LinMM

Agree absolutely! It's the role I picture him in.

I don't know whether Vadim Muntagirov has danced his first role in this for the RB but he has posted a video on Facebook which luckily a friend shared with me .....and he looks phenomenal in this!! Lucky those who are going to see him in this ballet looks like you've a treat in store!!

When it comes to actually being in 1st 2nd 3rd place etc I suspect that in reality there's not much splitting the first three or four. A bit like athletics where on one day one person may be the winner and on another day a different person! You can usually predict the first three (but not even that always) but the exact order maybe not!! The point of this is to say that sometimes really people are of equal talent but on one day or another they may not dance/run the winning requirement......score/time etc. Occasionally a really exceptional talent comes along and while they are around they may win everything for a while (michael Johnson in 400 metres) but more usually there is not much between the top few!! Third one day may be first the next!! And vice versa

That's what I thought sarahw .....there are just some days like that where Life is stranger/madder than Fiction!! Pups mum your daughter has done extremely well to have held it all together in the end .....I'm sure I wouldn't have done at her age. Travelling by bus is a bit of a nightmare in London at the moment as there seem to be roadworks in various places which throw all the traffic along one route. As I have a senior bus pass I usually try to go by bus but more recently have been using my Oyster card more on the tube to,make sure get to places on time!! Willing a good result for your DD! When do you get to hear?

Especially not my aged legs!! Too much to inflict on people in the dance studio!! (Well probably on the beach too to be honest....but at least there's more of a purpose for it there.

Alls Well that ends well then!!

After having attended a lovely workshop actually on the stage at the Coliseum (how exciting is that!) in the morning I then saw the ENB Nutcracker last Saturday afternoon. The leads were danced by Fernanda Oliveira and Vitor Luiz ...and as Mouse king Anton Lukovin and Nutcracker Fabian Reimar.......all new to me. This Nutcracker was beautifully danced and have no complaints in that direction. However it's a couple of years since Ive seen this Nutcracker and I remembered then why I dislike it so much!! I realise new productions have to be created from time to time and Wayne Eagling(loved him as a dancer with the Royal) was trying to do something very different and on that level he succeeded but unfortunately I just don't really like it. It's a magical children's story and a chance for a fantasy trip round the world and I usually like Nutcracker best when it keeps to this vein with no sinister overtones. I seem to remember Nureyev tried to make a deeper more Psychological interpretation of some aspects of the story and I didn't really like that version much either! In this current version it seems the theme of the "battle between the mice/rats and soldiers" just carries on too long. Even when the Prince is finally revealed from behind the mask it just doesn't move on and the dramatic satisfaction of this transformation is lost when instead of that glorious music being used for a lovely duet between Clara and the Nutcracker Prince .......usually one of the highlights of the Ballet....it's a bit of a messy pas de trois with the masked soldier(who is not the Prince) and the King Mouse. Somehow this detracts from the music and is not as satisfying as the music deserves for me. I think the "battle" between these two should be over by the end of the first Act and taking them into the second Act gets a bit tiresome and long winded so that when the King Mouse(the role wonderfully danced by the way) is finally disposed of I found myself thinking "thank God for that" The second Act, I feel anyway, should have a joyous/fun aspect to it however inspite of everything being beautifully danced (and lovely to see Joan Sebastian Zamora in the Russian dance) it somehow falls a bit flat for me in this version......I think because I didnt really feel transported to a "magical" place in the first place.....which makes more sense of this Act and it's sense of being a child's dream!! I wouldn't be that keen to see this particular version of Nutcracker again but the Company itself is in impressive form at the moment.

Hope the exam went well today for those taking the Advanced one exam.

I just looked up Tiffany Hedman and I recognise her from watching the class on Saturday. She is quite striking on stage tallish I think has been with the Boston Ballet.

What about a trip on the river? You can access boat taxi service ......as opposed to a special boat trip from the Festival Hall this goes from Tate Modern to Tate Britain but you can pick it up in various places.....I think the Festival Hall would be nearest to Waterloo. If you did take an official trip then of course you will get some commentary which may be helpful if stranger to London. I know some trips start across the river from Festival Hall from the Embankment. Covent Garden has plenty to offer and will be very lively!!! That 139 bus route looks useful to know about I was going to suggest a couple of others but I think that one just about covers it all! Have a great couple of days anyway ......what time is the exam on Thursday?

I don't know whether he is in touch with the murdered girls family perhaps he has liaised with them over this? Is there ever a right time to make a programme like this about such a traumatic event though? Would ten years be enough time? Not in any of the relatives lifetimes? I do think this man deserves to have his story told and he could always give some of the proceeds to Charity.

Attended a lovely workshop run by the ENB at the Coliseum on Saturday morning. Great to be able to say that I have danced on the Coliseum stage!! Though some of my more ballet sceptical friends will say "what you were a tree or something?" The class was taken by a young dancer from the Company called Jennie Harrington......what a great little teacher.....and was actually on the stage itself too. We did a normal barre .....not too complicated thank goodness......a tiny bit in the centre and then went straight to work on a piece from the snowflakes scene. How she managed to get us all into lines to run on successfully without bashing into each other in a short time was remarkable. We learnt the piece in little stages which was great for the memory.....even so took me till nearly the end to manage to do it without forgetting a bit! We learned the dance first then the run on and then put it all together. By the time we were ready to do the "finished performance" some of the main ballet Company were sitting or standing around or warming up for their morning class in the wings ...including Tamara Rojo.......so no pressure then!! A wonderful experience and Jennie had targeted us very mixed group of pupils with just about the right level of complexity to achieve something which felt satisfying to do in such a short space of time. My only wish was that we could have had another hour!! The time just went so quickly with all the concentration etc. Jennie then said she would be dancing herself that afternoon as a snowflake and then a flower ......so a long day for her. This workshop finished with us watching the Company do their morning class which was hugely enjoyable ....Tamara was there too working as hard as the rest of them......and boy did they work hard. Even in class centre work there were some amazing jumps and turns going on and a few near misses when changing groups ......even the professionals forget which way to run on occasions. But this was a great opportunity run by the ENB and at £25 very good value and so grateful to company dancers giving their own time in this way to make such workshops possible. Thankyou ENB .....Ive decided to be a supporting Friend from the New Year.

