Jan McNulty

Miki is absolutely sublime as Aurora and Max Maslen is every inch the Prince. It's a fabulous cast (as all the ones I have seen in this run have been). BRB's is my favourite production of a traditional Sleeping Beauty. It is not the same as the RB production. @annamk ' s report on page 2 of this thread is well worth a read.

Very sorry to hear this Fiz. Thinking of you. Jxx

So very sorry to hear this news Michelle. Sending hugs. Jxx

Hello @ZoeDando and welcome to the Forum!

The advice I was given re nose blowing in general (as well as in a theatre) is not to do it as it just makes your nose worse! I was told just to wipe my nostrils if they were streaming. This was many years ago by my doctor.

You've dug yourself into a bit of a hole here. "The elderly rich" vs "saving up for". How do you know whether or not the people sitting in the top price seats are rich or whether they have saved up all year. If I wanted to see the current production of Swan Lake sitting in a top price seat for an evening performance, excluding food, it would cost me up to £400 for the experience. If I want to have a good experience wherever I go whether I spend £10 or £170 on a ticket is immaterial - I still expect to enjoy myself (hopefully respectfully of other audience members). In fact, I recently went to see a play at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescott. My ticket cost me about £22.50, I had a 30 minute drive each way and free parking. Is that a lesser experience than going to ROH?? If we are talking ballet - 3 performances of BRB's Sleeping Beauty in top price seats in Sunderland plus 2 nights in the nearby Premier Inn and parking cost me less than one evening trip to ROH. Does that make it a lesser experience because it was cheaper? Your comment about ROH legacy is interesting - there are other theatres in London and elsewhere in the country - that have far more "legacy". If you want to go about making ballet an elitist experience then you are doing a wonderful job with some of your comments.

Hello @Lucy M and welcome to the Forum!

I've already got my tickets for the first 3 performances of the mixed programme!

Wow Buddy, how lovely!

PRESS RELEASE Date: 03/04/24 Royal Academy of Dance launches new bursaries for aspiring dance teachers Image by Tim Cross. The RAD is thrilled to announce the launch of new bursaries following receipt of a significant charitable grant from the Headley Trust. This generous contribution will enable the RAD to further its mission of providing wider access and vital financial support to aspiring trainee dance teachers from a range of diverse backgrounds. The funds from the Headley Trust grant, which is for two years, will be used to offer part bursary support for up to five UK students on the Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) and one full bursary and three half bursaries on the Professional Dancers Graduate Teaching Diploma. The Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) programme is for students taking their first steps towards a career in ballet teaching, whilst the Professional Dancers Graduate Teaching Diploma is for professional dancers looking to transition from performing to a new career in teaching. Speaking of the grant announcement, Dr Michelle Groves, Director of Education of RAD said: “Supporting aspiring trainee dance teachers is such an important factor if we are to diversify the workforce and enrich the experiences of our dance students. I am delighted that the Headley Trust shares our vision through providing financial support to the next generation of inspirational dance teachers.” A career in dance is one for life, with many RAD students going on to run successful dance schools and businesses across the globe. The Creative Industries Federation reports that creative businesses represent over 5% of the UK economy and are responsible for more than 10%, or £27 billion, of the UK’s annual service exports. The Faculty of Education currently has around 1,000 students from across 54 countries studying its dance education and teacher training programmes. The faculty offers six programmes of study which include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees validated by the University of Bath, and Awards of the RAD. Our distance learning programmes can be studied from anywhere in the world and our students become part of a vibrant and international dance community. RAD graduates go on to work in in a variety of teaching settings such as private dance schools, vocational schools, primary and secondary schools, community settings and in Further or Higher Education. Applications for bursaries are now open and more information on how to apply can be found by visiting the website at: https://www.royalacademyofdance.org/teacher-training/fees-and-funding/financing-your-studies/ Notes to Editors About the Royal Academy of Dance Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is one of the most influential dance education and training organisations in the world with a strong global membership in 85 countries. Established in 1920 to improve standards and re-invigorate dance training, the Academy helps and encourages its teachers to perfect their teaching skills and pass on this knowledge to their students. There are currently over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the Academy and each year the examination syllabus is taught to thousands of young people worldwide, with around a quarter of a million pupils per year going on to take RAD exams.

