RK Martin

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere - I’m sure Members will have seen it , but if not , memories of last night from Dancing Times .

This one made me chuckle: https://twitter.com/bbb_mrs/status/741955274186076160

Thanks for posting the link Janet - cheer in the rain !

There's a really lovely photo on the BBC news website of a couple braving the inclement weather in rain ponchos , laughing happily . If I'm not mistaken it is of Monica Mason and Peter Wright?

These are just my ramblings , which don't add much to what has already been said and perhaps a bit late in the day in view of most recent (& interesting ) posts . Act 1 felt long (50 minutes ) though there was so much to delight in , were it not for the music , which seemed ( to me) to stay at the same tempo - very suitable for creating an atmosphere for the ballet of Frankenstein at the beginning as the curation went up , but then it didn't seem to move on to match what was being danced on stage in that Act. There were some lovely moments when the relationship between victor and Elizabeth is growing including moments when younger dancers join them on stage as their younger selves - the dancing and the choreography were beautiful , but the music seemed to stay the same and seemed to be urging the story to move on . It felt very rushed and yet at the same time interminably long . What for example ( as others have said ) , was the scene in the bar - it seemed to bear no relation to the ballet - unless perhaps it was to show that Victor had interest in nothing but his medical studies, but I think we " got that " from earlier scenes. Several in the audience around me were shuffling and yawning . Act 2 seemed stronger ( though also long at 45 minutes) - there was a change in the music and more emotion . Emotion in the music seemed missing as a whole- left to Scarlet to convey , as someone said above , he can does so well through his choreography ( in the hands of dancers of last night's calibre ) . The very last scene when the creature hugs the dead Victor was meaningful and heart breaking. I thought " yes" THIS is moving me , but all too late and yet in retrospect , when I reflect today there were moments - such as the look on Elizabeth McGorian's face as her daughter was led off to be hanged . Yet somehow , along with much of the choreography , it all seemed to get easily lost. Maybe that's because it was a first viewing ? I'd be glad of and look forward to another ! Act 3 reminded me of La Valse meets Phantom of the Opera , with Elizabeth in a dress that was reminiscent of Giselle. Themes from Phantom in fact seemed to pervade in that act - the staircase , the creature hiding amongst the other guests and hard to detect and the creature himself wanting to love and be loved . This act felt less convincing to me , partly because of the above and partly because there seemed to be not particular relation developed between the creature and Victor. I should mention Laura Morera's eyes on her death. I wondered however she would sustain such large shocked wide eyes , but she did ! The staging / scenery was all impressive - especially the converting the body to the creature scene- though rather more flashes and bangs than you would expect for classical ballet and more like musical theatre - but perhaps that's what modern audiences want and the way of recent newer productions like Alice? And I agree that Thomas Whitehead was a memorable and scary professor . Dramatic ( balletic ?!) licence though to have women in the scene as others have also commented ? There was an almost sexual tension in this scene with a feeling that the professor didn't care about the body he was chopping up & a kind of sexual superiority , which perhaps the addition of the women helped to further convey. For me , one of the most memorable and tender scenes was of the creature dancing with the young William Frankinstein -Victor's young brother - before he kills him- danced by the remarkable young person already mentioned by others . The children were all remarkable throughout , I thought. Once Victor had created the creature the creature literally got up and ran off the table and out if the room , and then there was no development in the relationship between them until seven years later when the creature turns up at the house . We lost a feeling that the creature may have been contemplating all this time about the nature of his creation and relation with his creator . All we got was a sense of Victor's angst at having created something though he didn't seem to know what . As others have said , wonderful PDDs with throws reminiscent of Manon, yet somehow , like so many other strong points of this ballet , easily lost . They deserve to be found and to be recognised , and I hope on future viewings they will be.

