Jacqueline

As SwissBalletFan has mentioned, I would also be interested to hear the concensus on Wayne Sleep. As I recall, he had quite a high tv profile and appeared on various programmes demonstrating his skills. Plus of course, he danced with Diana at the ROH and again after her death, when I think her absence was noted by him dancing with a spotlight marking the empty space. I don't know anyone who saw either performance. I think he is now to be seen as part of a group of "older celebrities" on some sort of holiday programme? I have heard various comments about him as a dancer over the years, some less than complimentary. I remember his portrayal as one of Cinderella's ugly sisters being described as "offensive" at one time, although not by whom. Anyway, his name is conspicuous by its absence. Or maybe not.

Many thanks for that info. I also thought the task was near impossible. I think I heard the presenters say the painters had just two hours to come up with something representative of the dancers and their movements or stillness. No wonder there were so many disjointed limbs and odd splodges of colour. I did quite like the one by the blonde haired woman whose name I can't remember. It was more of a suggestion of shape, colours and movement, than an attempt to paint real body shape and could make a good poster or greetings card. The picture of the three dancers en pointe made them look like they all needed the loo!

I tuned in by chance yesterday to The Big Painting Challenge on BBC1. I generally try to avoid these types of programmes and this one seemed to be no exception, in that it contained just about every cliché known to the genre. However, this episode was about capturing the human body in motion. The challenge was to produce a painting of a live solo dancer and then a group of dancers. Interpretation of the action was up to the painters. The results differed hugely, as one might expect. Some showed an eye for the subject, some none at all. Anyway, my question, if anyone who may have watched the episode, is who were the dancers? Their names flashed by in the credits which I have tried to rewatch on my tablet but it refuses to pause at the right moment, so I can read them.

Darcey Bussell got a name check on Emmerdale last night! Fame at last. Made me wonder about Sergei Polunin maybe doing a cameo on Coronation Street. Apparently there are many well known people desperate to be on the show, if only for a few seconds. I remember Sir Ian McKellen was brilliant as a character created for him, not just a cameo. Sergei could get lost on his way to the Lowry, drop by the Rovers for a pint and one of Betty's famous hot pots, order one of Steve's cabs and compare tattoos with Peter Barlow while he's waiting. All beamed into millions of front rooms across the land. Priceless publicity. Why not if Nureyev could sing and dance with the muppets and seem to be loving it.

That's true. I only saw Robert Helpmann live on stage once. But his depiction of the child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has stayed with me all these years. That scene where the children were hiding in Benny Hill's cellar and they can hear the child catcher calling out. Then his face suddenly appears at the window. Fantastic shock value. My mother used to go to the ballet around the time of Moira Shearer. She said as far as she can recall, Moira had a bit of a reputation for last minute no shows. When she did appear, she was wonderful though. Is that true that she was a bit unreliable? My mother is prone to exaggeration.

I am really looking forward to seeing this production. The snippets I have heard of the score sound interesting and I love the costume designs. The whole thing promises to be vibrant and exciting.

You are right, that was the original question. Please do not bow out of the discussion. I was speculating as to who it might be, based on the definition of fame. As in somebody who is well known across the board/world, not just to people who have a specific interest. I don't set much store by how many followers a dancer has. It may sound a lot but if you set that against how many millions of people are on this planet, it's a drop in the ocean. There are thousands of people who follow the tv ad meerkats as well and they're not even real. I am what you could call a dance fan but I don't "follow" any dancers on social media. At the moment, I would hazard a guess and this is just my opinion, it is Carlos Acosta. He is only retired from classical dance and doing his own thing now, with his own company. Most people I have asked had heard of him. With the caveat that when I mentioned his name, they said oh yes, he's a dancer. Asked to name a dancer without prompting was another matter.

Not 'arf! I have never been able to sit through the whole thing. Nevertheless, some were convinced Miss Portman was a real ballerina and wanted to see her live. Wow! I agree. The subject, in my opinion, was entering the realm of nothing more to say at this point. As LinMM says, his forthcoming appearances at SW will no doubt attract discussion. I for one, hope that any further debate could be confined to his dance related performances. Meanwhile, my question of who, to the general public, is the most famous, current dancer has been started up elsewhere.

I asked some random people at the library today if they could name any current ballet dancers. One mentioned "that woman that advertises face cream." Couldn't remember her name and had never heard of her before the ad. Another one said the name Sergei rang a bell but might be confusing him with the meerkats. Spookily, the other currently famous meerkat is called Aleksandr Orlov. A human Aleksandr Orlov was if I remember rightly, a dancer with Balles Russes.

I picked up a cast list on the evening of a gala I attended at the ROH some years ago. Even at that late stage it was subject to more changes than could realistically be attributed to illness or accident. Unless they all had the same bug/sprained something. Since then, I have found, where one exists, that it can be useful to look at a dancer's own website. Their forthcoming appearances should include galas and have been quite reliable in my experience. Barring the aforementioned unforeseens.

I was thinking of current dancers rather than retired or sadly no longer with us. Perhaps names were known to our colleagues of old in proportion to how much we spoke of them or our interest in the art was respected. People I worked with at one time used to adopt a silly pose whenever I said I was going to a ballet. It was meant as a joke but it wore thin quickly and when asked I used to say oh you know, nothing of interest. Instead of admitting I had been to see some men in tights. I remember Dame Monica Mason commenting on how many people contacted the ROH to ask which nights Natalie Portman would be dancing in Swan Lake, following her Black Swan masterpiece! Who though,to the general public, is the most famous, living, current dancer in the world?

