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Hello! Is #3 (Wendy) still available?

I quite agree that Naghdi is the safest pair of hands besides Nunez and that makes it so easy to watch her. And yes - she does ‘become’ her characters and I’m beginning to think that’s why her Odette tonight was on the chilly side - I think what we were seeing was someone who darent let herself show her feelings too much, in case it might all crumble, as indeed it does. In fact once she knew she was doomed I felt she let herself go completely and felt her utter resignation very strongly. It takes a great artist to be selective in what they show us.

I loved this one also. (Article from 2018) "The 1941 novel – a sort of Ballet Shoes for the theatre" The Swish of the Curtain: an anarchic children's classic rises again Pamela Brown’s madcap 1941 tale of stagestruck children inspired the likes of Dame Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins to start acting. Now it’s stepping back into the limelight https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/may/31/the-swish-of-the-curtain-an-anarchic-childrens-classic-rises-again?CMP=share_btn_url And of course the 'Maddie' sequels "Brown wrote four sequels: Maddy Alone – 1945 Golden Pavements – 1947 Blue Door Venture – 1949 Maddy Again – 1956 Publication Until recently The Swish of the Curtain was the only one of the "Blue Doors" series to have been republished after the 1970s. However, The Swish of the Curtain (2006), Maddy Alone (2007), Golden Pavements (2009) and Blue Door Venture (2011) have been republished by Longwater Books, and Maddy Again was finally reprinted in 2012. As this last book in the series was not published for many years, copies of it had previously become very rare and valuable, and very hard to find. Most recently, Pushkin Press have republished all the titles in the Blue Door series." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swish_of_the_Curtain "It was begun in 1938 when the author was 14 but was not published until 1941"

Blown away by the cinema relay performance, especially Naghdi. I was thinking as I left that her technical ability, as with that of Nunez, allows me to relax and watch her performance without feeling anxious that a technical slip may derail things a little. I never ‘catch her acting’, as I can feel with other performers, actors as well as dancers - she becomes the characters she portrays for me. I prefer that lack of ‘showiness’ - her Act 4 tonight was goosebumps-inducing. And her musicality is on another level.

Interesting to read such varied views. I haven’t seen tonight’s performance yet but from this cast’s first two performances I was totally emotionally engaged and found the lead couple inhabited their characters in a pure and natural way…I didn’t find anything calculated about either of them. As I have said before, art is subjective so everyone has their own perspective and perception of what they see. Very interesting!

Must say, adorable photos RobS! Thank you!

I have not seen it live, but I did catch it on the ROH stream! Again, not to my taste but I do always like my Giselles slightly more deranged than politely insane.

I wonder if you’ve ever seen her Giselle? That, for me, was the moment I saw her vulnerability and I have seen that ever since although I think less so tonight…

I was so enamoured by Naghdi and Ball’s debuts in R&J in 2015, but I’m afraid I’ve never felt that way about her again. About Ball, certainly (his Rudolf and Beliaev among others). But as much as I admire her technique, I have never found Naghdi heartrending other than that first R&J outing. There is something very calculated about her presentation that is a barrier to my emotional enjoyment, and I’m afraid that came across to me strongly this evening. I have Hayward, Kaneko and Sasaki to come still. Aside from Kaneko, I’m not sure the others will be able to match Naghdi on technical prowess. But I am more hopeful I will be able to be emotionally invested in the story.

Thank you for posting the link to that fascinating and still relevant discussion …. lots of bells ringing for me , finding out why all those BBC serials seemed so flat and of course, the empowering aspects of Ballet Shoes. Funnily enough have been discussing that theme recently with ref to other books of our childhood.

nuff said!!

I’m going tonight 25/4 and am very excited as I’ve never seen BRB before. Also just checked the cast sheet thanks @Amanda Liu and Hannah Martin, whose you tube channel I love, is Red Riding Hood - hooray!

Having seen the Naghdi/Ball partnership on Saturday, I would agree that Matthew Ball is perhaps not at his best currently. He had a fumbled ending to his act 3 solo, and I thought he seemed tired, but that’s me speculating. Joonhyuk Jun as Benno outshone him in my opinion. He was a joy.

Finally saw it tonight and other than a tiny slip in Act3 I actually thought Matty was superb tonight. His acting was consistent and committed and he was deeply responsive to the music. As was Yasmine who I thought was technically utterly sublime - and always in character. I wanted to love her odette as much as I did last run but I somehow felt her more as Odile, (dazzling, gorgeous,creamy) until Act 4 when I think she and Matty reached another level. They and the entire corps were just perfection. that balance in act 3 / wow - as Sim said she could’ve had a drink and maybe even a smoke, she held it so long. That and the incredible trembling Odette foot (what is that called?) will stay with me for a very long time. I do hate the constant stopping for applause which wrecks the moment for me - is this happening more here at the ROH or just in this production? so many more thoughts but ghastly train requires my attention… more anon

Indeed. I find it fascinating how different principals and different pairings bring different qualities to the stage and how personal people's responses are to them.

Yes MB dances with such emotion. Also agree with others tonight cf Marianela Yasmine was not as emotional / expressive on this particular occasion, but to be fair Marianela has been a principal for 20+ years so there is that… I saw Marianela dance SL a couple of weeks back and I don’t think anyone can or will ever top that for me. And yes there was very slight stumble by Matt Ball in Act 3 but for me it did not detract from his acting and him really being able to connect with the deep pain of Siegfried which he really brings out for me.

I don’t know how this happened but I wrote something about the applause after the big moment thing and it’s been attributed to Lindsey. I’m very sorry but I don’t know how to sort it out? Moderators?

I think Ball is a very good actor - IMO he also has real stage charisma as a 'romantic hero', which really helps sell the narrative. Thanks for telling me who Benno was. I thought he was excellent!

