Fonty

Yes. And you would be able to pick your own seats, rather than take the ones they offer you. It would be interesting, though, to see what the management considers to be the best seats in the house.

I've just received the latest offer from the ROH. We are offering two lucky winners four top-price stalls tickets to The Nutcracker on either Wednesday 6 December, 7.30pm or Saturday 23 December, 12.30pm, alongside a host of festive treats – it's the ultimate Royal Opera House festive experience! Draw tickets are £10 each and all proceeds will support the Royal Opera House. The maximum number of tickets you can purchase for this draw is 800. I wonder if anyone here will attempt to purchase the maximum number of tickets! You do get a meal for 4 as well. And an ice cream voucher.

Sorry, something doesn't make sense in that biography of Julia. She must have been a pupil at White Lodge when she appeared in La Sylphide in 2005. When she would have been about 10 years old if she was in the first year at WL. So how come she joined the company in 2015, when she would have been about 20? Did she go somewhere else first? She must be about 28 now then?

Has Julia Roscoe suffered a lot of injuries? I remember seeing her as the little girl in La Sylphide in 2005, and thinking she was marvellous and one to watch. Not seen much of her since.

Oh dear, I obviously wasn't allowed to put a picture up as my entire post has vanished. It was from a Guardian review so it should have been ok but never mind., All I was saying was that the clip above for Anemoi looks rather charming, but it is a shame that so many new pieces have such bland costumes. I loved the ENB Forsythe bill at Sadler's Wells a couple of years ago, and the costumes were lovely, especially the ones for Playlist. Very flattering Greek tunic styles for the ladies in bright pink with blue pants. The men had matching blue trousers and pink shirts.

@Bruce Wall has copied the response he made to my post on the RB 2024 thread which I wrote yesterday on this topic. It is a very common theme which crops up in multiple threads. One of the things I said was "I know that MacMillan pushed the boundaries with many of his dramatic works, but it was still clearly based on classical ballet, and recognisable as such. He also produced works created specifically in order to maintain the dancers' classical technique, so he was well aware of the pitfalls of being too experimental. " I know Ashton did the same. I have seen the Cellist before, and enjoyed it, but wasn't desperate to see it again. I knew nothing about Anemoi apart from what I had read on here and wasn't particularly keen to buy a ticket on that basis. As so many people have said, this is a very short programme. I might have bought a ticket if there had been a third piece included, but only if it had been a tried and trusted piece of classical ballet.

Ah, that makes more sense! Don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place.

I wasn't referring to the promoting of ballet shoes, not sure where you got that idea from? I was responding to a post that has now been hidden, so it probably doesn't make much sense.

@FLOSS I enjoyed Don Quixote. I see nothing wrong with a light hearted ballet that enables a number of dancers to show off their technique in a selection of solos, with a less than serious story wrapped around it. Whether or not it should have been commissioned in the first place I couldn't say. There may be other ballets languishing in the RB's back catalogue that might have served the purpose equally well, but again I don't feel knowledgeable enough to pass comment. @Bruce Wall You have written a number of posts saying we need to celebrate the Royal Ballet as it is now, with regard to its current productions and presumable the company's eager embracing of the modern contortion style of the likes of McGregor. Well, sorry, but I for one don't feel the same way. On that basis, surely the company could dance anything in any style, and we would be expected to "celebrate" it. Hip hop? Jazz? Belly dancing? I am always interested to see something new, and have enjoyed many of ENB's works. I applaud a choreographer experimenting with different styles of music. I haven't seen the Black Sabbath production, but it sounds interesting and fun. However, I am less than enthusiastic about choreographers producing a new piece that seems to be so far removed from classical ballet that I wonder why the RB is performing it in the first place. I know that MacMillan pushed the boundaries with many of his dramatic works, but it was still clearly based on classical ballet, and recognisable as such. He also produced works created specifically in order to maintain the dancers' classical technique, so he was well aware of the pitfalls of being too experimental. Wayne McGregor doesn't fit into that category at all. Obviously he has his fans on here, and I have enjoyed some of his stuff, but I want the resident choreographer of a classical ballet company to be able to produce a new classical ballet work once in a while, or what's the point of them being there in the first place? If they are unable to do this, then either the RB brings in someone who can, or they mix McGregor's stuff with the back catalogue of classical works from MacMillan and Ashton. Many of these are now seen so rarely that they would be new to much of the audience. At the moment, the balance is wrong, which is why I am going less and less.

