SheilaC

I saw the performance tonight of the Paris Opera Ballet School. The programme included two of my favourite French ballets, Roland Petit’s Les Forains and Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc. Although it was Petit’s first ballet it already demonstrates his innate theatricality yet ultimately is very sad, as the circus artists, in the title, get no financial reward from their committed performances. Despite a few obvious mistakes it was well performed and quite moving. The middle ballet was by Kylian, Un Ballo, and was to two of Ravel’s best known compositions and was more contemporary. As I expected, the impressive opening tableau of Suite en Blanc gained huge applause and the applause continued throughout the performance, deservedly as most of the student dancers pulled off the tricky choreography. It’s a great tribute to classical ballet and I wish ENB would dance it again.

My daughter was much more unlucky. We went to Amsterdam to see DNB and she was due to fly back to Teesside yesterday, but the plane was cancelled and there were no hotel rooms available so she had to spend the night at the airport. She finally got home at lunchtime today, no idea how her boss reacted. I travelled to Paris by train, which was very late, but far better than being stranded.

The year's subscription is now half price if you are a subscriber to the Paris Opera. Subscriptions for performances open to the general public start today at noon, French time; subscribers get a reduction on the tickets booked through the subscription process if 4 or more performances are selected. As an existing subscriber I have already booked tickets for next season, including Oregon, Mayerling, Sylvia, Paquita.

I rarely sit in the stalls circle but last night I did and to my utter amazement the woman next to me hit me on the hand! I was silently retrieving a cough sweet from my bag as I could feel the nervous cough developing that I occasionally develop at the theatre and she told me to stop and hit me. I decided not to say anything, even in the intervals or at the end, as I assumed she must have mental health issues and I didn't want to exacerbate things.

Sorry I got confused in my last post, saying that Yu was dancing both performances. I had originally included a reference to Miki dancing on the Thursday but then thought I'd got it wrong and changed the post. Whilst Yu is regarded by the company as their most promising female dancer, Mika is already a true ballerina, wonderful when she danced with Cesar in his last performance of Sleeping Beauty and exceptional with him in Giselle some years back. I do hope forum members won't cancel their tickets. The BRB production is very good and very well danced at all levels- and ticket prices at the Wells are arguably better value than at the ROH!

I was devastated to get the news from BRB. Thankfully she has been replaced by an exceptionally good Lise, Yu Kurihara with Lachlan Monaghan. Here's hoping Alina is ok.

In my email to ENB, Alison, I did also request them to put printed cast sheets on the walls, like other companies, but the reply did not mention that.

I emailed the company last night about the lack of printed cast sheets. I have just had a reply that states that at every performance there is a small number of printed cast sheets available on request at the theatre. That was not the case at the performance I attended (the Thursday matinee a week ago) as I asked several members of theatre staff, to no avail, and overheard other people making the same request. However, I hope this information will be useful to other forum members attending any of the remaining performances.

Wednesday September 11 to Saturday 14. She will just be dancing in the MacMillan piece, Ballade.

Well I am a friend, and tried several times yesterday to book on-line, without success- San P's message encouraged me to try again, just now. It still says that tickets can't be booked on line.

Today’s Le Figaro has a very interesting article on developments at the Paris Opera. I will summarise some of the main points but as I don’t always fully understand the dense language used in the French quality press I may miss some nuances, please correct if necessary. The director, Alexander Neef, and Jose Martinez, director of dance, stressed that there is a genuine attempt to fully involve all staff across the Opera in the decisions. Both theatres will be closed, first the Garnier then the Bastille, for at least a year each, to modernise their technology and scenery, and the Bastille will be opened up during the day, but these developments are unlikely to take place until 2027 at the earliest. Although seat prices will continue to rise the aim is to hold a third of seats at below 50 Euros but charging 170 Euros for ballet for those who are willing to pay. Ballet schools will be opened in Japan, Corea and Brazil, in addition to the existing one in Chile. With the live Bolshoi cinema performances disappearing the POB will replace them with Pathe Live. In 2025 the Garnier will celebrate150 years of the theatre with galas. A junior ballet company of 18 dancers will be formed, supported by Chanel. They will have a 24 month contract, and will benefit from further training and will take part in major ballet productions such as Sleeping Beauty. The Nureyev Foundation will assist in developing his productions to make them more appropriate for modern audiences. This is just a brief summary of a very complex article and focusing on ballet, there was much more on opera and developments for the musicians.

Well, at least there’s some Balanchine , although far more limited than in Wayne Eagling’s day (I once went to a festival he organised that had 3 days of completely different Balanchine ballets)- and one of Robbins’ most sublime pieces. And Four Schumann Pieces is a modern classic.

