Lynette H

I see that opera and dance magazines are now for sale again in the shop. 

Details are out now. Includes a new programme from Alina Cojocaru, new work from Crystal Pite, Ballet Boyz, final Richard Alston performances, new Khan for ENB, Northern Ballet, Rambert with DV8's Enter Achilles and lots more. 

Package booking opened for the winter season this morning, despite the web site previously saying it would open on the 24th September. 

There are more tickets available for the previously completely sold out Cross Currents bill available now, for all performances, up to 25 available. The ROH Box Office moves in mysterious ways. 

From "From the Box Office" site - they say 45% off

https://www.fromtheboxoffice.com/city/2957-london/XVRA-alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater-programme-a-lazarus-revelations/?utm_source=From+The+Box+Office+Newsletter&utm_campaign=09ac4179a7-AlvinAileySolus&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0ab28542ae-09ac4179a7-95557993&mc_cid=09ac4179a7&mc_eid=7a07d33fc9

Unusual to see a special offer for this - its usually packed when they come

Gesham College has announced its new lecture series for the coming year and one of its strands in ballet, more particularly the Ballet Russes. Presenter is Martina Frolova-Walker. There are six in the series. All are ticketed (but free). 

The college has been providing free lectures for the last 400 years. Usually they are recorded and accessible online later. 

Details here

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/series/diaghilev-and-the-ballets-russes/?mc_cid=76d9e5fe84&mc_eid=67ea143a9a

Dane Hurst appears at Wilton's Music Hall on 19th and 20th August. It's a piece about male suicide (not a cheery subject I know...) created with film maker Tom Rowland. 

Details here

http://www.wiltons.org.uk/whatson/583-falling-man

I see Oxana Panchenko is listed as a guest artist.

I will miss John's pithy assessments of choreography and performances, crisply delivered in the intervals, and his calm good sense.  It was always such a pleasure to talk with him. His dance interests were very broad and you would find him at some more avant garde performances at Sadler's at well as at ballet. He was always  affable and happy to agree or disagree with the utmost politeness and good humour. 

My sincere condolences to his family and friends. He will be much missed. 

https://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/discover/alumni/graduate-contracts-2019/

For packages, if you are booking single (or double or whatever) tickets, select the seats for each item in the package, add to basket, then go to checkout and pay. If then you want to buy another set of tickets ( i.e. another package, for the same or different dates/ casts) start again and put the selected dates / cast in your basket, checkout and pay.  That works. So if you want say 3 x Manon, 3 X Beauty,  3 x Coppelia, etc you need to buy 3 separate packages.  But you don't loose your place in the queue. 

The ROH has put a tribute to Julia Farron up on its news pages

https://www.roh.org.uk/news/remembering-julia-farron

However I rather winced at 

"During her time with the Company she created several roles including Psyche (Ashton’s Cupid and Psyche), Princess Belle-Épine (Ashton’s The Prince of the Pagodas), Berta (Ondine) and Jocasta (John Cranko’s Antigone)."

Ashton's Prince of the Pagodas ? Cranko.  Surely someone could have checked this. 

If you want to find out more about the history of this particular theatre, I'd recommend "The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi" by Andrew McConnell Stott.  Life in the early 19th century theatre - triumph, comedy, love, tragedy. It's a very well written biography, a compelling read. 

This takes place 6-8 July at St Hilda's college.  

"At DANSOX's Inaugural Summer School, Alastair Macaulay will give guest lectures on Petipa, Balanchine and Cunningham. Richard Alston will give a lecture on Cunningham's influence in relation to his work. Leading dance scholars will give seminars on dance history and theory. There will be unique lecture demonstrations on technical and choreographic practice led by Susie Crow and Jennifer Jackson, formerly of the Royal Ballet, and film showings."

Full details here

https://www.sthildas.ox.ac.uk/content/dansox-inaugural-summer-school

£15 per day, including lunch. 

SFB came in 2008 and brought us three programmes of new work then. I stumbled on this thread from the old ballet.co forum about it

http://web.archive.org/web/20081121101547/http://www.ballet.co.uk/dcforum/happening/6805.html

I was interested to see that they brought Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour on that trip, very soon after it was made. At the time it didn't make such an impression. It seems to have grown in stature since then. 

I wondered which pieces from this years offerings might have such a successful future life. 

