National Ballet of Canada 2023-2024 season

[volcanohunter]

9 minutes ago, Rosie2 said:

but has anyone noticed our own Heather Ogden is doing the same thing? 

Evidently that doesn't merit a press release. 

[volcanohunter]

@Rosie2, since you've been to several shows, I hope you'll post your impressions here.

[Rosie2]

I intend to - when time permits.  

[JMcN]

On 6/9/2024 at 1:39 AM, Rosie2 said:

 

Re Jewels casting - much was made of Sara Mearns dancing all three roles but has anyone noticed our own Heather Ogden is doing the same thing?    I'll see her in two of the three  (Emeralds/Diamonds) but can't get a decent seat (meaning one I can see the stage from!) for Rubies.   Oh well - I guess I should be glad so many tickets are being sold.

 

 

There's a great interview with her in the Toronto Star where it is mentioned that she is dancing in all 3 segments:  https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/heather-ogden-worried-that-back-surgery-would-end-her-career-now-shes-giving-the-performance/article_36530084-2815-11ef-80b1-17d7ae8ea6c9.html

 

[Rosie2]

 

I was there last night and, while the whole show was marvelous, Heather Ogden in diamonds was - well, I have a hard time finding just the right word to describe it.   She filled that stage with the absolute joy of dancing in the moment.  Exultation - perhaps that's the word I'm looking for.  She left me breathless.

[naomikage]

A beautiful performance of Emeralds by Svetlana Lunkina

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/kfe3AYpYyCPGUoay/?mibextid=WC7FNe

 

[Raina]

June 15, 2024

Emeralds
Svetlana Lunkina and Spencer Hack

Tina Pereira and Donald Thom

Miyoko Koyasu, Hanah Galway, Kota Sato 

Rubies
Koto Ishihara and Siphesihle November

Monika Haczkiewicz 

Diamonds
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin

Jeannine Haller and Kota Sato, Calley Skalnik and Larkin Miller,

Nio Hirano and Peng-Fei Jiang, Ayano Haneishi and Donald Thom.

 

The performance left a very good impression. I liked Emeralds the most with their meditative flair. Svetlana Lunkina and Spencer Hack were a truly romantic couple, and Lunkina's variation moved me to tears. Tina Pereira, in spite of her pregnancy, or maybe because of it, gave an unusually emotional performance for her. She simply glowed from within. I've read that some ballerinas have uncovered an extraordinary artistic talent after giving birth. Here's hoping that Tina will hold on to this talent, and I wish her all the best. Donald Thom was an attentive and sensitive partner.  Miyoko Koyasu, Hanah Galway, Kota Sato performed their roles well.

If I had watched Rubies for the first time, I would have been satisfied with this performance. But I was lucky enough to see Rubies in 2016 performed by Sonia Rodriguez and Piotr Stanczyk. Their performance made a stunning impression on me. It was very musical, sexy and imbued with an incredible sense of humour. The chemistry between them was off the charts. I've tried to watch videos of Rubies online, but after a few minutes I always turned them off. No one could top that feeling of euphoria. So my opinion of the performance is biased. Technically, everything was danced well, in some places very well, but I did not see any flirtation between the leads. I was glad to see Monika Haczkiewicz dancing the Tall Girl and hope she gets a promotion at the end of the season. I wish her a good career and think that time will polish her technique.

Heather's performance in Diamonds was the best I've ever seen from her. I agree with Rosie2 that she was obviously enjoying her dancing. Ben was a solid partner, and the four pairs were a great backdrop for the leads. Once again, there were some cast changes announced, and I didn't catch who Peng-Fei Jiang's partner in Diamonds was. Perhaps Nio Hirano? Why doesn't the NBoC print the final cast of dancers and display it on every ring or at least on the website?

Edited Tuesday at 03:15 PM by Raina

[Xiaoyi]

Jewels Casting Update: Due to injury, Principal Guest Artist Sara Mearns is unfortunately not able to perform on June 19, 20 and 21. 

