Im not a natural performer really, says edward watson, despite being the highestranking british male ballet dancer. In the first part, he follows the same daily ritual like an automaton. Sep 23, 2011 the dancer edward watson has an extraordinary physique. After last years critically acclaimed gods garden at the linbury, pita now brings kafkas surreal and dark tale to the. The metamorphosis is the first collaboration between awardwinning director and choreographer arthur pita and royal ballet principal edward watson. The royal opera house starts its 2011 2012 dance season with an unexpected new dance work. Rick guest is one of the most respected dance photographers of his generation and, with his collaborator olivia pomp, seeks to create a lasting legacy for this most ephemeral of art forms. The world of ballet dancer edward watson telegraph.
Transforming the beauty of ballet into something kafkaesque. Alices adventures in wonderland, with all of its humor and beauty and complexity, may be remembered as the first masterpiece of an emerging genre of ballet. With a faultless cast and starring the royal ballets incomparable edward watson as a very ordinary man transformed before our eyes into an extraordinary insect. Watson evokes the nightmarish experience kafka describesof a man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insectthrough the. By author minna moore ede, by author chris ofili, by author conrad shawcross, foreword by monica mason. Edward watson, 37, a dancer known for his exceptionally flexible body and dramatic flair, trained at the royal ballet school and joined the royal ballet company in 1994, where he has been a. Ballet dancer who is known for his time spent as a principal dancer for the royal ballet in london. Edward watson and arthur pita bring the metamorphosis to the joyce theater. Edward watson and arthur pita create the metamorphosis the. Edward watson as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis at londons royal opera house. Choreographer arthur pitas production of the metamorphosis i hesitate to call it a ballet, for it is much more than that is an eerie, thrilling and wonderfully collaborative piece of dance, led most assuredly and most grotesquely by royal ballet principal edward watson, here touring to the joyce theater, new york.
After last years critically acclaimed gods garden at the linbury, pita now brings kafkas surreal and dark tale to the same stage in his. A collaboration between the royal ballet and the national gallery 01 by minna moore ede, dame monica mason isbn. Edward watson is the longest serving principal at the royal ballet and has had more roles created on him than any other dancer in the royal ballet today. Tune in to watch the royal ballets enrapturing edward watson in the metamorphosis this evening. Royal ballet dancer edward watson portrays the grinding tedium of samsas life with mechanical, restricted movements and an illegible mask of a face. The metamorphosis making the surreal, real duration. Royal ballets edward watson returns to brisbane for. This sweeping performance of the ballet metamorphosis with music by frank moon stars the the royal ballet, with featured dancers like edward watson and laura day. Edward watson as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis all photographs by tristram kenton, courtesy joyce theater the story of a man who wakes up transformed into a hideous insect isnt. For his outstanding performance in the metamorphosis, watson received the coveted olivier award. Im delighted to be working with them again and continuing a relationship that first took flight in 20 when we presented arthur pitas metamorphosis featuring edward watson. Pitas head one day when he was thinking about working with the royal ballet principal dancer edward watson. Sep 22, 2011 the transformed gregor is a flickering, disjointed, brittle, sticky creature.
And then, down at the joyce, there was the metamorphosis, the muchheralded dancedrama or something from englands royal ballet, starring principal dancer edward watson. The story begins with a traveling salesman, gregor samsa, waking to find himself transformed metamorphosed into a large, monstrous insectlike creature. Choreographer arthur pitas production of the metamorphosis i hesitate to call it a ballet, for it is much more than that is an eerie, thrilling and wonderfully collaborative piece of dance, led most assuredly and most grotesquely by royal ballet principal edward watson, here touring to the joyce theater, new york watson takes on the role of gregor samsa in this adaptation of franz. The transformed gregor is a flickering, disjointed, brittle, sticky creature. One of the more intriguing aspects of the metamorphosis, the tourdeforce dancetheatre piece created by the choreographer arthur pita for the royal ballet dancer edward watson now playing at the joyce is that it places these physical distortions in a context, puts them to use in the service of a story. The royal ballet, the metamorphosis online culture whisper. The royal ballets the metamorphosis, an adaptation of franz kafkas harrowing novella, becomes available online this week as part of the. The royal ballet in metamorphosis battling to be herself, to be a. Choreographer arthur pitas production of the metamorphosis i hesitate to call it a ballet, for it is much more than that is an eerie, thrilling and wonderfully collaborative piece of dance, led most assuredly and most grotesquely by royal ballet principal edward watson, here touring to the joyce theater, new york watson takes on the role of gregor samsa in this. May 10, 2016 royal ballet principal edward watson, pictured in 2010. Sep 20, 20 the metamorphosis edward watson, a principal dancer with the royal ballet, plays gregor samsa and corey annand plays his sister, grete, in this adaptation of the franz kafka novella at the joyce. Linda nylindthe guardian a principal dancer at the royal ballet has turned on a critic for repeatedly mentioning his ginger.
