Jan McNulty

Of course not MAB! When I put my thoughts down they will definitely be about the companies I see most.

I didn't think it looked lost at the vast cavern known as the O2.

I've just looked up where it is on locally to me (Vue Southport is my closest) and it looks as though it is only on there on 10th. That may not be the case elsewhere, especially in London. There is some good background reading in the links today: Q&A - Maria Alexandrova of the Bolshoi: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Q&A Anastasia Meskova on the Bolshoi: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature - Bolshoi Babylon documentary: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Tim Teeman, Daily Beast

Links - Saturday 19 December, 2015 Nutcracker Corner: Review - San Francisco Ballet, The Nutcracker, San Francisco: Janice Berman, SF Classical Voice Reviews - English National Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Graham Watts, London Dance Hannah Weibye, Arts Desk Lyndsey Winship, Standard Vikki Jane Vile, A Younger Theatre Review - Northern Ballet, The Nutcracker, Leeds: Charles Hutchinson, York Press Feature - Behind the scenes at the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker: Katy Birchall, Country Life Gallery - Mikhailovsky Ballet, The Nutcracker: Grigory Dukor (Reuters), Guardian Review - Alberta Ballet, The Nutcracker, Calgary: Stephan Bonfield, Calgary Herald Review - Cape Town City Ballet, The Nutcracker, Cape Town: Shirley-Anne Bezuidenhout, Artlink Preview - Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, The Nutcracker, Santa Fe: Jennifer Levin, Santa Fe New Mexican The world beyond Nutcracker: List - What’s on in New York this week: staff, NY Times Feature - This week’s dance in London and Croydon: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Review - Urban Bush Women, Walking with ‘Trane, New York: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Q&A - Maria Alexandrova of the Bolshoi: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Q&A Anastasia Meskova on the Bolshoi: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature - Bolshoi Babylon documentary: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Tim Teeman, Daily Beast Feature - Sylvie Guillem, I don’t want to think about my last show - I just want to live it: Sarah Crompton, Guardian Interview - David McAllister, Australian Ballet, My favourite Sydney: Nicole Elphick, Sydney Morning Herald Feature - The rise and rise of Misty Copeland: Ruth La Ferla, NY Times 2015 in review: List - The top 5 dance events of 2015 in Toronto: Martha Schabas, Toronto Globe and Mail Feature - The Best Dance of 2015 in Chicago: Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

Somewhat o/t but I thought I would link to this featurette interview with Celine Gittens: http://www.mailboxlife.com/shop/city-living/five-minutes-with-celine-gittens-at-birmingham-royal-ballet/

Not everyone is a regular ballet goer and many expect to see "the top dancers" when they have booked to see a company - whoever those "top dancers" may be. I think that we have a tendency to forget that not everyone is as keen on ballet/dance as the members of this board - I don't mean that they don't like ballet/dance but that they will probably only go to one performance of a production. I believe they feel entitled to see the "top dancers". Some years ago at BRB the dancers who were then soloists were doing the bulk of the leading roles in the company as the more senior dancers were winding down their performing careers. I heard people complaining that they weren't seeing principals on a number of occasions and, as with Capybara, mentioned to them the qualities of the dancers they would be seeing. None of them were disappointed. How many people went to see Rudolf Nureyev when he was on his farewell tour and expected to see him dancing as he had done in his prime? While we, the board members, enjoy seeing youngsters getting their chances I suspect we would be in the minority in an "entrance poll" of people before the performance started. Although I am sure their opinions would have changed at the exit poll stage.

I meant to comment when I saw your original post Melody. When I needed a new lap top last year, I had no choice but to buy a Windows 8 one (as that is all they were selling in Currys). I wasn't bothered because I had a Windows phone which I loved. Of course the laptop operating system was different and drove me round the bend!!! I had some of the problems you are now experiencing with Windows 10. I kept losing my internet connection but I know it wasn't a problem with my provider as my phone, kindle and tablet all stayed connected. Sometimes I would have to reboot three or four times to get it to recognise my internet connection. I upgraded to Windows 10 and have not had any problems since. Unfortunately I had decided to give up on Windows and had ordered a Macbook!! I probably wouldn't have done if Windows 10 had come out earlier! I still use my old laptop from time to time and have not had any problems at all with W10.

With one week of ENB a year in Liverpool (and what a fabulous week this year!) I have no choice but to travel. I see around 100 performances a year - mostly BRB and NB but ENB in Liverpool and Manchester, lots of dance at the Lowry and the odd foray to RB.

I know we are going O/T here but it is not just RB's audience. I have overheard people at performances by other companies commenting when non-principals are in leading roles. Which possibly begs the question should dancers be listed by rank in programmes and on websites?