One thing that did strike me as odd. Usually at Sadler's there are quite a few dance school groups in attendance during the week, occupying the upper reaches of the second circle,  chattering like flocks of starlings. I didn't see any groups this time  on any visit. Perhaps that made the place feel emptier ? (The stalls always seemed quite full).  But why wouldn't these programmes attract schools ?  

Something of a tangent, I know, but seeing Firebird again kindled some old memories. Does anyone recall seeing Dance Theatre of Harlem's production of the Firebird which came to the Coliseum sometime in the 80's (I think).  It was very striking. I think the dancer playing the Firebird descended on wires to preside over the final tableau.  Does anyone remember this ? 

There were lots of terrific things about SFB's visit, but one thing struck me which I don't think I've seen remarked on anywhere. The lighting. In all these new works, you could actually see the dancers. The gloom which is so prevalent in new productions in London was just not in evidence.  It was great to see what was on stage properly. If only it could happen more often....

I think Muriel Valtat did Odette/Odile in the Dowell production, and she wasn't a principal. 1998. 

The orchestra in the pit was a fairy modest size for this triple bill.  If the ROH was ever going to reinstate the seating in those areas of the stalls circle closest to the stage, this would have seemed to be an opportunity. But they didn't. So maybe we should conclude that those seats are gone for good ? 

There was a notice up by the bar in the amphi (on Tues this week) that an exhibition on Fonteyn was beginning to be installed and would be completed in about a week's time.  There were just a few empty cases at the time - it wasn't clear how extensive this exhibition was going to be, but if anyone spots further developments, please let us know. 

There seem to be 35 tickets now available for the previously sold out 4 June performance.  (at lest at time of posting...)

Jonathan Goddard was terrific. In yellow if you are catching up on the live stream.

The live stream events for the Cunningham centennial can all be accessed from here

https://www.mercecunningham.org/activities/night-of-100-solos/

Includes the performances in New York and Los Angeles as well as the London performance. 

Dancers in New York

Kyle Abraham, Christian Allen, Mariah Anton (understudy), Reid Bartelme, Jacqueline Bulnes, Cecily Campbell, Peiju Chien-Pott, Maggie Cloud, Jason Collins, Marc Crousillat, Angela Falk, Peter Farrow (understudy), Tamisha Guy, Jacquelin Harris, Forrest Hersey, Eleanor Hullihan, Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Claude “CJ” Johnson, Lindsey Jones, Sara Mearns, Sharon Milanese, Chalvar Monteiro, David Norsworthy, Keith Sabado, Vicky Shick, Joshua Tuason, and Anson Zwingelberg

Dancers in Los Angeles

Paige Amicon, Cemiyon Barber (understudy), Barry Brannum, Lorrin Brubaker, Rena Butler, Tamsin Carlson, Erin Dowd, Katherine Helen Fisher, Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson, Casey Hess, Thomas House, Laurel Jenkins, Burr Johnson, Vanessa Knouse, Cori Kresge, Brian Lawson, Jessica Liu, Victor Lozano, Una Ludviksen (understudy), Daniel McCusker, Polly Motley, Jermaine Maurice Spivey, Savannah Spratt, Pam Tanowitz, Ros Warby, Riley Watts, and Sam Wentz

I think this is available for one week. 

The Jury this year (buried deep in the benois web site) 

List of the Jury 2019

YURI GRIGOROVICH – President;
DIRK BADENHORST – CEO of the South African International Ballet Competition, Director of Mzansi Ballet andCuDanSA school;
TED BRANDSEN – Director of Het National Ballet;
SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA – Primaballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia;
ANA LAGUNA – International Star, ballet master and coach;
AGNES LETESTU –Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, costume designer;
VLADIMIR MALAKHOV – International Star, coach, choreographer;
RACHEL MOORE – President and CEO of the LosAngeles Music Center.

I noticed from the cast sheet from Saturday's matinee that Guest Principal Coaches were given as Leanne Benjamin, Viviana Durante and Robert Tewsley.  Benjamin and Durante are certainly names you might expect and have previously coached at the RB. But I don't recall Robert Tewsley as a coach before. Was he (very briefly) with the RB ? Does anyone recall him as Romeo elsewhere in his career ? 

I understood (from the streamed Insight) that Watson was coaching, but he doesn't get a mention on the cast sheet - presumably because he's not a guest.