Irmgard

Thanks, Bluebird - I obviously missed that one!

How I agree with you Floss about Tudor! It would be so wonderful to have "Dark Elegies" and "Lilac Garden" revived every so often in the UK. I had the privilege of watching him rehearse Leslie Browne in "Lilac Garden" in one of the 'dungeon' studios at the Met many years ago (1980?) and it was a revelation. I also had a very illuminating conversation about it with Maude Lloyd (the original Caroline) a few years later. I did see ABT's revival when they brought it to Sadler's Wells recently and, even though it wasn't a first-class revival, the sheer brilliance of the choreographic structure was obvious. I also agree that it would be wonderful to see more of the full catalogue of Ashton's work. Most of it has been notated but, of course, needs someone very familiar with his style to bring it to life. He was also very keen on Nijinska as a choreographic role model so it is a shame that "Les Noces" is done so rarely and I don't think "Les Biches" has been done at ROH since the early 1980s.

I remember this incident well because my friend was making her ROH debut as Tamerlano and in my excitement to see her I forgot that Domingo was also scheduled to sing! The 20% refund was therefore a welcome surprise, especially as I did not particularly enjoy the production, having paid quite a lot for my ticket. I also remember many years ago having booked for Elisabeth Soderstrom in "Der Rosenkavalier" and the whole opera was cancelled! I cannot remember the circumstances now but everyone had to be given a refund which must have cost ROH dear. Unlike the ballet company, which could put on another production from the repertoire fairly easily, the opera company cannot do this because all their principal singers are guests and contracted several years in advance and it would be unlikely for all the singers for that particular opera to suddenly be able to switch to another one that they all knew. The first time I heard the wonderful Kaufmann was at the dress rehearsal of "La Rondine" some years ago in what I believe was his debut at ROH. Gheorghiu was Magda and was marking her performance both vocally and dramatically. Then the gorgeous Kaufmann appeared and you could feel the frisson of excitement throughout the audience as he sounded as good as he looked. This appeared to be a wake-up call for Gheorghiu who then gave a very decent dramatic performance and gave us a little bit more of her glorious voice. (It is quite acceptable for singers to mark vocally at a dress rehearsal, especially with a morning start, but I think it is rather insulting to the other performers when the star can't be bothered to act, especially when we know that she actually can - but that is going slightly off this topic!)

Yes, it was Ronald Hynd's "Rosalinda". This is not quite ballet to opera but ballet before opera: "Giselle" (1841) came before Puccini's first opera "Le Villi" (1884) and both used the same legend although the heroine in Puccini's opera was not so forgiving as Giselle - she actually invites the Wilis to destroy her faithless lover. It is very rarely done, presumably because the soprano dances the tenor to death and furiously dancing is not something you'd get many opera singers to do! On the same line, the de Valois ballet "Rake's Progress" (1935) preceded Stravinsky's opera by almost twenty years (it premiered in 1951). In this instance, I much prefer the one-act ballet to the rather long-winded opera! Although it is not quite "Orpheus in the Underworld", Antony Tudor did a lovely ballet called "Offenbach in the Underworld" (similar to Gaite Parisienne) which I saw the National Ballet of Canada perform many times in the 1970s.

Timmie, in the original production, the flag dance ended tremendously with the chaps throwing the flags to each other across the stage and I was very disappointed when I first saw the 2005 revival that this had been cut - for Health & Safety reasons! On Saturday night in Milton Keynes the tumblers and flag dance were finally a bit more testosterone-fuelled (as they used to be in the 1970s and 80s), as it had looked rather camp in the earlier performances - probably due to it being staged by two members from the Paris Opera production, which I saw in 1986, where the corps de ballet just looked bored throughout the whole ballet! The cart has always looked rather dodgy rolling down the steps but I think the people steering it are always very well trained by the Stage Manager so no 'pit stops' in what must be at least 400 performances by now!

Alison, If I were not otherwise engaged this week, I'd join you in a heartbeat on Friday and watch tonight's performance as well!

