Bruce

A weird thing is this. 3 Days ago Ballet San Jose sent out this press release: ############################################ FOR RELEASE MONDAY, MAY 5 BALLET SAN JOSE ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL TOUR WITH NATALIA OSIPOVA AND IVAN VASILIEV FEATURING ROLAND PETIT’S CARMEN IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA, MOSCOW AND LONDON JULY 25-AUGUST 9 San Jose, CA, May 5, 2014 – Ballet San Jose Artistic Director José Manuel Carreño has announced that the Company has been invited to tour with celebrated former Bolshoi Ballet stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in performances in Southern California, Moscow and London this summer. The tour repertoire will feature Osipova and Vasiliev’s debuts in Roland Petit’s Carmen with Ballet San Jose with the balance of the program comprising pas de deux to be performed by the former Bolshoi artists. Performances will be given July 25-27 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA; July 31 and August 1-3 at the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, Russia; and August 6-9 at the London Coliseum in London. The tour is presented by Ardani Artists. For more information, visit www.balletsj.org or www.ardani.com. “We are all thrilled to have been invited to join Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev on this international tour,” says Mr. Carreño. Ballet San Jose concludes is current season May 9-11 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts with performances of Roland Petit’s Carmen and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. ############################################ And 2 days later I get the Solo for Two press release from the UK PR folks and there is no mention of Carmen, or Ballet San Jose. The www.ardani.com site currently has a page about the Solo for Two project but no details at all. You can See the Coliseum page on the bill here: http://www.eno.org/whats-on/other/solo-for-two In Words they say: "The pair will dance two world premieres commissioned by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for them. The first of the world premieres will be Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, with music by Autechre and Greensleeves English traditional folk music. It will be followed by a new work by Arthur Pita called Facada, danced to music by Frank Moon, Phil King and traditional Portuguese fado." The London Press Release (but not the Coliseum site) says there is still a "PIECE TO BE ANNOUNCED" before the 2 premieres and I'm hoping that is Carmen. The Segerstrom currently list the bill that is being performed in July as: "The Kingdom of the Shades scene from Petipa’s La Bayadere Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort" and of course that is not in agreement with the BSJ release either. All very Russian! Conclusion Re London: 1) Coliseum site just talks about the bill title and two premieres - there is no mention of any other work and that is what you are buying. 2) There may be more presented in London, but there is nothing official in London on this. 3) If there is another work in London it may be Carmen. Possibly!

I think everybody is chosen for everything based on a lot of different attributes and skills. Just because an AD chooses a choreographer for many good reasons, including 'big name', that does not mean success will be delivered. ditto when choreographer casts the piece.

My goodness everybody is freely having a go at Darcey Bussell! Is there a contradiction here with the way that dance performances themselves are generally discussed on the forum and elsewhere? Most comments are pretty happy in nature and harsh words are but rarely said - it seems rather reverential. But dancers and creatives are just doing a job in the same way that Bussell is. I have to say I rather like the idea of a forum that gracefully talks about the negatives as well as positives of performances. Half the performances I see are not as good as the other half, but judged by Social Media and forums like this one 80-90% of performances are stonkingly brill. I overemphasise, somewhat, for effect of course!

Well done Nemo - good dog! (IE11 under W7/64bit)

Test using IE 11.0.96.. under Windows 7 64 bit Does not seem to work. Don't use ordinarily. It also seems to have a problem with pasting text into this box (probably same problem!) The Firefox and Chrome tests above all worked and are using the latest versions of each browser. Perhaps John might be aware of an IE problem - there is a lot of hassle around IE just now with various updates needed. Don't think I'll be doing anything again with it. For whatever its worth I run Firefox on main machine, tablet (Windows) and phone (android).

Using Chrome 34.0.1847.131 under Windows 7 64 bit

Test using Firefox 29 under Windows 7 64 bit

Unnamed editor to Alastair Macaulay: “Every art has its lunatic fringe, but ballet’s fringe is more lunatic than any other’s.”