So agree about the drinks Capybara! At a recent performance .....wonderful performance in fact....of Dracula in Brighton more people were taking drinks into the small auditorium there than were not. Then a couple arrived to sit next to me and the girl had a whole glass of red wine and her partner a full pint of lager/beer. As they sat down I said as nicely as I could to the girl......especially as my winter coat was under the seat....I hope you're not planning on putting that on the floor on my side because I cannot guarantee I won't accidently kick it over......to her credit she didn't and didn't glare at me or anything .....in fact held it throughout the first act. There was only one interval and on their return they both brought another full glass of wine and lager etc back to their seats!! Obviously the theatre was just an extension to going out to the pub for them. In another aisle in front there were two people with a whole bottle of wine with them and what looked like their own glasses so it's not just a case of someone not having finished a drink bringing it in to finish it seems quite normal behaviour. The audience for this show was on the younger side but some middle aged(50's) people were in with their drinks as well!! Personally I can't understand why people can't take an hour (each act was about an hour) of entertainment without having to drink at the same time!! But as I'm in my 60's perhaps I'm just an old fuddy duddy!!

I'll just have to make the trip up to Birmingham next year then to see this Nutcracker. Ive just seen the ENB version. The dancing itself was wonderful but I realised after not seeing it for two(maybe three years?) just how much I dislike their production and have decided not to see it again but that's for the other thread!

I was at a workshop at the ENB on Saturday morning with the final part watching the Company in class......a very enjoyable experience and Elena Glurdjidze was definitely present in this....it does not mean she isn't harbouring an injury which should not be risked in performance of course ....but she looked fine in this. Will be reporting on sat mat soon!

I heard something about this on the radio and the actor who plays Christopher Jeffries sounds remarkably like him. I know Christopher Jeffries was pleased with his portrayal and with the programme generally though as always with these dramas some licence has been taken but he said it was a more or less accurate account of what happened. I remember it at the time and how awful the media were to him just deciding he was guilty with the sparsest of evidence. Thank goodness the police did get the right man in the end but it's a classic lesson in not judging by appearances and "gut feelings"

Yes ....sorry Julie sometimes when interesting ideas start to be discussed its easy to forget what the original topic is!!

When I was a school teacher I used to run a ballet club.....entirely free of course .....I was not a trained ballet teacher......and it was in all our spare times.....lunch times after school etc. I did this for about six years. I know this will not be a popular admission on this forum but it was just a school club and this is what I could offer. I took them to the ballet and we did little mini performances at the end of terms to the school .....which the parents loved.....but gosh was it hard work!! We used the bars from the gym frame and occasionally backs of chairs. This was in a very poor area of London. Just occasionally someone who I could see had real talent would come along to the club. In this instant I would immediately call in the parent and suggest they start training at a "proper" dance school ......but of course then they would have to pay for the lessons. One lady just could not afford this for her daughter at the time ....so I did some extra work with her daughter and then she auditioned for Arts Educational which I'm proud to say for the both of us that she got in. This was back in the 1970's This pupil did not become a dancer in the end though. They did want to know about the parents income but I felt even then that if a child even if less talented but who had wealthier parents would have got in as they could have afforded to pay. There are burseries and other support out there but only the most talented students would receive them. It's difficult I think at 11 to really know who will most benefit from many years of training so less well off pupils are probably penalised to a degree. With regards to earlier comments about children having to use backs of chairs .....who pay for their lessons .......and usually these are not cheap ....I also think teachers owe it to the kids to try to get proper barres. Perhaps all the parents could club together to help in this sort of situation!!

Wishing you best of luck Swanprincess and will be thinking of you then! You never know for sure!! Anyway a nice chance to dance in the fabulous RBS studios

More great Piccies! Am seeing this tomorrow!

Good to hear that you are having a go for Upper School Swanprincess! Will this audition be on the same day as the above?

Me too!!

Yes Kings Road is no longer the centre of Fashion as it was back then. I forgot to mention that there is Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square and they have a cafe up on one of the top floors which has lovely views and is not too expensive to eat in (I seem to be obsessed with food at the mo!) It's part of the John Lewis chain and is a great shop with a great cafe!!

Lucky you!! Not far from Sloane Square station is Partridges a really nice food shop with a cafe which does good food! It's on the left hand side as you walk up Kings Road away from the station. When I first moved to London in 1972 I returned to ballet as a 20 something with Ruth French who used to teach ballet above or next to the old town hall. It was a pretty "hip" place then but I wasn't particularly a la mode but people wore some quite extraordinary clothes then so always interesting to walk down. At the bottom of Flood Street is a really nice gardens......with another great cafe with good food.....called Chelsea Physic Garden and is quite fascinating for medicinal plants too. No doubt you won't have too much time but also have a look to see what's on at Cadogan Hall very close to the station they sometimes have very good concerts and events there.

It's a shame it's the same weekend as Franziska's as I won't do two in the same weekend but otherwise would have been interested.