PRESS RELEASE 3 April 2024 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram /Website BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET ANNOUNCE CLAIRE DERSLEY AS HEAD OF ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS Birmingham Royal Ballet today announces the appointment of Claire Dersley as the Company’s new Head of Orchestra Operations working with the acclaimed Royal Ballet Sinfonia, beginning 1 July. Paul Murphy, the Company’s new Music Director and Principal Conductor (from 1 July) said: “I am absolutely delighted that Claire will be joining us as our new Head of Orchestra Operations. She brings a great deal of orchestral management experience and a genuine love of our Company to the role and I’m really looking forward to working with her”. Claire Dersley added: “I’m thrilled to accept the position of Head of Orchestra Operations with Birmingham Royal Ballet. I look forward to working closely with Paul Murphy to continue and expand upon the fantastic work that he and Koen Kessels have already been undertaking with the orchestra.” Claire has been Orchestra Manager at City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra since 2009, and in that time has developed strong relationships and improved working practices with its musicians, alongside working closely with each of its Music Directors; Andris Nelsons, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and currently Chief Conductor Kazuki Yamada. She has toured extensively across Europe and internationally, as well as working on projects including the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, multiple BBC Proms, a Chandos recording series with Ed Gardner and award-winning Deutsche Grammophon recordings with Mirga. Prior to CBSO Claire spent 3 years working at BBC Concert Orchestra, working on many TV and radio broadcasts, CD recordings and at various festivals including Cheltenham Music Festival and Henley Festival. A trained cellist, Claire studied music at Southampton University before embarking on her career into arts administration. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Birmingham Royal Ballet’s permanent orchestra, it is also Britain's busiest ballet orchestra. Alongside touring with Birmingham Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet Sinfonia plays frequently for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies, including performances with Paris Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Kirov, Norwegian Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and La Scala Ballet. Notes to Editors: Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet is the United Kingdom’s leading touring ballet company performing a range of traditional, classical and heritage ballets as well as ground-breaking new works with the aim of encouraging choreographers of the future. The Company’s Director since January 2020 is the internationally renowned Carlos Acosta. Birmingham Royal Ballet standardly performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks of the year and the remainder of the year tours throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. On average, the Company performs 175 shows a year nationally and internationally. Music is at the heart of BRB’s activities and the company is committed to regularly commissioning new orchestral music for ballet. Through BRB’s Ballet Now programme which was launched in 2017 BRB has commissioned the largest number of new orchestral music for Ballet since Diaghilev. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Birmingham Royal Ballet’s permanent orchestra, it is also Britain's busiest ballet orchestra. Alongside touring with Birmingham Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet Sinfonia plays frequently for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies, including performances with Paris Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Kirov, Norwegian Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and La Scala Ballet.

But surely that applies to any theatre anywhere... Your statement makes the ROH seem even more snobbish than people may already think.

Do report back and let us know what you think. I hope it matches or even exceeds your expectations. I'd love to see what Shang and Lachlan make of the roles...

Exactly! Some people were booing Carabosse at the BRB curtain calls I saw recently. The dancers playing the role looked chuffed.

I think that is not necessarily the case. Different cultures may have different ideas of what is acceptable.

I find that a rather arrogant statement.

