toursenlair

That is true, but am I right in finding something seriously amiss with the maths in this: £910 per term, £819 over 60s, £640 concessions £80 per day, £72 over 60s, £57 concessions The ballet course has 11 lectures that I can see, which works out to £880 if you pay the day rate for each of them, or £30 less than the "term" rate.

anything given by Jane Pritchard... RUN, don't walk to attend.

Baden-Baden is quite close to Stuttgart so you could see some ballet there at the same time. They are doing Cranko's Swan Lake (quite a lovely version) Dec 18-30

The Mariinsky goes to Baden-Baden (SW Germany) every December and this year they are doing the full-length Paquita, R&J, Nutcracker and a gala. https://www.festspielhaus.de/en/program/?event-from-day=01&event-until-day=31&event-from-month=12&event-from-year=2017&genre=14&artist=any&festival=0&view=gridview&submit-event-search=Select#result

Just to say my first live ballet was also London Festival Ballet's Nutcracker at the Royal Festival Hall, at the age of 6. I have next to no memory of the venue (other than knowing that that was its name). What I really remember was the snowflakes. Oh, and that I thenceforth LOVED ballet. My only other memory was asking my aunt, who took me, why it was called a matinee. She said "because it's in the afternoon, and the French word "matin" means "morning". Huh??? This left me very puzzled, and was no doubt what caused me to become a dictionary editor when I grew up.

But what happened with the Watson Osipova Mayerlings in May, where it was completely sold out before public booking opened? And likewise for the opening (Osipova) night of the mixed program (Strapless etc) where the pickings were very slim indeed when public booking opened.

I know this is an autocomplete from your phone, but it made me laugh to think of this new category of seat. :-)

I am not at all surprised about Jonah Cook. A well-deserved promotion. I saw him in April as Crassus in Spartacus and in Symphony in C and was very impressed.

Once again Robert Robinson is organizing this performance for the island's hospice:

I really don't think it's appropriate that you should dismiss everyone who disagrees with your judgement as not a "competent professional" and with your assumption that all "competent professionals" would agree with your judgement, and indeed are always right. There are many many examples of works that have been panned by "competent professional" critics on their first outing or later which have since come to be considered masterpieces. Here are just some about Balanchine, but Manon and Elite Syncopations, among others, were also trashed by the critics. Apollo (1928, New York premiere in 1937) “Apollo never will, in all probability, be popular. For [Balanchine] it has enormous personal importance. Perhaps it should be revived from time to time, since historical milestones in the ballet are evanescent; but to ask us to admire it for its intrinsic values is another matter. It still seems a very young and dated effort.” — John Martin, The New York Times (September 9, 1951) Prodigal Son (1929, New York premiere in 1950) “There are portions which are deeply touching, superb in their inventions; there are others which are appropriately and believably erotic, and there are others which must be classified as unadulterated foolishness, dramatically and kinetically. Unfortunately, the foolish or the dull passages predominate.” — Walter Terry, New York Herald Tribune (February 24, 1950) Serenade (1935) “The ballet seems dated. The reason has nothing to do with years, but rather with the underlying concept. It is a piece of theatrical deception. On the surface it is the very essence of lyricism. There is a little theme of youth, awakening, and unrequited love woven with the utmost delicacy through one of Balanchine’s typical music visualizations. But if you probe beneath the movement to weigh the theme and its relative importance to the ballet, you have the feeling that Balanchine takes very serious emotions and uses them as a convenient excuse for his pretty patterns. The result is cold and strangely naïve.” — Doris Hering, Dance Magazine (January 1949) The Four Temperaments (1940) “It is rich and flavorful music and handsome choreography, but the two work more than a little at cross purposes. The ballet misses fire, in spite of its many brilliances of composition, chiefly because Balanchine’s choreography echoes only the form of the music and misses its texture and perhaps even its content to a degree. The music is neo-Gothic, and though Balanchine has put the danse d’école through all sorts of imaginative deviations, they all fall quite within the classic frame.” — John Martin, The New York Times (January 7, 1959) Concerto Barocco (1941) “The first and third movements [of the score], with their baroque lightness and gaiety, stand the addition of movement well; but there are some doubts in the case of the Adagio, since the music is so complete that even the addition of artistry and immaculate taste seems forced.” — Georg Zivier, Die Neue Zeitung, Germany (September 1952) Symphony in C (1947, New York premiere in 1948) “Balanchine has once again given us that ballet of his, this time for some inscrutable reason to the Bizet symphony. Up to the middle of the third movement, he had used virtually all of his familiar tricks, some of them charming, some of them forced, and some of them slightly foolish. ” — John Martin, The New York Times (March 23, 1948) The Nutcracker (1954) “The work has never before been seen in New York in its entirety, and Balanchine has restored cuts that have been made in practically all the previous productions elsewhere. Even in this full form it is scarcely a full-evening ballet, but rather a generous three-quarter program. But this is quite long enough. Indeed, unless you are one of those who find delight in watching children perform, you may find it advisable to arrive at the City Center along about ten o’clock, when the adults take over.” — John Martin, The New York Times (February 3, 1954) Agon (1957) “Balanchine’s choreography, built up on complex and frequently changing counts, is closer to mathematics than to art. The soloists and corps de ballet show amazing cohesion in overcoming the difficulties of the music and choreography, but the composition, addressed as it is to the mind, leaves the heart cold.” — Rostislav Zakharov, Pravda, Russia (October 14, 1962) Jewels (1967) “Turned out to be paste. This was disappointing in every way, as it was just three typically Balanchine opening ballets strung together to fill — well, almost to fill — an evening.” — Craig Dodd, Dancing Times (September 1969)

