Jan McNulty

I was at the performance on Wednesday in Liverpool, led by Tamara Rojo and Junor Souza. Derek Deane's production is a great traditional Swan Lake with great costumes and sets (I differ from DQF in that I love the autumnal colours of the costumes in Acts 1 and 3). I agree with DQF that the company is on splendid form and the swans were superb. I loved Junor Souza from his first appearance on stage - he's princely and a sensitive partner and his dancing was enthralling to watch. I thought James Streeter exuded menace as Von Rothbart. I wasn't so sure about Tamara Rojo at first in Act 2 - she was a bit too steely for my taste as Odette, however in the last couple of minutes as Von Rothbart is reeling her back in, she was so desperate to remain with Seigfried that she just broke my heart and absolutely convinced me she was Odette. It was just stunning to watch. Of course, she was superbly convincing as Odile! And then onto Act 4 when I was completely blown away by the tragedy of her performance - what a tragedienne! She and Junor Souza were magical together. The orchestra, under the baton of Gavin Sutherland, was magnificent throughout. Altogether it was a splendid performance, made even better by catching up with DQF in the intervals!

I had the nuisance phone call to end all nuisance phone calls today! It was a young man from "Telephone Security" offering me a service (at £1.94 per month) to cleanse all the databases that have our landline recorded, thereby preventing the companies that own the databases from selling our phone number onwards. He told me that our number currently appears on 64 databases! He did not see the irony of cold calling me! Needless to say that I did not take him up on his offer!

What a dreadful thing to happen Taxi. Thoughts are with him and his family and friends.

Not much detail on Central's page yet but here is the link: http://centralschoolofballet.co.uk/ssccourseoutline.php

This is the link to the Moorland Easter Course Page: http://moorlandballet.co.uk/uncategorised/easter-course/

Hello B4ll3tmum and welcome out of the lurking shadows! Congratulations to your and Busymum's DDs on your fantastic news. Do keep us posted on progress.

Hello CharlieChuck, I have moved your new thread to "Not Dance" as it is more about your Facebook issues. Have your videos actually been removed from your timeline? Is there a right of appeal against reports (there surely must be?)?

Links - Friday, November 21, 2014 Reviews – Mikhailovsky Ballet, Le Halte de Cavalerie, Class Concert, Prelude, New York: Mary Cargill, Danceview Times Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn, Bachtrack Feature – The Rules and Hazards of Presenting Flowers in Ballet: Roslyn Sulcas, NY Times Review – Rambert, Triptych, London: Katie Columbus, Stage Feature – Dance is just what the doctor ordered: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Reviews – The Little Dancer, Washington: Charles Isherwood, NY Times Peter Marks, Washington Post Review - Les Arts Florissants, Daphnis et Églé, La Naissance d'Osiris, London: Sam Smith, Music OMH Review – Royal New Zealand Ballet, A Christmas Carol, Christchurch: Sheree and Angel Bright, NZ Theatreview Review – Company Chameleon, Beauty of the Beast, London: Lynette Halewood, DanceTabs Feature/Preview – National Ballet of Canada’s Skylar Campbell, Nijinsky, Toronto: Cate Kustanczy, Digital Journal News - Dance and Performance at the Southbank Centre in Spring 2015: Carmel Smith, London Dance Feature – Vaganova Academy rewrites criteria to suit Tsiskaridze alone: Ismene Brown, Blog via Izvestia Review – Mau, Birds with Skymirrors, New York: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Feature - Washington Ballet to premiere Swan Lake in April 2015: Gary Tischler, Georgetowner Review - Dohee Lee, Mago, San Francisco: Rita Felciano, Danceview Times Feature - How choreographer Jacob Niedzwiecki is subverting the traditional theatre experience: Martha Schabas, Toronto Globe and Mail

Agreed Emma!

