JennyTaylor

I went to a rehearsal today and really enjoyed it!  Not sure how much else I am allowed to say!

44 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

Yes. I totally agree  

Wow, that is quite an accolade, but wholeheartedly agree. They feed off each other and appear to delight in the partnership experience. Over the years, I have always sought to see couples who have that intangible "it" when they dance together.  Will and Fumi's Romeo and Juliet was the most sublime I have ever seen and they have gone from strength to strength since then. It's interesting that all ballerinas appear to love dancing with Will, but that special spark appears to be with Fumi.  I'm not sure that being a couple in real life does make it any more special. I once heard a coach say that it could make it worse if they were having a bad day in rehearsal.    

1 hour ago, Linnzi5 said:

Obviously, I thought William Bracewell was the perfect prince - I just love anything he dances, but he was amazing! He partnered Fumi so beautifully and sensitively and his solos just had me spellbound. Audience seemed to love him too. 

...and how about that lovely smile at the end of the Grand ppd.....  I too, loved every minute

Ah, Marianela this evening. Was that as close to perfection Rose Adagio as you could ever wish to see?

Talking about perfection, how about Marianela and Vadim this evening!  Glorious 

4 hours ago, Candleque said:

Claire Calvert doing Lilac Fairy tonight. So pleased 💜

And she was wonderful!

I love this Forum, it gives me such pleasure but also wonderful to be able to dip in and out as the mood takes me. Huge thanks to the moderators. 

To all the lurkers out there - be brave! The more the merrier. The awesome knowledge of some of those who post can be intimidating but don't let it put you off. We are all ballet lovers. 

My wish is simple for the Royal Ballet. Proper ballet rather than dance, with beautiful music and decent costumes as opposed to vest and pants.  Triple bills that I love rather than endure, or simply don't bother with.  No clangy, ghastly indecipherable modern scores and plotless choreography.   

18 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

then the land of sweets, national dances, a grandest of grand pas de deuxs, everyone dances, then Clara wakes up and it's STILL midnight...

As I'm a sad person, I actually watched for the clock last time I came to a performance It starts at 8pm, then rotates fast to 10pm, stops for a while and then rotates again swiftly on to midnight.  There it stays. I think we have to take on board that this is a magical day and night, so normal time rules don't apply.  Or perhaps they have a time turner like Hermione in Harry Potter, or the chariot that takes them to the Kingdom of the Sweets is in fact a tardis.  I prefer to think it's Drosselmeyer magic and the effect of all that glitter.  

Now, I'm off to find that Will Bracewell podcast

4 hours ago, MJW said:

I see from photos that James Hay was also presented with flowers last night which is very sweet - he certainly seemed very chuffed.

 

 

All 3 male lead dancers received a bouquet - Will, Benn and James. Lovely!  

Well I'm so pleased I drove up and made the effort (never in doubt with this casting). What a performance.  James Hay and Isabella Gasparini were sparkling as Hans-Peter and Clara. James was out of this world with his characterisation (oh, those expressive eyes) and their pdd was utterly magical.  Then we had the excitement of Mariko Sasaki's Sugar Plum Fairy.  The grand pdd was glorious throughout.  She looked emotional at the end of the 1st section and overwhelmed at the end. So lovely!  Then at the final curtain calls with huge bouquets of flowers, I think she finally did shed tears of joy.  You can see all the cast applauding her.  What a joy. 

I was in the front row tonight and felt so lucky to see the wonderful dancing and expressive characterisation close to.  I've never seen a Hans- Peter bring so much to the part as James did tonight. Impeccable dancing but so much more too.  I cried. Lots and lots of smiles too.  Ben Gartside was an excellent Drosselmeyer and I caught him surreptitiously applauding the grand ppd with a couple of taps of his hands on his knee. Undiluted joy all round 

4 hours ago, alison said:

I'm not going tonight anyway, but my trains appear to be running as normal.  So I guess the answer is to double-check your own trains before you set off.  I think these cancellations may be due to overtime bans - although it's difficult to tell what's what now.

Yes, I could have got there by train, but couldn't get home again.  

Word of warning for anyone attending this evening and using the train. Last trains from Waterloo appear to be at 9pm, so I am now having to drive up.  

