Jam Dancer

Eek! I’m sure that’s what one young lady probably thought of me recently during the interval of a recent triple bill at ROH and this wasn’t even during the performance. She’d been sitting on the floor on the amphitheater level (around the corner past the Left entrance ), something I often do, and was about to leave the empty crisps bag and fizzy drink bottle on the floor. I am not sure what came over me but before I could stop myself, I pointed out that there were several bins about and there was no need to leave litter lying around. Well it looks could kill, I might have been mortally wounded. She did, however, pick them up begrudgingly and put them in the bin. Growing up, my parents told us off if I even dared to put the odd scrap of anything anywhere else but in a bin. I might add that perhaps if I did the profile mentioned in the quote I wouldn’t have had the unpleasant experience at the ROH of being accosted by an usher who demanded to see my ticket. This was all because I said, I didn’t need help finding my seat as I come here often. I am not a big fan of the Coliseum and one of the reasons is the staff but at least they’ve never accosted me in such an aggressive manner as at the ROH. Staffing is quite important. I’d been going to ROH regularly and supported them as a Friend and there I was been suspected of having crept past the door staff st the entrance to sit in an amphitheater (side) seat. Tried not make a big deal of it but several weeks later I was still seething so I wrote an email to them and I did receive a warm response with an apology and a request for permission to use the incident to train staff.

Oh my goodness! That second photo breaks my heart.... So much to look forward from the different casts...

Just in tears (almost) reading this thread - when more posts are added about later performances I’m not sure I’ll be able to read them. Giselle is my favourite ballet and I’d hoped to catch at least one performance of this run. I love my new role in Tokyo but it’s just not possible to pop in and catch a performance so I had to ignore early bookings for this run. It’s going to be a heartbreaking for the next three years😞. Anyway please keep the reviews coming! lots of detail and description pretty please 😜

I could only attend one performance of Sylvia his run unfortunately. I really enjoyed yesterday’s performance and I thought it was well danced. I would’ve loved to have been able to see Cuthbertson and Nunez as well... (sigh) I couldn’t believe it had been 7 years since I saw it last. I went home and took out my previous cast sheets (2008 and 2010) and I think I’m missing one or two. I know I attended a performance where Laura Morera dances the role of Diana but I couldn’t find that sheet. Poor record keeping on my part or am I imagining things? Did anyone else catch this “imagined” performance. I took it all in yesterday and it was wonderful. Good to see Fuki Kaneko back dancing and it was my first time seeing William Bracewell. I really noticed Annette Buvoli yesterday day and gosh Reece has changed since I saw him last in Symphonic Variations and Symphonic Dances(??)... lots of chiseling has occurred. Anna Rose O’Sullivan mad WMU hear skip a beat as usual and it was a pleasure just to watch Joseph Sissens even in the little bit he did. I can’t add any more superlatives about Vadim Muntagirov... There’ll be lots of trawling this forum from Tokyo for the next 3 years. Now for my Nutcracker fix ...

Sorry a bit off topic but I’ve seen it too often... Perhaps it’s just me but when certain people respond to certain topics especially when it has to do with Hayward, there’s always a certain pitting/comparing of Naghdi against Hayward. Perhaps this is unintentional but I always notice it... “Hayward didn’t .. Naghdi did” and other what I perceive as slights... It’s unnecessary and I find it ugly. The press will hype who they will but let’s not try to tear down the person involved. If you think someone else should get more press - support them even more! Correcting journalistic errors is one thing but do we really need a detailed comparison of who has / hasn’t? I love them both and will be equally supportive of both. What I’ve seen of them, they support each other and they also look incredibly, deliciously divine when I’ve seen them dance together - that one time (in Giselle?). Moderators please feel free to delete...I think I feel better already .

Congratulations to all!! Bravo Yasmine, Anna Rose, Reece, Matthew, Gina, Marcelino and others!

Moved

Apologies but I can't be more articulate than to say that it was a wow of a night ! The send-off was quite emotional and wonderful! Last night was the first time I've ever felt emotional at the end of M&A and I'd seen the Osipova performance on Monday. Perhaps it was because of the moment. My shoulders grew weary from applauding and I think I might have teared up a bit too. I'm getting much too sentimental in my more mature years ...it was just lovely!! Back again tonight for my last dose of the triple bill.

Great! Thank you. 1st cast looks great but I'm most excited by 2nd cast if indeed Joseph Sissens is in that cast! Have tix to both casts.

