Jan McNulty

Hello Susan and welcome to the Forum. In accordance with the AUP could I please ask that you add a signature to your user profile: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/417-the-balletcoforum-acceptable-use-policy/ "Members who have commercial interests must indicate that by adding a Signature line to their postings, stating the name and type of their business and giving their website and/or business email address for enquiries. (You set up a Signature via My Settings in the dropdown menu under your name.) If members wish to contact businesses, associate schemes or other commercial enterprises this should be done via the vendor’s website or email, not by starting threads on the forum. Sending promotional “mailshot” messages to other users is not allowed." You can add a signature by clicking on the down arrow by your username on the top right hand side of the screen and then selecting "edit my profile". On the left hand side of this screen select the signature option.

It's worth investing in a guide book to Paris - I usually find Berlitz, Lonely Planet Pocket Guides or Dorling Kindersley Top 10 lists give you good ideas of where to go and fit easily into a pocket or bag. They also have maps! It is definitely worth looking at the map and deciding where you want to go before you get there so that you can cram in as much as possible during your time there. For my last few visits we have stayed in the Hotel Chopin which is within walking distance of most of the places you may want to go to in the centre and is not too far from a metro station for places further afield: http://hotelchopin-paris-opera.com/grands-boulevards/eng/index.html

Here is the link to Fonty's thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/7852-day-trip-to-paris/?hl=%22day+trip+to+paris%22 I adore the Orsay. Also the Orangerie if the queues are not too big. As it is your first trip to Paris, a boat trip on a Bateaux Mouche or equivalent is great fun, as is the Eiffel Tower. Don't forget Notre Dame too. Last time I was there we met up with my friend's granddaughter and did the open top bus tour, which turned out to be good fun. We didn't really get off except by the Orsay. Looking at the Orsay from the river, there is a cafe on the corner on the left hand side called Le Frigate - I seem to have been there on every trip I have ever made to Paris!