As perhaps you might expect. In the UK, I would say Darcey Bussell is a household name but that may have more to do with her post ballet career. I would guess that the majority of the general public would struggle to name a current dancer. Much as I have no interest in football say and would only be able to name any footballers, because I have seen them on the news for some reason. I am not accusing people of ignorance, just lack of interest. I work with people who are educated and with whom a variety of subjects are up for discussion, but they know nothing about ballet. I enjoy this forum as we have a common interest and know all the names. It can still be a surprise to me when I am talking to friends/colleagues about performances/dancers I have seen and they have no idea who or what I am talking about. Is Misty Copeland the most famous ballerina in the world as far as the general public is concerned though? I would say not. But if she isn't, then who is?

Driving to work earlier, I was behind a taxi. The driver of this taxi pulled over and up half way on the pavement, on the zigzag lines inches from a zebra crossing. This crossing is just feet from a mini roundabout on a busy and dangerous junction. The lady passenger got out and I thought the taxi will move off now. But no, he sat there, creating a major hazard to pedestrians and making it impossible to get round him. We all had to wait while lady passenger swanned round to the cash machine, apparently finding it all very amusing. Why is there never a traffic warden or policeman lurking when you need one? I was also behind a double decker school bus for a while. It had an ad in the back window for drivers. £8.00 an hour. That doesn't seem much for such a hugely responsible job.

Oh no. It has its faults like most things but the Ashton version is a particular favourite of mine for so many reasons. I see it hasn't been on since 2011 and I was so hoping and thinking it must due an airing. Francesca and Yasmine would be wonderful Cinderellas, in my opinion of course. Can you say anymore as to the grave doubts or would it be speculation?

Any sign of Cinderella on the horizon?

Last few times I was at our local vets, they were selling/promoting a plastic syringe like device for getting pills down feline throats. I well remember the struggle with our cat, holding her under one arm while trying to prise her mouth open and get the pill in her mouth. Then you were supposed to massage her neck to encourage swallowing the pill. She would then hold the pill in her mouth before spitting it out elsewhere. The vet made it look easy but animals sense your unease and play on it. This syringe is placed in the cat's mouth and the pill is launched down the throat before the cat has a chance to object apparently. What could possibly go wrong?

The newspaper review was positive I am glad to say, as my only concern was for the safety and welfare of the cats. It appears the chap who has opened the cafe already has another one elsewhere. He says he has suffered from depression in the past and found the company of cats to be very therapeutic. He hopes the cafe may be similary helpful to people who have conditions such as autism and may expand the therapy side. It is essentially a cafe though, so all are welcome. He sounds as though he is responsible as far as the cats are concerned and I hope it is a success. As appears to be the norm, you have to make an appointment to get in which costs £5, then you pay for whatever you eat and drink of course. I will go and check it out for myself as I am still interested to know why he chose this location.

I agree. I was going to post that in my opinion, Polunin's mother should be cut some slack. She was undoubtedly ambitious for her son and wanted him to realise his potential. But from what I have read, this needs to be seen in the context of the hardship and poverty of their circumstances. His mother's "pushing" is a million miles from the horror stories we hear in the more comfortable west, that often result in melt down and early career fail. We are all products of our upbringing to varying degrees. When we are feeling vulnerable or self pitying, it is easy to look back and perhaps misremember events or exagerate their awfulness. It is almost always the mother's fault regardless. At what point do we grow up and take responsibility for our own behaviours and stop looking for someone to blame. To be able to look at one's life to date with maturity and insight, rather than the teenager's wail of it's not fair, people are mean to me..... There is an article from 2012 in 1843-1843 magazine, called A Dancer's Demons. It provides considerable detail about the Polunin family dynamic and makes his mother very much a real person, with all her faults but doing what she thought was her best for her son who from an early age, clearly had something special. I cannot supply a link to the article but as before, it is easy to find if you google Sergei Polunin. I

Bruce, did you get an email from the Harold Pinter Theatre/Ambassador Theatre Group requesting that no food be eaten during the performance, out of consideration for the actors and fellow audience members. Apparently, this is the first West End show to make such a request. I wonder if there were any offenders and if so, what action taken.

I have just finished watching OJ: Made in America. This documentary won an Oscar and although it is very long - 8 hours or so - it is riveting as social history alongside the story of Simpson. Despite being so well known and already extensively documented, the tragedy is here given new perspective with the benefit of distance. The work is divided into three parts and currently available on BBC iPlayer. I thoroughly recommend it.

Hull, good to read about your visit to "Maison de Moggy" and that it was a positive experience. Our paper's intrepid reporter visited the local cat cafe and has said a report/review will be appearing in this week's exciting edition. I await with interest.

I passed him once walking down a London street. He gave me such a sweet smile. I have seen him dance at the ROH and he was extraordinary. He is clearly a gifted young man. A dancer's career is already short enough and I hope whatever he does will bring him happiness and peace of mind. Less of the tiresome "bad boy" style reporting would also be good.

Yes, I was sorry to hear this news. He was one of those actors that could do anything, but for me was at his best in the slightly quirky, off beat roles. I liked him best in A Simple Plan with Billy Bob Thornton. RIP.

The Intelligence Men complete film is also available on Youtube.

Perhaps rather than going down, forgive the pun, offenders could be catapulted into a large net suspended from the auditorium ceiling, or stuck to velcro there or for the worst and/or repeat offenders, launched through the ceiling hatch and into space. After which, who cares. You go into orbit at your own risk. Don't say you were not warned or you didn't realise your behaviour was obnoxious and anti social. No one can hear you in space. Byeeeee!