I find it shocking that a dancer of the quality and experience of Laura Morera is not yet a principal.....she's technically very strong, very precise, she has good elevation and musicality; and she seems to have lost quite a bit of weight too (she wasn't "fat" before, but she has a "bulky" rather than elongated type of muscle tone).

I am surprised that other ladies got promoted to Principals and she has not...I wonder if this is because of "internal politics" or what....?

By the way, Has anyone seen the Christmas programme on the Royal Ballet (Company and School) -- if so, What are your thoughts? Personally, it was the very first time I saw ballet dancers airing their real concerns and the reality of the profession (especially the injury's part of it and the financial/career worries of not making it to the top). 10 out of 10 for the BBC and Ross McGibbon for this programme.

A good topic for discussion, but one that's more appropriate for Ballet in Europe, so I'm moving it.

Follow us there.

Re - Soares and Morera


apposite questions, Fitzgp

I know!! there you have a very good, solid, dancer who should be a Principal...but she's currently not...and Soares who has been named a Principal but - in my modest but strong opinion - shouldn't be....

May be we should suggest Laura to find herself a boyfriend who is a Principal with the Royal Ballet so that Monica Mason promotes her to Principal...? I don't know...it's all very odd....people should be promoted because of their outstanding talent rather than because they are someone's boyfriend or girlfriend...Don't you think?

Laura reminds me a bit of Deborah Bull...she spent a very long time in the company before being named a Principal....Is it really about talent, Whether your face/body fits in? or Who you know? or Who your lover is?

May I remind posters of our courtesy policy (see above right on the menu bar). We ask that discussions focus on 'on stage' issues. Comments on dancers' private lives are not appropriate with the exception the reporting of events such as weddings, engagements, births etc. corraborated by reliable news sources.

A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't say it to the dancer's parents, then don't post it.

Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion...

Kate

Kate,

Thanks for your views and comments which you are totally entitled to have and I respect them.

However, you may/may not agree with this: in my view, it is undeniable that people's private lives may have - to a more or less degree - an influence on what happens on stage, tv, or public life and ultimately on what decisions people with "power" may take.

The people we see on stage, or on TV, or wherever are not just there because they may be talented, in fact, most - if you carefully analyse them - aren't that exceptionally talented - probably there were five (or more) other people of similar talents in their classes, that's the reality. So where I am trying to get here to is What are the factors that may influence promotion, or someone's career advancement, it is certainly not just about sheer talent (yes, that's one ingredient that undoubtedly helps) but often talent is not enough. Undeniably, some times it is down to who they know, who they are liked by, and whether we like it or not, who their lovers/husbands/wives may be.

Example: Do you honestly think that Catherine Zeta Jones or Kate Winslet would have made it to Hollywood's "A list" unless they had married Michael Douglas and Sam Mendes respectively....absolutely not....they would have been two very talented British actresses, full stop. So private life, whether we like it or not, does have an influence on whether talented and not so talented people may make it to the top or not.

With regards to Thiago Soares, congratulations on the reported engagement to Marianela Nunez, I am very happy for them.

Now, I am not sure how familiar you may be with the world of auditioning and performing but...you are asking me not to judge a dancer by one performance...I am really sorry but a company director, ballet master/ballet mistress will take decisions during one single audition regardless. They do not stop to consider that your Mother may have died the previous day or that your long term boyfriend/girlfriend may have dumped you recently or that your anterior cruciate ligament may have been damaged or your shoulder may have been dislocated during a lift...and therefore you may not be at your best....same thing happens with the public....except that as a professional principal dancer rather than an amateur one you have a responsibility and that is to do your very best you can for your colleagues and for the paying audience - do not forget: it is not free and there are no refunds if you did not enjoy the performance either!

You seem extremely forgiving, I can understand that and wished everyone was as forgiving as you seem to be. However, reality - real life - doesn't work that way, you only get one shot I am afraid...(whether it is an interview, an audition or a professional - rather than an amateur - performance) and people - generally - make their minds up about individuals within the first 5 minutes of meeting them.

It wasn't about Thiago's way of executing steps, or the fact that his footwork resembled two wooden planks, that put me off him that evening. There was no "magic", no presence, no elegance - he simply did not look the part at all - his actual dancing that evening followed and simply confirmed my initial fears. Yes, possibly he was sick or injured - Who knows? Why should I know anyway? but if he was unwell he should have been responsible enough not to dance that evening. Perhaps there wasn't anyone else to replace him? A premier company like the Royal Ballet will/should have understudies keen for an opportunity to cover for an ill principal.

