Fonty

Personally, I think row E in the stalls is a bit too close. While I want to see the expressions on the dancers' faces, I don't really want to see the sweat flying in all directions as they leap and turn! I've never sat in Row B in the amphitheatre, usually a little further back, but as close to the middle as I can get, if I can afford it. Be aware, as others have said, that the incline is very steep, and some people find actually climbing down to their seats a little daunting.

I think with a ballet such as the Nutcracker, it doesn't really matter which cast you see, the Principals have very little dancing when you think of the length of the ballet. They don't appear until the second act, and then I think they get about 10 minutes on the stage. All casts will be good, so I would go for the Wednesday performance if it is more convenient. As far as seats are concerned,if you sit in the Amphitheatre, you will get a good view of the overall patterns created in the group dances, such as the Snowflakes, but all the dancers look about 2 inches high from that height. If you go up there, then I prefer to be in the middle, somewhere near the front, so I don't feel too distanced from all the action. If you want to see the faces of the main dancers more clearly, then you need to sit a bit lower down, where you will still see the overall dances, but have a more personal contact with the soloists. Personally, if money is no issue, I would go for the Orchestra Stalls. I like the middle of the stalls somewhere about row H or thereabouts. There may be occasional problems if someone in front bobs about, but it should be fine otherwise. And there is something luxurious about being in the stalls, as you can look around you and get the feel of the whole auditorium.

Even if the person was there in a private capacity, the opinion of a critic carries far more weight than that of a private individual. I am not suggesting that every critic has to write a glowing review when newcomers take to the stage, but if a professional is going to make their feelings known, they should at least say what it was that left them less than enthusiastic. Edited to add that perhaps the critic was just talking to a friend, and the information was overheard? I still stand by my previous comment, though!

I find it a little bit annoying when I read this sort of thing. I am not having a go at you, Tony, but the critic who said they were not impressed. They should have either published a review saying what they were disappointed by, or kept their mouth shut. This is just the sort of "gossip" that the ballet world could do without. IMO

It was a long time ago when I read the book, and I couldn't remember whether it was a request or an order not to get a tan. For some people that must be quite difficult. I have several friends with the sort of mediterranean colouring that seems to go brown in about 10 minutes of weak UK sunlight.

Did they not? I haven't booked RB at Christmas for so many years, I didn't notice. If it wasn't the Nutcracker, then I think they used to put on Tales of Beatrix Potter, which I don't particularly like.

Don't all dancers have to apply the ivory foundation, irrespective of their natural colouring? I am sure I remember reading a dancer's biography years ago, saying that they were not supposed to do too much sunbathing when they went on holiday, because the company would complain about the amount of whitener they had to use to cover their tans afterwards.

Well, I am not sure I agree with the idea that Juliet is a child, she is a very young woman. I've never been quite comfortable with the way in which some dancers play the scene with the doll, as if it is a normal everyday occurence for her to play with her dollies. At a fortnight shy of her 14th birthday, she surely wouldn't still be doing that, even in Shakespeare's day? I prefer the way many of my favourites use the doll simply as the first thing that comes to hand to tease the nurse with. The fact that it is a child's toy shows her childhood is not too far away. But if she is portrayed as too young and childish, the scenes with Paris become slightly uncomfortable, as if he is a bit of a pervert, attracted to very young girls. It also makes the scenes with Romeo less believable. She has to be seen as a girl who is the right age to experience her first adult love, so that when the thunderbolt strikes as she looks at Romeo, we can all think, "Yes, I remember that feeling when I was a teenager!" I think Juliet is a strong female. She drives the action, plans the marriage, sets it in motion, and Romeo gets swept along with it in the heat of the moment and the circumstances that surround it. She is the one who has to take the potion, after all, not Romeo, and that takes strength and courage. I don't think it shows that Juliet is weak because she chooses suicide. It simply shows how young she is, and how it all overwhelms her to the extent that she feels she just can't go on living. Although having said that, I am not sure how many women of any age would cope with waking up in a tomb, surrounded by corpses including that of her adored, newly wedded husband. It would a very cold fish indeed who simple shrugged it off and sauntered off to marry someone else!

Never saw her in Manon, more's the pity, but she was certainly one of my all time favourites in the MacMillan roles. I think Guillem was quite well known for turning down all sorts of roles.

Was Guillem still with the RB when they started performing it again, Vanartus? I can't see her in the role of Mary Vetsera myself, but Guillem was one of those dancers who continually surprised me with her ability to dance roles that on paper she seemed unsuited for. I never saw her Juliet, but I did see Leanne Benjamin, who must have been well into her thirties at the time, and was utterly convincing in her portrayal of youth. It will be interesting to see how the genuine youngsters build on their first performances in this respect.

Oh dear. I can see that innuendo, rumour and unattributed quotes might cause a problem, but if you take out gossip as well then I think some of the threads might be a bit short!

I actually loved the ENB version of Le Corsaire. The story is very silly, and the ballet doesn't require much in the way of acting skills, but the music is lively and there is plenty of dancing for everyone. Perfect for the festive season, I think.

