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This opened last night with a stunning first performance. I loved it. More thoughts from me when I've seen other casts.

This opens tonight, so all reports/reviews/discussions here please. I can't believe that there is only one week to go until the end of the RB season....where has it all gone??!!

Though not strictly ballet, can we discuss a west end show on this forum. If so, can I talk about a performance whilst still in preview, or do we wait until after official first night?

The 18th National Dance Awards Announcement of Nominations The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the nominations for the 18th National Dance Awards, which are as follows: DANCING TIMES AWARD FOR BEST MALE DANCER Miguel Altunaga (Rambert) Isaac Hernández (English National Ballet) Xander Parish (Mariinsky Ballet) Liam Riddick (Richard Alston Dance Company) Marcelino Sambé (The Royal Ballet) GRISHKO AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE DANCER Francesca Hayward (The Royal Ballet) Sophie Martin (Scottish Ballet) Yasmine Naghdi (The Royal Ballet) Zenaida Yanowsky (The Royal Ballet) Eva Yerbabuena (Cĩa Eva Yerbabuena) STEF STEFANOU AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMPANY 42ND Street Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater English National Ballet Northern Ballet Scottish Ballet BEST INDEPENDENT COMPANY Avant Garde Dance Ballet Cymru HeadSpaceDance Rosie Kay Dance Company Vincent Dance Theatre BEST CLASSICAL CHOREOGRAPHY [Sponsored by The Ballet Association] Akram Khan for ‘Akram Khan’s Giselle’ (English National Ballet) Crystal Pite for ‘Emergence’ (Scottish Ballet) Crystal Pite for ‘Flight Pattern’ (The Royal Ballet) Liam Scarlett for ‘Symphonic Dances’ (The Royal Ballet) Kenneth Tindall for ‘Casanova’ (Northern Ballet) BEST MODERN CHOREOGRAPHY [Sponsored by Northern Ballet] Michael Asante & Kenrick Sandy for ‘Blak Whyte Gray’ (Boy Blue Entertainment) Matthew Bourne for ‘The Red Shoes’ (New Adventures) Michael Clark for ‘To a simple, rock ‘n’ roll…song.’ (Michael Clark Company) Michael Keegan-Dolan for ‘Swan Lake/Loch na hEala’ (Teaċ Damsa) Arthur Pita for ‘Stepmother/Stepfather’ (HeadSpaceDance) EMERGING ARTIST AWARD [Sponsored by The L&M Trust] Harry Alexander (Dancer, Michael Clark Company/ Julie Cunningham & Company) Vincenzo Lamagna (Composer, ‘Akram Khan’s Giselle’ – English National Ballet) Dickson Mbi (Dancer, Boy Blue Entertainment/ Russell Maliphant Company) Botis Seva (Choreography for Far From the Norm and Scottish Dance Theatre) Francesca Velicu (First Artist, English National Ballet) OUTSTANDING FEMALE PERFORMANCE (MODERN) [Sponsored by DWFM Beckman] Antonia Grove in ‘Virgin Territory’ (Vincent Dance Theatre) Shelley Eva Haden in ‘MK Ultra’ (Rosie Kay Dance Theatre) Ashley Shaw as Vicky Page in ‘The Red Shoes’ (New Adventures) Clemmie Sveaas in ‘Stepmother/Stepfather’ (HeadSpaceDance) Francesca Velicu in ‘The Rite of Spring’ (English National Ballet) OUTSTANDING MALE PERFORMANCE (MODERN) Mithkal Alzghair in ‘Displacement’ (Mithkal Alzghair) Christopher Akrill in ‘Stepmother/Stepfather’ (HeadSpaceDance) Karl Fagerlund Brekke in ‘Stepmother/Stepfather’ (HeadSpaceDance) Robert Fairchild as Jerry Mulligan in ‘An American in Paris’ Dickson Mbi in ‘Blak Whyte Gray’ (Boy Blue Entertainment) OUTSTANDING FEMALE PERFORMANCE (CLASSICAL) [Sponsored by Lee McLernon] Alina Cojocaru as Giselle in ‘Akram Khan’s Giselle’ (English National Ballet) Bethany Kingsley-Garner in ‘Emergence’ (Scottish Ballet) Kristen McNally in ‘Flight Pattern’ (The Royal Ballet) Aditi Mangaldas in ‘Inter_rupted’ (Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company) Eva Yerbabuena in ‘Aperiencias’ (Cĩa Eva Yerbabuena) DANCE EUROPE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MALE PERFORMANCE (CLASSICAL) Israel Galván in ‘FLA.CO.MEN’ (Cĩa Israel Galván) Christopher Harrison in ‘MC 14/22 (Ceci est mon corps)’ (Scottish Ballet) Brandon Lawrence in ‘Wink’ (Birmingham Royal Ballet) Marcelino Sambé as Colas in ‘La Fille mal gardée’’ (The Royal Ballet) James Streeter as Albrecht in ‘Akram Khan’s Giselle’ (English National Ballet) The winners will be announced at a lunchtime ceremony to be held in Central London on Monday, 19th February 2018. The event will also play host to the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement and the One Dance UK Industry Award, given in memory of Jane Attenborough, for both of which there are no prior nominations. The National Dance Awards have been organised by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in each year of this Millennium to celebrate the vigour and variety of Britain’s thriving dance culture. They are presented by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle, which brings together around 60 dance writers and critics. They are the only awards given by the body of professional dance critics in the UK. In announcing the awards, the chairman of the Dance Section, Graham Watts OBE, said: “Once again, these short-listed nominees come from a long list of almost 500 dancers, choreographers, other creatives and companies nominated by professional dance critics, during 2016/17. I am especially pleased with the diversity of this year’s nominations list, covering ballet, contemporary, dance theatre, flamenco, hip-hop, kathak and musical theatre. It is a remarkable testament to the diversity of dance in Britain that the 43 individuals nominated originate from 21 countries: to the west, they’re from Canada, Cuba, Mexico and the USA; in Europe, they are from Denmark, England, France, Italy, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Wales; and from the rest of the world there is representation from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Kenya and South Africa. I wonder where else in the world “national” awards for dance would spread so far across the globe? There are a few welcome firsts amongst this year’s nominations: , a composer [Vincenzo Lamagna] is nominated as an Emerging Artist; a musical theatre ensemble [42nd Street] is nominated for Outstanding Company; a Syrian refugee (Mithkal Alzghair) is nominated for the outstanding male performance (modern); and the same choreographer (Crystal Pite) receives two nominations in the Outstanding Classical Choreography Award. The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet top the list with eight nominations, apiece, followed by Scottish Ballet and HeadSpace Dance with five each; Boy Blue Entertainment and the Flamenco Festival [3 each]; and Michael Clark Company, New Adventures, Northern Ballet, Rosie Kay Dance Company and Vincent Dance Theatre [all with 2 nominations, each]. For the second successive year, an Akram Khan production garners the most nominations with four for Akram Khan’s Giselle for English National Ballet; although, this year, that distinction is shared with HeadSpaceDance’s Stepmother/Stepfather; and Boy Blue Entertainment’s Blak Whyte Gray follows closely with three nominations. Other productions with more than one nomination are: Crystal Pite’s Emergence for Scottish Ballet and her Flight Pattern for The Royal Ballet, plus Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes. The Emerging Artist category is the most diverse yet with a composer, a choreographer, two contemporary dance artists and a ballet dancer. The Awards Committee wishes to express grateful thanks to our sponsors, without whom the event would not be possible; to the body of dance critics across the UK for giving their time to ensure the best possible list of nominees; and, above all, the companies, choreographers and performers for giving us such a rich variety of choice”.