As I wanted to see all four casts scheduled for Milton Keynes, there was nothing for it but to spend Friday and Saturday there so that I could see them all in two days, including Alison McWhinney’s debut as Juliet. I have loved Nureyev’s production since I first saw it on its second outing after the 1977 premiere. With its sun-drenched sets, beautifully evocative costumes clearly delineating the Veronese families and their households, and the vibrant, blissfully harlot-free street scenes which exploited the exceptional dramatic abilities of the London Festival Ballet dancers at that time, it would rate as my favourite production apart from one thing: the choreography for the title characters. Nureyev’s waning technique and ballon, his obsession with fussy terre-a-terre steps and his reluctance to lift his partner resulted in frustrating choreography that can look awkward and be a thankless task for the dancers, so the success of each performance very much depends on the artistic imagination and talent of the dancers to make dramatic sense of the movement. Happily, I have seen many ‘silk purse’ performances over the years, including the four I have just seen. Alison McWhinney has always had a quiet elegance and sweetness to her dancing and there was a charming demureness to her Juliet in Act I in which she seemed in awe of all the men in her life, including the handsome and tender Paris of James Forbat. When her world is shattered by the death of her beloved cousin Tybalt, her outpouring of grief was therefore all the more devastating and her distress at being forced to accept marriage to Paris was heartbreaking. She was well matched by the always excellent Max Westwell as her Romeo. With a physique and a heart-melting smile reminiscent of Patrick Swayze, his Romeo for me embodies the first line of the song in the Zefirelli film:“What is a youth? Impetuous fire!” There was an effortlessness and exuberance to his dancing that was maintained throughout this most exhausting of roles (Nureyev knew that most of the audience in 1977 were there mainly to see him and he certainly gave them their money’s worth with barely a moment of stillness for Romeo!). Because Westwell’s Romeo is such an affable chap, the brutality of his stabbing of Tybalt, after being goaded beyond endurance, actually made some of the ladies in the row in front of me gasp in horror. A revelation in this performance was the Mercutio of Pedro Lapetra. He is such a natural in the role and gave such an accomplished performance that I was surprised to find it was his debut. He breezed through the fast and furious choreography (created for the charming and technically brilliant Nicholas Johnson) with a comic wit and charm that lit up the whole theatre, and his death scene was particularly moving. On Friday evening, the ballet was lifted to a whole new level with the performances in the title roles of Begona Cao and Esteban Berlanga making a very welcome return as Guest Artist. The extraordinary chemistry between these two has been evident since their first “Swan Lake” together in 2008. Berlanga has an arabesque to die for, not only in its technical perfection but also in its expressive beauty. Cao is equally blessed and, being perfectly matched in both physique and temperament, it was a joy to see them make dramatic and choreographic sense of the usually awkward pas deux, especially the bedroom pas de deux with every fibre of their being at one in expressing their despair at parting. There followed a very powerful scene with Tamarin Stott as the Nurse and Stina Quagebeur as Lady Capulet as the two try to persuade Juliet to put on the wedding dress, symbolising her acceptance of Paris. Frustrated, Lady Capulet slaps Juliet. These three wonderful actresses know how much can be conveyed in a moment of stillness and used it to devastating effect here with Cao’s luminous eyes silently reproaching the Nurse for her knowing betrayal and her mother for her unwitting betrayal. Stott’s Nurse is a finely detailed character, capable of great comedy, especially the scene where Mercutio and Benvolio thwart her attempts to deliver Juliet’s letter to Romeo. All four dancers were so in tune with each other here that the snatching of the letter from the Nurse’s bosom was timed to comic perfection and led to a very funny moment when Stott searches her person for the letter. Another very strong performance came from Fabian Reimair as Tybalt. Too often sidelined these days into character roles (at which he excels), Reimair had the chance to show off the powerful virility of his dancing in the fight scenes, whilst still showing himself to be the tenderest of cousins in Juliet’s first scene. His hotheaded pursuit of Romeo in the mistaken belief that he is defending Juliet’s honour, and his goading of Romeo into fighting him after he has killed Mercutio made for a tremendously heartstopping fight scene between the two of them. In Nureyev’s production, there is no long drawn out death for Tybalt with melodramatic death throes and it is therefore all the more shocking. The lucky Southampton audiences have two chances to see the Cao/Berlanga partnership before he returns to Madrid and rehearsals of “Don Quixote”. In Manchester, Cao will be partnered by James Forbat, making his debut in the role. The Saturday matinee was dominated by the magnificent Tybalt of Junor Souza. From his first entrance brandishing his sword, the power of his personality and his immaculate dancing eclipsed all the other men onstage. But he not only showed Tybalt’s soft side in his first scene with Juliet but also a sexual frisson with Lady Capulet (the very elegant Sarah Kundi) in the ballroom scene as she calms him down after Lord Capulet has frustrated his attempt to attack Romeo. In Act II, he turned his fluffed stabbing by Romeo into a death scene that was an artistic triumph with a look of shock and disbelief on his face as he realises he is dying. Romeo at this performance was danced by Yonah Acosta who concentrated more on the steps than the character, which was a shame as his Juliet was the very responsive Erina Takahashi, but hopefully in time his acting will match his brilliant dancing. Takahashi always dances sublimely and her petite stature lends an added vulnerability to the 14-year-old Juliet as her childhood innocence is snatched away from her and she has to literally grow up overnight, all superbly portrayed by Takahashi. Saturday evening saw Max Westwell in his second performance of Romeo in two days, yet dancing with tremendous energy and absolutely nailing throwing himself backwards three times into the arms of Benvolio (Guilherme Menezes on excellent form) in Act III, reminiscent of Nureyev at his very best. His is a Romeo with a real zest for life, just like his Juliet, Laurretta Summerscales in her third performance of the run. Her Juliet enjoyed everything with girlish glee and a joyful smile, particularly the attentions of Paris and then Romeo, and she showed a charming surprised delight at every contact with Romeo in the ballroom scene. But she was particularly impressive in the moments of drama, especially her reaction to Tybalt’s death and, best of all, as her joy turns to grief when she realises Romeo is dead, which was tremendously moving. Another outstanding portrayal in this performance was the Mercutio of Ken Saruhashi. By turns debonair and insouciant, he was as mercurial as his name suggests but when stabbed by the wonderfully arrogant Tybalt of James Streeter, Saruhashi’s demise was truly tragic and provoked a very powerful expression of grief from Westwell. The street scenes that I love so much improved with each performance so that, by Saturday evening the escalation of the feud between the rival servants from exchange of insults to physical combat was extremely realistic and it was good to see this carried over into Act II so they were all itching for another fight by the time Tybalt confronts Romeo. Throughout the performances, the orchestra made Prokofiev’s score glow with vitality, whether under the baton of maestro Gavin Sutherland or guest conductor Misato Tomita.

