Jacqueline

I agree that any list of the greatest or some of the greatest is bound to be subjective, unless there is a strict list of requirements to meet. It is no different to those greatest love song lists, or the best whatever of you name it. They are either going to be limited to age groups or just names most people may have heard of or just impossible to agree on. On the Darcey Bussell doc last night, Pavlova was described as not a very technically proficient dancer, or words to that effect. She had great charisma though and in a random survey, I would guess that most people will have heard of her even if they don't know anything about her, except she has something to do with a pudding. I would put Irina Kolesnikova on the list. But as has been said, it is very subjective and the Telegraph list gives no hint as to who complied it or how.

You are absolutely right, I remember seeing it now on the documentary about the late, great Dave Allen!! I think the queue was at the job centre or something like that. I used to love his sketches. I remember one about the old lady in the park who had just cleared up her dog's doings and put the package in her handbag. She was then 'mugged' by Dave who ran off with the handbag. He put his hand in the bag to see what riches he had stolen, only to find, well, you can imagine.

It may well have been NTNOCN rather than Monty P. Sounds like the kind of thing Mel Smith would have done with his wonderful, lugubrious expression. I remember the telephone box sketch. Did they hold the door open for each other though? As for your trip to the posh loo, good for you keeping them waiting. I would have done the same and also made sure there was no loo paper left either!

Apparently, it is true. I looked up some reviews which confirm he went on until 1.30am! As you say, the theatre staff must have been thrilled. I might have had to accidentally set off the fire alarm about midnight, if not before.

There is an old sketch (Monty Python?) where people are standing in a long, slow moving queue leading to a door. When they reach the door and go through, they find themselves in another long queue, leading to another door. When they go through the second door, they find themselves at the back of the first queue they were in. Possibly funnier in action than to read about! Moving along, or not, given the subject, I have just seen a clip of the new Jonathan Creek which is on tonight, in which he is in a theatre and having difficulty with the man sitting next to him who is filming the performance on some device or other. As this is a common bone of contention, I will be interested to see how he deals with the problem.

Whilst on the subject of royal boxes and being seen, I am wondering if anyone on the forum was present on the night Princess Diana did her little turn with Wayne Sleep? If so, what was it like? I have seen the photos but the reality must have been something to behold.

First of all, I am not very speedy on the computer and do not know how to isolate the part of your post I want to reply to? With regards to my comment about waffling, I meant that if a person knows they have a limited number of characters or words, it might help them to really think about what they are saying and try to condense it a little.To waffle or not is a matter for the waffler to self - edit. As you say, there is not necessarily a correlation between the length of a post and its quality. Some longer posts can be fascinating and others tend to stray into subjectivity and repetition. As a rule, I tend to skim over the very long posts. I may well be missing out by doing this but I prefer, particularly in this format, short to medium. I try to keep my posts reasonably short and to the point, assuming that somebody might be interested enough to read them. I would bear in mind that I only have about 500 words for example and would try to say what I want before I run out of characters in mid - sen

Hmmm! indeed, haha! Having brought this subject up previously, it makes more sense now you say the doors used to be marked entrance and exit. I gather the loos in the amphitheatre level are still marked thus. It would certainly ease confusion if the ground floor doors were still marked. I wonder why they are not now? There is no need for any of this saga really. All the ROH need do is either re-instate the signs or have a steward in place to inform the ladies that they can access the facilities via either door.

Annoys me too when there is all the hype and it turns out to be not really very exciting. Usually the more hype, the smaller the return. So they are re-releasing a 20 year old album, hoping people will buy it just because it has a few new tracks. No doubt, lots will. It's a common enough ploy. As well as being short changed on concert time, it really annoys me when bands/artists start late. This used to be a frequent occurrence when I went to go to Wembley in my youth. The bigger the star/s the later the start. Worst offenders were U2 and Whitney Houston. They started so late I had to leave before the end or be stranded. Most professional was Diana Ross who was due at 8pm and appeared at 8.10pm. Just courtesy to start more or less on time isn't it? As for ballet prices, given all that is involved, all the cast, the backstage staff and so on, they are not so expensive really. As for Bruce Springsteen, 3 hours is nothing. Ken Dodd goes on all night! Apparently, the audience leaves before he does. This is what I have heard anyway!

Thank you for this review. I can't believe it is almost five years since I last saw Irina at the Coliseum and it looks as though it will be a while before I see her again. I am interested to hear her replacement for the time being - Miss Samostrelova - is another 'star'. It seems the company cannot find male partners to match the calibre of their female leads. As you say Mab, it would be good to see this company in the UK again. They seemed at one time to be a fixture in the winter touring season, perhaps they had enough. They did tend to stick to the bums on seats standard repertoire though, presumably for financial reasons. I recall they did five nights in Norwich on one tour and it was Swan Lake every night. I would love them to return with a more varied programme.

