Bruce

I think you'd have a point if the term was applied to people. But I have never seen it so applied - its about dance on stage.

It was a joke. Not a good one I see!

Surprised not to see more talk about a wonderful double bill with lots of nice cameo slots and performances. The only downside of Sylphide last night was some appalling festooning of trimmings on the chandelier and mantlepiece. Do they not teach these things at RBS anymore?!

Or an accurate description of some of the rubbish that gets an outlet elsewhere. As a working description in conversation its been used for many years now - if not a term to be used by the faint hearted in print! There really ought to be a Wikipedia entry for "Eurotrash" in a dance context, though few would agree on what was in and what not!

Dave - I think people jump on passing waggons as they feel appropriate and can justify. Of itself there is nothing wrong with expressing a view in common with others. Telling people they are acting in a 'lame' way or are 'staggeringly shallow' for certain views seems out of kilter with the style of the forum - though obviously it is under new and more diverse management now. Although I dissociate myself totally from such words I do have sympathy with your frustration. The costumes are one component of the show, and in actuality are nothing to cause a major increase in blood pressure. If I took 'bad' costumes as a guiding principle, then there are a lot of ballets I would not be seeing and enjoying I suspect.

My goodness John you were up late! Thought I was quick spotting at 5:30 this morning!

Although I want it usable, and all that stuff, the big area and where they have consistently screwed up since 2005 (when they started flogging tickets on the net) is when booking periods open. I'll hold off any judgement until its been through Friends and Public booking I think.

I'm not a talky person! I thought Clement Crisp got it right with 3 stars. Most critics have been giving it 4 or 5 stars which I thought bonkers and seriously misleading to many casual dance goers. The movement is 5 stars and the dancers were good as well, but all the dramatic tat really, really, detracts and so I'd say it was a 3 star show as well. Thank goodness Balanchine didn't think he had to do drama in a new way too!

Great dancers, and for the work itself... My heartfelt feelings & thnx 2 William Forsythe 4 Artifact. For the movement: http://bit.ly/IiI8GN For everything else: http://bit.ly/Ids1In

All should be fine this morning. If not try the usual thing of clearing cache. It could just take a few more hours for some. Sorry, that there was no warning - we didn't know that the site would change physical server/ip this time until the last moment (there have been several silent upgrades already) with these attendant site move pains. As has been noted the forum was hitting some major constraints and we had to act quickly. For those wondering, I temporarily remain in the loop because I still officially pay the bills, catch the complaining server folks emails and giddy them up etc. This will change when the committee has it bank account and donation drive in place and can pay them direct and hold the relationship. At the moment some on the committee are bearing all the costs of the forum - so there is a spur to get all this stuff in place soonest.

Duh - can't be trusted in front of a keyboard - will fix!

Thank you for kind words and glad you enjoyed the interview with Tamara - good to hear first hand what she is about and I have a lot of time for her. One of the questions I asked but didn't make it into the final interview was what her motto is. She has one but it's in Spanish and it didn't seem to translate so well. But it starts something like "Be fearless...". Its a fragment that says a lot about her. Edit: last word changed from 'here' to 'her' - duh!

A couple of useful links.. Here is the press release with 3 new Johan Persson pictures of Tamara - and very nice they are too: http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/04/tamara-rojo-is-the-new-english-national-ballet-artistic-director/ I interviewed Tamara a couple of days ago - it provides more background about why she wants to direct ENB and about not stopping being a dancer etc: Tamara Rojo Interview

