aileen

Happy to report that ENB's pointe shoe Christmas tree is back at the Coliseum this year. See its very speeded up construction on ENB's Twitter feed.

Yes, an interesting afternoon, for me. I'm so glad that the company brought a work rooted in one of its great works of literature rather than another version of Swan Lake, Giselle etc. It was fascinating to see the meld of classical ballet, Western music and Kunqu theatre. Happily, I had read Graham Watts' review beforehand and so I had some kind of framework for what I was going to see. I greatly preferred the first act to the second. I wasn't keen on the choreography, staging and costumes for the 'underworld' section and felt that it rather let down the originality and beauty of what had come before. The corps in the first act almost brought a tear to my eye they were so beautiful in their gauzy dresses; they were like a flock of birds (swans?). There is a good photograph of them in the photography section of this site. As Ian says, Western ears can find it hard to connect with Chinese Opera style singing. I wonder whether the company could have provided a translation of what was sung, even if it was just put on the Sadler's Wells' website. I wish I had seen Raise the Red Lantern when the company brought it to the ROH a few years ago. As I was relatively new to ballet then I played it safe and went to see their Swan Lake (which was beautiful).

I wonder why the company doesn't produce cast sheets. Even putting a downloadable cast sheet online on the day would be something.

Oh, sorry to hear about Chunkydog, Janet. I hope that Chipdog brings you as much happiness as Chunkydog.

I so agree with you, pianolady, about Eagling seeming to be torn between something dark and psychological and something magical and traditional. Actually, when I saw the RB's Nutcracker again last season after some years I wasn't as keen on it as I thought I was. In both productions (and perhaps in most productions) there is the basic problem of there being lots of plot and little dancing in Act 1 and lots of dancing and little plot in Act 2. I don't know how you can get over this fundamental problem as the (beautiful and iconic) music restricts your options. Would any company really want to abandon the Tchaikovsky music?

I'm pleased to hear that Rina Kanehara's performance went well. It's a big debut for an 18 year old. I agree with you about the production, Janet. The first act does drag after the bedroom and skating scenes and you long for the snowflakes (lovely choreography and a highlight of the ballet) to arrive. The Arabian dance is awful even with the worst excesses removed). The absence of Clara and the Nephew from most of the second act makes it seem rather disconnected from the first act; you don't know what these national dancers are doing there. Whilst I personally don't mind the swapping between between the Nutcracker and the Nephew it does cause unnecessary confusion for no particular purpose (plus it places a heavy casting burden on the company in a very long run as there are two male leads in every performance). Is Chipdog a new dog, Janet?

I have been rather disappointed by some of Rambert's work recently (and, IMO, Dane Hurst's departure is a huge loss to the company) but I have booked to see the company in May specifically to see Ghost Dances which I've long wanted to see.

The ROH has a list of approved ticket agencies. I don't know know who is on it. I believe that people buy tickets from agencies out of ignorance. If you buy from the ROH or the Wells you have the tremendous advantage of being able to sell or exchange tickets for a minimal charge. A couple of years ago a grandmother had over-enthusiastically bought too many tickets to see her grandchild perform in the RB's Nutcracker and was trying to sell some of them on this site as family members could not go / did not want them. If she had bought them directly from the ROH then she would easily have been able to return them and obtain a full refund (minus the admin charge) but as she had bought them from an agency she was stuck with them. I don't know whether she managed to sell them in the end. I suspect not as they were at the upper end of the price range and most people who are looking for Nutcracker tickets on this site are seeking inexpensive tickets.

Going to see this next week.

The very long run in London has sold incredibly well. A lot of shows have completely sold out.

I have seen Bayadere twice, once performed by a supposedly stellar cast at the RB and once by the Bolshoi. I have mixed feelings about it. Some of the stuff in Act 1 is a bit cringeworthy and, really, I was impatient for the Shades to appear.

Unfortunately, once ownership of places like this moves into private hands the owners tend to start charging the maximum rents that they feel they can get away with, hence the empty shops and chain stores. In Germany, local authorities try to protect small independent businesses by capping the rents in certain locations. In my area the local high streets still have a lot of independent shops, cafés etc but some do leave following huge rent increases and you get the impression that they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Interestingly, the landlord in this case is the 'property arm' of a large public school.

Is the Albert Dock owned by the City of Liverpool or is it in private ownership?

I must say that when I was looking at the website and saw how many dancers were involved, plus an orchestra, I did wonder about the economics of staging the production. It's a great shame for everybody involved (and no doubt a financial blow for many).

I think that it would be a pretty frightening ballet for a young child. Apart from Giselle's choking the whole tone of the work is very dark and disturbing. I took my daughter to see the RB's (traditional) Giselle when she was about eight and she was scared and remembered being scared for several years afterwards.

