SusanR

I have a DVD of Sylvie in Marguerite & Armand with Le Riche & Dowell. It was recorded in Japan in 2003 so probably not available now. You are welcome to borrow it, Quintus.

Susan

Oh, I travel from Angmering so stuck with Southern. Would love to meet you. I will let you know when I book ticket.

Susan

The Mayflower theatre is very close to the station, Lin. Hope Southern trains don't mess up..... I will probably book this performance too.

Susan

Oh, how I agree, Bruce!

Susan

I was sitting in the stalls circle for Corsaire on Saturday afternoon & although the audience was very well behaved there was a dreadful smell of stale alcohol! My friend could see a couple of men drinking from a bottle or flask. It really was most unpleasant.

Susan

Sorry, moderators, I have made a complete mess in trying to reply to a quote of Godot...Please could you sort it for me? Thank you, Susan

Having let the peformance settle and given myself two days to think about it rather than respond histrionically, my thoughts on Flames of Paris (Saturday night) are somewhat at odds with those of other posters. Putting my neck on the block (particularly as a newcomer here), a lot of the reviews on the forum seem to me to be more suited to a fan club magazine than an objective bulletin board (albeit one where devotees gather.) Some posts on hagiography.

 

From a dancing perspective, just as in the Swan Lake, the technique and sheer virtuousity of both soloists and corps cannot be faulted. The ensemble dancing, in particular, has struck me as riveting and near unrivalled in my experience of watching ballet. In so far as characterisation goes it’s, well, Russian. On Saturday, Lantratov in particular was compelling; athletic and graceful at once although “dancing for the crowd” seemed to be at least as much a priority as staying in character/driving the narrative. Yes, he’s a star…but in terms of sheer charisma he’s no Nureyev.

 

Narrative, for me, has been an issue in both the performances I’ve seen. Particularly in Swan Lake; narrative-free and presented as a series of virtuoso set-pieces with, to add insult to injury, unforgiveable cuts to the score (the end was a crime against humanity, let alone ballet) I found the dancing absorbing but the performance hard work.

 

With regard to Flames, I had mixed feelings. It’s a thinly veiled excuse for showstopping dances and Soviet-era propaganda so far as I can tell…I can well imagine Uncle Joe smiling in his Bolshoi box as he watched the audience being fed the approved party line. Soviet realism goes to the ballet, if you like. The lightweight score doesn’t help its appeal; it has few redeeming features musically (although no doubt it appeals to balletomanes more inclined to Les Mis than art music.) Gosh, I must be a complete Philistine, I love Les Mis & ballet! You could never imagine this being played in a concert hall, something you wouldn’t say about most of the other traditional ballets.

 

Maria Alexandrova, I thought, was somewhat listless early in the ballet but took off particularly in Act 2 where her dancing matched and provided an exciting foil for Lantratov. The crowd-milking, while expressions of joy are always welcome and many of you clearly enjoyed it, was simply misplaced and too OTT for me. It took the performers outside the context once too often and, as I’ve said, turned a story-ballet into a random event. I’ve seen plenty of great dances express joy through dance, not through mugging for the crowd and skidding under the descending curtain.

 

Lest you think I am being over-critical, I have loved watching the dancing in both Swan Lake and Flames of Paris. But I haven’t enjoyed the peformances particularly in so far as the parts, for me, having been very much greater than the sums. I’ve seen many technically poorer dances deliver more emotional, in-character interpretations. I’m also pretty sure the phrase “less is more” has no Russian equivalent.

 

Anyway, can’t wait for Le Corsaire (assuming I snag a ticket!) Sorry if this is seen as raining on anyone’s parade.

I must be a complete Philistine, I love Les Mis & ballet!

Best wishes from me Jillykins hope you can make it!

M e too!

Unfortunately I am not seeing Don Q this time around so it is lovely to read all the reviews. Delighted that there are so many positive remarks about Vitaly Biktimirov as he has long been a favourite of mine!

Susan

How is using the company's Artist in Residence cronyism? Would you prefer to give it the company choreographer? I shudder to think what Wayne McGreggor would do to Swan Lake......

Me too Mummykool!

I very much enjoyed Frankenstein at the cinema last night & sorry to read so many negative comments. I thought Liam did wonderfully well & the dancing was superb from all. I agree that the first act could do with pruning a bit & I also found it to be too dark. What really irritated me though was Darcey Bussell. Her hosting skills have improved but she kept giggling like a schoolgirl. Drives me mad. She did look beautiful though. Why do they need two presenters anyway? You can find all the info in the programme or online.

It was such a treat to be able to see this show online. I had often wanted to attend Emerging Dancer but, somehow, never made it.It must have been incredibly difficult for the judges to choose just one dancer from all that talent. I really liked Rina & enjoyed her black Swan although I agree with Sim that it was very dark & difficult to see.

