aileen

Could anyone tell me anything about the seating in this theatre. I see that there are lots of boxes ranged around the stalls. Is it better to sit in the boxes than in the stalls (I notice that the stalls seats seem to be less popular than the seats in the boxes)? What is the rake like in the stalls and is it awkward sitting in the boxes if your party is not taking a whole box?

Well, some people on this forum already appear to have decided that the allegations are true. If the allegations have foundation then I can't see that there's a way back. I think that there should be some sort of investigation but I very much doubt that this matter can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

Some things can't be 'talked through' eg harassment, ill treatment and lack of professionalism, which are being alleged here. Once a boss has lost the confidence of his/her staff then it's all over, rather like when a football manager 'loses the dressing room' - s/he can never stay.

I don't agree that I'm being passive aggressive or putting words in posters' mouths, Anna. Some posters' dislike of Rojo is very evident. There are some who only post about Rojo and her alleged shortcomings and nothing else. If an AD's shortcomings are as great as they are alleged to be then surely the only outcome is for that AD to go. Is there really any way back from this?

So, people don't hold Rojo responsible for the dissatisfaction among the dancers? I think that you're being a bit disingenuous, Anna. It's quite clear from comments on this thread and other threads that a number of posters dislike her (and many / most of her decisions), have never come to terms with Eagling's departure (many were in his 'camp') and hold her responsible for it and would be happy to see her go.

To MAB and those who have been very vociferous in their complaints against Tamara on this site I ask this question: is the only satisfactory outcome for you Tamara's departure from her post? Or are you hoping that there can be some kind of resolution?

Which sites are those upsetting comments on, capybara?

Is that in the February print issue, capybara?

Can those in the know advise on the best place to sit in the Leeds Grand. My usual question: what is the rake like in the stalls? Are you looking up if you sit in the front row or front couple of rows?

It's a brilliant selection of works.

The House of Bernarda Alba has a further run at the Cervantes Theatre starting in February. I saw a performance in the autumn and very much enjoyed it. Don't expect elaborate staging.The theatre is tiny and it's a very intimate space which suits the theme of the play (8 years mourning at home!).

I'm quite surprised that Graham Watts has come out so strongly in defence of Tamara Rojo in this way. He seems to have close connections with the company and must know many of the dancers well, particularly those who have been with company for some time.

From reading some of the articles referred to in the Links section I gather that RNZB is haemorrhaging dancers as well.

To put all this into context, I think that it's only fair to point out that it was not that long ago that there was disquiet about the working conditions at the RB. I seem to remember that the union was called in and that a senior dancer, on resignation, complained of 'a lack of care and coaching'. And principals leave the RB too. In the relatively short time that I have been watching ballet the following principals have left the RB: David Mahkateli, Alina Cojacaru, Johan Kobborg, Rupert Pennefather, Roberta Marquez and Matthew Golding. Now, one could say that some of them retired from dancing but at least some of those may have planned to continue dancing if they had not left the RB. I certainly think that the number of dancers leaving ENB last season is a big red flag but I just wanted to point out that senior dancers have left the RB too in somewhat ambiguous circumstances.

li tai po, is there any reason that you only post about ENB and almost exclusively on its alleged management shortcomings?

One would only sign a gagging order if there was a formal legal dispute which resulted in some kind of compromise agreement. This would not apply to disgruntled employees who simply choose to resign.

Can we not discuss Peter Martins on this thread please.

I have heard of companies prohibiting work place relationships but they are hard to enforce in practice. The fact of the matter is that many people meet their life partners at work and always have done. Relationships between a boss and a subordinate are far from ideal because of the imbalance in power and the consequent risk of abuse of that power and a prudent employer would try to ameliorate this risk by putting in measures such as arranging for the subordinate party to be line managed or appraised by someone else. However, this may not always be possible, efficient or desirable and does not necessarily address perceptions (justified or not) of favoritism towards the subordinate party. The problem with an arts organisation is that the AD is effectively the sole boss with almost complete control over casting and promotion decisions which influence and determine career progression and remuneration. However, as the article points out, relationships between ADs and artists are far from uncommon; a couple of current examples are given in the piece. I have no idea whether Hernandez has benefitted from his relationship with Rojo. He is a very fine dancer, superb technically. He made the fussy Nureyev choreography in R&J really sing and was the best dancer I have seen (and I have seen quite a few) in the (Nureyev) solo in the Deane Swan Lake apart from Vadim Muntagirov. He's not cast in the Giselle cinema transmission. As one of the (until very recently) only two Lead Principals you would expect him to be cast in most programmes.