I have just seen this post about Vadim Muntagirov. As the person responsible for Mary Skeaping’s “Giselle” on behalf of her estate, Wayne Eagling was chatting to me in the spring of 2009 about the casting of the ballet during the next season. He told me there would be TEN Albrechts, and one was a Russian student just about to graduate from the Royal Ballet School. This, of course, was Vadim. Eagling said in his usual, honest fashion, “The Royal Ballet don’t want him, so I’ve grabbed him”. The carrot was that he would dance Albrecht during his first season with ENB. He was originally partnered with Anais Chalendard but an injury prevented her dancing during the autumn. They did dance the ballet together in Glasgow in 2010 but sadly I had to miss their performances as the Skeaping “Giselle” was being staged in Tokyo. There was never any question about his amazing technique, which often brought spontaneous applause from the other dancers when he would practice multiple pirouettes or jumps in the short break the dancers have at the end of class. The bonus was that he turned out to be a very strong and reliable partner. The only thing that he really had to work on was his acting, as he had never had to be a character before. I remember when most of the company went to Greece to perform the reduced version of “Giselle” and Vadim was one of the dancers left behind for intensive rehearsals with Antony Dowson, and I sat in on them to help out with things specific to the Skeaping version. Vadim was very shy and quiet but I remember the day we had a breakthrough on how to do Albrecht’s first entrance in Act I which is, of course, all acting. I think it was after the Liverpool performances, when Klimentova danced with Berlanga, that she was asked to also do Vadim’s scheduled performances with him. She was very candid in her book about the situation and we did talk about it at the time that she, as a senior principal, was being asked to dance with a first year company member. However, she soon discovered in rehearsal what a wonderful partner he was (there was one particular sequence in Act II which he did better than any of the Albrechts) although, as she has said, their first performance together was not hugely satisfying for either of them, and I am sure he will not mind me saying that it took him some time to develop the character of Albrecht but he was always willing to accept advice about this. Anyway, by the time of his Coliseum performance with Klimentova, it was clear that this was a special partnership and I was delighted to have the opportunity to watch it develop in the rehearsal room, as well as on stage.

You could also try the first couple of seats on each side of the first few rows of the First and Second Circles as these are deemed to be restricted view and are usually much cheaper than the rest of the rows. I have sat here several times and you miss very little of the action. The company is definitely worth seeing - I saw their "Raise the Red Lantern" a few years ago and it was an unforgettable, wonderful experience.

With regard to some of the comments regarding names missing from the cast list, Virelles and Fernanda Oliveira both suffered knee injuries during the China tour and have undergone surgery which will keep them from performing for several more months. Ovsyanick also broke a bone in her foot on the same tour. She had hoped to be fit enough for the trip to Barcelona but sadly had to pull out of that to do more remedial work. Much as I would have loved to see her Juliet or even Rosaline, I think it is probably too soon for her to undertake such demanding roles but hopefully we can look forward to seeing her later in the season in 'Corsaire' and 'Nutcracker'. As to Rojo, she is far from injured, having just wowed the audiences in Barcelona, but I understand she decided not to take on what would have been at least her third version of Juliet.