well I don't think she's going to be spending much time in Canada. My guess would be two performances of Winter's Tale early November, a couple of Nutcrackers in December and maybe 3 Sleeping Beauties in mid-March, so I expect she'll have plenty of time to be touring around the UK!

Yah, perhaps if our "excellent leader" in Toronto had actually cast Jurgita in Swan Lake, instead of giving the role to two soloists, she wouldn't be looking elsewhere....

press release from National Ballet of Canada. Essentially she will be a guest artist with us in Toronto. Sob, sob, sob. Lucky y'all. Principal Dancer Jurgita Dronina to Dance with The National Ballet of Canada and English National Ballet Next Season June 23, 2017… Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced that Principal Dancer Jurgita Dronina will be a Lead Principal Dancer with English National Ballet in London, England next season. Ms. Dronina will remain with The National Ballet of Canada as Principal Dancer and will be featured in The Winter’s Tale, which opens the 2017/18 season, as well as The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. “I am very excited to have this unique opportunity to be part of two incredible companies this season: English National Ballet in London and The National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. I consider myself very lucky to be able to work for two inspiring women, Tamara Rojo and Karen Kain, who have extraordinary visions for the future of their companies. I feel honored to be a part of this,” said Ms. Dronina. With English National Ballet, Ms. Dronina will dance the leads in productions including Giselle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Coppélia on tour to Japan and Romeo and Juliet in London in August 2017. Further performances for English National Ballet’s 17/18 season to be announced shortly. Ms. Dronina, who joined the National Ballet as a Principal Dancer in 2015, made her debut as Blanche DuBois in John Neumeier’s A Streetcar Named Desire and in Wayne McGregor’s Genus in the company’s 2016/17 season. Her repertoire with the National Ballet also includes Cinderella, Giselle, La Sylphide, Onegin, Tarantella, The Four Temperaments, Le Petit Prince and Pinocchio.

plus Rambert! And I tried to get Matthew Bourne in there too but the logistics of getting to Leicester didn't work. And if Ballet Black had announced their program earlier I would have added a day to the trip to see them too. capybara, in addition to the trip I took last month, I have done two other trips to the UK in the last 7 years. I have also proposed others that I didn't get enough uptake for. Then the pound soared against the Canadian dollar and UK trips became prohibitively expensive until the drop in the value of the pound last year (clouds and silver linings...) The absence of a destination on my list of trips is no reflection on the destination or the companies. I look at EVERY major company's offerings and then decide on my trips based on the repertoire and time of year and the aim of squeezing as many performances into as little time as possible. From experience I have learned that there is next to no interest in travelling in January and February, and March is iffy. I can't do autumn trips usually because of other commitments (and usually by the time all the companies have announced their seasons people have already made other travel plans for September-December, or really it would be September-October because people don't want to travel in November and December, and besides December is endless Nutcrackers almost everywhere!). In July there aren't a lot of companies performing, so this leaves me essentially April-June. Also if I had 20 people sign up for London this year, it's not so likely they will be wanting to go to London next year (I have a lot of repeat customers) but will be looking for a different destination, for both sightseeing reasons and the wish to see a different company/repertoire. Also I do have to spend SOME time at home or my cats will divorce me! (plus I need time for planning and preparing - organizing these trips is a huge logistical undertaking). So.... no slight intended to the UK's wonderful ballet companies. I hope I will be able to include them again in my 2018-19 season.

