SPD444

I'm going, with my wife, opening night. Hope its Matthew and his lady, who danced SL I think with him recently at the RB, cant spell her name, sorry.

You will have to be quick but more tickets are available NOW on the web site for all performances including the matinee on the main stage

I thought that when they changed online booking to 8am but left telephone until 10am the box office would hold some tickets back. I went online at 8am to try and get tickets for the RBS annual matinee I found, other than amphitheatre, all the remaining tickets were either side boxes or standing. Vertigo rules out the amphitheatre I'm afraid. I then rang the box office at 10am, was placed in a queue until 10.32, and was then told that only amphitheatre were left, but on my screen some balcony boxes were still selectable, so it seems that the internet has a better choice than telephone. I thought that strange.

Yes, I agree, it was a lovely evening with, for me, the right dancer winning but I must give special mention to Isabelle who in the pas de deux reminded me so much of marianella nunez with the facial expressions. I must admit I do share incognito's comments regarding appearing more than once. How many times can someone be an emerging dancer , once you have emerged can you emerged again. A lovely evening watching some of the younger talent within the ENB and, under Tamara, how they are going from strength to strength.

The running order tonight was:-

Monotones ll - Arestis, Kish and Hirano

Memoria - Miguel Altunaga

Les Lutins - Maguire, Hay and Sambe

Lieder - Hamilton and Avis

Qualia, pas de deux - Cowley and Watson

Rhapsody, pas de deux - Morera and Bonelli

Flames of Paris - Choe and Campbell

Musance - Calvert, Choe, McNally, Acri and Sambe

2nd Movement pas de deux - Asphondel Meadows - Maguire and Gartside

Czardas - McRae

Two Pigeons - pas de deux - Crawford and Hirano

Borrowed Light - Sambe

No Mans Land - pas de deux - Cojocaru and Kobberg

Requiem - Pie Jesu - Choe

I hope the artists don't mind me just using their surnames, no disrespect intended.

The show was topped and tailed by Darcey and Jonathan Cope and Emma joined them at the end and made a lovely speech.

The whole evening was wonderful with some thrilling dancing from Steven doing his tap dance routine, boy can he tap dance.

In the Musance the dancers were joined by the Hackney Colliery Band who made the whole thing such fun.

Sorry, but stand out for me was seeing Alina dance with Johan again, first time I have seen them together since that night at the RB and Mayerling ( never forget that ). It is the most beautiful piece and I was sitting close enough to see Alina's genuine tears at the end of the performance.

What was also especially lovely was to see some of the RB soloists up front and centre, they all danced beautifully.

A magical night produced by Emma, assisted by Yuhui, and many many congratulations to them and everyone involved - I am sure Emma's mum was watching with tears in her eyes.

"There's a picture on Twitter of the poor girls' feet! They deserve their well earned break"

Meaghan has also tweeted a picture of her and a fellow swan "resting" across what appears to be a bar in a state of collapse with the hash tag "not allowed to sit down". 

Just seen on Twitter that the Osipova/Golding Swan Lake will be released on DVD. See ROH website. No dates as yet.  Great News.

The latest e-newsletter from The Friends says that the ballet casting for Period 1 of the 2015/16 season will not be in the magazine (which has now gone to print) but will, instead, issue ahead of the various booking dates.

Not sure this is the correct thread for this, but the e-newsletter also said that the general booking on the 31st March (RBS annual performances) would also be 8am for web users and 10am for phone as was tried earlier. That should cause some fun.

Tonight I saw the RB for the second night running, never done that before. Natalia tonight totally knocked me over. In one way Obraztsova's tempi in the white swan second act, much slower I thought than Natalia, showed a different side to Odette, more frightened and uncertain than I remember and that resonated with me and was very beautiful. The black swan was totally Natalia, what a performance with a great back up from Matthew, these two are building something special. Hope they do Mayerling next season. But, for me, the stars are the Corps and all those just below the principals. Tonight I saw Meaghan, Olivia, Francesca and many others on the stage for a second night running performing at the highest standard in what seems to me, very difficult traffic. Total respect to all those.

Great review from Sim, above, everything I felt put into words; in the right order. I was in row D in the orchestra stalls and could clearly hear the coughing behind us. I too thought that Obraztsova looked a little tentative but she blossomed as the night went on. I did notice a couple of slips from the "swans" but, having said that, how so many fly around the stage without knocking each other over is amazing. This has whetted my appetite to venture out tonight to see Natalia at my local cinema so another dose of SL is coming up.

I totally agree with barton22 about food and drink., whenever I visit the cinema I am amazed at the amount of food/drink people need to get through 90 minutes of a film. There is no place for food or drink in the auditorium.

