Do you go to the Stage Door?

[alison]

No slight taken, at least not by me  

[Mary]

Let's just leave it that, they are an outstandingly talented pair of the most superlative dancers, and  evidently very nice people, and we are jolly lucky to have them in this fabulous partnership at RB, currently giving some performances the like of which I doubt I shall see again-  so 3 cheers for Vadim and Marianela (first names for once).

 

[Dawnstar]

So from what @bangorballetboy& @capybarahave said above, would I be right in inferring that dancers will usually take half an hour to an hour to exit even on nights where they don't have any functions to attend afterwards? That's useful to know. I had half thought of trying to stage door on Saturday but as I'd only be able to stay about 20 minutes at most it sounds like it wouldn't be worth trying.

[LinMM]

I haven't done it a lot but it is unpredictable but allow at least 30 mins!  

I was once waiting for a couple of students after a performance and they were the last to leave!! So waited well more than an hour!! 

I can only assume that they themselves were staying to meet and chat to the famous dancers there that night and get their autographs too!! 

[RuthE]

It really varies.  I don't go to stage door after ballet but occasionally do after opera, and sometimes have arranged to visit an artist backstage.  If somebody has a lot of visitors on their backstage list they might take longer to come out - I also remember one occasion when I went backstage to see a friend on the occasion of her company debut, and there was a short drinks reception somewhere down by the dressing rooms before they all left.  That's on top of the obvious considerations regarding how tricky somebody's costume and makeup are to remove.

 

On other occasions I've almost missed somebody altogether because they've come out with such speed that they are already at the door by the time I've been to the loo or queued for the cloakroom.

[capybara]

The male leads are usually out the quickest (after about 30 minutes but sometimes longer if they have 'notes' from their coach afterwards and much longer after Nutcracker when the Prince's wig has to be de-glued). The female leads habitually take over an hour, except where they have arranged to come down specially to meet groups of fans or friends (as described by bangorballetboy above).

However, it isn't all about the Principals. Not all the dancers come out via the 'official' Stage Door but those who do appreciate being appreciated - as long as fans don't keep them for too long!

[Quintus]

By way of contrast to the time it takes the dancers to get out, I'm always amused by the speed at which the orchestra manage to make an exit. I've often managed to be one of the first audience leavers at Sadler's only to find sundry musicians with large instrument cases way ahead of me, legging it up Islington High St at a rate of knots!

[assoluta]

1 minute ago, Quintus said:

By way of contrast to the time it takes the dancers to get out, I'm always amused by the speed at which the orchestra manage to make an exit. I've often managed to be one of the first audience leavers at Sadler's only to find sundry musicians with large instrument cases way ahead of me, legging it up Islington High St at a rate of knots!

 

I confirm! The musicians are often leaving as if the building is itself on fire.

[assoluta]

32 minutes ago, capybara said:

Not all the dancers come out via the 'official' Stage Door but those who do appreciate being appreciated - as long as fans don't keep them for too long!

 

All dancers do appreciate "being appreciated", they really do, and they will listen with a sense of gratitude to anybody telling them how moved they are by their dancing and acting.

[JohnS]

1 minute ago, assoluta said:

 

I confirm! The musicians are often leaving as if the building is itself on fire.

 

Or a throw back (decades ago) to last orders?  

And musicians may well have a head start, leaving after the conductor is brought on stage and the acknowledgment to the orchestra from the whole cast which I always find very touching and invariably richly deserved.

[alison]

Even if I've been in stalls circle standing, and able to make a quick getaway, I frequently find there's an ROH musician ahead of me in the queue for the lifts at Covent Garden tube.

[bridiem]

30 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

Or a throw back (decades ago) to last orders?  

And musicians may well have a head start, leaving after the conductor is brought on stage and the acknowledgment to the orchestra from the whole cast which I always find very touching and invariably richly deserved.

 

Me too; but I do wish that when the conductor takes his/her solo front of curtain bow, they wouldn't gesture down into the orchestra pit, which they often do - I know the orchestra do the actual playing, but it just highlights the fact that they've all long gone. Either the orchestra should stay until all the applause is over, or the conductor should simply take a solo bow and not draw the audience's eyes into the empty pit.

[Farawaydancer]

On 21/02/2019 at 09:58, bangorballetboy said:

I went to the ROH stage door last night as I had some photos I hoped to be autographed.  Lovely chats with Bennet Gartside (who signed my Judas Tree curtain call pic) and Lara Turk and a few hellos and "lovely show" with some other dancers and stage management.  But, I also had a Sylvia curtain call pic with Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov and I was hoping they would come out sooner rather than later.  About 2305, Marianela came down, still in her tights but with a dance cardigan and wonderful woolly salopettes and boots over her shoes.  Even though she is still recovering from illness (which wasn't at all noticeable in her performance), she stayed for about 25 minutes.  Everyone who wanted to see her, queuing as if to meet Santa Claus,  got a hug, a picture and an autograph (or 2 or 4 or 5).  Some children asked for advice and Marianela answered with humility and encouragement.  She even took off her shoes and signed them for two young girls who were there (and went back to her room to get another for a third girl who was there).  The whole experience was unforgettable and so very heart-warming; one of the true stars of our age giving so selflessly of her time and enthusiasm.  