I saw the Thursday matinee of this programme and, for me, it was much better suited to the shape of the Sadler’s Wells auditorium in comparison to the Barbican. It also benefitted from much better volume control of the pre-recorded soundtracks, as I found these to be an assault on the ears at the Barbican. With several dancers still recovering from last season’s injuries and a few casualties in the first couple of weeks of the current season, the remaining dancers work very hard indeed in this physically demanding programme. Liam Scarlett’s “No Man’s Land” remains my favourite of the three works, primarily for its strong dramatic narrative and the beauty of the pas de deux, danced to the sumptuous Liszt orchestrations by Musical Director Gavin Sutherland who also conducted, bringing out glorious tone from the orchestra. New to me were Shiori Kase and Fernando Bufala in the first pas de deux, admirably portraying the anger and pain of separation. This contrasted very well with the sublime beauty of the second pas de deux. The charming Angela Wood was the embodiment of youthful innocence and she and Fabian Reimair gave a performance that was joyful and bittersweet with its tender yearning. But the highlight of the piece was the debut of Begona Cao, woefully underused since her return from maternity leave over eighteen months ago. She is a dancer whose every fibre expresses emotion and the moment when she stood surrounded by the other six couples, gradually realising that she is alone, was heartbreaking. As the ghost of her lover, Junor Souza perfectly matched her both physically and emotionally and their final pas de deux, to a piano solo sensitively played by Julia Richter, was a searing elegy to lost love. “Second Breath” by Russell Maliphant has grown on me since the Barbican and I found the opening sequence of the group of girls surrounded by a semi-circle of men all moving as if in slow motion, reminiscent of Tai Chi, mesmerising in its beauty. The next section reminded me of trust exercises, with dancers climbing onto the shoulders of others and then falling backwards into the arms of their colleagues – an apt reflection on soldiers’ reliance on each other. As the pre-recorded soundtrack kicked in, the final section showcased an outstanding pas de deux from Tamarin Stott and Joshua McSherry-Gray. Stott brings a seamless elegance to everything she dances – a perfect quality for this pas de deux – and McSherry-Gray proved a worthy successor to Nathan Young, her partner for the Barbican performances, who is now dancing with Maliphant’s own company. “Dust” proved to be the audience favourite, judging by the volume of applause, and a good deal of the credit must go to Fabian Reimair for the breathtaking opening minutes in which he gives a truly shocking portrayal of the effects of shell-shock on the body, bringing to mind the few film clips from the period that document this awful condition. As he then manipulates the two ‘arms’ of dancers on either side of him in an ever more frantic manner, it is as if he is trying to take flight from his anguish. As previously, his character is taken over by James Streeter who also gives a harrowing portrayal of a lost soul unable to communicate properly with his lover, alternately shrinking from her touch or reacting violently to her. Tamara Rojo gave little away emotionally, apart from a steely determination to bring him back from the brink but the very poignant final moment when she dances by herself as he goes ‘over the top’ suggests her defeat. During the ecstatic curtain calls, I was very surprised that Reimair was not invited to take a bow with Streeter and Rojo and was not given a solo bow for his very remarkable performance, for which he is single-cast during this run. It is perhaps fitting that these performances mourning lives lost too soon are dedicated to Austen Haffenden, a member of the technical crew who died suddenly following the company’s China trip – a special man, always with a smile for everyone.

I would thoroughly recommend this. Jenna is very enthusiastic and inspiring to work with. I'm sure your daughter will enjoy herself and learn a lot.

Glad I checked what "Opportunity" refers to as I was just about to post the same thing! For any young dancers interested, this is a film choreographed by Jenna Lee, former Soloist with English National Ballet, and one of the producers of the film "Still Alice" - James Brown - is involved.

I was delighted to see that the Stalls was almost full for the Saturday matinee performance of this beautiful production which introduced me to an almost completely new cast of principals from the one I saw on Thursday. Qi Huan as James was outstanding, not only technically but also dramatically. Here was a true Bournonville dancer with ballon aplenty and clean, neat footwork particularly noticeable in his wonderfully open entrechats so that one could actually see the feet opening and crossing. He had a plie that went on forever in landing between jumps and his grand plie landings in his main solo were to die for. There was a wonderful chemistry between him and both the Sylph and Effie which gave the story the poignancy it needs. His Effie was the delightful Tamara Hanton who gave the character an innocence and vulnerability, as well as a sunny virtuosity to her Act I solos. Rian Thompson made a very handsome Gurn, also performing his solos with aplomb, who resisted the temptation to overact in his comic moments. The Sylphide herself was danced by Tara Schaufuss in her only performance (I think) during the London season. She was a deliciously playful sylph whose graceful mime and buoyant dancing make her thoroughly believable as an other-worldly creature. I always admired her mother’s (Janette Mulligan) dramatic qualities as a ballerina and this has obviously been inherited by Miss Schaufuss, who gave a very moving death scene. It is a very rare occurrence to have a mother and daughter onstage in a ballet but this was one of them, with Janette Mulligan giving another very fine performance as the witch. My eye was caught at both performances by a red-haired dancer amongst the sylphs who showed a particularly fine understanding of the Romantic style and on checking my programme I see that this was Mia Heathcote. Another who impressed by the vivacity of her dancing was Lina Kim. I am very grateful to the Queensland Ballet for giving London the chance to see this award-winning production again and hopefully it might persuade English National Ballet to revive one of the jewels of its repertoire.

