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Norman S

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About Norman S

  • Birthday 19/07/1959

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    Muswell Hill, London
  1. sorry to add to the general gloom about the Bolshoi's la bayadere but I really don't think the Royal wd have got away with last night's tired and disjointed performace. I also found it utterly bizarre to see dancers "blacked up"...I thought this went out with the Black and White Minstrel show ??? I'm afraid I found the whole event flat as a pancake. deeply disappointing. The injury to Alexandrova just seemed to sum up the evening. Best forgotten methinks.
  2. Agree. I thought second act had far more emotional fizz than the first. R and J seemd a bit underwhelmed with each other during the first act and I didn't really feel there was any spark between Anna Nikulina and Volkchov. Beautiful but well a ....bit flat. The second Act was terrific and the final scenes really moving. One of the undoubted plus sides of watching ballet at the cinema is you get the facial close ups and a much greater sense of the acting performance. Whatever the turmoil of the Bolshoi backstage they are still a wonderful company to watch.Looking forward to their stint at Covent Garden.
  3. Sorry to enter this discussion a bit late..but I think Tamara Rojo is doing an utterly brilliant job (in a relatively short space of time) in giving the company a sharper, distinctive identity and raising its profile beyond a core ballet audience. At present it seems to me ENB are in danger of being forever the poor cousins of the Royal, both artistically and finanically. What Tamara appears to be doing is trying to give the conpany a clearer purpose and personality, and to break out of the safety net/straight jacket of the story based classics. My sense is she is trying to provided a clear answer to the basic question - "Who are the ENB and what are the ENB for ?" And my feeling is she wants ENB to be a slightly edgier, younger company with a bit of attitude. Hence the Vivienne Westwood, Ecstacy and Death, Corsaire etc etc. She's taking risks and wants the company to become less risk averse. Alongisde that she has - through her own infectious personality and energy - hugely raised the media coverage of the ENB. It sometimes seems you can hardly open a magazine or turn on the radio without coming across her. In doing so I think she is beginning to make ENB look more relvant, involved and contemporary. Finally I wonder if working in the company hasn't just become a whole lot more fun and if there'sa bit more of a buzz about the place. There's nothing more draining than "same old, same old" and I suspect Tamara by giving tghe company some momentum and impetus is starting to put a smile on the face of ENB. All credit to her.
  4. I've been struck during a couple of recent performances how long the intervals are (Onegin and Firebird at ROH both had a couple of 25 min breaks). My feeling is that unless there is a very good reason for such breaks (major set change/costume change etc etc) they are tedious. They break up the drama and narrative ..and I suspect they must be a pain for the dancers who have to keep warm. What do people think ? I think its nice to have a chat..but 50 mins seems excessive. My suspicion is that the long breaks are simply a means to encourage people to spend money at the bar. If so I don't think thats a good enough reason..... I wd have thought one longer break and one short would be fine. 20 min and 10 min. any thoughts #impatient #'letsgetonwithit
  5. Have people seen this....? Perhaps they take their ballet a bit too seriously methinks........... MOSCOW (AP) - A masked assailant threw acid at the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater ballet, an attack that colleagues say may leave him partially blind and appeared to be linked to power struggles at the famed Russian dance company. Sergei Filin, a 42-year-old former ballet star, said he was approached late Thursday night by a man who threw the acid at his face as he approached the high gate at the entrance to his apartment building in central Moscow. "I got scared and I thought he was going to shoot me," Filin, his head and face covered with white bandages, said in an interview with REN TV. "I turned around to run, but he raced ahead of me." Filin said the attacker wore a hood and either a mask or a scarf, so only his eyes were visible. The theater's general director, Anatoly Iksanov, said he believed the attack was linked to Filin's work.
  6. Did anyone see the Mariinsky's Swan Lake on BBC 4 on Christmas day ? I think I must be losing the plot because I wasn't that thrilled. Perhaps it was because I watched it on an Ipad so on a small screen. But somehow I just felt there was a lack of drama/connection between Top Swan and her forlorn Prince I know Ulyana Lopatkinaitikana is meant to be wonderful , and I perked up for her Black Swan, but..well....I thought she/they were a bit short on the chemistry front. Maybe I was just suffering from a surfeit of Christmas fare.....but interested to know what others think.
  7. If you can seize control of the TV remote on Christmas Day (no mean achievement) then the Kirov are dancing Swan Lake at 8pm on BBC 4. I'm hoping it will be on Iplayer !!
