Jan McNulty

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/

Yes BRB performed Carmina at the Coli in March and in Birmingham in June. It is expensive to tour so doesn't get revived too often.

Alexander Campbell

Absolutely not! Am I so obvious that everyone knows about whom I was writing???

In respect of Romeos there is a wonderful Romeo in the company who has not yet been given an opportunity to dance this role with RB! Edit: discussion of R&J casting moved from this thread http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/10358-rupert-pennefather-to-leave-rb/page-0 on Rupert Pennefather deciding to leave the Royal Ballet.

Isn't the objective of these workshops/intensives to learn but also to ENJOY? They must surely be designed to be inclusive of everyone and just because everyone cannot have professional tutus and practise clothes will be worn it does not mean anyone is less committed than other people.

A lovely obituary from Nadine Meisner in the I newspaper: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-jonathan-ollivier-dancer-who-performed-powerful-emotional-roles-with-matthew-bournes-new-adventures-company-10450594.html?origin=internalSearch

Oh sorry OrchidBlue. Does your son panic in exams? One of my cousins did but the technical college he had applied to for 6th form equivalent still accepted him on the basis of his school reports and a reference from the school. This was more years ago than I care to remember. It seems somewhat harsh of the school. Good luck with building your son's spirits up and getting him sorted with something he will enjoy.

2DM - Could you get a prepaid, reloadable card before you go on holiday to tide you over? The Money Saving Expert website has details: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-cards

Sean Graham’s Foreign Bodies Orchestra presents Race Tracks Race Tracks is a new dance theatre production that explores ‘Britishness’, multiculturalism and political correctness through dance, theatre and spoken word. Written and choreographed by Sean Graham, Race Tracks is inspired by Graham’s interest in the interaction between different races and the current opposing views of whether racism and prejudice still exist and how deep are its roots. Race Tracks is set in a metaphoric sporting event where nations are replaced by ethnicities. The gold that each strives for is an ideal Britishness and the host is an embodiment of Britain itself. It explores how the idea of a great nation affects those who have tried, over decades, to assimilate, integrate or exist independently within it whilst trying to retain their cultural identity. It also looks at to what extent the “indigenous” British have lost their own sense of identity as a result of the “multicultural project”. Graham explains “I set out to explore our national position on whether multiculturalism is working or not? And, what is it exactly that we are all fighting for or patriotically defending? Is there a prize for the winner and a price to pay for the loser? How do we decide who is really the winner when so much is sacrificed to get to such an elusive finish line? Is the gold medal they pursue really just fool’s gold? Following sold out performances at the Lilian Baylis (Sadler’s Wells) and Curve Theatre, Leicester Race Tracks has been developed further and will be performed at the Shambala Festival on the 29th August 2015. Creative Director: Sean Graham Project Manager: Chris Corner Production Assistant: Shivon Sloley Composer: Gemma Weekes Designer: Isabella Van Braeckel Performers: Sean (MoSean) Edwards, Tyrone Isaac-Stuart, Si Rawlinson, Yoshi SBX, Frank Wilson and Aneta (Modelo) Zwierzynska RUNNING TIME 40mins. Notes to Editors Performance Details Venue: The Play House at the Shambala Festival, Kelmarsh Hall, Harborough Rd, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire NN6 9LY Date: 29th August 2015 Time: 4pm Please note performance details and castings are subject to change Sean Graham’s Foreign Bodies Orchestra Diverse bodies, diverse identities, diverse voices. Sean Graham’s Foreign Bodies Orchestra fuses dance, drama and spoken word to create unusual and extraordinary theatre that is not afraid to explore contentious subjects. The primary aim of Foreign Bodies Orchestra is to create works that enables and encourages people from different racial and social denominations of society to challenge and see themselves differently. To accomplish this Foreign Bodies Orchestra embraces and explores the political, social and media issues that generate much of our social disparities. Foreign Bodies Orchestra’s name derives from Sean Graham’s journey as a performing artist and creative practitioner. Graham believes that from a social, political and human aspect, we all “foreigners” in some aspect of our lives - an essential “otherness” - a fascinating human facet that must be embraced and explored. This is reflected in his work; when he starts to create a new work, all the dancers in the studio are seen as ‘foreign’ with Graham being the creative conductor who orchestrates their movement and speaking to create a coherent theatrical conception. For more information please visit www.fbo-dancetheatre.com Sean Graham / Creative Director Sean Graham has nearly 20 years of experience within dance and the arts. As a performer he has toured and performed locally, nationally and internationally. He has transitioned across art forms using various theatre, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop and African forms as an artist. Companies and choreographers he has worked with include; Luca Silvestrini (Protein Dance), Alesandra Seutin (Vocab Dance), Tony Adigun (Avant Garde Dance) and Barrowland Ballet (Scotland). As a choreographer Graham has presented works at: The Southbank Centre, Peacock Theatre, Richmix, Stratford Circus, The Place Theatre, The Royal Opera House, The Horniman Museum, Sadler's Wells and Olympia Stadium. Graham’s awards include the Trailblazers Award (2008) from the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD), a Marion North Choreographer Mentorship Award from Trinity-Laban Conservatoire (2009) and he has been a temporary Resident Artist in partnership with State Of Emergency and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre (2007). For more information please visit www.seangraham.co.uk Credits: The development of Race Tracks has been supported by Arts Council England.It has also received assistance from ADAD The Association of Dance of the African Diaspora and Breakin Convention. Race Trackswas originally created in a Sadler’s Wells/Breakin’ Convention development project Back To The Lab.

