Lynette H

There was something with Gavin Sutherland on In Tune, sometime last week I think, but not sure of the exact day.

There's an article in Dance Tabs specifically about the Foyer de Danse reconstruction. I think I remember from the Foundation Masterclass that Ursula Hageli said that they had managed to reconstruct all but a few bars. https://dancetabs.com/2019/11/ashton-rediscovered-masterclass-foyer-de-danse-and-the-le-papillon-solo/

Bourne's Nutcracker at Sadler's and The Snowman at the Peacock are also on offer. https://officiallondontheatre.com/new-year-sale/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=COMB_21_12_07 NYS General On Sale (1)&spMailingID=46056773&spUserID=NzcxMTkyMzEyNTk2S0&spJobID=2140620329&spReportId=MjE0MDYyMDMyOQS2

Not tv, but not sure where else to put this. There's a 45 minute programme available on BBC sounds. It's a Music Matters programme from yesterday about the new Spielberg film production of West Side Story and it includes contributions from Spielberg, Sondheim, and the choreographer Justin Peck. An entertaining listen. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00126td

You are not alone. Still can't sign in using chrome. I find it astonishing that they haven't got round to fixing this before public booking opens.

Managed to get SL tickets via Edge but still can't sign in on Chrome. Not everything is fixed yet. Wierdly, even though I can't sign in via Chrome, SL shows as available and you can put tickets in the basket - though if you aren't signed in, how do they know you are a Friend ?

Ironically enough, in the email they just sent to say booking is open, the link to the Winter Draft Works programme actually works - but it's sold out.

Similiar problems here. Can log on in Edge but not Chrome but Swan Lake and R&J do not appear under what's on anymore

Harmonica Breakdown - it really is tremendous and I haven't seen it in years. Sounds like a great mixed bill. So sorry to hear of Dane Hurst's departure.

Sadler's Wells have been adding new shows into their offerings for this year. I think a number of forum members have previously seen Ballet Cymru who are there for just one performance https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/ballet-cymru/ There are other shows which I hadn't spotted there before - Rambert2, and, quite new to me, on 31 Oct GB Trials 2021 - "The event brings together the very best, all aiming to establish themselves as National Champions and go on to challenge the greatest breaking athletes from around the World. The winning breakers will represent Great Britain at the WDSF World Breaking Championships on December 4 2021 at the Theatre de Chatelet in Paris, France. This prestigious event is part of the Road to the 2024 Paris Olympics which will stage the inaugural appearance of Breaking at the Olympic Games in just over three years’ time." https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/gb-trials-2021/ (Some of these are venue hires rather than Sadler's shows, so no member discount).

They finished about 3:30pm, so yes, earlier then advertised. I think a promised segment on rehearsing The Dante Project may have gone missing around noon, which might account for it. But I was distracted at the time so I might have missed this.

At the Royal Ballet's performance of Romeo and Juliet on 5th October (the opening night), there was a group of three people in the same row as me who were applauding enthusiastically, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. But they didn't return after the second interval. Puzzling. Maybe someone was taken ill ? It wasn't a performance that you would think anyone would not want not to see completed.

It certainly looks like ballet and dance are resuming this autumn, but I was wondering just how patchy this is across the country. Most of the large ballet companies have announced performances this autumn and booking is open. So In London for example, the ROH is reopening, and Sadler's Wells has shows open for booking from this month through to January, as does The Place. But that doesn't mean dance is back at all venues. For example, the Southbank centre has no dance performances listed until April next year. The Barbican currently only lists a filmed performance for Ballet Black. There isn't any dance listed at quirkier places like the Coronet or the delightfully eccentric Wilton's, not major venues for dance, but where it regularly featured. So far I don't seem to have spotted listing of performances from companies like Ballet Boyz or Rambert. So I'm wondering just how smaller companies and venues have fared, where much of the work probably involved freelancers. And that's just looking at London - I'm sure the picture is quite complex and different across the country. I thought it would be interesting to hear from others about how their local arts economy seemed to be faring. I seem to recall quite early on in lockdown that a theatre in the midlands closed completely. (Northampton ?). Are there venues out there that don't seem to be coming back to life ? What's happening in your part of the world ? There are companies/ individuals based outside London which I've seen on their visits here for example, more or less at random, National Dance Company Wales, Aakash Odedra, Company Chameleon, Mark Bruce Company. Smaller companies seem to have had a much harder time of it. If there is any news of smaller companies planning a return to live performance, it would be good to have a thread about it.