Casting
Emeralds
Svetlana Lunkina* and Spencer Hack* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin* (June 16 at 2:00 pm/ June 20 at 7:30 pm)
Tina Pereira* and Naoya Ebe* (June 21 at 7:30 pm/ June 22 at 2:00 pm) Svetlana Lunkina and Naoya Ebe* (June 21 at 7:30 pm/ June 22 at 2:00 pm)

Tina Pereira* and Donald Thom* (June 15 at 7:30 pm)
Jeannine Haller* and Peng-Fei Jiang* (June 16 at 2:00 pm/June 19, 20 at 7:30 pm)
Sara Mearns† and Peng Fei Jiang (June 19 at 7:30 pm)
Jeannine Haller Chelsy Meiss* and Kota Sato* (June 21 at 7:30 pm)
Jeannine Haller Chelsy Meiss* and Donald Thom (June 22 at 2:00 pm)

Rubies
Koto Ishihara* and Siphesihle November* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Calley Skalnik* and Donald Thom* (June 16 at 2:00 pm/ June 20 at 7:30 pm)
Genevieve Penn Nabity* and Spencer Hack* (June 21 at 7:30 pm)
Brenna Flaherty* and Noah Parets* (June 22 at 2:00 pm)

Monika Haczkiewicz* (June 15, 19, 20 at 7:30 pm)
Jordana Daumec* (June 16, 22 at 2:00 pm)
Sara Mearns*† (June 20 at 7:30 pm)
Heather Ogden* (June 21 at 7:30 pm)

Diamonds
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Jurgita Dronina and Harrison James* (June 16, 21 22 at 2:00 pm)
Genevieve Penn Nabity* and Christopher Gerty* (June 20, 22 at 7:30 pm)
Sara Mearns† and Ben Rudisin (June 21 at 7:30 pm)

*Debut
†Principal Guest Artist

The Diamond casting is messed up. I guess they meant:
Diamonds
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Jurgita Dronina and Harrison James* (June 16, 22 at 2:00 pm, June 21 at 7:30 pm)
Genevieve Penn Nabity* and Christopher Gerty* (June 20 at 7:30 pm, June 22 at 2:00 pm)

[Raina]

Xiaoyi, I miss your reviews. 

[volcanohunter]

Now everything rests on the shoulders of Jeannine Haller, dancing with three different partners, in the Mimi Paul role, with Tina Pereira heavily pregnant and both Sara Mearns and Chelsy Meiss out.

[Xiaoyi]

June 19, 2024

Emeralds
Svetlana Lunkina and Spencer Hack

Jeannine Haller and Peng-Fei Jiang

Jordana Daumec, Hanah Galway, Keaton Leier

Rubies
Koto Ishihara and Siphesihle November

Monika Haczkiewicz 

Diamonds
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin

Jeannine Haller and Kota Sato, Calley Skalnik and Larkin Miller,

Nio Hirano and Peng-Fei Jiang, Ayano Haneishi and Donald Thom.

 

I love Lunkina’s interpretation of Emeralds. She was ethereal, demonstrating superb control and musical fluidity. The touch-and-go, hide-and-seek dynamics in the opening adagio reminded me of Giselle Act II. The complex pointe balances in the second adagio appeared effortless. Lunkina often extended her time en pointe for an extra second in attitude and after the fouetté, gracefully transitioning with gentle arm movements. This wasn't to show off, but to seamlessly breathe into the next phrase. I wish they had cast her in Diamonds as well, which is listed in her repertoire.https://svetlanalunkina.com/

Jeanne Haller, on the other hand, lacks the same musicality. Her variation and duet were marked by a series of accented phrases with obvious punctuation between them. Only her entrance after the duet was fluid and beautiful, showcasing her quality jumps and turns. She could be a fine soloist in classical repertoire, but I cannot imagine her dancing the principal role.

Having recently seen two performances of Rubies in New York, I found NBoC's rendition underwhelming. November captured the jazziness and playfulness, whereas Ishihara did not. She attempted to flirt but lacked confidence, and her movements were not fully extended or shifted too quickly. However, it is always delightful to admire the corps patterns Balanchine created.

I never particularly liked Heather Ogden's dancing and did not expect much from her in Diamonds. However, she was marvelous, just as @Rosie2 mentioned. She was romantic yet mysterious in the adagio and delivered crisp footwork in her variation. The Diamonds finale always strikes the right chord with a large corps in glittering costumes.