Managing to get into London by a circuitous route to attend yesterday’s matinee of “La Sylphide”, I was delighted to see quite a decent-sized audience for the show (at least in the stalls), despite all the transport problems. For me, as soon as I heard the overture, it was a trip down memory lane as I thought of all the ENB performances I saw of this beautiful production, now over 25 years ago. The memories continued as I watched friends Janette Mulligan and Mary Li (McKendry), both former ENB ballerinas, now taking on the character roles. The first “La Sylphide” that I saw was as a student in Canada – Erik Bruhn’s production for the National Ballet of Canada – the most memorable performance of which was Mikhail Baryshnikov’s first performance with the company at the open-air venue, Ontario Place (free admission!) which he gave as a thank-you to Toronto where he had defected. Memories also came flooding back of the ultimate Sylph, the divine Eva Evdokimova, who danced the role so often in this production. Although this performance could not hope to live up to these lofty ideals, I was impressed by the standard and excellent discipline throughout the company and I congratulate Li Cunxin and his staff for raising the company to an international standard. My main criticism would be that the dancers needed to project a bit more in such a vast auditorium and get rid of some of the ‘ballet’ acting (superfluous arm gestures – my bugbear) but otherwise the company gave a fine performance of the best thing Peter Schaufuss has ever done (IMHO). The leads were sensitively and sympathetically danced by Clare Morehen (Sylph), Hao Bin (James) and Eleanor Freeman (Effie) who obviously relished the Bournonville style if not naturally possessing the intense degree of ballon that can make the choreography breathtaking. I thought all the group dances and solos in Act I were extremely well done, with very neat, clean footwork and an exuberance which made it a party I would have liked to attend! Having had the advantage of being in so many performances with the great Dane, Niels Bjorn Larsen, as Madge, Janette Mulligan brought the right combination of humour, menace and power to the role and certainly had command of her band of witches, even though they towered above her! In all, it was well worth the journey into London and I look forward to a return visit for the Saturday matinee. I paid the £10 for the programme and read that the week is presented by Peter Schaufuss’s own production company so it is responsible for the high price, rather than the company. It could have done with some better proofreading and perhaps a “Who’s who” for the back page of “La Sylphide Memories” as I doubt all the audience members would be familiar with all the faces that are included.

I attended yesterday’s matinee performance of ENB’s Choreographics. Reading the synopses, this could have been a depressing afternoon given that most of the choreographers chose dark episodes to represent the programme’s theme of post-war America. Instead, it was an afternoon that was inspired with artistry, and the debut of yet another choreographic talent from within the company. The programme opened with the winning entry in English National Ballet School’s choreographic competition, “Babel” by Joshua Legge. This was an athletic and rhythmical piece which showed off the considerable skills of four male dancers from the school although I found the soundtrack rather too loud for the very confined space of the Lilian Baylis Studio. James Streeter’s “A Touch of Eternity” depicted in movement the love letters between Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as they awaited execution for espionage, a love which intensified as their last moments approached. It was danced by Adela Ramirez and Juan Rodriguez, a couple whose innate charm usually sees them cast in the sunniest of roles, but here they were allowed to give full rein to their considerable dramatic talents and superb technique in challenging choreography enhanced by the atmospheric lighting. Guest choreographer Renato Paroni de Castro chose a story of a girl who must choose between two brothers before they are sent to war but it is not the one she marries who returns. “Memory of What Could Have Been” started off in Gene Kelly territory with the quicksilver brilliance of the Menezes twins in a lively dance-off. The delightful Sarah Kundi was the girl who must choose between them and then dances with the ghost of her dead husband as she thinks of what could have been. The dancers served the choreography extremely well but I felt the story was too involved to be completely successful in such a short piece and the ending was rather abrupt. By far the most ambitious and longest piece was by the second guest choreographer, Morgann Runacre-Temple, who tried to recreate moments from the classic film noir “The Lady from Shanghai”. The piece was too long as it ran out of choreographic steam halfway through but it was danced with great charisma by Daniel Kraus, looking like a 1940s matinee idol (much better looking that Orson Welles could have hoped for!). The Lady was danced by Tiffany Hedman replacing an injured Ksenia Ovsyancik and it was tempting to wonder what the piece would have looked like with Ovsyanick bringing her natural combination of sultriness and vulnerability (not to mention the star quality of Rita Hayworth) to the role. The second half of the afternoon began with Fabian Reimair’s “traumA”, a play on the German word (traum) for dream and our understanding of trauma. Reimair chose Anjuli Hudson, as his leading lady – another dancer mostly associated with sunny variations. She took full advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate considerable dramatic depths as she mourned her dead husband (danced by the always sympathetic Ken Saruhashi) and there was a very moving and lovely central pas de deux as she finally lets go of him. A special mention too for Barry Drummond and Shevelle Dynott kneeling at the back of the stage who, with Saruhashi, went through a series of mesmerising movements, almost all from the waist upwards, at the beginning of the piece, rather like a moment from Kabuki theatre. Max Westwell made his very welcome debut as the choreographer of “Fractured Memory”, using three couples to illustrate various stages in a relationship, starting off with the very elegant pairing of Katja Khaniukova and Daniele Silingardi in a gentle, tender pas de deux (the highlight of the piece for me), followed by Madison Keesler and Jinhao Zhang as they argue and finally Laurretta Summerscales and Junor Souza in a reflection of a deeper, more mature love. The afternoon finished with “A Room in New York” by the now highly accomplished Stina Quagebeur who has mastered the art of choreographing pas de deux that are both complex and stirring. She chose to represent the volatile relationship between the artist Edward Hopper and his wife, set to a voluptuous score by Scriabin. It was performed by Crystal Costa and James Forbat who, in any other company would surely have been promoted to Principals by now, so polished and assured is their dancing. They were breathtaking in their total involvement and commitment to this very moving piece. With a talent such as Quagebeur’s in English National Ballet, it is surprising that she has not yet been asked to provide a piece for the forthcoming programme by female choreographers, “She Said”. Praise to all involved in this programme for using their spare time on tour and during rehearsal periods to create these pieces and I was delighted that each one managed to surprise me with at least one innovative phrase of movement, showing that the pas de deux has limitless possibilities. And the ticket price of £15 for such a polished programme was an absolute bargain!

