Anna C

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

And Christina Arestis as Lady Capulet 😍

Such a marvellous dancer/actress.  I love Arestis in this role.

Welcome to the forum, Luke.

I really appreciate people’s efforts thus far to stick to forum rules on this thread - so that we don’t have to lock the thread, may I just remind everyone of our rules regarding discussion of schools, in particular:

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/18707-from-the-moderators-forum-policy-for-discussion-of-all-vocational-schools/

Many thanks, 

Anna C

1 hour ago, Jane said:

…and instead told them they should stop moaning as very lucky to be there

It’s this all-too-pervasive attitude that keeps people silent.  “Don’t cause trouble as the ballet world is small and if you don’t want to be here, there are plenty of others to take your place.”  It needs to change, but I’m not optimistic.

1 hour ago, Beryl H said:

The NHS are also using Moderna as the booster, don't think you get a choice though. I should get mine around early November.

Moderna is an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer though, so hopefully the side effects will be similar.

34 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Speaking from experience - don't count on Pfizer being a walk in the park 🙁

No, I won’t 😕.  I can only hope that because the two vaccines work slightly differently, the side effects might be less severe. 🤞🏻

3 hours ago, LinMM said:

I think here in U.K. they are saying you are eligible after six months but in the US it’s after 8 months. 
Ive read that the AstraZeneca lasts a little longer than Pfizer so 8 months should be fine for me I think so some time after my birthday but before Christmas!! So all boostered up ready for Swan Lake lol!! 
I wonder why they are only using Pfizer for boosters though when the recent research shows that a mixture of the two vaccines gives better all round protection because they act in slightly different ways. I didn’t think there was a problem with AstraZeneca with people over 30 and anyway Pfizer has also not been without it’s own problems. 
There definitely seems to be an unnecessary “downer” on AstraZeneca. 

 

Having had extremely bad side effects from my second AZ jab (so severe that I had to report them using the MHRA Yellow Card scheme), I’d be loathe to have a third dose of it as a booster, so personally I’m very glad the NHS is using the Pfizer Biontech jab as the booster.  

Agreed, Jan.  It’s so much nicer to watch without the yelling and screeching.  I don’t mind Anton; he’s certainly easier on the ears than Bruno, but I still question the need for 4 Judges with the “Head Judge” having the casting vote.  I know Shirley Ballas is a hugely experienced expert but for me, her judging is horribly inconsistent and seems clearly biased towards people she likes.  Last year she clearly had a problem with Maisie Smith, this year it seems to be Greg Wise and Rose Ayling-Ellis (who deserved far better than a 4/10 😱).  The media has picked up on it quite quickly this year but whether the producers will have a quiet word with Shirley remains to be seen.

I thought all the celebs did well for week 1; Robert Webb was hugely entertaining despite some technique issues.  I absolutely loved John and Johannes’s Tango and I hope they go far.   I thought Adam Peaty did very well considering he’s a sportsman and non-dancer.   Some customarily dodgy singing but overall a good start to the series.

18 hours ago, Waverley said:

Absolutely - we're in two minds about the whole thing anyway, trying to be led by DD but only if we've done a lot of research and feel fully aware of the potential positives and negatives. This forum has already been invaluable for that so thank you.  

This sounds like a very sensible approach, Waverley.  I agree that the standard of pastoral care and fair, age/skeletally-appropriate teaching is vital, as well as academics.  

Looking back, I wish I had remembered that despite how small the ballet world is, and despite the omnipresence of the constant, if unspoken mantra, “you’re lucky to be here”, if I wouldn’t have tolerated behaviours by an academic school, I shouldn’t have tolerated them by a ballet school.  

If you can - and this applies to any full-time ballet school - get as many first-hand experiences from other parents as you can, via DM if preferable, and go with your gut feeling.  

Yes, it’s been reported that three of the pro dancers are refusing to be vaccinated and “would rather leave the show” than get their jabs.  A BBC spokesperson has denied the claims.

If there’s any truth in it, it could cause logistical difficulties if, for example, the three in question are all male or all female, because if I remember rightly, there are only three professionals without a partner this year; two women (Luba Mushtuk and Jowita Przystal) and one man, Cameron Lombard.   Let’s hope there are some vaccinated dancers in reserve, just in case! 