Carlos Acosta The Classical Farewell Royal Albert Hall, SW7 Monday 3 - Friday 7 October 2016 Performances: Mon - Fri at 7.30pm Tickets: £20 - £110 + fees Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com / 020 7589 8212 or www.royalalberthall.com “Carlos Acosta is the great male ballet dancer of his generation, a virtuoso performer who could – from the moment we first saw him as a gauche 18 year old – soar across the stage as if suspended from the sky” The Telegraph Carlos Acosta bids farewell to classical ballet with his final performances at the Royal Albert Hall for a limited run from Monday 3 - Friday 7 October 2016. The Classical Farewell celebrates highlights from Acosta’s career which led him to become the most famous male dancer of his generation, and marks the final time for audiences to watch the ballet superstar dance classical works. The production follows the popular format of his 2006 show Carlos Acosta with Guests of The Royal Ballet, for which he won an Olivier Award, and A Classical Selection which was performed at London Coliseum in December 2015 to critical acclaim. The farewell production at the Royal Albert Hall includes a number of the most famous pas de deux from the classical and neo-classical canon. The programme features Acosta dancing classical works including Winter Dreams, Mayerling and Requiem by one of the greatest ballet choreographers of the 20th century Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine’s story about the Greek God Apollo, Marius Petipa's Don Quixote and Memoria by Rambert’s Miguel Altunaga. The Classical Farewell marks the final opportunity for audiences to see Acosta dance classical ballet repertoire anywhere in the world. Also part of the evening’s programme is an extract from George Blanchine’s Rubies set to score by Stravinsky alongside an extract from one of Frederick Ashton’s last works, the playful, romantic, and elegant Rhapsody. Completing the bill are Raúl Reinoso’s Anadromous, Manon and Gloria by Kenneth MacMillan and Michel Fokine’s Scheherazade and solo Dying Swan. Acosta has thrilled audiences throughout the world with his breathtaking performances, including principal roles in many ballets in the classical repertoire. For The Classical Farewell Acosta has put together a programme presenting some of his favourite pieces from the classical repertoire for the final time. At the Royal Albert Hall, Acosta will be joined on stage by some of his closest contemporaries from The Royal Ballet. The programme features Yuhui Choe, Sarah Lamb, Laura Morera, Marianela Nuñez and Valentino Zucchetto alongside Cuban dancers Gabriela Lugo and Luis Valle. The evening’s programme is accompanied by a live orchestra conducted by Paul Murphy and features Pegasus Choir, one of London’s most accomplished chamber choirs. Pegasus has previously performed with Acosta in productions at the London Coliseum and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Acosta trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba and won the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne (1990). He was a principal with English National Ballet (1991–2), danced with National Ballet of Cuba under Alicia Alonso (1992–3) and was a principal with Houston Ballet under Ben Stevenson (1993–8). He joined The Royal Ballet in 1998 and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2003. Acosta has frequently appeared worldwide with companies including American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, Kirov, Bolshoi and Australian Ballet. Acosta’s past productions have played to sell-out audiences and have been lauded by critics and audiences alike. He was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2014 for his services to ballet and is passionate about nurturing and inspiring the next generation of dancers through the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation. The award marked the end of a remarkable year which had seen him stage a new production of Don Quixote at the Royal Opera House, release his debut novel Pig’s Foot, which was subsequently named as one of the Waterstone’s Eleven, an annual list of some of the most promising debut novels. Acosta choreographed Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of Guys and Dollsin 2015. The show is currently playing in the West End and Acosta was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. At the National Dance Awards 2015 Acosta was awarded the De Valois Award for Lifetime Achievement. For his final Royal Ballet season Acosta choreographed and took the lead role in Carmen which ran at the Royal Opera House from October to November 2015, marking his farewell to the company after 17 years. Most recently, Acosta has been working in Havana, Cuba with his new company Acosta Danza. Co-produced by Sadler’s Wells and Valid Productions Presented in association with Como No Press night: Monday 3 October at 7.30pm Notes to editors Listings information Carlos Acosta The Classical Farewell Royal Albert Hall, SW7 Monday 3 - Friday 7 October 2016 Performances: Mon - Fri at 7.30pm Tickets: £20 - £110 + fees Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com / 020 7589 8212 or www.royalalberthall.com ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 100 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies, an Associate Company and two International Associate Companies. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through its New Wave Associates and Summer University programmes, its Wild Card initiative and hosting of the National Youth Dance Company. Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England. ABOUT VALID PRODUCTIONS Valid Productions has been a promoter of the performing arts in the UK and Europe since 2009. It has always worked closely with Carlos Acosta and is the co-producer of his Classical Farewell Tour throughout the UK and the rest of the world in 2016, including Havana, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong. It has also started working with a number of very talented emerging dancers from Cuba and has some exciting new productions in development for 2017 and 2018.

Links - Thursday 01 September, 2016 Review - Mark Morris Dance Group, Mozart Dances, New York: Robert Greskovic, Wall Street Journal Book Review - Sir Peter Wright & Paul Arrowsmith, Wrights and Wrongs: Ismene Brown, Spectator Review - Royal New Zealand Ballet, Giselle, Auckland: Raewyn Whyte, NZ Herald Review - Hong Kong Ballet, Swan Lake, Hong Kong: Joy Wang XY, Seeing Dance Feature - Stephen Page, AD Bangarra Dance Theatre: Debbie Cuthbertson, Brisbane Times Review - Compagnie Kafig, Pixel, Melbourne: Jordan Beth Vincent, Sydney Morning Herald Review - Irina Kolesnikova & St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Her Name was Carmen, London: Bruce Marriott, DanceTabs Review - Short & Sweet Dance Festival: Auckland: Chloe Klein, NZ Theatreview Review - Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Horses in the Sky, Sydney: Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald Review - Lee Searle, Multimodal, Sydney: Jordan Beth Vincent, Brisbane Times Feature - Harrison James Wynn, National Ballet of Canada: Adam Poulopoulos, Dominion Post Feature - Ahmad Joudeh teaches children in Syria to dance: Kelly Vaghenas, Green Prophet News - Joie de Vivre dance film winners announced: Carmel Smith, London Dance Feature - Dance Diary updates August 2016: Michelle Potter, Blog Exhibition Review - Rhythm and Roots, Denver: Michael Paglia, Westword Feature - Ashley Killar, choreographer: Eugenie du Preez, Channel 24 Featurette - Meet the choreographer (Sydney Skybetter) shaking up organisations…: Christina Wallace, Forbes Edinburgh 2016: Review - Familie Floz, Teatro Delusio: David Mead, Seeing Dance Review - Otto Farrant & Finn Cooke, Spool: Alastair Curtis, A Younger Theatre

Oh I remember that advert - still has me giggling!