On 6/18/2024 at 8:51 AM, Raina said:

Once again, there were some cast changes announced, and I didn't catch who Peng-Fei Jiang's partner in Diamonds was. Perhaps Nio Hirano?

@Raina Yes, Nio Hirano danced instead of Isabella Kinch as Peng-Fei Jiang's partner in Diamonds. And thank you so much for encouraging me to write more reviews.

[volcanohunter]

I attended Jewels on the 15^th and 16^th. “Emeralds” were by far the most successful section. Svetlana Lunkina was exquisite: wondrously musical, refined and ethereal. She brought elements of La Sylphide to the section where she weaved through the corps, and I can’t think of another dancer as adept at on-stage flirtation. It brings frisson to her interactions with her partners, but never appears coy. I am accustomed to seeing short dancers in the Verdy role and had certainly never seen the variation danced by a ballerina with such long arms. There was nothing of the admiring-rings-and-bracelets tone to her variation. It was more evocative of water in the fluidity of her arms and the sequential way that her torso, then shoulders, then arms, neck and head follow the movement of her legs. This, as @Xiaoyi points out, allows her to link steps together exceptionally smoothly into long phrases. Her partner Spencer Hack also brought an unearthly romanticism to the duet, which was ravishing.

 

Perhaps because she is conspicuously pregnant, Tina Pereira didn’t cover a huge amount of space in the Paul variation, but the easy way it looked almost as though she were marking it brought an interesting and unusual quality to it that I thought was very successful. Donald Thom was quite heroic in how he coped with adjusted grips to partner her.

In the trio I thought both Miyoko Koyasu and Hannah Galway were lovely, especially Koyasu in the more lyrical solo passage. Koyasu’s career trajectory stalled in recent years, and this season she was shut out of leading roles she used to dance, including Cranko’s Olga and Wheeldon’s Alice. I sincerely hope that her performance will put her back on the promotion track.

Heather Ogden was also suitably romantic in the Verdy role. Jeannine Haller didn’t have the most gorgeous arms I’ve ever seen, but the smoothness of her pointe work was remarkable. Furthermore, she and Peng-Fei Jiang actually did walk on the pulse in the walking pas de deux in a way that was both accurate and unforced. This was something the first-night pair hadn’t managed. Pereira and Thom weren’t in sync on their first diagonal, though they did find the pulse and each other in the second diagonal. But it didn’t last. I think he was trying awfully hard, but she wasn’t cooperating.

Jewels hadn’t been performed in its entirely in Toronto for 18 years, and it was obvious that most of the audience had not seen it before, both in the prolonged applause at the end of finale A and in the loud gasp that greeted the opening of “Rubies.”

The first performance of “Rubies” was one of the least effective I have seen (and I’ve seen some stinkers from the Bolshoi). It was slow and twee and about as authentic as the stones on the costumes. I was thrown back to the days of watching my sister’s dance school at competitions: girls in identical sequined costumes, with identical hairstyles, tapping away with unyieldingly wide smiles on their faces. Everyone was immaculately synchronized, but it was all very tame, and there wasn’t the speed, glamour and nonchalant kick-assery I would have wanted. I was astonished to find that it had been staged by the Tracey sisters, because it looked nothing like the way that New York City Ballet dances it. (And to be clear, I blame the stagers and repetiteurs, not the dancers!)

National Ballet of Canada tempo:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/vCiaCg3o6F6vE3Gh/ 

New York City Ballet tempo:

https://fb.watch/sPDOQyVXRb/

On the second night it improved because Thom invested his part with wit, dynamic variety and imagination, although the extreme, off-center à la seconde grip failed. It also helped to have Ross Allen in the quartet of men, since he is, I think, the only dancer in the company who graduated from the School of American Ballet. Jordana Daumec was badly miscast as the Tall Girl. She is a very aggressive dancer, which I thought would have worked here, but she didn’t have Balanchine’s high show-girl attitudes or deep penchées, and her second leg was bent in entrelacé jumps, particularly obvious when she had to do it with four men in succession with her back to the audience. On balance she looked as though she were dancing in Robbins’ The Cage. Perhaps the best performance came from pianist Zhenya Vitort.

