Fonty

I've never been disturbed by anyone foot tapping. But I have encountered a fair few people who sway in time to the music. Quite often sitting right in front of me......

Please, this is not the place to be discussing the monarchy. If people want to discuss this, I am sure there are plenty of other forums for that.

Exactly. My comment about the choice of cast was because it was an official occasion. I have nothing against either Magri or Ball, I would hate anyone to think that. But as someone mentioned Lynn Seymour, I am pretty certain that if a performance was being attended by the Queen as Head of State at that time, then Fonteyn and Nureyev would have been dancing, not matter who was originally scheduled to do so. @Tango Dancer It was not my intention to start a discussion about the monarchy, it is not relevant to this particular issue.

Which is the problem with freebies. People often don't appreciate them as much as they should. I have no doubt that people who didn't come had a very good reason for not turning up, of course, but if there were a lot of empty seats, that would have been a real pity.

I am a bit confused. I know that people on here bought their own tickets, so the ROH was getting the money twice over? And if the invited guests who had a free ticket couldn't turn up, wouldn't it have been a nice gesture to sell them for £20 (or whatever) at the last minute to the regulars? People like me who live in London and could have turned up at very short notice?

Warning This is possibly a controversial post but: Why were Magri and Ball chosen as the leads for this very special occasion? Surely the obvious choice would have been Nunez and Muntagirov? There must have been sufficient notice about this for a swap around of casts if necessary? I am not saying the principals performing last night were not capable. But the other two are an extremely experienced and established paring. They seem the obvious choice for a performance where an extra touch of nerves might have have been expected. Not to mention wildly popular.

I notice none of the dancers were giving a little bob curtsey or bow when speaking to the King. Were they told not to? And did I see Darcey Bussell kissing Camilla? On that topic, who was the lady Charles kissed when entering the building? Who did curtsey, I saw.

I thought the same. It seem as though they were crying out the gypsy equivalent of "Get 'em off." And perhaps it is my warped and evil mind, but the way in which the female dancer responds seemed to be appropriate for those words. Even if she does remain decently clad....

I have seen so many problems when dancers are doing fouettés, and almost always because the dancer is attempting to do something more complicated than single ones, gets out of time with the music, and loses their way. Why do they feel they have to do this now? Nobody in the audience is going to think the less of a dancer who doesn't attempt doubles, triples, or anything else. The singles are impressive enough; why make it harder?

I am glad everyone else enjoyed the evening. I was so looking forward to it, and my local Odeon doesn't always put on the live feed from the ROH. Not surprised if only 4 people turn up. Having said that, it does seem to be very badly publicised. I told several people about it, and they didn't realise it was on. It seems that unless you are a regular at the ROH, (or the cinema) then you are unlikely to see any advanced publicity about it. I did feel sorry for the Odeon staff, as the power cut meant every screen cut out, not just ours. I bumped into a disgruntled customer as I was going to see what was happening, and he was half way through his film when the blackout occurred and was fuming. Later on, apparently there was an altercation by the popcorn stand, with members of the public shouting, swearing, and threatening violence. The very young chap dealing with the situation was dreadfully upset about the whole thing. So, what was the official reason for the attendance by King Charles? And who were the specially invited guests?

Well that was exciting. Got to the cinema and sat there with the other 2 people who had booked. Watched the countdown on the screen get to 4 minutes.....and the screen went blank. After about 5 minutes a member of staff came in and asked if the screen had been on before. Turned out the entire cinema had experienced a power cut. We heard someone in the room behind us shouting expletives into a phone as he tried to sort things out. Eventually the picture was restored but not the sound. We admired Darcey's earrings, saw the King and Queen arrive, watched a soundless overture by the orchestra, and then some silent dancing. One of the other audience members tried to find the music for Don Quixote on her phone, and we sat for about 20 minutes in case the sound came back. Eventually we trooped out, got our money back, and walked home.

I have to say I would have been very surprised indeed if it had been. I very much doubt if the King would have asked for existing ticket holders to be moved in order to accommodate his own guests. It isn't the way the monarchy usually does things in the UK.

