Irmgard

Having been put off by the Mikhailovsky’s very raggedly-danced “Giselle” a couple of years ago, I did not book for “Laurencia” until the half-price offers were suddenly announced on the Easter weekend which made the combination of being able to see this curiosity for the first time and to see it danced by Osipova irresistible. The feel-good choreography makes the story of “Laurencia” almost inconsequential, being the uprising of a Spanish village against the evil Don who has tried to exercise his “droit de seigneur” against two of the village girls, including Laurencia (this happens offstage and is shown by both girls returning to the village with messed up hair and dirty dresses so the ballet is fit for family viewing) but must have resonated with the still young communist state at its premiere. It was choreographed by Vakhtang Chabukiani in 1939 for himself and the effervescent young star of the Kirov, Natalia Dudinskaya (who grabbed the young Nureyev for her partner almost twenty years later) and is a feast of bravura dancing from start to finish, with colourful sets and costumes and (what a delight) bright lighting . From my “Giselle” experience, I did not expect the immaculate ensemble dancing of English National Ballet and there were some particularly rough moments in the big corps de ballet numbers but the whole company threw themselves into it with great panache and it seemed to me they were having a competition to see who could get their head closest to the floor in the backbends that proliferated in the choreography. The ‘acting’, such as it was, consisted of superfluous arm gestures and much ham from the leading character artists so that the darkness of the story was treated by the audience as pantomime to the extent that the Don and his henchmen were booed at their curtain call (and one hopes they did not take offence at this peculiarly British practice). Ivan Vasiliev, with his long torso and short, stocky legs, pulled off feat after feat of technical virtuosity although it would have been nice if he had stretched his feet a bit more and had a more attractive run. Osipova was simply stunning, outdoing Vasiliev’s virtuosity, all the while holding the audience in the palm of her hand with her vivacity. Her friends, danced by Sabina Yapporova and Oksana Bondareva, were also a delight. The music, by Alexander Krein, is a pastiche of various Spanish and French composers and, of course, the ubiquitous Minkus with a rewriting of the cabriole variation from “La Bayadere” for one of the male solos. It was played with great gusto and commitment from the excellent orchestra (I did not buy a programme so I do not know if it is the company’s own orchestra). The company received a prolonged and rousing ovation at the end of the show (which lasted less than two hours). If you can get a deal on a ticket for this evening and are looking for something with a definite feel-good factor, I would recommend this but don’t expect any more high art than you would get in a ballet gala with everyone showing off their party tricks.

Thank you for reporting this very sad news. Noel Goodwin was a very fair-minded and knowledgeable critic and a warm and friendly person. I heartily agree about his contributions to Dance & Dancers: not only did he give break-downs of the musical scores but he also made comparisons of various productions of the classics with lists of which pieces of music were used in which production - invaluable for dance research!

ENB has just put the following casting on its website (Petite Mort is for six couples including several principal dancers): London Coliseum Petite Mort To be announced. Le Jeune Homme et la Mort 18 Rojo – Le Riche 19 Zhang – Acosta (Matinee) 19 Rojo – Le Riche 20 Rojo – Le Riche (Matinee) 20 Zhang – Acosta 21 TBC – TBC Etudes 18 Takahashi, Muntagirov, Forbat and Berlanga 19 Kase, Gruzdyev, Saruhashi and Vargas (Matinee) 19 Takahashi, Muntagirov, Forbat and Berlanga 20 Kase, Gruzdyev, Acosta and Vargas (Matinee) 20 Rojo, Muntagirov, Forbat and Atymtayev 21 Rojo, Muntagirov, Forbat and Atymtayev (Matinee)

Thank you for posting this information. It is extremely well hidden on ENB's new, mainly improved website under "Current Projects" - not the first place anyone would think of looking for it!

