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Hi all, looking for online ballet (preferrably pointe) classes for 16 yr old currently doing upper school auditions. Any help hugely appreciated!

And the official press release: 04 November 2020 ENB at Home English National Ballet launches on-demand video platform featuring Ballet on Demand and BalletActive English National Ballet’s dedicated on-demand video platform, ENB at Home, launches today, giving audiences further access to a wide range of exciting ballet content from the stage and beyond, from the comfort of their homes. ENB at Home offers two services, Ballet on Demand which features world class ballet productions available to rent for 72hr periods; and BalletActive,which offers a variety of ballet-based classes, available by subscription. In November and December, Ballet on Demand will play host to the world premieres of five pieces created for English National Ballet’s new digital season. Filmmaker Amy Becker-Burnett has worked with choreographer Arielle Smith to create the energetic, old movie musical inspired, Jolly Folly; Shaun James Grant has collaborated with Stina Quagebeur on Take Five Blues, a response to Bach’s Vivace and Paul Desmond’s jazz standard, Take Five; Michael Nunn and William Trevitt have teamed up with Russell Maliphant on a mesmerising piece which uses light as an integral partner; and Thomas James has worked on the creation of two films, Laid in Earth which sees a ‘torn apart’ quartet from choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Senseless Kindness choreographed by Yuri Possokhov and based on Vasily Grossman’s great novel, Life and Fate. English National Ballet’s Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo CBE, said: “Amongst the challenges of 2020, we have been able to find opportunity for creation and collaboration. It’s been fascinating to see these filmmakers and choreographers work together, sharing their talent and blending their artistry, in the creation of five very diverse and beautiful films.” Available now on Ballet on Demand are Akram Khan’s award-winning Giselle and the epic pirate adventure Le Corsaire, both of which were recorded specifically for screen, as well as selections from the Company’s archives including Akram Khan’s poignant reflection on the First World War, Dust and one of the jewels of Romantic ballet, La Sylphide. Additional titles will be announced soon. Building on the popular series of classes which ENB made available online during lockdown BalletActive continues to give people the opportunity to actively engage with ballet-based exercise from home with a monthly or annual subscription-based class programme. A wide variety of classes appealing to a range of levels will feature, including technique masterclasses from members of ENB’s own Artistic team, Renato Paroni de Castro and Mayumi Ganley; professional level classes from Artistic Director Tamara Rojo; yoga sessions to complement ballet practice; exercises designed especially for small spaces, contemporary dance for beginners and much more. The first series of classes will be released today with further classes added over the coming months. With the Government’s announcement that England is to enter a second lockdown, English National Ballet’s return to the stage has been postponed. The five pieces that feature in the digital season had been adapted for live on-stage performances for socially distanced audiences at Sadler’s Wells, London, later this month. Sadly, these shows, Reunion: An Evening with English National Ballet, are not able to go ahead. -ENDS- English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. NatWest is Principal Partner of English National Ballet. Sarah and Dominic Murphy are Lead Supporters of the Short Digital Commissions. Charles Holloway is Principal Supporter of Take Five Blues by Stina Quagebeur. #HereForCulture Notes to Editors ENB at Home : Ballet on Demand 72hr rentals from £4.99, no subscription required Stream to your favourite devices Premiere dates for the digital season and further archive titles to be announced soon https://ondemand.ballet.org.uk Ballet Active 7-day free trial then £9.99 a month, cancel anytime; or £99.99 for an annual plan Stream to your favourite devices https://active.ballet.org.uk About English National Ballet English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet’s growth and evolution ever since. English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages including The Bolshoi Theatre and Palais Garnier; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s. Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo CBE, English National Ballet has introduced ground-breaking new works to the Company’s repertoire whilst continuing to honour the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history with a move into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in East London which brings a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk About Arts Council England Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

The Vienna State Opera has changed its details: "Starting with the 2020/2021 season, live performances of Wiener Staatsoper will be accessible free of charge at the Wiener Staatsoper website (play.wiener-staatsoper.at) and on updated apps for Apple, Android, and Amazon Fire TV devices."

Just finished watching Katie Mitchell's marvellous take on Bartok's Duke Bluebard's Castle with the Bavarian State Opera, available as VOD until 10 Mar 2020. https://operlive.de/. If I remember correctly, streams provided by the Bavarian State Opera are accessible from the UK; I don't know about other countries. In Mitchell's production, Nina Stemme plays Anna Barlow, a detective who sets out to investigate the disappearance of three women who had worked as escorts. John Lundgren is Bluebard. I loved the introductory video, setting the scene, and very much filmed in the style of a thriller. It was fascinating to observe how Judith wins over Bluebard to open the doors one after the other. And I found the outcome rather refreshing (no spoiler here but see the synopsis, available via https://operlive.de/). Forthcoming live streaming this season here https://www.staatsoper.de/tv.html?no_cache=1 Live streaming by Stuttgart Opera this season here https://www.staatsoper-stuttgart.de/service/live/ (the site doesn't mention whether this comes with a geo block so I don't know about access from the UK / other countries).

"Stage Door" is a new service to keep ballet goers in touch with their favourite artists and artists in touch with their fans during these miserable times. Every Sunday after lunch during this lockdown (and possibly beyond if theatres remain dark for a while) I shall interview a dancer, choreographer, composer, designer, critic or some other interesting individual over Zoom. I shall talk for 15 to 20 minutes and then throw the meeting over to the audience who can put questions to the guest through the chat facility. To begin we shall start with small audiences but as we get a bit more experience we may move to live streaming over YouTube or Facebook. That's if the lockdown goes on for that long. We are starting with Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet this Sunday. I interviewed him in 2014 shortly after he joined the company and he has come a long way since then. He has performed impressively in some important roles and has tried his hand successfully at choreography and teaching. Above all he is a very nice chap indeed. Next Sunday I have lined up Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet who is the best Myrtha I have seen in many years of ballet going. The week after that I have the world famous accompanist David Plumpton. Now as I am still on a learning curve with this Zoom malarkey, I don't have the brass neck to charge anybody anything. But as the arts and arts education need some help right now I am inviting donations of £5 or more to a good cause of the guest's choice. Gavin has nominated the Academy of Northern Ballet of which I am a mature (if not to say over ripe) student. I couldn't be more pleased with his choice. I can't give you a link to an online donation page but I am sure someone will take a payment over the dog and bone if you call 0113 220 8000, or email academy@northernballet.com. Now I know there is a rule against linking to other websites but I won't make a habit of it and I have already had a word with one of the moderators. If you want to attend any of these talks you have to sign on through Eventbrite because Zoom being Zoom we want to know who is coming. This the link to the signup page for Gavin's talk. Every user of the BalletcoForum website who attends any of the talks will be most welcome.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week fiddling around trying to get a phone or laptop in the right position for all of dd to show up in the picture for online zoom lessons. The issue seems to be that we don’t have a big enough house to get the phone far enough away... Has as anyone found a way to get a more wide angle view from a phone, maybe by blue tooth connection to a webcam with a wider lens? Or is there some other solution that gets the whole of a dancer’s body on-screen even if they move a step or two from their initial position?

http://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/073441-000-A/la-fille-de-neige-de-nikolai-rimski-korsakov-a-l-opera-de-paris This was live streamed last night and is now available online. While I can't see the programme on the English-speaking site of Arte, there is a comment on the French site that the programme is available worldwide. The reviews that I've seen in the media where rather positive, in particular about Aida Garifullina in the role of the Snow Maiden. Information about the production here https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-16-17/opera/la-fille-de-neige#head