Press Release: 13 April 2012 English National Ballet announces Tamara Rojo as its new Artistic Director English National Ballet is delighted to announce that Tamara Rojo will take over as Artistic Director in September 2012 for the start of the Company’s new season. Tamara brings with her a wealth of experience both as a dancer and board member of many of the UK’s most prestigious arts organisations. Tamara will be an innovative and creative artistic leader for English National Ballet which continues to take ballet of the highest quality to audiences in all regions of the UK and around the world at affordable prices. Tamara’s appointment starts an exciting new chapter in the company’s long and distinguished history. “I am honoured to have been asked by the board of English National Ballet to be their next Artistic Director. I have very fond memories of my time as a dancer with English National Ballet and nothing could make me prouder than to return to this internationally respected company, with its wonderful dancers and invaluable legacy in bringing dance to the nation. I am particularly excited about working with young British choreographers, building strong relationships with our audiences in the regions, and exploring opportunities across other art forms” Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo’s first Principal appointment in the UK was at English National Ballet, and it was at English National Ballet that her reputation in the dance world began to grow. The Times named her “Dance revelation of the year” after her performances as Clara in Derek Deane’s The Nutcracker. She has since gone on to perform around the world, and is currently Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet, and one of the world’s most in demand ballerinas. Tamara is a strong voice in the dance world; she sits on the board of Arts Council East, Dance UK, the ICA, the Anglo-Spanish Society and is keen to nurture young talent as a guest teacher at the Royal Ballet School. “English National Ballet is very happy to welcome Tamara as the new Artistic Director. We look forward to the continuing success of the Company which has thrived under Wayne Eagling’s Artistic Direction over the last seven years. Tamara will use her world wide reputation and creative vision to form inspiring collaborations throughout the UK and the world. She is looking forward to developing, mentoring and showcasing young talent within the Company, and building the profiles of those who are already performing at the highest level.“ John Talbot, Chairman of English National Ballet As well as her role as Artistic Director, Tamara will also dance with the Company using her internationally renowned reputation and loyal fan base to reach new audiences for English National Ballet across the UK and the world. English National Ballet will be announcing plans for the 2013 season under the new leadership of Tamara Rojo later this year. For information about English National Ballet’s current repertoire please visit www.ballet.org.uk - Ends –

I won't say more - I'm not an active moderator here but I could see a mistake had probably been made by a reputable organisation, called them to check and the info had already been removed by them. I spoke to John Mallinson, chief admin here, and he was not in a position to act himself. Its an unfortunate position for all.

The post was taken down - it was based on information elsewhere that was put up in error and has been removed elsewhere. It was an unfortunate mistake. We all understand that the news needs to be out there BUT releasing news is more then just about chucking it up on the net. Staff, papers, TV all need to be considered by organisations and all need to be on side.

The release comes out tomorrow - period. Nobody knowingly would break the embargo.

There is a company meeting today, what about has not been said I think. What I do know is that as of 17:00 last night the company had no plans to officially tell Joe Public today about a new director. Hopefully tomorrow everybody can talk about it. But all things can change and it might yet be that the company decides otherwise or anonymous fans blurt it out. I think all discussion is best had when the news properly emerges. This is a thread about Wayne Eagling's resignation - I'd assume that words about a new director will start in a fresh thread.

I'm lucky to know a few critics and I'm generally incredibly impressed by their knowledge and skill. It shouldn't need saying but they don't make it up beforehand - and they want to see success and not report failure too. However half of what they see will be less good than the other half. The only exception would be a situation like Clement Crisp finds himself in wrt to Jiri Kylian - he thinks his movement style is an abomination and no amount of seeing Kilian's work will change that it seems. One knows the boot will go in but I don't for a moment think he writes anything before seeing the work. They also don't all get into a huddle and agree a common line about a show - as has been suggested on occasion. They are all independent spirits with different tastes. Like the audience. Some critics really prepare for seeing a performance and others don't. For example I know at least one critic who got Anna Karenina off the shelf for a quick read prior to seeing Eifman's version. Others don't prepare at all - the merit there is that they are seeing a show as most in the audience do. There is no right or wrong. You judge based on the writing and not much else I think. Critics have prejudices just like the rest of us. But their prejudice is generally based on exposure to a much wider selection of dance and knowing people in the trade. I think you get the most from following a critic for some time and seeing where your views coincide and not. When you have them calibrated then you can decide if you see a show or not based on what they say. I'm all for fans reviews and pushed them for nearly 15 years. And I'm glad I did - good for the audience to have a say when before it didn't. However many (but not all) fans reviews tend to be very rose tinted, sometimes remorselessly so, to the point where I no longer bother reading them. Critics reviews on the other hand I nearly always find interesting - there is a much stronger sense of reality - or my reality on seeing dance anyway. Finally I have to agree re Twitter - its a silly place to try and discuss anything substantive. Even if it were better you'd still end up with the discussion lost within a week. And using multiple posts just makes it even more difficult and tedius to follow. So I don't bother much with the Twitter verbose! Twitter is a great place to say you heart something or somebody. Very, very, few say that anything or anybody was really poor on twitter and that's a departure from reality. It is a wonderful and seductive place rubbing shoulders with dancers and companies but the fans part of the bargain is to positive and supportive and massage away any problems. If you really like a company, regardless of its ups and downs, it's paradise. But it shouldn't be confused with reality. (imho of course!!)

