Lindsay

Haha yes it is! When they are preparing their Form's contribution to the Carol Service. But after Lawrie has a theatrical attempt at conducting they (correctly) decide that her talents would be better used in a dramatic reading of Kipling's Eddi's Service

@Sophoife It's a close-run thing! And the Nicola-Tim growing apart and then 'coming back together' to arrange the carol service in the Attic Term is so subtly done. They are such quality novels, disguised as 'standard' school stories.

Apologies for crashing the party but am also a huge Antonia Forest fan and hence very excited by this thread - although Autumn term is my favourite, mainly because of the Christmas play

True. And I suspect Mariko Sasaki (who was a beautiful big swan on opening night of this run) has been focusing on her Odette/Odile debut so we haven't seen so much of her in soloist roles recently either

I do also find myself wondering a bit these days if regular RB goers were spoiled at the 'soloist' (i.e. in the sense of soloist roles rather than actual ranking) level a few years ago, when there were so many clear principals-in-waiting at that level and newly minted principals were still dancing soloist roles. It felt as though, even when not seeing the opening night case, one was almost guaranteed a technically secure, musical performance in key solos. First soloist cohorts of the quality of Kaneko, Magri and O'Sullivan don't come along all that often and I think Calvert's absence on maternity leave has perhaps highlighted the need for reinforcement at that level (although credit to Gasparini for covering almost everything and doing it beautifully!). It will be interesting to see which of the very technically strong cohort of young dancers currently at artist and first artist level can turn their skills into consistent soloist performances across different roles.

I didn’t see Saturday’s performance Buru but saw the same cast on Wednesday - I posted about the lead performances but not in detail about the supporting cast partly because I shared the same disappointment as you, particularly with the Big Swans who were not in sync and frankly looked tired and lacking any elevation in the jumps. I had some sympathy for the cygnets because there was a last minute unannounced cast change and the heights and spacing looked off but I assumed that was down to not having rehearsed as a team. The conductor also took their dance very fast (by contrast to one of Siegfried’s sisters in Act 1 who seemed thrown by an unusually slow tempo). So I gave the benefit of the doubt to all concerned - but will be interested to see how this cast goes in the cinema relay. Other than Jun as Benno, I would have thought there were some stronger casting choices that could have been made for soloists in such a public event

Oh yes! Marcia Rutherford became a big star in « Dance for Poppa”. And I remember really wanting to be Mariella living in a mansion flat with a famous ballerina mother and critic father and meals appearing ready-made from the kitchen downstairs. In fact I would still quite like that! Thanks for the reminder Sophoife!

Wasn't it one of the girls in the scenes in the dressing room while Veronica was still a student at Barons Court who was told that their thighs were not right for the "Theatre Ballet" so they went off to become a show girl instead? I seem to remember some rather pointed class assumptions around that scene too - maybe a character called Gloria who was definitely coded as not quite "respectable"? I must re-read. For all their dated assumptions, I LOVED the Wells books!

I'm somewhere between Sim and Shade (so to speak). I think Naghdi is hugely improving as an actress. Her technique has always been top notch (imho best in the company after Marianela) but I used to find her a little 'coldly competent'. She has introduced much more musicality and nuance into her performances, and I think is now absolutely stellar in the minxy/flashing smile roles - as Odile of course and I first noticed this when she absolutely owned the stage as the lead in Elite Syncopations a few years ago. She is now such a safe pair of hands in things like Sugar Plum or Kitri that you just know the steps are easy for her, so you can sit back and enjoy it with her as she plays with the music. However, I still find it really difficult to see her as vulnerable, in the way that makes a really good Odette. There is a sort of 'competence' about all of her performances that is always there (whether it is the rock solid technique, the facial expression or quite what else I can't quite work out). I also felt this last time I saw Yasmine's vision scene in Sleeping Beauty - there is something about her expression that means I can't forget that she is "acting" in those kind of roles. Marianela of course also has solid technique but somehow manages to make me feel her vulnerability. Maybe it's something to do with the way she uses her head as Odette? If it were that easy to work out the 'magic formula', then everyone would be doing it! None of which should detract from what was an amazing performance last night and I think (the leads at least) are well worthy of the cinema performance. We are so lucky in London at the moment to be able to nitpick our preferences between really incredible dancers and none of this is in any way intended as a detraction of anybody! Yasmine would always be one of my top choices when choosing which casts to see.

Agree, I saw this in the House last night and while Grigorian was by far the strongest singer (and really this IS Butterfly's opera!) some of the supporting performances, especially Suzuki and Sharpless, were excellent too. I wasn't so sure about Pinkerton and this production has nothing particularly interesting about it but at least the director is not undermining the tragedy of Butterfly's story and the music sounded beautiful!

I thought so too. But there are a lot of references that benefit from familiarity with the imagery - for example Marie’s Magdalene-like washing the feet of the soldier wearing the crown of thorns with her hair. That idea of interiority as if stuck in a nightmare has gone out of fashion on the stage today too - audiences seem to prefer their stories more literal

Indeed. I think he was very lucky to be able to do so. Mason (and her predecessors) really did have to cast a wider net given the state of the school pre-Stock, and although that brought us glories in the form of Acosta, Zanowsky, Cojocaru, Kobborg, Rojo, Bonelli and (not least!) Nunez, the corps de ballet could look very disparate and ragged at times....

Yes, you have an interesting perspective there. In my view, a lot of credit for the change over the last decade must go to Gailene Stock for hugely raising the standards at RBS. She brought through most of the current principal 'class' under her tenure, including Hayward, Bracewell, Ball, Naghdi, Clarke and O'Sullivan (plus Sissens on the principal-in-waiting side) who all attended White Lodge. I think mixing that strong 'homegrown' pipeline with the introduction of technically brilliant dancers in the Upper School (Sambe, Magri, Acri, Richardson etc.) has borne considerable fruit for the company. It would be very interesting if one were now to take a similar break to imagine what the company might look like in 2035 (!), with the school having shifted the balance to a much larger proportion of international prizewinners...

I agree Beaker. I remember seeing some really good principal performances at the end of the 'Mason years' but often being a bit on edge for the pas de trois (in the 'old' swan lake production) or the pas de six in Giselle, Myrtha's solo, Lilac Fairy etc. because there were quite a few soloists where I could sense their nerves about getting through the difficult bits. Very rare for me to feel that nowadays - there is much more technical strength in depth. Of course artistry is what we are all looking for but, if dancers are visibly uncomfortable with the steps (not having the odd slip or fall from really pushing, which is fine, but struggling and/or 'cheating' all the way through a variation ), I find that ship has pretty much sailed.....

Coincidentally, I am at this very moment taking this wise advice literally. I noticed that I have a free evening on a work trip to Paris in a couple of weeks and have just managed to nab a ticket for Don Quixote at the Bastille. Hannah O'Neill and German Louvet that night so very much looking forward to it!