Well that looks interesting ... wish I could see it!

Hello BalletNZ, I'm sorry your query seems to have slipped through the cracks. I do not have any dancing relatives but I do know that Rambert has an excellent reputation. If you haven't already discovered the search facility, it is well worth searching as there has been a number of Rambert-specific threads and they are also mentioned in other threads. This is the search page I pulled up:http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1

Crystal Ballet - judging by some comments I saw on Twitter I think you could say that your Swan Lake intensive was most definitely a huge success!

This is the link to the website of Professional Dance Experience, the company that ran the intensive at the Rambert School in Twickenham and in Leeds: http://www.professionaldanceexperience.org.uk/bradleywalmsley/

Hello Sue M and welcome to the Forum. I can't answer your question but I am sure other members will be able to chip in. Do let us know how your DD gets on.

And the press release: PRESS RELEASE Principal Dancer Rupert Pennefather to leave The Royal Ballet Principal dancer, Rupert Pennefather, has announced his decision to leave The Royal Ballet after 16 years. During his time with the Company he has danced all of the major classical repertory including Beliaev in A Month in the Country, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Des Grieux in Manon, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake and Count Albrecht in Giselle. He also danced many contemporary roles including Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à grande vitesse and Wayne McGregor’s Chroma as well as creating roles in Alexei Ratmansky’s 24 Preludes and Alastair Marriott’s Sensorium. Rupert Pennefather said ‘I am so grateful for my time with The Royal Ballet. I will always treasure having danced with so many wonderful partners in such incredible productions. I feel it’s time to see what other opportunities the future holds.’ Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, comments ‘Rupert has been a wonderful dancer with The Royal Ballet, particularly excelling in the dramatic works of Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan and the fine danseur noble roles of the 19th century classics. We wish him every future success.’ Replacement casting for Rupert’s scheduled performances in the 2015/16 season will be announced shortly. - Ends- Notes to Editors Rupert Pennefather was born in Maidenhead and joined The Royal Ballet School as a Junior Associate, training at Tring Park School and privately with Julie Rose. He subsequently trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1999. He was promoted to Principal by Monica Mason, then Director of The Royal Ballet, in 2008 following his debut performance as Romeo.

Thanks for the info SBF. It's a long time since I have been to the Edinburgh Festival. If you wait until the programme comes out to see what you want to go to, it is almost impossible to find anywhere to stay. Last time I went I ended up staying in Glasgow and commuting! If any Forum members go, I would love to hear your impressions of the performance.

Very best wishes to Rupert Pennefather for the future.