  8. Fantastic article in today's (saturday) review section of the Telegraph about the International Ballet. It nods ahead to an R4 programme about the IB - "The Black Out Ballet" - on Radio 4 this monday afternoon at 4pm. Curious how the IB have almost been written out of english ballet and yet in terms of reaching out to a wider audience they were ground breaking and utterly evangelical. My mum, who danced with them, tells hilarious tales of how they used to perform in pretty much any old drafty, god forsaken town hall or warehouse -complete with pre perfomance talks and demonstrations -all in an eofort to take ballet out to a non ballet audience. And yet strangely the company was pretty much left to die a financial death in the late 50s despite all the pioneering out reach work they undertook.. My guess is this was because they were a private company and that didn't fit in with tthe 'state sponsored' Zeitgeist of the time...others may have better ideas..... but nice anyway the IB is being brought in( a little) from the cold........
  9. Gosh some of you folk are incredibly harsh on Darcey. She'll be fine. It takes time to find your way on TV. Partic prime time. She's been dropped in right at the deep end.She's got a brilliant smile (and that gets her a hell of a long way) - and if she was smart she cd use the "Yahs" -as a sort of trade mark. Irritating ? Yes perhaps short term. But initially most idiosyncracies are. My other thought is that the producers ought to move her next to Bruno. At the moment she's trapped between Len and Misery Guts. She could spark off Bruno a bit who wd also bring her in more. Finally...she needs to trim her comments. One thought/one line each time she judges. Don't ramble on. She'll improve. Just needs a bit of time and practice.
  10. Saw a Rambert Dance matinee performance at Saddler's Wells and was massively impressed by their attempts to reach out to new audiences and de-mystify ballet/dance. They began the performance with a little spiel from the artistic director about the various dances, followed by a short "behind the scenes" film involving some of the dancers, musicians, choreographers etc etc. All done in a relatively light, uncomplicated and unpretentious manner. At the end of the first dance the ballet mistress comes on to put eight of the company through a class. Half the dancers do a ballet class, while at the same time the other half do a contemporary dance class. Fascinating to compare and contrast. Then after the second dance the artistic director comes back on stage to read out some of the Twitter feedback from the audience on what peope have seen so far.And to talk a bit about the music. Now I guess some people might find it all a bit laborious to have all these "interruptions" but my overall impression was that it added hugely to one's knowledge/understanding of the dances and the company. I also think it made the whole afternoon very accessible for new audiences and particularly children. At times it almost felt like a pantomime. (He's behind you !!) However I wd be quite happy to have similar arrangements at some evening performances and think perhaps other companies cd be doing a lot more in this vein. I suspect even those who know their ballet inside out woudl have found the dance classes fascinating. Any thoughts ??
  11. I'm in Manchester this weekend for some particularly remorseless work and so have treated myself with a ticket to see Nothern Ballet on sat night........largely because I have never seen them before but also because I thought they seemed such a great company from the Beeb TV doc. Do they have the same cast every night ? If so sounds like a fantastic evening..(tears before the interval...? Wow...must be good !) n
  12. Stunning pictures. Really looking forward to seeing same programme on TUes...but not seen any reviews...? Am I simply reading the wrong papers(probably) or has San Fran not been widely reviewed yet ???
  13. Has Tamara R actuallly started in her new role at ENB yet ? I ask because for last night's Swan Lake in the programme and evening cast list sheet Wayne Eagling is still listed as artistic director. Obviously programmes have to be printed some time in advance...but I would have thought there had been plenty of time to update their programmes. Even on the ENB website Wayne Eagling is still listed as artisitc director and not a mention of Tamara. Am I missiing something here ??
  14. I'm slightly puzzled why Prince of the P isn't a staple in the Royal (or other companies) repetoire. Saw it for the first time last night and I thought it was an absolutey fantastic ballet, with two stand out female lead roles, vivid characters, a simple direct narrative, driving, moody music and non stop dance action. what's not to like ?? So...I for one am hoping it becomes a bit more of a regular..any thoughts on why it hasn't had many outings...?
  15. Did anyone read the Tamara R intv in the Sunday Times Culture ? I'm thinking she is going to be such a brilliant choice as Artistic Director for ENB. She just oozes energy, ambition and drive. Her aim ? "I want them (ENB) to be the mst exciting company in the world." Gulp ! Don't set the bar too low ! I wonder if folk at the RB might be just a little wary about what she might achieve !
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