Links - Thursday, November 20, 2014 Reviews – Mikhailovsky Ballet, Le Halte de Cavalerie, Class Concert, Prelude, New York: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – Mikhailovsky Ballet, Giselle, New York: Barnett Serchuk, Broadway World Reviews – Rambert, Triptych, London: Clement Crisp, FT Sarah Crompton, Telegraph Judith Mackrell, Guardian Hannah Weibye, Arts Desk Zoe Anderson, Independent Lyndsey Winship, Standard Samantha Whittaker, London Dance Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Gallery – Foteini Christofilopoulou, DanceTabs News – Wayne McGregor ballet announced for Manchester International Festival 2015: Matthew Hemley, Stage News – Toronto will get Canadian version of New York (Fall for) Dance Festival: Martin Knelman, Toronto Star Preview – National Ballet of Canada, Nijinsky, Toronto: Michael Crabb, Toronto Star Review – Batsheva Dance Company, Sadeh21, Washington: Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post Reviews – English National Ballet, Swan Lake, Liverpool: David Sedgwick, British Theatre Guide Echo Reporter, Liverpool Echo Feature – Polish Dance Platform 2014, Lublin: Lucy Ribchester, DanceTabs Reviews - Les Arts Florissants, Daphnis et Églé, La Naissance d'Osiris, London: Jenny Gilbert, Arts Desk Tim Ashley, Guardian Review – Company Chameleon, Beauty of the Beast, London: Siobhan Murphy, London Dance

I have no such qualms Fiz! Just for you,,,,

Hello Lexy and welcome to the Forum. I do hope we hear more from you.

The Chelmsford Ballet Company's excerpts of The Nutcracker at the Brentwood Centre The Chelmsford Ballet Company, calling the city its home for almost seventy years, will be performing as guests of the Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society on 20 December at the Brentwood Centre. The company will be performing excerpts from its incredibly successful production, The Nutcracker, which ran at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre in March earlier this year. In the perfect prelude to the official Christmas season, 20 of the company’s dancers will perform at the Brentwood Centre as part of a special evening of family-filled festivities, with performances from the Sugar Plum Fairy, fiery Russian and smooth Arabian dancers. There will be so much to feast your eyes on from the Kingdom of the Sweets with lots to delight the whole family. For more information visit www.brentwood-centre.co.uk The much-loved company stages its annual production each March at Chelmsford’s Civic Theatre. For 2015, the company will present the comedic Pineapple Poll and an all-new work for the company, the prestigious Christopher Marney's Carnival of the Animals. In this delightful double bill, full of family fun, audiences will experience the Company's varied work in both genre and era. The programme will run from 18-21 March 2015 at the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford, Essex. Tickets are now on sale, for which contact the box office on 01245 606505 or visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres The amateur company prides itself on its professional standards, and requires dancers to audition before joining. Dancers are then eligible to audition for the annual production, which is the pride of the company, its committee and the residents of Chelmsford; the company’s 2014 production of The Nutcracker achieved 98% ticket sales, which is a testament to its popularity and local reputation. www.thechelmsfordballetcompany.co.uk --Ends-- About The Chelmsford Ballet Company In 1947, Joan Weston created the Broomfield YMCA Ballet Company in order to give the more senior students at her existing dance school the opportunity to learn and perform to the public. It was after their 1949 performance of ‘Coppélia’ at the Shire Hall that the then Mayor of Chelmsford suggested the name ‘The Chelmsford Ballet Company’, and with a small committee the Company was born. Since 1949, the Ballet Company has staged a full-scale production every year. Initially a part of the Arts Festival, and then the Cathedral Fringe Festival, they occur today as an annual event in their own right. Today the Company is led by Artistic Director Annette Potter, who is a former dancing member. Annette danced many leading roles with the company before moving on to teaching and choreography. The Ballet Company is a way for skilled dancers from across the area to perform together and to showcase their considerable talents to appreciative and receptive audiences. Theatre-goers are constantly ‘thrilled’ with the productions, which always maintain the high standards set by Joan Weston. It has become a well-loved cornerstone of Chelmsford’s cultural calendar. The Chelmsford Ballet Company is “an amateur Company which sets professional standards for all its work, involving professionals in its productions, courses and other teaching and workshop opportunities”. The standards are such that both junior (aged 10 and Standard/Grade 2 or above) and senior (over 14) dancers must audition to become members and again each year to perform in any production. These high standards are maintained through the monthly Company classes, where the dancers are able to meet and take a class with experienced and distinguished teachers. In the 1960's a Scholarship Fund was created to help young dancers moving to professional training. About Christopher Marney and Carnival of the Animals Christopher Marney is the company's patron, having danced with the company and current Artistic Director Annette Potter in previous years. Christopher Marney is currently establishing himself as a much sought after choreographer; he has recently been studying for his Masters in Choreography from Central School of Ballet and is a longstanding member of Matthew Bourne's New Adventures. He is currently dancing the Prince on the international tour of Swan Lake. The company is excited to work closely with its highly valued patron. Christopher Marney's Carnival of the Animals, a first for the company, is set in a 1930s theatre. A young stage hand falls for a dancer in the corps de ballet of a touring company: humour and romance ensue as he sets about joining the show to win her hand. This ingenious piece is accompanied by the beautiful music of Camille Saint Saëns, Poulenc and Strauss. About Pineapple Poll Pineapple Poll, a comedy ballet of sailors and their sweethearts, takes its form in Artistic Director Annette Potter’s adaptation. Pineapple Poll is full of fun, originally choreographed in 1951 by the celebrated John Cranko. Captain Belaye and the HMS Hot Cross Bun arrive in Portsmouth and the sailors, who are now on shore leave, head into town for the pretty girls and the local inn. Fun and games ensue as Poll and the girls, Jasper the pot-boy, sailors, Blanche, her Aunt and Captain Belaye plot to capture the attention of their hearts’ desire.

