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Fonty

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  1. Fonty
    Oh, Floss,I am so glad you suggested this. I looked this up on Youtube, and thought I would just have a quick peep. After 45 minutes I had to force myself to stop watching because I had some urgent work to finish! Goodness, they took some of the fairy solos at a rapid pace, didn't they? I can never remember what the different fairies are called, but I don't think I have ever seen a live performance where the music for what I call the Pointy Finger dance (the 4th one, I think) has been played so fast. Now I know what I shall be watching for the rest of the evening. Edited to add I think I have got my fairies muddled up! I don't think the pointy finger one is the fast one, but I don't dare go back and check or I shall never get my work finished. Also, does anyone know who the fairies were? I looked at the end credits, but it cuts out before they list them.
  2. Fonty
    I've only seen one, Sim, and I enjoyed large amounts of it, but I did find some bits didn't quite gel for me, although I am not sure why.
  3. Fonty
    "At least, as it is danced by today’s Royal Ballet dancers, who are brisk modern creatures with very little fantasy in their sensible heads." Ah, that's the problem, the ballet dancers of today would rather be doing something more realistic. Like Swan Lake, for example, or the Sleeping Beauty. Good sensible story lines in both of those, much more suitable for the RB of today. I don't mind IB saying she doesn't like it, but I do object to any critic saying that people who do like it are stuck in some sort of misty, 1950s time warp, and need to get out more. So, the real, knowledgeable fans are those who appreciate more up to date stuff. Like Raven Girl, presumably. I don't recall this sort of reaction to any of the delightful performances of 2P by the BRB.
  4. Fonty
    I do not know the Prologue fairy variations well enough to form an opinion, but I would love to know which dancers in the current crop at the RB would be thought to be the most suitable (rank not an issue, anything from corps to principal) Also, on the same basis, how should Birthday Offering be cast? I would really be interested to know which dancers show the required skills. I do know that at one point the RB training was deliberately trying to produce dancers "who could fit in to any company in the world." Which would seem to suggest that they were not interested in encouraging different types of dancers, although I am not sure how they decided exactly what qualities the RB pupils should have.
  5. Fonty
    I think I agree with both Floss and MAB. On the one hand, I do think that at some point over the past few years, the cult of the personality became far more prominent amongst RB Principals, and as a result certain individuals were cast in roles that they were not particularly suited for IMO. There is no doubt that these people could put bums on seats, and their hard core fans adored them no matter what they were doing, but people such as myself, who were not quite so star struck, were left feeling vaguely dissatisfied in a way that was sometimes hard to analyse. I often felt that I was seeing Miss X or Mr Y in the role, rather than the character itself, and I often came away thinking that perhaps the ballet wasn't quite as good as I thought it was, and my memory was playing tricks on me. On the other hand, I have never seen Principals cast as Prologue fairies, but I have seen some rather mediocre performances in my time, and would love to see what the top dancers could do with these.
  6. Fonty
    Do you think there is any chance that they might stage the second act of Mr Wordly Wise on its own? I remember seeing the whole ballet, and being reduced to fits of laughter in the first act. Unfortunately, I don't think it was meant to be funny. But the second act stays in my memory as being rather lovely.
  7. Fonty
    Who makes the final decisions regarding costumes? Is it the choreographer, or someone else? Do dancers actually like dancing in leotards and pants without tights? Does it give them a sense of freedom? If one dancer put their foot down and flatly refused to accept the costume, would they be removed from the ballet? Lots of questions there, but I do wonder why modern ballets tend to go for the "no tights" look. It isn't particularly flattering on anybody, and positively off putting on ballet dancers. They are so thin, every sinew and vein stands out, and personally I think it is horrible to look at. I remember that when Deborah Bull and Sylvie Guillem appeared in Steptext, they had different costumes. Bull had a red leotard and no tights, Guillem had a very fetching red all in one. I know which one I think is more attractive, and wondered why poor Bull wasn't given the rather gorgeous all in one. http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Columnist/Columnists/2011/6/9/1307638112220/steptext-007.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/61/7e/9a/617e9a51844bc63ec44a3a82d13dbf5c.jpg
  8. Fonty
    I looked for some photos showing the appropriate angle in a classical ballet. Came up with this one: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dcdde9e4b06edf127a2085/53dce347e4b05b7d2eaeda4c/55b5e159e4b04ba2ac15fd01/1437983107929/?format=300w Edited to add that it is Sylvie Guillem. I was trying to find some where the female is partnered, but in the quick search I did, I couldn't find one.
  9. Fonty
    This is not the first time LJ has said this, was there anything specific that sparked it off? Other than the photo, that is, which is not the most flattering I have ever seen. What is it from, BTW? Although it doesn't really matter, I have seen that position many times in WM ballets. I did enjoy Woolf Works, but I think a lot (most?) of that came from the performance of Ferri. Plus the fact that as I have disliked just about everything else I have seen by him, so it was a relief to find that there was something I could enjoy!
  10. Fonty
    I just wondered what it was like as a ballet, leaving aside the subject matter. I've seen The Judas Tree several times, which I recall had a gang bang in it (?). Not to mention a hanged man. Not sure if I enjoyed it or not, I can't remember, although I do recall that Benjamin was wonderful in it.
  11. Fonty
    Has anyone seen The Invitation? I remember reading about how shocked people were because there was a rape scene in it. I wonder how shocking it would look today? And is it a ballet worth reviving? Edited to add I hadn't realised they were doing it so soon next year. :dunce: As it is on with my pet dislike "a new Wayne McGregor" and I know nothing about the Wheeldon one, I wondered if it was worth mentally pencilling in to the 2016 diary?
  12. Fonty
    Me too. Keep them coming, Floss, I find them so interesting.
