Jan McNulty

Neither did I till my niece told me! You can look at the website to see what is on offer before you decide. I thought the occasional item on Sky Arts was worth £6.99 a month and I have started watching a box set called The Practice (about doctors). NOW TV is powered by Sky but it is an internet connection so you don't need a dish.

Thanks ... but I still won't be able to see it as I will be on my way to Leeds!

Links - Tuesday 16 February, 2016 Reviews - Royal Ballet, After the Rain, Strapless, Within the Golden Hour, London: Clement Crisp, FT Judith Mackrell, Guardian Jann Parry, DanceTabs Zoe Anderson, Independent Anna Winter, Exeunt Neil Norman, Stage Rachel Elderkin, London Dance John O’Dwyer, Bachtrack Review - New York City Ballet, La Sylphide, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2, New York: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Reviews – Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, “…como el musguito…”, London: Josephine Leask, London Dance Philippa Newis, Bachtrack Reviews - Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Alwin Nikolais Celebration, New York: Apollinaire Scherr, FT Marsha Volgyi, Broadway World Feature - Writing from silence - a response from a transnational collective to Akram Khan’s reported comments on female choreographers: London Dance Review - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Open Door, Awakening, Cry, Revelations, Atlanta: Cynthia Bond Perry, Arts Atlanta Review - Bill T Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company, Body against body, New York: Brian Seibert, NY Times Review - Claire Cunningham, Guide Gods, Fremantle: Maxim Boon, Limelight P/Review - Milwaukee Ballet, Dorian Gray, Milwaukee: Peggy Sue Dunigan, Broadway World Review - Paufve Dance, Strangers Become Flowers, San Francisco: Rita Felciano, Danceview Times Review - Eliza Ladd, Selfie of the Ancients, Sarasota: Carrie Seidman, Sarasota Herald Tribune Review - MiShinnah Productions, Iphigenia: Book of Change, Venice: Jeff Slayton, Bachtrack Featurette - Birmingham Royal Ballet Retrace the Steps of the Bard at Shakespeare's Birthplace: Louise Brady, Broadway World P/Reviews - Ballet Philippines, Opera, Manila: Staff, Philippines Standard Amadis Ma Guerrero, Philippines Inquirer Review - Uganda National Contemporary Ballet, The Ticking Bomb is Running Out, Kampala: Andrew Kaggwa, All Africa

Very true jm365. Actually I tend to find contemporary dance comes over better than ballet on TV. Having a larger screen can help too.

If you get a £10 NOW TV box, for £6.99 per month you can buy the Entertainment package that includes Sky Arts. There are a lot of archived programmes (especially of Andre Rieu!) but there is also a "watch live" selection. I can't believe I forgot about Elizabeth but hopefully it will be on a repeat cycle. The TV magazine I buy does not include a listing for Sky Arts. I have only just subscribed to the Entertainment package and you can cancel at any time as there is no contract. Previously I've only used it to watch terrestrial channels catch-up. I've watched a couple of programmes so far. It's got to be the best £10 I have spent! I don't have a connection with NOW or SKY.

BRB's Ashton double bill opens on Wednesday. Please use this thread for your thoughts. To start us off, BRB have issued a rehearsal video of The Dream from the last run: https://www.brb.org.uk/post/studio-rehearsals-for-the-dream

I don't think they were bothered about states of undress as such just one of themselves being depicted like that in public!

I rarely watch a ballet production on TV and I know many others who feel the same.

I think it's one of those things ... If it goes on behind closed doors it's one thing but flaunting it in public is another. I suspect a member of high society would cause quite a scandal with a publicly exhibited portrait considered risqué.

I know what you mean Alison. I started work on a project based in Bath and was commuting by train between Liverpool and Bath on a weekly basis for 2 years. I started 3 weeks before the Hatfield crash so for most of that time we were on the emergency (much longer lasting journeys) timetable. Virgin Trains could not manage to achieve that and I made a point of claiming every time the train was terminated at Crewe and I had no idea how long it was going to take to get the rest of the way home. I was entitled to £7 in vouchers for every qualifying delay. At one stage I had over £200 in vouchers! After 2 years, I was officially based back in Liverpool but was able to drive to Bath several times a month as I could claim the parking back. I had some unbelievably horrendous road journeys too! Over the years I have come to believe that the worst journey you can do in this country is from the North West of England to the South West of England. I have to say that Virgin Trains have greatly improved their service since the Pendolino trains were introduced and the staff are usually very helpful and courteous. (To finish on a positive note!).

It wouldn't necessarily have to be that music ... it was just a thought dump that it could be a 3-acter!

I'm so sorry to hear about Jonathan Goddard's injury and I hope he has a successful and early recovery. Chris Akrill is, along with Charlotte Broom, the co-founder/artistic director of Headspace Dance. I remember him well as a dancer with Northern Ballet and he was also a member of Ballet Culberg. He is terrific!

