National Ballet of Canada 2022-2023 season

[volcanohunter]

 

If a change needed to be made in March, there would have been enough time to teach the role to another woman within the company. And in March Mearns had not yet returned to the stage; she had missed NYCB's entire Nutcracker and winter season. This doesn't make sense to me.

[Rosie2]

A company member, a Principal, told me.  I didn't ask what the injury was - it was described as a "serious injury".    Cote had a few choices - poach a Juliet from another Romeo, look around the company for anyone who inspired him  or request a guest dancer of his choice.   I'd like him to have have danced his final shows with Heather Ogden but, as I've said before, no one asks my opinion about casing.     The results of his choice will be on view shortly.

[volcanohunter]

And just like that Côté is given the authority to spend company money on a "guest dancer of his choice"? Was a special raffle held at the gala to cover the costs? 

[Xiaoyi]

Lunkina and Cote did perform R&J in Ottawa. See Cote's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPqVqNu1UZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

They had some beautiful photos taken for R&J promotion.

17 hours ago, Rosie2 said:

Nice to see Lunkina back on stage though, even if was only in the finale. 

And I am very happy to see Lunkina healthy and back on stage again yesterday too. 

Chelsy Meiss might be injured as she was on the roster of Symphony in C Fourth Movement but replaced by Jurgita Dronina who shared on Instagram "I was asked if I could step in and cover for injured colleague for #symphonyinc." https://www.instagram.com/p/CtMkn9XO9I8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

I wish Lunkina could step in one show or two in this run, or the Ottawa show would probably be her last performance of Juliet. 

[Gregory]

It looks completely unnatural when a ballerina from New York (Sarah), who has only one big dramatic role in her 20-year career, replaces a world-famous Canadian ballerina (Svetlana), who has several dozen such roles.

[abatt]

Mearns is one of the most celebrated ballerinas in the United States, and she has extensive experience is Ratmansky ballets.  

[Helene]

Mearns and Lukhina have different core reps, but Mearns is equally lauded in hers, and she's created roles for many choreographers, including in Ratmansky's best.  

Invited guests in major companies are often lightening rods for company supporters.

[Gregory]

50 minutes ago, abatt said:

Mearns is one of the most celebrated ballerinas in the United States, and she has extensive experience is Ratmansky ballets.  

I suppose you mean that Sarah has the experience of dancing Ratmansky's plotless ballet miniatures, lasting 30 minutes each.

I'm talking about the fact that in Sarah's repertoire there is only one big dramatic role in 2-3 act ballets for 20 years of her career. There is a huge difference between one-act plotless ballets and multi-act plot ballets.

[Helene]

One she did when she was still a teenager, to great acclaim, and one in which she's deepened her portrayal over the years.

She's also danced Titania in Balanchine's two-act A Midsummer Night's Dream, to great acclaim, Balanchine's very dramatic Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine's "The Nutcracker."  As far as "plotless' goes, she's danced all of the roles that Balanchine so famously described as "A man gives a hand to another, and there's already a story there.  So how much story you want?"  And that could describe the one-act Ratmansky ballets I've seen.

She's one of the greatest dramatic ballerinas I've ever seen, and I'm pretty certain there will be people in Toronto who will appreciate her dancing, even if they are surprised.

 

[mille-feuille]

I have seen Sara dance probably hundreds of times in my years watching NYCB. Her dramatic capabilities are superb; I wish very much that I could travel to see her dance this role.

[volcanohunter]

I don't think Balanchine's Sugar Plum Fairy really counts. At best her acting consists of reacting with admiration to the Prince's mime.

I guess I'll point out that Lunkina first danced Giselle when she was 18.

But there's a big difference between dancing a canonical role, where the dramaturgy is well established, and building a dramatic role out of steps you're dancing for the first time, particularly those as clotted as in Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet. (I detest the production, and I'm on record as not being an admirer of Côté, so I'm almost relieved to have no reason to attend.) Mearns is a very emotional dancer, but that's not exactly the same as being a great dramatic dancer, and her experience in dramatic roles is limited. Has she danced another full-length production of Swan Lake with a different interpretation, different ending? I've seen Lunkina in several, where the stylistic and dramatic requirements of the producers were quite different.

Lunkina is an exceptional and remarkably detailed actress, miraculously able to convey several emotions at once. In comparison pretty much everyone else looks like they're engaging in so much forehead wrinkling and mouth gaping. And honestly, up until I'd seen her interpretations I thought other ballerinas were doing just fine. After her most of the others look almost comical.

Her roles include Nikiya, Kitri, Raymonda, Esmeralda (Petit's and Burlaka's), Anyuta, Tatiana Larina, Anna Karenina, Blanche DuBois. Can you think of two roles more different than Ashton's Lise and Grigorovich's Phrygia? She also dances Wheeldon's Queen of Hearts and Paulina, both highly dramatic roles created for Zenaida Yanowsky, which Lunkina dances in a completely different but equally compelling way. For that matter, Lunkina also has longer experience dancing Ratmansky than Mearns. Besides Juliet, there have been Zina in The Bright Stream and Coralie in Lost Illusions, as well as Jeu de cartes.