Eric Taub wrote this in a Balletco review: "However, at his best, Eifman can be a pleasure, albeit a Guilty Pleasure. There are times when watching his work that I can forget about his often laughable artistic decisions, his bombast and pretension, the earnest naivety with which he presents the blindingly obvious as revelations, indeed, when I can drink the Cool-Aid, turn off my critical faculties (Eifman does give my BS-detector a heavy workout), and, for awhile, at least, just let myself get swept away on the rush of outrageous, caffeinated theatricality. As in most cases in which one suspends one's own critical awareness, I do indeed feel guilty in the morning, but at least I'm not hungover." Very much worth reading the whole review: http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/may07/et_rev_eifman_0407.htm

Just wanted to say that from my perspective all this was unplanned. If you didn't see it yesterday John Mallinson inverted the logo and I just added the words about stretching out to Australian audiences. A later brainwave gave the link. But nice one John for having the idea in the first place. When I did April Fools at Balletco there were always some who would post up "Is this an April Fool" or give the game away in other ways. Best not to do that before 12:00 - it can only potentially spoil things for others, which is a shame.

We took advantage of the £10 offer too. Like others, though, I have reservations on such deep discounting and what it will do for ENB's future ticket sales at the Coliseum. You can fill the house but goodness knows at what long-term cost. I suspect the reason all this has come up is that while the 2 Russes bills are appealing to fans they don't capture the wider public imagination - sadly what does is Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet etc . Anyway you don't often see mixed ballet bills at the Coliseum (other than perhaps Mariinsky/Bolshoi) and then only for 2 or 3 nights tops. Given all the difficulty in filling seats I think this season would have been better at Sadler's Wells or another smaller theatre. Or possibly 1 week a blockbuster and 1 week Russes, thought even 1 week might be too much at the Coliseum. Anyway I'm glad we got there. The company may have lost its natural Apollo in Tom Edur but it was a strong performance, led out by Gruzdyev, of a work that still seems so modern and gives goosebumps. And closing out with Suite en Blanc is just terrific - it showcases the company well and makes you smile at life. We got Nathan Young dancing the Le Train Bleu solo - no idea how he compares to Muntagirov but it was a fun bit of froth worth keeping for a gala or two. The premiere was Wayne Eagling's Jeux which sadly did not connect with us on any level - if a great score to listen to. I just found it awfully confusing. Others liked it and Eagling has a following keen to see him stay as Director. It's not for me ( I look forward to a change) but if you support him and want to try to get him reinstated then Kenneth Leadbeater has started a Government e-petiton at: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32127. Have to say it's probably a bit late and the new director is inevitably already chosen. Whoever it proves, I hope they come up with bills that please fans and sell the Coli out at full price.

Wonderful to see the new community run forum getting stuck in and stretching out to new Australian audiences - well done the committee I say! Sorry - Edited to give the link: www.balletcoforum.com/oz

Perfectly easy to publish all the names on the web page under the letter. If necessary the hardcopy edition could direct people to the web page to see the names. A gutless carry-on.

My 2p as an individual... Its a very poor show when people want to heavily criticise others but don't have the guts to publicly and clearly stand behind their views and be properly accountable for them.