_emeralds

I just saw news of this on Facebook. Very sad; a wonderful ballerina 

Totally agree. And they often have bodices that look unboned, made from stretch fabric, they look almost like leotard tops...which I'm sure is much more comfortable for the dancer but it doesn't give the right deportment for classical ballet

5 hours ago, FLOSS said:

I do wonder whether Ashton made any choreographic adjustments to accommodate Grey ?

 

According to this Bachtrack article, yes some minor adjustments

https://bachtrack.com/article-sylvia-history-ballet-focus-november-2017

Sleeping Beauty Aurora Act 1 variation?

56 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 it would be wonderful if the production team could somehow place their names on screen as they flash past.

The live stream of San Francisco Ballet did do this with some soloists and principals, which was interesting as I'm not very familiar with that company. 

Come on RB, for next year!

Great insight as always, Ivy Lin!

Duo Concertant is one of my favourite ballets too - you lucky thing to have been there for Robbie Fairchild's last NYCB performance. Thanks for sharing!

On 09/10/2017 at 11:55, bangorballetboy said:

 

I think it's from Eleve Dancewear (but don't quote me on that)

It is - it's the Brooke Halloween Dot ready to wear style. It has now sold out...

So many beautiful leotards to admire that day (as well as the dancing of course!)

good luck, Nicola. sending you support and best wishes! Xx

I made a trip to Leeds to see this and what an evening!!

I enjoyed all the pieces really, it was particularly lovely to see the young performers as the next generation coming up and benefiting from the Ann Maguire foundation.

Wayne Sleep was a charming host, and Emma Maguire's speech was really touching.

I have to mention Laura Morera - every time I see her dance she captivates me. She embodies the music, plays with it then spits it out...she's supple and eloquent. Her upper back! Really beautiful!

Clair de Lune was stunning - Edward Watson created so much drama simply by raising his arm to 5th.

Of course the Czardas tap / violin explosion was amazing and delighted my Hungarian other half.

It was lovely to see Thais and Voices of Spring as I'd never seen them before, I'm not a big Ashton fan, but I had always been very charmed by these pieces on Youtube and they didn't disappoint.

Oh and 1984 - fabulous dancers!! Amazing dance-acting, you really felt the audience actually stopped breathing out of utter concentration during this piece, it was so captivating.

Loved Akane Takada and Benjamin Ella in Le Corsaire too!

I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I would also thoroughly recommend Dare to Pink - they are beautiful skirts! Really nice quality fabric, well made and Nyuszi can custom make to your requirements.

On 7/27/2017 at 09:26, ArucariaBallerina said:

 

i just need need a bit of darning advice... For my previous pointe shoes I simply used a satin stitch around the perimeter of the platform, but I've heard lots of dancers use a blanket stitch or a chain stitch... Are these better? Also, I've heard many people do the whole platform (they must have a lot of time on their hand... Took me about an hour to darn one shoe just around the outside!), is this the 'best way' ? 

Hello Acuraria,

As I'm sure you know, preparing Pointe shoes is a very personal thing and is also determined by the floor you will be dancing on. The technique that I find works very well for darning is to cut the satin from the platform and toe pleats that run from sole to plaform, wear the shoes a few times, then do a blanket/chain stitch round and round the cut satin edge on the edge of the platform. I like to get this stitch really chunky, almost like a rim. This helps with traction, and gives a nice line to the foot. If your shoes mis-shape with use you can add more layers of chain stitch to level out the platform. I don't darn the platform itself at all I leave it as raw canvas. There is no way 'better' than another though really

Ah, sorry I meant the dance and exercise open classes (not affiliated to Ballet Black) that are held at Marylebone Studio, not the Ballet Black Associate classes. I hope all these classes and teachers find a new home too.

Very happy for Ballet Black, though, it sounds like they are getting a great new headquarters!

Thanks for sharing this, Ballet Black are a wonderful company.

So no more Marylebone Studio - I wonder what is happening to all the classes held there?

that is quite simply the best ballet clip I've seen all year!!

Yumiko (as KateN has mentioned) and Eleve do custom leotards, so you can add sleeves as per your requirements. Yumiko are based in Spain and Eleve the USA. I've bought many Yumikos and they wash and wear really well so I think they're great value. I've never purchased an Eleve Leo myself but they do some beautiful colours and unusual fabrics so they may be worth a look too. as Eleve are US-based you may be slapped with additional customs charges.

http://www.elevedancewear.com

http://www.yumiko.com/eu

I stumbled upon this lovely documentary on Doubrovska the other day. It has some great interview footage with Allegra Kent and Maria Tallchief. Doubrovska herself talks about working with Nijinska in the Ballet Russes days

This popped up on my Facebook feed today for anyone interested....Karis from En Avant ballet is running a Pas de Deux workshop with Claire Calvert and Nicol Edmonds. I had a quick look at the Masterclasses section on her website and it seems to be an event she's run before. I've not done any of Karis' classes myself, so not sure of level etc.