Some of it is currently on the ROH website: http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-christopher-wheeldon http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/sylvia-by-frederick-ashton I assume the rest of it will be there soon. Edited to add that there's currently a problem with the listed Nutcracker casting. Calvert, Kish, Maguire, Dyer and Marriott are down to do every single performance! Edited again to record that this has now been corrected. They're now down for 2 performances rather than 24!

Casting for the Royal Albert Hall now announced as follows (Prince/SPF/Clara): December - 28: Cesar Morales, Momoko Hirata, Karla Doorbar 29: Matinee - Brandon Lawrence, Celine Gittens, Arancha Baselga 29: Evening - Tyrone Singleton, Jenna Roberts, Laura Day 30: Matinee - Mathias Dingmann, Miki Mizutani, Karla Doorbar 30: Evening - Brandon Lawrence, Celine Gittens, Arancha Baselga 31: Matinee - Tyrone Singleton, Jenna Roberts, Laura Day 31: Evening - Momoko Hirata, Cesar Morales, Karla Doorbar Some nice casting, but I'm a bit disappointed that London isn't going to get the chance to see the Lawrence/Matthews partnership in this ballet, which is just magical. Ah well, fingers crossed for Sleeping Beauty!

I've started a new topic as the other one is focused on casting. QPAC's YouTube channel has several film clips re: Royal Ballet events. This one gives an overview of their Made on the Body choreography exhibition.

I cannot find another thread for this but wondered if they have announced Nutcracker casting yet for the London Coli season. The website is a bit frustrating as you can go into Nutcracker but it wants to take you straight to the booking at the Coli and I would like to see casting first if possible for the days I can go. Have I missed a trick from their website? Or perhaps too soon for casting announcements for December etc? Many thanks anyone with any more info

BRB opened their Autumn season with David Bintley's Aladdin at The Lowry yesterday. This production is a great family entertainment and last night we were treated to a dazzling performance from the whole company. Mathias Dingman was a real young man about town until he fell in love at first sight with the Princess. Momoko Hirata was just divine as the Princess. Iain Mackay frightened the life out of me as the Maghreb and Tzu-chao Chou was a pocket rocket as the Djin! Nao Sakuma and Tyrone Singleton set the stage alight as the Rubies. What a great start to the season.