Having now seen 3 performances I do think that the pony is missed given that so much of the choreography alludes to horses. Instead the cast sheet refers to 2 peasants, which confused me before I saw the production- they are the men that pull the cart and also help with the maypole. The first cast I saw was the one that will be shown Live in cinemas in Europe tomorrow. Lise was one of my favourite POB ballerinas, Leonore Baulac, who is very feminine, has a friendly personality and good technique so should be ideal for Lise. Colas was Guillaume Diop, who has been much publicised but, although he has a good technique, he still lacks stage experience and he didn’t establish a convincing relationship with Lise, so important in this ballet. Widow Simone was Simon Valastro, for many years a dancer with POB but brought in as guest artist from Italy where he has returned to develop his career as choreographer. When Alexander Grant mounted Fille on POB in 2007 he selected and rehearsed Valastro as Alain, and his understanding of the ballet deepened the performance, he didn’t overhype the humour but revealed the close relationship with Lise, whilst being funny in the clog dance and the battles with Lise. All the Alains were good and all won great applause at the end. The second Fille I saw had Marine Ganio as Lise; although there has been much discussion of the way the newish director, Jose Martinez, has given opportunities to young dancers with Fille, Marine has mostly only in his regime been given good opportunities, despite being a sujet for 12 years. Her famous brother, Matthieu, was sat in front of me- although he was 40 this week, so only has 2 more years to dance, he still looks boyish. She danced well and her Colas, Jack Gasztowtt, was easily the best one I saw, he has a stunning technique and their relationship was believable. Their Widow Simone, Hugo Vigliotti, mostly played for laughs. The third Lise , tonight, was Clara Mousseigne. She was initially supposed to do her first performance next week, and I was so impressed by her in the autumn that I booked to see it so it was a surprise when the performance dates changed. She has a very secure technique, a good jump and precise footwork and better epaulemant than many POB dancers and a lively personality and looks very young so she was an ideal Lise. She was only made a sujet last year so it was probably her first major role. Her Colas, Antonio Conforti, is also a new sujet, but has been in the company 12 years and was disappointing, his technique was suspect and he lacked partnering skills. Their Widow, Florimond Lorieux, was good. Each performance had the same Thomas, Alain’s father, but he was disappointing, even more of a cardboard figure than usual. The production was rehearsed by Christopher Carr, amongst others, including Elisabeth Maurin, whom I always regarded as the most English of the French ballerinas. The lighting was too dark in places and the music sometimes too slow, slower than the conductor, Philip Ellis, would normally play for BRB. But, despite slight reservations, it was wonderful to see Fille again, POB have performed it at least six times since they first produced it in 2007. Can the Royal Ballet say as much.

Whilst most of us will be delighted to see Onegin returning, I’m also excited about the rep for the April Paris Opera Ballet School performances. As usual they offer excellent ballets that we rarely see: in 2025 a Tudor ballet, that I confess I know nothing about, Continuo, and some Bournonville excerpts from Napoli, plus Bejart’s ever popular Seven Greek Dances. POB already has a version of Sylvia ( by Neumeier) so it’s interesting they are to mount Legris’s production. Johan Inger’s onward march continues.

I'm going too, having loved her performances in Fille, when Alexander Grant selected and rehearsed her in Fille in 2007. But unfortunately her performance in the celebration of Yvette Chauvire was very disappointing, the Paris Opera Ballet failed to organise, or rehearse, a gala that suitably honoured that great ballerina.

Audiences in Sunderland were good, both in size and appreciation. There was warm applause but the level of applause for individual solos varied according to how well they were danced- the audience was fairly discriminating. Momoko was well nigh perfect, both technically and in charting the development from excited young girl to more mature womanhood. And her smile... so similar to Margot's in warmth, lighting up her face, and the use of her eyes. Yu is very much a ballerina in the making. Her poise and technique as Aurora are impressive and as the Lilac Fairy she had the gracious authority so essential to that role, reminding me of how Maggie Barbieri shone in it in the early days of the production. Miki didn't dance in Sunderland but when I saw her in Birmingham I was very impressed by her technique and control as I was by Shang, always such a musical and lyrical dancer. My feeling is that the women are stronger than the men but the young Cuban dancer, Bello. of whom Acosta has great hopes of future stardom, dancing his first performance in Sunderland, displayed spectacular technique and wonderfully soft landings, partnering a radiant Celine. Some reviewers and fans feel that the production is showing its age but overall I think that the choreography, the costumes, the clever scenery, have worn well although nowadays one might expect less traditional mime.

Actually, Peter, the reduction in performances on tour started some while before Covid and the reduction in personal incomes. Caroline Miller, the highly effective CEO of BRB, was on the Today programme on Radio 4 at 8.50 this morning talking about how the funding from Birmingham City Council has fallen in 10 years from one million pounds to nil (the year after next). She said that the company employs about 200 permanent staff, as well as many freelance and occasional staff. She was positive that the company would be able to find sufficient financing from other sources to survive, unlike the other, much smaller, arts company that was also interviewed, whose spokesperson made the point that small companies have an important role in helping develop some artists and staff who later join and contribute to the major arts organisations.

Paris Opera Ballet are announcing the 2024/2025 season next Wednesday, 20 March, at 12.30 our time.