Perhaps three is the magic number? Last evening was my third viewing of this quad bill. I saw the the friends rehearsal and the opening night performance (same cast). I love exactitude and it was great to see a second cast - it was really well danced last night as well (even if I missed Nunez a bit). I really enjoyed James Hay in this. Tarantella was 10 mins of cheeky fun and it was great to see Zuchetti's take on the role. The response from the audience wasn't as raucous as opening night but it wasn't a full house last night. Umm, ahm and there was Strapless whose music I find a tad irritating and whose subject is too inconsequential to hold my interest. I disliked it when I saw the original version but last night, i found myself mildly engaged and I can say (truthfully) that I enjoyed last night's performance. I wouldn't rush back to see it but at each performance, there were people around me who seemed to really enjoy the piece. i wasn't sure about Symponic Dances at first but I had already warmed to the piece on the second viewing and I absolutely loved it last night. It isn't a perfect piece but for all its flaws, it is an engaging and interesting piece. As others have mentioned, there is a discernible difference between the 2 casts - not in the sense that one is better than the other but rather a difference in the aura, intrigue and mood created by the different dancers...

I think the second person was Luca Acri if I'm not mistaken.

I have been to three different performances of Jewels and I haven't seen a lot of empty seats. I'm just on my way home from this evening's performance and although it didn't appear to be completely full like last evening's performance, It was well attended.

On my way home from this evening's performance ( live cinema relay) and I just wanted to say what a treat tonight's performance. I'm happy that I managed to grab a cheap ticket through Friday Rush. Emeralds was lovely. Rubies was exhilarating. Diamonds was simply wow, Wow, WOW! Nunez was simply stunning this evening. I think her dancing left Soares a bit exposed, a lot exposed really... I left in a bit of a crabby mood though because of poor audience behaviour - people who couldn't be bothered to applaud the dancers but quick to whip out their phones to film dancers bowing, a couple stomping out loudly not long after beginnnng of Emeralds, someone trying to film Diamonds on mobile phone mid performance ( I sauntered over and gave a tap on the shoulder and did my best officious sounding "Do you mind ?" ) and number of objects falling on the floor mid performance. Usually I am not that bothered but I think it's getting worse.

I am happy to see the casting information now complete, really I am. I already have a ticket to 1 performance by each cast so the new information doesn't change much for me. What I would really like to know, however, is the additional cast for Symphonic Variations. Why only list the lead couple when the other two couples are on stage for the entire piece? Surely they must have selected the other couples by now? This is one of my favourite ballets and I am looking forward to it, perhaps more so than the other pieces on the programme.

Well the * is now there so I guess it's official. He will be/is back as a guest artist.

OK Sim and Bridiem, I feel chastised (deservedly so) by your reviews! I am not sure what made me think I could get away with going to see a single performance of Jewels. Friday Rush can't come too soon as I definitely need a ticket to see that cast as well. To be fair. I did have a rehearsal ticket that I returned because I was forced to schedule an interview on the same day but then they rescheduled ? after I'd already taken the ticket in. Can't wait to hear how this evening's (1/4) cast got on.

Who or what determines this? I don't think becoming a principal necessarily changes this, does it? Isn't it being first cast or second et al cast that usually determines this? Don't critics usually attend the first night's performance ? How about dress rehearsals? And sometimes a performance later in the production? A few critics I know make a point of seeing multiple casts (rare though). I too think (hope/pray/casting spell as we speak) that Yasmine should be promoted but I can't help thinking that we might be getting ourselves a bit too worked up about it. She has already been noticed than by more than us regulars at ROH. Of this I'm sure. I'm not about to second guess the AD as her performances will not have gone unnoticed... Many have cited how confident in her dancing Yasmine seems to be and some have said she is intelligent and level headed - all this I believe which means although I'm sure she'd love to be promoted, she'll be focussing not on the promotion itself but on completing the season with the fine form she's shown to date. I'm taking a page from her book on this one... Whilst I keep my fingers crossed ( and double check my incantations ), I shan't fret but continue to support her ( and the others) by attending performances and encouraging as many of the uninitiated to go see a performance or two.., preferably three! ☺️

Desmond Richardson was born in the late 1960s so I don't think he would've been a principal in the 70s. I think it was in 1997 that he actually danced with ABT.