He first attended dance classes at the age of 3, and was later accepted as a student at the royal ballet school, eventually joining the fulltime school at white lodge, richmond park. In the nyrgallery, laura marsh writes, edward watsons performance as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis shows how thin the line between the beautiful and the grotesque can be in ballet. The dancer edward watson has an extraordinary physique. He later studied at the royal ballet school, graduating as 1 of 6 male dancers in the upper school at age 16. The evening begins with a screening of watson dancing the title role of gregor samsa in arthur pitas ballet. The depaul humanities center presents the second event in its 20162017 transformations series on thursday february 16, when it welcomes royal ballet principal edward watson to discuss art and transformation in the context of franz kafkas the metamorphosis. The metamorphosis the royal ballet by ross macgibbon. Jan 05, 2019 edward watson is the longest serving principal at the royal ballet and has had more roles created on him than any other dancer in the royal ballet today. Arthur pitas dance theatre adaptation for the royal ballet sticks. On metamorphosis the royal opera house starts its 2011 2012 dance season with an unexpected new dance work. The metamorphosis, linbury studio theatre, royal opera house. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the. Tristram kenton for the next month, arthur pitas dancetheatre adaptation of franz kafka s the metamorphosis, which premiered at londons royal opera house in 2011, can be streamed on youtube and you dont want to.
He first attended dance classes at the age of 3, and was later accepted as a student at the royal ballet school. Whilst at the school, he trained with anatoly grigoriev, a former dancer of the. He has won particular acclaim for his interpretation of principal roles in the works of kenneth macmillan, including crown prince rudolf mayerling, romeo, des grieux manon, the chosen one the rite of spring, woyzeck different drummer and roles in gloria and song of the earth, in addition to his many other roles for the. Watch the royal opera house opera and ballet performances. The royal ballets production of the metamorphosis with. English dancer edward watson is a principal of the royal ballet. The joyce theater debuts season with royal ballets the. I dont really get off on the idea of being the lead in the show. The next in the rohs series of free weekly production broadcasts is a facebook and youtube premiere of jonathan millers awardwinning cosi fan tutte from 7pm today 10 april, and the royal ballets the metamorphosis at 7pm on 17 april. Moon, f metamorphosis the dance theatre royal ballet. As of 2004 he is a principal dancer with the royal ballet in london. David mead, seeing dance blog my road to the royal ballet.
While never a textbook ballet prince, edward watson is an extraordinary. With a faultless cast and starring the royal ballet s incomparable edward watson as a very ordinary man transformed before our eyes into an extraordinary insect. The metamorphosis a dance theatre adaptation by arthur pita after franz kafkas novella bluray disc version. Edward watson mbe born 21 may 1976 is a british ballet dancer. Tune in to watch the royal ballet s enrapturing edward watson in the metamorphosis this evening as part of the royal opera houses series of online performances, watch this critically acclaimed production of franz kafkas 1915 novel, choreographed by arthur pita. Sep 26, 20 edward watson as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis all photographs by tristram kenton, courtesy joyce theater the story of a man who wakes up transformed into a hideous insect isnt. Edward watson mbe has been principal dancer at the world famous classical ballet company based at the royal opera house in covent garden, west london, for a record years. Gregor samsa is played with almost intolerable grotesquerie by the preternaturally contortive royal ballet dancer edward watson. It was a fine celebration with which to wish for a metamorphosis of the royal ballet from a smart museum to a creative powerhouse again. Jan 03, 2017 im not a natural performer really, says edward watson, despite being the highestranking british male ballet dancer.
Kenneth macmillan, one of the leading choreographers of the twentieth century, is credited with pushing the boundaries of classical ballet and challenging audiences to look beyond the idealised world of fairy tales into the reality and discomfort of their own mortal existence with ballets that probed into all extremes of the human condition macmillan found a deeper. Sep 17, 20 in the nyrgallery, laura marsh writes, edward watsons performance as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis shows how thin the line between the beautiful and the grotesque can be in ballet. For his outstanding performance in the metamorphosis, watson received the. Tune in to watch the royal ballets enrapturing edward watson in. Jan 31, 2014 edward watson, 37, a dancer known for his exceptionally flexible body and dramatic flair, trained at the royal ballet school and joined the royal ballet company in 1994, where he has been a. His repertory with the company includes major roles in works by frederick ashton and kenneth macmillan, and numerous role creations for choreographers including wayne mcgregor, christopher wheeldon and alexei ratmansky. Kafkas metamorphosis skitters at joyce theater the new. The rest of kafkas novella deals with gregors attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and. Edward watson and arthur pita create the metamorphosis. Edward watson in the royal ballets the metamorphosis is free to view on the royal opera house youtube channel. Watson evokes the nightmarish experience kafka describesof a man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insectthrough the vocabulary. Royal ballet dancer fed up with critics references to his. The cause of samsas transformation is never revealed, and kafka never did give an explanation.
