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MAB

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Everything posted by MAB

  1. MAB
    Oscar already has a fan following in London since dancing in Fairy Doll with the Vaganova students at last year's Russian Icons. I happen to know his former teacher in St Pete's and he rated Oscar very highly indeed.
  2. MAB
    Rameau? Any chance of Christie conducting?
  3. MAB
    I'm afraid I'm less than enthusiastic, primarily because I don't care much for those dancers currently in favour. Alexandrova and Kaptsova have both been demoted, of the female principals only Krysanova and Obraztsova are real ballerinas, though there are better dancers further down the rankings. Pointless to create a wish list of ballets, the Hochhausers choose what sells the best, there are no other considerations. Personally I'm disappointed we're not getting the Mariinsky next year.
  4. MAB
    Amazing!! You were denigrating Matthew Golding and Salenko from day one.
  5. MAB
    These events occurred decades ago and I don't think there's much point in raking over history, however Jennifer Penney rarely did interviews at all but when she did she was always brutally frank and was very atypical of dancers of her generation. The Ballet Association makes transcripts of interviews now but I don't know when they started that practice. Some people tell it like it is, but aren't always admired for doing so. I had a great deal of respect for Ms Penney's honesty.
  6. MAB
    I've a hunch that Corrales may become Osipova's main partner.
  7. MAB
    Although people disagreed with me when I mentioned this before, in a Ballet Association talk many years past. Ms Penney claimed the role was largely created on her after Sibley backed out in the early stages of creation only changing her mind much later when the final form of the ballet was apparent. Everyone will have a favourite Manon and both Seymour and especially Markarova seemed to live the role on stage, but I think Penney gave us more of the choreographer's intentions than anyone else.
  8. MAB
    Agree about Stix-Brunell. for me she is the most under-appreciated, under-rated, under-used dancer in the company. My own feelings about Capybara's initial list is that while going along with most of it I don't agree with it entirely and rate very highly some seldom mentioned in reviews. I think what we appreciate has a lot to do with personal criteria and expectations.
  9. MAB
    This very good amphi seat is still looking for a hone if anyone is interested.
  10. MAB
    Amphi F75 £25 pm if interested.
  11. MAB
    Out of interest, does anyone know how these timings compare to Bayreuth?
  12. MAB
    Apart from Irina Kolesnikova, the Bolshoi's Anna Nikulina will also dance O/O. The two Siegfrieds will once again be Rodkin and Kim.
  13. MAB

    Arsene Wenger

    MAB replied to JohnS's topic in Not Dance

    There was a wonderful tribute to him on Sky News yesterday, from of all people, Jeremy Corbyn, a closet Arsenal fan. He spoke very warmly about Arsene, mostly as a manager but also mentioned how he would find time in his busy schedule to talk to local children on the importance of learning languages. Football has changed radically in my lifetime from being pretty basic to big business with eye watering sums involved. Arsenal hasn't had the spending power of some other clubs and it will be interesting to see how the club fares under another manager. I don' think Wenger will mange another club, but I think it's more than possible he will take on a national team.
  14. MAB
    If the US is anything like the UK, immigration policy can change on a whim. I used to have a job arranging student seminars and I remember a small change in documentation led to an eminent US academic being detained at Heathrow under suspicion of illegal entry. Actually the guy in question thought it was a hoot, however my boss who'd arranged his visa was mortified. It could well be something of that nature, though not granting a visa to an Italian does suggest human error.
  15. MAB
    I'm going out on a limb over this, I considered this the poorest programme ENB has presented for many years and the empty seats around me would testify to a lack of enthusiasm from the public generally. I don't care very little for Forsythe, though the pieces shown were more balletic than a lot of his output and were at least not saddled with pretentious titles. For the rest, the revival of Fantastic Beings really puzzled me, shortening it made it less tedious but it seemed a lot of energy was spent for no real purpose. I enjoyed The Cage but that was it. The dancers were all terrific they danced flat out and deserved their applause, but frankly what I enjoyed most about the evening was going home.
  16. MAB
    These claims are highly subjective, I read that as hyperbole.
  17. MAB
    So one of the jury has her boyfriend among the nominees. Words don't fail me at all but they're not for here.
  18. MAB
    The dates are given in the programme under the heading Creative Team. Laiderette 1954, the other two 1955.
  19. MAB
    A company doesn't announce it's joiners, especially such a high profile dancer as Maria Kotchetkova? That's a new one on me.
  20. MAB
    It's a combination of extracts, I seem to remember a large female corps for that ballet with cages on their heads. Very spooky and menacing when performed in full. The Art of the Royal Ballet by Keith Money has a number of pictures from the 1960's revival with Christopher Gable as the boy and gives a good idea of the look of the piece.
  21. MAB
    No one knows, so far she's not telling.
  22. MAB
    I feel the same and I think it may be because the music has slowed down. The bedroom pas de deux used to be a whirlwind of passion, steps were sometimes fluffed and costumes got ripped, indeed there was almost a kind of clumsiness to it but it looked so real, literally breath taking. To me it now seems over careful.
  23. MAB
    Indeed, I was rather taken aback last night to hear hard core RB fans suggesting Shklyarov should become a permanent guest artist or even join the company outright. The company does indeed have a lot of young talent, but I've always considered it unwise to count chickens before they've hatched, just because a youngster looks promising it doesn't follow that they can carry a major ballet.
  24. MAB
    A couple of things, Edward Watson doesn't seem to fit your criteria for being a principal. Don Q. requires a type of dancer the RB hasn't had in sufficient quantities to make it viable as a repertory work in the past, things are changing now and hopefully the ballet will stay, though far from being a personal favourite it is very much an audience pleaser and the middle act is gorgeous. Paquita requires a line up of top class ballerinas for it to work, again the RB hasn't in the past had the resources for it. Virtually all the choreography is Petipa, though nor necessarily from Paquita. I find the music both tuneful and memorable.
  25. MAB
    The term used these days is employ, some dancers aren't considered suitable for certain roles/ There is also a possibility that some dancers actually refuse certain roles, I've certainly hears of such cases.
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