Jump to content

tabitha

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    241

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by tabitha

  1. tabitha
    They are also human and have bad days and problems at work just like everyone else. Interesting that the assumption is always management is bad and dancers are beyond reproach.
  2. tabitha
    Interesting that nobody thinks that there is any truth in Tim Couchman's post? I wonder why he would have risked such a long, detailed articulate post? I suppose if the dancers didn't dance the piece the way it was intended then it wouldn't have looked its best on stage.
  3. tabitha
    Umm not sure that's quite the way round I saw it. You have made some very bold statements and been very definite that success cannot be achieved without a minimum of 170 degree turnout and completely refuse to accept that there may be any exception to this, potentially destroying a 9 year old's dream in the process. You haven't explained what allows you to make such non-compromising statements and you accuse me of being "ill-informed, conjecture and bias" ....... and I'm the aggressive one?
  4. tabitha
    It's not I'll informed - I know many of them personally. Sorry pro Ballet but what exactly are your credentials and how do you have the authority to speak on behalf of all vocational school selection processes?
  5. tabitha
    Meant to say that my friend's daughter struggled with natural turnout due to hip socket position. She auditioned at Tring a few years ago and her mother was allowed in with her during the physio assessment and was told that 150 degrees was 'enough' and the rest could be achieved with ligament stretching and 'tricks'.
  6. tabitha
    I'm not sure things are quite as stringent as Proballet suggests. Ballet is based on other attributes such as artistry and musicality, as well as physique. I have seen plenty of students at RBS White Lodge and Upper School with less than the suggested cut off of 170 degree turnout.
  7. tabitha
    Never seen an outright lie but the arts (including ballet) world is legendary for its ability to exaggerate and present the most ordinary things in the best possible light to make them sound amazing. Some of the claims for success or creatively-written biographies I have seen are staggering when you know the real story / facts. Reminds me of the old theatre reviews where a critic may say something like "this production completely fails to be exciting" and then the quote above the door is "exciting!".
  8. tabitha
    Not keen on anything I've seen from MB. I've really tried and it's OK but I'm just left with a feeling that's it's a pale imitation of classical ballet and I'd rather watch the real thing.
  9. tabitha
    Several reviews appear to be suggesting that Ashley Page and others just not convincing as an elite classical ballet company and not up to the pointe shoe dancing, which of course MB dancers never usually do. Probably would have worked as a MB interpretation but in choosing to recreate the film so closely, then the feeling seems to be that elite classical dancers of Royal Ballet standard or similar should be used?
  10. tabitha
    Agree with all of that and know plenty of young, talented ballet dancers who do all of that but understandably get a little deflated when they see the few who do none of that, behave appallingly and everyone turns a blind eye because they are the talented favourite! One thing about ballet (and other areas of life) in the real world is that reward is not always directly related to effort.
  11. tabitha
    Some of the other links are based on historical reasons e.g. schools set up specifically to support companies a long time ago and the nature of these relationships ebb and flow and are not very strong in some cases. This is different as it is something brand new which has been deliberately created and seems to be more than a link as it talks about auditions for student associates specifically at Central and it seems unfair to limit this to one school, especially in this day and age where ballet is a global business and we are trying to widen participation and access and give equality of opportunity to all. I just think it is a step backwards and sends the wrong message. It also tries to play on its long history of employing dancers from Central but in reality MB has employed dancers from all over and also has employed many dancers from contemporary and musical theatre schools as well in the past, so why favour one school in particular.
  12. tabitha
    Not good news for all the talented dancers in other schools who won't get this opportunity. Such a shame that someone like Matthew Bourne has identified a preferred school when he of all people has a reputation for taking a wider range of dancers. I really don't know what is to be gained from these types of collaborations other than to deny others opportunities. Companies should just take the best dancer for the job regardless of school attended.
  13. tabitha
    Most non-Uk European ballet company auditions ask for a minimum height of 5' 5". There is a definite trend towards taller dancers at the moment.
  14. tabitha
    Yes I'm sure they haven't all got previous musical theatre experience, but maybe some former training or even just the right look. Anyway my point was really that I thought this production might be looking for more authentic classical ballet dancers, especially with Wheeldon's background and the context of ballet and I was really surprised at some of those turned down but it seems a more musical theatre approach has been taken and the appointment of James Orange seems to confirm that.
  15. tabitha
    Interesting casting from James Orange Casting who are renowned for their musical theatre work. I heard of quite a few well known female ballet dancers from our top classical ballet companies who auditioned for this but lost out as they didn't have the more musical theatre vibe that they seemed to be looking for.
  16. tabitha

