Jan McNulty

A nice review in Bachtrack

I enjoyed looking at the photographs BR1; thanks for sharing the link.

I was in London yesterday afternoon to see the matinee of NEBT's Dancing for Nepal programme, and what a delightful afternoon it was. The performances were in the bijoux St James Theatre near Victoria and it seemed to be ideal for smaller ballet/dance performances. The bar area was spacious and very pleasant and the food looked good too. The afternoon comprised 7 dance pieces and two short films. The opening piece was Tangents for 3 couples. Lyrical and elegant with a gorgeous virtuoso solo for Gyorgy Baan. It was also a treat to see Josh Barwick back guesting with the company for these special performances. We then saw a short film by Camille Summers-Valli that juxtaposed some scenes of recovery work in Nepal with NEBT dancers preparing for class/rehearsal. We then saw Toca, a lovely almost melancholy duet. According to the programme it is based on a novel called The Maias about a brother and sister who are parted when they are very young and then meeting years later and falling in love not realising they are siblings. It was danced with beauty and poignancy by Alessia Lugoboni and Paul Oliver. Crystal Ballet's short film featured 3 of the choreographers talking about their works. The first half was completed by Kristen McNally's quirky, fun Mad Women for 5 ladies and 2 pizza delivery men! As one of the pizza men was walked off the stage by one of the young ladies (for what I could not say!) the other (Gyorgy Baan) had a fun, flirtatious duet with Alexandra Cameron-Martin. The second half started with a short speech about the Nepal Earthquake Recovery Appeal (NERA). The first danced piece was a flirtatious duet - Wundarra. Then we had 2 guest items. The first was a solo - Prometheus - for David Donnelly from the Royal Ballet. This was followed by another duet called La Llorona for Maria Borroso and Teo Dubreuil from the Royal Ballet. It is about two young lovers who are discovering what love and passion means to them. I loved it! The afternoon was completed by Valentino Zucchetti's Orbital Motion for the whole company. Lots of lovely swirling movements complemented by the Philip Glass score. It was danced with verve and enjoyment by the dancers, but for the only time in the afternoon the stage looked a little too small. I would love to see this again on a larger stage. So not only an enjoyable afternoon of interesting works all new to me, but danced in aid of a very worth-while cause. It was lovely to meet JulieW, Aileen and Bill Boyd too. You can still donate to the appeal here. More information on the appeal here.

Are the lessons stop/start because the teacher is having to explain what she means to the newer children? I can understand that would be frustrating for the more experienced children but a good teacher should be able to cater for all levels within the class.

But the name Gary is fading away. No Garys have been registered in the UK since 1992!

Glad you had such an enjoyable and rewarding time Jane! Thanks for reporting back.

If you specify the questions I am sure some people will be able to answer them.

But what happens if, for example, the live streaming goes wrong - at least the cinema audiences would get the same (albeit not live) performance that they have booked for. Or if, heaven forfend, something happens on stage and the performance has to be stopped. I think recording (as though it was being live streamed) an earlier performance with the same cast is a sensible insurance.

Have you tried the search facility on the forum - loads of stuff about Tring and others?

New John Lewis Insurance advert: http://whatmatters.johnlewis-insurance.com/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=PlayAd&utm_content=Email2&utm_campaign=TVC2&track=JF1030_Retention_TV_Base_20150821 (choreographed by Kristen McNally) http://whatmatters.johnlewis-insurance.com/meet-bunny-may/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=DMABM&utm_content=Email2&utm_campaign=TVC2&track=JF1030_Retention_TV_Base_20150821