I wonder if you are talking about the end of the Coda? The bit where some dancers go round the stage in opposite directions and jump occasionally?  Will Bracewell did turns in the centre and Fumi danced around him? If so, this is an alternative variation I have seen used before. In fact, Federico Bonelli did this in the 2016 production that is on dvd with Lauren Cuthbertson,  If it's not this one, is there another difference I missed? Wouldn't surprise me if I did as I was rather spellbound! 

Yes, this is exactly the moment. I loved seeing Will do this, so I was sitting and waiting for Matt Ball to do the same - and he didn't. Neither Vadim. They both did the other version. I was just so surprised I wondered what was happening. Both versions are absolutely fine of course, just wanted to make the observation.   

11 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

This in interesting, Jenny.

Sometimes variations get changed to 'show off' a particular dancer’s technique; sometimes because they can't quite manage the demands of the 'original'; sometimes a bit of both!

I wonder what the reason was in the case of the lovely Will Bracewell?

11 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I think it's a bit of both. He's perfectly capable of doing the leaps round the stage as exhibited by Matt and Vadim, in unison with their Sugar Plum Fairies.  However, he inserted his fast turns (also used in Act 3 Swan Lake) which worked really well. In Swan Lake of course, Vadim has his amazing triple jumps which are astounding and breathtaking).  But nothing really like that yesterday, though he was perfection in everything he did. 

 

I attended the  performance last night with my step grand-daughters (10 and 8) who were incredibly excited by the whole thing. They had been once before lockdown but a gap of 3 years made this even more special. I have to confess to being thrilled that Gary Avis was performing plus of course, we had the added bonus of Marianela and Vadim. This was the rare occasion that I booked for the date, rather than the cast so I felt that I had hit the jackpot.   As the Christmas tree grew they were both sat forward in their seats, with their mouths open. This is what dreams are made of. 

Having now seen 3 * Principal pairings perform the Grand pdd this time round, I'm now curious that Will Bracewell changed the variation in the 2nd part of the pdd.  I found this very powerful, and having seen it 3 times (rehearsal, cinema and live), it brought the house down each time, along with the entire fantastic performances by Will and Fumi.  I was slightly startled when I didn't see the same thing with Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi and I expected something different from Vadim, which I didn't really get. All 3 couples were superb, of course but I'm curious to know what everyone else thinks.  During the cinema interview, Will mentioned that Darcey Bussell (their coach) had allowed them to change it.  Personally, I like variations to play to each dancers strengths , such as we saw in Swan Lake Act 3 recently, without radical changes of course.   

I saw the rehearsal today and all I can say is - I experienced far more goose bumps than from any performance of Mayerling. Yes, it's that tree growing, the glorious Act 1 pdd between the Nutcracker and Clara and of course, the music.  Not to mention the wonderful Will and Fumi.  I think we were on rehearsal rations for the glitter, so roll on Gary Avis tomorrow!  

Ah, the Slips. They were the location of one of my disastrous earlier forays into Opera. I bought a £5 ticket for Don Giovanni just to try on the off chance. It was Thomas Allen (and I have heard of him!).  When I got up there, I suffered such bad vertigo I had to cling onto my seat and shut my eyes. Not terribly good for overall experience!  I think I managed to see the subtitles but couldn't bring myself to look down on the stage.   

In general, though I agree with you. being close to the stage is nothing like as important in an opera, and I suspect that a seat in any part of the auditorium would be absolutely fine - unless you suffer from vertigo.  I'm not keen on parts of the amphi for that same reason. 

I attended the rehearsal of Tosca at the ROH purely to take advantage of my Friends’ allocation of rehearsal tickets and to give myself the opportunity to see this world famous opera. I admit total ignorance of opera though I’ve tried it a few times with little success. This proved a turning point because instead of being somewhat bored and wondering if I should stay for the 3rd act, I loved it! I didn’t know the story apart from “they all die” and I don’t know the music apart from the sections featured in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, but it didn’t seem to matter. I was fascinated and although not familiar with any of the singers, knew and felt I was seeing something rather special. I came out on a big high, and have now downloaded all the music to listen to again. A proper opera 

presented in a traditional manner with no messing with costumes, trying to be clever etc etc. Sadly I got more from it than the recent RB Diamonds celebration bill. 
 

Talking of costumes I was totally distracted by the train on Tosca’s dress and I really think she was too, as she dragged it around the stage. Also very concerned that she would fall down the vertiginous steps at the front of the stage in Act 3, with the train. She even struggled with it in the curtain calls. Please could someone from the costume department do something before disaster strikes. 
 

