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Fonty

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  1. Fonty
    She still gives it 3 stars, though, which means she must have got something out of the evening. I notice that the Alvin Ailey dancers get very favourable reviews. Why did McGregor include them this time round? Any particular reason?
  2. Fonty
    Well, none of them, apart from Mr Monahan, have been too critical about it. One of the things that struck me is that nearly all have watched closely and found depths to the new piece, and expressed admiration for the way in which McGregor works, even if they haven't been totally smitten. Even Luke Jennings, who has been rather scathing about this style of dancing in the past, seems quite reasonable by his standards. They seem to be saying, "Well, this is progress, and we have to move with the times." I await Mr Crisp's review with keen anticipation. If he went, that is.
  3. Fonty
    My goodness, the cast for that first performance!
  4. Fonty
    I have finally had a chance to read the press reviews, and I find myself feeling a bit bewildered. Broadly speaking, apart from Mark Monahan, they all seem to find a great many positive things to say about Multiverse, and are awarding high marks for the programme overall. I am startled by the contrast between their opinions and the ones on here. There are many people who post on this ballet forum, who are keen, knowledgeable and, above all, regular, long term ballet goers. And by and large, I am not picking up a lot of enthusiasm for it (she said carefully...) So I am scratching my head, wondering why critics, who can be incredibly snooty and lukewarm about many ballets that I consider to be the great classics, can be so much less critical of McGregor's new work.
  5. Fonty
    I think I enjoyed that one as well. It is a sad fact that nothing would persuade me to go to a triple bill of Wayne McGregor offerings. Not even if someone gave me a free ticket. Seen one, seen 'em all, as far as I am concerned. Well, ok, Woolf Works was a bit different. But only because the wonderful Ms Ferri was in it.
  6. Fonty
    I am a little confused as to what sort of voting system America has. Is it the same as the Alternative Vote that Nick Clegg was trying to push through in the UK?
  7. Fonty
    Wow, was it really THAT bad?
  8. Fonty
    Yet more sad news.
  9. Fonty
    That's shocking! I appreciate the ROH has to make money on its catering. , but there are limits. The Amphitheatre restaurant is quite nice, but you are still paying £35 for a 3 course meal. Add on a modest bottle of wine and some coffee, and you are sneaking up to the £50 a person price bracket. Still, I suppose that looks good value in comparison with the Paul Hamlyn Balcony restaurant, where you would be paying the sharp end of £60 for a meal, and that is without any drinks. And to add insult to injury, the menus are not particularly exciting, and the food hardly stretches the kitchen. If I am paying those prices, I want Fine Dining, with Capital Letters, not the sort of thing that I can knock up myself very easily.
  10. Fonty
    Oh dear, I hope that is not in anticipation of the effects of the future catering arrangements!
  11. Fonty
    If the Opera House is planning to get more people in to the restaurants, then perhaps they should do something about the wickedly over priced and rather indifferent food they serve. It is one thing to dish out this sort of stuff to a captive audience, and quite another to expect people to pay for that sort of thing when they have many other choices. I was once treated to a meal in the Floral Hall restaurant, and the best way I could describe it is upmarket school dinner. With a Ritz price tag.
  12. Fonty

    RIP Jimmy Young

    Fonty posted a topic in Not Dance

    With all the excitement of the US election, the death of Jimmy Young seems to have slipped through the net. He was one of my favourite radio presenters, and I think his interviewing technique was one of the best.
  13. Fonty
    Sorry, I am fleeing Britain for Europe. I am lost for words.
  14. Fonty
    So have I. And I am not even voting. I must say, this must have been the longest election campaign in American history, isn't it?
  15. Fonty
    From looking at the pictures, I am not clear as to where non ticket holders will be allowed. I haven't been able to get to the Opera House for some time, and the info is not clear on the website.
  16. Fonty
    I have used them, and I never had them expand to that extent. I put our entire wardrobe in several of these when we were renting our house out for two years, and our clothes survived with no problems. However, I have heard other people say that repeated use causes the seal to become less efficient. If the contents are not going to be swimming in water, the only other cheap method that I can think of are the sort of waterproof bags used by sailors and watersports people for protecting their belongings. I've never used one, so cannot recommend anything.
  17. Fonty
    That was lovely, John, thank you. I am always overjoyed to see Durante dance, she was one of my all time favourites.
  18. Fonty
    Well, I've kept paperwork in our loft for nearly 20 years. It is not even in boxes with lids; just those boxes that stack one on top of the other. Not a hint of mildew to be seen. I do live in a terraced house though, with a south facing roof. Maybe that makes a difference. In the past, I have used those airtight vacuum bags for various things, without any problems. I think you can get vacuum boxes which work on the same principle.
  19. Fonty
    I remember looking at items of clothing once, that said that the washing instructions should be followed carefully, to prevent shrinking. I was looking at swimsuits.
  20. Fonty

    Room 101

    Fonty replied to taxi4ballet's topic in Not Dance

    Me too, Jacqueline. My lastest spat was in a hospital recently. I arrived for my appointment, and was waiting in line with everyone else to give my details to the receptionist when a woman came in and walked straight to the front of the queue. Her reason for this was that she had "missed the appointment last week." I replied that in that case, as she was so late, waiting another few minutes would not make much difference. She did go to the back, but only after I and another woman left our places and "escorted" her to the back of the queue. Everyone else standing there just shuffled and looked embarrassed. Why is it that people generally don't stand up to this sort of behaviour?
  21. Fonty
    At this rate, the USA will be the only people not represented. Maybe they should come up with a new name for it?
  22. Fonty
    I had to polish my glasses when I read that, in case I had misread it! Surely the whole point of a narrative ballet is that it has a plot of some sort? I always think of some ballets as what I would call context, or mood ballets. (I am sure someone can come up with a better word for them.) That is to say, the staging sets the atmosphere, and the dancers behave accordingly. Within the ballet there may be little hints of personality traits or relationships, but nothing is fleshed out. The performers are identified on the cast list by their costume, or the type of dance they perform, rather than having a name. Some of my favourite ballets fall into this category, but I would not call them narrative ballets, at least not in the way that I understand narrative.
  23. Fonty

    Room 101

    Fonty replied to taxi4ballet's topic in Not Dance

    Middle aged man in lycra.
  24. Fonty

    Room 101

    Fonty replied to taxi4ballet's topic in Not Dance

    Ah, but Quintus, they may begin by wearing XXL, but if they continue with the exercise, they will become lean, fit and muscular. Or at least, they think they will.
  25. Fonty
    Goodness, I think I felt the world stop turning for a moment! I am not surprised that Osipova is been given rave reviews for the final act. In fact I would have been astounded if anyone had been tepid about her performance, as she has always been a performer with strong dramatic skills. I am trying to remember who I saw in the role when the RB previously revived it. Leanne Benjamin seems an obvious choice, surely she must have performed it?.
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