Today's matinee was sublime- that's the word that comes to mind. Monotones ... Yasmine , Marienella and everyone ...sublime. Two Pigeons sublime . Akane Takeda sublime - as was James Hay. There wasn't a dry eye in the House at the end.... As a woman from behind said in a loud voice from the heart as the curtain went down........."Fabulous."

I agree with bridiem and was deeply moved by Francesca Hayward's performance on Thursday- even more than her debut. I find her dancing sublime and her dramatic interpretation on Thursday night was full of intelligence , feeling and sensitivity and as bridiem also suggested , with touches I had not previously been affected by . She seems to have a knowledge of the original text and understands the importance of stillness , which she used well, including in the moment of "prayer" before she takes the potion. Also memorable last night was the moment she clasps Romeos hand to her heart - a moment of bliss, ecstasy, joy , a sudden understanding of what true love feels like and the excitement of it - and in addition , her confusion at waking in the tomb. As for Marcelino Sambe, he gave his all as Mercutio and yet so naturally - his dancing , his acting, every move and nuance. He seems to me to be a "class act" , standing out in everything he does . Luca Acri and the whole cast were wonderful too as was the orchestra , notably the brass section . So much owed too to Prokofiev's wonderful score. It was a fabulous evening . What was missing , for me as others have said , was a Romeo to match- one that I could believe Juliet might fall in love with in favour of Paris. One whose kiss (after another wonderful moment of stillness ) didn't look (to me) almost lecherous! How wonderful that Francesca Hayward , Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball have been given such an opportunity at this point in their careers. The future looks exciting - for them and for us!

Dear Terpsicore, You weren't to know when we chatted briefly at the London Ballet Circle meeting on Monday that I am a Quaker! My ballet loving husband is also a Quaker and my daughters were brought up in the "Quaker way"( by which I simply mean that they attended Quaker Meeting and I hope, were influenced by values important to their parents ) . One of them is now an aspiring trumpeter with considerable knowledge of ballet and the other trained at White Lodge for five years, before deciding that academic life was her vocation. When casting came round for the party children in the RB Nutcracker , she used to joke that she would wear a sticky label saying," Pick me, I'm a Quaker". This was in reference to the fact that Peter Wright attended a Quaker school. I have loads of faults, but I don't think my Quaker family and friends would list my love of ballet among them! I have never met a Quaker who disapproved of ballet , so I am really puzzled by your comment. I wonder where it came from and why you suddenly mentioned it in the context you did? Was your father a Quaker perhaps ? The view doesn't represent that of Quakers in 2014 that I know! The Quaker testimony of simplicity does not contradict a love of ballet - as far as I can see . I may worship in a simple Quaker Meeting House but I can still appreciate the beauty of a cathedral. Quakers do try to live simply ( though I know I often fail ) and not to be persuaded into buying what they do not need or cannot afford ( don't we all !!) With regard to the cost of a ticket for Covent Garden , we all of us buy tickets that are within out own financial means and there are also numerous way to enjoy opera house performances relatively cheaply . I make it my business to tell this to people who presume the Opera House is expensive or extravagant . And there are also plenty of other ways and places to enjoy ballet besides Covent Garden- cinema viewings and DVD among them. Quaker Advices and Queries encourage us to, " Consider which of the ways of happiness offered by society are truly fulfilling and which are potentially corrupting and destructive ". I know which bracket I think ballet falls into! It brings me huge pleasure and a richness to my life - and constantly food for thought. Each time I see Sleeping Beauty I am bowled over anew by what it says about human goodness and love and good versus evil - the way that the lilac fairy bows respectfully feet parallel to Carabosse and ..well..I could rave on. And I am constantly full of admiration for the hard work and devotion of dancers (& their families !) and what this can teach us in a world in which individuals elsewhere seems to seek to get famous & rich quick. This post is in danger of coming across as supercilious , which is far from my attention, but just to express that your experience of Quakers seems a rather dated one - or at least different from my own experience of Quakers over the last 30 years! Look forward to seeing you at a ballet event again soon!