I did enjoy that trip back in time in the Wayback time machine. 1997 was before the redevelopment. Entrance to the amphi at the ROH was separate from the rest of the venue and via a long, bleak stone staircase. It wasn't really possible to meet friends in other parts of the house during the intervals. Ballet.co was a great way of finding other enthusiasts who you might not be able to meet so easily in person at the theatre. (The bar up there in the amphi then was really tiny, run by a very efficient Japanese guy if I remember correctly. He was much friendlier than the bar staff in the posher areas. Didn't see him again after the reopening) Some of the external links from the old site still work. I managed to find Jim Fowler's site devoted to Sylvie Guillem. He was a frequent poster or participant in the chat page in those days. Thanks again for ballet.co Bruce

The Draft works programme appeared to be totally sold out before booking opened, or at lest by one minute past nine. Likewise the Ashton insight.

Looking at Sadler's website I also spotted a one-off show organised by Ivan Putrov on Sept 7th https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2021/i-do-lab-and-ivan-putrov-productions-ukranian-ballet-gala-tradition-innovation-celebration/ "Putrov productions and I-Do Lab present Ukrainian Ballet Gala, a unique celebration of the tradition and innovation of Ukrainian culture. Ukrainian dancers from American Ballet Theatre, Wiener Staatsballett, Lithuanian National Ballet and Toulouse Ballet du Capitole join stars from The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet in a programme which spans The Dying Swan, Don Quixote and Le Corsaire to System A/I, a contemporary ballet premiere from choreographer, Ludovic Ondiviela and dramaturg Olga Danylyuk. Dancers performing include Matthew Ball, Cesar Corrales, Mayara Magri, Isaac Hernandez, Denys Cherevychko, Natalia de Froberville, Olesya Shaitanova and artists of the Ukrainian National Ballet." Tickets look expensive.

The annual matinee was on Sat 10th July. The digital programme booklet can be found here https://royalballetschool.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Digital-Summer-Performance-Royal-Opera-House-10-July.pdf This also (page 15) gives a list of contracts for this years graduates, scattered across the world. Four ladies from the school join the RB Aud Jebsen programme. At one point it was announced that last years Aud Jebsen dancers would appear, as they had missed their graduation performance last year, but this didn't happen. It had also been announced that the performance would be upper school only, but they were able to include an appearance from White Lodge Year 11. A packed programme, over three hours in total, including a complete performance of Elite Syncopations. The Defile was a mix of virtual (screened) appearances from White Lodge mixed with the Upper School in person, ingeniously done.

I think Carlos Acosta didn't wear the frosted wig in Nutcracker, and his partner was dark-haired too. I think this has been noted on here before, though I'm not sure I can find the thread.

Special ticket offer via Official London THeatte SPECIAL OFFERTickets for £10, £20, £30 or £40 only* Valid for Wed, Thu and Sun performances Use the promo code OLT21 when you book online to receive 33% offApply the OLT21 code, then once you have selected your seats, choose the Concession price type, then select the 'Promo OLT' offer.A £3.50 transaction fee applies

It's the livestreaming of Balanchine / Robbins tonight. The performance in the theatre starts at 7pm - but the live streaming says it starts at 7:30. I think this must be deliberate - it's not really "live" but with a half hour delay. The Beauty stream also says it starts at 8pm. (later than the live show) I presume this gives them a chance to edit any blips ? Anyone have any further insight. (I would hate to log on at 7:30 and find that Apollo was just finishing...)

Details are here https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/solstice-daily-casting/

Ah, that must be it. I was looking at the what's on list, and saw the Ashton triple was followed in the list by Water for Chocolate, but didn't twig that Swan Lake was over such an extended period. Seems to be the new norm, as with R&J.

There seems to be a strange gap in the RB schedule with nothing between 2 May and 1 June. Perhaps there's another mixed bill or something to be added in here ? Very puzzling. The reduction in the number of programmes is depressing.

She was discussed on the old ballet.co forum Legends of British Ballet pages: http://web.archive.org/web/20060214193001/http://ballet.co.uk/old/legend_js_violetta_elvin.htm

Spotted at the very end of the list of the end of this article which discussed crafts in the UK added to the Heritage Crafts Associations endangered list - pointe shoe making, a new addition to the list. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/24/kilt-making-and-glassblowing-added-to-list-of-uks-endangered-crafts "Age-old crafts including the making of glass eyes, compasses and sporrans have been added to a “red list” of skills feared to be threatened with imminent extinction in the UK."