simonbfisher

We saw the Russian State Ballet of Siberia twice this month. One performance was slightly marred by a lady sitting on the front row videoing the show - I remonstrated with her in the interval, and she turned out to be with the company ...! So off I marched to the Front of House Manager, who was sympathetic but not willing to become involved. Next step - in to the Stage Door, tracked down the Technical Director, a Mr Vitaly Mikhailov. His English and my Russian met somewhere in the middle - he was very apologetic, very charming, and the videoing lady did not reappear in the subsequent act! Nutcracker was a little disappointing, partly because the RB et al were still fresh in the memory. But only partly. It is inevitably a fairly pared-down production ... The soloists worked very hard - and it showed sometimes, but the corps behaved themselves impeccably, certainly no giggling or misbehaving as reported in an earlier post. I fear, though, that illness must have struck, as there was one chap in the corps in the final act who didn't fit his costume and didn't know the steps - or indeed in which direction to go. Imagine Benny Hill in tights .... He would have fitted in splendidly with the Trocks, but it was difficult to see beyond him (and his tummy) and treat the rest of the company with due seriousness. However, Snow Maiden was a revelation. We had not seen it before, and thought it quite enchanting - four very good young leads and a spirited corps. Clever and effective costumes, good sets, and a Tchaikovsky score of bits from here and there that worked very well. We would happily have seen it again, but time and geography did not permit. Both performances (in High Wycombe) were pretty full, and the audiences were a good mix, and very taken with both ballets. I wish them luck in the rest of the tour.

Thank you, MAB, I certainly will. I cannot access cast lists yet, though.

In a search for some winter sun that went wrong, we have booked a long weekend in Warsaw ... We shall see the Polish National Ballet twice in Neumeier's Midsummer Night's Dream on 5th and 6th Feb, and would love to see some more dance (or failing that, some classical music) on Sunday 7th, but I have drawn a complete blank on all the websites that I can find, and with the Tourist Office here in London too. I'd be very grateful for any comments on the National company, whom we have never seen, and/or any pointers about what else we might find. Apart from a distinct lack of winter sun. Can anyone help?

Brilliant, Katherine! My partner gets the exciting sounding "The Flames of Walzes in the Upper Room", which will definitely be a hot ticket! I have the rather more austere "The Winter's Seasons of Exactitude" which will appeal to the purists amongst us.

" ....like satin over steel springs...." Fabulous, Coated!

Can I extend this discussion to clapping whilst STANDING UP?! This seems to happen more and more often, and for performances that are honestly not so exceptional. More in the Linbury than the main house, and certainly more in other venues. It really annoys me, because 1) the stander/clapper is often hooting as well, 2) I cannot see the curtain calls unless I stand too, which would force me to join the enemy, 3) the clapping often takes place with arms held above the head, and 4) it frequently seems that the transgressors is trying to show that they are more enthusiastic than their neighbours, that they are more knowledgeable, that they deserve attention, that their ululations and big shoulders outweigh the timid people behind..... Rant finished. For now, anyway

Aileen, the short answer is not really ....! Have a look at this : http://www.empirecinemas.co.uk/synopsis/casse-noisette_compagnie_live_2015/f4817/ It was a very ingenious plot, with a female Drosselmeyer-type figure referencing Princess Stephanie, whose company this very much is, who enables and facilitates (Ugh) all sorts of goings-on which in turn reference Maillot's own history with the company - highlights from several of his previous productions (La Belle ... Le songs ... etc) - with a hyper-active Nutcracker-type figure as the choreographer. Oh, and Clara is a circus girl, in whose dreams the circus becomes a ballet troupe run by her parents .... I know this all sounds bonkers, but it actually made a lot of sense on several levels as a stand-alone ballet! Hope that helps. Ok, I know it doesn't!

Cuban audiences always clap Giselle's death, even as she is sliding lifeless to the floor .... Very odd.

Harsh words, cavycapers! They can occasionally seem a bit (and only a bit) shambolic, but they stick to a gruelling schedule, penetrate where other companies fear to tread (Basingstoke, for example....) and have some pretty talented dancers, some very young and no doubt wishing they could be at the Bolshoi.... Lots of people get to see ballet, and many get switched on to it, through the tours of companies like this.