I've not had a chance to post on this before now. I went to Russia in 1986 and that was the first time I had experienced applause other than what we experience in the UK. OK, I'm name dropping but the first performance we saw was in St Petersburg and it was Altynai Assylmuratova and Farouk Ruzimatov in Don Q and the audience was obviously very appreciative. At the time I was very impressed by the rhythmic clapping and foot stamping. It was a night I shall never forget! My next experience was in Budapest the following year. At the end of the performance there was the rhythmic clapping but it started slowly and worked up to a frenzy! When the late Christopher Gable moulded Northern Ballet into the company he wanted, performing mostly dramatic, narrative ballets he preferred the audience not to clap during the performance so that the narrative flow was maintained. I still behave like that and, unless there is an obvious applause break, I do not applaud until the end of the act. I know I have mentioned this before but I once saw an awesome performance of Alicia Alonso's production of Don Q in Copenhagen by the RDB with guests Joel Carreno and Anette Delgado from Cuba. The juxtaposition of Bournonville and Vaganova training was most marked and, of course, the grand pas was spectacular. A lot of the audience were on their feet cheering well before the end of the coda. It was so exciting to witness this performance that something that would otherwise have driven me round the bend was just a joyous experience!

Definitely not one for me ... retreats to a darkened room and lies down to recover from the thought!

I believe the "drivers abroad" ploy works abroad for British drivers too as it is too hard for the police of whatever country to chase and prosecute foreign nationals for road traffic infringements. Many years ago I was visiting a friend who was working in Munich - he told me about a colleague who had infringed road traffic regulations many times but had never had any penalties because he was driving a UK registered car and it was just too difficult to track him down and charge him!

Links - Wednesday 31 August, 2016 Review - Mark Morris Dance Group, Mozart Dances, New York: Lauren Gallagher, DanceTabs Feature - Swan Lake and Shurale: Laura Cappella, FT Review - Irina Kolesnikova & St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Her Name was Carmen, London: Philippa Newis, Bachtrack Review - Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Orfeo ed Euridice, Oslo: Aksel Tollåli, Bachtrack Review - Motionhouse & NoFit State Circus, Block, Cardiff: Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide Feature - Marcelo Gomes choreographic breakthrough: Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine Review - English National Ballet, Le Corsaire, Paris: Patricia Boccadoro, Culture Kiosque Feature - Joseph Skelton, RNZB: Sarah Catherall, Dominion Post News Feature - David Moore (Stuttgart Ballet) to guest with Cape Town City Ballet: Sheila Chisholm, IOL Review - Contra-Tiempo, She Who: Frida, Miami and Me, Walking with ‘Trane, Los Angeles: Christina Campodonico, LA Times Feature - Lynne Bellinger, Ballet Theatre of Maryland: Mary Carole Macaulay, Baltimore Sun News - Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Body Metaphysics exhibition to go on show in Moscow: Tom Seymour, British Journal of Photography Feature - Ballet for the Blind in Mexico: Eva Clifford, Huffington Post Edinburgh 2016: Reviews - Kabinet K, RAW: Thom Dibdin, Stage Lucy Ribchester, The List

Feature about the actress featuring in the Kenzo advert: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3765765/She-s-real-wild-thing-Director-Spike-Jonze-creates-captivating-perfume-campaign-video-sees-stunning-actress-Margarey-Qualley-performing-bizarre-animalistic-choreography.html

I worked with someone who was not obviously disabled but who when he needed to go needed to go THEN. Because he had had a number of issues about this, since then (not that I ever did before) I have made a thing about not using a specifically disabled toilet. On many occasions I have overheard people in queues saying they would use the disabled as no one was in it. Once, at the Lowry, this meant a lady in a wheelchair having to wait.