Family Weekend Snow White & Digitopia Sadler’s Wells & Lilian Baylis Studio Friday 25 & Saturday 26 March Performances: Snow White on Friday at 3pm; Saturday at 11am & 3pm Digitopia on Friday at 2pm; Saturday 10.30am & 2pm Tickets: Snow White £12 - £18 | Digitopia £7 - £12 | Family Dance workshops £2 Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com Family Weekend, Sadler’s Wells’ annual two-day festival of family friendly events, returns from Friday 25 and Saturday 26 March 2016. Family Weekend takes over the building, offering something for all ages with fun activities complementing the shows on the Sadler’s Wells and Lilian Baylis Studio stages: Snow White and Digitopia. Following the award winning and critically acclaimed Rapunzel, balletLORENT brings its latest dance theatre fairytale production, Snow White to Sadler’s Wells theatre. This production takes inspiration from the original Brothers Grimm fairytale, where Snow White’s real mother, rather than her stepmother, becomes consumed by jealousy for her beautiful daughter. balletLORENT’s Artistic Director Liv Lorent (MBE) directs and choreographs, reuniting with the team of world renowned collaborators who created Rapunzel: Dame Carol Ann Duffy (Whitbread, T.S. Eliot and Pinter Prize winner); five time BAFTA nominated composer Murray Gold (Doctor Who); set designer Phil Eddolls (joint TMA award winner for Improbable’s The Hanging Man); OBIE and Outer Critics Circle award-winning lighting designer Malcolm Rippeth; and the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra. balletLORENT also welcomes three new collaborators to the artistic team for Snow White: Olivier and Tony Award-winning actress Lindsay Duncan (Narrator), costume illustrator for HBO’s Game of Thrones Libby Everall (Costume Designer) and renowned soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, who performed at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony in London, 2012. balletLORENT’s 11 professional dancers will be joined by a cast of 12 local children from the Islington borough, aged 6 - 9 years old. At the Lilian Baylis studio, Tom Dale Company has partnered with MOKO Dance to presentDigitopia – A dancing digital wonderland. Dotty’s friend Hex is a simple two dimensional line. One day Hex really wants to make a curve. With lots of effort he learns to bend, then multiply, and suddenly he can turn into anything he wants to, eventually popping into three dimensions.. Testing the boundaries of contemporary dance, Tom Dale Company’s collaborative practice focuses on the synergy between urban contemporary dance, electronic music and digital art. Digitopia integrates live dance and digital technology to create an abstract world that defies the usual rules of gravity and physics. This bold and innovative work takes young audiences into a sci-fi-like environment, where digital animations of brightly coloured patterns explode and morph with the movement of dancers. Sadler’s Wells’ Director of Programme, Katy Arnander, said: “We are committed to programming work that children and their families can enjoy together, with the same high production values that audiences experience at Sadler’s Wells throughout the year. We aim to offer memorable theatrical experiences to capture children’s imaginations and engender an interest in live performance from a young age, making them feel that the theatre is somewhere they want to come back to.” Age guidance: Snow White 7+; Digitopoa 5+ Digitopia inspired Creative Dance Workshops: Fri 25 March, 12-1pm & 3.30-4.30pm Sat 26 March, 12-1pm (£2 per person. Children must be accompanied. Maximum three children per adult. Tickets are available to Digitopia ticket holders only.) An hour-long Creative Dance Workshop brought to you by MOKO Dance, exploring themes from Digitopia and aimed at children aged 5-8 years and their grown-ups. The workshop will offer a fun environment with emphasis on musicality and creativity, and will also involve working in pairs or small groups. No previous dance experience necessary. Snow White inspired Family Dance Workshops: Friday 25 & Saturday 26 March, 1.30-2.30pm Dance workshops for parents and children of all abilities based around music and dance from Snow White (£2 per person. Children must be accompanied. Maximum three children per adult. Tickets are available to Snow White ticket holders only.) Stay and Play Workshop: Friday 25 March, 3.00-3.30pm, Saturday 26 March, 11.30-12.00pm & 3.00-3.30pm (£1 per child. Adults must be present but do not need a ticket. Tickets are available to Digitopia ticket holders only). A thirty minute session on stage with the performers exploring dance and technology, led by Tom Dale Company. Suitable for 5-10 year olds and limited to a capacity of up to 20 participants. Pre-booking essential. Notes to editors: The two-day festival adds to the wealth of family dance shows on offer in Spring 2016, including: English National Ballet and English National Ballet School: My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty, 24 March - 2 April London Children’s Ballet: Little Lord Fauntleroy, 21 - 24 April Northern Ballet: Tortoise & the Hare, 27 May Breakin’ Convention ’16 International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre, 30 April & 1 May ZooNation Dance Company: Into the Hoods: Remixed, 4 - 21 May Snow White is co-produced by Northern Stage and commissioned by Sadler's Wells balletLORENT is supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation in its endeavour to emotionally connect with adults, young people and children through its all-ages dance programme. Supported by Arts Council England, MOKO Dance is a national dance partnership dedicated to opening the eyes of children and their families to the power of dance 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 very 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 90 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 and an Associate Company and nurtures the next generation of talent through hosting the National Youth Dance Company, its Summer University programme, Wild Card initiative and its New Wave Associates. 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.