Links - Friday, August 21 2015 Royal New Zealand Ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Scarlett),Wellington: Reviews: Ann Hunt, Dominion Post Jack Yan, Lucire Video feature – TV New Zealand Reviews – L.A. Dance Project, Murder Ballades, II acts for the blind, Hearts and Arrows, Jacob’s Pillow: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Ken Ross, Mass Live Review – Battery Dance Festival: Sankofa Danzafro, Pajarillo Panta’o Dance Company, mixed programme, New York: Apollinaire Scherr, FT Reviews – New Zealand Dance Company, Lumina, Auckland: Bernadette Rae, NZ Herald Jenny Stevenson, NZ Theatreview Review – Melbourne Dance Company, Lucidity, Phrased Without Words, Divenire, Infinite Space, Auckland: Sarah Knox, NZ Theatreview Preview Feature – Motionhouse, Fragile, Canterbury: Kev Burrow, Guardian Reviews - Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, Auckland: Kate Ward-Smythe, NZ Theatreview Janet Whittington, NZ Theatreview Review – Kage, Picnic, Melbourne: Chloe Smethurst, Sydney Morning Herald Preview - Jo Lloyd, Confusion for Three, Melbourne: Philippa Hawker, Sydney Morning Herald Edinburgh: Reviews – Israel Galvan, The Real: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Hannah Weibye, Arts Desk Lyndsey Winship, Standard Lucy Ribchester, List Feature – Choreographer and composer align for Ballet Zurich: staff, Scotsman Review - Company Chameleon, Beauty of the Beast: Donald Hutera, The List Review – Amina Khayyam Dance Co, Yerma: Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review - Gecko, Institute: Robin Strapp, British Theatre Guide Review - The Muted Note Duo, Dances and Songs based on poems by PK Page, Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review - 360 Allstars: Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247

This link is valid for the recording of the rehearsal. It was a terrific evening that gave us a small taster of what to expect. As a Friend of NB I was able to attend the rehearsals this morning and we saw another group scene and another duet being worked on. It really is worthwhile being a Friend to have this type of access to the company. It's looking very good indeed.

Short article about the Re:Bourne project: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-34002241

A post from Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Facebook page: "Instead of receiving flowers the Ollivier family have set-up a fundraising page in memory of Jonny. All donations they receive will be split equally between London Air Ambulance & our charity Re:Bourne. Jonny was a role-model to hundreds of young dancers, so to continue his legacy, Re:Bourne will be setting up a project for young people with poor access to the arts in his hometown of Northampton." Here is a link to the Virgin Money page for anyone who may wish to donate: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/displaySomeoneSpecialPage.action?pageUrl=JonathanOllivier

Links - Thursday, August 20 2015 Review – Battery Dance Festival: Sankofa Danzafro, Pajarillo Panta’o Dance Company, mixed programme, New York: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review - John Adams, Lucinda Childs and Frank O. Gehry, Available Light, Berlin: Katja Vaghi, Bachtrack Feature – Ballet Life, Unfiltered and Uploaded to Instagram: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature – Shooting a Swan Lake Photo: Michael Zhang, PetaPixel Preview - Kaeja d'Dance, Porch View Dances, Toronto: Michael Crabb, Toronnto Star Edinburgh: Review – Panic Lab, Riot: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Reviews - Fringe Dance, Paradise Lost, Balletronic, Idiot-Syncracy: Mary Brennan, Herald Scotland Review - Sonics in Toren: Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247

Links - Wednesday, August 19 2015 Obituary – Jonathan Ollivier: Graham Watts, London Dance News – American Ballet Theatre Spring 2016 season: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Review – St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake, London: David Jays, Guardian Diary – Twyla Tharp writes about rehearsal, “On the first day, no surprises please”: Twyla Tharp, NY Times Preview – Gerard Van Dycks, Picnic, Melbourne: Philippa Hawker, Sydney Morning Herald Review – Russian National Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake, Wellington: Ann Hunt, Dominion Post Review – American Contemporary Ballet, The Seasons, Los Angeles: Christina Campodonico, Neon Tommy Comment – Ballet critics are not writing for dancers: Ismene Brown, Spectator Featurette – Miko Fogarty: Abhi Singh, PBS News Hour Feature – What it’s really like to be a ballerina: Julianne Pepitone, Cosmopolitan Edinburgh: Reviews – Tao Dance Theatre, Weight x3, 5: Alice Bain, Guardian Lucy Ribchester, The List Preview – Zurich Ballet, Kairos, Sonnett: Kelly Apter, The List Review – Le Patin Libre, Vertical Influences: Lucy Ribchester, The List Review - Room 2 Manoeuvre, Squish Squared: Liam Blain, British Theatre Guide

A bathroom incident in Washington: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/audience-members-behaving-badly/2015/08/18/8935fa58-45e4-11e5-846d-02792f854297_story.html

A beautiful obituary from Graham Watts: http://londondance.com/articles/features/jonathan-ollivier-obituary/#.VdM4l7RId4s.facebook

Yes, I saw them in Birmingham on one of those very rare occasions when RB "toured" England and was so bowled over by them that I went to see them again at ROH.

