capybara

The Coliseum is saying that the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company will be performing from 26th March to 7th April 2013 with programmes which (as reported here previously) are thought to include Swan Lake.

Absolutely agree about Elena - a delight - as was Ksenia Ovsyanick at the Thursday matinee - her debut. Tamara yesterday evening gave us the amazing technically assured performance of the rose adagio that we have come to expect from her but she subsequently softened and was, quite simply glorious. Vadim Muntagirov was not only technically breathtaking but he succeeded in turning what is so often a colourless Prince into a character to cherish. This young dancer is very, very special. But, as others have suggested, it is the strength in depth which so characterises ENB. Every Prologue Fairy is a joy; the Lilac Fairies (from Senior Principals - Daria Klimentova and Elena - to Artists - Laurretta Summerscales and Jia Zhang) are assured and gracious, the various Carabosses really reach the furthest flung parts of the theatre, and the Act 111 divertissements are all strongly and winningly danced. The Company certainly seems to be thriving under new management. Don't forget that Sleeping Beauty follows Nutcracker into the Coliseum from 9th to 19th January 2013.

Is anyone able to report on the Alina/Federico performance last night, please? Isn't it interesting that, after two years years, most of us are still speaking and writing about Nehemiah Kish as Kish whereas all the other RB/ENB and BRB dancers tend to be referred to more by their Christian names or Christian names plus surnames?

I would just like to point out that we're not made of money either. We wanted to go to this gala to support Wayne Sleep largely because he, in turn, had supported (and danced at) a recent gala in aid of an African Charity. We had to wait, however, until it became clear that not all seats were priced at £200/£100 and we chose to go to this charitable event rather than the Gala at the ROH on 30 October. I posted the programme on this site because I thought that people here would be really interested to know about the content and the performers.

This event, in aid of the Dance teacher's Benevolent Fund and the Wayne Sleep Foundation took place last night. All the expensive seats (£200/£100) were sold but the back and sides (£50) were, alas, sparsely occupied - such a pity as it was a good cause and an excellent evening of dance. The programme was introduced by Angela Rippon and 'hosted' by Monica Mason with spoken contributions/tributes to teachers from Anthony Dowell (very touching) and Simon Callow. As is often the case, understandably, on such occasions, there were the usual last minute substitutions - this time involving Lauren Cuthbertson, Yonah Acosta/Shiori Case and Yuhue Choe. But what we saw was a treat all round: STOMP - Luke Cresswell and Company BRAHMS (Wayne Sleep) - Emma Maguire and Alexander Campbell LOOK WEST (Alastair Marriott) - Melissa Hamilton and Gary Avis LE CORSAIRE PDD (Marius Petipa) - Yoaquin Shang and Esteban Hernandez (Royal Ballet School) JE NE REGRETTE RIEN (Ben Van Cauwenburgh) - Sarah Lamb INFRA PDD (Wayne McGregor) - Marianela Nunez and Edward Watson TWO PIGEONS (Frederick Ashton) - Jenna Roberts and Robert Parker NOWADAYS AND HOT HONEY RAG (after Bob Fosse) - Summer and Scarlet Strallen INTERVAL DURING WHICH TWO OF LOTS AUCTIONED WERE: Lot 3 - the chance (provided one was not too large to get into the costume!) to appear onstage with ENB at the Coli in January as a courtier together with 4 tickets for the performance and a programme signed by the cast (which went for £750 i think) and Lot 4 - the opportunity for 2 people to watch a Royal Ballet performance from the wings and have a backstage tour (which went for £1500 I think). JOY - (Rebecca Wilson) - Rambert School PIE JESU FROM REQUIEM (Kenneth MacMillan) - Danielle Muir (Royal Ballet School) CLEOPATRA PDD (David Nixon) - Martha Leebolt and Tobias Batley STRICTLY COME DANCING (2 pieces) - Natalie Lowe and Ian Waite ASPHODEL MEADOWS PDD (Liam Scarlett) - Leanne Cope and Dawid Trzensimiech LIMEN PDD (Wayne McGregor) - Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood SWAN LAKE ACT 2 PDD (Petipa/Ivanov) - Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares with Henry Roche (Piano), Sergey Levitin (Violin) and Adrian Bradbury (Cello) THE MIND ON FIRE (George Williamson, new Associate Artist at ENB) - Begona Cao and Zdenek Konvalina SING, SING, SING (Steven McCrae) - Redman Rance - a current Billy Elliot; Steven McCrae and Wayne Sleep PUCK'S WORDS FROM A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (recited by Thomas Round - Leane Benjamin's son) The audience appeared in the main unfamiliar with ballet and, not unexpectedly, the 'Strictly' sequences, Swan Lake and the tap dancing piece Sing, Sing, Sing (Steven McCrae sensational but Wayne Sleep still able to put on a good show) garnered the most applause/cheers.

