aileen

Well, after a long and distinguished career at the RB being told who she had to dance with I don't begrudge Tamara choosing some interesting guests to dance with. There have to be some perks of the job! For the record, she also danced with Muntagirov (before he left) and Berlanga (before he left - is there a pattern?) and she has also danced with Yonah Acosta although recently he has tended to dance with other ballerinas.

As Bruce says, the fact that Guiherme Menezes is in this year's Emerging Dancer Competition does suggest that he is only leaving the company temporarily.

So, how come he's going to Denmark?

Well, James Streeter (like Fabian Reimar) has tended to be cast more in the supporting and character roles in the classical works. He took the leads in both of Akram Khan's works for ENB and he has I think been cast a lot in the more contemporary works eg Kylian's Petite Morte. I think that both James Forbat and Fernando Bufala could be used more. They are strong classical dancers (both trained at the RBS) but I wonder whether Tamara prefers more extrovert stage personalities. Junor Souza has not been seen much recently. I believe that he has suffered quite a lot with injuries but I just get the feeling that his career has stalled a bit and that Tamara has lost interest in him (I hope not). I am always impressed by Barry Drummond's dancing (beautiful lines) and wonder why he's not used more. It's surprising to me that he hasn't danced, say, Nutcracker or Benvolio or even the peasant pdd in Giselle (the ones I saw were less than stellar).

I see from social media that Alejandro Virelles, a principal with ENB, is leaving the company and it appears that Guiherme Menezes, an artist who has danced a number of featured and soloist roles including Nutcracker, is also departing, apparently for Denmark. These departures follow those of soloists Max Westwell and Anton Lukovkin in the last few weeks. This leaves ENB with only two male principals. With the exception of Cesar Corrales, newcomer Aitor Arrieta (and Ken Sarahusi to a lesser extent) none of the ENB men is being 'brought on' as far as I can see and some seem to have been rather sidelined after earlier apparent enthusiasm for them and the roles to match. I wonder what Tamara Rojo's strategy is. She has made heavy use of guest artists since her appointment - and some have been very welcome - but this does not develop the company dancers and, as has been discussed previously in relation to the RB, can lead to a loss of morale and unwelcome departures.

I actually don't think that funding a new (classical) Bayadere is the main issue of concern but future funding of BRB more generally is. I suspect that Britain (at least England and Wales) is going to go down the American route as far as funding of the arts is concerned. There is a much greater tradition of philanthropic funding in the US, not just for the arts but universities and much else. The sums that some ballet companies in the US raise are staggering but we don't have that tradition of fundraising here.

Although we are discussing BRB here I think that all the companies, with the possible exception of the RB which I think is better placed to weather funding storms because of its prestige and location, have much to fear in the current political and economic climate. I suspect that funding for the arts and culture is going to be radically stripped back.

Between his performances on Thursday evening and tonight Xander Parish fitted in a quick visit to his hometown of Hull yesterday to receive an honorary degree from the University of Hull. Congratulations to him.

Yes, why not revive the Makarova Bayadere? Did anyone else hear the interview with the outgoing chair of Arts Council England, Peter Bazalgette, on Front Row last night? He mentioned the matched funding model adopted by ACE and I do wonder what effect Birmingham City Council's cut in funding to BRB will have on the company's ACE grant which is substantial.

Oh no. How disappointing.

Wow! I never thought that it would happen as there had been a DVD of Giselle issued so recently.

Alison McWhinney. Has there ever been a sweeter Giselle? I think not. I thought she was exquisite in the role: so girlish and pretty in the first act and so tenderly forgiving in the second. You could quite understand why Albrecht and Hilarion (and probably all the other men in the village) were in love with her. I thought that Jung ah Choi, a dancer who does not regularly feature in named roles, was an authoritative Myrthe. Xander Parish was the ultimate ballet prince and the only one of the three Albrechts whom I saw who really convinced as an aristocrat. His acting was really good and he made the most of the dance to his (near) death, actually looking exhausted before he was saved by Giselle He and Laurretta had a warm rapport on the stage and I loved the way that he watched her dancing so appreciatively. Although Laurretta danced and acted really well she suffers from the same problem as Marianela Nunez: she is too hale and hearty looking for the role (IMO). Isabelle Brouwers was a confident Myrthe with a powerful jump (I like the Puck comment someone made above). It must have been interesting for her to have danced two different Myrthes with very different choreographies within a couple of months. I've really enjoyed this run of Giselle. There is so much much to enjoy in this production and the different casts have provided plenty of interest. Edited to correct a dancer's name.

I'm quite surprised that teenagers are still able to do work experience and voluntary work (eg as part of the DoE Award Scheme) and participate in language learning exchange schemes given the type of anxieties that this thread has raised. I actually feel that there are more serious questions to be asked about teachers such as dance and music teachers and tutors giving tuition to pupils without a second adult being present. At least in a dance class there are other pupils present, which is not the case with music teachers and tutors who work with pupils 1-1. DBS checks are only part of the picture. Working in a safe way, which minimises the risks to children as well as unfounded allegations against the adult, is also important.