The first section of “Diamonds” didn’t work for me either. It didn’t evoke diamonds so much as a debutante ball, as though the women had been given standard-issue white dresses and sent into a hotel ballroom. There is a problem with “Diamonds” I have encountered before, because unless your seat is sufficiently elevated, you end up watching the andante from underneath the ballerina’s tutu, which was the view I had, unfortunately. It’s an extremely unflattering angle, so I don’t feel I can evaluate Ogden’s performance properly.

 

Ben Rudisin was a solid partner and there were nice things in his solo dancing as well, although he flubbed part of his manège, and his grand pirouette had remarkably smooth rotation and position for such a tall dancer, but he didn’t finish it quite cleanly. I hope that these glitches were resolved in his second performance. Ultimately, he proved better suited to “Diamonds” than “Emeralds,” which exposed his lack of ballon.

There were things that should have been objectionable about Jurgita Dronina’s performance, because she is short, and her andante was excessively smiley, swoony and swanny. (And perhaps because she was following on a week of a Cuban-style Don Quixote, which had encouraged her to hold very long balances, she did hold her à la seconde balance a smidge longer than usual, prompting the audience to applaud mid-adagio. ) But I have to give her credit for her technical finesse, expansive phrasing and genuine ballerina aura, which compels you to believe in her interpretation. Harrison James is not the lightest dancer in a manège, but he made absolutely no mistakes in his partnering or his solo dancing.

Among the demi-soloists, substitute Nio Hirano was elegant and gracious, and perhaps unsurprisingly Tirion Law had the greatest sparkle. The corps looked better once the men joined in, and there were genuinely elegant dancers among them—Aidan Tully, Alexander Skinner, Konstantin Tkachuk, Oliver Yonick—although I have not had an opportunity to evaluate the solo abilities of all of them. On opening night the big promenade toward the end of the ballet was truly grand and succeeded in a way that the Bolshoi never managed.

I expect that the costumes have not seen much action over the past 18 years, but they didn't seem to fit any of the women properly, particularly in "Diamonds." I remember seeing video of how the Royal Ballet's wardrobe department looks after its Jewels costumes, and it used black bars on the back of "Emeralds" costumes. Here they seemed to be gold and very conspicuous, as though signaling to the audience that the dancers on stage had wider ribcages than others sharing the same costumes.  In any case, it looked as though the costumes had been fastened with gold safety pins. The beige drapery that passed for set decoration was extremely disappointing.

Edited yesterday at 11:40 AM by volcanohunter
video links

[Rosie2]

Well this is interesting - I just looked at the the casting and Genevieve Penn Nabity will dance both Rubies and Diamonds on June 21 7:30pm.  That's quite a feat for even a young dancer as strong as she is!   Looks like they are really scrambling to fill the holes left by Sara Mearns.  I managed to get a ticket for Friday, specifically to see Heather in Rubies, but now I'll also be there for Genevieve's marathon show.   I wish her well and hope she keeps her nerve.

Rubies
Koto Ishihara* and Siphesihle November* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Calley Skalnik* and Donald Thom* (June 16 at 2:00 pm/ June 20 at 7:30 pm)
Genevieve Penn Nabity* and Spencer Hack* (June 21 at 7:30 pm)
Brenna Flaherty* and Noah Parets* (June 22 at 2:00 pm)

Monika Haczkiewicz* (June 15, 19, 20 at 7:30 pm)
Jordana Daumec* (June 16, 22 at 2:00 pm)
Heather Ogden* (June 21 at 7:30 pm)

Diamonds
Heather Ogden and Ben Rudisin* (June 15, 19 at 7:30 pm)
Jurgita Dronina and Harrison James* (June 16 at 2:00 pm/ June 22 at 2:00 pm) Genevieve Penn Nabity* and Christopher Gerty* (June 20 7:30 pm / June 21 at 7:30 pm)

[volcanohunter]

It wouldn't have been a scramble if Dronina and James had remained switched to Diamonds on the 21st as announced two days ago.

[volcanohunter]

I understand it would be a hardship for family members who have bought tickets that are now few and far between, but if Dronina must dance on the 22nd, wouldn't it make sense to delay Penn Nabity's Rubies debut to the 22nd also? Perhaps the affected family members could get together and swap their tickets.

I appreciate that Jordana Daumec would appear less "tall" with a different couple, but the role doesn't have an actual height requirement.