And some of us were huge fans BEFORE he joined RB!!! At BRB, David Bentley publicly referred to him as the Boy Wonder because of his all round talent and his capability of learning roles in a very short space of time.

Fine here too.

Links - Friday 18 December, 2015 Nutcracker Corner: Review - San Francisco Ballet, The Nutcracker, San Francisco: Allan Ulrich, SF Chronicle Reviews - English National Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Margaret Willis, DanceTabs Mark Monahan, Telegraph Katie Columbus, Stage Christopher Curtis, Bachtrack Gallery - Dave Morgan, DanceTabshttp://dancetabs.com/2015/12/gallery-english-national-ballet-in-the-nutcracker-3/ Review - American Ballet Theatre, The Nutcracker, Costa Mesa: Victoria Looseleaf, Fjord Review Feature - Fairies and tulle on stage, total nuts backstage: Maura Judkis, Washington Post Book Review - Lauren Kessler, Raising the Barre: Angie Jabine, Oregon Arts Watch There is a life beyond Nutcracker Corner: Review - World Ballet Stars & Romanian National Ballet, Gala programme, New York: Robert Gottlieb, NY Observer Review - Arthur Pita, The Little Match Girl, London: Hannah Weibye, Arts Desk Speech - Tamara Rojo at the London World Cities Culture Summit 2015: Vimeo Interview - Tamara Rojo, Female choreographers lack confidence to say yes: Hannah Furness, Telegraph via Stage Review - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Blues Suite, Night Creature, Cry, Revelations, New York: Brian Seibert, NY Times Review - Noche Flamenca, Antigona, New York: Brian Seibert, NY Times Feature/Review - Slovak National Ballet, Nijinsky, God of Dance, Bratislava: Zuzana Vilikovska, Slovak Spectator Review - Israel Ballet, Cinderella, Tel Aviv: Ruth Eshel, Haaretz Video Interview - Misty Copeland on the long road to ballet stardom: ABC News Video feature - Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody reinterpreted (including by ENB): Jess Gormley, Dan Susman, Juliet Riddell, Guardian and the whole ENB video: Cassie Delaney, Her Book photo feature - Rick Guest, What Lies Beneath: DanceTabs Feature - It’s great when you skate: how ice dance became cool: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Feature - Dance in Portland and Eugene: Jamuna Chiarini, Oregon Arts Watch Review - Bread and Puppet Theatre, The Seditious Company Theatre Presents: A monument… , New York: Gia Kourlas, NY Times 2015 in Review: List - Best of 2015: Marina Haars, Random Thoughts List - Best Theatre and Dance of 2015 (scroll down for dance): Paul Taylor and Zoe Anderson, Independent

OK, I've been thinking about this for a while and have decided to post something about Fallen Angels Dance Theatre whose AD - Paul Bayes Kitcher - is ex-Scottish Ballet and BRB. Paul started running workshops to help addicts in recovery through dance. Fallen Angels Dance Theatre uses professional dancers for performances of works by Paul that are created as a result of inspirations from recovery workshops. Ballet-based but not ballet driven I have never been less than profoundly moved by the works that I have seen. On Tuesday morning I was invited to attend a session with Risen, which is a dance group that grew out of workshops in the Liverpool area. The short performance that was given as part of the morning was performed by the addicts in recovery who are part of the group. Most of them would not have had any dance background at all. However all the people within the performance danced from their souls and I am sure I am not the only member of the audience who was in tears. Talking to people afterwards most of them said how much being able to express themselves through dance had given them a purpose and was helping with their recovery. It was a moving and emotional morning. Ballet and dance can cover serious subjects in a way that can make the audience stop and really think about what the movement has grown out of, whether you are watching a professional company or a group such as Risen. Unfortunately I was unable to see any of FADT's November performances that included one in the Clore. Did any of our members go to see it? More information about FADT can be found here: http://www.fallenangelsdancetheatre.co.uk

