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Overseas ballet companies visiting the UK in 2013


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It seems that 2013 is going to be a good year for overseas companies visiting the UK. I thought that it might be useful to put all the information about visiting companies in one place. These are the planned tours of which I am aware:

 

Bern Ballet: coming to the Linbury in May with a new full-length ballet (Hexenhatz, I believe)

 

Bolshoi Ballet: coming to the ROH in July/August

 

Mikhailovsky: coming to the Coliseum in February/March with several ballets including Swan Lake, Don Quixote and some one act ballets

 

National Ballet of Canada: coming to Sadler's Wells in April with a Ratmansky Romeo and Juliet

Edited by aileen
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I've just seen that Boston Ballet is also coming to the UK in 2013. They will be performing two mixed bills at the Coliseum between 1 and 7 July. The programmes include pieces by Balanchine, Nijinsky (Afternoon of a Faun) Elo (their resident choreographer) and Kylian.

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Boston? My goodness, when were they last over here? During the Nureyev era? (And what I'd have given to have had them over here back in the mid-90s, when a lot of dancers I liked had gone over to them!)

 

Edited because I've just re-read the Bolshoi dates: with 2 mixed bills, I hope they're not going to suffer unduly against the Bolshoi.

 

Thanks once again, aileen, for keeping us alerted to these things.

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Alison, apparently, Boston Ballet haven't been to London for 30 years. They're coming at the beginning of July whereas the Bolshoi are coming at the end of the month.

 

Programme 1 comprises Balanchine's Serenade and Symphony in Three Movements, Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun and Jormo Elo's Plan to B.

 

Programme 2 comprises Wheedon's Polyphonia, William Forsythe's The Second Detail and Jiri Kylian's Bella Figura.

 

Two interesting programmes, I think.

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Alison, apparently, Boston Ballet haven't been to London for 30 years. They're coming at the beginning of July whereas the Bolshoi are coming at the end of the month.

 

Oops, I was getting my months mixed up. That's good to know. Thanks.

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Programme 1 comprises Balanchine's Serenade and Symphony in Three Movements, Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun and Jormo Elo's Plan to B.

 

Programme 2 comprises Wheedon's Polyphonia, William Forsythe's The Second Detail and Jiri Kylian's Bella Figura.

 

I notice that booking for this is now available on the ENO website. Programme 1: http://www.eno.org/see-whats-on/productions/production-page.php?itemid=2342

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And here's another one which has passed us by, but which has appeared on the ENO website: http://www.eno.org/s...hp?&itemid=2358 (scroll down for links to programmes 2 and 3)

3 separate programmes: 1: Cleopatra - Ida Rubinstein; Le Spectre de la Rose; The Firebird

2: Cleopatra (again) - Scheherazade

3. Cleopatra (obviously they're hoping you're not sick of it by now); Chopiniana; Polovetsian Dance [sic] (a cut-down version, perhaps? :) )

 

16th-20th July, London Coliseum

 

Obviously we're getting double doses because of being deprived of visiting companies during the Olympics this year, but this is starting to get a bit silly ...

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I hope that I've got this right, but it seems that Shanghai Ballet is bringing its production of Jane Eyre to the Coliseum in August (14-17). There's nothing on the Coliseum's website but tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

 

Does anyone have any news on the Stanislavsky's rumoured visit this summer?

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Interesting: the combination of Shanghai and Jane Eyre is one I would never have thought up, but there you go.

 

Haven't heard a thing about the Stanislavsky, but really, hasn't London got more than enough ballet visitors this year?  It's getting a little silly (plus they will probably all be undermining each other's ticket sales in the end, I should think).

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The Sadler's Wells programme for this autumn is just out.  Stuttgart Ballet are there 18-23 November with Taming of the Shrew and a mixed programme of work new to the UK. (The new season may not be up on their web site yet. There is lots of interest even if it doesn't strictly belong in the subject matter of this thread. Mark Morris returns..)

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I'd very much like to see Stuttgart Ballet. It's interesting that they too are going to Sadler's Wells rather than the Coliseum, like SFB and NBoC. Going to the Coliseum with anything other than the best known classics is a huge financial risk, as we have seen this year.

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Interesting: the combination of Shanghai and Jane Eyre is one I would never have thought up, but there you go.

 

Someone very much 'in the know' suggested the other night that this was something we should not save up for. What a risk going to the Coli while the Bolshoi is still at ROH!

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The Sadler's Wells programme for this autumn is just out.  Stuttgart Ballet are there 18-23 November with Taming of the Shrew and a mixed programme of work new to the UK. (The new season may not be up on their web site yet. There is lots of interest even if it doesn't strictly belong in the subject matter of this thread. Mark Morris returns..)