 

Left just after 2330 (work night...) with no sign of Vadim (so I'll have to do it again another time)!

 

My daughter was one of the lucky girls to be given the pointe shoes from her feet and meeting her is something she will never forget and so inspirational for her as a young dancer. Such a shame Vadim didn’t make it out and we’ll have to return another time 😉

[Dawnstar]

Is it usual after RB performances for there to be what must be over 100 people in a huge clump round the stage door so it's impossible to see who is exiting? This is my first attempt at RB stage dooring & if it's always like this then it'll also be my last. I've never seen this many people when I've stagedoored after operas here.

[Balletfanp]

It’s not always like that, no. But certain dancers do attract larger crowds than others sometimes.

[Sophoife]

12 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Is it usual after RB performances for there to be what must be over 100 people in a huge clump round the stage door so it's impossible to see who is exiting? This is my first attempt at RB stage dooring & if it's always like this then it'll also be my last. I've never seen this many people when I've stagedoored after operas here.

 

I dunno about today but I can remember in 1994 there were almost 200 peeps waiting (I made a rough head count as I was so amazed) both nights I went (Baryshnikov Don Quixote, with the Dulcinea a different dancer from the Kitri).

 

Staff had to create an exit lane for people like Derek Rencher and his little dog, Oliver Matz, Stephen Jefferies, Adam Cooper, David Drew, Genesia Rosato, and Sylvie Guillem. On the Tuesday it was Mr Rencher and dog again, Mr Drew again, Miss Rosato again, with the added delights of Irek Mukhamedov, Viviana Durante, Stephen Wicks and Bruce Sansom.

 

I may add that both those performances, the cast sheets tell me, included Gary Avis, Alastair Marriott, Christopher Saunders and Jonathan Howells, all of whom are, 25 years later, still performing with the company.

[capybara]

This is unusual. The Principals are taking ages to work their way through a massive throng.

[Dawnstar]

I had to give up after about 45 minutes to go for the train. During that time I managed to speak to only 2 people: Mayara Magri & Kevin O'Hare. Maybe I'll try again at the end of March, when I'm seeing a matinee so won't have to worry about getting home. At least, do dancers come out after matinees when there's an evening show too?

[Sim]

Bennet Gartside posted a picture of the crowd on Instagram.  He said it’s the biggest crowd he has seen in his 25 years of leaving through that door.  I haven’t seen that many since the Naghdi/Ball R&J!  But I usually don’t go to the stage door so I wouldn’t really know. 

 

I think crowd numbers not only depend on the dancers, but also day of the week, weather, etc.  

[capybara]

7 hours ago, Sim said:

Bennet Gartside posted a picture of the crowd on Instagram.  He said it’s the biggest crowd he has seen in his 25 years of leaving through that door.  I haven’t seen that many since the Naghdi/Ball R&J!  But I usually don’t go to the stage door so I wouldn’t really know. 

 

I think crowd numbers not only depend on the dancers, but also day of the week, weather, etc.  

 

Astonishingly, the crowd was at least three or four times as large as it was after that memorable R&J matinee. Last night, the press of people was so great that it really  needed ‘crowd control’.

Word has it that many of the people in the street were from abroad (perhaps Italy in the main) and that the double attractions were Don Q and the fact that both ‘stars’ are becoming increasingly well- known over there.

Quite something! I didn’t ever see that many people for Mukhamedov or Guillem. But I wasn’t around in the Fonteyn/Nureyev era.

[Dawnstar]

11 hours ago, Sim said:

Bennet Gartside posted a picture of the crowd on Instagram.  He said it’s the biggest crowd he has seen in his 25 years of leaving through that door.  I haven’t seen that many since the Naghdi/Ball R&J!  But I usually don’t go to the stage door so I wouldn’t really know. 

 

I think crowd numbers not only depend on the dancers, but also day of the week, weather, etc.  

 

3 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Astonishingly, the crowd was at least three or four times as large as it was after that memorable R&J matinee. Last night, the press of people was so great that it really  needed ‘crowd control’.

Word has it that many of the people in the street were from abroad (perhaps Italy in the main) and that the double attractions were Don Q and the fact that both ‘stars’ are becoming increasingly well- known over there.

Quite something! I didn’t ever see that many people for Mukhamedov or Guillem. But I wasn’t around in the Fonteyn/Nureyev era.

 

Just my luck to pick one of the busiest evenings in recent memory for my first attempt at RB stage dooring! Maybe I'll give it one more go & see what it's like on a more "normal" night before writing it off as a hopeless thing to attempt.

 

@capybaraI agree with you on needing crowd control, both because it looked to be difficult for people exiting to get through the crowds & because at times some of the crowd looked to be in danger of getting run over by cars driving down Floral Street. Maybe the ROH needs to think about barriers or something on really busy nights, like West End shows with big stars in have. I stood on the pavement on the opposite side of the road, apart from when I went to speak to Magri, in order to keep out of the way of both people & cars. I had a couple of passers by ask me who the crowd was for & heard quite a few others commenting on it as they walked past.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Maybe the ROH needs to think about barriers or something on really busy nights, like West End shows with big stars in have. 