The ex-ballerina was, presumably, categorised as a mature student if she had not taken A Levels or had not had access to a full range of science A Levels at 16/17/18. Different considerations apply to mature students. Mature students will have the benefit of greater life experience and will generally have better inter-personal skills, certainly compared with the average 17 or 18 year old boy. Several of my son's friends and contemporaries got into Oxbridge two years ago. Some had extra-curricular activities to put on their Personal Statement but others had nothing at all in terms of high level achievements in sport, dance, music, DoE etc. They got their places because they performed well in the entrance exam and interview and achieved the grades asked for which were A*, A*, A in a couple of cases. Despite the lifting of the cap, in the case of over-subscribed courses some admissions tutors seem to be concerned to preserve the reputation of the course and the ''integrity' of the admissions process by taking a tough line on missed grades. I've heard of a tutor taking previously rejected applicants who had achieved the necessary grades in preference to applicants who had been offered places who had dropped more than one grade.

Yes, it has become that way. The ambitious middle classes are very strategic when it comes to their children's applications for university. It's quite noticeable how some sixth formers give up their activities once their applications are in or they have received their offers.

It seems that Winter's Tale is on every year! I rarely go to see mixed bills or new full lengths at the ROH now. Too much of the new work is unsatisfying to me (it's amazing how the in-house choreographers are given chance after chance) plus the mixed bills invariably include a revival of a previously unsatisfying new work eg Strapless, Age of Anxiety. My policy now is to wait for the reviews of new work before booking for it either in the current run or in a subsequent one. I saw Winter's Tale in its first run and quite liked it. However, I didn't feel the need to see it again when it returned. It's a well constructed piece based on quite difficult source material, and beautifully staged with an evocative score in parts, but I find that there is something a bit superficial about it.

The other thing is that some universities and courses have additional exams which applicants take as part of the application process. This applies not just to Oxbridge but also to applicants for Medicine, and applicants for Maths at the higher ranked universities. In some cases the exam acts as sifting mechanism in deciding who to interview; in others a particular score is required as part of the offer either in addition to, or as an alternative to, A Level grades. So what I'm saying is that academic achievement - both in terms of A Level grades and in terms of scores achieved in the BMAT, HAT and similar - is actually more important than ever in the case of certain over-subscribed courses and courses at over-subscribed universities. Extra-curricular activities are all very well but they will not 'compensate' for lacklustre scores in these entrance exams or so-called aptitude tests or mediocre A Level grades.

I'm no expert but my understanding is that for the vast majority of courses the more highly ranked universities are primarily interested in grades (achieved or predicted) plus a demonstrable interest in the course. Extra-curricular activities are given little weight (a) because they are not relevant and (b) because they put disadvantaged students at a disadvantage. There are certain exceptions to this, particularly in the case of medicine and other more vocationally orientated courses. I believe that admissions tutors do want to see more rounded applicants for medical degrees and that some work experience in a medical field plus extra-curricular activities are important. If it's a choice between academic work and extra-curricular activities then the former should be prioritised. If you aren't predicted the necessary grades or don't achieve the grades which have been asked for you may not get a place. Even with the lifting of the cap I've known of applicants losing their places because they dropped more than one grade and their first choice university refused to accept them.

Garrett was one of the Gurns in La Sylphide. He appears in an interview on ENB's website. It's a very nice list with no obvious 'winner', which is a good thing IMO. Good luck to all the nominees.

I agree. Either Saruhashi should have been filmed or the guest who helped to create the role (Chacon) and was, in my view, absolutely fantastic in it. I went all the way to Liverpool especially to see him again. I wonder whether a DVD is being contemplated and it's thought that having a dancer from ABT would help market it. More prosaically, perhaps it was just decided to film an established cast.