Jan McNulty

Thanks BBB. This proposal must have many arts organisations quaking in their boots.

Alison - could they do a review for us? eg - favourite bit, least favourite bit, would they like to see another ballet, interval icecreams.......

Sadly, senior management did not find out about the leak until the general announcement. The look of shock on people's faces was quite staggering and we only found out later what had happened! I should have said also that other changes had been made to the draft structure hence the mass shock. I don't know what the answer is and, presumably in this case, more than one organisation is involved so it may not be a case of ENB being able to change the release time without negotiation. As it must be less than 24 hours to go I just think people should let the sleeping dog lie for the time being.

I've seen a couple of responses on the internet today but I do not know what the proposal is. I gather it is something to do with loss of tax exemptions for donations. Could anybody please point me in the right direction?

Well here's another work example. A reorganisation was being planned. Our senior managers had done a draft that was given to several of us to input. One person, not involved in the discussions, was shown the early draft by her manager (not me). She then told an individual that he was picking up a promotion. Think of his mortification when someone else was allocated to that post. Embargoes are there for a reason and we need to respect that however strongly we feel that it is a waste of time.

It is a fact in all walks of life that the reputable press accepts and adheres to voluntary embargos until agreed release times. As an example there was a really nasty drug trial in Liverpool some years ago where witnesses and jury members had been threatened. We all knew something was going on in the court because we could all see the police convoys every day. The press did not report anything at all until the jury had pronounced and sentences had been made. This is just one example. It is likely that at least one more organisation is involved. I am assuming that the incoming AD is not currently claiming JSA. If you applied for a job, would you go round telling everyone, including your employers, of your intentions - I think not. Therefore it is only proper to assume that the other organisation requires some sort of notice in case that organisation also wants to organise a press release. I myself was subject to news being issued to early some years ago in work. A colleague issued a statement across our internet announcing his happy appointment to a project post I had been told was mine a couple of weeks earlier. My management team (in a different location) had not told the Liverpool team that the project team structure was being changed. You could imagine how distressed I felt. As it happened the new team structure made much better sense and I ended up with a post I much preferred. It did not, however, erase the memory of the distress I was caused by the premature announcement. I can understand that everyone is waiting with bated breath but it is unfortunate that current comments seem to be casting aspersions at personnel within the Company who, at the end of the day, are only trying to do their job to the best of their abilities. From what I have read, the official announcement is due tomorrow. Let's leave it till tomorrow and we can then have a separate thread with all the congratulations for the new incumbent.

I think the potpourri idea is lovely. Perhaps enterprising educational establishments could ask for donations of shoes to make into potpourris to sell at fundraising events.

Ian, thanks sooooooo much for the final two links, especially the Telegraph one!

Trog, this has really made me chuckle! I've got some male shoes (that friends arranged for me as a birthday present a couple of years ago) framed. Those who know me can probably guess whose shoes they were!

Off-topic slightly but as a non-London based person I would like to say that there is an obvious reason why there are more likely to be more posts about RB than other British companies. All the other companies perform in blocks whereas the RB tend to perform in performances spread throughout the year ergo people are more likely to dip in and out. I believe the people who post on this board are interested in ballet and dance in general. When I post about BRB, NB or ENB, as I am usually only seeing one performance or several in two days it is impossible for me to post more than once on that topic. Back to topic, I had a look at the DT comments again last night. They had grown considerably from the last time I had checked and I was horrified by the tone of many of them. As no-one outside those directly involved can possibly know the facts, speculation can be harmful and hurting. For the sake of those involved I suspect that most people have decided to wait and see what happens without further stoking the flames. Again, this board encourages discussion on all forms of ballet and dance and, hopefully, some people who have recently decided to post will continue to do so about a variety of companies.

Re Ring around the ring: I thought it was longer than 4 hours when I saw it in Edinburgh! From my recollection (including a "supper break interval) it was well over 5 hours. It was so long that the huge firework display had well finished by the time we got out! I did enjoy it tremendously and would love to see it again.

I don't know how many coffee shops there are in Tring but there are loads in Leeds! There is actually a public cafe in the foyer at NB's HQ. (When I attended NB's mixed programme in February, lots of parents were enjoying a cuppa while waiting to pick up children.) They do some lovely cakes! NB is also very close to West Yorkshire Playhouse where, again, there is a very nice cafe. Quarry Hill is maybe a five minute walk from the main drag. During the day there are a couple of nice cafes in the gorgeous Victoria Quarter arcades as well as the usual high street ones on Briggate. If you don't mind a 10-15 minute walk from Quarry Hill there is a fantastic vegetarian cafe in the Grand Arcade (adjacent to the Grand Theatre). Although I am by no means a vegetarian, it's one of my favourite places to eat and is very reasonably priced.

