Jan McNulty

For some years now the annual Evening of Music and Dance at Symphony Hall has been one of my most-looked-forward-to events. This year's evening is on Friday 17th February and the following information has appeared on the Company website: An Evening of Music and Dance 2012 Join the UK’s leading ballet orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and dancers of Birmingham Royal Ballet, stars of 2010’s BBC Christmas ballet, for a truly memorable evening of beautiful music and stunning dance. Narrated by the Company’s Director, David Bintley and conducted by Music Director, Koen Kessels, the programme includes: Festival Overture Dmitri Shostakovich Checkmate: Dance of the Four Knights, Entry of the Black Queen and Red Knight's Mazurka (Victoria Marr and Iain Mackay with Joseph Caley, William racewell and Benjamin Soerell) Arthur Bliss Gold and Silver Waltz Franz Lehár Plymouth Hoe (Danced by students of Elmhurst School for Dance) John Ansell Daphnis and Chloë Suite No.2 excerpts Maurice Ravel The Two Pigeons: pas de deux (Jenna Roberts and Jamie Bond) André Messager Samson et Dalila: Baccanale Camille Saint-Saëns Far from the Madding Crowd: Bathsheba and Troy (Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay) Paul Reade Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo Giacomo Puccini Coppélia: Ear of Corn pas de deux (Laëtita Lo Sardo and Joseph Caley with Maureya Lebowitz, Arancha Baselga, Samara Downs, Laura Purkiss, Laura-Jane Gibson and Callie Roberts) Léo Delibes Psyche: Eros et Psyche César Franck Le Corsaire: pas de deux (Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao) Riccardo Drigo Symphony Hall 17 February 2012 David Bintley is hosting the evening for the second year running. He is a wonderful raconteur and made last year's evening very special indeed. http://brb.org.uk/ma...=22765&tsk=show

I've received a "What's coming up" email from the Lowry this morning. BRB will be at the Lowry from 19-22 September performing Swan Lake. I think this must be before the Birmingham autumn season unless that has been moved drastically forward this year.

But only if she used Easyjet or Ryanair!

Ian - thanks for posting the link. It looks fabulous and I wish I could see the whole work. I well remember from Tale of Two Cities that Cathy can fill in a character with just a few movements, a rare talent.

Apologies for getting Mr Putrov's nationality wrong. I think my comment would still stand thoug, given his early background.

Ivan Putrov is Russian. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the Russian people venerated Nijinsky for his technical prowess whereas the rest of Europe venerated him because of his modernity. It could well have been Nijinsky who started the emergence of the male dancer in the 20th century. I think in the Danish school men and women had equal status but perhaps Jane S could confirm that.

On the luxury cars front - how about Birmingham Royal Ballet and Aston Martin?

We overheard an audience member in Bath saying some years ago "This company is from Leeds - they eat fish and chips up there"! I had to stop my Yorkshire-born-and-bred friend from turning round and thumping her! Perhaps to prove the cliche Harry Ramsden's could sponsor Northern Ballet? Edited to correct spelling mistake!

Antony Gormley is known through this site for his collaborations with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Hofesh Schecter. I also know of him because of the Angel of the North (I nearly crashed my car the first time I saw it on my way to see BRB in Sunderland) and the Another Place installation on Crosby Beach. I am so very fortunate to live close to Crosby Beach so I can go and see the Iron Men as often as I want. What I love about this installation is the way it is never the same each time you go. You can see them all when the tide is right out or see none of them when there is a particularly high tide. Over the years since the installation has been in place some of the figures are partially buried and some have part of the spikes showing. Some of them are decorated with clothing! They attract coach tours, photographers budding and experienced and many many dog walkers. For the last couple of days we have been going to the beach by Hall Road Coastguard Station to watch the sun going down. It has been absolutely glorious. Just before Christmas I beat a hasty retreat because the wind-driven high tide looked as though it was going to come over the wall and sweep the cars away! I've found this video, which seems the best of many on the internet: It really is a wonderful experience to see this installation. There are three access points by public transport. All the stations are on the Liverpool-Southport line and the beach is a 10-15 minute walk from each. There are also access points for cars. My favourite is currently by the coastguard station at Hall Road where the car park directly overlooks the beach. The Iron Men have their own twitter feed: @IronMenCrosby. If you are in the North West do come and see the Iron Men! (I would have posted this previously in the "not dance" forum).