I'm sure there will be many messages of support as the day unfolds, but I just saw this from Jonathan Watkins (@JustWatkins) on Twitter and it seems to express so well what we all feel: "An incomprehensible tragedy. My thoughts and strength to Emma and the Maguire family at this very difficult time. RIP Anne."

Thoughts, love and condolences go out to Emma Maguire and her family for the tragic and senseless loss of her mother, Anne Maguire. It's just too awful, if reported in most papers now. Here is but one link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10794504/Leeds-teacher-murder-boy-15-in-custody-after-Anne-Maguire-stabbed-to-death.html Nobody can make sense of such events, all we can do is surround those involved with our love and support from afar.

Yep - and good for her!

Forgive me but this seems to presuppose that Clement Crisp is of the opinion that you can't do a piece about a subject you haven't experienced - I don't believe he is, or at least I don't think that can be inferred from his review. Crisp didn't like the show and he gave the context for why it didn't work for him. He didn't say that a younger choreographer could not do something on war or the first World War, merely that the 3 examples here failed for him in various ways. Ian MacMillan, reaches back, like Crisp, and gracefully points out why it did work for him. When was it ever different!? I think for most of us the night was good or even very good. It did make one recall the sacrifice of war but I, for one, also looked at it as new work pure and simple - as choreographers came to terms with a new company and put new movement on them. Crisp, I think, mainly concentrated on the former. Although I liked the night, a piece that made me think much more about the army and war was Rosie Kay's 5 Soldiers and that work was the result of a lot of research - more I suggest then was possible by Scarlett, Maliphant and Khan. Somebody else asked how Clement Crisp reacted to MacMillan's Gloria. The answer, at least in part... Dec 2005: "The revival of MacMillan's Gloria was no less engrossing: Carlos Acosta, Thiago Soares and Alina Cojocaru speak the grief-laden poetry of the dance with conviction. A magnificent account from the entire cast." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c111fa5a-6857-11da-bfce-0000779e2340.html Nov 2011: "This triple bill is tremendous. It touches the spirit in MacMillan’s Gloria, revenants from the Somme and their womenfolk evoked through Poulenc’s score (and how fine was Anna Devin as the soprano soloist), and with the uniquely gifted Edward Watson tearing the dance from his soul." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5fcf603e-1783-11e1-b157-00144feabdc0.html Feb 2014: "The concluding Gloria, Kenneth MacMillan’s contemplation of soldier-revenants of the first world war and their womenfolk, has an awful added relevance this year. Under-cast, with only Sarah Lamb fully to reveal its anguish, the dance nevertheless speaks with haunted eloquence. MacMillan’s father served and suffered through the conflict. Filial understanding here becomes penetrating art." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c50d9264-923c-11e3-9e43-00144feab7de.html Gloria has been in the rep over 34 years and regularly comes back - it's a monumental work and Crisp rates it. Will any of the pieces we have enjoyed at the Barbican still be around in 30 years time? I'm not so sure. But I am glad they have been created and am *hugely* appreciative of what Rojo is about at ENB.

I really like the Barbican as a space. It has the most comfortable of seats, it's really easy to get to those seats and there is a lot of good social space. All that and great toilets! Agree its not so good for orchestra's but this was the first time ENB have used it and there is a learning curve I think. I wish there were more dance at the Barbican and also at the Southbank. My perception is that they are doing less on dance then they were, say, 10 years ago and I'd really like to see the 3 medium size houses in competition to attract and put on great dance. Sadler's Wells does us well, but it can't really do enough anyway - 3 programmers going for it would be better than the one...

Bullet point thoughts after seeing the premiere last night +ve Bob Crowley designs generally. That tree! The sea and sailing scenes Dancers looking good in dramatic piece Wheeldon channelling Kenneth MacMillan to unveil inner psyche good and clear telling of story -ve v disappointing score - it bumbled along choreographically light - like the score, it could bumble for long stretches On first viewing no blockbuster pdd - the lack of musical punch probably didn't help. somehow missed the Basil Twist 'animatronic' baby Sum-up Not a knock out for me and I wanted more distinctive movement. There were lot of creatives on stage at the end for a bow. I sometimes wish that choreographers would just concentrate on steps rather than marshaling all these relationships and all that diverse creativity. Just my 2p!