Mab, I was not criticising the company dancers but the production itself and it is the production that I would not rush to see again. Sorry if that was not clear.

My friend, Janette Mulligan (former ENB principal and mother of Tara Schaufuss who is half-sister to Luke) performs the mimed role of Madge for Queensland Ballet. Casting for London has not been finailsed but she says she will let me know when it is. If I have her permission to do so, I will certainly share it here. With regard to St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre's "Swan Lake", having seen it in Paris last year, it is a standard production with some rather over-complicated choreography for the company soloists which does not do them any favours. It did appear to me that the company was a 'backing group' for the ballerina in this particular ballet and I would not rush to see it again. However, I am sure Muntagirov, as always, will be worth the price of the ticket although sadly there is no Act I solo for him in this production.

ENB’s Emerging Dancer Award has grown from a studio presentation in 2010 with an audience mainly made up of ENB dancers and staff to a full theatrical production at the South Bank with orchestral accompaniment and a packed public audience. ENB dancers and staff continue to support their colleagues, roaring their approval of each so that hopefully all candidates feel that they are winners just for having been nominated. The format has changed over the years so that the candidates are put together in some interesting partnerships to perform a classical pas de deux (this year all attributed to Petipa) and then they each perform a ‘modern’ solo. Sadly, James Streeter (nominated for the second time) injured himself during the recent Modern Masters programme and so Ken Saruhashi gallantly stepped in to partner Katja Khaniukova in the “pas d’esclave” from “Le Corsaire”. Khaniukova has previously impressed me in ensemble dances by her naturally aristocratic style, a hallmark of Russian-based training, and she rose to all the technical challenges of this pas de deux. If I have one criticism, it would be that she was not coquettish enough for this particular pas de deux and I would have loved to have seen more of her lovely smile but perhaps it was the nerves of being first to perform and being so close to the audience. At this point I commend Gavin Sutherland for the remarkable job he did of conducting while looking over his shoulder because the orchestra was placed behind the dancers! Next was the “Satanella” pas de deux which I have not seen for many years and I had forgotten how joyous it is, particularly when flawlessly danced by Anjuli Hudson and Vitor Menezes. Superbly polished technically and artistically, this was the highlight of the evening for me. The ‘scarf’ pas de deux from “La Bayadere” is difficult to pull off in a competition situation as it does not break down neatly into entrée, male variation, female variation and coda and does not contain many bravura steps. However, Max Westwell (another second-time nominee) brought a true danseur noble style to it and was a secure and sensitive partner for the tall Jeanette Kakareka. She reminds me of a skittish thoroughbred colt, not yet fully in control of her beautiful long limbs, but demonstrating huge potential. Finally, the ever-popular “Don Quixote” pas de deux was danced by relative newcomers to ENB, Jinhao Zhang and Isabelle Brouwers, with great gusto. The entrée was a bit rough around the edges but the two scored huge approval for their variations, and their coda ended this part of the programme with a flourish. Apparently the company had had difficulty acquiring permission for some of the modern solos that the dancers had hoped to perform but this led to two outstanding choreographic premieres, both by members of the company. Tamarin Stott created “Insert Name” for Anjuli Hudson to music of the same name. Hudson had shone like a brilliant diamond in “Satanella” but here she was all simmering sensuality, dancing Stott’s intriguing choreography with musicality and an innate lyricism. Jinhao Zhang created his own choreography to the “Dying Swan” which was quite simply ravishing. His elegance, musicality and innovative choreography brought a freshness to the well-known music and he deservedly received the biggest ovation of the evening for it. Personally, I would have been torn between these two dancers for the title of Emerging Dancer but, with Zhang’s extra talent for choreography, I can see why the judges chose him as the overall winner. With regard to the other modern solos, which I believe were created previous to this competition, some of them did rather remind me of floor routines in gymnastics. However, Menezes’s “Nutcracker”(NOT to Tchaikovsky) by Roland Petit, while not being ‘contemporary’ in nature was exquisitely danced and showed off to perfection his beautifully clean, neat footwork which is always a pleasure to watch. An added bonus to the evening was last year’s joint winners, Alison McWhinney and Junor Souza, with a soulful performance of one of the gorgeous pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s “No Man’s Land”, accompanied beautifully on the piano by Julia Richter, while the judges concluded their deliberations.

