Abandoned to the Art - the view from Instagram
A reflection on The Royal Ballet’s 2018/19 Season by Rachel Hollings
We are embarking on the 2019/20 season at The Royal Ballet and it’s a great opportunity to reflect on all the riches during the past one; there’s always so much packed in, so much to savour. The company has a fabulously broad repertory which provides such visual inspiration, from the Imperial classics to the 20th-century genius of Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan and the invention of choreographers working today. It’s a privilege to capture the dancers and their incredible artistry, and Instagram is a wonderful way to spread the ballet love. Below are some of my photographic highlights from the last season at The Royal Ballet...
Costume design heaven
I’m always astounded by the creativity of the designers involved in productions and I love to showcase the set, costume and lighting details on my personal feed. I enjoy zooming in on details of costume and dramatic expression, not only for the effect of the finished image but also, being a high myope, for the help this provides in viewing my subjects clearly - a happy outcome for what I used to consider a disadvantage! The sense of movement from the costumes close up is very satisfying.
Clockwise from top left
The Unknown Soldier (choreographer Alastair Marriott, costume designer Jonathan Howells)
Mayerling (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, costume designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Don Quixote (Carlos Acosta after Marius Petipa, designer Tim Hatley)
Medusa (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, costume director Olivia Pomp)
A Month in the Country (Frederick Ashton, designer Julia Trevelyan Oman)
Lighting design skills
Akane Takada in Infra (Wayne McGregor, lighting designer Lucy Carter)
Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo in TRIO ConcertDance in the Linbury Theatre (Angelin Prelocaj, lighting designer Clifton Taylor)
Genius sets from a design master
Frankenstein (Liam Scarlett, designer John Macfarlane)
Fumi Kaneko and Calvin Richardson in Asphodel Meadows (Liam Scarlett, designer John Macfarlane)
I love the capacity of photography to convey the mood of painting and Old Masters
Clockwise from top left
Frankenstein (Liam Scarlett, designer John Macfarlane)
Matthew Ball in Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Another part of my Instagram is taken up with architecture and I love how the geometry of bodies in space can be documented in dance
Dolly Brown (@londonlivingdoll), who first persuaded me to dip my toe into the world of Instagram, is brilliant at this. The choreographers are carving beautiful arcs and lines and I like to see how the composition of limbs can work in a photograph and how negative space speaks strongly
Clockwise from top left
Yuhui Choe in Les Patineurs (Frederick Ashton, designer William Chappell)
Mica Bradbury and artists of The Royal Ballet in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, costume designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Artists of The Royal Ballet in Symphony in C (George Balanchine, designer Anthony Dowell)
Yasmine Naghdi and Calvin Richardson in Infra (Wayne McGregor, costume designer Moritz Junge)
Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Vadim Muntagirov in Within the Golden Hour (Christopher Wheeldon, costume designer Jasper Conran)
Mayara Magri and Tristan Dyer in Asphodel Meadows (Liam Scarlett, designer John Macfarlane)
Poetry in ballet
I'm not a professional photographer and don’t have the skill of dance photographers such as Bill Cooper and Andrej Uspenski (@dancersdiary) in nailing the virtuoso technique of the dancers. I’m drawn though to the soul in ballet and the depth of emotion that can be witnessed.
Marianela Nuñez as Nikiya in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Clockwise from top left
Sarah Lamb as Masha in Winter Dreams (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Peter Farmer)
Marcelino Sambé in Flight Pattern (Crystal Pite, costume designer Nancy Bryant)
Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov in The Two Pigeons (Frederick Ashton, designer Jacques Dupont)
I’m always struck by the extraordinary versatility of the dancers, at different moments lyrical, dramatic, exuberant
Clockwise from top left
Matthew Ball as Crown Prince Rudolf in Mayerling (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Tristan Dyer in Infra (Wayne McGregor, costume designer Moritz Junge)
Lauren Cuthbertson in The Concert (Jerome Robbins, costume designer Irene Sharaff) and as Juliet
Yasmine Naghdi as Gamzatti and Steven McRae as Solor in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Gary Avis as Kulygin in Winter Dreams (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Peter Farmer)
The drama can feel particularly electric in the rehearsal studio and it’s a great privilege to enter that space and watch the skills and artistry of the dancers and coaches
It’s also a delight to capture the dancers back of house, getting ready pre-performance or occasionally during a performance from the wings
Clockwise from top left
Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales in Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Melissa Hamilton and Timofej Andrijashenko in Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell behind the scenes after a rehearsal of The Nutcracker (Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov, designer Julia Trevelyan Oman)
Olga Evreinoff coaching La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Claire Calvert preparing for a performance as Gamzatti in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, designer Yolanda Sonnabend)
Olivia Cowley and Ryoichi Hirano in Mayerling (Kenneth MacMillan, designer Nicholas Georgiadis)
The joy of dance
Sometimes the photography is purely about celebrating the gorgeous harmony of dancers in a pas de deux, or the shapes and quality of movement or stillness of large-scale choreography. Oh and let’s admit it, sometimes it’s about having photo fun with editing apps!
Top to bottom
Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov in The Nutcracker
Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Alexander Campbell in Daphnis and Chloe in the Fonteyn Celebration
Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell in Les Patineurs
Clockwise from top, artists of The Royal Ballet in
The Firebird
Flight Pattern
The Nutcracker
Medusa
Lauren Cuthbertson in Symphony in C
Looking back on these images, and having taken a break over the summer to enjoy travel photography, I’m full of excitement for the riches ahead in the new season!
Rachel Hollings is Artistic Administrator of The Royal Ballet. With a lifelong love of ballet inspired by a childhood Russian teacher, and following university studies in music, drama and dance, Rachel has spent most of her career in arts administration across organisations including the Royal Academy of Dance, The Royal Ballet School and the Royal Opera House. She joined the management of The Royal Ballet in 2015.
Follow her on Instagram @lahollings