The metamorphosis won a south bank sky arts award and edward watson won the olivier award for outstanding achievement in dance for. The previous evening marked the final performance in the royal ballet season of mayerling, the dancedrama in which watson flexed up a storm as crown. Gregor samsa was danced by the royal ballet principal edward watson, a role that absolutely fits watsons combination of hyperflexible body and expressionist acting. Watson, a principal dancer with the royal ballet, has danced the white rabbit in alice in wonderland, rudolf in mayerling and next year will dance romeo in macmillans romeo and juliet. It was a fine celebration with which to wish for a metamorphosis of the royal ballet from a. Titian 2012, the royal ballet a crossplatform party of dance, music and art as dame monica signs off.
Sep 21, 20 edward watsons performance as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis shows how thin the line between the beautiful and the grotesque can be in ballet. Edward watson in kafkas metamorphosis world premiere. See more ideas about royal ballet, dancer and ballet dancers. Gregor samsa was danced by the royal ballet principal edward watson, a role that absolutely fits watson s combination of hyperflexible body and expressionist acting. Mar 19, 20 royal ballet dancer edward watson portrays the grinding tedium of samsas life with mechanical, restricted movements and an illegible mask of a face. Sep 01, 20 edward watson and arthur pita bring the metamorphosis to the joyce theater. Oct 06, 2015 r oyal ballet principal dancer edward watson received his mbe today from the princess royal today before dashing off to prepare for the first night of raven girl adn connectome watson, one. To read the metamorphosis alongside some of kafkas other writings, choose selected short stories translated by willa and. Join facebook to connect with edward watson and others you may know.
The ballet dancers growing older gracefully stage the. The royal ballet crafts annual ballet festival at the joyce. The metamorphosis, royal opera house, london the independent. Im delighted to be working with them again and continuing a relationship that first took flight in 20 when we presented arthur pitas metamorphosis featuring. And it helps make the future of ballet look a bit less bleak to those who love the dance. It was his former ballet teacher patricia linton at the royal ballet s lower school, who first introduced him to kafkas famous book. It was his former ballet teacher patricia linton at the royal ballets lower school, who first introduced him to kafkas famous book. Edward watson as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis. Rick guest on his photos of the royal ballets edward watson. Dec 11, 20 the role of gregor samsa was created for royal ballet principal edward watson, and draws on his extraordinary technical abilities.
Tall, thin and highly flexible, he can fold himself into knots or reach long legs up past his ears. The royal ballet in metamorphosis battling to be herself, to be a ballerina. But when choreographer arthur pita approached royal ballet principal edward watson about starring in a ballet version of franz kafkas novella the metamorphosis, watson immediately agreed. We worked like actors, reading the book out loud, discussing the. Video feature royal ballet keeps moving under lockdown. Edward watson, like whelan, took a while to find the right collaborators. Edward watson as gregor in metamorphosis performed in the. The rest of kafkas novella deals with gregors attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being. Tune in to watch the royal ballets enrapturing edward. A collaboration between the royal ballet and the national gallery hardback common. Edward watson was born in bromley, kent and was brought up in dartford with his twin sister, liz.
Kafkas metamorphosis skitters at joyce theater the. The metamorphosis edward watson, a principal dancer with the royal ballet, plays gregor samsa and corey annand plays his sister, grete, in this adaptation of the franz kafka novella at the joyce. The role of gregor samsa was created for royal ballet principal edward watson, and draws on his extraordinary technical abilities. Watson, a principal dancer with the royal ballet, has danced the white rabbit in. New york city ballet announces sixweek digital spring season arthur pita brings a kafka classic to life. Edward watsons performance as gregor samsa in the metamorphosis shows how thin the line between the beautiful and the grotesque can be in ballet. The royal opera house is offering free broadcasts of its opera and ballet shows throughout april, with audiences able to stream worldclass performances through its social media channels during the coronavirus lockdown. He has won particular acclaim for his interpretation of principal roles in the works of kenneth macmillan, including crown prince rudolf mayerling, romeo, des grieux manon, the chosen one the rite of spring, woyzeck different drummer and roles in gloria and song of the earth, in addition to his many other. The metamorphosis, linbury studio theatre, royal opera. Royal ballets edward watson returns to brisbane for winters.
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