MOTIVATIONAL•MONDAY||
Details just released for our upcoming Pas De Deux Workshop with special guest dancers from The Royal Ballet, First Soloist Claire Calvert & Soloist Nicol Edmonds ??
To find out more, sign up to our mailing list via karis enavantballet.co.uk . . . NOT to be missed!

A million years ago, when I studied the RAD vocational exams you had to learn many of the exercises in reverse also, so you did get to practice the steps that feel less 'natural' such as sissone under, jete under and pas de bouree devant etc. Is this not the case anymore?

https://www.finerylondon.com/uk/chapters/meet-francesca-hayward

The clothing label Finery have just done a little piece with Francesca Hayward...not sure if this has been covered elsewhere on the forum. Apologies if it has.

What an amazing resource! Thanks so much for this. My aim is to practice more at home, these pieces could come in very useful!

It's not just in the USA where that position is called passe....when I studied ballet as a child / teenager (RAD) it was always retire. In open classes in London as an adult, over 15 years I think I've heard it called retire a couple of times. Almost always passe. I can almost hear countless teachers shouting "HIGH PASSE!!!!!" in my head

Another one is the coupe / cou de pied terminology. I was always taught the position with the foot pointed just above your ankle was 'cou de pied' - ankle in French. Many teachers/dancers call this position coupe. I was taught you could coupe or 'cut' through the cou de pied position but I've heard the terms used interchangably.

There are so many examples of this!

Sophie_Rebecca, I've just had a quick read-up on your story and watched a couple of your videos. Well done you! It's really heartwarming to witness such a passion for dance and to see someone follow their dreams.

The loss of strength you're experiencing must be so frustrating, but as I'm sure you know, progress in ballet is slow but sure whatever the situation, so be patient and stick with it! You'll regain strength for pointe in time. Your legs and your hip alignment in your barre work look great so the foundation is there.

It's why we hardly know Misty Copland .....even though have heard of her of course...has she ever performed in UK?

 

 

She has, with ABT at Sadlers Wells in 2011. I saw her in Duo Concertante, Company B and in a soloist role in Theme and Variations. I thought she was absolutely breathtaking. Couldn't take my eyes off her

Ah, SBF I think it was a genuine misunderstanding, from both our sides, sorry! Nuances of meaning and tone do not always come across clearly when typed on a screen....much easier face to face

It IS a very interesting topic, and I am very much enjoying reading everyone's thoughts.

I had another thought about fame or celebrity these days - the general public seem to very much like a 'back-story', of someone triumphing over adversity. The British particularly seem to often root for the underdog. These TV talent shows that seem to have taken over (not that I particularly watch them!) such as X-factor, The Voice and so on seem to focus as much on the back story as the 'talent' or performance.

Much is made of Michaela de Prince, Misty Copeland and Carlos Acosta's backgrounds or how they triumphed over the odds. Quite rightly, to some extent. As Saodan has already pointed out earlier on this thread M de P is known as much for her early life as for her dancing. Does this help explain some dancers' fame, compared to their contemporaries. They make for more interesting news stories, it's more of an 'angle'?

Another consideration for me is in the past, pre Instagram and Facebook, dancers and celebrities generally were more private. Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev had a mystery as well as a glamour. There is still a great deal of interest in their private lives to this day, but perhaps because it was always less 'out there' it somehow stays more enchanting?

Saying that, personally I enjoy the access we are granted to dancers today, such as live feeds, dancers' youtube channels and their social media platforms.

SBF I'm not disputing that Bolle, Zakharova and Vishneva are world famous dancers that perform stand alone shows for thousands of ardent fans. I thought I'd made it clear in my post that I was speculating on the imagined results of if I straw-polled friends of mine who I believe to be reasonably culturally aware but not specifically ballet fans - as to who THEY would be able to name. I thought that was the original question in the thread, obviously I misunderstood it.

Forgive me if my response was too Uk-centric, but that is where I live and that is where most of my friends live, as to which dancers are household names in Russia and Italy i haven't the foggiest but I wasn't trying to answer that.

I will bow out now and leave the discussion to others.