My only chance to see this triple bill was yesterday so I am very grateful that ENB continues to give Sunday matinees. This performance had sold quite poorly but, due to a last-minute rush on tickets, there were long queues at the Box Office at 2.15pm and the performance started five minutes late to accommodate what turned out to be a packed and enthusiastic audience. In "Petite Mort", the highly talented Company Pianist, Julia Richter, was at the keyboard and her supremely elegant interpretation of the Mozart pieces obviously inspired the dancers, who clearly love performing Kylian's choreography. Due to James Streeter's injury, neither he nor Erina Takahashi appeared in the piece and their roles were taken by Fabian Reimair and Fernanda Oliveira (the cast sheet had not been corrected and there was no announcement but I assume the change might have been posted in the foyer). Their erotically charged pas de deux had a feeling of intimacy and tenderness that was extremely moving. It was good to see Adela Ramirez, who was dogged by injury for most of last year, back onstage in top form. Partnered by Yonah Acosta, their pas de deux smouldered with Latin temperament. The final pas de deux was breathtakingly danced by Tamarin Stott, in her only performance of this run, and Junor Souza. Again, there was an intimate tenderness and trust between them that enhanced the intricate choreography . The least successful pas de deux was by Tiffany Hedman, who appeared mismatched with the graceful Ken Saruhashi and, sandwiched between the pas de deux of the well-matched Begona Cao and Nathan Young and that of Stott and Souza, it highlighted the innate elegance of the ENB dancers of more than a couple of years' standing which Hedman has yet to acquire. I am more familiar with Neumeier's story ballets than his abstract ones but I found "Spring and Fall" to be a delightful piece of whimsy (if a little too busy) to brighten a grey March afternoon. Bringing out the Czech folk-dance elements of Dvorak's music with steps reminiscent of the folk dances in Cranko's "Onegin" with a bit of Nijinska's "Les Noces" thrown in for good measure, it was prettily danced by all involved and Alina Cojocarou wafted daintily throughout as the embodiment of youthful springtime. However, my eye was caught more than once by Maria Jose Sales, a stalwart of ENB's corps de ballet, because of the exceptional grace she brought to the choreography. I have somehow managed to avoid seeing Forsythe's "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated", not by design, until now. Not having read the programme notes, I came to it with no expectations but to me it seemed to be a humorous look at what happens between class and rehearsal and/or performance, with the dancers practicing bits of choreography or steps by themselves or with their partners, completely oblivious to the others. It also reflects the almost narcissistic arrogance of the Paris Opera dancers at the time of its creation in 1987. Having personal experience of backstage at the Paris Opera around that time, when the dancers' Union was so strong that they would cut out mid-step when tea-break was called, I was amused by Forsythe's reflection of this with dancers stopping mid-flow and just walking off. ENB's dancers attacked it with unflagging energy and flawless technique, highlighting some very fine dancing from Kei Akahoshi and Barry Drummond. But the piece was dominated by Begona Cao who was mesmerising, whether prowling the stage looking for a partner to support her in her almost unbelievable extensions (and never distorting her extremely lithe body or compromising her impeccable line to achieve them) or simply standing at the back of the stage with a deliciously insolent arrogance. This was a performance of true star quality.

I have seen this film several times in the past and I would thoroughly recommend a visit to the South Bank, especially as this a restored version. From my memories of previous viewings, we get almost the entire opera, pre-recorded so that most of the roles are taken by actors and dancers. Shearer and Tcherina are luminous and Helpmann has a whale of a time as the four 'baddies'. The film has a surreal quality to it and, of course, the colours are vivid - especially Shearer's glorious red hair! Add to that the 'soundtrack' of top UK opera singers at the time and Ashton's beautiful choreography and you have a rare treat.