  13. Fonty
    Christina has been with the Royal Ballet for 20 years, which must make her in her mid to late 30s. If she is going to be given more, it will have to be sooner rather than later.
  14. Fonty
    Does anyone know where she is going?
  15. Fonty
    I was going to add that to my post, but you beat me to it, MAB. I don't know enough about pointe shoes and how they are made, but I would assume that advances in technology has allowed for improvements in the way they make the feet look. Yes, absolutely. I remember mentioning it when they showed the film of Fonteyn in the Sleeping Beauty on the BBC. All the dancers seemed so quick and light on their feet.
  16. Fonty
    I heartily dislike the tendency to slow everything down, and have no idea why it has been allowed. The trouble is, when someone posts a clip of say, Fonteyn, on Youtube, all young people seem to go on about is how ugly her feet are,or how low her leg is. Nobody mentions the beautiful arms, twinkling footwork, beautiful positioning, speed, lightness or just the plain, straightforward ability to dance to the music. I think the reason many people think that today's dancers are technically so much better is because today's dancers keep on telling us that they are. Yes, if the music is played so much slower, we get much more time to admire the luscious limbs, extraordinary leg extensions, highly arched feet, stunning turn out and so on. But the flow of movement seems to have been lost.
  17. Fonty
    Sadly, this one-size-fits-all approach seems to mean that ballets that were created, say 40 years ago, do not appear to be successful a lot of the time when they are revived. Then people say the reason is that they are "old fashioned", although if that is the case, then surely Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty should be described in the same way. I would love to see Sylvia again. I last saw it with Bussell in the role, and she seemed to be struggling a lot of the time with matching the steps to the music, which really surprised me, given how strong technically she was supposed to be.
  18. Fonty
    I tend to read biographies with a large dose of healthy scepticism, particularly those written long after the subject is dead. I haven't read the Kavanagh biography on Ashton, but I have read a couple of biographies about Fonteyn, both of which seemed to be hell bent on proving that she was having an affair with Nureyev. The theories were long on gossip imparted by nameless individuals, and very short on any facts.
  19. Fonty
    Well, I think the gay sub-text is only clear if you happen to to know the history of the ballet. It certainly never occurred to me as I was watching, and now I am not sure if I wanted to know that! Suddenly, I feel unbelievably naive. Next, you will be telling me that the knot tying in Fille has some sort of gay significance. (And if it does, please don't tell me. I would rather watch it with innocent eyes.)
  20. Fonty
    The only Tudor I have seen is The Leaves are Fading, which I think was promptly rechristened The Fades are Leaving. I can't remember much about it, apart from the fact that I thought the costumes looked a bit insipid. I would love to see a proper performance of Birthday Offering. The last time I saw it, Rojo was dancing the Fonteyn role. I am a huge fan of Rojo, but I never really liked her in anything non dramatic, and this occasion was no different. She was technically fine, but rather cold. Looking at the current crop of females, who would you cast in the various parts, particularly the Fonteyn one?
  21. Fonty
    No, Floss, you are not the only one! But if the resident choreographer for a company is a contemporary dance specialist, then care has to be taken to make sure that dancers don't lose the finer points of classical technique. Incidentally, I wan't suggesting that a role originally created for principals should only be danced by principals, and I hope I didn't give that impression. I simply meant that it gives an indication of the standard of dancing required. Sibley was not only a superb principal, but one of the best performers of Ashton, and a very tough act to follow.
  22. Fonty
    I am trying to remember the last time I saw Les Patineurs. It was on either a double or triple bill, before they started shoving it in with Tales of Beatrix Potter, which does it a great injustice, and it was a bit of a curate's egg, I seem to remember. This was because, yet again, some of it wasn't very well danced.
  23. Fonty
    Oh dear. I didn't mean to sound ageist, I am not a teenager myself. But it seemed to me that the normal broad range of ages was missing on the night I was there. . Regarding the wobbly Monotones 1, I appreciate every dancer can have an off day,but I question the decision to cast two first artists in roles that were designed for principals. Of course it has happened before. Cojocaru was still in the corps when she performed in Symphonic Variations, I believe. However, she had danced principal roles with another company, and was clearly destined for the top with the RB. I know people will say that young dancers have to be given a chance, and I have no problem with that as a concept. Unfortunately, this particular piece is not the right place for that IMO. It demands about 10 minutes of absolute perfection, and I am not sure many first artists are in the position to achieve that. I would have loved to have seen Marquez in the role.
  24. Fonty
    That is possible, Lindsay. Although it has been on in London relatively recently, maybe these people do not go to Sadlers Wells? Even so, I would hope that younger audiences would have heard of these ballets, even if they haven't seen them. I am not talking about people in their teens here, but those in their forties who are regular ballet goers. I am not sure how the last bill with Raven Girl sold, was that full? Are teenagers and twenty somethings flocking see McGregor, but not Ashton? I find that quite a shocking thought, personally. Would the ROH be struggling to sell tickets if it had been a rarely seen production of a couple of Balanchine ballets? I must apologise for my typo in my last post, by the way. That should have read "blockage", not "blackage". Goodness knows what a blackage is, I hate to think. In my defence, could I just say that I am struggling with a keyboard where most of the letters have worn away, and I don't always hit the right letter!
  25. Fonty
    On a slightly different tack, the theatre seemed full to me last night, although I couldn't see the entire place from my seat perched up in the rafters. But I couldn't help noticing that the average age of the audience seemed significantly higher than normal. There was quite a delay at the end when we started to file out, as people took time to get up the stairs, and there appeared to be a blackage caused by a tangle of walking sticks in the aisles. Was there a special offer for people over a certain age? Or was this a sign that this was the audience that this particular bill was likely to appeal to? And if so, how sad that younger people didn't find it tempting. Has Ashton really lost that much popularity?
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