Just a reminder for those lucky enough to have Sky Arts that the Northern Ballet documentary is on at 1700 tonight.

This is really quite hard! Female dancer: Martha Leebolt of Northern Ballet who lights up the stage when she steps on it and breathes - two wonderful creations to start and end the year with Cleopatra and Beauty (in Beauty and the Beast) Male dancer: Cesar Morales - who had so much fun as Colas and Captain Belaye as well as his glorious performances in Symphonic Variations Best new production: Beauty and the Beast (Northern Ballet) Best revival: Symphonic Variations (BRB) - the Friday evening performance in Birmingham was sheer bliss, I thought I'd fallen asleep and woken up in heaven Best company: Birminingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet jointly for all the pleasure both companies gave me in 2011 Special moments: Northern Ballet's choreographic evening full of delight and promise. Laetitia Lo Sardo as Swanilda and Sugar Plum, the first night of Cleopatra which was so exciting, BRB midscale southwest, An evening of music and dance at Symphony Hall Wishes for 2012: RDB to visit the UK, Dance Consortium and the Lowry to realise that there has been a printing error and that NDT2 ARE coming to the Lowry

News is filtering out that eleven dancers are being cut from the Royal Danish Ballet with four retirements and seven not. This means that about 13% of the dancers have been cut. Of the more senior dancers, Jean-Lucien Massot and Jette Buchwald are retiring. Andrew Bowman and Lesley Culver are amongst those listed as not. I am so shocked about Andrew Bowman. I have very much enjoyed his performances and particularly remember a glorious performance as Des Grieux a couple of years ago (with Caroline Cavallo as Manon). Bellafigural has posted a link to a Danish article on twitter. I used google translate which gave a bizarre interpretation but at least I could get the gist.

He tweeted yesterday: "go back to ENB and get stuck in beginning of feb" so it looks as though he is rejoining ENB.

If it is wildflowers whom you are trying to contact, you can send them a private message via the envelope at the top of the page as they are registered as a member.

I believe the dancers were handing out leaflets before the performance on Friday but we didn't see any. Yes it is amazing that they were able to give such a committed and joyous performance given the sword of Damocles hanging over them. Interesting too that two of Peter Schaufuss children are dancing with the company - what a balletic dynasty that is turning out to be.

If anyone should happen to find themselves in Paris between now and April there is a truly fascinating exhibition on at the Pompidou Centre called Danser Sa Vie about dance in the early 20th century. There is archive footage of Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and Josephine Baker and some footage of more recent performances of L'Apres-midi and Parade as well as photographs, paintings and artefacts. The exhibition also covers links to rhythmic gymnastics and the health and fitness movement in Germany in the 1930s. It is a large exhibition and even after a couple of hours my friend and I did not feel we had done it justice. Highly recommended.

Alison - yes midscale is after the Coli season. The Coli is the last week of the Spring tour with midscale being in May after Munich. Hobson's Choice is only being performed in Birmingham and Robert is truly wonderful in this role. I believe you can get really good rail fares from London to Birmingham using London Midland!