 

I got very overexcited when I saw this news!  I do hope I can get down to SW to see them.

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Booking just opened this morning for Stuttgart Ballet at Sadlers in November 2013 - matinees on both Saturday and Sunday, great for us out of town people! Just booked my seat for Taming on Sat 23 Nov (mat)  :)

 

(PS delighted to get my lovely 20% Sadlers multi show discount by also booking Bourne's Swan Lake which returns to Sadlers in December!!)

 

 

Correction: matinee for Stuggart only Saturday 23 November - sorry. Getting confused doing multi-show bookings....

Edited by nottsballetlover
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Booking just opened this morning for Stuttgart Ballet at Sadlers in November 2013 - matinees on both Saturday and Sunday, great for us out of town people! Just booked my seat for Taming on Sat 23 Nov (mat)  :)

 

(PS delighted to get my lovely 20% Sadlers multi show discount by also booking Bourne's Swan Lake which returns to Sadlers in December!!)

 

Where did you get the information about a matinée on the Sunday?  It's not available online and the Sadler's Wells booking office don't seem to know about it.  Have they slipped up?

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Where did you get the information about a matinée on the Sunday?  It's not available online and the Sadler's Wells booking office don't seem to know about it.  Have they slipped up?

 

Sorry Bluebird - my mistake. I was mixing it up with the Bourne Swan Lake (which I was booking a Sunday matinee for) because I was booking both at same time.

 

Taming is just Saturday matinee. 

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Someone very much 'in the know' suggested the other night that this was something we should not save up for. What a risk going to the Coli while the Bolshoi is still at ROH!

 

The Shanghai Ballet is indeed coming to the Coliseum August 14-17th with Jane Eyre, it's on the website, if they had waited another week or two, instead they are competing with the Bolshoi's Swan Lake and Flames of Paris!

Edited by Beryl H
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I'd very much like to see Stuttgart Ballet. It's interesting that they too are going to Sadler's Wells rather than the Coliseum, like SFB and NBoC. Going to the Coliseum with anything other than the best known classics is a huge financial risk, as we have seen this year.

 

I think it's the theatre that invites them. I know with NBOC, Sadler's Wells invited the company to bring their R&J. It wasn't a question of the NBOC thinking, "hey, let's go to London, now let's see, shall we book the Coli or Sadlers?"

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I didn't know that, toursenlair. I had always assumed that a company decided to tour to a city and then approached a theatre or theatres. I'm very impressed with the way in which Sadler's Wells is run and I can imagine that theatre being proactive and approaching dance companies, but I can't say the same of the Coliseum, which does of course have a resident (opera) company but still has many weeks when the theatre needs to bring in an income from visiting companies.

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Someone very much 'in the know' suggested the other night that this was something we should not save up for. What a risk going to the Coli while the Bolshoi is still at ROH!

 

 

Do you want lots of visiting companies or not?  If you welcome the range of ballet companies who visit the UK  at no cost to UK taxpayers why not give them some support ? -  At £20 most who have an interest will not need to save up to see a company that has not been here before.  Your observation also seems to suggest that in a great international city like London there is only a small market for ballet .Perhaps it is  the case that out of the millions of people in London there are less than 5,000 people who might want a ballet ticket on any one night?

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Do you want lots of visiting companies or not?  If you welcome the range of ballet companies who visit the UK  at no cost to UK taxpayers why not give them some support ? -  At £20 most who have an interest will not need to save up to see a company that has not been here before.  Your observation also seems to suggest that in a great international city like London there is only a small market for ballet .Perhaps it is  the case that out of the millions of people in London there are less than 5,000 people who might want a ballet ticket on any one night?

 

Yes but the theatre would look odd if the entire audience was seated in the upper circle and balcony.  Seats in the stalls, for example, start at £60.  Plus, if you live outside the London area travel and accommodation costs can be prohibitive.

 

Of course we want to see lots of visiting ballet companies.  I would argue that there is no cost to the British public because the most used theatres for dance do, I believe, receive ACE grants.

 

It may be a fascinating production but as an out-of-towner, the overall cost to me does not have me jumping onto the Coliseum site to book.

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I really feel that these overseas companies have rather over-estimated the appetite for ballet in London/the UK (particularly at the higher prices which many of them are charging) and that it is regrettable that some of them did not wait until next year to visit. There was a half-price offer for Boston Ballet a couple of days ago, which does not bode well for their visit. There is wall-to-wall ballet at the Coliseum for several weeks from the beginning of July and then a three week visit by the Bolshoi to the ROH starting from the end of the same month. The Colisem performances (by both home and visiting companies) during the spring did not sell well and I fear that such a large number of performances this summer may not sell well either. This could be financially very costly for the overseas companies.

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