Glad to be of help. I've rummaged through my old programmes but sadly, because I had so many, I threw a lot of them away and only kept the cast lists. Looks like I saw Verdi Variations in 1981 and 1982 and I don't think it was kept in the repertoire after that. With regard to Facebook, if you are not a signed-up 'friend' of the person, sometimes your message can be relegated to the file marked 'other' and not everyone knows to check that for random messages. Anyway, Jane was pleased to answer your question via my friend.

I've heard back from my friend in Australia who contacted Jane Devine. They both think the tutu is from "Verdi Variations" which was a one-act divertissement by Andre Prokovsky. I only saw the piece a few times but it was a purely classical work danced to ballet music from Verdi's operas. Hope this information helps.

I can't see another post for this so I assume this is 'breaking news'. Daria Klimentova's autobiography (written with Graham Watts) will be published on 4 March 2013, co-inciding with the Emerging Dancer Award evening. You can pre-order on Amazon at the bargain price of £11.60!

Meant to reply earlier to this, Katherine. I don't know if you are aware that the train from Windsor to Waterloo takes at least an hour if it on time. Quicker to get to London from Windsor via Slough. You can hop in a taxi (rank immediately outside the castle) to Slough train station (should take less than 10 mins) and then get the express train from Slough to Paddington (takes 15-20 mins and runs every 15 mins). Then it's straight down to Charing Cross on the Bakerloo line (10 mins) and a two minute walk to the Coliseum. Alternatively, if it's not a performance I'm going to, I can collect you from Windsor and drop you at Slough train station. Conrtact me here closer to the time!

This review has turned out to be much longer than intended but I hope it makes up for all the ones I didn’t get round to writing over the Christmas period! Curious to see how this production of “The Sleeping Beauty”translates to a smaller stage, I travelled to Oxford yesterday for the Saturday matinee and was rewarded by another sparkling performance which played to a packed and enthusiastic house. I much prefer the more sumptuous designs for the Nureyev production in 1975 (also by Georgiadis) but the opulence of the performance more than made up for any lack of this in the costumes. As always with ENB, the matinee was strongly cast, beginning with the fairies, their cavaliers and attendants (who get the prettiest tutus) in the Prologue. Outstanding was Crystal Costa in the second variation. She looks so at home running and hopping on pointe that one might think she was born in pointe shoes. Jenna Lee shone with her explosive series of Russian pas de chats in the fifth variation. Crystal Costa also delighted in the sunny Bluebird pas de deux partnered by the supremely elegant Nathan Young. My only wish would have been for the final diagonal to be taken at a much brisker pace. In fact, this production does seem to suffer from some unreasonably slow tempi and, having watched several performances with different conductors, it is obviously a quirk of the production rather than the choice of the person wielding the baton. Going back to the Prologue, this was very noticeable in the third fairy variation. The original name for this was “miettes qui tombent” or “breadcrumbs” but these breadcrumbs were obviously falling in extremely slow motion, so much so that the poor horns had great difficulty sustaining their long notes which underpin the string pizzicato. However, Anaïs Chalendard coped beautifully and managed to fill every stretched out phrase. The Entrée of the jewels divertissement also suffered from a very slow tempo. Zhanat Atymtayev, dancing the Gold variation, which is contained within the Entrée in this production, could certainly have managed a faster tempo for his manège. The other divertissements in Act III featured an adorable Anjuli Hudson as the White Cat. She made this role her own during the Coliseum season when injury and illness amongst her colleagues meant she danced almost every performance and with a variety of partners as Puss-in-Boots. Her partner this time was Van Le Ngoc who matched her feline movements very well. Shevelle Dynott obviously enjoyed his appearance as the Wolf with a very sweet Red Riding Hood from Jennie Harrington. The spirited Mazurka before the Apotheosis was led with great élan by the uncredited Amber Hunt and James Streeter. I feel a special mention must be given to the Queen Mum of Tamarin Stott. She has proved she can dance up a storm as the Chosen One in “Rite of Spring” but she is equally at home in the character roles and made this sometimes perfunctory role into a real person, a doting mother but never less than regal and with beautifully clear mime. And she carried off the changing fashions of each Act with great panache. And so to the principals. The Lilac Fairy was danced by Ksenia Ovsyanick, whose London debut as Aurora I was privileged to see in January. She danced with great style and made the variation look effortless but I would like to see a bit more authority in her persona, especially in the mime, to make her more than a match for Carabosse. Fabian Reimair was her Carabosse and he brought a surprisingly effective dignity to the part so that, when “she” took out her anger on Catalabutte, it was all the more alarming. The stand-off between Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy during the Awakening scene was all the more dramatic for not resorting to pantomime gestures. And watching Carabosse’s power ebb away so realistically, I missed the moment of the kiss! Dmitri Gruzdyev was the Prince and proved yet again what a superb partner he is. He is rather aloof in Act II and is not really at home in the fussy interpolated solo but in Act III he provided all the fireworks necessary to bring the house down. His Aurora was Fernanda Oliveira whose performance can be best summed up as radiant, from her first entrance through to the final pas de deux. She is possessed of possibly the most beautiful feet in the company and uses these to perfection. One does not always equate strength with such an amazing, bulging instep and yet she luxuriated in leisurely balances in the Rose Adagio, with a smile for each of her suitors (here played as handsome and elegant princes, any one of them a suitable match for her). The effect was so magical that the audience burst into spontaneous applause before the final pose. In Act II, she uses her pretty feet and legsto great advantage in the series of enveloppées in the Ashton solo to which she gives a very soulful interpretation. However, what makes her Aurora so special is her ability to imbue this somewhat two-dimensional character with real emotion, interacting with theother characters, involving her Friends in the festivities in Act I and, instead of just grabbing the spindle from the old woman and dashing off todance with it, she acknowledges her and seems to invite her to join the party with a dazzling smile. This was a performance that left the audience, including many young children, spellbound. The company has a final week of performances in Southampton starting on 26 February and it is well worth a visit to see the wealth of talent on display. The running time is given as three hours but can be a bit less, depending on getting everyone back to their seats from the two intervals!