We have a short piece about We have a short piece on this by Margaret Willis http://dancetabs.com/2014/04/to-dance-like-a-man-sky-documentary/

Media release: 4 April 2014 BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET ANNOUNCES 2014 – 2015 SEASON AT BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME A re-creation by Dame Gillian Lynne of a ground-breaking work from the Company’s history: Robert Helpmann’s 1944 ballet Miracle in the Gorbals Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker returns for Christmas David Bintley’s brand-new one-act ballet The King Dances, with a commissioned score by Stephen Montague Four amazing full-length classics: Beauty and the Beast, The Nutcracker, Coppélia and Sylvia Plenty of family-friendly performances, including weekend matinees, during the Company’s 25th season at Birmingham Hippodrome Flexible range of ticket prices from as little as £16 with a generous choice of concessionary rates Birmingham Royal Ballet announces the 2014/2015 Birmingham Hippodrome season, the 25th season at its home theatre in the Midlands. The season will celebrate the Company’s varied repertory, from the gothic fairy-tale Beauty and the Beast in the autumn through to the return of The Nutcracker for Christmas and Sylvia in the summer of 2015. Added to the mix will be two works new to Birmingham audiences; a re-creation by Dame Gillian Lynne of the ground-breaking Miracle in the Gorbals, and a new one-act ballet from Director David Bintley called The King Dances. Over the course of the season, the Company will perform four full-length classic ballets and three programmes of shorter works to include the return of Bintley’s Carmina burana, MacMillan’s La Fin du jour and a revival of George Balanchine’s earliest American creation Serenade. During the 14/15 season Birmingham Royal Ballet will continue to focus on creating new works and presenting quality productions at affordable ticket prices. The Company has held most of its prices for the last few seasons and from September 2014 a flexible range of prices will enable the Company to offer tickets from as little as £16 with a generous range of concessionary rates available to many. Throughout the season, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 60 full-time dancers from across the world will be accompanied by Britain’s busiest ballet orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The Sinfonia under the musical directorship of Koen Kessels, with Principal Conductor Paul Murphy and Conductor Philip Ellis, plays for Birmingham Royal Ballet's wide-ranging programme in the UK and abroad. The 14/15 Birmingham season begins with David Bintley’s Beauty and the Beast. In this towering gothic fairy-tale from the creator of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s smash-hit Cinderella, a cruel Prince, cursed to spend his life as a Beast, finds salvation in the heart of a beautiful girl. Beauty and the Beast 30 September – 4 October 2014 Caught stealing a single rose, Belle’s desperate father exchanges his life for his youngest daughter’s freedom. In his distant castle the Beast, stripped of his handsome features and his very humanity, must win her heart, or spend the rest of his life in bitter solitude. A beautiful girl, a hideous beast, a golden ballroom full of animals, two haughty sisters and a grumpy grandmother, dance through the unfolding pages of Philip Prowse’s stunning storybook set, whilst David Bintley’s rich choreography brings to life magical transformations, wild waltzes, and a relationship between Belle and the Beast that is at first terrifying, but ultimately beautiful. Shadows of War La Fin du jour / Miracle in the Gorbals / Flowers of the Forest 8 – 11 October 2014 Shadows of War presents three one-act ballets each touched in some way by war. Kenneth MacMillan’s La Fin du jour captures the glamorous ‘la plage’ lifestyle of the depression era. A group of trendy, bright young things while away their days with swimming, golf and new-fangled aeroplanes. They studiously ignore the looming threat of war which will eventually call time on their careless enjoyment and high spirits. Robert Helpmann’s (Royal Ballet dancer and