For immediate release: Tuesday 2 April Acosta Danza Carlos Acosta’s Carmen Sadler’s Wells Theatre Tuesday 2 July – Saturday 6 July Tickets: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com Sadler’s Wells International Associate Company Acosta Danza presents the UK premiere of Carlos Acosta’s Carmen at Sadler’s Wells Theatre from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 July 2024. Carlos Acosta performs in his adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera, 179 years after Prosper Mérimée’s eponymous story was first published. Don José falls in love with Carmen and sacrifices everything to be with her. When Carmen becomes infatuated with the toreador Escamillo, she loses interest in Don José, whose love quickly turns to murderous jealousy. Acosta plays The Bull, a role he created to represent fate and destiny, which he has been keen to perform since choreographing the piece to mark his retirement from the Royal Ballet. His new version retains the story’s universal and timeless themes in a stripped back setting. Carlos Acosta invites three Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers; Yaoqian Shang, Javier Rojas and Lachlan Monaghan to guest perform the parts of Carmen, Don José and Escamillo alongside Acosta Danza Principal dancers Laura Rodriguez, Enrique Corrales and Alejandro Silva. Leading dance figures as diverse as choreographers Marius Petipa, Roland Petit, Alberto Alonso, Mats Ek and Richard Alston have all been drawn to this tale of a woman’s overt sexuality and her violent death. The melodies of Bizet’s Carmen have secured the opera’s hold on the popular imagination – Escamillo's ‘Toreador Song’, Carmen’s ‘Habanera’, Don José’s ‘Flower Song’ and many passages for orchestra and chorus are among the most widely known pieces of Western classical music. Carlos Acosta was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1973. After a late but dazzling start in ballet at the age of 9, he became English National Ballet’s youngest ever principal dancer, at 18. He joined the Royal Ballet in London in 1998, where he became an audience favourite. He was awarded a CBE for his contribution to dance in 2014 and retired from classical ballet two years later. In 2015, he also founded his company, Acosta Danza, and has been the director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet since 2020. Carmen is part of Sadler’s Wells year-round Ballet with attitude programme. Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director Carlos Acosta said: “I am very grateful to Sadler’s Wells for the opportunity to present my Carmen as a full length for the very first time. For this occasion, I will be dancing The Bull, a small but very powerful role which represents destiny the master of ceremonies of everyone’s future. I wanted to create a version that feels classical and contemporary at the same time without attaching itself into a specific period. Stripping the narrative of this brilliant story to its very bones. “I am also very pleased to be working again with Tim Hatley (who created the designs for the original version I choreographed for the Royal Ballet) on some exciting new designs for the production and Nina Dunn who has developed some new projection to help create the atmospheric setting I wanted to convey.” Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive, Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, said: “I’m delighted to be bringing back Carlos’s company Acosta Danza to Sadler’s Wells following our longstanding support for his mission to bring the best and most talented dancers from his Cuban homeland to London and around the world. It’s an added pleasure that this is the full-length version premiere of his own choreography. I’m personally eager to see Carlos dance in a new expanded role that he has been waiting to play for almost a decade!” Carlos Acosta’s Carmen is the UK premiere of the full-length version Acosta Danza is a Sadler’s Wells International Associate Company Notes to Editors Listing information Company: Acosta Danza Show: Carlos Acosta’s Carmen Run dates: Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 July 2024 Tickets: From £15 Running times: 1 hour 40 minutes (35 mins Act 1, 20 mins interval, 45 mins Act 2) About Acosta Danza Acosta Danza was created by Carlos Acosta in 2015 to harness and develop the young creative dance talent emerging from Cuba. The ethos of the company is to produce dancers who combine Cuba’s rich musical and dance influences with both classical and contemporary genres and create exciting and stimulating repertoire that pushes conventional boundaries. Acosta Danza has worked with some of the world’s leading choreographers as well as encouraging the emergence and development of new choreography from among its own members. The company performed for the first time at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso in Cuba in April 2016 and has since performed across Europe and internationally to great critical acclaim. Acosta Danza is a Sadler’s Wells International Associate Company. Acosta Danza is extremely grateful to its founder sponsor, Aud Jebsen, for her continued and unwavering support throughout our journey to date, as well as Sir Simon Robey, The Ian Taylor Foundation, The Oak Foundation and Alan Howard for their continued support and the generous support of Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet. About Carlos Acosta Carlos Acosta launched on the global stage after winning the Prix De Lausanne in 1990. He has danced with the world’s most prestigious companies including London’s Royal Ballet performing almost every classical role from Spartacus to Romeo. Carlos has created many award-winning shows throughout his career, has written two books and acted in films including ‘Yuli’ inspired by his life. In 2015, he founded contemporary dance company Acosta Danza and opened a dance academy in Havana. Honours include a CBE and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from The Royal Academy of Dance. In 2020, Carlos became Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Carlos is also the Chairman of the Acosta Dance Foundation founded in 2011 and established the internationally renowned Acosta Dance Centre in 2023, serving as a cornerstone for dance excellence in Woolwich, London. About Sadler’s Wells Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries. Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres – Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. Sadler’s Wells East In 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the new Rose Choreographic School and the hip hop theatre training centre, Academy Breakin’ Convention. Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Sadler’s Wells East will house a flexible theatre presenting a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions. Supporting artists Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances. Learning and community links Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. www.sadlerswells.com Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media Facebook: @SadlersWells Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells Instagram: @sadlers_wells YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre

In Paquita around 2008 Chi Cao performed 8 double tours in alternating directions (I saw him do it several times) rather than the usual double tour step step dt ss dt finish. Joe Caley achieved 8 but all in the same direction.

Hello @Rob Taylor and welcome to the Forum!

There's this one: And this one: If you have different requirements you could start a new thread on the For Sale/Wanted subform with the word Wanted in the title: https://www.balletcoforum.com/forum/28-for-sale-wanted/

Is it Sir David Bentley/Galina Samosa's Giselle that originally had the Countess riding on a horse with 2 salukis. The horse soon went I think but the salukis stayed for a while.

Hello Maura and welcome to the Forum! I have moved your post to the Doing Dance forum where training is discussed. You may find it worth looking at this thread:

Can we PLEASE get this thread back on the topic of BRB Sinfonia & BRB’s performance on 28th March.

Thanks for posting @Estreiiita. I love hearing news from RDB even though I haven't been able to get to Copenhagen for too long now.

I'd forgotten about that! I think I may quite like to see a blue swan sometime - perhaps midnight blue. It sounds like we could have a balletco meeting there next year!