Very interesting post! I remember Jane Devine very well. She now teaches in Australia and is a friend of several friends of mine so I will see if any of them remembers the tutu. It does look familiar but I couldn't say for certain which ballet it is from. If I can find out anything for you, I will post.

ENB casting for all performances of "Sleeping Beauty" including the Coliseum has been put on their website: October 17 Rojo – Muntagirov 18 Takahashi – Acosta (matinee) 18 Oliveira – Gruzdyev (evening) 19 Rojo – Muntagirov 20 Cao – Konvalina (matinee) 20 Glurdjidze - Vargas (evening) 30 Takahashi –Acosta 31 Glurdjidze - Vargas November 1 Ovsyanick – Berlanga (matinee) 1 Oliveira – Gruzdyev (evening) 2 Cao – Konvalina 3 Glurdjidze – Vargas (matinee) 3 Rojo – Muntagirav (evening) 28 Rojo – Muntagirov 29 Glurdjidze – Vargas (matinee) 29Takahashi – Acosta (evening) 30 Cao – Berlanga December 1 Rojo – Muntagirov (matinee) 1 Oliveira - Gruzdyev (evening) January 9 Rojo – Muntagirov 10 Takahashi – Acosta 11 Oliveira – Gruzdjev 12 Cao – Konvalina (matinee) 12 Glurdjidze – Vargas (evening) 13 Rojo – Muntagirov (matinee) 15 Ovsyanick – Berlanga (matinee) 15 Takahashi – Acosta (evening) 16 Oliveira – Gruzdyev 17 TBC (matinee) 17 Cao – Konvalina (evening) 18 Glurdjidze – Vargas 19 TBC (matinee) 19 Rojo - Muntagirov (evening) * Cast may be subject to change ** Cast list pertains to evening performances unless otherwise stated

For those that are interested, the new artistic line-up for ENB has just been made public: Artistic Director Tamara Rojo Principal Repetiteur Jose Martin Associate Artistic Director Loipa Araujo Associate Artist George Williamson Ballet Mistress Hua Fang Zhang Antony Dowson continues as Repetiteur.