A packed and enthusiastic house at Milton Keynes yesterday afternoon for ENB's Sleeping Beauty for a very enjoyable performance. Erina Takahashi's Aurora was simply beautiful and there were fine performances also from various fairies, the Act III characters and the King and Queen. Yonah Acosta is injured and was replaced by Esteban Berlanga.

I meant in the listings in About the House where we are now referred back to the production details.

Previous pairings, roles and the fact that Marianela moved away from Mitzi Caspar for the last showing of Mayerling surely indicate, whatever the RoH might say, that the artistes listed for Mitzi Caspar are in fact dancing Countess Larische. Kevin O'Hare's willingness to reveal more of the line up than in the recent past is much to be welcomed but does anyone else find it more difficult now that the casts are no longer listed in the calendar of performances?

Tamara has made it known that Daria and Vadim will be dancing the opening night at the Coliseum but, beyond that, there is no firm news. However, if the timing of the Sleeping Beauty casting announcement is anything to go by, the Nutcracker roll call is likely to be posted sooner than was the case when Wayne was AD.

Earlier this year, Christopher Wheeldon was still being described (by Kevin O'Hare no less) as a member of the Royal Ballet's artistic team alongside Wayne McGregor. Indeed, his involvement seemed to be regarded as part of a 'new look' at the top of the Company. But all such mentions have disappeared from the new Royal Ballet Yearbook and Wayne is being referred to again as the Resident Choreographer. Did I miss an announcement while I was on holiday? Can anyone throw any light on the situation, please?

it should be added that the ENB MasterClass with David Wall and Alfreda Thorogood [featuring Erina Takahashi, Esteban Berlanga, James Streeter (an amazing Carabosse), Alison MacWhinney (who is to dance Lilac Fairy), and Nathan Young (who is learning the Bluebird)] was terrific. Full of insights and recollections from working with Kenneth MacMillan whose production of Sleeping Beauty this is. A real encouragement to book for performances in the regions as well as London if ever there was one.

This 80 min feature film, starring Cindy Jourdain (ex RB and ENB) and Arionel Vargas (ENB), is showing as part of the Rain Dance Film Festival at the Apollo Cinema, Lower Regent Street, London. The published times are: Thursday 04 October at 8.30pm (which clashes with both the Ballet Association meeting with Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera and the ENB Sleeping Beauty MasterClass) and Saturday 06 October at 12.30pm.

Re visas. Surely someone vacating a post briefs his/her successor, especially over something as vital as this?

We would rather have the casting listed at the booking stage (i.e. month beforehand) and then have to cope with last minute changes through injury etc. Unfortunately, the current ENB approach - i.e. only to publish names about a month or so beforehand - means that, if one waits, the seats one wants to buy are gone. Lovely to see on this post the amount of justified interest there is in Vadim. Let's hope he stays with ENB under the new management. Having seen copies of the rehearsal schedules over the last couple of weeks in Markova House (ENB's HQ), we believe that the Company was genuinely hoping that Vadim would get his visa in time. We don't think that they were 'pulling a fast one'. After all, they announced other changes as soon as it was apparent that Elena wouldn't be able to dance.