I will now be seeking to book more opera rehearsals as well as ballet, but will choose carefully in terms of productions. Also still not tempted to spend eye watering amounts on seeing a proper performance. I’ve just booked all my Cinderella tickets so that is enough!

So sad not to see Laura Morera tomorrow. She and Matthew Ball were stunning in the rehearsal.  Just so pleased I saw that, because it will never come again now. 

40 minutes ago, capybara said:

I can't help feeling that 'splashing the cash' on (quite frankly) ridiculous designer costumes for works such as Prima (there are other previous examples) and unnecessarily extravagant sets should become a thing of the past if the ROH is to cut costs.

 

It simply can't go on and on and on about ACE reductions without taking a serious look at itself in every respect.

Having read the explanation for the costumes in Prima, it seems the ballerinas were viewed as models on a catwalk and hopefully some sales for the designer from their performance would ensue.  Having been privileged to see how the costumes for the Winter's Tale and Swan Lake were created, I'd suggest the RB stick to their traditional in-house creative team for their "proper" ballets. 

Yes, for me dungarees, pants and vests have the effect of making me loathe the ballet before it even starts, and they distract me, because I keep thinking how much I dislike them. 

Interesting that Leanne Benjamin in her recent book spoke of her love of dancing with minimal costumes.    

Each to their own. 

I usually vote with my feet when the RB present a "modern bill". Unfortunately, I wanted to see several other aspects of the "Celebrations" so in this case, I chose to attend and am going again tomorrow.     

I've seen the programme twice, once at rehearsal and once in the cinema.  I enjoyed the cinema performance far more, because it was better lit and the dancers were close up.  Obviously the dancing was up a notch too, but that's the difference between a rehearsal and a performance, though not always it has to be said!  I also enjoy the interviews and chat that they add to the cinema performance especially in this instance with all the new works, as they gave further insights. 

I've loved reading all the comments. Isn't it great when so many people can see it so early on.  Some random thoughts from me. 

I loved the chosen opening of the overture from La Fille. In the theatre, I felt quite moved as it is such a beautiful price of music and lovely to see if followed in the evening by Alex and Anna-Rose. Who else held their breath at the end in anticipation of that fiendish lift which closes the whole piece? They made it!  Made me wish to see the whole ballet again please - and soon. 

Manon - the same. Think of all those luscious partnerships there could be. 

I don't like Wayne McGregor's pieces but did appreciate Melissa Hamilton. Stunning performance from her.  

Prima and For Four - really enjoyed seeing the wonderful dancers, but could find no pattern, story or emotion to latch onto, so left a bit cold. Zuccetti definitely my favourite of all the new choreographers. 

See Us!!  I interpreted this as being about black power because it started off with Joe Sissons doing what looked like a black power salute, but I may be completely wrong here. Certainly, the dance and dancer sequences line didn't then follow that path later on.  There seemed a lot of anger, posturing, youth moment - I don't know!!  Is that what it was about?  Certainly, the choreographer didn't explain in his interview.  For me, this was dance not ballet.   

Dispatch Duet - longed to like it as Will Bracewell was in it - but sadly, apart from looking at him, I could find no meaning to it and hated the music.  Weird costumes too.  

If we look at the choreographers chosen for the new works, then diversity and inclusion is well served. 

Diamonds - Hurrah!  The real performance was fantastic.  Marianella and Reece sublime. Oh, what a joy. That's what I pay my money to see.   Left on a huge high. 

8 hours ago, emmarose said:

 

I found myself start to clap when the curtain opened and asked myself why I was clapping.

But yes, it very much felt like, at last, something spectacular was happening.

They did the same thing at the rehearsal, and yes, it felt very much like "thank goodness, here's something beautiful that we know we will like".   You could almost hear the sigh of relief

1 hour ago, alison said:

I'm afraid that the Toonga piece, with dancers in dark clothing against a dark background, didn't come across well in this cinema

At the rehearsal this morning I struggled to see it at all. At the cinema this evening it was slightly better for being much closer in shot

Meaghan Grace Hinkis is injured (announced at the rehearsal this morning).  She was dancing La Fille with Luca Akri.  He performed on his own this morning, to rapturous applause.