aileen

Is seat B14 still available, and how would I pay you and get the ticket?

I'm not going to comment further on this thread or any other thread.

Why don't you want to see her go? You have been against her from the very beginning when she replaced Wayne Eagling, something which you've never forgiven her for. 

MAB, I take it that you are wanting to see Rojo go.

And I assume that there is going to be a constant trickle of articles like this, which posters will no doubt bring to our attention on this forum, for some time to come.

Yes, I'd also like to know what outcome the 'whistleblowers' are seeking. I assume it is that Rojo step down. I thought that the comment about Araujo was very petty. There are numerous photographs of her with dancers at ENB on instagram. 

I have no inside knowledge and I have no idea whether the allegations are true or not. I have said previously that a large number of dancers leaving within a short space of time is a big red flag. 

Actually, the article, in referring to a dancer who finished his/her career early and another who wanted to take a break to pursue other interests, does narrow down at least two of the complainants. I can take an educated guess as to who those particular dancers are.

What's the problem with that? The identity of former ENB dancers is not in dispute and some of them have apparently (and we're supposed to accept this) complained about how they were treated whilst they were with the company. 

Well, it's becoming boring. My subjective opinion is no more or less valid than yours. I'm not going to comment further on the thread because it's become quite sour. 

Perhaps you're over-reacting, Scheherazade. And I can do without your patronising 'what a lot of fuss over very little'. 

How do my views deny your right to express your views, Scheherazade? You are the one who used the inflammatory term 'Ball-bashing'. 

Turtledove, why do you post almost exclusively about the internal workings of ENB (I've looked at your posting history)? Are you an ex-employee of the company? 

I can't be bothered with this forum if my views are not to be respected. 

I don't regard my comments as 'Ball-bashing', Scheherazade. I believe that they were respectful. If we're only allowed to express one point of view then there's really no point to this forum. I'm not interested in 'group think'. I stand by my opinion that Naghdi deserves to have the opportunity to dance with more experienced partners who will develop her artistically. 

MAB, how do you know that everything in this article is accurate? 

I agree that Naghdi and Ball do have good on stage chemistry but at this stage of her career (a new principal who is debuting in a lot of new roles) I feel that Naghdi would benefit from dancing with a more experienced partner in some performances. I actually wonder whether Ball is being advanced a bit too quickly in his career and whether he wouldn't benefit from a period of consolidation without being cast in lots of very exposed new roles. I think that he is a fine dancer but, at the moment, Naghdi far surpasses him technically, dramatically and musically. It's not as if she's an experienced principal with many years under her belt; she is still learning and developing. herself.

I assume that the thinking behind this combination is that well known presenter and ballet newbie (Oduba) asks the kind of questions that ballet newbies ask and the ballet insider (Bussell) answers them and explains what we are going to see /have seen. Oduba is a very natural and relaxed presenter who can assist the much less relaxed Bussell and the message given is that ballet can be enjoyed by everyone (including the young(ish) and sports mad) and not just a tiny sub-set of the population. 

I made this point in response to FLOSS' point that when new talented people come into companies other dancers can be displaced in the pecking order. Having observed casting closely over the last couple of years ((I would usually go to opening nights and see several casts in all programmes apart from Nutcracker) Acosta did seem to drop down the pecking order after Hernandez' and particularly Corrales' arrival. I would not expect Acosta to complain about this directly in an interview as it would make him sound jealous. Rojo's policy of bringing in guests for many programmes also displaced Acosta in the casting. 

Yes, I noticed something 'unusual' about Takada's foot too. From my position in the stalls today the dancers' feet were directly in my eye line and I was rather mesmerised by Naghdi's pretty feet and exquisite footwork.

Can anyone tell me whether there were any tweaks to the choreography since the last run. I seemed to recollect that Hilarion (I thought that Mock was particularly fine in the role) was thrown over the cliff by two Wilis before. And the lighting in Act 2 seemed different; I thought that the Willis' costumes had a greener hue last time.

Ooh, I'm posting in trepidation here when I write that, for me, the performance didn't quite catch fire. Now, there may have been reasons for this unrelated to the actual performance on stage (slight vision problem resulting from a medical procedure, a rather restless neighbour and possibly being a bit too far forward) but I didn't find the narrative arc from young girl in love to death completely convincing. Personally, and I've said this before in relation to Nunez's interpretation, I feel that there has to be some clear vulnerability for the death (whether by heart failure, suicide or otherwise) to make sense and I didn't find this in this afternoon's performance. Naghdi danced beautifully apart from some tentativeness in the 'hopping solo' and I felt that her exceptional phrasing and musicality rather showed up Ball's relative immaturity. He seemed to relax once the big pdd in Act 2 was over and really went for it in the dance to his death. I know that this pairing is very much admired but this is the second time that I have thought that Ball was not a match for Naghdi and that she deserves to have a more experienced partner sometimes. I would like to see her partnered with Muntagirov as I think that the finesse and classical purity of their dancing would make them a good match. 

I don't want to add fuel to the fire but, having followed ENB quite closely over the last couple of years, I would say that it was Corrales rather Hernandez who displaced Acosta in the pecking order in terms of casting, scheduled performances (opening nights and evening rather than matinee performances) and creating roles. I know that Acosta has been injured, and no doubt people will say that it's because he became disillusioned at ENB, but I personally feel that he had lost some of his spark and I think that the move to Munich may work out very well for him (obviously, I hope that it does) with plenty of new rep and a fresh start in a thriving company in what I believe is a very nice city.

Realistically, it's hard to meet a partner outside the company when you are working so many evenings plus long days and some of Saturday as well. 

I think that the BBC has become a very cowed organisation after relentless attacks by certain politicians and newspapers. Many of us hoped that Tony Hall's appointment would lead to more ballet and dance bring shown on the BBC channels. One gets the impression that the BBC is terrified of appearing elitist and, as ballet is seen as an elitist art form which only appeals to a tiny minority of wealthy people,  the result is a measly output of one of two programmes around Christmas. The BBC has hours to fill. Is it too much to ask for one or two programmes a month devoted to ballet and dance (and Strictly doesn't count)?

Who do you think will perform at Sadler's Wells in June?