the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) 1944 Miracle in the Gorbals was a great leap forward for British ballet. Set in a run-down and dangerous Glasgow suburb, it dispensed with all the frippery of traditional ballets, replacing it with a gritty realism that proved an enormous success. After the shock of a girl’s suicide, the arrival of a mysterious stranger who is able to bring her back to life creates waves among the violent inhabitants of the tenements. The choreography for this ground-breaking dance drama is being re-created by Dame Gillian Lynne (a member of the original cast), with sets and costumes by Adam Wiltshire after original set designs by Edward Burra, a leading 20th-century British artist. David Bintley’s Flowers of the Forest is a ballet in two parts. Set to music by Malcolm Arnold, ‘Four Scottish Dances’ presents a light-hearted and nostalgic ‘picture postcard’ view of Scotland, whilst ‘Scottish Ballad’ strikes a more serious note, and is danced to a folk-inspired score by the young Benjamin Britten. The composer’s pacifist views found voice in this piece, which takes its title from the famous ballad for the flower of Scottish youth slain on Flodden Field. The Nutcracker 28 November – 13 December 2014 Let yourself get swept up in the excitement of Christmas with one of the best-known classical ballets of all-time The Nutcracker. This unparalleled, world-famous production by Sir Peter Wright, complete with sets and costumes by John Macfarlane, the designer of the Company’s stunning Cinderella, is one not to be missed! What more could a young girl ask for at Christmas, than for all her dreams to come true? After sneaking downstairs at midnight to play with her new Nutcracker doll, Clara is swept up in a fantasy of toy soldiers, giant rats, snow fairies, magic and mystery. When she saves her beloved Nutcracker from the King of the Rats, she is whisked away to an enchanted land and dances the night away in his arms, meeting a host of strange and exotic characters, before she is finally transformed into a beautiful ballerina. The night passes in a blur and she wakes up on Christmas morning at the foot of the Christmas tree with memories that will stay with her forever, as the memory of this amazing production will stay with everyone who sees it. Moving Stateside Serenade / Lyric Pieces / In the Upper Room 18 – 21 February 2015 Moving Stateside presents three ballets spanning nearly a century of US creativity, from George Balanchine’s earliest American creation to one of the Company’s most recent commissions. Serenade is a stunning piece of pure dance from master choreographer George Balanchine, performed to the glorious music of Tchaikovsky. Wearing romantic costumes in shades of blue, dancers move elegantly on a bare stage, set against a midnight blue background. A milestone in the history of dance, Serenade is the first original ballet Balanchine created in America. Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces, commissioned for the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2012, was one of the highlights of that season and makes a welcome return. For her first piece for a major European company, award-winning American choreographer Lang used the romantic musical miniatures by Norwegian master Edvard Grieg and complemented them with a hand-picked design team with costumes by Elena Comendador and lighting by Nicole Pearce. In the Upper Room features dancers in trainers and striking red pointe shoes who dominate the stage with energy, flair and finesse in this exhilarating, athletic ballet by American dance phenomenon Twyla Tharp. Philip Glass’s score builds to an emotional peak with dancing that is quick-witted and even quicker footed. A high-octane, all-American evening! Coppélia 24 – 28 February 2015 Magic, mayhem and the original living doll. What’s at the heart of a woman? Eccentric toymaker Dr Coppélius wants to know, and he’s planning to bring his mechanical doll, Coppélia, to life. He just needs the right spell. When Dr Coppélius leaves Coppélia on his workshop balcony she’s soon causing quite a stir in the village. Particularly in the heart of red-blooded young lover Franz and the jealous mind of his real-life fiancée Swanilda- who’s