Tonight is indeed Irina and Zdenek. We have changed tickets at the Coli before but can't remember whether they charge a handling fee. it is such a shame, however good the substitute casts are - and they are, of course, that Wayne's last show as Director has been disrupted by both injury and, apparently, visa problems.

Yes, of course, one is very happy for Maina and Ros if new, exciting opportunities have opened up for them - and Maina is in great demand as a coach all over the world. But, although changes are almost inevitable when a new Artistic Director arrives, the consummate skill these two amazing former Principal dancers bring to their work will be very hard to replace at ENB.

This is terrible news. Maina and Ros are the ones primarily responsible for the amazingly high standards currently attained by ENB and will be sorely missed. We would like to thank them for everything they have done for the Company and for our enjoyment.

Bought tickets ages ago lured by the promosed roster. Sorry to hear before going that certain dancers would not be there. Disappointed to learn on arrival that two more would be missing. Took seats somewhat grumpily in view of this. Soon won over. New pieces much appreciated. Gudanov (of whom London sees too little during Bolshoi tours) superb. A lovely evening.

The ENB's swans are preparing to dance a version of their Swan Lake Act IV on 2 August at the O2. Something to do with the Gymnastics, apparently. Also, Wayne Eagling has choreographed a special piece to be danced at the Fencing this coming week.

Minna Moore Ede's highly imaginative concept and its multi-faceted realisation was so well portrayed in the Imagine programme. It certainly filled in gaps left by the RB's Insight evening and the £10 programme. The multi-media exhibition in the NG's Sainsbury Wing is well worth a visit.

It is a pity that this praise of Maina Gielgud, with which we agree wholeheartedly, is located in the section about Jose Martin. We have had the privilege of seeing Maina at work in the studio on many occasions and can attest to the fact that she is always as good as she was at the MasterClass. She really does treat every Principal as an individual and can often be heard exploring interpretations with them and then giving detailed feedback as to whether or not they are conveying what they themselves intend. We too hope that ENB will continue to use her skills to the full - and, of course, her links back into the history of ballets and interpreters make her an invaluable source of knowledge for today's generation of dancers.

Bruce says: I've been very impressed by ENB lately where within a couple of months the company split to: 1) Tour to Australia 2) Do DanceGB tour 3) Do the lido mini-season One company really getting out there and giving audience and dancers many more experiences. There was also an ENB Group which went to China, the 8 ballerinas who linked up for the tour with Flawless, and there have been numerous 'one-off' ventures such as performances at St Pauls Cathedral, an event at Kensington Palace, and private soirees. All these ventures have involved different groups of dancers and given members of the corps the opportunity to take leading roles.

We went to St Petersburg for the Mariinsky Spring Festival a few years ago. We had booked for Vishneva/Fadeev in Swan Lake but got Rojo/Kolb. This was very interesting as either her performance was differently nuanced or we saw her in a new light in that different context. Either way, we somehow appreciated her all the more. And the response from the audience, including several Mariinsky Principals, was amazing. We have heard reports of much the same experiences on the part of ROH regulars who have seen other RB Principals guesting abroad.

The RB School Show at the ROH this afternoon was absolutely wonderful. The programme* was a varied delight and showed off the talents of the Upper School students in particular to great advantage. We cannot remember a better end of year performance and it will be interesting to follow the careers of many 'stars of tomorrow' spotted on stage today. * Jubilation (Year 9) Diane Van School and Antonio Castilla to Glazunov Games for Gods (across the Lower School) Matthew Hart to Britten Simple Symphony (Year 2 Upper School) Alastair Marriott to Britten Uneven Ground (Year 3 Upper School) Paul Boyd to Sosa Un Ballo (Year 3 Upper School) Jiri Kilian to Ravel Yonderling (Years 1 and 2 Upper School) John Neumeier to Foster Paquita excerpts (Year 3 Upper School plus Anna-Rose O'Sullivan Year 2 Upper School) Marius Petipa to Minkus Grand Defile (entire school) Staff to Czerny

Laura Day joined BRB from the RBS Upper School Third Year some months ago. So that makes a total of 5 students graduating to the Royal Ballet Companies.