This is the link to the new topic that Katymac started: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/8306-dds-struggling-with-college/ Could you please put any further responses about struggling with college on that thread and continue to answer DanceBrain's query on this thread. Thanks! Welcome to the Form DanceBrain!

And sadly it is so much easier now with so much on the internet.

Hello FlexyNexy and welcome out of the lurking shadows. I do hope you will keep posting!

I just came across this on the Northern Ballet website. I don't know if it will be of interest to anyone: Work Experience at Northern Ballet Work experience could inspire you to pursue a career in the arts. At Northern Ballet we aspire to offer this opportunity to more young people across Leeds and Yorkshire. Work experience is for young people of school age (usually in Years 9, 10 and 11) and can take place at any time in the academic year. It provides you with an opportunity to spend a week at Northern Ballet gaining a broad experience of working in an arts organisation. The focus of the experience is on the non-performance areas of the company and during the week you will spend time in different departments including; Technical, Communications, Development, Wardrobe, Learning and the Academy. We are looking for young people who are enthusiastic about the arts and want to learn more about working behind the scenes at a cultural organisation. To apply please fill in the application form here and send it to diane.tabern@northernballet.com or to know more about work experience please call Diane on 0113 220 8000 We also offer apprenticeships and internships. For further information about our current vacancies please look at our jobs page. Scroll down this page to find the item above

In Northern Ballet's press release about the Spring 2015 season a choreographic laboratory was announced. Some details about the choreographic laboratory have now emerged. I did not realise that three companies were involved in the laboratory but this item has appeared on the NB website: "Call for emerging choreographers Tell Tale Steps is Northern Ballet’s inaugural Choreographic Laboratory, in partnership with Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet. It offers emerging choreographers studio time in a professional environment, working with Northern Ballet’s Company dancers to experiment with creative processes, play with movement ideas and begin to see a dance story from the perspective of the audience. Working within the prescribed boundaries of narrative form and classical dance, you will be mentored by Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director and other guest artists will offer guidance throughout the process. With a genuine interest in the narrative form and classical dance, you will be open-minded, collaborative and able to articulate your dance ideas. To apply please send a CV along with a written statement, no more than one side of A4, detailing your interest and suitability, no later than Monday 5 January 2015 to: David Nixon OBE, Northern Ballet, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PA. The successful candidate will receive a £1,200 fee plus all reasonable expenses, accommodation and travel." https://northernballet.com/?q=vacancies/call-for-emerging-choreographers It sounds a very interesting collaborative venture!

Hello CharlieChuck, I've moved your topic to doing dance where you are more likely to get responses.