I have announced my season of trips for ballet lovers for 2017-18. I arrange hotels, premium, ballet tickets, sightseeing, some meals, backstage tours of opera houses, watching class or rehearsal if possible, meeting dancers if possible. You can always add on extra days if you wish. For more information, please email me at toursenlair@gmail.com and visit my website at toursenlair.blogspot.com September 28 - October 7, 2017 (10 days, 4 performances) Paris and Amsterdam Nederlands Dans Theater New works by Clug, Walerski, and León & Lightfoot Dutch National Ballet all van Manen: On the Move, Sarcasmen, Five Tangos, Symphonieën der Nederlanden National Ballet of Canada Nijinsky (Neumeier) Paris Opera Ballet: Jewels (Balanchine) draft itinerary here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2017/03/amsterdam-and-paris-ballet-trip-fall.html 2018 March 2 - 4, 2018 (3 days, 2 performances) Sarasota and West Palm Beach (Florida) Sarasota Ballet "Still Life" at the Penguin Café (Bintley), The Dream (Ashton) Miami City Ballet Theme and Variations (Balanchine), The Concert (Robbins), new Brooks March 12 - 21, 2018 (10 days, 4 performances) Vienna and Budapest (day trip to Bratislava) Vienna State Ballet Raymonda (Nureyev) Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Theme and Variations (both Balanchine), Bach Suite III (Neumeier), The Concert (Robbins) Hungarian National Ballet The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Rostislav) Slovak National Theatre Ballet Esmeralda (Medvedev after Petipa) draft itinerary here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2017/05/vienna-budapest-ballet-trip-march-2018.html April 14 - 23, 2018 (10 days, 9 performances) Munich Bavarian State Ballet Onegin (Cranko) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Neumeier) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Wheeldon) Spartacus (Grigorovich) Bavarian State Ballet Junior Company and School Performance Anna Karenina (Spuck) Borderlands, Kairos, New work (McGregor) The Taming of the Shrew (Cranko) Romeo and Juliet (Cranko) April 26 – 30, 2018 (5 days, 4 performances) San Francisco San Francisco Ballet Festival of New Works 12 new works by: David Dawson, Alonzo King, Edwaard Liang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Cathy Marston, Trey McIntyre, Justin Peck, Arthur Pita, Yuri Possokhov, Dwight Rhoden, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon. May 17 - 20 New York (4 days, 5 performances) New York City Ballet: All Jerome Robbins Interplay, In the Night, The Cage, Other Dances, Fanfare Opus 19/The Dreamer, Glass Pieces, Dances at a Gathering In G Major, Afternoon of a Faun, Antique Epigraphs, The Concert Dybbuk, Fancy Free, West Side Story Suite American Ballet Theatre TBA May 31 – June 10, 2018 (11 days, 7 performances) Copenhagen Royal Danish Ballet Napoli (Bournonville, restaged by Nikolaj Hubbe and Sorella Englund) "Bournonvilleana" details TBA Swan Lake (staged by Silja Schandorff and Nikolaj Hübbe) Shaken Mirror (Brandstrup) "Nikolaj Hübbe presents..." Artists, commentators, scientists comment on a theme, with performances by members of the Royal Danish Ballet "An evening of modern dance" details TBA Closing Gala June 29 - July 8. 2018 (10 days, 6 performances) Berlin and Hamburg (day trip to Dresden) Berlin State Ballet: Don Quixote Dresden Semperoper Ballet Gods and Dogs (Kylian), Heatscape (Peck), Political Mother (Schechter) National Ballet of Canada Dreamers Ever Leave You (Binet), Emergence (Pite), The Man in Black (Kudelka) Hamburg Ballet Illusions...like Swan Lake (Neumeier) Beethoven Project (Neumeier) The Concert, Dances at a Gathering (Robbins)

How do you know that NYCB will be in Paris in 2019?

admins might I suggest that all of this discussion that has nothing to do with RB promotion predictions be moved into a thread of its own.

If you can, (and if it's on the inside aisle rather than the side aisle) I would. So long as what you can exchange it into doesn't have one of the other problems. Yes, parkett is orchestra stalls. I've never tried to exchange seats with Vienna State Opera so don't know how easy (or not) it is. I suspect "not".

oooh Ulrik, lucky San Franciscans!

I have travel tips for ballet lovers in Seoul here http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/07/travel-tips-for-ballet-lovers-korea.html It will be hot and humid!

I am just wondering if anything came of this idea.

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!

well that's a shocker. any idea why?

Yes indeed, but book in advance. Katherine's Viennese Cafe Crawl here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.co.uk/p/travel-tips-for-ballet-lovers.html The stalls are not very well raked. There are about 5 rows at the back of the main floor which are well raked (except for the first row of that section). Otherwise try to get an inside aisle seat, but not in the first three rows or your view will be blocked by the conductor. If you can get front row seats (other than the aisle because of the conductor problem) you will have a good view.

awesome, awesome. Words fail. If ever a male dancer deserved a bouquet, Ed Watson did! It looked kind of ridiculous to me, all the women getting flowers and none for him. Penelope I am so glad you gave him flowers!!!