Bruce

Not sure if Bintley has danced Simone in Birmingham but I do recall a wonderful and vivid performance and wish he would do again. Regardless of all other casting I'd book for it - same with Monica Mason as Carabosse. I seem to recall that at BRB Saturday matinees Peregrine's West Midlands cousin would come out to the front of the Hippodrome after the show where you could 'pat the pony'. Just wonderful.

Appreciate it can be that but a dcitionary definition is more rounded: Eligible: fit or proper to be chosen; worthy of choice; desirable: Eg: to marry an eligible bachelor. and that accords more with how I feel eligible is normally used.

Saw Fille as a cinema transmission last night - we go to South Hill Park in Bracknell - comfy seats and lots of room. Cheap booze too. Really admired Osipova and McRae last night – wonderful clarity of steps, so fast, so bold and couldn't ask for better. But they didn't quite deliver real people to me as others have. A good telling by the leads but not one that tugged my heart. Paul Kay did a v fine job I thought - a real and vivid character. Rather odd that the commentary steered clear of calling him a simpleton and I think referred to him as 'eligible'. I think not! A bit of a cock-up in the parade before the front cloth - it looked like Mosley saved the day by exiting the trap and helping to manhandle it on stage. Loved the terrific interview with Lesley Collier and also the send-off to Jeanetta Laurence.

I saw the first night cast again on Friday and I thought it wonderful - to the point where I tweeted: "Thank you Laura Morera, Vadim Muntagirov, Will Tuckett, @paul5kay, @balletboy09 and all on stage for such a brilliant #ROHfille last night" That's not something I do often! I actually though Vadim looked more relaxed in this performance, and the more natural for it. I prefer Morera's softer approach to Lise but in terms of bringing a warm smile to my face there is really not much in it between her and Marquez. Yet to see Osipova - who we are seeing on screen in Bracknell on 5th May. Look forward to it - she is one of the foremost dancers in the world and we are luck to have her. Doesn't mean I'll like what I see of course!

I can't find a version on the official site with more info, but the following site seems to hold a full press release: http://www.gramilano.com/2015/04/nominees-of-benois-de-la-danse-2015/ Just love this Ed Watson citation... Edward Watson – Leontes, “Winter’s Tale”, J. Talbot / K. Wheeldon. The Royal Ballet of Great Britain. Born in Bromley, South London, he studied at the Royal Ballet School and at the end was accepted into the company in 1994. After completion of all steps, received the title of prime minister in 2005. In 2012 Olivier Award received for her performance as Gregor Samsa in “The Metamorphosis” by Franz novel Kafka.

The list of nominations is here: http://benois.theatre.ru/english/massmedia/news/ Or for convenience... CHOREOGRAPHERS: ALEXANDER EKMAN – A Swan Lake, Mikael Karlsson. The Norwegian National Ballet. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAILLOT – The Taming of the Shrew, Dmitry Shostakovich. Bolshoi Ballet. DWIGHT RHODEN – Verse Us, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nils Frahm, Claude Debussy, Phillip Glass, Sven Helbig, Kristian Jarvi. Ballet Nice Mediterrannee. MARTIN SCHLÄPFER – Deep Field, Adriana Holzsky. Ballet am Rhein. CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON – The Winter’s Tale, Joby Talbot. The Royal Ballet London. BALLERINAS: MISTY COPELAND – Ave Maria, V. Kagen- Paley/D. Rhoden. Complexions Contemporary Ballet. JOLANDA CORREA – Tatiana in Onegin, P. Tchaikovski/ J. Cranko. The Norwegian National Ballet. NICOLETTA MANNI – Death in Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, J. S. Bach/R. Petit. Ballet of La Scala. MARIANELA NUÑEZ – The leading part in Symphonic Variations, C. Franck/F. Ashton. The Royal Ballet London. SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA – Marguerite Gautier in Lady of the Camellias, F. Chopin/J. Neumeier. Mekhmene-Banu in Legende of Love, A. Melikov/Y. Grigorovich. Bolshoi Ballet. DANCERS: AKRAM KHAN – The leading part in Dust, J. Pook/A. Khan. English National Ballet. XANDER PARISH – Aminta in Sylvia, L. Delibes/F. Ashton. Mariinsky Ballet. DENIS RODKIN – Ferkhad in Legende of Love, A. Melikov/Y. Grigorovich. Bolshoi Ballet. MARIAN WALTER – Morel in Proust ou Les Intermittences du Coeur, G. Fauré/R. Petit. Staats Ballet Berlin. CLIFFORD WILLIAMS – The Guide in Ave Maria, V. Kagen- Paley/D. Rhoden. Complexions Contemporary Ballet. EDWARD WATSON – Leontes in The Winter’s Tale, J. Talbot/Ch. Wheeldon. The Royal Ballet London. COMPOSERS: KONSTANTIN MELADZE – Great Gatsby, choreography by D. Rhoden. JOBY TALBOT – The Winter’s Tale, choreography by Ch. Wheeldon. The Royal ballet London. SCENOGRAPHER: JOHN MACFARLANE – Hummingbird, Ph. Glass/L. Scarlett. San Francisco Ballet. LIBRETTO: MARIT MOUM AUNE – Ibsen’s Ghosts, N. P. Molvoer/M. Moum Aune, C. Espejord. The Norwegian National Ballet. DWIGHT RHODEN – Great Gatsby, K. Meladze/D. Rhoden.? LAUREATES OF BENOIS DE LA DANSE-2015 WILL BE ANNOUNCED DURING THE CEREMONY AT THE HISTORIC BOLSHOI THEATRE ON MAY 26. END

