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Pas de Quatre

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  1. Pas de Quatre
    In view of the new tv series of 3 Musketeers, which looks as if it will be very successful, perhaps Northern Ballet should think of reviving their ballet. I thought it was a wonderful piece too, and really admired the sleight of hand in the dénoument at the end with the box of diamond studs.
  2. Pas de Quatre
    I don't want to offend anyone, but if schools aren't interested in ballet achievements, perhaps it is simply through ignorance. Being selected for an Associate scheme is a real honour, being offered a place at Vocational school even more so. Maybe the school didn't ask the results of the audition because they assumed you would tell them if it was good news, and thus thought it was a "no" and didn't want to risk upsetting you. Can I suggest that parents and teachers should try to educate their local schools. Don't hide your light under a bushel, make them understand how important it is. Or you could try the local newspaper, they will often run a human interest story, and the schools may then take more notice.
  3. Pas de Quatre
    Yes they are gorgeous. But you have to remember they are the very select few, selected from all over the USSR (as it was in those days).
  4. Pas de Quatre
    It was lovely to see this, however I too was somewhat underwhelmed at times. Emeralds is very low key, but bordered on boring. And in spite of what Balanchine may have intended does not really look like the "French School". Rubies was more upbeat, but at times it seemed almost a bit dated now, off-centre balances and classical contorsions have been pushed so much further in the last few years. Diamonds worked best, but was almost too cool (as in cold not trendy!). The elegance and body lines of the dancers whether corps, soloists or principals was gorgeous though. One thing I find irritating is the way the camera keeps the dancers in the centre of the frame even when the male principals are flying round the stage in leaps and turns. The background rushing past almost gave me motion sickness, and you lose the sense of how much ground they are covering. I was very pleased that they announced that they will be showing Marco Spada on 30th March rather than The Golden Age, which I have seen before.
  5. Pas de Quatre
    http://cheezburger.com/157957?ref=whatspopular For those who missed Sherlock's pirouette in the recent series, here is more evidence of his dance talents (amongst other things)!
  6. Pas de Quatre
    When I wrote ask any Spanish speaker, I meant anyone learning Spanish would know the correct pronounciation. A don't suppose in the great scheme of things it matters that much, but as it is an easy short name, why not get it right? The "o" s in Rojo are the same as in the English word "follow".
  7. Pas de Quatre
    Nope, it is just the Spanish word for "red", ask any Spanish speaker (of which I am one).
  8. Pas de Quatre
    For Don Q it depends whether you are trying to say the Spanish version, Don Quixote ( Don Kee-HO-tay) or the French version Don Quichotte (Donkey Shot) both are correct. The original book was Spanish (Castellano) but the first ballet was in Russia where the language at Court was French. Rojo is pronounced with a short first "o" , like in "rock" and a long second "o".
  9. Pas de Quatre
    I do a similar thing to Spanner, but use the wool wash with a "wool & silk" or "delicates" liquid.
  10. Pas de Quatre
    With you 100% on that Fonty.
  11. Pas de Quatre
    Yes that is the one. If you go to Google Images there are masses of photos of her, including that, but I couldn't separate it out to make a link. Another very old one I love was taken on a boat in the med. She and Robert Helpmann (if I remember correctly) are doing a barre on deck holding onto the railing. They look tanned and happy, a great picture.
  12. Pas de Quatre
    Funny how all the best photos are low arabesques or attitudes! Not a gymnastic split from anyone. One of my favourites of Fonteyn is where she is simply pointing behind, framed in a stone arch outdoors. Will try to find it tomorrow.
  13. Pas de Quatre
    That is the trouble with filming live performances. What looks atmospheric live on stage can become very gloomy on film or tv. Normal filming or tv transmission uses very bright lights.
  14. Pas de Quatre
    You have to remember that the Russian theatres where Petipa was choreographing ballets had much, much larger stages than those in UK. The groupings of dancers dressed the stage but still left plenty of room to dance. Here they would just get in the way.
  15. Pas de Quatre
    I think this is a case where it would be worth mentioning her illness at the audition. Or perhaps you could send a short letter beforehand. She shouldn't worry that the scabs might still show, nobody would mind, but if you explain that she has had time off I am sure they will take it into account.
  16. Pas de Quatre
    I saw RB's Sleeping Beauty too and had mixed reactions. Although Cuthbertson has some lovely lines and a light jump I felt she was miscast. There were serious wobbles/strain in both the Rose Adagio and the Grand Pas de Deux in the last act. She also fell off her triple pirouettes a couple of times and had a few stumbles. I simply don't think she has the strength for this role. The role of the Prince is a thankless one, lots of wandering about looking noble and very little dancing. Polunin perhaps wasn't mature enough to project the whole time, but his dancing was excellent and in many ways he reminded me of a young Nureyev. His partnering was also attentive and first class. The Lilac fairy was danced radiantly by Claire Calvert - you could really believe in her magic! Hopefully she will be given more roles in future.
  17. Pas de Quatre
    It may be splitting hairs, but I understand talent and potential to mean exactly the same thing. A talented student has the potential to achieve more!
  18. Pas de Quatre
    What you may have already noticed is that you see some of the same dancers at preliminary auditions for different schools. Those offered finals won't necessarily be exactly the same people for each school, but in general I would expect those 50 you are talking about Jazzpaws to have been offered finals at several schools.
  19. Pas de Quatre
    Just a quick reminder, audition panels are not looking for perfection - it doesn't exist in ballet anyway. At this level they are still looking for potential, to see if a dancer has the attributes to benefit from that particular schoo'ls training, Of course a certain level of technique is needed, but it is more about what can be learnt in the future than what has already been learnt.
  20. Pas de Quatre
    I can remember feeling very short-changed the first time that I saw Giselle at ROH without a one act ballet before it. I still don't understand the policy, Giselle is relatively short, so it is the perfect opportunity to present short pieces, either from the established repertory or new choreography!
  21. Pas de Quatre
    Margot Fonteyn was indeed a wonderful dancer, I was just old enough to see her dance live, both with Nureyev and with others. Unfortunately I think she was exploited by all around her from a young age, if what Meredith Daneman wrote in her biography of Fonteyn, published in 2004 is true, and there is no reason to doubt her accuracy. (This is not a book for children, in some areas there is almost too much information.)
  22. Pas de Quatre
    A memorable partnership at ENB a few years ago was Thomas Edur and Agnes Oakes.
  23. Pas de Quatre
    DD and two other pupils attended for several years when it was at Dulwich, i.e. they liked it so much they went back year after year. I haven't had any pupils attend recently, but I imagine it will be just as good. As usual Andrew Ward has assembled a first class faculty. Definitely recommend it!
  24. Pas de Quatre
    Dance Forward. It used to be a residential course, but they now do 3 days non-residential which can be booked individually . Have a look on their website, if I remember correctly two are ballet and the other is for different disciplines.
  25. Pas de Quatre
    It's the ballon - that moment of suspension in the air!
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