As you have mentioned the badges SBF, it had crossed my mind that if people can't spot BCoF badges when they are on the lookout, will people be able to see the "I need a seat" badges? I think, in theory, it is a good idea but I will be interested to hear feedback on how successful it is.

Not quite sure what this has got to do with perfume... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tuHIhXyxrI It's directed by Spike Jonze BTW!

Fortunately I am not in the position to need to use a priority seat but I try not to sit on them and, certainly in Liverpool and London, I have seen people on buses moving for the elderly or disabled passengers or people with small children. I hope I would too, if I notice someone in difficulty. But please don't get me started on able bodied people using disabled toilets to jump the queue...

Thanks so much for sharing your son's story MB. Very, very best wishes to him for the future!

Absolutely brilliant!

Exactly MAB!

I came across this rather nice article this morning while preparing today's links. It features dancer Jane Magan preparing for retirement and talking about the health benefits of dance. Our very own Dormouse gets an honourable mention! http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/mental-health/grow-older-with-grace-ballet-dancer-jane-magain-prepares-to-hang-up-her-pumps-35002640.html

Links - Tuesday 30 August, 2016 Feature Preview - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, UK Tour: Judith Mackrell, Guardian News - Must-see dance shows of autumn 2016: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Review - Royal New Zealand Ballet, Giselle, Christchurch: Deborah Jones, Blog Review - New Zealand Dance Company, The Absurdity of Humanity, Auckland: Paul Young, Danz Review - Ardani Artists, Tour de Force lll, Los Angeles: Laura Bleiberg, LA Times Feature Preview - Quarantine, Wallflower, London & Leeds: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Gallery - Parkour Dance Company, Sacred Sons: Stephen Wright, DanceTabs News - Boston Ballet announces 2016-17 Company roster: Dance News Desk, Broadway World Reviews - Irina Kolesnikova & St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Her Name was Carmen, London: Rosemary Waugh, Exeunt Catherine Sedgwick, The Upcoming Preview - Joffrey Ballet, Nutcracker (Wheeldon), Chicago: Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times Review - Janet Roston & Cindy Shapiro, Anais, A Dance Opera, Los Angeles: Jeff Slayton, See Dance Preview - Houston Ballet, Theme and Variations, Other Dances, Artifact Suite, Houston: Margaret Downing, Houston Press Q&A - Dmitri Kleioris (ex-RNZB now in AIP): Missy Sullivan, Wall Street Journal Feature - Meet Rio de Janeiro’s favela ballerinas: Taylor Barnes, Marie Claire Edinburgh 2016: Review - Barrowland Ballet, Whiteout: Roisin O’Brien, Seeing Dance

I'm very sorry to have read that Gene Wilder has passed away at the age of 83. http://variety.com/2016/film/news/gene-wilder-dead-dies-willie-wonka-young-frankenstein-1201846745/

Oh I do hope you get someone. The jewellery looks absolutely fab and your photographs are terrific!

You mean to say the motorist actually used an indicator light???? A couple of days ago I didn't know whether to feel pleased that the motorist in front of me used his indicator light or fume that he indicated right and turned left!!!

Links - Monday 29 August, 2016 Review - Pacific Northwest Ballet, Her Door to the Sky, Sum Stravinsky, 3 Movements, Jacob’s Pillow: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Review - Ardani Artists, Tour de Force lll, Los Angeles: Steven Woodruff, See Dance Review - Irina Kolesnikova & St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Her Name was Carmen, London: Staff, Seeing Dance Review - Chicago Dancing Festival finale, Chicago: Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times Review - Indigenous Dance Residency, Transformations, Calgary: Stephan Bonfield, Calgary Herald Review - Human Resources LA, TROPHY, Los Angeles: Jeff Slayton, See Dance Review - Ballet Philippines, Weighted Whispers, Karga Tapas, Moving Two, Firebird, Manila: Tats Rejanta Manahan, Philippines Inquirer Edinburgh 2016: Review – Scottish Ballet, Emergence, MC 14/22(Ceci est mon corps): Bruce Marriott, DanceTabs 5 Fringe reviews: Luke Jennings, Observer Review - Kabinet K, RAW: Mary Brennan, Herald Scotland

Anna du Boisson's school for youngsters: http://www.westlondonschoolofdance.co.uk