (November 9 at 7:30 pm) Hilarion Piotr Stanczyk (November 6, 7, 9 at 7:30 pm/November 9 at 2:00 pm) Skylar Campbell (November 7, 10 at 2:00 pm/November 8 at 7:30 pm) Queen of the Wilis Heather Ogden (November 6, 9 at 7:30 pm) Chelsy Meiss* (November 7 at 2:00 pm) Hannah Fischer (November 7 at 7:30 pm/November 9 at 2:00 pm) Jenna Savella* (November 8 at 7:30 pm/November 10 at 2:00 pm) * Debut Casting for Orpheus Alive & Chaconne Orpheus Alive Orpheus Jenna Savella (November 15, 20 at 7:30 pm) Heather Ogden (November 16 at 2:00 pm/November 21 at 7:30 pm) Hannah Fischer (November 16 at 7:30 pm/November 17 at 2:00 pm) Eurydice Spencer Hack (November 15, 20 at 7:30 pm) Harrison James (November 16 at 2:00 pm/November 21 at 7:30 pm) Brendan Saye (November 16 at 7:30 pm/November 17 at 2:00 pm) Eurydice’s Mother Sonia Rodriguez (November 15, 21 at 7:30 pm/November 16 at 2:00 pm) Tanya Howard (November 16, 20 at 7:30 pm/November 17 at 2:00 pm) Chaconne Heather Ogden and Harrison James (November 15, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 17 at 2:00 pm) Koto Ishihara and Naoya Ebe (November 16 at 2:00 pm/November 21 at 7:30 pm) Heather Ogden and Brendan Saye (November 20 at 7:30 pm) Link to comment
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