My favourite dances from the Royal Ballet - Dance Saturday
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
Following on from the post I did last week, I thought it would be a great idea to review my favourite dances not from The Next Step but actually from The Royal Ballet. I don't do ballet but I must say that if I were to stumble across the Royal Opera House YouTube channel, I would be sitting there for a long time, watching all the videos they do on the Royal Ballet. There are so many amazing videos that they do of performances and rehearsals and I just find it really interesting to watch. Here are some of my favourite dances from The Royal Ballet!
- My first favourite dance has got to be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I like this dance because it's technical and involves a lot of ballet repertoire but the production also involves a lot of theatrical characterisation. When the Mad Hatter dances his tap solo, it isn't just about tap dancing but about being alluring and quirky through the sound of his tap dancing. When Zenaida also dances the role of the Queen of Hearts, she does involve the classic Sleeping Beauty pointe balancing act but she also isn't afraid to act and add some comedy. If she falls during a step, it doesn't really matter because it just makes it more funny for the audience to watch. I think that this is what makes this dance so entertaining for the audience. I also like the group ballet dances that they perform for this production. The Card Scene is so together that it really brings through the characterisation and rigid atmosphere of a deck of cards. I think this sort of theatrical work helps to bring Alice's Adventures in Wonderland alive.
Royal Opera House ⬇️
- My second favourite dance has got to be the Sugar Plum pas de deux from The Nutcracker. The dancers are so athletic, emotive, and together that even in the rehearsals, it's difficult to tell where they could be going wrong. When Fumi and Nehemia perform this pas de deux, even as they are introduced to this dance, they are still precise with their movements which is a credit to them. I would consider this to be one of the most senior roles in a ballet production. In this particular performance Marinela and Vadim are principle ballet dancers and you really have to be at that level to perform this role because it requires connection and strength but ease as well, which can be difficult to execute sometimes. This dance also reminds me of Christmas because of the general bright atmosphere of the Nutcracker production and the Christmas-themed storyline that it has. I know I can't this year but I would love to see this pas de deux in person on the real production because I think that that would be amazing!
- My next favourite dance has got to be The Sleeping Beauty Rose Adage. The female dancer who plays Aurora, has got to have a talent for classical ballet and a real eye for technique. All of the partner work that she performs with each of the male dancers has got to be performed seamlessly and with control so that, like with the Queen of Hearts, she is able to do the balancing act without error. The dancer who plays the role of Aurora also has to act as well. In this scene, Princess Aurora meets her 4 royal suitors and she's got to be happy and juvenile in the way that she dances so that she really portrays the character of a young princess, well. Overall, it is a sophisticated and brilliant performance.
- My last favourite dance has got to Benet Gartside's performance of Bottom as the donkey in Midsummer's Nights Dream. This is slightly less sophisticated than all the other roles danced so far but it has to be the funniest performance ever produced from the Royal Ballet. Here, Benet is actually unusually wearing pointe shoes so that he can portray the hooves of a donkey. Usually the females wear Pointe shoes but in this performance, Benet is really giving off that theme of characterisation but using that as a medium for his acting. It's a bit clumsy looking but that's exactly how it's supposed to be. This is one of Shakespeare's most comedic plays and it has to be portrayed in that way.
There are so many more amazing dances out there from the Royal Ballet. Let me know your favourite dances/productions from the Royal Ballet below. I ♡ hearing from you!
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Bye,
XOX, Juliette
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