I think it was pretty clear I was not commenting on Ms Osipova's performances... If I remember correctly, there have been other dancers in the Aurora role this season or am I mistaken? I didn't say that I didn't attend any of the SB performances. In fact I went to 4 performances and saw 4 different Auroras and I noticed the rapport (or lack thereof) between Aurora and her friends during those performances. Sorry it if that wasn't clear.

No beheading from me .... I didn't go to see any of Osipova's performances. She's a lovely dancer but for SB I was more interested in the more junior dancers.... I'm happy to see that you also noticed the the rapport (or lack thereof) between Aurora and her friends..

Why bring Misty Copeland into it? There are lots of other dancers who are famous that are nowhere the most talented dancer.... Being the most talented dancer there is right now is somewhat a matter of opinion....

This afternoon was my final Sleeping Beauty of the season and it was a fitting end to my 2 weeks of escapism. I am not yet sure how I will get through next week... Anyway... not much new to add. Yasmine's performance was radiant and confident. I love the way she uses her long limbs and her "expansive movement". Matthew was gallant and I was happy to see him do well this afternoon...I'm sure it was nerve wrecking! I really like Anna-Rose O'Sullivan. She brings her personality (what little I know of it) to her dancing and I find that quite infectious. Luca Acri and Meaghan Grace Hinkis were enchanting in the Bluebird pas de deux too. I started with Hayward's performance and ended with Naghdi's and saw Takada and Nunez in between. I enjoyed them all for different reasons. A few observations: Yes Hayward and Naghdi have different styles but I enjoy them both In equal measures. I hope they continue to develop and to delight us in the future and just when we think we've figured them out - may their performances confound all our "expertise" and assumptions. I did notice similarities in how Hayward and Naghdi approached the role in comparison to say Nunez though. After Aurora accidentally pricks herself with the needle and the feels the first effects of the spell, both Hayward and Naghdi hit the floor - Naghdi was on bended knee and if my memory serves me right, Hayward was sitting on the floor. Nunez was still standing after being a bit dazed. Then when it came to the bit where Aurora tries to reassure her friends that she is OK and it was just a little prick of the finger, Hayward went up quite close to her friends so they could see it was nothing serious. Naghdi got close as well but Nunez's Aurora was quite a way back from her friends in comparison. Lastly, there was the passage of dancing immediately before Aurora falls asleep...Hayward was wobbly in her movements and Naghdi wobbled and weakened as she progressed. Nunez went full throttle (not a wobble) and did every step picture perfect and the fell off to sleep. I appreciated the finer details the younger dancers brought to their performances... Award for the longest awakening kiss: Cheeky Matthew Ball! ☺️In most of the performances I saw, the Prince gave Aurora a peck and then lightning flashed, Carabosse gets her comeuppance and Aurora wakes up. Perhaps Matthew went a bit early but it wasn't just a peck this afternoon !!???? I do think the prologue is worth seeing as it is danced so much better than when I saw the production last. Is it all perfect? Of course not but there is so much promise there at the moment, it's exciting to watch. Kudos to Joseph Sissens and Chisato Katsura, two of the artists (amongst all of the other promising dancers) to whom my eyes kept being drawn.

[quote name="Jillykins" post="202406" timestamp="1488032118 My real disappointment was Calvert as lilac fairy. A stumble at start of her first solo may have affected her confidence but she never convinced me she was a fairy. She is a talented dancer but I don't think this is her role. That is just me! That is unfortunate Jillykins and I was in attendance on Thursday and saw the same thing. But I was also in attendance on the Monday evening before when Calvert gave what I thought was a lovely reading of the role in an unscheduled performance. She was comfortable and in command in a way that she wasn't last Thursday evening. I haven't seen everyone in this role and I can't speak from the historical perspective of when the role was originally created and how it was danced. I can tell, however, when a dancer is struggling and uncomfortable - she wasn't on Monday evening. She also brings a feeling of "bienveillance" to the role and I found her mime clearer and more authoritative compared to some of the others. I think she has it in her to own the role and the stumble on Thursday was unfortunate. Not an excuse but the RB's lilac fairy variation is more difficult than that of some other major companies and it's impressive that they stick members of the corps (Storm-Jensen) in for some of these performances ... great chance for development.

It started a couple minutes late so at the moment it looks like between 4:30 and 4:40.

Did someone say that they didn't think Sleeping Beauty appropriate for small children? I am surrounded by 4 of them for this afternoon's performance and I'm very nervous already. And looking around, I can see quite a few more... Let's see how this goes...there are a couple tantrums brewing as I type ....