We were two of seven in the smallish studio cinema in Poole - and like Bruce we thoroughly enjoyed the show. A couple of caveats - there was an overuse of the upstaging and pushing aside in Act 1, which was as funny as it was unexpected initially, but as a repeated gambit became, to me, slightly irritating; the actual camera work was very different to that we are used to from the Bolshoi and from our own Mr McGibbon and I'm not sure I am as enthusiastic about it as is Bruce, for I felt that there were some very close facial close-ups which were unnatural in the context of a viewing of (at least) a whole body in motion, and the "from above" shots, sudden as they were, had the effect of foreshortening the dancers whom we had just seen from stage level, until the brain sorted out the different perspective..... But there was some splendid choreography, some fine acting and humour, and some nice staging ( the upstage row of changing rooms was very effective). Stephan Bourgand stood out amongst the terrific "home" dancers and Ovcharenko and Smirnov were the icing on the cake.... We have emailed the Empire Cinema chain to say thank you for this screening and to urge them to advertise more widely to reach an audience which is undoubtedly there!

Thank you for that, Bruce. We've now decided to undertake the l o n g drive to Poole to watch it!

We saw this a couple of years ago in Ipswich and we (and the rest of the multi-generational audience) were captivated. It IS a Pita piece, after all...!

And on the subject of the "Nureyev and Friends" DVD I find I have two copies so if anyone would like one, still in its cellophane, for a small contribution to a worthy charity (and I don't mean my ballet seat fund) please send me a PM.

And already available to pre-order on Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=bolshoi+babylon.

Thank you very much, annamk and ambros1a (and for the link, too) - I couldn't get past the glasses! Reminded me a bit of Denis Medvedev ... Really enjoyed watching him. Although it was indeed long, I was engrossed, I must say. I had not been it before, and I thought the choreography was really interesting - perhaps especially the pdds. The final pdd between Zakharova and Revazov was so full of pain - they turned into Weapons of Mutually Assured Destruction. And isn't Kristina Kretova marvellous? I could go on, but I am actually still digesting it. An afternoon well spent, for me at least!

Can anyone tell me the name of the bespectacled suitor? He was superb. (Sorry, Moderators - this a duplicate of what I have just posted on the other thread - 'cos I REALLY want to know!!)

Can anyone tell me the name of the bespectacled suitor this afternoon? He was superb!

But the fish to fry for the number one scaligero not end there. Natalia Osipova, star of the Royal Ballet in London, engaged in the performances of Manon of 18 and 20, he does not want to dance with the Scala Claudio Coviello. He proposed to replace it with Sergei Polunin (which by the way is her boyfriend), but for the theater it would pay another étoile guest. Nothing is decided yet if she will jump or Coviello. In short, bad luck hit hard Manon, and deportation to the United States, as in the story of the Abbot Prévost shot by Massenet and Puccini, it would be almost a relief. " or so the Universal Translator app would have us believe. I hope this helps, Taxi4ballet, but fear it won't !!!

I don't know, DonQFan, but I guess if a company did a lot of mini-tours it might be suffering from tourettes syndrome...? (Sorry)

General booking opens on Nov 30th, acc to the box office phone info.

Thank you so much, Andy and RMM1. Much appreciated! Best wishes, and now off to the cinema....! Simon.

Can anyone point me to a full cast list for this repeated performance [Jewels, 8th November 2015]? I can't trace it in the Bolshoi's website, and what the cinema offers is usually not full (to say the least!)

Thank you, Janet.

Irmgard - thank you for such a full review : as I shall be seeing three casts in Southampton over the next two days it has given me much to think about (and look forward to!)

Booking for Friends+ very slow this morning - took 3/4 hour to secure tickets, and not that many to boot! Most of the time was spent watching the revolving icon (trying to prevent eyes doing the same) and refreshing the page when the ERROR message came up. It seems that the tickets I chose were in fact basketed but there was no indication that this was the case. Pretty poor show, really.