I have booked my ticket for tomorrow at the cinema. Looks like it will be a packed house - all 8 of us. Incidentally, why does it say "Recorded" beside the date for every cinema? Does it usually say that?

A few years ago a cinema in London was showing masses of Pathé News segments. I used to love these when I was a nipper. If they include more than one verse of the National Anthem, I hope they include the words on the cast list. Don't want to do a John Redwood now, do we?

Pure speculation on my part, but are there any names associated with Don Quixote? I am thinking perhaps a very famous ballerina of the past? I have absolutely no names in mind at all. Alternatively, with this amount of fuss I don't think it would be Royalty, they tend to be very low key. Possibly a President? I do love a bit of speculation.

I am confused. Why would the new King attending the ROH for a performance require a specially invited audience and lots of seats taken away? He has been many times before, they don't usually do that. I have been to the theatre on a couple of occasions, and the first any of us knew about a member of the royal family attending was when they walked in and the national anthem was played. Is it purely because it is being filmed?

The critics usually turn up for the first night, so that is the dancer that gets the publicity. Unless they have a preference for another dancer, or the publication they are writing for has very deep pockets. I do miss the days when at least two different casts got reviewed, and/or a debut as well as an established dancer. Why is Campbell used so little? I know he isn't as tall as some of the other males, but he isn't a midget. I don't get the impression that all the ladies are very tall these days, surely there are one or two who are on the petite side?

Oh how I wish we could go back to the rep system. Sounds like my idea of heaven. How wonderful to think that an Ashton triple bill would pop up several times a year, rather than for a couple of weeks in the summer when I am undoubtedly going to be away. And it would benefit those who like McGregor as well, surely, as some of his popular ballets would get more frequent performances? Also, wouldn't it benefit the dancers, as it might enable them to specialise in a certain type of choreographer for a lengthy period, rather than having to have to cope with the technical challenges of wildly different types? Fewer injuries, maybe? Yes, I know, it is never going to happen. But I can dream.

I am going to the BFI twice in November, so I will enjoy the exhibition.

That might have been the case for the Sleeping Beauty, but presumably there must have been other ballets where the roles were handed out more evenly? What about something like Fille? Coppelia? Romeo and Juliet? I know that in the days when the RB performed more matinees, that was often the time when younger dancers or ones new to the role would perform.

I am not a Friend. I haven't booked to see the Nutcracker for years.

Very well done to all the participants. I can't help thinking that I preferred the old title for the competition, though. Good heavens, that is a rather short skirt Darcey Bussell is wearing. And those heels. Makes my eyes water just looking at them!

Maybe this ought to be on a separate thread, rather than on the Don Quixote one. However, I have to say that the idea of rejigging a masterpiece to make it more "acceptable" fills me with horror. All that is necessary is to make sure that the character of Alain is performed in the sympathetic way it was originally intended, and is not allowed to descend into some sort of grotesque caricature. I cannot think of any other way it could or should be played. Also, I want to see the roles in La Fille danced by people who are comfortable and accomplished in the Ashton style. They may very well be some of the younger members of the company, but it would certainly provide a significant challenge.

I wasn't criticising the fundraising attempt. It was the fact that the publicity states that they have put a cap on someone purchasing more than 800 tickets that caught my eye. I have never, ever seen that in any competition of any sort before. It was the idea that an individual might have £8000 knocking about in loose change to spend on these sorts of tickets. If they've got that kind of money, they could make a separate donation, pay for full price tickets, and leave the raffle to those who can less afford to buy top price seats in the stalls.

It really does depend who is sitting in front of you, as I have discovered on many occasions at the Royal Opera House. I've never forgotten forking out for one of the most expensive stalls seats for Morera's last Cinderella, only to have a huge man sit in front of me, blocking most of the right hand side of the stage. I was leaning forward so far I was practically sitting in his lap. I did check with the people behind me in case I was blocking their view. The man couldn't help his height, but I wondered if he could have arranged himself in his seat so that he was little shorter. My husband is tall, but he has perfected that art of slumping comfortably so that the people behind can see. Yes, me too. I have gone in for these draws before, but I am not really interested in seeing the Nutcracker anyway. Now, if it was Fille? I might have bought a couple.