Much as I am amused by Bruce's suggestions for a dislike option, I don't really think we need one. As has been said, to 'like' infers various things, mainly agreement, so no further comment is necessary, unless you wish to. I like to be 'liked' as I imagine we all do, but if my posts are not 'liked' I don't feel unduly upset. If I were to be 'disliked' I would certainly be interested to know why. To 'dislike' requires a reason as far as I am concerned. Just 'because' doesn't cut it. We all have opinions and we don't all agree. Some on this forum have very strong views but it should be - as the saying goes - possible to disagree without being disagreeable. This is a forum for debate as has been said. I wouldn't agree with dislikes being anonymous either. If you have an opinion, you should put your name to it. As for dislike suggestion number 3, perhaps we could have a limit on how many characters one is permitted in a post. This is the case with various other forums and is a good way to concentrate the attention of the poster and avoid waffling.

Just wanted to say I loved Clement Crisp's review of The Art of Fugue. I sometimes find his style verging on spoof. But in this review, his comments and turn of phrase,both about the production and Mr McGregor are spot on and very amusing in my opinion.

Thanks to the interest shown, the list of dvds for sale is now as follows: Royal Ballet Swan Lake - Nunez/Suarez Mariinsky - Jewels BRB - Cinderella Sylvie Guillem - On The Edge ROH Carmen - Kaufmann/ Pappano/ Antonacci

I don't mind. Which ones are you interested in?

I have a number of ballet dvds (one opera) for sale. They have all been watched but some only once. They are all in excellent condition. The list is as follows: Royal Ballet - Swan Lake - Nunez/Suarez Sylvia - Bussell Romeo and Juliet - Acosta/Rojo La Bayadere - Rojo/Acosta/Nunez La Fille Mal Gardee - Acosta/Nunez Wayne McGregor - Chroma/Infra/Limen Frederick Ashton - Les Patineurs/Divertissements/Scenes de Ballet Mariinsky - Jewels Sylvie Guillem - On the Edge BRB - Cinderella SPBT - Irina Kolesnikova - Swan Lake ROH - Carmen - Pappano/Kaufmann/Antonacci If anyone is interested, I am asking £10 each plus postage.

Indeed. Yesterday the Mail had an article about the American ice skater Jason Brown and his ponytail hairstyle, which apparently has a following all of its own. To my shame, I actually sat and read this piece of cutting edge 'journalism'. No pun intended. Well, it was my day off.

MY heart also sinks. I have attended productions and read reviews, not just ballet, where short or under rehearsal has been an issue. There is a big difference between first night nerves and all the possibilities for mishap in live theatre and under rehearsal. There is no excuse for the latter in my view. The paying audience has a right to expect that a production has had sufficient time in preparation and that it is ready and fit for purpose. I am not suggesting that this one isn't ready, I don't know, but hearing that rehearsal has been short, does not bode well. Almost sounds like an advance apology. As for Wayne McGregor being described as a 'defining choreographer', ( on the ROH website of course) I suppose his style is distinctive in that it is instantly recognisible. But for me, that is because all his work looks the same. He is fashionable but whether his style will stand the test of time remains to be seen. Ashton's and Macmillan's styles are also recognisible, but for me their work is full of nuance, subtlety and variety.

Oh,I see! Best wishes to the lovely Irina! I gather from another post you are going to see her replacement. Hope you enjoy. Let us know.

I am utterly mystified by the above post, in which a battle seems to be going on between moral sensibility and being able to enjoy something for what it is - a great work of art. I don't think anyone would be particularly thrilled at the prospect of a young woman being buried in a forest due to the nature of her demise. Being cast out is of course a recurring theme in art and literature. Didn't Tess ( of the D'Urbervilles ) have to bury her dead child outside the graveyard due to the nature of its birth? And numerous other examples. These tales are all about superstition and folklore, class snobbery, heartbreak, good people and nasty people, living or not. Human nature in other words. As a small detail, I am not aware that Giselle is in a steady relationship with Hilarion. He would certainly like her to be and is cultivating her mother to that end, who is keen to pair them off anyway. Giselle seems to dislike Hilarion and is even a little frightened of him. I am amused by Terpsichore's assertion that the story up to and including Giselle's demise is acceptable. That a young woman should be so horribly humiliated and deceived to the extent that she loses her mind and then her life is apparently 'so far so good'! It seems to be only her burial in unconsecrated grounds and the vengeful spirits that offend. I think we are in danger of over analyzing the story, which I always thought was about the power of redemptive love. I do not see how one can separate the story from the music and just enjoy the music and the dancing. The three are integral. But if it works for some, then why not? I am not ashamed to say it is my favourite ballet, I think it is a masterpiece. I enjoy it for what it is. I would not be able to withstand repeated viewings of something that offended my sensibilities.