Did anybody see Newsnight last night? There was an interview with Carlos Acosta. Unfortunately, I turned it on when it was nearly over, but it is worth watching because some of his remarks relate specifically to the this thread.

At last, I've been waiting for the casting for London, as I particularly wanted to see Cojocaru. On the other occasions I have booked without knowing, I always seem to end up seeing Takahashi in everything. Don't know anything about Osiel Gounei. Anybody else seen him?

I assume she meant shy in real life, as opposed to being shy when he performed? I don't think there was anything in his early performances to suggest he suffered from stage fright, or anything like that? I am surprised that someone as experienced as Mason could not overlook a young student's off stage demeanor, especially those for whom English is not their first language. But perhaps students have to sell themselves to potential employers in more ways than simply being a good dancer. Anyway, it all worked out for the best in the long run.

Jamdancer, I wasn't thinking about future dancers being inspired by seeing someone of their own race, I was thinking more of an ordinary audience member. While I can understand that perhaps a huge amount of publicity surrounding, say, the pairing of Celine Gittens and Tyrone Singleton as "the first black couple to dance Swan Lake" might entice people of the same ethnicity who would not normally go to the ballet, I would hope that having enjoyed the experience, they would be persuaded to go and see other performances by dancers of all ethnic origins. It is great to think that a black female lead would introduce a new audience to a wonderful art form. However, I would be very sad to think that people of any ethnic group would choose to see further performances on that basis alone. I am not sure if this remark was aimed at anyone specifically, or was a general one, but when I said I didn't notice the race of the dancers I mentioned, I meant precisely that. From my position in the amphitheatre, I did not notice. There was absolutely nothing disingenuous about it at all. And yes, there may very well be people who could not possibly tolerate a black Juliet, but are they the sort of people who regularly attend the ballet? I have no knowledge of America, I've never been there, so I can only speak for my own home, which is London, but in a city which teems with people of different races, I don't think the audiences would have any problems with it at all. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but I would be shocked if this turned out to be true.

I have been looking on line for the results from the latest census about the current poulation of Britain by ethnicity. The table I found states that in England and Wales, the percentages of people classed as Black is 2.8%. (Asian is 5.8%, Mixed race 1.8%) I couldn't find the up to date figures for Scotland, no idea why, but I don't suppose it will make a huge difference to the percentages. If you narrow that down by sex and age, then that means we are talking about a very small number of individuals. Incidentally, I hadn't noticed that Francesca Haywood was black until it was mentioned in a review, I just saw a wonderful dancer.

Has anyone seen Morera in the role? And is the partnership with Kish likely to be a good one? I don't really know him at all.

I find this comment baffling. Are you saying that a new audience is being put off coming to the ballet because they are not allowed to talk during the performance, text or take flash photos on their mobiles, eat noisily from crackly bags of food, push past others during the performance, bob about, snog their partners and various other types of behaviour that have been complained about on the "tedious and massive" audience behaviour thread? Are you saying that sitting quietly and watching the performance is an example of outdated, middle class, right wing political views? Or are you saying something else and I have totally misunderstood?

I don't see anyone who looks like me performing ballet either! Ballet dancers resemble aliens from another planet as far as I am concerned, with their extreme slenderness and extraordinary flexibility. I am always amazed that the body can do the things they manage to do, and do it with a smile as well. They don't look human at all. Edited to add that I went to see a play at the Young Vic some years ago, which was based around a particular part of Africa and its religion. It was very funny, and sold out months in advance. I can't remember the name off hand. However, I did notice that at the Saturday matinee my friend and I were the only white people in the audience. Although I didn't understand some of the in jokes that were clearly relevant to those from that particular background, I didn't feel "unwelcome.".

While that is to be applauded, I find it slightly sad that people would only be persuaded to go and watch something because someone of their own racial background has enjoyed success in that particular field. I've heard the same arguments about classical music, Shakespearian drama, tennis...the list goes on and on. Is skin colour the only thing that will attract certain people to one of those events? .

Excellent suggestion! Or alternatively, just borrow it when BRB don't need it.

Hmmmm. So, no Nutcracker over the Christmas period then? Well, that will make a nice change.

Actually, there was something else that was distracting me on Wednesday night. Sitting behind me was a mother with her two small daughters, who looked about seven or eight. As soon as the curtain went up, they started to ask questions. "What's happening?" "Why is that man looking sad?" "Who are those ladies?" The mother kept explaining in a whisper, as they passed a large crackling bag of crisps back and forth. Eventually I turned round and shushed them very loudly, and to be fair they did quieten down, but I could still hear the occasional query being answered. Most annoying. I don't blame the children, but what was the mother thinking, not giving them the outline before they came? When Von Rothbart steps on stage and you hear "Who is he?" coming from behind you, you do wonder what on earth they were making of it all.

I agree that it didn't, and it was indeed a lovely performance. I am not bothered by fouettes anyway, and I certainly would not mark down a dancer because they didn't complete the full set. However, I just thought the performance on the previous night was better all round IMO. The only reason I mentioned the audience was because it is very unusual to get that sort of whooping and shouting throughout the evening at a ballet performance. I've only experienced something like it at sports events. Maybe I was sitting behind her real life Romeo?