UK PREMIERE Kidd Pivot/ Electric Company Theatre Betroffenheit Tuesday 31 May & Wednesday 1 June Tickets: £12 - £27 Performances: 7.30pm Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com Created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, Betroffenheit receives its UK Premiere at Sadler’s Wells with performances on 31 May and 1 June 2016. Following the award-winning Polaris, part of Sadler’s Wells production Thomas Adès: See the music, hear the dance, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Crystal Pitecements her place as one of today’s most inventive choreographers. A former dancer with William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, Pite was the youngest person ever to receive the Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award in 1995. She has since gone on to create work for Nederlands Dans Theater, National Ballet of Canada and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. In 2002, she formed Kidd Pivot in Vancouver. Integrating movement, original music, text, and rich visual design, Kidd Pivot’s performance work has a distinct choreographic language marked by a strong theatrical sensibility and a keen sense of wit and invention. Kidd Pivot made its debut at Sadler’s Wells in 2009, and Pite became the theatre’s 16th Associate Artist in 2013. Her awards include the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and the 2015 Critics’ Circle Award for Best Modern Choreography. Jonathon Young is Artistic Director of Electric Company Theatre, one of Canada’s leading theatre companies, which he co-founded in 1996. He has created productions including Tear the Curtain! (a film/theatre hybrid for Arts Club Theatre and Canadian Stage); No Exit (a conceptual re-working of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play performed in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and San Francisco); and Studies in Motion (Vancouver Playhouse, Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, and at Canadian Stage in Toronto). In addition to his work with Electric Company Theatre, Young also performs as an actor. His recent productions include The Waiting Room (Arts Club Theatre); The Great Gatsby (Theatre Calgary); Hamlet (Bard on the Beach Festival); This (Canadian Stage) and Boeing Boeing (Arts Club Theatre). He is the recipient of numerous Jessie Richardson awards for acting and writing. Betroffenheit evokes the state of shock and bewilderment that is all encompassing in the wake of a disaster. Touching on themes of loss, trauma, addiction and recovery, Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance. Free post-show discussion. Alistair Spalding in conversation with Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young on stage: Wednesday 1 June, Free to same day ticket holders

If you've read my post on the RB/Wheeldon thread you will realise that I had 2 pretty horrendous journeys on Saturday. The problem with the outward journey was not, I must add, a problem with Virgin Trains but an incident on the line south of Runcorn. As a result, I wasn't even going to try and complain. And I didn't even realise we got cash back these days rather than vouchers. I have just received this email: It's made my morning! We're sorry that your journey on 13th February arrived late. Some slightly better news is that you're entitled to £13.20 in compensation through our Delay Repay scheme, as you booked your tickets at virgintrains.com. You don't need to lift a finger and we'll credit it back to the card you paid with. We're sorting this out for you now and it should be with you soon. We'll be in touch again once the money has reached you. To find out more about Automatic Delay Repay click here. We hope this experience hasn't discouraged you from travelling with us in future. Rest assured, we're working hard with our colleagues at Network Rail to improve our service. We look forward to welcoming you back onboard soon, Virgin Trains

You're welcome Kate! Hannah is not only one of my favourite dancers but is also such a lovely and committed person that she deserves every success! David Kierce's company classes always come over as huge fun too.

I've got a picture of me on that bench! That, however, was not at the forefront of my mind when I went to TM. As for Rome, the Pantheon fills me with awe and has sent shivers down my spine even when full of tourists!

But surely that depends on how the scenario is developed...

Links - Monday 15 February, 2016 Review - New York City Ballet, La Sylphide, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2, New York: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Reviews - Royal Ballet, After the Rain, Strapless, Within the Golden Hour, London: David Jays, Arts Journal Sam Smith, Londonist Review - Paris Opera Ballet, La Nuit s’achève, Tombe, Goldberg Variations, Paris: Luke Jennings, Observer Reviews – Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, “…como el musguito…”, London: Jann Parry, DanceTabs Louise Levene, FT Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Review - Royal Danish Ballet, Theme and Variations, La Sylphide, Copenhagen: Eva Kistrup, Danceview Times Review - Pacific Northwest Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Seattle: Rich Smith, The Stranger Review - Joffrey Ballet, Bold Moves, Chicago: Donna Robertson, Examiner Review - Milwaukee Ballet, Dorian Gray, Milwaukee: Emily Carl, Examiner Reviews - Resolution 2016, London: Sarah Crompton & Amelia Forsbrook, The Place Gracefool Collective This really is too much Sasha Milavic Davies & Lucy Railton Everything That Rises Must Dance A®CT The Other F Word Review – KVS, Les Ballets C de la B, Qattan Foundation, Badke, New York: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Review - BalletX, One heartbeat above one shadow below, Big Ones, Show Me, You Know I’m No Good, Philadelphia: Kat Richter, Dance Journal Review - Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, The Cuba Files, Boston: Thea Singer, Boston Globe Review - Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Peter Pan, Pittsburgh: Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune Review - Ballet West, Romeo and Juliet, Salt Lake City: Kathy Adams, Salt Lake City Tribune