Dawid Trzensimiech has just announced that he is joining Polish National Ballet as a principal, starting from the 4th of May

I'd love it if he would return to the Royal Ballet but I wish him the best of luck.

Susan

I thoroughly enjoyed Shakespeare Live last night, a lovely way to celebrate the bard.Matthew & Yasmine were fabulous. My goodness that was a small stage for them to negotiate! I was also delighted to see Ian Bostridge, one of my favourite singers. Don't see nearly enough of him. Rufus Wainwright was great too!Now we need a show in a similar vein to celebrate the Bronte family.It was the 200th anniversary of Charlotte's birth last week.

Susan

Thanks, Sim,

Really looking forward to seeing them!

Susan

_{I was at She Said on Thursday evening and I was also dismayed by the cinema-like atmosphere at SW. I was in the back row of the first circle, with a lot of youngish people sitting next to me. Just before Broken Wings started they all arrived, beer in one hand and muffins or bags of sweets in the other. I therefore had to put up with the smell of beer, eating and rustling paper right until the interval. At one point, during a quiet bit, the rustling kept going so I leaned over and hissed very loudly so it stopped.}

 

_{This is one of the reasons that I almost never attend performances at SW anymore. It is more like going to the cinema than to a live performance. Do they allow all this because they think it is the only way to encourage young people to come and see dance? I think they would come anyway. My daughter is 25 and can manage to sit for less than an hour without eating and drinking and disturbing other people.}

 

_{Or, more likely, they make a lot of money by letting people take food and drink into the auditorium. To hell with the audience members who might be disturbed by the smells and sounds of people eating and drinking.}

I hate all these distractions in the cinema too! I actually pay to see a film & don't understand when people cannot sit for a couple of hours without eating.If I am hungry, which could be the case if I have travelled a distance, I always wait for an appropriate moment to eat, either the interval if in a theatre or afterwards when seeing a film. I have complained to SW's too but, frankly, they don't give a damn.

Susan

Thanks for that Dave.

Susan

Well, good luck with that!

Susan.

Sorry, I can't seem to add my message to the quote......what am I doing wrong?

I was at Sadler's yesterday afternoon. Two seats next to me were empty. I thought maybe their owners had decided not to come.well, good luck with that!

 

Nope. About 2 minutes into Broken Wings, the usher brings two people into the auditorium, blinds me with his torch, whispers sorry a few times as the couple barge past me. They then of course have to awkwardly and noisily undress their layers of outerwear, and whilst doing so they decide to swig a few drinks, loudly whisper.

 

The whispering carried on throughout. Then the guy gets his phone out about 30 minutes in. I say 'can you put your phone away please?' and get a blank look from the girlfriend. He carries on and I ask again. He keeps going, and I am so annoyed I make to grab his phone. 'I'm texting my mum' he says. He finishes quickly. The whispering stops. At interval they look for other seats but don't find them.

 

Medea began as the next piece and another blue glowing rectangle flashes up, this time in the gantry over the second circle,right in my eyeline! A member of staff/tech team having a lazy browse on eBay maybe.

 

I sent a complaint to Sadler's

Oh that made me laugh out loud, Coated.

Susan

Well, I did, John.

A couple of years ago I was at SW's & the girl next to me was having a picnic....she kept rustling into her bag to retrieve nuts, sweets, drinks etc. I was furious & emailed SW's. Result? Nothing! I really detest the fact that they allow food/drink into the theatre.

Susan

In an earlier post on this thread, I stated that I didn't like Sleeping Beauty! I can't remember the first time I saw it but I know that I preferred ENB's version to the Royal Ballet's. This afternoon it was constantly raining so I decided to watch a DVD of Sleeping Beauty by the Paris Opera Ballet.It was filmed in December 1999. It is Nureyev's version starring Aurelie Dupont & Manuel Legris.Well, can I change my mind about SB? I thoroughly enjoyed the ballet, Dupont is so musical & the dancing was excellent by all.There seemed to be more dancing for the prince in this version. Anyway, I loved it!

Susan

They used some other music for Don Q yesterday! Still mainly Minkus, but Novikova mentioned other composers but I can't remember their names.

Likewise, I do not form my opinions of a race because of the few bad ones. I have met several Russian dancers & without exception they were utterly charming. Also, not all Brits misbehave on holiday although I know we have a bad reputation!

Yep, they are not the most behaved tourists. I know it well, they are quite frequent in Bulgaria. You know who we think equally unsurvivable- british tourists. Coming for cheap alcohol, aggresive when drunk and behaving like the world must bow to them. As a young and let's say exotic for western standarts girl I had many, many very unpleasant moments in clubs with drunken englishmen. But I don't form my opinion about the nation from them- I met a lot of incredible and amazingly clever british people, but in another environment