Oh What A Night! Hayward and Sambe WOW in 'La Fille Mal Gardee'

Sometimes when I’m trying to fall asleep I get a funny feeling in my legs. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a mixture of restlessness, pent up energy that was never released that day because I probably just sat in front of the TV and a feeling that I should get up and move about. It’s bad timing when it happens, because I’m always trying to get some sleep. My boyfriend says I have a case of the Michael Flatleys when it happens, and I have no doubt that if I slipped on some tap shoes in these rare restless moments, that I could easily give Astaire a run for his money. Usually this feeling calms down and I get to sleep, but on the eve of Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambe’s debuts as Lise and Colas in The Royal Ballets’ La Fille Mal Gardee, the ‘Flatleys’ would not subside. When I woke I was still so restless and spent the entire day at my desk with my feet tapping and legs twitching. I realised that in this instance, I was extremely excited about this debut. More excited than I had been for a long time. I physically wasn’t able to contain my excitement and practically ran to the Royal Opera House, desperate to finally see these two young dancers perform. It did cross my mind that I could be disappointed. That perhaps the hype, the chat, the overall excitement from everyone would big this up and I would have to come down to earth, return the imaginary tap shoes, and get a good night’s sleep, restless-free. This did not happen. Hayward and Sambe actually impressed and wowed me to a point that I have not felt for a while. There wasn’t a glimpse or shadow of disappointment and they exceeded every expectation I had of them. I’m still in awe of the performance and I wish, especially on days when the clouds are grey and the weather is chilly, that I could watch this sunny performance every night. I doubt I would tire of it, and it would give my legs something to twitch about.

Francesca Hayward was made Principal at the end of last season with the Royal Ballet. This was a decision that I didn’t fully agree with at the time. Part of me is still hesitant. ‘She is so young’, ‘Couldn’t she do with another year?’, ‘What if she’s plagued with injuries?’. All valid thoughts, all thought by me. The thing is with Hayward, whether the decision was premature or not, she is already very much a star. You can’t take your eyes off her and for a dancer so small, she has exquisite stage presence and a capacity to really own a performance. I get excited when I know she is dancing and I’m excited when I watch her on stage. She’ll be huge in years to come, and will rival the prima ballerinas all over the world. I wasn’t keen when I saw her Juliet, and I didn’t think the role came naturally to her, but after seeing her in The Invitation and as Lise, I know she can act. I think she will also develop into quite a virtuoso dancer. She clearly has the technique and I think with a few more years’ experience, she will easily match the technique of the Osipova’s in the ballet world. When Osipova first joined the company I was also very excited, very honoured to be able to see this superstar grace the stage. This has started to dwindle, and maybe I sound fickle, but Hayward is replacing this for me. Especially when she dances Ashton. Her role in Rhapsody, danced so beautifully with James Hay, still gives me tingles. I don’t think any of us really know what happened there, such was the beauty of their performance. And as Lise. Yikes. As Marquez leaves the company, the best Lise of her generation, in comes Hayward for the new generation. She has a lovely comedic style and great comedic timing, the steps were all danced with acute precision and confidence, subtle and pretty, effortlessly and seemingly simple (but as we all know dangerously difficult as this is Ashton after all). I liked her subtleties with the role, a girl with her own mind who still craves her mother’s blessing. She also didn’t overdo it which I liked. Sometimes with this ballet it can become a bit overly pantomime-esque and even Lise becomes a figure of fun. Hayward, however, kept it naturalistic and believable as she cheekily tried to escape her mother’s over-protective home.

So much of the brilliance of Hayward’s performance was helped by Marcelino Sambe; an equal partner in both technique and dramatization, he lifted this ballet, making it the perfect way to start the new season. What I like about Sambe is that I feel safe with him. I know how brilliant his technique is and I know his strength as a partner, so when I watch him dance, I can fully enjoy it without having to worry that he won’t perform well. It’s unusual to have this level of comfort when you watch a dancer who is not yet a Principal. He was a perfect suit for the role of Colas and managed the difficult balance between cheeky and bravado with love and sweetness perfectly. He brought that cheeky Portuguese spirit with him to the role, but whenever he was with Hayward he was softer, protective and really seemed to take care with how he partnered her. His performance in each solo was exquisite, as you would expect, every leap hanging in the air, every turn well balanced and controlled. He seemed to really have fun with the role and dominated the stage with such confidence; again it’s hard to believe he’s not up there with the other Principals. I suppose it’s just a title, because if technique is anything to go by he’s definitely part of the Principal club. The only problem with Sambe is that I’m not sure where he can be placed in the RB’s repertoire. I don’t think he’s a natural prince or a MacMillan lead, so perhaps Ashton will be his calling. I think he would make a phenomenal Oberon and Hayward would be a perfect match as his Titania. I like him a lot. More of him please.

My praise isn't just for Hayward and Sambe in this performance. All of the supporting cast were beautiful but Tom Whitehead nearly stole the show. I hadn’t been too keen on his version of Widow Simone. I’ve always found him a bit mean, lacking the warmth that’s needed to assure the audience that this mother is protective not abusive. Sometimes this warmth is missing with Whitehead, but not on this night. In fact, he outshone any version of the Widow he had ever done before. He was a lot more caring and tentative over Lise, and suddenly many more details were rapidly developing on stage. He was funny and camp but in an understated way (just as it should be) but also warm and tender. I often find him quite butch as the Widow and a bit too masculine, but for this performance he had the airs and graces of an over-protective mother who only wants the best for her daughter. A perfect example of this is when he passes her over to Colas just before their final pas de deux. As Lise takes the hand of her new love, Whitehead holds her other hand just a bit longer than he should, demonstrating Simone’s sadness that she must finally let her daughter go. Gosh I’m getting teary just thinking about it now. He had such a lovely rapport with Hayward and she brought a different dimension to his Widow.

As a partnership I can really see Hayward and Sambe excel in Ashton. They may not be a convincing fit for MacMillan or in the classics (possibly Giselle?), but Ashton suits them perfectly and they really seem to understand his style and humour especially in this ballet. They brought so much warmth and affection and they seemed to have such a strong rapport and chemistry with each other on stage. They constantly looked at each other and smiled, probably also reassuring each other that they knew how well it was going and I felt like they were really enjoying themselves. This is just want you want to see in a ballet like ‘Fille’. One of the main highlights was the big pas de deux in the first Act which was so thrilling that the audience wouldn’t stop clapping. I have never seen such a reaction from an audience in this part of the ballet and as the dancers tried to continue, they were halted by endless chants and claps. It was pretty special. Something that I didn’t expect from this performance was how much it would move me. I kept having these random emotional bursts where I wanted to cry. There were moments so tender or even so happy that I felt incredibly moved and could feel myself welling up. I also think that watching such young dancers cope so well and dance the leads in this classic also had something to do with this. Whether you were crying, smiling, clapping or laughing, you were there and what a pity if you weren’t, for this was not a show to have missed. This was a special night that I will remember for some time.