capybara

Thank you, Ian. It clearly takes an expert to make such links work!

Tonight's Evening Standard has a full page focusing on Tamara's farewell and a crit of last night's performance. The article is at: www.standard.co.uk/arts/theatre/dancing-like-there's-no-tamara-8493169.html Alas, the accompanying editorial reads as if its author believes that T is only now taking up the reins fully with ENB when, of course, she has been in charge since last August.

Standby tickets for ENB are available to allcomers from 3 hours before curtain up and to seniors etc from 12 noon for evening performances. It is usually possible to get last minute tickets for ENB's triple bills, especially at times of the year when there is a lot of dance on in London. While, at the Coli, the stalls usually sell out first - apart, that is, for single seats very much to the side - the sightlines are good wherever one sits. You can monitor availability generally and the difference between the Friday and Saturday nights nearer the time at www.eno.org

However, the Raymond Gubbay organisation (which promotes ENB at the Royal Albert Hall) is known to be keen on there being guest artistes for the 'in the round' performances.

Toursenlair said yesterday that: Reid Anderson confirms that he hasn't done open auditions for the last five years, he simply recruits new Stuttgart Ballet dancers from the John Cranko School. However Elisa Badenes joined Stuttgart from the RBS in 2009. There have recently been references here to her debut as Kitri in Stuttgart. .

On Marianela's website, it continues to show her as dancing Monotones II on the 12th, 15th and 21st February. But, as others have said, information about the casting for that ballet appears to be missing from the updated RB version on the ROH website.

A little bird tells me that your wish might be granted, Buddy!

I felt that I wanted to record appreciation for last night's cast, especially Federico's fine Onegin and Yuhui's delightful Olga. This is a ballet which I shall miss a lot once the run is over. It is such a well-constructed piece and has afforded us an array of truly amazing performances. Roll on Mayerling!

There was also an article in The Telegraph magazine yesterday based on an interview given to Sarah Crompton. I tried to post this as soon as I saw the piece but am not sure that I succeeded.

Tamara was the first cast Tatyana (with Adam Cooper as Onegin) when Ross Stretton introduced Onegin to the RB in 2001. And, yes, it was in London!

There is a long piece by Sarah Crompton.about Sergei in today's Telegraph magazine.

Further to the above...... 9th March A Creative Workshop for Young Choreographers at 15.00 hrs 9th March Swan Lake with Olga Esina (Wiener Staatsballett) and Korsuntsev 10th March International Stars Gala with Esina, Vadim and Chase Finlay (NYCB)

The Mariinsky has just published details of (part of) its XIII Ballet Festival 28th Feb - 10th March. To date, the programme is: 28th Feb. Romeo and Juliet with Vishneva and Shklyarov 1st Mar. (the same) 2nd Mar. Don Quichotte 4th Mar Giselle with Zakharova and Skvortsov 5th Mar Jewels with Kondaurova 6th Mar. Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Lopatkina 7th Mar La Bayadere with Vadim Muntagirov There is due to be a Gala on the 10th march but no details yet.

And Jude Kelly, Director of the Southbank Centre.

There is, of course, ENB's Emerging Dancer Competition whereby 6 up and coming dancers are elected to compete by their peers and company management. This year's line up (in no particular order) is: Laurretta Summerscales, Nancy Osbaldeston, Alison McWhinney, Guilherme Menezes, Nathan Young and Ken Saruhashi. They will each dance two pieces of their choosing before a Panel of judges including Darcey and Tamara on 4th March at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets are available from the Southank Centre. Previous winners have been Anais Chalendard, Shiori Kase and Yonah Acosta. There is also The People's Choice Award wherein ENB's audience has, since last October, been given the chance to vote for "their favourite dancer" on the back of the cast sheets. Previous winners have been Crystal Costa, Anton Lukovkin and Yonah Acosta.

Following post #25, many years ago I was sitting in front of two American visitors to the ROH. They turned to the cast sheet and saw that Darcey and (I think) Zoltan Solymosi were being replaced in Manon by Viviana Durante and Irek Mukhamedov arguably (alongside Sylvie Guillem and Jonathan Cope) by far the best interpreters of the roles at that time. They were so disappointed that they got up to leave; so I had to intervene, telling them about the two replacement Principals and persuading them to stay for the first act at least. They did stay, were overwhelmed by the power of the interpretations and the dancing, thanked me at the end and left bent on booking for anther performance by Viviana and Irek. I am still encountering people who, until Darcey retried, had never booked for anyone else and now, in dramatic ballets particularly, are realising that this was not the best policy since so much of the enjoyment in ballet is to be gained from seeing -and appreciating - different artistes in the same roles..

The situation must have changed as the Box Office assistant was reading off her screen last Tuesday.

I am shocked that ENB said it did not know the cost of the rebrand. Surely anything of that kind needs to be planned and budgeted for very carefully before it is approved and the process then closely monitored to ensure it stays within agreed limits. Perhaps (hopefully) it was simply a case of the spokesperson being poorly briefed?!

When I was at the Coliseum Box office last Tuesday, I overheard a member of staff reading out all the Mikhailovsky casting, including the first nights for Osipova and Vasiliev. So, unless that has changed, it is very odd that someone there is now saying that they do not have the information.

I wouldn't want to detract from her achievements in any way but, unlike most dancers, Darcey had a very active agent from an early age and was therefore to be seen and heard from more widely than the ballet world. Being chosen by Kenneth MacMillan to have the role of Princess Rose created on her in Prince of the Pagodas was headline-making in itself. Her 'brand' was also, of course, very attractive - youth, beauty, Englishness, apparent niceness - and she arrived on the scene at a time when people were craving for 'the next Margot Fonteyn'. There is a debate to be had, but perhaps not here, about the relative strengths of Darcey and Lauren!!! For the moment, all our fingers need to keep crossed for Lauren's recovery from injury.

We also found ourselves attending 5 performances with different casts. We thought that Vadim Muntagirov (as the Prince), Erina Takahashi, Elena Glurjidze and Ksenia Ovsyanick (as Aurora), Daria Klimentova and Laurretta Summerscales (as the Lilac Fairy), James Streeter (as Carabosse), Shiori Kase (as Princess Florine) and the ENB Corps were absolutely outstanding. Those of you who did not get the the Coli missed a real treat in terms of performances and the production.

Speaking to several people at the ROH yesterday there was a common concern that ENB will have invested heavily in a rebranding (leaflets as well as the website) which will not bear the dividends it seeks. For the sake of the Company one hopes that we are all wrong, but........!!!!!

Lovely to see that Francesca is now cast as Stephanie and in the first cast too. Is Iohna Loots injured?

I also recall the ENB Documentary quoting the figures given above and am aware that ENB pay levels are generally much lower than the RB's. In the Annual Accounts for the ROH (2010/11), 6 performers are shown as being paid over £100k per annum with a further 50 or so receiving over £60k, the figure which is rumoured to be the starting point for an RB Principal. Although no distinction is made in the accounts between ballet and opera, given that most operatic stars are guests, not employees, most of the artistes at this pay level seem likely to be in the RB. And, when Tamara got her job at ENB, she did mention that she was giving up a "fantastic salary" for the £100k or so she is now receiving as Artistic Director. In both companies, it appears that there are deductions for time spent away guesting.