RAMBERT TO CREATE WORLD’S FIRST BRASS BAND DANCE WORK AS PART OF A YEAR OF BOLD NEW COMMISSIONS · Work celebrating the power of the arts in times of political and social upheaval to premiere in the week following 2015 General Election · Rambert’s commissions include choreography by Mark Baldwin, Kim Brandstrup, Didy Veldman and Alexander Whitley, and three new musical scores specially created for dance · Plans build on a year of unprecedented success in 2014, the company’s first in its new home on London’s South Bank · Rambert renews its commitment to national touring of world-class contemporary work The world’s first brass band dance work is among a series of original commissions which form the cornerstone of Rambert’s plans for 2015. At London’s Sadler’s Wells in May 2015, Rambert will be joined on stage by Tredegar Town Band, winners of the 2013 British Open and one of the country’s foremost brass ensembles, the first time that a professional dance company and a brass band have collaborated in this way. The work’s title, Dark Arteries, is a metaphor for Britain’s coal mines taken from a poem by Mervyn Peake. 30 years after the Miners’ Strike, and one week after the 2015 General Election, Dark Arteries celebrates the power of the music to sustain communities through times of social and political upheaval. Dark Arteries is choreographed by Rambert’s Artistic Director Mark Baldwin to a specially composed score by Gavin Higgins, a former Rambert Music Fellow who wrote the opening work for this year’s Last Night of the Proms. For Higgins, who comes from a family of brass band musicians, the work has deep personal connotations: “Politicians have been asking recently if brass bands are valued in the arts. I truly believe that band music is relevant to today and it is utterly unique to Britain. The only thing we have left from our mining heritage is the plethora of incredible brass bands throughout the country and this is something to be extremely proud of.” Gavin Higgins In addition to Dark Arteries, Rambert will premiere new works by Kim Brandstrup, Didy Veldman and Alexander Whitley, as part of its national touring repertoire. Alexander Whitley is a former Rambert dancer who began his career as a dancemaker in the Company’s choreographic development programme. He is now an in-demand artist who has recently made works for Balletboyz, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells and Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, and has been nominated for the Emerging Artist prize in the 2014 National Dance Awards. Whitley’s company became an Associate Company of Rambert in 2013, and his first Rambert work since that appointment will premiere at Theatre Royal Glasgow in March 2015. The piece continues his collaboration with artists Tuur Van Balen and Revital Cohen, exploring how ideas of production relate to and impact upon the body. It features an original score by Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason. Another former Rambert dancer, Didy Veldman has an international choreographic career. She co-founded Compagnie Alias with Guilherme Botelho in Switzerland, and has worked extensively with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and with Cedar Lake in New York. For Rambert, Veldman will create a work to premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth in September 2015 inspired by the Picasso masterpiece The Three Dancers. The painting recalls a passionate and ultimately tragic triangular love affair among the artist’s friends, and shows love, sex and death linked in an ecstatic dance. The vivid Cubist imagery and eternal themes are reflected in Veldman’s work, performed to new music by acclaimed Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin. The score is jointly commissioned by Wimbledon International Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Dancenorth in Australia, and Sitka Summer Music Festival, El Paso Pro Musica and West Bach Festival in the USA. Rambert’s final new creation for 2015 will be a work by Kim Brandstrup. A two-time Olivier Award winner, Brandstrup has worked extensively for The Royal Ballet and for other leading dance companies around the world during his thirty-year career. His first new work for Rambert since 2004 will be set to Verklärte Nacht(Transfigured Night), the seminal early work by 20th century musical giant Arnold Schoenberg. The piece, which echoes the music’s theme of embracing unconditional love, will have its premiere at Sadler’s Wells in London in November 2015. Rambert’s Artistic Director Mark Baldwin said: “From Plymouth to London to Glasgow, Rambert’s new works next year should give our audiences a real treat. Sadler’s Wells won’t have heard anything like Tredegar Town Band before – the big music, and big dancing, are going to raise the roof!” 2014: a year of successRambert’s plans for 2015 build on a year of unprecedented success for in 2014, the Company’s first year in its new, purpose-built home on London’s South Bank, which won a RIBA National Award as one of the best new buildings of the year. Critical acclaim has included five-star reviews for both Rambert’s programme of 20th century classic works at Sadler’s Wells in May, and its specially staged Cunningham ‘Event’ at its new home in June/July. Audiences have agreed: the Sadler’s Wells week in May was the highest selling in the Company’s history, and the Rambert Event was a sell-out. On tour in England, Scotland and Wales, average attendance has been its highest for over 10 years. The new building has doubled Rambert’s capacity for participatory work, and this year over 30,000 people will take part in classes, workshops and events. The Company’s work in schools and in the community continues to expand, and City Bridge Trust has awarded Rambert a grant of over £100,000 to extend its programme working with elderly people in London over the next three years, using dance to improve quality of life for people living with dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Britain’s national dance company Rambert’s plans for the coming year affirm its position as Britain’s national dance company, supported by a new three-year cycle of funding from Arts Council England. The Company is committed to presenting excellent new and historic dance works to audiences in all parts of the country, performed by world-class dancers and accompanied by live music. Rambert will continue to have the most extensive national touring programme of any UK contemporary dance company and, through partnerships with theatres in England, Scotland and Wales, develop new audiences for dance in all parts of the country. Alongside these performances, the Company engages tens of thousands of people in outreach, education and participation work of the highest quality, invests in the professional development of its dancers and of composers for dance, and supports the work of its Associate Companies: New Movement Collective and Alexander Whitley Dance Company. www.rambert.org.uk Editors Notes 1. 2015 tour dates 12 – 13 February Hall for Cornwall, Truro 5 – 7 March Theatre Royal Glasgow Alexander Whitley world premiere 11 – 13 March Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold 19 – 20 March Eden Court, Inverness 25 – 28 March Theatre Royal Brighton 12 – 16 May Sadler’s Wells, London Dark Arteries world premiere 23 – 25 September Theatre Royal Plymouth Didy Veldman world premiere 30 September – 2 October The Lowry, Salford Quays Rambert’s tour will continue until November 2015, and include performances in East Anglia, the Midlands, the South West and Yorkshire, plus a week of performances at Sadler’s Wells featuring the world premiere of a new work by Kim Brandstrup. 2. Repertoire Rambert’s new commissions will form part of a repertoire presented at venues in triple bills. Other works in Rambert’s repertoire to be presented in 2015 are: The Castaways (chor: Barak Marshall 2013), Four Elements (chor: Lucinda Childs 1990, revived 2014), Rooster (chor: Christopher Bruce 1991, revived 2014), The Strange Charm of Mother Nature (chor: Mark Baldwin 2014), Subterrain (chor: Ashley Page 2013), Terra Incognita (chor: Shobana Jeyasingh 2014).