I think that this is a stunning ballet. The concept (landlords and dispossessed garment workers), choreography, music, sets, costumes and lighting all work together to form a cohesive whole. I agree that on second and subsequent viewings the story becomes much clearer as you have an idea of what to expect overall and start to notice little details, particularly the repeated references to Albrecht's true identity and the relationship between the 'chief' Landlord and Hilarion and Bathilde respectively. I thought that Friday night's performance was stunning and a considerable step up from the one on Wednesday night with the same cast (Cojacaru/Hernandez/Chacon/Quagebeur). A special mention should be made of Quagebeur who danced in all five evening performances. I thought that she was mesmerising in the role of Myrtha: other-worldly, imperious, suspicious, vengeful and yet with some vestige of compassion in the end. Every movement was perfectly calibrated. The interaction between her and Cojacaru was exceptionally well done and believable. There were many great moments in the ballet but if I had to chose just two they would be the reveal of the Landlords as the wall slowly lifted for the first time and the vision of Giselle and Myrtha umbilically bound together by the bamboo pole slowly gliding away into the darkness, Giselle looking at Albrect to the very last, to that sad, flutey music.

I think that McGregor has a reasonable 'strike rate' and believe that Chroma and Woolf Works at least will stand the test of time. Whilst some people prefer Scarlett because he is more solidly classical I feel that his early promise has rather evaporated and that there has been a rather poor return on the generous resources that the ROH has afforded him. Personally, I am not keen on two or three choreographers (or less in some companies) 'hogging' all the new commissions. I appreciate that there are benefits in a choreographer getting to know a company well and creating a few pieces on them but I would prefer ADs to open their companies to a wider range of choreographers. I understand that not all works can be stellar but I have seen rather a lot of lackluste works produced by ADs and in-house / associate choreographers recently. If a company is publicly funded to the tune of millions of pounds then I feel that it has a responsibility to give opportunities to a wide range of choreographers, not just the company's AD and perhaps one or two other favoured choreographers. In-house or associate choreographer positions should be time limited IMO.

Well, Tamara probably wanted to give the dancers a day off before the company opens Nutcracker in Milton Keynes next Wednesday.

Well, that's rather unfortunate for Golding as I don't think that he has been cast in anything this autumn. Ditto Kish, unless he is cast in the current triple bill.

Melody, I don't recommend moving back to the UK unless you can afford to take out very good private health insurance and can afford private care if you need it. The health and social care services are virtually at the point of collapse and the country is deeply divided. 'Foreigners' are feeling very unwelcome here at the moment. There are many reports of open hostility to people from abroad; even professionals such as doctors and research scientists are not immune from this. When certain newspapers attack judges for a decision that they don't like, with the faces of those judges prominently displayed on their front pages, we are not far away from Nazi Germany or other repressive regimes in which lawyers and judges are killed or persecuted for doing their jobs and applying the Rule of Law. These are very dangerous and worrying times.

James, I had thought that the hands to shoulder movements were something to do with Russian courtly or folk dancing. Can you explain your interpretation of them. Did the outstretched arm with the upturned palm (there is a photograph of this with Durante demonstrating this movement to Cuthbertson(?) in the programme) signify anything in particular? I assume that it alluded to her cutting her wrists. Introducing Anna at the beginning of Act 1(in a sort of prologue) makes the work much more coherent IMO. When was this added?

This is a one hour dance film called Young Men on the theme of WW1. It was shot on location in northern France.

I have mixed feelings about this ballet. I don't find the contrast between the first two acts and the third a problem; it actually makes sense to me. The problem that I have is that very little happens in the first two acts, as evidenced by the very brief synopsis in the cast sheet. I was surprised at how classical the first two acts were. It starts terrifically; there's no scene setting (people walking around, greeting each other drinking etc) but goes straight into some complex dancing by the officers. I didn't find the relationships between Rasputin and the family sufficiently developed. Poor Eric Underwood had almost no dancing until the third act and it wasn't clear to me why Rasputin featured so strongly (and more than the Romanov family) in the imaginings of Anna Anderson when she was in the asylum.

I like Morito in Exmouth Market but it's small and I don't know whether you can book. Moro is next door and looks bigger. I've never been there but it's very well known. I suspect that it's pretty pricy.

I don't think that corporate bankruptcy carries quite the same stigma in the US as it does in the UK although attitudes are changing in the UK. I think that it's almost expected of entrepreneurs. Starting and running a business which becomes successful - with failures along the way - is all part of the American Dream. I loathe Trump but lots of people in the US admire the fact that he is a businessman rather than someone who has spent all or most of his life in politics.