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Fonty

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  1. Fonty
    Can we have that version back, please? Not that I can remember it all that clearly, but I loved it every time I saw it. I still don't know why Dowell felt it was necessary to change it so much. Yes, I know that he said he was taking it back so that it was closer to the original, but when you have a wonderful production, why bother?
  2. Fonty
    Was that the one where he ended up singing upside down at the end, being held by the dancers? I thought it was brilliant. I am so envious that you got to speak to him. Lucky you, he was one of the best live stage performers I have ever seen.
  3. Fonty
    I particularly like the climbing out of the well move!
  4. Fonty
    I think the grounded quality of Contemporary dance is one of the reasons I like it less than classical ballet. I love the beauty of the controlled jumps, and wish the present choreographers would put more of these in their pieces. And I adore batterie as well. That used to be the thing that I excelled at when I took lessons, which is why I like it so much. I'd rather see twinkling footwork than massive extensions.
  5. Fonty
    I have a theory, but I don't think it is appropriate for this thread, or indeed for this forum. It involves a very nasty word. Politics.
  6. Fonty
    I would have thought that a lot of this could go on the Classical v Contemporary thread, couldn't it? I thought that would provoke a lively discussion, but there are not that many posts on there.
  7. Fonty
    Do the same issues arise when talking about the other art form which takes up a lot of time at the Royal Opera House? Do opera audiences want new, innovative operas that will attract a wider, or younger audience? Or are they happy with the tried and trusted? I know nothing about opera, BTW. Last one I went to was in 1983, or thereabouts.
  8. Fonty
    Oh dear, the word xenophobia has raised its head again. I never get the impression that CC is criticising something because it is created by a foreigner. Eurotrash has a fairly specific meaning, named because it originated in Europe (at least, that is my understanding of the word.)
  9. Fonty
    I think a lot of critics are quite predictable. They all have their favourites. I don't always agree with Mr CC, but I love his written pieces because the man can make me laugh.
  10. Fonty
    Regarding your last sentence, this seems to me a bit like saying "I go to listen to music, not Mozart or Modern Jazz". All right, contemporary dance isn't quite as divorced from classical ballet as jazz from Mozart. However, a lot of the pieces I have seen at the ROH have been as mystifying to me as modern jazz A weird collection of movements by dancers doing their own thing and pushing their bodies to the limit, while the sound track seems to have the sole purpose of keeping the rhythm, or hiding the dancers' panting and puffing. And I am left scratching my head at the end wondering what on earth it was all about.
  11. Fonty
    Oh, please could someone give us the gist of Mr CC's review? I do miss them now that the FT insists that I sign up for them!
  12. Fonty
    I have always wondered why the Royal Ballet appointed an in house choreographer who was, in their own words, "the first contemporary choreographer to hold the post." What was the thinking behind it? Surely a classical ballet company should have a resident choreographer who creates those sorts of ballets. And if they want a contemporary piece, then either commission one occasionally, or bring something in from another company.
  13. Fonty
    I am so glad you started this thread, Sim, because this question has also been raised in the Swan Lake thread.
  14. Fonty
    I don't see how anybody could go to the ballet and chomp away while the dancers are performing. But I seem to remember going to a talk once, where someone said the dancers hated doing mid week matinee performances, because the people in the stalls seats were all munching sandwiches. Edited to add that they were talking about performances in the 1960s, I think.
  15. Fonty
    I think this could be an excellent topic for a new thread, if anyone wants to start one!
  16. Fonty
    It is difficult to come up with an appropriate term for the type of choreography I had in mind. I was thinking of works such as those produced by McGregor, where the choreographer seems determined to make the body look as ugly as possible. I can't give any other examples of choreographers that I would also put in this category, apart from Ashley Page. I tend to avoid anything by these people, because I simply don't like them. Perhaps modern contemporary, as opposed to classical contemporary?
  17. Fonty
    As a matter of interest, has Muntagirov performed any of the contemporary roles? I don't mean with the RB, I mean anywhere? I see him as such a perfect example of a classical ballet dancer, I would consider it an outrage if I saw him jerking and distorting his body in one of Mr McGregor's offerings. Just my personal opinion, of course!
  18. Fonty
    Especially if, to judge by the Swan Lake thread, they don't seem to have the time to make sure that every aspect of their bread and butter classical ballet is as good as it can be. i've not booked to see this triple ballet, because the Balanchine would be the only piece I would want to see. I normally love MacMillan, but I do find Song very dreary, I'm afraid. How are ticket sales doing?
  19. Fonty
    No, I wouldn't be happy either. And I particularly dislike it when I get a ticket for one of the first performances of a production, and find it has clearly been under rehearsed. I realise that sometimes there will be a few wobbles or problems as the dancers get used to a new staging, but if that is the case then they should offer Preview rates, as they do in theatre productions. If I am paying full price for my seat, I am not interested in excuses. I know that people will tell me that this is impractical, that dancers are not machines, that people cannot anticipate what will happen in a live performance etc etc. But while I can understand that the dancers have a heavy schedule, it still annoys me!
  20. Fonty
    Ripped stockings? I haven't seen the production for a long time, I am intrigued!
  21. Fonty
    I hope Scarlett reads both Luke Jennings and this forum. And if he hasn't, perhaps someone could have a word in his ear.
  22. Fonty
    I was also quite upset when people misinterpreted my remarks yesterday. I find it rather depressing that someone cannot use the word "foreign", as in the sense of unfamiliar, without having to deal with insults that suggest that they are racist, xenophobic, or whatever. Could people please read what the poster is actually saying, rather than leap to conclusions based on the use of certain words.
  23. Fonty
    I have to say that the steward's reaction doesn't fill me with great confidence. If he is reduced to tears by that situation, how would he cope if there was an emergency on the plane? I feel sorry for them as well. I wonder what would have happened if they had refused to leave? Presumably the police would have had to arrest them all. But I still question why they were allowed to take their seats in the first place. Presumably the whole flight was held up, and all the passengers suffer as a result. Edited to add I am flying Ryanair soon, which is why the article caught my eye.
  24. Fonty
    I read this story this morning, and I really don't know what to make of it at all. http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-stag-party-thrown-ryanair-8879092 If a party of people were deemed to be so badly behaved at the boarding stage that the police were called, then why were they allowed to board the plane at all? The men claim to have only had some food and ‘a pint’ and were not drunk. Or course,they could be making themselves out to be innocent, when in fact they were a drunken mob. But something doesn’t seem quite right here, if other people on the flight were standing up for them. And details such as the male steward “bursting into tears”, and the Captain emerging and putting his arm around him and comforting him sound downright odd to me.
  25. Fonty
    Poor you, I hope you are successful.
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