I saw some of the postings up above and giggled to myself at the RB playing a kind of tit for tat - or devil's advocate - and bringing in Cojocaru to replace a dancer who had to go back to the Bolshoi ..... Certainly Cojocaru has danced with McRae before ....     Not, of course, that it will happen ...  It won't ... Well, not outside the realm of fantasy .... and certainly not now at the RB

 

This was but a muse ...

If only Bruce, if only.

Yes, I was their. The evening was wonderful - each school, in its own different way, proved what a huge amount of talent we have in the young people who are there. The programme consisted of each school dancing two pieces with a final piece involving all the dancers.

I don't propose to "mark" the schools as I am not technically competent so to do but I can give a lay persons opinion. The four schools were Central School for Ballet, Elmhurst, ENB and the RB.

Central - Each of their pieces were contemporary in nature and, for me, the most difficult as I am not a huge fan of both abstract dance and music. The first was called Four, choreographed by Chris. Hampson and reflected four hands playing a piano ( so the programme tells me ) and the second was Morning and Moonlight using music by Britten, choreographed by Chris Bruce and showed elements of a seascape.

Elmhurst - Again contemporary but much easier to understand. The first was Orpheus Suite and set to music by Duke Ellington involving 10 boys rocking and rolling around the stage, great fun - part two was Second Detail by William Forsythe with three girls. Their second piece was called Transito and was a boy, Joshua Lee in the programme, and two girls dancing flamenco to a man playing the guitar and a lady clapping along. The boy was brilliant.

ENB - First piece was Trice, to music by Stravinsky, created by George Williamson beautifully danced  by one girl and two boys and the second piece was Allegro set to Mozarts Concerto No. 22 and wonderfully danced by the schools first year students.

RB - The most classic of the schools. Firstly was the Classical Symphony set to music by Prokofiev and created by Liam Scarlett - pure joy of watching the boys and girls swirl around the stage. The second piece was the pas de deux from Shostakovich 2nd piano concerto created by Macmillan. Danced by the fantastic Chisato Katsura and Lukas Braendsrod. She is going to be some dancer - mark my words.

The whole evening was then finished of by a contempary piece, composed specially for the evening by Philip Feeney and created by Mikaela Polley, both of whom were their to take their bows - danced by all the dancers to a huge cheer at the end.

One final point, I was sitting on row P, the back row in the stalls, and for the entire evening the florescent lights above our heads kept flicking on, it looked like someone was taking photos. I would have thought that with this and a performance of the Magic Flute on the main stage there must have been an electrician in the building to turn them off. Very poor show by the managment

I have just noticed that they are doing Song of the Earth in both of the Mixed Bills. Is that usual?

Taking up Coated's well made point regarding the treatment of new customers at the expense of "old" customers.  I have been a sky subscriber since it started and every time I have to threaten to close my subscription  to get any deals from them. Every time. They throw all the deals at new younger members but people like me who have been loyal for 20+years, forget about them. Could the ROH be now making the same mistake. Personally I would not sit in the Amphitheatre, I would rather not go than sit their, but for many it is the only way they can afford it so to close it to them on a first night, is a great shame. They are happy for their money every other night so why not this night or are we on a slippery slope to this being the "norm"

Can I just add that my problem with the amphitheatre is vertigo, sorry if that came out wrong.

Does anyone know if Sarah is still dancing on Friday, she has been pulled out of some Swan Lake's but is still cast on Friday?

Just realised its not this Friday but the next one.

How about giving Chris Wheeldon a crack at it. I thought his Winters Tale was excellent and, I believe he already done Cinderella, so his vision on SL would be worth thinking about.

Have to humbly admit that I'll be standing in row T of the Amphitheatre.

Must be a good dinner then for £2000.

£350 - chickenfeed. What about £2,000 with a bit of dinner with the stars thrown in. That's more like it.

 

 

Go on then, you smooth talker, what time shall I arrive, I take it dress is formal.

Is it just me but does no one else think the prices for these "galas" are a bit extortionate? £250 - £350 in the stalls and circa £100 up in the gods. All you get is a couple of pdd and a bit of opera. Doesn't seem much value for money. I'm a northern lad and expect a bit more for my £350.

Yes, they can be quite aggressive and ungainly birds on dry land,  it's only when they are in the water and gliding that they look so beautiful.

I quite agree from personal experience. I was fishing some years ago on a lake and I must have chosen my spot to fish which was a landing place for the swans that lived their. They showed their displeasure by "attacking" me and they sure can be aggressive. I moved!!

"It would be interesting to hear her take on the ballet's denouement."

She is the next guest of the Ballet Association on March 11th - go along and ask her.

Also, Golding really rocks the leather frock coat and tails.

Hahaha behave yourself aileen

As is the inclusion of Vadim Muntagirov.

Even better. Hope its a sell out.

I see Lauren's name has been removed from the list of dancer's, feel really sorry for her. I wonder if Francesca is going to dance, hope so. Plus Alina has been added along with Johan, so that is great news.