Glad to see you use the term capriola intrecciata in your explanation of an entrechat. Intrecciata comes from the verb "intrecciare" of which one meaning is "to interweave" and this is the translation Mary Skeaping and I used in translating (published in 1988) the 18th century dance treatise "Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Dancing" by Gennaro Magri, a renowned Grotesco dancer. His explanation of what we now call entrechats is remarkably clear and explains how to count the "cuts" which is by each movement of the legs, i.e. in what is now called an entrechat quatre there are four leg movements (open, close, open close) very much as taught by the Cecchetti method. In Magri's time "capriola" or "capriole" referred to any jump requiring elevation rather than the specific cabriole of today. There are 23 subsections in his chapter on caprioles, each one listing several variations, and today's balletgoers might be amazed at how many of the jumps we consider virtuosic/acrobatic today were being performed in the 18th century! With regard to the series of entrechats quatre for Albrecht in "Giselle", these were introduced by Nureyev when he first danced the ballet in the west.

Just heard from Vadim Muntagirov that his visa has finally been granted so we can look forward now to his performances in "Sleeping Beauty".

For documentaries, there is "Ballets Russes" and the DVD contains lots of extra material which is almost better than the film itself! For those who haven't heard, the British Film Institute is running a series of films about or featuring Anna Pavlova over the next two weeks. Ticket price per film is £10 - rather a shame they are only showing one film per day for those of us who have to add on the cost of travelling into London.

Thanks to toursenlair for posting the rehearsal clip and for Elliepops's report. It is not only Huw Edwards who did not read the programme - a review on bbc.co.uk this morning said exactly the same thing, that all the dancers were from the Royal Ballet! The photographs posted on Facebook by my friends in ENB show fantastic make-up that was lost on camera as the whole thing appeared to be a fuzzy mess to me! It was certainly a long wait to see the ballet - I was beginning to think it might have appeared in the pre-show! I suppose it is understandable that the camerawork was so bad if there was no rehearsal in the actual stadium (cameras for the opening ceremonies were given plenty of chances to rehearse!). The ENB girls certainly enjoyed themselves on what was officially the first day of their holiday and can chalk up another Olympic experience, having danced a segment of "Swan Lake" on two occasions for the Gymnastics on the very spongy floormat and in between performances at the Coliseum!

You may be interested to know that there was a company drinks party to say goodbye to Rosalyn Whitten and Maina Gielgud after the performance on Thursday night (probably that night because the company didn't have a matinee on Friday although a lot of the girls had a rehearsal for the closing ceremony of the Olympics). Surprisingly, no mention of Wayne was included in the notice about the party. There is a lovely photo on Facebook of Rosalyn surrounded by her swans, all wearing 'gold' medals which I believe were from her. It would have been lovely if we, the audience, had been able to bid farewell to them as a group but I agree with Alison that personal letters and cards are probably the way to go in this situation (I am sure Sarah Malin at ENB will forward them).

