Mathieu Ganio

[William Hood]

It may be my lack of attention, but I have the sense that Mathieu Ganio is not being cast as often as in the past. And Hugo Marchand is so much in the ascendant that almost no other danseur étoile is nearly as prominent. Does Aurélie Dupont dlslike Ganio? Why is Marchand eclipsing everyone else?

[ECat]

Hello and welcome @William Hood!  Your question motivated me to look at the POB webpage.  It says that Mathieu Ganio was 17 when he joined in 2001, so he getting a little bit older.  But, I imagine that his age is not slowing him down.  It is interesting that he is performing Tybalt, but not Romeo this June-July.  Hugo Marchand is dancing Romeo.

Marchand joined at age 18 in 2011, so he is only about 28.  

I'd love to hear from some other people as this is a fascinating topic.

[miliosr]

On 5/12/2021 at 5:15 PM, ECat said:

It says that Mathieu Ganio was 17 when he joined in 2001, so he getting a little bit older.  But, I imagine that his age is not slowing him down.  It is interesting that he is performing Tybalt, but not Romeo this June-July.  Hugo Marchand is dancing Romeo.

Mathieu Ganio may be at the point in his career where. having played all of the princely roles for the better part of two decades, he now wants to explore the dramatic character roles in the troupe's repertory.. Such a move would not be dissimilar to an older ballerina seeking out roles in which there is less emphasis on technique and more emphasis on mature dramatic ability. (I'm thinking of Frederick Ashton's A Month in the Country and Marguerite and Armand, John Cranko's Onegin, and John Neumeier's La Dame aux Camelias.) 

[ECat]

On 5/20/2021 at 5:29 PM, miliosr said:

Mathieu Ganio may be at the point in his career where. having played all of the princely roles for the better part of two decades, he now wants to explore the dramatic character roles in the troupe's repertory.. Such a move would not be dissimilar to an older ballerina seeking out roles in which there is less emphasis on technique and more emphasis on mature dramatic ability. (I'm thinking of Frederick Ashton's A Month in the Country and Marguerite and Armand, John Cranko's Onegin, and John Neumeier's La Dame aux Camelias.) 

You've made a great point!  No doubt Ganio will be superb in any role that he dances.

[William Hood]

Thanks to you all for those insights into Ganio's career. To my eye, he looks not very different now than he looked ten years ago. I guess that's 

why I asked about his rare appearance now in starring roles. I notice that he's a big star now in Tokyo. But I'd hate to be a young male dancer 

at POB and always in the shadow of Hugo Marchand, who is truly a force of nature.