I'll add Jurgita Dronina as the company's other remarkable actress. It's like watching a real person on stage. She's entirely natural, you can sense her entire backstory, understand exactly what makes her tick. She gave birth one month ago tomorrow, and even managed to dance in place of an injured colleague at the gala, which must be some sort of record. But I suppose a complete Juliet would have been a stretch too far right now.

Edited June 7, 2023 by volcanohunter

[Gregory]

1 hour ago, Helene said:

She's one of the greatest dramatic ballerinas I've ever seen, and I'm pretty certain there will be people in Toronto who will appreciate her dancing, even if they are surprised.

 

I hope you have  information that ABT did not re-sign the contract with Ratmansky and since the new season he has become an Artist in Residence with NCB. And right after that, a ballerina from his new ballet troupe (NCB) goes to Toronto to dance his ballet. Let me ask you a simple question: why has Sarah never danced in Toronto, as this ballet is (15 years) in repertoire of the National Ballet of Canada ? And why is she going to Toronto to dance RJ right after Ratmansky became a head of the NCB troupe?

[Helene]

In fact, the "information" is that Ratmansky left ABT, according to official news, which is the only thing that can be posted according to our rules and policies*, and he is now affiliated with NYCB.

Since choreographers often have contractual or handshake agreements with companies to cast their own ballets, Ratmansky would have thought it was the appropriate time to cast/suggest Mearns.   If you follow the timeline of the official news, which said that ABT announced that Ratmansky was leaving after 13 years, Ratmansky was not working for NYCB when Romeo and Juliet premiered at NBoC in 2011, or 12 years ago.  In any case, any guest casting he might have wanted/suggested at any time it was performed by NBoC would have been subject to the agreement of the guest dancer's company and NBoC.  If Mearns is performing in Toronto, then NYCB and NBoC management would have had to agree to it.

 

*Since you are new, you may want to re-read our Rules and Policies that you agreed to when you joined Ballet Alert!  We allow official news only, and we will remove unofficial news, including insider information and conspiracy theories, unless expressed by a ballet professional under their own name, ie, official news:

 

[Helene]

There are five dancers performing Juliet, according to the casting that was posted towards the end of May.  I don't understand why it's Mearns vs. Lunkina, when there are four other ballerinas cast for the role.  If Mearns wasn't dancing, is there any guarantee that it would have been Lunkina chosen as the fifth?  I apologized if I missed an article discussing this.

[Gregory]

In my opinion, Alexei Ratmansky does not know how to stage a full-length ballet. The National Ballet of Canada, if it doesn’t want to turn into a provincial ballet company from Ontario, cannot keep such a choreographically weak production in its repertoire. It has kindergarten-level dramaturgy, particularly in the all-important balcony and bedroom scenes, while the choreographer resorts to his favourite trick of filling the dramatic void with a cluttered mass of meaningless little steps. Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet equals primitive dramaturgy with primitive choreography. I think It’s the worst version of the ballet in the world.

 

Karen Kain made a mistake when she commissioned this ballet from Ratmansky. Fortunately, she didn’t repeat it a couple of years later when she turned down another feeble ballet by Ratmansky, The Tempest, even though the company had co-produced it with American Ballet Theatre. 

 

The right thing to do would be to return John Cranko’s genius version of Romeo and Juliet to the National Ballet of Canada’s repertoire. Or to commission a new version from a truly talented choreographer. 

 

One by one Ratmansky’s full-length productions are disappearing from European theatres: The Bavarian State Ballet eliminated his production of “Paquita”, La Scala removed his productions of “The Sleeping Beauty” and “Swan Lake” and reverted to earlier stagings…

 

 He may have been fashionable for a while, but time-tested productions by distinguished choreographers are returning to theaters, replacing Ratmansky’s creations.

 

 

 

 

[Helene]

If Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet is as bad as all that, then Lunkina or any other ballerina who might have been cast as Juliet #5 dodged a bullet.  

[volcanohunter]

38 minutes ago, Helene said:

I don't understand why it's Mearns vs. Lunkina, when there are four other ballerinas cast for the role.  If Mearns wasn't dancing, is there any guarantee that it would have been Lunkina chosen as the fifth?  I apologized if I missed an article discussing this.

Because Lunkina was Côté's partner earlier this year when the ballet was performed in Ottawa. The other Juliets were already rehearsing and performing with other Romeos, so short of one of the others becoming injured, she was the one left without a partner. 

For myself, I take a dim view of guest artists unless the number of performances is huge. Or if replacements are absolutely necessary. When an in-house dancer ends up replaced, I'm livid about it.