mistaken the mannequin for a crying, talking, sleeping, walking rival. With a wild mix of abracadabra, and some mischievous maidens, comic chaos is riotously unleashed when humans and automatons collide in Dr Coppélius’s spooky toyshop. Sir Peter Wright’s enchanting production of this joyous and witty ballet is an ever-popular celebration of love, with a sparkling score and breath-taking choreography. Coppélia is guaranteed to lift the hearts of all the family. The King Dances / Carmina burana 17 – 20 June 2015 Marking Director David Bintley’s 20th year with Birmingham Royal Ballet, this programme contrasts his acclaimed Carmina burana from 1995 with his latest work The King Dances. In 1653 the 14-year-old Louis XIV of France danced the role of Apollo the sun god in Le Ballet de la Nuit, and earned himself forever the soubriquet the Sun King. In The King Dances David Bintley reimagines the very beginnings of ballet, when men were quite literally, the kings of dance. In Carmina burana, the first ballet Bintley created for the Company as Director, an encounter with the mind-blowing Goddess Fortuna deals three seminarians a major lesson in the fickle nature of fate. Compelled to abandon their sacred studies to pursue a more sensual approach to life, forbidden pleasures and physical temptations quickly become the young men’s most eager areas of revision. Soon the young celebrants are soaring with love, passion and alcohol. Carmina burana is a thrilling, large-scale production, danced to Carl Orff’s dramatic and emotionally charged choral music, for which the Royal Ballet Sinfonia are joined by Birmingham’s Ex Cathedra. Inspired by the satirical writings of medieval priests, Orff’s rousing choral tour de force is a feat in its own right. Bintley’s breath-taking choreography ensures an unforgettable experience that has been astonishing and delighting audiences for nearly 20 years. Sylvia 24 – 27 June 2015 The 2014/15 Birmingham Hippodrome season finishes with a humorous trip through time to learn valuable lessons in love. Count Guiccioli’s infidelities cause marital strife between him and his wife and threaten both their anniversary celebration and the burgeoning love between Amyntas and Sylvia, their servants. It is left to the God of love, Eros (in disguise as a gardener), to reconcile their differences as he takes them, and us, back to the age of mythical Rome in order to teach them all a lesson about Love. David Bintley’s time-hopping comedy features music by Léo Delibes, the composer of Coppélia, and a colourful cast of Gods and Goddesses, slave girls and pirates. Tchaikovsky wrote of Delibes’ score that his own music for Swan Lake was ‘poor stuff’ in comparison. ENDS Notes: BRB @ BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME 2014–15 season on-sale dates4 April: BRB Friends’ season and individual tickets, and season tickets for previous subscribers processed from this date (post only). 22 April: New season ticket purchasers (post only). 29 April: Individual tickets BRB Friends (telephone) and Birmingham Hippodrome Friends. 30 April: On-line individual tickets, telephone and in-person individual tickets. Book tickets online at www.birminghamhippodrome.com or phone Birmingham Hippodrome ticket office 0844 338 5000. For full booking information please visit www.brb.org.uk/seasonticket Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Birmingham Hippodrome 14/15 season at a glance: 30 September – 4 October 2014: Beauty and the Beast 8 – 11 October 2014: Shadows of War (La Fin du jour / Miracle in the Gorbals / Flowers of the Forest) 28 November –13 December 2014: The Nutcracker 18 – 22 February 2015: Moving Stateside (Seranade | Lyric Pieces | In the Upper Room) 24 – 28 February 2015: Coppélia 17 - 20 June 2015: The King Dances | Carmina burana 24 –27 June 2015: Sylvia Autumn 2014 tour dates confirmed (more information and 14/15 tour dates to follow) The Lowry, Salford: 24 – 27 September Beauty and the Beast Sadler’s Wells, London: 14 - 16 October Beauty and the Beast, 17 – 18 October Shadows of War Theatre Royal Plymouth: 28 - 29 October Shadows of War, 30 October – 1 November Beauty and the Beast Sunderland Empire Theatre: 6 – 8 November Beauty and the Beast

