Here are the first photos from the dress rehearsal of tonight's opening cast at The Royal Opera House of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Solor is danced by Vadim Muntagirov, Gamzatti by Natalia Osipova, and Marianela Nuñez is Nikiya. This is also the cast that will be dancing when the ballet is transmitted live in cinemas on 13 November 2018. An iconic 19th-century Russian … [Read more...]
Review: Manon at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle
While the role of Manon doesn’t represent the pinnacle of acting challenges, it is surely one of the most satisfying. For a dancer who can act it is a gift, with each scene offering a new state to convey: from the young girl playing at flirting, to becoming the joyfully passionate lover (in the first bedroom pas de deux), to the calculating social climber, to the knowingly … [Read more...]
Sneak peek of Don Quixote at La Scala – photos from today’s dress rehearsal
Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote returns again to La Scala with many of the company's newer Principals and Soloists making role debuts. Tomorrow night's cast - and that of this afternoon's dress rehearsal - will see Timofej Andrijashenko dance Basilio for the first time, and he will be dancing with Nicoletta Manni who is a house favourite in the role of Kitri. In the first … [Read more...]
David Hallberg explains his injury: I felt a pop in my calf, and from then on a sharp pain
Mid-way through the first act, taking off for a jump, I felt a pop in my calf, and from then on a sharp pain inflicted by just stepping on it. I finished the act through sheer grit of determination but knew in my gut I couldn’t possibly continue. I am shattered and heartbroken... In an interview with David Hallberg for The Times on 1 March, he told Debra Craine: As defeated … [Read more...]
Photo Album: first look at The Royal Ballet’s triple bill by Tharp, Pita and Shechter
New work is as central to the repertory of The Royal Ballet as revivals of the classics. For Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare, contemporary choreographers and dancers are ‘creating the classics of the 21st century’. In this mixed programme, O’Hare invites two choreographers to create new works for the Company – one making her long-overdue return, the other making his … [Read more...]