In case anyone missed the launch show on Saturday night, here are this year’s partnerships (Celebrity, Professional):

Adam Peaty, Katya Jones

AJ Odudu, Kai Widdrington*

Dan Walker, Nadiya Bychkova

Greg Wise, Karen Hauer

John Whaite, Johannes Radebe

Judi Love, Graziano di Prima

Katie Mcglynn, Gorka Marquez

Nina Wadia, Neil Jones

Rhys Stephenson, Nancy Xu

Robert Webb, Diane Buswell

Rose Ayling-Ellis, Giovanni Pernice

Sara Davis, Aliaž Škorjanec

Tilly Ramsay, Nikita Kuzmin*

Tom Fletcher, Amy Dowden

Ugo Monye, Oti Mabuse

* New pro for 2021

I’m very glad my hope for John and Johannes was fulfilled.  Very pleased also to see Neil Jones back with a permanent partner and that Nancy Xu finally has a partner! She’s a terrific dancer and has been waiting a while to be partnered with a celebrity.

I’m looking forward to Saturday and just hope that now there is a (much smaller) studio audience that we don’t get the infuriating screaming and whooping - also that Shirley doesn’t take an inexplicable dislike to either a celeb or a pro, as she is rather prone to doing.  It makes for uncomfortable viewing at times. 

Hi Zo, how did you get on?  I have found two albums on Spotify by searching for “Le réveil de Flore”; this one:  https://open.spotify.com/album/1nm1LDxKmxUH5xiaVS6XbK?si=RKIUAUFWTIqsdS3CaYhC4A&dl_branch=1 and this one:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3hQKHk0DqVf07pfPh6pf7h?si=a_9fgdQCQ3KAt6KMagAmHQ&dl_branch=1

If you don’t have Spotify, they are both albums by Decca: “Homage to Pavlova” and “Fête du Ballet”, and both have Parts 1 and 2 of Le réveil de Flore.  I’m not familiar with the piece so you might have to cut the music to suit.

Good luck!

On 12/09/2021 at 18:47, LinMM said:

The French word for pupils is written : élèves .....and has nothing to do with relevés or the word élevé. 
Just looking at those two words relevé and élevé I get the feeling the relevé has a sense of bringing together so drawing the legs underneath you more whereas élevé feels more like a rise in situ so for example in 5th position in the relevé your feet would come together and be touching but in an élevé (though personally I’ve not heard that term used in a ballet class) the  feet would be more apart from the 5th position from a straight rising up so to speak. 
I suppose the opposite of your saying is: « Everything comes to those who wait » But this type of waiting isn’t passive it has a meaning of everything in its right time. If you work hard at the right level first you will gain the progression you need to move on to the next level but perhaps in a more organic way. 

Perfectly put, Lin.  I think “Rise” is used much more often in the UK than “élevé” but you are correct; they mean the same thing, and either can be used in class.

I agree completely with working hard at the right level first; particularly when it comes to pointework, which can lead to catastrophic injury if not done safely, correctly and properly.  

A gung-ho attitude in ballet class - especially when starting pointe - is not only disrespectful to the Teacher (never mind risking their Public Liability Insurance), but also risks the student’s safety, is discourteous to the other students, disrespectful of the correct process and can be indicative of a lack of maturity and an unwillingness to learn.  

Both of these last two would be warning signs for a good Teacher considering whether a student is even ready to begin pointework.

As a disabled person who had to learn to walk again after one particular spinal surgery, I know the importance of “slow but steady” and, crucially, accepting my limitations.  This is a hard lesson to learn and has resulted in a lot of tears, but it has taught me to respect my body, to learn patience, and to trust that my Teacher - in my case, my Physio - knows an awful lot more on the subject than I do.  

I suppose the “attitude and culture” I follow is “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread”.  🙂

Hi RJL,

Well, even Google failed to find those in (or shipping to) the UK.  Do they have to be authentic, or could you use a brown leather ballet flat and lace it up the leg somehow?  Or failing that, adapt a pair of Highland Dance pumps?

17 hours ago, Beryl H said:

I applied online via the above NHS website and the A4 letter version arrived within 5 days, it states the details and dates of the 2 vaccinations, there is no expiry date. 

Yes, this is the easiest way to show your vaccination status if you can’t/don’t want to use the NHS app (which is *not* the track and trace app).  The blue cards given at the vaccination centres don’t count as proof for travel, so I suspect they won’t count at places where the “vaccine passport” is required.

@alison to answer your question about people unable to be vaccinated, how it works in France is that if you are not fully vaccinated, you must take a rapid antigen test within 48 hours of your visit to the theatre/museum/cinema etc.  The test result is automatically uploaded to the “Tous Anti Covid” app which produces a QR code that is scanned at the venue.   The test has to be done by a Doctor, Nurse, or at a Pharmacy (you don’t need an appointment at the latter), is free for French residents with a social security card, or is a fixed price of €25 for non-residents.  