One of my memories is of a lovely interview Jan did with Alex in Cheltenham, where he was dancing with BRB on one of the wonderful split tours. He was just about to leave BRB to join the Royal and he shared his hopes for how his career could develop in London. He said he’d try it for two years to see how it went!

Lucky you, John S. I get the impression that the Sarasota tickets are going fast. While that's great for the company and ROH it's not so good for lower level Friends or the general public. I have been to every single Ashton masterclass, sometimes at great inconvenience- yet there are unlikely to be tickets left when I am allowed to book. A while back I wrote to Kevin to ask if regular attendees to the masterclasses could be allowed priority booking. He replied that it would be too complicated, which I understand. But the outcome will be that some wealthier Friends will secure tickets, even though they have rarely if ever attended a masterclass, while devotees like me may not be able to go.

This will be brief as my WiFi has broken down and I'm not good at typing on my phone. But I wanted to do a brief summary of the new Phoenix programme for those who like contemporary dance and live near the venues where the company will be appearing: Dundee, Liverpool, London, Malvern, Doncaster, York. I have watched Phoenix since they started over 40 years ago. Living up to its name the company has evolved through many iterations, starting with 3 boisterous young black men from inner-city Leeds. It now has a new director, Marcus Willis, formerly of Alvin Ailey, and new dancers. They are all very good, above all Phikolwethu Luke amongst the men and Dorna Ashory among the women. Whilst it's worth attending a performance to see the dancers alone, the first piece is well worth a journey. It is Requiem (excerpts), an edited version of the piece Dane Hurst, the company 's previous, all too brief, director created last year in conjunction with Opera North. Previously a superb dancer his choreography is fluent and moving. The second piece is by Miguel Altunaga. I have always really enjoyed his ballets but didn't enjoy Cloudburst. It seemed long and repetitive, difficult to understand and made my friends and me uncomfortable. According to the printed programme ( very well produced and good value at £4) it's about sacrifice. I think it's influenced by African-Cuban religion which focuses on the supernatural. But the Guardian review is very positive about it so I'll be interested to see how I react when I see it again in York. Finally the third work is by the artistic director, Terms of Agreement, supposedly about love, including an interesting duet for 2 men. It's to a number of popular songs plus some narration. The dances are quite varied but with brief pauses between them. It's bright both in terms of lighting and, mostly, mood. Overall, a varied programme with great dancing.

Oxfam has second hand bookshops. They are mostly in cities, London, York etc but general Oxfam shops will accept books (they all have book shelves) and will often pass on specialist books to the Oxfam bookshops or put them on on-line second hand book sales. My local Oxfam shop has a member of staff who's very knowledgeable about books and will pass specialist books to the York bookshop.

I agree with Alison about how good the 'other' Fille version was- particularly as danced by Velicu; I enjoyed her dancing as much, perhaps more, than any other dance piece, she had a lovely flow to her movement and technically was very polished.. Many companies across the world dance pre- Ashton versions of Fille, including the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Their former prima ballerina, Viengsay Valdes (now their artistic director) watched a performance of Fille at the Royal Ballet some years back and said how much she'd love to do the Ashton version; I have a tape of her doing the Russian version and very good she was in it. The Russian version has many similarities with the Ashton version but is more slapstick, less subtle and poignant. The audience was very appreciative, I think we were all trying to clap especially hard to make up for the lack of numbers. But I was horrified when they applauded at the start of The Dying Swan, so totally inappropriate for that ballet, even though Smirnova was no where near as poignant as Pavlova in the excerpt shown on Fonteyn's Magic of Dance. I feared then how they would react to the final, sombre, piece, from Gloria, so bravely selected to end the evening but all was well and it was movingly danced. What I found especially moving was being sat next to an Ukrainian woman and her young daughter, who watched the ballet intently. The mother said how much she appreciates the support of the British people. Her husband isn't in the army, as a successful business man and father of 3 children he's allowed to work in Ukraine, to keep the economy going, and to visit them here, but when her son is 18 he's likely to be called up. After the interval a woman from Hong Kong sat the other side of me, and she said how many people from Hong Kong offer full support to the Ukraine movement. All in all, a lovely evening.

I have been told that the company expects Bello to be able to perform in Sleeping Beauty later in the season but that Samara is unlikely to do so.

This is a very interesting report, many thanks Jan for bringing it to our attention. What struck me most is that Arts Council England pressure seems to be a factor in subduing the amount and type of publicity that Northern can make. This ties in to a disturbing article in yesterday's Guardian about how ACE have threatened any one associated with organisations receiving funds from making any 'political' statements. Apparently ACE withdrew the threat, after criticism, but it indicates the climate of fear. The article also said that it was announced last week that there will be " a full-scale review into ACE" by a government department (Dept for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport), good news as ACE is pernicious as shown by the decision to move ENO From London, historically the baby of the great Lillian Bayliss in trying to take culture to the people of London. But how far that review can be unbiased is perhaps questionable in the current climate.