Interesting night - v rapid thoughts... Firebird seemed rather out of place given the other pieces were overtly about war and brand new commissions. It remains an apprentice piece but dancers come out of it well and it has a couple of thoughtful coup de theatre, though not sure why George Williamson took a bow given it's not a new work. I was disappointed by Liam Scarlett's work (No Man's Land) - it took a very long time to get going and the set carried the interest at first. A fine pdd towards the end though. Maliphant's Second Breath had no set and he knows how to draw you in from the off, if it then seemed to loose some momentum. The best of it was a duet featuring Cojocaru/Souza - eyeopening and I hope Maliphant does more work with Cojocaru - a very different quality to what he has created with Guillem. But the big hit, from start to finish, was the Khan (Dust) - it really seemed to use the corps beautifully and the duet for Khan and Rojo was eye-opening. You don't get movement like this on ballet stages. Rojo was pleased to bits when she announced the Khan commission last year and it's fully delivered. More!

It was mentioned - but only in passing. There was no more information that I can recall. I tweeted about it before the press event so it was certainly in the paperwork I was given. Just checked and it's a co-production with the Joyce, so I suspect it will play there rather than at City Center. It's certainly an interesting idea for a night and look forward to seeing what emerges. Takling bets that something from Christopher Wheeldon will be included!

Yes, my piece and thank you. Hallberg is a class piece of work but the Bolshoi, at principal level, are gold in work like this it seems. He has a hell of a 'brand'/following and I was generally surprised to see him outshone as he was in a technical sense. I think there is a lot of interest in 'westerners' training or dancing with Soviet companies and that suits all. Hard to say more, based on one piece, but be interesting to know what (realistic) Moscow fans think, based on seeing much more of him in the rep. BUT he is very good dancer - who most companies would kill for. It really points out the strength in Moscow.

AdBlock is about stopping normal advertising, but what Janet described did not sound like normal advertising at all. Anyway hope you sort it Janet.

Add my praise for Marco Spada. If you are going to do good old fashioned ballet that's the way to do it. The interesting thing for me was that Hallberg didn't really seem to engage the same technical gear as the other principals until the last act. He is fast, but not as precise as the home team. But this was a great success and much better than Lost Illusions - if its always the dancers that make you lust to see more of the Bolshoi.

We saw the show on Friday from the back row of the Upper Circle and as far away from the stage as you can get. At that distance the designs did not stand out as much as they had for me earlier. Robbed of that impact and seeing it for a second time, it didn't really take off as a work and we left at the second interval, the last act being a long haul with false endings, and the brother-sister resolution does not satisfy or inspire great choreography. Anne also hates the music and the steps did not put that right! Many seem to like act 2 but it feels a bit long and humdrum to me - if with some occasional fun movement, and the salamander/brother revelation scene is clever. But choreographically I want something distinctive and I didn't see that. There was some good dancing in the acts we saw - could see why the young Miki Mizutani was cast and look forward to seeing her in stronger work, but the knock-out was Celine Gittens as Epine - full-on technical and emotional fizz. Now in her 8th year with the company, she has been promoted several times and that upward momentum I hope is maintained or even accelerated. Jann Parry reviewed the opening night cast (Caley/Hirata) and didn't warm to what she saw. As ever clear explanations and rather a wallop at the end. Lynette Halewood reviewed the Bracewell/Roberts cast more happily. For myself, if I could save only one Pagodas, I'd take the flawed MacMillan over the easy-going Bintley. I think it's worth remembering that Bintley has done some wonderful story ballets that draw you in, two of which might have indicated a stronger Pagodas would come from him: Edward II, really hit home as a grown-up piece and Hobson's Choice made you care about families. It will be interesting to see him create on his own company again (rather than BRB getting work crafted for the different skills and market in Tokyo).

Don't know what the problem is but I've been using Firefox for years (on Windows and Android) and never seen anything like this associated with a new download. Mozilla, by culture, don't generally release apps configured with lots of 'spamy' extra's - usually just get the browser and its up to you if you want to use add-ons and which ones. But such choices are usually very overt. To be honest it sounds like some nasty extra has found it was onto your system. Do a full virus scan if you havn't already. I also get Malwarebytes (from http://www.malwarebytes.org/) and run that - its free. I'd probably also uninstall Firefox and get a fresh copy direct from: http://www.mozilla.org

Jump to it folks! Bid on Dance UK and the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora's online auction and help raise money for two organisations which support dancers and dance professionals. There are some amazing items including: - watching Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta rehearsing Romeo and Juliet - watching a Royal Ballet performance from the wings - a 'Strictly Come Dancing' costume experience ... and many, many more! Details: http://www.danceuk.org/teadance/auction/

Interested in what people think. Clement Crisp thinks 3 stars under headline: "David Bintley’s choreography is the prisoner of Britten’s interminable Pagodas score." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/dbe17318-b5a3-11e3-81cb-00144feabdc0.html Look forward to seeing it again tonight.