When I was a child, my local cinema sold hot dogs. My mother would occasionally allow me to have one if it was a certain time of day and I was hungry. They were delicious. I used to have my slathered with mustard and tomato ketchup. Yummy. I love popcorn, but I would never buy it at the cinema. Why? Because of the size of the portions. I am sure when it was originally introduced, the serving would be a small paper bag's worth. Now, see people buying what looks like a bucket full of the stuff, and a gallon of coke or some other soft drink to go with it. People seem to be crunching and slurping for half an hour.

As it is the cinema relay maybe members of the forum will be invited to participate.

@Sim @Blossom According to the ROH website, you are part of a "specially invited" audience. Are we allowed to know why you have been specially invited?

Your post has reminded me of the times when I used to go to the ROH with a dear departed friend and we would occasionally treat ourselves to a meal in the Amphitheatre restaurant. In those days it was a 2 or 3 course set menu, which didn't break the bank, and we used to share a bottle of the house red. As your table was reserved for you throughout the performance. we could slowly sip our wine during the intervals and feel very pampered. Ah, happy days. Looking at the menu now I wonder if they are having a laugh. £12 for a bowl of soup? £26 for chicken and mushroom pie? And extra for any vegetables? You must be joking! And yet underneath this, there is the message "Thank you for supporting the future of ballet, opera, dance and music." I wonder how much of the price paid for the meal goes to support those causes? And would they get more if they charged less (if you get my meaning)? That restaurant used to be buzzing. I haven't looked recently, is it still full?

I usually pronounce it the Spanish way but now I can't get the idea of Donkey Shot out of my head. I saw this for the first time last night. I have always admired Nunez, but as I normally only go once to any production there were others I preferred. Hence I haven't seen that much of Muntagirov performing live either, as he is her regular partner, although I have enjoyed the cinema performances very much. Well, last night I thought they were both on fire. You can see how comfortable they are with each other, which makes their pas de deux sensational. This is a ballet where the characters suit their sunny personalities, and their technical skills were nothing short of miraculous. I don't think either of them put a foot wrong all night, and on top of that they seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. All the supporting dancers were terrific as well. Everyone seemed to be revelling in being on stage and he whole thing had the feel of a last night, which I suppose it was in a way. Hugely enjoyable. I was struggling slightly trying to make out who some of the other dancers were. My phone was playing up, and although I tried to remember the cast beforehand, not having seen it before it was sometimes difficult to make out who was who. Obviously I recognised Hirano, and I loved his strutting matador, I was entranced by his twinkling pink calves. Buvoli made what looked like a fiendishly difficult solo look smooth and flowing. Others that stood out were Choe, always delightful in everything she does, and the girl in the lilac tutu in the dream sequence (Amour?) in the second act whose name I can't remember (I am sure someone will let me know). One think I noticed was that the dancers and the orchestra seemed to be working together. Seems an odd thing to say, I know, but frequently in the past there have been moments when dancers have been struggling with the tempo. Last night it all seemed perfect. On that topic, I noticed when Nunez got half way through her fouettes in the last act, there was one moment when I thought "Oh no, she is going to get out of time with the music." There seemed to be a glance towards the conductor, the tempo definitely speeded up, and so did she. I am sure she beamed at him at the end after her spectacular finish. Others have mentioned all the movement going on in the crowd during the dancing. I didn't notice it too much, but I did dislike having two children larking about with capes right behind the main couple as they are performing a pas de deux. That really should NOT be happening. Nor should the ladies be fluttering their fans continuously. It is a distraction. Loved the curtain calls from Nunez and Muntagirov. I thought it showed what a wonderful sense of humour they both have, and how much they like each other.