I enjoyed Sarah Crompton's piece on Fred Astaire and Top Hat. I saw Tom Chambers in the musical at the Lowry last year. To my way of thinking, and much to his merit, he put his own stamp on the part and didn't try to play Fred Astaire playing the role.

Welcome Marg S. Hope to see you in Brum soon! It would be lovely to hear your thoughts on performances on this board.

La Bayadere in Abu Dhabi (Dresden Semperoper): http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle08.asp?section=expressions&xfile=data/expressions/2012/April/expressions_April9.xml

Welcome Sammy83. I'd like to see Alex as the Mad Hatter too, but it's not possible for me at the moment. Happy posting! News from Barcelona would be welcome if you are based there.

As with most people, some critics I agree with and some I don't. I don't usually see reviews until after I have seen the performance so they don't usually influence me. I read some reviewers because I like their writing even if I don't agree with their view. I don't like reviewers who make personal and imho vindictive comments. Again, as other posters have commented I do sometimes wonder if reviewers have actually been at the same performance as me! I sometimes wonder when a reviewer seems to tend to the negative for most performances if they see too many performances and forget how to enjoy and see the positive. I remember the fuss when Deborah Jowitt left the Village Voice because her reviews were "too positive" and the paper wanted more "negative" reviews. I would rather the "positive" approach. You can be both honest and positive (for example you may not like a production but you can admire the commitment and talent of the dancers' performances). This is an interesting article on the subject of Deborah Jowitt: http://www.orartswatch.org/deborah-jowitt-the-voice-and-negative-reviews/ Quite a few years ago, I attended a Northern Ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet in Nottingham. At the end of the performance the lady manning the Friends' stall commented that a national press critic had been attending but had left before the start of act 3 to get a train back to London. When I saw the review, the critic had specifically commented on act 3. I could accept the leaving before the end but absolutely NOT the comments about something the individual had not actually seen! When recounting this tale to another friend she told me of an occasion when an orchestra had to change an advertised piece of music at the last minute. The reviewer "reviewed" the piece that was not performed! I personally pay more attention to the thoughts on performances of my fellow balletcoforumers! They are written from the heart and may be likely to influence me.

Very interesting piece about ballet in Mongolia: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php/community/88888940-community-top/7045-one-mans-passion-to-help-mongolias-world-class-dancers

Bill, if you were on the bill would that complete the triple bill??!!!

Here's a feature on Tamara Rojo: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/05/world/asia/tamara-rojo-fusion-journey/index.html

You can go and see a full-evening work and dislike the whole evening. There is nearly always something to enjoy in a mixed programme. I was just wondering if something like the Royal Ballet Sinfonia's annual evening of music and dance where we have a mix of music and dance might help. Wayne Sleep used to do an evening that had dance excerpts which he talked about before he performed. They were an excellent evening's entertainment and, because of his celebrity, maybe some of the audience were newbies and then went on to a full ballet performance. Perhaps we are also at the stage where we need someone with a Carlos-effect to get media attention and perhaps draw newbies in.

Both the RB and BRB have wonderful Petrouchkas from BRBs last outing - Alex Campbell and James Barton.

Interesting thought Dave. I think you could well be right. I followed rock groups and got into theatre going by accident, when a band we wanted to see was sold out but we had seen a leaflet for something on at the Liverpool Playhouse. Contemporary dance followed when something we wanted to see at the Playhouse was sold out and we went to see the much-lamented London Contemporary at Southport Arts Centre. The rest, as they say, is history. My gradual removal from the rock scene coincided with more and more of the groups playing arenas and I'm not that keen on arenas. So how do we attract 30-somethings to the ballet and, more particularly, to mixed programmes? It's unlikely they would participate in educational outreach programmes but we need something to hook people in. Many years ago (late 80s) a colleague used to tease me something rotten about my burgeoning obsession with ballet. His mother-in-law was due to take his daughter to a performance but she was poorly. As his wife declined to go, rather than disappoint his daughter and waste the tickets, my collegue took her. The following day in a conference of about 20 people he publicly apologised to me and said he had loved the performance he had seen. In subsequent years I have bumped into him and his wife at ballet performances!! Perhaps ballet-loving mother-in-laws should pretend indisposition! I would be interested to know if any non-ballet-goers who saw Black Swan and went to a ballet as a result went again after their first visit. (I still haven't seen the film BTW).

I saw an exhibition in Paris in January (Danser sa vie) about early 20th century dance and movement and this costume reminds me of some in one of the rooms. I expect the materials have moved on since then so it may have some give! Sounds and looks intriguing.

Lynette - I've got a vague memory of a Train Bleu reconstruction being written about but nothing more than a vague recollection. Sorry