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Shmendrick

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    Manchester
  1. Thanks for the tips, the one about the ball sounds really good
  2. This isn't any sort of dance-related injury but it seemed like people on here would probably be able to help. Basically I've had some problems with my shoulders and while doing the physio exercises on them I've noticed my entire back is really stiff. Does anyone know any exercises that might just stretch it out a bit that aren't overly strenuous?
  3. Abebooks is a really good place to get books and quite a few work out cheaper than Amazon. Just finished reading Daria Klimentova's book and I'd recommend that, she comes across as very sweet and there's some really nice pictures both of her and ones that she's taken herself.
  4. I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. Her point was that some women don't like traditional sports due to body-consciousness, not wanting to get sweaty. The same point was made by Jessica Ennis-Hill in an interview. The point about looks was made to say these are sports/activities where those women who are aware of how they look in that way may feel more at home. If it helps more women get active then I'm not really sure why there's so much sneering when we know that there's a drop in women participating in sports past the age of around 14. For example, at my secondary school you could do a different sport every lunch time if you wanted and in year 7/8 a lot of girls did but by year 9/10/11 the teachers were reminding us in class that we could do these sports at lunch if we wanted and hardly anyone did. Also I would rather have had activities like this offered when I was at school than stuff like hockey/netball. I spent most PE lessons sat on the floor claiming I had cramp in my leg. In terms of teaching you how to get fit/stay fit PE classes are really quite useless. We did Scottish dancing in primary school (English) and that was quite fun. It'd be nice to see a wider range of physical activities , aerobics and outdoor activities (camping,orienteering and there may also have been cycling involved) were offered as options when you were in year 10/11 at my secondary school and a good number girls did that so there is interest in other activities.
  5. First triple bill at ROH, slightly mixed feelings. Rhapsody was lovely and practically worth the ticket price on its own, thought Morera's delicacy was a good contrast to Macrae's dazzle and the corps seemed on top form, thought Romany Pajdak stood out there. Not a fan of AoF. Costumes were ugly and unflattering to the dancers and even when they were all on stage together there was no sense of unity among them, from what I could see each group of dancers could've done the same thing in isolation and it wouldn't have affected the dance. Paul Kay stood out though. Gloria seemed well-danced but under-powered until the final moments with just Edward Watson, think this is a work that could do with repeated viewings. As others have mentioned, how long do the intervals need to be? Half an hour is slightly ridiculous when the works are that or less.
  6. Went last night. SO MUCH PRETTY *ahem*. Junor Souza made a cracking Ali, I'm still proud of myself that I didn't drool when he first came on. His switch split leaps were stunning. Birbanto, Fernando Bufala, was equally good, especially in the first act with the villagers where Nancy Obaldeston also shone. Shiori Kase stood out as one of the Odalisques. The Pasha and his assistant were also very well played. Daria Klimentova and Vadim Muntagirov were excellent as always, especially in the "bedroom" pas de deux, although the bit where she was doing splits above his head was slightly odd. She was also lovely in the Jardin Anime scene, as was Lauretta Summerscales. In some places it felt like Vadim could've been more commanding with the other pirates but you can't fault either his partnering or his dancing. The pas de trois with Junor Souza was excellent and he may have actually got more applause than the main two. Costumes and sets are both very rich and especially lovely in the Jardin Anime scene. I was almost blinded by the costumes in act 1! One problem I have with the costumes is that they can very easily make the dancers look like they have disproportionately long bodies, especially the villagers but they still worked really well. The circle was much fuller than I expected, which is very good but I'm sitting in the grand tier tonight and that's still looking pretty empty unfortunately.
  7. Everyone loves Tigana but I hated it with a passion. Lions of Al Rassan is excellent, I also like Last Light of the Sun and Under Heaven. Have you read his latest one yet?
  8. Janet, if you like Simon Scarrow, you might like Bernard Cowell. They have a similiar writing style, IMO. 1356 and the Sharpe books are both good. I'm currently rereading Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay, it's a fantasy with a setting similiar to the last days of the Roman Empire. I'd really recommend it and Sailing to Sarantium, the first book. Did anyone read Pig's Foot by Carlos Acosta?
  9. After so many good reviews it's sad to see so many unsold tickets for the Manchester dates, although the news about a possible recording is quite exciting.
  10. http://dancetabs.com/2012/06/royal-ballet-the-prince-of-the-pagodas-london/ This is a link to Jann Parry's discussion of the music in Prince of Pagodas and Ondine, it might not directly answer your question but it does raise some interesting points.
  11. Rather upset I seem to have managed to miss that, oh well I can live in hope they'll tour it again.
  12. Learn to drive, eek! Actually do some work instead of bitching about how much work I have. Try and save some money.
  13. Ballet Black, I was slightly worried about this because our tickets had "restricted view" on them but we were front row and saw everything. The War Letters(?) piece stands out especially. BRB with Sleeping Beauty at the Lowry with the lovely Jenna Roberts and Iain Mckay, lovely production with dancing to match. Carlos Acosta's Classical Selections at the Coliseum, Diana and Actaeon pas de deux with the wonderful Marianela Nunez, Rhapsody with Yuhui Choe and Ricardo Cervera, Manon with Leanne Benjamin and Nehemiah Kish and Mayerling with Leanne Benjamin, Carlos Acosta and Ricardo Cervera.
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