6 minutes ago, Helene said:

If Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet is as bad as all that, then Lunkina or any other ballerina who might have been cast as Juliet #5 dodged a bullet. 

Well, I think so... But I feel for her because otherwise she had nothing to dance. She was left only with a brief appearance at a gala that was mostly a dinner/discotheque. During their careers dancers end up dancing a lot of ballets they don't like, but sitting on the sidelines is not their goal when they drag themselves in every morning to go to class. 

Plus the audience loses. A great artist can salvage a dramatically inert ballet.

[Helene]

I've seen Mearns do that.

Cote was her partner in Peter Martins full-length Swan Lake, when he guested with NYCB to replace Tyler Angle in 2020, little more than a month before everything shut down.

[volcanohunter]

It doesn't alter the fact that her presence isn't needed. Lunkina is available and knows the part. Mearns is still in the process of learning it. And the dancers of the National Ballet have a different skill set, because three-act narrative ballets is something they do quite a lot.

I remember when Merrill Ashley, an indisputably great dancer, performed Aurora in the UK before NYCB had its own production. The critics, at least, were not persuaded. It's not always possible for a dancer to excel on alien turf. (I also remember that when NYCB finally got its own Beauty, some critics were persuaded only by Valentina Kozlova, whom they didn't find especially persuasive in the company's core repertoire.)

Edited June 8, 2023 by volcanohunter

[volcanohunter]

Previews are a very specific genre, and they never include anything that would suggest the world isn't hunky-dory. But since the issue has been mentioned, Michael Crabb's preview makes no reference to Svetlana Lunkina's injury earlier this year as being the reason for inviting Sara Mearns to replace her as Guillaume Côté's partner. It does mention some of his and Mearns' joint projects over the past 3 years or so. It also mentions Ratmansky:

Quote

Mearns’ opportunity to finally dig her pointe shoes into Juliet came about in part because of her and Côté’s shared connection with Ratmansky, for whom Mearns has become something of a muse. His version is admirably suited to her.

I'm not sure how Crabb can make the last assertion before Mearns has danced the role, but to me it sounds as though this has been Ratmansky's and Côté's and Mearns' plan all along. Alright, only I don't think a slot should be given to an outsider until a company's own dancers have been looked after.

Quote

For Mearns, dancing Juliet with Côté is “a crazy dream” come true.

Well, okay, but I don't see why the National Ballet of Canada should have to foot the bill to make Mearns' dreams come true. What has she ever done for the company?

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2023/06/11/goodnight-romeo-the-national-ballets-guillaume-ct-parts-with-a-signature-role.html

[Xiaoyi]

Casting Updated for Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet:

https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/Romeo-and-Juliet

Juliet
Heather Ogden (June 15, 21 at 7:30 pm/ June 25 at 2:00 pm)
Sara Mearns† (June 16 at 7:30 pm/ June 18 at 2:00 pm)
Tirion Law* (June 17 at 2:00 pm/ June 22 at 7:30 pm)
Chelsy Meiss (June 17, 23 at 7:30 pm)
Genevieve Penn Nabity* (June 22 at 2:00 pm/ June 24 at 7:30 pm)

Romeo
Ben Rudisin (June 15, 17, 21, 23 at 7:30 pm/ June 25 at 2:00 pm)
Guillaume Côté (June 16 at 7:30 pm/ June 18 at 2:00 pm)
Naoya Ebe (June 17 at 2:00 pm/ June 22 at 7:30 pm)
Christopher Gerty* (June 22 at 2:00 pm/ June 24 at 7:30 pm)

 

Ben Rudisin replaces Harrison James in all 3 shows partnering Heather Ogden.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Xiaoyi

[volcanohunter]

I hope that casting for Tybalt is also revised, because seven shows is a lot for Rudisin, especially since he'll have to do heavy-duty lifting with two different partners.

[volcanohunter]

A post from the injured Harrison James.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtcdVQkP81i/

[Xiaoyi]

Dress rehearsal with the opening night casting:

I do not like Ratmansky’s version very much. However, Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin’s dancing did not do justice to the choreography either, comparing with Bolshoi’s recording and Cote & Lobsanova’s performance in 2019.

Heather is cold and bland as ever. I cannot see much of her attraction and passion towards Romeo in the dancing, although she tried to act in mime part. She is not comfortable in some challenging lifts and throws, which is understandable due to the replacement. 

Ben is graceful and somewhat poetic with his long lines but not emotive either. 

[Xiaoyi]

Sara Mearns was brilliant in her debut as Juliet. I cannot say she is better than Lunkina. However, her musicality and attack worked well in the choreography and presented a passionate and headstrong Juliet. It is amazing that she learned this role in 2 or 3 weeks. 

Cote is a great Romeo and dancing partner. Their duets were breathtakingly exciting and emotive. 

I like Joshua Hall’s Tybalt and Spencer Hack’s Mercutio. Noah Parets shone as Benvolio and would be a great Mercutio in the next run.