I would like to think that Thiago Soares may be more suited to character/modern-contemporary roles rather than to play Princes in 19th Century full length ballets and that's how he perhaps won his Principal title. Who knows? but if that's the case, then please make sure he sticks to his strengths.

In this case, we are referring not only to someone's views and comments but to the policy of this forum.

The criticaldance Courtesy Policy exists to protect the artists who make possible our enjoyment of dance, and it prohibits backstage speculation or, if you will, gossip.

Thanks for your understanding.

Jeffrey E. Salzberg,
Executive Director
criticaldance Forum

As for M. Soares, the author of these lines has seen him in "Beauty" on a few occasions, and would tend to agree that elegance is not, perhaps, foremost amongst his qualities.

Unaware as I am of any of the "private life" factors referred to here, all I can say in the case of Laura Morera is that she is a a demi-caractère dancer, and in most of Europe, we seem to be believe that this rules out her being a ballerina of the first rank.

Fanny Fiat and Diana Cuni are two other, notable European examples of demi-caractère dancers who do not enjoy principal status, essentially for that reason.

Why?

What we expect from a dancer, has changed. There is less emphasis on true dance quality, and far MORE emphasis on physical beauty and tricks.

Not an especially healthy state of affairs, for an art form.

Look at the audition sheets published in "Dance Europe" - many troupes will no longer consider any female dancer under five foot five, or a man under six foot. No point in even applying, no matter how damn good you are.


The problem is that 85 % of classical dance technique, the true "danse d'école", is allegro and grand allegro, and is most fully-mastered by persons UNDER the above-cited height. Because one needs to be relatively small, fast, brilliant and STRONG - as opposed to lax - to get through the combinations IN TIME TO THE MUSIC.

Bournonville and Ashton is fast and difficult work, unsuited to the tall.

The tall dancer will always be seen at his best in adagio, for sheer physical reasons - whereas adagio work makes up only about 15 percent of stage time.

I have not invented the wheel in saying this - Bruce Marks, for example, has said more or less the same .

But the art world is currently dominated by Balanchine aesthetic, where the ballet is something for the EYE.

Laura Morera is small, powerful, has tremendous ballon, elevation and batterie, and therefore less "eye appeal" than the Suzanne Farrells of this world.

Contemporary choreographers are, as a rule, quite unfamiliar with the cornucopia that is the classical vocabulary, and so they are unlikely to be attracted to create on someone like Morera - who can actually dance, and might, in fact, be able to tell them a thing or two about choreography.

It would be helpful to people like Morera, if the general public would make an effort to focus on the DANCING, and leave the "eye candy" to the cover on a box of sweets.

I share the enthusiasm expressed here for Laura Morera. It´s worth noting that she is in demand from visiting choreographers and in at least two such instances she has been given the lead role in 1-act ballets. n particular, I admire the expressive quality she brings to a range of work.

Just to reiterate the points already made, discussion of private relationships or gossip are not permitted here. Here is the relevant section from our courtesy rule:

Gossip can be hurtful to artists and those associated with them or be an embarrassment at a time of contract negotiation. To move beyond gossip, a story must be substantiated by official word from a Press Dept. or directly from the artist (not at secondhand) with their permission for release. The fact that a story may have appeared in the press does not take it beyond gossip. We do not wish to give further credibility to such stories even under the caveat, "...assuming it is true..." If you have heard or read a story that suggests that something posted here is incorrect or unsubstantiated, please e-mail admin@criticaldance.com and we will take the matter forward.

Examples of unsubstantiated stories which fall under the category of gossip:

- promotions, exits and recruitments

- relationships forming or breaking. I know of two dancers who regularly walk together holding hands. However, they are close friends and their relationships are with other people.

- pregnancies

It seems that Laura Morera is now a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet, see below

http://info.royaloperahouse.org/ballet/ ... 47&cs=1201

Her promotion is very well deserved and I hope some principal roles start to come along now as just awarding her such a title simply isn't enough.

In my opinion her compatriot, Ricardo Cervera, also deserves promotion. A fine classical dancer, his continued neglect means he's near to becoming the RB equivalent of Emmanuel Thibault.