Just to say that I went to see Don Quixote last night, courtesy of someone selling a standing ticket on this forum. I didn't quite catch what the young lady in front of me going in to the auditorium said, but it was something along the lines of not having an official ticket as she had received a student pass. The usher said she still had to show the email, so I went through ahead of her. Later I saw quite a large group of youngsters who appeared to have received the same offer. So it wasn't just happening at the weekend, apparently.

Do you spend your time permanently logged on to the ROH website watching the seat plan?

. Who or what are these NHS and learning networks, diversity partners and so on? I don't have a problem with any of these groups being given tickets "on occasion". However, that occasion shouldn't be because vast swathes of the most expensive seats have not been purchased at full price. I am livid that such a huge discount wasn't made available to some of the hard working general public. I would have been prepared to pay for a best seat in the stalls if the discount had been 50%, as I haven't booked any seats this time round for Don Quixote. Edited to add does the ROH allow corporates to block book in advance? By that I mean are large companies allowed to buy certain areas en masse for a particular production? I used to work for a famous company associated with diamonds, and they used to pay annually for a certain number of seats that were then given to directors, important clients and so on. I can't remember if the ROH was one of the places were they held seats. I think they had it for the Coliseum, the Proms and Glyndebourne. Not that I was ever lucky enough to get one.

Perhaps they are desperate to be the first in the queue at the stage door? My husband has reminded me that people gave a standing ovation when we went to see La Cage Aux Folles at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park. It was ok, a competent performance, but it certainly didn't merit a standing ovation in my opinion. The problem with giving such a reaction to every performance is that what do you do if it is a truly spectacular, out-of-this-world one? Invade the stage?

I am sorry about that. I don't know how I managed to read the article, but the paragraphs above from @Ondine give you everything you need to know. I can only remember giving a standing ovation about 5 times in my life. And at least 3 of those were at the final performances of my favourite dancers. I have heard audiences roar for an encore many times, which is quite different, and usually for well known show stoppers in musicals and choreographed accordingly. The last encore I heard was for the "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" song in Guys and Dolls, which the cast amusingly milked for all it was worth! I am curious to know how many people on here have given a standing ovation, and what it was for?

Someone else posted a link on the Don Quixote thread about standing ovations. I read this in the I News yesterday. I am not sure if the link below will work. It did on my phone, but doesn't seem to on my computer. However, the author went to see the new production of Sunset Boulevard in London a couple of days ago. The lead role is being played by Nicole Scherzinger. Not only was there a standing ovation at the end, but members of the audience got up during the performance after each of her songs as well. Now, I am sure Ms Scherzinger is a fine singer, or she wouldn't have got the part in the first place. But I find it hard to believe that every single song she sings merits a standing ovation. I find people are standing up at the end of just about everything I go to now. I have to get up as well, because otherwise I can't see the performers taking their curtain calls. These responses should be reserved for a performance so truly magnificent the audience can't stay seated. Not an automatic thing. https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/west-end-standing-ovations-out-control-2689939

That made me laugh out loud. I never had the pleasure of seeing Nureyev in a cloak other than on film. I always wondered if he might don one to do his curtain calls. Which I believe were a performance in themselves? Anyway, sorry to go off topic.

I wonder if William will soon start appearing in a cloak at every opportunity!

I am very happy to stand. Sadly, having the slowest broadband connection in London, they have always gone by the time I manage to log on to the booking website.

Given the number of performances people are seeing, I can only assume that BalletCoers have very deep pockets. Either that, or they managed to snatch all the reasonably priced tickets before I got there!

Lucky you, but having checked the website on Thursday, and seen that the only seats available were way out of my price range, it never occurred to me to try again the next day. Edited to add this was quite late on Thursday evening, after catching up with this forum and seeing that ticket sales were slow.