capybara

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.

There is much to celebrate in this list and some well-deserved promotions among the younger members of the Company who have attracted our interest and given us so much pleasure this year. But, alas, there are some regrettable omissions. We predicted this would be the case as opportunities within a ballet company are so much a matter of Directorial taste. But isn't it time, for example, for Ludovic Ondiviela to become a soloist - he has done so much so well this year including Alain and Kolia - and for an addition to be made to the female Principal ranks? We will not tempt fate by mentioning any names!

It will be interesting to see who replaces Ursula Hageli.

This show is inventive and its multi-media approach is a novel one although we found the pace at which one is required to walk rather slow and the storyline a bit contrived. The pictures on the screen were more fully populated with dancers than the reality although there were some lovely dance cameos, including one from the only ENB dancer we recognised (Joshua McSherry Gray) and two from two female ENB 'extras'. The good news is that the event (which lasts for 40 minutes, starts every 5 - 10 mins, and involves no more than 4 people in a group) is exciting a lot of interest. Apparently, it is fully booked for the rest of the week.

Once again, ENB deserves congratulations for experimentation and outreach.

Please does anyone know the timings for this Show and its finish time? Apparently ENB were on first on Wednesday but, since then, have gone last - is that so?

We understood Anthony to have moved from the ENB School in 2007 to replace David Wall on the Ballet Staff of the Company.

We once had the privilege of watching him coach Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks in the Nutcracker Pdd. Together, they dismantled and built up almost every move in order to strive for perfection and the respect the two stars showed for Anthony's input and opinion is illustrative of the asset he is to ENB.

The same applies to Ros Whitten who surely has no equal as a Ballet Mistress for the female corps.

We saw Jose's 'farewell' performance on 12 June and regret his departure - another first soloist who has been scarcely used by the RB of late. We find it equally regrettable that news of his appointment at ENB has been promulgated informally via Twitter and in other ways. Unless, as MAB hopes, Jose's appointment in an additional one, the problems with information management which seem to beset ENB can only cause hurt to the existing Ballet Staff who deserve nothing but praise. [incidentally, Anthony Dowson (a former RB Principal) joined during Wayne's tenure some 5 years ago.]

Thank you. Would have loved to have seen 'her'.

Is there anyone who can report on Johan's performance as Madge, please?

This is very sad news for Lauren and Rupert and those of us who had booked specifically to see them in Pagodas. At the same time, it is wonderful news for both Beatriz and Ryo whom some of us were fortunate to see rehearsing at the Insight evening. At last, the RB has taken a leaf out of Wayne Eagling's book at ENB and is showing itself prepared to field dancers in leading roles on the basis of their talent and unique suitability rather than their rank and time served.

The Pagodas Insight lasted only an hour and a half.

We have heard that some opera Insights have been cut to around 2 hours.

The evening consisted of:

1) a half hour input on the music, lucidly presented by Barry Wordsworth with the assistance of Colin Matthews who is an afficionado on Britten and who was bursting to offer more. They introduced some extracts played by Rob Clark on the piano and referred to the cuts and re-ordering which have been effected this time round to give more coherence to the storyline

2) Claire Thurman, the Ballet Education Manager, reading a brief synopsis

3) a rehearsal of the final act pdd with Jonny Cope teaching Beatriz Stix-Brunell the steps along with Ryoichi Hirano who was already familiar with the piece. [Although nothing was said, there was a feeling in the air that one if not both of them could well feature as the second cast.]

4) a few questions of Jonny about what it was like to create the role of the Prince/Salamander

It was enjoyable, of course, and especially lovely to see two rising stars rehearsing. However, Insights used, in our experience, to be distinguished clearly from rehearsals by being spread over a day/half day/full evening, covering many elements of the production and its history and providing opportunities for questions at each juncture. What we now seem to have is a very pared down version - which is not only a great pity but, in our view, missed opportunities to fully engage an audience wherein the majority were coming new to the piece. After all, there are currently hundreds of tickets remaining to be sold.

Please does anyone know who will be dancing a the rehearsal tomorrow?

Best to steer clear of the Alexandrinsky. The theatre is beautiful but the ballet company is a small number 'scratch' affair with very average quality principals. We have heard that it is a much favoured destination for cruise ship passengers.

If one looks at the ENB's published accounts, it would appear that the Artistic Director is paid significantly more than the Chief Executive - i.e. the former over £100K per annum, the other quite a bit less. This may, or may not, say something about the inter-relationship of the two posts. Interesting, however, to compare these levels of remuneration with the salaries at the Royal Opera House!

We are for ever grateful to my father who decided, in 1970, that my fiance and his mother should come with us to see Fille. It was David Blair and Merle Park with Lesley Edwards as Thomas and, perhaps, David Morse as Alain. As a direct result, my now husband became a ballet fan. No better recommendation than that!

Memories of Fille also go back to a performance in a 'big top' in Battersea Park when Wendy Ellis and Wayne Eagling were dancing Lise and Colas. As the Act One storm broke on stage, the heavens opened outside, rain pelted on the tent roof and thunder clapped along with the orchestra. An amazing experience.

Please can anyone remember who might have played Widow Simone in 1970? I don't think that it was Stanley Holden.

As a postscript to this discussion, Ivan Putrov is about 5ft 9ins, so not short. What he does have, of course, is a wonderful (long) leg to body ratio which some shorter dancers do not possess.

Aileen - surely, a corps de ballet achieves the kind of excellence currently on display at ENB by working with one another over time? Bringing in additional swans for the Albert Hall is arguably necessary.... but it is an exception.

Please could we avoid potentially upsetting speculation here as to how Tamara will approach the job?

We are uncertain of the rules of engagement here where quoting other websites is concerned but readers of the BalletCoForum might be interested to know that some further contributions on the subject of changes at ENB have now appeared on:

http://www.ballet-dance.com/forum/viewtopicphp?f=338t=35828