Agreed! She was utterly amazing. Highlight for me was the black swan adage/pdd in Act 3 it was mesmerising. I absolutely loved Matthew Ball’s Siegfried - the pain on his face when dancing with Odette in Act 1 was so touching - I nearly cried for him - the sorrow of his situation of not being able to fully realise his love as his beloved was a swan projected right of of the cinema screen. Never has a Siegfried moved me in that way. Superb acting as well as dancing. Kudos to Joonhyuk Jun who was a brilliant Benno - his jumps were like he was suspended in air - such a joy to watch. Also shout out to Annette Buvoli who was a lovely Siegfried’s sister - I love watching her dance she’s just so graceful, regal and generous. Basildon Cineworld was packed out, we had a m few dodgy moments with the sound in Act 1 but otherwise it all went off without a hitch. Darcey pointed out that Yasmine Nagdhi did 3 triples in succession in the fouettés and that not every ballerina can do that - I didn’t count them myself but I was glad Darcey pointed it out - how incredible. I really enjoyed seeing all the extra commentary that happens in the cinema intervals - especially how the tutus are made - it was really quite awe inspiring- over 400 costume items for every cast and 60 hours to make each tutu - we are so lucky to be able to witness such art here in the UK.

I finally saw it tonight and other than a tiny slip in Act3 I actually thought Matty was superb tonight. His acting was consistent and committed and he was deeply responsive to the music. As was Yasmine who I thought was technically utterly sublime - and always in character. I wanted to love her odette as much as I did last run but I somehow felt her more as Odile, (dazzling, gorgeous,creamy) until Act 4 when I think she and Matty reached another level. They and the entire corps were just perfection. that balance in act 3 / wow - as Sim said she could’ve had a drink and maybe even a smoke, she held it so long. That and the incredible trembling Odette foot (what is that called?) will stay with me for a very long time. so any more thoughts but ghastly train requires my attention… more anon

Yes, Ball did fluff a bit in Act III. There was a lift in Act I that I also thought was a bit heavy - not sure Naghdi's balance was quite on, and he seemed to have to really make an effort. I found Naghdi a bit chilly this evening. I have previously enjoyed her partnership with Ball, but she didn't do much for me emotionally as the white swan. She's technically fine, but I don't find her very warm or charming...I'm not sure why the Prince would be so smitten with her, honestly. Much more convincing as the black swan. Opening night was something else - and the ending moved me then. And it was okay tonight. But on the whole, it doesn't convince me - feels a bit unbalanced.

Congratulations to conductor Philip Ellis for tonight driving the score at tempi which approach the authentic rehearsal metronome marks (rather faster than we have got used to at the Royal Ballet). Was every cast member to my taste? No, but all showed that speed is no obstacle to dancing this wonderful ballet, despite what we are sometimes told. Incidentally, three choreographers are credited in the programme. Petipa, of course, and also Peter Wright (it is his production and Wright in turn credits Frederick Ashton for an Aurora solo and a pas de quatre variation). But equal prominence is also given to Lev Ivanov, as if Sleeping Beauty is like Swan Lake or Nutcracker. Does anyone know why? As BRB will not have made a mistake, what did Ivanov contribute to this production?

This made me smile. I was there on opening night and actually joined the forum then because I thought it was tremendous. Perhaps not in all technical areas, but there are some performances that just seem to have 'something'. But what I do recall from act 1 was my eyes drifting across the stage and thinking 'he even stands exquisitely'...Vadim's lines really are something other. They way people talk about being mesmerised by certain actors reading the telephone directory, I could watch Vadim walk about doing not very much for quite a long time!

Just back from a very well attended Kino in Rye. Big thanks to jmhopton for passing on their ticket when they were unable to use it. Some, perforce, cursory observations as I’ve had an extremely busy work schedule and sleep is beckoning. I was moved, as I hadn’t been before, by Scarlett’s last act. I’d cut the apotheosis of Odette to reinforce the message that Siegfried has failed, but the pas de deux to the music interpolated from Act 3 is really very beautiful and the Swans turning on Rothbart read powerfully. I’m not sure Matthew Ball was quite on top of his game (was there a near miss in Act 3?) and without, this evening, that technical edge, I found him less involving than William Bracewell invariably seems to be. Nevertheless, there is a connection on stage between him and Yasmine Naghdi that is never less than appealing. Six years ago, she blew me away with the vehemence and freshness of her attack en debut as Odette / Odile. At the moment, I find her now a more polished dancer, but, leaving aside Nunez who is something different altogether, Hayward who I found unsatisfactory in this last time round and Lamb, who does nothing for me in the classics, less interesting than Cuthbertson, less sheerly glamorous than Kaneko (which is not as shallow a judgement as it might read) and less charismatic than Osipova. I share opinions voiced elsewhere that Magri and, particularly, O’Sullivan are currently less consistently impressive than they were as First Soloists and I found Claire Calvert most touching of all for various reasons last time. Naghdi’s technical ability is remarkable, she has the beauty of a Modigliani painting and her musicianship is exceptional, but I don’t always find her emotionally compelling. Some things continue to grate within the concept, notably, 1. If Von Rothbart is known at Court, why does nobody know he has a daughter? 2. Where has Siegfried been between the end of Act 2 and arriving late for the Ball in Act 3 which is, presumably, the evening after? I love the choreography for the Pas de Trois Coda in Act 3. I doubt any cast will expunge memories of Alexander Campbell, Francesca Hayward and Akane Takada, but Joonhyuk Joon, Annette Buvoli (great to see a tall dancer moving at such speed) and Leticia Dias seemed excellent to me. Finally, kudos to the extremely involved and charismatic Maestro who certainly brought everything together through the genius of Tchaikovsky’s score.