ROYAL DANISH BALLET - NAPOLI - PARIS JAN 2012 I was lucky to be able to attend the first two evenings of the Royal Danish Ballet’s short engagement in Paris performing the revamped Napoli. There is a note in the programme that says that the religious aspects of the production have been taken away. Act 1 has been reset in the 1950s. The set looks very Italian with its backdrop of Mount Vesuvius and the bay of Naples and I really liked the girls’ costumes. Terresina’s Mum wants her to marry one of her chosen suitors (performed by the wonderful Thomas Lund and Morton Eggert - both fabulous actors). Terresina, of course, is in love with Gennaro. For me, this act is about setting the scene and we have much opportunity to see the Danish mime which is so clear but never over the top. The group dances are full of all the fast intricate steps and balon that I love about the Bournonville style. I thought the storm scene was very evocative leading to everyone thinking that Terresina has drowned. Act 2 was a total surprise with completely new music and choreography. The recorded voices provided a very spooky atmosphere and I loved the start with Terresina floating down from above. Jean Lucien Massot was really quite intimidating as Golfo until he is bested by Gennaro who has come searching for his love. Act 3 of Napoli is one of the most infectiously joyous sequences of dance you can ever see. Apart from the characters who stay in their 1950s guise, the costumes are back to the traditional. It was absolute bliss to watch. The company were quite simply brilliant. We saw the same cast of Amy Watson and Alban Lendorf at both performances and I thought they were both terrific. In Act 3 Marcin Kupinski stood out for me, as did Charles Andersen in the tarantella. Of the ladies, on the first evening, Gudrun Bojesen was particularly gorgeous. With the resetting of Acts 1 and 2 this production could almost be three different ballets but a suspension of belief gets around that! On the first evening there was a guard of honour leading in to the theatre and the paparrazzi seemed to be out in force. It was particularly irritating when they came back into the auditorium during Act 3 and started taking photographs - no flash but the clicking was distracting. That minor irritation apart, I thoroughly enjoyed both performances.

I'm devastated to say that I don't think BRB are coming to the Lowry this summer. We have not had any advance notice of such a visit in any of the Friends bumph and there has been nothing included in the tour details in the programmes or on line. Anyone wanting to see Madding Crowd (or the mixed programme) should book to see it in Birmingham. PS - all three casts for B&B are great but this will be one of the last chances to see Robert Parker. From the talk he gave Friends in the Autumn, he will only be around at most till the end of the midscale tour.

Lee, I've discovered that if you hit the forums tab the "about balletco" thread at the top does not appear but it does if you hit the balletcoforum tab. Of course, if someone posts in one of the other threads in this tab then this one will not appear on the front page. Edit to say that I have just made a liar of myself. I think what I have said above is what happens if you hit the forum tab from one of the other forums. Edited to say that I have tried my theory and that doesn't work either. The "about" tab has always now reappeared. If it disappears it does reappear if you hit the balletcoforum tab!

BRB have announced the casting for the week of Beauty and the Beast at the Lowry 24-28 January: http://brb.org.uk/ma...48&tsk=fullcast 24 January 2012 7:30 pm Belle: Elisha Willis The Beast: Robert Parker The Wild Girl: Ambra Vallo The Merchant: Michael O'Hare The Raven: Joseph Caley Vanité: Samara Downs Fière: Victoria Marr Monsieur Cochon: Jonathan Payn 25 January 2012 2:00 pm Belle: Nao Sakuma The Beast: Iain Mackay The Wild Girl: Laëtitia Lo Sardo The Merchant: Rory Mackay The Raven: Mathias Dingman Vanité: Laura Purkiss Fière: Angela Paul Monsieur Cochon: Oliver Till 25 January 2012 7:30 pm Belle: Ambra Vallo The Beast: Tyrone Singleton The Wild Girl: Angela Paul The Merchant: Michael O'Hare The Raven: Tzu-Chao Chou Vanité: Samara Downs Fière: Carol-Anne Millar Monsieur Cochon: Jonathan Payn 26 January 2012 7:30 pm Belle: Elisha Willis The Beast: Robert Parker The Wild Girl: Ambra Vallo The Merchant: Michael O'Hare The Raven: Joseph Caley Vanité: Samara Downs Fière: Victoria Marr Monsieur Cochon: Jonathan Payn 27 January 2012 7:30 pm Belle: Nao Sakuma The Beast: Iain Mackay The Wild Girl: Carol-Anne Millar The Merchant: Rory Mackay The Raven: Mathias Dingman Vanité: Laura Purkiss Fière: Victoria Marr Monsieur Cochon: Oliver Till 28 January 2012 2:00 pm Belle: Ambra Vallo The Beast: Tyrone Singleton The Wild Girl: Laëtitia Lo Sardo The Merchant: Michael O'Hare The Raven: Tzu-Chao Chou Vanité: Samara Downs Fière: Carol-Anne Millar Monsieur Cochon: Jonathan Payn 28 January 2012 7:30 pm Belle: Nao Sakuma The Beast: Iain Mackay The Wild Girl: Carol-Anne Millar The Merchant: Rory Mackay The Raven: Joseph Caley Vanité: Laura Purkiss Fière: Angela Paul Monsieur Cochon: Oliver Till

