Jan McNulty

I've just seen the sad news that choreographer Rosemary Butcher has passed away. Condolences to her family and friends at this time. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jul/20/rosemary-butcher-obituary

Done!

Well done to your DD Katymac! What a fantastic opportunity for her.

Australian Ballet open their run of Cinderella at the Coliseum tonight. Please use this thread to record your thoughts. I am looking forward to the matinee on Saturday.

Hello Silverdene and welcome to the Forum! I hope your DDs enjoy EYB.

This is really weird, as a very irregular attender I got an email reminding me last week!

I've just come across this via BRB's Facebook page: Dance students of all abilities, aged nine to adult, are invited to audition for Cinderella Dreams, a project from Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Department for Learning. Inspired by the ballet and classic tale of Cinderella, it will be a unique experience, giving students from local dance schools across the West Midlands the opportunity to perform Cinderella Dreamsalongside Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers on the Birmingham Hippodrome stage on Monday 20 February 2017. Closing date for applications: Friday 19 August More details here: https://www.brb.org.uk/cinderelladreams

Her Juliet was a revelation - not only very beautifully danced but so heartfelt too. What a wonderful actress she has become.

I think you are probably right ZooZoo and I agree there is no easy solution. It's not only dance though, I believe football academies face similar assessments and I am sure other specialism schools will be similar. A dancer once said to us that dancers have to be not only aware of their own bodies but their limitations too. Is this instilled into them in schools so that if they are, unfortunately, assessed out it should not come as a surprise and a plan B can be ready and waiting?

Fortunately not all ballet companies are heightist. Just as well as most of my favourite dancers (male and female) have been on the shorter side of tall.

It was their debut I saw in Brum. As this thread is about RB I only mentioned Mr C but Momoko is just awesome as Aurora. We knew something special was happening the minute she stepped on the stage in Act 1.

I remember reading the article where she was quoted as saying that David. Just a thought that as people on this forum are clamouring for the Nagdhi/Ball partnership to continue perhaps there are other people who are more than happy to see the Salenko/McRae partnership continue. Horses for courses... And can you imagine my anguish when I realised I can't get to either of the performances by the pairing I would very nearly kill to see!!! I will just have to remember Mr Campbell's glorious debut with BRB some years ago.

Here's the company website: http://www.ballet-de-marseille.com/en/ I must admit that I'd never heard of this company before but it looks most interesting. I wish I could go!

Good shout BlueLou! Let's hope lots of parents tell us of their DC's experiences.

This "quaintly titled" review popped up on one of my Google alerts today. Apparently the school has been renamed to "Royal Ballet School Elmhurst"! The reviewer enjoyed the show. http://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2016/07/19/birmingham-royal-ballet-summer-syncopations-10th-anniversary-gala-at-the-birmingham-repertory-theatre/

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There doesn't seem to have been a press release. Is it on the website somewhere?

I was in the stalls on Saturday afternoon and there was no disruption near me at all (Coliseum, Aus Ballet).

Hello and welcome to the Forum Trumpets!

Is this it? http://www.laurawilsonschoolofdance.co.uk/cyb.htm

Just googled and found the website: http://www.schoolcb.com/index.php/international-students and this: http://www.cadenceballet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=528

In his review for London Dance, Graham Watts comments on the physical similarity of the dancers performing Odette and the Baroness. I felt the same yesterday with Robyn Hendricks and Amy Harris but just wrote it off as coincidence. http://londondance.com/articles/reviews/australian-ballet-swan-lake-london-coliseum/

I had seen this production of Swan Lake at The Lowry the last time that the Australian Ballet were in the UK so I knew what to expect. As long as I can see a traditional production like Sir Peter Wright's magnificent one for BRB I actually enjoy seeing different takes on the ballet so I was really looking forward to seeing this again. I first saw the Australian Ballet in 1988(?) at ROH performing Sleeping Beauty and remember thinking what a beautiful and elegant company they were. The performance I saw yesterday did nothing to change that opinion. I suppose when this production was first created the "there were three people in the marriage" comment was much fresher in people's minds and perhaps it was more shocking. Of course, in this production you almost see the concept from both sides of the house. The fragile Odette thinks the Prince is marrying her for love rather than expediency and is distraught when she finds that isn't the case. The Baroness Von Rothbart comes over as scheming and manipulative in having Odette taken away to a sanatorium. Then Odette makes a "Now Voyager"-like return and the Baroness finds herself on the receiving end and herself becomes distraught. So we see Odette getting the happy ending that she wants but she is still too fragile to cope and goes to the Lake to end it all leaving the Prince distraught. From the start of the wedding scene you get the real feeling that you are watching a company and that everyone on stage is committed to the action (nice for BRB fans to see Chris Rodgers-Wilson in the wedding scene) and the company is looking really good. I loved the set and I loved the costumes ... the wedding dress is spectacular. I rather liked the way the score was skewed around to suit the action and I like the way that Graeme Murphy had used stillness in some of the more frenetic sections. I loved the white swan adagio, portrayed here with real tenderness. It was clever to use the black swan music to portray Odette's mental breakdown. Robyn Hendricks as Odette was just sublime, she just lived the character's fragility and vulnerability. I thought Rudy Hawkes did very well in bringing out The Prince's caddishness that transmogrified into love and ultimately despair as he realised what he had lost. Amy Harris was superb the scheming, manipulative Baroness whose fall from grace was quite awesome. What a fantastic afternoon! (I'm looking forward to seeing Cinderella next Saturday.)

I loved the matinee performance today. I'm now homeward bound!

When we went to see a bat cave on holiday in Indonesia many years ago I took a hat especially to go there ... just in case! They are wonderful creatures.