I attended the Saturday matinee performance of this ambitious event (seven performances in six days of four new choreographic works), aimed at publicising the restoration of the Coronet in Notting Hill. Originally built in 1898, the theatre has long been used as a cinema but its new owners, The Print Room, aim to restore it as a theatre in its full Victorian splendour with a permanent home for contemporary dance, amongst their other programmes. As the main auditorium is in the process of refurbishment, a small, black box studio theatre was constructed on the actual stage with the performing area being drenched in white which allowed the use of a fascinating set of projections to recall 1898. The four 15-minute pieces were run without a break, not giving the audience a chance to applaud each one individually, which was a bit disconcerting at first. The first piece, “Adieu” was by the Print Room’s Artistic Associate, Hubert Essakow, and had I not read the programme, I might have thought it was set in a padded cell from the way the dancers clung to the ‘walls’ and beat their hands against it. However, it was an evocation of previous performers at the Coronet who, according to Essakow’s programme note devoted “themselves to representations of beauty, sensuality and self-expression”. This was especially true of the veteran ballerina Naomi Sorkin who wafted gracefully round the performing space as Sarah Bernhardt, even speaking some of her lines, dressed in flowing orange draperies very reminiscent of Leighton’s “Flaming June” painted in the same decade. Cree Barnett Williams and David Ledger added to the elegance of the piece but I felt it ran out of choreographic steam halfway through with its rather disjointed soundtrack of pieces by Debussy and Satie entangled with electronic sound which was a bit too loud for the small space. “Absinth(e)” by Kirill Burlov depicted the mind-altering effects of the liquor which was the drink of choice, certainly of working-class Parisians at the time, to help them forget their woes. It started off cheerily enough, with a drunken Burlov dancing with his shadow but then things turned violent with the arrival of Rob McNeil embodying the dark side of his mind. While one could admire the acrobatic skills of the two dancers, the prolonged fighting between them would put anyone off wanting to try Absinthe or any other alcohol (but perhaps that was the point!) and, once again, the electronic score by Platon Buravicky was far too loud for the confined space. My main reason for attending this event was to see a new piece by English National Ballet dancer Tamarin Stott, whose quirky “work in progress” for the company’s choreographic evening two years ago had greatly impressed me. Collaborating with the same composer, Ryan Cockerham, she did not disappoint, with a piece that was both entertaining and at times poignant. Entitled “Scene to be seen” and danced by Stott and fellow ENB dancer Nathan Young, the performers were sometimes the audience and sometimes the artists onstage, starting the piece in the present time with Stott playing with her mobile phone and taking selfies, much to the annoyance of Young who thought she should be paying attention to the stage, before reverting to their 19th century counterparts where there was often the same lack of attention to the stage (plus ça change!). Cockerham’s soundtrack was an intriguing mixture of speech and music recordings of the time, interspersed with barrel organ music and a female voice reading text about the etiquette expected of women at that time and particularly the generally low opinion of women who appeared on stage. I felt this was very well reflected in the costuming, with Young in a typical Victorian suit and Stott, looking vulnerable in corset and petticoat, and in the choreography which, inevitably with their ballet background, involved a lot more complex partnering than the other pieces and more engagement with the audience. If one moment stands out more than others, it was Young holding Stott in a sitting position so that she appeared to be in the audience and then lifting her so that she was above us with a look of wonderment as she surveyed her audience. It was the one piece in the programme which left me wanting more. The last piece, “Beholder of Beauty” by Mbulelo Ndabeni took its inspiration from “The Geisha” but, with its angst-ridden movements to a symphonic score by Shirley Thompson, seemed more akin to “Madam Butterfly” than “The Geisha” which was actually a musical comedy! For me, this was the least successful of the four pieces. All praise to the Print Room for commissioning these pieces and I hope we shall see more dance at the Coronet, especially when the restoration work is complete.

West Brompton tube is actually closer if you don't mind walking through West Brompton Cemetery - very pleasant in the summer - but you would need to check what time they close the gates in the evening at this time of year. Fulham Broadway is about 15 minutes' walking time and there is, inevitably, very heavy traffic. Various coffee shops near the station but, as the above post says, the nicer one is east of Hortensia Road on Fulham Road.

You are quite right, Elena Glurdjidze is most certainly NOT retiring. She has left ENB due to the dramatic reduction in the number of performances and roles she has been offered since the departure of Wayne Eagling but she has plans to keep dancing here and abroad. The esteem in which she is held by her colleagues past and present at ENB was evidenced not only onstage at the end of her performance but also in many posts on Facebook, often accompanied by repostings of Sian Trenberth's evocative photos. First Artist Madison Keesler paid tribute to Glurdjidze's coaching of her for the Emerging Dancer Award last year and Ksenia Ovsyanik told me personally how much her own Odette/Odile had been inspired by Elena so it is to be hoped that she will find time in her busy schedule to continue passing on her invaluable and extensive knowledge to the next generation.

Aileen, the pas de quatre is by Ashton and used to be used in Deane's proscenium version (used in Act III in the Royal Ballet's previous productions) whereas the pas de trois (traditional Petipa) was used in the in-the-round production and expanded to a 'pas de douze' danced by four sets of three dancers and not to be confused with the Pas de Douze couples in the proscenium production who dance the Waltz! Much as I love Ashton, the Petipa solos for the girls in the pas de trois are much better than in the pas de quatre (in my opinion) and obviously Deane has sanctioned its inclusion now in his proscenium version. Ashton also created the Princesses' dance known colloquially as 'Fiancees'. The Neapolitan is vintage Ashton, created for Alexander Grant and Julia Farron. The Act One solo for the Prince was created by Ashton for Nureyev and has more of Nureyev in it than Ashton. By "dancers in red" I presume you mean the Czardas in Act III. This traditionally has a very languorous and sensual beginning and then the speed whips up (same in "Coppelia") so the speed taken by ENB is actually correct.