I have received this notification from Fallen Angels Dance Theatre: "Help us spread the word of this one off event where people in recovery will be performing at the world renowned Royal Opera House, Covent Garden" You can watch the event live and its free." Fallen Angels is a non discriminatory inclusive dance theatre company. We champion recovery from addiction by inspiring others through creating the highest quality arts. We create a safe environment for learning and exploration to nurture a journey of self discovery." http://www.artstreamingtv.com/event.php?id=31 I have seen several Fallen Angels performances and sharing events over the last couple of years. I have found them to be inspirational - not always easy to watch but definitely rewarding and humbling. I am a great admirer of Paul Bayes Kitcher and the work he does. I would urge everyone to watch this event if they can.

Newer theatres in this country are built without a central aisle and older theatres being refurbished are having them removed. Many years ago in Bradford there was a fortunately false alarm and we were evacuated while it was checked out. I was talking to the duty manager and said I thought the theatre would have emptied faster if there had been a central aisle but he said that it was felt that caused too much confusion as people wondered which was the quickest way out.

This reminded me of when the Lowry first opened. The door numbers are shown on the tickets but initially the system had been set up incorrectly and the door numbers were the wrong side for the seats. The ushers were insisting that you went in the door shown on the ticket which caused serious issues, especially as there is no centre aisle. Fortunately this was eventually resolved.

Well some of my FB friends have been discussing it as one example. Other people I know have been talking about it too. I can't speak for people going to MK but I know several people who booked specifically to see her in Manchester and have also booked to see her in Liverpool.

Christmas decorating???? I thought we were still in November! Such decorating as we do is usually done about 10 days to a week before!