LinMM

Seymour was also a great comedienne in Dances at a gathering Ive rarely seen her role in this bettered

That alone could sway me!!!!

I never saw her swan Lake either!! But did see her with Nureyev in Sleeping Beauty a few times nearing the end of her career When she was younger(in the Soames era) I saw her in a gala which must have been 1959 ish maybe 1960 and there were many interesting dancers in it. She did an extract from The Firebird in that. Ive been trying to find some info on this gala as I'm sure Helpmann and both the Tallchief sisters were in it. Somewhere in the depths of the loft I do have the programme with some autographs on it but might take me a year to find it!! I'm pretty sure even Alicia Markova performed a small piece. It was the first time I had been to the ballet and I still remember the strangeness of seeing people for real I had only seen in books up till then!!

Maybe I will have a look at the Bloch shoes as well then just to see the differences etc. The trouble with buying new shoes is sewing on the elastic....urghh....Just hope I haven't lost my thimble...... Michelle you must be super fit did you say you did 5hrs of dancing on Tuesday.....was that consecutive hours. I have a two hour class on Fridays just slightly longer than usual and I can't imagine doing another class afterwards!!

I saw Fonteyn do Juliet and she was definitely past 40 then and I thought she was wonderful still got the joy of Juliet the young girl across in a totally believable way and was excellent getting that indecision and nervousness across at the idea of having to take the poison! Fonteyn had a wonderful abandon in her dancing I thought and only wished I could have seen her in Giselle. I'm not sure about Guillem....wonderful technician and I thought she was okay in Cinderella but haven't seen her in anything that would truly test acting skills unfortunately but she was the one who got my partner going to see a bit of ballet initially!!

Yes it was on in Brighton too(where I live) but suddenly got email from Duke of York cinema there and it was only on for ONE day and again in the morning. Anyone who received that email may not have had time to arrange to see it......so I'm glad I saw inLondon in the end or I would have waited 8 months and then missed it!!!

I think I will ring the changes and try a Capezio shoe....first at any rate. Freeds have different width fittings too but it was the mens shoe which fit in that instance. I'm up on Tuesday to see La Bayadere which am looking forward to and hoping to do class at London Russian on wed am now so can have an afternoon sorting out buying some new ballet shoes!! I do think the split soles flatter your feet etc but think I'd better stick to a full sole for mo. I even wear these insoles to help cushion the feet when jumping! I would rest your knee tonight especially as you say you have or have had a heavy cold as well.....probably body saying it needs a rest!! Otherwise you could find yourself out next week as well!!

Well then Sibley was fantastic in this then....a long time ago now but one of the few first nights have been to.

Thanks too for info on Songs of a Wayfarer......last time I saw that was at the Coliseum with Nureyev but can't remember other dancer..it might have been in one of the yearly progs Nureyev did there for a while..but towards end of his career. But I loved that and the music ....so will try for a ticket too! Yes Lynn Seymour was another great actress/dancer someone mentioned. Im sure it was her I saw in Anastasia and she was brilliant in second act. Does anyone know who did the debut performance in Manon?

I was reading on another thread here that Capezio shoes tend to be wider fitting....is this generally known? I need to buy a new pair of ballet shoes(not split soles though) as Ive worn mine to death now for past two years and decided yesterday that they do look a bit on scruffy side. I need a wider fitting. Current ones are Freeds and are men's shoes because they tend to be in wider fittings so I could stick with the same but as have never bought shoes other than from Freeds before(old habits die hard) wondered if should give another make a go? Anyone wear Capezio shoes?

Going on June 8th...can't wait now!

Yes......I think there must be another thread on the site somewhere about this film as have left a comment there can't find it now!! I'd been keeping track of this film for nearly 8 months and finally saw it n London at a Curzon cinema. It was only on for a week and only at a morning showing......great for people who work!!! I think the reason for this is they don't think it's for the general audience but I would disagree though if you enjoy ballet obviously increases your enjoyment. Basically it follows the fortunes of some students trying to win scholarships etc by winning competitions in this case YAGP in America. All the students have very different stories and they are all interesting......this is where general public might enjoy as well as the ballet fans....I didn't expect this film to move me to tears but it did and I couldn't help wanting them all to win a top prize!! Of course it was made some years ago now and one of the contestants did quite well in the Prix de Lausanne recently (Miko). I could go into more detail but won't.....Its definitely worth seeing.....if you can catch it that is....the distribution is very disappointing and such a shame too. Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because had waited so long to see it and gone to considerable lengths to track it's slow progress out of the States!! But I think it's a little gem!

I agree about Stephen McRae he is getting a very good stage presence and is very believable.....I am going to see Acosta in Bayadere next week but if had the money would have liked to see him as well! And I remember Bejart's company vividly with Maina Gielgud and a wonderful piece to Bachs St. John's Passion?? Out of interest does Bejart 's company still exist I'm sure they haven't been to UK for years now if they do.

Hope the knee gets better soon Michelle so annoying to miss class but sounds like you need a bit of a breather this week! JCS hope you enjoy your one to one tomorrow!