 

Yes, maybe. But this made me want to say that the ballet leads really are BIG STARS,  not just last night but in pretty much every show. Yet there they are, each night, facing quite a barrage of expectation from fans and then setting off into the darkness, often on their own.

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Yes, maybe. But this made me want to say that the ballet leads really are BIG STARS,  not just last night but in pretty much every show. Yet there they are, each night, facing quite a barrage of expectation from fans and then setting off into the darkness, often on their own.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the RB dancers aren't stars (in the dancing world at least, I'm not sure if they have the general public name recognition of the Hollywood film stars that come & headline WE plays for limited runs).

[capybara]

7 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the RB dancers aren't stars (in the dancing world at least, I'm not sure if they have the general public name recognition of the Hollywood film stars that come & headline WE plays for limited runs).

 

I didn't take it that way at all Dawnstar. Just saying how it is for me!

[Don Q Fan]

Its usually lively at ROH in my experience and The Bolshoi attract huge crowds too - but La Scala Milan can give a run for your money especially when Roberto Bolle is performing !!

I can remember one Bolshoi visit after the stupendous matinee of DonQ with Osipova/Vasiliev when they ended up having to sit behind the security man's desk to sign autographs as there were so many fans - we were allowed in in small groups as there we SO many people that year but it worked much better because they didn't get crushed and we got our autographs in a calm and orderly fashion!

[yumiko]

The link below is from Royal Ballet Tokyo visit in 2016.

Quite often there is a barrier and numbers of staff from promoting company keep their eye on they become a traffic controller when the waiting fan start pushing other fan.

 

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/royaloperahouse/27202500823/

 

[capybara]

1 hour ago, yumiko said:

The link below is from Royal Ballet Tokyo visit in 2016.

Quite often there is a barrier and numbers of staff from promoting company keep their eye on they become a traffic controller when the waiting fan start pushing other fan.

 

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/royaloperahouse/27202500823/

 

 

Japanese fans are great in number (sometimes at the ROH Stage Door also) but they are always respectful of the dancers - nice to see.

[jmhopton]

I too was at the stage door last night in the foyer and after Vadim has exited into the street (after being his usual polite, smiling self to everyone) I noticed there seemed to be quite a crowd outside blocking my exit so I thought I'd wait. Then Ryio came out so I saw him and then managed to squeeze outside into this mass of people. I've never seen so many since the Osipova/Vasiliev phenomenon (including the evening mentioned by DonQ fan). I couldn't even see Vadim (and he's tall enough!) but I assumed he was behind a mass of people by the outside stage door wall as that was where people were taking photographs. It definitely look as if crowd control was needed; there was quite a rock star atmosphere.

[capybara]

I have a couple of photos on my phone where I think that it's possible to see Vadim amidst the throng but I can't put them on here because I am being told that I can only upload 15.6kb. I obviously haven't got the measure of it with even one photo!

[alison]

The problem has been discussed here:

 

[Celine]

I'm trying to book my tickets for the 22/23 season and as I can only spend three or four days in London for the entire season I have to be extra strategic. 

 

I have really enjoyed my stage door experiences so far, as even when I was not able to meet the dancers I was waiting for, I managed to chat with lovely fellow fans, many of them encouraged me to go back to (adult) ballet. However I've never done it after a matinee - does anyone know if dancers come out of the stage door after a matinee (provided that they don't have a performance in the evening)? 

 

It seems certainly possible in the ballet world, but I don't know if it's common for ROH!

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Celine said:

I'm trying to book my tickets for the 22/23 season and as I can only spend three or four days in London for the entire season I have to be extra strategic. 

 

I have really enjoyed my stage door experiences so far, as even when I was not able to meet the dancers I was waiting for, I managed to chat with lovely fellow fans, many of them encouraged me to go back to (adult) ballet. However I've never done it after a matinee - does anyone know if dancers come out of the stage door after a matinee (provided that they don't have a performance in the evening)? 

 

It seems certainly possible in the ballet world, but I don't know if it's common for ROH!

 

Yes - the leading dancers who will not be involved in the evening performance do indeed come out of the Stage Door after their show. Also, quite a number of others pop out and in.

There is often a very nice atmosphere after matinees - out in Floral Street as well as within the confines of the Stage Door itself.

 

[Celine]

On 26/07/2022 at 13:21, capybara said:

 

Yes - the leading dancers who will not be involved in the evening performance do indeed come out of the Stage Door after their show. Also, quite a number of others pop out and in.

There is often a very nice atmosphere after matinees - out in Floral Street as well as within the confines of the Stage Door itself.

 

That's great news, thank you.

 

I always get so excited after a performance but don't get to 'talk it out' because I tend to go alone, so waiting at the stage door seems a lovely extension and a final fluorish to the whole experience!