My husband is gutted because he doesn’t do Facebook and there’s no way to share it. I am loving the Bolshoi class teacher. He’s amazing.

Okay,I know what you're thinking. ..I just wanted to know when places release their dates. We missed everything this year due to holidays and I've promised DD she can go next year but I also like to book our holidays in advance. Thank you.

Apparently the RB's season starts tonight, and I hadn't even registered Thoughts and other feedback here, please.

It returns on 5th October. We all need to save the day!

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the Mariinsky rehearsal of Paquita grand pas (setups) taken from the mixed bill also including Infra and Carmen Suite, at the Royal Opera House, August 2017 Here are some sample photos... Viktoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Viktoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov & artists of the company © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs: Mariinsky Ballet: Grand Pas - Paquita Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

I would much appreciate some advice. I can afford two visits so have decided on Swan Lake and Bayadere, mainly because I've seen Anna Karenina and don't enjoy DQ. I know it is hard to be exact about casting, but any recommendations as to whom I should look out for? I like my ballet lyrical, Cojocaru and Asylmuratova being my absolute favourites.

I was at the rehearsal for 'Don Q' the afternoon (NB - Act One only) before the opening night. Here are some photos: Viktoria Tereshkina, Kimin Kim © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Viktoria Tereshkina © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Ekaterina Chebykina © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs: Mariinsky Ballet - Don Quixote Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the rehearsal for Swan Lake by the Mariinsky Ballet, at ROH July 2017 Here are some photos: Xander Parish, Viktoria Tereshkina © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Viktoria Tereshkina © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Xander Parish, Viktoria Tereshkina (and company dancers) © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs: Mariinsky Ballet: Swan Lake Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

Just some set up shots from Anna Karenina's rehearsal today. Konstantin Zverev - Count Vronsky and Diana Vishneva - Anna Karenina Diana Vishneva - Anna Karenina and Artists of the Mariinsky Ballet Anna Karenina - Diana Vishneva More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk

I can't be the only one who was at the RBS showcase this evening, surely? I only started attending RBS events a year ago so am a bit green and don't feel qualified to comment in detail, but I found it absolutely strong throughout. Varied repertoire, no weak links, dancers who consistently engaged with the audience. Though it was a "mostly Upper School" showcase, I actually probably enjoyed the one White Lodge piece (Erik Bruhn's "Here We Come", danced by boys from years 10 and 11) most of all. For me, the standout among the Upper School boys was - as it was last year - Harrison Lee. Many strong dancers among the ladies but I was particularly taken with Yu Hang (the pas de deux soloist in Concerto). I spent the interval chatting with Mike Volpe, OHP general director, who (having watched rehearsals) picked out Nadia Mullova-Barley as having particular star quality (for the record, last year his similar pick was Arianna Maldini).

Was surprised to see most of the casting is on the ROH website for Summer, can't see it anywhere here yet, sorry I can't copy but can remember M and A casting as: Yanovsky/Bolle Ferri/Bonelli Osipova/TBC Lots to think about!

The January edition of the Dancing Times says that the Mariinsky Season next year will be from July 24 to August 12. They open with Don Q and follow this with Swan Lake, Anna Karenina (Ratmansky), and a Triple Bill (Carmen Suite; Infra and the Paquita Grand Pas), closing with La Bayadere.

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at the dress rehearsal of the opening night cast (opens on 28th April). Here are a few photos: Francesca Hayward, Edward Watson © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Sarah Lamb, Zenaida Yanowsky © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Edward Watson, Natalia Osipova © Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs - RB: Mayerling Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr By kind permission of the Royal Opera House

Well, today's matinee certainly worked for me. This is the second time I've seen it and I found a lot more to enjoy and think it is a fantastic piece. However, the third act could do with some fine tuning - it lacks any dramatic narrative or cohesion which means the ballet ends on a downer rather than the reflective mood which I think they are aiming at. Act 1 belonged to Matthew Ball. I was blown away by the expressive warmth of his movements, as were my neighbours. I am not so sure about Hirano in this piece but perhaps it was just that Ball was so drop-dead fantastic. Naghdi also absolutely in a class of her own. This was evident even though I didn't realise it was her at first. This is a difficulty with Woolf Works - it really is hard to sort out who is dancing. Act 2 was Campbell's moment and indeed all the cast were fabulous. However, I couldn't help remembering Osipova and Macrae in this piece who again were at another level. All in all a fabulous afternoon with the exception of the ROH cloakroom arrangements which are now beyond parody.

Anybody seen any casting for the two tours? I know the BRB are normally late announcing casting, but surely they must know by now. Or am i just missing the links?

I cannot find the list of subscribers as such any more. There's a list of online users not quite the same thing but there appears to be no list of regular members of the forum .....any advice on this?