France is obviously much stricter than the UK though so I would guess that with an official statement of exemption from the vaccine, someone unable to be vaccinated could probably still attend the theatre here.

I don’t know the reason but it’s certainly not uncommon in private dance schools/colleges.   There has been a similar shortfall at other schools for a long time. 

As we are not in court and neither of us is a Barrister, there’s really no need to refer to me as your “learned friend”, Michelle. 😉

While you were away, the subject of adult pointework came up on this thread, which you may find interesting.

As you have already started pointework, I would hope that one of your Teachers would have already gone through the basic requirements for safe pointework, but just in case, here they are from the Gaynor Minden website:  https://dancer.com/ballet-info/in-the-studio/when-to-start-pointe/

Obviously the question of bone ossification does not apply to adult dance students, but the other requirements of strength (not just in the feet and ankles, but also in the knees, core, glutes and back muscles), body weight, willingness to learn, lack of physiological impingement, and most of all, excellent, solid, basic ballet technique on demi-pointe (including turnout and the strength and ability to *hold* turnout) AND the required mobility in the foot and ankle joints - all do apply to anyone starting pointework.  

Oh, and “Elevé” is not a slang word; in French it means “raised”, and in ballet it’s a rise onto demi-pointe or full-pointe without a plié.  Not a spring or jump, just a rise.

Hope that helps.

2 hours ago, capybara said:

When I went to Singin' in the Rain at the beginning of August, there were far too few audience members wearing masks for my liking.

I wore a mask to the hairdressers the other day and was the only person wearing one.  It’s as if people think COVID magically disappeared on 19th July.  

I’ll continue to wear a mask at the ROH, regardless of whether they are still mandatory or merely “encouraged”.

Oh gosh.  I think I used Computer Cab/Comcab because you can make cash bookings without opening an account.  

As an alternative, is there a bus from the Covent Garden area to Paddington?  If I’m on my crutches I usually shuffle down to Aldwych and get the bus to Liverpool Street.

Just a heads up; as a non-account holder I once booked a black cab which didn’t arrive; I phoned the company 10 minutes after the agreed time to be told “We’re still trying to find a cab in your area; hopefully we’ll find one in the next 20 minutes”.  I said to cancel it and that I’d try to hail one, which fortunately I did.

If you can exit the ROH very promptly indeed after the performance, and start walking up Bow Street towards Longacre, you have a better chance of nabbing a black cab.   I’m disabled so it takes me ages to get out, by which time all the cabs have been hailed.

I’ve never been cold in the ROH, by the way. ☺️

2 hours ago, HopelessMummy said:

Delighted to have secured my tickets for R&J.

 

Does anyone have any views as to the best seats in the house? I see there's a bit of a debate between the Donald whatsit grand circle or stalls circle? 

Depends what you’re going to see, IMO - Swan Lake and other ballets with lots of scenes for the corps are wonderful from Donald Gordon, on the basis that you can see the patterns made by the corps from above but you can still see the details/faces fairly well.

For ballets like R&J/Onegin/A Month in the Country where there is a lot of drama and acting, I prefer Stalls Circle.

Bear in mind that you’ll get restricted views in both areas if you are very far round to either side near the stage.  

No confirmation email yet but I seem to have got the tickets I wanted for Giselle and Nutcracker.  The lack of seat view was annoying and the Nutcracker prices are so eye-wateringly expensive that I couldn’t afford to book for R&J.  

I’ll just have to hope that there are still some decent seats for the Feb performances (which imho should be in the Winter/Spring booking period anyway). 

I’ve never heard of the college, nor do I know any of the Teachers.  I agree, the “degree” course sounds somewhat spurious.  Meetmeatthebarre, as you’re looking at the Adult classes, I’ll attach the Adult Ballet tag to the thread in case any of our regular adult dancers have advice for you.

Changing the subject slightly, four new Pro dancers are joining Strictly for 2021:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2021/new-strictly-pros-announced-2021

Apparently Janette Manrara is moving to “It takes two” as presenter, replacing Zoe Ball, and of course Anton won’t be dancing as he’ll be copying Shirley’s marks judging again. 🤭

I’d like to see both Neil and Nancy getting “celeb” partners this year as they always seem to be in the background and restricted to the ensemble/pro dance numbers.  Nancy in particular has real presence in the group numbers.  

38 minutes ago, AnneMarriott said:

Oh dear - apologies if I have inadvertently opened a can or worms.

It wasn’t just you, Anne. ☺️