    Olympics 2016

    tabitha replied to alison's topic in Not Dance

    Yes the hyper-flexibility is freaky, but the whole performance utterly mesmerising! The commentator said they do 3 hours of ballet and 3 hours of gym training. I felt so sorry for Yana - she is clearly the most amazing performer and one small mistake cost her the gold.
  17. tabitha
    At 12 there is a long way to go and I really wouldn't let anyone put you off as there are still so many bodily changes yet to come! And expectations regarding physique proportions seem to be relaxing a bit. Even Royal Ballet seems to have taken on a few shorter legged, longer bodied stockier girls recently under O' Hare's directorship, so there's hope for all.
  18. tabitha
    And Georgia Bould previously was a student from ENBS when she joined, but has now been given a full cintract. So 4 out of 5 is good.
  19. tabitha
    How rude! That is what parents and pupils have been told previously when questioning why 1st and 2nd years are not featured as much.
  20. tabitha
    I agree, having two White Lodge pieces that were overly long and included every member of the lower school in one or both was strange. Technically it is supposed to be a graduate (3rd year) performance so 1st and 2nd years have never been fully represented, but with fewer, longer pieces than normal, even many of the graduates struggled to feature much this year which was a real shame. Overall I enjoyed the performance but for me I think some recent previous years have had better and more varied pieces which have shown off the full range of graduate talents, rather than confining to just a few.
  21. tabitha
    I was referring to graduates in the general sense, not just the 12 graduates on the Northern Ballet graduate scheme. However, I assume you think that I am saying that all 12 Northern graduates should have been taken on, which is not what I am saying at all. What I am saying is that it is disappointing that out of 10 joiners, only 2 are graduates (in the broadest sense). Whilst I understand that some experienced dancers may be needed, I think 2 is disappointingly low. It is also disappointing that out of 10 taken on last year, 6 have left after a year. I also think that all companies have a duty to support graduates coming out of training by taking some of them into their companies and 'growing your own' rather than just taking formed dancers from another company which has done the hard work but that may be a topic for a different thread.
  22. tabitha
    No particular issue with Northern. Two threads with related topics started around the same time so have commented on both. The company has a high turnover rate compared to other UK companies that publish information and a lot of recently taken on dancers have left. It's an unusual situation which has been remarked upon. It is also related to the other thread in that there have been a low number of graduates taken on, again an unusual situation and sad for graduates trying to get their first position.
  23. tabitha
    It is actually 10 leavers for this year (I missed one) and if you include Martha & Tobias, that makes 12. It's not so much the actual number but it is a high proportion of the company - 25% turnover for the last couple of years, whatever the reason, is high by anyone's measure.
  24. tabitha
    My points have been made but in summary they are: 1. it's disappointing that out of 10 joiners, only 2 are from school / graduate programmes 2. Only 1 out of 12 from Northern's own graduate programme has been taken into the company 3. Unlike most of our other vocational training institutions, the Northern graduate programme doesn't appear to publish its graduate destinations. 4. Approximately 25% of the company has left this year (12 leavers out of around 40) with half of them only having been there a year.
  25. tabitha
    It's a nice theory but out of the 9 dancers that are leaving, 6 of them had only been there for one year i.e. 4 apprentices and 2 new corps members. Another one had been there 2 years. So hardly an exodus of seasoned dancers.......
×
×
  • Create New...