Hello Caseybeatrice and welcome to the Forum! You raise some very interesting points via your own experience. I was comparatively young (early 20s) when I started watching contemporary dance - my friend and I went to see a performance because it was on and we were bored! Ballet came a bit later for me, reading a biography about Nijinsky, going to see a mixed programme that featured some of the works he was associated with, reading a review of Onegin which had been performed at the start of that week, seeing Onegin on next trip to London and the rest is history. I suppose I was lucky that as a ballet-watching newbie the BBC had two series about ballet in short succession - Dancer (hosted by Peter Schafuss) and Ballerina (hosted by Natalia Makarova). I think it was probably Dancer that started my love of the Bournonville style that continues to this day. I read a lot of books too. These days, with the likes of Youtube and other internet facilities it is surely easier to get into watching ballet and dance but I suppose the hardest part is getting people hooked into ballet on the internet. I think the Sergei Polunin video must surely have sparked some interest. I believe a good initiative is the concept of ballets for very young children that a number of our companies are now producing. Certainly the children at the performances I attended have been rapt and perhaps, hopefully, these will have sparked an interest in watching ballet that will grow and continue through their lives.

Links - Tuesday, August 18 2015 Q&A – Jonathan Watkins, choreographer, on creating 1984 for Northern Ballet: DanceTabs Review – Sarasota Ballet, The American, Monotones I, Monotones II, In a state of weightlessness, Jacob’s Pillow: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Feature/preview – Sylvie Guillem, A Life in Progress, Australia: Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National Review – Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance: Apollinaire Scherr, FT Feature – Ballet is more diverse than ever. Why is the audience still so white?: Boer Deng, Washington Post Feature – Edward Gorey, balletomane and illustrator: Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Preview – Patricia Kelly, Gene Kelly: The Legacy, San Francisco: Tony Bravo, SF Chronicle Review – Russian National Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake, Napier: Kim Buckley, NZ Theatreview Review – Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, mixed programme, Pittsburgh: Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Review – Edx2, One Fine Day, London: Nick Awde, Stage Feature – Misty Copeland style icon: Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair Edinburgh: Review – VerTeDance, Correction: Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review – Booking Dance Festival: Kelly Apter, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review – Pole: Sally Stott, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review - Alchemy Theatre Company, Liberation: David Pollock, Scotsman/WOW 247 Review – Cirk la Putyka, Dolls: Catherine Lamm, British Theatre Guide

Using the search facility will bring up many extant threads on pointe shoes.

I'm going to the matinee on Saturday. I'd love to say hello to any other Forum members who will be there! These performances are for a very worthy cause, please try and go if you can.

Links - Monday, August 17 2015 Reviews – St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake, London: Zoe Anderson, Independent Tiffany Pritchard, Londonist Feature – Sarasota Ballet looks ahead: Carrie Seidman, Sarasota Herald Tribune Preview – Royal New Zealand Ballet. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Scarlett): Tom Cardy, Dominion Post Gallery – New English Ballet Theatre and Special Guests, Dancing for Nepal, London: Foteini Christofilopoulou, DanceTabs Joyce Theatre Ballet Festival, New York: Review – Emery LeCrone Dance, Mixed programme; Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, triple bill: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review - Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Traveling Alone, Starting Over at the End, Back To, New York: Lauren Gallagher, DanceTabs Reviews – Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance, New York: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – Donna Uchizono, Fire Underground, North Carlton: Chloe Smethurst, Sydney Morning Herald Review – Dreamscape: Our dreams told through dance, Edmonton: Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal Feature/preview – Tulsa Ballet II, Tulsa: Paolo Mohovich, Tulsa World Edinburgh: Review – Sylvie Guillem, A Life in Progress: Alan Morrison, Herald Scotland Review – Gecko, Institute: Holly Williams, Independent Review – Discoteque Machine: Donald Hutera,The List

A nice preview feature: http://leeds-list.com/culture/a-side-of-northern-ballet-you-rarely-ever-see/