Last night was my third and final visit to ENB’s “Swan Lake” at the Coliseum to see Begona Cao and Esteban Berlanga in the leading roles, who were granted an extra performance due to Elena Glurdjidze’s foot injury. This couple have only clocked up a handful of performances in this ballet since their single debut performance at the Coliseum in 2008, yet they must be the most charismatic partnership in the company and I hope Tamaro Rojo will develop and promote this. Although not possessed of Muntagirov’s fearsome technical virtuosity, Berlanga impresses with his easy elegance, fine sense of line and emotional depths and he must be every little, and not so little, girl’s dream of the handsome prince. Cao’s hugely expressive eyes could tell us all we need to know about her Odette/Odile but this is matched with a formidable technique that is all delicacy as Odette and searing sexuality as Odile. Together she and Berlanga are dynamite in the Black Swan pas de deux and I have to say their beautiful mime scene in Act II was exemplary in its clarity. They have one more performance on Thursday 9 August and I would urge you to grab a ticket if you can! Sandwiched between her Cygnet in Acts II and IV, was Anjuli Hudson’s charming debut in the Act III Neapolitan Dance, ably partnered by Van Le Ngoc. He also appeared in the Act I pas de quatre and, although his pairing with Guillerme Menezes did not have quite the panache as when the Menezes twins dance this together, the duet for the two boys was nevertheless stylishly danced. Nancy Osbaldeston made a poised and sparkling debut in the first solo. Kei Akahoshi can always be relied upon to bring finesse to whatever she dances and this was especially true of the second solo. Along with Anjuli Hudson, Jennie Harrington and Desiree Ballantyne, she is also part of the quartet of Cygnets who will be dancing every performance during the run. I would also like to give special mention to Jenna Lee and Laurretta Summerscales who are perfectly matched and perfectly synchronised as the Lead Swans. The Act IV swans are simply sublime. In fact, halfway through the run and at the end of a 13 month season, the whole company appears fresh and totally committed - an outstanding tribute to the outgoing Artistic team.

Robin64 is correct that you have to click on the production (under "What's On) on the ENB website rather than Events or Learning where you would think these should be listed - not very keen on the website design as it seems to presuppose you know your way around it. They also usually list them on the publicity leaflets for each venue. I helped out at the "Giselle" workshops a few years ago and I assume the format is much the same for "Swan Lake": there is usually a warm-up class on stage and then a simplified section of a corps de ballet dance from the production is taught. Sometimes participants are encouraged to come up with their own choreography on a theme connected with the production. After that, they have refreshments in another room in the theatre and Amelia Carrington-Lee usually talks about wigs and make-up and may make up a volunteer as one of the characters in the ballet. There are usually costumes, wigs and shoes for the participants to inspect. At this point, for "Giselle", I went through the story with them and taught them all the mime gestures and then the participants were encouraged to ask questions. I imagine there would be something similar for "Swan Lake". Finally, they are taken back to the auditorium to watch company class. The Learning Department staff who take these sessions are very adept at adapting to the age level of the participants so that they all feel included. Hopefully this information is of use and I hope Tulte's DD enjoys herself!

No news yet on the success of Vadim Muntagirov's work visa application but readers might be interested to hear that Daria Klimentova has told me she and Vadim will be dancing "Swan Lake" in Moscow on 28 August - thankfully he doesn't need a visa for that!

Of course, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the brief will be followed!

There are a couple of points here I might be able to throw some light on. I asked Wayne Eagling several years ago why casting was advertised so late for ENB and he said it was his hope that people would come to see the company as a whole rather than individual dancers. In theory this is fine but I think we possibly all have dancers we prefer in certain roles. It may be that Tamara Rojo reverts to the previous policy of advertising principal casting on the publicity material. At present, even the principals do not know which performances they are going to do until a few weeks beforehand. I can assure Don Q that there was every hope at ENB that Vadim would be back in time to do both his performances. Certainly this was the case when I was at a rehearsal last Saturday. I beileve Takahashi and Konvalina only had 24 hours notice, or less, that they would be doing opening night, such was the hope of Vadim's return. By Friday afternoon it was known that Vadim would not be able to return by Sunday and it was only that evening, after their dress rehearsal, that Anais Chalendard and Junor Souza were told that they would be making their debuts on Sunday. SusanR - with the best will in the world, I don't think Konvalina and Takahashi could have danced three days in a row. The alternative would have been Begona Cao and Esteban Berlanga but perhaps management thought the excitement of a couple making their debut would compensate for not seeing Vadim? Anyway, I hope those at today's performance felt it was worth seeing. I agree that the whole debacle over visas does make the company look disorganised and it is such a shame it had to happen during Wayne Eagling's last few weeks with the company, and with the dancer he discovered and nurtured! The wonderful Philip Maddock used to look after work visas for non-EU dancers but it appears his replacement has not yet got to grips with the process. I don't think I am speaking out of turn to report that one dancer found herself deported to the US during the recent tour with Flawless! Luckily things are obviously more organised in the US and she returned within a couple of weeks. It seems to me that the sooner a new Administrator (or Chief Executive as the post is now called) the calibre of Craig Hassell is appointed, the better for all concerned!