As it happens I know many regular ballet-watchers who are not London based and who all travel to a greater or lesser extent to see ballet. Quite a few members who post about RB are not London-based and some travel great distances to see them. When I first started watching ballet, I did the bulk of my ballet-watching in London - mostly visiting companies at Sadler's Wells and London Festival Ballet (now ENB). As it happens I thought that LFB were the pre-eminent company in the UK (mid-80s). I did go to Covent Garden too but I now realise that the company was in something of a doldrums and that was why I was often underwhelmed by the performances I saw - the exception for me being anything with Lesley Collier. A lot of the regular ballet-watchers I know lurk on this site but choose not to post, even though I try to persuade them. I know many members on this site follow ballet in general but equally it seems to me that there are many members who only go to Covent Garden. Reading postings at the time I got the impression that some members had never sought out ENB until Alina Cojocaru moved over. I'm sorry if other members find that statement offensive but it is the way it sometimes comes over. When I discovered the previous Ballet.Co I started posting because not many other people posted about companies and performances outside of London.

Judging by the comments of people as I was walking out of the cinema last night, most of the people present were not regular ballet goers but all the comments I heard were positive. I guess there were 50-60 people in the auditorium.

Well Floss you could say exactly the same thing about BRB and NB too!! Bruce experimented with similar sections on the previous version of the forum but they did not last long. I would urge all our members and lurkers to post on the companies they see, whichever company they may be.

Grumble warning: If we really enjoyed it, why nitpick???? Grumble over!

Me too!

Links - Thursday 17 December, 2015 Reviews - Arthur Pita, The Little Match Girl, London: Siobhan Murphy, DanceTabs Graham Watts, London Dance Neil Norman, Stage Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Gareth Johnson, Gay Star News Feature - Duets that reflect the world offstage: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Interview - Thomas Lund, Head of Royal Danish Ballet School: Eva Kistrup, Danceview Times Feature - How Cuba produces some of the best ballet dancers in the world: Noel Duan, Yahoo Gallery - Rambert, New Choreography 2015, London: Stephen Wright, DanceTabs Interview - Misty Copeland: Allison Glock, ESPN Review - Sydney Dance Company, New Breed, Sydney: Claudia Lawson, Fjord Review Review - Russell Maliphant Company, Conceal | Reveal, London: Rachel Elderkin, Fjord Review Feature - Dancer Rebecca Friedman on dancing with cystic fibrosis: Carolyn Kelemen, Baltimore Sun Nutcracker Corner: Review - Royal Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Clement Crisp, FT Review - Mark Morris Dance Group, The Hard Nut, New York: Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn, Bachtrack Feature - Sarasota Ballet’s new Nutcracker: Nick Reichert, Sarasota Observer Review - Pacific Northwest Ballet, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Seattle: Deborah Meyers, Vancouver Sun Interview - Christopher Gray of Houston Ballet talks The Nutcracker: Katricia Lang, Broadway World Feature - Ballet Companies rely on Nutcracker’s financial draw: Michael Crabb, Toronto Star Review - Theatre Orchard, Nutshell Nutcracker, Weston-super-Mare: Jeremy Brien, Stage Review - Tony Williams Dance Centre, Urban Nutcracker, Boston: Karen Campbell, Boston Globe 2015 in Review: List - The 5 best dance shows of 2015: Mark Monahan, Telegraph List - The 5 worst dance shows of 2015: Mark Monahan,Telegraph

Well Mr C has a growing army of fans! I hope you are going to see him in 2Ps!

Well I'm just back from the cinema! I can't believe that Sir Peter Wright has made 2 such differing productions of the Nutcracker - BRB's masterpiece and this one! OK some of the choreography is the same but I'm afraid I didn't like the set or the costumes, which I also loathed on the only previous occasion I have seen this production (in 1986). However the performances were stellar. I thought Francesca Hayward was utterly exquisite as Clara; her facial expressions were vivid but subtle at the same time. Alexander Campbell was magnificent as the Nutcracker/Hans-Peter and he and Francesca were scintillating together. Gary Avis just inhabited the role of Drosselmeyer; he is a true star. Lauren Cuthbertson and Nehemiah Kish were fabulous in the gpdd. So my first cinema outing was a success and I will definitely go again but probably not to see this production of Nutcracker!

Well I, for one, enjoyed Acosta's Don Q!

The Irish Times has reported that Annilese Miskimmon has been appointed as Opera Director in Oslo: http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/belfast-opera-director-lands-a-tricky-new-job-in-norway-1.2466243

I was lucky enough to see 3 of these works at The Lowry (I had underestimated the length of the evening and had a very early morning flight so am ashamed to say I had to leave at the interval.) Of the pieces I saw my favourite was the one by Carlos Pons Guerra called Ruffle but all 4 pieces I saw were very enjoyable.