I hope you all enjoy this - Jann Parry talks to Laura Morera & Vadim Muntagirov about La Fille mal gardée (and a few other things) http://dancetabs.com/2015/04/laura-morera-vadim-muntagirov-royal-ballet-principals-on-la-fille-mal-gardee/

Fille always comes up smelling of roses as a piece but I had mixed feeling about the show last night (21 April). The good thing is that Marquez is a strong Lise - rather different to Morera and either is a catch to see. Campbell I don't warm to as a lead. He can do the steps OK and he can't help his short legs but it does mean he tends to recede into the crowd/corps and leads shouldn't do that. It's a cross to bear that even McRae can't totally escape from. Luca Acri's Alain had a desperate time with the umbrella, which he either couldn't open or when open couldn't keep open. In the dying moments of the ballet, when Alain comes back to try and find his beloved umbrella in Window Simones farmhouse, I so wanted to shout "Why bother - it doesn't work!" In other respects a middling performance for me. I've always admired Whitehead for his dramatic nature on stage but I don't think he has quite mastered Widow Simone yet - a bit too crude a caricature and probably wisely he decided against any of the on-stage capering following the clog dance. While Tuckett dances the role others have a stiff mountain to climb in breathing as much life into her. Despite anything I say, the house seemed well pleased. It's a robust thing is Fille and always seems to please the audience. For that may we all be thankful.

I'd urge folks to read the Ismene Brown piece on all this. Amidst a lot of interesting thoughts there is a quote from Tamara Rojo that will resonate with some and not others. Here is the complete para for context: "And this was underscored by what Tamara Rojo, the charismatic ballerina-director of English National Ballet, said last week in advance of the BBC’s Young Dancer competition (being broadcast over the next couple of weeks). She said today’s Britain was not cultivating the work ethic in youngsters – they were too quickly congratulated by teachers concerned to be kind."

I think it looks a cracking season with all those new works by Scarlett, McGregor, Wheeldon, Tuckett and Acosta. Hallmark of a vibrant art. Lots of work from the past - it just doesn't dominate so much as it did and I'm thankful for that.

Royal Ballet 2015/16 Season - Repertoire All the information below is presented earlier in this thread, but it was not all together. The info was originally taken from an ROH Magazine that arrived in a reader's (barton22) snail mail in the normal way. Under is the info all copy and pasted together. But do note this is all in good faith, good faith in the magazine and good faith in transcribing - and things can change anyway. Romeo and Juliet - around 18 performances Connectome/Raven Girl - 7 performances Viscera/Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins)/Tchaikovsky pdd/Carmen (Acosta's) - 8 performances Monotones I and II/Two Pigeons - 7 performances The Nutcracker - around 25 performances Will Tuckett's Elizabeth in the Linbury Rhapsody/Two Pigeons (again) - 7 performances After the Rain/New Wheeldon/Within the Golden Hour (all Wheeldon programme) Giselle - 16 performances The Winter's Tale - 15 performances Frankenstein (Scarlett) - 10 performances (co-production with San Francisco Ballet with new Lowell Liebermann score) New McGregor (to Esa-Pekka Salonen's Nyx)/The Invitation/Within the Golden Hour (again) - 6 performances Live cinema broadcasts seem to be R&J (Sept 22), the Viscera mixed bill (Nov 12), Nut (Dec 16), Rhapsody/2Ps (jan 26), Giselle (Apr 6) and Frankenstein (May 18). There are Insight Evenings on Two Pigeons, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet as well as several "Royal Ballet in Rehearsal" evenings. There is even a session in the Clore with David Pickering where you can "Dance with The Royal Ballet" and learn some of the Romeo and Juliet choreography. There is no casting announced at this stage. Finally (from BM) I was trying to find more information re Will Tuckett's Elizabeth in the Linbury and a Google search threw up this page/pdf on the ROH site: http://static.roh.org.uk/support/pdfs/elizabeth-27-november-2013.pdf Note it was an ROH Foundation event in 2013 (not cheap, but good cause etc) and featured Zenaida Yanowsky and Carlos Acosta (and others) in "An evening of song, dance, drama and music, charting the life of Elizabeth I in her own words, and those of the men who loved her." How it relates to the Linbury shows is not known. Tomorrow (15 April) the season is officially unveiled and more information should be available. Links to posts used to pull the above togther: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126575 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126591 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126623 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126624 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126637 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=126687