Ian - the ROH-based company did tour to the provinces in the 1980s. Although it was before I was a ballet-watcher, friends recalled seeing them in Liverpool in the early 1980s and I certainly saw them in Manchester and Birmingham in the late 80s or early 90s. A friend of mine who was an avid ballet-watcher could detail oodles of performances up-North featuring dancers based at ROH but I was never clear in my mind as to which company it was as by the time I started watching in mid-80s the two Royal companies seemed much more differentiated. I never saw the ENB triples mooted for touring and sadly the company's production of Manon did so poorly on tour in the Autumn that the mooted visit to Liverpool the following Spring was pulled before anyone even knew it was a possibility! You are absolutely spot-on about the RB/BRB cross-over rep (and now the RB/ENB crossover) but I fear works such as Mayerling and some still unique one-acters would not sell well in the philistinic north. BRB and ENB both seem to have stopped doing their mixed programmes up-North. I am lucky that I can travel to Birmingham to see BRB's mixed programmes but London is a much more expensive proposition these days.

In respect of the RB being the national company - I'm not sure if that is how they see themselves but I believe it is how most members of the public see them. The company seems to be the one in England that has the most kudos associated with it (whether I agree with that or not). I don't think the company has appeared outside London since the dance bites initiatives which, I think, was in the mid-90s. I do not particularly think that the company is elitist. I have to say that my opinion on this has changed in the last couple of years. After ranting and raving for years about ticket prices, when you see the price of some musicals touring the regions and what popstars charge for not very comfortable arenas then the ROH prices (albeit expensive) do not seem that bad! What I could take issue with is a lack of matinees, which means that I have chosen to miss many programmes I would like to have seen because I have chosen not to incur the cost of an overnight stay. Additionally, it is not the RB's issue that it is nearly impossible to get reasonably priced fares on convenient trains from the North West to London (well not from Liverpool anyway!). We do have three terrific companies that tour extensively in England and sometimes Scottish Ballet cross the border too. Northern Ballet also regularly perform in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast and BRB have just announced in the Friends' newsletter that they are due in Cardiff in the Autumn. If the RB toured extensively, would they saturate the non-London market with performances? I personally had great reservations about the proposal for ROH North because I did believe it would have an adverse impact on the three main touring companies (the proposal would have nearly doubled the number of ballet performances in the North of England). I agree, however, that it would be nice to see them outside London sometimes. Meanwhile I shall continue with my support of the touring companies who also provide us with world-class ballet performances. In respect of the signed point shoes - that could be a nice little earner for any of the companies.

The following details (with a disclaimer that the dates may be subject to change) have been published on the back cover of the Beauty and the Beast programme: Mixed Programme: Quarry Hill Leeds 09-18 February Madame Butterfly: Leeds 29 Feb - 10 March Beauty and the Beast: Edinburgh 15-17 March Sheffield 20-24 March Hull 27-31 March Milton Keynes 17-21 April Cardiff 24-28 April I Got Rhythm: Leeds 23-26 May Norwich 29 May - 02 June A fascinating evening has been announced for 1st February. It is a joint "in conversation" event with Opera North about Madame Butterfly. It is being held in the Howard Assembly Rooms at the Grand Theatre in Leeds. Details as shown on Northern Ballet's website are: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Grand Theatre Wednesday 01/02/2012 6.00pm Drinks reception, Emerald Grand Hall 6.30pm – 7.30pm an ‘in conversation’ discussion and performance Northern Ballet and Opera North come together to present an exclusive, behind-the-scenes, insight into their critically acclaimed forthcoming productions of Madame Butterfly. Explore the contrast between the opera and the ballet and hear the differing perspectives on the productions from Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director, David Nixon OBE and Opera North’s Music Director, before a performance of short excerpts from their individual adaptations. Ticket price: £20 includes a pre performance drinks reception.

Sadly, it seems extremely unlikely. The programme for Spring was published on the back of recent programmes and there isn't even a season listed at Sadler's Wells. I'll post the Spring details (as published on the programme) on a separate thread.