Thanks for this excellent news blackdove. Congratulations to Anais

Well, after a horrendous journey to London I got to ROH just as the audience was pouring out of the auditorium at the end of After the Rain. You can imagine my feelings as that is the work I had specifically booked to see! I'm not quite sure what I thought of Strapless and haven't got another opportunity to see it. First thoughts are that it falls between 2 stools - it could have been a really taut chamber-work or it could have been a 3-acter with plenty of time for character development. The music was OK but didn't excite me. I really liked the set and costumes - I would kill for the robe that Amelie wore near the start! The performances of the leads were top notch. I thought Lauren Cuthbertson was absolutely ravishing as Amelie. She came across as a brittle, passionate social-climber and her devastation at her social rejection was deeply moving. I felt she really fleshed out a role that could have just been a cipher. I did think the ballet was going to come alight with her duet with her lover. There was one tiny little movement at the start of the duet where she touched Reece Clarke and it just sent shivers down my spine. I loved that duet. I also loved the trio between her, Sargent and his lover. Valeri Hristov brought a lot of emotion to the role of Sargent too. I would have liked another opportunity to see this work just to see if I felt any differently after a better journey, for example. I loved Within the Golden Hour when I saw it a couple of years ago and I loved it again yesterday. Once again Francesca Hayward provide that she is one of the brightest stars in the firmament. She came on stage, she breathed and she was wonderful! Yuhui Choe and Alexander Campbell showed yet again that they are a partnership I want to see over and over again. I loved their witty duet. All the cast danced well and showed yet again that the Royal Ballet is brimful of young talent.

I think your "mood" on the day can affect how you view a performance or other art. Of course, as the years pass and life experience grows it can also change how you feel when you see something. Speaking of Rome ... well not really ... I welled up with emotion when I stood in front of the Taj Mahal! I had been very blasé about going there and thought it was way over-hyped till I got there and saw it for myself. It is not over-hyped at all!

£279. It's on the "What to expect" page. Of course, if you are not local to Leeds there would be accommodation, breakfast and evening meal on top of that. It sounds like good value to me given the faculty and the use of Northern Ballet's fabulous studios.

Links - Sunday 14 February, 2016 Review - New York City Ballet, Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Sonatine, Mozartiana, Symphony in C, New York: Oksana Khadarina, Fjord Review Review - Paris Opera Ballet, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker programme, Paris: Patricia Boccadoro, Culture Kiosque Reviews - Royal Ballet, After the Rain, Strapless, Within the Golden Hour, London: Jenny Gilbert, Arts Desk Mark Monahan, Telegraph Mark Ronan, Blog Review – Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, “…como el musguito…”, London: Jeffrey Taylor, Express Review - Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Chore, Costa Mesa: Jean Lenihan, Orange County Register Review - Miami City Ballet, Year of the Rabbit, Sunset, Bourree Fantasque, Miami: Jordan Levin, Miami Herald Review - Pacific Northwest Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Seattle: Rosemary Jones, Examiner Review - Joffrey Ballet, Bold Moves, Chicago: Janet Arvia, Examiner Review - Martha Graham Dance Company, Michael Kliën & Steve Valk, Excavation Site: Martha Graham U.S.A., New York: Erica Getto, Brooklyn Rail Review - Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, Birmingham: Emma Cann, Broadway World Review - Crystal Pite, Jonathon Young, Betroffenheit, Ottawa: Natasha Gauthier, Ottawa Citizen Review - West Australian Ballet, Five By Night, Perth: Deborah Jones, Blog Play Review - Nureyev’s Eyes: New York: Michael Sommers, NY Times Review - Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Rice, Washington: Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post Reviews - Milwaukee Ballet, Dorian Gray, Milwaukee: Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Dave Begel, onMilwaukee Review - Cincinnati Ballet, Cinderella, Cincinnati: David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer Review - Nashville Ballet, Chopin Tributes, Petite Mort, City of Dreams, Nashville: Jeffrey Ellis, Broadway World Feature - American Realness Festival: Ivan Talijancic, Brooklyn Rail Review - Ligia Lewis / Brian Getnick, Sorrow Swag, New York: Jaime Shearn Coan, Brooklyn Rail Review - David Parker (curator), Soaking WET, New York: Joel Benjamin, Theater Scene Review - Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, Heavy Rotation, Dallas: Cheryl Callon, Theater Jones Review - Skinner/Kirk Dance Ensemble, mixed programme, Portland: Bob Hicks, Oregon Artswatch Review - Peter DiMuro (curator), CATALYSTS, Boston: Marcia B Siegel, Arts Fuse Featurette - Li Cunxin tells everyone to enjoy Chinese New Year: Amy Mitchell-Whittington, Brisbane Times

At the moment the Ibis Budget Hotel is £54 per night for that weekend. It is only about 5 minutes walk from Quarry Hill: http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/booking/hotels-list.shtml

Hannah Bateman (leading soloist with Northern Ballet) and David Paul Kierce (ex-leading artist with Northern Ballet) have organised a 3-day "Ballet Retreat" for Adult Dancers. It sounds like a really good venture. Details here: http://www.theballetretreat.com