Marina Harss did a piece for DanceTabs and chatted to Wheeldon, Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild. Good reading, if I say so myself! http://dancetabs.com/2015/04/an-american-in-paris-broadway-ballet/ Good to see it going well for them.

I think we should work on a scenario that couples Frankenstein and Swan Lake - why make two ballets when you can get away with one!

Yes appreciate that and no quible if you thought I had. A lot (but not all) of ENB's next season came out to friends the day before the 'big release' was to be made. Hard for organisations to get their ducks in a row on news release it seems - soembody always gets soemthing 'early'. We are blessed with the net at times like this.

Never ceases to amaze me how info gets out there! Frankenstein is the big one and a huge step up for Scarlett. I just hope he does not take on other work - he seems to have been too busy of late. Less is more. And it looks like Liam has been doing some sketches for Frankenstein. Here's a review of his piece for NYCB last autumn: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/36a3b5fc-43d1-11e4-baa7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3XBeWohQp It was called Funérailles (“Funeral”), and a "brutish and vampiric pas de deux" according to Apollinaire Scherr.

I just looked up an old press release about ballet training that nothing seems to have come of. A snippet.. "As leading schools we also note the worrying decline in students coming forward for training and the need for an urgent response if ballet is not to be lost to future generations. After much work we are pleased to announce the Physically Large Untapped Movement Project, a trial targeted at kids drawn to a professional life in ballet but based on a less physical and more cerebral approach to live performance. Application packs will be available shortly." Full release was here: http://www.ballet.co.uk/dcforum/training/1217.html

Look forward to hearing what you have to say Janet. Nearly made it but alas not.

Since seeing this production I discovered an interview by Mary Brennan in the Glasgow Herald: http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/stage/a-romeo-and-juliet-that-goes-straight-to-the-heart-of-the-matter.118732707 Brennan interviews Jean-Christophe Maillot and David Nixon. Nixon puts the new ballet in context wrt NB repertoire: "Nixon is, however, quick to reassure Northern Ballet's loyal followers that an earlier (and much-loved) Romeo and Juliet - created by Christopher Gable, Massimo Morricone and Lez Brotherston - is not about to drop out of the company's repertoire." And I think that's wonderful - it is a piece to shake people up, but shaken a time or two is probably sufficient. For me anyway! Nice piece by Brennan in highlighting the different drivers that went into the creation of this modern R&J. For a coolly critical look at the Maillot's R&J its worth reading Alastair Macaulay's review of Pacific Northwest Ballet performing it in NY a couple of years ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/arts/dance/romeo-et-juliette-pacific-northwest-ballet-at-city-center.html

Duh - forgive me - I left poison off the list. You are all very kind in not mentioning and it suddenly came to me while consuming this mornings tea in bed! Hopeless. So here you go: Q) You are Romeo and find yourself in a production that has apparently forsworn the use of all poisons, swords and daggers and reach the final act crypt scene... how do you kill yourself?

Thought I saw you up there Janet. Although I found myself laughing at the way Romeo decided to dispatch himself I should say I also hold some more positive thoughts on what is a good looking production. But don't think it will last anywhere near as long as the Gable/Moricone version did.

Q) You are Romeo and find yourself in a production that has apparently forsworn the use of all swords and daggers and reach the final act crypt scene... how do you kill yourself? A) Run across the stage at very high speed and dive onto the pointed end of a wedge shaped grave. Simple really!

What an annoying little twerp. (the Jester, Bill - not you!)

I put up the full release on DanceTabs but also did this for twitter - short-form heads up...

What fantastic news is that - hurrah x 10!

As was Lauren Gallagher! http://dancetabs.com/2015/01/royal-danish-ballets-soloists-and-principals-bournonville-celebration-new-york/ Both the reception in London and New York really underlines what draws us in to dance - seeing something unique or done uniquely well.