I quite agree with you. It is or should be a nice way to get feedback and round off a good evening. An actor friend of mine used to say it was terribly disappointing to sometimes find nobody 'out there' after all the applause. But if the dancers or actors don't want to meet the public, as has been said, there are other ways to leave the building. I think as you say, referring to people by their first name is simply a sign of the times. We are far less formal nowadays which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the knack is knowing when some formality is required. I for one, wouldn't dream of stopping someone in the street for an autograph or a chat about their latest artistic offering. Even in this day and age where it seems that nothing is too private to be discussed in public, there are limits. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who don't see why there should be any boundaries and these people give us all a bad name. As for following people, I am reminded of an unfortunate incident many years ago when I lived in Sussex. My mother and I used to go to the Theatre Royal in Brighton quite often. One year there was a series of plays put on by an excellent touring company headed by Sir Anthony Quayle. One of the actresses was a favourite of mine and my mother was a keen stage door goer. So after the performance, round we went. We waited a little while and the lady in question appeared. There was the usual signing and bit of chitchat. Then off she went. And off we went, in the same direction. At the end of the street, she turned left and so did we. She walked on and so did we. We just happened to be going in the same direction. This went on for several minutes. We tried to drop back a bit but the gap didn't seem to get any bigger. Brighton is very hilly and we were getting quite breathless! Finally she ducked into the multi story car park, by which time she seemed to be trying to run. But there was no escape as we all made our way to level 3, where we found our respective cars parked about three spaces apart!

You should go if you want to, don't be shy. I was really glad I went. I have been again once or twice, depending on my travel arrangements. The dancers I have met have all been very friendly and happy to talk. I have also been round before the performance to see the dancers arrive. There isn't usually anyone else about then and you can have a one2one provided they are not in a rush. I met Ulyana Lopatkina that way. Largely because the Mariinsky had a tendency to start and therefore finish late, I couldn't hang around after the show as I had a coach to catch or be stuck in London for the night. Ulyana appeared and I asked if she could sign my programme. She told me - rather imperiously - to come back after the performance. I said I couldn't do that as I had a long journey and I would be very grateful if she could sign there and then. So she did. I think she was rather surprised that I didn't take her nyet for an answer! But it was all good humoured. I think it was anyway. It certainly didn't put her off going on to give a magnificent performance.

It was the first time I have been near a stage door for many years and I felt rather self-conscious. But there were quite a few people waiting and of all ages. Unfortunately, there was a woman who was determined to monopolize A&J when they appeared. Johan managed to extricate himself, helped in part by the enormous bouquet he was carrying for Alina that nobody wanted to squash. Poor Alina had more difficulty extricating herself from this woman's determined attention. She clearly didn't know who the woman was. I think in the end I may have helped, because Alina saw me looking at my watch, which she seemed to take as her cue. She said something along the lines of there being many people waiting to see her and this woman finally released her grip. Johan had left the building by this point. We were standing just inside the stage door entrance as it was raining. Alina came over to us and was incredibly friendly, posing for photos and then again when the camera went wrong. She was lovely, charming and tiny. Fascinating to see her close up and talk to her after such an emotional performance. Which is a long way of answering your point that it must be nice for the dancers and sometimes not so much.

That is the one I attended. Wasn't it incredible. From a dance point of view, it was perfect. But the chemistry between Alina and Johan was electric. I remember the atmosphere and the silence. It was a very special afternoon and although Giselle is my favourite ballet, I haven't seen it since because for me, that was the definitive performance. I went round to the stage door afterwards, which is not something I usually do, but I wanted to tell them what a wonderful afternoon it had been. They were both absolutely charming which was a perfect end to the experience. I think everyone knew it had been very special.

Thank you. Please keep us informed of developments.

Me too! The last time I saw Giselle it was the Kobborg/Cojocaru combi and it was wonderful, I will never forget it. I always found Kobborg's interpretations multi-layered and he was able to convey so much with just an eye movement or shoulder shrug. There are plenty of thankless roles that depict men as not too bright, over dependent on their mothers and with little to do except wait for the princess to show up. Albrecht goes through several transitions during the course of the role and played well, he should be a very interesting and perhaps even sympathetic character.