I saw the Cojacaru/Hernandez/dePrince cast last night. I thought that Cojacaru was outstanding as Giselle. She never came out of character for a moment and what struck me last night, possibly because I was sitting quite close to in the stalls, was what beautiful shapes she makes in the air. She was utterly convincing as a teenage girl. My interpretation of her Giselle is that she sensed / knew that she might not live long because of her weak heart and was determined to seize whatever happiness was available to her despite the risks. I felt that Hernandez took a little time to warm up; his entrance in particular seemed rather uncertain. I thought that the supporting characters in the form of Hilarion (Bufala), Bathilde (Quagebeur) and Berthe (Hayworth) were excellent. I liked the expanded roles for the first two and the fact that Bathilde was a more sympathetic character rather than the cold aristocrat as she is usually portrayed. I was a little disappointed with the peasant pdd. Corrales is a wonderful dancer with a vivid stage presence but sometimes his exuberance can be a bit OTT and in this type of more classical dancing he needs to reign himself in a little and be a bit more refined; last night he was pushing a bit too hard IMO. This production really comes into its own in the second act with beautiful costumes and lighting. Last night the pdds for Giselle and Albrecht were exceptionally affecting; you couldn't hear a pin drop in the auditorium. Michaela dePrince was a fairly strong presence as Myrthe but I felt that she was a bit short for the role. She has the most terrific jump: tremendous elevation for such a small dancer coupled with soft landings. The only criticism which I would make of this production is the lack of drama in the 'Albrecht dancing to his death' scene which I felt lacked some drama. The famous entrechats are absent. Many thanks to Irmgard for her article on this production. It alerted me to various aspects of the production which I might otherwise have missed. Looking forward to seeing the production again next week.

Perhaps this is a stupid question but is it standard practice for the coaches to be present at all the performances viz the photographs of the leads with Irek Mukhamedov and Loipa Arajuo? I particularly like the photograph of the latter with Michaela de Prince after last night's performance; MdP looks so happy.

I can't do links but you should find the photographs if you type Instagram #englishnationalballet or #englishnationalballet on Instagram. There are all sorts of photographs there, not necessarily in date order, but if you scroll down a bit you should find them.

There are some lovely curtain call and 'after show' photographs of tonight's cast on Instagram; use the hashtag englishnationalballet.

Lovely to read that Laurretta is excelling as a powerful and compelling Myrtha. It's one of the first soloist roles which she danced at ENB when she must still have been a teenager.

I saw Ashley Shaw both times and so I can't comment. Is there a third dancer cast in the role as well?

Some interesting names on the creative side but no names for any of the performers except for Osipova (and Polunin, of course).

Quintus, I've not looked into the Friends scheme at the ROH and I'm not actually a Friend of ENB. The 20% discount at Sadler's Wells applies to everyone who books two different productions at the same time, I believe. Friends get 20% off all tickets and 25% off if they book four different productions at the same time plus a 2-for-one ticket offer (this didn't actually apply to the upper price tickets for the Red Shoes though) and a free programme. I think that there might be a 10% discount on merchandise as well but I'm not sure about this. So, it's very good value if you want to sit in the pricier seats (not necessarily the most expensive) and, as you say, you are prepared to take a risk on unknown works / dancers / companies because you are not shelling out as much (although I had a few disappointments last year....)

Blossom, returns do appear on the Sadler's Wells website so keep checking regularly. The production is touring to theatres in Wimbledon, Woking and High Wycombe if you don't want to go too far afield (I've no idea if there are still tickets available at these venues).

Mary, ballet companies performing at Sadler's Wells often have a full orchestra accompanying the performance. And for the big classics the most expensive seats at the Coliseum are considerably cheaper than those at the ROH these days. However, it's down to the individual how s/he chooses to spend his/her money. Personally, the big classics and even some of the mixed bills have become too expensive for me to justify the cost in most cases and now I will only go to see performances in which the whole of the main cast appeals (which is rare, hence my not going to see The Nutcracker despite wanting to see certain individuals). I do like to see new things and some of the mixed bills featuring new work(s) are attractively priced but I have become a bit wary of new works at the ROH following several disappointing new creations.

Agreed on the prices for the big classics at the ROH versus the prices at Sadler's Wells, although they're creeping up as well for some productions. Fortunately, I'm a friend and it's been well worth it, particularly when I've invited other people along. I'm looking forward to seeing ENB's forthcoming triple bill, Crystal Pitie's works for the RB and Scottish Ballet, Ghost Dances (Rambert), the Forsythe at the RB and Royal Ballet of Flanders' triple bill entitled Hope which includes a new work by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (choreographer of ENB's Broken Wings and Scottish Ballet's Streetcar).

Muntagirov is invited to dance all over the world. Recently, he danced Conrad in Vienna Opera Ballet's Corsaire and he has also danced in Japan a lot.