Spend the Day with The Royal Ballet
As every dancer knows, the time you spend onstage is only a tiny fraction of what the career demands. The Royal Ballet is taking the unprecedented step of livestreaming its packed workday tomorrow on its YouTube channel (where you can view the full schedule). It’s an incredible lineup. Starting at 10:30 AM London time, which is 6:30 AM EST, the Royal invites viewers worldwide into company class, which will be followed by rehearsals for Wheeldon’s whimsical Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (fingers crossed for footage of the lovely Beatriz Stix-Brunell, who makes her debut as Alice Saturday evening). We will also be treated to rehearsals of Cranko’s Prince of Pagodas, Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, and Liam Scarlett’s upcoming premiere, involving all-stars Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobborg, Tamara Rojo, and Steven McRae. The choreographer—who’s just 25 and such a talent—draws inspiration from the rather dark subject of artist Walter Sickert, who was obssessed with the Jack the Ripper murders. We’ll also get a chance to see the dancers working through Wayne McGregor’s much anticipated premiere, a collaboration with music artist/DJ Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt of Mike Snow. At 6:30 PM GMT (2:30 PM here in NYC), McGregor and Ronson will discuss Carbon Life. Sprinkled throughout the day are interviews with dancers and artistic staff, including director Monica Mason.
This is a huge undertaking by the company and dancers, and we can’t wait to tune in. We’ll be participating through Twitter, too, using #RBLive and #RBLquestions to pose our thoughts and queries for the artists. And of course, if you can’t watch live—West Coast, we feel you—the Royal plans to immediately rebroadcast the day and post highlights. —Kina Poon