Yes I think my dance teacher at the time was worried I might want to start doing MORE swimming but ballet took up too much of my time anyway then!! Probably also because of body type...tall and fairly large frame(but skinny) at the time. Interesting about football never really linked the two before other than I had heard some football teams were having ballet lessons! My dad was a footballer (played for Woking F.C.......Chelsea wanted him but in the fifties not the money they earn now....so that was a definite no from mum!) we have a similar physique in fact....shape of hands, legs even feet etc!!

Sorry just want to add that although I agree most PROFESSIONAL dancers probably wouldn't be looking for or needing any additional exercise( too exhausted I should think) there is still a place for a bit of science here as this can help to improve dancers training etc over time and even help prevent injuries so has its place

Posts crossed ......didn't see that your daughter has had to stop running Tulip. I hope ankles feel better soon. I suppose whenever you do a new exercise of some sort there will be initial reactions in the muscles and possibly joints to this but usually improves unless actually injured of course. When I took up ballet again 2 yrs ago even though we hadn't done any jumping in this class I was completely exhausted and had to sit in a coffee bar for an hour afterwards....let alone some stiff muscles in the next couple of days!! I nearly thought should I be doing this but am glad I persevered as am really enjoying it now.....and into the bargain have increased my bone T- score which I might write about on another thread at some point.

Pas de Quatre am interested to see swimming recommended......personally I think this is a great aerobic exercise for a dancer and shouldn't damage joints etc HOWEVER I clearly remember having a run in with my dance teacher when I was 14 because I used to swim for my school (though wasn't a swimming club member or anything and wasnt doing hours of training) and she was really concerned I would get big shoulder muscles and said I should stop going swimming regularly!! Ive always loved swimming and was loathe to do this. But people do have to make choices in the end if serious about something I suppose. For me it was probably the beginning of the end as the following year gave all the ballet up.....what with homework and Saturday job etc....just too many demands. But I am always torn about such situations is it right to stop someone(who in this case enjoys running) doing something they enjoy because they might be developing the wrong muscle groups etc. At 17 I would think there is a lot of resilience as long as an extra activity doesn't become too excessive....but then at the higher levels of ballet one could get injured anyway from doing that even with all,the right muscle groups being in use!!

Can't wait now am going to see this next Tuesday (14th May) and have never managed to see the full length version before for some reason but feel I know some bits by heart from watching on YouTube....great to see for real now!

Think I would add Marcia Haydee too from Stuttgart. Also Markarova in Giselle was mesmerising especially in the mad scene.(I missed Fonteyn in this role but she was noted for it) More recently have noticed Itziar Mendizabel standing out....another one excellent in Las Hermanas. Some dancers seem to be generally good at acting too(Cojocaru) and others shine in particular roles. Even in light hearted ballets like Fille Ive been moved to tears by a particular performance like Acosta/Nunez......which reminds me of course Alexander Grant as the idiot farmers son.....I hate saying this but no one has bettered him in this role.....yet....his humour had such a gentle touch.

I don't know how old your daughter is Tulip but I would have thought a bit of jogging would be okay and possibly nice for you to do together!! As she does have professional aspirations for ballet though just a need to watch how much she does I would have thought as excessive jogging can damage the joints in knees and hips as others have said especially when running on roads etc. A moderate amount of running for enjoyment could be a good thing.....however if she is advanced ballet level I shouldn't think she would need to do another activity to support cardio etc. Ballet is supposed to be anaerobic and so on and I think this is because the exercise is broken up into different speeds during the class but try telling that to students at the end of a long class!!

I saw Las Hermanas recently and the whole cast of that including Cojocaru (who I love in anything just about) were brilliant.....really got the mood of Lorca. A word for Fonteyn in Marguerite and Armand and any piece where she had to portray joy or ecstasy! And Nureyev not so much for acting but just pure stage presence I don't think anyone can just run onto a stage like he did. Anyway this has got me thinking now........

Hi Michelle just looked and would have been great as have friends in Cambridge so easy to stay etc but am up in Haworth that weekend.....we have this college reunion thing going and each person in the group takes it in turns to organise it.....next year it's Brighton so better start planning now!!!! Last year it was in Ross on Wye and took a slightly macabre turn with us speculating who would end up being the last two to meet up as we're all,getting so ancient....but I digress..... I didn't know about these RAD workshops so will keep my eye out in future though last year they did email me about their adult classes and they are great if you live in London but its the same as with ENB ones you do need to pay up front and be able to attend each week. They do have this great Saturday dance day each week where you can combine different classes and I might think about that for next year when I'm that bit fitter as wasn't sure could cope with more than one class a day last autumn......will certainly find out this summer anyway! Have just today finally booked the Chelsea Summer School!!

Thanks Legseleven and Janet. I will be up in Haworth at the end of June....just bought ticket and its Leeds then Keighley....so that must be the nearest station. They moved there from Bradford and though have been before that was by car from Sheffield so not that au fait yet with the trains up there. Anyway I'll do a bit of investigating then if my friend doesnt manage to get something in York or nearby in next few weeks.

This RAD workshop sounds interesting Michelle.....is this on their website and can anyone go or is it liked to your ENB classes.....would love to do those but you have to guarantee getting up to London regularly once a week as paid for in advance and can't do that. Wold be interested to know anyway