I almost think the credits for ENB's "Swan Lake" should be: Production by Derek Deane and Choreography by Ashton and Ivanov, not forgetting the Act I solo for Siegfried which was created by Nureyev for himself! Aileen, I am so glad you enjoyed the matinee. I was there as well and I quite agree that Act IV was superb (I believe this is also Ashton's version for the corps de ballet) and I cannot think of a better leaving present for Rosalyn Whitten than seeing the girls dance so beautifully and so soulfully! This is doubly impressive as most of the girlts will be dancing in every single Act in every single performance because so many of their colleagues are off injured. Although Dima Gruzdyev doesn't have the sense of line needed for the Act I solo, I thought he really came alive in the Black Swan pas de deux, showing off his panther-like jump with wonderful soft landing, and he is also the most marvellous, unobtrusive partner. Fernanda Oliveira always impresses me with the passion she brings to her roles and I loved the way she changed from the timid, soulful Odette to an Odile sizzling with sensuality and imperiousness, then back to the despairing Odette (when she went down into the 'Dying Swan' pose before Siegfried arrived in Act IV, every part of her body, including her fingertips conveyed her utter despair at being betrayed). I prefer Petipa's pas de trois (which is done in the "in-the-round" production) to Ashton's pas de quatre but it was danced extremely well by Shiori Kase, Laurretta Summerscales and the Menezes twins (I think all making their debut although there are no indications of this on the cast list). Overall it was a thrilling performance and the audience gave them a very loud ovation. For transport reasons, I could only stay for Acts 1-3 of the evening performance to see Erina Takahashi and Zdenek Konvalina. Erina gave a very moving Act II and was on fire in Act III, whipping off several doubles in her fouette sequence, and looking every inch the seductress. What most people would not have known is that she was suffering from a very bad headcold and high temperature, as she was on opening night, which makes her perfectly placed turns even more remarkable! Konvalina danced very well but seemed rather subdued and it would have been nice to have a bit more passion from him. Again the pas de quatre was superbly danced, this time by Crystal Costa, Adela Ramirez, Ken Saruhashi and Junor Souza (the night before his debut as Siegfried!). Crystal Costa then delighted the audience with her Neapolitan Dance in Act III along with Barry Drummond who has a very charming stage personality and oodles of technique. All in all, an extremely enjoyable day at the ballet!

Tim, you need to chat up Wayne or Maina although this advice seems redundant now! Seriously, I am very privileged to be able to watch rehearsals because of my work with the company on "Giselle". As Alison, says, usual route is via the Friends unless you are a registered photographer for the company. Fabian Reimair danced the mad owl/crazed birdman, aka Von Rothbart, at yesterday's rehearsal as Zhanat Atymtayev was having a possible injury investigated. Hopefully he will be okay for Sunday's performance. Thankfully, his visa is in order!

Just back from this afternoon's rehearsal and the word is that Daria is not performing at all as Vadim is unlikely to make it back for Sunday. I believe Anais Chalendard and Junor Souza may be making their debut earlier than expected (well worth catching). Word from Vadim is that unfortunately 40,000 Russians applied for visas to vist the Olympics which is why his work visa is taking so long! The show looks great despite so many dancers off injured - ENBS students doing a sterling job of filling in for them.